So I know what you are thinking. "What! Today is Wednesday. Why is Marissa posting? Wasn't she supposed to post Monday? She is late!" I won't deny it. I actually forgot. Shameful I know. And there are no excuses worthy of it. But I will give you mine anyway. Life. Yes, my life got in the way. I spent Monday with friends from college shooting a potato cannon and riding horses and baking cookies and watching movies and reading a wonderful book. I spent Tuesday with my fiance Christmas shopping and and wedding ring shopping and reading that same wonderful book. I have spent the last two day with some of the the most wonderful people in my life celebrating our lives and the time we have with each other. And I got some great material to add to my book.
In my opinion, sometimes you just need to step away and forget about your writing. You can't let it consume you. If you do you will end up hating it. Don't try to rush your writing. Just let it happen naturally. Some days you can probably sit and write for hours. Other days you may not write a single letter. Don't let it get you down if you are having writer's block. Take advantage and just set the story aside for a while. Don't forget to live your own life, too.
And as a catch up on my other gurrrls challenges:
For my journal I have come to the realization that this is my journal. Although there are four other people that contribute to this blog I look to it to be the place that I go o get my idea out and look for inspiration. This and my skype conversation that is perpetually going with these same lovely ladies.
Outlining: I sort of use it. I start out with a very (VERY) rough idea of what I want to write but then just let the words take over from there. I know where I want the story to go but I have no idea how it is going to get there. And I like that. I believe that if a is going to shock the reader then it must also shock the author as well. If I am not laughing, crying, screaming, or anxious about my characters then my reader won't be either.
As I was sitting in class today (English class, funnily enough) I started to wonder what I was going to post about today. A few topics ran through my head, but nothing seemed like anything I felt like writing about. Then I started thinking of what my gurrrls had posted, and I got the idea to write about "support groups". I'm not a very confident writer. I'd like to think that's a good thing though, because then I don't have high expectations for myself. I like to get feedback on my writing, but I don't like to show it to just anyone. I feel like I can send a portion of whatever it is that I'm writing to Amy, Mandy, Marissa, and Sydney, and I will always get honest feedback from them. Even if it's something that I don't want to hear, they're going to give it to me straight. It might hurt at first (lets face it, no one is perfect in their first draft), but in the end their feedback is only going to make my book better. And I appreciate that. And so my challenge for our readers, if anyone besides my gurrrls reads this, is to go out there and find a group of good friends that they can trust to give them good, honest feedback about whatever it is they're writing.
As far as answering Mandy's question about outlining, I despise outlining. I have never outlined for anything, unless it was an assignment at school. I'd rather just go with the flow and see wherever my book seems to go. I like not knowing whats going to happen until it pops into my head. Often I'll only know the beginning of my book and the end, and the middle is left to be discovered.
My author that I got for this post is Chuck Palahniuk.
I don't know if anyone even reads this blog besides my gurrrls, but if you're out there and you were hoping for a proper post from me today, I'm sorry. Truly. I'm in the midst of finals and I'm half-past crazy right now. I didn't have time to sleep this week, let alone think of a topic (or type it up for that matter). I'll be back with you next week with your regularly programmed ramblings! Deepest apologies, Amy!
For this little, poor excuse of a post, my writer was David Foster Wallace.
I don't like this topic, but this seemed like a good time to talk about it. Outlining to me is the equivalent to hell when it comes to writing. I enjoy writing by the seat of my pants and though I know where I'll eventually end up, it's fun to have surprises even as the author. I like being in the mindset of my characters and feeling what they're feeling as I experience things with them.
That being said, I'm currently attempting to outline a story. It's not the one the other girls know of, though Marissa does know more about it than anyone else. It started out as one thing and turned into something completely different. The only problem with that is that I had known exactly how it would turn out but this one, I know what happens in chapter one and that's it. I want to know every detail of this story so I can do all the research I need to.
My outline is only done through chapter 2, but at least I'm attempting it, right?
I do know that a lot of authors say that outlines are a writer's best friend. However, I've always wondered how to exactly do it. You have the snowflake method, you can find JK Rowling's outline for Order of the Phoenix, you can find different ways to outline if you google the term "novel outline writing format" and it comes up with over 52 million hits, there's even software to help you. I have yet to find an outline format that helps me.
Therefore, I have a question for all of my co-bloggers. Do you outline? If so, what method do you use?
Before I sign off, for who we write like, I am proud to say that I have gotten Stephen King. Jealous?
So I grab my computer for the first time all day and I begin to decide what to do first. research a project due tomorrow night? Check Facebook? Log on to skype? I look at the bottom corner of my screen to check the time. 11:43pm. It's still Monday. Monday? MONDAY! I was supposed to blog today! I've got time...
There are few things more important than timing. Good timing, bad timing, missed times, times yet to come. Whatever kind of time it is, it is probably very important to your story (I rock at segways). Whether there is a lull in your character's life or the next eight pages are nothing but action-packed, tension-causing, edge-of-your-seat kind of environment, timing is everything. Sometimes you need to time the release of information just right, whether its to your audience or your character. Revealing something too early can cause your story to end too quickly. Too late and you are boring or frustrating the reader. You have to time things just right so that the story flows well and keeps your reader interested in what is happening. Think about the cause and effect of your timing. Where can you go from here? How far can you go? Almost everything in your story line will rely on what information is presented and when.
