Clinton W. Waters's Blog: Writing Sundries, page 2
July 30, 2019
Writing Basics: Setting
A setting can be just as crucial as the characters within it. Different environments invoke different connotations, provide different challenges and can provide characterization details. .
.
However, just as we discussed when making characters, the time and energy you spend on a setting should be directly proportional to its importance to your characters and stories. .
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Let's say your story revolves around someone in school. You could list the staff, the classes they teach, the layout of the building, the specific times classes dismiss. But before you create this entire school and the laying of its first bricks and mortar, ask yourself if that is pertinent to you, your character, or your readers. .
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If your story is about a mystery rooted in the school's dark beginnings, we want to know everything we can. If your character is just talking to a friend at their locker before going off to thwart an evil werewolf, we really don't need to know that the school's west wing was added in 1985. .
.
I will do another post about worldbuilding for fictional settings, but if your story takes place in our "world", even if there's a few things that are different, use that assumed knowledge to your advantage. It's safe to assume your reader will know students go from one class to another with small breaks in-between, they know that there's a lunch time in a cafeteria. Let your settings do the work!
.
However, just as we discussed when making characters, the time and energy you spend on a setting should be directly proportional to its importance to your characters and stories. .
.
Let's say your story revolves around someone in school. You could list the staff, the classes they teach, the layout of the building, the specific times classes dismiss. But before you create this entire school and the laying of its first bricks and mortar, ask yourself if that is pertinent to you, your character, or your readers. .
.
If your story is about a mystery rooted in the school's dark beginnings, we want to know everything we can. If your character is just talking to a friend at their locker before going off to thwart an evil werewolf, we really don't need to know that the school's west wing was added in 1985. .
.
I will do another post about worldbuilding for fictional settings, but if your story takes place in our "world", even if there's a few things that are different, use that assumed knowledge to your advantage. It's safe to assume your reader will know students go from one class to another with small breaks in-between, they know that there's a lunch time in a cafeteria. Let your settings do the work!
Writing Basics: Editing
So you've got your rough draft. You've spent untold hours on your little bundle of hair-pulling, writer's block busting, coffee-drenched joy. Now, be ready to hack it to pieces. .
.
Or so a lot of people will make it sound. I've seen a lot of questions and general anxiety about editing recently. First and foremost, it is your creation, you are free to do with it what you will. .
.
With that out of the way, here's some editing tips that have really helped me in kicking my books out of the nest:
1. Edit while you write. Don't mess up your groove if you're in one, but if you're stuck on a sentence go back through the paragraph and mix up your mind a bit.
2. Grammatical and spelling mistakes are your top priority. Look for tricky mistakes like homophones hiding out from your word processor's spell check.
3. Read your work out loud. Yes, you will feel crazy. Yes, your pets will be confused, but this will immediately illuminate any words or phrases that just don't flow.
4. Let others read your work. The brain has a funny way of patching things that you've seen many times before without you realizing it. This also highlights points where you can clarify anything that might not make sense to a reader.
5. Don't worry so much about trimming fat. You get to determine what is or isn't necessary in your work. .
.
There. Feel better about editing? I hope so! You're killing it!
.
.
If you have any questions about editing or writing, please feel free to leave me a comment!
.
Or so a lot of people will make it sound. I've seen a lot of questions and general anxiety about editing recently. First and foremost, it is your creation, you are free to do with it what you will. .
.
With that out of the way, here's some editing tips that have really helped me in kicking my books out of the nest:
1. Edit while you write. Don't mess up your groove if you're in one, but if you're stuck on a sentence go back through the paragraph and mix up your mind a bit.
2. Grammatical and spelling mistakes are your top priority. Look for tricky mistakes like homophones hiding out from your word processor's spell check.
3. Read your work out loud. Yes, you will feel crazy. Yes, your pets will be confused, but this will immediately illuminate any words or phrases that just don't flow.
