Others Have Said: Make. Good. Art.

Today's Others Have Said post is a bit different. Because the person doing the talking will be Neil Gaiman and far be it from me to think that I can write anything better than what he said in this speech. It's a bit long, but don't miss it.


I found it incredibly inspirational, both as a writer and as a person.





What are your thoughts?

Others have said: Unsought thoughts mean the most.

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. 

Francis Bacon

Sometimes we spend hours in front of blank pages, searching and searching for the right thing to write. And then once we wrote what we've thought of, we're critical. Some of us tend to spend hours editing and changing every. single. thing. we've written.

I know I do, if I don't watch my internal editor like a hawk.

But here's the thing. Those thoughts and ideas that I actively go looking for always have something lacking in them. Which is why I edit the writing that comes from those thoughts to death.

There are other thoughts and ideas, though. Unbidden ones. If I spend too much time on thinking when I write, those ideas are rare. Or maybe they pop up as often as always, but they're drowned out in all of my forced thoughts.

Those jewels appear, seemingly out of the ether. They're the ones that are the miracle cures of writing. More often than not, they're brilliant. All of my original inspirations, plot problem solutions etc. come from unbidden thoughts.

I could be wrong, but from my own experience, unbidden thoughts and ideas come from the subconscious, after my mind has taken into account more aspects than I could even have thought of and untangled the mess. The result therefore is more complex than the one I consciously could have thought of and yet simple to apply.

And usually, it solves more than just the issue that got me thinking in the first place.

Because of this, I never worry about a writer's block. It's just my mind working out some issues in the story that I haven't even perceived.

It's also the reason why I zone out when I write. I don't want to consciously decide what I'm writing. Because those conscious decisions have led me astray time and time again. To me, conscious decisions are for revisions and edits.

They have no real place in my creative process. Which is why I always refer to my muse, or to my characters making the calls. I don't really believe in muses. But for me to write, I have to keep my writing mind (one dependent on unbidden thoughts) as far from my conscious mind as possible.

Without that, I would never have been able to create something as complex as the Doorways series.

While writing, do you consciously decide what you're going to write? Or do you also try to disconnect your thoughts as far as possible?

Others have said: There are Rules

Do not put statements in the negative form.
And don't start sentences with a conjunction.
If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a
great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all.
De-accession euphemisms.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague.

William Safire, Great Rules of Writing

And yet, I'm breaking the rules now. And I do it often. VERY. Often. It just works for me, because conciously breaking certain rules change the feel of what has been written.

I am, however, very finicky about what I perceive to be errors. People breaking rules per accident. It just stands out more and degrades the quality.

So... what's your favorite writing rule to break on purpose?  

Others have said: It comes to you when you need it.



Credit



I have come to understand there are no coincidences in writing; the information you need comes to you when you are ready to receive it.

 Nancy Werlin

Sometimes, I get so frustrated. I make time to write. Hell. I wake up at 3 a.m in the morning to write. I take out my pen and notebook. I open it full of anticipation to FINALLY have a chance to get some writing done.

And...

Nothing.

Not a whisper. My muse decided she's taking a holiday in Hawaii without me.

It makes me want to scream. Because here I am. Wanting to write. Ready to write. But the words aren't there. Because I don't know what I'm supposed to be writing.

I used to go into a flat spin because OMG I'm having a writer's block. But it's not really true. It's just my muse taking a break to sort out what she wants to happen.

Or if you don't like such fanciful words, it's my mind sorting out the spaghetti that's my story and plot ideas. If I don't give it time, there's no way to know where I'm supposed to go.

So once my mind/muse is ready to deal with whatever happens next, I'll know what to write. In the mean time, I can just chill... Maybe even catch up on my blogging.

Do you ever find that information you need to write comes through exactly the way you need it, when you really need it? What do you do while you wait?

Others have said: Writing is more than work.

Writing is a job, a talent, but it's also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon.

Ann Patchett (Truth and Beauty: A Friendship)

I sometimes forget how privileged I am to have the talent to write.  It's just that, with my time now so severely constrained, I feel like I have to use every free moment that I have to write. Those two words "have to" become a problem to me. Because they turn writing into work. A chore.

While writing does take some heavy commitment in order to achieve something with it, I don't think it's supposed to become a chore most of the time I write.

Rather, I need to focus on the fact that writing is my friend too. Writing always listens when I want to rant, or when I'm sad. It celebrates with me when I'm happy.

