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Archive for August, 2012

Prepare to Write: Stock the Pond

Posted in Content, tagged , , on August 28, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Inland fishermen who need fish for survival and for protein in their diet know that if they stock their pond with tiny young fish they will, later, have a good supply of larger fish for food.

This approach works for writers too. You have to stock the pond. You stock it with ideas, characters, plots, setting. You collect these while they are small and unrelated – they’re just the baby fish, they’re not mature and solid  yet.

They might not seem  like much and you are a busy person. Like me, you may feel that you don’t have time to be noting every little thing down. So those little fish get away and are forgotten. That’s too bad because they could have added richness to some later story.

Let’s say your teenager slams the door as he leaves the house angry.  How would you describe the sound of the slam? Did you feel the house shake? What were your feelings? Did the dog run and hide? How did the teen look – were his shoulders stiff, fists clenched? How did he feel?

Maybe there is a detail you could easily forget – perhaps he doesn’t put his jacket on , even though it is cold outside, maybe he kicks the garden rake on the way past and it falls down.

Part of the usefulness of this is training your observation, making a habit of stocking your pond. It’s part of the process of being a writer that you are astute enough to notice and internalize people’s actions and reactions.

It’s part of stocking the pond that you “What if” it a few times. What if he angrily takes your car and drives too fast and slams into a bus, or hits a pedestrian? What if he meets the neighborhood drug connection and is offered a free sample, just to calm his nerves?

It’s part of stocking the pond that you take a long hard look at your own reactions and feelings and that you observe the different ways other members of the household react.

Being a writer doesn’t just mean firing up your word processor or sitting down, pen in hand at the kitchen table. It means having a fully stocked pond imagination.

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Answer their Questions

Posted in readers, tagged , , on August 24, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

When you write non-fiction – for a magazine, newspaper or newsletter you are usually giving information. The question is – are you giving people the information they are looking for?

I’m not talking here about copywriters who know all too well how to suck us in with 10 surefire ways to… or the 7 secrets of…. They know deep in  their bones what information we’re looking for. I’m talking about the rest of us who see ourselves as writers, not copywriters.

If you have a degree in horticulture, how do you know what a new gardener needs to know about growing spinach? Because of your qualifications you’ve been asked to write this. Where do you start? If you write something simple enough for the true beginner are you going to bore the reader who has grown spinach a couple of times before and wants ideas for improving the crop?

If you spend half the article length on preparing the soil – because you believe this is most important – will you turn off those who take the soil for granted and just want to get down to the business of choosing seeds and planting?

Or maybe it’s the church newsletter and the minister asks for an article on the importance of attending the early service and bringing friends and family with you.

As a writer you are torn between what people ought to want to read and what they actually do want. If you write about what they ought to want, will they read it? Or will they glance over the first paragraph and decide that it’s time to take the dog for a walk?

Thing is: If what you write is not read there is very little value in it. Only if someone reads it is there a chance that they will take a few of your ideas to heart and change their behavior.

But the editor said…the minister asked…. Yes, you’re stuck in the middle. They may flatter you with “You’re so good with words. I’m sure you can come up with something.”

The question to ask them (and to ask yourself) is “What do these readers want to know?” What you or the editor or the minister want to tell them pales before what they want to know. And if you don’t know what that is, ask them.

Spend time asking your readers – “What are you looking for in this publication?” “What questions do you have about this topic?” Get as much feedback from as wide an assortment of readers as possible. Then figure out ways to give them what they want to read while at the same time incorporating a little of what you or the editor wants.

Reading is about the readers. Writing is about the readers too.

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Writer on a roll

Posted in Uncategorized, Writer's life, tagged , , on August 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Sometimes the writing goes well, sometimes not. When it isn’t going well we call it ‘writer’s block’ and a lot has been written about that.

But what about when it is going well? Do we just give silent thanks as our fingers fly over the keyboard, and keep going as fast as we can before the spirit leaves us? Some of us are lucky enough to do just that. Others have kids who need to be fed NOW or a job that they need to leave for in half an hour.

Do you leave it at a logical stopping point, or in mid-scene so the momentum is there to be picked up next time? Or do you just leave it at whatever moment you are dragged away from it?

Where does writing stand in your list of priorities? What will you sacrifice to keep this wonderful creative burst going? Do you have the luxury of saying, “Go away, world. I’m writing up a storm here. Get out of my way.”

Is there a little voice nagging at the back of your mind – “If you’re writing this much it can’t be good quality. It’s probably all drivel. You ought to stop right now.” It’s a nasty little voice. If you listen to it, it will kill the pleasure you have in this unexpected outpouring of your creative mind.

