On History and Research

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, I know. School starts up for me on September 4th, and I've 3 summer assignments I've only just started.

Inspired by the American History summer assignment I've begun working on (inspiration in the unlikeliest of places, you know?) I decided to post about history.

I don't mean the history of your epic fantasy novel, or the history of our future in your sci-fi book. I mean real world history, chock-full of war, disease, innovation, great and terrible moments. After all, our history is the greatest of all stories -- it's the basis of all literature. A violent peasant revolt in your novel? The French Revolution. A genius innovation that changes the world? Gunpowder, the wheel, paper, the atomic bomb, etc.

 Photo in the Public Domain, found via Creative Commons

 

History can be turn a boring novel into a rich world. It can be the metaphorical light in the darkness, a spark of inspiration in a dark, meaningless story. Your writing can benefit from the vast resevoir of memory and intelligence afforded by the world around you.

 

A lot of people hate history -- why, I don't know -- but it can change your life. This isn't some weird event that happened to a bunch of dead people. Perhaps you're related to some of them. Perhaps those people were scared of the future, of death, of the unkknown, just like we are. When you think of history as full of people you can connect to, it's exactly like a book. Maybe you're destined to have others connect to these people too.

Now, I've always loved history, almost as much as I love reading. I most especially love ancient, ancient history in far-off places like Egypt or Rome. But I can appreciate American History a little more knowing I'm a descendent of Robert E. Lee, the general who surrendered to the North and ended the Civil War. I'm also related to Patrick Henry, that famous speaker from the Revolutionary War with his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech. This makes AP American History next year seem not so boring.

Historical Fiction isn't my style, you say. I'm a fantasy person, a modern romance kind of person, a supernatural fiction fan. What can I learn from the past?

I'm not saying you need to write historical fiction. I'm not saying to limit yourself to this genre, just because I am a history geek. But you can model any character after an ancient, real-life person.

I remember a story about an Egyptian pharaoh who built his capital city out in the desert and tried to do away with all of the old gods and goddesses, instead choosing to force his people to worship just the sun disk, Aten. This caused all sorts of tension with the priests of the old gods and goddesses, who had been at the top of the social pyramid and were now unemployed. This sort of unpopular absolute rule sounds familiar... like perhaps that cliched king in all those fantasy novels?

Think of the creation of the atomic bomb. Such a destructive weapon. We Americans unleashed it on Japan anyways, to end a war. And it caused a whole bunch of other, ethical/medical dilemmas. Was it right? Maybe your novel can benefit from a controversial weapon. Maybe your world can benefit from unlooked for problems due to a political decision.

My point, in this rambling rant about reality, is that researching the past can help any novel. It's not strictly limited to historical fiction. Even modern day romances can include a little old-school history. After all, history is full of relatable characters, interesting settings, and tension/conflict.

 

#3

Wow, I haven't written one of these in forever! 

(See post #1 here and post #2 here)  

Continuing my personal series, I'll be talking about starting over today. Or going back to square one. Whatever you'd like to call it. 

How do you know if you're ready to give up what you've been working on and begin again, with nothing? I can't answer that of course, as it varies from person to person. But...I've decided to do it and I want to share with you all how I came to that decisions.

For months and months, I wrote in short spurts: different characters, different settings, action scenes, crowd scenes, quiet conversations. But it wasn't one big storyline I was working on it. Heck, I'm not even sure what to call it. Going in circles since 2009 is pretty much the only way to describe my writing life since 2009. There's also the discouragement I felt when I picked up a published book and thought, "Hey this sounds close to something I scribbled about." 

I think if you find yourself stuck like I did, let it all go. I'll be keeping my papers and notebooks but I don't plan on playing around with those words anymore. I've grown so much since I branched away from fan fiction years ago and tried just...fiction. It wouldn't be fair, I believe, to keep chipping at what my awkward block of ideas.

So as of today, August 2nd 2012, I call myself neither a writer nor a scribbler...because I have nothing. But that's not to say I will never have anything written down. I'm going back to the basics: seeking inspiration in music, art, nature, etc. and considering "what if" questions, about things that really matter to me. That's what I'll be focusing on in the near future. 

And hopefully, something good and fiction-y will come from it all. It's August already, more than halfway through the year, and there's just no more time to look back. 

