Creating the Space Around You

If you’re anything like me on this, then I’m really sorry. It makes us kind of high maintenance sometimes, but it is what it is, right?

What I’m talking about is that need to set the mood before you write. Light some candles (there are so many literature inspired candles out there it’s insane). Make sure all the dog hair has been vacuumed. Pour a glass of wine or grab of mug of tea. Get that ambient music Pandora station going.

Sometimes it takes me longer to create the space around me than I actually spend time writing. That’s not a bad thing, per se, if the time I spend actually writing is used efficiently. But it can definitely cripple me if I’m in a space that’s less than perfect trying to write. I am not one that can write anytime, anywhere. I’m the little kid distracted by squirrels in the middle of a conversation. I can’t help it.

So I’ve decided to preset my space. Even though it may take some time to rearrange my desk and get my life in order, it’ll at least save me from having to do it later when I just want to claw at my keyboard and get the words out.

I’ve been slacking a bit on that, and I don’t really have a good reason other than the weeds in my yard took over my plants and I had to put the rest of my life on pause. But hopefully I can get myself back on track. And I’m going to start by staring at my desk and figuring out what I can do to make it feel less hectic.

 

That Feeling of Exhaustion

I’m derailing a bit from my usual tip-giving self to just vent for a bit…Hurricane Matthew kind of messed with my weekend plans and threw me off my productive track. I didn’t post to Instagram like I should have. I conveniently ignored the fact that it was Thursday and I hadn’t posted anything. Heck, I barely even did any school work.

I won’t lie, I was exhausted. I felt like I was hitting a glass wall with this whole blog thing. It’s hard work, and honestly I don’t know if it’s worth it. I know I’m supposed to have one because a hopeful writer should have lots of followers to prove agents/publishers can take a chance on them…blah blah blah. I get it, I really do. But seriously, it’s tiring.

So instead of pushing through my exhaustion and posting something inspiring about what to do when you’re down, I decided to wallow in it. And let me tell you, I’m an excellent wallower. I can ignore a problem like you wouldn’t believe. That elephant in the room staring me in the face? Don’t even see it. I am a professional ignorer.

And how does that leave me feeling on Monday? Kind of dirty, honestly. But if I had been productive all weekend I think I’d still feel the same. Frustrated and this stupid glass wall and I can’t seem to get past. Tired from trying. Angry that it’s even there.

The positive side of me (which is very tiny) says to use all that emotion to get things done! Power through!

The realist in me (which is much bigger) says to just forget about it. No one will read it anyway.

Sigh.

Okay, no more pity party. I’m here to say one thing and one thing only.

It’s okay to feel exhausted.

If I was on all the time I wouldn’t be real. I want you guys to know I’m real. There are hundreds of blogs that give tips on how to write. I’ve decided I don’t want that to be all this blog is, because if that’s the case, no one will ever find it because I suck at SEO.

So instead, this blog is going to be a journey through the life of me writing my novels (with occasional tidbits on what I’ve learned), because that makes for a much better story, and I won’t hate writing my blog posts as much.

Hope you enjoy!

~Liz

Follow me @wethewriters on Instagram and @liz_tampa on Twitter.

The Elusiveness of Inspiration

We’ve all been there. You sit down to write and the words just won’t come. Maybe you’re just exhausted from working all day. You’re too tired to think straight, let alone write a coherent sentence. Or maybe you just can’t think of what to write. The muse may be singing, but you surely can’t hear it.

Every writer has felt this way, more than once. What separates the writers who make it from the writers who don’t, is that the latter quit trying.

But if I’m being honest, there are days I just don’t even want to write. It’s not necessarily that I don’t have something to say, I’m just being lazy or stubborn and I want some me time (read, I want some time to sit on the couch and stare at the wall and pretend to be productive).

There’s really no way to squash the elusiveness of inspiration. You’re either going to feel it or you’re not. Some days writing is like performing surgery on yourself. It’s painful. You don’t want to do it. The stuff coming out of you is pretty sickening. But you know if you don’t do it, it’ll only be worse the next day.

And that, my friends, is the key.

Writing through the tough times will bring you to the good times. Getting through the tough times is, well, tough, but there are ways to make it easier on yourself. Here are some tricks I’ve learned over the course of the last year and a half I’ve been in grad school.

Hide.

There’s nothing worse than trying to do something you don’t want to do while your significant other is watching Modern Family in the other room. Granted, my hubs wouldn’t dare do that without me, but you know what I mean. Anything can be a distraction when you’re doing something you don’t feel like doing. The only way to combat this is to hide. Find a secret place you can go to and get away from whatever might tempt you.

