writingforyourlife

So, you don’t happen to know Stephen King personally.

So what?  Neither do I.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t sit down over a cup of coffee and ask him hundreds of annoying questions about the art of writing.  It just means you might have to dig a bit for the answers.

And that’s okay.  Because you’re resourceful.  You’re motivated.  You enjoy the pursuit of knowledge.

If you ever wanted to know what pearls of wisdom Stephen King, Virginia Woolf,  Shakespeare or Margaret Atwood have to share on writing, there are a few simple ways to do just that:

1. Pick up one of their books.  Sounds simple, and it is.  Analyze their word choices, novel structures, literary devices.  Find out what makes them tick.
2. Read their biography or autobiography.  Don’t reinvent the wheel!  Find out what an author says about themselves, or what others say about them.  Learn  how they got published and what struggles they encountered along the way.
3. Research their publisher.  You can tell a great deal about a writer by looking at who published them.  Find out their submission requirements, what styles they usually accept, other famous names within their publishing list.
4. Go to their website.  Obviously this only pertains to modern authors unless someone is managing a site on behalf of a deceased writer.  Most published authors today have websites promoting their work, and even offer workshops or other resources for aspiring writers.
5. Read an interview.  At some point in your favourite author’s life, they’ve been interviewed.  They’ve been asked the tough questions, probed for information about the very things you wish to know.  All you have to do is to find one transcript or video.

From now on, you have no excuses to mourn your long, lonely pursuit of publication.  Take what those who’ve gone before you have done, and learn from their example.

So go make yourself a cup of coffee and start picking someone’s brain.

It’s officially close enough to Christmas that I’m sure you’re feeling as overwhelmed and busy as I am.  Also, my internet has been down for 2 weeks (which is why my recent posts have been few and far between).

In any case, if you’re like me, you haven’t had as much time lately to work on your writing.  Between the last minute shopping trips, wrapping gifts, and planning excessively extravagant dinners, there’s little time for anything else.

However, what’s the next best thing to actually spending time writing?

… Spending time composting!

No, not composting your kitchen scraps (although you should do that too), but composting ideas.  For the most part, Christmas preparations are fairly brainless and routine, so you can use that time to focus your brain power on your story.

I’ve spent quite of bit of the last week composting ideas for my novel, and I’m better off for it.  It’s perfect timing as well, because I’m at a major transition point in my story and I could use a little thought time.

So, don’t despair if you don’t have time to write this holiday season:  compost ideas instead.  When you come back to your work, you’ll write more efficiently because of it.

When I woke up early yesterday morning, the sun was shining.  So, I decided to take advantage and get out for a walk.

Automatically, I strolled down the hill to the boardwalk along the ocean’s shoreline.  You get the best scenery there, plus a nice breeze.  Music played through my headphones and I was enjoying the sun on my face and the extra boost of energy from the exercise.

Just as I neared the end of the bay, my eye caught something out of place.  Two women were wading in the sparkling green water, and with them were two horses.  The women were splashing water on the horses, more in the manner of cooling them off than washing them.

I was taken aback by this scene in the middle of town.  It seemed so utterly out of place.  I was glad I didn’t miss the opportunity by opting out of a walk.  It also made me wonder how many interesting and unexpected inspirations I miss every day.

I’ll be taking more early morning walks from now on.

Keith Gray is an author of several award-winning novels for older children and teenagers.

Over the next week, I’ll be discussing his five-part video workshop (in association with Scottish Book Trust )  on the basics of writing fiction.

• Part I:  Ideas & Inspiration
• Part II: Characters
• Part III: Plot
• Part IV: Setting
• Part V: Redrafting

Don’t be fooled into thinking this series is too basic to be beneficial.  It’s worth a watch, even for seasoned writers.

In Part I, Ideas & Inspiration, Gray explains his transformation from a child labelled ‘a reluctant reader,’ to a published author at the young age of 24.  He immediately puts viewers at ease with his relaxed attitude.  We get to see where he writes, sources of  ideas, and books he wrote as a child.

By the time you’ve finished watching Writing Masterclass Part I, you might feel like Keith Gray is simply an old friend giving you some advice.  That’s how I felt the first time I watched it, anyhow.

Stay tuned for Part II on Characters, tomorrow.

I had to go grocery shopping this afternoon.

Initially, I was put off by this mundane task interrupting my writing.  However, when I got there, things took an interesting turn.

There I was, pushing around my mundane cart, looking at mundane loaves of bread, sorting through mundane trays of pork chops, when I overheard Christmas music playing in the background.

For those of you who don’t know me, I currently live in a warm climate, but my heart is inextricably linked to the icy North where I grew up.  And Christmas music holds very certain connotations for me:  SNOW.  And snow means cold.  And cold means misery.

I had no control over what happened next—it simply happened.

Upon recognizing the first notes of “Jingle Bells,” I instantly felt as if I’d entered the body of my main character.  I had become my protagonist, pushing around her sorry little grocery cart, completely appalled that there was Christmas music playing in mid-November.  And in that moment,  she became real to me.

Perhaps this all makes absolutely no sense to you, because you don’t know what my story is about.  It’s not a Christmas story, by the way, so no points for guessing.

My point is,  take advantage of being out in everyday life.  The most mundane chore can seem like a lightening bolt of creativity if you put yourself inside your characters’ minds.