S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 184

Prompted

Lately I've been using my first edition copy of Judy Reeves' A Writer's Book of Days as jumper cables for the muse, mostly reading bits of writerly trivia but occasionally using the daily prompts to do some practice writing. In the process I've discovered I dislike the term free writing; to me it implies that writing by schedule, planning what you write or otherwise organizing your writing time is imprisoning. I for one never felt more smothered or uninspired than the time I tried to write a story organically; even then I kept trying to outline it in my head.

Anyway. I was looking over the writing prompts for this week, and these four started to tell me a story:

October 5 Write about a fragment.
October 6 Write about small mistakes.
October 7 You're in a cafe.
October 8 Losing control.

For me writers don't make especially interesting characters, but I immediately envisioned a would-be novelist parked with his laptop in a book store cafe, indulging in some free writing while he hopes to impress the counter chicks with his stoic suffering. Only he writes something 1) that triggers a repressed, horrible memory, or 2) that another patron reads over his shoulder and then uses as a reason to physically attack him, or 3) finally makes him realize that whatever he writes alters his reality because he's an alien. Or a psychic projector. Or a ghost.

Once I had jotted down these thoughts, I promptly outlined and deposited them in the future stories idea file. The prompts also made me think of an interesting setting for a troublesome scene I've got to write for my current WIP.

I've always thought that writing prompts and practice writing can be great workouts for the imagination. They exercise your vision, warm up your problem-solving skills, and get your head in the right place for the serious stuff. I think the trick is to use them to get you started, but not allow them to distract you with the new/bright/shiny allure of new story. I'd love to spend the rest of the day writing the cafe story, and if my day were completely free I might, but my writing schedule is packed. I feel like the prompts did loosen me up, so now I'll see if I can keep the energy flowing as I transition over to the contracted work.

One more thing the prompts did for me: they sparked the idea for this post and a couple of others. When you haven't been blogging regularly, getting back into a daily routine can be a bit tough. Prompts may be the nudge you need to change that.

What's your favorite online or offline resource for creative prompts? Doesn't have to be for writing, either. Tell us in comments to this post (or if you can't think of one, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Friday, October 7, 2011. I'll draw one name at random from everyone who participates and send the winner an unsigned paperback copy of the newly revised edition of A Writer's Book of Days by Judy Reeves. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.

Free for All

Some offers I noticed while I was over checking out the NaNoWriMo website:

You can use Pangurad "free during NaNoWriMo 2011. PangurPad is a new kind of online writing tool and publishing system with many features and a fantastic community. As an official NaNoWriMo 2011 participant you can use PangurPad entirely free of charge to write your novel, then format and embed it directly on your website or publish it as an eBook. Any participant signing up for a full membership before December 31st will be supporting NaNoWriMo with 5% donated back to the Office of Letters and Light." Nice that they give back a bit to the NaNo folks.

Yarny promises always to have a free version online (which is why I already love them) that allows you to "Write the way you want to write, using any approach you like in a simple, distraction-free environment. It's novel writing in the cloud. In today's world, we just don't think you should have to learn to use software anymore. With automatic saving, versioning and simple ways to track the people, places and things in your novel, it's easy to get organized and stay focused. We will always have a free version. A few things won't be free, but not many. Paid plans, beginning in December, will be dirt cheap. And, all NaNoWriMo winners get 50% off of an annual subscription."

WriteWay has a demo version you can use for free until 12/15/11, and is also offering a 50% discount on their Pro version; see more details at their NaNoWriMo page here.

Finally, to do my part to contribute a freebie for NaNoWriMo, from now until December 1st you can get a copy of my out of print writing how-to, Way of the Cheetah in .pdf format. Read online, download and/or print out the e-book here.

You Are My Fire

We celebrated the arrival of fall and cooler weather with our first fire of the season last night. Had to make s'mores for the kids, of course, but I womanfully resisted the diet-demolishing treat. Watching the flames was very relaxing, and gave me a chance to meditate and think about the week ahead and work out a couple of scenes from the WIP in my head. I also told some stories because unless you have a very big roll of duct tape, you can't park a storyteller in front of a fire and keep them quiet.

