What order do you write in?

I know a lot of other writers who have no problem writing stories out of chronological order. And I understand the benefits of doing this. I get stuck a lot of the time, and instead of writing future scenes like I possibly should, I either force myself through the slow parts or I give up.

Obviously, the whole "giving up" thing can lead to problems––mostly the guilt that I abandon so many of  my poor little stories. But on the other hand, I can't seem to force myself to write out of order. I do plan ahead as I write, I just don't want to "skip" anything as I'm actually writing.

Of course, just as there are benefits to writing out of order, I think there are benefits to writing in chronological order as well. My fear is that, if I didn't write in chronological order, I would only write the "interesting" parts of the story––the main events and whatnot––and skip over everything in between. Sure, the in-between stuff can be kind of dull, but I also think it's important for creating tension and building character relationships, etc. I guess I feel like, if I don't force myself through the less interesting parts, I don't know my characters well enough to be sure of how they would respond in the most disastrous situations––if that makes sense. I find that my characters usually turn out differently from what I initially expect, and if I wrote out of order, maybe I would miss out on that.

So, what does everyone else think? Do you write in or out of chronological order? What do you think are the costs and benefits of each?

What I'm Listening To (As I write my NaNo)

Hello everyone!
I hope everyone doing NaNoWriMo is having fun & success. (Only a week left! Ahhhh!)
Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I thought I'd share with you guys some songs/lyrics that have inspired me as I'm writing. Whether it's the lyrics or the moods of these songs, these are all songs that have helped me survive NaNo so far. As you can see, they all involve some kind of "dreamy" mood or the mention of dreams ... I can't help it. I'm so ... literal.

So, yeah. Here it is. My playlist for Sweet Sorrow:

1. "Set Apart This Dream" by Flyleaf

Close your eyes pretty girl
'Cause it's easier when you brace yourself
Set your thoughts on a world far off
Where we only cry from joy

2. "On Top Of The World" by Boys Like Girls

Let's spend tonight on top of the world
We can do anything
We can be anything
I'll meet you tonight on top of the world
As real as it seems
You're only in my dreams

3. "Blinding" by Florence + the Machine

Seems that I have been held
In some dreaming state
A tourist in the waking world
Never quite awake

4. "Painting Flowers" by All Time Low

When I wake up
The dream isn't done
I want to see your face
And know I made it home
If nothing is true
What more can I do?
I am still painting flowers for you

5. "Keep the Car Running" by Arcade Fire

The same city where I go when I sleep
You can't swim across a river so deep
They know my name 'cause I told it to them
But they don't know where
And they don't know 
When it's coming

6. "Ghost" by Blue Foundation

He's burned down many a bridge
And he's scared of walking in the dark
It hurts when the rain falls on his skin


Oh he is worn out from marching
And he's forgotten for what he's searching

7. "Don't Wake Me Up" by The Hush Sound

You came to me
In seamless sleep
Slipped right in
Behind my eye
On the back of my mind
We swam a sea
Of pretty sights and chandelier skies
I swore I could feel you breathe
It was all so real to me


The light had slipped through the window
The morning ripped you away, oh

8. "Where the Fence is Low" by LIGHTS

Each shadow I walk
To the ends of the forest
And the shape of the hands
That break the ground for us
The fear that contains
That binds like a blessing
I've been here before
Then again I'm guessing


9. "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore

Misguided ghosts,
Traveling endlessly,
The ones we trusted the most,
Pushed us far away,
And there's no one road,
We should not be the same,
But I'm just a ghost,
And still they echo me

10. "Unleashed" by Epica

Where was I meant to be?
I'm feeling lost in a dream,
Long for the day I can be myself

11. "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurhythmics

Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree
I travel the world and the seven seas
Everybody's looking for something

12. "Imaginary" by Evanescence

Don't say I'm out of touch
With this rampant chaos––your reality
I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge
The nightmare I built my own world to escape

13. "Trust Me" by The Fray

Looking for something I've never seen
Alone and I'm in between
...
I found a friend or should I say a foe
Said there's a few things you should know
We don't want you to see
We come and we go
Here today, gone tomorrow
...
Take it from me
We don't give sympathy
You can trust me, trust nobody

14. "Leave My Body" by Florence + the Machine

I'm gonna be released from behind these lines
And I don't care whether I live or die
And I'm losing blood, I'm gonna leave my bones

15. "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane

I came across a fallen tree
I felt the branches of it looking at me
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?

16. "Help I'm Alive" by Metric

I tremble
They're gonna eat me alive
If I stumble
They're gonna eat me alive
Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?


Well, that's all folks!
Anyone else have any particular songs that have helped them through NaNo so far?