Write the easy/fun parts first.

People usually say this the other way around. If you do the hard stuff first then the rest will be smooth sailing. Well, pardon me if I’d rather dip my toes in the hot tub before I jump in and scald my skin off. In research paper-type writing, I found it better to start with the parts I was genuinely interested in, rather than the parts that would require me to find a billion sources that don’t exist. I’ve nearly broken my Mac ten times in my anger when I’ve tried to do it any other way.

The same goes for creative writing. I do prefer to write in a linear fashion, but it is okay to glaze over some parts if you intend to go back and rewrite them. Granted, if the parts aren’t interesting, then maybe they shouldn’t be there in the first place. BUT, if you want to wait until you’re in a better from of mind to write the heavier stuff, then do it. There’s no set rules on how you have to write. As long as the elements of the craft are in place, you could have written it backwards for all I care.

Make yourself a playlist.

Be prepared to switch this playlist up, otherwise you’ll make yourself sick of the songs. I have different playlists for different writing moods. If I’m working on an edgier piece I tend to listen to something like Halsey. If I need to get in a solid groove then I go for Explosions in the Sky. Whatever you know will work for you without getting you distracted.

Reward yourself.

Shoutout to my last blog post. Place rewards for yourself along the way, and pretty soon you won’t need them anymore. If I need to write 4,000 words for a class, I’ll give myself a Facebook break for ten minutes at every 1,000 words. UNLESS I’m in a groove. Then I keep going. The wisdom of giving yourself a reward is knowing when you know you don’t need it.

Think like Faulkner. People don’t become masters in their chosen field because they’re talented. They become masters because they trained themselves to be.

~Liz

Follow me @liz_tampa on Twitter and @wethewriters on Instagram.

How to Make Goals (That You’ll Actually Stick With)

I think most of us know how to make a realistic and achievable goal. Just in case you don’t, here’s a quick run down:

• Break your goal down into a series of steps.
  • Each step will propel you onward, because you have mini-victories to cheer you along.
• Give yourself deadlines.
  • But make sure they’re reasonable. If you aren’t writing full time, chances are you can’t write a full length manuscript in one week, let alone plan and edit it.
• Prioritize your goals.
  • Figure out what’s most important and make sure those get done first. Most important can mean what you care about the most or what needs to be done in a timely manner. You’re smart, you can figure it out.

But here’s the problem. If you’re anything like me and take issue with authority (it’s a problem, I’m working on it), then even giving yourself a set of rules makes you want to rebel. I write to do list after to do list, and you know what I end up doing with them half the time? Throwing them away, telling myself I’m not the boss of me. It’s kind of ridiculous, but that’s beside the point.

I’ve discovered a handy trick to help achieve my goals, and the second I say it you’re going to smack yourself in the face. Just, before you x out of this tab, give me a second to explain. Pretty please?

The trick to actually achieving your goals is *drum roll please* reward yourself!

Seriously, that’s it.

Rewarding yourself can be literally anything from going on a shopping spree (I suggest leaving this to the big goals, like getting published and being given a huge advance) to taking a bubble bath with a glass of wine and your current book. I promise it will change your life.

I typically reward myself with a Starbucks latte or a book from my favorite local bookstore (I try to find used copies so I don’t break the bank). If it’s a huge goal I just accomplished, I’ll splurge on dinner out.

Your rewards don’t have to be insane or innovative to work. By rewarding yourself you’re doing more than telling yourself good job. You’re telling yourself that you value your hard work, you deserve recognition for whatever you’ve done (even if the recognition is just from you), and that you care about what you’re doing.

When we put goals on a piece of paper they sometimes become disconnected from our dreams. They become items on a list we want to cross off and get out of the way. If your goals are your dreams, then you shouldn’t want to move on from them. You should want to live in them, soak up the feeling of accomplishment, and allow yourself a little treat to recognize how much of a bada** you are!

So make those goals, but don’t forget to treat yoself!

~Liz

Follow me @liz_tampa on Twitter and @wethewriters on Instagram.

Stop Talking to Yourself

On Monday I gave some tips for staying in third person with limited perspective. Today, I want to help you decide whether first person is right for you.

Staying it first person is a smidge easier than third. You’re obviously going to be limited to what your character can see, touch, smell, taste, hear, and suspect. You can’t jump heads unless you start a new chapter (or there is an obvious page break within the same chapter, but that’s still pretty jolting and not recommended). And if you do decide to have more than one character’s perspective, you need to decide early on in the novel.

