I'm finally turning my Pinterest into a true writers board. I still keep stuff for me, such as "Rescue Me from My Fangirl," "LOL," "Want This," and "Prettyness," but my other boards are with purpose.
On Pinterest and Behind the Scenes
Changing It Up
I'm always surprised that I end up writing the stories I do, instead of the ones I'm excited about, but it turns out that I still require a long percolation period. I'm just going to have to adjust and accept that I write and shelve until the thing finishes coming together. It's at the point when I understand what the story's about that I can actually write it, with a few notable exceptions.
But I have been writing and learning—on "Gone Hunting" of all stories. First, I've found my cross-country muse again. The one who can leave writing and return to the same story over and over while putting the rest of them on hold. In short, the one who can hold a thought. Creating new content on a planned schedule should get easier if I don't let it take a nap at the moment of truth.
Because of this, I've also decided I will be taking a new approach to my publishing, but it will take a while for everything to be implemented, particularly online. There are several main tracks I've been considering.
Admissions
I've been MIA. I will continue to be MIA for a little longer.
Hope all of you are doing well, and feel free to drop something by one of my multitude of boxes if you need me. :hugs:
Guest Post Today: Writing to the Bone
So I'm guest posting it today over at Rabia Gale's about writing short, long, and tight.
Posted in Nonfiction, Publishing, Writing
Tagged guest post, writing process
Comments Off on Guest Post Today: Writing to the Bone
Sunday memery while I procrastinate on writing whipsy's story.
Oops! I said it out loud. Ah, well. These are from arliddian. Comment if you want your own.
1. What is your favourite sweet treat?
Cheesecake. Bar none. With kiwis on top.
2. There's a fire in your house! What are the first five things you try to rescue?
My family. My writings. My PDA and backup hard drive. Oh, and underwear/change of clothes.
3. A time machine is malfunctioning and is going to deposit you in the past, with no way to return to your own time! You have just enough seconds to set the time period of your choice. Which would you choose and why?
Five years ago. I'd get back to where I am a whole lot faster and be able to finally have two of me. Answer to prayers, y'all.
4. What is your favourite thing to do in summer?
Write. What else?
5. What kind of music do you listen to when you need inspiration?
Celtic. Christian contemporary, mostly pop and acoustic, none of this rock and roll stuff they're calling CCM anymore. More celtic.
6. What are your top five tips about writing original fiction?
Focus on stories. Forget the writing; the writing will take care of itself. Focus on what inspires you. Read. Live through your character's eyes. Know what makes people tick. Know the stories you love and how to get from point a to point b with as many complications as you can throw on there. It's about stories, people.
Fuel selectively. If you fall in love with something (I'm looking at you angsty ships!), it will come out in your stories. Pay attention to the things that unleash your inner fangirl. Fangirl your own fiction. Make it yours. Explain it. Juggle it around until you're satisfied. Love AU (hereby go to original) but make their lousy, crazy canon nonlogic into real logic without changing anything from canon at all—if you can. Learn how to feed your own muse.
Never assume anything. Know your characters, the rules of your world, and a handful of outside factors to fling at them. The rest will be unpredictable—even to you, but inevitable.
Know the difference between voice and tone. Your voice is your writing. Your tone is your story. And for goodness sake, don't read out of tone when you're working. Keep the reading and the writing separate if you're tone-hopping.
No matter what you do in writing, what choice you make, it's fine. As long as you do it consistently.
7. How much do you think you have changed in the past two years?
Goodness. Much. And nothing. Some days, I know. Some days, I don't. I try to stay in the present, know what I want to change and where I'm heading. I'm not a journey person. It's about the destination, and that's where my eyes are fixed.
The Freedom to Scribble
I have always preferred to write chronologically. It suited my brain's play-it-out approach but caused all manner of bogdown, since it did not suit my speed of creation and crossreferencing proclivities.
I scribble down snippets, all the time, bits of dialogue I want to remember, ideas for stories and what-have-you, but a lot of snippets I never got around to writing down.
Thus, it finally occurs to me to stop trying to change my habits and leverage them instead. I'm giving myself the freedom to scribble a book. Not write it, not plan it, just scribble it.
I've taken a bunch of scenes and ideas and started new files on my PDA for each individual scene. I write what I have, whether that's a line of narrative or dialogue or just put this here.
You know what? I think it's working.
Snippet: Storm
So on Write a Book with Me, Kirsten asked for snippets and shared an amazing one of her own. I went ahead and went out on a limb (for me, anyway) and shared the first bit of Storm, the new bit of the overhaul of my Vardin novelverse into The Rothnen Cycle.
I wasn't expecting much; I've been scared to really go where this book goes, but her response just about choked me up and told me I am finally doing this right. It's still scary, if I'm honest, but I hope that I can keep doing, reaching down into the real parts of this story that draw me and compel me and share them, no matter how much I worry that it's going to go down wrong.
She fell into sleep wearing her usual blonde braid and her long, flannel nightgown. She woke to a rocky beach with her golden hair loose and blowing in the softly singing winds and wearing a simple cream-colored dress under a dark cloak. He was there. He was always there, waiting for her. A little older than she was, maybe twelve or thirteen, and visibly too thin without his shirt. He liked to hang his bare legs in the water and let the water and wind ruffle his hair into unkempt auburn. He liked to sit just in front of her and grin when she wasn’t being serious.
