Let's base this on human experience -- or semi-humaniod even if we're taking aliens and demons here.
Characters are born too, not necessarily with the nine-month gestation. Immediate sensation come through deeper than with sight and sound, scent, taste and feel conveys more than we acknowledge.
Development comes with how the characters know what they know. Parents, siblings, children, lovers, friends, sales people, religious functionaries, and others provided a social network of lessons, crafts, how to do things, how to act in a situation, who's in what kind of health state, when to plant and reap, animal husbandry, weather wisdom, and much more.
This knowledge broadens with the character's level of education, travel, the level of technology or magic for gathering information.
Scribes and couriers expand on the orders of royalty and other leaders; traveling bards, physics, and war-weary mercenaries carry tales. Merchants and map-makers transfer knowledge of other places and the goods and customs found there. Sorcerous means come via scrying with assorted tools like water or crystal, or seeing through another's eyes and taking in impressions through another's senses.
The vast overview of a general on a battlefield, or a sailor swaying in the crow's nest leads into details of colors and motion.
Today, I have at my command millions of alternatives for printed matter, news and blogs, corporate white pages, updates, links, sound and vision into almost every corner of the world and a smattering outside of it.
Then comes the drama--is what is taught and provided, true? Is it free of any taint of favortism or slant on the part of the deliverer of such news? Every 'up-to-the-minute' relay comes based on who pays for the information to be transmitted, and how can that information be used?
'Buy this or that' because the advertiser supports the local newscast. The TV personalities in their booths, dressed down but with the subtle inference of power based on the sharing of disasters, takeovers, horrors and such, live for the audience who sees the coiffed, poised puppets read off a teleprompter.
This artificiality robs the personal touch, numbers are glossed over for one close-up of mayhem.
The Hindenberg disaster was covered by a reporter, Herbert Morrison who was there for the docking of the queen of the sky...
"It's practically standing still now. They've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship, and they've been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's — the rain had slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it just, just enough to keep it from — It burst into flames! It burst into flames, and it's falling, it's crashing! Watch it! Watch it, folks! Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get this, Charlie! Get this, Charlie! It's fire — and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my, get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames, and the — and it's falling on the mooring-mast and all the folks agree that this is terrible, this is the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world. Ohhhhh! It's–it's–it's the flames, [indecipherable, 'enty' syllable] oh, four- or five-hundred feet into the sky and it ... it's a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. It's smoke, and it's flames now ... and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring-mast. Oh, the humanity and all the passengers screaming around here. I told you, I can't even talk to people whose friends are on there. Ah! It's–it's–it's–it's ... o–ohhh! I–I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it's just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk, and the screaming. Lady, I–I'm sorry. Honest: I–I can hardly breathe. I–I'm going to step inside, for I cannot see it. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah — I can't. I, listen, folks, I–I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed."
The drama is in the sharing of humanity, not just the retelling it.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Another Idea - Oct. 19, '09
Pick a phrase: Nice and warm.
We've all heard those types that pass without notice, but take a deeper look.
What does this describe? Make you feel? Turn it inside out and around!
Nice and warm like on a beach -- not having your buns toasted so you can't sit easy and then your nose peels because you forgot the sunscreen and how did you know the sand fleas loved having you for dinner?
Or nice and warm, curled up with your main squeeze watching a video. You make space for the younger cat who insists on squeezing between you two and who tends to park her not so fragrant butt as close to your nose as possible while smiling at her other mom, rubbing her nose in kitty kisses and giving snarky looks to you.
Nice but not so warm in October when the leaves drop and rattle like potato chips under foot and you crunch through them and don't care that you're way over the childhood limit for acting like this is fun. Then you look up from scuffing through the oak and maple discards on the sidewalk and a fellow coming toward you smiles and you KNOW--it's because he wishes he had that nerve to crunch and crackle and enjoy the moment. That is a victory bittersweet because not alot of grownups will let the child out to play without condemnation.
Not nice, but at least it's warm when you stand under a doorway near the subway grate and get the heat rising over your cold wet feet. The snow's melted from the concrete around there and granted it's not the best place in the city but at least you're not freezing your nearest and dearest while waiting for a taxi.
Not nice, not warm...Middle of the damned park in February, you dropped your cell tel in that puddle and HOPED the ice crusting the top would keep it from crashing through. Nope, not a chance in this semi-frozen muck--that your tel would get a break. So off with the glove, stick your hand in the DEEP mucky puddle and hope that isn't a frozen dog dropping you just grabbed. Got the phone, it's dripping, it's got stuff on it HAZMAT wouldn't touch and damn if you didn't have insurance on the pesky thing.
Oh, give me back: Nice and warm. :}
We've all heard those types that pass without notice, but take a deeper look.
What does this describe? Make you feel? Turn it inside out and around!
Nice and warm like on a beach -- not having your buns toasted so you can't sit easy and then your nose peels because you forgot the sunscreen and how did you know the sand fleas loved having you for dinner?
Or nice and warm, curled up with your main squeeze watching a video. You make space for the younger cat who insists on squeezing between you two and who tends to park her not so fragrant butt as close to your nose as possible while smiling at her other mom, rubbing her nose in kitty kisses and giving snarky looks to you.
Nice but not so warm in October when the leaves drop and rattle like potato chips under foot and you crunch through them and don't care that you're way over the childhood limit for acting like this is fun. Then you look up from scuffing through the oak and maple discards on the sidewalk and a fellow coming toward you smiles and you KNOW--it's because he wishes he had that nerve to crunch and crackle and enjoy the moment. That is a victory bittersweet because not alot of grownups will let the child out to play without condemnation.
Not nice, but at least it's warm when you stand under a doorway near the subway grate and get the heat rising over your cold wet feet. The snow's melted from the concrete around there and granted it's not the best place in the city but at least you're not freezing your nearest and dearest while waiting for a taxi.
Not nice, not warm...Middle of the damned park in February, you dropped your cell tel in that puddle and HOPED the ice crusting the top would keep it from crashing through. Nope, not a chance in this semi-frozen muck--that your tel would get a break. So off with the glove, stick your hand in the DEEP mucky puddle and hope that isn't a frozen dog dropping you just grabbed. Got the phone, it's dripping, it's got stuff on it HAZMAT wouldn't touch and damn if you didn't have insurance on the pesky thing.
