Writer's Worries

What if I run out of ideas?

What if I finish this book and can't write another one?

What if this book doesn't sell?

What if it does sell and no one reads it?

What if they do read it and they don't like it?

What if I really suck at this and no one's telling me because they don't want to hurt my feelings?

Those thoughts really get under your skin sometimes, don't they?

That last one tends to sneak up on me late at night when I'm trying to go to sleep. It pops up and smacks me in the face with its worry stick.

I understand and have experienced most of these worries...

Well, except "What if I run out of ideas?"

I never understood that one.

I've got more ideas in my head than I know what to do with.

In fact, it's becoming sort of a problem.

I think I suffer from "Shiny New Idea Syndrome."

But I'm gonna talk more about SNIS in my new post.

For today, I'm gonna talk about how you fend off Writer's Worry.

First, I'd advise you to find some outside opinions. I know how touchy some of you writers can be about people stealing your work. You don't want to give it to someone you don't trust, but to get a truly honest opinion, nine times out of ten, your best bet would be a person that holds no loyalty to you. Quite a conundrum, huh?

Well, I'd suggest you seek out a crit group that's willing to help you out. They're usually pretty honest and trustworthy.

If you don't want to go through all that trouble, I'm more than willing to help out as well.

If you're worried about running out of ideas, try talking to a close friend/family member. I usually have trouble working ideas out for myself. I like to run them passed Travis first to see if they make sense.

If you're absolutely OUT of ideas, you probably need to do some experimenting. I've forgotten where I learned this technique, but I use it all the time. Take a piece of paper and draw three columns. Write five random words in each column and ask someone to pick a number between one and ten. Count through your words and cross them off as you reach that number. (Don't recount the ones you've crossed off.) Do that until you're down to three words. It doesn't matter if they don't have a damn thing to do with one another. String them together somehow and use that as the title. Write a story from that title.

It doesn't matter if it sounds ridiculous--just write.
In fact, I just did one and the titles I came up with were "Octane Cat Bombs" and "Year of Strawberry Darkness."

Use one of those if you want.

If you're worried no one will like your book, I'm gonna say that's silly. No matter what, there are people out there who will enjoy it. And, no matter what, there will be people out there who won't. No matter how much blood and sweat you shed, someone out there won't be pleased. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I'm afraid.

And let me be clear here. I'm not saying everyone that has something to say about your work is a hater and you should just dismiss them. That's probably the worst thing you can do. It's your job as a writer to distinguish between those that are trying to help and those that are trying to hate.

Ignore the haters and heed the advice of the helpers.

Writing is a tough business. Anyone who says it's not is a liar.

And sometimes, it's even tougher to have faith in yourself.

Well, let me tell you, I've seen some of the shittiest writers transform into literary gods with a little practice.

Never let anyone say you can't do it.

Never give up on yourself.

Never quit doing what you love.

Happy writing, lovelies.

Skye's Post

Picture (c) Morxia [2007] on deviantART
I would post a link to the original, but it seems (s)he's deactivated her/his account.

So, apparently, I'm supposed to do this little blog post thingy. Not too sure what I'm supposed to say, though. I've never done one of these things before. So, excuse me if I do it wrong or whatever.

I'm sure you usually read this blog looking for writing advice, but don't look for any of that from me. You could take what I know about writing and stick in a pen cap...and it would still rattle if you shook it. So yeah, I don't know too much about all that writing jazz.

So, I guess I should tell you a little about myself, huh? I'm Skye Hatton and I was a pretty normal seventeen-year-old for a while there. I've got an annoyingly adorable little brother named Ashton--he's five--and a few close friends.

Uhh...what the hell else am I supposed to say here? Jeez...I wish Kay'd given me a script for this stupid thing. I'm gonna waste a whole day coming up with something to say and it's gonna be all her fault.

Ugh. Anyway, I'm seventeen and up until a little while ago, I was living a fairly normal life with my brother and my granddad. My parents...aren't...around, but it's cool. I can take care of myself...and everyone else. But that's cool, too. I've got everything under control. Well...most of the time, anyway. Lately, things have been a little uh...hectic.

But I don't wanna talk about any of that junk here. It'd just bring the mood down, and no one wants that, right?

So uh...I've still got a bit of space to fill. Jeez, y'know what? I'm gonna kick Kay in the ass when I'm done with this. Really. She just pushes me to the keyboard and says, "Type," and expects me to do a little impromptu show for you guys. I'm not a dancing monkey, people. And I don't do well with improv.

Whatever--whatever. It's all good. I've got this. I'll tell you about this time Kelvin (that's one of those friends I mentioned, by the way) and I snuck into The Blues House (and that's the local venue) about a year ago. It was my sixteenth birthday and I wanted to hit up the venue and see a couple concerts. The only problem? Kelvin and I are always flat broke...or I am, anyway. Kelvin could've probably bummed some cash off his parents. But whatever, back on topic.

Kel and I were broke, but it was my birthday and I wanted to see a show. So I set up a babysitter for Ash and we drove out to The Blues House. After a little ol' fashioned investigating, we found out there was a window in one of the bathrooms. Why someone would put a window in a bathroom is totally beyond me. (Voyeurism, anyone?)

Anyway, after we found the window, all we had to do was convince someone to open it up for us. I skulked around out front for a little while before finally running into a familar face. Eric, my neighbor, was also cruising concerts that night. Buuuuuut...he was already shit faced from the party he'd just left.

Go freaking figure, huh?

I said something like, "Can you get us in? All you gotta do is open the bathroom window for us."

