Tag Archives: writing

May 7, 2013

Postscript: Camp NaNoWriMo

By Ellen Gregory

With all the excitement post-Conflux, I’ve ended up almost forgetting to wrap up the big challenge for April — Camp NaNoWriMo. The target was 25,000 words in 30 days, and once again I was on schedule — ahead of schedule, actually, with around 21,500 words written with a week to go — when I hit a story block.

No, not “writers block”, per se. I knew where I wanted to go to reach the end of this novel, but I had many debates with myself as to which route I should take to get there.

Then of course there was Conflux itself, which took me out of action for five days. I daresay had I known what I wanted to write, I might have squeezed out some writing time and hit the 25K mark (maybe more), but as it happened I was happy enough to leave the WIP for a bit in the hope my subconscious might figure something out.

A total of 32 hand-scrawled pages later in my trusty writing journal, I finally figured out yesterday what should happen next. So today I got back into it and flung some words down after more than two weeks of pondering. I might only have the next three scenes figured out, but once they’re done I’m hoping the next segment will reveal itself.

The end feels so near, it’s hugely exciting. But still a few weeks away, I think.

Camp NaNoWriMo proved an excellent means of keeping tabs on myself during the month. I really like the community feeling of keeping pace with other writers, even if the “Camps” don’t have nearly the same level of energy as the November real deal. But simply having a place to log my words is really helpful — I really should resume logging my word outputs in a spreadsheet to see if that’s all I need.

How do others deal with obstacles in their creative process? Lots of brainstorming on paper as I do — or do you have some other proven method? Also, does logging your output help with productivity? I’d really like to know.

12 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Process, The WIP

March 6, 2013

Packing for Camp NaNoWriMo

By Ellen Gregory

2013-Participant-CampNaNoAfter my positive experience during NaNoWriMo last November (when I wrote a stack of words on my WIP) I’m now considering signing up for Camp NaNoWriMo.

Yep.

It can all happen again in April and/or July — the word slinging, the discipline, the moral support from the writing community. This time we have the flexibility to nominate our own word targets (I’ve gone for 25,000 words — half the NaNoWriMo target), and there’s less pressure to work on a new novel. Not that I was going to let that worry me. I’ll be continuing on with the messy first draft of the current WIP.

Am I sounding as though I’ve already signed up? Er…

At this stage I’m targeting April, although if that happens to coincide with a new dayjob, I’ll consider downscaling the target number of words. But I was planning to tackle something like this anyway, so it seems like the ideal opportunity.

My user name is ellenvgreg and I’m looking for some camp buddies. Seems we get billeted in cabins of 4-6 writers. Who’s going to join me? Leave your NaNo user name in the comments… :-)

 

24 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in The WIP

February 6, 2013

Four things I want my writing to accomplish

By Ellen Gregory

It seems I’ve finally gotten around to my promised post on “Why I Write” in response to Liv Rancourt’s guest post in December.

I should point out, though, that the focus is not so much on why I slave away for hours at the computer when I could be relaxing… it’s rather on what’s important about the art; what I’m trying to achieve when I sit down to spin stories about made-up characters in a make-believe world.

So, following Liv’s example (which was in fact inspired by a similar and most excellent post from Veronica Sicoe), here are five four things I want my writing to accomplish.

1. I want to make readers feel

For me, emotion is at the heart of everything. When I read, I want to feel right alongside the characters — to grieve with them, love, share their wonder, fear, joy. I think that’s the sign of a truly immersive experience, which is what I want out of a novel.

So naturally I aspire to achieve this with my own writing. I would be more thrilled to have people cry or be anxious or love my main characters (warts and all) than commend my prose. There is nothing better than commencing reading a book that gives you shivers because the characters engage you immediately and you suspect you won’t be able to put it down.

2. I want to make readers yearn to travel

I often joke that I’ve been taking the Mary Stewart tour of the world — but it’s actually not so far from the truth. Although best known for her Merlin books, Mary Stewart also wrote a bunch of thrillers featuring young women who get themselves into sticky and dangerous situations in beautiful locations. She brings places to life so brilliantly, that her novels have sent me to Delphi in Greece, Hadrian’s Wall in the UK, Provence in France…

OK, so I know I’m writing fantasy in make-believe worlds, but I want to bring these worlds to life so thoroughly that readers wish they could go there. (Just as all those millions wish they could go to Pandora…) It’s another element of the immersive reading experience.

