Tiiiiiiiiiiiiime Is Not On My Side, No It Isn’t!

 

 

Very few of us have the luxury of writing full time. We have jobs, school, kids (or at least I’m assuming some of you do), and general obligations that make finding time to write difficult if not a pain in the ass. Yet we’re here and we aspire to be that person who no longer works the nine to five or graveyard shift to pay the bills. I hope to one day be that person I also hope to finish my degree so I can set down the textbooks for a while. My goal is to not have to get out of my pajamas to work. I probably will get out of my pajamas but I want the option.

The past week with school back in session I find that I’m very stressed out trying to figure out when I can get it all done. I will admit I am not the best time manager and need to find a way to change my habits. I bought a day planner to try and organize but it is difficult as homework and my job as a server leave me with an erratic schedule at best. Then again many others have had the same if not worse schedules and have gone on to be best-selling authors; so please go ahead and have some cheese to go with my whine (I myself am a fan of goat cheese and gorgonzola.)

Since the stress has led to insomnia I have decided to ostrich a bit and pretend that writing a novel is easy and that the publishing world is all rainbows and ponies, at least for one more night before reality must again rear its evil head. To help me do this and so that you may join me on this magical journey I have for you the lovely and talented Jackson Pearce’s video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ_-TOJhXXk

I hope you all enjoyed that, and do take her advice and watch it while listening to “Do You Believe In Magic.”

WHERE DO WRITERS GET INSPIRATION?

Greetings and Salutations loyal blog readers,

This week we’re going to talk about the creative aspect of writing.  But first let me catch you up on the happenings around the Swamp.  I’ve been very busy with my free range organic zombie business.  Since Zombies are in big demand for films and scientific study I’m doing well in that part of my life.  It pays the bills.  Sadly my writing has dropped off because there aren’t enough hours in the day.  Just last week I filled an order for three thousands units for the new season of The Walking Dead.

I put Mischievous Raven in charge of marketing for Blue Moon Zombies, so he’s been traveling about getting orders.  I have to say his gift for talking has finally found its niche.  I will have to talk to him about his expense account when he returns however.

Miss G. Anna Conda sent us a post card from Brazil where she is currently starring in a documentary about the worlds deadliest snakes.  I think Anna likes the attention, but she too complained of not having any time to pursue her first love, which is painting for her. 

The leeches are boycotting because of our so-called political incorrectness and the use of clichés like “That guy is a blood sucking leech.”  They claim the media treats them badly.  And they  want the word parasite removed from the dictionary.  I mean really, what’s next.

Well let’s move on to our topic.  Where do those ideas come from?  I’m going to start with an excerpt from a short story called Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King.

“…creative people aren’t always in charge.  And when they do their best work, they’re hardly ever in charge.  They’re just sort of rolling along with their eyes shut, yelling Wheeee.”

That is the perfect explanation of how my stories get written.  And it doesn’t take long for horrific things to start happening.  But every story needs a place to start.  A seed to germinate in the writer’s mind.  For me that could be an image, a photo or a drawing.  Sometimes it’s a news story from which I draw out the smallest of threads.

I heard about a trans-continental train getting stranded in the Canadian Rockies.  That was the only fact I heard, and from that I put together an idea for a novel that I haven’t yet started working on.  This minuscule fact could lead in so many different directions.  The possibilities are infinite.  If ten people started to write a story from this kernel it could be a man against the elements, it could be a terrorist thriller, or a romance, a werewolf story, or even a romantic werwolf story.  Unrequited love and all that.

The point here is this.  Ideas are floating around at your fingertips every moment of everyday, and if you’re a writer, all you have to do is grasp one and plant it in your brain.  Ideas are mundane in the wrong hands.  Two non writers talking: 1st guy “Hey,did you here about the train that was stuck in the Canadian Rockies?” 2nd guy “Yeah, I wonder if they ran out of Champagne.”  They chuckle and move on.

It is the job of the writer to turn that into something interesting or horrific.  If like me that’s where your mind tends to go.  In a creative writing class we were given a random page from a magazine and twenty minutes to write a story based on the image.  To my surprise the room filled with groans.  I had a photo of a mid teens boy and girl.  It was probably selling the clothes they were wearing.  I wrote a story of siblings forced to pose for a photo while their separate  groups of friends looked on.

