I'm scheduling a tour of the police department. I have a scene with a simple arrest, so it's hard to make it interesting, and yet it's pivotol to my story, so I need to play it up. I think a tour would be fun and also give me a lot of material to help make the scene significant.
If you ever go places, take notes even if it's not a part of your story, just don't fall so in love with whatever you write that you are afraid to edit it out later.
Writing, even fantasy, has to have events the reader can identify with. Having more experiences, even if it's reading non fiction, will only help your writing.
I do get so tired of the "well, it's fiction, I can make it up", type of excuse to cover poor writing.
DO! BE! then share it
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
been away
I haven't written for a couple of reasons. No feed back for one. Why write if no one is interested, and I've been working on my own novel. I still check back from time to time and will post if anyone leaves a comment or question.
I'm about 3/4 through my rough draft. Also looking for a possible writing partner. Although I don't run out of topic ideas, (I've given away more on Yahoo Answers than I have written about) a partner will help me get through the writing faster. We can either co-write something, or be readers for each other's writings.
I did find one person who said he was looking for a partner, but he was looking for someone to do all the work, or so it seemed to me. He kept asking more and more details about my experiences with the Beatles (I had no personal ones), yet seemed unwilling to share any parts of his story.
He did not answer my questions about being homeless, even though he said he was for a short while. I just didn't see a partnership forming here.
Anyway, I'm still hopeful, AND still writing!
I'm about 3/4 through my rough draft. Also looking for a possible writing partner. Although I don't run out of topic ideas, (I've given away more on Yahoo Answers than I have written about) a partner will help me get through the writing faster. We can either co-write something, or be readers for each other's writings.
I did find one person who said he was looking for a partner, but he was looking for someone to do all the work, or so it seemed to me. He kept asking more and more details about my experiences with the Beatles (I had no personal ones), yet seemed unwilling to share any parts of his story.
He did not answer my questions about being homeless, even though he said he was for a short while. I just didn't see a partnership forming here.
Anyway, I'm still hopeful, AND still writing!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oh No! I've Got an Essay Due!
I think people over think essays. Really just think about how a conversation would go. For the people who ask, "HP or Twilight?" a teacher would say "compare and contrast the characters in Harry Potter and Twilight"
I haven't read either one of these, but I know what the teachers would look for. A thesis statement comes first. In a conversation with your friends, this is your short answer. So you pick Harry Potter.
Begin:
Harry Potter is superior to Twilight because he has a natural ability that sets him apart from others and still has room to grow as a character so everyone likes him.
What the teacher looks for is the example. Or you can choose Twiligt.
Bella's character is already developed so the book can proceed with the action which is the purpose of a fiction novel. Or Bella provides a strong female rolemodel for the girls who are most likely to read this book. In chapter 2 she stands up to her domineering parents and meets Edward... (I actually had to make this up, but the point is there's not a right or wrong, but only that the teacher is asking you to back up your statement.
An example of a real one is: compare and contrast the action in "The Yellow Wallpaper' with that of "Incident at Owl Creek Bridge".
In both of these stories the action takes place inside the main character's head. In Owl Creek Bridge, The action is his last longing to be home right as he is being hanged. In the Yellow Wallpaper the action is the character's attempt to remain sane during an enforced rest where she is literally ordered to 'turn off' her very active and creative mind.
Also in both the stories, the attempts end in failure, as the Owl Creek Character did not escape, but was hanged, and in the Yellow Wall Paper, the woman goes insane as demonstrated by seeing things that aren't there.
A contrast might be that in Owl Creek Bridge, the character deserved to die, but the character in the Yellow Wallpaper was taking a health retreat, so she was harmed by those who loved her. In this part of your essay, can't you hear yourself telling your friends, "yeah, but.."?
Teachers usually want three examples of each (3 comparisons and 3 contrasts)
A conclusion might be that life is gennerally better when you are in charge of your own life as demonstrated by the woman id The Yellow WallPaper would have been fine if she was allowed to determine when she had enough 'rest' rather than let the doctor's program or tradition determine when she could go home, or the man who was hanged at Owl Creek Bridge only commited treason through Hobson's choice and would have gone home and retired from the war if given the chance rather than the Union army commander hang him so his men could blow off steam.
The other type of essay is also a conversation. I see the question "Does he like me?"
A teacher would ask, "What does the author mean when he says...?"