I miss writing when I don't spend time on it for a while. But like most friends, I get a little tired if I force myself to be with it all the time. Sometimes, although writing might be my sanity's saviour, I need to see other friends too.

But the fact remains that when I'm not writing, I feel trapped in my life. As if I can't breathe. Writing frees me.

I need to remember that the next time writing starts to feel like a chore.

Do you sometimes feel as if writing is a chore/too much work? How do you remind yourself of why you write?

Others have said: You are not alone.

Every writer I know has trouble writing.

Joseph Heller

So good to know that I'm not alone in this. See, after weeks of doing almost nothing writing related, I feel the need to come back to it, except for when I have the notebook or document open in front of me.

It just feels as if the words don't want to come.

Needless to say, it's frustrating, but I guess that's what happens if you want to take some lazy time.

It's just so annoying, because for the most of a year, I never struggled. But that's the way it goes. I had my break. Now it's time to ease into my routine again. Gently.

What do you do when you're out of your writing/editing groove? 

Others have said: Writing takes passion.

Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. 

Rainer Maria Rilke

There are few things that I consider to be rules in writing. As far as I can see, any method goes, as long as one gets the work written. And that's why I consider this to be a rule, because without it, I don't think someone can finish a project.

My rule: One must have passion for writing.

I'm sure that a lot of non-writers will look at the rule and think that I'm stupid. After all, anyone can write anything down. At any moment. That's probably why so few people understand the challenges involved in writing a story. So many people write (correspondence, statements, reports etc.) that they think that all writing is as easy. It isn't.

On the contrary, it's damnably hard more often than not. And NOTHING prepares you for the challenges of writing a novel, except for writing a novel. Because, while most people write more than 50k words in e-mails etc. in (say) a few months, it isn't meant to be read as a single understandable story. There's no need to develop a thrilling plot, there's no need to create and get to know characters. There's no need to stick with the exact same story for as long as it takes to finish it.

Writing is full of challenges, rejections and other obstacles. It takes sacrifice. Especially of time. Writing isn't something to do in a few weeks without noticing. It's something that needs to be prioritized.

So many people say that they want to write but don't have time... Well, I can safely say that none of us writers have time. We make it. We put writing way up there on our lists of priorities, with family, God and breathing.

If it wasn't for that commitment, no story would ever be finished.

Anyone disagree with me? Why or why not? How high is writing on your list of priorities? Do you find that a shift or writing up or down your priority list influences your writing?

Others have said: Don't sweat it. You can fix it later.

The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the 1st time unlike, say, brain surgery.

Robert Cormier





I've been creating stories since before I could write. At first I play-acted everything, but as I grew older, I started finding ways to put my thoughts onto a piece of paper.

The first time I tried to write something was a movie script that I started aged (about) eleven. By the time I was thirteen, I saw myself as seriously writing. I had started my first novel then.

One would think that I'd have a ton of finished manuscripts collecting dust beneath my bed. Terrible ones. Ones that make me cringe to think of. Ones that I aim at when I kick my shoes off.

But no. In the eight years from starting to write to Doorways, I didn't finish a single manuscript. Not one. Now, this happened for a variety of reasons (that I posted about VERY early along when I started blogging), but as I came to the point of deciding that Doorways was to be the one that I finished, I decided to do some introspection.

What really stopped me from finishing before? Sure, the fact that my mother forgot to ask me before ripping the motherboard out of my writing computer (it happened) or the destroyed stiffy disk that contained the only copy of my draft (yes. stiffy. yes. It happened. After I rewrote the mother board ms), or the fact that I willingly burned a ms and everything connected to it (yes. Did that two years before I started the blog) had something to do with it.

But that wasn't what stopped me. I mean, yes those put some significant delays on my writing. But eight years worth? Really?

The truth was no. The only person that held me back was me. See, although I don't have a thing for rules, I was obsessed with getting everything I wrote up to my standards. Immediately.

So instead of worrying about getting done, I got mired in the early chapters of my WiPs, tinkering with every word I just wrote until it was exactly right.

In other words, I'd taken the soul out of what I'd written before it got a chance to settle into what it's supposed to be.

When I realized what had happened, I'd decided to do a bit of a mind-shift. I didn't have to get everything right immediately. In fact, there's something to be said for working all the way through first before going back to measure what should be changed and what should stay the same.

Which is why I drafted Doorways by hand. If it's written in pen, it can't be change until I'm ready to go back to change it. And that is probably one reason why I got so far with it at all.

