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
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
3D Characters-Voicing
Hey guys! Today I would like to discuss voicing, and how you can help your characters to each find their own individual voices.
When you speak to your friends, you probably don't use the same phrases and terms as they do, do you? I sure don't. (To be honest, I think I'm the only person I know to use words like "groovy" and "radical").
So why are character voices so important? Because without different voicing, it becomes all one blended, muddled voice that, should you clear it up a bit, turns out to just be your voice. There's a type of music that is in Baroque music (Yeah, yeah, I know, "if it ain't baroque, don't fix it") called Polyphonic. This music means there are several voices, enabling the music to feel more 3D, instead of just notes on a page. Different voices for the characters are exactly the same. All the same voice equals 2D writing, and different voices equals 3D. It's actually amazing how much this is true.
Here's a tiny bit of what my character's different voices sound like, so you know what I mean:
Ember: "Could you please find something else to do?"
Winter: "It'd be nice iffen ye could find something better to do."
J.P.: "I'd be mighty pleased if you would be findin' somethin' more productive to be doin'."
Now these characters really are extremes, which is handy for the sake of example, but a change in voicing could be as small as changing one word in a sentence, like asking "anything" instead of "something", but all the other words stay the same
So how do you find, and differentiate your character's voices? There are several methods.
1. Journal your characters! Write a journal entry from your character's perspective. I found this method in James Scott Bell's book "The Art of War for Writers". When I used this method in particular, I didn't find it entirely helpful, but it did allow me to dig a bit deeper into their personalities.
2. Role Play your characters. I DID find this one helpful, though I didn't learn about it from any particular source, me and my friends were just trying it out. It's very helpful because you learn how the characters interact with other people. You can use any of your characters and squeeze them into any setting you think fit then watch them run. Once I used three characters from three different projects. Your characters can gradually find their own voice when they interact with others. Let them speak their words.
3. Just write their story! I didn't quite find the three above's voices until I began actually writing their story. They came out of their shells then, and really came into their own. Now I can almost hear J.P. before I write what he says. (Ember and Winter DO need work, still, but what are edits for, if not for fixing your mistakes?)
So what do you think? Do you have different methods for finding your character's voice? Have you tried any of the three I listed? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments section!
Viola June HFA-DGN
When you speak to your friends, you probably don't use the same phrases and terms as they do, do you? I sure don't. (To be honest, I think I'm the only person I know to use words like "groovy" and "radical").
So why are character voices so important? Because without different voicing, it becomes all one blended, muddled voice that, should you clear it up a bit, turns out to just be your voice. There's a type of music that is in Baroque music (Yeah, yeah, I know, "if it ain't baroque, don't fix it") called Polyphonic. This music means there are several voices, enabling the music to feel more 3D, instead of just notes on a page. Different voices for the characters are exactly the same. All the same voice equals 2D writing, and different voices equals 3D. It's actually amazing how much this is true.
Here's a tiny bit of what my character's different voices sound like, so you know what I mean:
Ember: "Could you please find something else to do?"
Winter: "It'd be nice iffen ye could find something better to do."
J.P.: "I'd be mighty pleased if you would be findin' somethin' more productive to be doin'."
Now these characters really are extremes, which is handy for the sake of example, but a change in voicing could be as small as changing one word in a sentence, like asking "anything" instead of "something", but all the other words stay the same
So how do you find, and differentiate your character's voices? There are several methods.
1. Journal your characters! Write a journal entry from your character's perspective. I found this method in James Scott Bell's book "The Art of War for Writers". When I used this method in particular, I didn't find it entirely helpful, but it did allow me to dig a bit deeper into their personalities.
2. Role Play your characters. I DID find this one helpful, though I didn't learn about it from any particular source, me and my friends were just trying it out. It's very helpful because you learn how the characters interact with other people. You can use any of your characters and squeeze them into any setting you think fit then watch them run. Once I used three characters from three different projects. Your characters can gradually find their own voice when they interact with others. Let them speak their words.