Oh, give me back: Nice and warm. :}
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Dry Spell - Oct. 18, 09
Happens to all of us, no matter what venue we put our hand to. Sometimes we can stumble along, other times we just go around the block and try not to think about it. Or maul a piece of a paper or the blank screen with nonsense--and that is good. Nonsense is vital--it activates the 'I'm groping in darkness, I've got dirt and the pile of discards and it's meaningless--so I don't have to fear I'll fail.' We all hate that, whether in life, writing, or making a toasted cheese sandwich that comes out resembling a charcoal briquette that's gone to seed.
First I was full of good intentions for this (blog/my stories/name it) then got side tracked, then lost sight with coping with things in life--the passing of my 90 year old mom in April, something she had wanted for quite a while, and which took me a while to accept what she wanted, what was the best for her.
I scribble stuff down, get bits and bobs of ideas, then within the past two weeks I lose two more I love. This post isn't about just being in mourning, but accepting what must be let go of, and what must be GENTLY returned to.
Forcing anything--may get the job down by a mental deadline but is it down with love? Some folks have a tight writerly schedule and bless them for showing up on the page from 9am to 3pm. Some grab a word or an idea and just free fall with it. Some do take that break to let the resources refill, let the waves resculpt the sand, to allow renewal, a healing, a peace return.
First I was full of good intentions for this (blog/my stories/name it) then got side tracked, then lost sight with coping with things in life--the passing of my 90 year old mom in April, something she had wanted for quite a while, and which took me a while to accept what she wanted, what was the best for her.
I scribble stuff down, get bits and bobs of ideas, then within the past two weeks I lose two more I love. This post isn't about just being in mourning, but accepting what must be let go of, and what must be GENTLY returned to.
Forcing anything--may get the job down by a mental deadline but is it down with love? Some folks have a tight writerly schedule and bless them for showing up on the page from 9am to 3pm. Some grab a word or an idea and just free fall with it. Some do take that break to let the resources refill, let the waves resculpt the sand, to allow renewal, a healing, a peace return.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Fear of Writing Jan 31,2009
Yeah, it happens and it's not pleasant.
Why it happens has many reasons. Maybe I don't want to confront the same words that had me enthralled and don't any more. Maybe I wonder if it what all I've written is tripe and I'm better off doing something else. Maybe I've learned more and I dread having to rewrite, or to put down something new that doesn't match what I see in my head, what I feel in my heart.
I started out drawing and painting at a very young age, writing came later. My mom would pass me a 3x5" pad in church and a pen and I would keep still and occupied. I graduated from university where I earned a degree in Graphic arts. My first stories were told on paper or canvas, with Crow quill nibs and Higgins indelible ink, or colored pencils and watercolors. I looked up the difference between cold-press and hot press boards, I piled up slabs of acrylic and did washes in oil. I looked for natural hair brushes and experimented with mixing turpentine with Linseed oil for a thinner--bad, bad idea. Just dissolved the oil sketch I'd done and made everything runny and gooey. I cursed the book and the author who suggested it, scraped off the canvas and painted more.
I've done a few art shows and usually made enough to cover the entry fee. I did better with dream catchers--more people buy crafts, which usually sell at a lower price. The best part was sharing the space with those of like minds, meeting new friends, talking about what I love to do, and hoping someone would enjoy it enough to buy a watercolor of a bird-of-paradise, or an oil-cut-out collage of a dragon.
I still love going to art stores. I test the hairs of a new brush against my lips, I examine palette knives, and new colors. I drool over the variety of papers with deckle edges with the fibers thick and thin over embedded dried petals and tiny maple leaves. I still would love to get real parchment--from a sheep or goatskin not the parchment paper.
I was vigilant about cleaning the brushes, making sure my light was good, having the right proportions and color balance.
Was I more willing to make mistakes, to learn and play and try new things because the medium was visual and visceral? Did the props of paint, brushes and paper make it more real?
I've come a long way from submitting good ideas badly done. I've learned about delivery, setting, continuity, omitting the obvious, etc. Those early publishers who rejected me--rejected the work, not the writer. They were correct. I was trying to pass a seed or half-fill fruit as a fully grown tree.
Maybe I am more inflexible and need to keep reminding myself that writing is just as magical, with less outer tools and more inner ones. Pen, paper, period. Or FOK-U: Fingers on Keyboard--You!
I need to be gentle with myself, to say--perfection is a myth, enjoyment of what is there is real, it is worth my time, my love for the characters, the drama and the world I paint with words.
Why it happens has many reasons. Maybe I don't want to confront the same words that had me enthralled and don't any more. Maybe I wonder if it what all I've written is tripe and I'm better off doing something else. Maybe I've learned more and I dread having to rewrite, or to put down something new that doesn't match what I see in my head, what I feel in my heart.
I started out drawing and painting at a very young age, writing came later. My mom would pass me a 3x5" pad in church and a pen and I would keep still and occupied. I graduated from university where I earned a degree in Graphic arts. My first stories were told on paper or canvas, with Crow quill nibs and Higgins indelible ink, or colored pencils and watercolors. I looked up the difference between cold-press and hot press boards, I piled up slabs of acrylic and did washes in oil. I looked for natural hair brushes and experimented with mixing turpentine with Linseed oil for a thinner--bad, bad idea. Just dissolved the oil sketch I'd done and made everything runny and gooey. I cursed the book and the author who suggested it, scraped off the canvas and painted more.
I've done a few art shows and usually made enough to cover the entry fee. I did better with dream catchers--more people buy crafts, which usually sell at a lower price. The best part was sharing the space with those of like minds, meeting new friends, talking about what I love to do, and hoping someone would enjoy it enough to buy a watercolor of a bird-of-paradise, or an oil-cut-out collage of a dragon.
I still love going to art stores. I test the hairs of a new brush against my lips, I examine palette knives, and new colors. I drool over the variety of papers with deckle edges with the fibers thick and thin over embedded dried petals and tiny maple leaves. I still would love to get real parchment--from a sheep or goatskin not the parchment paper.
I was vigilant about cleaning the brushes, making sure my light was good, having the right proportions and color balance.
Was I more willing to make mistakes, to learn and play and try new things because the medium was visual and visceral? Did the props of paint, brushes and paper make it more real?
I've come a long way from submitting good ideas badly done. I've learned about delivery, setting, continuity, omitting the obvious, etc. Those early publishers who rejected me--rejected the work, not the writer. They were correct. I was trying to pass a seed or half-fill fruit as a fully grown tree.
