writer

It is All About Perspective

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While cutting some veggies for last night dinner, I had one of my epiphanies.  I always cut the ends of the carrots, tomatoes, celery, or any other fruit or veggie that crosses my path.  Even when they are cut in halves, if pre-packaged, I go back and cut a slice from the ends just to have a fresh end (not sure if you follow me).  Well, by the time I am done, I have a decent amount of veggie scraps that go into the garbage because I cannot compost where I live now (but that will be possible in the near future – can’t wait).  It occurred to me that my waste was a perfect meal for people in some countries that will give anything to have a tiny slice of that scrap to make a soup – I mean countries where there is extreme hunger and poverty, and food is not an everyday sight.  Not that I am not aware of hunger, for some reason this time, it was different.

Besides feeling terrible and wasteful, I thought of how much perspective matters in how we go through life and do our own thing, and then, I thought of how it affects our writing.  When we write a story, even when we are writing from the character’s point of view, our own perspective of things and life is playing in the background.  I don’t think that it is possible to escape it totally, even when we try to be true to the character and do a lot of research about the topic or character’s behavior, origins, culture … and so on.

My point is, our perspective follows us everywhere, it is how we see things, life, and how we interpret it, besides being influenced by our own upbringing, culture, and experiences.  I have made vegetable soup countless of times, and yet, this time, those scraps meant something different, and have become meaningful somehow.

The Miracle of Senses

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The pentagram is used as a Christian symbol fo...

The pentagram is used as a Christian symbol for the five senses, and if the letters S, A, L, V, and S are inscribed in the points, it can be taken as a symbol of health (from Latin salus). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I have said before, sometimes I get so focused on a task that I forget everything around me; I block everything else, and many times I forget that I was just making pancakes for breakfast or that I had just put a load of laundry and heard the bell a minute ago.  All I can say is thank God for all my senses.  The smell of starting to toast pancakes or the too quiet house will alert me and bring me back.  The gentle nag of a cat that wants a temptation treat has brought me back from the extreme focus vortex just in time.  This brings me to the topic of appealing to reader’s senses in your writing.

Just as it is important to me to get rescued by my senses, I thought of how important sensory stimulation is on a novel or a piece of writing.  Awakening readers senses gives a new depth to your story, and may rescue some readers from boredom – boredom of too much dialog or description.  Even if you are deprived of one sense, another takes over, keener and improved.  I try to keep this is mind when writing my story, as I tend to run into too much dialog.   To me, the senses are a miracle; it is how we experience the world, and how readers can experience your story.

Sometimes, I tend to ask myself the weirdest questions, and I have asked myself if I was to be deprived of a sense or ability, which one will I give up.  I know, it may sound sinister to many, but I think about unusual things sometimes.  I would give up speech.  I don’t  talk much; I am the silent type, the observer, and I rather write than talk.  As long as I can communicate when I need to in some way, I think I would be happy.  I am a very visual person, and that would be the sense that I would miss the most, probably to the point of insanity, which brings me to this point – readers are very different in their consumption of reading material and learning, so the senses that prevail throughout your story may appeal to some readers more than to others.  My point, striving for a good balance might not be a bad idea.

Do you think about stimulating the senses when writing your story?  Which sense would you give up?  Which one would you miss the most?  If you are missing a sense, how have you improved the other senses?

 

Use a Mirror to Manage Writer’s Block

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Hot air balloon water reflection Quebec

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At one point or another, you may feel as if you cannot write or as if the story is not flowing quite the way it is supposed to flow.  You may think that you have been plagued by writer’s block (or artist’s block) and when you try to work on your novel or art, you cannot go back to it, as if something prevents you from it.  I have been there and what I found out was that it was not so much of a writer’s block, but more of a conflict with a particular part of the story.  It may be a character, beliefs, philosophy, or even a particular scene.  Somehow, you have an internal reaction or “a problem” with it.  It may be that you do not agree with something that you happen to be writing, but know that you have to write, whether it is to keep the story going, or by mere inspiration.  When you feel that you are stuck with the story, take a break and ponder about the last thing you wrote.  Take notice of how you feel about it, and if an internal bell rings.  This is a sign that you have something to work on (on yourself) before proceeding ahead with the story.  The way I see it (and this is only by my experience with this) is that you either,

  • acknowledge it and ignore it, meaning that you know the bug is there but you will ignore it and keep writing; however, it will come back along the way, impeding total free flow of your writing.
  • take a short break, acknowledge it, ponder it, and make peace with it.  I find that just because I may not agree with something in my story, that does not mean that I am selling out my beliefs.  In the case of an internal conflict that one of your characters or scenes brings up, acknowledge it, try to find the link between your conflict and the story, understand it and move on.

