Friday 30 August 2013

Back plot

Or back story. When is it a good time to add a characters back story, or ever? Sometimes having a characters back story, okay most times, will help us to sympathise or empathise with why they make certain choices or decide to disregard a certain set of rules. Back story is essentially a characters driven path from when they were to born to where they are now, with key parts being shown to the audience.

So when is it a good time to add the back story?

That depends. There are no set rules and by no means what I say is standard, but in my opinion, never too early. If you drop the information somewhere between chapters 1 and six, depending upon what happens in them, I believe it is too early. In these instances the reader is still getting to know your character. You do not want to burden them with a slog of text that they have to get through in order to know your character a little better.

Drop hints. Just add one line or two every now and again that make the reader ask "What is that?". Create mystery and suspense around those vital pieces of back story because then they will pay off even better.

For example, my main character, Captain Charlotte "Charlie" O'Donnell, her back story is that she's cautious about having all the facts before she goes into a situation that could put her crew in danger. She'll break the rules if it means she has more information. Why? Ferrata. In the third chapter this is the only hint I dropped to why she was breaking rules. Even now I can see the wheels turning in your heads just reading this. What is Ferrata? Why is it important? What happened?

It catches a nerve and McCallister, her First Oficer, knows what it is. He drops this single word, "Does it have anything to do with Ferrata?" That's it. That's the only hint I've given and will give for now.

And that is the idea. If I had gone into a back slog then of what Ferrata is then it would lose interest and we would already know everything there is to know about Charlie's back story. The only reason there would be to read on would be to find out everyone else's. But until then, she has lost her interest as a character.

Finding the right spots to drop in the information is not easy. You need to think about the situation your character is in. Is it dire? Is it life threatening? Could the outcome be deadly? Yes? Is the character's back story enough of a drive that they wish to overcome this deadly situation? Insert it and see what effect it has. It may make the reader want the character to succeed. And if the character fails? What effect would it have on them then? Maybe add this?

Back story is malleable. It is flexible and indispensable. Use it, but use it to an effect. Make the reader curious and make them feel sorry or angry at the character when it is revealed. Make sure it causes conflict in a situation in my opinion.

Happy Writing.

Thursday 29 August 2013

4600 words

I am 4600 words into my rewrite. So far there have been three new scenes, a rewrite of the order of things and the name of a ship added in for personal back story of one of the characters.

And there's been a shuffle of ranks and who's in charge. Followed by Rhodes being a terrifying woman aboard the ship.

And it is 00:50 right now. So I am a little tired.

But I am almost at 5000 words. And I'm loving this second draft. There is more information, more back story, more character interaction and all of that stuff.

Loving it. Having fun.

Happy Writing.

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Middles

Middles are the bane for most writers. They are for me. Why? Because simply put anything could happen. Anything could happen and therefore anything could go wrong. Personally I have a general opening and an idea or two for the ending.

What happens in the middle is fair game.

You may already know some of the scenes that are going to take place. You may already know if a certain character is going to die or not. But what you don't know is how or why or what road your character is going to take to get there.

This is why the middle is a toss up between anything and everything.

The middle is also where many new 'would-be' writers tend to give in. It becomes a slog and sometimes, it's too much hard work to get through this slog and it seems like our story wasn't worth it to begin with. Trying to dig through all of the crap that could happen and finding the scene that does happen takes a lot and it's not easy. It can be hair tearing or even head banging.

But slog through it. Write crap. Get through this scene with low expectations so that your next scene plays itself for you. Because that is what will happen. There are always scenes that feel like your dragging your characters feet, yet sometimes these scenes are needed. So write whatever. Have them get through that section as quickly as possible so that the next scene comes to life.

Happy Writing.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

Names

Names can sometimes break or make your story and character. As a reader we have pre-made conceptions of what kind of people are likely to have what names. Let's say I was to come across a character in a book by the name of Matthew then the image I would get would be somebody is more silly than serious. Someone who is a big child no matter their age and what they're supposed to be doing at that time. If I were to come across a character called Hannah then I could only imagine somebody who's a little bit of a 'head in the clouds' kind of person. And a little bit of a ditz.

