Un-Inspiration

noun... meaning: lack of inspiration; the act of being uninspired. Without... "stimulation", according to the dictionary.


Writing used to seem so simple. I would type as the ideas flowed from my head, heedless of grammar mistakes or lack of character development, ignorant of climaxes or passive vs. active writing. It seemed as if the ideas came unbidden and uncalled, but welcome nonetheless, inviting themselves into my writing and taking shape, almost of their own accord. I never bothered to edit my stories, and became offended when anyone attempted to help me.

The characters danced in my head. They called out to me to play with them, to write them. The toys I played with came alive in my stories; they allowed me to give them voices and personalities, and give them a world to live in.

Now things have changed. Thankfully,  learned to accept and even invite and request "constructive criticism". I allow myself to be critical of my own writing because I know that's the only way I will be able to make it better. I am self-conscious of my grammar, but I enjoy figuring out how to say something in a grammatically correct manner. I attempt to use active voice ("Looking around, her eyes glanced around the room before judging it safe.") instead of passive voice ("She was frightened. She wasn't sure what to do..."). I edit my books multiple times, sometimes disallowing readers until I at least have a first draft whose writing isn't too unbearable or embarrassing.

But my characters are still with me. I may not find inspiration from my toys anymore, but the characters still come calling. I admire someone in a movie; suddenly the character on the screen, mixed with other personalities and qualities, remakes himself as someone who can become my own, someone I can mold and shape. Or, a gentleman in a book snatches at my heart and inspires me to make a character who is similar, yet can stand on his own two feet.

Several a months ago, they vanished.

In the past I have been blessed with writing which, for the most part, remained writer's-block-free. Around November / December 2012, my writing became silent. My characters still existed on my pages and in my mind, but I couldn't seem to write like I used to. I managed to type out a few scenes and here and there, but I felt lifeless and completely uninspired.

Slowly, I am grateful to tell you, they are returning. Like the prodigal son on his long journey home, the characters are trickling back in, smiling and laughing with me just like they used to. I am so happy to see them all again... I missed them. :)

So, why am I bothering to tell you all this? Maybe it helps me to type out my thoughts. Maybe you've gone through a trying case of writer's block, or you're experiencing a lack of inspiration right now. Maybe I thought I'd attempt to write something deep, and this post was the result.

I just want to tell you, please don't give up! :) I know that writing isn't always easy. Characters aren't always cooperative. :) Sometimes the words just won't come. That's okay; it's a process. You might work for years on a book and eventually abandon it. That's okay; you learned something through writing. Even if a book or story is never published or never finished, the writing of it has most likely helped you in one way or another, weather you realize it or not. Maybe you've decided writing "isn't for you". That's okay, not everyone enjoys writing... but please don't ever feel afraid to pick up the pen (or the computer) if you ever feel the urge to write once more.

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And yes, I am aware I sound a bit crazed in this post... believe me, it's figurative. I know my characters don't physically knock on my door and come in for a tea party. :) And if I sound a bit down, don't worry about me... I'm listening to melancholy music and trying to sound like a smart-fart, that's all. :)

How is your writing faring?

Sincera,
Klara

A Hero's Not a Hero Unless...

I once read in a book about writing a novel that a hero's not a hero unless he's given a chance to turn back, or in other words, say, "No. I'm not going to do such-and-such. I'm not going to do to that place (fill in the blank)" etc.

Think about it.

I'll introduce you to some heroes from my favorite books / movies...

Frodo (Lord of the Rings) - chose to go take the ring to Mordor when he could've gone back to the Shire.

Peter Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia. Not my favorite guy, but the first one that worked really well for the analogy I'm making here) - chooses to help save Narnia at Aslan's request.

Can you think of one?