3. I want to catapult ‘everyday people’ into the heart of action

While I’m talking about Mary Stewart… her mystery-thrillers tend to be about everyday women who become embroiled in dangerous plots. This is my favourite kind of mystery — perhaps because I secretly yearn for adventure?

Similarly, the stories I find myself interested in writing are about women who are striving for something and find themselves amid events far bigger than they anticipated — whether by their own doing or otherwise. They’re not setting out to save or change the world, but somehow they seem to end up having an impact. Yet they are still personal stories — they are nowhere near epic fantasy, which focuses on large-scale events. I want to explore the human journey in the context of how individuals can have an impact.

4. I want the fantastic to illuminate real-world issues

To quote from my post on Why I Write Fantasy from back in April 2011:

The fantastic provides a canvass for the exploration of grand themes. Ultimately the imaginary world becomes the stomping ground of a cast of characters who are tested by love, betrayal, prejudice, greed, violence, guilt, hatred, rage along with everything else. Fantasy allows us to strip everything back to the bones and invent the perfect crucible into which we toss our characters to see what they’ll do.

We who write fantasy can skew the environment to suit our purposes and shine the light on those issues we want to focus on.

Since it’s late and I can’t think of a fifth point right now that wouldn’t be regurgitating Liv’s and Veronica’s points (which you should totally read if you haven’t already) I’m going to leave this at four things, instead of five.

I can sum up the whole shebang by saying I aspire to engage people’s hearts and souls with my fiction — a noble goal, hopefully someday achievable. This is what I’m working towards, in any case.

I would love to hear readers’ thoughts on this — and encourage other writers to follow suit and post your own list of what you want to achieve with your writing. Thanks for reading!

 

9 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection

January 1, 2013

Recap on a year of Word Wrangling

By Ellen Gregory

Last year I made a single New Year’s Resolution: finish a first draft of the novel I’ve been working on.

Hmm.

I did make substantial progress on it though. In fact I’m fairly certain I wrote the most number of words I’ve ever achieved in a calendar year. So, although I didn’t precisely finish it, I still consider 2012 to be a good and productive year.

It began with a change in mindset for me. I decided to treat my writing as a second career. For years I’d been designating it as a ‘hobby’ — hiding behind this terminology as far as inquisitive friends and family went. Using it as an excuse for never finishing anything, not being published. But in 2012 I acknowledged that in order to progress I needed to take myself more seriously.

Part of this involved rediscovering the joy of writing. Although I took a break from the dayjob for most of 2011, my writing mojo abandoned me and it took quite a lot of 2012 to get it back. I spent the first half of the year determinedly trying to achieve modest word goals, yet not impressed with anything I was writing. And then I realised something important was missing.

Eventually, after much soul searching, I finally felt the thrill in the pit of my stomach and rediscovered the joy of my WIP. Around this time I also began regularly writing in a local cafe with a friend, which has been one of the highlights of my year.

All this propelled me into such a positive mindset that I tackled November’s NaNoWriMo challenge — something I never thought I’d dare attempt. And although I didn’t quite make it to the 50K, I impressed myself. My first draft is now well progressed — would be nearly complete if it wasn’t starting to look so big — and maybe I’ll complete it this year. ;)

On top of all this word wrangling on my WIP, I devoted a lot of time and effort to networking with other writers via social media and blogging. This has been immensely rewarding, and I’ve learnt a great deal about blogging. In addition, I have made so many online friends — many of whom read and comment here regularly. Thank you!

In writing this I’ve been looking over the posts I’ve written in the past year and thought I would recap some of my favourites from earlier in 2012:

Every year is a different journey and 2012 was no exception. It was an extremely busy year, during which I frequently wished for one of Hermione Granger’s time-turners, but somehow I’ve made it through with a smile on my face. Bring on 2013!

 

4 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Reflection, The WIP

September 26, 2012

More on writing with joy

By Ellen Gregory

I’ve been on a mission of late to rediscover the joy of writing and in particular the passion for my current work in progress. I lost it for a while there – lost sight of why as I got all caught up with what and how and is it actually any good? (In fact, I blogged on this topic in June here.)

So I’m trying to ditch my fixation on metrics (how many words, how many times a week, how many times I ditch a scene) and just enjoy the process.

I want to smile when I sit at the computer. I want to look forward to spending time with my characters. I want to be entertained by their adventures.

