Cast Your Characters

Hi everyone! I realise I've been away for quite a while - that's the problem with procrastination and writer's block. Every time I sat down to write a post, I just couldn't think of anything that sounded worthy so I put it off until I thought of something but then, of course, I didn't even try to think of anything. My excuse is that my brain is frazzled from a 60,000 word success at the June Camp Nanowrimo and also, there's another one this month (for which I'm falling behind, really badly). Am I forgiven?

Anyway, back to the topic - casting your characters. I don't mean casting them out on a hook from a fishing boat but imagining who would play them in a film or just having pictures of people who look like your character.

The main piece of advice is don't use people or actors that you know/have heard of because your mind will be tainted with what you already know about these people and your characters will seem flat or copied. If you're desperate to cast Angelina Jolie as your main woman, try not to do it until you've finished writing so it's less official and you have a broader mind. Instead of searching for specific actors or actresses, just search online for generic terms - brown haired girl, teenage guy, that sort of thing. You'll find pictures from all over the place and they won't necessarily be people you recognise. One of the best places to look for characters is hairdressing magazines. There are so many different models to portray skin tones, hair colours and styles so you're bound to find something that could fit one of your characters. I find it quite hard to find male characters but usually the internet does the trick. You could always try male hair magazines or websites or male-geared magazines.

Of course, you may find that you don't need to cast your characters because you have a crystal clear image in your mind of what your characters look like. Perhaps you don't think you should label them as anything in case it changes your view.

Lydia

In the words of Journey . . .

Don't Stop Believing!

After the Glee overhaul of Don't Stop Believing, Journey's song became known nationwide, an iconic tune. And the words are relevant to pretty much everyone: Don't stop believin' / Hold on to this feeling. Journey were onto something there.

Don't ever give up hope when it comes to writing. Everyone has their own voice and sometimes, you need to shout to be heard but rest assured - you're there and someone will hear you. There will be so many times in your writing life when you just want to pack it in and get a job as a grocer. While that may be great (and fantastic for inspiration), it's not you. If you truly believe that you're a writer through and through, it's something you have to hold on to. Perhaps keep the grocer position but keep the writing too. Even if it's only a hobby, don't let it slide.

There was a time a while back when I boycotted writing. Things weren't going well and I didn't want to disappoint myself even further by writing rubbish stuff. I was halfway through the second book in a series and I just stopped. I haven't touched that series since, even though I loved it, because it hurts but I shouldn't have given up completely. For over six months, I think, I didn't write at all, not only that project. I was scared and I lost belief in myself, that I had the capability. The thing is, everyone is capable.

If your project is bringing you down, just put it to one side. Don't get rid of it or you'll regret it. Just set it aside and try something new. Maybe you're writing a utopian fantasy for kids when really your calling is to be writing a crime thriller for young adults. Try experimenting with various genres. For years, I was writing adult chick lit and then I dabbled in fantasy but now I've realised that I'm best at teenage literary fiction. I like to explore possible lives of other people my own age, in different societies and from different backgrounds. Take a look at different genres around or try writing in the voice of your favourite writer. You might find that you enjoy it and want to do your own take on their work.

Whatever you do, keep your faith in yourself. After my long hiatus, I decided to have a go at the first ever Camp NaNoWriMo where I wrote in the voice of an eleven year old American boy fleeing his home town after a government lockdown. While I realised that I wasn't sure about writing in that sort of unrealistic genre, I did learn a lot about my voice. I learnt that I like writing in first person, from the point of view of younger people. I enjoyed being eleven for this book and I'd do it again. I even find that I love to write from a boy's point of view. I never thought that would be my type of writing but I went out on a whim and it was a serendipitous experience.

Lydia

Pinterest for writers

So, at first I didn't really warm to the idea of Pinterest but I read an article earlier that has had me begging for the waiting period to be shorter! Many of you may well know about Pinterest but for those of you who don't, it's like a virtual corkboard where things don't fall off and it can be used for any area you're interested in.

As soon as I was accepted into the site, I set about collecting images for my corkboard: I'm using it as a virtual storage place for all things Novel. My most populated board is for a book I plan to start writing during the August Camp NaNoWriMo (I'm currently doing the June one - 42,000 words in!). I find it helps to be surrounded by these images so that I don't forget my allegiances to my other writings. Instead of filling up pages and pages with detailed descriptions of my main character's girlfriend's step-mum's brothers, I can just pin any photo that piques my interest.

Warning - this may lead to excessive trawling of the internet to find the perfect photos. It's not only photos you can pin. Try quotes or recipes, anything that comes in a picture format or can be found under google images. People have boards for all sorts of different things: fashion designers might pin clothes and designs they like or interior designers might create the perfect rooms. It's your free heaven upon which to unleash your creativity. Let yourself go wild, pinning this way and that - after installing the Pin It button on your bookmark list, you can pin any image from any site directly to your pinterest with the click of a button.

