Writer Wednesday: Procrastinating Writers

I can’t say I’m a procrastinating writer as much as I’m a procrastinator. Its nice to know there are blogs out there dedicated to helping those with this affliction.

Procrastinating Writers site offers tons of posts on advice and resources for writers. Topics cover motivation, creativity, and inspiration; all vital elements for the would-be author.

Here are some posts I enjoyed;

Break your writing into manageable pieces.

A simple tool every writer needs to know about.

Setting a writing appointment is an effective way to get writing done.

Add your comments, ideas, or links you feel are worthy to share to other writers.

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Chased by zombies

I homeschool and I write, which doesn’t give me much of an active life. I own a cattle dog, so you’d think that alone would offer me something of activity to burn calories and be fit. Alas, no. I’m also lazy.

I have plans on getting this Iphone app entitled Zombies! Run! The concept intrigues me;

The goal of the game is to rebuild civilization after a zombie apocalypse. To do this, you actually have to go out and run around in the real world where you can collect ammo, medicine, batteries, and spare parts that will let you build up and expand your base. You’ll get clues, orders, and stories through your headphones. You can even pretend you’re running around at night avoiding zombies when you’re actually running on the safety of your gym’s treadmill. You’ll get to hear the frightening moans and gurgles of the zombies that are right on your heels, making sure you keep running for your life. by Jennifer Bergan at geek.com

Talk about motivation! The downside is that it’s a $7 app! I’m also not keen about running away from zombies every time I go for a jog. I can see me panicking at some point, and bolting for home. My neighbors would think I’m a nut.

The idea is cool, though; games you play in the physical world. I started wondering about the possible stories bubbling in my head if I had to run, imagining the undead at my heels, with only the sound of strangers in my ears to connect me to the living. (shudders)

This touches upon the whole idea of play and creativity. I remember feeling terrified when playing ‘hunt monster’ with my dad. The tension was so bad at one point, with dimmed lights and only flashlights to defend myself, so when my father lunged at me from the darkness of a closet, I clobbered the ‘monster’ with all my might!

My dad said later I nearly knocked him out. I think I was 7 at the time. He knew I could defend myself after that.

Storytelling touches upon the fears, passions, and even insecurities we have to mesh into a storyline that speaks to the reader. They may also have those same fears. I often wonder if I’m alone in clobbering closet monsters.

I’m sure there’s a story there somewhere.

Prompt: Take a fear you had (or have) as a child, and write, from the POV of the child, a situation where you face that fear. Add all the imagined terror you think a child of that age would have, but put the story in first person.

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The Adventure

I remember, as a kid, imagination offered a number of adventures in the backyard.

A fierce battle with ‘the enemy’, armed with stick guns and a child’s courage won the war against my father and sisters. A rope swing became a thick vine over the Amazon river, rife with man-eating piranha. A walk through an old graveyard offered the possibility of zombies rising from the sunken earth to grab toes.

My imagination was a powerful tool, so powerful in fact that in a game of ‘hunt-monster’ with my father, I clobbered him in the head with a flashlight in my panic. I swear he appeared as some creature, lunging from the dark closet to swallow my soul!

Such sense of play and possibilities offers a writer the same adventure, but in storytelling. Instead of acting out, I get to write out scenes in vivid detail of terror and delight.

Consider a writing assignment by taking a game you played as a child, but writing it as though it did, in fact, occur as your imagination played out the story. See what happens.

Use the picture blow to write a scene that explains it, or leads up to it. Who is she talking to? What is saying? Why the gun?

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Voraciously curious

My friends often tease me about a little fact I shared at a gathering we had once; the cockroach, I informed them, can live nine days without its head.

Well I thought it was interesting. I often say “I’m filled with useless information” but if you find that you need to know how long a cockroach can live without its head…well, now you know.

I find lots of things interesting, and its that voracious curiosity that often leads me to story ideas.

Stephan King suggests the question “What if…?” when coming up with ideas for stories.

I also ask other questions or find things curious and must read up on the topic. A story I was writing dealt with some character who worked as agents. I was curious about guns, and happened up on this topic where it shows a few gun mistakes some writers make.

I also found information on autopsy procedures, some information on various poisons, and even forensic tips  and things on mental illness….all for my story. Half of which I ended up on even using.

But I love the learning process. It’s all so fascinating. It often sparks tons of ideas for sci-fi, fantasy, and even horror stories. If only I had time to get them all to paper.

What odd little facts do you know? What sort of research have you done for stories? Leave in comments below.

Prompt: use the picture below for a story or poem.

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The muse versus the ‘inner editor’

Sometimes I wonder if the creative muse isn’t related or another shade of the inner editor, being two sides of the same coin.

The creative muse comes and goes as she likes, inspiring in not just plot, characters, or ideas, but also the word flow and the crafting of sentences into eloquence.

The inner editor, on the other hand, sits regularly at your shoulder, pointing out mistakes, nags to correct or make changes, and hacks away your confidence.

I think the muse bubbles up from the left/creative part of the brain, while the inner editor lurks at the right/logic side of the brain. If only we could provoke the muse as much as the editor.

What are your thoughts? I understand some writers just ignore the editor, and have no use of the muse. I can write without her, but its not as enjoyable.

Technorati Tags: writing,authors,blog,writer’s block,inner editor

Blog plotting

I was asked the other day  if I plan ahead for my blog posts. Most of the time the answer is yes. Other times, I sort of waffle and struggle to find the subject.

Planning should be a part of any writer’s process. You need to know what direction you need to go with a plot in story, an outline in nonfiction, and lo, even blogging. More importantly, you should consider what you hope to accomplish once you get there.

I stockpile all sorts of ideas, inspirations, and topics to provoke even more ideas. These can be photos, videos, posts from other blogs, quotes, news, or just about anything that I find along my travels.

Other ideas, I find along the way and in the oddest places. Generally when I’m driving, going to sleep, taking a shower, and other times where I don’t have a pen or my handy dandy IPhone to jot down the idea before it flutter away to oblivion. Dang it.

Sometimes I will do an odd motion or speak out loud, in a very loud, commanding voice, the idea, and hope I’ll remember it later.

I also reflect on what I’d like to see in a blog for writers. This is why I avoid my mundane life, I suppose. I’m told by my writer friends that I’m entertaining, even with the mundane, but there are times I sort of babble.

Planning ahead relieves a lot of pressure but also shows how much a blogger can write on a theme. With a little thought, luck, and a bit of prayer, you can find oodles of topics to write about.

Prompt for Friday:

Consider the picture and freewrite ideas for titles, characters, emotion, scenes, and even places for ten minutes.

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