I try to scare it away with a resounding positive – if my subconscious mind is sending me this wealth of words there must be value in it. Then I back it up with practical reassurance – there may be a few errors, I might have gone off track a couple of times but it’s all fixable. Don’t worry, nagging voice, I will edit it carefully. Later.

Meanwhile enjoy it. Go with the flow. Let the ideas or the characters or the scene find the print and the paper. You are just the channel. You are unblocked and functioning as a channel really well just now.

Being on a roll as a writer is a pleasure that mixes dynamic energy with a sense of achievement. However, it can be a tough one to share.

If you tell someone who is not a writer “I wrote 2500 words today!” they may reply “Is that a lot?”. You want to grab them by the throat and yell, “Do you have any idea…”

If you say it to a writer they may reply, “Yes, but is it salable?” or “Yes, but who’s going to publish it?”

To me these people are first cousins of the nagging voice that already told you that it was probably no good. You need to avoid their negativity or shut it down.

Then there’s the writer friend who isn’t doing so well just now. How can you proudly announce “I wrote 2500 words today!” to someone you know is in the writing doldrums? Or to someone who tries but who has never really got going as a writer?

How can you use it to encourage and not to belittle? How can you share this creative joy and affirmation of all that is unique about being a writer? How can you expand it so it helps and supports others?

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Writers and Words

Posted in General, tagged , , , , on August 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

People who are not writers (and I know there are one or two out there) don’t need a thesaurus. They scramble a few words together and fire off an e-mail or cover letter. Pretty much any old words will do to get across more or less what they mean to say.

But once you think of yourself as a writer your thesaurus becomes your ally. I use mine more often than my dictionary. It’s my dog-eared, slightly tatty, friend. When I’m stuck for the precisely right word it offers me the choice of half a dozen.

Part of what makes you a writer is understanding this richness of choice – and what you can do with it. Its simplest value is that it prevents you using the same word over and over again. You can replace the word that occurs frequently in your theme with a synonym. Or several synonyms to maintain the variety.

In doing this you find the second value. One of the words you find that isn’t an exact synonym can lead your mind to a whole new aspect of your topic or even your plot. New ideas flash into your mind, new passages of thought are open to your traverse.

“Oh! I never thought about that! I’d better address it.”

And your writing becomes more thoughtful  and more vibrant.

The rich and effective use of words is our stock-in-trade as writers. We no longer write “She was a gardener” or “He walked down the street”. We no longer throw in an adjective or adverb “an avid gardener”, or “walked quickly”.

We get picky about our nouns and especially about our verbs. If you need to use an adverb (“quickly”) to qualify your verb (“walked”) then you’re using the wrong verb. Find another verb that comes closer to your exact meaning. You’ll find it in your thesaurus.

Nouns too can be vague. They can be good enough, but it’s worthwhile checking to see if there is a more accurate or vivid noun. Or maybe you don’t make the bald statement at all.

Perhaps you could see her in your mind:

“She’s out there, hands in the dirt again. It’s only raining lightly drizzling and she wants to get those plants annuals asters planted before dark.” or perhaps “She’s planting transplanting sweet peas”.

Your thesaurus opens the door to precise and evocative writing. It takes the “sorta, kinda” out of it and nails it so the reader is not swimming around trying to catch what you mean and where you’re going with this.

Readers who find themselves swimming around don’t stick around.

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Little Rituals

Posted in Uncategorized on August 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Do you have any little writing rituals? Pens all arranged in order maybe, even if you’re not using a pen? I have a friend who always gives her computer screen a quick wipe off before she settles down to write. After all, no-one  wants to be gazing at their prose through a dust mote.

No point going into the psychology of it – if we feel this helps us it probably helps us – settles us down, helps us get into the writing mind-set.

It’s not just writers who do this, and not just within our writing life. I like to start my day with a good walk. This is not a ritual, heavens no! But if circumstances dictate that I can’t walk till the afternoon I get uncomfortable and antsy. No reason – it’s just not the way my daily non-ritual works.

Our rituals say more about us than we realize. The same is true for the characters we’re writing about. They have their rituals, some grounded in reality, some not. Aunt Emily always leaves the family get together early because she doesn’t feel comfortable driving in the dark. Uncle Will always cuts his meat into one-inch squares before he eats it. Who knows why?

Odd as these things may be they have their uses in fiction. They may drive part of a plot or sub-plot. They reveal character. They could also explain an action that otherwise might seem unreasonable.

If Uncle Will cuts his meat into squares he probably has many other little personal rules. (Every penny he spends must be entered into a spreadsheet printout and he has a special pen for that).

