Musings of a “writer.”

Formerly titled: The musings of one who calls herself a writer and yet believes she is lying. (an excerpt)

I want to write something great.  Maybe even more than great.  Maybe something legendary.  But that’s a long-term goal.  Right now, I just want to get something published and hopefully make at least a little money from it.  After that, I can aim for legendary.  The problem is, I’m beginning to feel like those two things go hand in hand, and I’m not emotionally-mentally-physically-socially-spiritually prepared to write something legendary.  I am prepared to write something completely, utterly ordinary.  I can’t make the words do the thing.  You know, the thing with the feels and stuff.  I can’t seem to string together the right syllables to make the magic happen.  Maybe that’s because I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter as a kid.  Still haven’t read it.  Something tells me that’s not really my problem. 

I always said I wouldn’t let my writing depend on that fickle muse named Inspiration.  She is not the boss of me.  She is not the one who makes the words stream through my fingers like the blood that usually resides there.  I can summon those words by sheer will.  So I thought.  Because I psych myself into sitting down to write and I think I can really do it today until I sit down at the keyboard and I only end up waxing poetic about not being able to write.  If only I could get this published.  Then, maybe, I could muster up the nerve to call myself a real writer.  I mean, I do that anyway, but right now it feels like lying.  When I haven’t written anything of substance in a month.  When my blog has been neglected and what has been written for it is half-hearted to say the least.  When my queried novel is going nowhere and my current project is stagnant and water-logged.  When all I can seem to spill out onto the page is how I suck at writing.  I mean heck, I could talk about this all day…

 My senior year of high school, this kid wrote a love letter as his college admissions essay and got accepted with scholarship to every school he applied to.  I write a novel for the purpose of it being a novel and I stay stagnant.  Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.  Stay put.  Don’t get out of your comfort zone.  Don’t talk to people.  Don’t write things you’re scared to write.  Don’t succeed.  Don’t do anything.  Don’t cut the things out of your life you really wish you could.  Don’t move out don’t write something important don’t make real friends don’t casually not have to be productive 100% of the time don’t write just for fun.  Don’t. Do. Anything. 

White Cup and Saucer painted 1864 by Henri Fantin-Latour (1835-1904)

My wheels are spinning and I’m going nowhere.  See?  I’ve resorted to writing clichés.  I’ve written at least five in this short passage of annoyingly-single-spaced text.  Gross.

I wish I could write like that one impressionist painting of a coffee cup: dark background, light foreground, simple-but-intricate subject.  Beautiful.

I wish I could be that painting.  I wish I could be in the museum in which that painting is held.  It’s in Cambridge I think.  I wish I could be there. 

Summer Readin’ (YA Edition)

Reading during the summer feels more special than any other time. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that you don’t have to read for any reason other than simply because you want to, It’s nice to be able to pick up something you’ve been eyeing for a while and be able to relax and enjoy, whether it’s something light or something that keeps you on the edge of your seat, or both. Sitting in the sun with a good book and some cold brew coffee is my favorite way to spend the summer, so here is a list of some of my favorite YA books that are great for a summer read.

• The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry: This imaginative book full of magical realism and rifts in time is beautiful in so many ways; the descriptions are phenomenal, but it’s the characters you’ll really fall in love with.
• Four, Three, Two, One by Courtney Stevens: This book is a heart-wrenching story of recovering from trauma and finding the beauty and importance of friendship. A bit of a heavier read, but oh so worth it.
• Mosquitoland by David Arnold: A surprising and complex road trip story that will always have a special place in my heart. Coming-of-age meets dark humor on this wild bus trip.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: This fantastical book, the first of a magnificent trilogy, has some of the best world-building I’ve ever read as well as brilliant, snappy dialogue and a twisting plot that will keep you on your toes.
• Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor: If you like weird books, this one is for you. It takes place in the town of Nightvale, the very same from the podcast if you’ve heard of it. It is spectacularly nonsensical in a way that makes perfect sense. Embrace the weird.
• Wildwood by Colin Meloy: This may be considered more of a middle-grade novel than young adult, but hey, it’s a good, fun book about a girl finding her brother who was kidnapped by a murder of crows. What’s better than that? (Plus it’s written by the lead singer of the Decemberists and the illustrations are amazing).

Stay tuned this summer for some more reading recommendations and the usual writing tips and commentary.

And I can always use more book suggestions. Comment some of your favorite summer reads below!

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Routine Flexibility: for when life gets in the way

A writing routine is essential to becoming a writer. If you want to get published even simply improve your writing, it is imperative that one of your priorities is, you know, writing. It doesn’t matter what you are writing. It could be a poem or an essay. A journal or a story. As long as you’re writing consistently.

