Writing – Page 7 – trippingdifferently

June 24, 2013

Headway With Writing…

.. or NOT!

Since writing that post, the other day, some weeks ago, NO words have been put down on paper or typed out on keyboard. (Hangs head in shame…)

i know that this is where i am: How to Write Your Book Even When You Feel Clueless…

i need to know how to go on writing even when i am clueless. i have a hundred questions and doubts having a party in my head; should i write this story? What about the other one? Oh, and that first one, i quite like that one. This story is rubbish! Who would care? It may even cause people to throw up. i’ll never find the bridge between the middle and the end. It does not make sense. The main character is stupid! Come on, this is not creative at all. Stop using the same phrases. NO! That idea would be overkill… and so they carry on dancing… sigh!

i am exactly where she describes… blank and cringing in the corner. 😦

BUT… i will pick myself up and put pen to paper… i promise…

So in the name of taking that plunge, i’m going to post my favourite scene from one of my work-in-progress here:

I race up the three flights of stairs to my little two and a half room apartment, completely ignoring the beautiful sunset over the lake this evening, fumble for my keys, crack the door open, slam it – not caring that the old woman downstairs is going to complain – again, kick off my shoes, drop my bags on the floor, throw my jacket onto the sofa, rounded the corner and hit the power button, before finally collapsing into the chair to catch a breath.

The computer beeps to life and takes what feels like an eternity to come on and connect to the internet. I open up Skype as quickly as I can make the mouse fly across the screen.

I type:

i’m here. Add me pls.

I wait.

Freedomi1 has been added to the conversation.

And three familiar faces fills my screen.

“You are late!” is the chorus which greets me immediately.

“So sorry guys. Last minute my boss had something for me to do lah!”

“You are always working. Working too much. Working too hard.” says my little cousin, Tiffany. We call her Tiff the Whiff because she is always following one trend after another.

Tris answers, “Tiff, you can keep telling her that but it won’t make a difference you know. That’s why she moved all the way to the land of the cows. So she won’t have to hear this from us face to face.”

They all laugh. Oh how I miss seeing them laugh. We laugh a lot together. The four of us have been inseparable since childhood.

“Hey, stop laughing and catch me up on what you guys have been talking about till now.” I ask, anxious to get the focus off me.

“Well, we have been discussing Tiff’s strange lecturer at NUS.” Twyla fills me in.

“Yah, my lecturer has hairy armpits!” squeaks Tiff.

“No so loud lah! I’m sitting next to you, you know.” barks Tris.

“Sorry”

“Wait! Wait! Tiff’s at Tris’?”

“Yes lah! Today is Saturday, you know. She comes over for dinner and then stays over.”

“Oh yeah. No wonder I feel as if I am home earlier than usual. Sorry – blur.”

Once again, their laugh fills my computer speakers, “Yes we know.”

Twyla continues, “Anyhow, Tiff was saying she – her lecturer, huh – not her, has these hairy armpits”

“Hairy armpits? What?!!”

“Ya! Full on black, long and bushy!!” Tiff screams across the many countries which divide us.

“Ooooh, disgusting! I feel so uncomfortable just hearing you talk about it.” exclaims Twyla, who always looks her best. Actually she always looks perfect.

“Well, Lala, you are not the one who has to face her ok? I have to look at that while she goes on and on about the society’s responsibilities to the environment and all that crap.” says Tiff.

“So what do you do about it?” I ask. Then realising that it was a stupid question just a second too late – as always.

“Aiyoh! Do? Nothing lah! Just try to ignore loh! Actually I might change majors.”

Twyla interrupts, “I can not believe that in this day and age that women with hairy armpits still exist.”

“Yah loh!” we reply in unison. Collapsing into a fit of laughter.

Even with thousands of kilometers between us, I can still feel each of them next to me. Sigh! I miss them.

“So what does she teach anyway?”

“Philosophy.”

“Oh, maybe she is trying to make a philosophical statement?”

“Yah right. Like what?”

I try to sound intelligent, “Like hairy armpits do not make her less a woman.”

Silence.

“Hmmm… I am not sure about that. But I could try and work that into my assignment she has given us.” jokes Tiff.

“Ok enough nonsense talk.” says Tris, putting on her ‘i-mean-business’ voice.

“Yes madam.” we all tease her.

She ignores us and carries on, just like her.

