Michael Coorlim's Blog, page 42

Sleep Study Teaser Trailer

You may remember the web series I’ve been working on. He’s the trailer.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 17: Beyond NaNoWriMo

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about what comes next.

Okay, stop writing. NaNoWrimo’s over.

Kidding. The writing never ends.

If you’ve kept up with your word count, you should have a 50,000 word rough draft in your hands. What should you do with it?

1. Keep Writing

Maybe you’re not done yet. That’s fine. Just keep writing until you reach the end. Maybe the novel’s a little thin, and you feel it can use a little more meat. Or maybe you’re trying to hit a specific word count.

What to add? More scenes. You can add detail when you revise, but if you want a longer novel, your best bet isn’t padding, it’s making more things happen.

Just make sure you know when to end your story. Don’t ramble on forever. Elegance is the practice of including only what’s necessary, and not a single word more. It’s a skill! Learn it!

But don’t lose your momentum. The pressures of NaNoWriMo might be easing up, but don’t let that excuse you from maintaining a strong daily wordcount. Find a rate that works for you, with your schedules and priorities, and stick to it. Consistency is far more important than setting a high daily goal; once you’ve got yourself writing every day, then you can worry about how many words that comes out to.

While building that consistency, one good idea is to not set a wordcount quota at all. Instead, give yourself an hour or two where you’re either staring at a blank page, or you’re writing. No internet. No games. No getting up to do chores or distract yourself.

It’s writing time, dammit.

Then, when that habit is natural for you, focus on productively using that time to increase your wordcount.

2. Revise your work

If your draft is done, it’s time to revise it. Not now, though. Not while it’s fresh. You’ll need to come to it with an entirely different, more critical mindset. Throw it in a drawer, let it simmer, and come back to it a week or a month from now.

I’ll cover this in more detail in the last post in this series, and yes, I’m intentionally forcing you to wait for it.

In the meantime, write something else. Read a few good books. But keep writing other projects so you don’t lose that momentum we talked about.

3. Trash it

Maybe you think it sucks. Maybe you’re right. I’d still advise you to revise it just for the practice of going through that process, and hey, maybe you’ll fix whatever it’s problems are. But if you absolutely cannot stand it, don’t waste time beating a dead horse.

Write something else.

Your work’s final destination

After revision (which we’ll cover next time), give it to someone to read. Your beta reader, or just a friend with stronger grammatical skills than your own. You’ll always be too close to the material to properly judge it or catch all your errors, and the more eyes on, the better.

Take their comments into consideration, but remember: You’re the writer. They might be wrong about why they don’t like a passage, but they’re write about the fact that it bothers them.

After you’ve got their input, do another revision pass.

Then stop. There’s a quote from the French philosopher Voltaire I like to share:

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.”

There’s this flawed image of the writer toiling away at the perfect masterpiece for years and years, but for the most part that’s utter bullshit. Finish your projects, then move on. Perfectionism is not an asset in creative lines of work. Remember, a writer is remembered for his or her body of work, not just the one book they wrote that one time.

So finish. Move on. Don’t dwell. Don’t bask (for too long). Keep writing.

 

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Burning Brigid on Magick Radio Chicago

Fellow Burning Brigid co-founder Kat O’Connor and I will be appearing on Magick Radio Chicago today between 4pm and 6pm CST. We’ll be talking about the occult, our upcoming web-series, and whatever else comes to mind.

If you’re in the broadcast area you can catch us on Q4 AM 1680, or streaming at http://que4.org/ and if you feel so inspired, dial in at 312.985.7834 if you have any questions.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 16: Characterization

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about research.

“Character is what you are in the dark.” – Dwight L. Moody

Characterization is how we exhibit character in the light. It’s the way we express our characters’ nature on the page, what we show the reader and how we choose to show it.

Almost everything we write can work in a form of characterization.

How to provide characterization

Imbuing your story with characterization is less a step-by-step process and more an ongoing one, but there are a few tips I can give you if you’re struggling with the concept.

