I love this movie.
He is so right.
Don’t think. Write.
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Tag Archives: Writing
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
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!
Prepping for NaNoWriMo
If you haven’t heard of NaNoWriMo… well where have you been?!
National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is a fast pace group effort to churn out as many words as you can. The “Goal” is to write a novel, which is loosely classified as “50,000” words. There are forums, tags, badges, and more at the website where you can get encouragement to get those words out. It’s a wonderful experience!
They now have several school projects that teachers can use in their classrooms, with teaching aids to get kids writing.
I’ve participated in four different years. “Won” twice.
From mid September to late October many NaNo participants are getting ready. Deciding what to write, Nailing down a synopsis, updating info and adding counters to our websites.
I love that Huge Howey, self published author of best selling book series “Wool”, keeps word counters up on his website year round so that his readers can see his progress on his books. I love that idea. I might be stealing that idea.
So, things will be a little slow around here as I prepare for NaNoWriMo, and get a few things in order. Hopefully that means I’ll actually be writing more, and publishing something just before November, and another something after Novemeber.
In the Middle
I’m kind of in an awkward moment. Not that i’m unused to awkward moments. I’m a mom, I’ve had lots of them. Raising children is like a series of awkward moments strung together with happy, and sad ones. (Though it’s more fun to make my kids awkward, than to be awkward.)
“Flight of the Griffins” will be out this weekend. I’m thrilled. It’s taken a lot to get this behemoth of a story publishing ready, and I love the cover design.
Now what? This is my dilemma.
I am working on two novels at the moment. “Osiren’s Tears” is the first of a series set in a fantasy world. “Message in a Bottle” is my first paranormal romance that I may be publishing under a pen name.
Neither of these books are even close to being ready for an edit, let alone publication. I’m hoping to have one novel ready in March to be edited, and publish in April (a daunting task). But I don’t want to simply do nothing for the next seven months.
NaNoWriMo is also coming up.
So, for the next seven months here is the tentative schedule:
Sep 16 “Flight of the Griffins” will release.
Oct 21st, “Small Bites” tentative release. (A book of flash fiction ‘scary’ tales, perfect for Halloween.)
November – NaNoWriMo
December – enjoying the holidays.
January 20th – “Magic and Mischief” (tentative title) released.
Feb – “Osiren’s Tears” goes to the editor.
March 17th … if all goes right…. “Osiren’s Tears“is released.
Objects Smaller Then They Appear
A simple writing exercise.
Look around the room you’re in. Choose an object. Now write about it.
Does it have fantastic powers? Did someone find it in an unusual place? Maybe someone just tripped on it sending them into an unusual situation.
Try another object. Maybe they interact in some way.
The interesting thing about this exercise is that the object can be as simple as a coffee cup, or as unusual as a figurine of a glass dancing bear, shimmering in the morning sunlight.
I Write Because….
A great start to a conversation. I write because….
It is something that I have thought about a lot, and that has changed over the years. I realized a child I wrote to escape, and now, after a lot of trials and tribulations I write because it is freedom. It is possibilities. It is exploration of the unknown. I write because it is the best way to be heard.
I found this photo floating around Face Book. I thought I’d share it here. If anyone knows who it belongs to let me know so I can give credit.
What’s the Point of it All?
What’s the point of telling a good story? Why do it?
There have been story tellers for centuries. Sometimes called mistrals or bards, other times wise old men. They would sit in crowded, smoky bars, or on dusty streets and weave stories into tales, or song for the few coins dropped in their palm. Actors would strut and fret their way across stages. Criers would call the news out to the milling throngs.
Story telling is in our blood.
Our story tellers, in this particular century, take on many forms. News paper journalists. Bloggers. Vloggers. Book authors. Music writers. TV writers. Game designers. Movie makers. D&D players. LARPers… I’m sure I’ve left something out.
What’s the point of it all?
It’s a way of passing on our thoughts. Our hopes. Our dreams. Our reality. A way of sharing the little pocket of the universe with others around us.
Sometimes it is our way of experiencing something we could not otherwise experience, like dragons, or storming Normandy during D-day, or even flying like a bird.
But a good story… a good story will make you immortal. Like Shakespeare, or Homer. A good story will stretch over time and space and engulf everyone it touches. A truly GREAT story will be rewritten, re-imagined, reworked, and re-read for countless years to come.
We tell stories because we are creative and imaginative creatures. And we must.
I have a lot of articles and want to make a book, can I?
Recently someone asked if it was possible to compile all of their articles together and make one ebook for sale on amazon. The biggest problem with this is that most people looking for a non-fic book are looking for something specific to one subject. The few exceptions are things like “Chicken Soup for the Soul”, but they are all “uplifting” stories, or “amazing facts” style books, and thus have a running theme.
So if you find yourself in that position here are some tips to help you make it into a single book.
First, ask yourself if you are trying to put random articles together, are they relevant to one another? Because if they are not then it is probable that you will have a better chance marketing them as individuals to magazines for reprint.
Look for themes. Health and wellness. Colonizing space. Agriculture. Uplifting stories. Children. Wedding.
You can take 4 or 5 articles with a similar subject and rewrite them into a non-fic book on that subject. Then drum up readers by having your book linked from your main page of articles.
So find a way for them to work together, a common theme, or subject, and make it into a book, not just random pieces put together.
Scivener
I have been taking the last week or so to convert all of my novels to Scrivener. It’s been a learning experience.
First, let me explain something. I don’t have one file for each novel. If that were the case of things would have been so much easier.
No, the novel I was working on today had nine separate files. The nine files happened over the years as I switched from Lotus, to Word, to RTF, and between three or four different PC’s. Each file had different parts. Two of them had nearly the whole thing, but each was missing some part.
I finally figured out the fastest way to compile these into one file was to open nine subsections in Scrivener, and paste each file in a separate section. Then I compared and compiled the sections together until I had each unique section, and could separate everything into chapters.
It was time consuming, but worth it. I am sure that I missed some minor things, or basic edits that I will have to redo, but all in all the time spent doing this was worth it.
Next I will have to compile this into one file so that I have a back up. But a single backup is much easier to handle then nine.
Author Crissy Moss 