Maybe I am more inflexible and need to keep reminding myself that writing is just as magical, with less outer tools and more inner ones. Pen, paper, period. Or FOK-U: Fingers on Keyboard--You!
I need to be gentle with myself, to say--perfection is a myth, enjoyment of what is there is real, it is worth my time, my love for the characters, the drama and the world I paint with words.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
The 12 Days of Fantasy Writing Dec 9th, '08
Just for fun! And I like parodies that go off the deep end :}
On the first day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
A sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the second day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the third day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the fourth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Four fierce ogres, three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the fifth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Five wicked warty witches! Four somewhat-fierce ogres, three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a snarky sylph in a birch tree.
On the sixth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Six sleazy villains, five wicked warty witches! Four ambivalent ogres, three tra-la-ing trolls, two dragon-eating virgins not on a diet, and a surprised sylph in a birch tree.
On the seventh day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Seven doe-eyed maidens, six sleazy villains, five wicked warty one-eyed witches! Four fiddling ogres, three travel-weary trolls, two dragon-eating virgins who aren't vegetarians, and a startled sylph in a birch tree.
On the eighth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Eight eagle-eyed elven archers, seven doe-eyed maidens, six sleazy villains, five wicked warty one-eyed wincing witches! Four fainting ogres, three tv-addicted trolls, two dragon-eating virgins in need of a stair-master, and a sylph scratching poison ivy in a birch tree.
On the ninth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Nine nasty necromancers, eight eagle-eyed elven tiddlywink champs, seven doe-eyed maidens (at least that's what their name-tags read), six sleazy badly-dressed villains, five wicked warty witches with winsome slack-jawed smiles! Four flatulent ogres--no more refried beans, three traveling trolls looking for room service, two dragon-eating virgins who don't need this much fiber in their diets, and an antsy sylph in a birch tree.
On the tenth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Ten tremendous giants, nine nasty necromancers wearing Nikes, eight eagle-eyed elven florists, seven doe-eyed maidens--who are we kidding they're all trollops, six sleazy villains with greasy hair answering to the name of Snape, five wicked warty witches with widdle bittle bwack kitties! Four frumpish ogresses sans spouses, three toothsome trolls opening a dentistry service, two dragon-eating virgins (the girls need antacid by now), and a panicking sylph in a birch tree.
On the eleventh day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Eleven scheming councilors, ten tremendous giants with gout, nine nasty necromancers in search of a reality show, eight eagle-eyed elven pizza delivery boys, seven doe-eyed maidens, er, okay, not after the wet-t-shirt contest, six sleazy villains working at Wall Street, five wicked warty witches with stock in Mary Kay cosmetics! Four fur-covered ogres since winter's finally here, three toothsome trolls nibbling on the dental receptionist, two dragon-eating virgins who have stopped snacking between meals, and a hysterical sylph with oozing blisters in a birch tree.
On the twelfth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Twelve regal empresses, eleven scheming councilors in a pillow fight, ten tremendous giants who want to be couch potatoes, nine nasty necromancers selling fake Viagra, eight eagle-eyed elven mud-pie makers, seven doe-eyed maidens--uh, they're in their fifties now and opened a whole-food outlet, six sleazy villains torturing Barbie dolls with Malibu Stacy, five wicked warty witches slow-cooking Mary Kay founder for false advertising! Four flailing ogres who fell through thin ice on their way to the ballet, three toothsome trolls who gave up the whole Billy Goat's Gruff schtick, two dragon-eating virgins in jail on the Endangered Species act, and a hysterical red-bump covered sylph needing more hands to scratch with, and who wants to bulldoze every damned tree!
On the first day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
A sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the second day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the third day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the fourth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Four fierce ogres, three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a sultry sylph in a birch tree.
On the fifth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Five wicked warty witches! Four somewhat-fierce ogres, three toothsome trolls, two dragon-eating virgins, and a snarky sylph in a birch tree.
On the sixth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Six sleazy villains, five wicked warty witches! Four ambivalent ogres, three tra-la-ing trolls, two dragon-eating virgins not on a diet, and a surprised sylph in a birch tree.
On the seventh day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Seven doe-eyed maidens, six sleazy villains, five wicked warty one-eyed witches! Four fiddling ogres, three travel-weary trolls, two dragon-eating virgins who aren't vegetarians, and a startled sylph in a birch tree.
On the eighth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Eight eagle-eyed elven archers, seven doe-eyed maidens, six sleazy villains, five wicked warty one-eyed wincing witches! Four fainting ogres, three tv-addicted trolls, two dragon-eating virgins in need of a stair-master, and a sylph scratching poison ivy in a birch tree.
On the ninth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Nine nasty necromancers, eight eagle-eyed elven tiddlywink champs, seven doe-eyed maidens (at least that's what their name-tags read), six sleazy badly-dressed villains, five wicked warty witches with winsome slack-jawed smiles! Four flatulent ogres--no more refried beans, three traveling trolls looking for room service, two dragon-eating virgins who don't need this much fiber in their diets, and an antsy sylph in a birch tree.
On the tenth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Ten tremendous giants, nine nasty necromancers wearing Nikes, eight eagle-eyed elven florists, seven doe-eyed maidens--who are we kidding they're all trollops, six sleazy villains with greasy hair answering to the name of Snape, five wicked warty witches with widdle bittle bwack kitties! Four frumpish ogresses sans spouses, three toothsome trolls opening a dentistry service, two dragon-eating virgins (the girls need antacid by now), and a panicking sylph in a birch tree.
On the eleventh day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Eleven scheming councilors, ten tremendous giants with gout, nine nasty necromancers in search of a reality show, eight eagle-eyed elven pizza delivery boys, seven doe-eyed maidens, er, okay, not after the wet-t-shirt contest, six sleazy villains working at Wall Street, five wicked warty witches with stock in Mary Kay cosmetics! Four fur-covered ogres since winter's finally here, three toothsome trolls nibbling on the dental receptionist, two dragon-eating virgins who have stopped snacking between meals, and a hysterical sylph with oozing blisters in a birch tree.
