Nevermore (Starting over again)

It is an action most writers like to avoid, but sometimes it's necessary. Starting over in any writing piece is both daunting and relieving. Maybe the beginning of the story just doesn't hit the mark or the tone you wanted throughout is not being expressed, making changes is okay.

We all start out with a first draft and usually whatever actions that happened in that first draft are more than likely different to the final product. Revising and well starting over again is a challenge, but it is a challenge which will pay off in the end. Going back and changing the formula to a story is a big difficult step and that’s probably why so many writers have trouble doing it. There might be a character you have created which you just love, but maybe the character doesn’t belong in the story. Changing the character will be difficult or removing them from the story is even harder. Those are the kind of choices we have to think about when writing.

            To avoid starting again making a more detailed outline for characters and the storyline can be made and where the basis of the plot is more concrete. Having an outline can just let the chances of starting over again be a low one, but as far as it goes starting over is unavoidable. Maybe the idea is in your head, but putting it to paper is not coming out the way you want it to. It happens and that is fine, also it is better to note down your thoughts than let them run loosely in your head.

                When going to actually write have a notebook or scrap pieces of paper with the outline of your characters/storyline beside you and always check back to it. Being organized and keeping your writing in check can just help even more. Another part is to keep all of the previous drafts just in case you want to reference back or note down when you changed something. Sometimes there is a part in the previous draft that you thought wouldn't work, but in actuality it goes well together. As daunting as it seems starting over again can help more to your writing and will flush out any unnecessary junk that is not needed.

“I have files, I have computer files and, you know, files on paper. But most of it is really in my head. So God help me if anything ever happens to my head!” –George R.R. Martin

   

Making Memorable Characters

What’s this I hear about you wanting to make a memorable character? What have you got? Wait…wait did you say…a cynic who actually has a heart of gold? The books will literally fly off the shelves into people’s hands at that point. You also have a brooding bad boy; why are you only just now telling me this? Put him there next to all the others. 

Cut.

Print.

Bestseller.

Enjoy the limelight, there’s a cocktail party at my house later.

It’s unfortunate that we live in the literary apocalyptic wasteland that is 2014, where just about every character archetype has been done to death and has faded into cliché. It forces up and coming writers to ravage the carcasses of other characters just to make their own, stitch two together and call it a new one. Think of it like Mad Max, except everyone’s a more financially successful writer than you are.

There he is kids. The sweaty, bloodstained author of The Maze Runner. Don't look it up; just take my word for it.

                                    

                              

Everyone wants their characters to have impact. On a smaller scale, we want them to mean something to somebody. We want our audience to laugh when they laugh, to cry when they cry or for the very least, feel for them as they do so. On a much larger scale, we want them to be remembered. We want what they say and what they do to transcend generations. We want to put pen to paper and scribe the next Tyler Durden but we live in world where we try so hard to be original that we forget all about the execution. You are Jack’s conscientious use of recycling.

Sorry to say, that we can’t make the next new character because they’ve been updated and reused time and time again. Instead of conveying originality to your readers, you should be convincing them that the people they’re reading about have a beating heart. Your character needs to know joy, they know to sadness, defeat, envy, hatred, loss. This is less about making something new and more about making something believable.

Put your brooding bad boy under the spotlight. What scares him? Who does he love? What does he love? Go shopping for your character: what does he wear? Where does he shop? Put him in situations:

• A job interview.

• A first kiss.

Make him succeed, make him fail. Each response will resonate as your own, these simple quirks and traits that make your character real and believable. Rinse and repeat with your cast, of course you’ll go into more depth depending on their significance to the plot- so what you do with each will vary. A different take on something familiar allows you as a writer to make the best of what you know. It convinces your audience that there’s still millions of ways to breathe life into something that’s been done time and time again. It’s not about making your character compete with greats, it’s about making them your own.

Narration: Truth or Dare?

