Writing Tip: Learning as You Go

“No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on –it’ll come back around to be useful later.” –Former Pixar Story Artist, Emma Coats

My 2014 NaNoWriMo novel was a wreck. Though I did reach the 50,000 word goal, the project fell apart at the end of November. You can track that disaster,  which starts with this post (the pre-Nano portion of my Nano Log), if you’re interested. And, in case you don’t know what Nano is, you can check out the website here. It’s a fantastic program for writers of all kinds that comes with a supportive and inspirational community.

Despite its early end, the project was a great exercise in character development for me, and I really had a lot of fun writing it. I also learned a lot about my personal writing style. And whether or not I continue work on that particular novel, I can already see the positive impact that it’s had on every project since then, whether directly or indirectly.

I think the biggest writing lesson that I’ve learned through failure—other than the importance of backing up my work, which I had to learn the hard way—is that I excel at preparation.

I don’t, however, excel at improvising (or, as the writing community often calls it, pantsing—as in, flying by the seat of your pants).

That November, I’d decided to experiment by trying this method. I knew plenty of writers who wrote this way, and it seemed worth it to give it a try. When I started writing, I had a hazy idea about what I wanted to happen in the story. My characters were paper-thin collections of facts. To push myself along in the process, I’d collected random writing prompts from the internet, hoping that they’d keep words coming as I wrote my draft.

As someone who likes to plan ahead, I often prewrite for about as long as I draft or revise. Generally, I can be found outlining or graphing plots and subplots or creating detailed analysis profiles for characters or designing fictional worlds.

Because I’d decided to pants, I did none of these things. The plot followed my internet prompts and whatever ideas popped into my head. And it took a while for my characters to go from two-dimensional ideas to believable people. I just jumped into the whole thing and did whatever came naturally.

Some of it was good, some of it was bad. And I managed to grow a lot as an author because of that. My good points got better, and my weaker points improved with the practice.

By the end of the month, I had an entertaining plot, engaging scenes, and relatable characters.

By the end of the month, I’d also discovered a problem during my research. I’d based my entire novel on an incorrect assumption. The premise that was the backbone of my book was flawed and I couldn’t use it.

So I had to shelf that project for now. I may find a way to repair and finish it, or I may not. Either way, it was an enjoyable learning experience.

When it comes to writing, I’ve seen that effort is never wasted. I don’t trash any of my ideas; I recycle them. I’ve seen themes, characters, and plot ideas return reincarnated, better than they were before and more fitting in my newer work. Whatever I don’t use the way I’d originally intended, I learn from.

Don’t be afraid to experiment as you write. Learn from your mistakes. Build future stories on the foundation of all the lessons you’ve learned. As a result, everything you write post-error will automatically start out stronger.

For anyone who’s interested in checking out some of my 2014 work-in-progress, Flying Change, I posted several excerpts throughout my Nano journey. You can read those stating with this post here.

What lessons have you learned through your writing, whether you went the easy route or the hard one? Let me know in the comments below or link me to a blog post of your own!

Creative Chat: Writing Obsessions

My current writing obsessions are symbolism and intertextuality. That is, the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities in art (especially in literature) and the ongoing interaction between multiple works of art (especially literature).

When I say “current writing obsessions,” I mean those things that I’ve been itching to write, the things that drive me increasingly toward insanity as I struggle to get them onto the page the way they work in my head. They’re those things that I’ve been devoting my time to studying because I need to be able to execute them the way they’re executed in the works I admire. I’m sure you all know the feeling.

Your current writing obsession is something that you notice everywhere from books to television to other forms of art. Whether you’re looking for it or not, you start to see it more and more in the things you watch, read, and listen to. Ultimately, regardless of what it is, it’s something you’re obsessed about as a writer.

I’ve been reading about the use of symbolism and intertextuality in literature, and that’s opened up this door for me. I really like the idea of storytelling going deeper than the surface, whether it’s through the use of symbols or through the dialogue between new stories and an established ones.

Creating strong symbolism and intertextuality in your writing will keep readers coming back. And each time they do, they may learn something more about your book, themselves, or the world. They’ll be able to work their way inward, with each layer becoming bigger and better than the one before it. Developing these layers in your work could be the difference between writing a nice story that people read and smile about and creating a lasting piece of art that readers will hold on to and cherish for years to come.

I want my writing to be intellectually and emotionally engaging; I want to create stories that keep readers coming back for more the way I’ve gone back to books I’ve connected with. I enjoy engaging with authors, through their work, to discover meanings that lie beneath the surface, and I want my readers to be able to engage with me in a similar experience.

