As I have said before, I love reading writer interviews and I have found that We Do Write is the place to get my fill. With plenty of interviews with aspiring writers this blog has inspired me over and over again as well as reminding me that I am not the only one who sits frantically typing jibberish on my laptop in the hope to create a well-told story.
Today is also Halloween or Samhain - please visit my other blog to read my post today remembering my Grandad on this important day.
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Keep the Creativity
I find that the more I think about my writing, the easier it becomes to have ideas and to create stories I'm really interested in - it's true that practice really does make a difference.
But sometimes it becomes stale. I feel like I'm writing and writing and I have no purpose and there's no point and it goes into a downward spiral. When this happens I like to take a break. I don't write for a couple of days. But I do make an effort to keep my creative brain working. I try something different. At the moment I am planning a few inspiration montages from pictures and words I have found in magazines that inspire something within me. Now, this is just an idea, and what I'm doing now to keep up my creativity between writing, but you could do anything - try drawing, photography or even writing in a different style or genre to your norm.
Trust me, within a few days you will be rearing to get back to writing your piece and your creativity won't have suffered in your absence. What other creative endeavours do you undertake when you need a break from writing?
But sometimes it becomes stale. I feel like I'm writing and writing and I have no purpose and there's no point and it goes into a downward spiral. When this happens I like to take a break. I don't write for a couple of days. But I do make an effort to keep my creative brain working. I try something different. At the moment I am planning a few inspiration montages from pictures and words I have found in magazines that inspire something within me. Now, this is just an idea, and what I'm doing now to keep up my creativity between writing, but you could do anything - try drawing, photography or even writing in a different style or genre to your norm.
Trust me, within a few days you will be rearing to get back to writing your piece and your creativity won't have suffered in your absence. What other creative endeavours do you undertake when you need a break from writing?
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
Missed Opportunities & Hope
As most of you probably aren't aware, as of the 1st November M.E./C.F.S. sufferers will no longer be able to donate blood (BBC Coverage). I'm not entirely sure what I make of this change in regulations. I know I should be happy that at last it seems M.E. is being treated as something other than a psychological disorder. But on the other hand, it is just one more thing that M.E. has taken away from me.
I've always assumed I'd give blood at some point. Okay, I know I have been completely eligible for the past 4 years, and have yet to actually go and do it, but it's always been in my mind. And now it is just another opportunity missed; something else I don't get to do. And so I feel bitter - but there is nowhere for this bitterness to go and it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. And there is nothing I can do about it. I become trapped in my own annoyance at M.E. and myself (for taking it out on people who really have nothing to do with it).
Of course, it isn't just that I now can't give blood, many things in my life are leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. And all I can do is hope that it will get better. I know I can survive it (and I credit a lot of that to my boyfriend, family and friends). But I want to do more than just survive. I want to live, and enjoy life. So I hope and believe, because there is nothing else I can do.
(Sorry if this post seemed to have turned into a depressive rant - I tried my best not to let it be - but it's how I'm feeling at the moment and it's effecting everything in my life, including this blog).
I've always assumed I'd give blood at some point. Okay, I know I have been completely eligible for the past 4 years, and have yet to actually go and do it, but it's always been in my mind. And now it is just another opportunity missed; something else I don't get to do. And so I feel bitter - but there is nowhere for this bitterness to go and it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. And there is nothing I can do about it. I become trapped in my own annoyance at M.E. and myself (for taking it out on people who really have nothing to do with it).
Of course, it isn't just that I now can't give blood, many things in my life are leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. And all I can do is hope that it will get better. I know I can survive it (and I credit a lot of that to my boyfriend, family and friends). But I want to do more than just survive. I want to live, and enjoy life. So I hope and believe, because there is nothing else I can do.
(Sorry if this post seemed to have turned into a depressive rant - I tried my best not to let it be - but it's how I'm feeling at the moment and it's effecting everything in my life, including this blog).
