Hi guys!
So unfortunately college work has overtaken me this week and I'll have to postpone today's post.
I'll try to get two posts done this week to catch up, probably will blog by Sunday latest. :-)
Thanks for staying patient, will write soon.
Monkey, out.
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Wednesday 23 January 2013
WT: Inspiration
Originally I wasn't planning to do another writing technique post until much later, but browsing the good blogs of fellow writers, I have had a stroke of inspiration. And thus, I wanted to make a post on inspiration as I haven't done one before.
Now you might be thinking "why don't you just call this 'busting writers block' instead?" Well, this is because working at busting writers block and inspiration are actually a bit different. Not having ideas about what to write next is just one kind of writers block, there are lots more ways to get it. I'll tackle writer's block either as a single other post, or as a collection of linked posts. But for now, let's get inspirational!
Ideas From The Environment
Have you ever written a novel, story, poem or just a scribble that someone read and liked, then said, "where ever did you get your idea from?"
I've had that experience, and the weird part is that I don't always have a good answer. "I just thought of it." I don't really register my sources of inspiration like that.
But often, some of the best ideas come from just looking around at the stuff around you. I reckon there's a whole art to just looking at the world around from a different angle than before.
My favourite way of getting inspiration from the environment is to take a walk. That's just it: take a walk. And look! Especially into places you've not been before or don't know well. My favourite places to walk are definitely forests and anywhere near water. I don't know why but it feels so mysterious somehow. My favourite (and definitely most inspirational) time to walk about and look at things has to be nighttime.
Night is really mysterious in my opinion. Again, I have no idea why, but when I'm surrounded by darkness it's somehow incredibly easy for me to think up endless amounts of ideas. Sunset and dusk are not far off from this benchmark either.
And high-up places, from where the view stretches out as far as the eye can see! Or suburbs on snowy nights with all the lights from apartment windows peeking through the falling haze. Or the quiet shades below silver birches beside a lake on a hot summer day.
Heh, I guess my Scandic background kind of influences this.
But basically, even in cities, there are a lot of different kinds of places to go and be in and look at. There's bound to be some place that you can draw inspiration and ideas from!
Inspiration From Dreams
Perhaps one of the best places to get inspiration is from dreams. But there is a definite downside to this kind of inspiration: it isn't something you can necessarily summon up when you need it on command.
I love getting book ideas from dreams. Sometimes I see really out-of-this-world kinds of dreams that make Alice In Wonderland look ordinary (and I'm not exaggerating when I say that).
In fact, the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2011, titled 'Elda', was conceived in this manner.
I always plot my NaNoWriMo novel in October, ready for writing in November. That year, I was planning to do a story I had been thinking up called (temporarily) Angel City.
But on the night between September 30th and October 1st I had a dream about a girl with magic powers trying to escape from an evil witch and white knight trying to capture said girl. The dream actually ended with the knight, very clearly screaming the name 'Elda' again and again. I woke up to that. And like that, boom!, my novel choice changed and I penned out Elda with little effort that month.
But this doesn't happen every night. More often than not I either don't see much of anything or then don't see anything special that I could write about. That's why, when I do see an interesting dream I jot it down right away.
Thing is, most dreams tend to fade from memory quite quickly. When I write them down, I also remember them better even if I lose the paper (oddly enough).
Even bringing bits and pieces from different dreams together is an idea. Keeping a notepad on your bedside table is advised.
Inspiration From Other Art
Let's face it, art is everywhere. Music you listen to, designs you see in clothes, novels, illustrations in books, movies. Some movies, music and images aren't really that amazing. Some are enough to leave you speechless or send you over the moon.
Sometimes when you read a book or listen to some music, you get an idea from that. Something in that piece inspires you, gives you a thought that then you can expand into something completely original.
Don't get me wrong, just copying what you see off another person's page falls on the side of plagiarism rather than inspiration. But say you read a book about a good romance, but you think it could have been a bit better another way. You can write your own, unique romance in the way you'd like one to be with your own characters.
Or you listen to a good jazz song and it makes you think of a 19th Century club in which your hero would begin his pained journey.
Or you see a movie and think that the way the main character's hair was animated would be perfect with another character of yours. Along these lines.