Decide on your characters’ traits. Who they are. What do these traits say about the character?
Decide on the habits that these traits inspire. Remember, these traits only exist as they are displayed by the reader. How they dress, the way they cut their hair, how they walk, how they talk… every detail you invent should be informed by your character’s traits. Don’t be arbitrary when you can make a meaningful choice.
Seed your novel with manifestations of these traits.

This is particularly important during revision, when you’re done with the book and have a stronger mental idea of where the character is. As you write you’ll have plenty of opportunities to display characterization.

Look past the big blatant ways. Dialog is obvious, but it isn’t just what they choose to share, but how they choose to share it. It’s not just the big choices they make – to save or take a life – but in everything. What to have for lunch. Taking the elevator or the stairs.

It might even be helpful, at the start, to track what traits you’ve displayed in a spreadsheet. This gives you a visual overview, and allows yourself to ask the following questions:

Do you focus on the traits that are going to change, establishing them before the midpoint?

Do you display traits after they’ve changed?

This is it, NaNoWriMos. Next time, we’re going to talk about what you can do with your manuscript after November ends.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 15: Do the Research

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about research. Chances are, your book is going to require a bit of research. Don’t skimp. Readers will notice. Historical details, the way guns operate, how much money different professions make… anything you don’t know, you’re going to have to look into.

Best practice is going to be doing your research before you start writing, but that’s not always feasible. You don’t know what you don’t know. However, you don’t want to interrupt your writing’s flow by stopping every few pages to look something up.

My advice is that when you’re writing your rough draft, avoid breaking for research. Make a note of what you need to look into, and keep writing. Then, when you’re revising, take the time to double check whatever it was that you were uncertain about.

Here are some of the on-line research resources I’ve compiled over the years.

Wikipedia
Future Timeline
Photo Pin – Good for visual Reference
eHistory.com
TVTropes
Universal Fictional Timeline
Reddit’s /r/AskHistorians
Reddit’s /r/AskScience

Short this time, but we’re wrapping up our series as November draws to a close. Next time: Characterization.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 14: Dialog Attribution

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about dialog attribution

Always use “said.”

If all you take away from this topic, you’ll be doing good. The purpose of dialog attribution is simply to keep the reader straight on who is saying what. “Said” is a good word because readers are so used to it that they don’t really notice it. It’s invisible. They note who is talking, and move on.

The problem with “ejaculated”

Other words – exclaimed, whispered, muttered – have two problems. The first is that they slow the reader down, and slow your pacing down. We’re not as used to them. They’re empty calories; your context and dialog should be providing the reader with the scene’s emotional tenor. If you can’t tell how a line is being delivered without using some weird attribution, your problem is that you’re not getting that mood across sufficiently. Rewrite the scene.

The other problem is that with attributions like “hissed”, “laughed”, and “smirked” is that they’re not actually physically possible. Unless your line ends with an ‘s’, you’re not going to be hissing it. And while you can talk while laughing or smirking, the laughing or smirking is not the action that makes the words happen.

Good:

“You must be joking,” he said.

“You must be joking,” he said with a laugh.

Bad:

“You must be joking,” he laughed.

However,

“You must be joking.” He laughed.

works, because it’s two actions. That brings me to our next point:

Dialog tags

More interesting than just using “said” is the dialog tag. Your characters should not be just standing around, talking without doing anything else. That’s boring. It’s inefficient. You can show who happens to be talking by adding an action to dialog. Since there’s no paragraph break, the reader knows that the speaker is the actor performing the task.

It’s also a great opportunity to show descriptive details or characterization without resorting to telling.

“I need to take a break.” He got up and walked to the window.

“I don’t know, I’m just so tired.” Paul took the cigarette out of his mouth.

Callie brushed the aburn bangs out of her heart-shaped face. “It beats looking in a mirror.”

Use attribution sparingly

A little goes a long way. Generally speaking if a dialog is between two characters, readers will expect a general back-and-forth, switching off. You can reserve tags for moments when a character does something, or if something interrupts the order and you need to remind readers who is who.

“We’ve been reading for a long time,” Peter said.

Paul nodded. “Yeah, we’re used to the conventions of written prose.”

