On the Fifth Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me...

Hey guys!  Sorry about the wait on this post, I had some stuff come up last week that required me to put some things off for a bit.  On the fifth of October, the NaNoWriMo website was all fixed up and prepared for our event of the season, NaNoWriMo 2015!  So it's up and running and ready for you to put your novel up!  Make sure you head over and do that.
Okay, now down to business.
On the Fifth Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me… A general plot (part 3).  Here we are at the last stretch of this whole general plot thing.  The middle.  This is the part that I feel like is the most challenging, because this has to be exciting enough to keep the readers reading.  The middle is actually my favorite part of reading a good book, because by now, you should love it, and there's still an entire half of it to go!  I was reading the Fellowship of the Ring the other day and right about in the middle I was at the peak of my excitement.  I loved the book, and there was still a long way to go before it ended.
So how does one get a phenomenal middle?  Well, the midpoint is as middle as you can get, and this is where the excitement gets amped because of an event that happened.  For example, in the Incredibles (Pixar, Disney) the audience's interest level is dwindling, right before Bob's wife presses a homing beacon and Bob gets captured by the enemy.  Woo! That dwindling interest level is certainly not dwindling anymore.  Or at least, something like that.  So think of it as the second of your three plot points.  They all need to be just as interesting and exciting, so they're all equal.  Number one is the beginning, this is number two, and number three is the ending.
Number one in my book is the character enlists in WW1
Number two is his best friend deserts him
Number three is he lives happily ever after (or will he?)
So now that we have the three main plot points, we can fill it in with smaller events that we want to happen.  My recommendation for this is to write each event on a separate index card (I cut my index cards in threes so I don't use up more than is necessary), or a sticky note, then use tape that you can take on and off (I use artists' tape) or a tack and tack it to a cork board, or tape it to a piece of paper.  The reason for all this is so you can rearrange things as you see fit.

So how is your guys' NaNo plotting coming along?  Have you got a middle?  What's your favorite part of a book?  Let me know in the comments!

Viola June, HFA-DGN

On the Fourth Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me...

Hey everyone!  We have reached the fourth day of NaNo prep.  Let's get right in.
On the fourth day of NaNo prep my novel gave to me… A general plot (Part two).  Well this is way more exciting than yesterday, right?  *crickets*.  Yeah, that's what I thought.  In part two of my general plotting I go to my ending, skipping the middle because normally the middle is the hardest to figure out (for me).
The ending is critical, because the readers have to leave feeling satisfied, unless it's a series, then you should probably dish out dissatisfaction, but that's another subject for another time.  Sometimes you'll know your ending down to the very lines the characters speak, or sometimes it'll be simply a blur that gives you a rough idea of where you're headed.  For my current WIP I have it down to the line, but for my NaNo work, it's all a blur, so it really could go both ways.
What does your ending need?  How about a resolution?  Series or not, this is very important.  My current WIP is book one in a five book series.  Even though I plan on leaving a cliffhanger of sorts, I still have to give the readers something to hold on to, because I want to keep my readers.  So I'll end with leaving the characters in uncertainty, with a degree of certainty.  The readers will know where the characters are headed at that moment, but it'll almost be a frying pan into the fire situation, so even though the readers will know where the characters are going, they'll have absolutely no clue how the characters will get out of it.  For a one book show, the readers need to feel like the character is secure, wherever they're headed.  There can't be any "how will they get out of it this time?" because then it calls for another explanation, which isn't a resolution.
For my NaNo novel, the blur for the ending I have is the character learns their lesson, and lives semi-happily ever after.  The beginning is the character is involved in the new war, World War 1, or, the Great War.

How about you?  Have you figured out your ending?  Do you have a blur, or do you have it pinned down to the line?  Let me know in the comments!

Viola June HFA-DGN

On the Third Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me

Hey everyone!  Day before yesterday for the NaNo prepping days I discussed the making of your Main Character.  Later I'll be exploring a bit more into this, since yesterday was only meant as a jump start, but I will say this:  Keep thinking about your character!  Write down anything you think you want to add to them, and keep tweaking them.  They'll never be perfect (though that's sort of the point).
Anyways, on the third day of NaNo prep my novel gave to me… A general plot (part one).  This sounds boring, doesn't it?  Hang in there.  A plot in general has three acts, with special features in each acts.  You can go to K.M. Weiland's blog for a very good breakdown on plot structure.  Another label for these three acts can be "beginning" "middle" and "end".  You'll want to discover each in order to have a good idea of where you're headed.
Today I'm discussing the beginning we need something exciting to get the reader hooked on it.  Get them interested in what is going on, get them interested in the characters.  But that's all a bit too detailed for starts, today we'll just start with finding what the beginning of your story.  Not the exact moment that things start, just a general overlook.    My beginning starts with the characters trying to figure out what's going on (they're disorientated for… reasons).  If I were to go more exact, I would stay I start with a kidnapping, but tonight we're not talking about exactness, right now, we're just deciding what we start with.
So my beginning of my NaNo novel is World War One begins whilst the MC is tossed into the midst of it.  Beyond that, I've got absolutely no clue, but that's what we're brainstorming for!  Tomorrow I'll be touching on the middle, so look forward to it (or dread it, your choice).

