Practice Perfection

This post has two points to get across today. The first:

DON'T STOP WRITING!

Even if you hit a rough patch and nothing you scribble down makes sense and nothing you furiously type is any good never stop! You need the practice, even if it's going nowhere. Keep writing even if it's just little quotes or plot charts or a few lines that lead nowhere. Writing is like every sport in the world, you can't stop and hope to start again and carry all those skills and ideas you had a week ago.

The second point:


Always be prepared. My best ideas have come just as I was falling into sleep or settling in under the covers. At work I would print off receipt paper and scribble in sharpie when an idea hit. So always be prepared. In your purse (or pocket) or in your car keep a pad of paper and a pen or pencil. On your bedside table leave a journal and a pen and a booklight. Always be ready for an idea so fantastic you'll regret letting it go.

Kismet's Word Of The Day:

According to Dictionary.com

Expression: Feeling, spirit, character; The power of expressing in words

A Listed List of Lists

So, recently, I was working on a story. It just came to me in the middle of my shift at work. I printed off some receipt paper about six inches long and scribbled all over both sides before abandoning it to list some names. I asked those around me for names and I rattled my brain around to see if any loose names drifted out. I got lucky!

When writing a story lists are exceptionally helpful. Lists can be compiled for just about any need! Names, Book Title, Chapter Titles, etc. You can even list off the plot line in order or just make a list of significant events and reorder them later. Lists can also establish what kind of name or title you may be looking for. For example, at work, I was listing off elegant names for men. Names that were older. Names outside this category were too obviously unfit and I easily realized what I was looking for.

And, always, an outside person is a great resource. I asked a coworker for ideas, not necessarily to use her ideas, but to at least trigger some new ones of my own. People outside the story and the writing process will help you edit better and tell if the story flows or if that paragraph makes any sense. They can also judge your names or titles and help you, yet again, come up with new ones or just point you in the right direction.


Kismet's Word Of The Day:


Wane: to decrease, decline, or grow smaller