Chasing Dreams

Hello!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! As you may have noticed I haven't been able to post as frequently as I did.  I've recently been running in too many directions trying to accomplish a great deal, but in reality accomplishing very little.

I am an Independent Writing Consultant and am working to build my portfolio so that by the time I graduate, I will have some work waiting for me.  It's always a good idea to try and get work in your field of interest.  Somehow technical support did not seem to fit into those plans.  I also realized that this transition would require a tremendous change and an equal amount of risk.  With that thought in mind, I made the decision to try and focus on my "true" job.  Being a newbie is difficult.  There is no word-of-mouth; no one to give you references.  Everything hinges on the kindness or faith of someone unknown to you, someone to give you that first opportunity.  It is also a wonderful challenge because it fosters excellence. A person just starting out has everything to prove and much to lose if they don't succeed.

I am gradually updating my site (www.crampedwriting.com) to include my new job which entails a variety of duties:  proofreading, copyediting as well as substantive editing.   Eventually my site will have the details about the different tiers and the costs.  I'm also able to offer assistance with writing-related questions, and make suggestions when appropriate, for certain aspects of marketing.

This is a very exciting time, but as you can see, does not allow for the upkeep and maintenance of two blogs.  Therefore I will be discontinuing this blog and using strictly the www.crampedwriting.com one.  I apologize for any inconvenience this change creates, and I hope you will all continue to visit me at my "new home".  I prefer the variety of options for the wordpress blogs and look forward to being able to help and touch-base with everyone a bit more efficiently.

Thank you for all your patience and understanding!  I'll be running a promotion next month as well, so please don't forget to check out the new site.  I want to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to submit an entry.

Have a great day!

Too Tired To Ponder Much

Today, my "What If" ponderings were absolutely simplistic.  There was no grandiose scheme or plot in my mind.  I simply wondered "What If" I didn't have to go to work today?  "What If" I actually had the right number to contact my work and call out?  I'd be able to stay at home getting some much needed sleep but mostly likely nothing else of consequence.  I'd probably barely get my homework done, but honestly the sleep factor is looking pretty good right now.  Since I have neglected the relevant work information though, I have essentially forced myself to come in to work.  It's just as well I suppose.  I'll probably get a lot more done anyway.

I've got a new post up at my other blog http://crampedwriting.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/autumn-enticements-why-i-love-autumn/.

The title is self explanatory...it's why I love Autumn.  It's a somewhat indescribable feeling for me, an excitement that steals into my bones and seems to move me like a marionette towards an unseen goal.  It's a feeling that tickles down to my soul and reminds me to be alert, to watch the wonder of the world around me and to see the magic in every day.  That's an amazing thing when you think about it.  Not often do we have the opportunity to escape the dreary realities of this world, mostly hearing about everything that is unworthy. Attention which should be heaped upon the good and noble rarely holds the spotlight as it should leaving us with a lopsided view of the world.  Autumn reminds me that there is good, there is new, there are choices I am free to make. Today I am grateful for mint chocolate cookies.  So simple, but they evoke great memories and make my taste buds dance.  Now, I think I want to go play outside. I guess I'll have to do that later.  After I have some more caffeine.

Hope And Humanity

Hope!  Hope is such an integral part of humanity that it resonates within each of us.  Either there is the tingle of hope which entices us to believe things that our minds tell us we should not ("he/she really cares for me"), or we feel there is no hope in some cases.  As readers, we cling to the hope that our hero or heroine will save the day.  We hope that they won't die in the process. We hope sometimes, that our characters find the love which has been sitting right under their noses.

Hope is what keeps us going both in reality as well as in our reading.  Perhaps, in an arduous reading assignment our only hope is to get to the end unscathed.  Still, it's hope or a distinct lack thereof (which basically just preps us for the introduction of hope).  If the reader isn't hoping, what is to bring them into the story as if they were old acquaintances?  Hope is recognizable on many different levels and creates common ground for the reader regardless of the exact circumstances.  I may have never hoped to pass a board exam in my quest to become a lawyer, but I have hoped to pass a driving test, or even other college or high school tests which hold the keys to my future. This translates into something understandable and garners sympathy for our characters.  Without hope, a character falls flat and fails to engage the reader (assuming they never find hope throughout the book).  A character without hope for an entire book, is not a book which will most  entice a reader to pick it up repeatedly and will not earn it a coveted spot on the bookshelf.  It may even cause deletion from the reader's digital library ~gasp~!

There is a time for rosy hopes, but because hopes can be small and are often found in the character's goals themselves, don't need to be boring or trite.  A character can hope that a sick friend or family member overcomes a debilitating sickness, or it could be that the character hopes a friend lands the job their dream job.  A character may hope for just a normal day.  The hope does not necessarily mean the outcome will be favorable, but a character without any form of hope (even deeply repressed hope) is not realistic.