4. Let others read your work. The brain has a funny way of patching things that you've seen many times before without you realizing it. This also highlights points where you can clarify anything that might not make sense to a reader.
5. Don't worry so much about trimming fat. You get to determine what is or isn't necessary in your work. .
.
There. Feel better about editing? I hope so! You're killing it!
.
.
If you have any questions about editing or writing, please feel free to leave me a comment!
Character Creation Basics 5: Your Intent
These are all part of a coherent whole and do not have to be created or decided upon in order. I often don't do any of these in the order listed:
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
This is the step that will save you the most heartbreak. When thinking about a character, figure out what purpose they serve for your narrative. Obviously there are main characters, antagonists, etc. but determining their purpose gives you a better idea of how long to spend on them.
.
.
Obviously, if you get fulfillment out of coming up with a family tree going back 4 generations for a character that says something in passing to the main character, do that! But I think we've all been mystified by the J.R.R. Tolkiens and the George R.R. Martins into thinking we have to put that level of detail and forethought into our characters and worlds. .
.
For me, realizing my intent for the characters is what got me to get over the writer's block and just write. If my readers and I only have a limited amount of time, I'm not going to waste it pouring detail and background into them. They may not even get a physical description. .
.
As with any advice, take this with a grain of salt. You can practice all 5 of these steps on a character/characters you don't even plan on using. But this last one can help determine if you use them after all. .
.
Thank you so much for taking the time to follow along with these posts. Comment and let me know if you found them helpful or if there's another subject you'd like me to tackle!
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
This is the step that will save you the most heartbreak. When thinking about a character, figure out what purpose they serve for your narrative. Obviously there are main characters, antagonists, etc. but determining their purpose gives you a better idea of how long to spend on them.
.
.
Obviously, if you get fulfillment out of coming up with a family tree going back 4 generations for a character that says something in passing to the main character, do that! But I think we've all been mystified by the J.R.R. Tolkiens and the George R.R. Martins into thinking we have to put that level of detail and forethought into our characters and worlds. .
.
For me, realizing my intent for the characters is what got me to get over the writer's block and just write. If my readers and I only have a limited amount of time, I'm not going to waste it pouring detail and background into them. They may not even get a physical description. .
.
As with any advice, take this with a grain of salt. You can practice all 5 of these steps on a character/characters you don't even plan on using. But this last one can help determine if you use them after all. .
.
Thank you so much for taking the time to follow along with these posts. Comment and let me know if you found them helpful or if there's another subject you'd like me to tackle!
Character Creation Basics 4: Background
These are all part of a coherent whole and do not have to be created or decided upon in order. I often don't do any of these in the order listed:
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
This one is the trickiest of the five. It goes hand in hand with #3 and #5, but we'll delve more into that tomorrow. .
.
Essentially, just as we are shaped by our backgrounds, so too are our characters. The character's life up until the action of your story can provide the reasonings for their motivations, fears, hopes, skills, the way they talk, all kinds of things. .
.
Personally, I use this as a tool for adding depth and refinement to a character. It is absolutely not necessary for you to give a detailed timeline of your characters' lives as soon as they're introduced. However, you will find them so much more lifelike if you give them memories for them to recall with fondness or anecdotes to share with someone else in confidence. .
.
For practice, imagine you're a character in a story. What might the writer use from your life to give the reader a good snapshot of where you grew up, what your childhood was like, or what made you want to be a writer?
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
This one is the trickiest of the five. It goes hand in hand with #3 and #5, but we'll delve more into that tomorrow. .
.
Essentially, just as we are shaped by our backgrounds, so too are our characters. The character's life up until the action of your story can provide the reasonings for their motivations, fears, hopes, skills, the way they talk, all kinds of things. .
.
Personally, I use this as a tool for adding depth and refinement to a character. It is absolutely not necessary for you to give a detailed timeline of your characters' lives as soon as they're introduced. However, you will find them so much more lifelike if you give them memories for them to recall with fondness or anecdotes to share with someone else in confidence. .
.