Lydia

Naming your characters

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet ... right? Who cares if my character is called Kasey or Laila or Persephone? Well, as irrelevant as it is, names are an important part of your character. It's easier to imagine a scary looking bouncer called Keith than Sandy or a stripper called Candy rather than Wendy. Names do account for a lot but whatever they're called, your character will inevitably grow around the name because of social stereotypes. 

Some may say that giving a character a name is the most important part of the story because a name tells you a lot about their background, nationality and class but that's not necessarily true. An upper class family of posh toffs could call their children Wayne and Sharon just as easily as a lower class family could call their children Rupert and Clementine. It depends on the parents so that doesn't come into it but names do matter. 

If you're really struggling, just give them a name: any name will do. In the first book I ever wrote, I called a guy Wendell (I don't know why - I had never heard of the name before) and I didn't like it. However, the guy grew into it and I found that I couldn't change it because it was his name already. 

Another example is with this month's Camp NaNoWriMo - I just started writing and the first name that came to mind was Roger. It doesn't really fit my character (a bumbling sixteen year old boy) but he's grown into it too. He's awkward and a bit cynical and old before his years, yet lovable. I hope. 

Your character's name will become a part of them - people will give them nicknames and make jokes if they can. Whole conversations can come about from characters' names so it may serve you well to think it through in depth, picking time and age appropriate names but in my experience, it's more fun to pick a name first and see what sort of character you create. (On a side note, doing this shows you what type of stereotypes you make!) 

Lydia

Just Start Writing

Having trouble with a story? Perhaps you've been mulling over and idea for a while or you just want to write but don't have any ideas.
Just start writing. If you think about an idea for too long then you'll be afraid to write it down in case you ruin the perfection that you've created in your head and you'll never be satisfied, even though we know that everyone's first drafts are rubbish anyway.
 
As you know, I like to participate in NaNoWriMo and I've realised that the books I actually finish are the ones I've started off the top of my head on the day.
Let your characters lead the way. Perhaps start with a description of a place and then, when you have one, introduce a character into the mix. Let them lead you along: take them by their hand and ask to be shown around the story.

Soon, you'll be teeming with ideas but if not, just take a look around the internet (the NaNoWriMo forums are great - you don't have to be a member to read them) and perhaps take a few quotes. You never know what could spark the next event in your story. Just pick a situation, dump your character in it and watch as they get out. Don't forget to write it down.

For example, I dropped a clueless, "good boy" sixteen year old guy into a party filled with alcohol and kids smoking pot at five in the morning. I had no plans whatsoever for the story but now I'm 35,000 words in and ideas keep flowing in. I know what I want to write and it's exciting.

Be excited by your writing. These are your creations. Don't wait around for someone to tell you to write, or to give you the words. You have to want to write and if you want to, truly want to, then the words will come. They'll overflow and you'll have carpal tunnel by the end but boy is it worth it.

Lydia

Timed Writing Sprints

Are you struggling to write? Finding you don't have much to say? It happens all the time, whether you're suffering from the renowned writers' block or perhaps just lacking a little. Try timing yourself. During the months of NaNoWriMo, wrimos (the participants) have an entire forum dedicated to word wars, sprints and timed challenges because this stuff works. If you set yourself a goal, you're much more likely to actually do something.
Try WriteOrDie, a popular website for such use. You can choose how much you'll write, a time period to write within, your delay time and your punishment. The longer you don't write for, the darker red the screen becomes until it either emits an unpleasant noise or in the most vicious of settings, it will start deleting what you've written until you start again. Harsh, I know. That's why it works. It doesn't matter if what you write is rubbish; at least you're writing. You're getting the words down on the page and you'll have plenty of time to edit them later. Try setting yourself a ten minute timer, or longer if you've got a while with nothing to do, and see how much you can write. It might be that you fuss over little details and the timing stresses you out but for many competitive souls out there, timed writing is perfect because it brings out that sense of competition. "If you can write a thousand words in thirty minutes, you've won!" It doesn't matter that there's no real prize - it's reward enough that, even if you don't complete it, you'll have more words than you had before.

Give it a go. Set a timer in a quiet place and just write. You might be surprised with what you come up with.

Lydia

Feeling blocked? Write a letter

You're bound to experience Writers' Block at some point, it's inevitable, but you don't have to be subservient to it. It doesn't bind you to the ground, unable to pick up a pen. It just means your creative outlets are somewhat lacking. Don't try too hard to write on your current project while you're feeling blocked because the outcome will be forced, crappy writing which just doesn't flow.

Sit back. Relax. Pick up a familiar pen and a favourite notebook (or a keyboard for you technological types) and write a letter. Maybe it's to yourself as the author, or to one of your characters. You never know what you might find through addressing your characters directly. You may even discover a new voice, or perhaps the solution to a sticky situation. It's like whittling down the possibilities: try writing a letter and while it may not work for you, you're one step closer to finding a way to relieve this pain-in-the-arse of a problem. It might just be a confidence issue and in addressing your characters, you overcome your fear of writing. I know that that's often the problem with me. Push past those barriers. Voice your feelings to your creations.

