Yes, I came back. I think it took me less than two weeks to really start missing you all. I miss sharing things here, just getting stuff out of my brain. So, here I am.
Not that you'll see too much of me, because NaNoWriMo starts...tomorrow. AAAAAAHHHH!
That was a shriek of pure joy. Pure joy, y'all. I am so excited for November, because it's the month that I can actually live like a crazy person and get pep-talks for it (plus a novel in the bargain).
The only problem I'm anticipating is...*sigh*...life. I have a ton of things to do with school work alone (mainly public speaking), but I've heard that the busier you are the funner NaNoWriMo is.
So November is the month of frost and orange-yellow-red-brown trees and Thanksgiving and crazy writers. It is the best month of the year.
By the way, you all should have totally seen the frost this morning. It was this gorgeous white, and then the trees were all orange and red, and the sky was this light frozen blue, and some of the houses had smoke coming out of the chimneys.
I love November.
Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo?
Izori
Showing posts with label Writing a book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing a book. Show all posts
Monday, October 31, 2011
Saturday, November 13, 2010
How to Get the Most Out of Your Wordcount
I have begun the "Desperation Stage" of NaNoWriMo. That's where I wring out every single word I have in my brain onto the paper and hope it's enough to make the daily word count! Here are some sneaky tips! Shhh...
1. Similes! Instead of:
'The sunset was shining over the water'
1. Similes! Instead of:
'The sunset was shining over the water'
write:
'Like a ball of fire, the red glimmered over the dark waves, which were ripples of silk in the salt breeze.'
'Like a ball of fire, the red glimmered over the dark waves, which were ripples of silk in the salt breeze.'
See? That's three times as much words! 21 compared to 7 may not seem significant on its own, but it really adds up in the long run.
2. Avoiding contractions. Now, I will warn you that it will make your writing seem much stiffer, but it's pretty good for if you're desperate. After NaNo, you can go back and fix it.
3. Dreams. They can be weird and far fetched, and they can be really long and descriptive!
4. Add a character that uses a lot of 'ums' and 'uhs' and 'stuff like thats'.
5. Describe something in great detail!
Now excuse me while I go and put those tips to use!
2. Avoiding contractions. Now, I will warn you that it will make your writing seem much stiffer, but it's pretty good for if you're desperate. After NaNo, you can go back and fix it.
3. Dreams. They can be weird and far fetched, and they can be really long and descriptive!
4. Add a character that uses a lot of 'ums' and 'uhs' and 'stuff like thats'.
5. Describe something in great detail!
Now excuse me while I go and put those tips to use!
Monday, October 25, 2010
How To Find Your Writing Style {And Other Things}
Seven more days 'til NaNoWriMo! Aaaah! I spent this morning skimming over my first book, just giving me a refresher of the characters.
Some of these tips are meant to help determine your writing style in a particular book, not as a whole. I find it really annoying when the author switches styles in the middle of the book. Styles set the mood and emphasize the emotions of a story, and they're very important. Styles can hook a reader, or they can lose one. It's important to figure out what style you like or are using with a book, and then to stick with it.
I use these questions to analyze my writing if I've taken a long break from a particular work. If my styles suddenly switched, the book would feel broken.
However, I love it when people experiment with different styles, so I'm not saying to keep your old style in every single book. The problem comes, I think, when you switch styles in a respective book.
Like I've said, I use these to get myself back on track. I'll use them when I go back and edit my first NaNo book. Unlike what I probably should do, I'll let the sequel set the style. My writing has changed a lot, and I want it to line up.
1. Pay attention to what person you feel most comfortable in. Generally, there are three persons: 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person (I'm just telling you this to clarify, even though most of you guys probably know what I'm talking about). 1st person is the main character completely narrating the story. 2nd is from an observer point, with the author adding his input sometimes (an example is C.S. Lewis, I think). 3rd person is completely observing.
2. Notice what kind of verbs you use. Vivid? Hardly noticeable? Ordinary? Rare?
3. Also notice what kind of adjectives and adverbs you use.
4. Does your writing tend to go toward a more gothic, dark, serious mood; or a light, 'sugar and spice' mood that's more of a 'for fun' read than a 'serious read' ? I like to call the two styles 'Chocolate' and 'Cotton Candy'. =) I think I'm definitely more towards the Chocolate side, but I also enjoy Cotton Candy works. I think of Gail Carson Levine's books as Cotton Candy.
5. What writing style are you more attracted to in books? The garnished, frivolously strong descriptions of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald? The simpler, yet richer, Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis? Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, that's pretty much an awesome combination of the two? Can you tell that the first is my least favorite? ;)
6. Do you rely more on narrative descriptive prose or a character talking to set the mood or plot for your story?
7. Do your characters tend to talk casually or seriously? If your book is in a medieval setting among high-end class characters, I would suggest a less colloquial talking style. In a more modern setting, I would definitely use more casual speech.
_____________
Now for the other things.
1. I'm so thankful for Saturdays! A chance to clean my room, write, fool around in the woods, and take pictures! My room has been an absolute wreck all week, but it's finally getting cleaned and decorated for...
2. Autumn. I'm sorry I don't have any pretty pictures to show because my camera is almost out of batteries and we need to buy more and it runs out of batteries every time I download pictures 'cause it takes so long! Whew. That was the queen of run-on sentence. But let me try to describe it to you...
The trees are turning blazing orangey-red in our neighborhood, and crisp morning walks always leave with fistfuls of the adorable-est acorns. Our roses are taking a final stance, but they're turning brown with the chilly nights. Soon our little world will be sprinkled in silver faerie dust--oops, I mean frost--and we can finally say goodbye to summer.
Some of these tips are meant to help determine your writing style in a particular book, not as a whole. I find it really annoying when the author switches styles in the middle of the book. Styles set the mood and emphasize the emotions of a story, and they're very important. Styles can hook a reader, or they can lose one. It's important to figure out what style you like or are using with a book, and then to stick with it.
I use these questions to analyze my writing if I've taken a long break from a particular work. If my styles suddenly switched, the book would feel broken.
However, I love it when people experiment with different styles, so I'm not saying to keep your old style in every single book. The problem comes, I think, when you switch styles in a respective book.
Like I've said, I use these to get myself back on track. I'll use them when I go back and edit my first NaNo book. Unlike what I probably should do, I'll let the sequel set the style. My writing has changed a lot, and I want it to line up.
1. Pay attention to what person you feel most comfortable in. Generally, there are three persons: 1st person, 2nd person, and 3rd person (I'm just telling you this to clarify, even though most of you guys probably know what I'm talking about). 1st person is the main character completely narrating the story. 2nd is from an observer point, with the author adding his input sometimes (an example is C.S. Lewis, I think). 3rd person is completely observing.
2. Notice what kind of verbs you use. Vivid? Hardly noticeable? Ordinary? Rare?
3. Also notice what kind of adjectives and adverbs you use.
4. Does your writing tend to go toward a more gothic, dark, serious mood; or a light, 'sugar and spice' mood that's more of a 'for fun' read than a 'serious read' ? I like to call the two styles 'Chocolate' and 'Cotton Candy'. =) I think I'm definitely more towards the Chocolate side, but I also enjoy Cotton Candy works. I think of Gail Carson Levine's books as Cotton Candy.
