Writing
What a wonderful thing writing is... especially fictional writing. One of the reasons why I rarely update my blog is that writing about my own life is too factual. Writing is about inspiring yourself with words, it's about going beyond the limitations of your imagination and finding out what lies in your subconscious. It's about creating characters that start living their own life in a story that you cannot really control completely, but it evolves.For ten years I have tried to write a full-length novel, but the end result has been just a few pathetic notes, good starts, pages and pages of short stories and an odd poem. Now I think I have finally matured as a writer so much that I can finish what I have started. Why am I so confident that I will finish the book I've now started? Well, I have a plan of the storyline and interesting characters that are weirdly intertwined.
That's my advice to all those 16-year olds who are struggling with writing a book: make a mind map of a) the key characters, b) the support characters, c) a rough story line with the twists and turns, d) role and objectives for each individual part... and then just start writing. In the beginning of each part, you can outline the objectives and deliverables for each chapter. Believe me, this kind of approach helps a lot.
One good tip is not to write in order, i.e. write the parts that you like and later combine them in to a story. Skip chapters and write what you feel that needs to be written right now.
Collect ideas. As soon as you get an idea (in the shower, jogging, on your way to work... it doesn't matter) jot it down and have a place to collect them. That's the way to evolve with the text and add important nuances that keep the reader in a hook.
Then again, one key ingredient is still missing: inspiration! You need to be in a life situation where you can get inspired of small things around you. That's the key to writing colorful text. For me that situation has been living in a completely different country. You find your own way.
Take a break. Leave time for real life. It's easy to get caught up with the imaginary life. Don't let yourself slip into that. It's a mental hazard. Too many young creative minds became prisoners of their own mind when they took their art work too seriously. Relax. Go play basketball or feed your mice. Swim. And then write again.
Get feedback only at right times. Don't expose too much of the unfinished work of art, because you know it's not ready. You will write and re-write it many times. You will delete pages and remove extra characters. You will add new flavors where they are needed. Once you feel like you have a cohesive draft to present to some, let a few trusted people read it and collect feedback. Don't play defensive, but incorporate the feedback in your own creative way.
Finally, let's deal with the demon of time. How many times we find excuses not to write? How many times we think we will write a book once we grow old and wise and when we can retire to solitude somewhere in Lapland, Barbados or in the Alps? When you have a good story, you don't need to sleep 7-8 hours a night. It keeps you awake late in the evening and in the morning you don't want to sleep because you need to get your subconscious on paper.
Now Tomi, I hope you have checked this post at least once during your writing process. As in any good tragedy: It ain't over until the fat lady dies...
posted by Tomi Astikainen @ Friday, March 23, 2007
2 Comments:
...And don't you think that was intentional?
-The ironical bastard :)
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