Okay, so those are pretty easy to figure out.  What about a book / movie like Pride and Prejudice? That's a little harder. It's not a fantasy or a book about a quest. It's a book where the characters build on themselves and you get to know Mr. Darcy's true character as Elizabeth discovers it, too.  Maybe the choice is when Elizabeth begins to realize that she has acted out of prejudice, and Mr. D realizes he has acted out or pride. Thoughts?

You see, if you force your character to do exactly what you want him to, and stick him (or her, but we'll stick with "him" so I don't have to keep saying "him or her") in circumstances where he has no choice in any matter or throw him in places where there's only one escape route, he won't exactly be a hero.

Sure, you can make it tough for him. You can make it seem like there's only a few choices.  You can make it seem like he's trapped and there's no way out.  But at some point in your novel, he has to choose to be a hero. He has to choose to do the right thing. Give him the choice: his answer determines whether or not he's a hero.

-- Klara C.

The Unliked Words

A lot of times, it's can be quite challenging to find some good ol' criticism.

People are terrified of offending each other, so they refuse to offer any advice at all.  If you share your story with someone, usually, the response will be...

"It's good!"

So, you thank them, and prompt them to say more.

"Well, I don't know..."  *shrug*

"...but I really liked it."

You may be able to eek a small criticism out of someone - they might point out a minor grammar mistake or a spelling error, but honestly, when everyone responds to you with a, "It's good" or "I really liked it", you begin wondering if your book really is good.  You begin wondering if these opinions are honest, or simply shallow words instead of real criticism.

Of course, if you ever do find that one person who tears your manuscript apart and tells you that you will never be a writer...  that might not be particularly helpful either.

So, let's flip the situation around.  Your friend asks if you'll read a portion of their story.  You say you will, and they send it to you.  How do you respond?  Surely you, as a fellow writer, will not respond with the hated words, "It's good!"  So what do you say?

How do give good advice / criticism 
I used to have a Writing Group.  We would hang out, eat snacks, read a chapter of our stories, and then comment on each other's stories.  I had a format that went something like this:

two compliments

one criticism 

I think I got the idea from somewhere else, but I can't quite remember where, so please forgive me.

At my writing group, I would often take notes while the author read her story out loud.  I would make notes about grammar, I would write down if something confused me, and make comments about what I liked.  When my friends send me their stories, I generally try to respond in a positive manner.  Their stories are usually well-written (I have never received a horrendous story from anyone) and I can find many things to compliment.

My advice might end up sounding something like...

"Hey, that was really good!  [Yes, I begin with the hated words, so immersed are they in society that I can't help but use them]  I really liked how you described so-and-so.  You used very vivid adjectives and I can see him perfectly in my mind.  I also love how you left us on a cliffhanger, I can't wait to find out what's going to happen to him next week!  One thing though, I got a little confused on the scene where he falls off the cliff and climbs his way back up...  maybe you could make that scene a little longer and describe it in more detail.  Anyway, good job!"

Okay, so I don't think I've actually ever read a friend's story where someone falls off a cliff, but that's beside the point.  :)

Obviously there are many ways to critique a novel; another method I use is to send the story back to the author, with my comments in bold.  A lot of editors do this, and when I asked people to edit my books, they would do this as well.  This also works well if the story is being sent over the email.

If I have a hard copy of the story, I make notes in the margins or on the paper, then return it.  I actually do this when editing my own stories - I will write notes to myself on the hard copy and then make the changes to the computer.

Conclusion
So the next time someone asks you to look at their story, you could ask them if they would like to receive advice.  Then perhaps you could try out the 2 nice things, 1 bad thing (that's what we ended up calling it at our Writing Group :)).  But about that "1 bad thing" - it's really not so bad, is it?  I'm actually quite appreciative when I receive a critiquing comment.  :)

So, if any of you would like to send me your stories, I would be happy to read them...and critique them!

Klara C.

Characters or Besties?

Characters - they're the people that hold your book together.  Without them, your reader has no reason or interest in reading your story.  Without characters, I think readers are pretty helpless.