It got me thinking about what it must have been like for the very first storyteller. That very first story had to be born by a fire. Think about what life was like for our distant ancestors: taking shelter in caves, fearful of the dark, huddled together against hunger, enemies, the cold, the inexplicable -- nights must have been pretty tense times for the tribe. Under those circumstances, silence wants be filled.

So what do you talk about by the fire? Gossip tends to alienate and infuriate; truth is painful and even more worrisome. When as a group people want to be distracted and soothed, you have to give them something else that they want to think about, something funny or exciting or impossible; something better than the here and now. Something less painful than yesterday, and more hopeful than tomorrow.

I have this book I'm working on at the moment that consumes me. They all do, but each in their own way a little differently. This story is all about hidden fires, those things we most want and what we're prepared to do in order to earn them, fight for them, or even steal them. Respect, wealth, love, power, possession, revenge, dominion -- wanting them and going after them is a big chunk of the human experience.

The characters in this novel are an interesting mix. I really love the cast, although they do require constant balancing checks to keep any of them from taking over the story, kicking me out and running it on their own. You know your characterizations are strong when you start fantasizing about killing off someone who isn't supposed to die in the story. I imagine if they were real they'd think the same thing about me.

The challenges of making this story work are considerable, and there's always the doubt looming in the back of my mind that I can't do it, that I'll fail, that it will end up being a great big heap of lukewarm manure (and I've battled this doubt every single time I've written a book, and no matter how many times I win, it never goes away.) At the same time, I like the doubt. For one thing, we're old pals. Doubt also keeps me sharp and motivated because I despise it and I refuse to give it what it wants. There is no greater pleasure in writing for me than finishing the last page of a manuscript. Every time I do I stomp doubt and grind its pointed little head in the dirt. And while doubt can never be completely terminated, as long as you're willing to work hard and keep getting up after a fall it can made to suffer extensively.

With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, I hope those of you who are thinking about writing a novel in November will give it a try. Since I can't join you in the writing this year, I'm planning some posts each week this month that I think might help with the details and the process. I'll also be cheering you on in November. But unless the demands of life and work and family are overwhelming, don't talk yourself out of this. Try it. Don't worry about finishing or selling or publishing; just write. You may find that you surprise yourself.

As for the fire, for the storyteller it's always inside, contained by the tales we want to tell. Whether it warms us or burns us, it wants to be shared. That's why we're here. That's why we tell our stories. So we can be your fire.

To-Do Ten

Ten Things I'm Planning to Do This Week

Arrange: I've moved the contents of my office downstairs into a smaller space, which requires some creative arrangement of my equipment and work stuff. This is a good time to evaluate what I'm using and get rid of anything that is just taking up space. How to Organize Your Work Space by Rhonda Day had some good suggestions.

Clean: The fall housecleaning is done and the house is almost immaculate, thanks to me working out a lot of frustrations. I'd like to keep it that way, so each day I plan to tidy two rooms to maintain the sparkle. I also like the idea of creating a household notebook so I can use my tidying time better.

Donate: We're making a Goodwill run this week, so I need to go through the closets and bag up the clothes we're no longer wearing (and if you're thinking of doing the same, eHow.com has 5 ideas on where to donate old clothing here.)

Organize: my work schedule has been erratic, so shuffling and reorganizing my time for the rest of the year is a priority. I'll write up a new daily plan through the end of 2011, at which point I hope to catch up with everything. I'd like to use this opportunity to switch my work plan over to RedNotebook and see how that works as a time manager for me.

Paint: Anything. I just need time with the brush. Something small would probably be best; maybe some holiday cards. I might try using a rubber stamp as demonstrated in this card-making video.

Photograph: The sunsets are slowly transitioning to the spectacular variety we have here during the winter months, and one clear night I'd like to go down by the water with the camera. I'd also like to document my progress with the Spoonflower fabric I designed.

Read: Sofie Kelly's Sleight of Paw is in my purse, Linda Howard's Prey is on the nightstand, and for research I need to reread portions of Dungeon, Fire and Sword by John J. Robinson, The Templars and the Grail by Karen Ralls, and Templars in America by Tim Wallace Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins.

Sew: I'm always working on a couple of quilts in progress, but I'd like to sew my Spoonflower project this week, too.

Study: various weapons, equipment and other devices as well as how they were used on 17th century sailing vessels like Sweden's amazing Vasa.