When you post online does he like me?, you have no problem digging for examples of behavior, like 'every time I look at him, he is already looking at me', or 'he started sitting next to me at lunch'. This is really all your teacher is looking for.
Start with the short answer as your thesis statement:
He likes me as demonstrated by his change in routine of sitting with me instead of his friends, and looking to see if I notice him.
The body of the essay would be actions you would take to encourage this behavior, such as changing hairstyle to confirm that he is in fact watching you, or start attending his track meets to show you have an interest in him also.
The conclusion is something like he likes me and this is something I would like to take to the next level by introducing him to your circle of friends so you can be comfortable around each other.
A teacher might have an assignment like: What is the theme of "The Way to Rainy Mountain"?
Again the thesis statement is the short answer.
Momaday is tracing his roots through three means. Go into your examples for the body of your essay.
One method is to tell his grandmother's stories. Even though she grew up after the decline of the Kiowa People. She knew their factual history through knowing where each of the the legends came from.
Then you'd give one of the legends, say the origin legend that shows the Comanche started as hunter-gatherers in the Rocky Mountains. This is a long story so finding examples is easy.
But don't get carried away at this point because YOUR theme is the way Momaday shows his own history. You need another statement about Momaday's methods. So you say something like:
Another way Momaday traces his roots is through personal trips to the places where the legends originate. In the Black Hills he sees for him self that they saw the plains as an empty land and yet saw the Comanche People living there. Traeties were made for passage and trade remembered through the legends of a people who had no written language.
Finally he honors his past by celebrating his grandmother's life at her gravesite through remembering her contributions to their people
The conclusion is his resolve to add his own contributions at preservation of a dying culture through his writing.
I had intended to split this blog into two entries, but I have a conclusion of my own. A good writer keeps on top of things even though they may not seem important in themselves as far as getting words on paper. This is shown by my total inability to edit what I write.
Looking back through most of my blog entries, I see typos, ommissions, and a few duplicate sentences. Is that a reflection of a bad writer or one who grew up in an age before computers?
I haven't read either one of these, but I know what the teachers would look for. A thesis statement comes first. In a conversation with your friends, this is your short answer. So you pick Harry Potter.
Begin:
Harry Potter is superior to Twilight because he has a natural ability that sets him apart from others and still has room to grow as a character so everyone likes him.
What the teacher looks for is the example. Or you can choose Twiligt.
Bella's character is already developed so the book can proceed with the action which is the purpose of a fiction novel. Or Bella provides a strong female rolemodel for the girls who are most likely to read this book. In chapter 2 she stands up to her domineering parents and meets Edward... (I actually had to make this up, but the point is there's not a right or wrong, but only that the teacher is asking you to back up your statement.
An example of a real one is: compare and contrast the action in "The Yellow Wallpaper' with that of "Incident at Owl Creek Bridge".
In both of these stories the action takes place inside the main character's head. In Owl Creek Bridge, The action is his last longing to be home right as he is being hanged. In the Yellow Wallpaper the action is the character's attempt to remain sane during an enforced rest where she is literally ordered to 'turn off' her very active and creative mind.
Also in both the stories, the attempts end in failure, as the Owl Creek Character did not escape, but was hanged, and in the Yellow Wall Paper, the woman goes insane as demonstrated by seeing things that aren't there.
A contrast might be that in Owl Creek Bridge, the character deserved to die, but the character in the Yellow Wallpaper was taking a health retreat, so she was harmed by those who loved her. In this part of your essay, can't you hear yourself telling your friends, "yeah, but.."?
Teachers usually want three examples of each (3 comparisons and 3 contrasts)
A conclusion might be that life is gennerally better when you are in charge of your own life as demonstrated by the woman id The Yellow WallPaper would have been fine if she was allowed to determine when she had enough 'rest' rather than let the doctor's program or tradition determine when she could go home, or the man who was hanged at Owl Creek Bridge only commited treason through Hobson's choice and would have gone home and retired from the war if given the chance rather than the Union army commander hang him so his men could blow off steam.
The other type of essay is also a conversation. I see the question "Does he like me?"
A teacher would ask, "What does the author mean when he says...?"
When you post online does he like me?, you have no problem digging for examples of behavior, like 'every time I look at him, he is already looking at me', or 'he started sitting next to me at lunch'. This is really all your teacher is looking for.
Start with the short answer as your thesis statement:
He likes me as demonstrated by his change in routine of sitting with me instead of his friends, and looking to see if I notice him.