What do you think?  Do you like to begin with plot, or characters?  Do you have your beginning figured out?  Let me know in the comments!

Viola June HFA-DGN

On the Second Day of NaNo Prep my Novel Gave to Me...

Hey all!  So today, I won't be rambling on and on about why you should join NaNoWriMo, I'll just get straight to the point.

On the Second Day of NaNo Prep my Novel gave to me… my Main Character.

I feel like character and plot play off of each other, and it doesn't particularly matter which on you start with, except for preferences.  If you start with plot, you end up with morphing your character around your plot, and if you start with plot, the character shapes the plot.  I personally prefer the latter, so I start with character.
So there are a few things you should know about your character before you write them, for instance, their gender.  That's slightly (not slightly, it's really a lot) important.  Let's go over a few!
1. Their Name.  Okay, so actually, I have heard of someone who has began their book without a name, but I feel like even a name adds conflict, and personality.  Why do you need these for your first draft?  Well, actually, I'm not sure you do.  But preparation for your first draft in ways like this lets you edit easier later on.
2.  Their gender.  Yes.  This is important.  Boy or girl, it matters.  I am not really sure if you can bypass this, but either way, I wouldn't.  It's a bit of easy prep (It should not take you hours to decide whether or not your MC is a gal or guy) that is pointless to bypass.
3.  Their favorite color.  Okay, this probably does seem a bit excessive, but I have heard multiple quotes about knowing much more about your character makes them feel more real because they actually have their own opinions and thoughts backing them, even though they may not show it.  You know I'm opinionated when I state my view on the Civil War with as much passion as I am wont to do, but you won't know my favorite color, my political position, my favorite book, or anything like that, unless I tell you.  However, even though I don't tell you what they are, you still (should.  I promise I'm not cardboard) get this sense or knowledge that I have a favorite color, political position, and a favorite book.  The same goes for a fiction character, because we're trying to help the reader trick their minds into thinking they're not reading fiction, but instead, living in fantasy.  The characters should have things like a favorite color (among other favorites [my friends will tell you that this is my favorite introductory question.  What is your favorite everything]).  Again, this you could probably skip, but knowing the most about your character before sending them into their story is better, because weaving personality into an already woven work is a lot harder than weaving it as you weave the work.
4.  What they look like.  I'm sorry, yes I did say things you need to know earlier, but I actually do consider these all necessary when I make characters.  I'll go on Pinterest and find who looks like them, then I'll save that mental image in my head, as well as to my board.  Why do this?  Because as your readers read, they don't hear the name, they see the face.  Our brains remember things so much better when we have a mental image of it.  If you, as the writer, don't see their face every time you type their name, picturing how they act in the scene, then you probably don't know what they look like enough to keep that mental image in your head, which means the readers don't either, which means they're probably seeing a blur when they think of the character, which ruins the illusion that they're in a real place.  This can be edited in later, but again, it's so much harder to put it in later, because it's part of the character's fabric of reality.
5. Their MBTI (optional).  See, this time I put optional down.  But I do highly recommend it.  Knowing their MBTI is very helpful in creating a cast for your character so they don't occasionally slip out of character and shake the reality of the book.  (I believe I've said it before, but I'll do so again, I don't believe that using whatever site you're using says you are [i.e. INFP] as a cast for you.  You can be whatever you want to be, as long as you're not being fake, but characters are a different thing because in reality, they are fake things pretending to be real, and in the long run, you decide what they do, not them.)

So I like to take all the information I deem necessary and I like to spill it out onto a single page.  I'll give you an example of one of my character sheets (I make them even if they don't have a book they belong to.)

SAGE OWENS- ENTJ
Female; 22; Ginger hair; Pale skin; British; Freckles; 5'5; 120lbs (Yes, I know the Brits use a different measuring system for weight); ...  Despite her TJ (Of the ENTJ) part of appearing evil, she's actually a good girl at heart, and always endeavors to see things from other people's perspective, even though she mostly fails.  She's very smart, though she never planned on following her parents' plan of several doctorates.  Instead, she simply decided on a doctorate in engineering...She hasn't got time for relationships, since her parents siphon money off her like a blood bat, but she secretly hopes that one day a tolerable man would come along.  ...  She doesn't make jokes often, but when she does, you'd probably miss them.  Emerald eyes; thin upper lip, thick bottom; round face; long legs, short torso; delicate skin.  She's allergic to dairy, and doesn't like it anyways.  She adores flowers, but doesn't tell anyone that.  Born February second.