On the twelfth day of fantasy, this cliché came to me:
Twelve regal empresses, eleven scheming councilors in a pillow fight, ten tremendous giants who want to be couch potatoes, nine nasty necromancers selling fake Viagra, eight eagle-eyed elven mud-pie makers, seven doe-eyed maidens--uh, they're in their fifties now and opened a whole-food outlet, six sleazy villains torturing Barbie dolls with Malibu Stacy, five wicked warty witches slow-cooking Mary Kay founder for false advertising! Four flailing ogres who fell through thin ice on their way to the ballet, three toothsome trolls who gave up the whole Billy Goat's Gruff schtick, two dragon-eating virgins in jail on the Endangered Species act, and a hysterical red-bump covered sylph needing more hands to scratch with, and who wants to bulldoze every damned tree!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Your Character's Voice Nov. 30 '08
Your Character's Voice
This has oodles of variables from age, sex, education, areas lived, social status, family income, friends and acquaintances, personal influences, and physiology of the mouth, lungs, vocal cords, etc.
For modern teen males, the increased use of slang and shortcuts like txt msg are popular. Sometimes vulgarity use is higher with teen males though that can be dependant on dozens of correlations.
Experience and knowledge--which 99% of the time comes with age will make a difference in the voice. Even if a teen is a genius, s/he will not have the social and emotional ranges that an adult has accumulated by the sheer passage of time (again this leaves out hermit types).
Traumatic events can also shape a characters voice and lock them into a replay of a certain past that will show in times of stress.
YA voice vs adult, think JK Rowling's Harry Potter vs the Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity/Ultimatum, or Patricia Cornwall's forensic novels with Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta vs the whodunits of the Hardy Boys.
Read the genres you love, and read the ones you don't like because even they can teach a new turn of phrase or how other writers deal with situations, characters, dialogue, settings, etc.
Watch shows and movies with good writers. Some of my favorites are: Saving Grace, The Closer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5, Farscape, old Twilight Zone classics are right up there. Actually many Tales from the Crypt are very well done and Alfred Hitchcock Presents suspense classics are great.
It's not just good writing, it's how the character says it, body language, pitch, emotional input. Communication is only 5% verbal, the rest is how a person looks at others or the surroundings, how the body is held tense or loose, what the hands are doing, shrugs, grimaces, sniffs, fiddling with exterior objects, and more.
Reality TV is useless garbage. Survivor, The Great Race, cook-offs, designer fetes, singing contests--the situations are contrived. The contestants/people are voted in to draw the most viewers by the greatest shock value and the most stupid/outrageous words/actions.
Being a good writer happens in part by being a good listener, you need to be able to discriminate between what you hear and what you're being told as in commercials.
Ex: Buy a new car for only $17,995 gets more people than a car for 5$ more at $18,000. What does the commercial push? Features, mileage, how a model is draped over the car (as if the woman is part of the extras), or how much more machismo also known as mental Viagra comes from driving a Hummer vs a Subaru.
I worked in advertising and what advertising sells what the advertiser wants you to believe, not what you actually need--which is reliable, inexpensive, transportation. Be an educated observer and question what you hear. Crest toothpaste won't make you popular, the Armani clothes won't make you a magnet for love, the Infiniti sedan won't enhance your business, Burger king fast food won't increase joyous times with friends, the Nike sneakers won't make you a better athlete.
What do you want the reader to take away?
This has oodles of variables from age, sex, education, areas lived, social status, family income, friends and acquaintances, personal influences, and physiology of the mouth, lungs, vocal cords, etc.
For modern teen males, the increased use of slang and shortcuts like txt msg are popular. Sometimes vulgarity use is higher with teen males though that can be dependant on dozens of correlations.
Experience and knowledge--which 99% of the time comes with age will make a difference in the voice. Even if a teen is a genius, s/he will not have the social and emotional ranges that an adult has accumulated by the sheer passage of time (again this leaves out hermit types).
Traumatic events can also shape a characters voice and lock them into a replay of a certain past that will show in times of stress.
YA voice vs adult, think JK Rowling's Harry Potter vs the Robert Ludlum's Bourne Identity/Ultimatum, or Patricia Cornwall's forensic novels with Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta vs the whodunits of the Hardy Boys.
Read the genres you love, and read the ones you don't like because even they can teach a new turn of phrase or how other writers deal with situations, characters, dialogue, settings, etc.
Watch shows and movies with good writers. Some of my favorites are: Saving Grace, The Closer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5, Farscape, old Twilight Zone classics are right up there. Actually many Tales from the Crypt are very well done and Alfred Hitchcock Presents suspense classics are great.
It's not just good writing, it's how the character says it, body language, pitch, emotional input. Communication is only 5% verbal, the rest is how a person looks at others or the surroundings, how the body is held tense or loose, what the hands are doing, shrugs, grimaces, sniffs, fiddling with exterior objects, and more.
Reality TV is useless garbage. Survivor, The Great Race, cook-offs, designer fetes, singing contests--the situations are contrived. The contestants/people are voted in to draw the most viewers by the greatest shock value and the most stupid/outrageous words/actions.
Being a good writer happens in part by being a good listener, you need to be able to discriminate between what you hear and what you're being told as in commercials.
Ex: Buy a new car for only $17,995 gets more people than a car for 5$ more at $18,000. What does the commercial push? Features, mileage, how a model is draped over the car (as if the woman is part of the extras), or how much more machismo also known as mental Viagra comes from driving a Hummer vs a Subaru.
I worked in advertising and what advertising sells what the advertiser wants you to believe, not what you actually need--which is reliable, inexpensive, transportation. Be an educated observer and question what you hear. Crest toothpaste won't make you popular, the Armani clothes won't make you a magnet for love, the Infiniti sedan won't enhance your business, Burger king fast food won't increase joyous times with friends, the Nike sneakers won't make you a better athlete.
What do you want the reader to take away?
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Publishers Guidelines Oct 22, '08
I sent out one of my literary children today. I hope for the best and am prepared for a rejection or more likely, no response whatsoever.
It's a novella, about 28K, enlarged a bit and darkened to fit the writing guidelines for which the publisher asked.
I spent about 20 years in the graphic arts field. I know the why of things for publishing standards. So I follow them. They aren't arbitrary rules just to piss off writers.
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PUBLISHERS' GUIDELINES.
Not following them accounts for 99% of rejections. If you're a NAME like JK Rowling or Stephen King, you could submit in purple crayon on toilet paper, likely used. Since most of us are not, be wise, follow the publishers' instructions.
If the publisher doesn't say what they prefer, write an email and ask. Better to appear ignorant and become enlightened rather than assume, do it wrong, look stupid, and be trashed.