I’m studying and experimenting with symbolism and intertextuality because I think that learning and perfecting their use will greatly improve the quality of the writing I produce. Learning from the greats about the tricks of the trade that they use will, at the very least, expand my knowledge of the literary world and allow me to better enjoy my reading. At best, they’ll exponentially amplify elements of my original stories so that they can be better enjoyed by my readers.

I plan to use the knowledge I gain to create content that readers will be able to analyze and enjoy. I want to connect with my audience in a deep and meaningful way. I want to touch them and teach them like I’ve been touched and taught by other authors.

So, what are your current writing obsessions? What have you become passionate about, and how are you incorporating it into your writing? Leave a comment below or link me to your own blog or vlog post!

Writing Tip: Refilling the Well

Happy New Year! It’s January 2016, and the year is overflowing with opportunities. We’re hunting for jobs, joining gyms, and learning new languages. Everyone seems to have a long list of New Year’s Resolutions, and everyone is ready to capitalize on the unlimited potential that a new year inevitably brings.

I have my own list of things that I want to accomplish in 2016, and, so far, I’ve been doing pretty well. My progress on most of my goals is exactly where it should be for the end of the first month.

Unfortunately, my writing goals are the exception to this rule. Particularly my goal to write 1,000 words per day. I think I’ve stuck to that once or twice in all of January.

It’s not that I’m not trying, because I am. But, aside from the challenge of making time to write each day, I often feel powerless to turn a blinking caret into literature the way Rumpelstiltskin turned straw into gold.

Each of us has a well of inspiration that we draw from. And the water levels in these wells are usually well-maintained by those very special springs unique to the mind of a creative writer, the springs that turn everyday people and events into fiction fodder.

Yet sometimes the springs fail us. Sometimes, when we come to draw water, we find a vast, echoing emptiness.

What’s a writer to do when their well’s run dry?

I think that the answer depends on what’s causing your writers’ block.

Your writing couldn’t possibly be good enough. At least, that’s what you tell yourself at times. And, during those times, you revise your work to death, uprooting the good along with the bad.

Sometimes you’re bogged down by a single routine, a single mindset, or a single writing method. Trapped in tunnel vision, you become incapable of seeing things creatively and you kill new ideas before they’ve even taken shape.

Or sometimes the problem is simply a lack of inspiration. The laws of physics tell us that energy can’t be destroyed or created. It just changes form. And the same goes for your creative energy. You can’t create something out of nothing. Of course, you can’t just sit around waiting for your muse to show up—muses are notoriously fickle—but you also can’t expect fantastic output when there hasn’t been any input. Creating anything worth your time will become exponentially harder if you’ve failed to nourish your imagination.

So, now that you’ve identified the cause of your empty well, what do you do about it? Curing writers’ block is like curing hiccups—all your friends may swear by a remedy that just doesn’t work for you, and it can be difficult to find what does. Based on what I’ve learned from experience and from other writers, there’s no one-size-fits-all advice, especially in the world of creative writing. But here are several methods that have often gotten me through creative dry spells.

Believe in yourself. I’m aware of how cliché that sounds, but confidence in yourself and your work is crucial to producing quality content. One thing that boosts my confidence is going back through old pieces that I’ve written that I’m proud of, especially ones that other people have enjoyed as well. This reminds me of the things that I’ve done right, which I’m fully capable of doing again.

It also helps to remember that each of us has doubts. We’ll all have moments when we don’t believe in our own abilities.

Vary your routine. Take a different route to work, eat lunch with someone other than your usual crew, or take a class on something you know absolutely nothing about. Breaking from your everyday traditions can free your mind and get you thinking creatively again.

Vary your thought process. Approach the familiar as though seeing it for the first time. Try to observe your world through someone else’s eyes. I use my fictional characters’. You’ll be surprised by how a small shift of perspective will transform the mundane into a wealth of inspiration.

Vary your writing process. If you’ve outlined each of your recent projects, do a couple of writing exercises that require spur-of-the-moment creation. Or, if you’ve been revising on a computer, print your next draft and mark up the hard copy before typing the corrections.

Store up input. Consistently churning out original content without taking any in, you’ll eventually run out of ideas. So read books, watch movies, and listen to music. Absorbing the stories around us keeps ideas forming and flowing.

Writers’ block is practically a rite of passage for us; it just comes with the territory. Luckily, restoring your well can be as simple as reminding yourself how amazing you are, breaking free of routines you’ve been stuck in, or spending an afternoon curled up with a cup of tea and a library book.