I really don’t think there’s anything worse than getting part or all the way through your book when you realize it could have been written better in another point of view. So how can you avoid that? How do you know if first person is right for you? Here are some suggestions.

If the story cannot be told by anyone else.

This isn’t to say that a first person story is more personable than a third person story. It simply means that the introduction of a narrator, who can be seen as another character entirely, would stand in the way of your message. This is one of those questions that only you as the writer can answer. You have to be self-aware *gasp* enough to know how you can tell this story best.

If you want to keep your audience in the dark.

Of course any good story is going to have a certain amount of intrigue or surprises. But how much surprise do you want to have? And how do you want to deliver it? Yes, you can achieve something similar through a limited third person perspective, but if you want to truly get into your character’s head to deliver the impact to your reader, you may want to consider first person.

If something doesn’t feel write when you try to write any other way.

I promise this isn’t a cop out reason. Have you written a couple test chapters of your novel? If you haven’t go try it out now. Try it with a limited and omniscient third person narrator, and if that just doesn’t feel right, try first person. You’ll know it when you have it because your narrator will feel like an extension of you. You’re inhabiting another being, but there’s a bit of you in it, whether you like it or not (so hopefully it’s not a villain talking). Look at it from the reader’s perspective. Would they want to be in this character’s mind, or would it be better to have a buffer?

Overall, the best advice I can give is to remember that third person is going to have more freedom, whether they’re limited or omniscient, so decide early on if you need that freedom, or if the restrictions of first person will actually benefit you in the long run.

~Liz

Follow me @liz_tampa on Twitter and @wethewriters on Instagram.

To Write or Not to Write

Last Friday I wrote a blog post about making the decision to go to grad school for writing. I realize now I probably should have preceded it with a post one making the decision to become a writer in the first place, because believe me, you have to make the decision to become a writer.

Writing is no easy task and many people give up the dream of finishing a novel or getting published because it seems impossible. Words are hard, let’s acknowledge that.

So what is a writer exactly? How do you classify someone as a writer? The answer is simple. If you write then you’re a writer. Yes, it’s true. Anyone can be a writer, but not everyone can stay a writer. Because you see, writing is not a one time thing. Writing is wrapped up into the essence of who you are. A true writer can not stray from writing for long. The buildup of words in a writer’s chest is too much to keep inside. They must release them, good or bad.

But how do you decide whether the writing profession is for you? There are plenty of talented writers out there who choose another path. How do you know this is the right one for you?

If you’ve tried to leave it but kept coming back.

Sign #1. You tried not to write. You willed yourself not to do it. But reading just wasn’t enough for you. You couldn’t bear to just be in someone else’s world. You had to create your own.

If you know you’re in it for the long haul.

There is no such thing as instant success in the writing world. It is a long and arduous path. You will be exhausted, you will feel disappointed, you will want to quit. But your vision is long-term and you can handle the waiting game.

If you’ve looked writer’s block in the eye and made it your b****.

Yup, I went there. Writer’s block can take you down and keep you down. You have to choose not to let it win. You have to fight for every word you write. If you can do that, you’re a writer.

If you’re willing to make sacrifices.

Writers make all kinds of sacrifices, whether it’s their social life, having a secure job, income, etc. You don’t have to quit your day job to become a writer (definitely pay your bills, people), but you may have to cancel your evening plans in order to stay true to your scheduled writing time. Or maybe instead of that lavish vacation you’ve been wanting, you should look up writing conferences instead. Writers make sacrifices, but they know it will be worth it.

Writers are magicians. And like any good magician, a writer must practice their craft. This profession is not for the faint of heart. Do you think you can do it? (I think so.)

~Liz

Follow me @wethewriters on Instagram and @liz_tampa on Twitter.

Show Me What You’ve Got

Show and tell. I remember getting so hyped in kindergarten to show off whatever pet rock I currently owned or my latest horrific drawing.

But let’s be real for a minute. In kindergarten you can barely string two sentences together without losing your entire audience. The glory of show and tell had nothing to do with the telling, it was all about the show.

When you read a book, a good book mind you, you’re often so engrossed in the story that you miss the fact that the author is describing to you the richness of their world. When you write a book, a good book mind you, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the reader to know the story as fast as possible. You’re excited, it makes sense. Unfortunately, too much telling ends up looking a bit like word vomit.