“Grandma’s birthday – her 90th. My dad wants to do a big celebration and has put me in charge of getting all the younger generation together, confirming attendance and all that jazz.”

“When is it?”

“Well, her birthday is on March – thirtieth if I am not wrong.”

“You are never wrong about birthdays – I still can not wrap my head around how you remember everyone and I mean EVERYONE’s birthdays, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, even cousins’ children. If I had that sort of memory, I would be aceing my European history class.” remarks Tiff.

“Never mind about European history – so who’s coming?” Tris gets us back on topic.

“Me – I am here – stuck on this small, hot, humid tiny island of a country.” sighs Tiff.

“I will have to check if Eric can come with us. But I think the girls and myself should be able to come. It’s around Easter holidays, isn’t it? I will ask for a few days extra off school so we can make the trip worthwhile. I hate going just for a couple of weeks.”

“Yaya? What about you?”

That is what they call me – Yaya – my nickname. Apparently it was because my Grandfather had difficulty with saying my whole name, which is really not that difficult. It’s Tanya. How hard can that be? But my cousins have insisted it is because I always answered ‘Ya. Ya.’ to every question when I was little. I do not remember but the nickname is here to stay. There are days I wished it never was, but there are days when I long to hear someone call me by that name – Yaya.

“Er… I am not sure I can get off work.”

“Yaya!! You need to take a break. Stop working so hard. Money is not everything you know. One day, you wake up and then will realise that you have no one, then have money also no use – right?”

And so Tris goes off on one of her famous family comes first lectures. It is unbelievable – because she was always the one who painted the town red when we were teens and now she is the one always talking family this and family that – who would have expected it. I guess that is life.

“Yes Tris. I know. I know. I will ask my boss tomorrow ok?”

Twyla giggles, “My dear Yaya, you sure you ask tomorrow?”

“Yes. Of course. Why?”

I can hear their muffled giggles across the electric lines and then realise I have done it again – said a silly thing. My brain forgot it is the weekend.

“Oh ok. I ask on Monday then.”

“Ok you send me email ok? No delays. You know my father likes to get things organised well ahead of time.”

“Yes Tris. I will.” I reply, wearily.

This is the opening scene and it is about halfway through at this point. It’s a little long i know. It is very unpolished and full of cliques and lame phrase/dialogue but i do love the interaction happening. i’m afraid to ask… but… (breath in, breath out) what do you think?

syc

June 3, 2013

Don’t Be a Resolution Writer…

Some of you know that i was hit by the writing bug a few years ago when a friend introduced me to Nanowrimo.

i have always been an avid reader and have always loved the world of words; words are very important to me; i love how they can convert an idea, share an emotion, flesh out a character, reveal a secret, paint a picture, create an entire world and so much more.

Nanowrimo made me realise how much i liked to write as well. So i made a resolution to keep writing. Unfortunately, it remained a resolution. i have written in the last 3 Nanowrimos but can’t seem to keep up with writing daily or weekly or monthly or even with finishing any of the stories i have started writing.

i have, however, started following quite a few writing blogs and one of them is The Write Practice. And this recent post, Don’t be a resolution writer, made me sit up and think hard. And i know i am just that, a resolution writer.

It’s the days that don’t inspire that separate an in-shape writer and an unhealthy writer.

So i have been an unhealthy couch-potato writer, sitting in front of my computer reading about writing and about other writers instead of actually putting words down on to paper or in these days, in file.

Why? i was tired, sick, not inspired, too hot, too cold, stressed, too late, too early, wrong music, didn’t feel like it etc… If i am honest, the simple answer is that i have an ideal in my head about how/when i would write; i was waiting for the so-called perfect circumstances to meet that unstoppable inspiration.

BUT…

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.”

The Write Practice is so right! The will of the writer needs to prevail!

And these are the points i will bear in mind on days i don’t “feel” like writing:

Calling yourself a writer is a privilege that many wish to do, but never will. When that privilege is understood, you’ll take a new approach to your writing.
Look at those times you don’t feel like writing as gifts to practice – like swinging a weighted bat before stepping up to the plate.
Writers write. If it’s who you are, you won’t be able to make any decision other than to write.

So i am writer (not amateur writer, simply writer) and therefore i will write!

syc

PS: i’m thinking of posting snippets of what i write… sometimes, not all the time, to keep me on track, accountable so to speak. Would that be a good idea?

