Different characters, different voices
Posted on September 5, 2010
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Reading back through my novel while doing a high level revision (making sure plot and story are consistant) I noticed most of my characters have the same voice in most places (sound like they are the same person), but not every where….. no consistency.
What the hell is going on?
Now I understand that writing different Characters is like haveing muliple personality disorder (At least for me). And to really get in the mind of each character I have to put on that character or visualize the character and situation.
Why are they not consistent?
What changed while I was writing?
Different moods? Possibly.
Different settings? No
Hungry? Possibly
Ill? No
Then what? I decided to take some time and try and fix the characters voices. I reread the previous writing to try and get into the scene. I visualize the scene as it unfolds and put on the character and feel their emotions.
Great!
Not to hard. I quickly fix the problem areas. Back to the regularly scheduled work.
I go back to where I previously left off and start checking for consistency.
Damn it!
The characters are to upbeat for the scene. Before they were graver, more nervous. Now they differ from one another but more upbeat then they were before. I lost the mood the situation required.
Why? What changed?
Not the scene, my attitude for the scene was the same. I understood what was needed but I missed it. Damn!
I hate this song. Time to change it to something else.. I need a break anyway. I got up to switch to the next song in my play list.
My play list!!!! Shit! Shit! Shit!
Could it be that easy? No, it only provides the background beat to keep things moving along at a good pace. Right?
Or is it?
I decide to look back through the songs I was listening to and sure enough they all up beat…..
No way!
Experiment time! I love doing this!
I created another play list, a darker one. A little NIN and the like.
I let this play for a while, then back to work.
As I go through the dialog again I can easily see and correct the tone of the conversations.
Rereading again and it flows better. Still a few things need to be touched up. All in all, a huge improvement.
Music to set the mood! Who would have thunk it!
Sometime I am amazed at how dense I can be! Basic psychology 101.
Next, lets see if I can use different music to make villains more villainous or the hero more heroic.
A different subject for another day.
Writing to the beat
Posted on August 19, 2010
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Ever have one of those days when you seem to write and write and write? And when you get done you only have a few pages. I have and I found a solution.
For me, and hopefully this works for you to, I crank on some tunes. I like 80′s punk/new wave or just about any 80′s music. It doesn’t have to have a fast beat, but it does help.
I have heard other writes, like Stephen King (Likes hard rock ~ AC-CD) also write with the tunes cranked.
I have also noticed I get into a different mindset with different types of music. I wonder if different playlists, for different characters, would accentuate their different personalities. I will have to research this a bit more.
I have even got an idea while listening to a song. It was a song I use to listen to back in the 80′s but for some reason I got the words wrong. I was laughing at myself and glad no one was around to hear me mess up the song. Then it hit me. The words I messed up sounded like something from a spy novel or thriller. After musing about this for a while I had to jot down the thoughts and throw them in the jar.
Think music doesn’t affect you? Research how stores play different music at different times during the day to create a different atmosphere for customers. Slow music during the slower parts of the day to keep people shopping longer and faster music during the busy times to move people through the store faster. Faster turn over = more money
Writing on the go
Posted on June 22, 2010
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I was talking with a friend, Mike, about MS Office. Mike was asking me if I was going to upgrade to the newest version 2010.
I had to laugh, I haven’t used Office in a few years. I explained to Mike I now use Open Office (OO) from http://www.openoffice.org. The main reason I switched was because I can get OO free and there is also OO potable from http://portableapps.com/.
I started using OO at work, as part of a comparison of the existing office programs (We stayed with MS Office at work). I really liked OO and still have it installed on my work computer. When it came time to purchase a new home computers and laptops for the kids, instead of shelling out extra money for Word, I installed Open Office. I also use OO on my Macbook Pro. Since I run OO on both our home PC and my Macbook I can write on either one, depending on my mood.