“You know who’s talking, cuz, like, there are two of us, and Paul spoke last.”

“Yeah, readers are pretty good at keeping track of that stuff.”

The pair stared off into the distance for several uncomfortable moments.

“Now you should drop a tag, just so we can confirm that I’m starting the conversation again,” Peter said.

It’s the last week of NaNoWriMo! Are you on track? In trouble? How’s it going? Let me know in the comments.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 13: Feedback

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about feedback.

Feed back on my feedback

Here are some general hints and tips regarding soliciting and interpreting feedback on your work.

Find and cultivate good beta-readers. These are the ones who will get back to your promptly.
Don’t talk about your ideas too much while they’re developing. Discussion triggers the same mental pathways as actually working on your story, but isn’t nearly as useful.
You are the worst judge of your own writing. This will always be true. You need outside input.
Consider the source of any feedback. Who are you writing for? Readers. Writers don’t read like readers anymore. And critics don’t read like either.
When a reader tells you that something isn’t working, listen to them. They might not be correct as to why, but something there is bothering them.

On Writing Groups

Quality varies.
Assess why you’re there.
Assess whether it gives you what you want.
If not, don’t go.
There’s a guy there that just likes to get everyone talking about his work. Don’t be that guy.
Personally I believe they function best as a place to get together with other writers for solidarity and to bitch about the writer lifestyle.

A reviews of reviews

Reviews of your finished work are an important topic, so I’m giving them their own list here.

Don’t respond to your reviews. Don’t. Just don’t.
Read them. I know it’s scary. Read them anyway.
Don’t take them personally. Don’t take them as honest truth. They’re one reader’s subjective opinions.
Mine them for what you can use to improve your writing, discard the rest.
They’re not for you. They’re for other readers.

That’s it. Next time we’ll be discussing dialog attribution, or, why to just use ‘said’.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 12: Writer’s Block

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about writer’s block.

Writer’s Block isn’t real

Okay, sometimes a writer can’t or won’t feel like writing. Sometimes you’re feeling uninspired. Or lazy. Or procrastination has you in its grip. Or you don’t know what happens next. But “Writer’s Block” isn’t an actual distinct affliction people suffer from. There’s nothing super mystic about the process of writing that gives it its own ailments, moreso than any other form of creativity or craft.

The most important takeaway here is that if you throw up your hands and go “WRITER’S BLOCK OH DARN” all you’re doing is giving yourself permission to slack off without trying to fix the problem.

Don’t do that.

Top 7 Reasons why writers don’t write

Don’t know what comes next
Can’t focus
Fear
Boredom
Not in the mood to write
Overwhelmed
Other shit to do, man

How to crush those excuses like a grown-ass adult

If you don’t know what comes next or you feel like you’ve written yourself into a corner, this may be because you’ve gone off script. Did you write an outline? Consult it. See where you had planned for the story to go next. See where you diverted from that plan, and get yourself on track, either by writing new scenes, or by eliminating ones that don’t take you somewhere useful. Even if you love them. Especially if you love them.

If you want to make big changes, you can, but make sure you extrapolate them to either link up with your story’s spine, or redirect that spine and see where your next ending lies.

If you find yourself unable to focus on your writing, then there might be something else bothering you. Something you need to get done. Go. Take care of it. Stop waffling. Then come back and write.

If you’re afraid to commit your protagonists to a course of action over a different course of action, then you need to buckle-down and work that kink out. What makes the most logical sense? What best suits the themes of your story? What’s the most entertaining? It’s easy to fall into an indecisive paralysis when presented with infinite options, but go with your gut. Write what reflects you, what reflects your story. Don’t worry about reception yet; you can tweak and polish during the revision phase.

If you’re having problems because your current scenes bore you and want to get back to the fun stuff, think about how your poor readers are going to feel! Cut those boring scenes out, or reduce them to a paragraph or two of exposition. Your stories need the connective tissue to get you from A to B, but if they’re dull, you don’t have to detail them moment to moment.