Perhaps Jeff the librarian is really hindering your character's progress: tell him. Let it all out in a letter to Jeff, whining to him about how he's screwing things up. You never know, He might just reply.

Lydia

Don't Abandon Old Ideas

I'm sure we all do this to some extent, don't we: you're writing a story or a book and suddenly you're bored with the idea, or you want to pursue a new one. That's perfectly normal and while many will say that it's best to stick with the original idea and see it through, I say don't. There's no point in writing something that you're not interested in writing because nobody will be interested in reading it. Save it for when it's exactly what you want to be writing at that time.
This month, as it is the first month of the 2012 Camp NaNoWriMo, I had an idea all set but then disaster struck: my trusty Alphasmart Neo died on me. After replacing the batteries and then taking it all apart, I couldn't figure out the problem (nor could three very technologically advanced acquaintances) so I was distraught. How to do nano if I didn't have my little portable computer? I didn't want to write the idea I had unless it was properly (don't ask me why - because I care about it, I suppose, I wanted to do it right) so I went through idea after idea, trying to come up with something else to do in the three weeks it will take for my new Alphasmart to arrive. I had a great little story in my head - great in that it was warm and cosy and I liked the characters, but it wasn't what I wanted to be writing at the time. I had to change to something else but I know that one day, I may well want to use that idea. Don't throw any plots, plans or bits of writing away because you never know when you might want to revisit it. Keep a box or drawer for old bits and bobs, or pin them on a corkboard as I'm planning to do.

Lydia

"I love pretty things and clever words..."

But your readers do not. It may be great for school essays when there's loads of description and huge long words into which you can read very deeply but your book will just confuse people if you use huge words.

You have to separate your "school brain" and your "bestselling author brain" because they work entirely differently. If you really pare things down, you'll notice that they sound a lot purer and they'll read better too, trust me.

As for clever words, you may think you sound like a literary genius, worthy of all the prizes for use of language but your readers will not be able to understand you and those who do will scoff at you for being pretentious - its a lose-lose situation. You don't want your readers reaching for the dictionary for every time that you grabbed the thesaurus.

Don't leave your reader hanging as they can't understand what you're trying to say. The simpler you say things is often more punchy and leaves more of an impact: if a book jacket leaves me wondering what it meant then I leave it well alone. Don't lose your reader because you wanted to seem clever.

Camp NaNoWriMo!

Okay, I know I haven't written any fiction in forever but I'm psyched for Camp NaNoWriMo! Last camp, I managed to complete two novels over the two months (well, one novel and two bits of two other half-arsed, unfinished books) then in November, for the first time, I catastrophically failed, with around 15,000 words after thirty days.

Some of you may be wondering, what on earth is NaNoWriMo, let alone Camp NaNoWriMo?
Well, it is the brainchild of this man: his name is Chris Baty in July of 1999. And he has never looked back. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which takes place in the month of November. It is described on the website as "Thirty days and nights of literary abandon" which couldn't be more true. 

The website's description: "What: Writing one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time.

Who: You! We can’t do this unless we have some other people trying it as well. Let’s write laughably awful yet lengthy prose together.

Why: The reasons are endless! To actively participate in one of our era’s most enchanting art forms! To give yourself permission to write without obsessing over quality. To be able to make obscure references to passages from our novels at parties. To stop being one of those people who say, “I’ve always wanted to write a novel,” and become one of those people who can say, “Oh, a novel? It’s such a funny story–I’ve written three.”

When: You can sign up anytime to add your name to the roster and browse the forums. Writing begins 12:00:01 November 1. To be added to the official list of winners, you must reach the 50,000-word mark by November 30 at 11:59:59. Once your novel has been verified by our web-based team of robotic word counters, the partying begins."

To anyone who has never heard of this before, go and check it out!

We're coming up to Camp NaNoWriMo, a new concept of having two extra months of writing during July and August for those too busy in November, or perhaps write more prolifically in those months. I was at first sceptical: how would I ever write fifty thousand words in four weeks? The fastest I'd ever managed before was fifty-two thousand in around eight to nine weeks. I'd have to more than halve that! The year I discovered it, I decided to give it a miss but the next year, I signed up and I haven't looked back since, now having done two NaNos and two Camp NaNos. 

It makes you crazy but I feel free to guess that if you're here, you lost your sanity a while ago, right? Don't worry - there are thousands of others having a crack at it and the website is stuffed full of various forums to rant and vent on. 

The joy of Camp NaNoWriMo is that they try to emanate a real American camp as much as possible, which is great fun for us Brits! You can be put in a "cabin" with five others - you can either choose people you know or opt for a random selection, or those of a similar age/interests/genre. Of course, you can choose not to be a part of a cabin but it's more fun to be surrounded by nutty writers to share problems, plot hiccups and ideas. 

http://nanowrimo.org/

http://campnanowrimo.org/

Anyone else planning to take part this summer or in November? Good luck!

