Fiction Scribe

Now what? Well, first I’m going to put a little disclaimer. Some of what I write about could be applied to writing in general, but if it has applied to me in my life as a fiction writer, then it’s free game, in my opinion. Yay!

Moving on to the actual post.

So now what? Moving even further back than the frist impression and even the first word, there are a couple things that can throw a writer off and they don’t even realize it. I’d like to make this post a shorter one just to ask: What are you writing on?

This won’t apply to writers who do most, if not all of their writing on a computer, but if you’re like me, you do a lot of things longhand. Even if you do most of your work on a computer, when inspiration strikes you in the cafe or the mall, what are you writing on?

Growing up as a writer, I was constantly getting all manner of notebooks and journals. Over time, I noticed that the fancier journals were more and more left to gather dust. Noticing the neglect, I’d try to sit down and write in them, but I’d never get very far. I’d start frowning over my handwriting or the fact I had to use a different color ink than the previous page because I couldn’t find my pens. (Don’t you hate that?)

Do you know why it’s a good thing to just grab a napkin and jot down some notes? Because there’s no pressure! A napkin is (usually) not some beautiful thing you subconsciously or consciously feel the need to write beautiful things on. People throw napkins away, so if you come back to your note-covered napkin and decide you don’t like the ideas, you just throw it away. No muss, no fuss. That is the trap some long-hand writers get sucked into, cursing them before they even start.

As Aaron said in his comment on the previous post, it’s most writers’ goal to write “that” novel. The next big thing, as it were. The thing is you’re not going to get near that - unless you have an immense amount of talent and can pretty much hit everything on first draft - if you feel you need to “write pretty” in whatever medium you’re using.

So avoid the temptation to sit down with a brand new five-subject notebook with rubber-band holder to keep it closed and new pen with three different colors of ink in it with a charm attached. (Has anyone else seen those “charm pens”? Weird.) Write with the pen(s)/pencil(s) you always write with and do it in the ten cent notebook you found threatening to turn to dust in your bottom dresser drawer.

Writing shouldn’t be about pressure; writing should be about having fun and exploring. I find it much easier to explore in my Spiderman notebook and the occasional sushi napkin than anywhere else.

I’ve had quite a few blogs and written plenty of stories in my time, and one thing remains constant: the first words are almost always the hardest. Whether you are facing a blank post box, a blank screen, or a blank piece of paper, coming up with those first words tends to be a struggle.

I don’t know a writer who hasn’t sat down, stared for a bit, and then asked, “Where do I begin?” The perk of being a writer is you can begin wherever you want - beginning, middle, or end - as long as you make a good first impression. Otherwise known to writers as “the hook.”

With the rising popularity of speed dating and the now 40 seconds you have to make a first impression with someone face-to-face (I say about 20 seconds), finally the world is getting a taste of what writers have had to face for ages. The hook can make or break a story, and it can serve to either intrigue the reader or bore them senseless.

While few have perfected the art of a good hook, me not being among them, I hope this serves as a good hook for you to come back and read my future posts. I’m hoping to post in the order similar to how I learned about fiction writing, which is still an adventure I am exploring. I hope to create a guide for the new and perhaps a little reminder of where you’ve come from for veteran writers.

Cheers, mates.

PS. As with any of my blogs, if you want me to take a look at anything relating to what I’m blogging about, just point me in that direction, and I’ll be more than happy to give my two cents.