Life experiences alter what names we associate with what. If we were to have a fantastic experience with a person called Amanda, we may subconsciously think that the next Amanda we meet will also be a great person. If we were to meet somebody called Nathan who we had a terrible experience with, we may not want to meet the next Nathan in our lives.

Think back to the people in your childhood. Their names and the kind of personalities they had. Think of other people you've met with that name and see if there's a connection. You may be surprised to find out that there is.

Or you may not. In which case, fair enough.

As a writer we may find names more of a challenge. I certainly struggle when it comes to names for my characters. If we don't have the right name, that one name that just rolls of the tongue and fits with the character, then we may not feel the story as much as we should. Sometimes just having the right name can give us the strength to go on.

Let's say that I was going to write a romance story between two late forty somethings who think they've had it with the word love and finding Mr/Mrs Right. I might call my guy, Aaron and my girl Sarah. I might get a few chapters in and find Aaron too much of a bore or just off. So what if I was to change his name to Paul. already I feel better.

Don't forget that these two people are going to be in their 40's. They were born in the 70's, maybe even the 60's. Paul sounds more 'old' than Aaron.

And that is one thing to keep in mind when naming your characters. Their age and from which time period they would be named from. Elizabeth would be popular with the older characters whilst names like Caitlin, Abby and Reece are going to be for the younger people.

So if you start writing a story just take a few seconds to ask yourself, does the name fit? Does it fit from the time they were born? Could I write an entire story about this person with this name? Do I hate the name? Do I love it?

If a story seems to be failing, just try changing the name and see where that takes you.

Happy Writing.

Monday 26 August 2013

First chapter, 2nd draft

Here is the second draft of my first chapter. Hopefully you can see improvements and a big difference between this and the first draft here:

