editorial meeting schmozamerang
4 hours ago
Thinking about cliches and originality, I remembered something in my past.
Back when I started writing in high school, my first story was a sci-fi with dramatic emotional scenes, especially between this one woman and her sadistic mother. I put it up on fictionpress.net and got no comments/reviews. None. I wanted comments! So I decided to write a story that would attract positive comments from my peers.
I made it as "anime" as possible. It was set in a high school that taught warfare. The characters included the typical handsome genius, the girly main female character, a set of twins, and a short-tempered delinquent. And of course, lots of rivalry. There was no backstory. No character arcs. The characters were flat and superficial. Every chapter was like an episode and it was riddiculously unrealistic.
But I got reviews.
I got LOTS of reviews.
If I had kept writing consistently, I would have probably gotten enough readers to start a fan club. I got comments like "THIS IS THE BEST STORY EVER" and "AMAZING! KEEP WRITING." in caps and everything.
But a friend of mine didn't like the story. Not liking that, I thought about the story. After I took it off the site, I gave the characters back stories and depth. The story now has serious undertones and twists. My friend loved the changes. I did too.
I look back on the original version and shudder.
Yeah, even I was crappy in the beginning.
Now I wonder...if I posted the new version at that website, would I get any reviews? Why do younger readers settle on mediocre storytelling? And I'm not talking about genre fiction, I'm talking about COMPLETELY unoriginal or just plain ridiculous ideas and poor writing in general...like a certain vampire series everyone's in love with...
A sparkly vampire? Come on! Vampires drink blood. They're killers no matter how you mess around with the myth. That fact never changes. How on earth can something that dark be sparkly? When sunlight hits them, THEY DIE. Or at least something negative should happen to them. It counters the fact they're so powerful. Otherwise, it's not interesting.
But here's my theory. I think teenagers nowadays just don't know better. They don't know what could be. How much better, more interesting, more dramatic, more...amazing a story can really be. They just need to read more.
But that's what I think. What about you? Leave a comment and let me know. I like comments.
I've hit a wall in my writing endeavors. Though in the past week, I've been doing really well. I've begun my morning routine again and wrote 500 words every morning for over a week...until yesterday.
At Borders, I saw a book that caught my attention. "On Becoming a Novelist" by John Gardner. Okay, I've heard this guy's name more than once so I figured he was someone who was an amazing writer, thus credible (plus, we share the same last name.).
So I sit down and read a few pages. At first, it was hard cause his long sentences made me drowsy (they always do), but I knew he was saying something important here so I stupidly bought the book.
I wish I hadn't.
The way I interpret what the first chapter is saying is that there are certain traits a writer needs if they wish to be a true novelist. The first one I didn't have; a passion for language. I had none. None at all. Hell, I didn't even want to write till I was in High School and it was the only way I could share the stories that played in my head like movies. I was very content with keeping them there and just telling people, but that wasn't working out. I thought writing was a chore. And lets face it, it is a lot of work.
Then Gardner talks about what he calls "hack writers". They are those who don't really think about the phrases and words they use. It's usually cliches or have the same feeling of cliches. But they are idealistic and don't have no real truth to them. He writes that they can be successful and admired, but they are not true artists. He claims their works wouldn't survive and don't add anything to humanity.
What sucks is that I agree with him. It's true. This is the first time I really came face to face with the Literary vs Commercial Fiction debate. I really didn't think about it till now. But now I totally understand the "elitist's" point of view. The fact is the way I write and the way the stories I love are written aren't going to change the world. They're not really thought provoking. And no way they're going to win any Pulitzer Prizes or impact humanity in any way.
Unless I decide to become a "true artist" and seriously work on my writing style, I wasn't going to impress anybody with my simple (almost lazy) style. My English education has been somewhat limited since I've lived most of my life on island where Spanish is the primary language. It would probably take me years of study, maybe even decades before I'd be "good" enough to publish anything "truly worthy."
But here I was stuck. Did I really want that? Can't I live with just being a commercial fiction writer? Do I really want to put in the tremendous effort to be great, immortal even?
I stopped writing. I was confused...until today.
While at Borders, I bought another book. "Beyond the Shadows" Book 3 of the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. It's a dark fantasy about assassins and immortals (and sex. Lots of it). I had already read the book (I read/own the first two books and NEEDED to read the last so I downloaded it, while feeling bad about it), so I bought the third to complete the set and pay my respects to the author.
After reading Gardner's book, I picked up Brent's book and skimmed through it, paying attention to the words and sentences he used.
Sorry, Weeks. It's true. Though the phrasing wasn't cliche, it was simple and had the feeling of cliche. There was no heavy thinking in language or style here. There were no complicated, deep metaphors. No unique word usage. Nothing. This was the type of book Gardner was referring to.