5. What writing style are you more attracted to in books? The garnished, frivolously strong descriptions of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald? The simpler, yet richer, Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis? Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke, that's pretty much an awesome combination of the two? Can you tell that the first is my least favorite? ;)
6. Do you rely more on narrative descriptive prose or a character talking to set the mood or plot for your story?
7. Do your characters tend to talk casually or seriously? If your book is in a medieval setting among high-end class characters, I would suggest a less colloquial talking style. In a more modern setting, I would definitely use more casual speech.
_____________
Now for the other things.
1. I'm so thankful for Saturdays! A chance to clean my room, write, fool around in the woods, and take pictures! My room has been an absolute wreck all week, but it's finally getting cleaned and decorated for...
2. Autumn. I'm sorry I don't have any pretty pictures to show because my camera is almost out of batteries and we need to buy more and it runs out of batteries every time I download pictures 'cause it takes so long! Whew. That was the queen of run-on sentence. But let me try to describe it to you...
The trees are turning blazing orangey-red in our neighborhood, and crisp morning walks always leave with fistfuls of the adorable-est acorns. Our roses are taking a final stance, but they're turning brown with the chilly nights. Soon our little world will be sprinkled in silver faerie dust--oops, I mean frost--and we can finally say goodbye to summer.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Incentives For Writing
There comes a point in November, usually around the middle of the month, where you start to question your sanity at the time you signed up for NaNoWriMo.
You may have reached a point where you're so far behind, 50,000 words isn't just past the horizon, it's off the edge of the world.
Maybe you have to get up at 5:30 AM to do your writing, like I do, and you're beginning to feel really worn out.
Maybe you can't just see yourself continuing this.
Maybe your characters are completely rebelling.
Who knows?
Either way, it feels like this is pointless. All you get afterward is carpal tunnel syndrome, right? Oh yeah, and a sloppy, rushed, sorry excuse of a novel. (Just kidding about that last part. ;)
Or maybe you're not like me, and all throughout NaNo you're filled with ecstatic joy and love for your book, your plot, your computer, and your characters. But I'm assuming that you're like me.
Here are some tips on how to keep yourself writing:
1. Don't start speculating what will happen if you don't finish. Start thinking about what you'll do when you do finish.
2. Read a book that is just completely awful and realize that if this book could be published, yours could.
3. Fall in love with your characters. Interview them. Have tea parties with them. Etc.
4. Write something totally exciting and easy. I love dream sequences, because they can be so weird and unconnected. (Although they do get cliche sometimes)
5. Have a brainstorm session, and ask yourself how to spice your writing up some.
6. Set up a reward system--like, every time you reach your daily word count goal, you get a piece of candy. I like this system. ;)
You may have reached a point where you're so far behind, 50,000 words isn't just past the horizon, it's off the edge of the world.
Maybe you have to get up at 5:30 AM to do your writing, like I do, and you're beginning to feel really worn out.
Maybe you can't just see yourself continuing this.
Maybe your characters are completely rebelling.
Who knows?
Either way, it feels like this is pointless. All you get afterward is carpal tunnel syndrome, right? Oh yeah, and a sloppy, rushed, sorry excuse of a novel. (Just kidding about that last part. ;)
Or maybe you're not like me, and all throughout NaNo you're filled with ecstatic joy and love for your book, your plot, your computer, and your characters. But I'm assuming that you're like me.
Here are some tips on how to keep yourself writing:
1. Don't start speculating what will happen if you don't finish. Start thinking about what you'll do when you do finish.
2. Read a book that is just completely awful and realize that if this book could be published, yours could.
3. Fall in love with your characters. Interview them. Have tea parties with them. Etc.
4. Write something totally exciting and easy. I love dream sequences, because they can be so weird and unconnected. (Although they do get cliche sometimes)
5. Have a brainstorm session, and ask yourself how to spice your writing up some.
6. Set up a reward system--like, every time you reach your daily word count goal, you get a piece of candy. I like this system. ;)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Curing (and Preventing) Writer's Block (and Prayer Request)
I think that somewhere there is a parasite called Writerpholia blockaea. It feeds on deadlines and ideas in a writer's brain, turning them to mush. It specifically makes its presence felt in November.
But is there no hope? *gasp*
MY FAVORITE WRITER'S BLOCK CURES:
1. Outlining your book ahead of time so that if you get stumped on a particular section you can just quickly end it and get on to another, perhaps more exciting or cool or easy to write, part.
2. Listen to music. I prefer classical, because it sets an emotion that I'm probably missing in my writing. Plus, classical is calming. As much as I like contemporary, it gives me headaches (and I already have a major headache problem)
3. Get off the computer. Seriously, the #1 cause of death of inspiration is staring at a glowing screen for hours without a break. Write a section in your notebook, play an instrument, have a tea party with your sister (or a hot-chocolate party with your brother), just don't turn on the TV. No more glowing screens!
4. Get outside for some fresh air. Aerobic exercising, like a short sprint or dancing, really works for me.
(the following I got from my friend)
5. Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very cliche, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).
6. Ask yourself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't discard the crazy ideas.
7. At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.
8. Pray. It works better then anything! And also read your Bible. If you're working on a book that has a revolution against an evil king, read about Gideon or maybe David. If you're writing about a good king that's fighting down an evil revolution, read about David and his rebellious son. If you're writing an allegory, obviously read all over the Bible!
These next two are on prevention.
9. Don't skip writing; get yourself to at least read over the chapter you're working on once a day. I suppose sometimes it can't be helped, but when you skip when you could have written (even just a paragraph) you start finding more excuses. Stuff like, 'Well, I didn't write yesterday, so it wouldn't hurt to skip today, too," or "This hasn't been the longest period of time I didn't write, and it won't be until a week! I'm doing fine," can be easier to listen to if you haven't gotten yourself on a writing roll.
10. Keep it sloppy, especially if you're on your first draft. First drafts are supposed to be messy. If they aren't there's something wrong! If you're stuck on a short few sentences that are so boring you don't know what to write, just go ahead and mess them up. You can go back later and fix them.
Finally, a post that I wrote about this kind of thing a while ago.
It's so often that you hear someone tell you to keep on going if you find yourself in a writing rut. If a sentence, paragraph, whole chapter, etc. seems awkward, just don't worry about it and move on. This has been repeated so often that you (or I, at least) assume that this advice goes for all times.
But does it?
I have found more than once that deleting whole pages of awkward writing has taken care of the 'bothered perfectionist writer's block'. But does that mean that once I write a single awkward word, I can feel free to go heavy on the backspace button?
Not necessarily. In fact, not at all!
My theory is that the backspace method works if your plot is getting awkward. If your prose is getting awkward, then I would agree with popular advice (if you're on the 1st draft)--work past it, and then sweat about it.
Awkward prose, at the most, will just keep on nagging your mind that you have to go back and fix it. But that's okay. You can fix it later, and in the meantime make sure it doesn't get in the way of your writing. However, awkward plot not only nags you, but it will most likely begin to lead the rest of your book into the mire of awkwardness.
