No Offence but - SHUT UP!

No, not you!

I'm talking about that irritating, unstimulating voice that niggles at you when you're trying to write at your desk, your hands are eagerly typing away and then there it comes!

'What on EARTH are you writing that for?'
'You might as well stop because NOBODY is going to read that and take it seriously!'
'This paragraph says nothing about the character or their desires as a person.'
'Do you even know what you are doing here?'

These are just a few examples of my inner critic (I like to call her Geraldine, I just have the image of a petite, grey haired, plump, woman who wears hollow moon glasses who stares at me accusingly whenever I can't get a thing to stick.)

I know that I'm not the only one with this nuisance attacking their muse every day, and I also know how damaging it can be to one's goals if it persists so i am going to give you a few of my standard tips to help you defeat that meany Geraldine or whoever your critic is called.

Firstly, you could select a feel good selection of songs from your playlist library and just let go, rock out like nobody is watching. Just imagine that critic is on your back and your trying to get him/her off you. This is my strategy too. Although my partner thinks I've lost the plot when I dance to The Prodigy's Firestarter but hey, I'm fighting for my country! I'm fighting for my world! I'm fighting for all of the little people stuck in my head trying to get out! Including Geraldine!

Secondly, you could push your novel aside, set your timer to five minutes and just unleash the point of the biro to the page of A4 of your notebook and just write freely. Whatever comes to your mind write it down, it doesn't matter if it's about flying pirate ships or apes taking over civilisations or whether the pencil sharpner is saying something to your folder on the desk just write it down. There is no right or wrong and your muse is guaranteed to get the better of that monster!

Thirdly, you could try this. Take a piece of paper and write down ten things that you are grateful for in your life right now. Of course you can't use the same ones next time but right now it can be anything such as catching the bus when you're running late, for a new addition to the family or even just for that one friend who has made you smile that day. It can be absolutely anything.
For every one i want you to imagine that level of gratitude floating off the page, making its way into your nostrils, down your throat until it touches your heart. This can help  remind you that the critic inside your head is just a voice, and that there are things in life to be thankful for and that writing a good paragraph is more or less a done thing.

One thing you must never do though is give up completely. The saying goes that bullies enjoy making their victims feel worthless and hopeless. The same thing applies here. Stand firm to your critic and say 'I can do this! Bring it on!'

If none of these work you could just tell it to shut up! Oh yeah, that's why we're here isn't it? :S

My Soundtrack. A Beat We Can All Dance To... Hopefully.

Here are a list of songs that help me shift gears to get me inspired/motivated for writing my chapters. Some of these tracks are on my MP3 player, others are just sat on my computer for when i am pulling all of my words out of thin air and onto paper.

David Bowie - Heroes.

- This has only just been added to my list as i was stumbling through writer's block a couple of days ago and this song came on the radio. I listened to the song without trying to write and after it had finished, a path was recovered that i could take to wrap that chapter up. And with my novel being Fantasy and that my characters all turn into Godesses and Gods at some point this was like a golden ticket.

My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na.

Porcelain Black - King Of The World.

Bon Jovi - Living On A Prayer.

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army.

2 Unlimited - Twilight Zone.

Corona - The Rhythm of the Night.

Moby - We Are All Made Of Stars.

Scooter - Jumping All Over The World.

The Shamen - Boss Drum.

The Saturdays - Work.

Darude - Sandstorm.

- I usually like rocking out to these on the bus with the volume turned up full. After a whole day with the family and after shouldering the tribulations i just forget the world around me and concentrate getting back to my desk to create mayhem with them. Here are some more songs that get me into the spirit of wrecking hell.

Billy Idol - White Wedding.

Whitesnake - Here I Go Again.

Europe - The Final Countdown.

Guns N Roses - Welcome To The Jungle.

Linkin Park - Bleed It Out.

Sash! - Ecuador.

Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger.

Muse - Supermassive Black Hole.

2 Unlimited - No Limit.

Utah Saints - Something Good.

The Prodigy - No Good (Start The Dance)

Planet Perfecto - Bullet In The Gun.

Sixx. A.M - This Is Gonna Hurt.

Kate Ryan - Desenchantee.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes.

- Sometimes it's not about feeling the beat to get motivated. I find that listening to softer beats that it triggers an image off inside my head and that's enough for me to write a few scences. Here are several of those -

Alicia Keys - New York Part One.

Electric Light Ochestra - Livin' Thing.

Coldplay ft Rihanna - Princess Of China.

Enya - Anywhere Is.

Prince - Gold.

Jordin Sparks - One Step At A Time.

Robert Miles - Children.

Moby - After.

Moby - So This Is Goodbye.