I gave Doorways a chance to prove to me that it was worth my time, instead of killing it before it was really born.

So what about you? Do you edit as you write or do you finish your drafts first?

Others have said: Just write.

Don't get it right, just get it written.

James Thurber

If I had a cent for every new writer I find who is overwhelmed by all the "rules" and "prescribed methods" to good writing, I'd be on my way to Tuscany by now.

The Internet is a wonderful place, and the blogosphere a treasure trove of knowledge and advice on writing. I love it. But I was lucky. I had too much of a confidence in my own abilities to be overwhelmed.

Why? Because I've written for about eight years before I decided to take the plunge and start a writing blog. So by the time I started nosing around the blogs, I already knew what worked for me and what didn't. I already knew where my writing needed help.

I knew that if I had conflicting pieces of advice, that I'd be able to pick the one that works best with me and the way that I write.

But note the words: FOR ME.

If everyone writes according to the way that works best for them, is there really a right  way to write?

Short answer: No. The only way to write is your way.

Sure, you can take advice. If it works for you. You can deviate from the "rules", if you're willing to stand firm in the belief that you did the right thing.

Writing isn't about writing to a set form. If it was, every book would be the same. Who'd want that? Especially if it's a book you wouldn't like?

So, while it is excellent to see what options are out there (and I've seen some brilliant suggestions that I never would have thought about), don't sacrifice your own writer's identity in order to implement them.

Forget about being right. Get that story written, by any means possible.

What's your favorite writing "rule" or "best practice" to break?



Others have said: Life can suck, but can't defeat us.

Life can't ever really defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death - fascinating, cruel, lavish, warm, cold, treacherous, constant.

Edna Ferber, A Kind of Magic, 1963

I am willing to say this now. Compared to 90% of my life thus far, 2011 sucked. Big time.

This isn't going to be a moaning and groaning sort of post, but suffice it to say that I've been thwarted, frustrated, scared, terrified, down, stuck, set adrift, disappointed, lifted to soaring heights only to be dropped at the worst possible moment.

I've been told I'm too overqualified, underqualified, inexperienced, deluded, irresponsible when I was only being different, wrong.

I've been forced to play the waiting game more times than I even want to count.

In 2011, I was also probably the happiest I've been in years. Because I dug deep and really got to know myself. I know now that I have a reserve of strength that I'd thought had been lost three years ago.

Also, I got to write almost every day that I wanted to. And that helped. Because with every day that I wrote, I could take a step back from my life and see where I was and that, suck as it might, life wasn't big enough to squash me.

I could keep going and because of that, I'm much stronger and (theoretically) more patient. And relaxed, because the added perspective showed me some things about myself that helped me to deal with a lot of nonsense that I've been carrying about for years.

So yes. Life was my lover last year, even if he was a pain in the ass. He taught me a lot. And I can't wait to see where he leads me this year.

How is your life treating you? What did you learn last year?

Others have said: It's OK. You can take a break.

Loafing is the most productive part of a writer's life.

James Norman Hall

Every now and then, I stumble across some published author's quotes about how there is no such thing as writer's block, because real writers sit for hours and write.

I don't agree.

I see myself as a real writer. It's a little hard to miss, when writing takes up such a significant portion of my thoughts. Not to mention my time.

But I get some nasty writer's blocks.

In fact I think my current record is three months of wanting to write but failing to, because the words wouldn't come.

At one time, this really bothered me, because I'm supposed to be a writer.

Until one day I realized that there's a very good reason for my blocks: there's something wrong with the story that my mind registered, but that I didn't pick up. Yes, I know that sounds really weird, but I've seen it time and again.

So what's the best way to combat a block? Some people say that you have to write through it. I'm not saying they're wrong.

But, if you've tried writing through it and only find yourself mired deeper in your block, leave the story alone. Try writing something else. If you find you can't write anything, take a break from it. Do something else.

I prefer to do something creative, but that does not take as much thought. For me that's usually drawing something related to the story with which I'm struggling. If that doesn't work, I try my best to avoid poking at the problem, so that my muse can sort out the problem in peace.

But remember not to be discouraged. Because giving up on it all together lets your mind work on something else rather than on the story.

So yes, while annoying, blocks might just be part of your writing process. In such a case, loafing really can be the most productive thing that you can do.

What about you? Do you find that you have to take a break or else you get stuck?

