Alyssa Hubbard's Blog, page 15

The Strangest Music to Write to

Today I had the strangest experience. I was writing a short story for my next short story anthology, just doing my daily thing when I realized what was playing in the background while I wrote.

Now, just a bit of background, I always write with music playing. I usually put on my writer playlist, but after upgrading my systems, I lost a good bit of my music, so I’ve resorted to playlists from the good ole days.

When I was intensely dedicated to the rap scene, if you can believe that.

But I found myself writing a story about a girl whose own self-reflections turn her into the ultimate masterpiece.

What was I writing to?

Hypnotized by Plies ft. Akon.

If you’re curious about what this song is or if you’ve just never heard it, here is a particularly “clean” part of the song. Just to give you a taste:

WARNING: VULGAR LYRICS NEAR, PROCEED WITH CAUTION

You got me so hypnotized, the way yo’ body rollin’ ’round and

Round, that booty keep bumpin’, titties just bouncin’, up and down

Yep. That’s the tamest lyric in the song. If you’d like to hear the rest, you can look it up really anywhere on the internet – it’s a fairly popular song, though the tamer version is probably easiest to find.

Regardless, it had me writing like mad, so maybe such vulgarity is what I needed. What strange songs have you written to before? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts

Writing For Yourself

As a writer, I find myself writing more and more to appease others. I write for themes I wouldn’t usually write for, for journals I would’ve scoffed at not too many months ago, and for people I have never met and probably will never meet in my entire life.

None of that is necessarily a bad thing, as it is good to push the boundaries of our own skills – to go outside of our comfort zone, if you will.

Yet, if you’ll look at the picture above, you’ll find the title of a piece I have never published. I’ve shown it to a handful of people, and I’ve debated publishing it too many times to count. I’m still debating it today, and probably will for a long time until I finally decide one way or another.

Or perhaps I won’t.

Regardless, I wrote that piece for myself. I wrote it because I had feelings I felt were best kept on paper. I wrote it because it was what I wanted to write.

Everyone wants to write a piece which will change the world, or will mean something to someone else. I believe that is a noble cause, necessary in a world so open and ever-changing. It’s nice to know someone you may never meet has certain feelings and aspirations akin to your own. Though, is it not just as important to write for ourselves? Must we always write just to publish? Must we always write just for the readers?

I believe we should write for ourselves just as much as others. We can fulfill the duty to others while fulfilling a duty to ourselves.

Yet, I often feel myself losing the answer to those questions. What do you think? Let me know, and comment below.

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts, Writing and Marketing Tips, Writing Tips

The Writer’s Curse

Writing is both a blessing and a curse. A writer must do what he or she must do alone (excluding the editing, cover design, and all the extra hub-bub which follows the actual writing). Writing is therapeutic, and it’s one of the few professions where the writer is the only one able to complete the task.

Yes. You.

You are the only one who can write the words which are dancing around inside your skull. If you don’t, then your book will never be written. Simple as that.

And that is both a blessing and a curse.

Writing is therapeutic, but it can be a lonely task. One which, when done often enough, becomes less therapeutic and more of a chore – a detriment to one’s mental health. It is key to balance your writing life along with a regular social life.

Go out with friends every once in a while. Though many of us write for fun as well as a living, just like any daily job, it begins to weigh on a person. A writer deserves just as much a break as any man or woman in a cubicle. Stop writing for a while, go on a trip, drink a little wine, take a nice bath with some bubbles and other smell goods. Invite your spouse or significant other to join you. Why not?

But don’t forget, just like any job, you have to go back eventually, or risk losing it all together.

What do you do to get out? Any special rituals you follow? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts, Writing and Marketing Tips, Writing Tips

Holiday Writer Haul

My writer pen box with a Hemingway quote. It was a gift to myself, and I couldn’t have bought a better gift for myself. I also bought a 2DS, but I like to pretend I’m too mature for such things (I’m not).

We had secret Santa at work, and my secret Santa got me one of the sweetest gifts. As you can see, there are plenty of pens and notebooks, but the mini-composition notebooks were my favorite. Why? Her explanation was this:

If you were to ever get struck with inspiration I wanted you to be able to whip out those little books and jot it down without having to mess up one of your nice journals.

So sweet.

THE sweetest gift I ever received, which is a box covered in pictures of me and my best friend, who I haven’t seen in months. It was filled with domo items, which I also loved, but the box was my favorite part. The best gift I received that night.

From my grandmother, an entire basket full of soaps, a bath robe, coffee, and hair stuffs. It was called a “writer care package.” I’m just happy I won’t have to spend so much money on that stuff for a long, long, long time.

A new purse with a matching wallet and tumbler, which I desperately needed. It’s big enough to put all of my notebooks in and still have room for all my daily knick-knacks. Perfect!