Monday, 25 October 2010
Rainbows
The white light streams down to be broken up by those human prisms into all the colors of the rainbow. Take your own color in the pattern and be just that. ~Charles R. Brown
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Perceptions
When I create a character I do the usual type of analysis - what do they look like? what do they want? what is their greatest fear? - you get the idea. But recently I've been paying more attention to how the other characters perceive them. And how my character thinks other characters perceive them. You can see where I'm going with this.
When writing in subjective third person, and especially first person, we must be very aware of how our characters perceive each other. If the main character thinks someone is trying to steal their boyfriend/job/sandwich then they are going to see them in a completely different light than if they think that same someone is simply interested in their life. When we see a world through one character's eyes, we can use this to our advantage. Presumably we want the audience to empathise with our main character and so if they see someone in a bad light, so is our reader. This can be a lot of fun to play with, especially considering all the relationships between different characters and how we can portray them to the reader which may or may not be accurate which can then be used to our advantage later in the story.
So consider how each character sees all the other characters in a story and you can make your world so much more believable and fully-formed, which equals a better told story.
When writing in subjective third person, and especially first person, we must be very aware of how our characters perceive each other. If the main character thinks someone is trying to steal their boyfriend/job/sandwich then they are going to see them in a completely different light than if they think that same someone is simply interested in their life. When we see a world through one character's eyes, we can use this to our advantage. Presumably we want the audience to empathise with our main character and so if they see someone in a bad light, so is our reader. This can be a lot of fun to play with, especially considering all the relationships between different characters and how we can portray them to the reader which may or may not be accurate which can then be used to our advantage later in the story.
So consider how each character sees all the other characters in a story and you can make your world so much more believable and fully-formed, which equals a better told story.
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Friendship
We all love to have friends. We want those special people that you can guarantee will be there for you birthday, when you break-up with your partner and all those little moments in between. We want people we can call our chosen family.
When I was younger I didn't get this. I believed I only needed myself to achieve anything in life. The friends I had in high school were wonderful but I didn't appreciate them at the time and now all I have is memories as none of them have stayed in contact (and honestly I can't blame them). Yes, I am sorry for what I was like back then but it's part of who I am so I'm not going to be too sorry. Besides, it taught me the value of friendship. When I realise that these women are still out there, making something of their lives, and I'm not a part of it in any way, it makes me work harder to keep the friends I have now.
I only have a few friends, and it has been hard work finding and keeping each one of them, made harder by my M.E. but not entirely impossible. I see them as jewels that have the ability to make me shine and I am thankful for all of them, and I do my best to make sure they are aware of how precious I find their friendship. I send them letters as well as random messages on facebook and texts just to let them know I am thinking of them. And I always feel blessed when they respond.
So my advice to you - reach out to one of your friends today. Take the time to say 'I'm glad you're my friend' and appreciate them for all they have done for you. Friends make us who we are, we should never forget them or take them for granted.
When I was younger I didn't get this. I believed I only needed myself to achieve anything in life. The friends I had in high school were wonderful but I didn't appreciate them at the time and now all I have is memories as none of them have stayed in contact (and honestly I can't blame them). Yes, I am sorry for what I was like back then but it's part of who I am so I'm not going to be too sorry. Besides, it taught me the value of friendship. When I realise that these women are still out there, making something of their lives, and I'm not a part of it in any way, it makes me work harder to keep the friends I have now.
I only have a few friends, and it has been hard work finding and keeping each one of them, made harder by my M.E. but not entirely impossible. I see them as jewels that have the ability to make me shine and I am thankful for all of them, and I do my best to make sure they are aware of how precious I find their friendship. I send them letters as well as random messages on facebook and texts just to let them know I am thinking of them. And I always feel blessed when they respond.
So my advice to you - reach out to one of your friends today. Take the time to say 'I'm glad you're my friend' and appreciate them for all they have done for you. Friends make us who we are, we should never forget them or take them for granted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)