So my friend Tamela did this post called "Seven Things (Or that time I was a sheep and followed the trend)." And she tagged me---hehe...sheep tags---so I'm going to do it too. God I love sheep jokes.
Seven Things About My Writing:
1: I occasionally get so far inside a character I will pick up their bad linguistic habits for months.
I don't know if I should be proud of this or not, but it's the truth. This next book coming out, I abused the ever-loving-crap out of the ellipsis. In the first draft I'm not sure my male main character ever actually finished a thought. And for a minute I genuinely thought that was just a phase I was in, in my writing. But then I went and looked at a couple of other projects I've worked on since then, and I don't think it is. It's just Nate. That's my story anyway.
2: I'm still learning.
I mean for the love of Pete I'd like to spend the rest of my life learning so I hope I'm still learning. But also, I'm still learning about my writing, about the way I plan a project out, and the way I carry an idea, and what themes speak the most to me. It seems like every book I write, I've got a different bad habit. I just keep hoping they're smaller bad habits, at least.
3: I have so many unfinished projects I can't list them all off the top of my head.
Some of them aren't more than a loose plot synopsis and a couple of character sketches. Some are four written books out of a seven book series. Some of them are probably dead ends. Maybe. If I can let them go.
4: Sometimes I miss just being a writer.
5: I get unreasonably happy about early-stage editing.
I dig out the color coded pens, and post-it flags, and I leave myself notes in the margins I would never say to another living soul. There's something visceral and enjoyable at that moment. I'm making it better. It's not until like the third edit I start to dread editing with the same passion as most people dread going to the DMV or spending six hours in traffic with no A/C or radio.
6: I get the most inspiration from non-fictional television.
Not "reality tv" or anything like that. I watch a lot of historical documentaries, and unending runs of Crash Course, which you should totally go find on YouTube if you haven't because I could watch John Green talk forever. My other favorite is anything I can find by Ken Burns.
7: Every book I've written came from an idea about one character in one situation.
I usually call those Snowball Moments. Where I look at that one situation and wonder what would happen if I pushed the snowball down the hill. And then started putting obstacles in its path. Then I plot the wholly living heck out of it. Down to snatches of dialog and ever single scene. When I'm finished with the plot I put it in a file and just go write the book. Sometimes it goes where I thought it was going, usually it doesn't. It's better when it doesn't.
So there's my seven. I'll tag some people on facebook to do theirs.
And come back Friday where I might have a guest blogger ;)
I don't know if I should be proud of this or not, but it's the truth. This next book coming out, I abused the ever-loving-crap out of the ellipsis. In the first draft I'm not sure my male main character ever actually finished a thought. And for a minute I genuinely thought that was just a phase I was in, in my writing. But then I went and looked at a couple of other projects I've worked on since then, and I don't think it is. It's just Nate. That's my story anyway.
2: I'm still learning.
I mean for the love of Pete I'd like to spend the rest of my life learning so I hope I'm still learning. But also, I'm still learning about my writing, about the way I plan a project out, and the way I carry an idea, and what themes speak the most to me. It seems like every book I write, I've got a different bad habit. I just keep hoping they're smaller bad habits, at least.
3: I have so many unfinished projects I can't list them all off the top of my head.
Some of them aren't more than a loose plot synopsis and a couple of character sketches. Some are four written books out of a seven book series. Some of them are probably dead ends. Maybe. If I can let them go.
4: Sometimes I miss just being a writer.
5: I get unreasonably happy about early-stage editing.
I dig out the color coded pens, and post-it flags, and I leave myself notes in the margins I would never say to another living soul. There's something visceral and enjoyable at that moment. I'm making it better. It's not until like the third edit I start to dread editing with the same passion as most people dread going to the DMV or spending six hours in traffic with no A/C or radio.
6: I get the most inspiration from non-fictional television.
Not "reality tv" or anything like that. I watch a lot of historical documentaries, and unending runs of Crash Course, which you should totally go find on YouTube if you haven't because I could watch John Green talk forever. My other favorite is anything I can find by Ken Burns.
7: Every book I've written came from an idea about one character in one situation.
I usually call those Snowball Moments. Where I look at that one situation and wonder what would happen if I pushed the snowball down the hill. And then started putting obstacles in its path. Then I plot the wholly living heck out of it. Down to snatches of dialog and ever single scene. When I'm finished with the plot I put it in a file and just go write the book. Sometimes it goes where I thought it was going, usually it doesn't. It's better when it doesn't.
So there's my seven. I'll tag some people on facebook to do theirs.
And come back Friday where I might have a guest blogger ;)
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