More Advice

Remember that post when I went on a rant about how I keep on looking up writer's quotes and advice to writers and yet I never agree with the things they say?

Well, I found a list of advice that I actually like!

So here goes:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them-in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To hell with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

By the way, I got these from here and they come from Kurt Vonnegut. I don't think I've ever read any of his books, but he looks interesting and someday I plan on reading Slaughterhouse Five. I'll let you know if I ever get around to it.



Picture from this link.

But anyway, I actually liked the advice he gave. I mean, none of the points are really new, nothing I haven't heard or just known, but hearing it like this gives me inspiration.
And I like point seven and eight and five. Those seem like things that it's really tempting to change, and while experimenting and being creative are all good and great, I still think it can be bad to have too much suspense or too much waiting around before the story gets started.
(I think there are some classic authors I've read in English class who could have heard point five...)

My advice? Just write. Forget about all the rules. If you're really meant to write, you won't have time to worry about who to write for and what to write about. You'll just be so caught up in the words that nothing else even matters.

This seems like a super cool blog!

That isn't to say that it's not good to read and research as much as possible when you're in the in-between books stage.

If you haven't figured it out-- I am in the in-between books stage. Or at least, the in-between drafts stage.

Man, sometimes I wish people could read faster!

Future

What does the future look like?

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Unfortunately, there is no one size fits all equation to sow exactly what your future will be like. It would be kind of nice if there was. Sometimes I think that life should be a little more like calculus, just without the homework.

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I know I've been going on and on about the future lately, but it's kind of important. I wouldn't say that I am a person who must have things planned and has organized little agendas and calendars and stuff. In fact a lot of the time I would rather not have any plans at all.
But... when I do make plans for something, then I want everything to go the way it's supposed to. I don't like plans that fail. Not at all.

So I'm a little bit hesitant to keep on making all of these plans for things that seem so far away. I mean, I grew up not necessarily knowing what country I would live in the next year.

Now I'm supposed to be making all these plans to travel Europe and study in England.
And on top of that, I'm supposed to be making plans for what college to go to. For the next four years. What? Four years? I can't even grasp the idea of so much time spent in one place.
And then there is the idea of publishing, and my future as a Writer.

Two nights ago I stayed up until 1:00 reading Shadow Whispers, and successfully finished editing the fourth draft. Which means that now I am happy with it, and want to send it out and see about getting published. I promise you this will not be easy. I don't even know how to start this whole process.

I just feel like there is so much piling up over me. So many decisions I have to make. So many opportunities I can jump on. So many plans I need to work on.

I can't say that I'm stressed, just a little bit overwhelmed.

It's confusing, and sometimes overwhelming, and always exciting.

The Struggles of a Writer

And the struggle continues.

I still want more than anything to just go sit down and finish these last thirty-some pages of Shadow Whispers, just be done with it, you know? So that I can move on to the next stage and not be so consumed by this novel.

Yet I cannot just "go write."

Okay- distractions are certainly a part of my lack of words, but I promise that isn't all of the problem. See, for this stage of editing I need to read out loud. And maybe I'm just carping, but I can't stand the idea of reading my story out loud to myself while my parents are in the kitchen making dinner.

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I just. I don't like the idea of other people hearing me while I read.

Not yet. Eventually I'll be at that point where I will want to read it out loud to people, but not yet. Not yet.

Soon, maybe, if I can make myself find time to edit. I keep staying up past 11:00 (my preferred bedtime is about 9:00, to put it into perspective.) And wondering why I am so tired at school the next day. And then, of course, my family has to listen to my Piano Guys music that drowns out my voice while I read.

Let's just say that someday I will have a separate room or cabin or something where only I am allowed to go, and where all I do is write, write, write. Or read, or edit.

Writing Cabin? I guess I'm not the only one with this idea.

You get the point, though. I need a space of my own, a space set apart entire for words.

Maybe I am just rambling. I probably am.
I just... I'm consumed. I'm infatuated. I'm obsessed.

The Whisperers are taking over my life, or at least trying to- every part of myself that isn't already overruled by school and friends and movies and books and foods and internet and whatever other distractions always lurk nearby threatening to take away my writing.

Now I definitely am just rambling. I apologize. I am a writer, though, after all.

How to Think Like a Boy

I know what you're thinking. "What is wrong with this girl, and why does she care how guys think?"

The answer, of course, brings you back into the pages and away from the girl that sometimes exists on the other side. You see, the Whisperers (all nine of them) each tell a chapter of the story at a time. And four of those Whisperers just so happen to be guys. The result: I need to figure out how guys think in order to write accurate chapters to represent them. Now it makes sense, right?

The first step to this I already explained in a previous post. Weapons. I went through a very tedious stage of discovering everything I could about weapons in order to learn how to write about them. I think I'm doing pretty well so far, though of course I haven't finished that stage of editing.

But I know there's more to guys than just weapons. Obviously. And only a percentage of guys even care about the weapons side.

So I asked my friend to describe his sister- everything he said was visual, which I kind of expected. Visual, and not very detailed. I may have to lower the writing style a bit for some of the guys...

I asked another friend to describe the room he was standing in. The first thing he mentioned was the bench he was touching, and the atmosphere of the room. He continued with things you can touch, too, like the benches and the walls.

And I asked a third friend to describe one of the other boys in class. The first things he mentioned were all achievement based. I also had expected that because of conversations about the differences between girls and guys in my Dating, Marriage and Family class. (Yeah, we have a dating class at my school. What?!! There are strange classes in Christian schools.)

So.... what I'm left with is the impression that guys are very visually stimulated. And rely heavily on achievements, especially when relating to one another, and are also more physical. Sound about right?

I hope so, because that's the turn I'm trying to make in these guy-narrated chapters. Although I am still talking to boys to try and get inside their heads, and the fourth draft has yet to be finished.

Still, the pages are progressing, and the girl on the other side is beginning to feel extremely excited about watching all the words come together so flawlessly.

Lemony Treats and Romans on the Roof

What in the world could be better than eating lemon bars on the roof with a bunch of girls while diving into the book of Romans?

Okay, I guess I can think of some things that might be equally good or better. Like maybe drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows while curled up with a blanket in front of a fire on a cold snowy day.

Or maybe reading a really good book on my bed when I should be sleeping.

Or dressing up in a fancy dress and going to a tea party with my friends.

Or eating a frozen Pinguino and drinking an ice cold Coke in a glass bottle after a long day of school.

Okay, okay...

But seriously, I think the lemon bars in the oven are going to taste absolutely delicious. And we'll have ice tea or hot tea depending on the very bipolar weather. And I think more of the girls will show up this time, although the nine that came to my Bible study last week were still a good group.

What am I talking about? You ask.

Romans on the Roof, my project of the semester- a girls' group where we dig into the book of Romans and see what God does with our talk. It's a lot of discussion, some games, and of course, desserts. I've only had one so far, but I'm still extremely excited, and I think the lesson tomorrow is really great.

The whole thing makes me feel older, too. I mean, I'm leading a Bible Study. Me, myself, and I.
Plus, I get to bake delicious treats every Sunday, and it's so much fun. And while it isn't quite the same as cooking, it'll probably still be good practice for moving out of the house and taking care of myself. Baked goods are a necessity, after all.

Oh, and did I mention that I finished draft 3 yesterday? Shadow Whispers is officially on to the fourth draft, and we're almost half way done with that, too. It's going great, and I am so excited to finish it and move on to the second book. I honestly can't wait, and it's taking all my self control to not just abandon the Whisperers and move on to the Remnants.

There you go. There's what's happening, both on the pages and off.