"Oh, but why? I want to stand out so they'll pick me!" Often comes from newbie eager writers.
News flash--there are reasons for a standard submission in the industry. Sticking out shows you're new, you're ignorant, and that you're cocky and rude not to have spent a wee bit of time cooperating and doing as the publisher asks. So why would anyone want to work with you?
"But I've written the next GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL!"
Yawn. No one will read it unless you send it conforming to the guidelines.
1: Ease of portage: it's easier to handle a stack of 8.5" x 11" & A4 (European size) paper than to have poster sized writing or your anthology tucked into a do-it-yourself 5x8" book, with pullouts, pop-ups, post-its for 'the good parts' etc.
2: It is a courtesy to follow the rules when you're in someone's home. Sending a book is going into the publishers' home. You keep your feet off the furniture, mind your manners, and give respect.
3: Ease of readability--this is the mechanical part:
--standard paper size: 8.5 x 11"/A4 20#/75k bond--plain copier/laser paper, not coated, no watermarks. WHITE only. No color, no exceptions.
--printed with margins min. 1.25"/3 cm from all edges because publishers write in these margins, and having white space allows the eyes to rest.
--solid black ink, minimum 360dpi. It's a decent contrast against the white paper and easy to read.
--only one side of the sheet printed. Yes, a waste of trees, but much easier than flipping over to read the back side--that takes time, time the publisher would rather spend reading. When an editor makes corrections these would likely bleed through to the back making it difficult for the author to see what's what.
--send it in a snug sturdy box for a large book, or a snug envelope with a sheet of same size cardboard to help keep the pages flat.
--leave the pages loose, no staples, no paper clips, none of those brass T-shaped paper holders that come in different sizes and the middle of the T opens to bend back around the pages. They make it hard to read what's on the binding edge. Don't send in a file folder, spiral binding, report binder with a slip on edge, keep the pages loose.
Formatting standards--I found these on the web:
--Use a fixed width font like Courier at 12 point. This is a font in which the 'I' takes up just as much room as the 'Z'. This way the publisher can determine how many words in a close approximate count. This count can be then projected into how many pages for a 5x8" or 6x9" whatever size book. It is also used to calculate the amount of paper needed, the amount of ink, the printing press time, the hours the printer person will need to be working, binding materials and time, the number of books that will fit into a box, number of boxes on a pallet for shipping, shipping costs, etc. All this depends on the word count.
--Line break use # symbol --just one, centered. This is a symbol that means space.
--If you need to italicize for thoughts, or for flashbacks, songs, etc, use underlines. Italics often get lost when converting between software programs.
--If you need emphasis, "Mary--look out!" Use 2 hyphens. A single hyphen is known as an en dash, 2 hyphens make an em dash, touch the em dash to the letters on either side.
These are old printing terms from the days of lead type. An en dash is one letter space, an em dash is two letter spaces. Often word processing programs will substitute a solid line for an em dash. Again, that can get lost in conversions.
--Paragraph indent 5 spaces from the left. Just hit the space bar 5 times, see where it goes and you can set your margin stop to there.
--Always double-space between lines & sentences, & after colons. Again easy to read. Yes, making it easy on the publisher will be appreciated.
--Flush left type -- not counting the indents for paragraphs, and leave the right ragged. Justifying with even margins makes it hard to read--we've all seen lines scrunched up, because paper costs money and this can save paper. It also makes type look wonky when they stretch to fit across the column but that's the price you pay, or not.
Top of first page on the upper left corner:
Author Name -- the real one you want the check made out to
Address
City, State, Zip
ten digit tel: (000) 000-0000
email addy (wshakespeare@gmail.com)
Make the email a professional one, don't use your surfing email like 2Hot@handle.com because it looks amateurish.
If you belong to a professional writing organization, you may list your membership beneath this information if it is relevant.
Top of first page on the upper right corner:
word count (2,500 words)
Byline, max 2 words of your title, page # (Milton, Paradise Lost, page 2)
DO NOT LABEL PAGE 1
How can you NOT put that in? Easy.
Top of MS Word, Insert menu, drop down, Page Numbers, has a box that you can check or not if you want the first page labeled.
In the upper-right corner of the first page place an approximate word count. If your manuscript is between one and 1,500 words long, round your word count to the nearest 100 words. For manuscripts of between 1,500 and 10,000 words, round to the nearest 500. For 10,000 to 25,000 words, round to the nearest 1,000. For 25,000 or more words, round to the nearest 5,000
You do not calculate the wordage of your story by counting actual words. Figure out the maximum number of characters per line in your manuscript, divide this number by six, and then multiply by the total number of lines in your story. This gives you the word count. Round from there.
This is for printing, if your work is to be on an ezine, the MS Word count will be accurate.
Center the title in bold capital letters about one third to halfway down the first page of your manuscript.
Two single lines below your title, you should place your centered byline. Your byline is the name that will receive credit for the story when it appears in print. Not necessarily the same as your real name.
Begin the text of your ms four single lines (or two double lines) below your byline.
If a word is too long to fit at the end of a line, then move the entire word to the beginning of the next line. Only if a phrase is normally hyphenated may you break it up at the end of a line. Thus, you must always place "antidisestablishmentarianism" on its own line, no matter how much empty space this leaves at the end of the line above. Never include a hyphen that you don't want to have show up in the final printed version of your manuscript.
Do not place "#" or "30" or "The End" or anything of the sort at the end of the story. The exception to this comes when the last line of your story happens to fall at the bottom of a page, write the word "end" by hand and in blue ink in the bottom margin of the last page.
Yes, following the guidelines can be a pain in the ass, but once you do, you've cut wayyyy down on the reasons for a publisher NOT read your story.
It's a novella, about 28K, enlarged a bit and darkened to fit the writing guidelines for which the publisher asked.
I spent about 20 years in the graphic arts field. I know the why of things for publishing standards. So I follow them. They aren't arbitrary rules just to piss off writers.
ALWAYS FOLLOW THE PUBLISHERS' GUIDELINES.
Not following them accounts for 99% of rejections. If you're a NAME like JK Rowling or Stephen King, you could submit in purple crayon on toilet paper, likely used. Since most of us are not, be wise, follow the publishers' instructions.
If the publisher doesn't say what they prefer, write an email and ask. Better to appear ignorant and become enlightened rather than assume, do it wrong, look stupid, and be trashed.
"Oh, but why? I want to stand out so they'll pick me!" Often comes from newbie eager writers.
