creative writing

A bit of Flash Fiction: Fairytale World

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

Probably been marathoning a little bit too much Once Upon a Time today on Netflix. 😉 But when you don’t feel well, what else is there to do?

An old hag yelled at me today. Did I forget to mention she’s my boss? I imagine her as this crumpled type of creature with claws for fingers and eyes that glint with rage and blindness.

I was assaulted by the copy machine. She snatched those papers out of my hands so fast, she might have snapped her fingers…poof. Papers gone in a flash of magic.

Oh, if I were to have magic. What a glorious world this would be. What a glorious one I would live in. Still, a 9 to 5 isn’t some kind of torture chamber… Mostly.

Now, where would the prince charming fit in? I suppose the guy in marketing has some kind of charm. He did wink at me the other day. Or maybe there was something in his eye?

“Cindy!?”

I look up and there’s the old hag herself. Hands on her hip, glaring down at me. “Didn’t you get my email?” She says. She throws more papers on my desk. “This is the wrong report. I want the one I gave you yesterday.”

After a few, “Yes, ma’ams,” from me, she’s on her way.

I watch her in her gray skirt-suit as she storms away, her ridiculous black heels look like those crooked ones that witches always wear.
Huh, how appropriate. I imagine myself with a bow and arrow trained on her back. One released breath and twang she’s down for the count, never to terrorize anyone again.

Lucky for her, the phone rings. I pick it up without another thought. “Mrs. Applebaum’s office. How can I help you?”

Ah, I suppose there’s always another day.

My Plot Points are too Weak?

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

I’m actually sitting down to work on the plot for one of my stories tonight. Woo! This is progress!

However, I have a few questions. How do you know when your plot points are too weak? This is my problem:

I’ll sit down to write out a few scenes or scenarios for an outline, and suddenly doubt creeps in the further I get into the story. Suddenly, I’m filled with doubt and questioning my motives and my characters motives: would someone really do that? Am I going overboard with my character’s emotions?

So of course, turned to google for some answers. I found my answer here, on this blog, who uses J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as an example of a book that has great plot points; which makes for a compelling story as well as evokes an emotional reaction in its readers. (I mean kudos already goes to this blogger who references my hero, J.K. Rowling.)

I guess the important thing to note here, when it comes to plot writing, is to make sure that your character is influenced emotionally, (so emotion is great!) you want your character to change/face some obstacle in someway, but you also want your story to resonate in the mind of your readers. Huh.

Not too difficult I should think? Right? Do you guys have any insight on how you go about plotting your stories?

Happy Writing everyone!

 

 

Lazy Sunday Sunshine and Writing

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wpid-wp-1429141260673.jpegI think my favorite part of Sundays is waking up when the sun is shining (if it is shining) and basking in the warmth and appreciating God’s gift of life, of love, and comfort, by celebrating it with the one way I know how: by enjoying it!

(And I might note that the above paragraph took me like 5 minutes longer to write then it should have, oh boy!)

I also made me a smoothie this morning, a nice orangey-mango concoction, which I hope will kick-start these missing brain cells and make me feel like I am eating healthier, although I am probably going to eat some leftover pasta for lunch here in a minute.

Not much new going on with me….excited about getting money back for taxes.(Money! What is this money you speak of? What is that?)

I’ve also been trying to work more and more on one of my stories. The story is my science-fiction/fantasy/steam-punk/young adult/dystopian novel, which I hope I can eventually get a rough draft done for it this year. I haven’t quite narrowed it down yet. Can you tell? 😉

This was a story I started back in college, and its taking me a long time to develop the characters, the world, and the plot. (I am still working on all three of these things!)

The point: everyone has their own way of discovering things for their story and their writing, and I am happy that I am slowly finding mine. Slowly but surely. It seems that the majority of my brainstorming and story planning comes from the visual. I’ll write a scene, I’ll type up a character interview, and see what works best from there.

In order for me to see it, I have to write it and what a great way to discover what works and what doesn’t.

(Also, try interviewing your characters if you are having trouble getting to know them. I find that my characters tend to be very mouthy when you ask them questions that make them uncomfortable.)

Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Happy writing!

 

Things You Should Say to Someone with SAD

/ Ajmorse / Leave a comment

Today was a gloomy day, and as such, today was a tiring day. I’ve taken my vitamin D, and I’ve sat in front of my sun-lamp, and now all there is left to do is to wait until bed-time comes and I can finally close these tired eyes.

wpid-wp-1417145283589.jpegEveryone was grumpy and tired at work today, and the snow on the ground outside marks the first significant snow we’ve gotten all winter. (This might be the main cause of the grumpiness, as no one likes to drive in bad weather!)

I was having a thought about what to write tonight, and mostly what’s been on my mind lately, is my seasonal affective disorder. Most everyone in the north-east gets some kind of winter blues, but those of us with SAD have more of a rough time of it.

