Writing – Page 11 – Andi Marquette

I’m processing, here…

Hi, kids!

Writers talk quite a bit about “process.” Basically, your process involves the methods you employ to churn out that book/story/script/whatever you’re working on. Every writer’s process is different, so don’t freak out if you find out some writer somewhere does something like makes painstakingly detailed outlines and character sketches and that’s not something you do so oh, my god, maybe you’re doing this writing all wrong and holy crap you’re going to start keeping SRSLY outta control detailed notes and organize them alphabetically/chronologically because YES that must be how it’s done. And so on and so forth.

Point being, that might not be what works for you, though I, too, have had those moments where I think that I must be doing this writing thing wrong, because I don’t do X, Y, or Z or I do something that some other writer doesn’t do. I learned, over time, this important statement:

Whatevs.

That is, you do what works for you. Process and work = two sides of the same coin.

With that in mind, I leave you with Joe Bunting, at The Write Practice, who has provided Jack Kerouac’s 31 Beliefs About Writing.

Happy travels!

April 15, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Inspiration, WritingTags: Jack Kerouac, Joe Bunting, writing craft

Driven to detraction

I was thinking today about how writing can be an exercise in beating your head against a wall sometimes. You think that you’ve come so far since your fledgling steps into the mysterious world of craft and wordage, and then you read something that completely blows your mind and you wonder why the heck you can’t write like that yet, though you’ve been doing all the things you need to do.

You attend workshops. Maybe you have a writers’ group. You’ve got a good editor who works with you and you send bits of your manuscripts to writers you suspect are better than you to provide feedback and guidance. You read writing guide books, you do exercises in infrastructure and narrative, you maybe see a sort of evolution in your own pages, you get all the feedback you can, you develop a self-editor, and you study structure.

And then you read something so mind-bogglingly lovely that it leaves you both wallowing in appreciation and feeling as if you just got kicked in the teeth.

A few months back I shared a bit of writing on a social media website that I thought was exquisitely rendered and I posted a comment about how I was going back to the drawing board, so that I could get better, and perhaps approach the level of writing that the piece I had shared demonstrated to me. Somebody else commented right after that in response to me (and I’m paraphrasing here) that no matter how hard I tried, I would never write the way the author of the piece I’d shared would, that I would basically never attain it.

That comment stuck first in my craw and then in the back of my mind. Writers are a sensitive lot, after all.

But I came to understand something in the wake of that comment. No, I will never write like the author of the piece I so admired, for the simple reason that I am someone else, with a different style and narrative voice. I can’t say whether I will attain the level of craftsmanship and wordsmithing that I thought this other author approached, because my view in this matter may be subjective, and some out there will most likely think this other author isn’t all that, anyway.

That’s the other thing I took away from that comment. Not everything I write will resonate with everyone (it obviously hasn’t with that commenter), but that’s okay. I’m not necessarily writing for everyone. I’m writing the stories in my head, as I see them, and I’m striving to tell them in the best possible way that I can, through the alchemy of craft and voice. I know craft can improve with practice and attention, and I know that in that journey, somewhere, is my writer’s voice. Where it takes me remains to be seen.

Happy Tuesday.

And for a supercalifragilistic blog on “voice” and finding it, click here.

April 10, 2012April 10, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Things that might make you think, WritingTags: writing, writing craft 5 Comments

Letters to friends

I was looking for something writer-ish, maybe a tip to share with all of you who are writing or want to write. But instead, I found these two amazing blog posts that I wanted to share instead.

The first is by Victoria Oldham, who blogs here. Vic generally gets me thinking when she posts, even if it’s something humorous. She has a lyrical writing style, whose cadences are reminiscent of poetry. This post is no exception. Here, she writes a letter to a young butch, and it’s about claiming space, living, nurturing your identity, and finding your armor.

Enjoy.

The second is by Jack Andrew Urquhart, a gentleman whose writing I just discovered today. He blogs here. In this, his short story “Letter to a Friend,” the main character (told in first-person POV) remembers a man with whom he fell in love, something that caught him completely off guard, as you’ll see. Urquhart has a hypnotic, gripping narrative style rich in imagery, sparse and clean in language, but deep in impact.

Enjoy.

Word therapy, for this Easter and Passover weekend.

Happy reading, happy writing.

