In case you haven't noticed, I've been having a huge case of writers block. This has been very frequent of late, and at first I had absolutely no clue as to why I was catching it so often.
I think I have the reason now. It's technology.
You see, I am much more of an ink-and-paper writer than a glowing-screen person. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why, but there's something about a computer that de-inspires me.
I used to do all of my book-writing in notebooks with a pen. However, that changed when I first participated in NaNoWriMo, because it's just so much easier if you type your story for word-count purposes. And then, to lead me further away from good ol' paper, my laptop came.
I love my laptop. It's so convenient, and for many things it makes my life so much easier. Thus, I began to write every single story on it, and I hardly ever used a notebook.
That was also when my writers block began to really plague me. Why? I have some theories.
1. Too many distractions, like the internet.
2. Too many excuses, like not feeling like turning on my laptop.
3. Too many glowing screens, sapping my energy like parasites, lulling me into a hypnotic trance---okay, I'll stop.
Anyway, whatever it was I noticed a definite connection with the above and my writers block. So that means...
I've returned to good, old-fashioned paper and ink. There's something about the solidness of the words going down, as opposed to the instantly-deletable symbols on a screen.
What do you guys like to write on?
Hugs & Blessings,
Izori
Showing posts with label Writing in General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing in General. Show all posts
Saturday, June 18, 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.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The Time Has Come!
It's October, which means...sign up for NaNoWriMo has begun! Click HERE to get to their site! Signing up is incredibly easy, and I also suggest looking at the FAQs and the About NaNoWriMo if you're a first time participant.
And I've decided that I am doing NaNoWriMo. I may have to get up at 5:30 AM, but I will do it, and I will finish. I hope.
So, as you can imagine, this is going to effect my posts. Here are some of the things you'll see through October:
1. How to outline your novel idea
2. How to cure writer's block
3. Incentives for writing
4. How to find your writing style (and stick with it)
5. How to inspire yourself
6. When (and when not) you should stress
7. My NaNoWriMo plans for this year
And those are just seven of them!
One more thing: Guinevere, you asked if you could use an idea for your blog. Go right ahead! =)
Also, if you want to read some more reasons for pseudonyms, then just look under the comments in my posts of pseudonyms. Illunse had some great things to say!
See you all pretty soon!
And I've decided that I am doing NaNoWriMo. I may have to get up at 5:30 AM, but I will do it, and I will finish. I hope.
So, as you can imagine, this is going to effect my posts. Here are some of the things you'll see through October:
1. How to outline your novel idea
2. How to cure writer's block
3. Incentives for writing
4. How to find your writing style (and stick with it)
5. How to inspire yourself
6. When (and when not) you should stress
7. My NaNoWriMo plans for this year
And those are just seven of them!
One more thing: Guinevere, you asked if you could use an idea for your blog. Go right ahead! =)
Also, if you want to read some more reasons for pseudonyms, then just look under the comments in my posts of pseudonyms. Illunse had some great things to say!
See you all pretty soon!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Pseudonyms
{also known as aliases and pen-names}
Reasons to publish a book under a pseudonym:
1. If your books become really famous, you can say your real name without having to fear screaming fans requesting autographs. =)
2. You don't have to deal with people befriending you just because they know you're famous.
3. If someone is mad at you for publishing a book (say it has something controversial in it) they can't track you down as easily. Okay...creepy.
4. It gives you more privacy in general.
5. You can use the name you've always wanted to be called. =)
Two famous books that were published by people under pseudonyms are Alice in Wonderland (author's pen-name was Lewis Carrol) and Animal Farm (the author went by George Orwell)
I think I will publish under a pseudonym. I was toying with the idea for a bit, but now I decided I will. But I'm absolutely stumped as to what my pseudonym will be.
What do you guys think should be my real name?
(igirl, I know that you know my real name, so just think what you would have named me) =)
Actually, what would be really interesting to know is what do you picture me to look like. =)
Just throw out ideas that you guys think would suit my personality. I would really appreciate it!
Oh, and tell me if it's okay with you if I use the name you suggested. I know that if I made up a cool name I wouldn't want someone to take it without my permission.
Reasons to publish a book under a pseudonym:
1. If your books become really famous, you can say your real name without having to fear screaming fans requesting autographs. =)
2. You don't have to deal with people befriending you just because they know you're famous.
3. If someone is mad at you for publishing a book (say it has something controversial in it) they can't track you down as easily. Okay...creepy.
4. It gives you more privacy in general.
5. You can use the name you've always wanted to be called. =)
Two famous books that were published by people under pseudonyms are Alice in Wonderland (author's pen-name was Lewis Carrol) and Animal Farm (the author went by George Orwell)
I think I will publish under a pseudonym. I was toying with the idea for a bit, but now I decided I will. But I'm absolutely stumped as to what my pseudonym will be.