Others have said... Keep a low profile, but miss nothing.

An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.

Gustave Flaubert

When a reader starts a book, he/she is drawn into the story for many reasons. When the book is a piece of fiction, odds are that one of reasons for being drawn in is because it isn't part of/about the reader. It's an escape. A way to live in another place, to see another life. To hear another voice.

It's a wonderful thing, our power to draw people into the stories we write, our ability to help them escape because of their willingness to suspend disbelief for just long enought to drift into our imaginary landscapes. At the same time, it's a challenge, because once that link is made, it's fragile. So fragile that the smallest error could break it.

I call this break the "Hey wait" moment, after the reaction that I have when something stretches my suspension of disbelief too far. As in: "Hey wait, why the hell would the character do this?"
or... "Hey wait, the solution to this apparently insurmountable problem is simple and provided for in the rules of the universe."

Broadly speaking, "Hey wait" moments happen because of two reasons:

Firstly, because the author didn't pay attention or due regard to all of the important details in his/her story. A good example of this would be when the author forces the character into doing something that's clearly against his/her nature. Another one would be plot holes.

The second cause of a "Hey wait" would be the author showing him/herself. This one's a bit more difficult for a writer to catch, because it has nothing to do with the story, plot or characters. It's something a bit more subtle. It's when the story's voice is wrong, e.g. rich florid prose when the view point character is no nonsense or a stark narration when the character's supposed to be a fun loving kid. It's when the dialogue is forced, especially when it's forced to reveal backstory. In other words: the "As you know" dialogues. Those are my pet hates. They truly make me want to tear a book apart.

Another way that a writer can show him/herself is by writing all stories to the exact same formula. I'm not talking about the preference of certain types of characters or themes. I'm talking about telling different stories according to a single pattern. One that if figured out, will ruin any future story by the author. There's a bestselling author who wrote some great stories that I loved, until I worked out how he wrote them. How did I figure it out? Because each one of them is written in a certain way. And I see that way as cheating.

So the moral here: if you want to cheat, go ahead, just don't keep doing it and assume that no one will notice. Unless you don't care.

Repetition of words and/or sentence structures highlight a writer like nothing else on earth.

So when you get around to edits, add some variety, tripple check for realism and plausibility and do anything in your power to camouflage your presence.  

Your reader will thank you for it.

What triggers a "Hey wait" reaction when you read? How do you avoid/fix that trigger when you write?

Let's talk about the dark side

It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone. That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the changes of his mind on the hop. 

Vita Sackville-West

 

I've been thinking about this for the past few days, but I'm wondering what you all think of it. I wonder if you even think about it at all.  

I'm talking about the dark side. You know, that bit about writing that's there, but that doesn't get mentioned all that often.

Like the fact that it's more of an addiction than a passion. Or else it's a damn near all-consuming passion. One that makes me euphoric when I'm doing it, but leaves me suffering from withdrawal when I'm not. The more we write, the more we want to write. This is good in that few people are lucky enough to find something as constructive to be addicted to. Still, we're stuck in our minds half of the time. The other half is spent with at least a small part of us wishing that we were stuck in our minds and writing. This can (and has) led to some aggravation, embarrassment and tension in the past. Fact is, it's really difficult to maintain a balance when it comes to writing. If I stop paying attention for a few weeks, I spend most of my time bashing out words. And when I say most, I mean at least three quarters of my available time. And it's not like I don't have other things to do. I'm not saying that I just lie down and forget to live my life. I'm saying that part of me is always fighting the urge to write at the expense at some badly neglected part of my life.

Another thing: We're more sensitive than people think. In fact, I'd say we're more sensitive than we'd like to believe. Think about it. If something happens, normal people gloss over it and move on, or store it away to look at once in a while. We don't do that. We put everything away for later. And then when we go poking at those things so that we can get the right words and emotions onto the page. So not only do we feel everything, but we feel them for a long time. Writing is a good way to get those feelings out, but I know from own experience how much it hurts to call up certain memories, but I can't just avoid them, because they'll crop up in my writing whether I want them to or not. So if I don't willingly face something, writing will eventually force me to.

We go digging in the darkest corners of our psyche to find what we need when we're writing. Think about it... those thoughts and emotions that you're giving to the most evil villain that you can imagine? It comes from you. Your own fears. Your own prejudices. All of that comes from the dark places of your own soul. At the same time, all that is good in the story comes from you too. But the fact is, writing puts all of it out there. And most of us hope that our writing will be publicly consumed. I think that if we really think about how much of us goes into what we write, a lot of us would consider giving up. (Except for the fact that our writing addictions would run us ragged.) It opens us to a new and very special world of pain. Especially when it comes to rejection.  