The body of the essay would be actions you would take to encourage this behavior, such as changing hairstyle to confirm that he is in fact watching you, or start attending his track meets to show you have an interest in him also.
The conclusion is something like he likes me and this is something I would like to take to the next level by introducing him to your circle of friends so you can be comfortable around each other.
A teacher might have an assignment like: What is the theme of "The Way to Rainy Mountain"?
Again the thesis statement is the short answer.
Momaday is tracing his roots through three means. Go into your examples for the body of your essay.
One method is to tell his grandmother's stories. Even though she grew up after the decline of the Kiowa People. She knew their factual history through knowing where each of the the legends came from.
Then you'd give one of the legends, say the origin legend that shows the Comanche started as hunter-gatherers in the Rocky Mountains. This is a long story so finding examples is easy.
But don't get carried away at this point because YOUR theme is the way Momaday shows his own history. You need another statement about Momaday's methods. So you say something like:
Another way Momaday traces his roots is through personal trips to the places where the legends originate. In the Black Hills he sees for him self that they saw the plains as an empty land and yet saw the Comanche People living there. Traeties were made for passage and trade remembered through the legends of a people who had no written language.
Finally he honors his past by celebrating his grandmother's life at her gravesite through remembering her contributions to their people
The conclusion is his resolve to add his own contributions at preservation of a dying culture through his writing.
I had intended to split this blog into two entries, but I have a conclusion of my own. A good writer keeps on top of things even though they may not seem important in themselves as far as getting words on paper. This is shown by my total inability to edit what I write.
Looking back through most of my blog entries, I see typos, ommissions, and a few duplicate sentences. Is that a reflection of a bad writer or one who grew up in an age before computers?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
fanfic
This post is short, but just to keep the blog active... I've seen some successful fanfiction out there. There's a couple of things I found out. Copywrite of course. The easiest way to get around the copywrite infringement is to send your story to the same publisher as the original story and clearly label it as fan fiction.
The other thing to note is do NOT make it a love story. We fall in love with characters and that tends to show up in our stories about them. You can't do that if you stand a chance of getting published. Captain Kirk must always ride off into the the unknown, and Spock does not acquire emotions. I'm giving away my age here, but you get the idea. Characters that go on a quest are worn out by their experience and while they may get married in the end of the book, it's a wrap up of the story, not a part of it. He changed and no longer fits into the culture he saved.
Remember YOU did not make up the characters, so you can't change their personalities.
The other thing to note is do NOT make it a love story. We fall in love with characters and that tends to show up in our stories about them. You can't do that if you stand a chance of getting published. Captain Kirk must always ride off into the the unknown, and Spock does not acquire emotions. I'm giving away my age here, but you get the idea. Characters that go on a quest are worn out by their experience and while they may get married in the end of the book, it's a wrap up of the story, not a part of it. He changed and no longer fits into the culture he saved.
Remember YOU did not make up the characters, so you can't change their personalities.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
More on what should I write about
It occurred to me that homework (I know Uggh) could be incorporated into your stories. I've already mentioned using history and mythology stories as plot basis.
Health and Diet classes can be fillers. Fantasy stories usually include a hunter in the traveling group, but what if the group came down with scurvy because they didn't have fruits. Could the weakness that the antagonist have be lead poisoning from all the pewter dishes he likes to eat from?
If you take psychology, is there something on group dynamics that will help you decide how members of the group squabble, then ultimately resolve their differences? After all, you should have a lot of alpha personalities. They'll all want to be the leader.
Does your sociology book have something on how societies are put together? Your group has to have something to save and reason to fear the change they are trying to stop.
Less obvious is algebra.
Population shifts, is the birthrate declining in your society? Are people disappearing?
How fast can you climb a mountain. How do you choose the best path up? If you are moving a whole village to a safe place, it will be a different path than a band of hardy explorers.
In a village, how big or deep would a cave used for food storage have to be to supply a whole population?
Do they have farms? How big would they have to be in order to supply the entire area for a year.
In the antagonists camp: He surely has a large, permanent place. It would have to have large roads to trasport supplies, plus (usually) not the brightest of followers, and yet it is kept secret. How is this accomplished?
Walking, horseback or bicycle speeds. These will help you set the timelines for your novel. How long will your journey be?
Can you plot points on a graph? You'll need all this information to make a realistic map.