Now, I know your wondering what this has to do with the title ‘Writing on the go’. The ‘go’ part is the portable office. I installed OO portable on a thumb drive (I carry mine with me everywhere. much smaller than a notebook) and I can take my writing and office suite with me every where I ‘go’. I don’t even have to install anything on the local machine I am using it on, it is all self contained in my thumb drive.
So you’re thinking. “So what. I just take my laptop with me for that.”
Well, if your at work, library, in-laws or anywhere for that matter, you stick in your thumb drive and your set. I’m not advocating writing at work or anywhere else you shouldn’t be, but there are times you get an idea and don’t want to loose it.
Another thing to think about! Keeping your writing on a thumb drive as well as your main PC for back up. If one of them crashes you will only loose the things you have added since the last time you synced your files. I sync mine up every day or two, more often if I am writing a lot.
What do I mean by sync my files?
When I write, I name the files by the project and the date. Example: BloodRage-6-22.odt (Shameless self promotion or the current book I am writing). I do this for a couple of reasons:
1. I can copy the new files to a different computer or thumb drive with out over writing any existing files (Sync)
2. If I keep everything in one file and I loose it or it becomes corrupt, it could be disastrous
3. Everything I add or every thing I delete is saved in a previous file. Delete some thing then later think “Oh Crap” that would have worked great after all. No problem, just go back to the file with the material, coy and paste into the field I am currently working on and I am off again!
4. another good reason: copy right – I can prove I wrote the novel, article or short.
Back from Dallas and itching to write
Posted on May 26, 2010
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The Typo3 conference was fantastic!
I learned so much, it will take me a while to process it all. I take great notes and all the slides from the talks are posted online, in case I don’t remember something. I would like to thank all the presenters, Irving Bible Church, Jeff Segers and Ron Hall for putting on such an amazing conference.
The whole time I was in Dallas I had the strongest urge to write on my novel. I didn’t have much time, so I had to settle for small edits. It did give me time to think about where I want this project to go.
Since I have been back, I have finally set the number of books (four) for this series and created a general outline.
Having the number of books set, I can now focus on writing them.
The general outline can and will expand as I write. So far it is only a few pages, but I expect it to grow to over thirty pages. This will give me a chance to lay out all the scenes and characters. Just writing out the brief outline solidified some of the scene and how they will flow together. I am very excited!!!
Conference in Dallas, TX
Posted on May 19, 2010
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I got into Dallas for a Typo3 conference on Tuesday, If you don’t know what Typo3 is don’t worry. Typo3 is a content management system (CMS) It is used to maintain websites. Typo3 offers the users a nice interface to update their information themselves. What does this me to you?
You can make all changes, update information, add pictures, podcasts, videos…… It will save you money doing the updates or additions your self. Everything I am and have read for a long time now, tells us that writers are now responsible for their own marketing. We need to set up a “platform”. This includes things like web sites, blogs, social media accounts. Anything and everything to get the word out about your book or stories.
That is why I am here in Dallas. I not only write, I also create and host web sites, blogs. For me this is a good combination. I get to create on multiple levels. So, I am here learning more about Typo3 so I can have the best web presence I can, the best writing Platform.
Ideas in a jar
Posted on May 16, 2010
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Margret, one of the ladies at the writing group, asked us what we do when we have an idea, something we might like to write about. Some of the people responded with writing the ideas in a note book or just remembering them(this is what I do, and of course, I for get most of them).
Margret shared with us a unique way of capturing idea. She told us she writes her ideas on slips of paper. Then she puts the slip of paper in a jar. Her ‘idea jar’. If she is out of ideas or needs some inspiration, she opens the jar takes a few out a few slips of paper and selects one to write about. She keeps pulling ideas out of the jar until she finds the right one. She said reading the slips of paper will also lead her to new idea.
What a great idea!
I may have to start carrying a small notebook to write ideas in and start my own idea jar.
Thank you Margret!!