Life can definitely get in the way. Things of higher priority than writing (hard to imagine, I know) can come up. School, work, health: all these are, to some extent, more important than writing. That’s why it’s beneficial to have a set writing routine, because when these things pop in to demand your time, there is still a semblance of organization and dedication to your passion. Perhaps you’ll have to limit this routine when other things step into your life, but you’ll still have your daily dose of language.

Luckily for me, even though life has stepped in to claim my time and attention, I am still able to have a semblance of a daily writing routine. It isn’t even reduced, really, but it has changed. Since this is my last semester of college, I have a much higher writing demand for my classes: an Honor’s thesis, a history senior project, an advanced fiction class… This means I spend most all my time writing, and when I’m not writing, I’m reading. Unfortunately, this means blogging has become the thing with lower priority. Needless to say, I’m still here and still writing; my writing just looks a little different right now, and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Hopefully your flexible writing routine will lead you to new, unforeseen places, too.

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Adaptation

My writing is a gift that was given to me by God. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I like to reiterate it every so often. I need to remind myself why I am here, and it helps if other people know why I am here, too. Going in-depth with this question would take an entire memoir to unpack; this blog post would not do the whole story justice, so I’ll stick to one point: I am here to write for God’s glory.

I’m not really sure what that means yet. But that’s okay. It can change over time and adapt as both the world and my writing skills change. Currently, though, I am focusing on faith-based young adult literature. I bet some of you groaned at that, especially if you were raised in a Christian household or if you grew up here in good ol’ Bible Belt USA. But I promise, there is no need to complain or cringe. Okay, well, there might be as of now, but my goal is to remove that stigma from Christian literature.

I understand that a majority of Christian Young Adult literature is cheesy, trite, simplistic, some may say cringe-worthy. I grew up with it, so I am fully aware of the sometimes-deserved stigmas of this genre. But the thing I don’t understand is that, it doesn’t have to be that way, so why is no one writing it well? Why don’t we see Christian authors writing faith-based literature the same way they write more mainstream “secular” fiction?

And that, my friends, is my current goal. To write faith-based fiction that is well written and actually makes teens want to keep reading and maybe help them grow in their faith at the same time. I’m not sure how well it is going so far, but I am working on trusting that if this is what God wants me to do, then it will turn out according to His will.

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Moving the Plot Forward

As organized as I am, I have never been good at plot outlines. I make outlines for all my academic papers, but when it comes to noveling, it just doesn’t seem to always work out. I’ll have a general idea of where I want the story to go, but I rarely sit down and write a full-fledged outline. I know the formal, written plan works for a lot of writers, even if they end up straying from it along the way, but it doesn’t work the same way for me.

What has helped me, though, is an inspiration board. Essentially, I pin pictures and sayings to a board that sits on my desk. These things remind me who my characters are and what they want to achieve. It captures their aesthetic, their moods, the setting, and leads me in the right direction when I get stuck. I can also add notes to myself about things I want to fix or specific moments I want to include later in the story.

This way, I can see my end goal, as well as my smaller goals, without having to have a bunch of word documents open or keep scrolling up and down on a super long one. Personally, I find my inspiration board to be a simple, clean way to keep my still-abstract ideas in my head without having to take the time and formulate the perfect words to describe them so I’ll know what I mean later. I can mentally attach my mental image of the setting to the picture I pin up, and there it is, staring at me as I write and reminding me the tone I want to portray.

It is a constant reminder of “you should be writing right now” and “I’m telling you exactly what to write about.” I know formal, old school outlining can be uber helpful, but these pictures are what push me forward in my story instead.

Perhaps if plot outlines aren’t for you either, this will be. 🙂

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Excuses, excuses…

Honesty time: I’ve been really good at excuses lately. One of which is “writer’s block” and is probably the worst excuse I can make, especially because I don’t really have writer’s block. I have shifted to just generally confused, thanks to some great writing prompts.

It got to the point where I was tired of being stuck, so I made a rather extensive list of random prompts that could potentially get the story moving in some semblance of a direction.

These prompts include potential chapter titles, out of context things my characters would say, and ideas of lists to make.

I love lists. I might love them a bit more than I should, but they’re super helpful (maybe too helpful?) so I don’t feel too bad about it. Lists help me stay organized, so when it comes to chores, grocery shopping, or writing, they become necessary. My writing lists look a little different from the others, though. Instead of being titled “Shopping List” or “Things to do,” they are titled things like “Stuff my character wanted to say and never did,” How do these two characters interact?” or “List of my character’s pet peeves.” It is making these lists that brings me out of writer’s block.

