Category: Ramblings

Strength in Numbers

A few weeks ago a friend asked me if I was interested in joining their writing group. Well, that’s not entirely true. We met up to talk about their writing once and we decided to forge a writing group. She brought one of her friends, I brought a couple of mine, and after two meetings, things are going pretty well. Unlike a lot of writing workshops I’ve been in, we decided this would be a working workshop. Most of us are doing some variation of Nanowrimo or just working on our own projects. The point is we’re doing it together.

Writing is a solitary act. Unlike sports, music or theatre, writing is something that is done solo. In some ways, it’s very freeing, but it’s also very lonely. It’s important to find people who we can talk with about our projects with or even just help us remember a word. I have a number of people who I talk to online about my work, but it’s nice to be able to directly talk with people the minute I have an idea (no matter how stupid it is).

My writing group helps each other, but we also motivate and push each other. We’ve started doing word wars, the prize being bragging rights and permission to use a bad pun nickname. It adds an extra element of fun to our word sprints (not to mention I’ve won twice). Will we use all the words? No. But my philosophy is if I use ten out of a thousand, that’s ten words I didn’t have before.

Having a writing clan is important. Having any kind of support network in a very lonely art gives an author a place to work through problems with simple (and sometimes silly) questions. Working in public makes the devastating distractions of the Internet or household chores (which seem so much more important when we sit down to write).

Do you have a writing clan? Where do you go when you’ve hit a creative wall?

And, hey, if you’re doing Nanowrimo? Good luck and have fun!

Move ’em out!

So, I recently moved. As of yesterday, we moved the last of my boxes to the new place and I’m sitting on my bed surrounded by boxes and half-filled shopping bags. Moves are (generally) very stressful, but I was lucky enough to have some very helpful friends in this endeavor. Regardless, the process of moving has made me think a lot about my writing and entering a new setting.

One thing I will acknowledge about myself is that I am not the strongest when it comes to writing settings. My writing gets a little clunky and awkward, I miss major details, and some people have told me a room or place feels ‘half-finished’. It’s something that usually suffers in my first drafts and I could spend an entire day trying to describe a whole room correctly without three paragraphs of exposition. Creating a vivid and clear setting before including characters is nothing short of an art form.

From a glorious castle to a simple cabin in the woods, settings can define the mood of the scene and prepare your reader (or set them off guard). Does the cabin in the woods have fresh autumn leaves and a sweet-smelling tendril of smoke coming out of the chimney? Or is it coated in pale moonlight with only a single light in one window creating a silhouette? Presenting a cabin in the woods is a good start, but adding details like that can take it from a simple setting to a mood setter. A person in a familiar space will feel more comfortable than they would in a place that’s unfamiliar (trust me). Putting your character into a new place, whether by a moving truck or a magical wardrobe, can determine the scene’s impact on the reader.

What are some of your favorite settings you’ve encountered while reading? What book or series takes you directly into the scene and makes it feel like you’re there?

Talk

Dialogue is one of the foundations of writing a novel. If our characters say nothing, we learn only what the narrator wants us to know about them. It’s also a crucial element of the classic ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ advice that is often discussed. When I was in college, one of my professors often talked about a book called “Talk: A Novel in Dialogue”. As the title suggests, the book is written entirely in dialogue. Recently, I’ve been thinking about dialogue as a mode of telling the story, specifically by listening to a lot of podcasts.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love podcasts. It’s basically what my friends and I talk about on a weekly basis. I listen to everything from Levar Burton Reads to 60-Second Science. It’s an easy way to fill time on the bus, doing housework and doing my grocery shopping. One of my most recent obsessions is The Bright Sessions.

Even insignificant characters who only interact with your protagonist with for a moment, dialogue can be a way to make that character lifelike and rich to the reader.

I was introduced to the show by my friend Aly, who was 100% correct when they said I would enjoy it. The basic premise is that its recordings from a therapist’s office, but all of her patients have unusual abilities (time-travel, telepathy, and so on). The show is presented entirely in conversation, normally one-on-one. Sometimes it becomes a much larger group, but the characters are so distinct that it’s very easy to follow.