News flash--there are reasons for a standard submission in the industry. Sticking out shows you're new, you're ignorant, and that you're cocky and rude not to have spent a wee bit of time cooperating and doing as the publisher asks. So why would anyone want to work with you?
"But I've written the next GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL!"
Yawn. No one will read it unless you send it conforming to the guidelines.
1: Ease of portage: it's easier to handle a stack of 8.5" x 11" & A4 (European size) paper than to have poster sized writing or your anthology tucked into a do-it-yourself 5x8" book, with pullouts, pop-ups, post-its for 'the good parts' etc.
2: It is a courtesy to follow the rules when you're in someone's home. Sending a book is going into the publishers' home. You keep your feet off the furniture, mind your manners, and give respect.
3: Ease of readability--this is the mechanical part:
--standard paper size: 8.5 x 11"/A4 20#/75k bond--plain copier/laser paper, not coated, no watermarks. WHITE only. No color, no exceptions.
--printed with margins min. 1.25"/3 cm from all edges because publishers write in these margins, and having white space allows the eyes to rest.
--solid black ink, minimum 360dpi. It's a decent contrast against the white paper and easy to read.
--only one side of the sheet printed. Yes, a waste of trees, but much easier than flipping over to read the back side--that takes time, time the publisher would rather spend reading. When an editor makes corrections these would likely bleed through to the back making it difficult for the author to see what's what.
--send it in a snug sturdy box for a large book, or a snug envelope with a sheet of same size cardboard to help keep the pages flat.
--leave the pages loose, no staples, no paper clips, none of those brass T-shaped paper holders that come in different sizes and the middle of the T opens to bend back around the pages. They make it hard to read what's on the binding edge. Don't send in a file folder, spiral binding, report binder with a slip on edge, keep the pages loose.
Formatting standards--I found these on the web:
--Use a fixed width font like Courier at 12 point. This is a font in which the 'I' takes up just as much room as the 'Z'. This way the publisher can determine how many words in a close approximate count. This count can be then projected into how many pages for a 5x8" or 6x9" whatever size book. It is also used to calculate the amount of paper needed, the amount of ink, the printing press time, the hours the printer person will need to be working, binding materials and time, the number of books that will fit into a box, number of boxes on a pallet for shipping, shipping costs, etc. All this depends on the word count.
--Line break use # symbol --just one, centered. This is a symbol that means space.
--If you need to italicize for thoughts, or for flashbacks, songs, etc, use underlines. Italics often get lost when converting between software programs.
--If you need emphasis, "Mary--look out!" Use 2 hyphens. A single hyphen is known as an en dash, 2 hyphens make an em dash, touch the em dash to the letters on either side.
These are old printing terms from the days of lead type. An en dash is one letter space, an em dash is two letter spaces. Often word processing programs will substitute a solid line for an em dash. Again, that can get lost in conversions.
--Paragraph indent 5 spaces from the left. Just hit the space bar 5 times, see where it goes and you can set your margin stop to there.
--Always double-space between lines & sentences, & after colons. Again easy to read. Yes, making it easy on the publisher will be appreciated.
--Flush left type -- not counting the indents for paragraphs, and leave the right ragged. Justifying with even margins makes it hard to read--we've all seen lines scrunched up, because paper costs money and this can save paper. It also makes type look wonky when they stretch to fit across the column but that's the price you pay, or not.
Top of first page on the upper left corner:
Author Name -- the real one you want the check made out to
Address
City, State, Zip
ten digit tel: (000) 000-0000
email addy (wshakespeare@gmail.com)
Make the email a professional one, don't use your surfing email like 2Hot@handle.com because it looks amateurish.
If you belong to a professional writing organization, you may list your membership beneath this information if it is relevant.
Top of first page on the upper right corner:
word count (2,500 words)
Byline, max 2 words of your title, page # (Milton, Paradise Lost, page 2)
DO NOT LABEL PAGE 1
How can you NOT put that in? Easy.
Top of MS Word, Insert menu, drop down, Page Numbers, has a box that you can check or not if you want the first page labeled.
In the upper-right corner of the first page place an approximate word count. If your manuscript is between one and 1,500 words long, round your word count to the nearest 100 words. For manuscripts of between 1,500 and 10,000 words, round to the nearest 500. For 10,000 to 25,000 words, round to the nearest 1,000. For 25,000 or more words, round to the nearest 5,000
You do not calculate the wordage of your story by counting actual words. Figure out the maximum number of characters per line in your manuscript, divide this number by six, and then multiply by the total number of lines in your story. This gives you the word count. Round from there.
This is for printing, if your work is to be on an ezine, the MS Word count will be accurate.
Center the title in bold capital letters about one third to halfway down the first page of your manuscript.
Two single lines below your title, you should place your centered byline. Your byline is the name that will receive credit for the story when it appears in print. Not necessarily the same as your real name.
Begin the text of your ms four single lines (or two double lines) below your byline.
If a word is too long to fit at the end of a line, then move the entire word to the beginning of the next line. Only if a phrase is normally hyphenated may you break it up at the end of a line. Thus, you must always place "antidisestablishmentarianism" on its own line, no matter how much empty space this leaves at the end of the line above. Never include a hyphen that you don't want to have show up in the final printed version of your manuscript.
Do not place "#" or "30" or "The End" or anything of the sort at the end of the story. The exception to this comes when the last line of your story happens to fall at the bottom of a page, write the word "end" by hand and in blue ink in the bottom margin of the last page.
Yes, following the guidelines can be a pain in the ass, but once you do, you've cut wayyyy down on the reasons for a publisher NOT read your story.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
3 Evil Words--Make Me Proud, 9th Oct. '08
This isn't exactly about writing but it will be.
'Make me proud' is a demand. It may be couched in a sweet tone, or a pleading one, but take away the coating and it's has nothing to do with love. It's conditional acceptance of something or someone to elicit the reaction of pride. A reaction like this is a secondary, side-line, parasitic disease sucking the life and energy like a leech.
The parent demands with the word 'Make'. The parent holds the child's life and dreams hostage for the lack of whatever in the parent's life.
When a parent says this--what are they looking for? The boy gets into the Little League because Dad loves baseball? The daughter is in law school because Mom always wanted to be in the middle of a courtroom drama?
Yes, parents want their children to do well, as authors want their work to sell, but that has got to low on the list because it is based on artifice. It's based on selfish reasons, not on love for the sake of something just being.