Every story has a narrator – a voice or view that is expressed. Whether it’s from first, second, or a third person perspective, a story generally follows characters through a series of events. These events are told to us, the outsider, and allow us to live vicariously through the characters experiencing them.

But have we ever stopped to ask if we should believe in our narrator?

If you've seen the films Fight Club or American Psycho, then you are aware that relying on the main character’s perspective does not always result in the story being told truthfully. The audience is lead to believe one perspective is factual, but it is later revealed to be false. This is what we call the unreliable narrator – one whose view is anything but credible.

Your mission in writing an unreliable narrator is to lie. Lie hardcore. You need to be that voice telling us that magic is real and in the last five minutes of the film telling us, “Hey, so they actually used science to fake magic and death, which allowed them to escape society to live together in the woods.”

(See above film, it’s fantastic)

There are other films that use the unreliable narrator and tell you point blank that you might want to keep an eye out on this plot because it’s going to get weird, really fast. This includes mind-benders like Inception, Pan’s Labyrinth, or The Grey. The audience isn't told what happens, but is instead left with an open ending. This is basically a slap in the face, a taunt to the audience, and the cruellest effect of unreliable narration. You may drive your audience insane with the need for justice, but you will have succeeded in creating an unforgettable tale. You need to make your audience believe one thing and then be left with questions such as:

Is this real?

Wait, so did she create this all or was it true?

Is that wolf breathing or is he under it like in that Disney movie, Tarzan?

Maybe you don’t want them asking that last one, but you get the point. You as a writer are to be the puppet master. The audience is Little Red Riding Hood and you are the Wolf in Grandma’s clothes. They are the spoiled prince and you are the ugly witch that is going to curse his ass if he doesn't pay attention. Now fly, my pretties, and be the devious narrators we were all meant to be. After all, who has fun being reliable, anyway?

[Further things to check out: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (book), Welcome to Night Vale (Podcast), Stoker (film), Forrest Gump (film), NBC's Hannibal (TV show), American Horror Story (TV show), or go watch any news program - they're full of questionable narrating fun]

Alternatives to the Three-Act Structure

The Three-Act arc you were most likely taught in english class back in grade school. 

For many, the three-act structure has become an unquestioned paradigm, an a priori of writing. You probably had to study that diagram above for an assignment once, and fill out the blanks of it on a test. Here's what they didn't teach you: That image up there? Completely arbitrary. Someone's opinion.


It isn't really the way that all stories have always been told, and it isn't even always the way that we tell the stories today. The Iliad, one of the west's oldest stories, doesn't follow a three-act structure. It starts in the ninth year of a ten-year war and then the readers can only piece together how they got there much later. It's as though we start towards the climax. The Odyssey is an even better example: It starts with Telemachus being asked by Athena to search for his missing father, and then we eventually backtrack to Odysseus. In that case we start at the end and work our way to the beginning.

Really, your average two-hour movie does this as well: there are no intermissions or breaks. There is just one continuous act-less event (the movie) centred around a problem or a conflict. A good made-for-tv movie might have around seven acts if there are seven commercial breaks. After all, there needs to be something exciting at the end of each act to give the audience something to look forward to as they told to buy useless products.

The truth is, in real life stories have all kinds of structures. They can work backwards - like  Momento which progresses from an end, to a middle, and concludes with the beginning. Or they can go on and on - like Joyce’s Finnegans Wake which ends in the middle of the first sentence in the first chapter, making the narrative an infinite loop. Or they can be jumbled, like most Tarantino films.

So evidently the three-act structure is not the only way to tell a story. There is no reason to be limited in this idea that a story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. 

Creativity has no structure. Creators should create structures to suit there stories, not the other way around. After all, real life has no structure.

Author and Audience: A Friendship Saga

The friendship between an author and their audience is one that is extremely important. Although they may not necessarily know each other, they have the same makings of a friendship: trust, appreciation, dedication, and respect. These four things are the foundations of a great relationship and ensure that both the author and audience can both enjoy what they contribute to the friendship.

