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  J M Beal

Baaaa...

4/29/2015

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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 ;)
1 Comment
good essay writing websites link
6/17/2019 05:48:03 am

When you are a writer, it's okay to make a self-assessment about your writing for you to see if there is such thing as growth on your style. It would be better for you to be open and acknowledge what's wrong so you can further improve your writing skills. As a writer, we are trained to accept criticisms as open as possible, but there is always a limitation to everything. And just like what I keep on telling to others, you need to read more often so you can improve!

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