For practice, imagine you're a character in a story. What might the writer use from your life to give the reader a good snapshot of where you grew up, what your childhood was like, or what made you want to be a writer?
Character Creation Basics 3: Personality
These are all part of a coherent whole and do not have to be created or decided upon in order. I often don't do any of these in the order listed:
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Just like you and me, your characters will have rich personalities that are full of nuance and contradictions. However, in molding this character from your own mental clay, I find it very helpful for my sanity to narrow it down to one, essential trait. .
.
Is your character shy, boisterous, rude, polite, gracious, selfish, suspicious, patient, hot-headed and/or chatty? This doesn't necessarily have to define your character and everything they do, but it helps to solidify them in your mind. .
.
A helpful exercise for this is to do it for yourself, friends, family and characters from books or shows you like. If you had to narrow your best friend down to one descriptive personality trait what would it be? What about yourself? .
.
Some other great resources are the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram and astrological personality charts. I don't recommend strictly using any of these to build a character off of, but they rely on boiling down complex personality traits to their base components, and that's what you need!
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Just like you and me, your characters will have rich personalities that are full of nuance and contradictions. However, in molding this character from your own mental clay, I find it very helpful for my sanity to narrow it down to one, essential trait. .
.
Is your character shy, boisterous, rude, polite, gracious, selfish, suspicious, patient, hot-headed and/or chatty? This doesn't necessarily have to define your character and everything they do, but it helps to solidify them in your mind. .
.
A helpful exercise for this is to do it for yourself, friends, family and characters from books or shows you like. If you had to narrow your best friend down to one descriptive personality trait what would it be? What about yourself? .
.
Some other great resources are the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram and astrological personality charts. I don't recommend strictly using any of these to build a character off of, but they rely on boiling down complex personality traits to their base components, and that's what you need!
Character Creation Basics 2: Physical Attributes
These are all part of a coherent whole and do not have to be created or decided upon in order. I often don't do any of these in the order listed:
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Visualizing your character is going to radically improve how you write about them. Not that you have to give exact numbers, but how tall are they, what size, what color hair, do they have hair even? Are they even human? .
.
The best part about this portion is that you do not have to reveal it to your readers if you don't want to. If you're following in the style of the Romantics and spending two pages describing a character's left hand, more power to you, but I am not that kind of writer. In fact, I'm the exact opposite. My character descriptions are often sparse if they ever happen.
.
.
I like to leave negative space for the reader. That way, when I do give a detail about someone's appearance, it sticks out as a cornerstone for them to build their own interpretation. .
.
However, with that being said, I concretely visualize them when I write about them. I'm not a stranger to making bulleted lists of specifics about their appearance to help me do so. I'm also a very visual person, so I often imagine my prose happening like a movie. A character's physicality speaks volumes (no pun intended). If you can see them in your mind's eye, you can give them proper actions, stage them in a room, get a feeling for how they use their limbs or their facial expressions.
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Visualizing your character is going to radically improve how you write about them. Not that you have to give exact numbers, but how tall are they, what size, what color hair, do they have hair even? Are they even human? .
.
The best part about this portion is that you do not have to reveal it to your readers if you don't want to. If you're following in the style of the Romantics and spending two pages describing a character's left hand, more power to you, but I am not that kind of writer. In fact, I'm the exact opposite. My character descriptions are often sparse if they ever happen.
.
.
I like to leave negative space for the reader. That way, when I do give a detail about someone's appearance, it sticks out as a cornerstone for them to build their own interpretation. .
.
However, with that being said, I concretely visualize them when I write about them. I'm not a stranger to making bulleted lists of specifics about their appearance to help me do so. I'm also a very visual person, so I often imagine my prose happening like a movie. A character's physicality speaks volumes (no pun intended). If you can see them in your mind's eye, you can give them proper actions, stage them in a room, get a feeling for how they use their limbs or their facial expressions.
