by supertwigs | Mar 6, 2011 | Goals, Writing |
I’m closing in on the end. 40,000 plus words. 10,000 to go. When I am finished this novel, I am going to let is simmer for awhile. Not touch it. Not think about it. And I am going to read a book. A glorious, long, indulgent book.
Then, I am going to get back at it. Edit the thing. Shiver at the horrible parts, as there will be many. Smile at the moments of beauty. The good bits. As there might be some. And strike a pen through others.
In the words of Anne Lamott (whose picture, coincidentally, has been sitting beside me through this whole process, on the cover of Writer’s Digest – somehow it has become a good luck token, a muse of sorts, making me feel like I can’t remove it until this is over):
Writing is about hypnotizing yourself into believing in yourself, getting some work done, then unhypnotizing yourself and going over the material coldly.
Can I be cold? I don’t know. But, at least I know I’ll give myself the chance. Because my first draft, of my first novel is – that’s right – almost done. Ha.
by supertwigs | Mar 4, 2011 | Books, Writing |
My friend linked to this interview on facebook. I love this YA author, and thought I’d share it here.
If you haven’t read the Alice, I Think, series, you should. It is good and quirky fun.
http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nor/Interviews/Tamazon-interviews-Susan-Juby-on-Mar-02-2011.aspx
Enjoy!
by supertwigs | Mar 3, 2011 | Books, Goals, Photography, Writing |
I recently read The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. The book chronicles one woman’s attempt to increase her own happiness levels over a year. She uses a variety of research and techniques, which are all documented very nicely on her blog, happiness-project.com. Anyone interested in starting their own Happiness Project can use the tools she provides there.
I found the format of her project particularly intriguing, namely the dividing of her year into a series of what I call, mini-challenges. You may be familiar with the mini-challenge. If you have been reading my blog, you’ll know that I have engaged in one myself, writing a novel in a month (check out Nanowrimo). This was one of Gretchen’s mini-challenges. Some might call them resolutions. Others goals. But, mini-challenges are a bit different. They are small (or sometimes large), manageable (and sometimes daunting), accomplishments that people dedicate themselves to doing. They usually have a start and end date, and they usually involve some personal fulfillment or betterment.
In The Happiness Project, Rubin refers to her book as “stunt non-fiction.” A term she borrowers from a reviewer of her book. I like it. Because I like stunt non-fiction. Reading about how someone else had set themselves some fascinating goal, and then gone about accomplishing it. A.J. Jacobs comes to mind immediately, as does Eat, Pray, Love. Mini-challenges are a big part of stunt non-fiction. Whether it be the man who tried a new job every month for a year, or the one who devoted his year to volunteering, it seems everyone wants to challenge themselves.
The blogosphere is littered with mini-challenges. My own novel in a month is one. So is my participation in a weekly photo contest (MCP Action). Wordpress’s PostADay is one. More and more people are attempting a daily photo as well.
I would like to applaud the mini-challenge. It is fun. Engaging. And, I think, it works.
Here are a few of the writing mini-challenges that I have come across:
Post A Day: Self-explainatory WordPress Fun
Script Frenzy: Write a 100 page script in a month (April)
Story a Day: Write a story a day – in May
SmithMagazine’s Six-Word Memoir: Tell your story, in six words
Six Sentences: Write a story in six sentences
What’s your favourite mini-challenge? (Or maybe you hate mini-challenges. Think they are the scourge of society. I’d like to know about that, too).
I like the mini-challenge, and, as long as I’m enjoying them, I’ll keep trying new ones, as the spirit moves me. Maybe you want to join me?
by supertwigs | Mar 1, 2011 | Creativity, Education, Goals, Writing |
(I have mentioned high school poetry before. Namely, the fact that I stopped writing it in high school…)
The subject of high school poetry, these days, has become rather synonymous with bad. It seems that raw openness, and youthful optimism and/or angst (take your pick) are somehow the harbingers of cheesiness.
Well, today, I happened to find my old high school poetry. And, yes, there is a fair bit of badness, a large amount of idealism (a sin of which I am still guilty), and some issues-ridden pandering. True. But, it turns out, there is also a fair bit of poetry. And some humour.
Like this poem:
The wandering brook
The gurgling stream
Are like the pages of a storybook
The child screamed
And fell in the brook
And that was the end,
Of the storybook.
Anyways… What I was really struck with, in fact, was not my amazing poetry, but my analysis. Or the bit I wrote about why I liked poetry. It actually made me think today. And, so, I share it with you:
I like poetry because it gives me the freedom to express what I am thinking, especially when writing free-verse. In the words of Robert Frost, “Writing free-verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” Writing poetry is easy because there are no grammatical rules. It is easy to use made-up words, sentence fragments, and to jump from one thought to the next.
I think poetry is all about interpretation. The author of the poem can write it to mean something personal to them, but it can be interpreted by others in a completely different (but no less relevant) way…
Since poetry is so open to interpretation it can be anything you want it to be. There is no right and wrong with poetry reading and interpretation. Every different person finds different meaning in every poem.
Not bad for a tenth-grader. I also read my teacher’s comments. It turns out he encouraged me to take creative writing classes. And I didn’t. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
So, in honor of my (fifteen?) year-old self, I am going to start writing poetry again. And reading it, too.
(Hence, therefore, if you have any favorite poems, or poets to share – please do!)
by supertwigs | Feb 25, 2011 | Creativity, Goals, Writing |
As I navigate the complicated waters of writing a novel in 30 days (to victory!), I have happened upon a rather interesting phenomenon. The hijack.