So why did I give you half my info load on one of my characters?  As an example.  When she is in a book, you will probably never know she loves flowers, or is allergic to dairy.  So why in the world is it there?  Because it adds to her, giving her a richness she wouldn't have if I simply put:

SAGE OWENS
Female; 22; Ginger hair; Pale skin; British; Freckles; 5'5; 120lbs (Yes, I know the Brits use a different measuring system for weight);  Emerald eyes; thin upper lip, thick bottom; round face; long legs, short torso; delicate skin.

One feels more real, doesn't it?  Writing the latter Sage Owens would be hard because I wouldn't know her.  Writing the former would be much easier, having spent time with her.

So what are your thoughts?  Do you like to think of plot or character first?  How do you get to know your characters?  Let me know in the comments!

Viola June HFA-DGN

On the First Day of NaNo Prep My Novel Gave to Me...

Hey guys!  So I decided to do a blog post series on NaNoWriMo preparation, and because I'm way too excited for the holiday seasons, I am naming each post something akin to the 12 days of Christmas, though it might be 31 days, or it might be 2 (let's hope not).
So First, why participate in NaNoWriMo?  Well, there are plenty of good reasons, and you can find them all over the web, or even come up with some of your own, but here are a few of mine.
1. A strong sense of accomplishment at the end.  Honestly, it feels so good to be a winner.  If you're still in High School or younger, you could do the Young Writer's Program (YWP) and set your word count for what you think you can do, or you could go for the 50k, or even shoot for more, if you're up for it.
2. It kills your inner editor.  Why am I excited about this one?  Because I believe in small goals.  Let me explain.  I like to have checkpoints periodically spread out through everything, because if I don't, then I look at the entire project as a whole and get discouraged as I take "forever" to complete it.  Using a book as an example, The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.  This is a long book.  Not as long as some, but still long.  It can take a very long time to read it, and without chapters, I would never have finished it.  Reading a chapter a day is doable (Though with this particular book, I finished it in three days because I couldn't put it down), but what happens if there aren't any chapters to finish?  You get discouraged because it seems like you aren't getting anywhere fast.  (This is mostly hypothetical for example's sake).  With an inner editor, you go back and fix your typos, correct clunky sentences, and rewrite character's lines over and over again till they sound like the character.  You sit, blocked at a certain point in the book because you can't climb the hill nicely.  Without an inner editor, you get a first draft like my current one (which shall never see the light of day, by the way).  The amount of typos, out of character sentences, and clunky sentences is embarrassing.  (This is probably because last NaNoWriMo I killed my inner editor stone dead.  When editing time comes around I'm gonna need a major miracle).  So since my inner editor is dead, I can finish the first draft sooner.  Checkpoint no. 1.  Then I edit the first draft of all typos.  Checkpoint no. 2.  You get the idea?  Cutting the steak into small pieces is easier to eat than stuffing the entire thing in your mouth.
3.  It's fun.  Okay, this can be opinion, but as a writer, writing, is fun.  Writing in a semi-social, extremely encouraging "you can do anything and we're all here to help you" is amazing.  I honestly didn't know that writers were all super supportive of each other until I joined NaNo.  People make it fun by making sure that you know that they believe in you.  Even if you procrastinate until two days are all you've got left, I've heard of someone who wrote the entire 50k in those two days.  (Also, Ray Bradbury wrote Fahrenheit 450 [about 46k] in nine days)  Some great authors have written entire novels in 6-8 weeks, (Little Women by Louisa May Alcott is one of them) and the word count is way above 50k.  So you can do it!  1,667 words a day, isn't actually that much, all things considered.  You may be thinking "But I'm not like that", but how do you know, if you've never tried?  In the words of my favorite band, Superchick, "Failures are flyers who touch down, only they know what it's like to leave the ground." and the song (Rockstar) goes on to say that it's okay to fail sometimes, as long as you try, and keep trying.  Honestly, it's fun to fail for the first time in NaNo because you see that this gigantic community of writers, don't judge you.  They understand the challenge, and that everyone is different.
4. It's a reason to drink excessive amounts of coffee, sit around in sweats and a t-shirt all day, and write.   Okay, I don't need a reason to do this, because I do college online and sit around, drinking coffee all day, in sweats and a t-shirt, but what I like about NaNo is it's a celebrated action.  I'm just kidding... sort of.  When you do this in your daily life, you get dressed up to go to social events.  When you do this in NaNo, social events are write ins on Youtube, and they expect you to be nice and comfortable for it all.  Anyways, it relates back to No. 3.  They (Wrimos) understand.  And that is very amazing.