Write: 20K in new material; finish polishing two candidate scenes for the end pages of Nightborn to send to the editor; catch up on e-mail and snail mail, update my personal journals. I'd like to get back to writing my daily posts here at PBW. One new thing I'm trying is Ami Mattison's suggestion in this article of warming up first by free writing for a few minutes.

So what are your plans for this week? Let us know in comments.

Old Rides, New Roads

In four weeks National Novel Writing Month begins, and I'm sure at least a few of you are thinking about spending your November NaNo'ing. It's hard work, lots of fun and a great opportunity to spend four weeks getting acquainted with what it is to be a working writer. It's also a time when you can give yourself permission to write whatever you want; from my POV always a good thing.

Many NaNo'ers take the path of pure spontaneity, but others raid their files for story ideas they've already jotted down, outlined or otherwise saved in some form. Most writers have stories waiting to be written somewhere in their minds, their hearts or their notebooks (I keep mine outlined and locked in the filing cabinet where they can't cause much mischief.) But given the chance to write a novel for NaNoWriMo (or any time, for that matter), should you always go with something shiny and new, or return to that old ghost of an idea that still haunts you?

Whatever you choose to write, I think the number one priority is that you feel passionate about it. Enthusiasm is the fuel for your writing vehicle, and if your idea bores you, worries you or otherwise makes you feel negative toward it, that comes out in the writing -- assuming you get any done. There is no better writer's block than the one we build ourselves with our apathy, doubts and fears. Remember too that no matter what their vintage, some story ideas need time to ferment and mature.

Here are some of the litmus tests I use on old story ideas:

Is the model still timely? I think the novella I wrote in the seventh grade based on the cold war between the US and USSR was very inventive. Not especially relevant anymore, though.

Does it have training wheels? Sometimes we get ideas that are subconscious attempts to work out something in the storytelling process. My first Darkyn short story was like that; I wrote it like most traditional vampire fic. It was literary and sad and I absolutely hated it; no way would I make it into novel-length (actually I destroyed it before anyone could read it.) But once I got that idea out of my head, I started reworking the world building and the characterizations, and a partial chunk of that original story idea that I didn't hate stayed with me to influence other choices.

Is it real life in disguise? We all go through tough times, and certainly they influence our work. Often they give us ideas of things we need to write, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think it's extremely healthy to work out your woes on the page. That's what diaries and personal journals are for. Also, there's always the memoir. But if you're going through a bad breakup or divorce, a fictional story idea about an evil clone of your ex who does terrible stuff before s/he dies a prolonged and horrible death while everyone else in the novel is having sex or wants to have sex with the protag is probably more a coping mechanism than something you want other people to read.

Can I write the last chapter right now? When I first started writing books I just sat down and wrote until I ran out of steam, got tired of the idea and moved on to something else; usually about halfway or two-thirds through the novel. This is also why I have about forty unfinished manuscripts packed away in boxes. Via trial and error I eventually discovered this was directly related to my lack of plotting and planning; I hadn't thought out the story completely so I didn't know how to end it. Of course there are organic writers out there who don't need to know where they're going to write great stories, but if you never finish anything you might be in the same boat I was.

Whatever type of story idea you choose to go with for your NaNo novel, I hope it's one that will allow you to have some fun with it. The pressure of putting together all those words and having them make sense in such a short amount of time is enough to shoulder; don't add to your burdens by forcing yourself to arm-wrestle a stubborn idea onto the page. In my experience, the story usually loses.

Symbols & Words

One way to exercise your imagination and come up with some new story ideas is to use online generators that provide you with random prompts. The latest I've found, The Creative Idea Generator, is very simple and quite fun to use. You click on a word, image or surprise button to produce words and symbols, then move and rearrange them to create different pairings, idea clouds, plot circles, etc. It's almost like making your own story road signs, which is great for sparking ideas.

Here's a screenshot of my first test drive:



I paired the symbols with the words at random and then rearranged a few as ideas started forming. The downstairs symbol + "contract" made me at once think of someone who sells their soul to Satan (this is probably because I just reread The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman) but I also got a very strong image of a nice cleaning lady character who doesn't just clean up corporate offices.

