A Young Writer’s Journey: Preparing for the Journey

In every novel ever written the main character has to take a journey. This can be a physical journey, a mental journey, whatever. Once they have accepted the challenge presented -or not- every character, fiction or otherwise, must prepare.
Any item with an asterisk (*) is optional.

So, I am preparing for my Journey: A Young Writer’s Journey. If your tagging along, here’s what you’ll need:

Supplies:

• Writing material- pens, pencils, sharpies, crayons*, colored pencils*, markers*
• Notebook (preferably anything to write in. A folder with paper is fine, but a good notebook is preferred.)
  
• Your imagination


• A critique partner* (Don’t worry if you don’t have one)
  
• A computer (to store work after planning in notebook, good for spell check)
  
• Nourishments- any types of foods and beverages that will sustain you for the torturous roads ahead. I like cream soda and butterscotch, myself.


• Your favorite teddy bear (for when you break down crying)


• And patience, because this road is going to be a long and hard one.

Hope to see you on the road

Critique Partners

Everyone needs a someone who will tell them what’s wrong with ________(enter problem here). Same is true when writing a novel! Now, I’m still just a writer. I haven’t actually finished a novel, least of all published one, but from some research I’ve done, here’s one thing I know to be true: Get A Critique Partner!

Critique partners are your best friend in writing. This might be someone who has a knowledge of writing or just someone who loves to read and can tell you what you might be doing right or wrong.

No matter what anyone tells you, your writing may be good or bad-people have different opinions. However a critique partner is that one person who can keep you on track.

It is a long and traitorous road ahead for young writers, so why not have someone to tag along?

Dear [Blank],

For those who make characters like Bella Swan: stop! Why is every female character in YA fiction seem just like Bella Swan? There is always something wrong with their appearance, when really everyone thinks they’re super hot! Or they have some stupid flaw, or that no one likes them, or they are new to town, or thay have "old souls", or they make really stupid choices, or they are really, really annoying!

Like really? Come on! Not every pubescent teenager thinks like that. Some actually think the world revolve around them-trust me, I know a few kids!

I’m just saying that maybe a character who, I don’t know, actually have a personality would be a great change from the ones I’ve been reading.

So for all you young writers, try techniques that make your characters more 3-d, rather then the flat paper kind.

On Writing...

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware off, no shortcut.

-- Stephen King, On Writing




"Writing is like a disease, you either have it or you don't." -- Anne Groell, Bantam Editor, during a Pennwriters conference.

Writer's Un-Blocked: What Inspires You?

Recently blogged about where I get my inspiration. This is about what inspires me. Now what inspires me is completely different from where I get my inspiration. Having inspiration is great, but I think being truly inspired means that you have elected to do something with that inspiration. You’ve decided to stop sitting around just thinking about your inspiration and have decided to turn it into something tangible, or danceable, or edible, or readable.

I think you have to want to do something with that inspiration- like write it down or film it, or whatever your medium is- instead of just thinking about it, or finding reasons to put if off.

Being inspired is just a matter of figuring out what’s important to you and just running with it. Even if seems silly and unimportant to others, it just matters how much this idea means to you and whether or not it’s important enough to put your whole self into it.

So, the question is: what inspires you?

Writer's Un-Blocked: Getting the Idea

Where do you get your inspiration? You wanna know where I get my ideas for writing? Simple: I steal it. Well, some of it…

Now, hold on. Before you go calling the cop on me, here is what I mean. I steal things to put in my books from everywhere and everyone. Bits of conversations, personality trait… physical features… like having large ears…

That’s not to say I’ve never had an original thought in my life, just that I believe that an author writes from his or her own personal understanding. If J. K. Rowling had never learned about witched and wizards, as in she was completely oblivious to that concept at all, we never would have had the HAPPY POTTER series.

I’ve heard people say that they don’t like to use “real” people for their writing, while I do. “Real” people are the kinds of characters I want. It’s more believable to me when I use certain traits and characteristic from my friends and family because they are the most “real” characters I know. And it’s those “Mary Sue” characters (for those of you who don’t know what a Mary Sue character is, it’s a character who is very common to others) for example Bella Swan, with her helpless, damsel in distress attitude and having Edward, a handsome superhuman, saving her all the time… it’s characters and events like that which keep us reading, because it those common characters and event with their own twists that makes the story real.

Stealing things from around you makes your writing more believable, because who and what is more real than the things and people you know?

Where do you get your inspiration?