Monday 30 May 2011

Confession



I have a confession to make. I cannot spell the word ‘necessary’. The S’s and the C’s confuse me. I can never remember which way they go or how many of each is needed. Being that I often spell words phonetically, as both letters produce the same, or at least a similar sound, I’m always tripped up by this word.

Unless I have a dictionary or something like spell check at hand, I try to avoid writing this word. And it’s not just this word. There are other words I can’t spell as well. For years I used to spell ‘definitely’ as ‘definately’. I can’t think of any other words off the top of my head at the moment but when it comes to the word necessary… yep, I just can’t spell it.

So there we have it. A writer who can’t spell. It just goes to show how important a tool the dictionary and spell check are when it comes to writing.

Spell check – I would be lost without you!!

Friday 20 May 2011

Challenge yourself


HI!

I’ve been debating for awhile about a topic to post as in my last update, I did say that I would like to use this blog to explore writing techniques. As it is, I haven’t quite gotten around to that yet. So, here I am… and yes, this isn’t really a post on techniques of writing but it is about writing. That counts right?

Here it is…

As with anything in life, when writing it can be incredibly easy to fall into that trap of staying inside your comfort zone. Why not? I mean, it’s nice and safe there right? And you know what you’re doing there. You know what is expected of you.

But it doesn’t help you grow. It doesn’t challenge you. And as a writer, you should always be challenging yourself – it’s how you get the best from your work.

So how can you challenge yourself? What can you do in order to move out of your comfort zone? Here are a few things you can try:

Point of view:
If you always write in first person, try writing in third, or vice versa. And if you always write close-third or first, try omniscient for a change. You might surprise yourself and you might discover a little something more about your writing and your characters

Genre:
Personally, I always take myself to be a sci-fi/fantasy writer. It’s my favourite genre to read and most of my ideas always end up having a supernatural twist to them. That said, I was finally able to branch out just recently into the crime/drama genre and I found that I enjoyed it so much. It was a new experience for me and it was enjoyable to play with a story that had no supernatural elements to it.

So try experimenting with an idea in a different genre. You might find you like it.

Tone:
This could also go under genre but I thought it would be best to tackle it under a separate heading. And what I mean when I say tone is the underlying genre of your piece. Is it humour? Angst? Drama? Romance? If you are used to writing in one tone, try a different tone. Branch out away from humour and try to write an emotional piece that will tug at the heartstrings. Or vice versa – if you normally love your drama, why not attempt something light hearted that will have people quirking their lips or rolling on the floor with laughter?

Characters:
There are quite a few things that can go under here. Gender, age, personality…

Is your lead character usually male? Try writing a female one. (Yes, I’m very guilty of this and I really should attempt a main female character sometime.)

What about age range? Do you usually write young characters? Or do you prefer writing older ones? Try to change it up a little. Have some fun!

As for personality, this can be tricky but you can do it.  Those broody characters you normally write? Change them in for someone light hearted and bouncy. Try choosing a trait you may normally overlook and write around that. Write about a character with a scarily high IQ or try one who is easily distracted by shiny things.

At the end of the day, the characters will be who they want to be. They will develop and grow on their own. But if you give them the right story, they may show you a different side to them.

Style/Format:
And this is going to be my final one for now. The subtitle speaks for itself.

This might not be suitable if you’re trying to write a novel but if you just want to challenge yourself with short writing exercises or even with fan fiction, this could allow you to see what you can do with your writing. It might even give you a few ideas for a novel you’re working on. But mostly, it just allows you to flex those creative muscles.

So try playing around with styles and formats. For example, you could try writing poetry or a character study. If you have a habit of babbling and being extremely descriptive, you could try your hand at a drabble (a story in 100 words) or if your writing is normally short and sweet, you could attempt to expand and play around with description.

You might be wary. You might think you can’t do it. But then, you might really surprise yourself by the time you’re through.

Give yourself more credit as a writer and a creative being. Yes, write what you’re comfortable writing but don’t be afraid to try something different every now and again. After all, you never know – that something different could very well lead to a novel that will be a bestseller.



Novel Update:
In other news, I am currently editing my Occultus novel. I think I’m onto my third edit... I think. I’ve lost count, reading it, editing it, rereading it, re-editing it…  But I’m nearing the end of this edit and there have been a couple of bumps but so far it’s going quite well.  I lost about 1k to 2k of words in my first edit but I think my current edit might take me back up to 70k… we shall see!!

Thanks for stopping by!!