Things to Think About when Writing

Well, I'm taking a few minutes break from NaNoWriMo to talk about a couple of things that have been in my mind while I've beening doing my own mad writing dash through the first five days.

First off, I hope everyone is doing well. And even if you are behind right now, fear not! You can always catch up, regardless of what's going on elsewhere this month. On that note, I've heard one or two out in the NaNo world complain of being stuck in their novel. To them, I offer these suggestions. If you can't think of what's coming next, skip to a part you know. Just leave a little marker or note (notes count as words) to come back after NaNo is done or at the last few days of NaNo when you are still short a couple of thousand words. Also, don't worry about the "whats" of the novel right now. Word count is your primary goal. As it says on the NaNo calendar currently present on my laptop, "Don't have any ninjas? Add some!" Do ANYTHING to get yourself moving again.

I bring this up because I noticed that my output, so far today, has been lower than it has been the last few days. I began to worry that I was stuck...which I thought was impossible, due to my outlines. But, I realized, I was not stuck...I just needed a breather. This could also be the case for those of you who are "stuck." Take a break and come back a little later. Watch some TV, eat something that doesn't have caffeine in it, take a bath/shower, do anything but write. Then, in a couple of hours (or whenever your next section of free time comes that day), try again. That's my plan.

Which brings up another thought I had, even though NaNo is a huge part of our lives in Nov, one must remember to make time to do things that are more relaxing than worrying about word count. Breathers and sleep are important, as well as entertainment activities. And you want to know the upside to this? They'll probably act as inspiration for you novel. In fact, just today in class, I had an idea for something totally minor to mention in my novel, towards the end...but that toally minor mention will still take up word count. Remember, quanity is for Novemeber, quality is for December.

And don't forget to read. It is my personal belief that all authors must be readers...now, I don't care what it is that they read, just do it! Books, magazines, news articles, scientific journals, anything! And again, this could act as inspiration.

So, how is everyone feeling about NaNo? Well, one last reminder from me on this subject...just have fun with it! No one is judging you!

Now, on more Guild related matters, I'll be posting up a couple of new challenges...and maybe some informal ones that serve more as recommendations...later this month. Most will have Dec. due dates, with one--a short one!--being due in Nov.! Be on the look out for those!

And, finally, I'd like to thank dear Slinky for keeping us inspired with her daily updates in the upper left corner of our Guild.

Happy NaNoing!

--Patricia
Head of the Department of Backstory
15,917 words

Insperation: Some Babbelings from Kimmi

While working on my Friday the 13th (the 2nd) challenge piece, I came across a weird news article. It seemed like a bit of a god-send that this little six lined article from the Associated Press would show up in my news feed on my Yahoo! account just when I was looking for something to inspire me to write. This little article turned into a 4 page story of misfortune for a poor man who owned a pet store.
Originally, the news story reported the ill fortune of a shop owner who (somehow) wound up with a corpse instead of the fish he had originally ordered. How's that for luck?
When I read the story I at first thought "huh, sucks to be that guy" and clicked off to play on Pet Society. But after a few minutes I went back to my homepage and stared at the article title.
I remembered hearing something clicking into place.
Who was this unfortunate shop owner?
Did he think it was some kind of prank?
Was there anyone there with him when he found the corpse?
What happened to the fish?
Stupid UPS, they screw up everything.
And thus, with those thoughts flying through my head, I copied the article into my beloved OneNote, and set to work.
Thus, "I Blame UPS" was born, and surprisingly, I like it.
It always amazes me how inspiration just kinds of hits you in the face sometimes. Sure, we all have our muses that guide our pens and our thinking. But sometimes, something pushes the muse out of the way and just screams WRITE ABOUT ME!
At least thats how it is for me.
A flickering light, or a shadow that I see out of the corner of my eye: a story about a tortured lover that wants revenge.
An episode of my favorite TV show: a story centered around a guy that is created into some kind of zombi and is forced to protect someone he hates.
I mean, its weird how the smallest thing seems to set off the imagination (especially if you have an over active imagination like I do).
The point of this blog, I think, is to keep your eyes (all three of them) open to inspiration. Take the time to look at something and ask yourself questions, even if they seem silly and pointless. I always find its the pointless questions (such as what happened to the fish?) that gets my creative juices flowing. Inspiration is all around us, we just have to be willing to let it hit us in the face sometimes.
Viva La Quill
Kimmi
The Ink Finger

Ah to be inspired...

I was hoping to have a post talking about what inspires me to write poetry. Well the answer is definitely everything, however lately I have been particulary uninspired. I hate the feeling of searching my brain for inspiration. There is this huge wall, surround by a fog, surround by an electrical shock fence, and I can't get through. Everytime I attempt to write uninspired it feels as if I have just hit that wall at about 90 mph. In other words, I have writers block. Seems like the only way I can write is if I am in love or I hate everyone. Which isn't really good terms to write on. My poems are like my diary screaming out loud, they are the reason I live, the breath of my being, the definition of me, and my soul is completely poured into each and every drop of ink I spill onto the page. The pain of being without inspiration is an extreme downer, a downer without a fix. Nothing will give me the high I need to write. I don't mean a physical high, but an emotional high. I wanna be able to close my eyes and see dreams come true, visit other worlds, murder with my thought, and love and be loved unconditionally for who I am and who I can be. So I guess it just boils down I need something life altering to happen in my life or my fictionpress account may never make it to 100! So what inspires you, any idea how to free the writer form the block.

The Painfully Less Inspired Savvy

The Big Fish Assignment

I doubt that I will blog very often on assignments given in class; however, I felt that this one could be beneficial to The Guild. In my Advanced Composition class, our first workshop assignment is based on Big Fish, the famed novel and Tim Burton movie. In the book/movie, an old man tells his son stories from his past, all of them outlandish and over the top but based in truth. The son doesn't appreciate his stories because he wants the facts about his father's life, partly because of his nature as a newspaper journalist. Our assignment is to find a newspaper article and use the facts of that article to create a very outlandish short story with strong narrative, elaborate description, and, of course, the human element (in Big Fish, it was a love story and a father/son story).

I've read other writing aids which mention drawing inspiration from the bare facts of newspaper articles, and I look forward to this assignment. My own story will involve a monkey interrupting commuters in Tokyo (that's the article's contribution). Other Guild members might be interesting in attempting this assignment on their own time. I think this experiement with fact and fantasy could be used in novels (obviously), short stories, and even poetry--for poetry, though, you would most likely be diving into the human emotions related to the facts of the stories.

As writers, we all draw material from real life, often our own life. But, if you're in a rut, this assignment could help you dig your way back to the surface.