First Draft


Silence. Charlie loved the silence of the bridge once she had it to herself. Both of her pilots were sleeping after pulling two nineteen hour shifts. Whilst she didn’t have their skillset, Charlie could certainly operate the basic commands if need be.
    Green eyes landed on the asteroid belt before the front window of her ship, the Valhalla. It wasn’t a big vessel. Just a couple of hundred metres nose to tail and maybe half of that across. But it was hers.
    A content sigh escaped her as she slumped into the pilots seat just that little bit further. The blinking stars that sat on the blanket of black space attracted her attention. Maybe one day we’ll be out there. The thought made her smile with imagination. Wondering what was out there, beyond the asteroid belt, beyond Mars and all of the other space stations. The faint thought of aliens came to mind and she chuckled at that idea. Until she saw a living breathing alien, she wouldn’t believe in such a thing.
    An uneasy feeling settled itself in the pit of her stomach, making her shuffle in her seat. A frown started to form. Her eyes went back to the lumps of rock the lumps of free floating rocks four hundred metres in front of them that circled in zero gravity. Nothing to hold them in place and nothing to stop them from advancing. Two stray rocks collided and the larger of the two began a tumbling dive towards the ship. On the sensor screen she watched as the rock got closer. 350 metres. 300 metres. 250 metres. 200 metres. 150 metres. There was a low hum that reverberated around the bridge. The corner of her mouth tugged up as she listened to the automated tracking array take aim at the rock. 100 metres. A set of white streams marked a path that split the rock into tiny, miniscule pieces. No longer a threat.
    That was what they were doing there among the rocks that made up the asteroid belt. Making sure none of them made their way back to Mars, Earth or the space stations that held human life. Every ship had to endure the border patrol, the maintaining of the belt.
    But something still felt off. Her stomach twisted again, almost expecting something to happen. Waiting.
    A yawn escaped her and she stretched, grabbed the mug that sat on the console in front of her and pouted at the empty sight. Pushing herself up from her seat she checked that everything was on automatic, checked that every sensor was working and the alarm set for any emergencies before she moved up the short flight of stairs that led off the bridge.
    A blue eyed man in the doorway stopped her in her tracks. Zachary Chamberlin. Her pilot. “Captain,” he greeted with a sleepy nod.
    “Zach,” she nodded back. “What happened to the mandatory ten hour sleep I gave you?”
    “Fuck that,” he started onto the landing. “I’d feel better if me or Sokoloff were up here.”
    Charlie shook her head. Every person had a comfort zone and there were times when those comforts were not to be pushed. This was one of them. “Well when she’s finished her shut eye you catch up on yours.”
    “Aye, Aye ma’am.”
    She rolled her eyes and made it to the doorway before she turned back, “Wake me if there’s an emergency.”
    “Sure thing.”
    The hallway led straight to the mess hall where she found one of her engineers, Wes Eliot, sat cradling a cup of coffee. “Can’t sleep?” She offered the Kenyan man.
    Rows of white teeth appeared, “Just keeping the engine running. I saw Zach.”
    “Yeah. Well don’t stay up too long. McCallister’s going to run the morning routine.”
    “He know that yet?”
    “Nope.”
    The dark man chuckled. “He’s not going to be happy with that.”
    Charlie smirked. McCallister was a man who enjoyed being in charge, if it wasn’t first thing in the morning. The morning routine she was talking about was a five kilometre jog around the ship, followed by a sparring session in the on ship gym that sat in the belly of the ship. Then they would finish with another two kilometre jog and be allowed an hours rest before breakfast was served. Just because they were on a ship in space didn’t mean they had to become lazy with physical exercise. The Captain enjoyed riling McCallister up every now and then, if only to show him she was still in charge, but everybody knew McCallister was not a morning person. He was often the last to be ready for the morning run.
    “And he’ll be taking it out on you lot.”
    That turned the man’s smirk around. “Captain.”
    “You guys have been lacking a bit. Maybe this will kick your asses into gear.” She left after that, eager to get her own shut eye in before breakfast tomorrow. As she passed McCallister’s room, and Patrick Nelson’s, one of the ships doctors, she put in the command for a five thirty alarm with instructions to his duties that morning. Satisfied she turned down the corridor once more.
    The Captain’s quarters were just past the crew’s quarters having a little more space for private, serious conversations with members of the crew if they were needed. It was roomy enough for a desk, a conference screen, an en suite which had everything crammed in, and a bed with enough room left to stretch her legs out in the mornings. She threw her dirty uniform, a black singlet, dark green over shirt and black cargo pants, into the clothes chute and pulled herself into bed. The clock next to the door read in bright green numbers that it was just past one in the morning.
    The feeling in her stomach was back and she couldn’t fathom why. It was a standard routine trip to the belt, hang around for a couple of weeks then head back to the UNC – United Nations Confederation – an island that sat in the Atlantic Ocean, a conglomerate which made up the entirety of the Earth’s military defence.
    Everything had gone smoothly since they’d departed from the main docking stations. They’d gotten past the atmosphere, past Mars, which had been terra formed to accommodate the growing population, and had reached the belt with no trouble. Nothing out of the ordinary. She twisted in her bed sheets, getting comfortable as the feeling sunk itself into the core of her body. By the time she managed to get any sleep the clock had already read two thirty.


Second Draft:

Silence.
    Charlie loved the silence of the bridge once she had it to herself. Nothing but the blanket of space and the low humming of machines to keep her company. She settled into her seat and let her green eyes drift over the blinking stars that stared back with enigma. Silence. A welcome change to the constant noise that was outside of that room and beyond. No voices. No yelling. No screaming. No laughing. Nothing to interrupt her.
    Both of her pilots were sleeping. She’d relieved them to give them a break and to regulate their sleeping pattern for going back home. Two more days and they would be hitting fresh air and landing on solid ground on Earth. Everybody was excited. After the six weeks of patrol with nothing but reheated rations and each other to keep them company, the idea of solid ground was making everyone chipper. The idea of fresh air, compared to the recycled air they breathed, was making Charlie eager to get home.
    A beep on the console drew her forward. She stared at the tiny yellow flashing bulb for twelve flashes before it disappeared. Just a sign that the day on Earth had started again. A standard procedure put into all ships to keep their routine in check with Earth’s. It made the transition from space to ground easier.
    She settled back into the seat and closed her eyes. She hoped that the next two days would run smoothly. She hoped that there would be no reason to pull the ship, Valhalla out of its current position. Their job was to make sure there were no pirate ships on the fringes of space. They were a common occurrence, ‘freeing the enslaved’ and stealing from Command ships. Every ship in Commands fleet had to endure six weeks of patrol to arrest any pirates they spotted. She herself couldn’t understand these crews. They resembled pirates in lore, raiding and pilfering what they can, selling their stolen goods to those that will buy it on the black market, but they had an apparent cause.
    A snort echoed and she stifled it with her teeth on the inside of her bottom lip.
    That was when a moment of worry passed through her mind unannounced. She frowned and stared at the controls in front of her. Her stomach twisted and she wriggled in her seat. There was something bitter in the air and it left the back of her throat dry. She pressed her tongue to the roof of her mouth and stared at the stars. The air she tried to take in was heavy and it was heavier when she released it. Something was off. But she couldn’t place her finger on it.
    A sigh escaped her. She shook her head and she reached forward for her mug. A pout formed at the empty sight and she turned her eyes to the controls in front of her. She didn’t have a pilots form when it came to control of the ship but she knew enough to operate the basest commands and controls. She checked the auto pilot was still running and turned on the automated alarm system in case of emergencies. If something got too close to the ship an internal ship wide alarm would go off, waking everybody up.
    Satisfied she got up, let a yawn free and turned. The bridge consisted of a large viewing window with two seats behind a series of controls. Just four feet behind these seats sat three seats spaced close together. The Captain’s seat, hers, sat in the middle with the First Mate’s seat on the left and the Second Officer’s on the right. Behind these was a small flight of five steps that led up to the corridor that led straight to the mess hall.
    Her eyes travelled to the open doorway at the sound of feet that stumbled and shuffled their way along. A few seconds passed until Warrant Officer Zachary Chamberlin appeared in the doorway, one hand scrunched up in his face. “Captain,” the German greeted with a tired nod.
    “Zach,” she nodded back. “What happened to the mandatory sleep I gave you?”
   “Fuck that,” he muttered. His feet carried him down the flight of stairs to meet her. “No offence
Captain but I’d feel better if me or Soko were up here.”
    Charlie couldn’t argue. Every person had a comfort zone. When it came to her pilots she didn’t want to intrude. “Well when she’s awake I want you to catch up on yours. That’s an order.” She started past him. “We’re home in two days. Let’s not forget that.”
   “Aye, Aye Ma’am.” She rolled her eyes at the term of address. One thing she’d made clear with everybody was to not call her ‘Ma’am’. It made her feel old. Many still enjoyed pressing her buttons now and again. For some it was ingrained and it would take a lot for her to un-ingrain it.
    Her feet touched the boundary between hallway and bridge before she turned. “Wake me if there’s an emergency.”
    “Sure thing.”
    She turned and left then. The hallway was a tunnel of dull grey metal with dim lights situated three feet apart. It led straight to the mess hall where she found one of her engineers, Sergeant Wes Eliot. The Kenyan man had a freshly brewed coffee cradled in two large hands. “Can’t sleep?” she offered.
    Rows of white teeth appeared. “Just keeping the engine running. I saw Zach.” The pilot didn’t go by rank or surname like other soldiers. The man hated his name and it hadn’t taken everyone long to adopt to calling him ‘Zach’. Even the officers in Command referred to him as Zach when it wasn’t going on the official records.
    “Yeah well don’t stay up too long. McCallister’s going to run the morning routine.”
    “He know that yet?”
    “Nope.”
    The dark man chuckled. “He’s not going to be happy with that.”
    Charlie smirked and set her cup in the sink. McCallister was a man who enjoyed being in charge on the condition that it wasn’t first thing in the morning. The morning routine she talked about was a five kilometre run around the ship, followed by a sparring session in the on-ship gym that sat in the belly of the ship. They would finish with a two kilometre jog. After that they would be allowed an hour of rest before breakfast was served. Being on a ship in space and away from Earth didn’t justify laziness. Which by the end of the standard six weeks her crew were showing signs of.
    But everybody knew McCallister was not a morning person. He was often the last to be ready when Charlie was in charge. “And he’ll be taking it out on you lot.”
    That turned the man’s smirk around. “Captain,” he whined.
    “You guys have been getting lazy. Maybe this will kick your asses into gear.” She left after that, eager to get her own shut eye in before breakfast tomorrow. The crew’s quarters were nestled along the opposite corridor to the bridge and they were usually bunked in two’s or three’s depending upon crew size. As she passed McCallister’s room she put in a command for a five thirty alarm on the control panel outside the door along with a quick list of instructions for his duties that morning. Once satisfied she turned down the corridor once again.
    The Captain’s quarters sat at the end of the hall. It was a door that sat next to the stairs that led down. Inside, the space was a small office with enough room to fit five or six people with her behind the desk and conference screen. A door led off to the right which housed her bed and en-suite. Every crew’s quarters had a bathroom attached, but she didn’t have to share hers. It had what few belongings she’d brought with her and enough space to stretch her legs in the mornings.
    She threw her dirty uniform, a black singlet, dark green over shirt and black cargo pants, into the clothes chute and pulled herself into bed. The clock next to the door, spread across the control panel, read in bright green numbers that it was half twelve. The light was knocked off from a switch next to her bed and she rolled over.
    The feeling in her stomach was back. It made her uncomfortable and wriggled itself within her chest. She couldn’t fathom why it was making her so on edge. Their mission was a standard routine trip that was almost over. Not a hitch. Departure had been routine. They lingered on the edge of explored space, in the standard waiting post, and nothing spectacular had happened. The most exciting thing to have happened outside the ship was a stray asteroid just fifty metres in length. The automated targeting array had taken care of that.
    But nothing was out of place.
   She twisted in the bed sheets, desperate to get comfortable as the uneasy feeling spread itself into the core of her body. It sat like a lead weight, cold against her flesh and sharp against her ribs. By the time slumber sucked her under the clock had read two thirty.