All this math is algebra 101. Now you know why authors include a map. Writing is a job, it's real work, my friends. (It will also give you cool questions to ask your math teacher, which is almost as good as knowing the answer, if she calls on you.)
Health and Diet classes can be fillers. Fantasy stories usually include a hunter in the traveling group, but what if the group came down with scurvy because they didn't have fruits. Could the weakness that the antagonist have be lead poisoning from all the pewter dishes he likes to eat from?
If you take psychology, is there something on group dynamics that will help you decide how members of the group squabble, then ultimately resolve their differences? After all, you should have a lot of alpha personalities. They'll all want to be the leader.
Does your sociology book have something on how societies are put together? Your group has to have something to save and reason to fear the change they are trying to stop.
Less obvious is algebra.
Population shifts, is the birthrate declining in your society? Are people disappearing?
How fast can you climb a mountain. How do you choose the best path up? If you are moving a whole village to a safe place, it will be a different path than a band of hardy explorers.
In a village, how big or deep would a cave used for food storage have to be to supply a whole population?
Do they have farms? How big would they have to be in order to supply the entire area for a year.
In the antagonists camp: He surely has a large, permanent place. It would have to have large roads to trasport supplies, plus (usually) not the brightest of followers, and yet it is kept secret. How is this accomplished?
Walking, horseback or bicycle speeds. These will help you set the timelines for your novel. How long will your journey be?
Can you plot points on a graph? You'll need all this information to make a realistic map.
All this math is algebra 101. Now you know why authors include a map. Writing is a job, it's real work, my friends. (It will also give you cool questions to ask your math teacher, which is almost as good as knowing the answer, if she calls on you.)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Religion and Spirituality
I was spending some time in R&S at Yahoo Answers until the 'do my homework questions' questions die down. It's a good place becausr the people there, no matter their beliefs or lack of them have something to say. Sharing information is always a good reason to write things down.
A search through the local libray and bookstore categories showed me that religious writings are not a specific genre. It is a category placed either by itself or under philosophy depending on what part of the country you are in.
For the purpose of writing though, you must know the genre. I found three. The fiction tends to be love stories so the barrier is one party is Christian and the other isn't, or a very few have two separate religions. I was unable to find anything with the protagonist being anything other than Christian. Any practising Muslims or Buddhists would find a wide open market, I should think.
In non fiction, I found two styles of writing. One is written by those with degrees explaining Bible escatology The origin and meaning of the wording of the Bible with rference to how it was used at the time of writing. There were a few works that published sermons and works aimed at spreading the Gospel message. There was not many of them because the target market (unbelievers) are unlikely to buy them. Again, I was unable to find very little from non Christian religions. I would avoid this type of writing if you don't have a degree or are fluent in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic (a dead language)because you'll need to have something original to add to whatever is out there.
Another type is the daily living variety, such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series or The Upper Room. This format is marked by giving a Bible verse and sharing a personal testimony relevant to the verse. Sometimes an event will remind the writer of a verse and sometime the daily reading will especially stand out because of something that happened that day. This is a good field to specialize in because it's more effective when written by layity persons. The focus should be on your daily walk with God.
One type I found exactly zero on was Contemporary Christian fiction that was not a love story. Nothing about anyone's conversion experience, nothing about how people share their story in the workplace without getting labeled as wierd, or even if they tried it, what the reaction of hte people you talked to were. And nothing about how your life changed for better (or worse?) after your conversion.
Libraries think they are up to date if they carry a copy of the Holy Quoran, but then I live in what is called the Bible Belt. There also may just not be anything out there. The bookstores had very little to offer, but tell me they can order anything if I have an ISBN number or the title and author.
Hope this gives someone ideas. Peace
A search through the local libray and bookstore categories showed me that religious writings are not a specific genre. It is a category placed either by itself or under philosophy depending on what part of the country you are in.
For the purpose of writing though, you must know the genre. I found three. The fiction tends to be love stories so the barrier is one party is Christian and the other isn't, or a very few have two separate religions. I was unable to find anything with the protagonist being anything other than Christian. Any practising Muslims or Buddhists would find a wide open market, I should think.
In non fiction, I found two styles of writing. One is written by those with degrees explaining Bible escatology The origin and meaning of the wording of the Bible with rference to how it was used at the time of writing. There were a few works that published sermons and works aimed at spreading the Gospel message. There was not many of them because the target market (unbelievers) are unlikely to buy them. Again, I was unable to find very little from non Christian religions. I would avoid this type of writing if you don't have a degree or are fluent in Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic (a dead language)because you'll need to have something original to add to whatever is out there.