I myself draw a lot of inspiration from all three of these sources. For one thing, I like to have a playlist for each of my novels. Arkanos is definitely Nina Simone dominated, while Electrostatic Fantasy was laced with Tryad and This Is My Normal State.
I think inspiration is a unique thing and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Someone might find inspiration in looking at cars, while for me cars are a rather dull subject. It's always a good idea to try something new.
You never know what you might find.
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| Picture courtesy of Chance Agrella freerangestock.com |
Ideas From The Environment
Have you ever written a novel, story, poem or just a scribble that someone read and liked, then said, "where ever did you get your idea from?"
I've had that experience, and the weird part is that I don't always have a good answer. "I just thought of it." I don't really register my sources of inspiration like that.
 |
| Picture courtesy of Chance Agrella |
My favourite way of getting inspiration from the environment is to take a walk. That's just it: take a walk. And look! Especially into places you've not been before or don't know well. My favourite places to walk are definitely forests and anywhere near water. I don't know why but it feels so mysterious somehow. My favourite (and definitely most inspirational) time to walk about and look at things has to be nighttime.
And high-up places, from where the view stretches out as far as the eye can see! Or suburbs on snowy nights with all the lights from apartment windows peeking through the falling haze. Or the quiet shades below silver birches beside a lake on a hot summer day.
Heh, I guess my Scandic background kind of influences this.
But basically, even in cities, there are a lot of different kinds of places to go and be in and look at. There's bound to be some place that you can draw inspiration and ideas from!
Inspiration From Dreams
 |
| Picture courtesy of Lokigrl616 freerangestock.com |
I love getting book ideas from dreams. Sometimes I see really out-of-this-world kinds of dreams that make Alice In Wonderland look ordinary (and I'm not exaggerating when I say that).
In fact, the novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2011, titled 'Elda', was conceived in this manner.
I always plot my NaNoWriMo novel in October, ready for writing in November. That year, I was planning to do a story I had been thinking up called (temporarily) Angel City.
 |
| Picture courtesy of Ian L freerangestock.com |
But this doesn't happen every night. More often than not I either don't see much of anything or then don't see anything special that I could write about. That's why, when I do see an interesting dream I jot it down right away.
Thing is, most dreams tend to fade from memory quite quickly. When I write them down, I also remember them better even if I lose the paper (oddly enough).
Even bringing bits and pieces from different dreams together is an idea. Keeping a notepad on your bedside table is advised.
Inspiration From Other Art
 |
| Picture courtesy of Jan Stýblo freerangestock.com |
Sometimes when you read a book or listen to some music, you get an idea from that. Something in that piece inspires you, gives you a thought that then you can expand into something completely original.
Don't get me wrong, just copying what you see off another person's page falls on the side of plagiarism rather than inspiration. But say you read a book about a good romance, but you think it could have been a bit better another way. You can write your own, unique romance in the way you'd like one to be with your own characters.
Or you listen to a good jazz song and it makes you think of a 19th Century club in which your hero would begin his pained journey.
Or you see a movie and think that the way the main character's hair was animated would be perfect with another character of yours. Along these lines.
I myself draw a lot of inspiration from all three of these sources. For one thing, I like to have a playlist for each of my novels. Arkanos is definitely Nina Simone dominated, while Electrostatic Fantasy was laced with Tryad and This Is My Normal State.
I think inspiration is a unique thing and what works for one person won't necessarily work for another. Someone might find inspiration in looking at cars, while for me cars are a rather dull subject. It's always a good idea to try something new.
You never know what you might find.
Wednesday 16 January 2013
Do It On The Go
Ever feel that sensation of you have a lot to do and it's all due in a few days? Well, so do I. Coursework, hobbies, work reports, volunteering, blogging... But I'm actually really happy. One of my favourite things to do, also very useful in noveling, is multitasking. And honestly it's probably the most useful skill out there.Think about it; Beerhoven probably composed several of his symphonies simultaneously; JK Rowling most likely had to juggle promotion of one Potter while still working on the next and plotting the one after; Shakespeare might have figured out the plot to his greatest plays while on the bog. Multitasking is everywhere. But is it really a good or bad thing.
