Writing Advice

Well, this is a very broad topic. I'm going to make this pretty general.

A list of things you SHOULD/MUST do:

1. Never give up. This is big - if you can't finish it, move on or change it, but don't give up on your writing unless you've been brainwashed by zombies to hate writing.
2. Keep your characters interesting and real. I (and 98% of the rest of humanity) can't stand flat, boring characters.
3. Include a background to your story; not just setting, but why things are as they are. Include who, what, when, where, why, and how. You can't just put what, when, and where.
4. Love your work. Have fun. Find beauty in the words. Even in writer's block, look at the simple beauty of language and writing, and smile.
5. Let your dreams be just as real as your writing. Let your emotions be just as real as your characters. Let your family and friends be just as real as your imagination.


A list of things you SHOULD NOT do if you value your life and/or self-esteem:

1. Don't be obviously cliche. It's like a crutch: it's okay in the first draft, but eventually your writing has to stand up on its own without looking cliche.
2. Don't let zombies brainwash you into hating writing. That's a tragedy worse than anything Shakespeare could have come up with.
3. Never plagorize. That's very uncreative, and people will catch you and tie you to a stake and leave you for the wild beasties of the night. *Ahem* Or at least thunk you over the head with your book.
4. Don't be normal, and don't let your character be, either. I went to a church event back in January, called Acquire the Fire - the entire theme was "Normal is Not Enough!" Live by those words.
5. Never, for the sake of all that's good and pure, put the almost right word. There's a big difference between skinny and emaciated. Between indigo and dark blue. Between strolling and sprinting.

In other words, be creative and fun. Love your writing and never let it go. Don't be unfun, uncreative, and a work-stealer.

Another few things:

Read a lot. And don't stick to just one genre; love general fiction, fantasy, science-fiction, romance, paranormal, adventure, dystopian, YA novels, children's books, adult series. Love nonfiction and facts and research. Love the sounds the words make. Love it all, until you feel like it'll drown you if you don't write/type them into a whole new existence.

Experiment with your writing. I admit, I have trouble on this one - but playing it safe leads to a boring book. If you add something new, it interests you and the reader. Add a crazy character! Change your plot drastically! Turn your MC into a unicorn! Make it take place in space instead of New York! Change it from first person to third person! Make it in future tense!

Put yourself in your character's shoes. Unless they need them, of course. And I'm not asking you to go kill a dragon or fall in love with a vampire (unless he actually drinks human blood and doesn't sparkle). I just want you to imagine doing them, and how you'd feel. We will know you ignored this advice if your character is happy and laughing in a hostage negotiation (unless they're hyped up on drugs).

Push through to the end of the book. I know I said earlier you can move on, but that's kind of relative. I mean, if you change the plot enough because your original idea didn't work, didn't you already move on and create a whole new book? The content of your story is a delicate balance; when you make a major change, you've already made a major change to the ending. You've made a major change to that entire world.

This is pretty good for improvisation. (I really should think more before I post these posts.) Anyways, have a blessed week and happy writing! <3

Showing vs. Telling

(I was supposed to do this yesterday, sorry.)

Telling - directly stating description, thoughts, emotions, etc.'
Showing - indirectly stating description, thoughts, emotions, etc.

Like with the rest of writing, there has to be a balance. You can't have too much telling and not enough showing, or vice versa. It gets tedious after a short while. Showing too much can be confusing, when you're not spelling it out for people. But first, I'll give you an example of each so you know just exactly what I mean by show vs. tell.

(Show)
"She yawned as he continued his tirade. Leaning back against the headrest, she struggled to stay awake as her brother ranted, his hands fluttering about in agitated gestures."

(Tell)
"She was bored as he continued his tirade. She tried to hide exactly how bored and tired she was, because she knew how enraged her brother was over this particular topic of conversation."

Easy to tell the difference between them? Showing tends to use more action, or smaller clues in the action, to state what is going on. Telling comes straight out and says it. In both, you can tell that a) she is bored, and b) he's angry. These are really easy examples, but you get my main point.

Imagine an entire paragraph in telling. I'm not going to write one because, well, it was frustrating to write the example above. I'm more of a showing kind of person. But showing gets convoluted, and if it's too difficult, your readers are going to set it down and wander off to their fridge to drown their confusion in chocolate milk. So. How do you create a balance?

Relax. If you try to force a scene to show or some dialogue to tell, it'll be obvious. If you're more inclined to showing, like I am, simply drop some telling lines every now and then. If you have to, create a stupid character and have your MC spell out everything that's happening for them. If you're a telling kind of person, then try to trust your reader; some things they can figure out on their own, like if you say the killer was tall and pale with a British accent and a person who fits that exact description is the MC's best friend. At least include actions with the emotions you're saying, like "he said excitedly" or "I lean forward in anticipation".