The main thing here is that by recognizing that there is an internal conflict you are looking in a mirror, and therefore, are starting to open the flow of your writing once more.  The mere act of looking at that reflection in the mirror is going to help unblock your writing.  At least for me, it works that way.

Hope this tip is of any help.

Weed Out the Dead Stuff – It is all a Death Trap

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“This is a great idea!” – we have thought at one point or another.  It may be a good idea, but good ideas are sometimes, not well received or are ahead of their time.  Pride in what we do is great; however, pride should not block our vision, stalling our future.  Simply put, “try it, give it some time, and if it doesn’t work, weed it out.”  This is something that I’ve learned with time.  The problem is when we are so emotionally and intellectually attached to our work/idea that we forget to evaluate its performance and choose to ignore the fact that it is not yielding the results we expected.  You may spend years pushing a project, to find out that it was time to let it go, years back.  Just because a good idea is not ready for the now, doesn’t mean that it is rendered obsolete or useless.  It may have a good reception in the future.  An idea or project may be ahead of its time, so if you have given a good and honest try to something and it is not working out for you, put it aside, and revisit it in the future, or not.

Weeding out all the dead stuff is a way of opening room for new ideas and opportunities.  It hurts to let go of a project, especially when we spend a lot of time, energy, money, commitment, and emotional interest in it; however, not weeding out the dead stuff might end up crushing your spirit, impeding growth as an artist and as a human being.  This is a death trap for the soul.

For many of us, letting go of a project or putting it aside is synonym of failure.  I disagree; on the contrary, recognizing the need to move and rearrange ideas and projects will lead to success.  Success is defined by how you feel about the results, and not by what society tells you success is – which is usually money or status.  We are so conditioned to “the persevere-never quit mentality” that we fail to recognize when things are not working out.  If you are passionate about something, pursue it, but keep your gardening gloves on, and weed out everything that is not contributing to that dream’s growth; only then, it can flourish.  In the garden of your dreams, time is precious, don’t waste it trying to revive dead roses; instead, plant new ones.  (Could not resist ending this post with that cheesy line).

What to Do When your Mind Won’t Shut Up

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A picture of American firefighters in the 1770s

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I decided to write this post because this is an issue that I deal with sometimes, and it can get in the way of my writing, and whatever project I am working on at the moment.  Sometimes, my mind won’t shut up.  By that I mean that there is a constant overflow of ideas and images, phrases, possible projects, music … and much more that bombards me all at once throughout the day.  When this happens, it is hard to tackle something for long.  It has nothing to do with focus or concentration, I have no problem in that area.  I am blessed in the sense that I can block anything around me and work on something.   Sometimes, too much focus, for example, one day I was working on several freelance articles for a client and while sitting at my desk, I noticed a shadow blocking the window light.  I glanced and I saw a firefighter woman looking at me through the window glass.  Behind her, in my backyard, there were many firefighters, about four of them, running around.  I figured that something was wrong.  I went outside and asked the woman what was going on.  She said if i didn’t smell the smoke.  I said, now I do.  A neighbor decided to burn some brush and someone complained thinking it was a fire, and the firemen followed the smoke to my backyard but it was coming from my back neighbor’s backyard, not mine.  She asked me if I didn’t hear them knocking and I said no.  When I went to the front of my house, there was a fire truck parked on the front and other firemen walking in my front yard.

On another occasion, I had been working on some freelance stuff all day and my husband came home from work, around 5pm.  He came into the room and seemed alarmed.  I asked him what was wrong and he said, don’t you hear all that?  Then he told me to come outside.  I live in a very quiet neighborhood and people are very nice; it is usually very quiet during the day, so my husband was concerned that the street in the back or our home was blocked by police, there were many reporters, news vans, police cars, and even a few helicopters hovering on top of our home.  A neighbor told us that a woman had been murdered in her home, she was actually burned in her bedroom, a very sad incident for this neighborhood.  This commotion had happened since early in the morning and I never even heard a thing.  The street is right behind my house.  These are two examples of how I can get wrapped in what I am doing and not hear anything.