Hope you have an inspired week, no matter where you are in the writing process. <3

Keep Pushing Through

I'm on Spring Break with nothing to do, so I'm posting on a random writing topic.

How To Keep Pushing Through:

I know, it's hard to keep writing. You've passed the happy, new-idea phase and you're into the oh-my-goodness-where-am-I-taking-this? phase. If you're anything like me, you've got the very basic plot down, but you're unsure of the actual details and problems that fit in between. I've hit this problem in my own writing, so I figured I'd improvise this and then follow my own advice.

To start off, DON'T LEAVE YOUR WRITING BECAUSE YOU'RE FRUSTRATED. Even after just a few days, you'll look at what you wrote and think, "what the freak was I thinking? This is rubbish." Then you'll put it in the recycle bin and start over. You'll get to the same point, do the same thing, and you'll think all over again that your writing isn't worth the brain cells you put into it. This is a very nasty circle-spiral of useless writing time. Stay true to your writing and improvise a temporary scene to get you through the rough patch, and change it to suit your needs during editing. Of course, your temporary scene has to be similar to what you want there, because your story is delicate. If you put that Mary Sue wants to fight an evil king, and you've hit a rough patch when she's meeting him the 1st time, you cannot make this meeting end with King Evil giving her a bunny and her promising a rainbow. Don't forget your action-reaction idea.

Another point is DON'T GO BACK AND EDIT. If you go back and edit what you've already written, then you'll end up finding so many mistakes, you'll be tempted to trash it. And you know where that'll end up. So just push through that stubborn scene and resist the temptation to edit. You have plenty of time for editing when it's all said and done.

Third point: SEEK INSPIRATION. Grab it by its bunny-rabbit ears and don't let go. Listen to new music, convince your parents to take you to the park (or drive there, if you have your license. I don't happen to have mine yet, so I have to find other transportation). Do some research on topics you enjoy: look up religion on Google, go to your library and find books on ancient civilizations. Just pick something and read up on it. Or watch documentaries, which I personally love to do. I once watched a very informative show on the history of playing cards. Just... do something worth doing.

Try a RANDOM GENERATOR. Like http://nine.frenchboys.net/housing.php or tp://seventhsanctum.com/. These are fun and can spark an idea. You won't use all of the suggestions they give you - some are so blatantly against your story that you'll have to find something else. But they're pretty reliable.

Ummm... ADD SOMETHING NEW. If you don't consider this part of inspiration. Write a dragon into your scene! Have your MC join a pirate gang! Let your MC's sister get kidnapped! Just add something worthwhile or odd into your scene and change your plot to accomadate it. If you hate it, you can come back to it in editing.

That's all I've got. I'm sorry, I feel this kind of advice has been parroted out to writers by pretty much everyone. "Don't give up!" "Find inspiration!" It is good advice, though. And all the labrynth of my mind can come up with at the moment. 

Have a blessed day and keep writing! <3

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

Well, It's been Forever.

It's been a long, long time since anyone posted, so I've taken it upon myself. And since I haven't planned anything, I'll give you a few resources for when you're stuck.

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

A bunch of random generators, for naming, setting, magical needs. :D

http://dictionary.reference.com/

Because dictionaries are useful. I'm pretty sure you don't need this one, though.

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/

This person has an entire collection of entries on emotions, settings, weather, color, etc. Very useful.

http://thestairwaytojannah.blogspot.com/

Almost Out of Ink - an awesome artist. You can get inspiration for your writing from sharpie drawings.

I used to this other, awesome website (I think it was on blogspot, but I really don't know) on burns and other injuries. Another place you can try is

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/214

but I can't tell you which of those links are helpful, because I haven't checked some of them out yet. The obvious ones (i.e. google, wikipedia) are good, of course, but a few I've never heard of.

So, I hope you find this useful. I don't really have anything else to say, so I'll just leave you with a random quote:
"It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!"
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Writer's Block

So. Writer's block. Do I need to define it? It's that intense hopelessness as you stare at the page and cannot think of a single word to write. It's wracking your brains for a good idea and coming up empty-handed. It's... writer's block.

What causes this horrifying disease? Either a.) You've been writing too much, or b.) You haven't thought enough about what you're writing. The second one's easy enough to deal with; stop and think. Daydream in class, bounce ideas off your best friend, look to the internet. The first one also requires taking time off.

