Blog Post: R & R

 Unfortunately not rest and relaxation. Though some days (and especially now during the pandemic) I wish it could be. My favorite Gary Larson Far Side cartoon (about writing) is the sheep throwing his manuscript in the air shouting in frustration "forget it! Everything I write is so much bleating!" I can relate to that through every step of the process.

I'm not going to be one of those authors that tell you to outline, to plan, to keep notes on your major plot points; unless, of course, that works for you. In that case, go nuts. I rather like sitting down with either a blank notebook or a blank Word document and just diving in the deep end with no clue of where I'm going or how long it will take me to get there. It helps to have an idea of a basic plot point or a single character, but again, sometimes I don't even have that. I do have a notebook in my work backpack where I'll jot down story ideas, but I'm usually too distracted to do much else.

If you want to play with style or just writing itself, I always recommend fan fiction. you have established characters to play around with, and you'll get feedback. You might also get flames, but those are reportable. I've even played with some of my OCs in fanfiction and toyed around with dragon-shifters in the fandom world first. Just be very careful moving an idea from fanfiction to your own publishable work because of copyrights.

The first R up there in the title stands for READ. To write you must read. I'm happiest when I'm surrounded by books. If anyone is interested I'll post some pictures of my office / library. My two favorite authors are Terry Pratchett and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I especially love Pratchett's Discworld because anything seems to be possible there. But the most important point here is to read any and everything you can get your hands on. I always add that you don't have to finish the book, just give it a good try.

The second R up there is RESEARCH. Now this doesn't hold true for every story in every genre, but when it does, knowing how to research properly is important. One of my series is based around research, and it was really fun to write. My habits hold from Uni. I keep a notebook and pen on the desk next to me to jot down web addresses and information - but when I was in Uni it was dewey decimal numbers and author last names. I'm going to date myself even worse here, I learned to research before Google. Hell, I learned to research before computers were really common. Anyway, everyone has a style that works best for them, and I work from a mix of computer and books. I have a large shelf dedicated solely to my research materials. There have been times I've been surrounded by books and had to be careful none of them fall on me.

One other important thing to do is watch. See what's around you and remember it because it's easier to pull from memory than it is trying to create from scratch. The man in all pink that refused to wear a pink tie because it would clash comes instantly to mind.  It might help to keep a small notebook and pen (or selection) in your bag to jot down ideas, odd things you see, or quotes that struck you as important or interesting. As one of my creative writing instructors said, "change their hair and eyes and they won't recognize themselves". That said, however, I always disclaimer my novels.