Lydia

Writing Stress vs Exam Stress

So, one of the reasons I haven't posted in a while is because of exams - I consoled myself with the thought that as long as I wasn't "wasting time writing" then I'd have more of a chance of actually getting some revision done. That was, hmm, three months ago? Yeah, I never got any revision done because the whole time, I was pining to write my story, to get the words down on the paper but I was terrified.
What if I start it and then leave it?
What if I write instead of focusing on exams?
There needed to be some compromise and I wish I had forced that a little earlier. Too late now: I'm nearly done with exams and I neither wrote nor revised because while I needed to do one, I couldn't stop thinking about the other. It was a horrible circle.

An important thing is to focus. Without focus, what is there? A bewildered mind wondering what to do. I'm still trying to muster up the gusto to just sit down and focus on writing. I have hundreds of notebooks waiting for me and I've picked out a great one; I have my planning. What's holding me back? Lack of focus.

Writing relieves stress. I saw a quote recently that read, "Writing relieves stress because you can put all of that stress build up into an argument between characters."
That's a very true quote and something I've used many a time (though I have to make sure the argument is relevant, of course).

As far as exams go, it's probably best to rest most of your focus on those though I can't talk. Leave a little time aside for writing else you might go completely insane but don't let yourself fail. Here's hoping I haven't!

Any particular methods of balancing revision and leisure?

Lydia

Creative Planning

Planning - I hear your groans. For many, many people, planning is a thing of nightmares; having to intricately plot every movement within your book/piece of work and then pulling out your hair in despair when things change and you don't know how.

I am one of these people: I hate planning because it never goes as planned. My characters are always taking over and controlling their own destinies. I'm just a slave to their needs, writing down what they're telling me to.
Well, I decided that for the book I'm wanting to write (not planning to write, of course) I should have an ounce of control over what goes on so I invented my own way: creative planning.

Apologies for the bad quality photo - on the computer it's so much better but I can't seem to transfer it well.

 This is very loose: there are no rules and you can pretty much interpret it however you want but what I did was collect together a bunch of quotes that I wanted my characters to say or that fitted into the story then I laid them out in order to show a vague story arc. Then I wrote them all onto an A2 piece of paper along with drawings to illustrate each quote. For me, this is the easier method of planning. I have what I need in one place. I do also have a notebook filled with post-it notes covered in quotes and bits I may need, as well as a character outline for three main characters.


Do you have any way of escaping the terror of meticulous planning?

Lydia

Road Trip

I love this picture because it reminds me of many of my favourite road trip books, a niche category that I love.

The image evokes so many thoughts for me but mostly it just makes me desperate to write a road trip book. Even before I discovered how much I loved them, I had written one without realising for NaNoWriMo and as a result, it doesn't have the qualities that a road trip novel should have. As soon as I've finished the one in my head that I haven't started, I think I'll have to do one.

I have fallen in love with the idea that over a long journey, through various places, people can discover more about themselves and the people with them, be it a journey revolving around a couple or a family, or just a group of friends taking a break.

John Green: Genius

Hands up who has heard of John Green? I hadn't until a couple of years ago when I friend suggested I read his book, "Paper Towns." I was sceptical - I never read teenage books because I tend to find they have a fantasy theme and are generally just mushy romance as well. How wrong could I have been. A few months ago, I saw a video on youtube about NaNoWriMo and noticed that it was John Green talking. After seeing that, I finally read "An Abundance of Katherines" which is his second novel. Ever since I read the first page of that book, I have been addicted to his writing. He is a comic genius with a fabulous knack for creating engaging stories.

You may recognise him from his VlogBrothers videos, which he does with his brother Hank and let me tell you: the books are even better than the videos, as hard as that may be to believe. I recommend any one of his books to everybody.

After reading all of his solo novels, I was craving more so I decided to pick up "Will Grayson, will grayson," which is a book he co-wrote with David Levithan, an author I hadn't heard of before. That book was one of the best I've ever read. If you want a really good teenage tale with real, believable teenage characters then anything by John Green or David Levithan is for you. The books are mostly character-driven rather than plot but they're all fantastic. I will warn you though: "The Fault in our Stars" - Green's most recent novel - is heart-wrenching. I'd read it again in a flash because the story is told so wonderfully well by this talented writer but even I cried at the end. Don't let that put you off though. It's so worth it.

From there, I explored more of David Levithan's work - he writes mostly in the voice of gay teen guys, except in the case of his collaboration with Rachel Cohn for the well-known "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." So go for it: broaden your horizons. I've now read all of John Green's books, about four of David Levithan's and I'm looking into Rachel Cohn too. Another similar book is one you may have heard of: "The Perks of being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky.

Ever since first reading "An Abundance of Katherines," I have been completely addicted to teenage road trip books. At the moment, I'm reading "Two Way Street" by Lauren Barnholdt, a tale told from the points of view of a girl and a guy who broke up and are now going on a roadtrip together.

Whenever people have asked who I aspire to be like, as far as writing goes, I never had an answer but now I know for sure that John Green is my idol.

Go out and buy any book by any of these authors, or borrow it from the library. You will not be disappointed.