What are your thoughts?
And lastly, my prayer request. Remember those headaches I had in the spring? Well, they're back. I really thought they had gone away for good. But now I've been taking ibuprofen for about two weeks now...and they're not going away. I really hope nothing is wrong. I'm wondering if it's stress.
On top of that, my wrists are...*sigh*...really reminding me that it's a fallen world we live in. My left hand especially is really hurting on top close to my thumb. My carpal tunnel syndrome is getting worse and worse as I continue to do schoolwork, and I can't be taking little orange ibuprofen pills forever! I haven't been able to practice piano much because my left hand hurts if I stretch the thumb out. I can still type though. =) What I'm really worried about is my CTS and NaNoWriMo.
Please pray for those two things for me. I would SO appreciate it.
Thanks, and God bless!
But is there no hope? *gasp*
MY FAVORITE WRITER'S BLOCK CURES:
1. Outlining your book ahead of time so that if you get stumped on a particular section you can just quickly end it and get on to another, perhaps more exciting or cool or easy to write, part.
2. Listen to music. I prefer classical, because it sets an emotion that I'm probably missing in my writing. Plus, classical is calming. As much as I like contemporary, it gives me headaches (and I already have a major headache problem)
3. Get off the computer. Seriously, the #1 cause of death of inspiration is staring at a glowing screen for hours without a break. Write a section in your notebook, play an instrument, have a tea party with your sister (or a hot-chocolate party with your brother), just don't turn on the TV. No more glowing screens!
4. Get outside for some fresh air. Aerobic exercising, like a short sprint or dancing, really works for me.
(the following I got from my friend)
5. Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very cliche, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).
6. Ask yourself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't discard the crazy ideas.
7. At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.
8. Pray. It works better then anything! And also read your Bible. If you're working on a book that has a revolution against an evil king, read about Gideon or maybe David. If you're writing about a good king that's fighting down an evil revolution, read about David and his rebellious son. If you're writing an allegory, obviously read all over the Bible!
These next two are on prevention.
9. Don't skip writing; get yourself to at least read over the chapter you're working on once a day. I suppose sometimes it can't be helped, but when you skip when you could have written (even just a paragraph) you start finding more excuses. Stuff like, 'Well, I didn't write yesterday, so it wouldn't hurt to skip today, too," or "This hasn't been the longest period of time I didn't write, and it won't be until a week! I'm doing fine," can be easier to listen to if you haven't gotten yourself on a writing roll.
10. Keep it sloppy, especially if you're on your first draft. First drafts are supposed to be messy. If they aren't there's something wrong! If you're stuck on a short few sentences that are so boring you don't know what to write, just go ahead and mess them up. You can go back later and fix them.
Finally, a post that I wrote about this kind of thing a while ago.
It's so often that you hear someone tell you to keep on going if you find yourself in a writing rut. If a sentence, paragraph, whole chapter, etc. seems awkward, just don't worry about it and move on. This has been repeated so often that you (or I, at least) assume that this advice goes for all times.
But does it?
I have found more than once that deleting whole pages of awkward writing has taken care of the 'bothered perfectionist writer's block'. But does that mean that once I write a single awkward word, I can feel free to go heavy on the backspace button?
Not necessarily. In fact, not at all!
My theory is that the backspace method works if your plot is getting awkward. If your prose is getting awkward, then I would agree with popular advice (if you're on the 1st draft)--work past it, and then sweat about it.
Awkward prose, at the most, will just keep on nagging your mind that you have to go back and fix it. But that's okay. You can fix it later, and in the meantime make sure it doesn't get in the way of your writing. However, awkward plot not only nags you, but it will most likely begin to lead the rest of your book into the mire of awkwardness.
What are your thoughts?
And lastly, my prayer request. Remember those headaches I had in the spring? Well, they're back. I really thought they had gone away for good. But now I've been taking ibuprofen for about two weeks now...and they're not going away. I really hope nothing is wrong. I'm wondering if it's stress.
On top of that, my wrists are...*sigh*...really reminding me that it's a fallen world we live in. My left hand especially is really hurting on top close to my thumb. My carpal tunnel syndrome is getting worse and worse as I continue to do schoolwork, and I can't be taking little orange ibuprofen pills forever! I haven't been able to practice piano much because my left hand hurts if I stretch the thumb out. I can still type though. =) What I'm really worried about is my CTS and NaNoWriMo.
Please pray for those two things for me. I would SO appreciate it.
Thanks, and God bless!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Outlining a Book
Let's take it from the top! NaNo doesn't start until November 1, which means that we have a couple weeks to prepare. Shall we take advantage of that?
In NaNoWriMo, you must start your book on the 1st day. That means that you can't continue a book that you've been writing before November 1. However, you are greatly encouraged to use outlines!
I highly, highly, highly suggest outlines! Of course, there are some writers who don't need them, but I think that only people who have tried the outline thing and it didn't work should claim they don't need one. I thought I didn't need one. But last NaNo, I knew that I wouldn't be able to remember all of my awesome plot, so I wrote it down in an outline.
Before, I had problems with continuing books. After the first chapter (or page, or paragraph) I would lose track of the path. It seemed like I could never get through. But when I had an outline, that changed.
With an outline, I actually have a sense of direction. It lets me know that I can't spend forever on this one scene because something else needs to get done after it. If your greatest problem (or one of them) in writing is stalling, like me, then you might want to try an outline.
But where do you start?
I suggest starting with the simple, bare bones. I'll just make up a simple, kind of silly story that I can show you as an example.
Okay: point A. The introduction. This will contain stuff like the character's name, the current situation, just basic stuff you and your reader will need to know.
Point B: The rising situation. This is the point where the problem is realized and things begin to look like trouble.
Point C: The climax. Everything comes to a boiling point.
Point D: The wind-down. The problem is solved (unless your story is a tragedy, that is), we see whether or not the character makes it through, and we see what happens afterward.
Now here's the example:
A: Introduction
1. Maximilian James III lives in France.
2. A collector who rescues animals.
3. Has dogs, cats, parrots, monkeys, and the occasional elephant.
4. Max is very rich.
B: Rising Situation
1. Maximilian finds a kitten in Paris.
2. Kitten has a small message around its collar.
3. Max finds out he's intercepted a secret code.
4. The code is a communication between two infamous spies.
5. Josephina and Katharina D'Eli, twin spies, are angry at him.
6. They need to get the code back.
C: Climax
1. Josephina and Katharina begin spying on Max.
2. They find out where he lives.
3. When Max is away, they break into his house.
4. They find the kitten, which still has the code on its collar.
5. One of the monkey quietly sets loose a parrot to tell Max.
5. Josephina and Katharina begin to sneak away.
D: Wind-Down
1. The parrot finds Max, who is walking back to the house.
2. It tells him about the spies.
3. Just as Josephina and Katharina leave, the police and Max show up.
4. Max arrests them and reclaims the kitten.
5. The police use the code to intercept many secret messages from the spy ring Josephina and Katharina were involved in.
6. The police break up the spy ring, Max has the kitten, and they all live happily ever after.
(this story is mine. I claim the right of property laid out in law and in the Bible. Do not copy)
As you can see, it's pretty general, but it works for me.
