Butt In Chair . . .

Posted under A Time-Traveller's Best Friend, Growing as a writer, Kez and Marx, Methods of writing on September 11th, 2014 by

You know what you want to write. You know where the story goes. You’ve got a handle on the dialogue, and the ending is well within grasp. And yet, the thing just doesn’t get written. Why?

Well, if you’re me, it’s because you type a few words, or sentences, or paragraphs (if you’re really dedicated) and then get distracted. Or reward yourself with some internets, or a bit of tv. Or you have a blog that’s good for whiling away an hour or two because you’ve got to write that new blog post. In this day of distractions, there’s always something at your fingertips to take your mind off what you should be doing.

My problem is that I lack discipline. There are those days where everything seems to flow, and on those days I can sit and write for six or seven hours. Those days I mostly forget to eat, and only get up to go to the toilet when the need becomes so pressing that I can no longer ignore it. Then there are the days that, despite knowing where the story’s going, I can’t seem to settle and write. It’s just too hard. I’ll put something on the telly ‘for background’ and end up writing maybe 500 words after hours sitting in front of a tv show I wasn’t even really interested in. Worst (and kinda best) of all are the days where my brain is working furiously on Plot and Movement and Idea; and I can spend literally hours daydreaming the suddenly perfectly clear plot-line I want to outline. Character flaws become clear, tiny details and mistakes pop out at me, and I seem to know exactly how and where to build all the necessary little foreshadowing details. Of all my distractions, this is the one I love the most. Probably because it is, in a way, part of my process. It’s an allowable kind of daydreaming. It’s useful. It serves a purpose. But all the same, not much gets written on those days.

So how do you beat the malaise? How do you push past the disinclination and distraction and flat-out laziness? Really, it depends on who you are. When it comes right down to it, I’ve found that the best thing for me is to have a deadline. That’s why I announced the publication date of A Time-Traveller’s Best Friend before it was quite finished. It forces me to put my butt in the chair and just write. To sit there and type until it’s done. I’ve still got two short stories to write to finish up the collection, and a bit of formatting to do, but by and large, I’m on track.

Having a deadline is healthy for me. It may not be helpful to you, however. Every writer is different. But when it comes to writing, the one thing that is true for all of us is that distractions- well, distract. The most effective way to get your story written is to put your butt in the chair, and write. Turn off the tv. Avoid the internet. Write. Don’t worry if it’s rubbish. That’s how we learn and grow. Just write.

Write.

Nothing New Under The Sun

Posted under Growing as a writer, Methods of writing, Sci-Fi, Story Structure on August 23rd, 2014 by

So I was explaining the Really Cool Idea I had for a story structure to my writing group.

“I haven’t seen anything like it before,” I said. “It just seems to fit with the story I’m trying to tell. This is how I wanna do it-”

insert long-winded and overly verbose explanation with copious hand gestures here

“Oh!” they said. “Just like Dracula and Lady Susan and-”

“No,” I said, somewhat annoyed. “Mine is different. It’s sci-fi.”

“Oh, like Frankenstein!”

This required a pause for rueful contemplation. At last, I was forced to admit that yes, it had been done before. I felt like kicking something. It was my brand new bright shiny idea. How dare Jane Austen et al use it before I did?

 

I’m going to do it that way anyway. For starters, it’s a great structure. Also, my twist on it is still just slightly different. And let’s face it, there isn’t an idea out there that hasn’t been done and done over time and time again. It’s just a matter of who did it best, really. In writing, as in all life, there is nothing new under the sun: variations upon a theme are all we have to work with.

‘T’aint What Ya Do (It’s The Way That Ya Do It)

Posted under Methods of writing, Outline or no outline? on June 29th, 2014 by

I don’t read a lot of ‘how to write’ books.  In fact, if you count the ten or so that I began and threw to the couch in disgust, the amount read still probably wouldn’t amount to one book.*

Mostly I just don’t like being told what to do.  But there’s also a part of me sceptical enough to believe that there isn’t one, general, shrink-wrapped way to write.  And then there’s that whole problem of: “But I don’t do it like that!” that occurs every time I delve into a ‘how to write’ book.  Apparantly one should always have an outline.  One should plot well in advance, with a detailed plan that cites every skerrick of the ‘who, why, what, when, and where’.  And how.  If one does not, one is a pantser**

The fact is, I quite often sit down to write with only one character in mind.  Sometimes I have an idea of a plot, but more often it grows and twists as I write.  I’m more likely to start with a character or a relationship than I am to start with a plotline or a story.  Yeah, it means I have a lot of work to do in the editing and re-writing, but that’s what works for me.  I love watching my plot grow and complicate.  I love that fact that seemingly random bits and pieces come together to form a cohesive whole, driving the plot on in my mind.  I don’t even mind going back to foreshadow things that need foreshadowing.

So now I’m curious.  How do you write?  What works for you?  Are you a pantser***?  Are you an outliner****?  Do your characters drive the plot, or does your plot drive the characters?  Are you perhaps a lover of *gasp* purple prose?

Let me know.  Oh, and read Patricia Wrede’s ‘Wrede on Writing’.  It’s good.

 

*Caveat here to say that Patricia Wrede’s ‘Wrede on Writing’ will be excluded from this rant, since it’s made up of excerpts from her blog, and I’ve always found her particularly helpful.  Also Diana Wynne Jones’ ‘Reflections on Writing’, because I haven’t read it yet, and she’s awesome.

**And you wouldn’t want to be a pantser, now would you?  No, you wouldn’t.  Good writer.  That’s right.

***You naughty writer, you!

****I promise I won’t hold it against you.

1 2
Copyright © The WR(ite) Blog
"Keepwriting" WordPress Theme by Blog Oh! Blog