Happy Friday everyone! It's in the wee hours of the weekend and there's so much possibility for writing productivity laid out before us. Make the most of it with the best of the writing interwebs I stumbled upon over the last week.
Back in my college days, which sadly seem further away than ever have before, I took a water modeling class as part of my graduate program. In order to help us wrap our minds around the difference between a model and reality, our professor used Plato's Allegory of the Cave as a tool. In this story, Plato tells the tale of people who have for all their lives have been chained up in a cave so that all they are able to see is the back wall of the cave and none of the outside world. Their perception of reality is limited to the shadows projected on the wall from life going on outside of their cave. My professors purpose to telling this story was to illustrate that a computer model for a water distribution system, or predicting the weather, etc., was only a projection of reality and not a mirror image there of.
In short, you can never duplicate reality, only approximate. In the engineering world, you can get copious amounts of detailed data, and develop an excruciatingly detailed approximation, but it's still not an exact replica. And in all honesty, you wouldn't want to try to replicate the real world. It would be impossible to gather every single bit of data needed and one would most likely go insane in the attempt.
Writing a fictional story is much the same. It's not possible to wholly replicate the reality you have created in your head. A reader would not want to trudge through a book that describes monotonous and irrelevant details. A writer doesn't need to describe everything in minutia. The task at hand for the writer is to create a story that's construction contains only the necessary information for the reader all the while keeping it artful and entertaining. Keeping both form and function in balance is no easy task, so here are some points to keep in mind while your prose are under construction:
Gather data on things you don't understand. Does your character surf? Do they sing opera? Do they sew? Are they Manic-Depressive? If you have no prior knowledge of a character trait or lifestyle aspect of a particular character, do your research. Take a surfing, or voice or sewing lessons. Don't have access to lessons or their not in the budget? Youtube has video lessons on just about anything. On the flip side if you want to understand a mental struggle, Psychology Today and other journals have a wealth of information on human behavior.
Eliminate Noise. Does the reader really care about what kind of sandwich your MC is noshing on at lunch? If it has no bearing on the plot or revealing something about the character, leave it out. In computer modeling, extra junk makes it run slow. In your story, pointless garble makes it drag.
Keep it Simple. This is probably the cardinal rule of engineering...and for writing as well. For the essential information you need to convey to your reader, don't weigh down your writing with flowery language. It sounds contrived and people will mock you and chase you with sticks.
Keep these things in mind when piecing together your prose and you'll come out with a sleeker manuscript in the end.
One final thought...in creating models much like crafting stories there is a certain unique style that one develops. Just like an author can be identified by the feel of their prose, one can also identify who set-up/created a computer model, not just by the notes they leave behind, but in the way it is constructed. And in both instances, this style evolves over time.
Maybe I've been living under a rock, but how did I go this long without discovering that there are podcasts on writing you can download for free. I have found they are a great way to keep my mind sharp on writing while at my desk job or in the car or doing house work. All the things that cannot be avoided and suck time out of my writing schedule.
Some of the ones that I listen to are:
Writing Excuses - A group of writers discuss writing techniques in a fast-paced 15 minute format.
Writers on Writing (couldn't find an official website for this one.)
It's Friday. And I know that is usually a really fabulous thing for all concerned...but...today I'm in the dentist office under anesthesia getting my second round of dental work done. FUN! Nonetheless, I planned ahead and scheduled this post the night before.
So, without further ado, here's the Writing Week in Review!
Writing is something we've been doing for a long time. Longer than the iPad, personal computer, or even paper has been around (clay tablets came before paper if you recall.) Now, I prefer the android OS, but to be completely egalitarian, I'm going to note witch programs are good for the iPad as well. Below you will find some of the best programs out there to aid you in your writing.