My process, thus far, has been pretty free-flowing. I started with a character. I gave her a setting. I set the clock, and said go. I quickly gave her a conflict (as all good protagonists must have) in the death of her husband. Then, I let her fly.
Something approximating the setting
A part of me thought I’d be in control. A fairly major part. After all, I am the writer, am I not? Well, it turns out, that she’s got me beat. Top pair, ace high. Whatever it is, it beats my 2, 7 off-suit.
The other day I was writing a scene. She is talking to an older man, dying of lung cancer (yes, you are right, there seems to be a lot of death in this novel – who knew?). I am thinking, perfect, he is going to tell her about how he lost his wife (more death), and they’ll bond over this. So, things are moving right along. He even starts with something like, “the day my wife died…” And then, somehow, the two are laughing about a woman falling over while acting like a duck. Laughing hysterically, and yelling at the sky.
I give up trying to tell his story. I now have to find a new way to fit it in. Or not. I guess that depends on the characters. Because, another thing. I seem to be developing some sort of love subplot. Unintended. Between two characters with a twenty year age gap (not the two aforementioned ones, just so you know). I don’t know if it will be requited or not. I’m now smart enough to just wait and see.
Did I mention that I’m halfway there?! 26,000 words and counting. I should also mention that I may have to adjust my timeline… I really want to write my novel in 30 days. And I will. That is, if I don’t count the days that I didn’t write. Now, I should also say that these days happened in the beginning. Before I became a seasoned pro. 1600 words a day is easy. When you’re behind, 3000 is not so easy. So we’ll see.
However, when I do reach 50,000 words, you bet I’ll be proud. And you bet I’ll be surprised. Because the way things are going, I have no idea what is going to happen next…
by supertwigs | Feb 21, 2011 | Goals, Parenting, Writing |
20,000 words and counting. I’ve reached a milestone of sorts in my novel-writing challenge (30 days, 50,000 words). And it is getting easier again. I feel like I’m over a hump. Here’s hoping, anyways, that the rest of the novel will just come pouring out of me a mile a minute and I’ll reach my deadline. Which, if anyone is keeping track, is fast approaching. And I’m only two fifths of the way there.
So far, it has been a funny journey. On the whole, it has been so much easier than I could have imagined. I have had two nights that felt like pulling teeth, but so many others that felt good. The time flying by, and the words almost writing themselves. I’d like to imagine I’m in my Element (check out my Daily Reading). We’ll see.
It feels like I’m starting to wax poetic here (watch out, I’ll be writing high school poetry again soon). Actually, when I finish spewing out this novel, which seems like a good way to describe the process of speed noveling, I think I will try writing poetry again. Although, I’m not promising to publish any here (I’m sure you’re thanking your lucky stars right now).
The hardest part so far has been writing dialogue. I actually started off with my character nicely isolated, hardly encountering another human being, and I thought, this could be my I Robot. I could just give this woman a dog (or, in her case, a baby) to talk to. And no one else. But, then, she’d still have to talk to the baby. If she was to be any kind of mother. And I’d still have to write dialogue.
Talking to your baby, by the way, is one of the best things you can do for them. I tend to go with the “Sportscaster Mom” approach, and narrate anything and everything that is happening around them. At least I did with my first child. The second one, dear Sylvie, mostly gets to listen to her brother talk. I wonder what kind of speech patterns she will develop. Of course, her brother is a bit of a motormouth, so it might work out alright for both of them.
So, dialogue. Ugh. It turns out, in my novel, I just keep introducing characters. All needing their own special voice. Their own unique sound and manner. I found this all extremely tedious, especially when factoring in punctuation: quote, comma, end quote, period, repeat. And don’t forget the words strung in there somewhere. I have read that dialogue is one of the hardest parts of writing, and I believe it.
So, for those of you who want to try something like this at home, here are a few scenarios you might consider:
- Your character is deaf. Therefore, can’t speak to anyone. At least not aloud. But, I think you’d still have to write the words they sign in ASL. So how about…
- Your character is the last person on earth. Period. But, as in I, Robot, there might still be animals. So…
- Your character is the last person on earth. And there are no animals. Or rocks, or trees, or anything else they might want to talk to. That brings us to…
- Your character has taken a vow of silence. And you are writing in the first person. There. That should about do it. It should also be a very speedy novel to write. As long as you don’t give them a pen.
Anyways, around word 18,000 or so, I realized something. I was hardly even thinking about the dialogue. It was kind of just coming. Like those pesky characters were thinking and talking those words all by their little old selves. Okay, it has only been 2000 words since then. By tomorrow night, I might be stuck again. Cringing at every line. Shaking my head at my pathetic attempts to master the English language and the nuances of speech. But, for now, I’d like to think I’ve made a breakthrough.
And, although I still have a long way to go, I have much to be thankful for. I’m 20,000 words in. I have written at least 1600 words every night since I confessed my project here, on my blog. And I am seriously enjoying the process. I mean, really enjoying it. I love it (most days, most of the time). So, for now, I’m going to bed on a high.
She pats herself on the back, and says, “Goodnight already. Geesh.” (I would never say that).
P.S. My spellchecker says “noveling” is not a word. I beg to differ.
Hi! I’m Kelly Woods, writer, mother & librarian. I write about beauty, creativity, green living and lifestyle design to help others live a life of inspiration, too.