I love this movie.
He is so right.
Don’t think. Write.
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Worldly Reflections
As I am writing my NaNoWriMo stories I am actually realizing just how much of my viewpoint on the world around me is entering my writing.
This isn’t unusual. Piers Anthony (who I grew up reading, and is one of the authors that inspired me to become a writer) often had story lines that touched on his thoughts about religion, ecology, environment, and relationships. Not that all of his characters shared or reflected his own view points on the issues, just that the themes are there.
A good writer can let these themes enter their writing without sounding preachy or over the top. A great writer can make you start to question your beliefs, not to change them necessarily, but to be sure that that is what you truly believe, and that is what you stand for.
Mark Twain is a great example. He wrote about the adventures of a young white boy, appealing to a great many young children. But he also wove in some ideas about race, slavery, segregation, and even religion without being preachy. I am sure his books even helped a few people consider their stand on these very ideas.
In my current novel I am noticing things about genetic manipulation, women as property, and even some ideas about government. No, I’m not being preachy. That would ruin the book. But it could be noticeable to anyone who was paying attention.
Progress on NaNoWriMo: 5124
Giving yourself permission to SUCK!
Sometimes the biggest thing standing in the way of writing is our internal editor that is constantly in our head telling us that isn’t good enough, rewrite it.
But that isn’t the purpose of a first draft, or a sketch, or anything else you’re beginning. The beginning is suppose to be bad. It’s suppose to suck.
I loved this analogy by ircnetsplit
“It’s like a house. The first stage is just a bunch of boards with nothing in between them. Who the hell would want to live in a house like that? It’s a crappy house.”
“But, that’s how you build a house. You get the framework up, then you fill it out with walls, and insulation, and a roof, etc. Then you have an awesome house.”
So let go. If that last sentence sucks just ignore it and go to the next sentence. You’re going to have to edit later anyway. Right now just WRITE FAST and ignore everything else.
(My progress on NaNoWriMo: 2,000/50,000)
No Plot?
I’ll be busy November doing NaNoWriMo. The last couple days I finished two outlines for the books I’ll be working on for NaNo. (Osiren’s Tears and Rage War.) So I haven’t had a lot of time for updates here.
I’ve also been watching a lot of videos on writing to get me set in that frame of mind. The one below gave me a couple chuckles so I thought I’d share it.
Some other writers you might enjoy listening to.
“Self Publishing Podcast” and “Better off Undead” With writers Jonny B. Truant, Dave Wright, and Sean Platt.
The Digital Writer With Sean Platt who shares his “rules for writers you love to hate”.
The Creative Penn with Joanna Penn who interviews other writers.
Dark Fae
Fairies fly on sullen winds
On blackened wings
Hidden deep in tree nooks
Deep night surrounding
Wings of black lace, faces crooked
Fae of night and death
Finely tuned bows with silver arrows
Creeping through the canopy
No ordinary fae, these
But twisted creatures with dark hearts
And on they fly
Through sullen winds
Watch this night, the bats in air
Their chaotic flight
The fae have saddles on their backs
And ride with pure delight.
Somewhere else a child cries
A dream half gone at waking
And when asked to tell he whispers soft
The dark fae just made me!
(This was originally published in a magazine out of Australia years ago. One of my favorite of all my poems. Thought I’d share it here.)
Creating in a Vacuum
I was listening to the last Self Publishing Podcast again and something Sean said at the begining stuck out.
While talking about giving a speaking presentation in front of 500 people he said it had been difficult for the first couple of minutes, but when you have that many people laughing at your jokes together its hard to be nervous.
Most creative people, be they writers, artists, or even some game designers, tend to work in a vacuum. We don’t have someone reading our copy as it comes off the press. We don’t have someone pointing out that the color is off, or the grammar is bad, or the game is amazing and “Can I play it please?”
The same thing that makes it appealing (no boss, no scheduled no deadlines) also makes it sometimes frustrating, and can even help that age old “writers block” come on us. Don’t let it.
As NaNoWriMo approaches I find myself gravitating to some of the forums in order to make that vacuum of space around my writing just that little bit fuller. There I can talk to other writers, tell them my struggles, and get inspiration, or tell them my successes and inspire someone else.
There are other ways to fill the vacuum. Joining writers groups, or discussion boards. Going to writer Meetups. Just making friends who are in the same situation helps a lot.
Enjoy NaNo. Keep sane. And WRITE! WRITE! WRITE!
The Importance of Leaving Reviews
I support a lot of indie industry. Indie game designers, indie music, even indie companies.
There are a lot of platforms to get these things out. Games are the easiest with Steam, Xbox, PSN, iOS and Android market places. Companies and product makers have Kickstarter, Etsy and Ebay. Musicians have iTunes, and other platforms. Even indie film makers have a wonderful platform on You Tube.
