I realize that it has been MONTHS, no exaggeration, since I have posted in here. I apologize profusely to all my Mission: Write compatriots. This blog is supposed to be a group effort, a "writer's support group" in a way, and I feel that, now that I actually remember about it, I have been neglecting you all. Please forgive me and know that I am going to make an effort to post more and read and comment, even if I WILL require nudgings to do so at times.
SO. My writing endeavors since last I posted in here. How have they been doing, you may ask...?
Abysmally.
But don't worry. I'm not. You see, there is now hope. I have (with the help of a book on writer's block) decided to just stop waiting for the "right moment" to come along to write, and just write a page a day. 1 page, that is all! After all, as someone once said, if you write 1 page a year, by the end of the year you'll have a 365-page novel. And if I happen to get motivated\inspired\into the groove enough to write MORE than 1 page a day, that's fine. Just 1 page minimum is all I'm requiring of myself.
Next! I'm working on yet another story. A novel. And this time I am going to stick to it. No overplanning, no overthinking it. Just the barest minimum of research here and there for certain elements of the story, and otherwise it's all putting the pen to the paper.
Oh, on that note, I am still employing my "Dirty Notes" strategy. It's working wonderfully so far. I can write all over the page, make notes in the margins of my notebook, etc. I have picked out ONE notebook to use, instead of spreading my work all over in various notebooks where I can easily lose track of it. This one notebook is pink. I shall name her Anne, after Anne of Green Gables. Hopefully all that imagination that girl has will rub off on me.
My book will be about goblins. Well, not exactly, but a girl called Goblin by all except those who truly love her... they number just three people in the world, it seems, and they call her Song. The story involves love, betrayal, a catastrophe, a self-revelation, an adventure... the works.
Excuse me, I just had a "flash of inspiration," as they (or at least I) say. My faithful notebook-y companion, Anne, is by my side. I must go write now.
Showing posts with label notebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label notebook. Show all posts
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Dirty Notes
I have nothing against writing on the computer. I also have absolutely no qualms about writing with physical paper and pen or pencil. But I have to admit that for me personally, writing has come to be a sort of balance between the two.
I mostly write notes--and sometimes the actual stories--for my fiction ideas on the computer, either with Microsoft Word or Notepad. I do my personal journaling of things I have done and how I have or do feel in a notebook, with a pen that I keep clipped on the metal spiral so I don't lose it. The cleanliness of the typed notes and the physical act of writing my personal thoughts both largely contribute to keeping me sane about my different writings, and sometimes life in general.
Until now... Did I say there was a balance? I should have said, "a gross over-balance," with writing on the computer looming threateningly over writing on paper.
I said before that the cleanliness of typing appeals to me, but on the other hand, I am coming to realize that it has hindered me somewhat, in that I am afraid to change whatever I have written on the computer. If I feel the need to change or delete things from notes, I will make an entirely new Word document rather than "tamper" with the one I currently have. This has led to a lot of mess and chaos and many folders meant to organize everything, while in reality, it's hard to find things even with accurate names, just because of how many files I have.
Well, no more! The files will stay because I am loathe to trash anything that I might want to refer to later, but as of today, I am going to be experimenting with writing down anything story-related in notebooks. I will code-name them "Dirty Notes," to emphasize the fact that, since the notes will be on paper, it will be OKAY to scribble, cross things out, write in the margins. Basically go crazy and don't care about how the paper looks afterwards... Well, while making sure the essential words themselves remain legible, of course.
If all goes well, I will be color-coding my Dirty Notes with sticky tabs for notes on Setting, Characters, etc. as I accrue more notes covering different aspects of my story on paper.
FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW, HOLD ME TO: Starting off my "Dirty Notes experiment" by working with Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, and applying certain topics of the book to my story Six Gifts.
I mostly write notes--and sometimes the actual stories--for my fiction ideas on the computer, either with Microsoft Word or Notepad. I do my personal journaling of things I have done and how I have or do feel in a notebook, with a pen that I keep clipped on the metal spiral so I don't lose it. The cleanliness of the typed notes and the physical act of writing my personal thoughts both largely contribute to keeping me sane about my different writings, and sometimes life in general.
Until now... Did I say there was a balance? I should have said, "a gross over-balance," with writing on the computer looming threateningly over writing on paper.
I said before that the cleanliness of typing appeals to me, but on the other hand, I am coming to realize that it has hindered me somewhat, in that I am afraid to change whatever I have written on the computer. If I feel the need to change or delete things from notes, I will make an entirely new Word document rather than "tamper" with the one I currently have. This has led to a lot of mess and chaos and many folders meant to organize everything, while in reality, it's hard to find things even with accurate names, just because of how many files I have.
Well, no more! The files will stay because I am loathe to trash anything that I might want to refer to later, but as of today, I am going to be experimenting with writing down anything story-related in notebooks. I will code-name them "Dirty Notes," to emphasize the fact that, since the notes will be on paper, it will be OKAY to scribble, cross things out, write in the margins. Basically go crazy and don't care about how the paper looks afterwards... Well, while making sure the essential words themselves remain legible, of course.
If all goes well, I will be color-coding my Dirty Notes with sticky tabs for notes on Setting, Characters, etc. as I accrue more notes covering different aspects of my story on paper.
FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW, HOLD ME TO: Starting off my "Dirty Notes experiment" by working with Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, and applying certain topics of the book to my story Six Gifts.
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