I don’t have a degree (shame on me). Short 15 credits in a foreign language back in the 70’s. Much of my life I liked to write thoughts on life, musings and ideas. About 8 years ago I decided to write a book. I had no clue how to write or even how to format things properly. I typed away until I had about half a million words and decided I had better get some help to figure out what to do with all that. The first thing I found was my word count would make about three books.
I got a couple books on writing. They said to start with a first-person point of view, I was omnipotent. It was the first I heard about point of view. It said to keep it simple with one or two main characters. I had people running all over the place. The books said to have a straightforward linear plot (whatever that was). I had a multi-thread plot with subplots upon subplots.
I tossed the books out and took a class at the local Loft Literary Center. I found the instructors a bit snooty. They told me that real people and especially characters in a story don’t talk to themselves. I do, so I dropped the class.
I joined an online writing workshop. You trade chapters and reviews. I became a prolific reviewer. I learned a bunch by looking at what other wantabees were doing. The members told me not to quit my day job. They had a ranking system with the reviews. 1 = low and 5 = high. They ranked plot, professionalism of writing, characterization and more. Because I still didn’t grasp what a comma was and where they go, among many other things, I consistently got 1’s. After six months I could squeak out a 2. I celebrated when I got a 3 in something. I forget what.
The other members still ripped my work apart and told me to give up. I stepped up my reviewing and started to see different things about point of view. In the bad writing I saw, I began to see what made a character that held my attention and why others put me to sleep.
I started another novel on a whim. I got 5’s. I reviewed more and learned more. I won an “editor’s choice” award (not worth even a cup of coffee, but a moral boost.) Other reviewers asked to see more chapters. The original group started to ignore me. The new batch of reviewers urged me to submit the novel.
Because my fingers are tired and I told myself not to be so verbose – I landed a contract for a five book young adult fantasy series, “The Secret Books of Gabendoor.”
Shameless plug. Book 1: “The Book of Second Chances, ” came out last September. Book 2: “The Book of Broken Truths, ” came out last week. Book 3: “The Book of Twisted Truths, ” is still a manuscript and at my publisher. Book 4: is on my to do list.
I taught two workshops about writing. One essentially has a theme of “Just start writing.” I talk about how not to let formal classes on writing, books on writing, friends or anyone influence you to focus on the technical or “how to” part of writing. Focus on the aspect of writing that brings you joy or some sort of satisfaction. Start writing! When you have a bunch of chapters done, then SLOWLY start learning about point of view, setting, description, characterization, dialogue, dialect, and oh, those comma things. Edit what you have each time you learn something new, like dialect. But, always, always write more with a spirit of fun, with a passion, with laughter, or drunk. Be driven by what it is you personally enjoy about writing! Join a peer review group. Grow a thick skin and go for it!
Oh, ya. (shameless plug again) www.gabendoor.com
I got a couple books on writing. They said to start with a first-person point of view, I was omnipotent. It was the first I heard about point of view. It said to keep it simple with one or two main characters. I had people running all over the place. The books said to have a straightforward linear plot (whatever that was). I had a multi-thread plot with subplots upon subplots.
I tossed the books out and took a class at the local Loft Literary Center. I found the instructors a bit snooty. They told me that real people and especially characters in a story don’t talk to themselves. I do, so I dropped the class.
I joined an online writing workshop. You trade chapters and reviews. I became a prolific reviewer. I learned a bunch by looking at what other wantabees were doing. The members told me not to quit my day job. They had a ranking system with the reviews. 1 = low and 5 = high. They ranked plot, professionalism of writing, characterization and more. Because I still didn’t grasp what a comma was and where they go, among many other things, I consistently got 1’s. After six months I could squeak out a 2. I celebrated when I got a 3 in something. I forget what.
The other members still ripped my work apart and told me to give up. I stepped up my reviewing and started to see different things about point of view. In the bad writing I saw, I began to see what made a character that held my attention and why others put me to sleep.
I started another novel on a whim. I got 5’s. I reviewed more and learned more. I won an “editor’s choice” award (not worth even a cup of coffee, but a moral boost.) Other reviewers asked to see more chapters. The original group started to ignore me. The new batch of reviewers urged me to submit the novel.
Because my fingers are tired and I told myself not to be so verbose – I landed a contract for a five book young adult fantasy series, “The Secret Books of Gabendoor.”
Shameless plug. Book 1: “The Book of Second Chances, ” came out last September. Book 2: “The Book of Broken Truths, ” came out last week. Book 3: “The Book of Twisted Truths, ” is still a manuscript and at my publisher. Book 4: is on my to do list.