---

I know it's a really long post but I want to show you how my editing is going on. And it's the first chapter. So here you go. And feedback would be appreciated. Be as harsh as you like. 

Happy Writing. 

Rewrite

A major rewrite is afoot for Vanguard. Aries. Starting with a title change.

Aries.

I' m just going to call it Aries for now. Why? Any scene including the station: Vanguard. Yeah, that's gone. The ending? Changed. It's all going to come out looking brand spanking new and different. Almost unrecognisable.

Which means a lot of work.

Rewriting 50,000 words. I've got a long way to go.

Social Media

Many of you guys out there, young or old, may or may not already be a member of one or more social media sites. I am going to do my best to explain some of them out there and explain the pros and cons of them.

1) FACEBOOK

This isn't particularly fantastic as a thing for advertising your writing. Why? It is being fazed out by Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. It isn't as popular as it once was. All of my friends agree that the only main purpose of it is to keep track of old friends and do massive group invites to night outs or birthday celebrations.

Facebook is a website used for friends more than advertising.

2) TWITTER

Useful. Yes you are restricted to 140 characters per tweet, but just posting links with a short description to your website, promoting your book by saying "GO BUY IT HERE" or just general talking about your writing, characters, word count or even just venting about the day to day is good. It gets you out there. People start recognising you and your Twitter bio, although short, will summarise the kind of person you are. Not to mention it's a quick one click visit to your website.