But, that doesn’t mean we show off all our goodies too. There’s a balance, but yes, the scales do tip more toward the show side. Sorry friends, Lady Justice isn’t completely impartial.

So what does that mean for you?

It means that when you write and edit you need to look out for opportunities to give your story some flavor. Instead of giving your audience their usual mac and cheese (which they love), you might want to change things up with a new dish or two. Maybe some stir fry or a juicy burger.

How do you switch gears from telling to showing? Here are some simple ideas to get your brain in the right gear:

Classical Rewrite

This is currently my favorite exercise in grad school right now. Choose a classic, any classic, and rewrite a scene. Focus on showing the story through action, thoughts, and emotions. Instead of writing “It was cold.” try “His skin prickled as the goosebumps trailed up his arms. He pulled his coat tighter against the chill.” It’s a little dramatic, but you get the picture. Go as big as you want, knowing you may have to tone it down when you get to the final draft.

From Script to Screen

Find a product you love around the house. Anything from your clothes to your couch to your favorite candle. If you had to advertise this product on TV, what would you want to show. For example, I have a White Barn scented candle lit next to me. It supposedly smells like Cactus Blossom, which unfortunately I can’t verify. But that doesn’t matter. How would I market this product? How would I show on screen that it smells delicious?

I could show someone relaxing in the tub with this candle lit nearby. I can show the flames reflecting off something personal, like a family photo to suggest it’s good for everyone. I can show someone freaking out about not finding a lighter, because using this candle is obviously life or death.

Try to think about objects and people (note: not the same thing) in terms you aren’t used to. When you think in ways you aren’t comfortable with you tend to stumble across gold.

From Stage to Script

Take straight dialogue and turn it into straight action. No spoken or thought words. None. Only action. It’s similar to the first exercise except that you’re using a play, which are notoriously dialogue heavy. How would you take a song from Cats and rewrite it into an alley scene between two strays? Or how would you take the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (gag me) and show it without either of them speaking? Kinda fun, right?

Listen to my friend Anton Chekhov. He knows what’s good for you (and me). Take the time to flesh out the details of your writing, letting your reader experience the story with your characters. It will engage your audience and keep them coming back for more.

~Liz

Follow me @wethewriters on Instagram and @liz_tampa on Twitter.

How to Keep Your Creative Muscles Strong

Like anyone with a physical hobby who needs to work out to stay on top of their game, writers need to exercise their brain to keep their creative muscles from going dormant. Aside from a pen a paper, what you need most is time and solitude.

A few ideas wouldn’t hurt, either.

But how do you get those ideas? How do you stretch and grow the muscles in your brain to make your writing better?

The answer is simple: practice.

Here are a couple ways you can practice your writing that will help kindle your imagination (Some of them may seem familiar from a previous blog post. They’re worth repeating.):

Freewriting

Freewriting is an easy way to open up your mind to new ideas that may be stuck there in the clutter. To freewrite, just grab a pen and paper and set yourself a timer for 30 minutes. During that time just let the words flow. It doesn’t have to make sense. You can have a disjointed stream of consciousness or the beginning of a story.

But make sure you keep going for the duration of whatever time you choose to write. This exercise isn’t just to free up your ideas; it’s also to help your writing endurance. You don’t just run a 5k without first running a mile, then two miles, then three, building up your lung and leg strength.

Try to do this at least once a week, if not more.

Find a Photo and Tell a Story

Ever heard of Ransom Riggs? He’s the author of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It’s this little best-seller turned major motion picture inspired from a set of vintage photographs. I don’t think I need to make a further case here for why this method is worth a try.

It’s as simple as this: find a photo and write a story centered on it. Your characters can be in the photo, own the photo, have been to the place in the photo. Try to be creative with it. I once wrote a short story based off a picture of a cardboard box about a soldier getting a care package from home.

Don’t just choose pictures that are easy to write about. Choose the difficult ones, too. This will help your creativity muscles when you found you’ve written yourself into a corner and need a way out.

Rewrite a Story from a Different Point of View

This can be something you’re already working on or a piece of a story written by someone else. If it’s written in 1st person, change the character. If it’s in the 3rd, try writing it in the 1st. If you really want to have some fun, incorporate 2nd person. If this is done well, it can be a really interesting twist.

Rewrite Dialogue into Action

This was a project we just did in one of my grad school courses and I loved it! Take a dialogue heavy scene and rewrite it with pure action. Use character’s expressions, body language/movements, and sounds to express what they’re thinking.