Collage Brainstorms

Hey guys. This post is going to be very short and sweet because I'm a busy gal and I need to get back to NaNo-ing. (Or whatever the word is. The point is, I'm working on my NaNo at the moment and I'm trying to reach the magical 50k mark today. And I still have quite a bit to go. So ... wish me luck!)

This is a fun idea I got from my friend Ally's blog, NOVEL IDEAS (which is a fabulous blog, by the way, and you should all read it). She probably explains it better than I do, but the basic idea is that you search around on the Internet for pictures that represent ideas/places/characters/etc. in your story. I tried it out and found it quite fun and motivational. I've always found images to be inspiring, so I think this is a tool that could really help me in the future. (I already make book covers for my own stories, so this is kind of similar to that.)

So, here it is! My first collage brainstorm. It's for Sweet Sorrow, my NaNo novel. :)

(You can click on it to make it bigger.)

I found photos on deviantArt (so, they're not my photos!) and edited the collage using Picasa. (Picasa is a free photo editing program on Google, and it has a cool collage-making tool.)

So, what do y'all think? Is this an activity you think would be helpful? If anyone else makes collages, I'd love to see them! :)

It has begun. How will you survive?

So, it's the second day of NaNoWriMo. If you don't know what that is after I've explained it a billion times ... just read the post before this one.

I know a lot of people are hesitant to participate because the challenge is intimidating––but really, there's nothing to lose even if you don't reach the word goal. Trust me, I'm busy as heck. I'm always busy. But I'm still trying to find time in my hectic schedule to work on my novel. So you should try it, too. You might be surprised by how much you get done! And no matter how much or how little you get done, it's better than writing nothing at all.

Anyway, to those of you who have decided to participate, I've decided to put together a list of survival tips, being an experienced Wrimo myself. Hopefully this will help. :)

8 NaNoWriMo Survival Tips (In No Particular Order):

1. Write crap. Seriously. What you write is probably going to suck, and that's okay. Don't delete words. Don't think too hard about what you're writing. Just let go of all your inhibitions and write whatever comes into your mind. It doesn't matter if your prose is cluttered with filler or if you keep repeating yourself. It's all about getting out that first draft. It's about quantity and not quality. If you want quality, you can edit in December (or, you know, whenever). Write rants, internal monologues, dialogue, whatever. Write anything, and don't be too concerned with your plot.

2. Keep the NaNoWriMo website open at all times. Heck, make it your homepage for the month. I at least always have it open in one tab, so that every time I open my web browser, I'm reminded of what I'm supposed to be doing. That way, if I'm about to get on Facebook, I always get a wake-up call.

3. Get on Write or Die. This website is a life saver. It always keeps me focused. Enough said. Linkage: http://writeordie.com/

4. Have writing buddies. Doing NaNo alone is a sad, sad thing. Just explore the NaNo forums for anyone else who wants a writing buddy. If it's someone who writes at about the same pace as you do, that's ideal. Challenge other Wrimos to word wars. Adding a little bit of competition does wonders for motivating you.

5. Get ahead of schedule. Don't just stop at 1,667 words every day. If you get there and you still have ideas, keep going. I like to get at least a little bit ahead every day, because you never know when there's going to be a day when you'll have no time to write at all.

6. But remember to take breaks, too. Don't expect to sit down and write all 1,667 words in one sitting, or your poor brain is going to burn up. I'll usually write for 15-30 minutes and then take a break for a few minutes to think about what I'm going to write next. It's best to write in chunks over the day. That way you have time to think––and thinking is just as important as writing.

7. Exercise your wrists. I know one big problem I have that prevents me from writing is when my wrists start to hurt like crazy. I highly recommend doing exercises like these ones whenever you take a break from writing. You don't want to get carpal tunnel!

8. Find a song that really inspires you. For me, that song is "Blinding" by Florence + the Machine. It fits the mood and the story of my novel perfectly. Whenever I listen to it I feel excited about writing and that helps a lot to motivate me. I recommend finding a song that fits a particular tone/theme/character in your novel that will excite you about writing. Or it doesn't necessarily have to be a song. It could be a poem, quote, whatever. Just come up with a little reminder that will inspire you every day. :)

Hopefully that helps!

Now I should get off Blogger and return to writing ... *Waves*

Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo

It's October 1st. That means two important things.

1. It's my birthday. I'm nineteen today. I guess I'll have to change the name of this blog in a year ...
2. There's only one month until NaNoWriMo.

I expect that #2 causes a variety of reactions:

--> YAAAYYYY!
--> OH GOD NO. WHY DID YOU REMIND ME?
--> Haha ... What?

If you had the third reaction, I'm here to explain.

NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month

NaNoWriMo takes place every year during November. During this month, writers take on the challenge to write at least the first 50,000 words of a novel, from scratch, in a month. You're not allowed to start until 12:00 AM on November 1st, except for outlining and other planning. It's okay if you don't finish the novel by the end of the month ... You just have to hit the 50,000-word mark before 12:00 AM on December 1st. If you get there, you win! (Side note: I've had to explain this to a lot of people but NaNoWriMo is not a contest. It's a challenge. There are perks to participating and to winning, but no one judges your work. It's all about writing those 50,000 words.) For more detailed rules, visit the NaNoWriMo website.

REASONS YOU SHOULD DO NANOWRIMO:

1. 50,000 looks like a pretty intimidating number, but it's not as bad as you may think. It's 1,667 words a day, which is about two and a half pages. That might still seem like a lot, but you'll be surprised by how the words add up when you really get into writing something, or when you're writing whenever you have a spare moment. I usually write first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed, and at random times during the day if I have time. If you disperse those words throughout the day, they'll add up quickly.

2. Like I said, there are perks. For example, if you win, you can get a free proof copy of your manuscript from CreateSpace. Here is me with my lovely CreateSpace proof of Walking Shadow:

Last year, programs such as Scrivener and Storyist––which are programs designed specifically for writers––provided free trials for NaNo participants. I don't know if the same exact thing is happening this year, but I know there are always benefits to participating! If anything, you'll at least get the bragging rights if you win. ;) So, it's worth checking out.

3. You learn to write without inhibitions. When you're concentrating on getting the words down, you focus less on editing and censoring yourself, and you'll be surprised at what you'll come up with. Yes, you'll write a lot of filler crap––but some of that filler will still have useful descriptions or ideas in it. It doesn't matter if your first draft is a piece of junk; that's what editing is for, and you can edit later. NaNo is about getting out that first draft, however crappy it may be. When you have a first draft, you at least have an idea of what you're working with.

4. Best-selling novels have been born during NaNoWriMo. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins are all examples. So even if the rough draft you write during NaNo is very ... well, rough, you know you have the potential to sell it someday!

5. Because I said so.

So, what are you doing? Get planning, you fools!

Is It Wise To Criticize?

Greetings, earthlings. I apologize for not blogging in over a month. I was very busy packing for college and starting classes at college, and doing other college-y things. (And college is awesome, by the way.)

Now, I should probably be writing (since I haven't in ... uh ... forever) but my brain is clogged up right now. So, I'm going to write about a subject that's been cooking at the back of my head for a long time. It's a topic I'm always nervous to bring up ... and that's authors criticizing other authors.

Here's the thing. I love writing. You all know that. I love reading as much as I love writing. And when I read books, I review them. I do my reviews on Goodreads, and they're not meant to be particularly professional. I write them for fun. Furthermore, I feel like I should share my thoughts on every book I read. I spent my time reading those books, so why not review them?

Obviously, I don't like everything I read. Sometimes my reviews are negative. However, I don't mean to make any ad hominem attacks on any authors. I never say an author is stupid or fat just because I didn't like his/her book. But if I don't connect with a character in a story, or there's a plot twist I find illogical, I'm going to say so. I do try to find something positive in everything I read, and I always point it out in my reviews, but I can't pretend I love everything.

About a year ago, I posted a review on Goodreads that was pretty dang negative. As hard as I tried, I could find very little I liked about this book, besides that the prose was okay. I found it illogical, boring, sexist ... I could go on and on. So, I said so, giving examples to back up my thoughts. That is, it's not like I wrote some review that said, "LoL dis book is lyk sooo stoopid. I H8ed it. lolz." It was pretty specific.

Yet, soon there were a bunch of people leaving comments on the review along the lines of, "How can you be so harsh? How would you feel if someone wrote a review like this for your book?"

Well, the thing is, people have said negative things about my writing. Very negative things. I've been told my stories are too emo, too clichéd, too boring. I've been told my characters are stupid and unlikable. I've been told that I can't structure a sentence properly. This criticism came from other writers, from agents, from Publishers Weekly, you name it.

I don't love getting scathing feedback. It can be overwhelming, especially when I start to realize I might have to totally scrap something and start over. But, although it's never a warm, fuzzy feeling, you learn to live with it if you're a writer. If you never received criticism, your art would never develop. In the end, I'm always grateful for feedback––no matter how harsh it is––because it pushes me to work harder and get better at what I love to do.

Of course, the typical troll reaction to that argument is, "Oh, so you're just bitter because this author is published and you're not. Well, if you were any good at writing, you would be published too. And this book wouldn't be published if it wasn't good. So, nyah nyah."

Right. Well.

I'm not going to deny that at times, I feel bitter. When you work so hard on your own writing, and you read a book that doesn't tickle your fancy, it can be frustrating. You get that feeling like, "Why is this person published and I'm not?"

Being a writer, you get extra picky. You know it's important to craft a good plot, to develop your characters well, to show and not tell, to avoid horrible grammar mistakes, etc. And when you see these errors in published books, it's hard not to notice them. So personally, when I review books, I point out the flaws, just as I would do if another, unpublished writer asked me for an honest critique.