Hope is what inspires us to take risks, to finally try and accomplish our dreams, to change our situation for the better, to reconnect us with our own humanity, to stir emotions.  Hope motivates us (and should inspire our characters as well) to achieve beyond our dreams and gives us a reason to persevere.  Hope can seem to break us at times, but it is also the very thing which heals us and gives us strength.

Multitasking in Writing

Not sure if multitasking is the greatest thing for a writer to do, it is like self-inflicted ADD.

What Beginning Writers Can Learn From Stephanie Meyer

Ah, Stephanie Meyer and her world of sparkly vampires.  Many people will be gagging as they read this title, some will be affronted by the mere mention of her name in relation to literature.  Today, I am not discussing anything regarding the merits or mistakes in her books.  For those of you who found sparkly vampires insipid and irritating, I recommend checking out her book The Host, instead.  The Host is more evolved in terms of character development and psychology.

Today, the reason I am bothering to step into the maelstrom is to share her down-to-earth representation of how Twilight originated.  She is amazingly humble and in this video interview a number of things stood out.  As a "beginning" writer of sorts, I find it very inspiring to see the similarities between her published books and my own writing process. It is a short video, so I'm going to expound on what I derived from the video.  It is really interesting to note that when she wrote the book, she had absolutely no intentions of ever sharing it with the world.

Here's a few things from the video that I found interesting and/or helpful:

1)  Write down your dreams.  Whenever I have vivid dreams, I always try to find time to write them down.

2)  Be curious.  Ask the next questions, "what if my character had an abusive childhood?", or "what makes this character unique?"

3)  Take away the pressure of performance if you can, just engage your curiosity so you can complete a story

4)  Be excited about finishing a story, it's an awesome feeling, even if you know you need to redo half of it

5)  Don't be afraid to ePublish or submit your manuscript.  You might get rejected, but it's better than never trying.

6)  Don't worry about audience too much, your audience will make itself known

7)  Try to find a support group, whether it is friends, family or solely online

8)  Ignore the haters (not mentioned in the video but definitely applicable).  If your goal is to sell copies of your book and you accomplish that goal, ignore harsh criticisms and let yourself enjoy your success

In addition to these things, I would say not to give up.  If writing is something you really like to do, you will do it even if you are not a well-known writer.  Hopefully, you will enjoy a measure of success if that is your goal, but a writer will write no matter what.  It brings joy, and in my case I feel it helps me keep my sanity.  Never underestimate something as simple as a dream or nightmare, you never know when a full-blown story may pop up.   The timing on finding this interview is very interesting to me; this past week I was inundated by extremely vivid dreams which had absolutely nothing to do with anything I read or watched. It was very encouraging to hear that Stephanie Meyer's successful Twilight series was born under similar circumstances.

So, take heart writers! You do not have to be a literary guru, you just have to tell a story that other people want to read.  Pick up that pencil and keep writing! :)

That is all for today!

-Ninjawriter

Writing Randomness, From the Heart

I should be doing something else right now, specifically writing a paper, but I find myself needing to expound first.  I know I will not be able to write anything intelligible until I pontificate on something completely pointless or random.  Anyone else get those random urges?  Randomness is almost like a disease or compulsion.  Probably more of a compulsion for me.

Anyhow, I am seriously having withdrawal from my camera.  I love love love my new camera and I have been taking pictures with it, but I have not been able to get outside and really exercise its capabilities except for one day when I found a remarkable wasp specimen (sadly I believe it died in the extreme heat).  I had to take a picture because its markings were so clear and beautiful.  It was not exactly what I had in mind for picture-taking…I had been thinking more along the lines of trees and meadows and such.  Whatever works though, right? I really don’t want to write my paper at the moment (I am sure you can tell), I would much prefer to be writing more on The Chronicles of Jane Windall, as well as another story that I am working on.  I am not working on those stories right now though, because I would feel too guilty to write well.  I would be thinking about this paper that I should be writing, but am not (or amn’t depending on where you are from).  

When I feel stuck like this, I usually like to do something completely contrary to what I should be doing and to what I need to do.  Watching a movie, for example, usually helps me a great deal. Sadly, I am unable to do that at the moment.  I found myself thinking of what I will do when I have my first successful book (hopefully sooner rather than later) and decided that I would like to get a Tassimo coffee machine.  It’s like having liquid creativity at your fingertips! Coffee, tea, hot cocoa, cappuccino, latte…need I say more? In my ideal world, when an author gets published, one of those machines would be a standard accompaniment to the first paycheck.  A writer needs their caffeine stimulus, am I right? Perhaps I should opt for a cruise instead, but I figure that the coffee machine will keep on giving back for years to come.  It’s like an investment in my literary future.  Hmm, maybe I could declare that on my taxes.  

I wonder if I were to put up a picture of the Tassimo coffee maker, would it be an adequate motivator? Would I be more likely to complete my writings? Perhaps I will try it. Well, now I really do need to attempt to write this paper. Cheery-O!