Tuesday 27 September 2011
Hiatus (no day listing)
This is more for me than anything else....If anyone is watching and waiting with bated breath then at least this is a heads up. With work and with the course I've been doing online I haven't been doing much in the way of actual writing save for occasional brain storming. I've decided to go on hiatus until the new year...My plan is to pick it up on the day of the month in the new year that matches up with the day I'm on here and to really try to post daily as I originally intended to. I also mean to try and keep a hand written journal in case I do some writing but don't want to or cannot get on line...but for now I'll leave things as they are and come back to this in the new year (or the end of Dec. at the earliest). If anyone is reading then watch for me in the new year. :) I really want to keep this up I am just not writing right now.
Saturday 10 September 2011
Day 27 - musing...plot and research
((I started writing this at 11pm, so the date was meant to read Sept.9. A well...I mean to post something else later. We shall see what happens. I hate it when my posts end up appearing on the wrong date. bleh...easily annoyed i guess.))
I'm trying so hard to post every times I write, though my original goal was to write every day and post something about it here, even if it was just some kind of musing I did while writing. I meant for it, as I said in my very first post, to be a way to be accountable. It's not working as well as I'd hoped. Granted the group on DeviantART is also giving me a certain sense of accountability though not nearly as regimented as I intended here. But musings, musings...not why I wanted to write this.
Of course I didn't start writing this with any real thought as to what I did want to muse on...not very helpful I know. Looking back to my earlier post, maybe I should consider my ideas for Calliope Jones. Why is it that I can come up with lots of ideas and not one of them related to what I want to do with the first plot? Maybe I should sit down and try reading more YA fiction than I do. I have read some but perhaps not enough. Urban Fantasy is a good place to start and I do read a fair bit of that. Perhaps the first plot should be related to who/what the main characters are, allows for introduction of the rules of my world and definitions of different groups. It makes sense and gives me some plotting ideas but still not sure.
Plotting always seems like it would be easier than it is. I suppose if one doesn't concern themselves with potential plot holes or if the plot makes sense it might be. I know that things used to come more easily when I was younger and more interested in writing fanfiction but perhaps that has something to do with using a prebuilt world and drawing a plot from that. that does make things easier I'm sure. I'm also sure that I didn't worry so much about how much sense the story made whether within the context of the canon or as a plot on its own. When I write though I like for the world to make a certain level of sense. Even if it is a fantasy world, or the real world with fantasy being drawn into it it is not enough for me to use fantasy and magic as an explanation.
Though fantasy might seem an easy genre to write, even more if it is aimed more at younger readers, I have found that the best fantasy, traditional or urban, is in one way or another anchored in reality to an extent. I don't believe that it needs to reflect the way this world was in the past, though it is a good place to start when thinking about research (and yes, even when writing fantasy a writer should do their homework, at least enough to anchor their reality into something that the reader can relate to). One can learn a lot from just studying history of countries, cultures and religions and drawing on that research and adding it into their own writing. Having a minor in anthropology and a BA in history in art gives me perhaps a bit more knowledge than others and i admit I do find it useful when thinking about architecture, religion, culture and perhaps even other things. I find that using this knowledge as an anchor for my writing helps keep me thinking about whether or something works, how it works, why it works and hopefully allows me to write stories and create worlds that will allow the reader to suspend disbelief rather than having those jarring aspects that bring a person out of the story because something is clearly off. (I can think of a Canadian author, who I won't name, who may have mistaken the coastal mountains of BC for the Rockies. Perhaps I should reread the story and see if she meant for the character to seem ignorant though I don't recall any other characters making a correction. If this author had done a wee bit more research they might not have made that glaring mistake and being from BC i picked it up immediately. didn't ruin the story for me but it did bring me out of the story.)
fantasy does have it's allowances though. When making a fantasy race there may be room to bend certain aspects to allow it to make sense within the world of the story. It is best, I've found, to avoid using magic and fantasy as an explanation as much as possible, though of course there is always some aspects that are likely going to fall into that explanation to some extent (eg: the wands in Harry Potter...clearly magic is going to be the main explanation). I guess in a way it is always an explanation, if only as to how certain creatures might exist and so on. Still, it helps to have some basis to make their existence make sense beyond that basic explanation. That is what I strive for in my own writing, to take a step beyond the basic explanation and delve deeper. It is not just magic that makes a person able to change their form, for example, but maybe a deeper understanding of anatomy combined with an understanding of how those energies called magic flow and how they can manipulate those energies to change their anatomy to that of something else. I try to think along those lines rather than saying "It's magic, that's why." i find that doing this allows me to ground the magic itself in fictional "facts" and use them as the frame to build up more complex explanations for things. and it is something i would recommend to anyone who writes...but this is just my process and anyone who wants to write has to figure out how their own processes work.