So now that I've rambled for a bit about why, I'm going to talk about some prep in this the first installment of "The days of NaNo Prep" (Yeah, I just made that up)

On the first day of NaNo Prep my novel gave to me… An idea.
Whoop.  Yep, that's it.  You can't write anything without an idea.  So this fancy schmancy idea is a genre, and a basic setting,  or maybe a character, or maybe even a single line of dialogue that inspired you to write a book centering on it.  Mine was the genre and the setting.  This NaNo I'll be writing historical fiction (yeah, yeah, I know, I've already dug myself a hole with all that research) set in the Great War (WW1), and actually, I got the moral of it, which is a little bit of a different take on the conventional method of looking at forgiveness.  This is all very hefty stuff, so I'm probably going to mull it over for a few days, whilst brainstorming (and researching).
So how does one get an idea?  Well here's a few of my suggestions, and ideas.
1. Go for a walk.  Whaaaa?  Yep, I said it.  Leave the house?  You bet.  Look about at the trees, listen to the wind (or swelter under a blazing sun, depending on where you are), and just generally be aware. Think about what ifs, and such, because, what if you get a story idea that really inspires you?  Also, exercise and clean air (Okay, where I live the air isn't exactly clean, but it is refreshing from the stuffy house) are great at clearing your head and opening new thoughts.
2.  Look at items in front of you.  Right now.  Yes, now.  You probably have your device (whatever you're reading this on), some sort of piece of furniture, maybe a few embellishments.  I have a coffee table, pencil box, binder, three books, three coffee cups, a water cup, some hair stuff, scissors, and some other misc stuff.  What story ideas can I get from that?  Maybe a character wake up every morning and drinks their cup of coffee.  What they don't realize is every morning, their cup is clean, and they didn't wash it.  So they're taking for granted that someone in the house loves them enough to clean up after them every single day.  They can go on to realize that you don't miss something until it's gone, when they realize one morning their coffee cup isn't where it normally is.  It's still on the table, still dirty.  Then you can have a bunch of subplots and stuff.
3. Listen in on people's conversations at your local cafe.  People watch.  You can get a lot ideas just from the daily life happening around you.  You just need to open your eyes (no.2) and ears (no. 3) .  Pay attention, and take notes (not necessarily literally).  I wrestle with my brother, quote endless movies with my family, break out into song with my entire family (Actually, literally.  Me, my brother, and my aunt made one of our friend's mom look back at us from her conversation with my mother in confusion when we all broke out into some song together).  So what story ideas can I get from my daily life?  Maybe a character sings all the time, until one day somebody they look up to tells them to be silent for once, and they live the rest of their life endeavoring to climb out of the insecurity that one person, who had a lot of influence over them, tossed them into.  There is so much you can get from life by just paying attention.

So what do you think?  Do you have any specific ways you like to find inspiration?  Or reasons you like to participate in NaNoWriMo (if you do participate in NaNoWriMo).  Let me know in the comments section!

Viola June HFA-DGN

Flash Fiction

Hey all!  So today I was thinking about Flash Fiction, and all, a lot, a few, or none of you may be wondering what Flash Fiction is, so I'll start out with a short description of it:  "fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer in its entirety."  If you look "Flash Fiction" up in the search box on Google, that is literally what you get.
So why would one write flash fiction when they can write novels, or short stories?
1. Practice.  They are practice for quite a lot of things, actually.  I have a small problem with condensing everything I say, so flash fiction for me is easier than for the normal writer, so how would I use it to practice?  By expanding it into a short story.  What I do is I write the flash fiction, then I stretch the story out into 7.5k, or something akin to that.  For those of you who have problems with making your stories too long, you can use Flash Fiction to practice being concise.  
2. Satisfaction.  I believe satisfaction is very important in the writing world.  I don't like those "How to write faster" or "Write a book in a week" or "How to get paid easy for your writing" or stuff like that because I believe that you've got to work for your daily bread.  There is no easy way out.  "Nothing ever comes to anyone that is worth having, except as a result of hard work." -Booker T. Washington.  However, if you spend 8 years writing one book, you never feel like you're accomplishing anything.  If you write and complete a short story, or flash fiction in a week (whilst still working on your current novel project), then you feel like you got something done, which should give you more energy to continue on with your project.  Anyways, it works for me.
3. You Gain Experience.  Yep, I said it.  Exp.  You know, in video games (let's use Minecraft as an example) you do stuff to gain experience, or "Exp".  In Minecraft when you mine coal, which you need constantly, you get experience, but when you mine iron, which you don't need, and you don't gain exp when you mine it.  You need to practice writing, and as you write short stories, or flash fiction, either one, you get experience in developing character, plot, and setting, and you can practice with more different situations because you don't need as much time to complete one.  

So my suggestion to you, if you want to write some flash fiction, is to get out and research a bit (Before I put up my own post about flash fiction, of course) about it.  They are easy to write, and don't take that much time to write, at all.  Seriously, just 15 minutes of your day to write 250 words, or half an hour to write 500, or whatever your WPM (Word per minute) is, it's not a lot of time.  Even a Hemingway (6-word story) is considered flash fiction.  You could utilize dishwashing to think up a story in six words, then edit and revise this six word sentence later.  While washing dishes.  That is an incredibly efficient way to use your time.  Of course, there are times when vegetables seem like they have a good idea of life and you just wish to join them, and so you use dishwashing time as veggie time, and in that case, you'll get no judgement from me, actually I do that sometimes too.  