I get frustrated because I am very much a different person half of the year, and I miss my full self – that self that really is happy to get out of bed in the morning, is full of energy, laughter, and creative ideas.

In the winter I am this: Tired, distracted, depressed, anxious, spacey, (have trouble concentrating,) and less creative.

I find myself  interacting less, laughing less and struggling with the right words to say in social situations. Most of the time I just want to crawl into bed and watch Netflix, but if I do that, how will I get a chance to write?

Anyway, thought I’d write a list of helpful things you should say to someone with SAD in case you have a friend who’s been down on their luck lately:

  • Hey, the sun’s out! Let’s go for a walk together!

Exercise is a great way to counteract that overall blah-ness. And interacting with a friend is always nice, too.

  • What are you doing this Friday? Want to stay in and order food and watch movies together?

You’ll need the exercise to counteract the take-out, but sometimes a weekend in with a loved one is the perfect cure to a rough week, and some down days. In the end, you just want to feel loved, and feel a sense of security.

  • (To a girlfriend). Want to go get our hair done together? Want to get a new outfit to wear?

Course, I suppose, a guy could go shopping with you, too! Feeling good about yourself, and confident in how you look has a big impact on how you feel.

  • I see you had a bad day, anything I can do to help?

Sometimes those bad days happen, and sometimes you do want to crawl into bed and stay there for a little while. As a loved one, you should be okay with cuddling in bed with your significant other and not facing the world for a little while.

Remember, it is not a bad thing to take some moments for yourself, any time that you may need.

And that’s enough for now, I’m sure I’ll have more insight down the road when I’m not falling asleep at my desk like I am now! Ack!

Hope everyone keeps safe and warm tonight!

Happy writing!

NaNowriMo Update, Days 16-30: There’s a Silver Lining to Everything

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I meant to get this post out a few days ago, but I haven’t felt very motivated lately, and sometimes when it comes to it, life tends to get in the way a lot of times.

This is what I go going on tonight. Ohhh, yeaah...

This is what I got going on tonight. Ohhh, yeaah…

I am a lucky gal tonight though; “Mike,” the other half, is cooking us our Thanksgiving dinner…it pays to wait until after the holiday when Turkeys are on sale!  (Plus, we weren’t really home on Thanksgiving anyway as a few of our relatives had delicious dinners that gave me a serious food-baby…eek…I totally didn’t have to eat for like two days after.)

Anyway, that’s my life tonight, back to the NaNoWriMo life, which…didn’t go as planned, of course.

Final Word count: 8,380

I cringe a little bit when I admit this…maybe I should fudge it and say yes, I typed 49,999 words, but I didn’t. And I’m not really a great liar anyway.

I don’t really understand what happened, to be honest. I didn’t mean to give up, I guess I got frustrated with my story and stuck. I realized that I definitely should have done some more world-building, and my characters seemed underdeveloped.

But then I tell myself, well yes, of course, it is a rough draft, and the whole point is development. Which brings me to the other thing.

I realized I have a tendency to hold back when it comes to my writing. Instead of writing out that fluff, stretching that idea, going there, I pull back and seem to think: well, what if it turns out awful? What if it really IS as corny as it sounds?

It’s that same old Writer’s Fear again, and it is crippling me. Every year because of the winter blues I do go through a period where I feel uninspired, but it’s not just that. I want my voice back, that writing environment where I was open and free to say what I want and to learn what I can. This is definitely also why I think an MFA degree would be beneficial to me.

Anyway, I don’t want to be completely bummed about this recent failure. Not everyone is successful at NaNoWriMo, and it definitely has taught me some new things this time around.

First things first: It’s okay that you don’t know where the story is going to go.

That’s really the whole point of a first draft, really. To explore, figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Creating some kind of outline is beneficial. Especially for NaNoWriMo. It’s great to have a set plan when you plan to write a lot in a short period of time. Then you don’t waste time wondering what the heck you are supposed to be doing next, and why isn’t this character doing what he/she is told?!

Writing is supposed to be fun. Sometimes it is difficult to remember that when it starts to feel like a chore. I will have to find new ways to motivate myself. Perks, snacks, music. I have Pandora on ALL the time. Music is a great inspiration.

And, Don’t be afraid to write what you want. Write from the heart. Write that fluff, that cheesy, cliché, Oh-my-God-he-gasped-in-surprise type of writing.

Write what makes you happy and then build from there. There’s that expression: dance like nobody’s watching. I need to write like nobody is watching, or potentially reading. In the end, it is MY story. I can make it how I want it to be.

Well, that’s it for me. I am going to go and try to write that fluff I was talking about. Odd how writing is really a reflection of the person behind the helm. My whole life I’ve struggled with self-worth and feeling good enough for myself. So, naturally, it would make sense that I would have problems with that in my writing, too.