Another type is the daily living variety, such as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series or The Upper Room. This format is marked by giving a Bible verse and sharing a personal testimony relevant to the verse. Sometimes an event will remind the writer of a verse and sometime the daily reading will especially stand out because of something that happened that day. This is a good field to specialize in because it's more effective when written by layity persons. The focus should be on your daily walk with God.
One type I found exactly zero on was Contemporary Christian fiction that was not a love story. Nothing about anyone's conversion experience, nothing about how people share their story in the workplace without getting labeled as wierd, or even if they tried it, what the reaction of hte people you talked to were. And nothing about how your life changed for better (or worse?) after your conversion.
Libraries think they are up to date if they carry a copy of the Holy Quoran, but then I live in what is called the Bible Belt. There also may just not be anything out there. The bookstores had very little to offer, but tell me they can order anything if I have an ISBN number or the title and author.
Hope this gives someone ideas. Peace
Monday, September 7, 2009
What do I write about?
I see this question a lot. Has anyone considered non fiction? For example, I subscribe to a magazine, Organic Gardening which has a monthly column on mulch piles.
If people will pay to read about the different ways of of creating food scrap piles, it shows you don't need a degree to write. You do need knowledge though.
Do you have a hobby? You probably have magazines on the subject, so you have an idea on what they're lookin for. So you can't compete with what the contributing writers know? Then write about getting started. Write about how you share your hobby with others, or what you do to gain more knowledge on the subject, or even if you hope it will lead to a career, or add to an existing career (if you're working). Perhaps throw in how it helps you escape an job you don't like. My daughter has a BA in history and uses historical events as a plotline for science fiction.
These ideas not working for you? Take your hobby, and place it in a different time. My son and I are writing a story that begins with his love of coin collecting and ends in the Civil war. It will be a time travel story. With some historical facts and websites supplied by my daughter. It gives us all something to do together without dumbing down or talking over anyone. We contribute what we knnow and we're closer for it, whether it gets published or not.
Been on vacation to another culture? Travel mags are generally looking at two angles. One is places not frequented by tourists, and the other is how this trip changed you as a person. Another option could be a kids eye view of what you see, but keep the first two POV in mind. They will not be interested in 'we went to Disney land and had a blast!', but they might be interested in 'we went to Disneyland and met the guy who designs the rides.' This is where the query letter comes in. The risk is, can you deliver? Write the article first, send the query letter, then is they are interested, you can tweak it to put the slant they want on the story. That way you know what information you have on the designer and his works.
Since most of the writer's I meet want to write fantasy or possibly love stories, I'll contemplate my inspiration sources in the next post. If anyone is reading this blog, feel free to post. This post is dedicated to my daughter who bugs me to add to it.
If people will pay to read about the different ways of of creating food scrap piles, it shows you don't need a degree to write. You do need knowledge though.
Do you have a hobby? You probably have magazines on the subject, so you have an idea on what they're lookin for. So you can't compete with what the contributing writers know? Then write about getting started. Write about how you share your hobby with others, or what you do to gain more knowledge on the subject, or even if you hope it will lead to a career, or add to an existing career (if you're working). Perhaps throw in how it helps you escape an job you don't like. My daughter has a BA in history and uses historical events as a plotline for science fiction.
These ideas not working for you? Take your hobby, and place it in a different time. My son and I are writing a story that begins with his love of coin collecting and ends in the Civil war. It will be a time travel story. With some historical facts and websites supplied by my daughter. It gives us all something to do together without dumbing down or talking over anyone. We contribute what we knnow and we're closer for it, whether it gets published or not.
Been on vacation to another culture? Travel mags are generally looking at two angles. One is places not frequented by tourists, and the other is how this trip changed you as a person. Another option could be a kids eye view of what you see, but keep the first two POV in mind. They will not be interested in 'we went to Disney land and had a blast!', but they might be interested in 'we went to Disneyland and met the guy who designs the rides.' This is where the query letter comes in. The risk is, can you deliver? Write the article first, send the query letter, then is they are interested, you can tweak it to put the slant they want on the story. That way you know what information you have on the designer and his works.
Since most of the writer's I meet want to write fantasy or possibly love stories, I'll contemplate my inspiration sources in the next post. If anyone is reading this blog, feel free to post. This post is dedicated to my daughter who bugs me to add to it.
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