Mya Writes Things
Writing Tips, Advice, Blog, Musings, and More
After a long tough week without my sweet cat Peekaboo, she's finally home from the vet! Not out of the woods yet, but I'm very grateful she's back. Medications and shots to follow to keep her healthy. It was an arduous experience and I'm honestly so drained by it that I'm sick of explaining what happened or even what still needs to happen; so all I'll say is this. She's home. I'm grateful. She's happy, and I'm very happy. She's been giving me all the snuggles my needy self requires. Here is how we spent most of the afternoon:
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1. Find your space. Where you feel inspired, where you feel comfortable.
Is it a desk? Is it outdoors? Does nature inspire you? Parks? Coffee shops? Libraries? 2. Generating ideas can be hard. Let the random speak to you. I will sometimes get stuck for an idea. I keep a book of poetry, names, or a thesaurus nearby to infuse my brain with new information. ALWAYS LEARN. New information breeds new ideas. Stuck for something? Research. 3. Sounds can be distractions, and so can music. Find out what is a distraction, and which one provides a background that makes you lose yourself in your writing. Sometimes I don’t listen to music while I’m writing. Sometimes I just prefer the wind. Stephanie Meyer (author of the Twilight series) did something really smart. She found out that the band, Muse, inspired her. So she listened to all their albums while she wrote. It works. It paid off. And look at her now… 4. Writer's Block? Don’t give up on the story just because you can’t write it right now. Work on the story in different ways. Try writing a summary. Make an outline. Design a cover. Doodle characters. Pick out character names (firsts, lasts, middles). Design the whole freaking family tree if it helps. Draw maps. Write a title, or ten. A tagline, a description. Name all the chapters, then rename them, then scrap them if you like. Write down words you want to use in the story. Erase things. Draw things. NEVER STOP CREATING just because you can’t write. 5. Read. Always Read. Forever and Always. Read books that have stood the test of time. We’re writers because we read and because of what we’ve read. Who made you decide to be a writer? For me, it was Anne Shirley, Jo March (both fictional, female heroines who became writers) and real authors’ Alfred Lord Tennyson (poet) and C.S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia). They made me want to be an author. Want to learn from the best? Read a chapter. Read a novel. 6. One sentence at a time. Are you having a hard time STARTING the story? Sometimes, my introductions are really terrible and I hate them and subsequently hate whatever I write afterwards. You don’t have to write in order. Write backwards. Write sideways. Write one word for chapter one, and then let inspiration write five paragraphs for a scene that isn’t even supposed to happen till the end of the book. This is okay. It happens. 7. Take care of yourself, your eyes, your brain. Ignore social media for a bit, turn off your wifi to hold you accountable if you must. You have to take care of yourself. Stop for meals. Sleepy? Take a nap, or don’t exceed two or three cups of coffee a day. Drink A LOT OF WATER. Use proper lighting. Sleep. Go outside. Think. Don’t sniff sharpies. Learn a new word from the dictionary. Write stuff by hand, edit it as you type it into your computer. Make a list of adjectives you want to use. Eat protein. Take a brisk, five-minute shower. Sit on the porch and watch traffic for a bit. Check out books at the library. Get moving. 8. Don’t worry about where the story is going. Sometimes the characters take over. Get in their head, and see why they are doing things differently. If your work is really carrying a life of its own, it’s okay if you break away from your methodical outline. You can always trim something out and add it to an appendix! If you really feel like it is IN character for someone to do something that isn’t in the plan, go with their instinct- because it is YOUR instinct. Even the villains are projections of you. That’s okay, because in order to write a character honestly, you’ve got to put yourself in their shoes. 9. Write wherever you are. Keep writing tools with you. Writing isn’t just a profession. It’s a habit, it’s an addiction, it’s a curse, it’s a talent, it’s a gift, it’s a miracle. Write no matter what. Write in a journal. Keep a small notebook with you at all times to write down random inspirations or ideas that come to you. Always have a means to writing. 10. Look to your heroes. Look up professionals. See what they do. Do what they say. Reading books about writing by other writers, too. Read about their lives, what they did. Pay attention to literary and writing courses at school. Research how the industry works. Read articles. Educate yourself as a writer, and as a writer trying to sell your work. |
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May 2020
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