Alyssa Hubbard's Blog, page 7

How to Stay Productive With Your Writing

As writers we can easily burnout on large projects. Here's how to stay productive with your writing, even during the burnout. Let's talk about it.

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Writing Strategies to Stay Productive

Getting started is the hardest part, but keeping the writing going is just as difficult. Here are just a few strategies to get that project going and keep it going.

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Where to Publish Your Short Story and Poetry

Everyone says the hardest part of writing is actually writing. While they aren't wrong, something just as difficult is finding where to publish. Let's talk.

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3 Things You Need to Do When Your Hobby Begins to Feel like a Job

We all have hobbies that we enjoy, but what happens when that hobby starts to feel like work or a job? Is that really a bad thing? Let's talk about it.

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Coming Back from a Hiatus

I left my blog and social media behind around two years ago. I went on a hiatus. Now I'm back, and I am here to explain myself and share my experience.

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Writing Topics for Creative Writers

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The struggle of every creative, fiction writer: coming up with new ideas. I constantly fear that the day will come where I have nothing new to write about, and while that is a valid fear, it probably won’t actually happen. There are countless blog posts with writing topics, story-idea-generators, and plenty of new fads that you can craft to fit into your own, unique universe. To help combat this fear, I am here with my own list of writing topics:

Write about…



A time you were heartbrokenA time you were upliftedA time you felt humanity was doomedA time your faith was renewed in humanitySomething you loveSomething that confuses youSomeone you metSomeone you heard talking out and aboutSomeone who is the opposite of youA situation where you questioned your beliefsA moment in time that changed your lifeDiscovering your family lineageDiscovering something about your family (good or bad)



Write about a place…



In perilThat is the complete opposite of our ownIn a fantasy settingThat disturbs youThat you have been to, but not many people have heard ofThat inspires youThat has changed youWhere you have spent most of your lifeWhere you were seriously injuredThat you knew, but no longer recognizeThat scares youThat no longer existsThat is made up, but describe it as if it is realThat is real, but make it seem as if you don’t believe in itIn folkloreIn history



Write from the perspective of…



A maidAn androidA terrifying creatureA villainA computerYour cellphoneYour cousinA friendA birdA small creatureA large beastA friendly giantA scheming manAn angry womanA body partA piece of furnitureA carA neighborA creature from folklore



Write in the genre…



FantasyHorrorUrban FantasySci-FiNon-FictionMemoirHistorical FictionRomanceCrimeSuspenseActionAdventureWesternTragedyMelodramaEroticaDystopian

Take one from each category and mix them together, or just get inspired by a single entry on any of the lists. You can’t go wrong, as long as you keep writing.

Lissy

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6 Tips and Tricks for Strong Character Development

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I think you’d be hard-pressed to argue against the idea that characters can make or break a story. In most cases, if not all, they are our guide through a story. More importantly, sometimes the story is their story. Regardless, your characters need to be compelling, or at the very least realistic in some manner. Now, when I say realistic, I don’t mean they have to be human, but they need to have depth. Much like ogres, your characters need to be like onions; they have many layers. Now, “how,” you may ask, “does a character get so onion-like?” Never fear, here are some tips and tricks to consider when developing your little onions… er, characters:

Give your character a birthday

This might be obvious, but a character’s age is extremely important. A character who is 20 is going to act significantly different than one who is 30, and that is even truer if we are looking at one person. Their growth from 20 to 30 is going to change them. Even one year can change a person drastically, so knowing where they started is important to understand their journey.

It is also worth considering the time they were born in. Someone who was born in the 70’s may have significantly different values than one who was born in the 80’s, and they are also going to interact with people differently depending on when the other person was born. Age isn’t just a number when it comes to your character’s development.

Check your character’s horoscope

Once you give your character a birthday, check out their horoscope. Whether you believe in horoscopes or not, doesn’t matter. You can pick out a lot of characteristics based on their horoscope sign that you might not have considered previously. Plus, if you make the character’s birthday apparent to the reader, the reader may believe in horoscopes. If you develop a character that at least somewhat embodies that star sign, it may make all the difference in the world to that reader. Consider star signs and horoscopes as more reference material for your character development.

Take some personality quizzes

When I say take some personality quizzes, I don’t mean some shallow Buzzfeed quizzes (though they are good for some trivial details for characters), I am talking about the Myers-Briggs test on 16personalities (I am a turbulent INFJ). Quizzes like these give in-depth information on your personality, such as your strengths, weaknesses, how you may function in certain careers, what your ideal relationship would look like, and how you might interact with your children.

All this information is perfect for developing your characters. Take the quiz as if you were the character. It will put your character in a variety of situations, and it forces you to decide how your character would react. At the end of the quiz, you’ll get to see what your character’s personality type is, as well as a wealth of information about that personality type that you can then apply to your character. If you use the 16personalities quiz, you can also see who else shares a personality type with your character (including fictional people). This can be a great wealth of information, and it is free!

Develop the side characters/supporting characters

Again, this may be a no-brainer, but it is worth repeating: your side characters and supporting cast are just as important as your main character. Give your main character someone to interact with. The decisions of your side cast will affect how your main character develops. Develop the side cast, too, and they can help pack your work with a great emotional punch.

