This summer I have developed a fondness for leaping off of tall things. The first was on the Boise River, when my friends and I jumped off of one of the bridges. To do so requires climbing over this tall-well, tall to me-metal railing and then jumping. I wasn't going to do it the first time and then I told myself to stop being such a chickenshit. Then when I climbed over the railing, I thought about how bad an idea it was. But I was already over and my friends would never have let me live it down if I didn't jump. So I jumped.
I am terrible at estimating how far down the river was but it was pretty far. And except for the fact that the Boise River is always absolutely freezing, it was not bad at all. So I jumped again. Then we did a rope swing farther down. And when we floated the Boise again, we did both again.
When my family went rafting with our neighbors this past weekend on the Payette, the teenagers climbed out of the raft and up the bank to a rock. We then jumped off and swam through the small rapid below.
I am not an adrenaline junkie. At all. But ever since I did a Tarzan jump in Costa Rica (which involved walking out on a bouncing metal platform and being pushed because there was no way I was going to jump of my own free will), jumping off of high things has become less scary. Like I said, I have developed a fondness for it.
There is no guarantee that jumping into a river won't end badly. A lot of things can go wrong and if you suddenly have a desire to go bridge jumping, BE CAREFUL. Don't be stupid. I mean it. People die in rivers. Don't be stupid.
I have no way of knowing if this story will amount to anything. Once, that would have bothered me. I know now what I did not know in junior high. I can write many stories that are not bad, some might even be good, and they will all teach me something. I will learn those lessons. And when I write the story that I think is strong enough to survive in the world, I will know that the bridge I've chose to jump off has deep water beneath it and I will make it back to the surface in one piece.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Revision Challenege
I was planning on writing this post next week after we got back from camping on Tuesday but through an unfortunate series of events, we are not going camping, so here I am. And I am jumping from beginning a story to what happens after it is finished. Or rather, what happens when the first draft is done.
This is called revision. (I should mention that I have not ever gotten past this stage, meaning none of my stories have been published. But anyway.)
So, I finished the first draft of a story a few weeks ago. I got around to printing it on Thursday, all 205 pages of it (in Microsoft word, 1.5. spacing and 12 point font). I talked about how pretty it was and thumbed through the pages, marveling at this thing that I created. I am sure I was obnoxious.
Then I sat down with a blue pen and started reading it and the marveling came to a screeching halt. It was my intention to go through and only mark large edits. That meant making sure the beginning matched the ending as far as world-building went and adding some scenes I realized I needed.
One of the tricks to writing a story is to ignore the voice in your head that tells you that you're stupid, that all of your ideas are stupid and choosing to use 'said' for the umpteenth time is stupid. This is the voice that you have to listen to when you revise because it helps make it better. And my voice sounds like this:
Okay, well, you obviously have to take that whole paragraph out, it's just unnecessary. And the reader also doesn't need to know every time that character looks at someone. Get rid of that dialogue tag, there are only two characters talking, how dumb do you think your readers are? And please, please with the similes. That word doesn't need to be there. You should add a scene with these characters here. Oh and-WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS ONLY ONE PAGE?
The kicker to this is that I am only 35 pages in and I have only marked what needs to be changed. I haven't actually changed anything yet. But I will, because once I do, that voice will be wrong. And I want so desperately for it to be wrong.
This is called revision. (I should mention that I have not ever gotten past this stage, meaning none of my stories have been published. But anyway.)
So, I finished the first draft of a story a few weeks ago. I got around to printing it on Thursday, all 205 pages of it (in Microsoft word, 1.5. spacing and 12 point font). I talked about how pretty it was and thumbed through the pages, marveling at this thing that I created. I am sure I was obnoxious.
Then I sat down with a blue pen and started reading it and the marveling came to a screeching halt. It was my intention to go through and only mark large edits. That meant making sure the beginning matched the ending as far as world-building went and adding some scenes I realized I needed.
One of the tricks to writing a story is to ignore the voice in your head that tells you that you're stupid, that all of your ideas are stupid and choosing to use 'said' for the umpteenth time is stupid. This is the voice that you have to listen to when you revise because it helps make it better. And my voice sounds like this:
Okay, well, you obviously have to take that whole paragraph out, it's just unnecessary. And the reader also doesn't need to know every time that character looks at someone. Get rid of that dialogue tag, there are only two characters talking, how dumb do you think your readers are? And please, please with the similes. That word doesn't need to be there. You should add a scene with these characters here. Oh and-WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS ONLY ONE PAGE?