(1)    Trust is arguably one of the more important foundations because all of the best relationships are built on trust. The audience trusts the author to deliver what they like, and the author will trust the audience to tell them what they want to see in any future writing. The author also trusts that their readers will not only keep reading, but also to recommend their novels to friends and family, and to continue loving what they read. There are people who are dedicated fans of George R.R. Martin and in no way shape or form trust that he is going to keep the Starks safe. What kind of way is that to live?

(2)    Appreciation helps with the moral of both people. When the author feels appreciated by their audience, they are more likely to write to make their fans happy. When the fans are given what they like, they feel appreciated by the author and continue a circular motion that continues for as long as the relationship does.

(3)    In J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter novel, she had thanked her wonderful fans profusely and dedicated the book to them. Dedication to the things you love creates a bond with people you may have never met, just like how Mrs. Rowling feels increasingly grateful for all of her fans. Because of the dedication they deliver, the fans are one of the most important people in an author’s life, because they push them to dedicate their own life into their writing.

(4)    Respect is also another very important aspect to the relationship. People want to be able to read something without having to feel like they are being treated like they are dumb, or that they won’t understand anything. Authors don’t want to be treated that way either, but would rather be treated like they aren’t children. Do not insult the person who is writing, because low self-esteem can lead to things being written that shouldn’t be.

“Friendship- my definition- is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble.”

― Stieg Larsson

Some Inspiration on Inspiration

     Even as I sit here now, the white screen staring at my face is overwhelming. As writers, one of our biggest challenges is self-discipline. This isn’t an attempt to suggest which ideas are worth writing about; this is about expanding those ideas. How do we find the inspiration to focus our minds and energy on turning a blank slate into a novel, a poem, or script? 

     Author, William Faulkner, said it simply: “Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.” Remember that one of your biggest critiques is yourself, so there’s a possibility that one of the main milestones between you and your inspiration point is the idea that you aren’t good enough. First and foremost, get rid of those thoughts. Nothing stops the flow of creativity more than the belief that it isn’t there to begin with. 

     

     Another important aspect to maintain that steady flow of writing is to get your ideas out in the open. There’s a popular opinion that writers confine themselves inside coffee shops and studies in order to pound out full manuscripts, but this isn’t the case. Workshop groups are a great way to get opinions on your work from fellow writers. It’s important to know what’s working in your piece and what isn’t, and the best way to figure this out is to allow it to be read and let your readers tell you. After all, they’re your primary target. Let them be the judge as to what needs work, and they’ll assist in deciding which direction the writing should go next.

     Finally, and this may require a development of character, look at the world as a source for creative breakthroughs. Inspiration is all around us once we slow down enough to search. 

“I’m not saying this is anything like perfect in practice, but if I can approach my life with some kind of interested enthusiasm then it can become inspirational.” - Al Kennedy

Ultimately, your own experience has given you the material you need to create a manuscript that you can be proud of. Look into your own life to drive the inspiration for your writing; there’s more in there than you’d think! Take pride in your work and don’t be afraid to share it, and soon that blank computer screen will become something great. 

                                                                                                ~ Devon Palmer

The Lifeblood of Fiction: Conflict and Desire

Imagine a novel without conflict. Nobody hates your protagonist, nobody drives you forward. There’s no war, no cancer, and certainly, no bad relationships. For good reason, this does not exist. The world of fiction, like our real world, must be fractured to be entertaining. Better yet, there must be frustration and hardships in order for the piece to move somebody. 

What drives a character can bring the conflict. It doesn’t have to be about bullets in a gun, conflict can be simple. If your protagonist’s dreams, or desires have them wanting to be a politician but their family is from the ghetto, your conflict is built-in. Conflict can be derived from real-world circumstance. No one will question you if your character, white and living in Detroit, fears for his life or wellbeing on the wrong side of 8 mile.