What do you guys think should be my real name?
(igirl, I know that you know my real name, so just think what you would have named me) =)
Actually, what would be really interesting to know is what do you picture me to look like. =)
Just throw out ideas that you guys think would suit my personality. I would really appreciate it!
Oh, and tell me if it's okay with you if I use the name you suggested. I know that if I made up a cool name I wouldn't want someone to take it without my permission.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Outlining Characters
It's very simple. All you have to do is think up what exactly you'll need to know about your character, and then you write it down. It comes in handy, especially if you have a hard time remembering the eye color of your character (like I do). You can keep it in front of you when you write, so when you have to look something up about your character you don't have to go skimming all the way back through your work.
Some things to get into an outline: general information, like their full name, age, etc; appearance, as in height, build, eye color, hair color; personality, such as faults, weaknesses, good qualities, strengths, reactions, so on.
An outline can be anything from basic to extensive. On this post, I'll post a template for a more basic outline. To show you what you might fill in, I'll make up a random character.
GENERAL
name: Susanna Smith
age: 17
book they appear in: Candle in a Dark Time
APPEARANCE
height: 5'7"
build: tall, slim, long, delicate
posture: arrow straight
hair color: light blond
eye color: dark brown
PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses: timidity, insecurity
good qualities and strengths: gentleness, humbleness, trustworthy
one word sum-up: quiet
reactions to loss: quiet turmoil
reactions to emergencies: panic, fear
reactions to surprise: edginess
reactions to a love confession: shock, joy
reactions to embarrassment: humiliation, shyness
MISCELLANEOUS
family: father and brother Herbert (20) in WWII, mother and Susanna in city, youngest sister Bridgett (age 11) in the country
Living in: London, England
occupation: student
famous connection: uncle and cousins in Underground
notes: secretly begins to work in the Underground, with mother's permission runs away to Norway to assist there.
Susanna Smith is (c) by me, by the way. I'm planning to write a book about her sometime. However, feel free to use my outline as an example! Here it is, not filled out, so that you don't have to copy and delete the stuff I put in the first one:
GENERAL
name:
age:
book they appear in:
APPEARANCE
height:
build:
posture:
hair color:
eye color:
PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses:
good qualities and strengths:
one word sum-up:
reactions to loss:
reactions to emergencies:
reactions to surprise:
reactions to a love confession:
reactions to embarrassment:
MISCELLANEOUS
family:
Living in:
occupation:
famous connection:
notes:
Also, for every character an outline can have different information. While Susanna Smith doesn't have a sword (she has a gun sometime in the book), for another character you might want to have information on the sword name, appearance, type, etc.
Have fun outlining your characters! For me, it's a cool activity in which I actually think about how I want to portray my character. It's a good way to figure out where you're going with your character, how you want others to see him/her, and so on. It's like having a chat with them. =)
Some things to get into an outline: general information, like their full name, age, etc; appearance, as in height, build, eye color, hair color; personality, such as faults, weaknesses, good qualities, strengths, reactions, so on.
An outline can be anything from basic to extensive. On this post, I'll post a template for a more basic outline. To show you what you might fill in, I'll make up a random character.
GENERAL
name: Susanna Smith
age: 17
book they appear in: Candle in a Dark Time
APPEARANCE
height: 5'7"
build: tall, slim, long, delicate
posture: arrow straight
hair color: light blond
eye color: dark brown
PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses: timidity, insecurity
good qualities and strengths: gentleness, humbleness, trustworthy
one word sum-up: quiet
reactions to loss: quiet turmoil
reactions to emergencies: panic, fear
reactions to surprise: edginess
reactions to a love confession: shock, joy
reactions to embarrassment: humiliation, shyness
MISCELLANEOUS
family: father and brother Herbert (20) in WWII, mother and Susanna in city, youngest sister Bridgett (age 11) in the country
Living in: London, England
occupation: student
famous connection: uncle and cousins in Underground
notes: secretly begins to work in the Underground, with mother's permission runs away to Norway to assist there.
Susanna Smith is (c) by me, by the way. I'm planning to write a book about her sometime. However, feel free to use my outline as an example! Here it is, not filled out, so that you don't have to copy and delete the stuff I put in the first one:
GENERAL
name:
age:
book they appear in:
APPEARANCE
height:
build:
posture:
hair color:
eye color:
PERSONALITY
faults and weaknesses:
good qualities and strengths:
one word sum-up:
reactions to loss:
reactions to emergencies:
reactions to surprise:
reactions to a love confession:
reactions to embarrassment:
MISCELLANEOUS
family:
Living in:
occupation:
famous connection:
notes:
Also, for every character an outline can have different information. While Susanna Smith doesn't have a sword (she has a gun sometime in the book), for another character you might want to have information on the sword name, appearance, type, etc.