Endings are important to time, too. Go too long and people might give up. Cut it short and infuriate readers with loose ends. It depends on whether you want to write another book or if you want to wrap things up completely or maybe just leave them with something to ponder or stew over. On that note, I think it's time to end this post. And with one minute to spare before Tuesday. I am just that good :)
PS So Mandy showed us this site and I think I am going to post my author each week. Mostly for myself so ignore this if you wish.
I'll admit, when I say Mandy's challenge, I was feeling a little overwhelmed. While I listen to music almost 24/7, I never really seem to pay attention to whats playing. It's just background noise; I don't like it when it's quiet. So trying to find a song that inspires my writing was a little difficult for me. I thought about it for a whole week (I was a bit happy that I have the last post of the week), and finally came up with a few songs that keep me going when my fingers run dry of ideas to put on my virtual page.
First up is "Secrets" by One Republic. I think this song really relates to writing because when you write, you're telling all of your characters' secrets, and no one is going to know what to think of your characters unless you give them a something to base their decisions on. Getting to know your characters and learning all of their secrets is a crucial part of the writing process; if you don't know your characters, no one ever will. So you have to divulge a few of their precious secrets to the world.
Second I picked "Not Like the Movies" by Katy Perry. I simply smiled when this song came up, because when books get adapted to movies, the two are never the same. Occasionally when I write, I wonder what it would be like to have one of my books get a film adaptation, but I quickly silence the thought, thinking I could never write something as amazing as Harry Potter or The Hunger Games (I don't have much confidence in myself). But this song always gets me thinking of who I'd like to portray my characters, what would be changed, etc. This song gets my imagination going.
The final song I picked is "What You Want" by Evanescence. This song reminds me that no matter where my story heads, I', writing for myself, and no one else. I can write what I want, when I want, because I want to. Like J.K. Rowling, I don't want to write for others, I want to write for myself, because I feel like it. Writing should never be something that gets forced upon people. And so this song always reminds me to always keep the story going how I want it, no matter what.
And I only have one more thing to say, directed at Mandy: bring on more challenges!
This is what my high school French teacher said to me one day after reading an essay of mine in class. When I sat down to think about what I would write about in response to Mandy's challenge, this memory is the first thing that came to my mind. I have decided to be different, like my teacher said I always had to be. The rebel, if you will. Just because I can. *insert evil laugh here*
In all seriousness, I am not accepting Mandy's challenge, but not because I just feel like it, or because I want to annoy Mandy by defying her (which is not to say that's not a bonus). I decided that instead of racking my brain to find a song (or more) that I hadn't even thought about before this challenge, I would be truthful. That is what this blog is about, after all. We're here to share the ways we each write, in the hope that we can help or maybe even inspire someone out there who may be reading this. That being said, I will keep to the theme of music.
When I'm writing, I don't consider music. I never find myself writing a scene and thinking of a song that fits it perfectly, and I don't hear a song that immediately brings my writing to mind. When I'm writing, I write. When I'm listening to music, I listen to music. I cannot recall a time where I ever tried to merge them and make one fit perfectly with the other. I just don't associate music with my writing and I don't try to. That's not to say that people who do have songs that they think fit their stories tried to make it so. Although some do, I know that many just find that the mix comes naturally to them. That's alright. Everyone's different and we all have ways that we like to approach these things.
That being said, I do listen to music while writing. "What?! But you just said-?!" I know, I know! This seems kind of counter-productive but I think it makes sense. I don't associate music with my story, but I do like to have music playing while I write. I've got a writing playlist and I find that it's most helpful when it's full of songs that I know front and back. This is because I know the music so well that it's enjoyable but at the same time, it isn't distracting. My mind is so accustomed to the songs, there is nothing to distract my attention from the writing. Some of the artists that are in this playlist of mine are The Script, Paramore, Starkid, Jim and the Povolos, Darren Criss, Taylor Swift, and Adele. Lately, I've been having Jim and the Povolos on more than anything, just because their sound is so different and it's got a great vibe without distracting me.
Because Mandy will kill me if I don't put Youtube links in (she's obsessed with Youtube links. Just go see her comment on Sydney's post), I'm going to put in links right here to the top 3 most played songs on my writing playlist.
First up is a song called Don't Go, by Jim and the Povolos. I love this song, and this band.
Same band, different song. This one is called Dream and it's awesome.
Third is a song by Paramore called Fences. It's pretty fast-paced and I love the lyrics. It's got a great energy to it and pumps me, if that makes sense.
I don't want to overload you guys with videos so I'll stop there! Closely following these three for most played on my writing playlist are: Guys Like Potter by Team Starkid; Misery by Maroon 5, but sung by Darren Criss; Somewhere Only We Know by Keane, but sung by the Warblers; Set Fire To The Rain by Adele; Science and Faith by the Script; Last Kiss by Taylor Swift; and an assortment of other songs!
So there you have it! That is my take on this particular topic. We're all different, and we all have things that are helpful for us, and things we can just do without. So, while I could have found a song to fit with my story, I thought I'd share this instead. Who knows? Maybe there's someone reading this--after reading the posts from my friends all week--and saying, "Thank God, I'm not the only one who doesn't consider music when writing." I'd be rather happy if that's the case; I know I love finding out I'm not alone in the way I think about certain things. Leave me a comment and let me know!
P.S. If you haven't already, go check out Mandy's post! Darren Criss singing Somewhere Only We Know is rather addictive.