But tonight—or day, the sun was glimmering softly over here through a haze of beautiful blue so intense, it seemed she could swirl her finger in it—she was serious as she settled her cloaked back against the large rock leading upward toward the cliffs. She was serious often enough to know he would not laugh or grin, but listen to her intently, like his life hung upon her words.
“What day is it?” she asked, softly, like speaking too loud would change his answer.
It was an old question between them, something worrisome and weary filling the gap between.
“The seventeenth,” he answered solemnly.
“What month is it?”
He waited a moment, dark eyes holding hers. “The second.”
The same day. She slept and awoke and it was all her own life. It bothered her.
He was all pent-up, restless energy and stepped up as if to go, but she caught his hand and held it tightly. He let her and sat beside her while she waited for the ache of confusion within her to leave her for the winds and drift away.
Patience is a Virtue, with Writing Tools
ORIGINAL STUFF
Discovered last night that the ebook sales that went nonexistent in the first quarter are back. Note to the scribbler: double up on getting the updates published. That's a 10+ hour project I haven't had 10+ hours to do.
Discovered new website yesterday with reviewing style I genuinely adore. I've wanted to review a lot of books and stories that really move me, but have taken a hands off approach because the rate at which I inhale fiction leaves very little time for commenting, but... Note to the scribbler: This is worth a try.
Installed a bunch of new plugins to add functionality and better organization to this site. Haven't had time to really do anything about configuring them yet. Note to the scribbler: You do need to get on that.
Finished editing a story in the world of Breath: "The Great Cat and His Soul." I'm holding onto it though until I can collect it. Note to the scribbler: Consider permitting more than just 'myths' in the collection, 'kay?
FANDOM STUFF
Watched last week's Awake. Bawled my eyes out. It's amazing. I know they cancelled the show, but oh, Lordy, I sense huge amounts of fan response brewing on my horizons. Note to the scribbler: Do wait until time opens up, please. Patience is a virtue.
Still am not reading Insurgent. It doesn't come close to the right mood/tone for the writing I need to do today. Note to the scribbler: Patience really is a virtue.
Am writing a Kyro ficlet for arliddian. Dislike my first go and still love the summary: "Kitty always did like complex mathematical equations—like solving for the 'saint' in John." I'm trying too hard to make it match the title: "The Improbability of Forever." Note to the scribbler from your muse: Two fics?
Safe has not beeen coming along, but that is primarily my fault. I've been rereading my own work exactly like we just mentioned we should not. Note to the scribbler: Stop it.
But... in the process I found a snippet I'd been looking for everywhere and thought was gone for good. Yay! Note to the scribbler: You need to work on your organization methods. Badly.
AWESOME TOOLS I USE TO WRITE
Wordle is a handy dandy for revealing all sorts of overused words and phrases. I haven't used it recently because I've been experimenting in just getting. words. down. http://www.wordle.net/
Written? Kitten! is my handy dandy for short fiction. Highly recommend. http://writtenkitten.net/
Mary Sue Tester is new to me, but it came in rather handy making sure I hadn't gone overboard when designing the katchen. (Considering altering spelling to kahtchen—unwieldy but easier to pronounce correctly.) http://www.springhole.net/writing/marysuetests.htm
Pinterest is proving to be a useful place to store writing prompts. I use this tool to add quotes. http://pinterest.com/lianamir/idea-box/
AND BACK TO YOU...
Anything exciting? New tools? New progress? Causes of lack of progress identified? Tips for acquiring patience?
Posted in Fandom, Publishing, Website, Writing
Tagged fandom: awake, plans, writing tools
2 Comments
Who—and What—is the Book About
There is a thought in writing that the best point of view for a scene is the character who knows the least and has the most to lose.
Last week or thereabouts, I had an epiphany. Summerlight is not about the discovery of Vardin or the opening of the Barrier, but about the Vardin succession while those things are going on. It's about people, in particular a person who loses everything whether or not she succeeds her mother on the throne.
Most people think knowing who you are supposed to marry is a good thing. I used to—until I knew I could never marry him.
Summerlight is about the person who has most to lose and, typically, one of the last characters whose role within the story I knew anything about.
Apparently, I tend to start with those who have most to gain because they are driven and informative and drive the story forward. But they don't have the same sacrifices, the same loss. They may even already be resigned to the possibility of not-having.
Despite my general desire for relief from romance, I find my Vardin series is starting with the rothnen, the soulmates, for lack of a better understood shorthand. They are complex and deal very much with sacrifice, though it mostly falls on the non-rothnen side at first. Those who grow up always knowing are far more aware that they may never have. Being rothnen is fraught with issues like consent, invasion of privacy, pain, and belief or disbelief in fate. In short, despite running from romantic angst in my original fic, I find myself smack dab in it again.
Oh well.
Random Updateyness...
I am now the proud possessor of Insurgent. Will give reading report next week.
They'll know next week if Awake is cancelled or renewed. Leonard Chang answered me himself. :crosses fingers:
I highly recommend Shattered and M.C.A. Hogarth for some excellent short stories.
I have three Tumblr blogs now. Well, four, but that one's private. Worldbuilding and personal, fandom, and Vardin. I'm officially nuts.
I've got another fic for my Safe reading list, but nothing for the original novels. :headdesk: Will post reading lists soon.
Speaking of which, I'm not reading Insurgent this week.
:headdesk:
Posted in Journal
Tagged leonard chang, mca hogarth, rabia gale, reading, recommended, veronica roth
2 Comments