Also, this is just the outline I use. There are many other kinds, but I like this one. It's enough to keep me writing. =)
After I've outlined the skeleton of the story, I like to go back and flesh out some in the outline. However, don't get in to too much detail, unless you have a brilliant idea for detail that you think you won't be able to remember until November. Outlines can get from just a quarter of a page to nearly a novel in itself.
Even if you think you're a non-outline writer (also known as seat-of-the-pants writer), I suggest just giving it a try if you never have. If it doesn't work, then you can just ditch the outline. If it does, then you might have never known if you hadn't tried it.
In NaNoWriMo, you must start your book on the 1st day. That means that you can't continue a book that you've been writing before November 1. However, you are greatly encouraged to use outlines!
I highly, highly, highly suggest outlines! Of course, there are some writers who don't need them, but I think that only people who have tried the outline thing and it didn't work should claim they don't need one. I thought I didn't need one. But last NaNo, I knew that I wouldn't be able to remember all of my awesome plot, so I wrote it down in an outline.
Before, I had problems with continuing books. After the first chapter (or page, or paragraph) I would lose track of the path. It seemed like I could never get through. But when I had an outline, that changed.
With an outline, I actually have a sense of direction. It lets me know that I can't spend forever on this one scene because something else needs to get done after it. If your greatest problem (or one of them) in writing is stalling, like me, then you might want to try an outline.
But where do you start?
I suggest starting with the simple, bare bones. I'll just make up a simple, kind of silly story that I can show you as an example.
Okay: point A. The introduction. This will contain stuff like the character's name, the current situation, just basic stuff you and your reader will need to know.
Point B: The rising situation. This is the point where the problem is realized and things begin to look like trouble.
Point C: The climax. Everything comes to a boiling point.
Point D: The wind-down. The problem is solved (unless your story is a tragedy, that is), we see whether or not the character makes it through, and we see what happens afterward.
Now here's the example:
A: Introduction
1. Maximilian James III lives in France.
2. A collector who rescues animals.
3. Has dogs, cats, parrots, monkeys, and the occasional elephant.
4. Max is very rich.
B: Rising Situation
1. Maximilian finds a kitten in Paris.
2. Kitten has a small message around its collar.
3. Max finds out he's intercepted a secret code.
4. The code is a communication between two infamous spies.
5. Josephina and Katharina D'Eli, twin spies, are angry at him.
6. They need to get the code back.
C: Climax
1. Josephina and Katharina begin spying on Max.
2. They find out where he lives.
3. When Max is away, they break into his house.
4. They find the kitten, which still has the code on its collar.
5. One of the monkey quietly sets loose a parrot to tell Max.
5. Josephina and Katharina begin to sneak away.
D: Wind-Down
1. The parrot finds Max, who is walking back to the house.
2. It tells him about the spies.
3. Just as Josephina and Katharina leave, the police and Max show up.
4. Max arrests them and reclaims the kitten.
5. The police use the code to intercept many secret messages from the spy ring Josephina and Katharina were involved in.
6. The police break up the spy ring, Max has the kitten, and they all live happily ever after.
(this story is mine. I claim the right of property laid out in law and in the Bible. Do not copy)
As you can see, it's pretty general, but it works for me.
Also, this is just the outline I use. There are many other kinds, but I like this one. It's enough to keep me writing. =)
After I've outlined the skeleton of the story, I like to go back and flesh out some in the outline. However, don't get in to too much detail, unless you have a brilliant idea for detail that you think you won't be able to remember until November. Outlines can get from just a quarter of a page to nearly a novel in itself.
Even if you think you're a non-outline writer (also known as seat-of-the-pants writer), I suggest just giving it a try if you never have. If it doesn't work, then you can just ditch the outline. If it does, then you might have never known if you hadn't tried it.
Friday, October 8, 2010
NaNoWriMo Plans
So...what am I doing for NaNoWriMo?
At first, I thought that I would write October's Knight, but then I got that out of the way in one week.
My other idea was the sequel to the NaNoWriMo book (which for further reference will be called NaNo Book I), but as I was thinking about NaNo Book I, I realized that I need to rewrite. Maybe change some things around. I'm still not sure if I'll follow through on this, but I do know that some things in there are definitely poorly written. What I'm thinking of doing on that is slowly rewriting it in October and December. I'll definitely have my editor continue to edit because I know that she will give me valuable tips on what exactly I should cut. =)
However, I don't want to waste an annual competition on a revision. So I decided to go ahead with the sequel idea. That book shall be called, until further notice, NaNo Book II.
What's it about? Well, without giving away much, it contains the sea-faring journeys of Elizabeth, Angela, and Skye (along with their best buds from Caeleryn). At the same time, invaders from the west are threatening Durain, Mom, and Mariah back on the mainland.
You probably don't know who many of those characters are yet. Don't worry; if you read the books when they're published you'll hear all about 'em! =) During November I may post some character outlines of them.
Anyway, the NaNo books are fantasy/allegory. Lately, I've been wondering if my books really show what I believe, so that will be a main focus. I'm also focusing on my writing style (more in a future post) and character development, as well as trying to make the overall story line less cliche. As I was reading over NaNoWriMo book I, I noticed that it almost alluded to Lord of the Rings. I'll definitely fix that when I rewrite Book I, as well as steer the books away from that direction in Book II.
So, what are my fellow NaNoWriMo-ers' plans? What genre are y'all writing? I'm curious! =)
At first, I thought that I would write October's Knight, but then I got that out of the way in one week.
My other idea was the sequel to the NaNoWriMo book (which for further reference will be called NaNo Book I), but as I was thinking about NaNo Book I, I realized that I need to rewrite. Maybe change some things around. I'm still not sure if I'll follow through on this, but I do know that some things in there are definitely poorly written. What I'm thinking of doing on that is slowly rewriting it in October and December. I'll definitely have my editor continue to edit because I know that she will give me valuable tips on what exactly I should cut. =)
However, I don't want to waste an annual competition on a revision. So I decided to go ahead with the sequel idea. That book shall be called, until further notice, NaNo Book II.
What's it about? Well, without giving away much, it contains the sea-faring journeys of Elizabeth, Angela, and Skye (along with their best buds from Caeleryn). At the same time, invaders from the west are threatening Durain, Mom, and Mariah back on the mainland.
You probably don't know who many of those characters are yet. Don't worry; if you read the books when they're published you'll hear all about 'em! =) During November I may post some character outlines of them.
Anyway, the NaNo books are fantasy/allegory. Lately, I've been wondering if my books really show what I believe, so that will be a main focus. I'm also focusing on my writing style (more in a future post) and character development, as well as trying to make the overall story line less cliche. As I was reading over NaNoWriMo book I, I noticed that it almost alluded to Lord of the Rings. I'll definitely fix that when I rewrite Book I, as well as steer the books away from that direction in Book II.
So, what are my fellow NaNoWriMo-ers' plans? What genre are y'all writing? I'm curious! =)
Friday, May 14, 2010
To delete or not to delete, that is the question.