Before you know it you'll have gathered a number of followers who fall under the category of writer or author or publishing agency/agent. And some of the links they post are helpful. Competitions. Hints. Tips. Words of encouragement. Small articles that we writers will find interesting.

Don't knock it.

3) INSTAGRAM

Pictures. That's what this is. Pictures. Basically you upload a picture to the Instagram website and link that to your other account (Twitter, Facebook, whatever) and you can show off whatever you want. As a writer you could use it to upload pictures of your stories, published books or general everyday stuff.

But you could do that without Instgram anyway.

4) TUMBLR

"Is a microblogging platform and social networking website... The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users' blogs as well as make their blogs private." This was probably the original intention. Now a days it is a thing that allows people to post pictures, 'notes' (blogs) and gifs. (short animations or clips taken from life, youtube, TV, cartoons or films.) For a writer I would't recommend it.

5) MYSPACE

This has now become a music industry website. What I mean by this is that it was the Facebook of the 90's until Facebook came along. Now it is used to promote bands, music, songs and allows for music downloads. At least it was the last time I saw it.

6) PINTEREST

This can be used well. I have seen it used well to promote a newly published piece. What it is is a place to post pictures of things you like with a little note or comment of why you've picked it. Let's say you've got a novel soon to be released. In your head you've got the image of your characters and who inspired this image. (celebrities) Pinterest will let you post pictures of those celebrities and you can comment who it resembles in terms of characters. It can also be used for place settings or backdrops, small details that are relevant to your story such as the kind of uniform your characters may wear.

It isn't a too big a thing with writers and authors yet but I wouldn't be surprised if it became popular over the next few years.

7) FLICKR

Another one of those 'picture' sites.

8) LINKEDIN

This is a supposed business networking site. The figures say its popular but in my opinion it isn't all too familiar. Personally I have no intention of using this site but from what I can gather it allows you to show people what your business is/where you work. You can add businesses and people that you know but I wouldn't recommend it. I can see it as something that will faze out.

9) BLOGGER

This is going to have some personal bias to it (I wonder why) but objectively, it is a blogging site. You write a blog post, press publish and it publishes the post to the world wide web. It is simple to use and many writers and authors already use it as a base for an authors/writers website. It's free. It's simple. It's easy. It's just as easy to upload pictures of videos and you can follow other blogs and they can follow you.

--------------------------------

These are probably the 9 most likely websites you are to come across in terms of social media. You could join all 9 of them if you really wished to, but it would take a lot of effort to keep them all going. Not to mention that I wouldn't recommend some of them.

Ones I would recommend and in the order:

1 - Twitter
2 - Blogger
3 - Facebook
4 - Pinterest

Facebook is good for organising events - which I forgot to add - and it's good to have as a domain to connect to family and friends away from the public's eyes. Pinterest was added for the purpose of promotion. If used well you could advertise and promote your book well.

And that was a long post, even for me.

Happy Writing.


Sunday 25 August 2013

'Weak' characters

What I mean by weak characters is somebody with a large flaw or a series of flaws that still make them human, but it doesn't exactly scream 'hero' material.

This may be confusing to some of you. But not every story needs a character who can kick the ass of everybody in a three foot radius single handedly. You don't need a character who can grit their teeth, bare through the pain and carry on to save a friend. You don't need a character who can pick up a gun for the first time and shoot to kill with the first shot. Neither does you character need to know how to unload, disassemble and reassemble a gun.

If you take a character who's never held a gun before, who doesn't intend to, cannot fight to save their life, becomes a damsel/don in distress on a number of occasions, faints at the sight of blood, vomits when they see a dead body, shakes uncontrollably in a violent and possible life threatening situation... they are still a character.

It is how you write them that will set them apart.

Some of you may be reading this and thinking that I'm talking about romance, historical or children's stories. I'm not. You could create a crime novel around a scared late twenty woman who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In fact I may do that as a challenge.