But I realized something. As I was just skimming through the book, more than once I laughed. More than once I stopped and re-read entire scenes again. And more than once I flipped to my favorite scenes to read again.
Goddamnit, the story was entertaining.
That's when it hit me. The first time I heard the name Proust, it was in a writing book. Not just him, Gardner and other writing books refer to these other literary giants that not only have I never heard of, I've never heard of their works either. Yet they were giants? Immortal?
So what about us? What about those who get drowsy when reading long sentences and poetic imagery? What about us who never read a serious literary book? What about us who just want a damn good story? What about us who don't have that big of a vocabulary and can't understand half the big (or small) fancy words that are original and unique?
If I am a hack writer, does that make my readers hacks too? Or worse, stupid? Maybe. I don't know.
All I know is that the types of books I love, the stories that have moved and influenced my writing me over the years, are the types of stories I wish to create. I wish to give those emotions, those feelings to others. I may not become immortal or whatever, but at least I've been true to myself. And that's really what it comes down to.
And that's all I wanted to say.
What did I write today? 520 words of my NaNoWriMo novel.
The return of the word count! Let's see if I don't embarrass myself this time.
I took a good hard look at my writing goals and I realized it doesn't really matter what I produce at the end of the day as long as I produce something.
This isn't new. I've been told this for years and probably those who come across my blog have been told this too before reading it here. But you know, I hear somewhere that repetition is the key to mastery.
I may have a lofty goal. But the goal isn't worth it if it keeps me from writing anything. Habits are more important. Even if I write 5 words a day, if I consistently write those word as at the same time every day, I program my brain into thinking, this is the time I write. And I will write.
Even if I miss my own deadlines or am falling faaar behind, if I can just be consistent, it can't get any worse.
Maybe instead of playing catch up, I should just do my minimum the next day and then when I have a weekend, catch up then. That way I keep my momentum and don't overwhelm myself.
But where and when does quality enter the mix? When is quality becomes more important than quantity?
I'm honestly not sure. Any ideas?
This post is brought to you by the letter for Awareness.
I am aware that I know less than I thought I knew.
Last NaNo, I stayed focused the entire time.
The complete opposite of what I'm doing now. It's like I've gotten amnesia. So, in an attempt to alleviate this condition and recover my memories, I decided to go back and think of what exactly I did in order to write those 85,000 words.
How I Won NaNoWriMo 2008:
- The Snap
So I just snapped. I got fed up.
I spent nearly 30 minutes convincing myself mentally that if I don't write this book, I will never write a book, and I will never achieve my dreams. I was using what I learned from Tony Robbins' technique of associating pain to not doing what I needed to do, and then I followed it up by imagining how great it would feel to finish!
Afterwards, I was so motivated that I vowed to write the entire 12,000 words I needed that night... Of course it was early the next day by the time I finished, but the victory did wonders to my self-confidence and motivation.
- The Goal and The Reward
I checked my e-mail and found a advertisement for the Writer's Digest first ever Editor's Intensive Event. It was set in December and included a 30 min interview with a WD editor who has read the first 50 pages of your manuscript.
I didn't have the money for the trip, but I didn't believe in coincidences.
I jumped at the opportunity. I had enough to register, so I paid for it that moment so I wouldn't lose my seat. BUT, I strictly told myself that I couldn't go and lose my money (they didn't give refunds) if I didn't finish my novel by November 31.
Then I sat down and figured out what I needed to do in order to finish the novel. I did some research and saw that the max word count for fantasy was 120,000. So I calculated what I needed to do to make that goal. In the end, I decided on 3,000 words a day and a 85,000 word goal. Now to actually do it...
- The Daily Routine
I was up at 4am every morning. I did Morning Pages for an hour, then write from 5am-8am. I had class at 8am-10am and again at 10am-12pm. After class, I quickly finished whatever words was left from my 3k mark. Then I did my homework. Then I practice basketball (I was on the team). In order to wake up so early and not be a zombie, I went to bed every night around 9-10pm.
This was my ritual, every day I did the same thing. If I somehow failed to meet my words, I'd make it up that night or the next. That month I also spent a lot of time with a new friend (now my best friend) and slept over a few times. In fact, I wrote my final words at her house. She was very supportive and thought I was really cool writing a book and all. More motivation! And I had thought I was a geek...
- The Sacrifice
I had to get money fast before the ticket prices shot up.
I was/am into a lot of artsy things. One of earlier dreams was to become a musician. I even took a semester as a music major for the violin and piano. At the time, I was very serious and bought a piano and a violin, both of which were very expensive. So I made a decision. I decided to give up my dream of being a musician and focus on my dream of being a published author, like a proof of my devotion, and sold both instruments.
It was a pretty close call and I barely had enough, but I did it.
And on Novemember 29, 2009 at 4:15 am, for the very first time, I finished the rough draft of a novel.
(I had wanted to win a day early just to be safe.)
That's how I did it.