I also received,

A trash can
A real Italian leather journal
A bed
A blanket for my bed
Monies and gift cards

I have to say this was the most practical Christmas I’ve ever had, and I think it was my favorite, too. It was nice to be around my families and to see all the kids get excited over new toys and games. It was refreshing. What did you all get for Christmas? Any epic writer gifts you can’t wait to start using? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts

Have you seen people reading your book?

So far, to me, it’s the equivalent of someone coming in and watching me (WARNING: Sexual Content) masturbate. Basically, I’m watching them, watching me in the most embarrassing and vulnerable situation in the world. Not sure if I’m doing it right, not sure if I should speak. All I know is it is terrifyingly awesome.

Not masturbating.

Watching someone read my book.

*cough*

Anywho, have you seen anyone read your books? How did you react? What did you do? Feel? Did they recognize you? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts

A Writer’s Christmas List

Dear Santa,

I haven’t necessarily been a good person this year, but I promise, if you’ll just send me these things ( a writer care package, if you will) I will be much better. Come on, cut me some slack. I am a writer, after all.

An editor
A cover artist (or an unlimited supply of customizable covers. Up to you.)
Alcohol
Better plots
Better characters
Better writing skills
More pens
Lots of paper
Lots of white out
More pens
Coffee
More pens
Pretty notebooks
More pens
Pretty things to put on my desk
A desk to put my pretty things on
$5,000,000 tax-free book deal
Fame and fortune
No writer’s block this year

Thank you, Santa. You’re a bro.

Sincerely,

A Writer

Filed under: Personal Posts

Parents, please read to your children

Dear Parents;

Children who are read to have larger vocabularies.
Children who are read to tend to continue to read into adulthood.
Children who are read to have higher comprehension skills.
Children who are read to develop writing skills much earlier.
Children who are read to tend to have higher grades throughout their schooling.
Children who are read to often become writers.
Children who are read to will read to their children.

Parents, please read to your children.

Sincerely,

A person who was read to as a child.

Filed under: Personal Posts

My Writing Cave

I’ve decided to take a mental health day from blogging. Instead of a listy, blog post, I present to you all a picture of my Writer Cave.

It’s not much, but it’s mine. What do your writing caves look like? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Filed under: Personal Posts

What I learned about writing from Minecraft

I’m embarrassed to say that only a few days ago I finally bought myself minecraft. I’ve played the pocket edition demo and enjoyed watching my friends and favorite let’s players play it, but never had I played the actual game myself before. I can’t believe I have lived so long never having played it. Better late than never, I suppose.

I knew I was going to love minecraft. It’s creative and exciting, two things I love, and who doesn’t? But what I wasn’t expecting was how much I would learn about writing through minecraft, and, as always, I’ve made a list for it. ONWARD!

It’s all about location, location, location

Where your characters take root or travel to should always play a role in the story. Does it snow? Are the characters acclimated to that kind of environment? What kind of trees are there? What kind of animals? Will there be towns to stay in or will they be forced to shelter in isolation. These are all key in setting up a believable location.


Physics, guys. PhysicsIf your characters are going underground, and they try to dig, will sand fall onto them? If they’re digging into gravel, wouldn’t it shift depending on the gravity involved? If they stand in a body of water, will the current move them? It doesn’t have to be much, buy don’t make it easy on your characters. The environment can be just as big an obstacle as any other.


Please, please, please make your side characters somewhat interesting

The AI in minecraft can be fun, funny, and extremely interesting to watch as they go about the environment, but the villager NPCs are absolutely dreadful. They make the most awful noises and the only thing they’re good for is trading but they hardly have anything worth trading for. If I find a village, I usually just go on ahead and slaughter everyone (I promise, I’m not a psychopath). Make even the most minor characters into something. If they appear, then they need a personality, too. Make every character appearance meaningful in some way. Otherwise, don’t put them in.


It’s okay to write scenes where your characters are alone

A major part of minecraft is when you’re traveling or just living day-by-day trying to survive. It gets lonely. If you’re in single player, you’re just that, completely alone with nothing and no one to talk to. And hopefully this isn’t just me, but I get majorly self-reflecting when I play. I mourn animals I have to kill, I get tired of killing things, I pray I find a village or that I will find someone or something in the seemingly vast and never ending world. Make your characters self-reflect. They’re humans (or non-humans?) too, and will have moments of loneliness, self-reflection, and in the beginning they mourn having to do certain things to survive. Just something to keep in mind as you write.


Even in the most fantastical and paranormal of places, there are rules

In minecraft there is a mode called “Creative Mode” where you have unlimited access to every material available in the game without having to search for it as you would in the regular “Survival Mode.” You can no longer burn up in lava, or drown in water, and enemies no longer attack you, giving you free reign to build and manipulate the world however you see fit. However, there are still rules. You can spawn any creature, including the boss Ender Dragon, but they’ll still try to escape, they’re still hard to control, and the Ender Dragon will still try to kill you even though it can’t. And if you teleport off the map or try and teleport somewhere, which will get you stuck in a wall, you automatically die. Though this isn’t a big deal and everything is still easy, it is something to think about as you create your worlds. Even though you give your characters free reign and fantastic abilities, there needs to be a limit, otherwise there can be no plot and no conflict. What’s the point of a world with no obstacles?