Have fun outlining your characters! For me, it's a cool activity in which I actually think about how I want to portray my character. It's a good way to figure out where you're going with your character, how you want others to see him/her, and so on. It's like having a chat with them. =)
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
A Writing Tag!
Rules: Answer the questions, and then add two of your own!
What do you write your stories on?
I switch between my laptop and my various notebooks
What is your favorite kind of character?
The unusual ones, with quirks or tragic stories. The really strong ones. And I also admire the ones who are what they are and proud to be it (unlike many tomboy characters)
When you're asked what your story is about, what is your usual reaction?
Embarrassment. Know what I mean?
What is your biggest writing pet peeve?
I don't know. There are so many! Probably de-inspiration. Or all the technical stuff that has to go with publishing.
What is the biggest turn-off for you when reading a book?
Immorality and unoriginality. And stupid characters.
Your favorite era in history?
Uh...ancients, medieval, revolutionary war, and modern. =)
How many words on average do you punch out in one sitting?
It really depends. 3--2,000
Are you a fast typist?
Oh, yes.
What do you do for inspiration?
Pray. Sit outside. Feel the wind. Dance in the rain.
The truest writing quote you've ever heard:
Uh...I'm blanking out.
What's your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy
Favorite font to write with?
Century at 14.
Least-favorite writing prompt you've ever recieved?
Just write. Okaaaay...
What do you like better: Pens or Pencils?
Pens
How many books do you usually write at one time?
Very, very many. Right now...ten?
Have you ever tried writing something outside your usual genre?
Modern fiction, science fiction, short stories, historical fiction...pretty much everything.
Now I tag...
Earwen (if you still read my blog)
igirl
Nahla of the Eastern Winds
Hugs & Blessings,
Izori
What do you write your stories on?
I switch between my laptop and my various notebooks
What is your favorite kind of character?
The unusual ones, with quirks or tragic stories. The really strong ones. And I also admire the ones who are what they are and proud to be it (unlike many tomboy characters)
When you're asked what your story is about, what is your usual reaction?
Embarrassment. Know what I mean?
What is your biggest writing pet peeve?
I don't know. There are so many! Probably de-inspiration. Or all the technical stuff that has to go with publishing.
What is the biggest turn-off for you when reading a book?
Immorality and unoriginality. And stupid characters.
Your favorite era in history?
Uh...ancients, medieval, revolutionary war, and modern. =)
How many words on average do you punch out in one sitting?
It really depends. 3--2,000
Are you a fast typist?
Oh, yes.
What do you do for inspiration?
Pray. Sit outside. Feel the wind. Dance in the rain.
The truest writing quote you've ever heard:
Uh...I'm blanking out.
What's your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy
Favorite font to write with?
Century at 14.
Least-favorite writing prompt you've ever recieved?
Just write. Okaaaay...
What do you like better: Pens or Pencils?
Pens
How many books do you usually write at one time?
Very, very many. Right now...ten?
Have you ever tried writing something outside your usual genre?
Modern fiction, science fiction, short stories, historical fiction...pretty much everything.
Now I tag...
Earwen (if you still read my blog)
igirl
Nahla of the Eastern Winds
Hugs & Blessings,
Izori
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
MHUAHAHAHAHA! TORTURE TIPS!
Ahem. Not for little brothers, for your characters. Right, Catherine Morland?
#1. Make it realistic. If you want your character to survive the torture, then don't make it too drastic. If you want them to die, then don't make it just a level above harmless.
#2. Show that your character is in pain. Put a little in of their reaction, or make note of what they look like (i.e., beads of sweat on their forehead, ragged gasps for breath, speaking through clenched teeth).
#3. Physical torture is not your only option. I love Regina Doman's torture scene in Shadow of the Bear. (SPOILER) She not only has Fish suffer physically, but mentally as well when he is forced to watch Rose getting tortured. (END OF SPOILER) This technique is one of my favorites, although caution must be advised as sometimes this can get a little sappy if you're not careful. Also, it can also be cliche, such as when the character's true love is getting tortured before their eyes. However, add plenty of action and the reader won't notice. Lol.
#4. Consider your audience. Is the rest of your book written for eight year olds? Then you probably don't want to get too gruesome.