The kicker to this is that I am only 35 pages in and I have only marked what needs to be changed. I haven't actually changed anything yet. But I will, because once I do, that voice will be wrong. And I want so desperately for it to be wrong.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
No First Sentence is Perfect
Let's talk about beginning. The act of getting off of Reddit, logging out of Facebook, closing Minesweeper, and opening a new document to write, be it a story, a poem or an essay.
For me, it takes about a week of mulling my idea over while running with my dog before I actually create the new document. You know, after I've done the above mentioned acts about two hundred times. I am sure everyone can relate to the allure of procrastination. Usually, it is related to not wanting to do something like homework or some other equally heinous activity. But this is writing for fun. So, why do some writers (myself included) do everything they can to avoid beginning a new project?
Because there is nothing more intimidating than that flashing cursor on a white page. The moment you commit words to that page, it doesn't match what you have in your head. (At least that's how I think it works for most of us. If you're not among us mortals, just be quiet and go write your perfect first draft. No one likes you.)
But here's what gets me to start typing that first terrible sentence time after time: I DON'T HAVE TO KEEP IT! When I was younger (seventh grade-ish) I had this idea that I could not ever change the beginning. In high school, learning how to write essays for the AP tests only reinforced this idea. In that case, it was a little more true because (for those of you who don't know) you have to write it in pen by hand and they don't let you use white out.
Obviously, that is not true. There is one beginning I rewrote four times before it did what I wanted it to do. Surprise surprise, this actually applies to all writing. *mind blown*.
Whatever you are avoiding writing, stop. Just write the damn thing.
For me, it takes about a week of mulling my idea over while running with my dog before I actually create the new document. You know, after I've done the above mentioned acts about two hundred times. I am sure everyone can relate to the allure of procrastination. Usually, it is related to not wanting to do something like homework or some other equally heinous activity. But this is writing for fun. So, why do some writers (myself included) do everything they can to avoid beginning a new project?
Because there is nothing more intimidating than that flashing cursor on a white page. The moment you commit words to that page, it doesn't match what you have in your head. (At least that's how I think it works for most of us. If you're not among us mortals, just be quiet and go write your perfect first draft. No one likes you.)
But here's what gets me to start typing that first terrible sentence time after time: I DON'T HAVE TO KEEP IT! When I was younger (seventh grade-ish) I had this idea that I could not ever change the beginning. In high school, learning how to write essays for the AP tests only reinforced this idea. In that case, it was a little more true because (for those of you who don't know) you have to write it in pen by hand and they don't let you use white out.
Obviously, that is not true. There is one beginning I rewrote four times before it did what I wanted it to do. Surprise surprise, this actually applies to all writing. *mind blown*.
Whatever you are avoiding writing, stop. Just write the damn thing.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
A Slightly Longer Introduction
When you go to college, it seems like for the first two weeks all you say is your name, your major and where you are from. I said Elizabeth, English and psychology, and Idaho. Many people correctly made the jump between 'English major' to 'writer'. Then they got this look in their eye, like my dog does when we try to give her eggs-which she hates.
This is what I imagine people in general think when I say I am a writer:
You know lots of big words and like to use them. You are a grammar Nazi and love punctuation. You are addicted to caffeine. You possess superhuman abilities to type 5,000 words in a single sitting and enjoy it whereas I can barely scrape together a 2,000 word essay the night before it's due. You stay up really late typing for fun. You actually enjoy Jane Eyre, Edgar Allen Poe, and William Faulkner.
Well. You get the idea. I should start off with what is outright not true about those (perceived) ideas.
I am not a big fan of any of the above authors. I know, I know. What girl doesn't like Pride and Prejudice? But for the love of God, Jane, I would love to introduce you to a period. You and commas are in desperate need of a divorce. I also do not like to write late, late at night because when I get too tired I start typing things like "and then Daniel called her stupid" which is fine except that I want Daniel to rage at her for forgetting their son at daycare. So 'stupid' doesn't quite cut it and it's time for me to go to bed. On a side note, one of my big tells for when I am too tired is when I start typing 'hesistitation.' I am aware that is not a word. I am also nowhere near as articulate in real life as I am on paper for two reasons. One: I have a backspace key when I write. Two: no one likes someone who says words like scintillating in real life unless they are being very ironic.