April 6, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Cool blogs, Cool stuff to read, Inspiration, Short Stories, Super cool blogs, Things that make you think, WritingTags: Jack Andrew Urquhart, Victoria Oldham 1 Comment

Have an affair…with your muse

Hey, peeps–

I have a few things I do before I sit down and start writing. Not sure whether “ritual” is the right word, but it involves preparing my space, getting things in order, and creating a welcoming environment not only for me, but my muses. I was thinking about that and BAM came across this blog at The Write Practice about your relationship with your muse, and 7 reasons she might not be talking to you. Or, if your muse is male, why he isn’t talking to you. For ease, we’ll stick with a female muse.

Here are a few things that might make your muse cranky, according to the blog:

We refuse to work until she shows up.

We put demands on her, like a perfect first draft or we demand that she show up whenever we want her to, and we expect she’ll drop everything to accommodate us.

We dink around on other things on the computer or whatever during the time we’ve committed to her.

We don’t pay attention to her or note the ideas she gives us nor do we give her credit when we create something.

Basically, treat your muse the way you would treat someone special in your life. Why the heck would your muse want to hang out with you if you diss her and diss your writing by not making time or space for it?

The reality is, your muse is only as good as you make her feel. And if you don’t treat your writing like the gift it can be, you’re going to end up with a muse who doesn’t give a rat’s ass, either.

Think about that. If you create the time and space for your writing, and treat it as something more than just sitting around playing on the computer, you create the good ju-ju (for lack of something more scientific) for your creative process (note the number of times I used the word or root CREATE in that sentence).

So if you’re having a difficult time and the muse isn’t talking to you, maybe get her some metaphorical flowers and make a date night. And make that a habit. See if you don’t notice an improvement in your relationship.

Happy writing, happy reading!

March 28, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Inspiration, Things that might make you think, Writing, Writing tipsTags: Muses, writing tips 3 Comments

Characters and historical context

Hey, kids!

I heard a story on NPR on Saturday (yeah, I’m a geek. I listen to NPR on the weekends!) about the approaching “cashless society.” This dude tried an experiment, where he didn’t use cash for two months. He has a smart phone with the apps that allow you to purchase things with the codes, and he liked the ease of not carrying cash around, but some things, he noted, needed cash. For example, tipping. He ended up having to stiff people, and that really bothered him. And he also noted that some people still prefer the anonymity of cash when making purchases, and he acknowledged that with cash, there are no hidden fees. It is what it is.

The story got me thinking. I still carry cash for tips and small purchases, and “just in case.” I never travel without cash, and I never leave the house without at least a few bucks and some change. Call me weird. It’s how I grew up, and it’s a habit I’ve refused to break.

So what does this have to do with writing characters? Well, click on and find out!

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March 18, 2012June 17, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Books, History, Writing, Writing tipsTags: Katherine V. Forrest, Ngaio Marsh, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, technology, writing craft, writing tips 5 Comments

Writing Tips: the importance of craft

Hi, kids–

I have a spiel I use with new-ish authors with regard to the craft of writing. I tell them that there are certain rules that apply to writing. Rules of grammar, rules of spelling, rules of sentence structure, paragraph structure, story structure. Back in the day when public education was actually education all over the country, I learned all of these rules in both elementary school and high school. I diagrammed sentences out the ying-yang, and took courses in high school that delved into the origins and roots of words (in the English language).

These are things everybody should be learning at least in high school English.

Want more? Click on!

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March 13, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Inspiration, Things that make you think, Writing, Writing tipsTags: Novel Girl, writing craft, writing tips

Back Up: ergonomic inclinations for writers

Hi, kids–

As writers, we sit. A lot. At least, the vast majority of writers that I know do that. Their workspaces are generally chairs and desks or chairs and tables. Point being, the workspaces involve chairs. And keyboards. And holding our wrists in specific ways. And sitting.

source: Productive Writer (resized here)

However, I rarely hear my writerly colleagues talk about proper positioning at a workspace, or a chair that properly supports their backs, or a keyboard pad to help writers keep their forearms and wrists in good form. And that’s a shame, because sitting is one of the worst things that Americans do to their backs. And writers have to do that a lot.

Read on.

Continue reading →

March 7, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Writing, Writing tipsTags: ergonomics, writing 4 Comments

Do writers need an iPad?

Dude, like, I don’t know.

