Insanity Stories

I've been writing consistently since I was fourteen. I am now twenty six, and through my years of writing short stories and novels, I have learned a few things. I don't consider myself an expert in any way, but you don't do something for twelve years without learning some things. One of these wonderful bits of insight is that writers are insane.

How so? You're really asking me how so? If you're a writer, you should already know how insane we are, but I'll humor you and fill you in on this little secret.

Most writers are naturally creative people, and many writers have different ways of working out their ideas. Some people outline obsessively. I'm talking about every single detail of their story, it's outlined in some way. Other people talk out the ideas that they have in their heads to work everything into a coherent thought. This is often done out loud with a lot of pacing involved (I'm in this group of writers). Some writers stare at the blank page for hours waiting for something to happen, this either leads to brilliant stories...or a headache and a glass of red wine. Some just write until something good flows out, then they sift through the mud looking for the diamond that they know is there. There are about a million other ticks that writers have, but you get the picture, so I'll leave it at that.

Does any of that sound sane to you? Over and over again doing the same thing? Keep on writing, and talking, and brainstorming until you finally have something to put down on paper? No! It's insane. However, what comes out of all the insanity, obsessing, and quirks is a story, and a story is about as normal as normal can be. People have been telling stories since the dawn of time...well, maybe not the first people, not much to tell....

First man: “So yesterday I realized I existed.”

Second man: “...and?”
First man: “That's it.”
Second man: “Lame story, dude!”
First man: “Lame what now?”

Stories have always been around in some form or fashion. One of the most important bits of advice I can offer people who tell me they want to write a book is this: Tell a story. It doesn't have to be an epic tome of grandeur, but make sure there's a story to follow. Reach into the insanity that is the creative mind and pluck out a beginning, a middle, and an end, then craft them into a good plot. Look for some interesting characters or creatures. Create a world to set it in, whether it's downtown New York, an alien planet, London in 1743, or a Middle Earth knockoff. Next, let your plot, characters, and world drive the story. Let go, and let the insanity take over. Write!

If you have a bunch of creative characters in a fascinating world, but no story, then your writing is going to be dull and boring. No one will want to read it because nothing is happening. The most interesting man in the world is still a boring person unless he's doing something, or something is happening to him. Something needs to happen and the characters need to engage in the world that they live to experience the story they are in.

A story is more than words on a page or screen. A story is an experience. Readers need to walk with you as you show the events that take place. They need to see it, feel it, smell it, taste it, and touch it. They need to bond with it, and feel like they're going to walk away with something when they reach the last page.

To you, the writer, it's insanity, especially the creating and writing part, but to the reader, it needs to be a story. Through the insanity, the story comes out. And let's face it, the love of stories is why we enjoy writing in the first place.

Andrew Ronzino

2012 welcomes new Write On friends

The year has barely snaked into our lives and we had our first little get together with new members invited.  It was a great meeting and having new blood makes for a new and interesting set of stranger friends.  The December 2011 challenge for current members was to write a letter to the new members letting them know why they joined our group and what it's meant to them.  Here is mine:

Dear 2012 Write On Newbies:

Being one of the co-creator’s of Write On, I helped start the group when the realization that my Nanowrimo socializing was going to end with the ending of November.   In good ole fashion conspiracy style, Liz and I conjured up a list of people who brightened our days with their wit and conversation.  I really wanted to keep laughing with a bunch of nerdy weirdos like myself.  My ulterior motive was to keep up the idea of Nanowrimo, you know, the idea of writing.  I planned to use these social gatherings as a way of keeping me going with writing and forcing me to be faithful to my hobby. 

What I got out of the group in the last year is first and foremost a bunch of nerdy weirdo friends who make me laugh till I have an asthma attack.  No lie.  Everyone in this group is unique and interesting and I have gotten to know some great people.  We only meet once a month and that’s about the only time we talk, but I can see why this silly group is a group of writers.  There is some real creativity in those noggins.  This group has also helped fuel my own creativity.  Admittedly, we have been terrible about that whole writing part but the fun we have has more than made up for it.

I’m very excited to include our newest members to the house of Write On.  All my jokes will be new to someone, all our stories will be new to someone, and maybe we’ll behave long enough to write for at least fifteen minutes.  I welcome you newbies and can’t wait to call you veterans of our group.  I hope Write On continues to write and laugh on and on for years to come.

