Hey crew, I'm still working on Mike's Book.
This latest section talked about knowing what you like, and what you want to write. Then also how important it is to read other successful books in the genre that you want to play with and be a part of. In business it would be "knowing your market."
The analytical process of understanding, why we like the books we like, the methods employed by the authors to draw us in and invest us in a character or situation, methods where we are shown and not told. The tool that an author makes the best use of comes from reading what is already in circulation, and no that isn't pithy.
My number one complaint is the decisive lack of new authors in my favorite genre, oh I'm sure that they are out there, but I like thick books and sagas, I'm particularly fond of well researched historical fiction, alternate universe fiction, high fantasy, mysteries/suspense/thrillers, and romance stories that fall into a series historical or modern as long as they follow a family or group of friends, and yes I even love YA Fiction, I'm an escapist.
Being an escapist means that I am always reading something. Mike says that I should take the queues and analyze why and how the author succeeded in wrapping me in knots so that I can apply them to my own writing.
Funny, when I was in school I never thought of Book Reports as a way to improve my writing, but it is a thing. So get a composition notebook ready for when you do your reading.
Title:
Author:
Pages:
Main Character:
What I Liked:
Why:
What I didn't like:
Why:
Its funny how blank your mind goes when you are forced to answer questions. Then after a few books are recorded, review your notes and try to incorporate your likes into a story, try building suspense using these techniques.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Saturday, August 12, 2017
Homework: Why?
Mike's book is finally setting the scene. And I think that I will use a small journal to record things in if his first exercise is any indication, as I have played with the idea of creating an Inspiration Book I may as well start.
Chapter One begins with the Blank page dilemma. before digressing a bit into its subject, he talks about writing with no care for your grammar, passive voice or redundant words. Save that for the Edit phase, the rough draft is all about getting words on paper. Which we have all been told to do since the first time we were ever asked to write a story at school.
He begins with his first exercise:
So in my Journal I am going to pull out all the stops, all the stuff I keep at hand to motivate me in writing, I have a small hard bound sketchbook that is perfect for this. I'll take out my dip pen set, my water color pencils, and do it right.
"First I write for myself, to quiet the chaos of my mind, then I write to create, to be the creatrix of worlds and lore, to honor scribes of the past and to inspire those who might take on the Craft in the future. I write to share these unknown worlds with people, to teach and to grow. What is more I write so that I may be inspired by the world in which I live."
That is of course the rough version, I'll pretty it up and maybe turn it into a poem then put it in my sketch book with some little illumination style embellishments, I'm a terrible artist so it will be simple.
Chapter One begins with the Blank page dilemma. before digressing a bit into its subject, he talks about writing with no care for your grammar, passive voice or redundant words. Save that for the Edit phase, the rough draft is all about getting words on paper. Which we have all been told to do since the first time we were ever asked to write a story at school.
He begins with his first exercise:
So in my Journal I am going to pull out all the stops, all the stuff I keep at hand to motivate me in writing, I have a small hard bound sketchbook that is perfect for this. I'll take out my dip pen set, my water color pencils, and do it right.
"First I write for myself, to quiet the chaos of my mind, then I write to create, to be the creatrix of worlds and lore, to honor scribes of the past and to inspire those who might take on the Craft in the future. I write to share these unknown worlds with people, to teach and to grow. What is more I write so that I may be inspired by the world in which I live."
That is of course the rough version, I'll pretty it up and maybe turn it into a poem then put it in my sketch book with some little illumination style embellishments, I'm a terrible artist so it will be simple.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
My Homework
I got the book "Writing advice for Teens: Creating Stories" by Mike Kalmbach on Kindle unlimited, and I started to read, the first few pages were a sort of "about the author" and a cheer-leading section "ignore what others say you can do it!" He uses more cheer-leading to express the importance of not forgoing college, he even made some suggestions on courses that could further ones writing.
Well, not very exciting to me. And everything that I expect in a book on writing. Absolutely no hook on that line. But then, I'm judgy and I haven't gotten to the meat and potatoes yet. As far as academic writing is concerned, for me this is no great surprise.
Chapter One starts and the line Mike has dropped is finally set with a hook.
Getting Started: General advice for any beginning writer. Methods for helping you start writing like a professional.
Strategies for generating ideas: How to overcome the sometimes-daunting blank page. Learn how to create story ideas from scratch.
Story Construction: Basic story structure to help you frame ideas and develop an outline.
Typical writing problems: Showcases common writing problems and how to recognize and resolve them.
FAQs.
Well, not very exciting to me. And everything that I expect in a book on writing. Absolutely no hook on that line. But then, I'm judgy and I haven't gotten to the meat and potatoes yet. As far as academic writing is concerned, for me this is no great surprise.
Chapter One starts and the line Mike has dropped is finally set with a hook.
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