In usual sloppy-drunk Eric fashion, he sputtered this weird half-laugh half-hicup and said, "Sure t-think...thing...think...something. Haha. I ju...just gotta open a winda, right?"

I should have guessed right then this wasn't going to work, but I really, really wanted to see a show before going home. So I ran through the plan with him a few more times and sent my stumbling neighbor in to complete his mission.

I went back around to the back of the building to wait with Kelvin. It was dark and cold and smelled like hot ass wraped in wet dog. But we just stood there, shivering and breathing through our mouths. We stood...and stood...and stood. For nearly an hour and a half.

I finally got Eric on his cell phone and reminded him we were waiting at around eleven o'clock. When Kelvin and I got inside, we flew through the bathroom doors and shot out into the club, greeted by the musk of cigarettes and sweat. The band on stage was in the middle of an awesome song. We screamed and bounced and rocked out.

For a total of two minutes.

The set was over. The bands were done playing and the club was closing for the night. Just my luck, huh? It's my birthday and I spend all night hunched in a back ally waiting for my drunk ass of a neighbor to open a stupid window. Looking back on it, I can't help but laugh a little. If I'd been smart, I would've just bummed enough cash off the people out front to buy my way inside. Eh...

But I didn't go home completely empty-handed that night. Eric felt so bad for leaving us hanging outside, he called a friend of his--Cesar, I think--and told him to get his band together. They played a special show for the three of us. It was pretty great until Cesar's parents ran us off.

Yeah, it was a pretty interesting night. Oh...well, I gotta go make a snack for Ashton. Hope this was mildly entertaining for you guys.

Finding Your Voice Part Two

Last time, I discussed character voice. This time, I'm going to talk about finding your voice. That voice that is completely your own.

But how am I supposed to develop my voice?

Well, lovelies, it's actually not all that hard. You don't "develop" your voice--it's already in you. You've just got to bring it to the surface.

Bringing your voice to the surface of your writing may sound like a daunting task, but in reality, it's not that hard. It may actually be a little easier than finding your character voice.

Your voice comes from within you. It's in there right now, just waiting for you to dig your hands in and pull it out. But how are you supposed to do that?

Read, Read, Read...

You can't be a good writer if you're not a good reader. It's a fact. Sorry, lovelies, that's just the way the world works. Without a vast knowledge of what sells and what flops, what works and what doesn't, and what's been done to death, you'll fail.

While you're reading, keep an eye out for things that work for you. Things you want to borrow from.

Write, Write, Write....

Most of us fall into a little habit of writing what we're used to. Things that are safely snuggled inside our comfort zone. You've got to break out of that habit. Throw inhibitions to wind and write something new--something exciting. Something that makes your palms sweat and your mouth go dry.

Even If It's Horrible

You'll write a lot of things that aren't quite up to par while you're bringing your voice out. But that's okay. No story--not even if it's the worst thing you've ever sneezed out--is a wasted effort. Every little bit of practice counts. So, even if what you're typing out is complete shit, keep typing. No one ever has to see it.

Trance Out

Now, I'm not saying go out and pay someone to hypnotize you--no, I'm saying you should try writing some things just as you're waking up. Or, in my case, after you've been up for a while. I never thought I'd actually say this, but my insomnia actually comes in pretty handy with this one. After you've been up for a while and there's a nice layer of fuzz on your brain, you have a better chance of getting in touch with your subconscious voice.

Don't Touch That Book

In the midst of a writing spell, I find that it's best to avoid reading. I know, I know...I just said you should be reading as much as possible. But, hear me out. I've found that I borrow a little too much from other writer's if I'm reading a book and doing a lot of writing. For example, one of my favorite books of all time is Catcher in the Rye. While I was writing the first draft of LIGHTS OUT, I read Catcher in the Rye. The second bit of LIGHTS OUT--the bit that coincided with reading the book--read almost identical to JD Salinger's style. So, if you're writing like a (wo)man possessed, avoid reading, or you might end up borrowing a little too much from another author.

Don't Force It

One of the worst things you can do to your voice is practicing it. Your voice is a natural thing. I know this is a hard pill to swallow, but it's true. If you pick your voice apart, you're also tearing apart what it really is. Your voice should flow naturally from inside you.

But Don't Get Comfortable

Yeah, this seems a little confusing--since I just said don't practice--but listen up. When I say "don't practice," I don't mean don't practice your writing. You've GOT to do that. But you shouldn't have to practice and think about the words you're using.

Now, if you get comfortable, you get stuck in that rut I mentioned earlier. The one where you just write the same things over and over and over and over....

You don't want that.

Write What Scares You

If your palms are sweating and your heart is pounding, you're doing something right. I hear a lot of people say "write what your comfortable with," but I disagree. I think writing inside your comfort zone is boring. Do something that pushes you out of your box. It's that sort of stuff that incites a reaction in your reader.

Push The Envelope

Imagine your most uptight relative (in my case, it's my grandmother) is standing over your shoulder while you're writing. They're standing there with their arms crossed, insisting you write nice, clean, Disney-grade stuff. Now, shock them. Make their jaw drop. Break down those walls and push the envelope with your writing. For example, Steph wrote a lesbian romance. You don't see those too often. And I've really got to applaud her for that one. That's the stuff I'm talking about when I say "push the envelope."

Hope this was helpful! If you've got any questions or want to suggest a topic, leave a comment and I'll jump right on it!

Happy writing, lovelies!

(Oh, by the way, I've been considering starting a second blog dedicated to my life and things that amuse me. What do you guys think? Would you check it out?)