A Writer’s Journey

I’ve encountered a number of writers lately that have me read their work for constructive criticism, with the emphasis on ‘it’s just a rough draft’. I think what they mean is that they want feedback on the content, not so much on punctuation. As a reader though, sifting through poor grammar and fragmented sentences is straining. I can read a story and focus on the plot and characters, but errors can irk me to no end.

I also find from my own experience that it’s important to write properly at all times. Grammar is habit forming, so slacking with proper sentence structure is just as much a part of writing as editing later to improve it. The Internet doesn’t help with the phonic and abbreviated style that is too often accepted.

My husband asks me how to write letters to this or that person, wondering if he should be formal or informal. My usual answer is ‘when it doubt, go with formal’. The reason I offer is that formal encompasses manners and covers all bases to what you want your letter to do. So when writing emails to someone you’re not familiar with, take the effort to write in a formal, polite style before using ‘lol’ or little graphics. Save that for friends and family.

This type of practice doesn’t necessarily include text messaging or Instant messaging online. Why is that, you may ask? Simple. Not everyone can type fast, or be familiar with the practice. I type around 80-90 wpm, sometimes faster if I had a couple cups of coffee in me. I can easily throw out sentence after sentence while some typists might manage only one in the same amount of time. It’s rude of me to think or criticize spelling when It is for conversational purposes.

Grammar includes not just the proper punctuation, but good spelling as well. One person wrote “What do you think of my righting?” on Yahoo Answers, only to be blasted with answers for not recognizing it is ‘writing’ not ‘righting’. Her response was that she misspelled the word. No, that is not a misspelling. She spelled the word correctly but the use of the word was completely off base.

Trust me when I say that submitting writing for publication will get your work thrown out if you have mistakes like that. Editors are overworked, and underpaid for what they do, and correcting the manuscript for grammatical mistakes is not their job to correct basic grammar mistakes; that’s your job. It is assumed you are a writer. It is also assumed you have a basic grasp of the English language.

Prompt: Take the next few days to make a concentrated effort with your writing…in all your writing. See what mistakes you make, and correct them. After a few days, compare to see if your writing hasn’t improved in the meantime.

Someone once asked me if I had a soundtrack to my life what would it sound like. In all reality, I’d have a laugh track with music being playful and a bit chaotic. Writing stories, however, demands something a bit more complex such as effective mood and daring to goad characters and develop scenes for drama and realism.

Soundtracks, top 40 bands, and even a style called Immediate Music fill my Media Player with possibilites. Music tracks compile into playlist themes such as ‘battle’ for fight scenes, ’sorrow’ for scenes for funerals, loss, or just being lost, or some playlists end up listed in their very own soundtracks to specific novels I’m working on.

Where to find music online. There are a number of web sites you can find free music to listen to online. Radio provides up to date music as well as the means to form playlists and settings for genre or preferences in musical style. I strongly suggest joining web sites in order to take advantage of setting up radios stations that fit your tastes.

AOL Radio provides a nice streaming radio station that has plenty of genres to pick from. I personally like the nature sounds, electronica, and soundtrack movie scores.

YouTube.com allows you to find a number of videos that include music you like. You can find them by artist or album, then compile into playlists. I don’t have to actually watch the videos, but open a browser and listen to the playlists instead.

Playlist.com is another site where you can compile music by artist, album, or genre and embed into your web site or blog.

ISerenity doesn’t so much have music as much as the site offer background noise. I like the wood chimes or rainfall depending on my mood.

Some of my favorite composers:

Steve Jablonsky currently is my favorite composer who wrote the soundtrack for Transformers and The Island.

E.S. Posthumus offers some amazing compositions too.

Craig Armstrong also provides some amazing work, with both piano, orchestral, and added vocals to some of the pieces.

Klaus Badelt did a number of soundtracks, one of which was Pirates of the Carribean. He also did some of the work on Gladiator, The Time Machine, and Mission Impossible II.

Immediate Music includes a number of different composers, styles, and genres. Basically, Immediate music can be heard in commercials for video games or movies. Epicon is a powerful piece. You might recognize Rising Empire for the Xman movie commercials.