When I was younger, I based my characters off some of my toys - a plush dog, a flocked horse, a plastic figure.  Others simply popped into my mind and I developed them as I wrote.  Recently, I get to know my characters and flesh them out as I write.  Occasionally they are based off friends but some are inspired by other book or movie characters combined with my own ideas.

At first I had no idea how attached I could become to one of those characters.  I mean, they're just characters!  How could I possibly become so involved?  But when you really create a main character, and give them a personality, mannerisms, habits, speech, likes, dislikes, passions, as well as some of your own personality in too, you'll soon find yourself caring about the three-dimensional characters you've thought up.  They soon become your friends, if you spend a lot of time writing or thinking about them.

Recently I've learned a little more about aspects of writing.  I always thought of writing as something creative, not restricted by a set of rules.  I could use simile or personification without knowing what it's called - I learned about grammar and writing styles from reading various books.  Although I still believe writing is a creative process, it does help to learn about different writing tips and helps.

A couple months ago I became interested in studying people.  I would listen to voices and see how everyone's voices were unique - some people spoke in matter-of-fact tones; others enunciated and were interesting to listen to; others spoke in more of a monotone.  Although your reader doesn't need to know everything about your main character(s), you should know quite a bit about them.

I'm thinking about doing a series of articles about characters.  I might call it a "Character Study", although this usage of "character" will of course refer to, "a person portrayed in an artistic piece, such as a drama or a novel" (according to the Free Dictionary).

Although I adore hanging out with people in the "real" world, I enjoy hanging' with my characters too.  :)

-- Klara C. 

Anatomy of a Novel

As I wondered what my first article about writing would cover, I decided upon the parts of a story.

When I first began writing, I learned nearly everything about novels, from reading novels.  I had never read a "How to Write Better" book, or studied the internet, or read essays on the subject.  I simply wrote.

However, whether unconsciously or consciously created, books have a plot line.  Generally, it contains the following parts:

The Freytag Plot (Apparently Freytag was a guy who divided story into five parts...)

1. "Exposition" (Introduction)
2. "Rising Action" (Conflict)
3. Climax
4. "Falling Action"
5. "Denouement" (Conclusion / Resolution)

This might sound weird and complicated.  The list looks kind of intimidating.  I hadn't fully researched these five parts at all, until today, when working on this article.

From my understanding, in the introduction, the characters are, of course, introduced.  You want to "set the stage" (pardon the cliche) for the rest of the novel.  You want to give the reader a chance to become acquainted with your peeps.  You might introduce some goals and personality traits of the character (although these can also appear through a result of circumstances, throughout the book).

Don't wait too long through - impatient readers (such as myself) will soon grow tired of meeting your characters and find something else to read, unless you throw in some conflict.  This is a significant part, since the conflict is what will cause your reader to become interested in reading the rest of the book.  They might even begin to worry about what will happen to the main character.  Through the rising action, the character battles the conflict.

Apparently the climax comes next.  I always thought the climax took place at the end of the book, but according to various websites, it takes place after the rising action.  The climax provides a turning point of the story, perhaps a character making a decision or an epic battle.

One website did not include falling action as part of the plot, but this is where evil seems like it will win and "all hope is lost" (again, pardon the cliche).

However, in the resolution, the last conflict takes place, and good triumphs over evil (I hope!).  The story concludes happily (or not so happily), and the author types (or hand-writes), "the end".

Although I personally don't think you should freak out if your story does not exactly follow these plot points, they certainly are something to consider!  As I researched for this article, I found the Freytag Plot structure very interesting!

Note there is also a Freytag Pyramid that diagrams this structure... I drew a copy of it for ya!

Well, that's that, my first blog post!  I think the next posts will be more of my personal thoughts on writing, but I found the pyramid thing intriguing!

-- Klara C.

Please note although I will often use the words, "novel", "book" or "story" interchangeably, although every part of the article should generally be applicable to short stories, novels, novellas, etc.