The last point I want to mention is one that got me thinking on these lines in the first place: We're self-aware - sometimes painfully so. When we dig about in our psyches, we discover things that take most people forever to even become aware of. We explore those things, so we get know ourselves better than most people. Think I'm kidding? Find someone you trust and if your conversation turns serious, start talking about who you are. You'll find you're far more aware of what's going on inside of you than your friend about him/herself. Good? Most of the time. Until you find out something that you might not have wanted to know. I recently figured out a big motivation in my life, and it wasn't what I thought. It's actually quite twisted and after I discovered this part of myself, I took weeks to settle into this new awareness. Hell, I'm still not really comfortable and I know that I was doing just fine until I made this discovery. I can't help thinking that I wouldn't even have thought along the lines that lead to my discovery if I hadn't been a writer. 

So was Vita Sackville-West right? Does writing help me "score above my fellows"? I'd say yes, but sometimes there's a cost involved. A high cost? Possibly, but then nothing that's worthwhile comes for free. And right now, there's nothing that feels as worth while as creating and if used correctly and constructively, even the dark side to writing can be to our benefit...

What say you? Thoughts?

Any other dark aspects to add? What gets to you sometimes?



Others have said... Believe in yourself.

Hi all! Before I go into the post proper, I just want to announce the winner of Monarch by Michelle Davidson Argyle. And the winner as chosen by Random.org is...

 

Angela Brown!

 

 

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. 

Sylvia Plath

  

I recently rejoined a writers forum that I belonged to just before I started blogging. I don't do the public posting of my writing for critiques thing, though, so I usually dig through the threads looking for something that I can reply to.

One of the threads was created by a new writer who lamented her inexperience. She described how happy she was in outlining the plot for an idea she had and how excited she was about it. Then she had to do a project for school where she wrote about J.K. Rowling. When she got back to her own work, she was hit by a mountain of self-doubt. Nothing looked good enough. Why?

Because she convinced herself that her book will never become the next Harry Potter.

She found out the hard way why self doubt is creativity's worst enemy. It's like a weed that chokes out creativity with discouragement. Because lets face it. If the book isn't going to be as good as you want it to be, what's the point of starting?

This is such a destructive and unnecessary thinking pattern, because for all we know, that girl's book might just become something worth reading. She needs to give her idea a chance to survive.

All writers are hit by doubts, but we have to keep going, or else nothing would get written. Here's what I think once my self-doubt starts gunning for me.

• J.K. Rowling probably had a ton of doubts too. She just cared enough for her idea to work through it.
• Doubt does not go away because you constantly try to fix every single thing you've written. It goes away when you realize that what you've written is good enough. For now.
• Self-doubt can make for one awesome editor if you starve it for long enough. Keep writing.
• Maybe it's time to take a leap of faith. Maybe your idea isn't the next Harry Potter. Twilight wasn't either. Stop comparing and break some boundaries.
• Last but not least: No matter how good you are, you can't fix what isn't written.

Anyone else got hit by self-doubt lately? If you're an old hand at writing, how do you get yourself out of the self-doubt rut? If you're new, are you dealing with it alright? How do you escape your doubts?

Others have said... Inspiration takes work

Don't loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don't get it you will none the less get something that looks remarkably like it. 

Jack London, Getting Into Print

As writers, we get ideas all the time. That much all of us know. But there's something that I've learned after a long time of writing: All ideas are not inspiration, but all inspirations are ideas.

Ideas bombard us.

In fact, we can sit on our desk an think up a hundred in a few hours. I think of them as thousands of puzzle pieces with no idea where they go or how they fit together.

Inspiration is the picture of a completed puzzle.

Unfortunately it's highly unlikely that the picture will be lying around the writer's writing space. It's out there.  Perhaps it's out there in a conversation you have with friends. Perhaps it's in a book. Perhaps it's in a single word graffiti'ed onto a bathroom wall (it has happened to me).

It will not come to you without you going out to get it.

I'm not saying that it will come to you just because you look for it. Most of the time, it will come to you when aren't looking. But keep that club handy just in case...

Where is the strangest place you ever found inspiration? Are you new to the hunt? Have you bumped into inspiration yet? How did it happen?