Lydia

The Storymatic: simple but brilliant

Recently, I stumbled upon this little delight: http://www.thestorymatic.com/
It's The Storymatic - a box of gold and copper writing prompt cards for character(s) and a situation. The element of randomness that this box employs is what we need a lot of the time. It can be hard to come up with a good idea and sometimes we need that push. Of course, it wouldn't be too much of a challenge to create this yourself, perhaps with a little help from the internet.

What do you think of using prompts?


Comment below


Lydia

Use Your Memories

I know, this sounds like a really obvious one but I never remember (haha) that my memories can provide a crucial filler for a lingering gap in a story, or perhaps just spark an idea. Everything we experience can be put towards our writing and for many people, it's second nature to hone in on the past. Most of us will find that, upon re-reading our work, we have subconsciously included things that have happened, big or small. Sometimes I feel hesitant to include a memory in case it's too personal, or there's a possibility that someone will recognise themselves (I'm a bit of a stickler for using real personalities because it helps to make my characters more real themselves) and be offended. 
Don't be afraid to make your writing personal because you will be more confident in the facts: confidence equals better writing. 


What do you think? comment below


Lydia

Photo Number 2

I just love this picture - the love that can be shared in later life, proof that things don't just fade away. Eternal love is something that everyone craves in a relationship and it's beautiful to see the occasional glimmer of hope.  It's such an inspirational photo; see what you can write about it.

Try Something New!

In the words of Joseph Campbell (American writer, 1904-1987), "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek." Sometimes it helps to just branch out and explore something you wouldn't normally try in your writing. For example, I have always written in third person with my main characters being British women in their thirties or forties but for Camp NaNoWriMo in July, 2011, I decided to write in first person from the point of view of a ten-year-old American boy and it was surprisingly successful. 


If your writing is getting a little stiff or you don't feel that you're getting anywhere with your writing, maybe it's time to take a break from whatever you're writing and start with a new piece, a new area that you haven't touched on before. By giving your mind a rest you will refresh yourself and when you come back to your project, you will have more to say because you're looking at it with new eyes. And hey, who knows, you might find something you really love while taking your break.

I say give it a go - it worked for me and I hope it works for some of you.
Any particular stories about trying something new? Comment below.


Lydia

Get Rid Of Your Fear

Any young writer will know that it's hard to shake these fears about not being good enough or not having enough experience but I don't think this should be the case. If I had my way, there would be more budding young writers, eager to share and learn.

My advice to you, which will sit well with any fellow pyromaniacs, is to write down every fear you have about writing, or your lack of it perhaps. Maybe you think you can't write characters convincingly enough or your plot is flat. Whatever it is, write it down. It helps a little even just getting those words on the paper and who knows, it might prompt your inner creativity to pour out.

Write it out twice, once in a negative light and once in an optimistic, positive light. Stick the optimistic list up on your cupboard door or fridge, somewhere you'll see it.

Next step is to burn the negative one. There isn't any point in beating yourself up about these little things that every writer will have experienced. You're not weird or abnormal, you're just a beginner or perhaps you never sorted this out earlier and it's hanging over you. I certainly have my issues - I can't believe that anyone would want to read what I write because who am I to expect that it will be worth anything? These are things I'm working on getting rid of and I hope you do too.

Do you have any particular methods for relieving your writing-related issues and stresses?  - comment below

Lydia

A Photo to Write About

I love this photo because of the emotions it would evoke in the taker. Obviously, it is a photoshopped image but that doesn't detract from the power. Imagine if this was real, if you or your character was in this situation. What would you do? How would you react?Perhaps write a story or an article about this picture or the consequences of the pictures.
-comment below-
Lydia

Paper Vs Technology

As a teenager, I have grown up with all these technological advances, as will many of you, I assume. My house has never not had a computer while I've been around and my phone is attached but I am still fascinated by the paper versus technology debate. I generally find that it is the older writers who stick to paper and the younger, more technologically advanced who are advocates for the computer as a writing tool.

I use both. As a child, I always used pen and paper because I wasn't that sure on how to use a computer but as I grew older, I became addicted to using a laptop or computer to note my thoughts. Of course, that was until the great disaster of 2010. My beloved laptop, where I stored everything including my most recent project which was sitting at 20,000 words, decided to devour 8,000 words. I think I may have cried. And shouted. And sworn, a lot. Luckily, because of my past with pens and paper, I had a fair amount of it scribbled down in various notebooks, along with copious notes. Still, it was pretty devastating. I stayed up all night, copying out the bits and pieces I had while racking my brains for the missing parts of the puzzle.

I never did get it all back. The file with the original copy had magically become encrypted by some evil computer powers, even the back-up on my memory stick was dead as a doornail. When I read it back a while later, I realised that some parts didn't make sense because the linking scenes, or scenes of origin, were gone forever and my memory isn't great at the best of times.

However careful I try to be with computers and technology, tip-toeing around them so they don't eat my work, I still have slip ups. I'm constantly closing my millions of tabs or deleting bookmarks by mistake, or perhaps not noticing the computer's low battery until I've written 2,000 words with no save and it dies. It took far too many occurrences of me deleting blog posts and rewrite the entire things, only to find out that they were automatically saved!