The parent is selfish using the word 'Me'. Oh, 'I gave the child life, the child owes ME'. Really? The parent is the one who provides the egg or sperm. The child HAS NO CHOICE IN BEING BORN. Many parents take away other choices: in what the child should do, whom they should be, what kind of spiritual life they should practice, what kind of partner with whom want to share their life, and on, and on.
Pride is a feeling of self-worth and self-respect. The one who says this, Make Me Proud, is stealing that worth and that respect from another. Emotional slavery reinforced by acting tall because one stands on another's shoulders.
I want this story to sell. I want the world to know me.
Is that going to be the basis for the writing?
Being published is not bad, making money from what you love to do is not bad.
We all enjoy laurel wreaths and financial recognition, but they are temporary. When champions rode through Rome, lauded by the crowds, one stood by whispering in their ear.
"Remember, thou art mortal."
Love isn't. When you love, that just keeps going. It's not based on 'Make Me Proud', or 'what are you going to do for me?' which stretches wants into the future, but on what is now.
I love this child, now, as she is, as he is, that's all. I want the best for this child. I give the child all the tools I know, all the tricks I have, all the places I know to be that, and I will give the child freedom to find her or his own path.
I love this story. I will make it as good as I can. I will look for others who will help me to do the same, and I am happy that it exists, here and now.
'Make me proud' is a demand. It may be couched in a sweet tone, or a pleading one, but take away the coating and it's has nothing to do with love. It's conditional acceptance of something or someone to elicit the reaction of pride. A reaction like this is a secondary, side-line, parasitic disease sucking the life and energy like a leech.
The parent demands with the word 'Make'. The parent holds the child's life and dreams hostage for the lack of whatever in the parent's life.
When a parent says this--what are they looking for? The boy gets into the Little League because Dad loves baseball? The daughter is in law school because Mom always wanted to be in the middle of a courtroom drama?
Yes, parents want their children to do well, as authors want their work to sell, but that has got to low on the list because it is based on artifice. It's based on selfish reasons, not on love for the sake of something just being.
The parent is selfish using the word 'Me'. Oh, 'I gave the child life, the child owes ME'. Really? The parent is the one who provides the egg or sperm. The child HAS NO CHOICE IN BEING BORN. Many parents take away other choices: in what the child should do, whom they should be, what kind of spiritual life they should practice, what kind of partner with whom want to share their life, and on, and on.
Pride is a feeling of self-worth and self-respect. The one who says this, Make Me Proud, is stealing that worth and that respect from another. Emotional slavery reinforced by acting tall because one stands on another's shoulders.
I want this story to sell. I want the world to know me.
Is that going to be the basis for the writing?
Being published is not bad, making money from what you love to do is not bad.
We all enjoy laurel wreaths and financial recognition, but they are temporary. When champions rode through Rome, lauded by the crowds, one stood by whispering in their ear.
"Remember, thou art mortal."
Love isn't. When you love, that just keeps going. It's not based on 'Make Me Proud', or 'what are you going to do for me?' which stretches wants into the future, but on what is now.
I love this child, now, as she is, as he is, that's all. I want the best for this child. I give the child all the tools I know, all the tricks I have, all the places I know to be that, and I will give the child freedom to find her or his own path.
I love this story. I will make it as good as I can. I will look for others who will help me to do the same, and I am happy that it exists, here and now.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Editing pt 2--Oh You Knew This Was Coming :} Oct. 04, '08
Based on a comment that what if the writing was 'A child caked in mud'? Love that, TL.
Take time off--3 days, 2 weeks, (let the mud dry), then randomly pick a passage and start there.
It's never as bad as you think. There's a purpose to 'mud' aside from keeping off insects and hiding the truth. Often literary mud is a way for us to protect ourselves--and we do need it. Writers sabotage their own work by being too critical, by losing the love they have for the art, for the play of words.
Forget the audience, forget the publisher, just tell the story. Read aloud to yourself as if you were a child--or appropriately aged audience of yourself. Read to share, not to scare. Don't rush through or feel like it's a chore, these are your words, with your heart in them. It's okay to feel a bit shy even with yourself.
You love this part of yourself whom you're reading to, and that listening part adores the writer. I'm not saying blind adoration, I'm saying again, GENTLE ACCEPTANCE. Let the flow come and be heard, watch for repetition that can be deleted and turned into a better description.
READ ALOUD--I repeat. This is an effective way to pick up all sorts of things, which can be improved. I catch the same descriptive phrases or words done in close proximity, or using the same word to begin two adjacent paragraphs. I can straighten out action and dialogue between two characters. I can embellish to make a description richer: blue becomes teal, indigo, cerulean, cyan, lapis, sapphire, topaz. Him or her, nameless--not so much of a connection, but give a name, even a made up one for a minor character: Duin, and you snag the reader. Names have meaning. We don't name something that we don't care about.
If you have that luxury of time, giving time between works in progress is helpful. If not, read the work differently.
I've only one pair of eyes! Unless you're an arachnid, but hey, we can still fool ourselves with changes in font, color, size, spacing, direction. These will all make us pay new attention to a familiar work.
Change the font style. Print the work out in a different font than the one you use for the screen. If you want to save paper, then just change the font on the screen. I always use Arial, similar to Helvetica, sans serif (Latin for without feet). Something like Courier or Times is a serif font. For some people the serifs feel like they link one letter to another making reading faster and easier--which means we can miss errors. Condensed type also makes us read faster, so do Italics because they are on a slant. Don't use them. Ponderous fonts labeled Black or Bold are hard to read because they look intimidating by calling attention to themselves. Good for titles but not for the body of work. I know, it's all optical illusion and psychology but it's true, so play into it and switch to Garamond or Gill sans.
Change the font color--do dark blue or red or purple. As you edit, change the read paragraph back to black so you can easily track what you've done.
Change the size. We pay attention when something is larger in our field of vision. One of those pesky instinct things.
Change the spacing between paragraphs. I write single space but with air, meaning more space with a double or space and a half between lines, again you feel less crowded and tend to see errors better.
Read back to front. What?! Yes, this does work. It's tedious, but reading the last paragraph and working your way back to the beginning is a whole new way to see the literary child.
Take time off--3 days, 2 weeks, (let the mud dry), then randomly pick a passage and start there.