And then on Saturday morning, as I sat down to write in my local cafe with friends, I read over some notes about events that are to come and I finally felt that thrill I’ve been missing. It started in the pit of my stomach and made me catch my breath… and right then I simply knew I had to continue writing that story.

That feeling… I wish it could be bottled.

I’ve spent much of the past year and a half second-guessing myself, trying to please people other than me. Trying to be more accomplished than I probably am — focusing on the end-game rather than the journey.

Well now I’m going to sit back and (to coin Holly Lisle‘s favourite phrase) write with joy.

A week or so ago on her blog, Liv Rancourt asked Fabio Bueno what was the most compelling thing about his most recent project — the thing that kept him in the chair through hours of writing and revising… I thought this was a great question, and it really got me thinking about what thrills me about my own work in progress.

It’s an ‘other world’ fantasy about a young woman who experiences what she perceives as an injustice and is driven into breaking all the rules to do something about it.

I’m excited by her journey through arrogant complacency, fear, defiance and ultimately regret — but I believe it was my specific plan for her defiance that got me all inspired on Saturday. I haven’t actually written all that much of this novel yet, so I have much to look forward to.

And, yes, I am actually looking forward to it now — rather than being paralysed by the enormity of the task (and the fear of stuffing it up). This seems to me like a great step forward! Huzzah!

So… wish me joy of my WIP and feel free to share with me whatever thoughts you may have on the subject. Comments on my blog simply make my day.

14 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection

August 14, 2012

“It’s just a story”

By Ellen Gregory

Yesterday I was happily discussing with a friend the awesome book I’d just finished — and which she’d read previously — when I happened to mention a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me.

(I can’t help it — attempting to write novels has somewhat killed my ability to just read and enjoy… now I analyse what works and doesn’t work, and why.)

Anyway, my comment related to one of the major characters’ core motivations for the books. Can one really, at age 16, be so utterly convinced it’s true love that one will sacrifice everything for the object of one’s affection? (Some readers might guess which books, from that. I repeat, I think they’re awesome!)

It was an idle comment, and an issue that doesn’t really bother me or detract from the novels, but my friend’s response brought me almost to a standstill.

“It’s just a story. It’s not real life,” she said. Patronisingly.

I reeled. Pressure built in my chest, but with effort I replied with something vague and evasive and continued on in silence, stewing.

I suppose my reaction was so extreme because it felt as though everything I strive to do — everything I love about both writing and reading — was being dismissed as fluff. For me everything is about characters and making them believable and consistent and multi-dimensional. Show me a writer (and surely many readers as well) who doesn’t feel that way.

Books and stories that make my throat clog with emotion are the benchmark. Experiencing such is transcending and can make me view the world completely differently thereafter.

So, to have someone dismiss as irrelevant — It’s just a story. It’s not real life — the fact that a character might possibly not ring true, cut me deeply.

More to the point, it suggests that writers shouldn’t bother about verisimilitude or believability. That writers shouldn’t bother trying to move people or make them think differently. That fiction is just entertainment, pure and simple, not worth an ounce of idle thought.

Am I overreacting?

Maybe. But I strongly believe that readers want to be moved, to be touched, to have their world view challenged. All wrapped up in a great story of course. A story that is written so well that it’s easy to imagine that it could be real life, that such events could happen. That the characters truly could live, eat and breathe themselves right off the page…

I’m sure my friend has no idea how deeply struck I was by what was probably merely an idle comment from her. Maybe I’d poked a stick in the eye of her favourite character or something!

What would you have done?

13 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Reading, Reflection

June 28, 2012

The importance of writing with joy

By Ellen Gregory

I’ve been thinking a lot about where I’m going with my writing of late. Thinking, not doing. There have been no new words on my WIP for over three weeks now. It was a conscious decision to stop. I wasn’t happy with anything coming out, had been writing every scene twice, and finally reached the conclusion that something was wrong.

When I realised what it was I despaired a bit, and that was when I decided maybe I should just give the whole thing up to take a break.

Holly Lisle‘s mantra is “Write with joy” and every time I read that, something deep inside me kindles. Yes! Although I am a rather slow and methodical writer, I do love those moments when the words flow at a steady rate and combine to achieve — or perhaps even exceed — my original vision.

And those marvellous moments when a kernel of something new and unplanned manifests and the unlooked-for idea is good. At such times, writing is a joyous process, and my dream and ambition are huge.