Scissor Sisters - Fire With Fire.

Planet Funk - Chase The Sun.

Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen.

- And here's a few more upbeat tracks that i forgot to mention earlier.

Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory.

Gorillaz - Dare.

Culture Beat - Mr Vain.

Madonna - Die Another Day.

Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger.

Within Temptation - Mother Earth.

Taio Cruz - Dynamite.

Green Day - American Idiot.

Infernal - Self Control.

Katy Perry - Firework.

Sash! Mysterious Times.

Kelly Clarkson - Long Shot.

Lady Gaga - Marry The Night.

Infernal - Dressed In Blue.

Kate Ryan - Voyage Voyage.

Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine.

Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb.

And there we have it. That's my soundtrack in a nutshell. I have more songs which i have left out simply because i am going to put that up in Lady Of The Kryptonites when the interviews with my main characters go up. This might take a few weeks yet but i will keep you informed.

I hope you enjoy these songs and that you gain some motivation when you need it most.
:)

I Now Announce You...Prologue?

What is a prologue?

Some of you are thinking what an absurd question! Who doesn't know what a prologue is?

Of course it's the couple of pages that set the scene before the actual story starts. Some of the greatest writers have written prologues like the great William Shakespeare, Stephanie Meyers and plenty more. But what makes a prologue so outstanding and what makes it worthy of having a place in your masterpiece?

Some say that a prologue should offer insight into what your book is about, if it foreshadows a character's destiny or whether it portrays the world your readers will be getting adapted to for many, many hours on end.

Others might suggest that a prologue is not necessarily needed to accomplish this. As you go through the book itself you might realise the character's destiny or who the antagonist is and where their problems lie and why, same goes for the world part too.

How do you know if you need a prologue?

I can't tell you that. Writing a prologue has to be an individual choice. It is a feeling you'll have when you read it through and something will not click into place. If you feel that there is something missing then try it with a prologue, but if you already have one and it doesn't do anything for the book itself scrap it. It is possible that it is simply not needed.

POV? 1ST, 2ND or 3RD?

Characters point of view. What us writers query about and what readers can't get enough of.

I have come across lots of questions in passing weeks on which POV should be used. Should it be 1st person where the character tells the story or the 2nd where the character or characters talk about somebody else and not themselves or do they tell it in 3rd.

This is the most challenging task of writing. Making sure that the right POV is accurate, that the information they are giving the reader is necessary and that it moves nicely. Not slow, not too fast but at a nice steady pace.

I write using first person. I like that you know things about their past, present and even their future and the fact that they know nothing. Apart from when they're going to sleep/ eat etc. It can also be really exciting when characters realise their fate or destiny but usually the writing has been on the wall the whole time.

I found writing in the 2nd person too daunting, and to have to address the reader as you was quite difficult to get the point of my biro to touch the paper and write something conjuring. Being an avid reader of Jodi Picoult who has been known to use this narrative in such books as Handle With Care and My Sister's Keeper, I found that she did this really well and that I was far more comfortable reading it than writing.

As for 3rd person, that was even more difficult because you have to know what everyone else is doing, what is going on outside the window and so on. There's a state of confusion when writing in this narrative and when reading it. I found the writing of Harry Potter really hard because of the amount of detail and of what was happening in each of the characters lives. That's not to say J.K Rowling isn't a great writer because she is after all the phenomenon is still growing and she got younger kids to read too. Such a great achievemnet.

Whichever POV you choose to right in make sure it is the right one for you and for your readers. This may take some time in getting right but it will be worth it in the end.

Motivate me!

Ah, the ole' devil called motivation.

Love him or hate him he is needed for most things for example going to do the weekly shop or doing housework.

Acquiring motivation is difficult, mainly because we build up a list of pros and cons inside of our brilliant minds that encourage us that something else needs to be done before starting the inevitable.

What do you do when this happens?

Run for the nearest exit of course!

If you ever want to break the cycle and decide that enough is enough here is a list of some things I try when both motivation and inspiration are AWOL.

1.      Listen To Music.

              This usually helps, depending on the kind of music you choose to listen to. If it's to help combat the housework then you might find that a good pop, RNB, or dance CD may be your lifeline. But, if like me you need to gear up your brain for a writing session then you might find such genres like folklore, soft rock, country or even classical to get those juices going. Some of the bands I listen to when writing are My Chemical Romance, Evanescence, Within Temptation, Enya, and Massive Attack to just mention a few. It all comes down to preference. See what suits you.

    2.         Read A Book.

              This might sound farfetched as reading ususally prolongs lack of motivation but if you are anything like me then reading anything from a family saga to romance makes me want to put the novel down and reach for my pens and paper. Nothing to do with the writer as all the books I own are more than average. My problem is, is that I tend to want to write more when I'm relaxed. Weird huh?


