yourwords

Writing is a journey that has no real destination. If you have a destination in mind, you’re crapped out of luck. Honestly, do you think that Lewis Carroll’s favorite part about writing was seeing his words in print? Or watching people (as a wandering ghost) get Cheshire cat tattoos ? No, it was the creation process, although I’m sure his specter is enjoying himself.

So, I put to new writers to evaluate their motives for writing. Do you want that epic trilogy hardbound, gold-leafed and on book shelves today? Ha ha ha. That’s the voice inside my head that I call the ‘castle chaser.’ It would be nice to pop out novels and receive global acclaim for your work. The paycheck and the Scottish castle wouldn’t hurt either.

Unfortunately, that kind of dreaming isn’t going to get us anywhere. Taking on the herculean task of writing your Pulitzer prize special is daunting when you sit to write your first page. Last year, I was in the depths of writing depression, and it was all due to the ‘castle chaser.’ My book, entitled ‘Escape from Reality’, was going to be my first grown up, hard-look-at-life novel, and every page in it would be pure gold to knock the socks off of my audience’s psyche. Then it came down to writing every page, and surprise, surprise I wrote and rewrote like a fickle tornado. The most prominent sign that I was castle chasing instead of writing was that in five years I only had 150 pages to show for it, not included the scribbled out pages in different abandoned notebooks.

Now I’m not saying that rewrites are the devil. Rewrites are fine in moderation, in fact they can be very liberating to a story or chapter or character (or poem or poet for that matter). Taking 5 years to write 150 pages isn’t bad either. The way I did it proved detrimental to my writing, however. Every word I wrote felt forced and alien. Maybe it was good as well, I’m not sure, all I know is that I wasn’t enjoying the journey.

And here’s why:

I’d lost track of why I’d begun on the project in the first place. There’s a little spark of life to a fledgling project. It may rely on the theme that you will be attempting to put across, perhaps it’s an exploration of human nature. Personally, I get pulled in by the romantic aspects. Whatever that initial spark is, that’s the reason that we write. If you lose that, and attempt to force your way in a new direction rather than find it naturally, that’s when the project dies. Momentarily. It can be revived with some elbow grease.

There’s two tips that I have for learning to enjoy the journey rather than concentrate on the destination. First of all, practice writing everyday. Practice makes perfect. You know that old line. This is honestly the universal solvent for any writing problem. If you write every day you’ll not be afraid of writing, and you will work through writer’s block. Notice I didn’t say force yourself to write everyday. Force is such a nasty word… I prefer to look at it as setting aside time to play with language. This may also mean setting daily goals. I read on Philip Pullman ’s blog that he goes into a garden shed every morning to write three pages before he lets himself do anything else. That’s not a bad idea, because he’s got this area that’s dedicated solely to writing, and accomplishing goals like that is good for self-esteem. Another idea is to have a set time limit, such as an hour or so, everyday at the same time. Try it. Have fun. :)

The second and last tip is a fairly simple tip that I’ve read in a textbook somewhere. Take your ‘castle chaser’ voice, and put a face to it. Mine looks like Draco Malfoy , and the lady in the book said her voice was a rat. Then, once the voice has an identity, put that identity in custody. The lady in the book put her figurative mouse in a literal jar that she twisted shut. When I go to write, I shut Malfoy out by shutting a door like he’s on the other side. You will feel silly… I promise… but it helps.

prompt #2

Make an identity for your negative and money grabber voice. Give it a face or a species that you detest. Don’t forget to name it. Once you have that character mapped out (wink wink. you can see what’s coming now, right?), put your Negative Nelly onto paper in one of the following ways…

• if you have any artistic skills, draw the little bastard. Several times in fact, from several different angles. Explore their shape, color, texture. Make them look the way you feel when you can’t write.
• write a journal from your Negative Nelly’s point of view. What do they complain about? What makes their day brighter? Why do they keep bugging you when you are trying to be free and creative? This can be done from an animal or a rain cloud’s perspective- remember! Your Negative Nelly does not have to be human, and it certainly doesn’t have to be anyone you know.