For example: Is the main character’s mother kind? Is she a bit overprotective? Does your character love their mother? How do they react when she’s around? If the mother is a character, develop the mother, and that will give some insight into your character’s life and their personality. Same goes for any side character. The actions of the people around your main character are going to help develop your main character, so develop those people.

Give your main character a range of emotions

Having a lead character that is always depressed or is always happy isn’t that realistic. Giving your characters highs and lows makes that character more realistic. Think about people you have met or have seen on TV. There are people who have extremely rough lives, but who are still happy. There are people who have grand, enriching lives who go through depressive episodes. We need to see the lows and the highs. We need to see them when they are jealous, angry, etc.

Giving your character a wealth of emotions helps the reader understand what your character values, what their limits are, and helps ground them. Giving them a wealth of emotions also helps develop an emotional connection to your character. If we know what life was like when they were happy, then we can see how far they have fallen. If we know what life was like when they were sad, then we can see how hard they have worked to get where they are now. It makes the reader believe in your character. Give the character some chances to show a wide range of emotion. If you’d like to pack an emotional punch, check out my tips and tricks on how to do that.

Try roleplaying with your character

If you have ever been into anime or into fantasy stuff, you have probably heard of roleplaying, OCs, Mary-Sues, Gary-Stus, fandom, etc. If you haven’t heard of these things, let me explain:

OC = Original Character, or a character that does not exist in a pre-existing universe. For example, Johnny Pumpernickle is not a character in Harry Potter, but he is a character I have created to exist in that universe.Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus are insulting names attributed to OCs or characters. The name infers that an OC is not unique, may be stereotypical, and is not interesting overall.Fandom is a culmination of fans around a form of media. For example, there is the Harry Potter fandom, the Naruto fandom, the Post Malone fandom, etc.Finally, roleplaying, in the context of OCs, means to meet up with others who have also created OCs for a specific fandom/universe, and going back and forth creating threads of stories, fanfictions, etc. For example, I am roleplaying as Johnny Pumpernickle. My friend is roleplaying as Turtle Jenkins. Both characters live within the Harry Potter universe. I am going to create a situation where Johnny Pumpernickle may meet Turtle Jenkins at Hogwarts. It may look something like this:

Me: Johnny Pumpernickle is walking down a corridor at Hogwarts. Sweat is beading on his brow as he rushes past the various classrooms, awkwardly clutching a variety of large tomes to his chest. He is conscious of other students watching him, but the stress of not knowing where he is going overpowers the social anxiety that always lingers at the back of his mind.

My friend: Turtle Jenkins is standing just outside of his class, listening to his peers talk about what they are going to do later in their respective house commons. Turtle is about to suggest they sneak out when he sees a blurred figure rounding the corridor. He focuses his attention on the figure and finds it to be what he can only assume is a 1st year, sweaty and obviously panicking. He mumbles to his peers to get their attention and nod in the student’s general direction.

from there, we would go back and forth until we felt we had completed whatever story we wanted to create, and that would be the end of our roleplaying session.

Try joining some roleplay groups in fandoms that you enjoy. There are roleplay groups on Facebook, tumblr, Reddit, etc. Find one, pick a fandom you know about, and then jump in and roleplay with some people. There are also OC critique groups where you can give a background summary of your OC and people will critique them. The roleplay community is typically super open, and you may just make some good connections through it. Give it a try. Who knows? When you publish your book, these friends you made may start a fandom around your work.

So, what do you think? Is there anything on the list you disagree with? Anything else you can suggest that might help other writers? Comment below and let me know.

Lissy

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Finding Inspiration and Why It Won’t Help You

Why Inspiration Won’t Help You [image error]

Inspiration is the worst. It’s there one moment, but gone before you can even finish the first chapter that came from the inspiration to begin with. Inspiration is a great thing, but it is too unreliable to get your book finished. You should never wait for writing inspiration, just write. The hardest part is getting start, so if you just start writing, usually things will work themselves out. You’ll find a good rhythm and be much more productive in the long run.

However, I understand that inspiration is helpful. Inspiration is the lifeblood of creativity, after all. So, here is how to keep that inspiration alive:

Read books in the genre you’re writing in

Chances are, something you’ve read sparked your inspiration for your new story. What better way to keep that writing inspiration alive than with more reading? Read books in the same genre you’re writing in. Maybe a character or scene will spark that creativity you’re struggling to keep alive. If nothing else, reading is a productive way to spend your time when you’re having trouble writing.

Take care of any unfinished chores

Sitting in front of blank page, struggling to come up with a reason to write is not productive. Get up, go do something else. Finish that load of laundry on the couch, sweep up that pile of rubbish in the living room, and clean the shower. The reason you’re struggling to find your inspiration might be that you have other pressing matters nagging in your subconscious. Go ahead and finish up those unfinished household projects. Then, come back with a clear head and get to writing.