   3. Play A Word Game.

             This only applies to writers. If you struggle with starting a new story or are just warming up then this is beneficial. Here are a couple that help:

Freewriting - Set the alarm for five minutes or ten however long you are prepared to write for. You can write anything, start from anywhere as long as you stick to the one rule. Don't lift your pen up from the page until time runs out. Don't worry about anything just write.

Alphabet Soup - This is a simple but fun excerise where you choose a letter from the alphabet and start each word with that particular letter. Twenty six words are thought to be enough but if you are feeling brave enough you could always go for more. Some of these can intrigue you to start a story which could be published.

   4. Take A Walk.

      The best cure to anything or so the experts say. A bit of fresh air and susnshine will be guaranteed
to get the engines a turning. I usually walk my dog if I get stumped on a chapter or a character that I am trying to bring to life is mute. Of course this is a done thing if the weather is nice.

   5. Treat Yourself.

        Sometimes the only thing to do is to promise yourself a treat after the task in hand is done. Whether it's watching a programme or buying yourself something nice at the retail park, this often helps.

And if all else fails, remember to just breathe and persevere. Inspiration will find you when you least expect it to.

And You Are....?

Character profiles.

Do you write them before hand? Or do you let the characters have no boundaries, giving them the freedom to leap out of your unconscious mind and allowing them to create their own existence?

Some writers prefer to keep a checklist of their characters, whereas some don't. It's all about preference.

Pros of Character Profiling -

•                    Total peace of mind for example, getting stuck with their motivation for the way that they behave in a situation. Maybe it's their personality, maybe it's psychological or maybe emotional.

•                    Inspiration. Writing down all your characters' information can intrigue you into digging further. Maybe not so much that you get lost in thought, but to gain ideas about prose to include in the background. They could come useful but make sure they are relevant to the story and the character's situation.

•                     An Inner Connection. Creating profiles not only empowers your creativity but establishes a connection between you and your army of characters. This is a way of empathising with them, not critiscing their decisions or mistakes but simply comforting them and telling them you'll work through it together. Although it sounds crazy it really does work.

Cons of Character Profiling -

•                                            Time Consuming. Where do I have the time to sit and write about my characters? I need to be writing not talking about their likes and dislikes! This is a common and normal thought amongst many writers. Time is nobody's friend, even more true in the hands of a writer. Everyday tasks get in the way. That's life. You have to decide whether it would be worthwhile.

•                                             Being able to stick to a routine. Everybody has routine for writing, whether it's a hundred words, a thousand or more but when it comes to answering the same questions over and over and over again the details fail to come and the mind goes blank. What to do then? What would work for you?

Before beginning my third draft of my novel I wanted to delve further into my character's minds and see what made them tick. It's unusual to start profiling at such a stage I hear you protest but this is what redrafting is all about. Playing around with your characters until you are completely satisfied that they are who they are in your mind. And to make sure that they stand out as three dimensional chatacters at the end.

I started off drafting just going along with my characters, letting them lead me into their world and who they were and what their worlds were like. Since doing these character profiles I have found myself even more immersed in them and more ideas have come and tattooed themselves inside my notebook.

It is something that has opened my eyes to the possibilities that lie beyond the smallprint and it is something I am considering to do more in the near future.

Why Do I Write?

Why do I Write?

This question isn't uncommon amongst the network of writers. Is it because we have nothing better to do? That our lives are dull that we feel the need to create imaginary people in our head? Some of these do happen to pop up in conversations. The answer is simply no.

The reason I write is because if i didn't do it, I would only be denying the characters that have formed in my head a fighting chance of coming out. It's a bit like a writing a shopping list. You make one, go to the store, pay for your items, get home and then you realise that you've forgotten something. That nagging inside your head can become annoying.

I write because it is known to be therapeutic, it takes your mind out of the box and makes you forget anything that you're feeling and anything that is troubling or worrying you, making you feel that you can face another day. Writing for me is a bit like sleep. It refreshes my mind and it makes me happy. What else could be better than that?

Some people can think writing is a waste of time. It is true that writing is a long, long, long process to be called a potential career but it can be done. What if all the great writers like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte or Mark Twain decided that it was exactly that? What if Shakespeare never wrote his tragedies? What would children study? What imagination would they gain from snippets of novels and poems?

We would be nowhere. They all had faith that they were good enough to write. They believed they could make a reader weep, laugh and love their characters as if they were on that journey with them in person. It is hard work but what isn't today? Years and years ago it was easy to get work. Nowadays, it's pot luck.

I write because it is who i am. It is in my blood to be a writer.