It’s a really fun and unique exercise that will have you pushing the boundaries. It also makes you appreciate dialogue that can be straight to the point and tell exactly what the character is thinking and how they feel. But it will also open your eyes to the possibility of choosing a different form of expression. You may just find yourself rewriting your own dialogue heavy scene into something more vivid for the reader.

Most importantly, don’t let the moments of frustration cause you to quit. Every single writer has felt the urge to give up and try another day (or not at all). There are times you may have to lay an idea or manuscript to rest, and that’s okay. What you do after that is what makes you a writer.

~Liz

Follow me @wethewriters on Instagram and @liz_tampa on Twitter!

 

 

Writing Characters: Give them Problems

Conflict is what makes a story worth reading. Why? Maybe we’re all sick people who like watching others suffer. Or maybe we enjoy the feeling that someone else’s life is worse than ours. Or maybe, just maybe, perfection is boring.

For those of us not in jail, I think it might be the latter (or I hope anyway). These conflicts can come in two forms: internal and external.

Now, I know you know all this, and I would hate to waste your time. So I’m going to cut to the nitty gritty: how do you develop and show these problems?

The conflict is essentially your plot. As your plot progresses, your character should make contact with the antagonist, realize the depth of their situation, stumble their way through, and finally fight their way out and (potentially) overcome. Now, that is NOT a legitimate plot outline. I will discuss plot in depth in the future, but if I’ve said it once I’ve said it a million times, just go buy Larry Brooks’ books on plot. Best books on how to write ever. Did you get that?

E.V.E.R.

Okay, back to conflict (can you believe I wasn’t even paid for that awesome plug up there^^^?). Your character NEEDS a major internal conflict and a major external conflict.

Your internal conflict is going to be what drives your character externally. Let’s take Harry Potter from his first book (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for those of you living under a rock). He’s a young wizard with no parents who has to live up to this “boy who lived” reputation on multiple levels. Externally, Harry is trying to find the sorcerer’s stone and stop Snape from stealing it. Internally, Harry is being driven by the desire to feel accepted.

How do I know this, you ask?

Well, aside from the fact JK and I are besties (JK), we know several key things about Harry that point us this way:

• His aunt and uncle shunned him his whole life: see whole first chapter.
• He does anything he can to be the hero (though I don’t think his 11 year old brain thinks of it in these terms): see remembrall scene, troll scene, and any scene with a snitch involved.
• He wants people to like him: see sorting hat scene, see introducing new friends to Hagrid and vice versa, see parents in mirror scene.

Harry wants to feel accepted into the wizarding world after being kept from it so long. Who can blame him?

These feelings drive Harry to find the sorcerer’s stone more than his desire to keep it from Snape. What’s it to Harry if Snape has the stone? The stone means nothing to Harry without the idea that saving the stone equals being accepted in Harry’s mind.

So when you write your characters, what internal conflict does your character struggle with, and how can you use it to impact the external conflict of your plot?

~Liz

Follow me @liz_tampa on Twitter and @wethewriters on Instagram.

 

Writing Characters: Give Them Purpose

I always thought calling characters round or flat was rather stupid. Where is the line when my flat character with a food baby turns into something pudgy and glorious?

Rather than label characters by their density, let’s label them by their purpose.

How do you weed out the purposeful characters from the purposeless? Easy! Here’s how:

• Is your character merely there for comedic relief or do they have a role no other character can fulfill? If it’s the former, write them out or give them a purpose to live other than to make people laugh. Unless your book is about a comedian, then carry on.
• Is your character responding to every situation in the same manner? (ie: always sarcastic, defensive, mistrusting, etc.) If so, give them a bigger personality. People often contradict themselves and it’s okay to have a character be shy but sometimes chatty if the mood is right. Just be consistent with it.
• Does your character stay the same throughout the story? If so, change their situation to force them to grow. It’s not realistic for a character to emerge from a trial unscathed.
• If it’s a secondary character, do they help the main character(s) in a way no one else can?
• And probably one of the most important questions, does your character help fulfill the theme of your story? If the answer to this is no, and the character in question is important, then you seriously need to rethink the character or the theme.

Giving your characters a purpose will give them life. If they have no purpose, then you have no story. (Sorry for the harshness, my husband says I’m mean sometimes.)

If you don’t want to hear it from me, maybe Hemingway can convince you…

Living people have purpose, and where there is purpose there is personality, contradictions in thoughts and actions, and desire.

What’s the best living person/character you’ve ever read and why?

~Liz

Follow me @liz_tampa on Twitter and @wethewriters on Instagram.