#5. Try 'invisible torture'. I love this one. I actually used it in my NaNoWriMo novel. These scenes are usually written from the perspective of one character. Usually, they only hear the screams and see the aftermath of the torture scene. Like, two characters are both sitting in a prison cell. #1 is suddenly dragged off by the jailer. #2 sits and listens, then screams break the silence. The thoughts and worries of #2 are shown. A half-dead #1 is dragged back. That is just a rough example. This is also really good for someone who isn't experienced at torture scenes.
#6. Make it good. Self-explanatory.
#7. If your too attached to your characters, then what? Well, get over it...? jk, lol. So anyway, if you can't bring yourself to torture your poor character, then make it up to yourself. Say, if you torture them, you'll make something really awesome happen to them that wasn't afore-planned.
If you have any more tips to add, then feel free to comment!
Izori
P.S. Happy *ahem* 25th Birthday to my wonderful mom!
#1. Make it realistic. If you want your character to survive the torture, then don't make it too drastic. If you want them to die, then don't make it just a level above harmless.
#2. Show that your character is in pain. Put a little in of their reaction, or make note of what they look like (i.e., beads of sweat on their forehead, ragged gasps for breath, speaking through clenched teeth).
#3. Physical torture is not your only option. I love Regina Doman's torture scene in Shadow of the Bear. (SPOILER) She not only has Fish suffer physically, but mentally as well when he is forced to watch Rose getting tortured. (END OF SPOILER) This technique is one of my favorites, although caution must be advised as sometimes this can get a little sappy if you're not careful. Also, it can also be cliche, such as when the character's true love is getting tortured before their eyes. However, add plenty of action and the reader won't notice. Lol.
#4. Consider your audience. Is the rest of your book written for eight year olds? Then you probably don't want to get too gruesome.
#5. Try 'invisible torture'. I love this one. I actually used it in my NaNoWriMo novel. These scenes are usually written from the perspective of one character. Usually, they only hear the screams and see the aftermath of the torture scene. Like, two characters are both sitting in a prison cell. #1 is suddenly dragged off by the jailer. #2 sits and listens, then screams break the silence. The thoughts and worries of #2 are shown. A half-dead #1 is dragged back. That is just a rough example. This is also really good for someone who isn't experienced at torture scenes.
#6. Make it good. Self-explanatory.
#7. If your too attached to your characters, then what? Well, get over it...? jk, lol. So anyway, if you can't bring yourself to torture your poor character, then make it up to yourself. Say, if you torture them, you'll make something really awesome happen to them that wasn't afore-planned.
If you have any more tips to add, then feel free to comment!
Izori
P.S. Happy *ahem* 25th Birthday to my wonderful mom!
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
Friday, December 18, 2009
Different Forms and Stages of Writing Block (according to me)
#1. Perfection Writers Block--this is when you have trouble with a scene, sentence, paragraph, or whatever of a book because 'it just doesn't seem right'. Your characters may have mutinied, your words may refuse to line up for you, and you are NOT enjoying it.
Cure: relax. There is no such thing as a perfect first draft, or second draft, or even third draft. Write it out, no matter how un-perfect it sounds, and move on. It's keeping you from finishing your book.
#2. Lazy/Bored Writers Block--this is one that I suffer the most from. Your book has become boring and/or you just don't feel like writing. Some forms of this (Procrastination Writers Block, Busy Writers Block) are coming up soon.
Cure: plunk yourself down and write. Pick a time and place where you won't be distracted, and truly write. If you are bored with your book, add something exciting. A drastic plot twist, a dramatic battle, a new character or setting...whatever.
#3. Biased Writers Block--this one is where you are usually just starting yet another book after you have ditched at least five of its predecessors. You are thinking that this is going to be just like the others; you eagerly work on the beginning of it, but then the novelty (no pun intended) wears off and you end up stuffing it into the back of your closet.
Cure: get out of that mindset. Tell yourself that this is one that your going to finish. And maybe you could even do so--write a very small first draft first, and then expand on it. That is what I did with Sarea, the first real book that I actually finished (or am close to finishing).
#4. Busy Writers Block is when you feel really rushed. You have a dozen places to be one after the other, lots of school work and chores and responsibilities, and you just don't have the time to write.
Cure: find the time. If you aren't the one driving (duh), and you don't get car-sick, write in the car. If you have a minute while waiting in the dentist's office, write. And so on.
#5. Procrastination Writers Block--that's where you keep on laying off writing. You may have convinced yourself that you don't have enough time to really write right now, or that you'll get on to it later. I think a lot of people suffer from this one. Myself included.
Cure: Don't procrastinate. Simple, huh? Even if you only have five minutes to write, write for five minutes. At least you wrote. And tell yourself that you might not have time to write tomorrow, so you should get it done now.