Yet, there are those who believe that honesty among writers is a bad thing. I've read numerous blog posts that say authors should have nothing but praise for each other. They say we're all here to hold hands and support each other, and that's it. In my opinion, these people are more concerned with karma than with developing as artists. They don't give negative reviews because they don't want to receive them.

But what if, one day, you have to meet the author you criticized face-to-face? Well, I can't deny that such a situation might be awkward, but on the other hand, I think it's best to be honest. I consider my reviews to be constructive, and I treat published and unpublished writers equally. In both cases, my criticisms are meant to help and not to hurt anyone's feelings. If an author were to stumble upon my review of his/her book, I hope it would give him/her something to think about. I know that every review I've received, no matter how scathing, has at least given me something to think about improving in my work. If an author is professional enough, I think he/she should know how to find the helpful hints in negative reviews, and to not get angry at every person who criticizes him/her. Because––let's face it––if you're an author, you're going to get criticized. You're going to get bashed. You're going to get ripped apart. If other authors hold back their negative comments, it's not going to change that fact.

So, fellow writers, what do you think? Do you ever write critical reviews––and if you do, do you think they're helpful or harmful?

Interview with Published Teen Author, Steph Bowe!

Say hello to Steph Bowe! She's the 17-year-old author of the YA novel Girl Saves Boy, which was published in New Zealand and Australia by Text Publishing in September 2010. You can check out her blog (Hey! Teenager of the Year) for more info.

Steph was kind enough to answer some questions for me. So instead of going on my usual rant about my publishing fails, I bring you the story of a teenager who has actually been published. I know you will all be as impressed and inspired by her achievements as I am! :) 

Brigid: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?

 

Steph: I've always loved writing, since I was really little, and I've wanted to be a published author since I was about seven. I think it was less about accolades or money or anything like that, and more about a love of stories and wanting to share them with other people.

Brigid: What authors inspire you most?

Steph: There are so many! Melina Marchetta and John Green are probably the main two - I am amazingly envious of their brilliant writing and success.

Brigid: Do you have a specific writing process? Or do you "wing it" and see what happens?

 

I make it up as I go along. Generally I have a clear idea of my characters, a few major conflicts and the beginning and end in my head before I start writing, but they might change as I write. I love that writing is such an organic thing and you can incorporate everything and go off on tangents - this is your own world to freely play around with, why limit yourself?

Brigid: I know writers sometimes have trouble remembering how they got ideas ... Do you remember what first inspired you to write Girl Saves Boy?

Steph: I don't think I ever have specific inspirations - I always have thousands of tiny ideas inspired by things I see and read and hear and experience all swimming around in my head and sometimes growing into plots and stories.

Brigid: When did you start trying to get Girl Saves Boy published? How long did it take before you got a "yes" from an agent?

Steph: I started sending queries in August of '09. I had a few different offers of representation, and signed with an agent in September. I was insanely lucky.

Brigid: Has getting published changed your perspective of writing at all?

Steph: It's made it a lot harder. Instead of just writing for my own enjoyment, I'm always thinking about whether my agent/editor/readers will like it, whether it will sell, is it as good as the last book... there's lots of new and different things to take into consideration, and it's a lot easier to put off writing in the fear that you won't write something that's good enough.

Brigid: What are your other interests besides writing? And do those interests influence what you write?

Steph: Writing and schoolwork take up so much of my time right now, I hardly have any time for anything else. I do read a lot, and I enjoy photography, acting, dancing, cooking and spending time with my friends and family. I think everything a person experiences influences them, so obviously if that person is a writer that will show through in what they write. I don't think I can specifically point out anything I do in my real life that's affected what I write, but I may be able to do that in a few years time (I certainly know that I keep accidentally adding foods I eat to books as foods my characters eat...).

Brigid: What writing projects are you working on right now?

Steph: I am in the midst of revising my second book... and sneakily writing bits and pieces of books three and four (all standalone novels)... I don't want to jinx them, so I'm being deliberately vague... How mysterious!

Brigid: What is the most challenging part of writing for you?

Major edits! What a nightmare. Trying to figure out how to fix a book you've already spent so much time working on is pretty difficult.

Brigid: What advice do you have for other teens who are trying to get published?

Steph: Just go for it, don't let your self-doubt or anyone else's negative words get you down. Write first and foremost because you love writing and stories. Get as much feedback from others as possible, and learn to improve your writing. Send your work out there. If you aren't published as a teenager, that doesn't matter - you're still a success. Everything you write and submit and everything you experience is contributing to the writer you will become. I have faith in you! Just remember to do lots and lots of writing. That's the main thing.

Thank you, Steph! :)