Writing: Stage 0.1
I’ve had my writing on hold for quite a long time. Now that I’ve been working on this blog (1st birthday just over a week ago) I have been writing semi-consistently for the past year, with the last couple of months becoming even more steady. I am ALMOST ready to start looking into the stories I want to write.
I have begun to read more, which has always been the required first step! I may not have read many novels yet this year, but I will be getting into it even more as the year progresses. The more I read, the stronger the itch to put pen to paper becomes. I am being patient however, as I have gone down this road before; rushed into it when I shouldn’t have and it all came to a screeching halt – resulting in a twisted, burning lump of unresolved characters, plots and environments. Not this time.
I want to get at least a few more novels under my belt this year, but I also want to start to look into some information about writing in general, as it has been a long time since I have written properly so I need to make sure my writing is solid and that I don’t go breaking common English language rules. I also need to make sure my writing is interesting and deep and has some form on unique quality to it. I don’t want for it to be just an average run-of-the-mill story…I know that the first few things that I write will be rough and I’m prepared for that. When I get to working on my major idea, I don’t want to be rusty. I want to be flourishing, I want to be pumping out a few pages of text a day and showing no signs of slowing.
Where does that leave me for now? Well, it means that I need to continue reading. Simultaneously, I need to start delving into the vast amount of knowledge being sharing throughout the internet, become a sponge and absorb as much as I can. I need to look at plot, character development, descriptions….everything. Time to refine the art.
My ultimate goal in all of this (and is one of the two major reasons I started this blog) is to get at least one of my stories published within my lifetime. I’m not expecting to become a world famous author, as to try to set out with that goal in mind is a bit presumptuous. However, if I hit on amazing idea and am able to capitalise off it in that way, then hey, I won’t be complaining! However, there are so many others searching for this holy grail that it can become a bit disheartening, but I am willing to toil, I want to succeed….my year 7, year 9 and year 12 English teachers would be disappointed if I didn’t try.
I will be posting updates on how I’m going, the thoughts I’ve got running and what I’m feeling towards my writing. I’m still undecided on if I’m going to share sections of my story on here, (see my thoughts on Laney’s blog) as it can be taken by anyone and then they can weave their own story from it. This worries me, as these ideas have come to me in dreams, from ideas clashing from other stories and movies and just things that I’ve thought would make excellent stories. If these ideas were then stripped from me, I would be quite annoyed. So I’m still undecided. What do you think?
I’m also undecided on the medium that I want to use to write these stories. Should I do it the old fashion way and hand write it all? Or should I write it all up on my laptop? It’s a tough call. I would love to write everything by hand, however, I find that my brain is going 100 kilometres an hour, but my hand can only write at ten. I lose ideas and my train of thought becomes derailed and I forget the great ideas that were forming – they return to smoky wisps, dissolving into the far reaches of my mind. Even though my typing is relatively quick, I still feel it is too slow, as I do make mistakes and so going back and correcting is a real pain. My other idea is to use voice recognition, however, in my version of Microsoft office, it is not supported! The frustration! Oh well. I’ve been thinking about getting Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. However, it is quite expensive, as it can do so much, not just listening to your voice and dictating. it allows you to perform commands on other office programs and also web browsers. I was thinking of getting the home edition, which is half the price, but then that cuts out all the other useful features. I think I will just wait it out, continue with handwriting for now and then make the switch!
Alright, back to reading! Bring it on!
Submeg
writing
SUBMEG 
As ideas come to you, write them down–right then. Buy a few notebook for various areas of your spaces, so when you’re struck with an idea, a notebook is within reach. When I began I used to be woken up in the night–if this happens, get up and write your thoughts or they will evaporate by morning. Once you’ve collected various thoughts and ideas, you’ll have a better direction for beginning your novel. Thanks for the ping back:)
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I never thought to have multiple books…I will have to get onto that! Good tip!
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Absolutely agree with Laney! Plus should you have a scene that just keeps coming back to you, write it out in full, even if you don’t know what it is for…it’ll clear your head if nothing else.
(I did that for my script The lawns, it was a scene that I created following a dream – initially I used it at the beginning of the script, it gradualy kept being pushed back and ended up being one of the final ones).
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Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I don’t have the same dreams over and over, and so they don’t get stuck in my head. If only…usually the only way I remember a dream is if I do something that sparks an off the cuff thought that locks in with a small flicker of the memory slowly fading. I wish I could remember them more!
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I am the same, that particular dream was a one off, I even remember the date I had it!
Now strangers conversations on buses…
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