Music often prompts me to write, being able to establish a ’soundtrack’ in my head and to set the scenes mood. Check out the prompt below to start writing something today:

Writing Prompt:

Listen to music (click link for a playlist) then write down the scene or characters inspired because of it. Even if it only stirs up emotion, write about that.

As a mother of a homeschooler, I get little in the way of time to actually write without interruption. If not my son, then my husband or even my dog or cat will persist on wanting to know at odd times ‘what are you doing?’. I can shoot out a 300+ word article of crap, but I want to get into the groove of writing; to lose myself in that state of mind where I’m lost in my own world of stories or laying out words into some semblance of understanding. Sometimes, however, this simply can’t be done.

Here are a few tips I found helped me in finding that time to write:

• Create boundaries. Make sure your family understand your writing times and that you are not to be disturbed. This includes kids and even pets. Explain to them that this is your writing time, and must be respected. I use a shut door and a note on the door. I also provide the time I will be emerging from my writing lair. This way, my family won’t feel entirely abandoned. I also refuse to answer the phone, the door, or even reply to emails or online messaging programs. My writing time is my work time.
• Snatch up writing time when you get it. Although ideally for me, writing for hours is ideal. I love getting lost in words and ideas. I also accept the ten to twenty minutes I can find through my day to write something.
• Keep a notebook handy. I keep a notebook in my purse to jot down notes as they come to me. When waiting at a doctor’s office, or even on the phone, I keep a pen at hand to write should an idea come to me. If not a notebook, get a voice recorder. My cell phone has one, and this helps with ideas and reminders.
• Accept that writing breaks are as important as the actual writing time. Not writing can actually help a writer by providing input from reading, TV, news, radio, friends, family, and any other avenue for ideas and inspiration. Stepping back from your manuscript or article also allows fresh eyes and fresh mind to reread and pick up on mistakes you might otherwise have glossed over.
• Use music. I have playlists on my computer to help inspire, but also help to shut out the world. A fellow writer I know owns a headset specific to shutting out the noise of her children and husband. Her family understands that when she has those on her head, to let her be.

Most important tip is to just write. Even if you write nothing but garbage, the idea gets onto paper (or pixel) and you can edit later.

Many writers I know often mention the novel they are in the process of writing. The book is ‘in the works’, with the hopes of someday manifesting into print. Isn’t this what people mean when they say they are a writer? A writer of novels? Writers may ignore other avenues to which they can find a means to publish. In fact, most well known writers do more than the infamous books that put them in the spotlight; they also speak at engagements, write articles or short stories, or occasionally write outside their general medium. This blog entry will explore options on these other genres.

Here are some other writing avenues to consider:

• Article Writing. This includes magazines and periodicals, but you can also find avenues of online content. Webmasters don’t have the time to keep updating articles on their sites, so they pay someone else to do this for them. Online content, although easier and faster in getting published than the old fashioned magazines, also tends to pay considerably less.
• Short stories. You can compile your short stories into an anthology and publish the stories in one book, or you can sell the stories one by one. Magazines, periodicals, and some publishing companies accept short stories.
• Ebooks. Creating ebooks have never been easier with the number of programs or even word processing add ons to save your work in PDF or HTML form. Once saved, the file can be sold via the web. Some e-publishers also offer a means to see your novel this way.
• Graphic novel. A graphic novel tends to be more involved and extensive with a storyline than what you’d consider a comic book. A writer can partner with an artist and collaborate a story.
• Subscription based writing. This medium of publishing fascinates me. I’ve encountered a number of online writers who have readers subscribe to their web sites to gain access to stories, poems, and other writing, often based on a monthly subscription. Juxtapose Fantasy is one example of this type of publishing.

Keep your avenues open. I also find that by writing in a new medium can help sharpen your writing skills and even break through writer’s block.

Making an evil character takes a good understanding of how the human mind works. Being evil for the sake of being evil is not realistic, and generally not good reading. A good book, after all, has more to do with the human element and our place in the universe. This leads into the depths of good versus evil, and defining the two sides to something black and white. What about the gray area in between? What is your own concept of good and evil? Is this the norm of society, or do you want to make a point of what your view is on human nature.