My Writing Spot: This one has some great features like allowing you to email documents from the program, it syncs with it's web version so you can manage your documents from any computer with web access, and it keeps up with your word count among other great things. (good for Droid and iPad. Note: there is both a free version and one with a price)
AK Notepad: This app is great for jotting down quick notes and ideas before they evaporate from your cranium. It's simple and easy to use. (For Droid)
Outliner: A great app that allows you an unlimited number of outlines, due dates, and keeps track of status to help you stay organized. As an added bonus the back button always saves the data. This one is more for the front side of your project. (For Droid and iPad)
Thinking Space: This fierce flow charting app lets you outline in a more colorful way. You will see your ideas laid-out in an organized fashion and make some serious progress. (For Droid)
ColorNote: Keep your ideas organized through color coding. Set reminders so that you can badger yourself into finding time to write. This app also lets you set passwords if you want to keep your ideas secret until you're ready to unleash your writing greatness on the world. (For Droid)
Although, I still love writing by hand in my notebook from the bottom of my heart. I can't deny that technology sometimes makes life a lot more organized and efficient. Hopefully these tools will help reduce the friction on your writing path and get you to your destination more quickly and easily.
Let me know if you have a favorite app or program that you like to use!
Happy Friday everyone! It's a beautiful and sunny morning here in Houston, an absolutely fabulous start to the weekend. In order to get your writing juices flowing, check out the following links I've stumbled upon in the last week:
Happy Friday everyone! Here's a collection of the fabulous writing resources I found on the interwebs this past week. Peep through them, and hopefully you will find something that helps your writing this weekend.
It's day 9 of NaNoWriMo we're almost a third of the way through and all though I'm still typing full steam ahead, I'm looking down the road to the latter parts of the month when I will probably start running out of ideas.
In order to get to 50k as efficiently as possible, consider these methods of word count padding:
Include lists of items. Is your character going to the grocery store or on a trip? Perhaps one of your characters likes to make a to do list to start off the day.
Introduce a character that likes to spontaneously break into song.
Take the time to include a detailed description of the scene. Really get descriptive. Include points on all five of the senses: Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, and Sound. (Ooooh, Look! A list!)
Have the character get into a heated back and forth and back and forth argument.
Add a prologue or an epilogue. Each is good for an extra 1000 words or so!
A small section on page 76 of No Plot? No Problem! is dedicated to the use of a writing totem. The author, Chris Baty (the founder of NaNoWriMo), describes a totem as something that, "helps you transition from the world of everyday living into the fictional realms you've created."
My writing totem is a singing goat. It's a souvenir from a family trip to Glacier National Park. I purchased it partly because I think goats are cool, partly because the Sound of Music is awesome, and partly because a singing goat was the perfect thing to have in the car to thoroughly annoy my parents on a road trip.
Now, it's what I keep next to my computer during NaNoWriMo writing sessions and beyond. It puts a smile on my face when the creative cogs in my brain grind to a frustrating halt.
I recently went to Walmart to purchase a multitude of miniature composition books (they're approx 3 x 5 in.). The purpose: put one in each of my purses that I carry on a regular basis. Now, when a plot bunny happens, I can write it down before it gets lost in the abyss of my head.
I also keep a journal by my bed to elaborate on any of those ideas I had recorded during the day. The one in the picture above is the same one I have...I heart it.
Just like most things in life (going to the gym, making home repairs, paying down credit card debt) seeing results can be motivating. Keeping tabs on your progress can magnify the light at the end of the tunnel.
Start recording your daily word count progress. I do this in excel so I can keep a running total and plot my progress graphically. Hey, I'm an engineer, it's what I do.
Thanks for stopping in to take a look at my blog! I'm an engineer in Houston, TX that fell into a writing hobby after doing my first National Novel Writing Month in '08 (www.nanowrimo.org). Here you will find the chronicles of my journey to (hopefully one day) have my work published, complete with the trials, tribulations and shenanigans along the way.
Just like any blogger, I love comments. So if you like something you read, please leave me a note. It's always good to know that these posts aren't adrift at sea.