Now for the stages of writers block:
Stage Green--you don't have any writers block.
Stage Yellow--you have writers block, but it's just mild and you can pass the glitch easily. Only lasts for 2 seconds up to a day.
Stage Orange--writers block that is moderately hard. You've been staring at a blank page for a while, and keep on hitting the delete key over and over again. Last from over a day to three or four days.
Stage Red--severe writers block that can't be surpassed. Lasts from over four days to a long time. Like months. I had this once, and that started out as Procrastination Writers Block.
Stage Past-Red--writers block so bad that you don't write again. Ever. Thankfully, I don't know anyone who's had that.
Did I miss anything?
Izori
Cure: relax. There is no such thing as a perfect first draft, or second draft, or even third draft. Write it out, no matter how un-perfect it sounds, and move on. It's keeping you from finishing your book.
#2. Lazy/Bored Writers Block--this is one that I suffer the most from. Your book has become boring and/or you just don't feel like writing. Some forms of this (Procrastination Writers Block, Busy Writers Block) are coming up soon.
Cure: plunk yourself down and write. Pick a time and place where you won't be distracted, and truly write. If you are bored with your book, add something exciting. A drastic plot twist, a dramatic battle, a new character or setting...whatever.
#3. Biased Writers Block--this one is where you are usually just starting yet another book after you have ditched at least five of its predecessors. You are thinking that this is going to be just like the others; you eagerly work on the beginning of it, but then the novelty (no pun intended) wears off and you end up stuffing it into the back of your closet.
Cure: get out of that mindset. Tell yourself that this is one that your going to finish. And maybe you could even do so--write a very small first draft first, and then expand on it. That is what I did with Sarea, the first real book that I actually finished (or am close to finishing).
#4. Busy Writers Block is when you feel really rushed. You have a dozen places to be one after the other, lots of school work and chores and responsibilities, and you just don't have the time to write.
Cure: find the time. If you aren't the one driving (duh), and you don't get car-sick, write in the car. If you have a minute while waiting in the dentist's office, write. And so on.
#5. Procrastination Writers Block--that's where you keep on laying off writing. You may have convinced yourself that you don't have enough time to really write right now, or that you'll get on to it later. I think a lot of people suffer from this one. Myself included.
Cure: Don't procrastinate. Simple, huh? Even if you only have five minutes to write, write for five minutes. At least you wrote. And tell yourself that you might not have time to write tomorrow, so you should get it done now.
Now for the stages of writers block:
Stage Green--you don't have any writers block.
Stage Yellow--you have writers block, but it's just mild and you can pass the glitch easily. Only lasts for 2 seconds up to a day.
Stage Orange--writers block that is moderately hard. You've been staring at a blank page for a while, and keep on hitting the delete key over and over again. Last from over a day to three or four days.
Stage Red--severe writers block that can't be surpassed. Lasts from over four days to a long time. Like months. I had this once, and that started out as Procrastination Writers Block.
Stage Past-Red--writers block so bad that you don't write again. Ever. Thankfully, I don't know anyone who's had that.
Did I miss anything?
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
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tips on Curing Writer's Block
Rin gave me some great tips for curing writer's block when I asked for help a few weeks ago. Here's the ones I found the most helpful to me, and one that I added. (Rin, if you don't want me posting your tips, just let me know and I'll remove them. I won't mind).
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 clique, 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!
Izori
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 clique, 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!
Izori
Friday, September 11, 2009
Writer's block--some prevention tips
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say. It's actually true.
1). 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.
2). 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.
Izori
1). 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.
2). 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.
Izori
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Writer's Block
Writer's block is a condition, associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work--Wikipedia
I guess that tells you what writer's block is--not that you guys don't know. Probably every writer has got writer's block at least once. I know I've got it a lot more! But have you ever given much thought to what causes it?
One thing that is usually my problem is I lose interest. The book has reached a dull point, where there's no new characters, forming plots, or battles.
Or when I have just started a book with no clue where I'll go with it, I tend to quit. I'll just make up a character, and then try and write a story around her/him. And unless you have a random idea where the plot is going, that won't work.
Izori
I guess that tells you what writer's block is--not that you guys don't know. Probably every writer has got writer's block at least once. I know I've got it a lot more! But have you ever given much thought to what causes it?
One thing that is usually my problem is I lose interest. The book has reached a dull point, where there's no new characters, forming plots, or battles.
Or when I have just started a book with no clue where I'll go with it, I tend to quit. I'll just make up a character, and then try and write a story around her/him. And unless you have a random idea where the plot is going, that won't work.
Izori
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