It's so often that you hear someone tell you to keep on going if you find yourself in a writing rut. If a sentence, paragraph, whole chapter, etc. seems awkward, just don't worry about it and move on. This has been repeated so often that you (or I, at least) assume that this advice goes for all times.
But does it?
I have found more than once that deleting whole pages of awkward writing has taken care of the 'bothered perfectionist writer's block'. But does that mean that once I write a single awkward word, I can feel free to go heavy on the backspace button?
Not necessarily. In fact, not at all!
My theory is that the backspace method works if your plot is getting awkward. If your prose is getting awkward, then I would agree with popular advice (if you're on the 1st draft)--work past it, and then sweat about it.
Awkward prose, at the most, will just keep on nagging your mind that you have to go back and fix it. But that's okay. You can fix it later, and in the meantime make sure it doesn't get in the way of your writing. However, awkward plot not only nags you, but it will most likely begin to lead the rest of your book into the mire of awkwardness.
What are y'all's thoughts?
Izori
But does it?
I have found more than once that deleting whole pages of awkward writing has taken care of the 'bothered perfectionist writer's block'. But does that mean that once I write a single awkward word, I can feel free to go heavy on the backspace button?
Not necessarily. In fact, not at all!
My theory is that the backspace method works if your plot is getting awkward. If your prose is getting awkward, then I would agree with popular advice (if you're on the 1st draft)--work past it, and then sweat about it.
Awkward prose, at the most, will just keep on nagging your mind that you have to go back and fix it. But that's okay. You can fix it later, and in the meantime make sure it doesn't get in the way of your writing. However, awkward plot not only nags you, but it will most likely begin to lead the rest of your book into the mire of awkwardness.
What are y'all's thoughts?
Izori
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Some Old Writing Tips: Part II
Did I say that I was going to post these *soon*? Because I really meant later. Whoops. Anyway, sorry about so much space between this and 'Some Old Writing Tips: Part I'.
Some all-around tips:
1). Don't be neat. Now, that might seem rather odd, but when I mean to not be neat, I mean to not sweat the details in your first draft. You should be neat in your final draft of your book, but when you're beginning, don't spend half an hour trying to make your first chapter perfect. If you agonize over every single word, phrase, and action, you won't get much done and your work will sound too labored. That is why I like to write my first draft instead of type it. If I type it, I'm tempted to delete and re-delete, which is made very easy by a handy-dandy delete button. If you write with a pen, you can't erase, which keeps you from getting hung up over a mere sentence. If there is something that you know needs editing in your first draft, just make a note of it in the margin and keep going. It doesn't matter if your book is perfect by the first-draft! Because it's not going to be. This is what made the Elandai series [now 'out of print', lol] so hard to write; you guys basically saw my first draft of it.
2). Start out simple. Right now, I'm on a level with some of my books where I have sub-plots and sub-sub plots, supporting characters and characters that support the supporting characters. It's very hard. If you're just writing your first book, I would suggest you start off with just one plot (maybe a small sub-plot, too) and just a few supporting characters. Then you can get more complicated as you go.
3). Talk to other first-time authors. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of friends who wrote--but I didn't know they did. It's encouraging to talk to other young authors, not to mention helpful.
4). Find out what genre you are. I am a fantasy/allegorical genre. Seriously, I can't write anything else then fantasy and allegories. I've tried historical fiction, sci-fi, contemporary, and others, but I can't write those. You can experiment to find it out, or you can think on what books you read a lot of. Read a whole bunch of fantasy? You might want to try writing fantasy.
5). Read. A lot. I think that's self-explanatory, but I'll explain anyway. If you find a really good author, study their writing style. They probably use a lot of strong verbs (like sprinted or dashed instead of ran) and you can copy their ways of making the reader interested.
6). Have other people read your books. The first book I actually let someone read was the first third of Sarea. They probably will be able to tell you if your characters are strong, plot interesting, etc.
7). Get a fair amount of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, get a good amount of exercise. They're actually important factors of good writing because they keep your brain in good shape.
8). Get your school-work and chores done before you sit down to write. That way there will be less interruptions from siblings or parents asking if your household duties are done yet, and you will be able to concentrate more if you don't have a to-do list hanging over your head.
9). Try to write often, even if it's only for a little while. If you skip one day, it'll be easier to skip a week.
10). Don't give up! No one ever becomes world-best author without a lot of work.
A tip or two on strong characters:
#1. Base them on a real person. A lot of times, I base my main character, at least, on someone I know, including me. Ehra in Sarea for example. She's based on two real people: one friend for personality, and another for looks (with some of her own, too). If you think you'll get too attached to a character you're going to have die, then...I guess you could make up your own personality or something. I don't usually kill my characters, so I'm not much help there. I also base my bad guys on unsavory characters I know, or even historical ones (such as Sisera from Judges 4, or Judas Iscariot from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Basing them on real people helps when you aren't quite sure how your character would react in a situation; simply have them act like the person they're based on would.
#2. Put some of their background into it. Add something more personal about them, so the reader really feels that they know the character. I added a few pages in Sarea when Ehra is talking to her parents, whom she has a very close relationship with. I also added a chapter when Ehra and her sister are chatting with some gossipy village girls, showing how different they are.
And a suggestion on lightening dark plots:
Add little children into it. They're so innocent and funny; it lightens up the plot right away. I am naturally very optimistic, so I don't tend to have this problem, but I do have it sometimes. Also add some friendly family into it; if your character is an orphan with a sibling who's her mortal enemy, is running away from a cruel slaver while unwittingly falling into a trap their malicious sibling has set, it would make for an interesting story line, but it'd be extremely dark and...not very pro-family.
Izori
Some all-around tips:
1). Don't be neat. Now, that might seem rather odd, but when I mean to not be neat, I mean to not sweat the details in your first draft. You should be neat in your final draft of your book, but when you're beginning, don't spend half an hour trying to make your first chapter perfect. If you agonize over every single word, phrase, and action, you won't get much done and your work will sound too labored. That is why I like to write my first draft instead of type it. If I type it, I'm tempted to delete and re-delete, which is made very easy by a handy-dandy delete button. If you write with a pen, you can't erase, which keeps you from getting hung up over a mere sentence. If there is something that you know needs editing in your first draft, just make a note of it in the margin and keep going. It doesn't matter if your book is perfect by the first-draft! Because it's not going to be. This is what made the Elandai series [now 'out of print', lol] so hard to write; you guys basically saw my first draft of it.
2). Start out simple. Right now, I'm on a level with some of my books where I have sub-plots and sub-sub plots, supporting characters and characters that support the supporting characters. It's very hard. If you're just writing your first book, I would suggest you start off with just one plot (maybe a small sub-plot, too) and just a few supporting characters. Then you can get more complicated as you go.
3). Talk to other first-time authors. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of friends who wrote--but I didn't know they did. It's encouraging to talk to other young authors, not to mention helpful.
4). Find out what genre you are. I am a fantasy/allegorical genre. Seriously, I can't write anything else then fantasy and allegories. I've tried historical fiction, sci-fi, contemporary, and others, but I can't write those. You can experiment to find it out, or you can think on what books you read a lot of. Read a whole bunch of fantasy? You might want to try writing fantasy.