Character Creation Basics 1: Name/Pronouns
These are all part of a coherent whole and do not have to be created or decided upon in order. I often don't do any of these in the order listed:
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Names are absolutely crucial, which may seem like a no-brainer but it's something a lot of writers struggle with. Just like any word, names carry connotations. How many "Kyle" and "Karen" memes have you seen today alone? .
.
This can be as concrete or as much up to intuition as you want. It's a tried and true method to look up the meanings of names to fit what you have in mind. I named a character "Ulrike Anfang", as "Anfang" in German means "beginning". Her story is one of endings, which I thought was oh-so-clever. No one will likely make that connection, but it helped me to write her. .
.
However, that's doesn't always work.
.
.
For example, my first name, Clinton, means "hill". That was not in my mother's mind when she named me. I'd be willing to wager your name was chosen because of tradition or just because your parents liked it. The exact same thing can be done with your characters. In Ulrike's case, I just love the name Ulrike.
.
.
So what's the definitive advice here? Look in every direction for inspiration for your characters' names. Make a big list and choose at random. Pick a name and say it out loud, imagine calling your character by that name in conversation and see if it doesn't feel right. .
.
What are some of your favorite character names that embody some or all of the points above? Let me know what you think or if you have any other topics you'd like me to cover!
1. Name/pronouns/nicknames
2. Physical attributes
3. Mental/Personality attributes
4. Background
5. Your Intent
.
.
Names are absolutely crucial, which may seem like a no-brainer but it's something a lot of writers struggle with. Just like any word, names carry connotations. How many "Kyle" and "Karen" memes have you seen today alone? .
.
This can be as concrete or as much up to intuition as you want. It's a tried and true method to look up the meanings of names to fit what you have in mind. I named a character "Ulrike Anfang", as "Anfang" in German means "beginning". Her story is one of endings, which I thought was oh-so-clever. No one will likely make that connection, but it helped me to write her. .
.
However, that's doesn't always work.
.
.
For example, my first name, Clinton, means "hill". That was not in my mother's mind when she named me. I'd be willing to wager your name was chosen because of tradition or just because your parents liked it. The exact same thing can be done with your characters. In Ulrike's case, I just love the name Ulrike.
.
.
So what's the definitive advice here? Look in every direction for inspiration for your characters' names. Make a big list and choose at random. Pick a name and say it out loud, imagine calling your character by that name in conversation and see if it doesn't feel right. .
.
What are some of your favorite character names that embody some or all of the points above? Let me know what you think or if you have any other topics you'd like me to cover!
June 2, 2019
Happy Pride Month!
🏳️🌈🌈Happy Pride Month Y'all!🌈🏳️🌈
In order to celebrate, the ebook of Futures Gleaming Darkly is now FREE for the next few days. Go here to get your copy!
Thank you to the LGBT+ heroes of past, present, and future for fighting the good fight and making sure we are seen, heard, and safe. 50 years ago, Marsha P. Johnson threw that brick at Stonewall and thanks to her and people like her, I can write my inclusive, queer stories for the world to read. .
#lgbtauthor #pridemonth #queerwriters #marshapjohnson #lgbt #free #ebook #freeebook #scifi #scifibooks #shortstories #amazon #kindle #lgbtfiction
In order to celebrate, the ebook of Futures Gleaming Darkly is now FREE for the next few days. Go here to get your copy!
Thank you to the LGBT+ heroes of past, present, and future for fighting the good fight and making sure we are seen, heard, and safe. 50 years ago, Marsha P. Johnson threw that brick at Stonewall and thanks to her and people like her, I can write my inclusive, queer stories for the world to read. .
#lgbtauthor #pridemonth #queerwriters #marshapjohnson #lgbt #free #ebook #freeebook #scifi #scifibooks #shortstories #amazon #kindle #lgbtfiction
May 17, 2019
Finding Fantasy Part 2 - Magic
I am very happy to announce that I am very nearly finished with the rough drafts for my Untitled Fantasy Anthology. (It'll have a title eventually, promise!)
