Midweek Motivator

Oh. My. Gosh.  Long week is LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG.  The children have performed in their concert so well.  One more show tomorrow!

^_^ Inspired by the day job, yes, but it goes for all of us too.  Even when we don't want to write, WE MUST WRITE ON!

How did everyone's NaNoIng go? Can you believe it's December tomorrow?! :O

Miss Cole's Question Tree!

Today I'm sharing my Question Tree with you all! It's about as close to plotting as I can get. I use it as I write a story so I can keep track of potential plot development.  I start by asking myself a question and seeing how far the answers take me.

And do you know what that means? Another handwritten post, complete with a doodle!

...That tree makes me think of The Riddler...

Let me know if you find this useful or have a technique of your own you like to use!

Sunday Inspiration and Stuff

I just wanted to let you lovely people know posts, responses and comments may be a tad late this week.  It's Christmas Concert Week at school, so it's all going to be hectic and mad.  If I seem absent, that's why!

Secondly, SUNDAY INSPIRATION!

And thirdly, Calling Kris Atkins! The word you're trying to read is "sketching" ;)

Handwriting!

(I should do this more often :P)

Midweek Motivator (And Assorted Extras)

...I don't remember this music being this EPIC in Ocarina of Time, but it is SO GOOD.  LOOK AT THE CAPSLOCK LOVE! LOOOOOK AAAAAT IIIIIIT! And listen ;) Perfect for action scenes!

So! NaNo is finished for me.  My first draft of book 2 is complete.  Hurrah! I am handwriting bits and bobs so my wordcount may go up a little more, but 55682 is my wordcount.  Woo!

And lastly, Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! I am already jealous of all the yummy food I am missing. 

Starting With A Question

Sometimes, if I want to write but I'm not sure where I want to go, I start with an event. Let's say a city is suddenly under siege.  That's an event, but what about my characters? What if I don't have any ideas? That's where the question comes in.

How would someone caught up in the attacks feel? What if they just saw someone they love die? What if a stranger saved them by sacrificing their own life? What if someone knew the attack was coming but did nothing to stop it?

As you start to ask questions about how people get involved or how they react, you can create characters and begin the story.

It's definitely one way to get started!

Sunday Inspiration

Firstly, can I just say WOO HOO because I hit 50,000 words last night.  Yay! The novel isn't done yet, but 50,000 in 19 days is definitely a personal best. 

So, to celebrate, have some firework pictures, because if I could, I'd totally throw a fireworks party to celebtrate! I find them inspiring because I like to see them as magic ;) Or as stars falling. 

And here's a piece of music to sum up how this book will end when I get there...

Ooooooh! I love it!  What does it conjure in your imaginations?

I Got A Feeling

Ever find yourself writing a scene where the emotions are running so high you worry your writing won't get it across? Anger, sorrow, joy, love... sometimes it can be really difficult to use words to really express what these feel like.

We can put ourselves in the situations and imagine how we would feel, then adapt it for our characters.  Other times, we can use our own memories.  But you have to be careful when revisiting bad memories.  It can be a catharsis, but it can also open issues you may not want to revisit.

But it's Friday. 

And these still make me laugh

Let's deal with happiness. So, happy feels good.  All right.  What else? You smile and laugh, sure.  What about your heart? It's going up, up, up, and your whole body could dance with the buzz of happiness.  Happiness means you can't keep still and you just roll through your day.  You are INVINCIBLE! 

It all goes back to showing and not telling.  Make readers feel it.

Sometimes your story needs to go into a lot of detail about feelings.  Other times, a short sharp sentence is just as effective.  I can't really tell you what's needed in your story, but I know the times in mine when my main character needs to wallow and when she needs to shut up and get a move on.

How do you write emotional extremes?

Anti-Bullying Week

It's anti-bullying week in the UK.  I've discussed my own experiences before, but I just wanted to encourage everyone out there to take a stand against bullying it all its forms.  It made me miserable when I was fourteen, but I was lucky enough to go to a school with a fantastic anti-bullying policy. But it's up to all of us to put a stop to bullying wherever we see it.  No one has a right to put others down, because doing so says more about the bully than the victim.

And no one should suffer alone. 

Here's just one site of many on the Internet for advice and help.

Bullies? Miss Cole is taking a stand against you, and she's bringing as many people as she can round up! BE AFRAID!

Midweek Motivator

Today I thought I'd put together a list of songs that belong together.  When I create a playlist, I'm quite careful to make sure each piece flows well into the next.  Have fun creating scenes and/or daydreaming with this mini playlist! And to all my fellow NaNoers, I hope it helps!