Anyways, what do you think?  Have you tried Flash Fiction?  Let me know in the comments section!

Viola June HFA-DGN

Writing Slumps: The Ins and Outs

Hey everybody!  So recently I've been in a writing slump, and, climbing out of it, I realized it probably would be a good time to talk about it.
What is a "writing slump"?  It is when you literally do anything else you can (Seriously, I reorganized my entire kitchen, bathroom, and my room is cleaner than it's been in months) in order to avoid writing.  Then when you do get yourself to sit down at that desk with your laptop, alphasmart, typewriter, pen and paper (pencil?), whatever you use to draft your novel or short story, you find you have "Writer's Block", and can't pump anything of good quality out.  Don't worry, I've been there too (see above), and I know how it feels.  Oh my word, do I know how it feels.  Well, worry not!  We'll get you climbing out in no time.
So how do you get INTO a writing slump?  A few ways.  One, don't write; get out of the habit of writing daily and just stop doing it, letting your manuscript simply sit there for days, even weeks on end.  Two, you come to a halt in your writing where it's really hard to write the next part; I've been here too, don't worry.  Places like I don't want to portray my character as the big meanie (because he's my baby!) and have to go through this mental process where I tell myself he HAS to do it to move the plot along.  Or maybe your character is in a really hard situation and now YOU have to think of a way out while using the "Q factor".  Three, you just get lazy and want to take a break from writing, but this sort of relates to no. 1 above.
So I really want to expound a bit on number two.  What is the "Q factor"(Taken from James Scott Bell's book, "The Art of War for Writers")?  The Q factor is based on James Bond, 007.  He has a friend that he just calls "Q" that at the beginning, middle, SOMEWHERE in the movie, Q gives him his gadgets.  That way when he pulls out a laser knife, dangling above a pool of sharks near the climax, you know and don't question where the thing came from.  I firmly believe that "Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating." (from Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling), and as such, my characters end up in a lot of trouble that I have to think of a non coincidental way to dig them out, and let me tell you, every time I hit one of these spots, I have to fight the writing slump blues.
Now, for the getting out part.  This part there are a few options that help in the final battle, but overall it just leads back to your main antagonist (not literally).  Just like your character, the thing that motivated and antagonized them to get on this road is the thing they have to go back and face, but along the way the character gets upgrades, preparing them to meet the thing that beat them in the first place.  It's like Inigo Montoya from the Princess Bride.  He confronts his main antagonist, but he wasn't strong enough and failed, then he went and became the best sword master (Actually, a Wizard, the rank beyond master, but that's another subject entirely) in the world (aside from Westley), then came back and killed his main antagonist.  In essence, that's what you have to do.  You were beaten by one of the three things listed above, and you can do as many writing exercises as you like, but in the end you will need to face that scene, or getting back into a habit of writing.
So, what are some methods to gear you up to fight your main antagonist?  Lets take a look:
1.  Find little writing prompts around the house and sit down and write a page about the prompt.  Not only will this give you material to use for later, it gets your writing muscles exercising again.  What do I mean by "find little writing prompts"?  Simply that.  I'm at my desk right now, and I look ahead and see what's on it, I find a plastic mic, sticky notes, pens, watercolor brushed, organizer boxes, kleenex, etc.  What kind of prompts can I get from that?  Lets take the plastic mic and write a scene with it.  Make it as crazy as you can (Not about the plastic mic, just about something you see some whereabouts).  For instance, I would probably have a machine going and the main character takes the plastic mic, the only thing on hand and nearby, and he/she has one chance at this.  They take the mic and toss it, and it misses, bouncing of an obstruction.  It flies straight up in the air, hanging for a millisecond before plunging back down and slamming down on the concrete.  (No coincidences, remember?)  Every thing is over now, the MC has lost, and then, they wake up from a fitful sleep, drenched in sweat.  (No, I DO NOT make a habit of having everything be a dream, I'm against it, but I couldn't think of anything to do in one sentence and I'm giving you advice, not a story)
2. Take five minutes and write everything you can about a character, setting, or plot point.  Only one at a time, mind you.  This gets you all hyped up about it, and excited to get writing again.  You remember why you started the story, and it's helpful in getting you ready to face the antagonist.
3.  Take a moment and drag your book back to the plot board.  (Kicking and screaming, if you must).  See if there are any new angles you can explore, or expound.  I recently added a forest, and that's kind of big, so it helps.  This also gets you excited again.  (I'm getting hyped just writing about getting hyped)
4.  Write.  *Gasp* yeah, I know, right?  This is where you face the antagonist and just do it.  Just write your story.  Especially if it's just the first draft!  Because the first draft is where you dump everything onto paper, and the second draft is where you rearrange and cut and add and stuff.  You can write your character learning they can fly and come back and change it later.  Throw Murphy's Law (Anything bad that can happen, will happen) at them.  Throw the most wild thing you can at them to add spice.  Then don't worry about it!  You can, and probably will, come back and change it later.  Or you can write sensibly, but where's the fun in that?