It's never as bad as you think. There's a purpose to 'mud' aside from keeping off insects and hiding the truth. Often literary mud is a way for us to protect ourselves--and we do need it. Writers sabotage their own work by being too critical, by losing the love they have for the art, for the play of words.
Forget the audience, forget the publisher, just tell the story. Read aloud to yourself as if you were a child--or appropriately aged audience of yourself. Read to share, not to scare. Don't rush through or feel like it's a chore, these are your words, with your heart in them. It's okay to feel a bit shy even with yourself.
You love this part of yourself whom you're reading to, and that listening part adores the writer. I'm not saying blind adoration, I'm saying again, GENTLE ACCEPTANCE. Let the flow come and be heard, watch for repetition that can be deleted and turned into a better description.
READ ALOUD--I repeat. This is an effective way to pick up all sorts of things, which can be improved. I catch the same descriptive phrases or words done in close proximity, or using the same word to begin two adjacent paragraphs. I can straighten out action and dialogue between two characters. I can embellish to make a description richer: blue becomes teal, indigo, cerulean, cyan, lapis, sapphire, topaz. Him or her, nameless--not so much of a connection, but give a name, even a made up one for a minor character: Duin, and you snag the reader. Names have meaning. We don't name something that we don't care about.
If you have that luxury of time, giving time between works in progress is helpful. If not, read the work differently.
I've only one pair of eyes! Unless you're an arachnid, but hey, we can still fool ourselves with changes in font, color, size, spacing, direction. These will all make us pay new attention to a familiar work.
Change the font style. Print the work out in a different font than the one you use for the screen. If you want to save paper, then just change the font on the screen. I always use Arial, similar to Helvetica, sans serif (Latin for without feet). Something like Courier or Times is a serif font. For some people the serifs feel like they link one letter to another making reading faster and easier--which means we can miss errors. Condensed type also makes us read faster, so do Italics because they are on a slant. Don't use them. Ponderous fonts labeled Black or Bold are hard to read because they look intimidating by calling attention to themselves. Good for titles but not for the body of work. I know, it's all optical illusion and psychology but it's true, so play into it and switch to Garamond or Gill sans.
Change the font color--do dark blue or red or purple. As you edit, change the read paragraph back to black so you can easily track what you've done.
Change the size. We pay attention when something is larger in our field of vision. One of those pesky instinct things.
Change the spacing between paragraphs. I write single space but with air, meaning more space with a double or space and a half between lines, again you feel less crowded and tend to see errors better.
Read back to front. What?! Yes, this does work. It's tedious, but reading the last paragraph and working your way back to the beginning is a whole new way to see the literary child.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Re-Re-Re et al Ad Nauseam Editing -- Or Not? Sept. 27 '08
Many writers would rather have a combo root canal/colonoscopy with a pair of rabid weasels than do editing.
Why does editing our own work have such a bad connotation? For some it's the time constraints of needing the finished product out NOW. For other's it's the 'damn I was stupid to put that in/leave that out/why did I write such tripe?' moments. One character takes over a scene, another doesn't play nice, the mule in Ch. 6 is a donkey in Ch. 7 (my bad on that).
Why can't we write perfect the first time?
Because perfect is an illusion.
We need to BE GENTLE WITH OURSELVES AS WRITERS AND AS PEOPLE.
That's in all caps because we're not, not even me. We need to be that way, to nurture ourselves instead of 'I'm an idiot, oh that was stupid, you're a jerk'.
Rough geometry of comments and the effects: it takes 1000 'Good job!' to offset 1 'That's crap'. Even more, when we do it to ourselves.
This can all come back to why we write, for love.
We need to remember that love of writing whether we're sand surfing on Mars, gunslinging with Doc Holliday, flirting with Madame Pompadour, or telling how to get along with Vista. (I don't hate it quite as much any more).
We can't help being critical, or being judgmental. It's hardwired into us for survival--reading the signs of game that passed a few hours could mean a meal, vs. following signs days old that lead nowhere. But it's not good and evil, it just is.
That inner editor and the inner child are always battling for supremacy. So SHARE! Inner child gets to play alphabet soup and put down all sorts of stuff, and then inner editor gets to arrange into something cohesive. Damn it, they ARE FAMILY so they need to respect the time and effort each makes.
Dropkick that resentment of the inner child from the editor, because without those playful moments--there'd be nothing with which to build. Tone down that editor to a gentle parental role, nurturing the seeds the child plants. A broad cast works for some styles, measured furrows for others, or even a single pot, poke a finger in the soil, drop in the seed and cover it gently.
The child and the editor aren't adversaries, but complementary, both are the progenitor of the story, and stories, like everything else, grow best with love.
Why does editing our own work have such a bad connotation? For some it's the time constraints of needing the finished product out NOW. For other's it's the 'damn I was stupid to put that in/leave that out/why did I write such tripe?' moments. One character takes over a scene, another doesn't play nice, the mule in Ch. 6 is a donkey in Ch. 7 (my bad on that).
Why can't we write perfect the first time?
Because perfect is an illusion.
We need to BE GENTLE WITH OURSELVES AS WRITERS AND AS PEOPLE.
That's in all caps because we're not, not even me. We need to be that way, to nurture ourselves instead of 'I'm an idiot, oh that was stupid, you're a jerk'.
Rough geometry of comments and the effects: it takes 1000 'Good job!' to offset 1 'That's crap'. Even more, when we do it to ourselves.
This can all come back to why we write, for love.
We need to remember that love of writing whether we're sand surfing on Mars, gunslinging with Doc Holliday, flirting with Madame Pompadour, or telling how to get along with Vista. (I don't hate it quite as much any more).
We can't help being critical, or being judgmental. It's hardwired into us for survival--reading the signs of game that passed a few hours could mean a meal, vs. following signs days old that lead nowhere. But it's not good and evil, it just is.
That inner editor and the inner child are always battling for supremacy. So SHARE! Inner child gets to play alphabet soup and put down all sorts of stuff, and then inner editor gets to arrange into something cohesive. Damn it, they ARE FAMILY so they need to respect the time and effort each makes.
Dropkick that resentment of the inner child from the editor, because without those playful moments--there'd be nothing with which to build. Tone down that editor to a gentle parental role, nurturing the seeds the child plants. A broad cast works for some styles, measured furrows for others, or even a single pot, poke a finger in the soil, drop in the seed and cover it gently.
The child and the editor aren't adversaries, but complementary, both are the progenitor of the story, and stories, like everything else, grow best with love.
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