5). Read. A lot. I think that's self-explanatory, but I'll explain anyway. If you find a really good author, study their writing style. They probably use a lot of strong verbs (like sprinted or dashed instead of ran) and you can copy their ways of making the reader interested.
6). Have other people read your books. The first book I actually let someone read was the first third of Sarea. They probably will be able to tell you if your characters are strong, plot interesting, etc.
7). Get a fair amount of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, get a good amount of exercise. They're actually important factors of good writing because they keep your brain in good shape.
8). Get your school-work and chores done before you sit down to write. That way there will be less interruptions from siblings or parents asking if your household duties are done yet, and you will be able to concentrate more if you don't have a to-do list hanging over your head.
9). Try to write often, even if it's only for a little while. If you skip one day, it'll be easier to skip a week.
10). Don't give up! No one ever becomes world-best author without a lot of work.
A tip or two on strong characters:
#1. Base them on a real person. A lot of times, I base my main character, at least, on someone I know, including me. Ehra in Sarea for example. She's based on two real people: one friend for personality, and another for looks (with some of her own, too). If you think you'll get too attached to a character you're going to have die, then...I guess you could make up your own personality or something. I don't usually kill my characters, so I'm not much help there. I also base my bad guys on unsavory characters I know, or even historical ones (such as Sisera from Judges 4, or Judas Iscariot from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Basing them on real people helps when you aren't quite sure how your character would react in a situation; simply have them act like the person they're based on would.
#2. Put some of their background into it. Add something more personal about them, so the reader really feels that they know the character. I added a few pages in Sarea when Ehra is talking to her parents, whom she has a very close relationship with. I also added a chapter when Ehra and her sister are chatting with some gossipy village girls, showing how different they are.
And a suggestion on lightening dark plots:
Add little children into it. They're so innocent and funny; it lightens up the plot right away. I am naturally very optimistic, so I don't tend to have this problem, but I do have it sometimes. Also add some friendly family into it; if your character is an orphan with a sibling who's her mortal enemy, is running away from a cruel slaver while unwittingly falling into a trap their malicious sibling has set, it would make for an interesting story line, but it'd be extremely dark and...not very pro-family.
Izori
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some Old Writing Tips: Part 1
I realized that I haven't done tips on writing in a while. So I decided to re-post some of my favorite tips!
Tips for Curing Writer's Block (given to me by Enna-Rin):
1). Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very cliche, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).
2). Ask youself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't disgard the crazy ideas.
3). At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.
4). Pray. It works better then anything! And also read your Bible. If you're working on a book that has a revolution against an evil king, read about Gideon or maybe David. If you're writing about a good king that's fighting down an evil revolution, read about David and his rebellious son. If you're writing an allegory, obviously read all over the Bible!
All Around Tips:
Tip 1: Making strong characters. To find out if your book has strong characters or not, have a sibling, friend, or parent read your book, and then ask them what their reaction would be if you made the main character get killed in a sword fight or come to some demise or other. Tell them to be honest. If they tell you that they probably cry or be really mad at the person who killed them, then your characters are very strong and life-like. If they tell you that they wouldn't care much, then you've got a problem (either the reader is heartless, or you have weak and flat characters. But usually it's the second). I still have this problem, and I don't have a particularly good way of fixing it, but the thing I usually try to do is put yourself in your character's shoes. Try to imagine what you would be like in a story, or if the character isn't that like you, imagine a sibling or friend. Or maybe try to descibe their life to the reader, like put some of their background in. Try to really write a good picture of the character.
Tip 2: Lengthening a book. I have that trouble a lot. What I've found best in most cases is put two sides of the story in. I only wrote one of my stories from the perspective of my main character, a teenage girl named Ehra, and the book turned out to be 70 pages. Then I added in the perspectives of some bad guys, and it turned out to be 130 pages! That's a 40 page difference! Also, try to read really long, well written books, like the Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini [even though I've decided to wait to finish up the series when I'm older, Paolini still has very good writing techniques]. He has a lot of description in his books, and his characters have long lines a lot of the time. Of course, you don't have to go overboard with the long lines, but take these examples. Say this is a part in your book:
"Were you able to solve the riddle?"
"No."
You can lengthen it like this:
"Were you able to solve the riddle?"
"No. We tried really hard, and we thought we came close to cracking the code at least once, but it turned out to be wrong. We even tried using the Caesar Cypher, but we can't find anything. I don't think we'll ever be able to solve it!"
That sounds less abrubt, and you lengthened the line considerably. One of those might not make much of a difference, but if you add in long lines and description several times where it's needed, your book could get longer by a few pages.
Tip 3: Thinking up titles for books and chapters. Some people don't have titles for chapters, but everyone (I'm pretty sure) has a book title :D! This, especially the book titles, can get sort of tricky. I usually have thought up a name for my book by the time I'm done with it, but it's hard sometimes. What I do is I name it after my main character, or where the climax of the book takes place. Brian Jacques, for example, names his books "Martin the Warrior", or "Salamandastron", or "Redwall". Christopher Paolini names his "Eragon" or "Brisinger". Chapters are a bit easier; you can just name them after what takes place during it. Like my most recent [not quite so recent, now!] chapter of "The Return to Elandai", which is named Captured.
Tips for drafts:
Who in the world thought of the word 'draft' (as in, "I wrote the first draft of my book")? It's one odd word.
Anyway, another tip for writing a book is doing drafts. I like to write my first drafts in a notebook, not on the computer. It's basically the 'bones' of the book, and you can make your first draft as messy as you want. Like mine--crossed out words, squished in sentences, abbreviated names, and scribbled notes. Then I type it all up on the computer and start adding the 'muscle'--incorporating the notes, rewriting sentences, and so on. Then I re-read the whole thing and edit it all.
Sometimes, like with the Elandai series, I don't do drafts. That's a little harder, because if you made your plot do one thing, and then later realize that you didn't want it to do that, you can't go back and fix it. That makes the Elandai series a little interesting, because even though sometimes I do think ahead, I have no clue where I'm going next.
And more's coming up soon!
Izori
Tips for Curing Writer's Block (given to me by Enna-Rin):
1). Write down 12 ideas that might come next in your book. Don't stop, even if the third one sounds really awesome. 12 seemed an awful lot for me, so I shortened it to seven. It still worked. And don't not write down an idea, even if it sounds crazy. I wasn't going to write down one of the ideas, because it sounded very cliche, but it ended up that idea was the one I used (combined with another one).
2). Ask youself 'What would happen if...'. Again, let your mind wander, and don't disgard the crazy ideas.
3). At least look at the part that you left off writing. A lot of times, I think I have writer's block because I haven't had any new brainstorms. Actually, if I can just look over the chapter that I got stuck on, I get inspired a lot of times.
4). Pray. It works better then anything! And also read your Bible. If you're working on a book that has a revolution against an evil king, read about Gideon or maybe David. If you're writing about a good king that's fighting down an evil revolution, read about David and his rebellious son. If you're writing an allegory, obviously read all over the Bible!