Dictionary definition of Writing: the activity or skill of making coherent words on paper and composing text:  

It is so much more than that.  Writing gives me the freedom to take my characters anywhere and everywhere.  To place them in impossible situations, and let them crack jokes about it after they find a way out.  The idea is the seed.  Characters grow the seed, they water it, prune it, stomp it into the ground and nurture back to life.  Living breathing characters take your mundane idea and scare the wax right out of your ears.  (No Q-tips required).

Since we are on a roll here, next Friday we’ll talk about characters and maybe the Horror genre.  Today I’ll leave you with an excerpt from a poem by Charles Bukowski.

SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER

if it doesn’t come bursting out of you

in spite of everything,

don’t do it.

unless it comes unasked out of your mouth

and your gut,

don’t do it.

Until next week, Write On,

Eerie Dwarf

Defenders of Creativity

Here in the swamp there is one day every month that I look forward to with baited breath and giddy excitement–the first Saturday, that joyous day when I make the trek through our stomping grounds over to Smokey’s place where delicious and enticing aromas waft like catnip through the air.  This time I left not only the Prankster Duo and the hellhound behind, but even my knight-in-slightly-muddy armor stayed at home.  He was muttering something about playoff tournaments and had pulled out his old high school jousting thingy. The Evil 7 were meeting for our monthly eat-n-gab and I was anxious to fling a few ideas off of them.

As I made my way through the swamp even the Zombies had a small pep to their normal shuffle-drag so it was more along the lines of shuffle-drag-hop.  Mischievous was tormenting our newest arrival-Mr. C. Rock Adail.  There were bets circulating on how long before Mr. C. Rock-AnAss lasted before someone decided Mrs. Swamp Thing needed a new pair of boots. I was down for a month, but we’ll see…

As I basked in the inspiring atmosphere of the other dwarves, it hit me why these other six individuals are so important to me as a writer.  I thought I’d share these pearls with you all…

1.  They are the only ones I know who can understand that the voices in my head do not equate to a psychotic break, but are in actuality–character development.

2.  Just because I think I have developed a perfectly awesome plot outline for book 3 and should be lauded for my brilliance, they will be the ones to shake their heads with varying degrees of pity and indulgence as they slash my ego down to size with, “Awww sweetie, this is great.. but it’s not book three, this is book four.”  Only they could walk away unscathed from pointing out my mistakes.

3.   They push me to stretch my limits to a breaking point and sometimes even get me to reset those limits somewhere completely new.  Who else could would understand my fear of writing a character who’s not tempered into a lethal weapon by a torturous past?  I’m sure Freud would have a field day with me, but only the other Evil 6 get why the thought of writing a character with a happy past makes my skin clammy and cold while my stomach twists into a Gordian knot.

4.  They’re safe.  Strange concept for a motley group like us, but oh so true.  With them, it doesn’t matter how twisted, dark, wildly inappropriate, weirdly humorous, or silly the concepts are, I can share them and know they aren’t wondering when I’ll hit their house in the middle of the night in a white mask or show up in a white jacket with buckles in the back.  Every writer needs somewhere to bounce all sorts of things around, just to see where they’ll hit or what ideas they’ll spark.  With my group, I have the freedom to do that without worrying if they’ll think differently of me because of it.  They already know I’m warped, so no use in hiding it.

5.  Without them I wouldn’t be working on a book 3, book 4 or even considering 5-8.  We may  have all moved into the Swamp at different times, from different spots in our meandering journeys, but they become my cheering squad, my cattle-prods, my stinging whip of determination and my life saving rope of sanity in the very perilous world of writing.  They’re the ones who can make sure your characters are being true to themselves and their world, your plots may twist and turn but smooth out in the end, and you don’t ever stop writing.

6.  They understand the importance of taking time to dream.  Each of us have had to learn how to snatch our precious dreaming time from the clutches of the real world.  Every writer needs those precious minutes every day.  Time to flesh out those voices in our head, add topography to those worlds we’re creating, and finagle a few twists and turns in those pesky plot lines.  Others may snark at taking time to dream when reality is an oppressive monster, but we understand just how vital and necessary the skill is to our artists souls.  And we guard it zealously with no apologies.