I may be sounding much older than fifteen with this rant but I think it's a valid point: not only should you back up your work but try to have fairly recent paper copies too. It's not worth the heartbreak after all!
That is why for my most recent book, I have written it all in a notebook. (Although it's also because I just love a good notebook, but that's beside the point.)







Do you prefer paper or computer? - comment below!

Lydia

Writing and School: The Juggle

Probably the worst thing about being a young writer is the juggle between overwhelming school work and the pressing ideas in your head, begging you to pay attention to them. There must be some sort of balance but finding it is tricky - I still haven't. I find myself immersed in writing for hours when I should be revising. I just can't resist the temptation of my battered A4 notebook, crying out for me to write in it, to fill its yellowed pages with smudgy black ink.


During lessons, my mind is constantly wandering and I've taken to carrying around three different notebooks with me at all times, just in case. I'm a paranoid writer: I'm convinced that all my pens will run out of ink so I carry - at last count - a grand total of forty, scattered in the bottom of my bag, with the notebooks for different things. My big white one is for my current story and any notes on it. The little brown one is to make a note of any interesting people or conversations I see/overhear, usually in coffee shops.

My addiction to notebooks doesn't help. It seems that anywhere I shop, I will buy a notebook, whether it's 50p or £7, just in case the three in my bag run out of pages or disappear. I worry about not having anything to write on more than I worry about getting a bad report at school; probably an unhealthy attitude but it's just so hard to break! I suppose the one benefit is that I generally do well in the creative subjects.

I would advise to steer clear of my method, if you can call it that. I try to let my writing wait but I don't want to lose my ideas. If you know something is going to play on your mind and distract you, I would advise you to write it down so you know that it's there, in case you forget. Just don't become like me, a work-shy writeaholic!

Do you have any working balances? - comment below!

Lydia

Why I Write

Whenever I've asked any of my writing friends how they got into writing, they usually just say, "Oh, I've been doing it all my life," but there is often some reason why they wanted to write. I know quite a few people who do it because it sounds intellectual and want to be different though I'm sure we all know that for those people, it's a short-lived fantasy. Once they've been going for a few years, they can then be taken seriously. 

I'm ashamed to admit that I'm at risk of becoming one of those people who just says, "I've done it forever!" because I have, I've been writing for longer than I remember though I can still recall my first two proper stories: a nine-page epic about a boy who finds a baby on his doorstep with some sort of magical stone (reading back on it, it was a shameless rip-off of Harry Potter, though it didn't cross my mind at the time!) and then there was a five page little thing about a girl called Winter who appeared to just wander around in the snow, until she was taken in by a friendly couple. Now that I write about it, I see that it was less of a story than an extract.  Perhaps my earliest ever story though, was a short piece about a crab called Clipper who was bullied, along with his sister, until they stood up for themselves and the bullies were sent away. I must have only been about five years old at the time, and I had never been bullied or experienced bullying. Where do we get these ideas from?

My question is how did you start writing? It's a tough one to answer because it's true that for many, it's just second nature. I think I owe it to my primary school English teacher who pushed me to write creatively because she knew I enjoyed it. I can honestly say that I've never looked back. From the ages of about five to eleven, I tried my hand at illustrating my own stories but it never worked - I guess it doesn't help that I can't draw people at all!

I'm lucky to have always had a supportive family and a whole hoard of teachers who respect what I do though I know that there are some people who have had to hide their writing for fear of being mocked or disparaged. What I say is BE PROUD of your writing; even if your friends laugh at it or your family disagree, it doesn't mean you should be any less proud. It's one thing to be a writer but it takes a whole lot of guts to keep it up and still want to do it. Never lose that sense of self and pride. There will be rough points but the joy of starting writing when you're young is that you can see yourself grow and evolve. I look back at pieces from just a few months ago and I'm amazed at how far I've come.

Why do YOU write? - comment below!

Lydia

Your Role as a Writer

AUDIENCE
You may think that you are writing for yourself and your own pleasure but I'm sure that at some point, you will want people to read what you've have written and for it to have an effect on them. That's what I am aiming for with this blog, after all.

As the writer, you play a huge role in delivering the right material in the right way. First of all, you must identify your audience. All that means is you need to figure out what sort of people you want to be reading your writing: for me with this blog, I am aiming at readers and writers of all ages whom I can help with their writing, rather than elderly men who enjoy fishing.


You won't get far if you want to write a self-help book on smoking for children but retune your audience to middle-aged men and women and you're off!

Once you have decided on your audience, you need to think of methods - these differ depending on who's reading the writing. Children enjoy a simple plot with a happy ending whereas many adults will delve into a complex, unpredictable (though not ridiculous) plot with any type of ending, as long as it satisfies.

Although writing is a very personal craft, the idea is to tune it to your readers so they will get the most out of it. This may involve cutting parts that didn't work, no matter how amazing or well-written they were. Writing is a sacrifice.