So what do you guys think?  See anything I missed?  How do you get out of writing slumps?  Let me know in the comments section!

Viola June HFA-DGN

"Write What You Know"

Hey all!  So there's this saying that always made me so worried, and I'm sure you've heard it.  It's "write what you know".  Why did this bother me so much?  Because I was home schooled my entire life, and I'm planning on getting my BA on an online college in which you can move at your own pace and things aren't really done in a conventional manner.  So I was worried because I would only have one story to write, mine, and mine is not really an interesting one.  Aside for the eccentric writer part, because I'd say that's fairly interesting.
Another thing is several celebrated writers can't possibly know a thing about the worlds the write, except they come out of their own head, so where does this age old statement come from?  I mean, Tolkien, with his Middle Earth, sure.  He's traveled 18 miles a day for something akin to a year (I don't remember the exact time length) to throw a deadly freedom-and-world-destroying gold ring into the only volcano that would destroy this said ring and flies away on giant eagles just before being consumed by lava.  He was also only 3 feet tall.  At least, the story goes something like that.  (All of that about Tolkien was sarcasm, in case you didn't catch it).  Then there's C.S. Lewis, Ray Bradbury, George Orville, William Golding, etc.  Seriously, a lot of authors don't write about what they have personally experienced.  I sure don't.
So I ask again, where did this saying come from?  And why is it still around today if authors clearly don't listen?  I was asking myself this question on the way home from a day-trip to a beach, my dog had been naughty and was now a stinky mess, and I was not happy.  So of course, I began thinking philosophical thoughts about how I didn't like taking care of my dog and being responsible.  At which point, it hit me.  All these authors DID follow this advice.  The only thing was I had got it wrong.  I had taken the advice at point blank meaning, and didn't look further.  "Write what you know" doesn't refer to events taking place, though I'm sure it can, it refers to emotions and characteristics and the way the brain works.  I had wanted to dump my dog and the responsibility of her onto somebody else (like my brother, but she has separation anxiety that makes her hard to deal with for anybody else but me and I just COULDN'T do that to her), in the same way that older siblings might want to ditch their younger siblings, then regret it later.  I knew what that felt like now.  I know what it feels like to have people want to ditch you, or at least not be around you.  I know what it feels to feel loved, and unloved.  I can write a character with people wanting to ditch her and not be around her, yet she find solace in the silence, so even though hatred, or dislike, may boil inside of her for those people who scorned her existence, she can find peace in the quiet where no one shoves her out, maybe out in nature where the birds' singing is a balm to her troubled soul.  Now I've never had it that extreme, but because of my taste of that behavior, I can successfully write a character who has experienced something much worse, of the same ilk.  Someone who has never been treated like that will perhaps have to do research or get lucky, or struggle with writing an unrealistic character.
I believe characters are the epicenter of story writing.  If you write a story, there is a very large (Probably 99) percent chance you'll be writing about something personified.  A tree living it's life becomes personified.  That being said, I believe this phrase refers not to situation per say, but to personality and characters.

So what do you think?  Do you think this applies to characters or situations?  Maybe both?  Let me know in the comments section!