However, I can hear my mind and when it doesn’ t want to shut up, I have a trick that seems to work.  I just empty it.  I know, I probably sound nuts, but it works.  I take a piece of paper and start writing everything that comes to mind, just jotting a few words, not sentences, quite fast, whether an image, a word, and idea for a project, a scene, a title, anything at all gets written, until I stop.  Then I can go back to what I was doing and work happily.  The ideas may serve for something later on, or not.  This trick works for me.  You may want to try it, if you find yourself wrestling with your mind on occasion.

The Why to What?

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As I savor the last piece of my magical box of Turkish Delight, I happen to be thinking about a post I read earlier.  The post was about “what you really really really want,” and you can read about it in Ollin Morales blog – Courage 2 Create.  Well, right now what I really want is another box of Turkish Delight, but pondering about this issue prompted me to write this post.  I like to read books about positive thinking/attitude, setting goals … and so on.  Most of these books talk about how important and crucial it is to know your why, because without knowing your why, it will be very difficult to achieve your goals.  The Why is the real reason or motivator for you to do something or achieve what you want.  Thinking about Ollin’s post, I realized that the Why doesn’t matter so much if you don’t know or have a clear definition of “what you really really want.”  In other words, you have to know the What to be able to ponder and establish your true Why.

Unless you know your true What, your Why is useless.  To add to the dilemma, many times, you might think that what you want is a certain something, to later find out that you really didn’t want that at all, or maybe had to tweak your want a bit to realize that your Why was totally out of zinc with your What.  I don’t blame you if your head hurts by now, but life is complicated sometimes, or at least, our perception of it.  I have found that many times, my What (s) were totally wrong, and my Why (s) did not take me there; however, I found that it was all a process for me, and one that I had to undergo to be able to find my true What and Why.  Sometimes, the journey is a What in itself, and later, it becomes the Why, at least temporarily until you realize your true What and Why.

Don’t forget to check out Ollin’s post; you can find it by clicking here – http://ollinmorales.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/and-you-cant-pull-me-down/

 

 

Loving What You Do

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English: Heart and Earth

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The New Year is here and I’m happy that it is.  Despite all the doomsday talk, the way I see it, each day is full of possibilities, so I got myself a year full of possibilities.  Each day important, and certainly, not taken for granted.  Although I am a planner by nature and I love lists, I have trained my stubborn self to appreciate each day for what it is, despite the curve balls that life serve and the not so happy situations that may present along the way.  I have learned that everything is temporary, nothing is forever, and things are as bad as you make them to be – the mind and the attitude will master your emotions, and the acceptance and understanding of emotions will shape your day – days will shape your present and your future.  I say this because I have realized that life is indeed too short.  I know everyone repeats this adage, but many have not ponder the depth of it, and truly, when you think about it, life is too short for all the things you want to do and live.  This is why it is so important that you love what you do and try to pursue that love and get there.  Whether that means moving to another state or country, no one will know but you, and there are always sacrifices on the way – a great salary, time, lifestyle … it is different for each person .

I think of the day I arrive to this earth, my birth day, and I am amazed first, that I was born, and second, at how fast the years have gone by.  Yes, I regret the bent on the road, some detours, but then I understand that without taking those, I would not be writing this post.

I have arrived to a point where I can say that I am blessed and I am happy, and it doesn’t have to do with financial status, material possessions (I have none of those) or the curve balls that life serves – all of that is temporary.  One thing I am glad I found along the way – that I CAN love every single day.

40 Tips from Best Selling Authors

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Revisited – I wrote this sometime ago and decided to revisit it as I think these tips from best selling authors are worth reading once more.

 

As a writer, I love to hear what other writers have to say about writing, especially, best-selling authors.  I sat down, coffee at hand, and listened to many interviews of best-selling authors.  Many hours later, a list of their recommendations was born.  The following list is full of tips, recommendations, and inspiration, from best-selling authors to aspiring writers, although these authors have been published the traditional way, and we all know that the eBook is shaking the publishing world; however, these tips are worth considering.