All Around Tips:
Tip 1: Making strong characters. To find out if your book has strong characters or not, have a sibling, friend, or parent read your book, and then ask them what their reaction would be if you made the main character get killed in a sword fight or come to some demise or other. Tell them to be honest. If they tell you that they probably cry or be really mad at the person who killed them, then your characters are very strong and life-like. If they tell you that they wouldn't care much, then you've got a problem (either the reader is heartless, or you have weak and flat characters. But usually it's the second). I still have this problem, and I don't have a particularly good way of fixing it, but the thing I usually try to do is put yourself in your character's shoes. Try to imagine what you would be like in a story, or if the character isn't that like you, imagine a sibling or friend. Or maybe try to descibe their life to the reader, like put some of their background in. Try to really write a good picture of the character.
Tip 2: Lengthening a book. I have that trouble a lot. What I've found best in most cases is put two sides of the story in. I only wrote one of my stories from the perspective of my main character, a teenage girl named Ehra, and the book turned out to be 70 pages. Then I added in the perspectives of some bad guys, and it turned out to be 130 pages! That's a 40 page difference! Also, try to read really long, well written books, like the Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini [even though I've decided to wait to finish up the series when I'm older, Paolini still has very good writing techniques]. He has a lot of description in his books, and his characters have long lines a lot of the time. Of course, you don't have to go overboard with the long lines, but take these examples. Say this is a part in your book:
"Were you able to solve the riddle?"
"No."
You can lengthen it like this:
"Were you able to solve the riddle?"
"No. We tried really hard, and we thought we came close to cracking the code at least once, but it turned out to be wrong. We even tried using the Caesar Cypher, but we can't find anything. I don't think we'll ever be able to solve it!"
That sounds less abrubt, and you lengthened the line considerably. One of those might not make much of a difference, but if you add in long lines and description several times where it's needed, your book could get longer by a few pages.
Tip 3: Thinking up titles for books and chapters. Some people don't have titles for chapters, but everyone (I'm pretty sure) has a book title :D! This, especially the book titles, can get sort of tricky. I usually have thought up a name for my book by the time I'm done with it, but it's hard sometimes. What I do is I name it after my main character, or where the climax of the book takes place. Brian Jacques, for example, names his books "Martin the Warrior", or "Salamandastron", or "Redwall". Christopher Paolini names his "Eragon" or "Brisinger". Chapters are a bit easier; you can just name them after what takes place during it. Like my most recent [not quite so recent, now!] chapter of "The Return to Elandai", which is named Captured.
Tips for drafts:
Who in the world thought of the word 'draft' (as in, "I wrote the first draft of my book")? It's one odd word.
Anyway, another tip for writing a book is doing drafts. I like to write my first drafts in a notebook, not on the computer. It's basically the 'bones' of the book, and you can make your first draft as messy as you want. Like mine--crossed out words, squished in sentences, abbreviated names, and scribbled notes. Then I type it all up on the computer and start adding the 'muscle'--incorporating the notes, rewriting sentences, and so on. Then I re-read the whole thing and edit it all.
Sometimes, like with the Elandai series, I don't do drafts. That's a little harder, because if you made your plot do one thing, and then later realize that you didn't want it to do that, you can't go back and fix it. That makes the Elandai series a little interesting, because even though sometimes I do think ahead, I have no clue where I'm going next.
And more's coming up soon!
Izori
Monday, September 28, 2009
Can my book get any more cliquer than this?
Edit! I typed this whole post misspelling 'cliche'. I look back on it and laugh, but at the time it was soooo embarrassing. Hey, this was a loooooong time ago.
In my book, Sarea (working title, remember) it seems like EVERYTHING'S clique! It begins on a dark and stormy night, it has an evil king that some people are trying to overthrow, and the main character is someone that looks completely under-qualified for overthrowing the evil king, but then finds out that they can use magic.
I didn't realize how clique my book actually was until I was already more than half-way through,
and then the clique-ness had become too important plot-wise to change.
It actually wasn't as bad as it seemed. I'm hoping that with all the tweaks I add, the clique stuff will be sort of countered. I actually have a pretty un-clique demise in store for my main baddie, and I've also plotted out some other deaths for more secondary villains.
And I'm almost done with the second part of Sarea! This part, other than the ever-popular escape through the window of a tavern late at night, isn't clique at all. And the romantic parts, which I was looking forward to with dread, has been going SO smoothly, and I don't think they're clique, either.
I was reading my first draft of the first-third of Sarea, and was astonished at how different it is from the up-to-date draft. My first draft was so much more shorter, and the writer style was more...amateur. It was only about 50 pages long typed up, and my previous draft is 146 pages. I'm hoping to add even more to it once iGirl''s finished her editing.
And iGirl's sister is working on a title for Sarea!! It looks SO awesome! She's an amazing artist.
In my book, Sarea (working title, remember) it seems like EVERYTHING'S clique! It begins on a dark and stormy night, it has an evil king that some people are trying to overthrow, and the main character is someone that looks completely under-qualified for overthrowing the evil king, but then finds out that they can use magic.
I didn't realize how clique my book actually was until I was already more than half-way through,
and then the clique-ness had become too important plot-wise to change.
It actually wasn't as bad as it seemed. I'm hoping that with all the tweaks I add, the clique stuff will be sort of countered. I actually have a pretty un-clique demise in store for my main baddie, and I've also plotted out some other deaths for more secondary villains.
And I'm almost done with the second part of Sarea! This part, other than the ever-popular escape through the window of a tavern late at night, isn't clique at all. And the romantic parts, which I was looking forward to with dread, has been going SO smoothly, and I don't think they're clique, either.
I was reading my first draft of the first-third of Sarea, and was astonished at how different it is from the up-to-date draft. My first draft was so much more shorter, and the writer style was more...amateur. It was only about 50 pages long typed up, and my previous draft is 146 pages. I'm hoping to add even more to it once iGirl''s finished her editing.
And iGirl's sister is working on a title for Sarea!! It looks SO awesome! She's an amazing artist.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Character's can be very stubborn...
...right when you don't need them to be!
Has anyone ever had a great new idea for a plot twist in your book, and tried to try it out, only to have your characters refuse to follow it? I know at least my characters can be downright persnickety sometimes!
So, what do you do? Other then tell them they have to follow it because you're the author and you said so, here's some advice.
1). Hold an interview. No, I'm perfectly serious. Write down a list of questions about the characters in your book. Something like (here I'm going to use a sub-character in the book I'm writing. She's not really giving me grief, but she's my example) this:
name: Lydia (this is just for keeping track of whose interview is who's.
job/profession: tavern-maid
personality: spunky, energetic, observant and quick-witted but at first glance acts like a silly twit.
problem: she wants to quit her job at the tavern. I want her to stay and gather information for my main characters.
Now that you've written it down, think on the problem. Maybe you could compromise some way between your opinion and that of your character's.
#2). Your character may have a point in their suggestion. You could try to do it their way and see what results. You could come up with something very interesting! This is the one I use most often and that helps the most.