Wow...i did not end up for this to end up being a writing advice...column/blog/post...I should try writing more posts like this too even if no one reads them. It helps me organize my thoughts. This was what I was intending for this blog though we'll see how often these particular posts come out of me. XD
I'm trying so hard to post every times I write, though my original goal was to write every day and post something about it here, even if it was just some kind of musing I did while writing. I meant for it, as I said in my very first post, to be a way to be accountable. It's not working as well as I'd hoped. Granted the group on DeviantART is also giving me a certain sense of accountability though not nearly as regimented as I intended here. But musings, musings...not why I wanted to write this.
Of course I didn't start writing this with any real thought as to what I did want to muse on...not very helpful I know. Looking back to my earlier post, maybe I should consider my ideas for Calliope Jones. Why is it that I can come up with lots of ideas and not one of them related to what I want to do with the first plot? Maybe I should sit down and try reading more YA fiction than I do. I have read some but perhaps not enough. Urban Fantasy is a good place to start and I do read a fair bit of that. Perhaps the first plot should be related to who/what the main characters are, allows for introduction of the rules of my world and definitions of different groups. It makes sense and gives me some plotting ideas but still not sure.
Plotting always seems like it would be easier than it is. I suppose if one doesn't concern themselves with potential plot holes or if the plot makes sense it might be. I know that things used to come more easily when I was younger and more interested in writing fanfiction but perhaps that has something to do with using a prebuilt world and drawing a plot from that. that does make things easier I'm sure. I'm also sure that I didn't worry so much about how much sense the story made whether within the context of the canon or as a plot on its own. When I write though I like for the world to make a certain level of sense. Even if it is a fantasy world, or the real world with fantasy being drawn into it it is not enough for me to use fantasy and magic as an explanation.
Though fantasy might seem an easy genre to write, even more if it is aimed more at younger readers, I have found that the best fantasy, traditional or urban, is in one way or another anchored in reality to an extent. I don't believe that it needs to reflect the way this world was in the past, though it is a good place to start when thinking about research (and yes, even when writing fantasy a writer should do their homework, at least enough to anchor their reality into something that the reader can relate to). One can learn a lot from just studying history of countries, cultures and religions and drawing on that research and adding it into their own writing. Having a minor in anthropology and a BA in history in art gives me perhaps a bit more knowledge than others and i admit I do find it useful when thinking about architecture, religion, culture and perhaps even other things. I find that using this knowledge as an anchor for my writing helps keep me thinking about whether or something works, how it works, why it works and hopefully allows me to write stories and create worlds that will allow the reader to suspend disbelief rather than having those jarring aspects that bring a person out of the story because something is clearly off. (I can think of a Canadian author, who I won't name, who may have mistaken the coastal mountains of BC for the Rockies. Perhaps I should reread the story and see if she meant for the character to seem ignorant though I don't recall any other characters making a correction. If this author had done a wee bit more research they might not have made that glaring mistake and being from BC i picked it up immediately. didn't ruin the story for me but it did bring me out of the story.)
fantasy does have it's allowances though. When making a fantasy race there may be room to bend certain aspects to allow it to make sense within the world of the story. It is best, I've found, to avoid using magic and fantasy as an explanation as much as possible, though of course there is always some aspects that are likely going to fall into that explanation to some extent (eg: the wands in Harry Potter...clearly magic is going to be the main explanation). I guess in a way it is always an explanation, if only as to how certain creatures might exist and so on. Still, it helps to have some basis to make their existence make sense beyond that basic explanation. That is what I strive for in my own writing, to take a step beyond the basic explanation and delve deeper. It is not just magic that makes a person able to change their form, for example, but maybe a deeper understanding of anatomy combined with an understanding of how those energies called magic flow and how they can manipulate those energies to change their anatomy to that of something else. I try to think along those lines rather than saying "It's magic, that's why." i find that doing this allows me to ground the magic itself in fictional "facts" and use them as the frame to build up more complex explanations for things. and it is something i would recommend to anyone who writes...but this is just my process and anyone who wants to write has to figure out how their own processes work.