Viola June HFA-DGN

Social Media… For Writers

Hey guys!  Sorry, it's been a while since I posted last, but here I am, once more!  All vacationed and busied out.  So let's get down to business, of course, the real reason why you're here.
So.  Social Media.  The destroyer, or savior, of writers.  It really can go either way, depending on how you use it.  I'm here to tell you about both ways, the one so you can avoid it and the other so you can utilize it.
The destroyer.  How can Social Media, the big fat monster, destroy your writing?  Simple, it distracts you from writing, and if you don't write on one day and say "I will make up for it tomorrow", let me tell you, you really won't.  Normally it'll go "I'll make up for it tomorrow" and tomorrow comes around and it's even easier to put your writing off once more.  And again.  And again.  And I really don't think I need to go on, because I think you get the picture.
I am going to tell you a secret to writing.  It's the greatest secret out there, and the best thing about it is it's hidden in plain sight, and everybody says it, but nobody really listens to it.  So open your ears, and get your brain juices ready for contemplation.  Writers write.  Whoa.  Who knew, right?  Just kidding, that's only the beginning of what I was going to say.  Write every day.  Don't ever put it off.  If you think "I should write right now…" then think "But I'd rather do this…" MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY.  Red flag.  You. Are.  A.  Writer.  W-R-I-T-E-R writer.  Like I said, writers write.  If you put it off because you'd rather be doing something else then you need to think again.  Are you a writer? Yes. (Or no, but I'm not touching that)  Do you want to be published?  Yes.  (If not, I don't believe you) Will getting on Facebook RIGHT NOW to check what Mary Doe three states over is doing right at this very moment help you to reach your goal?  No.  I really, honestly, don't think so.  Unless she's actually a character in your novel, but that's also not what we're talking about.  The point is social media's destroying side comes under the sweet, well known name of PROCRASTINATION and DISTRACTION.  Don't procrastinate, or get distracted.  Do you have something important to do?  Like school, or something (Or better yet, writing) then do that, so you can get to writing faster.  Keep your goal in mind of being a published author (Or whatever your actual goal is) and DON'T LET GO.  "Whenever you feel like quitting, remember why you started."
The savior.  Now THIS is the tricky part.  This is like walking a tight wire and you're walking over a vat of lava known as procrastination, so if you don't trust yourself to be responsible with your time online, then please don't attempt this.
Social media can help you grow your fan base.  Get your followers hyped up about your book that's coming out.  Talk about it.  Hashtag #amwriting so other writers can find you.  Trust me, writers are a very supportive group for the most part because they understand what you're going through.  Share your experiences with writing.  These past few things are mainly concerned with blogging, or Twitter, or Facebook.  Now, Pinterest is a bit different because the uniqueness of it.  You can create boards for your novels, pin pictures of what you envision your characters look like, pin quotes of what your characters could say.  If people follow this board, once again, it would build a fan base.  Not for a while because, just like all things, you must be patient.  But I know that when I look at boards that are story boards, normally just the first time through, I want to read the book right off the bat.  For me, it's better than reading the back of the book.  You can find character inspiration, architecture inspiration, plot inspiration, seriously.  Inspiration is very easily birthed on Pinterest.  But all of these websites, for me in particular, are more distracting than helpful, so weigh your choice.
Another thing:  No, I don't believe writers should be all work and no play, I believe the two are blended, in a writer's life.  Everywhere you look you see story ideas, plot points, and mostly, character inspiration.  I can't watch a movie without being inspired to write something that would be comparable, or better.  I can't read a book without catching mistakes that should have been edited out.  I can't go to Starbucks without analyzing at least ONE person.  This is life as a writer.  You lay awake in bed at night thinking about what next.  How will your character climb that wall?  Or how will that character die (Ehehehehe… *cough* sorry)? Or what if the bad guys win?  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?  Writing is putting life down on paper, encrypted.  If you don't pay attention to life and apply it's concepts to your work, you can never improve.  What I'm trying to say is no, writers don't have all work and no play, neither do they have all play and no work.  Their "play" and "work" are delicately intertwined, so yes, getting distracted on social media is not always a bad thing.  Just remember what you want with your life, and social media should never be your destroyer.  Just that annoying but fun and entertaining friend.

What do you think?  Can social media help, or destroy?  How?

Viola June HFA-DGN

Cliches in YA

Hey guys!  So, I think we can all agree that YA is one of the most cliched genres out there.  You have the "strong" female lead, the love triangle, the perfect guys, and the list goes on and on and on.  Actually, I'll list a few here, before I address them, how to fix them, or how to catch them, whatever.

1. "Strong" Female Characters.-  Okay, so just because I can, I'm going to use a few of my characters as examples.  But before I do, let me say that females are not the only strong specimen of our species.  Face it ladies.  I'm sure you don't like having to take out the trash, and just because somebody is physically strong, doesn't mean they can't be emotionally or mentally strong.    I feel like the term "strong" is majorly misunderstood, and I don't feel like I fully understand it myself, but I'm learning.  One of my characters, is a girl who despises weakness.  One would suppose immediately from that that she's strong, but she's not.  She tries to be her depiction of strong.  Along the way, she learns that strong isn't what her early days idea of it is.  I'm more of a fan of making strong males and weak females rather than vice versa.  Unnecessarily weak males in books to make the females seem stronger is frankly, sickening.  Since you guys should know by now that I'm Christian, I'll say that God created man first.  He created man to take care of women.  Now, woman can take care of herself, but nobody likes to be the guard all the time.  Okay?  Okay.  (That was not a reference to tFiOS, but if you'd like to think that, go ahead).  P.S.  Girls aren't always jerks either, and neither are guys.  Vice versa, they're not always paragons.  Guys.  A little bit will do of each, thank you.  Everyone has flaws, and breaking points, and pluses in their character.

2. You guessed it.  The love triangle.- Really, I shouldn't have to explain this one, but I will.  Every romance is so much sweeter and more beautiful, if there isn't competition, but there are trials along the way.  Actually, I think I've shipped people who weren't in love triangles much more than those in such.    Such as Hiccstrid, and a few others.  But it's better than a character who gives hope to one suitor, the changes their mind.  Stop being fickle, YA characters!  Pick a side and stay there.  I also notice that most times, girls are the ones who are trying to make up their minds.  Okay, so I would say that most times, girls throw themselves at guys, not the other way around.  However, that could just be the part of the World I've seen, and I could be wrong.  But still, I didn't even choose a "team" in tHG until someone asked me.  I honestly didn't care.  Now, would you rather up the tension via Love Triangle, and get people mildly shipping them, or pair your MC with the character of your choosing, have the readers (Or, me, at least) shipping a lot more, and up the tension via actual problems, (MAJOR SPOILERS TO HTTYD: like being attacked by a crazy maniac who can control dragons and kills your MC's dad?  Bang!  Proves how much Astrid cares about Hiccup by her reaction.)