The first Saturday of the month may provide me with lots of adult conversations that seem to be lacking in every day life, but it’s also my time outside of time. It’s a chance to share laughter, ideas, and insights with individuals who are my friends and defenders.  I take huge comfort in the fact that together we become formidable defenders who protect the tiny pieces of our souls that we set into story and lay on paper and place before the intimidating eye of the world.

Wicked

the frightening world of a writer’s mind…

In one of my many writer group links (yep, I belong to some and my inbox tends to crash on occasion at the many conversations running around out there) someone sweetly shared a link to a very insightful blog about being a writer. After picking myself up off the floor, I quickly forwarded it on to the other ED’s, and then, because I’m mean, I made my hubby sit down and read it.

I sat on pins and needles (okay so I basically stood over him with a blunt object) and waited for him to be swept away by the genius evident in the post.  He laughed, which was good–nice to know the warped sense of humor I married him for all those eons ago is still there–and then he looked at me with (gasp!) pity?!!! What the hell?  No, no, no, he was suppose to say, “Oh honey, now I understand why the Prankster Duo and I have to exist on unidentifiable left overs and delivery, while you sit in a dark office illuminated only by the flicker of a computer screen and why you sometimes resemble Gollum from Lord of the Rings (that’s the weird little dude who glows in the dark for you non-nerds).  It all makes sense!”

Did he say that? Um, nope.  Instead his response is, “It’s okay baby, I knew that when I married you and I still said ‘I do’.”

Seriously?? Did he not see the mad genius that exists in each writer’s mind? The mad babble of voices that fight for supremacy while leaving things like groceries, doctor appointments, eating, basic hygiene in their frenzied wake?  There’s a reason a writer will stare at you with a bemused smile while their eyes keep darting off to the side in the midst of your conversation.  Really, they’d love to listen to you but it’s a bit hard when the worlds in your head start to get pushy and demand exclusive attention.  I know, it sounds a bit psychotic, but it’s not our fault.  It’s why we write!

This week I read something that clicked. They said to make great art, you had to expose your soul and some things are better left safely in the dark. Those that fear exposing such darkness are constantly tormented by the fact they can almost touch the creative beast, while those who grit their teeth and reach out may burn, but the beauty of such exposure ensnares those around them.  Much like music, playing or creating, writing demands a price from its creator.  Every writer uses their own experiences in some way or fashion to help put life into their words, but it’s one of the scariest things they’ll ever do.

The next time you run across one of us, be gentle and understand, regardless of the genre (poetry, children’s books, songwriting, screen writing, mystery, romance, etc.) published or unpublished, we are writers and it’s not as simple as sitting down and typing out a string of words.  We’re sharing with you something infinitely precious, so if you damage it expect repercussions.  We may not all be Stephen King, but we are all story tellers.

So here’s the link:

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/08/10/what-its-like-being-a-writer/

For those with sensitive minds, please don’t go there and check it out. I really don’t want your family members contacting me and insisting I pay for  your medical bills.  For those who can stare into the abyss and survive, go forth and enjoy!

 

Wicked

A Writer’s Mind is on-call 24/7

There are times when a writer, like me, will have those far away eyes. You know what I mean, one minute you’re having a conversation with a writer, then they seem to check out for a few minutes. Where do they go? I’ll tell you. They’re tying up that latest plot twist. They’re trying to remember what you call that ramp you walk down to enter a plane. They’re figuring out how their protaganist is going to get out of the jam they put him in. It’s always in the back of a writer’s mind. It’s all part of the process. You could spend a lifetime trying to explain it. If you’re a close friend or family member this will happen more frequently. Why? Because they feel more comfortable doing it with you then an acquaintance which could cause some uncomfortable moments.
Be understanding when this happens. The writer can’t help it, their brain is wired to manufacture scenes in their mind before it reaches their keyboard and if they wait until their sitting in front of the computer to get it done, it’ll take a decade to finish a short story. So they wander. They take that excess time we have each day to unwind and turn it into a productive business meeting. Consider it a conference call for the imagination.
So the next time you’re driving in a car with a writer and notice them staring out the window for a length of time. Don’t be surprised when you ask them what they’re doing and they turn to you and say, “I’m working.”