Jennifer  

Stop the Obsession

Nanowrimo has begun.  We’re ending day two here, and I have 165 words accomplished.  Really, really bad start.  Now I’ll give myself a couple of excuses of other commitments already in place that I couldn’t, shouldn’t, or wouldn’t give up.  There was also all the fun I was having in the writing chat room when I could actually get in.  All excuses, some of them not excusable, but I’ll accept my fate on those.  After writing some of those 165 words, I discovered another flaw that’s kept me from getting any further.  My obsessing over what I already wrote.  It’s less than 200 words, and I can’t stop rereading and analyzing the words!  Gah!  No wonder I can’t move on.  I’ve forgotten some of the push on rules.  Last year, I utilized the rule not to reread during the month of November, not to correct things you know are wrong, and to just keep moving forward with speed over quality.  This is opposite of my normal writing procedure, but might be another key factor in winning that I didn’t realize until I found my old patterns creeping back up at the wrong time.  I have to relearn and reapply those important Nanowrimo rules.

Of course this is a guideline, not a rule.  A recommendation by those who have made the 50K accomplishment.  I am definitely an edit as I go along writer.  I actually feel confused at the idea of one day finishing a novel that I feel worthy of editing and trying to go back and edit it.  I feel like I don’t even understand the concept.  Pretty sure I was taught that in school.  Kinda remember the drafts, but I’ve been doing it so differently in the past countless years that it’s going to take time.  The important thing I need to keep in mind here, and maybe you too, is to forget editing at this time of Nano need.  Just keep pushing forward.  Stare at the horror later…when your stomach is off the speed train and can ride the love/hate coaster.

So first, I need to hit 50K before the end of November.  Second I need to finish a novel…beginning to end, even if it’s well beyond 50K.  Third, I have to determine if it’s worthy of editing.  Then I have to edit and/or get up the nerve to show someone.  I have novels in mind, novels that are “THEE” story, the one you are so in love with that you want everything to be perfect.  They aren’t written yet.  I still have a long way to go and a lot of love for those ideas that I don’t want to destroy them too quickly.  Let’s finish these goals first.  Last year I did 50K, but the story was far from finish, and I dropped it.  This year let’s hope I can kill two birds (or a lot of characters as we like to relate things in our world) with one stone and go 50K and beyond.  Yeesh…what a goal for someone already so far behind.

Jennifer

Oh, I seriously need a P.S. cause this is crazy.  I’m so particular with my story but an email or forum post or let’s say…blog post, get’s little to no editing treatment.  I have things really screwed up in my head.

Why NaNoWriMo matters to me.

For the past few weeks I have felt the need to justify my excitement about NaNoWriMo this year.  Part of this is due to the recruiting I have tried to do and part is because I recently thought about how different my life is this year compared to last year.  Those of you who know me will acknowledge that I can be a ball of complete eagerness pretty frequently, but in this case I have legitimate, heartfelt reasons why participating in NaNo is important to me.  So  I decided to make a list of why this November shindig matters.  And since it is my turn to blog, you get to read it.  Aren’t you lucky??

1)      The people.  Seriously, you are all amazing.  I have made some of the coolest friends ever through this whole shenanigan and cannot believe that a year ago at this time I did not know any of you at all.  It’s scary, in a way, to think that getting involved brought me such strong friendships with people I most likely would have never met.  Along with that is the community we have created- I know for a fact that those of us who were involved last year intend to draw others in this year.  Hopefully that will grow each year until we are an unstoppable Army of Awesomeness.

2)      The ability to be bad at something.  I am, admittedly, not a detail oriented person.  At.  All.  Not even a little.  Things that some people do out of habit take me a long time since I have to direct all my spastic energy towards them.  NaNo allows you to write without worrying about detail.  You have this opportunity to be creative with no limits.  This is your excuse to be whatever you can be for the sake of art and creative expression.  It’s like on “The Magic Schoolbus,” when Miss Frizzle always says “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”  THAT is what NaNoWriMo is about.  We have to make mistakes before we can turn them in to something really magical.

3)      The chance to do something amazing.  How many people can say they wrote a novel?  Granted you may not admit that the novel was something you flew through in a caffeine induced state after getting less than 2 hours of sleep each night, but still.  It’s bragging rights and the opportunity to accomplish something that many people say they want to do but never take a chance on.  I know that writing is not for everyone, but some people get that flicker in their eyes when you talk about finishing your first novel or starting on a new story.  Those are the people that need NaNo so they can see just how attainable this goal truly is.