But, I am a strong, confident, business/writing women, and I can go and conquer the world! (If I so desire).

Hope everyone is having a great night! Happy Writing!

Poem: Hold/These Arms

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This was meant to be something else entirely. I’ve been watching some of Bindi Irwin’s dance routines from dancing with the stars. I don’t normally watch the show, but I’ve been cheering her on from the beginning. She’s such a wonderfully positive person, and I guess I was inspired by her.

Hold/These Arms

These are my arms
Every freckle, every scar
The heel of my hand
Bony, creased and wrinkled
These hands have been
Sanded down by desktops.
See the blue veins,
The purple, the red
Several tiny waterfalls
Sliding down
The pulse of my wrist

Further down
And inside
The skin is pale
A flick of the wrist
Some hair
And more freckles
These ones burned on
By the sun

These arms are thin
And always moving
Weakened by heavy loads,
Low blood sugar
And the flu.

Hold a candle to them
They burn
Hold a lamp
And the skin lightens
But put them up
Against life’s little troubles:
A broken down car, a
Sickness, a work drama

And show me someone
Who is suffering
And these arms will fold,
Beat back
and hold up the world
So they can rise above it

NaNoWriMo Update, Days 10-16: Keep Writing and Work the Problem

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Word Count: 7,132

Does any of that word count make sense? Not a clue.

Will I make my goal of 50,000 words by the end of the month? Probably not.

Did I learn something about my story, myself, and my characters? Yes I did!

spy8Working the problem…

About 5,000 words in, I ran into a snag. My characters were bored. I was bored, this was not the direction that I wanted to go in. So I did something odd, I jumped back to the beginning. I changed a POV, and then suddenly: viola! I’ve got a snarky character, a new perspective, and the idea that my story really is going somewhere…I just go lost somewhere along the way.

Even though something wasn’t going my way, I found that it doesn’t solve anything if you give up. Instead, you work the problem. You ask yourself questions:

  • What can I do differently?
  • What don’t I like here?
  • What can I change?
  • Is it the character?

Remember to ask yourself positive questions, and not place blame. It sounds odd, (and I learned this from a friend,) but if you ask yourself questions that are positively phrased like: what can I do differently? Instead of: what did I do wrong? It tends to work a lot better.

Don’t wallow in failure, be your own positive motivator when you work the problem!

Another thing that I found helpful when I found myself stuck and not sure where to go: I started writing from a different area of the story. Sometimes if you are writing in the beginning of the story, and something isn’t working out your way, skip to the middle.

Who said that a writer had to write all their scenes in consecutive order? Sometimes a change of the writer’s  perspective is all you need to get your story where it needs to go. It might help you see the bigger picture.

Also, lastly, and the most important thing: Keep Writing!

Even though sometimes the going gets tough, I’ll never be able to perfect my work, if I don’t keep working at the rough drafts to get me there.

(Even J.K. Rowling didn’t write her final draft for Harry Potter from the get go.) 😛

Eh, I suppose I better stop yammering, and get back to working. Hope everyone has a great week! Happy Writing!

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

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1221122319I might sound like a major Grinch in this post, but I’m not going to apologize.

Christmas is coming, no, its steamrolling its way here faster than I’d like, and it’s sprinted past Thanksgiving and is on its way to Christmas in July…which will probably get here faster than Thanksgiving.

And Turkey day is merely two weeks away…just saying.

I’ve been out and about the last couple of days doing errands, and I’ve been noticing more and more red and green than I have before. Christmas may not be my favorite holiday, but usually I like to get into the Christmas spirit after Thanksgiving. Not before. Not during.

My less than jolly mood could be contributed to my three years spent working retail, and the Christmas music that some stores shove down your throats the day after Halloween.

We also lost my grandma this year, and it just doesn’t feel like there should be a holiday at all, but I definitely don’t want to see Christmas trees and fake snowmen out before I’m ready.

I guess when it comes down to it, the holidays mean something different for each and every one of us. For those who have lost loved ones, it can be a difficult time. Most of the time I get annoyed because of how commercialized Christmas has become. It is all about the money and stores are even opening Thanksgiving night, instead of early black Friday morning.

I feel just like Charlie Brown on A Charlie Brown Christmas. What ever happened to the true meaning of Christmas? To spending time with friends and family and loved ones?

To realize that Christmas is about the joy of spending time together and giving and love.

Maybe it doesn’t feel like Christmas this year because the only thing I want for Christmas is the one thing I can’t have: to spend one more Christmas with my Grandma. To hear her laugh again, to get wrapping paper thrown at my head.

Well, I didn’t mean to get all sentimental on you guys, but I am doing everything I can to find some joy in Christmas this year, and it just isn’t happening.