This is what it is really like, for me at least. I love Shakespeare and Tolstoy but I also love J.K. Rowling and John Green and Markus Zusak. Usually when I sit down to write a story (read: story NOT essay) I write around 2,000 words. The most I've written in a day is close to 7,000 but that was an exception. I am not superhuman: after said writing marathon, the tendons in my arms ached. (I am also now certain I will get carpal tunnel). I do love punctuation and grammar, because when they're there, no one notices them. I am currently involved in a lengthy love affair with coffee.
I have a feeling this has gotten long-winded, so I will end there but I hope you get the idea.
Note: I will not usually post twice in one day and I will try to make my posts much shorter than this in general. Please don't leave me alone, dear reader(s). If you go, it'll be like I am talking to myself.
Again.
This is what I imagine people in general think when I say I am a writer:
You know lots of big words and like to use them. You are a grammar Nazi and love punctuation. You are addicted to caffeine. You possess superhuman abilities to type 5,000 words in a single sitting and enjoy it whereas I can barely scrape together a 2,000 word essay the night before it's due. You stay up really late typing for fun. You actually enjoy Jane Eyre, Edgar Allen Poe, and William Faulkner.
Well. You get the idea. I should start off with what is outright not true about those (perceived) ideas.
I am not a big fan of any of the above authors. I know, I know. What girl doesn't like Pride and Prejudice? But for the love of God, Jane, I would love to introduce you to a period. You and commas are in desperate need of a divorce. I also do not like to write late, late at night because when I get too tired I start typing things like "and then Daniel called her stupid" which is fine except that I want Daniel to rage at her for forgetting their son at daycare. So 'stupid' doesn't quite cut it and it's time for me to go to bed. On a side note, one of my big tells for when I am too tired is when I start typing 'hesistitation.' I am aware that is not a word. I am also nowhere near as articulate in real life as I am on paper for two reasons. One: I have a backspace key when I write. Two: no one likes someone who says words like scintillating in real life unless they are being very ironic.
This is what it is really like, for me at least. I love Shakespeare and Tolstoy but I also love J.K. Rowling and John Green and Markus Zusak. Usually when I sit down to write a story (read: story NOT essay) I write around 2,000 words. The most I've written in a day is close to 7,000 but that was an exception. I am not superhuman: after said writing marathon, the tendons in my arms ached. (I am also now certain I will get carpal tunnel). I do love punctuation and grammar, because when they're there, no one notices them. I am currently involved in a lengthy love affair with coffee.
I have a feeling this has gotten long-winded, so I will end there but I hope you get the idea.
Note: I will not usually post twice in one day and I will try to make my posts much shorter than this in general. Please don't leave me alone, dear reader(s). If you go, it'll be like I am talking to myself.
Again.
Page One
Why on earth am I writing this?
That is the question that bounced around my head for a good ten minutes once I actually sat down at my computer to give this whole blogging thing a try. I have come up with a lot of reasons why I shouldn't try but I am going to do it anyway.
There are two good reasons I have come up with to answer that question that I am hoping will be good reasons for you too, dear reader, if you are out there. First is that I have spent a great deal of time thinking about writing and how to do it. I decided I might as well write it down somewhere and a blog is as good a place as any. The second is that I have noticed when I tell people I am a writer, they either look at me as if I have something green between my teeth or ask me how/why I can voluntarily submit myself to do something most of the world despises.
I can't do anything about the former reaction and answering the how/why I write is such a complex, confusing, maddening answer that it does not fit into conversation at dinner parties. Not that I go to dinner parties but if I did, the answer wouldn't definitely belong there. So that is why I am going to write these blog posts. I have no clue how many of you will actually be interested enough to keep reading but I hope if you do, you learn a little more about us crazies who call ourselves writers.
It is my opinion that the beginning of a story is the hardest part (except for the middle, the end, the revising, or whichever sentence I am struggling with at the moment). The first page can certainly feel the longest, unless you've been struck by the Magical Madness of Inspiration and are typing so fast you misspell words like 'must' and 'the'. Both of which, yes, I have done. But every story starts off with that blinking cursor on the blank page. There is nowhere for those page numbers and word count to go but up.
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