Spencer Labbe's Blog
May 17, 2018
How to write when you have Anxiety
Today, as I struggle with distraction and underconfidence. I thought it might be nice to share whatever experience I have on the matter. I'll break it down into three, simple, yet hopefully helpful steps.
Step 1: Just do it
First, you need to start. Put down the phone, the distractions; turn on the classical music, or your favorite jazz playlist, or maybe even a reel of nature sounds from Youtube, and start writing!
This is the atmosphere I try the most to replicate. My sentences are sharper. My thoughts more clear and efficient.
Create the atmosphere for YOU, everyone is different, just as every book is different. Maybe for you, it is scented candles and the dark, or a nearby cafe, orrr the sound of nails on a chalkboard, whatever.
Find your happy place and just start. In the words of the great Shia LeBeof "JUST DO IT!! DO IT!! MAKE YOUR DREAMS HAPPEN!!!!"
Once you have started, find the groove of your writing. Where are you taking the story, see it in your mind's eye and go there! Don't worry about the outcome, or the grammar, or any particular scene.
As a fellow author friend posted, people often remember the feeling of what they read. Not the exact words used. < Solid advice. Don't trip yourself up keep it going - let the good times flow!!
There will be time to revise. Ages, weeks, hopefully not years...
Step 2:
While often ignored, this step can be crucial to the success of your writing.
Write for yourself.
IT SHOWS. People can feel when you yourself believe in the story, when you are living your art rather than pandering to a specific audience.
If you don't enjoy what you are writing, stop writing it. :)
Step 3:
Don't be afraid of failure. Because you will fail. Kidding :D
However, there most likely will come a person who absolutely hated everything about your work.
You as a person are NOT intended for all audiences, there are too many beliefs and opinions in this world for you to satiate them all. Breathe. Surround yourself with motivation, and breathe.
Step 1: Just do it
First, you need to start. Put down the phone, the distractions; turn on the classical music, or your favorite jazz playlist, or maybe even a reel of nature sounds from Youtube, and start writing!
This is the atmosphere I try the most to replicate. My sentences are sharper. My thoughts more clear and efficient.
Create the atmosphere for YOU, everyone is different, just as every book is different. Maybe for you, it is scented candles and the dark, or a nearby cafe, orrr the sound of nails on a chalkboard, whatever.
Find your happy place and just start. In the words of the great Shia LeBeof "JUST DO IT!! DO IT!! MAKE YOUR DREAMS HAPPEN!!!!"
Once you have started, find the groove of your writing. Where are you taking the story, see it in your mind's eye and go there! Don't worry about the outcome, or the grammar, or any particular scene.
As a fellow author friend posted, people often remember the feeling of what they read. Not the exact words used. < Solid advice. Don't trip yourself up keep it going - let the good times flow!!
There will be time to revise. Ages, weeks, hopefully not years...
Step 2:
While often ignored, this step can be crucial to the success of your writing.
Write for yourself.
IT SHOWS. People can feel when you yourself believe in the story, when you are living your art rather than pandering to a specific audience.
If you don't enjoy what you are writing, stop writing it. :)
Step 3:
Don't be afraid of failure. Because you will fail. Kidding :D
However, there most likely will come a person who absolutely hated everything about your work.
You as a person are NOT intended for all audiences, there are too many beliefs and opinions in this world for you to satiate them all. Breathe. Surround yourself with motivation, and breathe.
February 4, 2018
Top 5
Hey guys and gals!
Curious what my top five favorite books are, and/or my thoughts on those books? No? Well too bad! Here they are:
#1. The best series ever written, and the book that started it all "HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE"
My review: Although this is NOT my favorite Harry Potter book (Chamber of Secrets has my heart) it is the perfect, and ONLY beginning for a series that means more to me than I can possibly describe. This book started a Franchise, it was the opening to a world of magic and Fantasy in our Muggle world. Nothing can top this series for me.
#2. One of the best books I have ever read "BRAVE NEW WORLD"
My review: What can I say about this book except that Aldous Huxley was a genius far ahead of his time. Brilliance above brilliance. It is a book that speculates on the future of technology, genetics, addiction, humanity, and love. A reality that could very well exist, and a perception of everyday social intricacies.
This book is the culmination of a society that fools itself into thinking it is perfect. It is humanity's perception forced into a system that appears ideal, even to those who are oppressed and devalued. Gorgeously written.
#3. Father of fantasy "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring"
My review: Gosh I'm trying and failing to keep this short. What can I say about this book that hasn't been said? These books make me hungry for bread, smoke, wood, and adventure. Not in that order. It feels like an old fable spun by an eccentric madman, who can see things you cannot, and who might very well be from a time and place long forgotten.
It's a good one. If you haven't read it, you are not a reader (of Fantasy). Sorry.
#4. From the Mother of Dystopia, maybe. "Oryx and Crake"
My review: This book is more intelligent than me. Extraordinarily more.
A Dystopia full of Philosophy, Science, and Humanity. It throws real questions towards the nitty gritty of life. Art, love, death, genetically altered reality, real reality, and more. I love madmen and their experiences and this book just fits that bill to a T. Although the definition of a mad-man may be different to you than to me, it is more than an interesting read and will force you to reflect on life.
#5. "Ender's Game"
My review: A lot of books might qualify as my fifth favorite. But Enders Game is going to take the cake for only one beautiful line. At the very beginning Ender say's this; 'Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too.' This line emulates Ender's personality. Ender is a very interesting character, a character who's sequel stories do not do him complete justice.
Curious what my top five favorite books are, and/or my thoughts on those books? No? Well too bad! Here they are:
#1. The best series ever written, and the book that started it all "HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE"
My review: Although this is NOT my favorite Harry Potter book (Chamber of Secrets has my heart) it is the perfect, and ONLY beginning for a series that means more to me than I can possibly describe. This book started a Franchise, it was the opening to a world of magic and Fantasy in our Muggle world. Nothing can top this series for me.
#2. One of the best books I have ever read "BRAVE NEW WORLD"
My review: What can I say about this book except that Aldous Huxley was a genius far ahead of his time. Brilliance above brilliance. It is a book that speculates on the future of technology, genetics, addiction, humanity, and love. A reality that could very well exist, and a perception of everyday social intricacies.
This book is the culmination of a society that fools itself into thinking it is perfect. It is humanity's perception forced into a system that appears ideal, even to those who are oppressed and devalued. Gorgeously written.
#3. Father of fantasy "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring"
My review: Gosh I'm trying and failing to keep this short. What can I say about this book that hasn't been said? These books make me hungry for bread, smoke, wood, and adventure. Not in that order. It feels like an old fable spun by an eccentric madman, who can see things you cannot, and who might very well be from a time and place long forgotten.
It's a good one. If you haven't read it, you are not a reader (of Fantasy). Sorry.
#4. From the Mother of Dystopia, maybe. "Oryx and Crake"
My review: This book is more intelligent than me. Extraordinarily more.
A Dystopia full of Philosophy, Science, and Humanity. It throws real questions towards the nitty gritty of life. Art, love, death, genetically altered reality, real reality, and more. I love madmen and their experiences and this book just fits that bill to a T. Although the definition of a mad-man may be different to you than to me, it is more than an interesting read and will force you to reflect on life.
#5. "Ender's Game"
My review: A lot of books might qualify as my fifth favorite. But Enders Game is going to take the cake for only one beautiful line. At the very beginning Ender say's this; 'Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too.' This line emulates Ender's personality. Ender is a very interesting character, a character who's sequel stories do not do him complete justice.