 

1.  Write, Write, Write.

 

2.  Accept rejection.

 

3.  Send hundreds of queries.

 

4.  Don’t take no for an answer; keep at it.  Eventually you will get a yes.

 

5.  It took Janet Evanovich 10 years of trying to get published.

 

6.  Write every day, even if you stare blank at the computer.

 

7.  The characters will take life of their own; they will lead you but you still have control.

 

8.  It is a huge honor to get your book made into a movie; but it is a totally different animal.

 

9.  Pick a genre and stick with it; at least in the beginning.

 

10.  Most seemed to have writing on the backburner, and somehow, fell into it as if by chance or destiny.  Some did not even know if they were any good.  Examples are:  Stephenie Meyer, Janet Evanovich, Lalita Tademy and Sara Grwen.

 

11.  Their backgrounds are so diverse but there is a constant:  they persevered, and they write, write, and write.

 

12.  Some observe and listen for ideas, others have dreams, others write about what they know.  Sara Grwen saw a picture of a vintage circus and that instance; she knew she would write a story about that, even when she had started a complete different story.

 

13.  Some used ideas and modified them into complete different stories (careful with copyrights-this author made sure a lawyer handled all details).

 

14.  They all come across as very content with their lives.  And some of them had hardship or events that lead them into writing.

 

15.  Christopher Paolini wrote about what he always wanted to read about, but there just was not enough of it (Besinger).

 

16.  Some seem easy going, go with the flow, while others more uptight, others seem to have fun in the process like Gregory Maguire.

 

17.  Michel Chabon – “You have to live with the book on your head all the time, even when living your normal daily routine.”  Sometimes he goes away to write for a couple days, or two weeks.

 

18.  Elizabeth Gilbert – “There is only one way to tell a story and that is to tell it.”

 

19.   Jody Picoult says – “Ideas come from all over the place – for me usually about an issue that I do not have the answer to.  Characters pop up like mushrooms and take over the book.  I research the subject sometimes months before I start writing.”

 

20.  Brunania Barry self published 2000 copies, and then hired a PR company.  Took a leap of faith, quit her job, and wrote.  Always knew she wanted to be a novelist.  This book started as a dream.

 

21.  Mitch Albom weaves own anecdotes into his stories.  He uses a song in every book, kind of his trademark.

 

22.  Lisa Scittoline – “Try to write something that is inside you, you open your heart and readers open theirs.”

 

23.  Harlan Coben – “I like to write with heart; otherwise it is not going to work for me.”

 

24.  Kate Jacobs – “The secret is being persistent and silencing this inner critic.”

 

25.  John Grisham – Writes mostly legal thrillers, but writes whatever he wants.  He has fun with the genre, he says he does not know where he is going as far as to stick with a genre – “You can’t get to serious, the pages have to turn”.  His style is very disciplined and structured – He writes from 6-12 m mostly 5-6-7-8+ pages a day.  Before writing he has to get his thoughts together.  He makes an extensive outline to follow 40 chapters.  He needs his outline.  Some of his books made into movie, The Appeal/The firm.

 

26.  Sherrilyn Kenyon – Acheron – “Over, under, around or through, there’s always a way to get where you want to go, you just have to find it.”

 

27.  Wally Lamb – “Write the book for yourself and let the audience that have to find it find it”.

28.  Anne Lamott – “Writing, just do it.”

 

29.  Gregory Maguire – “The consolation of the imaginary is not imaginary consolation.”  “Your inventive culture/world should be convincing.  Work this world in your mind, even if you do not write the details in the story.”

 

30.  Jamie Lee Curtis – “I don’t do it (writing) for achievement, it is pure expression for me.”

 

31.  Debbie Maccomber – She is an inspiration, she was dyslexic and learned to read in 5th grade.  She loves being a writer.

 

32.  Claire cook – “Just try it; small steps every day take you there.”  It took her 25 years because she was afraid of the big step.

 

33.  Donald Trump – Think Big and Kick Ass – “Keep your left up”.  “Never ever quit.”

 

34.  Nora Roberts: “Well, first: there ain’t no muse. If you sit around and wait to channel the muse, you can sit around and wait a long time.”  She says writing is not effortless.  “So I work really hard to make it as fluid as possible, as readable and entertaining as possible.”