If you’re just not in the mood to write then don’t. You can’t force it. Trying will only frustrate you. Figure out why, and resolve that shit, then get back into the mood. Maybe tackle some of the non-typing parts of writing – planning, research, outlining – or go see a movie. Refresh yourself. Come back stronger.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the needs of your story, relax. Take a deep breath. Go back to your notes. Take on one small part of your craft at a time. Maybe make some diagrams to help you keep it all straight in your head. Simplify if you can. But get back to the point where you can continue.

If you have other shit to do maybe you should work out what your priorities are. Is “other shit” more important to you then writing? The go do it, and get back to writing. No? Then put it off and get your daily word count finished. But always be aware of how your prioritizing writing. Know how important it is. Don’t let the less-important stuff become a form or procrastination.

The Panic Button

And if all else fails, skip ahead and write a different scene. Don’t do this too often, because eventually you do need to go back to what you skipped, but keeping up a steady consistent workflow is extremely important.

Next time we’re going to talk about soliciting and interpreting feedback on your writing.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 11: Balance

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month.

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about the work-life balance.

Balance is important

There’s more to writing than putting words on a page. While producing new works is the most important thing to improve your sales and to improve your skill, a writer can’t just hide in a cave and type away 24/7 and expect to succeed.

Especially on the tight NaNoWriMo deadline, writers have to take the time to recharge their creative engines. Schedule yourself the time to get away from the keyboard if you have to.

Inhale life. Exhale art.

That’s essentially how it works. Art reflects life, and to be able to convincingly write about the human condition, you have to go out and experience it. This ties in to “Write What You Know”, which I may write more on later.

Your brain also needs down-time, too cool off. And, speaking personally, a lot of my creative development happens when I’m not writing, when I’m going for a jog, or doing the dishes, or taking a shower. Your creative mind will always be toying with your ideas, so it’s important to give it that rest-time to develop your ideas.

So get your writing done to schedule, but make time to get out and have a life. Have other hobbies. Maintain your friendships. Don’t narrow your focus so tightly that you lose sight of the bigger picture.

It’s also vitally important to consume media as much as you produce it. Read what’s popular with your target audience, so you keep a firm handle on the conventions of the medium. And not just the classic stuff, the new stuff too. Art is life.

Next time we’ll be talking about the truths and myths of Writer’s Block.

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 10: Character Naming

Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about naming our characters.

It’s easy to get hung up on the search for the perfect character name, tweaking and tilting to get something perfect. It’s important to remember the words of Voltaire:

The perfect is the enemy of the good.

We’ll return to this concept again and again, but for now you don’t really have time to dwell on names. You have a lot to do, and only a month to do it.

Tips for effective character naming

Your names are an opportunity for worldbuilding. Approach them from the perspective of your characters’ culture. Decide on a scheme for naming characters, and stick with it.
Don’t go overboard, though. Giving characters unpronounceable names just makes it harder for your readers to get a grip on them.
An easy trick for science fiction and fantasy is to use an Earth culture as a template. Maybe switch some letters around if you want to feel exotic, but different cultures usually have identifiable naming patterns.
…but remember who your readers are. If you’re writing for 21st century western first-worlders, keep in mind that regardless of what connotations your character names have in their native culture, centuries of pop culture and literature have already created connotations and associations within your readers’ minds. They already HAVE a resonance. Don’t pretend they don’t.
Your characters’ names should “read” differently to remain distinct in your readers’ minds. The simple fix is to avoid important characters whose names start with the same letters unless those names are otherwise very different. Bart and Brad will blend. Dan and Dmitri will be distinct. Brad and Dmitiri would be best.

Naming Resources

is one of any number of baby-naming resources. I like this one because you can search by culture of origin and gender, but really, any of them will do. If you just need one name, they even have a .

Chris Pound’s Name Generation Page holds a bunch of scripts to generate words from linguistic data. It won’t give you “authentic” names, but if you pick a data set it’ll give you a lot of consistent strings of letters that correspond to a language’s patterns. It’s pretty cool. Scroll down to Data Sets and pick the “sample output” that matches the theme you want to go with, and pick the names you want.

 

Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.

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