But, before I fool myself into believing that such ideal conditions are mandatory for writing, I must remind myself that writers write, no matter how little they feel like it, and experts will tell me it’s rare that professional writers can tell, later, what their state of mind was when they wrote something.

“Write with joy” must have a broader meaning then — excitement about your project, love for your characters, passion for the story you’re trying to tell. Even if you’re having an off day, those things remain the foundations of your WIP and will ensure the joy shines through.

It was when I realised the joy of my current WIP had left me that I decided to take a break.

Being on hiatus has given me time to ponder. Maybe I should write a short story and attempt publication? A small taste of success in that field could rekindle the self-confidence if nothing else. Or maybe I should stop thinking about writing a middle-grade story for my nieces and nephews to enjoy and actually do it.  Why not? What’s stopping me?

Or maybe I should just rediscover the love for my current WIP — spend the time isolating what it was that inspired and excited me in the first place, work on the characters (where the main problem lies I think), and push gently ahead.

A couple of blog posts that present interesting — and fabulous — perspectives on the creativity process came to my attention today. One is Writers going boldly, by James Scott Bell, which presents the late Ray Bradbury’s example of writing with joy by allowing himself the freedom of simply following his imagination every day.

The second is Playmore Fearless, by Erik Wahl, which talks about the unpredictability of the creative process, about how art needs time and space to just ‘be’, with reference to Van Gogh’s Irises, which was only ever intended to be a study.

Both these posts have reminded me that I need to give my own creative process some time and space, to take the pressure off myself. Instead of writing to meet a whole lot of worthy criteria, I need to have fun.

Dammit, I’m gonna get me some FUN!

What about you? Anyone else  in need of a little more fun in their process?

9 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Process, Reflection, The WIP

April 25, 2012

Four positives out of an ‘average’ WIP Wednesday

By Ellen Gregory

Ever have one of those days when you do all the right things — sit down at the computer, open the WIP, block out all distractions, prepare for an unbroken afternoon of productivity — and end up with a mere (this is almost too embarrassing to admit) 250 words?

Four hours. FOUR HOURS was how long it took me today to grind out 250 words.

Even as I stare at this figure I cannot believe it.

There are reasons of course; there always are. Things had gone wrong in the previous session and they needed to be unpicked… I spent huge chunks of time pondering how things should happen instead, re-reading earlier scenes to cross-check facts that might impact current events, jotting notes in my journal, sighing, swearing (for &%#* sake, why can’t I make these %&$& idiots do what I want them to do?!), editing, and of course writing and then — noooooo — deleting.

Grand total: 250 words added.

Must say, this doesn’t reflect the grand plans I’d had for today’s public holiday (Lest We Forget). It wasn’t writer’s block. I knew what I wanted to do, I just couldn’t quite figure out the best way of doing it.

Nonetheless, I am determined to take some positives out of this very average WIP Wednesday:

  1. I managed to stay disciplined and focused and determined for four whole hours. It wasn’t pretty, but oddly enough I didn’t really notice the time passing. I had this puzzle I needed to solve. (I admit it helped that my social media accounts had gone quiet. I also had to feed the devilcat to make her go away and leave me in peace.)
  2. I set the scene in question on a better course. It may only have resulted in 250 words, but they’re important words!
  3. At least I spent time with my WIP, thinking about the characters, getting to know them better.
  4. Productivity can only improve from here.

OK, I feel better already. Thanks for listening. Any other writers out there have a similar experience ever? What do you do when the words aren’t flowing?

23 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in The WIP

March 15, 2012

When you feel like you’re taking the hard path

By Ellen Gregory

A couple of weeks ago, Australian speculative fiction author Deborah Biancotti shared some very wise insights while guest-posting on Lisa Hannett’s blog:

“… But here’s what you have to remember: You’re running your own race.

“This means you set the pace & the direction. YOU do. Both. Pace AND direction.

“… So when you find yourself rubbernecking, looking at all the writers who are “passing you by”, remember: they’re not in your race. … Your race is still your own & it will always be your own.”

The excerpts I’ve included above will hopefully convince you to go read Deborah’s entire post, because it’s succinctly and excellently put and we should all print it out and tape to the wall by our computers as Lisa suggests. (Then come back here.)

What a great post. I really needed to hear those words, because it can be so hard to persevere along that lonely track when I see others taking what seems to be a much faster path. I almost said ‘easier path’ just now, but I know that’s not really the case. Every writer has a different path, with different challenges, drivers and external pressures, which is actually Deborah’s point.