It looks great on the CV for one thing. Nothing sounds more convincing than, "organised and skilled multitasker". Employer smiles sagely and knows he/she has struck gold.
But it's a bit of a hassle. There are a lot of things to handle simultaneously, oddly enough that being the whole principle behind it. And I don't know about you but when I hear the term I immediately think of a clown riding a unicycle, juggling plates and balancing an apple on his head, all while attempting to cross a tightrope to light a candle before the match between his teeth burns down to cinders. That's confusion right there! And that's often what I feel like I go through on the first few days of a new job.
My CV impressed employer gives me some tasks to complete and I faff about wondering where I find the paper clips.
Right now I feel like not just my writing, but my everything is relying heavily on some serious, but-kicking multitasking. I blog on the bus, I plot novels in class (during the boring bits), I think up ideas while I sleep. Every moment is precious.
But there's also a down side. I wasn't planning on writing the next novel in the Electrostatic series until November, but now I'm getting close to having the bare-bones of a plot down which means I'll be ready to write! I'm going to have to pen it before NaNoWriMo. Unbelievable.
But I just realised something. I haven't come up with a name for the series. I don't know about 'Electrostatic', that's a pretty long word to keep repeating. 'Electric' maybe?
Any suggestions?
Saturday 12 January 2013
Survey
Weekend update here! :-)
In fact this time I write to you not about any literary exploits, woes or worries. Instead this time I am seeking help from all of you.
As part of my college coursework, I am conducting a survey about online shopping and the impact of the retail industry on our society. And, as you might predict, this of course requires a lot of responses from a lot of people.
If anyone could spare less than a minute to answer the survey, that would be a big help. Even if you haven't shopped online before, you can still answer the questions, that's fine. :-)
The survey is anonymous and only takes a minute.
Please click the link below to be taken to the survey:
In fact this time I write to you not about any literary exploits, woes or worries. Instead this time I am seeking help from all of you.
As part of my college coursework, I am conducting a survey about online shopping and the impact of the retail industry on our society. And, as you might predict, this of course requires a lot of responses from a lot of people.
If anyone could spare less than a minute to answer the survey, that would be a big help. Even if you haven't shopped online before, you can still answer the questions, that's fine. :-)
The survey is anonymous and only takes a minute.
Please click the link below to be taken to the survey:
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| Picture courtesy of Chance Agrella freerangestock.com |
Wednesday 9 January 2013
Milestone 1
Something incredible has happened. Something monumental. Something so incredible it will blow your mind.
I have run out of printing ink.
And why have I run out of printing ink?
BECAUSE ELECTROSTATIC FANTASY IS DONE!!
That's right, my first manuscript is finally beta-ready. I tried to print the whole thing as the first copy but my printer disagreed with that.
After 3 years I've finally gotten to this stage. And it actually feels a bit weird.
What did I expect to feel? Untold enthusiasm; infinite excitement; incomparable success? Well, honestly I feel a bit sad. This project was something I had with me for three years. It was something comfortable and familiar, and now it's finally over. But I am glad, especially about how the ending is now solidified into something definite rather than being a vague mesh of concepts. I'm also happy that I finally know what happens to my characters, and that when I tell people 'I've finished my novel', I'm not lying. I'm not even telling an extended truth.
And there's plenty more where that came from!! The next mission lies in choosing which of my stories to finish and edit next.
Funny thing I found out is: the first time you write the final line of your novel (as a first draft that may still change) is the most satisfying time. Even when I edited a bit off mine, I still didn't feel nearly as much joy and achievement as when I first wrote it.
Funny that.
I have run out of printing ink.
And why have I run out of printing ink?
BECAUSE ELECTROSTATIC FANTASY IS DONE!!
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| Picture courtesy of Jared Davidson freerangestock.com |
After 3 years I've finally gotten to this stage. And it actually feels a bit weird.
What did I expect to feel? Untold enthusiasm; infinite excitement; incomparable success? Well, honestly I feel a bit sad. This project was something I had with me for three years. It was something comfortable and familiar, and now it's finally over. But I am glad, especially about how the ending is now solidified into something definite rather than being a vague mesh of concepts. I'm also happy that I finally know what happens to my characters, and that when I tell people 'I've finished my novel', I'm not lying. I'm not even telling an extended truth.