35.  Kate DiCamillo does not do research.  Her book just shows up.

 

36.  Maggie Stiefvater – “To aspiring authors:  read, read, and read.”  She didn’t take any creative writing classes.

 

37.  The idea of a character of your book writing a book – James Patterson.

 

38.  Writing under different pen names – Jayne Ann Kretz is (Jane Castle and Amanda Quick); Lori Foster is L.L. Foster.

 

39.  Age dilemma when writing – addressing age appropriate dilemmas is important when writing your story.

 

40.  Eloisa James writes 20 pages a day.  She says that writing is hard work, it is tough.

 

Well my friends, here you have it:  Many hours of listening compiled into 40 tips for you to enjoy, and apply to your craft.  I love tip number 26.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite Writing Aides

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Screenshot of Shirley Temple from the film The...

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Every writer has its own writing style, schedule, method or modus operandi.  These things influence your output and productivity, and ultimately how serious you take your craft.  There are also those “essentials” that you as a writer, “cannot live without,” and are always present at your desk.  These, of course, are different for every writer.  Among the things that I surround myself with, are these favorites.  They make my writing time more enjoyable, and somehow, more productive – maybe because they are a source of delight and practicality.  Here is my list.

  1. PC and printer.
  2. Plenty of scrap paper to jot down ideas, themes, and anything that may pop in my mind.
  3. Plenty of pens and pencils – Mostly, I type on a PC (my number 1 essential), but sometimes notations have to be done fast or when the computer is not on.
  4. An electronic American Heritage Dictionary, thesaurus, speller.
  5. An electronic Franklin translator (the PC works fine for this, but for some reason, I end up using this one more).
  6. A favorite CD playing – Inspires me.
  7. My camera – for those Blog shots.
  8. A duster – Yes, I hate to type on a dusty keyboard or to have a dusty screen in front of me.
  9. A copy of Desiderata by Max Ehrmann posted on my desk – It provides inspiration and grounding.  Next to it a copy of my own Creed – as a reminder.
  10. A posted copy of Be Yourself by Bruce B. Wilmer – Also for reminding me to keep on going.  Writing can be discouraging at times.
  11. A stapler – I keep hard copy of my articles on file.
  12. Essential books:  A copy of The Writer’s Market, Keys to Great Writing by Stephen Wilbers, How I Write by Janet Evanovich, and Grit for the Oyster.  These books are a wealth of knowledge for any writer, and also inspiration and a pick me up, when needed.
  13. A notebook with my passwords – cannot rely on good ol’ gray all the time.
  14. Owls and Crows – they inspire me.
  15. Finally, my lucky charm – A vintage Shirley Temple doll sitting on top of my desk – she is always ready to listen.  That is not to say that my six felines who come to visit me at the keyboard are the last on the list, they are pure joy and inspiration to me, and numberless.

Have you given any thought to what you surround yourself with to inspire your writing?  Can you improve your surroundings, and will it make a difference in your writing?  For me, these things fuel me up and give me pleasure.  What sparks your Muse?

Write it Down – Now!

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Hesiod and the Muse

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During the weekend, my husband and I were driving towards an antique market.  The radio was playing Country music and the drive was smooth.  We would comment about a few things we saw on the road, from time to time.  Suddenly, I felt the urge to write.  You know, that nagging command in your mind that screams loud – WRITE!  I always carry a small notebook with me, just in case inspiration strikes.  I have found that when this happens, if I don’t write it down at the moment, it is gone forever.  I am not able to recreate it later.  I listened to my muse and this is what I wrote – a poem.

Ageless Soul

To have a young soul in an old body,

Oh, what is this punishment,

but to be trapped in this decaying shell,

withering to the whims of the body

and wishing the youth of once fresh life.

Is it the punishment of creation or the wisdom of the ages?

Either or it is but and arrow that pierces the flesh and numbs the heart.

 

Now, don’t ask me why, I just wrote what was given to me at the moment.  After I wrote it down fast, I put the notebook back in my handbag and continued the pleasant drive to the market.  The muse did not show up again that day.  Sometimes I wonder …