A good ‘bad guy’ is a character of many parts. He (or she) should have reasons in doing what they do; causes for their actions. A bad guy can provoke fear into the hearts of those around him, or hate, or even pity depending on the reader’s own experiences. Some bad guys are a wonderful blend of their own chaos, taking the other side of the protagonist in the story. They serve to create the conflict.

An act of evil depends heavily on the reasons, the causes, and the actual events of the act. When someone murders another, ask yourself ‘was it out of desperation, anger, fear, or enjoyment’? Sometimes a bad guy simply has weaknesses. He might be mentally ill, or carrying an emotional burden. What you might consider evil might be understandable by some readers. For instance, murdering someone in self defense or by accident isn’t evil, but can spur the reader to hate the ‘bad guy’. We can hate him for his fears, cowardice, or sense of revenge as well.

The cliche ending for the bad guy is generally a bad end. They ‘get their just desserts’, and the reader is left with a sense of justice in the world. Even more cliche’ is that the villain often does something evil to remind the reader that he or she is evil and therefore they deserve do die. Or do they? Wouldn’t a plot that allows the bad guy to find redemption be the better end? Do they perhaps escape to be evil another day? Is the reader left to wonder? Do you stay the course, or explore other avenues in plot design for your bad guy?

TIP: Put yourself in the place and time of the bad guy character of your story. Ask yourself about motive and fears. Why is this character on the opposing side of your protagonist? Write from his or her point of view, justifying their actions.

If you don’t have an established antagonist, create one. Provide a brief visual description, but also habits, fears, hopes, dreams, and passions. Make the person ‘real’.

There’s the old saying, “Never judge a book by its cover”. Sage advice, if you ask me when judging people. However, I find myself very much judging a book by its cover, to gain some insight as to what the book is about. You’d be surprised to know that many authors do not choose the cover to their own book. Publishing companies decide, and I would think they know best, right? They might also have an inside scoop on the best illustrators, or have something in mind that would help sell the book. Some illustrators add to the book’s worth as well, making it a collector’s edition.

For instance, hardcover books will have a different artist than the paperback copy as found in R.A. Salvatore’s Dark Elf series. The covers were redone when reprinted by Todd Lockwood (who does breathtaking work, by the way).

Starless Night’s original cover include Drizzt looking like an old man, despite the story telling how Drizzt, despite his years was from the long lived Drow race and therefore quite young looking. You’ll notice too, this is not the ebony skinned Dark Elf described in the book, but an old, white man, looking stern. The newer cover captures the story and its characters so much better.

Here is Todd Lockwood’s version of Starless Nights, with the infamous fight scene between Drizzt and his nemesis Artemis Entreri. Not only is Drizzt pictured as the true Drow with dark skin and white hair, but the scene holds the true sense of the excellent fighting scenes the author is known for.

Michael Whelan is a famed illustrator that creates some mind blowing artwork for books of various genre. He did the covers for Stephan Kings Roland the Gunslinger, and Michael Moorcock’s Elric series. He also designed Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, among others.

Michael Komarck is another artist that excels at book covers and letting the reader get a real sense of the story and characters. Its this sort of cover design that snags my attention and has me picking up the book to read what its all about. Feel free to post favorite authors or books you find that are eye catching.

Many current events can inspire ideas for articles such as holidays, personal experience, other articles, personal issues, and even your own crisis in life can spark an interesting topic to publish. This is especially true if you write blogs (online journals) and need topics, or you submit articles to web content sites.

Check the month’s holidays to see if you can find something interesting to write about. Doing this also puts you on a deadline. You want to complete the writing before the holiday and in enough time so this gets published. Origins, meaning, traditions, and crafts are popular aspects of subject matter. Your own personal experience offers readers a possible solutions to their own problem. Knowledge, especially learned firsthand, is gold in this market.

Telling your personal story on how to deal with a crisis not only provides the drama readers like, but also a means to problem solving on their own. Have a health problem, a family issue, or something even mundane on dealing with products such as reviews or experiences.

Telling someone else’s story. With their permission of course. Not everyone can write about what has happened to them, and stories from any source can be entertaining or at least informative. Interview someone who has something to share, and offer to give them credit.