• write a scene where you confront your Nelly. Make it a nasty fight. Maybe it does come to bloody noses, or maybe you two work it out, but be assertive with both characters. (funny to call yourself a character huh?) Either write from first person or third person. If it’s third person play with what both characters are thinking but not saying.

Until tomorrow, adieu.

Why do yourwords need an intro filled with my words? Generally because this is why I may be qualified to help you find yourwords. This wont be the last time I’ll talk about myself, since writing is so personal, but bear with me today for the boring blog.

My age will very likely be a deterrent. I’m only 20, nearly 21 in August. However, I’ve been writing full on novels for over 11 years now. I remember very clearly the night I first started: My friend from the neighborhood was spending the night. She was a firecracker, constantly moving, and constantly finding new things to keep her occupied. Sometimes I could get my head out of the clouds long enough to play lab assistant to her innovation, but usually I couldn’t keep up. In any case, writing was one of her hair-brained schemes, and we both put pen to paper in what would be the start of my passion, career, and most treasured hobby.

I’m personally a novel writer. It’s my favorite form of writing, but that doesn’t mean other forms wont be covered. I’ve had several poems and short stories published. Non-fiction will be covered as well, as I’ve been an editor and journalist. As for blogging- WHEW- I write in fivve different blogs at any given time. Anyone can write, and anyone can be published. I’m nothing special. I’m just someone who can tell you what I’ve learned in order to help you get started. My friends and family have told me they’ve always wanted to write, but have never done it because they’re afraid. Here’s something I tend to repeat quite a lot- the first step is the hardest. No one expects mastery of a barely learned craft. Writing is no different, and it takes practice.

Ah, see? I’ve gone and gotten off subject. Today is a general throat clearing, so no more advice/lecture. *lip zipped*

There’s one more element to writing that I intend to cover in this blog: classic literature. I’ve heard of writers that hate to read, but I don’t believe it’s possible. They’re like unicorns. Or gremlins. Or happy accountants. It just doesn’t exist. ;) If you’re going to put your words down, I think you need to know who’s done it successfully before you. That means you’re back to community college, diet-coke literature. wOOt! I know that’s exciting. I’m partial to Brit lit. Go Shakespeare.

Oh, and I will include a prompt everday. Good prompts are worth … a thousand words?

prompt #1

Pick three characters from three different movies (better make it movies that you enjoy). Ready? Now- throw ‘um in a scene together! And don’t make it about Ace Ventura, Cat Woman, and Dirty Harry picking out cat food together. Unless that’s what excites you, of course. What I mean is take these different characters, get out a literary blender, and have as much fun writing it as you had when watching the movies. This means you’ll also have fun re-reading it. Most writer-helpers don’t encourage you to enjoy reading your own works, like it impedes you with arrogance or something. I say if you don’t have fun reading it, then why would anyone else?

here’s a very brief example of what I would do for this prompt:

Evie Carnahan (from the Mummy) shouldn’t have chosen this bar. Hell, she shouldn’t have even left the apartment. After a fight like that, she didn’t know how smart it was to leave fragile Edward (Scissorhands) to his own devices. Secretly, though, as Evie twirled her martini and watched Frankenfurter (sweet transvestite) dance across the bar, she was glad that she came…

DUN DUN DUN! See? I don’t want this prompt to be a boring analysis of how these three characters might act if they met. You can find plenty of dry prompts like that to challenge your serious side, maybe even on yourwords eventually (blech). Just let go of that for tonight and have fun. Or else. :) I promise, if you only take one piece of advice from me ever (which I assume you’re willing to do if you’re reading this) remember that if you try too hard to write well, then you’ll forget how to write fun, and you’ll burn out fast. That’s expirience talking. 

So, if you’ve made it this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed your reading as much as I enjoyed the writing. On to write my own words in my own book. I’ll be back with a fresh post tomorrow. Until then, good night and may Hera watch over your slumber.