#3). Kill the character! Uh, might I add that this is only useful when your problem character is only a sub character that can't add anything more to the story and you have no emotional attachment to (is it possible to have no attachment to characters you made up?). Once again, this can lead to interesting results.
#4). Conflict with your character and do it your way, just to experiment if the character really will refuse to work for you. This is something I DON'T suggest.
Out of all the cures, number 2 is most suggested.
Izori
(Oh, by the way, this post popped up a day ago. If you were reading it, and it suddenly disappeared, sorry about that. It was right in front of a rather important announcement)
P.S. This was a scheduled post. For all who are curious, this was really written on September 15, 2009.
Has anyone ever had a great new idea for a plot twist in your book, and tried to try it out, only to have your characters refuse to follow it? I know at least my characters can be downright persnickety sometimes!
So, what do you do? Other then tell them they have to follow it because you're the author and you said so, here's some advice.
1). Hold an interview. No, I'm perfectly serious. Write down a list of questions about the characters in your book. Something like (here I'm going to use a sub-character in the book I'm writing. She's not really giving me grief, but she's my example) this:
name: Lydia (this is just for keeping track of whose interview is who's.
job/profession: tavern-maid
personality: spunky, energetic, observant and quick-witted but at first glance acts like a silly twit.
problem: she wants to quit her job at the tavern. I want her to stay and gather information for my main characters.
Now that you've written it down, think on the problem. Maybe you could compromise some way between your opinion and that of your character's.
#2). Your character may have a point in their suggestion. You could try to do it their way and see what results. You could come up with something very interesting! This is the one I use most often and that helps the most.
#3). Kill the character! Uh, might I add that this is only useful when your problem character is only a sub character that can't add anything more to the story and you have no emotional attachment to (is it possible to have no attachment to characters you made up?). Once again, this can lead to interesting results.
#4). Conflict with your character and do it your way, just to experiment if the character really will refuse to work for you. This is something I DON'T suggest.
Out of all the cures, number 2 is most suggested.
Izori
(Oh, by the way, this post popped up a day ago. If you were reading it, and it suddenly disappeared, sorry about that. It was right in front of a rather important announcement)
P.S. This was a scheduled post. For all who are curious, this was really written on September 15, 2009.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Some suggestions for first-time authors
I remember when I was just starting out writing, and I started out in a pretty bad way. Nearly every mistake there is out there, I made it. So now, with all the experience I have gained, I will post some ways how to avoid starting out like me =).
1). Don't be neat. Now, that might seem rather odd, but when I mean to not be neat, I mean to not sweat the details in your first draft. You should be neat in your final draft of your book, but when you're beginning, don't spend half an hour trying to make your first chapter perfect. If you agonize over every single word, phrase, and action, you won't get much done and your work will sound too labored. That is why I like to write my first draft instead of type it. If I type it, I'm tempted to delete and re-delete, which is made very easy by a handy-dandy delete button. If you write with a pen, you can't erase, which keeps you from getting hung up over a mere sentence. If there is something that you know needs editing in your first draft, just make a note of it in the margin and keep going. It doesn't matter if your book is perfect by the first-draft! Because it's not going to be. This is what makes the Elandai series so hard to write; you guys basically see my first draft of it.
2). Start out simple. Right now, I'm on a level with Sarea where I have sub-plots and sub-sub plots, supporting characters and characters that support the supporting characters. It's very hard. If you're just writing your first book, I would suggest you start off with just one plot (maybe a small sub-plot, too) and just a few supporting characters. Then you can get more complicated as you go.
3). Talk to other first-time authors. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of friends who wrote--but I didn't know they did. It's encouraging to talk to other young authors, not to mention helpful.
4). Find out what genre you are. I am a fantasy/allegorical genre. Seriously, I can't write anything else then fantasy and allegories. I've tried historical fiction, sci-fi, contemporary, and others, but I can't write those. You can experiment to find it out, or you can think on what books you read a lot of. Read a whole bunch of fantasy? You might want to try writing fantasy.
5). Read. A lot. I think that's self-explanatory, but I'll explain anyway. If you find a really good author, study their writing style. They probably use a lot of strong verbs (like sprinted or dashed instead of ran) and you can copy their ways of making the reader interested.
6). Have other people read your books. The first book I actually let someone read was the first third of Sarea. They probably will be able to tell you if your characters are strong, plot interesting, etc.
7). Get a fair amount of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, get a good amount of exercise. They're actually important factors of good writing.
8). Get your school-work and chores done before you sit down to write. That way there will be less interruptions from siblings or parents asking if your household duties are done yet, and you will be able to concentrate more if you don't have a to-do list hanging over your head.
9). Try to write often, even if it's only for a little while. If you skip one day, it'll be easier to skip a week.
10). Don't give up! No one ever becomes world-best author without a lot of work.
Izori
1). Don't be neat. Now, that might seem rather odd, but when I mean to not be neat, I mean to not sweat the details in your first draft. You should be neat in your final draft of your book, but when you're beginning, don't spend half an hour trying to make your first chapter perfect. If you agonize over every single word, phrase, and action, you won't get much done and your work will sound too labored. That is why I like to write my first draft instead of type it. If I type it, I'm tempted to delete and re-delete, which is made very easy by a handy-dandy delete button. If you write with a pen, you can't erase, which keeps you from getting hung up over a mere sentence. If there is something that you know needs editing in your first draft, just make a note of it in the margin and keep going. It doesn't matter if your book is perfect by the first-draft! Because it's not going to be. This is what makes the Elandai series so hard to write; you guys basically see my first draft of it.
2). Start out simple. Right now, I'm on a level with Sarea where I have sub-plots and sub-sub plots, supporting characters and characters that support the supporting characters. It's very hard. If you're just writing your first book, I would suggest you start off with just one plot (maybe a small sub-plot, too) and just a few supporting characters. Then you can get more complicated as you go.
3). Talk to other first-time authors. When I was just starting out, I had a lot of friends who wrote--but I didn't know they did. It's encouraging to talk to other young authors, not to mention helpful.
4). Find out what genre you are. I am a fantasy/allegorical genre. Seriously, I can't write anything else then fantasy and allegories. I've tried historical fiction, sci-fi, contemporary, and others, but I can't write those. You can experiment to find it out, or you can think on what books you read a lot of. Read a whole bunch of fantasy? You might want to try writing fantasy.
5). Read. A lot. I think that's self-explanatory, but I'll explain anyway. If you find a really good author, study their writing style. They probably use a lot of strong verbs (like sprinted or dashed instead of ran) and you can copy their ways of making the reader interested.
6). Have other people read your books. The first book I actually let someone read was the first third of Sarea. They probably will be able to tell you if your characters are strong, plot interesting, etc.
7). Get a fair amount of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, get a good amount of exercise. They're actually important factors of good writing.
8). Get your school-work and chores done before you sit down to write. That way there will be less interruptions from siblings or parents asking if your household duties are done yet, and you will be able to concentrate more if you don't have a to-do list hanging over your head.
9). Try to write often, even if it's only for a little while. If you skip one day, it'll be easier to skip a week.
10). Don't give up! No one ever becomes world-best author without a lot of work.
Izori
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