Other random story ideas I had: Where do you keep an important hostage? On a boat. A plague that turns 99% of the population into sleepwalkers who act out their dreams. When the ski lift fails, all that saves you is your scarf. A bug that either contaminates the world's petroleum supply, or renders it obsolete. An alien blade so beautiful that to look at it blinds you (the blade made of light has already been done.) A murder mystery where a writer kills everyone who violates his copyright -- or maybe an editor or someone tries to kill him over an inconvenient copyright. Fish and chips, I need to eat dinner (and I did have fish and chips last night, so it even inspired a meal.)

This generator is especially useful because we all interpret images and words differently, thus no two people are going to get the exact same ideas from it. I like the simplicity, too; it prods your imagination without overwhelming you with a lot of data.

Link nicked from Gerard at The Generator Blog.

Spoonflower Delivers

The fabric I custom designed and ordered from Spoonflower arrived while I was out of town, and I have photos and intel to share.

First, the yardage:



This came folded neatly with only a few/minimal wrinkles that will likely disappear after I wash it. My design was vividly printed on very crisp, lightweight white cotton foundation material (I think I read that they use Moda fabric but don't quote me on that.) There is no raised or plastic feel to the material, which makes it nicer than the fabric sold for inkjet printers. The packing slip included laundering directions for all the types of fabric the site sells, which is an excellent idea.

I also ordered some test swatches of my photo banner and two paintings to get a look at how they handle complicated colors and palettes as well as image details:



I'm quite happy with these. Swatches are a good idea if you're not sure about your design as they don't cost as much as yardage but still give you a realistic preview of what a bigger piece will look like. Here's a closeup of the banner photo:



The final test was to compare the finished fabric to the original photos I used for the designs. There were some slight color variations, and a little of the tiny details didn't translate onto the fabric, but I'm quite satisfied with how well they matched my image:



Here's another comparison:



Production and shipping were actually faster than promised, so no complaints at all there.

Bottom line: this was fun, easy to do and I really like the results. If you want your colors matched perfectly, I recommend ordering a test swatch of your design first (and I'm not sure if you can tweak the colors after you get your swatch or you have to upload a tweaked image, so you may want to check on that at their site.)

Custom Ten

Ten Things You Can Design Online

Design your own bedding or pillows over at Inmod.com.

UK clock maker DesignOClock.com allows you to customize the face of an analog clock with your own images and text.

Custom Clothing Designer has over 100 garments and accessories you can customize.

MyDeco.com's 3D room planner helps you design a room online and view it in 3D.

Can't find a bumper sticker that fits you and your ride? Design your own here.

Make your own custom flower bouquet, centerpiece, or even a wedding cake online over at DesignedBytheBride.com.

For you hoof fashionistas out there, you can design your own shoes here (rather pricey to buy them, though.)

Make your dream garden with Better Homes and Gardens' online Plan-A-Garden designer (one hoop: to use it, you have to register for their newsletter.)

LogoEase.com has a free online designer to help you build the perfect logo.

Need to work out a custom wedding dress for your character? Design it online here.

Winners

I am hitting the road again today, so unfortunately I must make this quick. The winners of the Linda Howard giveaway are:

Shiloh Walker, who depends on Mercedes Lackey's Winds of Fate books and others to get by during tough times..

Petite, who got help from Frenchman's Creek while coping with a loss.

DeeCee, who counted on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to help get through losing a loved one.

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can get your books and surprises out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.

Winners

So I'm not the only one who self-medicates with books? Good to know. I also see a lot of titles and writers in your comments that I'll have to check out next time I'm at the bookstore.

We dusted off the magic hat (who has been sulking over being left in the closet so long), and the winners of the Rob Thurman giveaway are:

SandyH, who escapes with the Darkyn series and Jayne Anne Krentz.

Sari from Michigan, who depends on Mercedes Lackey and Anne McCaffrey's earlier novels.

Emily of Tom, Emily & Brenna, who mentioned Cherijo from StarDoc and Sylvia Thorpe as particularly helpful

AthenaW, who recommends anything by Lilith Saintcrow as a tough times go-to read.

Winners, when you have a chance please send your full name and ship-to address to LynnViehl@aol.com so I can send your books and surprises out to you. My thanks to everyone for joining in.