Wow...i did not end up for this to end up being a writing advice...column/blog/post...I should try writing more posts like this too even if no one reads them. It helps me organize my thoughts. This was what I was intending for this blog though we'll see how often these particular posts come out of me. XD
Wednesday 7 September 2011
Day 26 - on having a plot goal
Day 26+ actually. I've been writing a fair bit since I last posted but I haven't been getting on the computer itself to write about it. It defeats the purpose of this blog, I know but what can I do? I suppose I could keep track of the days while writing my story and then refer to that when I post. it could work. It makes sense. But still it seems rather silly. I could just make a point of getting on daily as I try to get onto my computer every day...well anyway this blog is not meant for this musing so...on to other things.
I have started working on Calliope Jones but there is still a fair bit flesh out and I haven't even worked out what I specifically want to happen in the first book (if this does end up a series which is rather the direction I'd like to go in). Still I'm spending much more time thinking about it than other ideas and I hope that it will lead to something. The trickiest part about writing seems to be working out exactly where things need to go and how to get there. If the writer doesn't have the story itself outlined (if only in their head) then it makes writing much harder. As much as people talk about writing and letting the story goes where it will and while writing that way is fun, if there is no goal it's kind like going for a rambling walk with no real goal in mind. You might see some great scenery along the way but eventually you have to make a decision about where you want to go, even if it's simply home, or you'd never get anywhere. Now with a story, getting home again is probably not the best goal since, at least in my mind, it suggests going back to the beginning which is generally unsatisfying if nothing has actually happened story wise so...yeah... I used to be among those who thought that it was enough to just write and see where it lead but now, looking back, I realize that I almost always had a plan and a final destination (a final conflict and climax) even though I didn't realize it at the time. I have never liked writing outlines but I have realized that I always had a kind of outline if only in my head even if I didn't write it down on paper. These things are important to write a story that has a purpose. I wonder what it would be like to write a story with no real purpose in mind, like a rambling walk with no final goal. Rumour is the writers did it with Lost. I wonder what would happen if I tried it with a story. Maybe I will sometime if only as an exercise. Something to add to my list of ideas and things to try. So many ideas so little time.
I have started working on Calliope Jones but there is still a fair bit flesh out and I haven't even worked out what I specifically want to happen in the first book (if this does end up a series which is rather the direction I'd like to go in). Still I'm spending much more time thinking about it than other ideas and I hope that it will lead to something. The trickiest part about writing seems to be working out exactly where things need to go and how to get there. If the writer doesn't have the story itself outlined (if only in their head) then it makes writing much harder. As much as people talk about writing and letting the story goes where it will and while writing that way is fun, if there is no goal it's kind like going for a rambling walk with no real goal in mind. You might see some great scenery along the way but eventually you have to make a decision about where you want to go, even if it's simply home, or you'd never get anywhere. Now with a story, getting home again is probably not the best goal since, at least in my mind, it suggests going back to the beginning which is generally unsatisfying if nothing has actually happened story wise so...yeah... I used to be among those who thought that it was enough to just write and see where it lead but now, looking back, I realize that I almost always had a plan and a final destination (a final conflict and climax) even though I didn't realize it at the time. I have never liked writing outlines but I have realized that I always had a kind of outline if only in my head even if I didn't write it down on paper. These things are important to write a story that has a purpose. I wonder what it would be like to write a story with no real purpose in mind, like a rambling walk with no final goal. Rumour is the writers did it with Lost. I wonder what would happen if I tried it with a story. Maybe I will sometime if only as an exercise. Something to add to my list of ideas and things to try. So many ideas so little time.
Tuesday 30 August 2011
Day 24 & 25
The most recent prompt in the group I belong to is "secret". I have been working at a YA urban fantasy and thought I'd use that for the prompt. I've been writing it long hand...it feels right for some reason. I rarely write long hand anymore though. That's why there won't be a word count for this post either. I'm sure that I could go a bit beyond Day 25 but I'm not going to. Better to err on the side of caution and go less rather than more. XD I think I want to make a point of using the group now to get a jump on projects I haven't don't much on yet. We'll see how to goes and how far I get this way. :D
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Day 23
I'm hoping to start focusing more on a couple of less fleshed out story ideas that have been floating about in my head for a while. So far my mind turns particularly to a YA story that I'd like to tell. Urban fantasy is growing in popularity but while I'd like to get my finger into that pie I want to make a point of doing my own version. Less romance to start with. In my opinion it's good at flavouring but not as the whole cake. (Just as a cake that has buttercream for the filling is too sweet, so do I think that a story based entirely on romance is too much.) I would like to explore the world and the nature of the supernatural in that world rather than romance either among supernaturals or among a human and a supernatural. I'm glad to be thinking about writing other stories. I do want to write more of my main project but if I'm going to chose something else to debut with I don't want it to be Legends of Caranor.