Earlier I had written about how I wanted this collection to be a fantasy sibling to Futures Gleaming Darkly and I truly believe I am accomplishing that. Each story is a vignette of different characters in different situations.
However, unlike the near/retroutures I wrote about before, magic seemingly has less real world examples to build off of. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how incredibly wrong I was.
In the stories I've written so far, I've developed a very loose system for the magic of the world. Essentially, I based it off of creativity. Just as there are many different kinds of art and expression, so are there kinds of magic. Some rely on drawing symbols, others on knowing certain words, and still others on precise movements. Sometimes it's a combination of all of them.
And just as art exists in the world, sometimes it is created by those that devote years of study on theory and others teach themselves. Their styles and execution are different, but no less valuable than the other. A very important component to the magic of my world is that it is not borne into people. Just as anyone can learn a skill, it simply takes the devotion to do so. I may be better at writing than, say, a portrait artist, but you would never ever want me painting your likeness at my current level of skill (which is to say 0).
Just as any magic system should, however, there is a price to accomplish magical feats. Similarly to how imagining lifting a heavy box is wholly different than actually doing it.
I'm very excited to share my creations and see what you all think. This might just be a three book year for me!
Earlier I had written about how I wanted this collection to be a fantasy sibling to Futures Gleaming Darkly and I truly believe I am accomplishing that. Each story is a vignette of different characters in different situations.
However, unlike the near/retroutures I wrote about before, magic seemingly has less real world examples to build off of. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how incredibly wrong I was.
In the stories I've written so far, I've developed a very loose system for the magic of the world. Essentially, I based it off of creativity. Just as there are many different kinds of art and expression, so are there kinds of magic. Some rely on drawing symbols, others on knowing certain words, and still others on precise movements. Sometimes it's a combination of all of them.
And just as art exists in the world, sometimes it is created by those that devote years of study on theory and others teach themselves. Their styles and execution are different, but no less valuable than the other. A very important component to the magic of my world is that it is not borne into people. Just as anyone can learn a skill, it simply takes the devotion to do so. I may be better at writing than, say, a portrait artist, but you would never ever want me painting your likeness at my current level of skill (which is to say 0).
Just as any magic system should, however, there is a price to accomplish magical feats. Similarly to how imagining lifting a heavy box is wholly different than actually doing it.
I'm very excited to share my creations and see what you all think. This might just be a three book year for me!
May 15, 2019
Melissa's Country Cafe Reading
Back in March, my incredibly sweet Aunt Melissa agreed to let me use her restaurant, Melissa's Country Cafe, as the venue for my first ever public live reading on a day she was closed. I got some snacks and some incredibly sweet souls brought even more food and sweets.
About 20 people sat close to the stage, which is usually used as a place for kids to play. Even though I looked out over familiar faces, I found I was still incredibly nervous.
I read some selections from Vivisection and then answered some questions from the crowd. I got some great questions such as my process, what has inspired the poems, what it was like to publish the books.
I then read a couple of stories from Futures Gleaming Darkly and we discussed and mingled a little more.
Seeing the support from my friends that came was certainly a boost to my confidence and I can't wait to get another reading together soon.
Stay tuned to my IG account (@cwwwriting) as I've taken to doing live readings on there as well via the stories.
About 20 people sat close to the stage, which is usually used as a place for kids to play. Even though I looked out over familiar faces, I found I was still incredibly nervous.
I read some selections from Vivisection and then answered some questions from the crowd. I got some great questions such as my process, what has inspired the poems, what it was like to publish the books.
I then read a couple of stories from Futures Gleaming Darkly and we discussed and mingled a little more.
Seeing the support from my friends that came was certainly a boost to my confidence and I can't wait to get another reading together soon.
Stay tuned to my IG account (@cwwwriting) as I've taken to doing live readings on there as well via the stories.
Writing Sundries
A collection of my thoughts on writing, including descriptions of my own personal methods and advice for what helps me write.
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