Take a walk

Go fix yourself a cup of coffee, eat some cereal, or, seriously, just go take a walk. Not only will your chores keep your brain from finding that wonderful writing inspiration, but your basic needs for food, exercise, and entertainment will, too. If you’re having trouble concentrating, ask yourself some of these basic questions:

Are you hungry?Are you thirsty?When’s the last time you went outside?When’s the last time you read something you enjoyed?Have you watched anything fun in the last couple of days?Did you sleep well?

Depending on your answers, you may need to take a break and take care of yourself for a while. You are important. Without you, your story wouldn’t exist, so take care of yourself, and your inspiration will find you soon after.

Check out artwork and photography

Check out depictions of fantasy scenes. Look at beautiful paintings of landscapes. Take a gander at some war photographs. Whatever you are writing about, look at artwork or photographs inline with what you’re writing about. If you’re writing about a long journey, beautiful landscape paintings or images could help spark that inspiration. If you’re writing about ghosts and ghouls, photos of dilapidated homes or structures might get those creative juices flowing. Creativity breeds creativity, so check out someone else’s creative endeavors.

Finally, creativity breeds creativity

Like I said before, creativity breeds creativity. You can’t always rely on writing inspiration to strike before you start writing. Sometimes it’s best to start writing and let the inspiration find you. Take that first step, start writing, and the words will eventually flow.

Believe in yourself, not in this fantastical thing we call inspiration.

Lissy

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How to Be a Bad Writer, Then How to Get Better

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What is a bad writer?

Not someone who isn’t sure where to put a comma, not someone who isn’t sure what the difference is between “effect” and “affect,” and not someone who writes in run-on sentences. No, none of these things mean that someone is a bad writer. No, no, in fact, it is something much simpler than that. You are bad writer if you don’t write.

I became a bad writer.

It has been approximately three months since I have sat down and worked on any project. Ultimately, I ceased to be a writer, which makes me the worst writer of all. A writer who says they are a writer, but doesn’t write, is nothing more than a liar. So, not only am I not a writer, I am a liar.

I used every excuse in the book to not write. I had just moved, so my office wasn’t set up. My notebook was hidden away in a box somewhere and not easily accessible. I couldn’t bring myself to write in an imperfect environment. I was tired from work. A new YouTube video was published, and I needed to watch it. Clothes needed to be folded in the laundry room. I had every excuse not to write, so I didn’t write. While any of these very well could be a decent reason not to write for one day, there is ultimately no excuse to have ceased writing for three months.

So, today, I am going to list out how to be a good writer, and these will, hopefully, be my start back towards being a better writer:

You should try to write at least once a day

Life inevitably will get in the way. That is just how life is: intrusive and completely ignorant to your goals and plans. However, if you go ahead and start making it a routine, there is a much greater chance that if you do have to miss a day for one of life’s plots, you won’t fall of the bandwagon.

Make it public

Get a writing partner, join NaNoWriMo in November, find someone else who has a creative project at work or school and setup a weekly meet-up where you share your ideas, what you’ve created, etc. The more people you have around you that know your goals, the more likely you will be to complete them. Think of it like positive peer pressure.

If you just can’t bring yourself to write one day, read

Reading will help with your writing. It can expose you to new styles, expand your vocabulary, and help solidify some of those basic grammar rules you may have forgotten from middle school. More importantly, reading can help re-inspire you. So, if you just can’t bring yourself to write one day, for whatever reason, read. It’s the next best thing for you and your writing.

Just accept that you aren’t going to be a perfect writer

Ultimately, no matter what I do, I will never be a perfect writer. I will always make mistakes, my first drafts will never come out the way I want them to, and I will occasionally miss writing days. That is okay, but I can’t let the prospect of failure stop me from writing. I have only truly failed when I have stopped writing.

So keep writing and keep dreaming. Let’s grow together and be better writers.

Lissy

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1 Piece of Advice for Any Struggling Writer

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A writer emailed me with a request,

“Hello, I’m an aspiring writer and I was wondering if you have a piece of writing advice for getting through rough patches. “

I’m still not sure if I gave her anything useful, but I wanted to share my response here, in case anyone else needs the reminder. I know I do.

Remember why you started

My best advice would be to remember why you started writing in the first place. You have to remember that it wasn’t always a job, but just something you loved to do because you could. It wasn’t always a job, or something strenuous, or tiring. It was, at one time, something you just loved to do. You can’t forget that, even when it does feel very much like a job, and maybe it really is a job. Writing was, and will always be, an extension of yourself. Enjoy it for what it is, not for what will come out of it (that’s just a bonus).

Perhaps it’s not even that writing has become a chore, or that you are fed up with it. Perhaps you’ve tried and tried and tried again, but you aren’t seeing the results you hoped for. Maybe you are just tired of rejections. Again, remember why you started writing. You probably didn’t start to get rich. Maybe you were hoping to get fame. Ultimately, though it was because you had a story you wanted to tell, so you told it the best way you knew how, by writing it down. Keep writing. Share stories because your stories are worth sharing. Remember why you started writing, and keep doing it.

If you have requests, questions, concerns, or just need to talk to someone, you can always email me through my About and Contact page. I’m always up to talk shop or just to cheer you on.

Thanks for reading.

Lissy

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