3. 1st person present tense.- okay, I don't know if this is actually a cliche, but in tHG, I really didn't like how the tense was written.  It messed with my head.  

4. Trilogy- Okay, this has gotten irritating.  So much so that I'm actually expanding something I planned to be a trilogy into five books (Which is REALLY HARD work for me because I condense really well).  I understand that trilogies are nice amount of book and all, but add in all the other cliches and you have something people call "the Hunger Games all over again."  And I know how much you Maze Runner fans hate being compared to them (Which the latter was actually written first).  Imagine if it were your own book being compared?

5. Dumbed Down Language- Okay, OKAY.  This needs to stop.  We're teenagers.  We have brains.  We have dictionaries.  I'm not saying that you have to use words like "exponentially", "Supercalafragilisticexpialadocious"(Which should really be a word in my computer's dictionary by now), or "Raxicoricofalibatorious" (Not blaming my computer for that.) "Stupendous" "ludicrous" every single page, but try to talk like you're speaking intelligently, or to an adult, because that's what teenagers want to be treated like.  Not kids, adults.  

6. The main character succeeds at everything.- Major case of this in Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers", and it's funny.  D'artangan literally never fails in a duel.  Sometimes he's a bit late, but he is a 17th century France paragon, basically.  Don't let your character be a their century paragon.  Don't justify their sins.  For all the Bible people, King Saul justified his sins.  King David repented for his, and that's the main difference between the two.  You want your character to be more like David, I'm sure.

7. Pills/medicine to revoke emotions.-Okay, I've also contemplated this one, but it does seem cliche.  But, I'm going to agree with people, and what they've said.  Cliches are practically impossible to avoid. However, put a new spin on them.  Instead of them revoking emotions, what if they added emotions?  I'm not going to go on, because you should brainstorm for yourself, but really.

8. No actual damage to Earth.-Okay, Dystopian?  Future world that has been in war?  THERE SHOULD BE SOME ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.  Don't you think?  I do.

Okay, so these are my opinions.  What are yours?  Do you think YA is extremely cliched?  What do you think some of those cliches are?  Comment down below!

-Viola June HFA-DGN

What Tools Do I Use to Write?

Hey guys!  Okay, so everybody has different tools they use for writing and sometimes it's fun to see if anyone does something different.  That's what I'm doing, showing you the tools I use to write.

The question is "what tools do I write?" And the answer is: Well, for plotting, I like to use permanent marker and post its.  I'll add a pen in too, occasionally.  I've also used white board to easily write things down and change them if I don't like them. Then I'll transfer the notes on that to my sticky notes.  

Something else I like to use for plotting is just good ol' pen and paper, but that's not as fun.

For the actual writing process I'll use my laptop, mostly.  I really want to start writing it down in pen first, because I agree with what one blogger said and that's that if you use pen and paper for your fist draft, it's helpful for editing, and you don't have to worry about the computer deleting it.  While I do want to do that, I find that I don't have enough paper right now, and no funds in my pocket to buy any, so I'm sticking to my laptop.  I'll also occasionally use my phone if I'm on the go, but that's tedious sometimes.  Programs I use on my laptop are:

Scrivener.  This is an extremely cool AND extremely organized word processor.    I bought it using the winners goodies from NaNoWriMo 2014, and as of yet, I haven't regretted it.

Pages.  This is the Mac's natural word processor, and sometimes I like to skip the fancy stuff and get right down to business (anyone else singing a Disney song in their head?).

iCloud.  This is really helpful.  At the end of the day, I'll back my work up onto my pages on iCloud, which makes it easily accessible from anywhere that has a device and Internet.

YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify.  I know YouTube is not generally a music place, but sometimes if I don't want suggested music from Spotify or Pandora and just want to listen to a single album (my spotify doesn't work on the computer sometimes) I'll use YouTube, but that is rare.  Pandora and Spotify kind of speak for themselves.  Music.

Alphasmart Neo.  Now I don't have one of these yet, but I thought I'd put it down because I am highly anticipating getting it (I'm going to get one soon).  This is a word processor that does not connect to the Internet.  It's basically a digital typewriter, without the distraction from the Internet and Gallaga like the computer does.  (Yes that was an obscure reference to the Avengers).  Sounds cool, right?

For editing I like to use the traditional red pen and printed out manuscript, but like I said, we're low on paper, so I'm not quite sure what I'll do this time around.  Guess we'll have to wait and see, eh?

Well, thanks for reading, and hope your day is excellent!  Au revoir! 

-Viola June HFA-DGN