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Nov

08

It’s Not Life Without Some Ups & Downs

Posted by : E.v.R. | On : November 8, 2006

Category: Creative Process, Life

Yesterday was a down. Was pretty tired, and then there was that whole symbolic reminder.

Back in the spring my wife was pregnant. In our excitement, aside from naively telling everyone, and then having to untell everyone, she signed up on all the manufacturer websites, entering her due date and what not. Well it turned out the baby had stopped developing after 6 weeks or so. It was a little heartbreaking, but we got over it. I had put it out of my mind, until just yesterday.

Because the due date was in the last week of November, we’ve started receiving all the free sample gifts from the manufacturers. and when I got home there was a huge package in the mail… it was a box containing two large cans of infant formula.

It’s funny how you put a thing like that out of your mind, and then this big symbol of your disappointment arrives in the mail. Something as innocuous as a couple cans of infant formula can send you into a mini-spiral. You thought you were over it… or you didn’t even think at all, and then whammo. Any of you writing that Lifetime channel drama can feel free to use this nugget if you want. I’d put it in my sci-fi pulp action novel but somehow I don’t think it’ll fit. That bit O’ drama is free, on me.

Today was ‘up.’ I tackled a really fun scene of my story and wrote about 3K words. I also finished Handbook of Creativity, and started reading Writing The Breakout Novel. Things are looking up.

The playing field isn’t always level. When you’re down, keep your chin up. When you’re up, enjoy it while it lasts… and try to do that little extra because you’ll need that buffer for when you’re down.

What would be the life of a creative person without some ups and downs? Put it into your work, if you can.

Nov

06

Just Write Already!

Posted by : E.v.R. | On : November 6, 2006

Category: Creative Process, NaNoWriMo

Therese has a Tinker-Free post up over at Writer Unboxed, talking about the painful beauty of NaNoWriMo. I’m with her 100%. I love to plot. I love to arrange my scenes. I love to think up the big ideas, and jot down notes about them. The reason NaNo is so painful is because it strips all that away. During November, there is only writing. Forget about plotting, outlining, note-taking, and daydreaming.

The true point of NaNoWriMo shows its ugly face; Just write. Ugly or not, painful or not, fun or not. Write. All the subtleties and variety of storycraft gets reduced to that simple mechanical action. Throw words at the wall and hope they stick. And even if they don’t, throw them at the wall anyway.

Just write already.

Nov

04

Connective Fiction & Deeper Worlds

Posted by : E.v.R. | On : November 4, 2006

Category: Creative Process, Story Structure

nervesI broke 7176 words this morning for the 2006 NaNoWriMo, I realize I’m settling into a pretty good pattern and there is an awesome reason for it.

You see, this is the second story in a series. Not a sequel, but a chronology-free series of stories. They are all set in the same universe and many of the characters have intersecting paths throughout the different books.

This ‘character-story connectionism’ also provides me with a great writing benefit that I didn’t fully appreciate until just today. The connecting character paths from the two books strengthens the depth of the world and hopefully the connection with the reader as well. This gets me really excited as a writer. There is a feedback loop going on here. I grasp a taste of what is in store for the reader, and how cool it seems to me because I’m writing something I would love to read. That realization fuels my writing even more, and so the creative cycle is renewed with a stronger motivation and energy.

The idea to connect all my stories in a character-centric way, rather than a strictly chronological way, has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. It gets me excited for my next story as well, and the future of my fictional universe.

Building a rich tapestry is exciting, and one of the most rewarding things I am getting out of the writing process so far.

Do any of your stories feature intersecting plotlines? Do you continue to write more than one story in the same world, building a rich arsenal of characters and places? What elements are important in order for you to feel emotionally invested in the fictional world, both as a writer and as a reader?