Don't be afraid to return to an old idea!

You keep coming up with new ideas. Every time you sink your teeth into a good story, another idea comes along and sweeps you off your feet like a new romance, only for you to realise that after all, it wasn't that great. But you don't want to return to the old ideas because that wouldn't be loyal to your new ones, your ever changing creativity, right?

WRONG!

For a very long time, I hated going back to old ideas because I didn't think I could ever get them right if it didn't work the first time or if I just never got round to finishing it. It's usually just down to me being distracted by a newer, seemingly better tale to tell. You have to remember that once upon a time, your old ideas were the new, shiny ones that keep popping up. And the new, shiny ones will soon become the old dusty ones you forgot about. No matter what you say, those new ideas will keep arriving and the old ones will be slowly gathering dust in the corner.

It's time to give the old ideas a polish, get them out and look them over. Recently, I wanted to write but I didn't want to carry on just yet with my current projects. Instead of dragging a new story into the mix, I decided to go back to an old story I'd finished in 2010 for Camp Nanowrimo which had lost its last two chapters. I decided, how about I write up those last two chapters again - finally - and revise the story. Now that I'm looking back over it again, it's better than I remember it being. At the time, I thought to myself, this is the story I want to publish first and now I remember why. Those old ideas are often the gems - the little diamonds of stories that came along before you turned into a haggard, jaded writer monster.

Lydia

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