Vikki Holstein's Blog, page 2

How writing software can boost your writing (and it’s not how you think)

So, you’ve written your story, maybe edited it a few times, and now the search for a program to help polish your work fills your web browser.

There are plenty out there to chose from, and all can help one way or another. 

Grammerly, for instance, helps with exactly what it says and explains each problem it picks up.  

Scrivner is a brilliant alternative to word (and I love that I can colour coordinate by character, day, scene type, and scene status), but doesn’t highlight anything more than spelling mistakes.

Then, last night, I ran my manuscript through ProWriterAid. 

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Because, as well as picking up all my overused words, my adverbs, and cliches, it gives spelling alternatives for unique words.

Cue my giggling and weird looks from family members when the following was suggested.

Geocache: Cowcatcher/cockshy/Kekchi/kickshaw

I couldn’t help sharing this with a friend of mine, which set off more giggling in our respective homes half a world apart, with suggestions of what sort of story a cockshy cowboy would make.

 The conversation went on to talk about breaking glass downstairs (she was having windows replaced) but no ensuing of swearing. My suggestion?

“Maybe they’re bleeding out on the floor?”

(They weren’t, of course) 

(And we are both writers, so our conversations often dive off on tangents like this)

It just goes to show that when we say we get ideas from anywhere and everywhere, we mean it. Be it the news, a conversation between strangers, getting a tea bag in the mail (I never did bring myself to use it, I mean, what if it was a bid to infect the population?). 

And now we can add writing software to the list.

I guess my point is, never pass up an opportunity to gather those ideas, no matter how small or frivolous. You just never know you’ll get a chance to use them

Write what you know

This is one of the first pieces of advice aspiring writers are given. To an extent, I think it’s true. On the other hand, though, writing what we know limits us in what we explore and want to tell.

I’d like to extend that piece of advice, and add research what you don’t.

With the power of the internet, we can reach all places on the globe. More people can read, and criticise, with the click of the mouse.

As more voices are being heard, there’s more opinions on what should and shouldn’t be said, how groups of people should and shouldn’t be portrayed.

As artists, our work is open to scrutiny. Not everyone will like what we write, and that’s fine. We need the diversity. We need the conversations that erupt when people don’t agree with what is said, or how it’s said.

What we can do, is make sure we research what it is we haven’t experienced.

Not just reading and watching, but talking, opening that dialogue with people who have lived the life you want to portray.

Talk to as many people as you can.

Not everyone experiences things the same way.

In the end, be true to your characters and what they represent. Token characters are no longer (and rightly so) seen as good and fun.

So yes, write what you know, but research what you don’t.

Push the boundaries, but not with tired representations. 

Give main characters mental and physical issues.

Don’t kill off queer characters.

Don’t have ever screaming female characters.

Don’t always have the tough guy untouchable.

Don’t always have straight, white lead characters.

There’s so many people in the world. Give them all a voice.

As always, have fun.

Be different

I love the association of being a writer with being weird. It suits me. I’ve never felt like I truly fit in, that I’m accepted for who and what I am.

This has nothing to do with other people, though I have had the odd person look down their nose at me, though that was more for being a stay at home mum and “not working”, than being a writer.

It’s more to do with me learning to live with and handle depression and anxiety. I know it’s something so many struggle with, and that so many others just don’t understand, but that’s life.

At forty-two, I’ve come to realise that it’s okay to be that bit out of step. Its what makes me me (and often drives my husband nuts, but that’s another story).

Just because I’d rather scrub the toilet than answer the phone, or have to work up the energy and courage to go into the shops doesn’t mean I’m not doing the best I can, and doesn’t make me weird (okay, it does, but not carry-someone’s-ear-in-my-pocket weird), it just means I have different coping mechanisms than some others.

Whatever your coping mechanisms (as long as it’s not along the lines of the ear in the pocket), do it if it makes you feel better and gets you through what you have to do.

Don’t be afraid to be different.

Don’t be afraid to stand out.

You never know who is watching, and maybe deciding it’s time for them to step out, just like you, and do what they have to do to cope.

Never be afraid to be the weird writer. Own that label. Wear it with pride.

Who knows, what you write, just as what you do, might just give someone that encouraging push to be who they are without fear of that out of step feeling (again, except for the ear thing. That probably shouldn’t be encouraged).

I’d say we should gather in force and march the streets, shouting or weirdness to the world, but as most of us are introverts as well, can I suggest we make cups of tea and coffee, and salute each other in spirit

Writing is easy?

I’ve seen a few writing memes on Facebook, nodded sagely at how accurate they are, then scrolled on.

Most of us, at some point or other, have faced the “but what work do you do?” or “that’s a nice hobby” or even “it must be nice to have the time to sit and write all day :)”

What non writers don’t understand, is just how hard this life can be.

“But you choose to do it!”

Well, no, not really, Honey.

Characters and scenes don’t just pop into my head at random times, they bombard me every waking moment.

Out shopping, I imagine everyone’s stories. I wonder what their life has given them, what its taken, what happens next. Walking the dogs, it’s the same, but add mentally describing the scenery, hoarding good lines away in the hope that by the time I get to sit down and write, I’ll remember the exact chain of words. (I rarely do). Listening to music pulls me into another world, drowns me with ideas.

Washing dishes, gardening, cooking, even falling into a depression so dark and deep I don’t know if I can crawl out of it, I’m infused with the need to write, to empty the constant chatter that is the soundtrack to my life.

So no, its not a choice. For some it may be. But for me, its a compulsion, a need, almost an addiction. I get headachy, bitchy, depressed when I don’t get to write for any length of time.

Then, when the house is empty, and I know I wont be pulled from the flow, I set my music going, prepare to let the dam of ideas burst. Sometimes it does, and words pour and flow. Other times it’s agony just to get a paragraph down. Sometimes all I can do is delete what’s not working and try again.

It can be crippling, trying to describe something you see or feel so clearly, so others can see or feel it as well.

Most of the time, I stare out the window, asking myself the same questions I always ask.

Why do I do this?

Will anyone read it?

If they do will they like it? Or is it just crap, spewed out from a damaged mind?

I don’t know.

But to have people look at me like I’m a spoiled, overindulged child because I get to sit at the computer each day and write makes me angry, then sad.

Where do these people think all their TV shows come from? Their books? Movies?

Of course not all non writers are like that. The majority, I think, see us as mystical, most likely weird, creatures.

I don’t mind being thought of as weird. I kinda like it.

I just don’t like being branded lazy by people who have no idea how hard it actually is to write a book.

Happy reading and writing everyone

Waking the Muse

How do you wake your muse?

Do you prod her from slumber? Tempt her with promises of time and words? Do you wait until she’d good and ready to hover over your shoulder to whisper encouragement?

We all know waiting for the muse is a mistake. Let her sleep too long, and we are at risk of never waking her again. Or at the very least, she’ll turn her nose up what we’ve done so far, making us scrap a project that could have been “the one”.

We need to keep the muse amused, so to speak. Keep her wanting to come back, to pace while we go through the mundanes of life (why hasn’t anyone invented disposable clothes? Preferably ones you can plant in the garden and grow things from.)

I have a few tricks to keep my muse close, and interested.

Music.

I love all kinds of music, but lately, it’s been country that has the juices flowing. Kip Moore is a favorite. So is Florida Georgia Line.

My other love is riding my horse. We have some beautiful country to explore, and with some good company, ideas don’t have a chance to lay dormant.

Yes, writing is a way to keep the motivation and creative flow going, but don’t forget to get out there and live, experience life.

So get out there.

As always, have fun writing