And there's plenty more where that came from!! The next mission lies in choosing which of my stories to finish and edit next.
Funny thing I found out is: the first time you write the final line of your novel (as a first draft that may still change) is the most satisfying time. Even when I edited a bit off mine, I still didn't feel nearly as much joy and achievement as when I first wrote it.
Funny that.
Wednesday 2 January 2013
WT: Editing
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Well, as promised, today's post will be another one on writing techniques. Although I am cheating a little. Originally I meant for the topic to be on writing (as writing naturally tends to come after plotting after all). But as I have been working so studiously on it, I decided to dedicate today's post to editing instead. Here are some of the tips I would recommend to others with regard to getting through the editing process.
One Step At A Time
I'd say this applies mostly to longer stories. My novel is about 60,000-70,000 words long (don't know exactly since the last time I checked was a really long time ago), and so it's quite a piece of work to try and handle at the same time.
Remember, it's not supposed to be perfect the first time through. Or maybe even the second. I think I've gone through each of my chapters about 8-10 times now, and now I'm starting to feel happy with it.
Step One: Concentrate on Content
Worried about grammar and spelling? Especially if you've just finished NaNoWriMo or an equivalent, your spelling may be the pits at that point (I know mine is!). However, even if you have let your inner editor out of its cage, it's not quite time to start worrying about whether the apostrophes are in their right places.
Read over your content, pretend like this is the work of someone else and you've never seen it before. When you see something you'd like to be a bit different, then change it. See something that confuses you? Clarify until you are happy you can understand it. Main thing is to know it might take a few goes through before its good and ready.
Step Two: Break It Up
One of my favourite things to do is to separate the chapters up into separate word files. My reason for that was that the scroll bar became so tiny with it all in one file that I nudge the mouse a millimetre I jump ahead about ten pages. But it also helped me concentrate on the chapters separately. :-)
Step Three: You Are Your Audience
BIGGEST advice I would give on editing is don't try to please "people". I know when I first started writing (not even close to editing) I kept thinking 'What would "everyone" make of this sentence like this?'. Guess how much I wrote of that novel before my first NaNo? 3,000 words. In 3 years. When I first started editing I slipped into the same vein: 'What's "everybody" going to think of this?' Answer is: you don't know. And if one thing is true is that you can't please everybody. If nothing else, there's always going to be that one granny or school-yard bully out there somewhere who will imagine things up to point out of your story because they live off of making others feel miserable. So, the most important critic you have to please is YOU. Do you like the characters? Do you think the plot is good? Do you think this draft is ready for the publisher/agent/your neighbour to see? If the answer is 'yes', well, then that is what is true. :-) It's the best way to move forward.
Step Four: Take A Break
Have you ever heard of the term 'reading things into the text'? If you haven't, then this is when people read text and assume or want something to be written in and this makes them see that which they are expecting mentally rather than what is actually written. After you have stared at the same text for a while, you begin to remember more or less what was written. You start thinking in concepts rather than reading, and you miss things. After a bit of editing (especially if I think I still need to come back to the chapter for a check-up) I take a break (at least a full day) before coming back. Preferably I take a week. This way my mind is fresh to look at my text from a whole new angle. It works miracles! Bananas and Fanta help too!
Step Five: Know Your Place
Even though it might sound impossible, your novel is going to be finished one day. And if you are anything like me, you will still be looking back and thinking 'That comma should have been two words down the sentence!' There is a time and place to put the editing pen down and call it a day. For me, I've decided that when I go over a chapter and I'm doing exactly that—correcting the places of commas—I'll know I've done all I can do and then it will be over to my trusted beta readers for the next phase!
Step Six: Have Fun
A book isn't really much worth writing if you hate every minute of the experience. Best writing happens when you love what you're doing and don't stress about what other people might think. Chris Baty from NaNoWriMo was right in saying that you are the only one who can write your amazing story. And there are people waiting eagerly to read it!
These are my six tips for editing that help get me through. It's the way I've approached my own editing and so far it has been working well.
How do you like to approach editing? What's the biggest tip you would give to someone else who is facing editing a novel or story or piece of writing for the first time?
Until next time! Monkey-out!
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