You can tell quickly if you enjoyed one of these products, and their platforms make it incredibly easy not only to get the new games, music, or film, but to rate them as well.
The rating system is front and center with most of the platforms, and many games have pop ups reminding you to review. Several have emailed reminders to review, or account information that includes a “awaiting feedback” page.
Books, on the other hand, do not. It may be weeks or months from the time you buy a book to the time you finish it. If you have a hard copy you may not even remember to review it later when you’re near a computer again, and leaving a review via your phone is clunky and awkward.
Amazon sometimes sends out reminder emails, but they are usually right after purchase, and getting to the “items you’ve purchased” page isn’t always easy, especially on phone or tablet.
The easiest way I have found to write a review is just to search for the title I want to review and go to the reviews from there. This is sometimes a problem since there are several versions of different books.
Amazon needs to add an “awaiting review” page, and it would be amazing if they’d send out a reminder email a month after I buy it with “did you like this?” Until they do, let me just say this: Your reviews matter.
Writers, especially unheard of indie authors, really make it or break it because of reviews. Good, honest reviews are incredibly important for them, and sometimes hard to come by.
If you read a book or ebook and you loved it, or even if you kind of liked it, let other people know. Tell them why. Write a review so others can find the little gem you enjoyed.
Don’t be afraid to email authors and let them know specifics either. We authors love to hear why you liked something, or why it didn’t work for you. In this ebook era I, personally, like to know when somethings off so I can quickly fix it. (It’s so easy to get a name mixed up.)
Many authors can be reached through Twitter, Facebook, and personal blogs, too. Many of them have very interesting and insightful (non book/writing related) things to say.
For more information on how you can support and help your favorite new authors get noticed check out this article.
Tips to NaNoWriMo When You’re Busy
Got a new baby?
Moving?
School?
Some useful ideas you can use to keep writing.
* Keep a notebook, computer file, or note taker on your phone/tablet at all times.
* Write a few words when you’re waiting int the doctors office, or on hold on the phone, or the baby takes a nap.
* While in the shower take the time to think out your story, maybe use colored soap, washable marker, or lipstick to jot notes on the wall and wash off later.
* Get a recorder and talk to it about your story while in traffic.
Remember NaNoWriMo isn’t just about finishing, it’s about setting goals and pushing yourself. If you can’t do 50k try a couple short stories.
Always strive for more.
And remember, you don’t have to validate your NaNo with the actual story. You can copy “the lazy dog runs home” 10,000 times and paste that in, and just keep your stories in the notebook for now.
Watch “PLURALITY” on YouTube
We interrupt our scheduled program for an amazing indie film.
I really hope there is more to this little film. 15 minutes is just not enough. The way they use color to highlight certain things, and the subtle use of special effects… this could be one of my favorite youtube series.
Geeky Discussions
My friends are geeky. There isn’t any getting around it, and I kind of like the fact.
I have listened, and even participated in several conversations that began “Who would win….” The answer is usually “Batman,” because even if he looses he will come back and win the second battle.
So when the question regarding world building, and specifically how two sentient species could coexist popped up I had no problem entering into this discussion. I’d already had this discussion on other occasions.
This question comes up a lot when dealing with worlds like TSR, LOTR, and others that have several species (elf, dwarf, human) that all live together. Some authors add in explanations of how they came about. Others simply make it an act of a god and leave it at that. The more scientific explanations usually come from Sci-fi sources such as Star Trek.
Star Trek 4 has to be one of the worst movies in the lot. (And I’m a major Trekkie. I still think it was pretty bad.) It did have one subject that I rather liked: humans assume we are the only intelligent race on earth, but have no common frame of reference to distinguish this as fact.
As an example, dolphins have been known to do things we recognize as intelligent or showing feeling. Whales have tried to rescue their calves. Dogs will rescue their owners. Several species of ape and birds are known to use tools. Is this intelligence? Do they feel emotion? Is it just instinct or something else? Can we really tell?
When discussing how and if two intelligent races can coexist on one planet we first have to determine what is intelligence and how do we measure it. For earth, and humans, we acknowledge humanity as intelligent because of how much we can adapt to the environment and the environment to us. We can build, create, and invent, while other species are still learning the value and use of tools.
If they did evolve, we may not even recognize their intelligence because their goals in life, their ambitions, and needs do not overlap ours enough to make it known. As an example take dolphins. They do not need homes, or jobs. They do not need money. They need fish and open waters. They do not compete for many of our resources, and likely never will since their sphere of influence is the ocean, while ours is mainly the land.
It isn’t inconceivable that these species could evolve to human like intelligence… if we let them. I think a big part of it is, evolution wise, that whichever species evolved first would have to get to a point where they did not feel threatened, and even helped the “lesser” species. If we continue to hunt apes and dolphins their evolution could end short in extinction.
In short… We really don’t know the possibilities. They are simply endless.
Author Crissy Moss 