The only problem is sometimes, the give me a few too many ideas….

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Writer’s Block: Reality or Myth?

Part of me wants to say writer’s block doesn’t exist. It is a myth, an excuse, a sign of giving up. But that part of me is only half right.

I know from personal experience that writer’s block does, in fact, exist. Anytime I say otherwise, I’m lying to myself. But, I have a good reason for doing so. We all have those days (or weeks or months) that anytime we sit down to write… there’s nothing. Maybe some keyboard smashing and many trips to the coffee maker, but that’s about it. This would be a manifestation of the dreaded condition of writer’s block, but I don’t usually allow myself to admit that.

The words “writer’s block” have too often been used in a context of making excuses and giving up. So, while writer’s block is real, I am not allowed to use it as an excuse for not writing, just like I’m not allowed to use “a lack of inspiration” as an excuse.

Just because you can’t think of what to write does not mean you shouldn’t sit down and keyboard smash for a while. Who knows? Maybe some of that could create something you never would have thought of otherwise.

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The Magnificent Ten:

Ten books aspiring young adult authors (or any writer, really) should read.

A big part of writing is reading; not only reading your own stuff, but reading other things as well. Sitting around reading YA novels may sound like a relaxing weekend activity, but if you are paying attention at all to the plot, characters, style, or any other element of the story, re-reading your favorite YA novel can become some of the most productive work you will ever do.

Some of the books on this list fall into this category, while others have a bit more explicit writing advice, but all ten of these books have helped me with my writing somehow, whether it is inspiration, ideas for character or setting, or style influence.

So without further ado, in no particular order, ten books every YA writer should read:

1. Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott)

This book is a conglomeration of memoir and the writing advice you needed to hear.

2. Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

This well-known play is a great example of how to write a grief-stricken and angsty teen.

3. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

The classic tale of Scout and Jem in Maycomb County deals with vastly important and relevant ideas and events in a way that stays true to life, but also in such a way that a child can understand.

4. Tuck Everlasting (Natalie Babbit)

This story also deals with deep themes like love and mortality while letting the characters run the story, thus making the reader empathetic and understanding.

5. Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

This book illustrates the importance of words and literature.

6. Mosquitoland (David Arnold)

I just really love this book. It is a great example of a character-driven book that also has a very engaging plot.

7. Kids of Appetite (David Arnold)

Another one of my favorite books. It shows how character relationships can develop and how these relationships can develop characters individually.

8. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)

Kids of Appetite is very similar to The Outsiders in the sense of how it addresses characters and their relationships with each other.

9. A Million Junes (Emily Henry)

This is one of the best Romeo and Juliet adaptations I’ve ever read (and the only one I’ve liked at all). It is amazingly done and, hey, what young adult reader can’t go for a little Shakespeare-esque romance every once in a while?

10. A Separate Peace (John Knowles)

This book, once again, deals with deep, complicated topics (war and mortality in the case of this story) and goes through the characters’ journeys of coming to terms with the complicated world they live in.

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Adventure is out there

Imagine the feeling you get when you pick up a book you’ve been wanting to read for forever and you open that cover for the first time. You see the clean, crisp title page and your stomach knots up in anticipation of the adventure ahead. You’re holding an adventure in your palms.

Now imagine picking up the book you’ve looked forward to reading the most of all and under the title is your name. You wrote your favorite book and there it is, in your hands. Maybe it’s in hard back form or maybe it’s on copy paper or spread out between three disheveled composition books, but hey, you wrote that thing and you are not the same person now as when you started. You created the adventure in your hands and you have already started the journey.

The Journey Home

So I’m sitting in the Atlanta airport, highly regretting wearing a sweater in order to keep my suitcase under the weight limit and regretting to a slightly lesser extent the fact that it will be a considerable amount of time before I travel abroad again. I don’t know if I can handle another nine hour flight any time soon, but also, it has finally hit me. All the emotions I have been able to ignore since my last post are deciding to hit me all at once, now that the distractions of tourist trap scams, vespas, language barriers, and gondolas are not demanding my attention.

The adventure is not yet over, only more flooded by conflicting emotions than previously. I have made wonderful new friends from other states (shout out to my Evansville people!) that I will need to see, therefore adventure is still right around the corner. (Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about airport security to drive to Indiana!)

But travel and new friends are not the only adventures that await me. This summer holds many surprises that I am not even aware of, so it’s time to hold my breath, plug my nose, and jump into this new and unforeseen adventure. I’ve reached this destination, now onto the next.