Some generic ways to get over writer's block:
The best thing to do, normally, is to get away from writing for a short time. Not forever; never give up on your writing simply because you can't think of something. But just take a walk or something. Listen to music. Spend time with your family and friends. Get outside; enjoy the fresh air, the sunshine, the spiders...
"Follow the spiders... why can't it be follow the butterflies?" (I'm paraphrasing from a HP book. 10 points to Ravenclaw if you can guess which one, and by who!)

Some more drastic ways when those above don't work:
Let's face it. There's only so much inspiration you can find in staggering about blindly, wondering when the sun got so bright. Sometimes, randomly typing words into google or photobucket can magically plant a seed of literary perfection into your mind (or so it seems). Also, making exaggerated faces to yourself, in front of a mirror or otherwise. You know, when no one's watching. That can spark dialogue (even if it's some famous quote by Captain Jack Sparrow, you'll at least have the sudden urge to write about pirates...). Hide in a really good hiding spot and watch/eavesdrop on anyone who's passing by. That helps your ninja skills too!

Anyways, to sum it all up: when your ideas begin to falter, take some time off. Do something creative or fun. And as Benjamin franklin says, "The doors of wisdom are never shut." (What that has to do with I'm talking about is up to you to decide.) Have a blessed day! Er, week. Till the next time I write. You know what I mean. <3

Tentative suggestions

So, inspiration. If you're like me, inspiration can come from anything, whether it's the numbers on your digital clock or some crazy stunt your family/friends pulled.
But if you're not, here's some common ways to find inspiration:
MUSIC. The mood of a song can determine the mood of your scene. Like, there's a vast difference between Owl City and Black Veil Brides. Although I don't keep track of music genres (rock, heavy metal, country, etc.), I do keep track of the melodies/lyrics. For a happy scene, I'd recommend:
1. Britt Nicole (Headphones, How We Roll)
2. Owl City (Galaxies, Designer Skyline, To The Sky)
3. Carrie Underwood (Crazy Dreams, The More Boys I Meet)

For a love scene:
1. Owl City (Honey and the Bee, Deer in the Headlights)
2. Allison Krauss (When You Say Nothing At All)
3. Diamond Rio (Beautiful Mess)

Inspirational:

1. Superchick (Hero, We Live, Get Up)
2. Aly & AJ (Rush, No One)
3. The Afters (Beautiful Words)

Heavy, like rock music (you know what I mean):
1. Skillet (The Last Night, Monster, Falling Inside the Black)
2. Black Veil Brides (Fallen Angels, Perfect Weapon)
3. Sanctus Real (I'm Not Alright)

You can probably tell I love music, by now. And like I said, I don't keep track of just one genre, more just the feel of the music.

Another source of inspiration is REAL LIFE. I get quite a few ideas looking at my family or friends, or even random strangers. Like, I based my MC's sister of of my real sister. My MC has a love of art, just like my mom. Lines of dialogue, plot ideas, personality quirks, all can come from around you. What I do is, whenever my brain sparks off an idea because of my surroundings, I write it on my arm in pen. I don't go anywhere without a pen. This way, I don't forget my idea before a more convenient time comes around. I can write it on my arm during a test at school or doing my chores.

Third- READING/TV. It feels unfair to group something as mundane as TV with glorious reading, but I must, to keep this post shorter than a mile long. You can get a general stereotype, like the nagging wife, the grumpy old man, the wise, blind person. Or you could come across something unique and refreshing, and want to try and do that. For example, you think of all mice as rodents/pests. Then I read The Tale of Despereaux, and it's really sweet towards mice. Or, you think of imaginary friends for little kids, until you read The BFG or maybe Bridge to Terabithia. Or that biology is boring, until you read Leviathan. The possibilities are endless. For TV, Warehouse 13 or Eureka on SyFy are awesome. Mythbusters is good, too.

To recap, music + real life + books/TV = common inspiration. I just gave you a ton of ideas, now pick up your pen, or sit down at your computer, and WRITE.
And a semi-relevant quote for you to think over~
"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living." -Dr. Seuss

It’s actually a lot harder to write about inspiration than you might think. I am lacking in inspiration on inspiration. In any case, it’s not as if you can force inspiration on yourself.

