As with most 10-year-olds, the muse has a heck of a lot more energy than I do most days. She wants to be off shooting up a nest of crooked vampires when I want to take a rest for the evening after having crammed a full time job and school into my schedule. Eventually, she makes my writing hand itch so bad that its almost physical, and I have to get up and put fingers to keyboard just to make it stop.
At this point, she drags me flailing through the streets of the Empire, riding shotgun with Sven Nulis (who I think she has a crush on, just saying...) as he kills the baddies, solves the crimes, and wrestles with his self-doubt. All in all, it's a bit of a head trip, and I crawl my abused self under the covers for some well-needed rest at the end of it all.
The worst cases of an Attack of Muse occur when I absolutely can't do anything about it. I'll be running parts at work or sitting in lecture, and a scene pops into my head. Angst and blood galore, and I can't pick up a pencil and jot it to paper. It's maddening! Especially because the scene looks so perfect in those moments, and when I try to recreate it later, it just isn't the same.
So I bought a digital recorder to take dictation in the car...and subsequently left it at home when I went out for lunch and then to the coffee shop for a long day of playing with the muse. It's days like this that I consider getting a day job, forgetting the degree, and writing as full time as I could possibly get. Then I remember my dad's you've-pulled-a-stupid look and hit the books again.
Can't win for losing. So, the muse and I will continue to play drag and be-dragged until I finish school or start getting paid a decent wage to get an education.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Writer's Block
I once snatched up a book in the local library that was all about writer's block, and its insights have helped me to bulldoze my way through those walls, yelling in victory.
This book referred to the muse, the element in writers that gets them passionate about their work, as the inner child. Considering that I have been writing creatively in one form or another since I was 12, my muse is roughly 10 years old. I think she will continue to be 10 years old even when she's 57 and we both have trouble seeing the computer screen.
What? Shouldn't every 69 year old play with her imaginary friends?
In addition to calling the muse the inner child, the book advised to treat the muse sort of like a child, writing what and when the muse wants to write instead of trying to force the issue. (I kinda doubt this would work for someone with a deadline, but I currently don't have to worry about that, so I'm just going with the flow.) It helps that I have two series actively moving along to which I can turn. Generally, if the muse doesn't want to play with one group of imaginary friends, she wants to go visit the other set.
Also, I've come to discover that my writing will fizzle to a crawl if the muse feels like this scene isn't going in the particular direction that she wants. When every word becomes a struggle to get onto paper, I realize it's time to take a look back at the chapter I just wrote and decide if this is really how things should be progressing. If not...DELETE. I can always start again, but trying to push a brick wall down just isn't going to happen.
For example, just last night I was transferring all my notes for the Blood Demon Chronicles into one binder and I came across the Vague Outline for Rebirth Alone, I put the outline on a brand new sheet of paper, all nice and shiny...only to discover that I hated it. I'm now 12 chapters into a new outline for this book and liking it a whole lot better.
I've read several posts on the internet that claims Writer's Block is just an excuse not to put words to paper, but I want to add my own caveat to that. Writer's block is an excuse only if you don't struggle against it until the clog is fixed. I imagine everyone has days when they have so much trouble getting words to flow that giving up seems like the only way to save themselves from an burst blood vessel, but pushing through that feeling is what makes a successful writer.
This book referred to the muse, the element in writers that gets them passionate about their work, as the inner child. Considering that I have been writing creatively in one form or another since I was 12, my muse is roughly 10 years old. I think she will continue to be 10 years old even when she's 57 and we both have trouble seeing the computer screen.
What? Shouldn't every 69 year old play with her imaginary friends?
In addition to calling the muse the inner child, the book advised to treat the muse sort of like a child, writing what and when the muse wants to write instead of trying to force the issue. (I kinda doubt this would work for someone with a deadline, but I currently don't have to worry about that, so I'm just going with the flow.) It helps that I have two series actively moving along to which I can turn. Generally, if the muse doesn't want to play with one group of imaginary friends, she wants to go visit the other set.
Also, I've come to discover that my writing will fizzle to a crawl if the muse feels like this scene isn't going in the particular direction that she wants. When every word becomes a struggle to get onto paper, I realize it's time to take a look back at the chapter I just wrote and decide if this is really how things should be progressing. If not...DELETE. I can always start again, but trying to push a brick wall down just isn't going to happen.