((i may update later with a word count))
((i may update later with a word count))
Thursday 18 August 2011
Day 21 & 22 - writing darker subject matter
I'm doing two days together because I didn't get a chance to write my thoughts but I did have a couple days where I wrote. Cheating? Maybe...but I'm doing it this way anyway.
So...dark subject matter... I have to say that I admire those people who are unconstrained when it comes to writing darker stories, scenes or themes. I tend to balk at the idea and take the edge off of it when I write. I know for me it's a fear of being judged. I don't think I could ever write the way Stephen King does or LKH (for teh latter, while I don't uphold her as a great literary genius...she is very able to write graphic horror without a sense that she's flinching away from it). Often in a story bad things are going to happen, whether to the main characters or to supporting or even just incidental characters. it is much easier to give a main character drive, for example, if they witness an atrocity or violent acts in general. To see the suffering of others is going to affect them in some way, though there are many ways in which a character can act. I believe that one of the differences between fluff and grittier, more compelling writing is the way the writer deals with the dark stuff. Fluff is lighter and so has less in the way of suffering and violence. It makes a nice change, something to relax with but personally I find the darkness, even if it is just a thread that weaves its way through a story, to be more compelling. I would say this is the different between say, Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters. Austin's writing is much lighter and tends to have a happy ending (though I haven't read all her books yet) while the Bronte sisters stories all have dark threads running through them. Suffering, hardship, madness are themes that I've noticed in more than one of the books and that's what takes them from being romantic fluff, to a much deeper kind of romance...and that's what I like about them.
what I have been trying to figure out for a while now is how writers approach it and how they feel about approaching this subject matter. do they fear being judged but push past it? Do they just accept that it's a part of human nature? Or are they just writing what they know? I wonder because I would like to have the ability that other writers have, to write these aspects into my stories without flinching from it.
No wordcount for today. Editing was my focus once again.
So...dark subject matter... I have to say that I admire those people who are unconstrained when it comes to writing darker stories, scenes or themes. I tend to balk at the idea and take the edge off of it when I write. I know for me it's a fear of being judged. I don't think I could ever write the way Stephen King does or LKH (for teh latter, while I don't uphold her as a great literary genius...she is very able to write graphic horror without a sense that she's flinching away from it). Often in a story bad things are going to happen, whether to the main characters or to supporting or even just incidental characters. it is much easier to give a main character drive, for example, if they witness an atrocity or violent acts in general. To see the suffering of others is going to affect them in some way, though there are many ways in which a character can act. I believe that one of the differences between fluff and grittier, more compelling writing is the way the writer deals with the dark stuff. Fluff is lighter and so has less in the way of suffering and violence. It makes a nice change, something to relax with but personally I find the darkness, even if it is just a thread that weaves its way through a story, to be more compelling. I would say this is the different between say, Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters. Austin's writing is much lighter and tends to have a happy ending (though I haven't read all her books yet) while the Bronte sisters stories all have dark threads running through them. Suffering, hardship, madness are themes that I've noticed in more than one of the books and that's what takes them from being romantic fluff, to a much deeper kind of romance...and that's what I like about them.
what I have been trying to figure out for a while now is how writers approach it and how they feel about approaching this subject matter. do they fear being judged but push past it? Do they just accept that it's a part of human nature? Or are they just writing what they know? I wonder because I would like to have the ability that other writers have, to write these aspects into my stories without flinching from it.
No wordcount for today. Editing was my focus once again.
Sunday 14 August 2011
Day 20 - editing
No word count today.
The writing, such as it is, that I worked on to day was editing. There have been other days that I focused on that too. The group I joined at DA (lovefantasywrite) has a weekly prompt that really is a great way to get people writing (or editing in my case). So I focused on that a bit instead.
The writing, such as it is, that I worked on to day was editing. There have been other days that I focused on that too. The group I joined at DA (lovefantasywrite) has a weekly prompt that really is a great way to get people writing (or editing in my case). So I focused on that a bit instead.
| Editing is as important as the writing process so hey....why not. We'll get back to our regularly scheduled program (hopefully) in the next entry. ;) |
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