Watch your words. When you want to create some suspense, don't tell the reader everything they need to know. Show some of it through the characters' actions. In their words, conceal what could be interpreted as a threat. A very famous example being: "I'll be back." (You can find a variation of that line in so many books, as well...) If you're writing a slow, romantic scene, then absolutely tell more than show (especially if showing includes not enough clothing, but that's my opinion). Include emotions, like "I was nervous as he leaned in..." or some other such thing.

Take your time. Do I really have to say much on this one? As writers, you should know better than to rush through your best scenes. Don't write words that feel wrong. Don't put "emaciated" where you mean "skinny". Don't tell me he's eager to start training if he's sitting there with a blank look on his face. Don't tell me her mother is happy if her arms are crossed and she's scowling. Show what you mean. Tell us want you want us to know. Slow down, occasionally watch the words you're putting on the screen.

All in all, showing vs. telling: find a balance. Don't let either dominate your writing, or it'll be tedious/confusing. Good night, and keep writing! <3

Climax

Hey everyone! Er...sorry there wasn't a post yesterday. There was a topic scheduled, but I'm not sure what happened... :(

 

Here we go with today's post. A simple and appropriate definition of the word climax is: "...point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action (as of a play)..." (Merriam-Webster Online).

 

You're probably wondering why someone who just started working on their first big writing project (say that five times fast and tell me if commas are needed) is here to discuss climax. I just thought that I would approach it in my own way. In other words, I'm here to present a definition, example and the basic ideas I have on creating a climax.  I'm  not an expert, so maybe we could work together and figure out what the heck a climax in writing is all about.

I suppose we all know by now, that the climax comes after the rising action. Agreed? Take a look at a post from the other day which has a lovely diagram: Rising Action. While it looks as if there's perfect balance, as if rising and falling action should be split right down the middle by the climax...that doesn't really work well. That post contains some great points, so re-visit it if you need to.

 

Back to climax. I think there are two big things to at least consider when planning a climax.

 

Timing: When should the climax occur? How long should it be? 

When depends a lot on your plot, pacing, etc. But I'd say a good place to play around with is about 3/4 of the way into the novel. There has to be enough time for everything to build up and the characters to go on a journey and then they finally hit the climax point. Make no mistake, there's some flexibility for sure. So if you feel that your novel needs a climax sooner or later, try that out too. Just play around with it and have others read and give you feedback. As for how long, no more than a couple chapters seems like a pretty good size. That's about the most I'm planning on making my climax. I want there to be all these shifts and exciting things, but I don't want it to drag on forever. Heck, it might even be shorter. 

Events: What sort of events can be considered part of a climax? Which characters should I include?

 

Anything, really. Well not anything but almost. Typical scenes include chases and fights between two groups or two characters. Maybe a character will be injured, or killed, or maybe not. I think one of the most important things to consider is: what would be exciting for the reader, in terms of what I've already shown them? Maybe a new setting or action they haven't seen. Also, the climax in some stories is fine with a few characters and others might require several. It all comes down to what it is supposed to mean. Does someone escape or play a trick? What truths are revealed? How will the choices my characters make in these suspenseful, confrontational, emotional moments tell my audience about who they really are?

 

Let's take a quick look at an example. I'm picking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (because who hasn't read it after 4+ years and/or doesn't love it? ....don't answer that.)

 

Essentially what happens is Voldemort and Harry finally have their long awaited confrontation. With wands, of course. I mean, Harry's been dodging this wizard, finding things and running around with his two best friends for so long (that hardly does the plot justice, but you get it). So finally, there's action, suspense and mystery all wrapped into this very short part of the book. Who's going to win? How are they going to win? While it is the moment of highest tension and, arguably, emotion, it is definitely a turning point too.

 

Consider that Harry has finished his enemy off after all those years, the battle is (mostly) won and...that his life is going to be significantly different afterwards. There can be different interpretations...but I think that the climax of this particular book begins as early as when he makes his decision to sacrifice himself. There, we begin to see that something's turning, changing in his heart and mind. And after the whole climax business, there is a bit of time for some falling action and a conclusion. But more on that in future posts.

 

So, the author chose to put a fight in, because that seemed most logical. And it was how Harry was going to finally defeat him, right? Despite all the other characters, and there are a lot, this particular piece of the climax had to center around only them. I don't see how it could have worked any other way.

In short, don't be afraid to experiment with what happens in your novel's climax...as long as there's character growth, a good amount of suspense/tension and a big change. This part of the novel is what the reader has been waiting for, so make it good!

The one thing I didn't touch upon was writing a climax for a series. What should happen in book 1 that would make a reader still enjoy a sequel or more? Perhaps this will be discussed in future posts. Not sure yet.

Have a fantastic rest of the week. Thanks for reading!