For example, just last night I was transferring all my notes for the Blood Demon Chronicles into one binder and I came across the Vague Outline for Rebirth Alone, I put the outline on a brand new sheet of paper, all nice and shiny...only to discover that I hated it. I'm now 12 chapters into a new outline for this book and liking it a whole lot better.
I've read several posts on the internet that claims Writer's Block is just an excuse not to put words to paper, but I want to add my own caveat to that. Writer's block is an excuse only if you don't struggle against it until the clog is fixed. I imagine everyone has days when they have so much trouble getting words to flow that giving up seems like the only way to save themselves from an burst blood vessel, but pushing through that feeling is what makes a successful writer.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Inspiration
Inspiration comes and goes. One day I could have writing twitches every five seconds, and another I could go all day without feeling a single pull toward my two series.
In a very real way, my writing is an outlet for all the negative emotions that swirl around in my head. All the evil I see in the real world gets translated into some aspect of the one on paper. There are nuggets of joy and light, but they generally come after I've scratched open a scab and let it bleed for a few pages.
This can be especially true of my past.
Due to a falling out I had with my mother at the first offshoot of puberty, I have a tendency to give characters that are similar to me an exaggerated version of that horrible relationship with their same gender parent. For example, Zero Naken is essentially a male version of me, and his father was physically and emotionally abusive. I also have the habit of giving these characters some of my other issues. Zero, though an amazing person, in my opinion, has difficulty finding a mate, has a fear of being abandoned, keeps many of his negative feelings bottled up, feels like he has to be completely self-sufficient, feels like he just isn't worthy of love, and...I could go on for days with this list, but you get the idea.
Although I spend a lot of time in my writing fending off darkness with a candle flame, I also find inspiration in everyday life. I'm notorious for laughing about something a friend says and claiming, "Manuscript fodder." I was once wandering around a department store when I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if the mannequins were holograms?" I've even looked at an everyday item and thought, "Now why can't this do that?" Several futuristic gadgets in Sven's world have come about because of this one. I'm also an infamous name hijacker. If I'm having trouble naming a character, I'll read everything (street signs, bill boards, notes, book spines, credit card receipts, name tags, bulletin boards, you name it) in search of that elusive identifier. Heck, I named a shoe store The Hanging Slipper Box because I saw a store in Chicago with a similar name.
In a very real way, my writing is an outlet for all the negative emotions that swirl around in my head. All the evil I see in the real world gets translated into some aspect of the one on paper. There are nuggets of joy and light, but they generally come after I've scratched open a scab and let it bleed for a few pages.
This can be especially true of my past.
Due to a falling out I had with my mother at the first offshoot of puberty, I have a tendency to give characters that are similar to me an exaggerated version of that horrible relationship with their same gender parent. For example, Zero Naken is essentially a male version of me, and his father was physically and emotionally abusive. I also have the habit of giving these characters some of my other issues. Zero, though an amazing person, in my opinion, has difficulty finding a mate, has a fear of being abandoned, keeps many of his negative feelings bottled up, feels like he has to be completely self-sufficient, feels like he just isn't worthy of love, and...I could go on for days with this list, but you get the idea.
Although I spend a lot of time in my writing fending off darkness with a candle flame, I also find inspiration in everyday life. I'm notorious for laughing about something a friend says and claiming, "Manuscript fodder." I was once wandering around a department store when I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool if the mannequins were holograms?" I've even looked at an everyday item and thought, "Now why can't this do that?" Several futuristic gadgets in Sven's world have come about because of this one. I'm also an infamous name hijacker. If I'm having trouble naming a character, I'll read everything (street signs, bill boards, notes, book spines, credit card receipts, name tags, bulletin boards, you name it) in search of that elusive identifier. Heck, I named a shoe store The Hanging Slipper Box because I saw a store in Chicago with a similar name.
Music
As much as I enjoy cracking open a new book and following the characters to the conclusion, I think I enjoy becoming familiar with a new song even more. It taking a couple days to finish perusing a new member of my growing library and only a few minutes to finish a new song might have something to do with it.