Explaining how to do something. Instructional articles or even non fiction books and articles are always in demand. People want to know, to learn, and to understand about various subjects. If you follow a hobby or studied a subject, why not share what you know?

Reading. Reading books, both non fiction and fiction alike, can provide tons of ideas to a writer. You can expand on an established subject, provide a new angle, or find a creative change from the norm. Newspapers, magazines, poems, and any other reading medium provides the same inspiration. A good writer reads.

http://menwithpens.ca/fiction-writing-hurt-your-characters

I was inspired by this topic I discovered today in my travels online. I agree wholeheartedly with inflicting pain and anguish on your story characters. Life is about problems and solutions, of crisis and overcoming obstacles. Pain also offers the best teaching tool, with tempering the character with strength. (both inner and outer)

I also found this as a writer’s tip to kill off a character if you face writer’s block. Such action immediately creates drama and something for the other character to deal with.  Even having a character believed dead causes enough raucous to add more issues into your storyline.

One method I like to use to inspire my writing is listening to music. I have a number of choices, such as soundtracks, rock, blues, classical, and just about any other type of music out there. Depending on the scene will depend on the type of music I choose.Here are a few tips:

• Create playlists in your music player (Media Player, RealPlayer, other) with labels such as battle, romance, dialogue, or another ’scene’ them you want.
• You can copy your CD/DVD onto your hard drive to create the playlists. How this is done depends on your player.
• You can listen to music online if you have high speed Internet (see links below).
• Headset helps drown out outside noise, filling your ears with music, and allowing you to lose yourself in your story.

ISerenity- This site offers a means to use ‘white noise’ or ambiant sounds you can use for free. Simply pick your sound, and let it fill you. I like the wind chimes the best.

AOL Online Radio- offers a huge variety of music to choose from; most of which has no interruptions and you can hear the whole song. If you sign up (free) you can add up to 10 preset stations of choice. The link to hear the radio is near the top of the screen where it says “listen now”.

Playlist User- offers a means to create playlists you can listen to on various styles of music. One drawback is often you find the song you like is no longer available.

Amazon.com downloads- Believe it not, there is an area on Amazon.com in which you can download music. These are samples, giving you a bit of a taste of music you might not otherwise hear. You can also buy songs on an individual basis through them. PLEASE note: backup your music in case your computer crashes.

Writer’s Prompt:

Click here to listen to the music. (or listen to any song you have on hand). Write on whatever the music provokes inside of you such as a scene, a character, or start of a story. What images are brought to mind?

Recently some writers asked what books are best in regards to the craft of writing. I have to admit, I’m rather picky myself on this subject, because so many books waste my time with fluff and sharing information that I have no use for. I decided to share the books I’ve enjoyed (and covet) in my library:

No Plot? No Problom by Chris Baty- Chris Baty founded the National Novel Writing Month, and this book covers the process of writing a novel very well. With added humor, tips, and some exercises, No Plot? No Problem provides inspiration to keep writing.

The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell- The authors provide a wonderful book that breaks the rules. Offering story after story of writers who managed to find success despite being told otherwise, the book explains the rules of writing while showing how on occasion they can be broken.

265 Troubleshooting Strategies for Writing Nonfiction by Barbara Fine Clouse I love this book. Not only does it help with grammar issues, you will find tons of exercises and prompts to get you writing more creatively.

Starting Your Career as Freelance Writer by Moira Anderson Allen- Another useful book for any writer. This offers the practical side to writing, and how to write for the market. I found tips on finding time, making use of that time, and how to properly format manuscripts extremely helpful.

A Writer’s Workbook by Caroline Sharp- This book includes tons of writer’s prompts and exercises. Its smaller than the other books, fits nicely in my purse, and I bring this with me when I have to sit in waiting rooms. Very handy. Topics covers ‘writing bad guys’ , ‘end well’, and plenty of writer block solutions.
The Well Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman- Here is another practical book on the craft of writing. The author includes just about every avenue of the writing business, and making money as a writer. He gives his own story on breaking into markets, finding work, and utilizing the income you receive.

Let me know if you like this posting. I can add more books I have, but these were the ones that are stock filled with post it notes, and kept by my computer for reference.