"You don't need to wait for inspiration to write. It's easier to be inspired while writing than while not writing, so you don't need to be inspired to sit down and begin. You don't need to be 'in the mood.' I think you will benefit if you don't worry about moods: One, you will get in the habit of writing under any circumstances; two, since writing reflects your mental state, you will have a diversity of moods in your piece. The diversity will make your writing more interesting."
~Josip Novakovich~
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
It's inevitable, the more you write, that the more you will appear on the page in all of your variations.
But you are not the characters of your novels, and they should be allowed the freedom to flourish--to step out on their own and tell their stories.
In order to write them effectively you will need to get inside their minds, of course, but their minds are not yours.
Cast your ego aside and write freely.
One of the best feelings (apart from writing "the end") is that moment when a character does something that wholly surprises us. Something that ties into the plot and narrative arc so perfectly it's almost as if it were imagined from the onset. Something unexpected, but was so clearly meant to happen.
These moments are magic, but they're unlikely to occur if you're writing through a filter of capital S Self.
For draft one, put away the writer to become the character.
And, as always, Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
First person or third person, there is no "wrong" point of view for your story (provided, of course, you've made every effort to find the best point of view). There are pros and cons to each, though, and some things that should be taken into consideration if you do want to tackle that first person narrator.
The first is to remember that you don't have the same freedom with first person as you do third. Because you are speaking as I, me, we, our, etc., you are limited by what your narrator witnesses and experiences firsthand.
This also means there's a key feature you don't have access to as a writer:
The narrator's face.
Sure, you can describe what's happening if they're looking in a mirror, but we often consider that cheating.
Think about it:
She lined her plump, pink lips with a red pencil, brushed a few flecks of mascara off the high cheekbones she inherited from her grandmother.
And perhaps that's not awful. If you're going to use a mirror to describe a character, at least pick unusual features to discuss. That said, you can do better than giving us a basic blonde hair/blue-eyed summary of the girl we'll have to follow for the next two hundred pages just because she happens to be brushing her teeth.
But I digress.
Back to the face. In first person.
An expression of sadness crossed my face.
How do you know? You can't see your face. You can tell us you frowned, but describing a specific expression--something you would see on another character's face if you were standing in front of him or her--doesn't work in first person writing.
What about blushing?
My cheeks grew red with embarrassment.
Again, how do you know they're red? The first person narrator, when thrust in an awkward situation, doesn't know what color his cheeks are, so a different way is needed to convey this. He can feel the heat in his cheeks or the warmth creeping up his neck and into his cheeks, but he Can't. See. The Actual Color.
Another thing to watch out for with the first person narrator: the phrase "to myself."
I said to myself.
I thought to myself.
There are more deft ways to characterize thinking or speaking to oneself, and this kind of phrasing is redundant. "I said" works perfectly fine. If you need to clarify that no one else can hear, then the character can "mutter" or "whisper." He can be speaking "so low she couldn't hear me" or "under my breath." And thoughts are just thoughts . . . which brings me to my next point:
Avoid announcements.
My thoughts drifted.
I remembered.
A writer doesn't have to tell the reader the narrator is thinking. We're smart enough to discern action from dialogue and something that's currently happening in the narrative versus something that happened in the past, so go ahead and present the memory without labeling it.
I know not every reader feels the same way, but I love a first person narrator done well. There are some pitfalls, but these can easily be avoided with additional attention to detail.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
As a writer about to tackle a new project, it doesn't hurt to consider all the various points of view from which your story could be told.
Think about the perennial classic The Great Gatsby, for instance.
How would the story have been different had Jay Gatsby been the one to tell it? What if Daisy Buchanan had been given narrator privileges? What about her husband? What if Myrtle Wilson had been allowed to tell her side of the story?
Each of these tellings would have given us a very different--very unique--look at a moment in the lives of these characters. (And no single telling would have been more "right" or "wrong" than another.)
Despite experiencing the same events, no two characters will ever tell the same story. This is especially important to keep in mind if you plan to write in the first person, because not only will the story be different, but who tells your story determines what kind of tone it will adopt.
So before you begin writing, it doesn't hurt to ask yourself what kind of story you want to tell.
Who will make the best narrator?
-The person who has the most to gain or lose
-The person who will be present at the climax
-The person who will appear in most of the major scenes of the story
-The person who can provide an interesting outlook or a fresh perspective
If you're not sure, sit down and write a few pages from each character's perspective and go with the one that feels most compelling. (You could also decide that two POVs are in order, or that everyone should have their say.) After all, if you're going to string 75k coherent words together, the story needs to be riveting enough to keep you coming back to the page day after day, and choosing the right narrator is an important first step.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
Things rarely go as expected, leaving us feeling frustrated much of the time. This is a fact of life.
This should also be true for the characters in your story world.
Frustration (though it will appear in many forms) is what drives your plot--how a character reacts when he or she doesn't get what they want is what will keep the story moving forward, and how they deal with their frustrations will tell us a lot about them as people.
So it's safe to say that frustration is one of the key building blocks of storytelling.
No frustration? No story.
What does my character want that she's not getting?
How does she react to this?
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
A character's death is a big deal, and it can be tempting to draw this out over the course of several paragraphs (or, God forbid, pages), articulating every groan and sigh and/or prick of pain--every final thought that runs through his or her mind.
But such descriptions can come across as lurid to the reader--overdone, melodramatic, and even histrionic.
The best route to take when writing a death scene?
Understatement.
Keep the language and descriptions simple--only include the most relevant details.
Focus on how the characters around the dying react rather than the death itself.
Oh, and we rarely get to offer deathbed confessions, so try to avoid characters who go on at length about loves, losses, recantations, regrets, etc.
Your readers are smart. They know how to handle a dying character, and the more subtle your narration, the greater the impact it's likely to have.
Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It's that time again!
This particular post has become something of a tradition with me, so, without further ado, five things to remember when setting your goals for the new year:
1. Write the Goals Down
It's proven that just in writing your goals down, you're more likely to accomplish them. Make a list and keep it handy. (But don't overload yourself. Limit your list to the three to ten things you MOST want to accomplish.)
2. Make them SpecificDon't just say you want to "read more" or "write more." Write down how many books you want to read a week. Determine how many words you want to write a day, and which story (or stories) you want to write.3. Create a Plan and Set DeadlinesWhat will it take to read a certain number of books in a year? Trips to the library? Penciling "reading time" into your schedule? If I wanted to read six books a month, that's one book every five days. With due dates, that's two individual trips to the library. The first and fifteenth could be designated library days. I could find a quiet place and read for thirty minutes after dinner every evening. . . . Get an action plan together.4. Get Out of the WayI fully believe that we are in control of our own destiny. I'm not a fan of assigning blame or even letting past events or situations affect our today and tomorrow. Don't sabotage your goals with a negative mindset. Believe in yourself.And that voice in your head that says you can't? He's a liar. Tell him to shut the hell up.
5. Remember WHY These Goals Were Set
Maybe it's to become more well-rounded. Maybe it's to step outside of a comfort zone. The "why" is just as important as the "what" and "how." This is what you will return to when the road gets tough. So . . . what do you want to accomplish in 2019?Your goals don't have to be reading or writing-related, either. Make this the year you get healthy--both physically and spiritually. Make this the year you save for that trip. Learn that language. Work for that promotion. Make that career change. Go back to school.Step into your "discomfort" zone. Live intentionally.Figure out what matters most to you and make those tough decisions (if necessary). Get moving.
And, as always: Be Brilliant!
~Katie~