4)      A way out.  Everyone needs some kind of creative release or stress relief.  Many of us choose to lose ourselves in a good book, but there is something even more awesome about getting lost in a world you are creating.  It’s an escape that involves no money, risk, or danger (though murdering your characters does tap in to those sadistic urges so you should be careful.)  NaNo brought me to a place where I was able to get out of my own way and just enjoy creating.

5) Pure Enjoyment.  Think about the last time you honestly enjoyed writing something.  Maybe it was an email to a person you could not wait to type.  Maybe you got to write a note to a friend after they did something kind for you.  Maybe it was a post-it note with "I love you" scrawled in ink that was tucked  in to your child's lunch box or husband's coat pocket.  What makes NaNo so much more enjoyable is that you not only have your own happiness in working through a project but you get to live vicariously through other people’s enjoyment.  Last year I had more fun rooting for others as they finished than I did completing my own novel.  The heart and energy that goes into this project inspires me to continue to grow.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go to nanowrimo.org and sign up.  Try it out.  Get involved.  What can you lose?  Some time, possibly a little sanity, and a few bucks between Starbucks write-ins and donations to the local region... but you will gain so much more in personal satisfaction.

-Liz

I have no idea how important this post will be later…

Let’s face it, I don’t have the worst commute in the world. Four miles across town isn’t anything to complain about. And yet, with each passing day, traffic around here seems more and more like it has been specifically choreographed to annoy me in the most precise manner possible, like a laser-guided headache narrowing in on the very behavior that drives me up the wall.

So to distract myself from being annoyed on the road, I recently found myself thinking about things that annoy me about reading books. (No, there’s no reason you should expect to understand the jump. Welcome to my brain.) I’d wager that anybody who has written a fair amount, and probably lots of people who haven’t, start picking up on certain things that authors do that, for no obvious reason, grate at them every time. I’m not talking about occasionally mixing up “its” and “it’s” or “your” and “you’re” or something. That doesn’t happen very often in published books anyway, being more of an online or magazine/newspaper problem. Grating and annoying, of course, but I’m talking more about things people do with their actual writing.

In the book I’m currently reading, the author plays the same general trick on a couple of different occasions. (I won’t name names; it’s not important, and there’s no reason to dis on what might be someone else’s favorite book.) You can generalize all of them as the “they had no idea yet but…” line.

I’m sure you’ve seen it before. Things are okay, there have been a few pages of exposition or maybe the team has just pulled off their mission and are heading out, hanging up the phone, walking out the door, or otherwise doing something perfectly normal and uneventful. And that step forward probably saved his life. Cue the explosion, gunshot, car crash, or blast of magic. (Followed, at least half the time, by the end of the chapter.)

Not a big deal, right? Actually, no, in this example it really isn’t a big deal. It may be even less of a deal when you consider this particular book is written in the first person. I’ve only done shorter bits of first-person writing, and so I don’t have enough experience to say, but it seems reasonable to think of such things as being a natural part of the narrative style.

But where it starts bugging me is when it happens over and over again. I don’t impose any hard and fast rules as to how many times any given writing trick or plot accelerator can be used, beyond which they’re all bad. Instead I have a simple “noticification threshold” which says, basically, that if I start to notice it, it’s too much. As soon as I think to myself, “oh, he/she did it again,” then that becomes one time too many. It knocks me right out of the story.

Now, for the record, I like this book. Clearly, occasional random things like this don’t permanently ruin the story for me. It’s more like a record skipping (everybody knows what that is, right?) during a good piece of music; it jars you out of the experience for a second, but then you’re back in to it again and all is well.

Maybe that means that whatever these things are (Writing tricks? Shortcuts? Normal things no one else ever notices but I do because I’m a fiendishly hyperobservant read-o-tron?) they don’t detract from a well written, enjoyable story. I can believe that. For example, compare this book series to another popular (I assume?) fantasy series from a few years back, in which the author repeatedly used the same kind of things (“She had no idea how important that would come to be later on.”) over and over and over and over again. (It seemed.) I didn’t much care for that story at all, and as it went on I groaned every time I kept seeing the same basic phrases. (“If he had only known how much he’d pay for that later, he would have never agreed.” Stuff like that. Over. And over. And over again.) In that case, it was a story I had long since stopped being crazy about in the first place, and so each and every instance of that stuck out like a sore thumb. Now it’s one of the key things I remember about those books. Not, I think, something that an author sets out to be remembered for.

