Posted in Writing, tagged books, diversity, Fiction, history, literature, Thoughts, Writers, writing on November 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’m busy working on a hard deadline so today I invite you to enjoy this great, self-reflective piece on diversity in historical fiction (and by extension, all fictional worlds) by Mary Robinette Kowal. She’s talking specifically about race but the same points apply to gender, sexuality, etc. as well.
Don’t blame the homogeneity of your novel on historical accuracy. That’s your choice, as an author.
Posted in Writing, tagged Ceallaigh MacCath-Moran, creativity, finishing, inner editor, Motivation, nanowrimo, SF Canada, Thoughts, work, Writers, writing on November 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Like a lot of you I have a pretty (read very;) active inner editor. Most of the time we have a good relationship. He’s helpful when I need to find typos or structure a plot line but can be a pain in the ass when I just need to get words on the page. When writing, my strategy has been to find a balance between my instinctive urge to edit as I go and the not-as-helpful urge to redo absolutely everything all the time.
For me, that’s where speed writing comes in.
I was an archer in a former life and found that the best thing to do when I was missing my shots was to loosen up. The best way for me to do that was speed shooting. Forget the rules, forget “nine steps to the ten ring,” forget breathing and pacing and everything else. Just shoot, as many arrows as fast as you can. By the time my quiver was empty I’d regained my sense of balance and perhaps most importantly, my sense of fun. When I became an instructor I found this technique was one of my best for helping students over humps.
That’s why NaNoWriMo appeals to me. I do NaNo because it gives me a structured opportunity to focus on something that the inner editor doesn’t have a part in, word count. If nothing else, it gives me the opportunity to loosen up my writing muscles to the point where I can restore the balance I may have lost editing the rest of the year. It also gets me back in the practice of writing, rather than editing, on a daily basis. And it reminds me how much fun writing can be.
I also found that being mean to my inner editor didn’t work, I had to silence him with kindness. I mentally send him on vacation for the month of November. I thank him for being so diligent, so dedicated, and as a reward I send him somewhere warm, a sunny place with bright blue water and umbrella drinks. (Not surprisingly, he’s a lot less uptight come December.) And then I write.
I should also say that the strategic use of deadlines, both in and out of November, has been critical as well. Having a cutoff date does wonders for my sense of focus.
So, finding a way to get out of my own way, that’s what works for me.
Good luck finding a strategy that works for you:)
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* Thanks to Ceallaigh MacCath-Moran of SF Canada for the discussion that inspired this post.
Posted in Writing, tagged artists, books, Cat Valente, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, nanowrimo, work, Writers, writing on November 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »
As you can see from the widget in the sidebar (just there, to the right:) I am indeed doing NaNoWriMo this year and I’m making decent progress. I am not worrying about writing a work of unimpeachable genius. I am not sweating typos. I am not questioning my character’s motivation or whether he really would want to eat the fried pigeon at that corner street cart (he does, he told me so). I’m just showing up and getting it done.
Show up and get it done. That is a decent summary (ok, paraphrase, she’s a little more forceful:) of Cat Valente’s NaNo Pep Talk for today, and I was happy to see it. I was also happy to see her push for the possibility of writing that is done fast and also well. It’s not all going to be good, but there’s no reason why it should be bad. And no matter what happens, it certainly won’t be a waste of your time.
Check out the Pep Talk, enjoy the wisdom of a voice of experience. Then whatever your project may be, show up and get it done. Good luck!
Posted in Writing, tagged Anne Lamott, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Thoughts, Writers, writing, yay on October 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »
“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”
― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
By this definition, I spent the morning singing. Hope you did too.
Posted in Likes, tagged artists, arts, creativity, entertainment, Felicia Day, geek and sundry, geeks, The Guild, Wharton School of Business, work, Writers on October 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »
In which Felicia Day goes to the Wharton School of Business, talks with B-school types, and tells them how she succeeded even when everyone told her she was doing it wrong.
I’m a better person now and, I think, a happier person having come out of some of the darkest times in my life, having gone through this process. So, I can’t regret one step of it. In retrospect, there are so many things I learned. And I guess in this life, if you’re not learning, you’re dying.
Lessons? Set deadlines. Sell the rights to your content with caution. You can’t do everything, but low budgets don’t have to mean low aspirations. Also, never underestimate the power of awesome. (Ok, that’s me paraphrasing, but I dare you to check out the geeky fun that is Geek and Sundry and tell me it’s not true;)
Posted in Writing, tagged artists, arts, books, creativity, death, Elmore Leonard, Fiction, inspiration, Motivation, Writers, writing on August 20, 2013| 1 Comment »
Crime Novelist Elmore Leonard Dies
Elmore Leonard died today, after a recent stroke and related complications. That’s sad in all sorts of ways, most importantly for his family but also for his fans.
That said, I have had it up to here with death.
Yes, it’s inevitable. Yes, you only have one life and then poof, gone. But what if you have an impact on the people around you that will last beyond your lifetime? What if you are thoughtful and kind and concerned about bringing the best to our shared world? And what if you are a writer with the sort of innate feel for dialog, story and character that Elmore Leonard had, dedicate your efforts to the constructive pursuit of creativity, and work hard enough and well on work like Get Shorty and Maximum Bob?
Then you earn a devoted following of fans who will not only remember your efforts but will see the world in a slightly different way, thanks to your work. I am such a fan. Mr. Leonard will be missed.
Posted in Writing, tagged artists, arts, awesome, creativity, David Mamet, drama, Fiction, inspiration, work, Writers, writing on July 16, 2013| Leave a Comment »
QUESTION:WHAT IS DRAMA? DRAMA, AGAIN, IS THE QUEST OF THE HERO TO OVERCOME THOSE THINGS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM ACHIEVING A SPECIFIC, ACUTE GOAL.SO: WE, THE WRITERS, MUST ASK OURSELVES OF EVERY SCENE THESE THREE QUESTIONS.
1) WHO WANTS WHAT?
2) WHAT HAPPENS IF HER DON’T GET IT?
3) WHY NOW?
START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS.
LOOK AT THE SCENE AND ASK YOURSELF “IS IT DRAMATIC? IS IT ESSENTIAL? DOES IT ADVANCE THE PLOT?
ANSWER TRUTHFULLY.
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