So when your plot hinges on Uncle Will making a small leap of faith (even though it’s an action most people would take) he will be unable to step out of his rigidly controlled life to do it.

Even without being a plot point little rituals can give your character extra dimension. She always drinks her coffee black. He always opens envelopes with a letter opener. It doesn’t have to matter to the plot, you just see them in everyday action.

And if their ritual doesn’t happen correctly you see how they respond – Anger? Upset? Oh, never mind? Your reader understands the character better.

Be aware of little rituals, your own and those you notice in the people around you. Those little rituals can be gold for a writer.

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A Writer’s Friends

Posted in Uncategorized, Writer's life, tagged , , , , on August 8, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Because you have an active mind you likely have lots of friends. Some of them are connected to your writing self, some not. You have friends you have coffee with at work, meet on the football field or like hanging out with. Maybe they have nothing to do with your writing self.

But who would you call your writing friends? Your writers group? Blog friends who write? People you meet once a year at the writers conference?

Do you remember being introduced to someone by a mutual friend:

“This is Samantha. You’ll like her, she’s a writer too.”

You say, “Hi. I write fantasy.”

Samantha says “I write a regular column for “The Weekly Grain Farmer”.

Not a friendship made in heaven. So who counts  as writer friends?

Your writers group as a whole or just a few members? If it’s just a few members is that because they write in your genre or because something about them connects with you?

How do you feel about people who read your work and say, “It was lovely.” Period.  End of subject

If pressed, they say, “Well I read it through to the end, but why did she have to die? A happy ending would have been nicer.”

It was probably your mom speaking. You love her, but she just doesn’t get it.

How important is ‘getting it’? Because if they don’t get it you’re not going to be comfortable sharing your work with them.

Are you finding that with your blog you’re becoming friends with, sharing ideas with, some people with a totally different background from the continent far away?

With social media this is becoming commonplace, but the additional element of “writing friend” puts it into a special category.

I’ve had one writing friend for a few years.. A writing friend knows a whole dimension of you that other the friends don’t know.

It’s not just that with her I can discuss markets or problems with a scene. It’s that she gets that big part me that other people just tiptoe around. A writing friend understands the complications of creativity. They see how the ‘real world’ isn’t enough. She gets it – my reality doesn’t end with here and now, it has additional dimensions. So does hers.

Other people seem comfortable thinking they know reality. They have a firm grasp on it. Writers – and other artists – wonder about the reality of place and time. They see it not as part of the real and only world but as a finite starting point for all that might be.

I think those who share your ideas, those who “get you” are your true writing friends. Kolkata or Christchurch, Fresno or Dalien  are just dots on a map, barely visible in our infinity.

Your writing friend is the one “gets” your inner world.

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A Writer Reads

Posted in Writer's life, tagged , , , , , , on August 4, 2012 | 1 Comment »

What have you been reading lately? If you discount what you need to read for information or communication with friends, what else have you read?

As a writer you need to keep reading. Words are your tools. Reading is learning how to use the tools well. What does ‘well’ mean? ‘Well’, through this specific lens, means using words to communicate your meaning with great clarity and using them to express yourself, your ideas and your feelings.

It used to be that when I started reading a fiction book I would feel compelled to read it through to the end. It was the old Protestant work ethic, I suppose. I have since broken that habit. If the writing, the characters, the plot don’t engage me I’m gone. Done. Finished.

I’m sorry if it’s sinful, but there are just too many books in this world to waste time plowing through page after page of dull muddy prose. Look in the library or a good bookshop – you’ll see too many books in your favorite genre alone to ever read all of them. And there will be a new crop out before Christmas.

As writers we need to be selective about the fiction we read. It isn’t sinful to quit after a dozen page; it’s your analytical brain kicking in, saying “Don’t read this stuff. It might be contagious. You might end up catching it like a cold and writing this way yourself.”

You need to read fiction that has been so beautifully written that you’re tempted to read it aloud. At the very least your reading slows right down as you savor the words and the way they have been woven together into sentences. And yes, I’ve been caught with my lips moving as I read. Not often – seldom is writing that clear, vivid and beautifully evocative.

Reading for writers is like apprenticeship. You observe the way a strong writer uses his tools. You begin to understand how words can be used with precision, how tiny details convey can convey more than paragraphs of description. How characters can be brought to life.

If you read books of value you will pick up, almost by osmosis, the secrets of how words work and how they can be made to work better for you.

I’ve found a lot of good writing in the blogs I follow – great humor, vivid description, strong feelings. Good writing is not limited to books. Read blogs, read newspaper columnists who convey ideas well.

Find the good stuff, wherever it is, and learn from it.

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