My path has been longer — and more laboured — than I anticipated. I made a decision long ago not to write short stories — they don’t really interest me to write or read. I much prefer the immersion of novel-length works. But the latter do take far longer to complete, and when you consider how many ‘bottom drawer’ novels can be expected before something publishable turns up, I do find myself wondering whether a period of dedicated short story writing might have served me better as a training tool.

But that wasn’t to be my path.

The process of becoming an author is strange. There’s this cycle that starts with blithe self-confidence, which gives way to the devastating realisation that said confidence was completely misguided, which in turn is replaced by sheer determination to improve and prevail. And then it all repeats and repeats as skill levels creep upward. I can’t count how many times I’ve felt I’m just about there, that I’ve finally produced something worthy, only to have it all come crashing down.

When you’re in the trough of this cycle, it’s all too easy to compare yourself unfavourably with fellow writers in the ‘race’ and perceive yourself as losing. There’s always another writer (often a friend) who has better turn of phrase, a more unique voice, superior insight into character, better industry connections, is faster, better, more talented.

I had lunch today with a writer friend who questioned his own natural talent and said he persevered out of sheer bloody-mindedness and determination. Part of the thrill for him is the challenge of traditional publication purely because it’s so hard. That’s his ‘race’, I guess. (Go figure.)

My race? All I can do is keep running, keep improving, keep believing. I want to write a novel I’m proud of and have it reputably published. My pledge to myself is to try not to dwell on what I haven’t achieved, to not compare myself with anybody else. I’m going to focus on my goals instead, and do all I can to achieve them.

How about you guys? Do you sometimes wonder whether you’re taking the right path towards your goals? Does it ever feel like you’re in a race? What strategies do you employ to deal with setbacks?

 

18 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Process, Reflection

March 12, 2012

Decluttering: creativity essential or shameless procrastination?

By Ellen Gregory

I wanted to work on my WIP today. We’ve had a public holiday and it seemed the ideal opportunity to get back into my novel after a few weeks of neglect. But, as it turned out, there was something else I had to do first.

When my life gets crazy and starts to spin out of control, as it has done for the past few months, I have this tendency to shove stuff into piles ‘to deal with later’. Cases of wine… correspondence to be shredded… clippings from magazines… instruction booklets… bills… new car insurance policies… receipts… even, as I discovered, Christmas presents neatly in a carry bag since Christmas Day.

Kipple. The detritus of life. Much of it stuff I need — or think I need — but it’s too difficult at the time to think what to do with it, so it gets shoved onto a pile. And, after a while, the piles are so out of control that I cease worrying whether stuff is getting shoved onto the right pile. Because I know I’m going to have to go through them all anyway. So the mess starts multiplying exponentially, and, well… I think you can probably see where I’m going with this.

(Think Harry, Ron and Hermione in Bellatrix’s vault at Gringott’s Bank when they’re going after the Helga Hufflepuff horcrux in the final book/movie. You know the scene when treasures multiply like popcorn? Yep.)

Unfortunately, all this mayhem takes place in my study (the one room safe from visitors), and there comes a point when I can no longer be in there.

I reached this tipping point today.

The floor was so cluttered with empty boxes and extra side-tables that getting into the cupboards was impossible. The main table was piled high with wine and boxes of junk. My desk, computer and keyboard were obscured by piles of paper.

Very. Bad. Feng Shui.

Time, oh yes definitely time, for a periodic purge. I seriously should have taken a photo.

So now the floor of my study is visible and vacuumed. And my desk is clear and devoid of dust. At last, I can think and dream and plot and perhaps even weave some tales.

I should confess, however, that I have really only shifted the problem. After a few hours of shuffling stuff around, my living room is now the custodian of the wine (which needs labelling before I put it away) and the shredding. (And the old DVD player I need to get rid of… and the broken chair with hot pink gym ball…) And I have a couple of boxes filled with junk I still need to sort through. The kitchen table has stuff on it as well.

But my study is clear — at least for a little while.

Why is it, do you think, that it feels so hard to get decluttered for good? I know that unless I devote about a week to sorting through everything and physically getting stuff OUT of my very small house, it will all be mayhem again all too soon. This is a very familiar cycle.

So now tell me whether this is a familiar scenario for you guys! Do you need a neat and tidy workspace to be productive — or was this all one huge day of procrastination on my part? And please do share any decluttering and organisation tips. I need them!

 

30 comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Process, Reflection

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