3. Just write their story! I didn't quite find the three above's voices until I began actually writing their story. They came out of their shells then, and really came into their own. Now I can almost hear J.P. before I write what he says. (Ember and Winter DO need work, still, but what are edits for, if not for fixing your mistakes?)
So what do you think? Do you have different methods for finding your character's voice? Have you tried any of the three I listed? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments section!
Viola June HFA-DGN
Sunday, September 13, 2015
3D Characters-Intro
Hey guys! I'm going to start (my first) a blog series, 3D Characters. Now, why in the world would I write about characters when there is all those plotting topics to talk about? Because I believe characters are what make the writing world go round. They are the thing that writers alway struggle with. Writing the perfect character is really based on imperfection.
Without 3D characters, the enjoyment level of the book goes down substantially. It still would fly, and be enjoyable, with a good plot and story, but something would be lacking. So these 2D characters, the cardboard cutouts that are there merely to depict your idea of your character, are extremely hard to avoid, at one point or another. In order to be 3D, a character must have their own voice, personality, conflict, and many other things. They have to be someone who can bend to sit down and have coffee without breaking in half.
So how does one avoid cardboard characters? By filling them with personality! Think of the cardboard as a sack that's waiting to be filled. How much you pour into it equals how healthy they are as 3 dimensional characters. You give them personality and they fill up a bit. Give them their own voice, and they fill up a bit. Give them their own internal conflict, boy do they plump up! But you need all of these to truly make them 3 dimensional, so in this series I will be delving into the deep recesses of each.
So are you guys excited? Because I am. Lets dissect! (Not really, but sort of)
Viola June HFA-DGN
Without 3D characters, the enjoyment level of the book goes down substantially. It still would fly, and be enjoyable, with a good plot and story, but something would be lacking. So these 2D characters, the cardboard cutouts that are there merely to depict your idea of your character, are extremely hard to avoid, at one point or another. In order to be 3D, a character must have their own voice, personality, conflict, and many other things. They have to be someone who can bend to sit down and have coffee without breaking in half.
So how does one avoid cardboard characters? By filling them with personality! Think of the cardboard as a sack that's waiting to be filled. How much you pour into it equals how healthy they are as 3 dimensional characters. You give them personality and they fill up a bit. Give them their own voice, and they fill up a bit. Give them their own internal conflict, boy do they plump up! But you need all of these to truly make them 3 dimensional, so in this series I will be delving into the deep recesses of each.
So are you guys excited? Because I am. Lets dissect! (Not really, but sort of)
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
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
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Journaling for Writers
Hey guys! Today I would like to share with you a bit about journaling, how it impacts a writer's life, and my own (failed) attempts at it.
So, journaling. To me it's like a little light in the distance I can never seem to reach, but I never stop reaching for it. I think my record for amount of days journaled in a row is about 7. Which is really kind of pitiful. I have tried so many different methods, like just journaling on important days, keeping my journal next to my Bible so when I read at night I won't forget to journal either, keeping my journal in my purse, etc. I fail, every single time. (I'll have you know my current method of trying not to forget is keeping my journal on my desk right on top of the notebook I use all the time. Plus, my journal is so pretty right now that it's really hard to resist it and get to actual work, so maybe that'll help). So why in the world do I try so hard at journaling even when I've failed so many times? From school assignments to personal assignments, it doesn't matter, I still fail. So why do I still try? Because I believe journaling is a great asset for writing. Not like, because it gets your creative juices flowing (though it might do that too, as a warm up to your actual writing), and I know that looking back on something time after time doesn't always inspire ideas, but every so often, your brain is in the right mood and BAM. Amazing story idea from something you wrote a year or two ago and had read tens of times over.
Another benefit of journaling is it's very good for working on your descriptive abilities, but for the most part, I think working on that inside your book instead of inside your journal is the better option.