GENRE
What sort of story do you want to write? This is your genre. For a tale about girl-meets-boy, your genre would probably be chick-lit or young adult. You have to research your genres beforehand and check that your story fits into one. You may find that your book is very character orientated but don't worry - that would settle in the genre of literary fiction. For every book there is to write, you will find a genre, be it crime, historical fiction or adventure. 


Keep your genre in mind as you write - try not to veer off the tracks and venture into other territories as your readers will be confused and unsatisfied if the action-packed adventure story morphs into a romantic chick-lit. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly fine for a romance to evolve over the course of an adventure book but don't let it take over. Remain in control of your story, plot and characters, like a dog on a lead. You can give all three some leeway and the sense of control but ultimately, you're the commander.
Here is a useful site with genres: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/35-genres-and-other-varieties-of-fiction/


THINGS TO REMEMBER
The reader comes first: your job is to satisfy their wants and needs.
Make sure the book is what it says on the box.
Don't disappoint anybody.
Keep in control.
Have fun!

Please post any questions and comments below, or email me.

Lydia

Look after your Dust Bunnies

Every writer has their own dust bunnies; those little bits and pieces of stories, perhaps a character or two, which are stored at the back of the mind to slowly gather dust. It's a good idea to keep track of you dust bunnies before they decide to up and leave: you never know when you might be able to use them.

We all know the drill: we have an idea but can't use it at the time so we vow to remember it to use it in a future story but honestly, what are the chances of this happening? As humans, we're not perfect and it's almost guaranteed that by vowing to remember something, we are condemning ourselves to forgetfulness.

I can recall so many times when I have a distant memory of an amazing idea but I never made a note of it: I now always carry my phone and a pocket-sized notebook. The six or seven pens in my pocket and further, ooh, around forty in my bag, go without mentioning.

Dust bunnies are irritating little things: they will linger in your mind forever, taunting you with their presence but then the day comes when you must call upon them. You’re proud of yourself for finding them a place to slot in but – disaster! – your bunnies have done a runner!

Who knows, that idea could have been the next Shakespeare but it’s lost to an eternity of floating in the ethers of your brain. It’s but a vacant memory to you now, as useless as a chocolate teapot.

Don’t stop at writing – I’ve been known to draw scenes on any surface possible. By no means am I a skilled artist but whatever helps, helps.

Do you have any methods for remembering your bunnies? What do you do when you’re full of ideas but there isn’t a pen or phone in sight? Comment below!

Lydia

Character Development

~~~This one's a toughie - so many people have so many different ways of presenting their characters to the audience so it'd be hard to track each and every one so I'll do the main ones. To start, I shall have my personal favourite: introducing characters in the middle of the scene.

This technique is called in media res and involves bringing the reader directly into the action though it must be used with caution: you don't want your readers to end up confused if too much has happened before the book started.
It is best to choose a scene which shows a little bit about the character, be it a snippet of their personality or perhaps how they act in a certain situation. Maybe you use it as an opportunity to show the characters' appearances.

~~~ If you are going to describe the characters' looks at all within the book (a little detail is always good, we don't need an in-depth description of every freckle) then do it at the start, or within the first chapter at least. I'm sure we all know how disappointing it can be to imagine a character is 5'10" and brunetter, only to find out on page 102 that she is actually 4'11" and platinum blonde.

If you are going to describe your characters' appearances, then you must do it fast so that the reader doesn't have a preconceived image in their minds. A reader is very quick to bring to their mind an image and they will be disappointed if that image is completely wrong.

Use description sparingly because there will inevitably be a moment where intricate detail of a character works perfectly so you don't want to bore your readers by it being nothing new. Try to entwine descriptions of the main characters into the main body of the text rather than have a whole paragraph to say "Her eyes were blue like the sky on a sunny day and her brown hair flowed like a chocolate fountain," et cetera, when you could just say something like "She twirled her dark hair into a bun and jogged down the steps." That way, you are managing to give more information with less words, making it easier for the reader to digest.