As readers and writers we perceive our protagonists of science fiction, fantasy, crime and thriller stories to be strong willed, brave, have a fighting spirit. We perceive these genres to have characters who can shoot guns, fight for their life and have the ability to see through the pain.

This is not always the case and I plan to have a story written where the protagonist is that late twenty year old woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She has a weak stomach, gets panicked easily, faints at the sight of blood.

These characters, who we may automatically lump in the category of 'weak' can be the funnest to write and may even sometimes have fun or emotional stories.

Don't be afraid to try something a little different. Go wild with your characters.

Happy Writing.

Saturday 24 August 2013

8/73

As the title suggests I am 8 pages done of the total of 73 there is to do. Only 65 more to go right? *sigh* This is what being a writer is about.

Being able to finish a story.

Being able to edit the story.

Banging your head against a flat surface in frustration and agonising pain.

Wondering when will it end?

Wondering how much longer you have to do this for?

Can I take a break?

I shouldn't take a break.

I'm going to take a two minute break.

ARRGGGGHH

That is the thought process that goes through my mind with each edit.

Thursday 22 August 2013

Idea

A story splurge. Or spot of inspiration has just happened. Whichever one you want to use it doesn't matter. But I had a story splurge. Okay, I admit, I've had a story splurge on an idea I'd had a while ago. In fact, on a story I'd started and forgotten about.

Yeah.

But, now that I've actually written a novel. Now that I'm editing said novel. I feel like I can achieve the great all over again and write it.

No I am not going to set myself the challenge of writing it before January 1st. Seriously. Write a novel. Edit a novel. Do Uni. Pass Uni. All before January 1st? Yeah, no thanks. I've got enough on my plate.

But I will slowly write it. I hope.

And I'm going to give myself a deadline of..... June 24th.

I don't know. Sometime once I've finished Uni and sometime in which I'm sure I'll have lots of free time. Some random date in which I assume I shall be free.

So yeah.

Two goals. Edit Vanguard. Write the new one.

Happy Writing.

1 page down

1 page down 72 to go;


All of that red and highlights for the first page. Yeah. Welcome to being a writer. 

Beginnings

I've talked about planning, creating emotional/believable characters, flashbacks and endings. But not beginnings.

FACT: There are many ways to begin a story.

FACT: You may not always start with the right one.

But start it.

This is easier said then done, trust me, I know. Even I struggle to follow my own advice, which is why I can give it. I understand the pain and torture us writers go through in just beginning a story. We think we have that brilliant opening, a place to introduce the main character(s), the perfect backdrop, yet we may get 1000 words in, or maybe just 500 and suddenly...

BUMP

Roadblock. Or Writer's Block.

No matter the reason we realise it isn't going to work, or that it's just plain wrong.

I plan to start another story soon, I shall let you know what it is about when I have it figured out, but I will follow my own words of advice and these words are:

Just write.

Two words. Two very simple, very basic words. JUST. WRITE. Sounds crazy right? "Of course I'm writing, it's just this one little bit." Then just make the next set of lines or paragraphs a load of rubbish, or shit, and keep shoveling the shit until you find a spot in the story you like and go from there. It is a first draft after all right? It's meant to be rubbish. It's meant to have the basic outline/bones of your story until you realise you know what you want.

So go for it. Grab that shovel and shovel that shit until you find the treasure that was waiting.

Happy Writing.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Goal

I am going to set myself a goal.

Before January 1st 2014 I am determined to have edited the first draft of my novel: Vanguard. Aries.

Four almost three months to edit everything I printed off and maybe start writing up the new draft.

There are already many things circling around my head. Many edits already running around me. Many many things to change and many many things to cut.

Wish me luck.

Happy Writing.

Monday 19 August 2013

Editing has started

Usually we writers would be advised to wait a couple of months before we looked back at out work. Yes I finished my novel Vanguard. Aries on 30th July (Yeah I'm weird like that). But I've already begun editing it.