Plot? No. NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Plotters, I admire you, because in my head you must all have such lovely pieces of paper with beautifully colour-coordinated and bullet-pointed outlines.

My head is a bit more...

Thanks again for the Bamboo, brother!

...I wouldn't know how to condense that lot into a cohesive pre-writing outline.

I love to explore as I write.  Sure, half of what I write won't make it into the final draft, but I love trying a variety of angles and stretching my creativity.  This is a more time-consuming way to create, but it works for me.

Plotting in advance leads my brain to do things like this:

The red line is my brain's way of stamping its imaginary foot

So my brain and I have a very good understanding.  It allows me to have a beginning and an end and, if it's feeling particularly charitable, a middle.  But getting between those things requires on the spot making it up.  I don't know what I'll end up writing for today's NaNo target, but it'll get me closer to my vague idea of an ending.

And speaking of NaNo, time to get going!

Oooh, but not before I also add this awesome piece of music.  I can't remember sharing this before, but even if I have, it deserves repeating.  Seriously haunting. 

Happy writing to all you pantsers and plotters out there!

Sunday Inspiration

I find your imagination can't go wrong with music like this:

Or this:

I just love how grand these pieces are.  For me, they inspire dramatic showdowns taking place in amazing landscapes. 

Imagine the final showdown taking place here!

SUPAH RTW!

Oh yes, THE TIME HAS COME for me to reveal MY SUPAH POWAH!

....

*ahem*

YA Highway wants to know "What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?"

My power is my visual imagination.  Everything I write starts as a film in my mind, and I always try to make it just that little bit different.

My kryptonite is titles.  The title I have for my manuscript took SEVEN YEARS.  Yeah.  Not my strength.

And here's a midweek motivator! There's a lyric about Superman, so it's perfect ;)

Great song, crazy 80s video.  The puppets were from a show called Spitting Image. 

Writing The Continuation

Anyone else here writing the second (or anything that's not the first) book in a series? My NaNo project is book 2 in my trilogy and my main issue is this: how the heck do I make sure it's good enough to keep readers interested?

Here's my checklist.  Hope it helps!

1. Are the stakes higher than the last book? 
2. Do your characters have more to lose if they fail?
3. Have your characters clearly developed from the last story?
4. And, following on from 3, are your characters still in character? Make sure you haven't given them a personality transplant. 
5. If you're introducing new characters, are you doing so in a way that doesn't upset the balance between the existing characters?
6. Can the danger in this new story be linked back to an older story, even if it's just the tiniest of references?

Essentially, is everything more explosive than before? No? CRANK IT UP! If everything in book one was hitting 11 out of 10, book two needs to score 20 out of 10.

I cannot tell you yet if it's easy, because I'm still in the early stages of book two.  All I know is, I've made sure the stakes are way higher this time and failure will spell doom for my protagonist.

Here's book two's theme song:

I know A.J Mullarky will back me up here.  Writers cannot go wrong with Two Steps From Hell.  Start listening and get writing!

Sunday Inspiration

How's NaNo going? If you're struggling, allow me to offer some inspiration to keep you writing!

Inception soundtrack, because pantsing your way through NaNo is a lot like being an architect.

Final Fantasy IX.  Ever so slightly sinister.

...It's been entirely too long since posted something from the Tron soundtrack!

Aaaaaand because you simply can't go wrong with a Resident Evil soundtrack...

The save themes from each game.  I like them because they sound relaxing but ominous.  The zombies are just outside the door!

Ooh, actually, one more.  Very melancholy and from my current favourite show:

DID ANYONE ELSE SEE LAST WEEK'S EPISODE?!?!?! :O I'm still shocked!

Anyway, must dash! Need to hit today's target.  And before I forget, you can be my buddy over at the NaNo site.  I shall be sure to check you out too!

Happy writing!

To Anyone Else Pantsing Their Way Through NaNo

Keeping lots of notes for the editing phase is a really good idea.  I recommend the use of cute notebooks!

Available from Artbox

Just over 8000 words in...

Midweek Motivator!

Just to let you know, there'll be no post on Friday this week.  I've got to stay late at work for a fireworks evening, and by the time I get home I'll be a pile of goo.  So, to make up for it, have THREE songs for this week's motivator!

I know I've posted this before, but this is my ULTIMATE motivating song.  I used it to get through all my exams back at school and university and I LOVE it.

And because Florence + the Machine released a new album this week, it would be remiss of me not to share my current favourite... although the whole album is mind-blowing.

And to make up for a lack of posting on Friday, and because I'm still riding a wave of childhood nostalgia...

Happy writing!