My friends will tell you that I don't like to delete anything writing related. We are working on a project together and our "Archive" page is over 100 pages long just from two months of work and chats and stuff, merely because I didn't want anything to be deleted. I wanted to go back over it all years from now and see how far we had come. Now how in the world does this relate to journaling? For the same reason. I don't like to forget stuff, but I simply don't have room in my head to keep day to day events rattling around up there. I have much more important stuff to remember (like the taste of that delicious cup of tea I had this morning, or something), including story ideas that were inspired on the spur of the moment.
I think that having the option to look back on your life in writing is a great resource for inspiration and writing. Maybe at one point you journaled when the anger boiling up inside you was almost unbearable. Now you look back and remember that anger from an unbiased PoV and you can translate that anger into an actual character, and because the feelings you gave the character were real, more than likely, the readers will feel that at that moment the character was especially relatable, because they too have felt that way when they're angry, and real, because the feelings, though not in an actual person, CAME from an actual person.
So I believe journaling is amazing for story inspiration, but I also think that you can get too much of it. I don't like to spend more than ten minutes in mine, writing, for the most part, no more than a page. Mostly because I like to save paper and time by not rambling on about my amazing cup of tea, but also because I don't want to spend an hour writing something that isn't important, like my amazing cup of tea, compared to writing an hour of something that IS important, like my actual current project.
How about you? What are your feelings in regards to journaling? Do you feel it's useless, or useful?
Viola June HFA-DGN
So, journaling. To me it's like a little light in the distance I can never seem to reach, but I never stop reaching for it. I think my record for amount of days journaled in a row is about 7. Which is really kind of pitiful. I have tried so many different methods, like just journaling on important days, keeping my journal next to my Bible so when I read at night I won't forget to journal either, keeping my journal in my purse, etc. I fail, every single time. (I'll have you know my current method of trying not to forget is keeping my journal on my desk right on top of the notebook I use all the time. Plus, my journal is so pretty right now that it's really hard to resist it and get to actual work, so maybe that'll help). So why in the world do I try so hard at journaling even when I've failed so many times? From school assignments to personal assignments, it doesn't matter, I still fail. So why do I still try? Because I believe journaling is a great asset for writing. Not like, because it gets your creative juices flowing (though it might do that too, as a warm up to your actual writing), and I know that looking back on something time after time doesn't always inspire ideas, but every so often, your brain is in the right mood and BAM. Amazing story idea from something you wrote a year or two ago and had read tens of times over.
Another benefit of journaling is it's very good for working on your descriptive abilities, but for the most part, I think working on that inside your book instead of inside your journal is the better option.
My friends will tell you that I don't like to delete anything writing related. We are working on a project together and our "Archive" page is over 100 pages long just from two months of work and chats and stuff, merely because I didn't want anything to be deleted. I wanted to go back over it all years from now and see how far we had come. Now how in the world does this relate to journaling? For the same reason. I don't like to forget stuff, but I simply don't have room in my head to keep day to day events rattling around up there. I have much more important stuff to remember (like the taste of that delicious cup of tea I had this morning, or something), including story ideas that were inspired on the spur of the moment.
I think that having the option to look back on your life in writing is a great resource for inspiration and writing. Maybe at one point you journaled when the anger boiling up inside you was almost unbearable. Now you look back and remember that anger from an unbiased PoV and you can translate that anger into an actual character, and because the feelings you gave the character were real, more than likely, the readers will feel that at that moment the character was especially relatable, because they too have felt that way when they're angry, and real, because the feelings, though not in an actual person, CAME from an actual person.
So I believe journaling is amazing for story inspiration, but I also think that you can get too much of it. I don't like to spend more than ten minutes in mine, writing, for the most part, no more than a page. Mostly because I like to save paper and time by not rambling on about my amazing cup of tea, but also because I don't want to spend an hour writing something that isn't important, like my amazing cup of tea, compared to writing an hour of something that IS important, like my actual current project.
How about you? What are your feelings in regards to journaling? Do you feel it's useless, or useful?
Viola June HFA-DGN
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
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
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
Thursday, July 2, 2015
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)