I've spent a good twenty minutes on the first page and I still haven't finished with it, but there is a whole load of red.

And spoiler. The bit with the space station Vanguard? Not gonna happen. There shall be no space science research station for my crew to get stuck on. For these pages I shall read the text, see what is worth keeping but most of it shall just disappear.

Why?

Cause fuck it that's why. I don't want that shit.

Simple as that.

Once I've finished the first page I shall try to upload a picture of all the red and such. But yeah. So I'm editing and I'm not going to be done with it anytime soon.

Friday 16 August 2013

Flashbacks

In my opinion, whenever you feel the need to add a flashback to your story, whether it's to explain a reason why a character doesn't like the colour red or why they hate white chocolate so much, ask yourself one question. "Do you need it?"

Yes?

Okay, so you feel you need the flashback and you've written an awesome 'past' scene that is to die for. But how long is it? Too long and your readers may feel bored by the side plot. What does all of this have to do with the plot? Where are the characters? Why should the reader car about what happened to the characters when they were four or ten years old?

Whenever I need to add a flashback I always try to make it really short, a couple of lines or just one paragraph. Or I make it an entire chapter as a sort of time-skip within the actual story line or to lump up all of the past experiences that have led up to this point.

If you make your flashback three paragraphs long in the middle of an action scene, you've done something wrong. Your character is busy fighting off the bad guy and they have enough time to reminisce about everything that led up to that point? No. They'd be busy fighting.

There's no rule or law set in stone about where flashbacks can or should appear. But there are times when it can make your story or break it.

If you feel you need to add a flashback ask yourself these questions:

1) Does your story need it or will it hold without the flashback?
2) Is it really necessary? Does it add or take away from the story?
3) What is it for? What is the purpose of the flashback?
4) Too long? Too short?
5) Wrong spot?

If you feel like you can't find the right spot or you're having trouble putting it anywhere, mess around. Move it from the start of the chapter to the middle and see how that affects it. Wait until the character is home until they remember said flashback. Does it work as a paragraph on its own? No? Yes?

Experiment and see what you think.

Thursday 8 August 2013

Writer's block

Those two words every writer hates.

Writers block.

So how do we writers get over these pesky road blocks? In many many many many different and magical ways.

Personally? Let's say that I've started work on Project A. I'm seventeen chapters in, my characters need to get out of a situation, they need to fight tooth and nail to survive... but how? And I'm stuck.

Take a few minutes of trawling through random crap on the internet. Go back to it, think about it. If I have an idea continue writing, if not, continue trawling.

Start something else. I've had pesky project B working in the back of my mind, a few notes written down. Maybe start a chapter for it, any chapter. Go back to A and think on it. If not, continue B for a little longer then push it away. Go back to A.

Tea/Coffee break.

Game break.

Friends break.

Cinema break.

Sleep on it.

Get distracted by ferrets/pets you may or may not own.

Drink. (Not necessarily alcohol but if it'll help go for it. And no, we shouldn't all become alcoholics.)

Bathroom beak.

Shower.

Doodle.

Text somebody something really mundane.

Call somebody.

Tweet that you're stuck.

Facebook it.

Write down the many different ways your story could go. The pros and cons of each path. Choose wisely.

Plan something else.

Or whatever else your crazy mind needs to do to find inspiration or ideas. Or relax. Every person is different and the items listed above are just most of what I do to avoid writers block. (Procrastination is also another word for this at times)

Keep Writing.

Saturday 3 August 2013

I did an oopsie

So, my writing has ceased for now, at least until my head is better. I may or may not have hit it a little too hard and I may have given myself a minor concussion. Which means lots of headaches and even nausea.

Go me!

So, until my head has sorted itself and until my stomach settles, I'm trying to just relax and ignore the aching in my body.

It really isn't nice.

Also, as I'm writing this, I feel like I'm writing this a little drunk. I have had zero alcohol and so the head is coming into play. Damn you concussiony head. Damn you all to hell and back.