My single strongest memory of another book is of its hilarious inaccuracies. In this case, the book claimed to be in the hard SF genre, which I had been trying to venture in to for the first time by choosing a few well reviewed samples of then-recent novels. Maybe most of the biotech topics it covered were portrayed accurately; I don’t have the knowledge to judge. But when the author (through one character’s dialogue) gives such laughingly wrong descriptions of how computers store numbers, well, I really can’t summon up a lot of faith in the more complicated science they discuss afterward. Again, I seriously doubt the author would enjoy knowing that I remember that particular dialogue more prominently than anything else in his story, but there it is. As before, I ended up not being a big fan of this particular book, so the faults stand out.

Does every writer do something like this? Or, perhaps more importantly, does every reader have something that bothers them? Maybe someone reading this is, at this very moment, pounding their fists against the desk because it drives them bonkers when people use a ton of parenthetical comments in they’re writing. (Just be thankful I don’t know how to put footnotes in the blog!) At least I’ve gone an entire post—so far—without using em dashes. I usually use those a lot. Oh wait, there I went and ruined it.

Did you see what else I did there? Does it bother you?

With NaNo coming up insanely soon now, I’m going to have to dust off all the writing tricks I’ve picked up over the years, because every single one of them will probably be essential if I want to reach 50,000 words on time. It’s also nearly certain that some of them are on someone else’s list of things that annoy the heck out of them when they read. We know it isn’t always a dealbreaker, though. If a story keeps you glued to it from cover to cover and you can’t wait to read it again, who cares if there are one or two spots that make you cringe when you get to them? If the story sucks, and it’s a slog just to finish it, would fixing those occasional spots have made any difference?

Maybe I’m more persnickety when I read than most people. Everybody has their quirky pet peeves, things that just drive them nuts, and they don’t have to have a reason. But if the story is good then that probably won’t matter, and that’s why I probably won’t be drastically changing my writing style any time soon. If my writing sucks, then at least it’ll suck the way I meant it to.

On the other hand, if I do catch myself writing “reaching down to pick up that penny probably saved his life” then I really should try to come up with another way of putting it.

—Jason

You want lack of focus, I'll give you lack of focus.

I honestly can't remember the last time I wrote anything recreational.  It's been months, and, frankly, I'm not sure I've done anything substantial since editing my NaNovel from last season.  I'm really in a slump.  The worst part about it is that I have plenty of ideas; it feels like I just don't remember how to start a writing project.  I feel like someone cut off my arms at my elbows or plugged my ears with wool…like a seriously necessary part of me is simply not functioning correctly.

So I've got a sort of prompt for all of us (those interested) to look into trying: Get Out.  Get out of the house, out of the office, out of the yard, whatever it is you're in right now, get out of it. 

A couple weeks ago, I was stuck in my house.  The heat was excruciating, I was helping my brother plan his wedding, and 100% of my days was spent either in my house, my car, or some store somewhere.  But then, the week after that, my family went to Colorado for a camping trip with my aunts and uncles and cousins, and we spent the week out in the cool, dry, mountain air, sleeping on mats, waking up to campfires, toasting bagels on the grill.  Throughout that week, I got about three ideas for stories and one idea for NaNoWriMo this fall, and I even started expanding on them a bit.  It was really helpful to change my routine a bit, just to clear my mind.  It gave me a chance to refocus my creative energies and actually get something on paper.

Currently, I'm in vacation-mode: it's summer break, albeit the end, and the only functioning motivational programming is my motivation to do nothing.  At every avenue I meet resistance.  Pointless resistance.  "Why don't I use this opportunity to pick up all the clothes off my floor so I can find my computer charger when I need it?" "Nah.  I'm about to press 'Next Episode' on Star Trek: Voyager and once I've done that, there's no reason for me to get up"; "Gee, I think I should brush my teeth." "No, I'd really rather just sit here in my filth, thank"; "I should feed my dog." "She ate yesterday, the greedy git."

But starting yesterday, I hoisted myself out of that mode.  I got more organized than I probably needed to, made a calendar of daily to-do lists, and started making concerted efforts to get stuff done.  Lo and behold, today, I was working with my dad on making a stand for our television, and whole paragraphs of stories just came floating into my head.

Now, none of this is in and of itself a solution to my overall focus problem.  And I still haven't written anything I'm proud of, and I still feel awkward and clumsy in my writing.  But this is the closest I've come to getting past the weird and perpetual writer's block that I've been in lately.  If you're having the same struggles as me, then I suggest you get out.  It really worked as a first step for me.

Mary

The genre of horror

Do any of us know how we came to the decision that we like one style or one genre over another?  Is there a defining point in your life that you can discuss that indicates why you became a big fan of *blank*?  Not for me.  I’m a strange horror fan.