Most of these are common plot aspects we see in everyday literature and things easily picked up on, but it’s nice to see how they are used in other mediums of creativity. Now for a few questions: What have you learned about writing from video games? Is there anything else you’ve learned in minecraft that I’ve failed to notice? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Have a request for a blog post topic? Just wanna ask a question? Go to my Home page, fill out the contact sheet, and shoot me an email! I look forward to hearing from you.

Filed under: Personal Posts, Writing and Marketing Tips, Writing Tips

Word counts? How important are they?

For as long as I’ve been a part of writing communities, I’ve been surprised by how intensely focused everyone is on their word counts. NaNoWriMo? Based solely on word count. Writing sprints? Based on word count (most of the time). Genre? Has preferred word counts. Novels? Novellas? Short stories? Flash fiction? All based on word count.

Success is linked to word count, and I can see why. In the technical and business sense of it all, word count is beyond important. But I am of the variety which couldn’t care less about word counts. If you’ve ever read my editing technique posts (#1 and #2), then you know I start all of my projects on paper, then move up to typewriter, where I then finish on the computer. It’s a long, drawn-out process, but it gets the job done. Paper has no word count, typewriters (unless they are of the modern variety) have no word counts. I usually don’t know my final word count until the draft is already complete and has gone through two edits. I, personally, hate word counts. I feel like they are stifling to writers, though some people find them to be helpful, and keep them motivated.

Though it is against my own personal preference, I’ve decided to make a list detailing why word counts are so important (though I still say write how much you want to write. Write until the story is done, and all that jazz). Anyway, before I change my mind, ONWARD TO THE LIST!

Most Literary Journals take Fiction of a Certain Length

Granted, most of these journals also have themes people can write for, but it’s still worth noting. I’ve found that most literary journals will take lengths ranging from 5,000 words to approximately 10,000, though that is pushing it. They prefer shorter works because the lengthier the journal, the more expensive it is to print. If you’re looking to get into a journal, it’s best to follow their guidelines exactly. If they prefer a certain word count, it would be in your best interest to meet that word count.


Most Presses take Fiction of a Certain Length

Same goes for big name presses. They want big books. The bigger the book, the more money there is to be had. It has been statistically proven that people like buying bigger books. So, the bigger the book, the better (most of the time).


Genre Presses always have a Length Preference

Most YA presses want lengths in the 50,000 to 100,000 word range. Most sci-fi presses want 100,000 to 300,000. Fantasy can go from 50,000 to 500,000. It all depends on how strict the press is and what they believe is the ample word count for the specific genre they are hoping to publishing. It is important to keep in mind the genre you are writing for because that will also determine how much you need to write.


Word Counts are Encouraging

There is a reason NaNoWriMo is always so successful. People like having a specific number to achieve. It’s similar to why I like making lists. I like being able to reach something, to have a specific goal I can aspire to. Thus, setting a word count goal can help to encourage your inner-writer. If you can’t seem to finish a draft, try setting daily word count goals or an entire draft goal. If you give yourself a specific deadline, you’ll have a better chance at achieving it.

Word counts are important, but in all honesty, write until the work is finished. There is no point in adding fluff and useless info just to reach a word count goal. If you finish the draft, then it’s done. Same goes for cutting things out. If you think the work is as complete as it’s going to get, once editing is done, then don’t worry about trimming it down. Now, just for those who are interested. I’ve added a list of common, general words counts for genres and book sizes below. These aren’t set in stone. Each press usually has a different interpretation as to how many words a genre needs, but this can be a fairly accurate place to jump from.

Novel – over 40,000 words

Novella – 17,500 to 40,000 words

Novelette – 7,500 to 17,500 words

Short story – under 7,500 words

Middle Grade Fiction – 25,000 to 40,000

YA Fiction – 45,000 to 100,000 (possibly 120,000)

Paranormal Romance – 85,000 to 100,000

Romance – 85,000 to 100,000

Category Romance – 55,000 to 75,000

Mysteries – 65,000 to 90,000

Horror – 80,000 to 100,000

Western – 80,000 to 100,000

Thrillers and Crime Fiction – 75,000 – 100,000

Mainstream/Commercial Fiction – 50,000 to 120,000

Science Fiction and Fantasy – 80,000 to 120,000

Now then, what do you think about word counts? How important are they to you? How strict are you with them? Are you like me and couldn’t care less about them? Let me know, and comment below!

Thanks for reading.

-Lissy

Have a request for a blog post topic? Just wanna ask a question? Go to my Home page, fill out the contact sheet, and shoot me an email! I look forward to hearing from you.

Filed under: Writing and Marketing Tips, Writing Tips