Tag: #writing #amwriting #amreading

Finding The Time To Write Usually Means Making The Time To Write

On By gldlubalaLeave a comment

 

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Sure, we all have the same amount of hours in the day. That’s been the retort when complaining about not finding time in the day to get some quality, uninterrupted writing done. But everyone has their own individual priorities that have to be completed, based on work, family, or even health situations.

So I always roll my eyes when I hear about that go-getter that writes a sentence at traffic lights, jots down a few ideas that they’ll get back to in the next book while bouncing around on the metro, comes up with another hundred words while waiting for the barricade to rise at the parking garage, and then successfully finishes that integral  paragraph while waiting for the elevator.

I mean, can they be a legitimate writer?

By all accounts, at least from what we’ve seen on the internet, those statements just can’t be true, because we know that real writers act like now, don’t we? Being the cerebral sort, we writers, according to social media, obviously need a pre-writing routine to even think about getting words down. We have to endlessly organize and reposition things on our desk. We need to have just the right coffee cup, with just the right saying on it, in just the right spot on our desk. We have to arrange our favorite pens in just the right order, even if we write exclusively on our computers or laptops.

All the legitimate writers start their day by browsing through the wonderful and inspirational quotes from other writers and stare longingly at rustic cabins in the snow or sexy little shacks on pristine beaches so that we may have glorious words flow like spring water from our wonderful creative minds out through our fingers that are sparking along a keyboard or traveling side to side through a leather bound journal.

And last, but not least, how the heck can we be writing if we haven’t even proclaimed to the world by way of social media that #AmWriting?

So I ask you, how can we believe these stories of spontaneous yet connected words being written during the awkward pauses of life’s moments to be true?

How is one supposed to find the time to passionately pursue their writing?

The only way that I know, and it works pretty well, is to put your sitter-downer in the chair and start pecking on the keyboard or scribbling on a legal pad. I do like to always have a pen and some sort of paper with me to jot down thoughts and ideas, even unrelated to my current work, because as soon as I think I’ll remember it later, it’s gone, and trust me, it’s just as hard to make out those ink smudged words when they are written on your sweaty palms.

To find the time, you have to make the time. (Somewhat inspirational quote)

PS  I wrote this short blog, sentence by sentence, while gargling mouthwash, waiting for the dog to hack up whatever is stuck in his throat, and pausing to pick up the paper off of the front lawn, because #amwriting.

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Wait, What’s Your Name Again?

On By gldlubalaLeave a comment

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The name game.

Do you have a process for choosing your character’s names? Are there reasons behind the choices? Family? Acquaintances? Bullies from grade school? Coworkers?

I think we all have somewhat of a process. You know, we likely all have that one person we secretly would love to see on the other end of some bad karma, so BOOM, there’s your antagonist, villain, or adversary. Likewise, our protagonist might conjure up thoughts of goodness and all that’s right with the world, leading us to name them along those ideas. Friends, family, and past and present acquaintances all leave impressions on us throughout our daily lives, and subsequently leave an impression on us that is associated with their name, whether good, bad, or indifferent.

Others spend a lot of research on the naming of their characters, intensely digging and uncovering the meaning or origin of the name, the qualities that a person with that name might exhibit, and if they are historically accurate. The characters may even be assigned an appropriate birthday so that their horoscope reveals a supposed set of personality traits that matches their desired name choice.

I personally just go with the flow while writing until I think to myself that this person is sure acting like a …(insert appropriate name here). And I’ve changed the names on my characters more than once to, in my opinion, better match the situation and story. And geez, don’t even set me started on last names. That’s a bigger issue for me than the first names.

But I do tend to stay away from any iconic names, you know, like those that are so strongly associated with someone who it would be impossible to form a new and unbiased opinion of the character. So I won’t ever tell you that her name is Beyoncé, or that Elvis is the owner of the corner grocery store, especially if the story is set in the early 1900s, OK?

OK.

Any process or method you use is fine, by the way. There is, by no means, a right or wrong way to discover and decide upon the names of your characters. When it’s all said and done, you gotta do what works for you.

And right now, I gotta get back to writing about ol’ whats-his-name.

Good Writing!

 

 

Well, That’s The Trick Now, Isn’t It?

On By gldlubalaLeave a comment

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Yeah, those words, or those right words I should say. The words that you read and give you the same emotional response that the writer felt while writing them. The words that writers fret over, change, and then change back again.

The experts tell us to write to the senses, all of them. Taste, sight, smell, touch, and sound. And that’s a great place to start. If we, as writers, can get you to experience our words on these levels, we’ve created a world for you that you will get lost in, believe in, and want to come back to.

Writing to the senses is also a way to bust out of that creative funk you’ve been in. I hate the term “writer’s block”. Pick your current setting, a random picture or person, or a simple event in your day. Start writing, using the senses as your guide to transfer your thoughts and emotions onto the page. What do you see, taste, and smell? What do you feel? What do you hear? Background noises, conversations, people’s actions, all of these and more contribute to a scene and convey the same feeling to the reader as the feeling that you experience in real time. Don’t forget the small, seemingly unimportant details. They make your writing real. Remember, if you notice something, you want your reader to notice it as well. Everytime.

And if we, as writers, can do this on  regular basis and make it a habit, then maybe, just maybe, we can claim to have a sixth sense, all our own.

But now I must get back to my own work, paper and pen cluttered desk and all, to continue my own word search whilst coping with the dissipating smell of my microwaved fish, seemingly a perfect fit for this cloudy, overcast day.  The hockey broadcast on the radio is used for background noise, if nothing else, and the sip of occasional coffee causes me to shudder, reminding me of how many times I have already reheated that same cup, and if I should do it yet another time.

Given my progress so far on this day, I probably will.