January 11, 2013January 12, 2013

Thinking About Editing…

Edited Version of First Book (Photo credit: TheCreativePenn)

… which i really shouldn’t be thinking about at all because i do NOT yet have a finished manuscript! But i went ahead and read this article – Red Pencil Round-Up: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, which i had bookmarked at the beginning of Nanowrimo 2012.

It’s a long article but has many gems. Here are some of the ones which i would like to highlight:

Does that mean you’ll be making fifteen or more passes, beginning to end, through your entire manuscript? Yes, it does.

i read that and my heart sank. It looks like it would take a whole lot more time with head bent low over paper and red pencil in hand than i had thought.

But i see her point. There are so many aspects of a story to look at, trying to look at all aspects in one sweep is just not going to cut it. Can you imagine thinking about plot, characterisation, grammar, narrative, dialogue, setting etc. all at once? Makes my head spin just looking at that checklist of items. :p

i love how the article is written with lots of tips and examples which clearly show you what she means and these examples could even help to generate ideas for your story. Take a look at the example she writes when explaining about the Bread Crumb Trail:

For example, if your character is experiencing cryptic nightmares and you need to convey that her grandparents raised her on a farm built atop a sacred Indian burial ground, don’t launch into a block of exposition about her childhood. Place her in a scene at the farm, have her call her grandmother and question her experiences, create a scene where she digs a secret-filled box out of the attic—choose something active that moves the plot forward and gives you the opportunity to reveal that information in an interesting way.

Here’s one i didn’t know about:

Take a look at your character list. Change any names that start with the same letter or have a similar sound when read aloud. I had one client who didn’t realize she had such an affinity for “J” names until I pointed out that she had Jonathan, Josh, Jackson, Jenny, and Jessie (along with Carolina, Connie, and Kristen) cavorting through her script and it was quite a challenge to keep track of them.

Hmmm… i have to go check my character list. i love names and i enjoy giving my characters names which are full of meaning or at least reflect their personality. It’s one of my favourite parts of the writing process: character creation. Have you come up with some great names for your characters? Wanna share?

i had to smile at her paragraphs discussing dialogue tags. Here’s the one line we all should keep in mind when writing:

Remember: You can’t smile, nod, or wink dialogue, or do anything else physical with the words.

i have never really come across the term “talking heads”. Ok, i have not read a whole ton of how-to-write books yet. But i found the idea hilarious, just thinking about it: a room full of heads just talking. She mentions talking heads in relation to grounding your characters so that the reader gets a sense of place.

This next one is would be interesting to do:

Now, put your plot to the cause and effect test. Start at the end of your story. How did your character arrive at that resolution? What happened before that? What caused that event? What came before that? Work backward from the end to ensure your plot doesn’t go on unrelated tangents. Work backward to make sure there is a logical progression that leads your character from one action to the next.

i suppose if your story makes sense going backwards, it would work going forwards as well. It has never crossed my mind to think about story plot like that.

She also covers research, grammar and punctuation.

And at the end, in Pre-submission Proof, which i most definitely will do when i have finally written and edited my story, i learnt something new and fun to do:

Yes, you need to do an audio check too. Pour yourself some tea, hot or iced. Lean back in your chair, turn up your computer speaker volume, and set the Speech function to read your manuscript aloud. The voice may be a bit robotic, but listening to your story read aloud will help you catch errors even the spell checker missed.

Now i was wondering what is this program she is talking about. i looked at my Open Office Writer and it didn’t have that function. Then i did a quick search on Google and found that Windows itself has a Narrator! Wow! Shows how little i have explored the functions of my computer. So click on your ‘Start’ button, then go to ‘All Programs’, ‘Accessories’, ‘Ease of Access’ and there you will find ‘Narrator’. It should read out loud the on-screen text. BUT…

… i could not get it to work right. It reads out loud all my keystrokes and tells me what window and what buttons are there but it would not read my text document; even though it is a saved file and there is clearly text on the page, it keeps telling me, “Empty Page/Paragraph.” i checked Help, it was no help.

Yet there is hope, i found that you can download a free program to read back to you if you like. See here. i may try that another day.

Well, i hope this has been helpful to you. It has certainly given me a push to finish my story asap, if editing the story is going to take 18 times as long as writing it!

Do go read the whole article, follow the link in the first paragraph of this post.

syc