The podcast has a very definitive story to it and we learn a lot about the characters through their sessions. If you’re struggling with characterization through dialogue, I definitely recommend this podcast (both for the story and the lessons from dialogue).

Trunks

So recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about trunks. Not elephants or swim trunks, but storage trunks. I’ve heard the phrase ‘Trunk Book’ tossed around a lot and have been thinking about the purpose of a trunk.

A Trunk Book, by my understanding, is a book or story that’s written and tossed into a trunk. It could be poorly written or needs more research or was just an idea that needed to be written down so you can focus on the current story. Trunk Books are, more often than not, tucked away and forgotten.

So, why keep them? If the book or story is no good, why write it in the first place?

Honestly? I feel like there are no bad ideas, just undeveloped ideas. Tucking a book away for later because it needs time to cultivate is a totally valid method. For me, the hardest part of writing is just getting the words on a document. Getting that initial pressure off my chest? Feeling like the book just needs to be edited? It makes the second draft process that much easier.

Having the first draft finished, even if it’s something I can lock away and forget about until later, is a huge relief until I’m ready to tackle the project more thoroughly.

Granted, we don’t all have room for a trunk or briefcase, so I just have a folder on my computer for such projects. Just cause a project isn’t working or well-written doesn’t mean it’s hopeless. Sometimes backing away from a story (locking it away) gives a fresh perspective when it’s ready to be tackled again.

Please Stand By…

Due to a couple of things happening this week, there won’t be a short fiction piece until next week. In the meantime, I recommend going here to check out some of the fiction that’s been here in the past! I’ll have something before the end of the month, I promise!

If you’re interested in knowing what I’m up to these days, follow me on Twitter and Facebook! I post random thoughts, books and short stories I’m reading and I’m going to start doing more exclusives (like my very short reaction piece from a whale watch I went on yesterday).

Feeding the Muse

When I tell people that I write, one of their first questions is where I get my ideas and how I keep my creative spark active. Anyone who creates art knows how hard it can be to keep the creative juices flowing, whether that’s drawing, writing, creating music or cooking. So how does one keep the creative spark active? In a world that is constantly demanding attention and brainpower to just function in the day-to-day activities, keeping creative is a challenge for anyone with a creative side hustle.

Repetition helps, doing the thing until it becomes muscle memory. The random word doodles that I do (and sometimes post) for this blog can often lead me to “What if…?” or “Imagine this character in…” trains of thought. The creative part of the brain is a muscle and muscles only ever get stronger through work (and often resistance). Even if one out of every one hundred things you write is tolerable, you increase your odds of creating something you like.

I found that letting the mind wander is as important as having intense focus on a creative endeavor. Sometimes, doing menial chores or just walking around the city, I’ll have ideas for stories, characters, settings, and even plots. I have a special note on my phone for ideas I have while out walking about.

Paintings, music, and physical movement also keep the creative juices flowing. Other art can sometimes be the best inspiration. I have images of old maps and paintings saved on my laptop that I look at when things feel a little stale, trying to reinvigorate the mood of whatever I’m working on.

And, of course, a good cup of tea is a good energizer at the end of the day.

How do you feed your muse? Music? Art? Power nap? Tea? Let me know!

Making the count…

So, almost every day since early January, I’ve been posting Facebook status first thing in the morning. Since getting my new office job, I’ve been waking up first thing in the morning, writing and posting my word count.

Usually, I shoot for around 400 words or so. I do my best to stay positive about it, even on days when I don’t make my goal. I do my best to try and write a coherent story, working on one project. Some days I can only manage an out of place scene or a character sketch. More often, I make a continuation of the same story from the day before. Either way, I feel that having that time first thing in the morning is important for my mental health and my creativity.

But why post it on Facebook? What does a daily number mean in an endless stream of updates, photos, links and humble bragging (myself included)? I don’t use it to track my total word count or judge the quality of my work. So why do it?

One of the most important things when writing is accountability. It’s easy for me to say I’m gonna sleep in for the morning and skip my day, but people notice now. I once had my mother text me when I didn’t post a word count to make sure I was still alive (her words).