Especially if it takes me a while to find the particular song I want, I generally spend a week listening to the same song on repeat when it's fresh. For the first couple of days, I'll sit at my desk and move around a little in time with the music, getting a feel for the images that flow through my brain in response to the lyrics or even just the rhythm. And for that first couple of days, writing while listening to said song is nigh on impossible. The images conflict, so I have to hand-write what I want to say in silence and then jam while getting the words transferred to the computer.
After that, it's a toss up.
The music that I write to can vary, even in a single writing session. Sometimes I sit down, plug my head in and go about my merry literary way. Sometimes I fight with the media player trying to find the exact combination of tunes that will allow the creative juices to flow properly. (Generally, the latter means I need to pull out the headphones and hit the keyboard to the ringing in my ears.)
I've written to a wide range of genres. For a week once, I typed to the lyrics of Latin ballads that went too fast for me to even attempt to translate. Another week, I spent wrapped in the musical arms of the Japanese theme songs from some of my favorite anime. Usually, though, my preferred musical background is rock of some sort. I've even played around to the beat of heavy metal a few times (usually Zero took up a lot of those scenes, my poor tortured warrior).
Especially if it takes me a while to find the particular song I want, I generally spend a week listening to the same song on repeat when it's fresh. For the first couple of days, I'll sit at my desk and move around a little in time with the music, getting a feel for the images that flow through my brain in response to the lyrics or even just the rhythm. And for that first couple of days, writing while listening to said song is nigh on impossible. The images conflict, so I have to hand-write what I want to say in silence and then jam while getting the words transferred to the computer.
After that, it's a toss up.
The music that I write to can vary, even in a single writing session. Sometimes I sit down, plug my head in and go about my merry literary way. Sometimes I fight with the media player trying to find the exact combination of tunes that will allow the creative juices to flow properly. (Generally, the latter means I need to pull out the headphones and hit the keyboard to the ringing in my ears.)
I've written to a wide range of genres. For a week once, I typed to the lyrics of Latin ballads that went too fast for me to even attempt to translate. Another week, I spent wrapped in the musical arms of the Japanese theme songs from some of my favorite anime. Usually, though, my preferred musical background is rock of some sort. I've even played around to the beat of heavy metal a few times (usually Zero took up a lot of those scenes, my poor tortured warrior).
Friday, December 10, 2010
Color
Because I have a tendency to draw my characters in an attempt to better visualize them, a quick peek into my colored pencil case will tell you exactly which colors are my favorites. Generally the darker the better.
Black: a great many characters and settings I write have an air of evil or wickedness about them, plus despite the color of my own hair this is my favorite color for those flowing locks
Red: a passionate color and one associated with blood, considering that most of my characters are demonkyn of some kind blood is a normal part of most scenes, plus if you look into a pair of red eyes you immediately think creepy
Violet: not as passionate as red nor as dark as black this color is a choice I use for seers who tread the line between good and evil, its not a color one sees naturally in eyes, so its also a good indicator of non-human origins
Blue a much calmer color, although it can become darker if need be, blue is a color I usually use for characters with an inner calm or quiet strength that people tend to underestimate
Gold and Silver: almost strictly for jewelry, gold is more ceremonial or for those who are arrogant, silver has a calmer feel as far as decoration goes when compared to gold so if a character is allowed blue they generally get silver, as well, however I will use gold as hair or eye color when creating royalty
Green: not used as often as the others, but this is one of my favorite colors for eyes
Black: a great many characters and settings I write have an air of evil or wickedness about them, plus despite the color of my own hair this is my favorite color for those flowing locks
Red: a passionate color and one associated with blood, considering that most of my characters are demonkyn of some kind blood is a normal part of most scenes, plus if you look into a pair of red eyes you immediately think creepy
Violet: not as passionate as red nor as dark as black this color is a choice I use for seers who tread the line between good and evil, its not a color one sees naturally in eyes, so its also a good indicator of non-human origins
Blue a much calmer color, although it can become darker if need be, blue is a color I usually use for characters with an inner calm or quiet strength that people tend to underestimate
Gold and Silver: almost strictly for jewelry, gold is more ceremonial or for those who are arrogant, silver has a calmer feel as far as decoration goes when compared to gold so if a character is allowed blue they generally get silver, as well, however I will use gold as hair or eye color when creating royalty
Green: not used as often as the others, but this is one of my favorite colors for eyes
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Characters: My People in General
I'm not certain if this is the "norm" or more of my quirky need to do everything backwards, but my characters generally come to me personality first. Like a Facebook profile with insightful posts and a manga character as a profile picture (who does that anyway...wait...I do that *blush*). This is especially true for the characters who pop into my head and offer an incorporeal hand, saying some version of, "'Sup?" (Don't tell, but these guys are more fun...I loves me some spontaneity).
