People Say the Most Ridiculous Things

I’m safely in MI after a very long bus ride. Thirty hours later, I’d written at least three pages full in my travel journal. The sights, sounds, and smells were too outrageous to believe. I’m trying my best not to hate the experience too much, if only because I have another thirty-hour journey on Monday.

Short entry, I know. Just to fill it out: Check out the latest Writing Excuses: “This Sucks and I’m a Horrible Writer.”

If you didn’t know before, I’m the second type of writer. I truly need to learn how to come back and edit my rough drafts. Ugh.

If I’m Not Back… Wait Longer.

I’m about to take off on a trip to watch my esteemed sister graduate. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be boarding a Greyhound bus. This’ll be my first time on such a bus, so I may get shanked. If I don’t, though, I may be able to update and continue writing when I get to lovely Michigan.

In the meantime, I’ve realized that organic writing is the way to go for me. Only by actually typing with my hands and writing with my pen can I realize what my characters and plot are doing and hoping and judo chopping. I’m nearly done with all of my outlining, but there are three different characters that want to be the lead protagonist. Ugh.

Brandon Sanderson is my hero and idol. Wow, I’m a total fanboy at this point. I don’t think I’m ever going to stop. He’s that awesome.

Who Do I Write For?

“Who do you write for? This question has been troubling me today, so I’m asking passing ships who love to write … Sounds like you do, correct me if I missed my cue :)…”

Mental Mists sent this comment my way in my last entry, and I couldn’t help but answer in a long explanation.

This question is a little vague. It can be answered in two ways, the first regarding my readers and the second regarding my identity as a writer. I write for people around my reading level and maybe a bit lower. My audience is anyone that appreciates magical realism, urban fantasy, or whatever the hell it’s being called these days. I write for the conscious late teen and early twenty-year-old. I like to ask questions through my works and hope the reader can find an answer. I never seek to provide that answer outright. My works are merely fishbowls.

That said, I write for myself. I write because I love it, not to please someone else. I think that’s extremely important to consider when asking this question. I think that this may be the best reason or person to write for. If you don’t love sitting at your computer and opening the writing vein, then why are you doing it at all? It is my love that will hopefully make my writing succeed outside of me as it already does within me.

I hope some of that made sense.

Daily Creation.

My practice of traveling to the library has really helped my inner writer. I come here, update my blog, check my facebook, and then shut it all off to write. Starting this new ritual reminded me of a blog post from Davey Wavey’s blog: “BIG change is in the air!” In it he speaks of the new book from Harvard professor Tal Ben-Shahar, Happier. Davey’s got some new rituals. This one’s mine.

Most writers have a certain time of the day that they write best during. I’ve heard most often that morning is the best time. However, mine is in the early afternoon if not actually at noon. I don’t understand it in the slightest, but I’m much more prolific at this time. Well, time’s running out. I’ve got to get to it.

Is Plotting Purgatory?

I think this may be a more accurate comparison compared to my earlier post. My lack of internet access at my home has forced me to travel to my university’s library to leech it from them. They’re making some renovations. The end result should be an enormous improvement.

Being in a place where I don’t have a bed on which I could sleep, a TV I could watch, or a video game to play helps with motivation. Also, it’s nice to have a desk to write at. Hmm, maybe I should invest in one. Target might have a good one.

I still hope to post here as often as possible. In regards to the Snowflake process, I’m somewhere past step six. I’m taking my character development cues from the book I mentioned earlier, Characters, Emotion, & Viewpoints. I think some of the Snowflake character steps wouldn’t help nearly as much as the book.

The steps where it comes to plotting where one must rewrite the synopsis which greater length and detail each time has helped me feel better about planning. I think much better with my hands than my brain, so the act of just writing out these synopses has been extremely helpful to actually getting my plot down on paper.

I know this extra bit makes it a lengthy post, but I have to mention the latest Writing Excuses episode. This episode, entitled BIC HOC: Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard, is one of the best I’ve heard from these three gents. I’ll probably expound on how much I love this podcast in another post. For now, listen to it if you’re a writer. If you haven’t before, listen to this one first. You’ll be sold, I promise.

Is “sold” the right term for a free podcast?

Plotting is Hell

Plotting is hell. I really do think that I’m one of those organic writers that likes to just vomit my ink onto the page and let it grow into the beauty that it can become. That makes this plan of making Project Deux my most outlined and processed project is causing me to dry heave.

Enough with the sick talk.

I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that all of this planning will bring about a better first draft and finished product. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt, save the possibility of me getting burnt out on it. I can’t let that happen, though, no matter how charred my writing becomes.

The Snowflake Method

While I start Summer classes this week, I start my plotting process. I’ve decided that this novel suits the Snowflake Method the best. Some say this method is needlessly complicated. However, I’m still excited to find my own pieces of the process that I like the best.

For now, I’m off to sleep to dream of Project Deux’s twists and turns. I hope they’re plentiful and inevitably unexpected.