When I grew up, I read a lot of horror.  One of the many things that make me proud to have the parents I have is the fact that my mother stated that I can learn whatever I learn, as long as it came from a book.  When I was younger, I didn’t watch horror movies.  I was strangely scared of them or not allowed to watch them in fear of what they would do to me.  To this day, I’m not much in them, at least not the typical blood and gore movies, but I read horror.  From simple scary stories I would get from the bookmobile geared towards children, to things way to adult for a preteen to be reading, I read my share of horror as a kid.  Oddly, I wasn’t affected too much.  Never woke from nightmares or had to sleep with the light on.  When I did watch horror, I wasn’t fond of it.  It just seemed like an excuse to splatter blood and show me the no longer inner workings of a body.  That wasn’t really horror to me.  The more eerie, the more mysterious does it for me.

I suppose I like the suspense, the shock, and the willies up my spine when I read horror.  The safety of the fear in my book, a place I can crawl into but quickly run back out and know I’m in no danger.  It was a delight to me, and possibly made me feel a little more grown up for reading what I shouldn’t be reading as a kid.  As an adult (or a grown up kid as I truly am), I’ve stepped away from the horror to read other genres, write other genres, but horror on paper still has a place in my heart.

As a writer, I’ve rarely tried to write horror.  Like they say about comedy, it’s hard to make someone laugh; it’s also hard to make someone scared.  We are cynical people, and when you know it’s a horror story, you are anticipating the surprise which makes it harder to enjoy the surprise.  Horror is part irony/twist and I’m a lover of irony, but nowadays you have to twist the twist because people are expecting a twist.  I intentionally made that sentence seem confusing. =)  Horror is hard to write if you’re trying to step away from just being gory and really want to shock people.  Yes, the more guts and blood, possibly the more you’ll receive shock, but will you always get fear from your reader?

I am of the opinion that horror should only be for short stories.  This might seem surprising to many people, but I think the short form helps to keep the suspense high and the nerves on end.  When you stretch it out in a novel, you either have to many lows, relaxed moments that the reader loses the anxiety or you over saturate the story with horror that they can be desensitized and no longer fear what they should fear.  This is my personal opinion, of course.  When I read horror as a child, it was short stories.  It actually took awhile for me to get into novels, and I’m still kind of partial to short stories over novels in all genres, but that’s for another post. 

Everyone knows the usual famous horror writers.  No need to mention them so I will mention some of my favorite semi-unknowns to unknowns.  Because I haven’t been reading horror lately, I’m afraid I’ll have to direct you to some podcasts authors.

If you don’t know, podcasts are simple audio programs that anyone can create.  They range from discussion groups, audio dramas, information pieces, to people just reading their stories.  The following links are to sites with horror writers that I enjoy.

Russell Burt is like the rest of us.  He has a love of writing and specifically for horror.  For a couple years he was recording and posting his short stories on his blog.  He also included his horror novel and later opened the doors to other writers to submit their stories (Yes, one of mine is on there.  He asked for it, and I was honored, and he did a fantastic job reading it.).  Sadly, he ended his blog back in 2008, but it’s still up to enjoy his past accomplishments.  His final post has comprehensive links to the different areas of his stories, novel, and listener contributions.  I miss Russell’s writing, but am glad I got to talk with him, and enjoy what he had to offer.  I think I’ll go email him a “Hey how ya doing note.”

 http://rlburt.blogspot.com/2008/01/end.html

Pseudopod is part of a large podcasting organization that brings the stories of writers to the online audio world.  There is Pseudopod for horror, Podcastle for fantasy, and Escapepod for science fiction.  Stephen Eley started the whole thing but Podcastle and Pseudopod have their own teams.  You will get a wide variety of horror stories here.  I’m afraid I’m way, way, way behind in listening.

http://pseudopod.org/

Though I’m behind in my listening, I would like to point out my favorite so far of their stories. This one just blew my mind and burned images into my head that pop up every now and again.

http://pseudopod.org/2009/02/13/pseudopod-129-bottle-babies/

Last but not least is Phil Rossi who is probably considered one of the big wigs in the podcast world of writing.  I’m behind on everything but this writer/musician has cranked out some nice horror material.  Most of his recent books are free on audio if you want to take a listen.  

http://www.thephilrossiexperience.com/philrossinet/?page_id=13

That’s all I have for now.  Nanowrimo is around the corner, and though I’m not writing horror, there should be some horrific aspects to my 2011 WIP so I will keep these writers, and my memories of horror in mind as I click away.

Jennifer