Then there are the guys I have to coax into being.
The process usually starts with a role that needs filling: warrior, pack leader, priestess, slave, mate, queen, king, etc.
If that doesn't elicit a response from the ole neurons, I go further. "What are the stereotypical traits of this role? Which of those do I want to keep? Which of them need dumping to make this role work for this series of events?"
If I don't have anything by this point, I give the character a "code name." So an undeveloped warrior becomes WName in the manuscript with a note to later describe him (or her). Sometimes I only know what I need once the other characters show me where the gap is. Many on-the-fly people have arisen because of this need.
Assuming the brain storming session bore fruit, I then get into the fun part: Why?
Why does the woman-hating, female warrior who could kill a dragon at 50 paces with a kitchen knife secretly write poetry and make charcoal drawings of the countryside?
See? The fun part.
Only then do I pay attention to looks. As I see it, the outward appearance is fluid. If you want to change a personality, it's going to take some work. Going back to the Facebook analogy, it's like digesting a page of insightful posts before checking out the "Photos of Me" link.
I suppose I do this because I secretly (and not so secretly) believe my own personality is amazing, but my picture...not so much.
This quirk of mine might also be why I've fallen into the trap of creating lots of beautiful people with minor cosmetic "flaws" and gaping wounds in their spirits.
Media would have us believe "beautiful, thin" people are constantly happy (bogus) and "unattractive, fat" people are constantly miserable (also bogus). So I added my own twist. I have trouble creating a truly positive character with a truly positive outlook and past, so miserable beautiful people it is.
Then there are the guys I have to coax into being.
The process usually starts with a role that needs filling: warrior, pack leader, priestess, slave, mate, queen, king, etc.
If that doesn't elicit a response from the ole neurons, I go further. "What are the stereotypical traits of this role? Which of those do I want to keep? Which of them need dumping to make this role work for this series of events?"
If I don't have anything by this point, I give the character a "code name." So an undeveloped warrior becomes WName in the manuscript with a note to later describe him (or her). Sometimes I only know what I need once the other characters show me where the gap is. Many on-the-fly people have arisen because of this need.
Assuming the brain storming session bore fruit, I then get into the fun part: Why?
Why does the woman-hating, female warrior who could kill a dragon at 50 paces with a kitchen knife secretly write poetry and make charcoal drawings of the countryside?
See? The fun part.
Only then do I pay attention to looks. As I see it, the outward appearance is fluid. If you want to change a personality, it's going to take some work. Going back to the Facebook analogy, it's like digesting a page of insightful posts before checking out the "Photos of Me" link.
I suppose I do this because I secretly (and not so secretly) believe my own personality is amazing, but my picture...not so much.
This quirk of mine might also be why I've fallen into the trap of creating lots of beautiful people with minor cosmetic "flaws" and gaping wounds in their spirits.
Media would have us believe "beautiful, thin" people are constantly happy (bogus) and "unattractive, fat" people are constantly miserable (also bogus). So I added my own twist. I have trouble creating a truly positive character with a truly positive outlook and past, so miserable beautiful people it is.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Vague Outline
I was thinking about outlines the other day, not for any specific project I'm working on, just in general.
When I first began writing, the thought of composing an outline for a creative work seemed like creative suicide. Up to that point, outlines were the evil, unbending things they made us create for papers in English and Composition class. But after a few crushing bouts of writer's block, I realized something had to change in the way I was writing.
I then had my "outline epiphany." This wasn't Composition class anymore.
An outline didn't have to be some rigid format that I had to follow to the letter or get points counted off for it. My outline could be fluid, a springboard or a collection of brainstorming output. Outlines became more of an ad lib script that I handed to my characters and said, "This is the situation guys. How are we going to get out of this one?"
Each character I create has his or her own set of quirks and insecurities that shape how they approach a particular problem. The loose framework is ideal for them, because they are so diverse in their experiences.
Thus, the Vague Outline was born...
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