As a writer you need to think of your character as a person. What do they want? Surely, your character, even if she’s just a “typical high school girl”, wants something in life. A romance novel would be uninteresting if it is simply about the kiss and tell. It has to have zest. Who is this character? Is she obsessed with cheerleading? Is Mean Girls her reason to live? Does she talk exactly like that annoying character from Glee? There’s other considerations too. Does she want to go to college? Does she want children? Your character is a person.

Desire is what gives a character, or person, the desire to battle conflict. A person with no stamina, or initiative will surely not press on if they’re denied entrance to their favourite college. Worse, a person whose entire family was killed, may not want to continue - unless they have a desire to change the world. 

“There is no doubt fiction makes a better job of the truth.” 

                                                 ― Doris Lessing

Conflict and desire are not just what makes a novel, or creative piece worth reading, it is what makes them real. Fiction, in its own sense, must be true. Of course your spaceship doesn’t have to be real, but the situations must be human in a sense. It is not possible to truly identify with a character or story that does not have a driving force. This sort of “story”, if you can call it that, would be stale. 

Written by Shaylynn Hayes

Writers block...

Writers block…

Erm.. Writersss bloooockkk

Block, block, block

Block, like a block of cheese.

Cheese

Well now I’m hungry.

Eccchhhh

…

          

We have all been here, staring at the blank page slamming our heads against the keyboard hoping for genius, or in the case of some (maybe most) it is the night before and you are trying to write the best you can, while also trying to not vomit as the hours tick away. You’re not getting any sleep tonight and you know it.

 I have been here so many times. So many that I have tried countless tactics on how to beat the ol’ shield bump to the pen. Lets be honest, sure sometimes words flow out of you like a gosh dang river, but not always, sometimes writing is really hard and having writers block only makes me more difficult. Once you’ve got it enough you, you start to fight back; you find things that work for you to help. Here are a choice few of my (often) successful tricks.

• Have a tea bro, listen, hear me out, I know this sounds like hippie non-sense but trust me. Coffee is good, great, excellent, nectar of the gods, but with it comes a high caffeine content. You’re going to be awake sure, but it’s also a diuretic, so you’re going to be running to the bathroom a lot which kills all the time you’ve acquired from not sleeping.  Not only that but high caffeine can spike your stress levels, making those due dates even spookier. A nice herbal tea can calm you, and a cup of black tea can give you just enough caffeine without having you jittering off your chair.

• You have to have your body working as a whole, not just your head, but your heart too. You’d be surprised how much of an effect you can make on your writing by waking up your body, do some push ups, go for a run, boogie down, or just take a quiet walk, just make sure to get your blood flowing. Now that you’ve done that, have a little read of material you enjoy, maybe listen too some music while you do. This will get you primed and started up like a push mower. Remember though at the end of the day, your brain is a muscle don’t overwork it.

• Try your best not to force anything, sure it will get the job done and you might get and okay mark… while that’s okay I suppose if that’s all you want, but often when you force it, you’re not getting something you really feel or even like. You should like your work, especially if it’s a nice piece of creative writing that you want to pour your heart and soul into.

• With the previous trick in mind, this one is sort of the opposite. Try ink shedding, or ink bleeding. Just keep writing, for as long as you can, any idea that comes to mind put it on paper and try your best not to stop. This is an interesting trick in that it can go one of two ways, it can kick start your brain, or you could actually end up writing some great stuff, hidden in all the insanity mind you.

• Finally and possibly the most obvious, simply take a break. Come on, you deserve it, you’ve written a whole thirty-five words, but seriously, sometimes you’re just stressing it too much, and you actually need to let yourself calmly procrastinate. Watch a YouTube video, make a snack, play an instrument, think about Danny DeVito, go for a walk, or even play a video game. Any of these can keep your mind off only writing, and maybe start to move it to writing about something of substance. Just make sure to watch the clock; there is such thing as too much of a good thing.

I’m going to sign off with some wise words from a friend of mine. “If you want to cure writers block, simply fall in love, or, out of it.“

-Cheers, Tyler.