Many writers have them, and Chuck Wendig points out in this great blog how he views his — a tool. A penmonkey for the penmonkey, but he notes that it’s not going to replace his desktop as his primary writing tool.

I’m currently in the midst of a major tech upgrade. My desktop is going on 8 years, and that’s practically a geologic eon in PC terms. I’ve already decided to upgrade to a Mac desktop, because I still do the brunt of my writing on my desktop and my trusty MacBook. The latter is also in need of an upgrade. It’s about 7 years old and I’m still using Leopard OS, which makes it far less compatible with things like Firefox (which I prefer to Safari on the Mac, but that’s just me). I’ll be putting more memory on my laptop and upgrading the OS because it’s still a great tool and it still keeps on trucking.

And I recently succumbed to an iPad. I got it for a couple of reasons. My laptop is heavy, and when I travel, I can’t stand checking email on a phone-sized device. I also blog when I travel, and it’s a lot easier to do that on an iPad than on a phone. I do not consider an iPad a primary writing tool, though I see Wendig’s point in its usefulness as a supplement. It is kind of a cool research tool, and it is a fun entertainment device. In terms of stuffing it with apps, I’m just not really into that. I have a few — Pandora, Netflix, Kindle, and iPad books. I’ve installed Dropbox and also a fun little DJ app because that’s one of my OTHER hobbies. I do like being able to check email and blogs while traveling, and because it’s not nearly as heavy as my trusty laptop, it’s easy to travel with, even when I opt to bring the wireless keyboard. Typing on an iPad screen is a freaking joke for me. It’s a hunt-and-peck kind of situation, and I am a full-blown typist, which is why I opted for a wireless keyboard.

I have a feeling that in the near future, your tablets will have the capability to project a keyboard onto a tabletop, and I’m pretty stoked about that innovation. Here’s hoping it’s soon. In the meantime, I’m using the actual keyboard. Oh, wait. My bad. That projected keyboard is already hitting the market. Here. That technology, however, is going to get better.

So, do writers need an iPad? No. Nobody really NEEDS an iPad. The question is how it will supplement what you currently do, and whether it can make some of what you do easier or less time-consuming. Those are personal assessments, and I certainly didn’t run out and buy an iPad just because OMG new technology must have must have! It’s been a couple years since they’ve been on the market, and I’ve been assessing them during that time. Because I travel a lot, an iPad will help me keep in touch via email and give me the capability to blog without having to take my laptop along. It also takes pretty good pictures, but it’s an awkward device on which to do that. Sort of like holding up a baking tray to snap a photo. It’s a good device to communicate in real-time with people, given its screen/camera capabilities, but I don’t generally do a lot of that.

Will I write novels on it? I doubt it. I may be able to hammer out a short story, but there’s the issue of compatibility with my other machines and Word, which is my primary tool. I’ve tried others, but sadly, Word is still providing decent compatibility between Mac and PC, and that’s useful because so many people are on PC. I know some writers email files to themselves via their iPads and then open them and format them on their laptops/desktops, but isn’t the point of the iPad to make your life easier? Hopefully Apple (or somebody) will develop a better writing app for the iPad that will interface more smoothly with laptops/desktops.

Ultimately, what you use with regard to tech is a function of how you operate. I don’t honestly think writers NEED iPads as primary writing tools. I don’t view mine as that. As a supplement, sure. As an entertainment device, sure. Some professions (like medical and law enforcement, e.g.) find tablets really useful in terms of cutting time and using data. But in terms of what I do, no, an iPad does not cut my time with regard to writing or editing. It does provide some useful tools — as a writer, I use email and social networking quite a bit, so when I travel, the iPad will be handy for that. Otherwise, my laptop and desktop remain my primary writing tools.

Not to suggest that won’t change in the future. But for the moment, that’s how it is. Oh, and for the record, I do not own a smartphone. 😀

Anyway, happy reading, happy writing, happy tablet-ing!

February 24, 2012 by Andi Marquette Categories: Technology, WritingTags: iPad, technology, writing 7 Comments

New longish short story

Hi, all —

I decided to write up a Valentine’s Day longish short story (meaning it’s about 9300 words) just cuz. I was feeling the urge. I don’t often do romances (though there are romantic subplots in my novels), but every once in a while, I just do.

So here. Go get all sappy or something. 😀

Happy belated Valentine’s Day, and happy weekend!