Write in your own voice.

This article may get back to some earlier discussions regarding just getting something written, but often writer's who attempt to write in a tone or with diction that is unnatural to them, may find themselves getting stuck on how to phrase something.

Just write it how you would say it.

If you don't like it or the passage doesn't fit you can always alter it later. When writing a first draft don't worry so much about grammar. Try not to fret over comma splices, don't worry about ending sentences with prepositions because you need to give yourself a base to start from. Not everyone will notice (many will!) but its better to have something not completely correct than nothing at all.

For academics this is akin to handing in a C paper as opposed to handing in no paper. At least it's something. Feel free, in a first draft, to use slang, colloquialisms, over used metaphors, bad grammar, or to wind up on the wrong side of a homophone. You can correct your use of elicit drugs after you right about them.

Writing should be Zen. Fret during the correction process.

Just please for all our sanities, have a correction process.

Tons of errors in this article, most all of them deliberate, but at least I wrote something.

In speech, we make errors, we run off topic. We also don't note punctuation. We also use informal words and phrases.

Inspiration - Pictures

Art begets Art. When I get really stuck for ideas I turn to other art and often pictures are the most accessible. Google images or any search engine with photos should work. Type in anything and scroll until something catches your eye. Then simply try to tell the story of what's happening in the photo and see what comes of it.

Splayed by Sarah Varnam is the result of similar inspiration techniques.

Only the Beginning

When you're feeling guilty because you haven't written anything for a while but you just don't have the energy, much like my suggestion to write only a few lines and see what happens, try just writing the first sentence of a piece you never really intend to finish.

Number a page 1-5, like this:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Just like that. Write in each place the first sentence for a story. This sentence should really start to form a whole story in a reader's mind, but they can be simple. Here are some examples:

1. Let me tell you about my dog.
2. I once saved my brother Michael's life by not being good at archery.
3. I like being a good student, because no one will believe it when I suddenly decide to turn bad.
4. The loose stone ground struck Benjamin's stumbling feet, and he returned the favour by leaving a trail of red behind him.
5. Angela stopped digging; she was quite certain no one would find it here, not this deep.

A beginning should not always be an introduction, because introductions can be boring. Instead use the beginning to get to the point like in line one. Also, try leaving your reader just a little bit in the dark like in the fourth line. What exactly is 'it' and why is Angela so obsessed with keeping 'it' hidden. Benjamin from line four seems like he's probably wounded and who can possibly resist discovering a little more about the archery almost accident.

Don't bother finishing these stories. We can get back to them later, when we have more time and energy.

Become a Hoarder - It's Good for Your Creativity

Spend some time in strange shops. Vintage stores, antique dealers and exotic or ethnic markets. As Canadians, and as is often the case for Americans as well, we are exposed to a multitude of cultures and many items we encounter can spur stories. If an item grabs you but you still can't think of a story just try describing the item and for what is it intended. If you do not know what its purpose is, make one up. In the very least you have an exercise in description. In most cases a story will come and you've added an interesting piece to your portfolio. If you can, try finding a chest or box large enough to hold these items and when you get stuck again revisit them. These wonderful treasure troves can also be shown to other writers who may get their own ideas.

Beginnings

A blank page can be a writer's greatest blockade. We all know, or should know, that a strong beginning is crucial in gaining readers, so when faced with that daunting task how can a writer do anything but break down and weep? The answer is a stock beginning. Really. Truly, I mean it. Start with a couple of stock beginnings.

They can be as simple as "Once upon a time...", "Let me tell you something about...", or "The other day my friend was telling me..." As you begin to fill up a tiny portion of paper with ink, or the screen with pixels, the words will simply flow out. Once you actually start writing you can figure out where the story is going. The reason why this happens is simple.

We all know how to lie.

The lie, or in this case, the story, takes on a life of its own and all you need to do is keep up. Once the story is well underway or finished go back and change the beginning to suit the rest of the story, now that you know what it is, or add something to the story that occurs before the original beginning.

And Now Back to the Show

Telling, as important as it may be, is not always very interesting, and in truth it is the showing that gives writers their flair. Bad writers can easily slip past the artistic and into the bedraggled zone of amateurish over-exhausted metaphors and campy diction. Overuse - or simply poor use- of showing can result in long winded speeches about superfluous aspects of the text. Many artists and academics may disagree with me, but I'm sure the populous of general readers may be nodding in agreement. As writers, both academic and artistic, we often forget that then main consumers of our work are not overly interested in the specific flora which happen to match the colour of bricks with which the tertiary protagonist's house is built, and they are not going to bother to deduce you said this to show the character's personality.


Is it Marigold?

No, it's Forsythia, so the character is light-hearted and springy.


My main point here: be careful with showing off. That said, Indulge a little, show off a bit, but follow the French method and restrict yourself to two bites. If the imagery over-extends and the details cloud up what matters, you will lose your readership.


Showing, for those of you who are lost and wondering why this mad man is ranting so, involves giving hints and clues to readers instead of simply giving them the facts.


"Charlie was old." a sentence from my previous article Sometimes it's good to tell is telling. The same sentence reformatting in showing would look something like:


"Charlie's leathery skin bunched into wrinkles on his face. His large work callused hands told archaic tales of the rise and fall of empires."


Writers have fun with showing off. Showing makes literature art and not just made up stories. Without showing literature would hardly differ from newscasts and scientific articles, but too much of it can seem so very flowery.

Sometimes it's good to tell.

Learning to effectively describe can be a difficult task in writing. A character with a significant number of years behind them can simply be described as 'old'. This is simple and efficient which can get the fact out of the way so you can move on to more important things. Telling is a good way to allow the readers some artistic license in the creation of the character in they're mind. For stories that have to focus on something other than long character description go ahead and get the facts out.

'Charlie was old; his joints would start to set whenever he let them sit for a while without moving. The rust would build up and he could almost hear the creaking when he tried to move again. The pain was significant, so he attempting to keep moving as long as he was awake. Charlie finished a lot of work because of his joints.'

Telling allows the story to move on and frees up writers to write creative descriptions of something they feel is more important to the story.

Some writers disagree with telling. The mantra 'Show. Don't tell' is probably ringing in most of your ears right now as it is mine. However, long superfluous writing bores many readers. A friend of mine has mentioned his dislike for literature because he all too often will begin a story he thinks he may enjoy only to read, a few pages down, in a writers attempt to show the wonderful weather of the day: 'The clouds were buttered with sunshine.'  My friend is not a writer, but he could be your reader. If you want him or anyone else to buy and recommend your book. Avoid showing everywhere and get used to telling sometimes.

Write often

Writing something, anything, even if it's just a little bit, is very important for any aspiring writer, more important for professional ones. Delay begets delay, and before much time has passed in your mind, time will have passed in the real world by weeks, months or even years, and no one, especially you, wants that. Sit down to write just three sentences, like I did today, and you'll be amazed how much you actually write.

"Don't get it right; get it written" - James Thurber

Once its down on paper (see also: screen) editing can begin, and then you can make it right.

Canadian Literature

I have not often kept a journal; I tend to put my thoughts into my work. My intention here, however, is to promote the writing of many people I feel are being overlooked. For whatever the reason, I have read a multitude of work by local writers and for a reason I cannot understand is not published and what's worse may have even been rejected by publishers who work in that area.

Though I also intend to indulge in a little shameless self-promotion, I will primarily concern this blog with the work of others. Where my work is concerned I will discuss mostly my technique, my method and my thoughts regarding writing method in general.