A character's physical description can reveal a lot about them so try to incorporate this into your thinking when you are writing. Perhaps the moody man at the station wears his hat over his eyes and holds his newspaper high to obscure his face. This gives the reader plenty of questions and when the reader has questions, they will keep reading to find the answers.

~~~Reactions. This is a biggie. Actions show just fine how a character deals with situations and goes about their daily lives but a major indicator of character is in how they react to people, dilemmas and circumstances. Does the sweet blonde girl fly off the handle when her door key won't work? Is the sour elderly woman the only one to keep her head on when there's a fire? These little things are crucial to show the reader that you character is real. The art of storytelling lies in the ability to convince the reader that you know what you're talking about and that your story is worth reading. Not all of this lies in the characters but it certainly helps to have them as a strong base. The reader needs at least one character to root for.

Lydia

An Inspirational Photo

I absolutely love this photo and I find that
it has so many different interpretations.
Try and write a poem or a piece of flash
fiction based on the picture.

Lydia

Tip No. 2: No Purple Prose

We all know how it goes: teachers persuade you to write with as much description and as many adverbs as possible, applauding those with the floweriest language and the most effluent passages but this is not the way to do it in the real world.
I have heard time and time again from people in and out of the publishing world that the best way to do it is as scarcely as possible: leave as much up to the reader's imagination as possible. Make them think a little. You'll notice that the books which follow the less is more rule tend to be of a much higher quality and it gives the reader a much wider scope.

This website: http://www2.localaccess.com/suthed/writing.htm - has plenty of examples of purple prose and I'm sure you can all see that the quality of the writing is hindered by the overuse of words in an attempt to sound smart.

There are so many advantages to not using purple prose - the simplicity of your writing will be more striking to the reader rather than tiresome to read. Don't be boring to your readers because no-one is the beneficiary there.

Try to avoid flowery language as much as possible, although in some circumstances it can work, to describe something particularly stunning. If used sparingly, it can create a decent effect in that it is so out of the ordinary in comparison to the rest of the story.

Lydia

Tip No. 1: Watch TV

It may sound a little contradictory but watching plenty of TV in the same genre you like to write in can really help you with your writing. By observing how other writers do their craft, you can learn from that and relax with some good TV in the meantime!
This tip is on par with reading books in the same genre because from this, you can learn different techniques and apply them to your own work.

One thing that helps writers through the TV is a tip I learned from a book I read a few years ago, though I regret to say I still haven't tried it out properly myself. It advises writers to record or watch a DVD of a TV program they have never seen before, preferably a soap or drama where they will be plenty of scenes with different characters. The idea is to watch it with the volume on mute and no subtitles and write down what you think is happening and who is saying what within the scene. This is a great way to get a better understanding of how characters should look in different situation and also how their friends/counterparts are supposed to react. The idea is to then rewatch the program with the volume on, to see how accurate you were.
The most I have ever done is watch and guess, but never rewatch which is at least something, even just to make a few observations.
Even when watching TV normally, it's handy to keep an eye out for little quirks of characters, just small things that can inject a little more life into a story.

Have fun!

Lydia

Why are so many writers introverts?

Yes, the question poses a bit of a generalisation but it’s one I have pondered many times. Some people disagree but that may be due to an incorrect definition of the word. There are so many myths about introversion, I won’t take the time to dispel them all but one of them is that an introvert cannot be outgoing: false. I’m an introvert and proud but talk about something I care about, or introduce me to scintillating people and I will be as outgoing as your average extrovert. Introverts are not shy, they’re just quiet. The definition of introvert on dictionary.com is: Psychology: a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings or to direct (the mind, one’s interest, etc) partly to things within the self. Only about 25% of people are introverts.

The thing with introverts is that we are extremely comfortable on their own because our brains are working overtime with all our thoughts: us introverts spend an awful lot of time in our own world just thinking.  One of the most irritating things as an introvert is to be constantly asked “Are you ok?” just because you’re thinking. To read more on introversion, check out these two websites: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/91sLRr 
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1Zqpnj 

So, back to the main question: why are so many writers introverts? Granted, it’s not all of them but I have never met an extrovert who is serious about their writing – of course, that may just be because I don’t socialise much but I think there’s a definite link. It takes a lot of stamina to be a writer: there’s so much time spent alone, long hours of staring blankly at a computer screen and thinking up fantastical plots and characters.  We have the benefit of being able to do that without a second thought: it comes naturally to spend long periods of time alone because it's so easy to lose oneself in the world of thought.

Introverts are programmed to enjoy time alone and thrive off their own company rather than that of others: there is no need to incessantly be occupied with other things because what’s better than your own brain? There may be many negatives to introversion: social perception, living in an extrovert-dominated world and being seen as a “loner” but the positives of being able to survive alone for a few days during a particularly rough spot in writing, or perhaps a rush of words, make it worthwhile.

Are you an introvert? Or perhaps an extrovert who loves to write? Post your opinion below!

Lydia

DON'T write what you know.

Don't write what you know, that's what I'm telling you. It may go against what you've been told before: it's no secret that English teachers the width and breadth of the country say the exact opposite. I've been told in the past by many a teacher that if I wrote what I knew then my writing would be more believable and I'd have more to say.
As my creative writing teacher once said, if you only write what you know then you are drastically limiting yourself. There's only so much you will be able to write before you have to venture into the unknown but that's great! There's little that is more fun and exhilarating than those first moments of research, collecting facts and reading books by authors of the same genre. If you don't explore with your writing, you won't learn and you will find yourself stuck in a rut.
Every time that I have tried to write what I know, it has failed because the writing has sounded limited and conceited. By only writing what you know, you run the risk of treading on dangerous territory with regards to inventing characters based too heavily on people you know.
Try to be adventurous and if you think you won't be able to write something because of inexperience, do it. Research it, talk to people who are experienced and read books which deal with the topics you're interested in. In the end, it doesn't matter what you know because you can look it up and find out. What matters is how much interest you hold in the topic: the more interested you are, the more that will show through.
Go for it - write what you want to write about, be it the mating habits of snapping turtles or an in-depth guide to criminals of the 1700s.

Lydia