As I’ve been doing this, I’ve been seeing the same likes and comments and realized that I have a personal community that is supportive and encouraging. And, in an endeavor that’s primarily done in solitude, it’s a good feeling to have visual confirmation that friends and family are supporting you.

So, whether you have a Facebook or Twitter, I encourage you to celebrate your small victories. Cause working alone is hard, but the beauty of social media is having people to celebrate small victories with you. And those build up pretty quick into bigger victories!

Life through a lens

I have a lot of creative hobbies. I write, obviously, I doodle and I draw maps. I (attempt) to play the ukulele and, in my past, I used to do theatre and improv. Most frequently, however, I like to grab my camera and take some pictures.

All of the pictures I use connected to my blog posts or short stories are my own. I like taking pictures to help remember other senses. Taking pictures of the ocean, I can always recall the smell of sea air, the spray of salt water, calls of seagulls in distance and a dozen other sensory details that could easily fit into a scene. My favorite subject is wildlife, especially wolves (if you hadn’t noticed).

Here are a few photographs I’ve taken over the years. Some might seem familiar, but I hope you enjoy them all the same.

 

For the Non-Chatty Commuter

I’ve always been very jealous of anyone who could read in the car. I got motion sickness when trying to focus on anything in a moving vehicle. As I’ve gotten older, I listened to music in the car and eventually podcasts. I’m not what people would call a “chatty commuter”.

Recently, I’ve started listening to audiobooks that I’ve borrowed from the library while on my commute to downtown. Altogether, my normal commute takes an hour each day either way. The library here in Seattle uses the Overdrive program, so I can download books and keep them on my phone and enjoy listening to a novel as I’m coming or going from work. Most recently, I’ve listened to The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden and it was wonderful (a good choice since it reads so much like an adult fairytale). As of right now, I’m listening to Fledgling by Octavia Butler.

I don’t know which I retain better, but I certainly feel like I’m doing more reading during the week. When I only have 30-40 minutes on my lunch break or a few minutes as I’m drifting off to bed, I feel like I’m enjoying more stories on a regular basis. I’ve heard that there’s no real difference between reading a paper book versus listening to audiobooks. but there are those who argue there’s a difference. Either way, for me, audiobooks make the commute in the morning one of the better parts of my day.

The Force of a Habit

So recently, a lot of things have been changing around here. Previously, I had been working at a technology center in a university store. However, this past week, I started my new job in an office cubicle (I’ll spare you the gritty details). This has been, needless to say, a big and scary transition for me coming from a place where I’ve never had a job with my own chair, let alone a desk! It’s still on a temporary basis, but it has the possibility of leading to a full-time position. However, one of the things that haven’t changed is something I’d like to talk about this week. It’s about making writing a habit.

I try to make it a point to write every day. Even if I only write a couple hundred words, I always make it a point to write something before I call it a night. Usually, this means waking up fairly early in order write before work. I wake up at 5:30, go through my morning routine and prepare a lunch. I’ll then spend whatever time I have left on my writing (usually about an hour or so I can dedicate to it). Unsurprisingly, this is usually the best part of my morning.

I have a system. After my lunch is packed, I brew a cup of tea, sit at my kitchen table and write with some music on in the background. It’s a simple set up, but the morning time can be some of my most productive time in the day. When I have to leave, I’m usually considering the next scene on my bus ride to work and consider problems and alternative solutions on my lunch break.

Making your writing time a habit (a ritual even) is important. On a subconscious level, doing the same thing each day sets your brain in the right place when that time rolls around again. On the days that I don’t have to go to work, I’m most prepared to write first thing in the morning. I’ve also started the habit of carrying a small notebook with me for when I think of those problems/solutions on the bus (as well as the occasional one-liner).

One of the most popular lies we tell ourselves is “I don’t have time for XYZ.” And in fairness, we don’t always have time for the XYZ in our lives. But if it really matters to you, sometimes the only thing you can do is become a morning person, grit your teeth and do it until it becomes a habit. Because I’ve found that these start as habits until they become a joy.

And when you get passed the grumbling and moaning of 5:30AM, mornings can be quite pleasant with a cup of tea and time to focus on your art.

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