Writing Group II
Posted on May 15, 2010
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An unexpected benefit of having attended the writing group. I have been itching to write. One of the ladies at the group said she hoped attending the group would give her some inspiration to start writing again. She said that she was in a lull and had been for a while.
I didn’t think about her comment at the time. I write when the mood strikes me or when I have an idea. But after the group, I have been filling all my spare moments writing. If this is one of the normal ‘side affects’ of attending a writing group, I will be a regular attendee.
Writing Group
Posted on May 13, 2010
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I went to my first writing group at the local library on Tuesday. I found out about the group when my daughter was dropping off some books at the library a couple of weeks before. I stopped in to say hi and find out a little bit about it and them. The group, on that day, consisted of three people, one of which was a library employee. They all seemed nice and I figured I would give it a go. I grabbed one of the writing assignments ‘What is the biggest lie you have ever told’.
I took the post-it note and put it in my wallet, so I wouldn’t forget it. So, of course I did.
I remembered the assignment Tuesday afternoon, the day of the meeting. I wasn’t to worried. I figured I would write about something that happened as a child. I wrote the assignment, but didn’t have time to do any revisions. First draft…. Yuck!
I showed up for group and to my surprise there were close to twelve people. Now I was a bit nervous. If I had know there would be more than the three people I would have been more diligent and made the time to write more than a first draft.
As we went around the group and everyone introduced themselves. I got even more nervous. Some of the people had written several novels. I thought I was way over my head and my first draft wasn’t going to be adequate at all.
The floor was then open for someone to read their assignment or anything they were working on. The only other male in the room started out. he had written several novels and read from one of the chapter of one that he was revising. I was impressed. He writes very well. I did notice that he repeated some words to much. I guess I noticed this because it is on of my the issues I need to resolve myself.
After he finished reading the leader of the group and many others, myself included offered him praise. The leader then asked him what type of he wanted. He wanted anything we could get. One of the ladies that had been at the group when I had stopped in before started off. She offered him ideas how he could better structure some sentences and pointed out his incorrect usage of verb tenses. a few others offers some ideas as well. I reluctantly offered the over usage of certain words. I felt bad for pointing out anything. I felt I didn’t have any right to offer any criticism.
He took all the criticism and made notes of each. He didn’t get mad. In fact he was appreciative of the comments from everyone. then one of the ladies read a poem. It wasn’t bad. I am not to much into poetry but hers was nice. She too accepted the criticism form everyone, also accepted praise and criticism with out getting mad. I didn’t offer any, Like I said I don’t like poetry to much and wouldn’t know where to start.
Then it was my turn. I didn’t want to read my own work so one of the ladies read it for me. I wanted to hear it like others heard it. It was bad. Not horrible but definitely not anywhere close to my best. they asked what I wanted and I told them to rip it apart. I explained it was a first draft but anything useful would be appreciated. I receives some good comments as to the visualization and other things. I also received criticism on verb tense and over using certain words (this one I already knew. I usually get rid of these in my second or third draft). I wasn’t mad at the comments. I was worried I would take it person but I didn’t. It was actually very constructive.
My over all assessment of this writing group: It was very useful and fun. I will be going back. This time I think I will be bringing a chapter of the book I am working on. Not sure if I will take an part I am having problems with or one that I think is very good. All in all it was well worth the time and I would encourage any new writer to check one out. I found mine at the local library here in Helena MT. The Lewis and Clark County Library.
Oh I didn’t mention the two women that read after me. Both were amazing. One was writing about her family and growing up in Montana. The other had written a Sfi-Fi novel, actually three, a trilogy. She was condensing them in to a single novel. All I can say is WOW.
Posting from a Droid
Posted on May 12, 2010
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Trying out a plug in for my Droid. It allows me to manage this site from my phone. …. pretty cool!
Just getting started!
Posted on May 7, 2010
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Wow! It seems like forever since I lasted posted anything on a blog. Well, here we go. A new blog about me, my writing and what is going on in my life… Hope you like it…… Hope you read it. heh