For those of you who are interested, I’m going to start with the etymology of the word “inspiration”. For those of you who aren’t, I’m going to start with it anyway. The word originally comes from the Latin verb “inspiro” meaning “I breath into” (or other things along those lines). Over time, inspiration has gone from that to that gigantic thunderbolt that hits us from time to time – and some of us more than others.

Like I said, inspiration can’t be forced – but we can find it in the most unlikely places. It means that the best way to find inspiration is to be open to everything and be ready to try everything. It also means that sometimes, the best way to find inspiration could be in what we’ve conditioned ourselves to be the ways in which we are most susceptible to being inspired, like, for example, by reading music. I’m just going to give a few ways in which inspiration has struck me and various of my friends. I’m not saying that this is going to happen/will work for you, since I’m known to have a seriously hyperactive imagination and can be and have been inspired from things as mundane as a Twix bar.

First port of call: music. I think just about every writer I know turns to music as an aide to writing. For some people, just turning on a CD and jiving around the house is enough for half a dozen plots to come galloping into their heads, but I’ve always found that music is more helpful for inspiring a mood than inspiring a whole story. The actress Anne Hathaway said that she used to listen to sad songs on her iPod just before a shoot where she was supposed to cry, and it worked. Obviously, it’s not going to work for everybody, but the type of music you listen to will have at least a subconscious impact on the mood of the scene you write. If it’s a really tense, action-packed scene, it’s going to help you a lot more if you’ve got music with real tension playing in the background than if you’ve got Holst’s Venus from the planets serenading you at your desk. Similarly, it’s going to make things a little tougher if you’re trying to write a really moving and deeply emotional death scene with house or techno thumping away in the background (unless your character dies in a nightclub). If you’re writing a high fantasy book, you’re probably better off not listening to rap nonstop unless it’s a part of the world-building – film music would be a better bet. Of course, these aren’t hard-and-fast set rules or anything; they’re just suggestions.

Like I said earlier, I get inspired to do stuff off the weirdest things (like when I decided to teach myself Korean because my favourite boy band is Korean… which looks normal until you factor in that this actually inspired a desire to learn at least a little of nine different languages in nine months). I can usually pinpoint my primary source of inspiration in any one novel or series I’ve written/am writing. My primary points of inspiration tend to be one of three things: an idea for a character, a memorable quote from a character, or a crux encounter or situation. I am the kind of person who will be listening to people talking and suddenly get out my mobile or my notebook – whichever’s nearest – and record a couple of lines of what’s being said or done with the merry thought of: “that is going in my next novel. Thanks, darlings!” (No, really, nobody is safe.) Real life experiences, either of yourself or those of others, are all part of a huge inspiration pool just waiting to be fished. If you hunt around enough, there is bound to be one experience that somebody’s had that just jumps out at you, slapping you around the head like a wet fish and yelling “pick me! Pick me!” in an imitation of Eddie Murphy voicing Donkey in the Shrek films. Whatever form or shape the lightning bolt comes in, take it. Several of my friends have been extremely amused to find variations of silly things they’ve done in various drafts of what I’ve written. Quite apart from that, there are people are there with the most extraordinary life stories. I remember going on Cracked.com once and seeing this thing about real life events compared to similar things in films and why the real life ones were so much more badass. The number one rated one – and I kid you not; I just wish I could remember which one it was – was just… well, basically, this guy had the most incredible war adventures, and there’d been a film made about them. People thought the stuff done in the film was absolutely incredible, especially since it was based on real life… and it then turned out that the events from real life had been hugely toned down in the film rather than racked up because the producers and the guy whose life they were basing the film on thought it would be pushing the bounds of credulity too far to put out the actual truth.

The actual truth was so inspiring it had to be toned down to make fiction that most people thought was beyond the bounds of reality. What does that say about the kind of inspiration we can find right in front of our noses? IT’S AWESOME. If you start looking at it that way, everyday life is FULL of little things that we can use as sources of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s the kind of bolt-of-lightning inspiration we get that makes us go “OH-oh-oh!” Sometimes it’s more like: “Hmm. I think I could use that.” Nobody and nothing is safe. Inspiration can take you ANYWHERE.

There’s a honeybee trying to find the window to go outside and this is my first time blogging. I’m hoping it’s going to discover the way out soon because it’s an endangered species. Happy writing, everybody!

-Kirky^^