Looking back, it seems to come all down to motivation. The Reason. What I lose by not doing it. What I gain when I do. When this clear and embedded in my mind, everything becomes easier cause I'm not fighting against myself. My mind and body is working with me cause it doesn't want the pain of not doing it.
Interesting. Looks like I found my answer ^_^.
I'm not even going to bother putting up my current word count of the day.
When I have more time and life stops being so hectic and stressful, I promise to make more informative and entertaining posts. Also, more consistent ones too. Until then, you get these spur of the moment musings.
Now on today's musing...
I'm an ambitious and honest person. I am honest enough to know that I have great potential (though luckily modest enough not to say this out loud or in public). But I also have some anxiety issues. Like most writers, I have an intense fear of failure (or success; I do then to be self-sabotaging). So my ambition and my fear often go at it like mad dogs.
Unfortunately, fear wins more times than I'd like to admit.
Last entry, I made the ambitious goal of writing 210,000 words in November.
I think I spoke a little too hasty. School has become rather nerve wracking (life in general too) and I'm starting to recognize that perhaps my anxiety issues are affecting my life a bit more than the normal writer/student. Thus, I've made an appointment with a psychiatrist for next week. (Dun dun duuun).
So, I've decided that it would be smart to lower my ambitious goal (since I'm very behind as it is) from 210,000 to 90,000-120,000 words. That may still be too high, but I want to at least start and finish one complete novel and I don't believe 50,000 words cut it.
I hate eating my words, but I must be realistic. If you're also like me who bites more than you can chew, please look at your goal and look at your progress. If the over-ambitious goal itself is keeping you from even accomplishing anything at all, perhaps its time to reconsider your goal.
Achieving a small goal is better than failing a big goal.
Take it from me. And besides. A bunch of small goals all lead to one big one: your happiness and sense of fulfillment.
And that's all I have to say today.
To all writers (attempting NaNoWriMo or not)...
Have a great writing day! ^_^
What did I write today? Nothing...yet XD. But wrote over 824 new words this week for a writing assignment.
I've been M.I.A. for a while now due to an evil bout of depression and apathy (which I find a much eviler foe for a writer). But I've gotten back in the saddle a few days ago and back with a vengeance!
See, I've decide to join the bandwagon and do NaNoWriMo this year. I did it last year and won by writing over 85,000 words that month alone, finishing my VERY rough draft of my first completed novel. I was very VERY proud of that. Still am.
This year, I've decided to go even more insane and somehow not only write a completely new novel, but finish the rewrite of my old NaNo. Thus...
I plan to write 210,000 words in 30 days!
Dun dun DUUUUN. Crazy. Will I do it? No idea. It's 7k words a day and I know I can do it if I have the right motivation.
Now, I must keep this short because I'm extra busy. I just wanted you to know I'm alive and well and am back. So I'll leave this with two questions.
When you have have a ambitious goal (writing or otherwise) how do you keep motivated and get the job done?
When depression and the "what's the point?" mood settles in, what's your way of snapping out of it?
What did I write today? Nothing today or yesterday, but 767 words on Tuesday.
...Is not a creative one.
Lately I've been having some problems, mostly regarding money and my current lack of it, which have been weighing heavily on my mind. Despite all my attempts to put it out of my head when I try to write, I think it still lingers in the back and I cannot bring myself to even try to motivate myself.
I feel like my attention should be spent on more important things, or at the very least not on something as hard as writing (especially RE-writing). Doesn't help that I gave myself extremely ambitious goals and I still (for some insane reason) intend to meet them despite how behind I am.
I guess I just don't like to give in.
This is probably why I prefer writing in the very early hours of the day. It's too early to worry about anything because it's do early to do anything about them, but the problems have gotten to the point that even then its hard to focus. Even at night, it feels as if I am burdened with guilt of "why didn't I do more?" or "what am I going to do tomorrow?" or "what will I do if ______ doesn't happen?" etc. Even if I make a plan and put it out of my head, I still feel that lingering stress that doesn't want to leave.
Maybe I'm just down because I missed so many days of writing. I think most writers just don't feel right if they don't get words down in the day. I know my day will be absolutely dreadful if I don't do my Morning Pages.
I suppose the trick is to write when I can (in the morning!) and not be too hard on myself. Even a little productivity is better than none. If it isn't even writing, that's still good. I also had college responsibilities I also had to meet and so it isn't really surprising that I couldn't bring myself to write anything creatively yesterday.
In the end, these are all excuses.
An empty is a productive one.
If I just stop worrying so much about everything and just sit down and write, the words will flow.
I know this. It just feels a bit too hard to do at the moment and I felt like ranting a little.
Don't we all at one point?
(Sorry for skipping a post. That time I actually had homework and ran out of time. Next time though I have an interesting post already planned. An idea inspired during my Morning Pages. ^^)
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