And it certainly doesn’t help when the outside world is telling us too soon that you better be ready:  Christmas is coming!!

Where do you find the joy in the holidays?

I’ve decided that I’m going to try to make most of my presents this year, but I think I might also do some online shopping. I’ve had enough of stores already!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

NaNoWriMo Days 7, 8 & 9: Now I Know Why Some Writers Use Outlines

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Word Count: 6,005

Saturday was not as productive as it should have been. Sunday, I managed to write about 2,000 words, but most of those words are garbage, and I’ll say it again: now I know why some writers use outlines.

I usually write some kind of  rough outline, but sometimes it doesn’t really help me either. If I can’t see the scene I am writing…an outline becomes pointless.

My story is rapidly on its way to going no where…I imagine this is the natural order of things. You write, you change direction, you realize suddenly that the twenty pages that you just spent the last two hours on, perhaps isn’t the right way to go with the story.

And then you begin again.

Wow. Can I just throw this out there: I do not like this.

Seeing the crap that I’ve written makes me doubt myself and suddenly I think my whole story is one big cliche, and who would read this anyway, unless I were to add some kind of steamy sex scenes?

Okay, no sex scenes. At least…not here. Yet. Who Knows. But still…how do you guys move on from the crap, and get to writing the good stuff?

Such a common misconception among writers: One, that everyone automatically knows how to write a novel, and two, it’s going to be awesome from the first draft because of course, its supposed to be.

No.

Just…

No.

Part of me is embarrassed to admit that I don’t really know what the hell that I’m doing, and then a part of me finds comfort in the fact that Stephen King said that most writers don’t know…and I guess isn’t that the magic of it all?

That we all (eventually I hope) find a process and a way of writing that works best for each of us?

I can only take this as a learning experience, and move on from it.

I said last night to Mike: “What would J.K. Rowling do? How would she write it?” (More often than not that’s become my mantra).

And then he said something to me that made more sense than anything he’s said before to me when it comes to writing: “He said no, babe, how would YOU write it?”

I thought about, and there’s no tension in my story between the characters.

I’ve made the mistake of putting two strangers together, and suddenly they are getting along like they are best friends. Or best acquaintances. What the heck?

Ah, you live and you learn. Now, time to make some people angry! Rah!

How about you guys? Any road blocks along the way?

Happy Writing!

NaNoWriMo Days 4, 5 & 6: Uh, Still Writing?

/ Ajmorse / 2 Comments

Word Count: 4,107

Well…totally dropped the ball on my last post. Last night was supposed to be a lovely update with how fantastic I’m doing, and well…life happens sometimes.

It’s difficult balancing writing, work, and other chores that most of us don’t like doing but needs to be done…(laundry, dishes, etc.) Last night was one big trip to the laundromat which was good, because clean clothes are nice…buut, it doesn’t always leave time to do writing, which is bad.

I find that my core time for writing is at night-time, but I work early in the morning, and well…6am comes very fast sometimes. Ugh, Work.

Work.

Which, was awful. As far as Fridays go…yuck! I could practically see the tire marks of everyone’s cars as we pealed out of that parking garage…now I get why people always drive crazy on Fridays. I wonder if people who hate their jobs on top of having a bad day, actually pull their hair out? Like big clumps? Seriously, people. I just want to forget that today happened. At all.

io

Tonight was nice, though. Mike made dinner and we watched Inside Out which I just had to buy the other day. I love this movie. Hmm, maybe I’ll write-up a review of that tomorrow…

Anyway, the point is: Life

How do you manage to juggle work, family, friends, social time and writing? I think I read somewhere that in order to be completely successful in one aspect of your life, you have to give up another. Like someone who becomes work-obsessed…might let social time with friends fall to the way-side.

But, I’m like Joy on Inside Out, who doesn’t want Riley’s memories to fade, I don’t want any aspect of my life to fade. Heck, I could give up housework. I’d be happy with that. Buut, having clean dishes is important, too.

I guess the idea is to sort out your priorities. I think I could give up TV more, and Facebook time. I love keeping up with old college buddies and family on there, but once a day check-up is all I should really need for the time being.

And Youtube…sometimes (too many times), productive hours are taken when the YouTube vidoes suck you in. I know I can gain more time by giving up that.

Hmm…it sure is difficult working on writing when you work full-time hours, and I am forever in awe of those who’ve managed to write a best seller on their down time after work.

More often than not, I feel like sadness, who has that kind of energy?

But, there is a silver lining here, too. I’ve got the weekend! And I look forward to catching up on my writing tomorrow after some rest and relaxation. Oh, sleep would definitely be nice!

Anyway else always feel so drained when Friday comes around? I think its possible I need more Vitamin D and C, and B, and H and L…and yeah. Everything. Back to that grindstone…

How do you guys make time for writing?

Happy Writing everyone!