I taught two workshops about writing. One essentially has a theme of “Just start writing.” I talk about how not to let formal classes on writing, books on writing, friends or anyone influence you to focus on the technical or “how to” part of writing. Focus on the aspect of writing that brings you joy or some sort of satisfaction. Start writing! When you have a bunch of chapters done, then SLOWLY start learning about point of view, setting, description, characterization, dialogue, dialect, and oh, those comma things. Edit what you have each time you learn something new, like dialect. But, always, always write more with a spirit of fun, with a passion, with laughter, or drunk. Be driven by what it is you personally enjoy about writing! Join a peer review group. Grow a thick skin and go for it!
Oh, ya. (shameless plug again) www.gabendoor.com
My writing started with dreams. I would head for bed and as I fell asleep I would visualize a scene. The scene kept repeating several times a week until I finally wrote it down.
I've come up with things in other ways too. I'm an "organic" writer vs. an outliner and planner. I never know what will happen next. Most of the time I dream the current situation and the characters start talking and acting as I fall asleep. They don't always have all the details worked out, but when most of it fills in, I head for the keyboard. I can never dream ahead. As I type the story will take strange and unexpected directions.
Other times I have to work out a situation and what I do is start discarding the obvious. For example in the first chapter of The Book of Second Chances, I needed a wizard to come to earth from "someplace else." I didn't know where from or to yet or who they were or why they came. But...
I didn't want them flying in on brooms --done before. No spell where they suddenly pop in --done before
No beaming like Star Trek - done before but that's what I wanted. It was storming out and I got the idea of a whirlwind - but Dorothy did that in the Wizard of Oz. I took that idea. Made it a whirlwind. Renamed the whirlwind to a journey wind. They are small. I visualized it as plumped with bulging forms and off balance making it wobble so I added two more wizards for the effect. Then the journey wind burped out three forms and blew away. I decided traveling inside such a wind would mess your hair, but what else would it mess up. I decided it would mess up your clothes so bad that you might be wearing my pants and me your top, etc.
Another favorite was a shadow creature that the story didn't really need. I was talking to my father in law, Chet. When you meet Chet he always says, "Did I tell you about the time I almost got hit by a train?" If you say, "Yes, Chet, you did." He answers with, "Well it happened this way..." Ha! He will always tell it again. Then I thought it wasn't his fault. He's haunted by a shadow creature you can't see and it makes you repeat stories. I named it the Tellagain. That got me thinking about similar creatures and came up with the scritch, the trundlewraith and many more. Now I have s section at my web site (www.gabendoor.com) that is filled with shadow creatures other people have submitted.
Creativity (and fun) comes from many places and many forms.
I've come up with things in other ways too. I'm an "organic" writer vs. an outliner and planner. I never know what will happen next. Most of the time I dream the current situation and the characters start talking and acting as I fall asleep. They don't always have all the details worked out, but when most of it fills in, I head for the keyboard. I can never dream ahead. As I type the story will take strange and unexpected directions.
Other times I have to work out a situation and what I do is start discarding the obvious. For example in the first chapter of The Book of Second Chances, I needed a wizard to come to earth from "someplace else." I didn't know where from or to yet or who they were or why they came. But...
I didn't want them flying in on brooms --done before. No spell where they suddenly pop in --done before
No beaming like Star Trek - done before but that's what I wanted. It was storming out and I got the idea of a whirlwind - but Dorothy did that in the Wizard of Oz. I took that idea. Made it a whirlwind. Renamed the whirlwind to a journey wind. They are small. I visualized it as plumped with bulging forms and off balance making it wobble so I added two more wizards for the effect. Then the journey wind burped out three forms and blew away. I decided traveling inside such a wind would mess your hair, but what else would it mess up. I decided it would mess up your clothes so bad that you might be wearing my pants and me your top, etc.
Another favorite was a shadow creature that the story didn't really need. I was talking to my father in law, Chet. When you meet Chet he always says, "Did I tell you about the time I almost got hit by a train?" If you say, "Yes, Chet, you did." He answers with, "Well it happened this way..." Ha! He will always tell it again. Then I thought it wasn't his fault. He's haunted by a shadow creature you can't see and it makes you repeat stories. I named it the Tellagain. That got me thinking about similar creatures and came up with the scritch, the trundlewraith and many more. Now I have s section at my web site (www.gabendoor.com) that is filled with shadow creatures other people have submitted.
Creativity (and fun) comes from many places and many forms.
