The Writer's Blessing

I'm not religious, but this seemed so very fitting for this week. I hope you have a wonderful writing week and feel free to spread the Writer's Blessing around!

Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098069733776/

Space, The First Frontier for Writers. (AKA, another super-late post, Sorry!)

Sorry for the radio silence this week, guys. Chalk it up to another super late post tally.

To make it up to you, I can only offer this one simple image that I think we can all relate to. It pretty much sums up this week for me:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098070182263/


Want more where that came from along with witty motivation and cool idea starters? Check me out on Pinterest!

Cutting Out the Excess for Success

I've been thinking a lot about excess. It all started this past Thanksgiving. As many faithful blog readers know, I moved from Wisconsin to North Carolina this year, and Thanksgiving was the first holiday we had the chance to celebrate in our new home.

However, if you follow me on Pinterest you also know that I've been a dedicated vegan since 2014. So, needless to say, Turkey Day being the killing and eating of turkeys rather than a day to celebrate their individuality really put a damper on my mood to begin with. Then, I learned that my family was planning to serve not one but TWO 15+ pound turkeys, plus a spiral ham and five pounds of pulled pork barbecue. When only 10 out of our 11 guests ate meat, and two of them were children, this seemed like a ludicrous amount of food (not to mention the 12 sides and 5 types of desserts) to feed less than a dozen people for one meal.

I kept asking, "Why do we need so much? Why can't we do with one turkey or one type of pork instead of causing so much waste and death?" And the only answer I ever got was, "Because it's Thanksgiving."

Directly after Thanksgiving follows Christmas, where again the talk of giant amounts of food reigned supreme. More turkeys, pork tenderloin, beef brisket, potatoes and stuffing and green beans and cheesy mac, one yellow cake, one cheesecake, one gluten free pudding cake, two pies, three different kinds of sugar cookies and four other types of candies and cookies were made and served to not 11 people, but 6.

And directly following dinner, there were presents - mounds and mounds of things we really didn't need to survive, which filled two black garbage bags of torn wrapping paper and ribbons all destined for the landfill.

Something within me shifted this past holiday season. For New Years I made a personal resolution (separate from my writing resolution, which you can find here) to cut back on how much trash I produce and to really think about the food I consume and waste.

I urge you to do the same, if not in your life, then at least in your writing. As I write my new novel, I've employed a minimalist mindset to my words. Why use three words to describe something you can say in one? Why use two scenes to farther the plot when condensing them is possible and allows for a faster tone of pace for your novel, ratcheting up the tension?

If you think about it, what do all your favorite books have in common?

They keep you interested!

The plot moves and the characters sizzle and the tension keeps you wound tight into the pages like the curly ribbon on a Christmas present.

One way you can achieve this same interest is by cutting back the excess in your work. Take out dialogue tags that aren't needed. Use only one simile in this paragraph rather than two. The concept applies to every aspect of the craft.

I've found that cutting back the excess in my life and only keeping what functions or what makes me really happy has helped me to relax more and be more creative. I no longer feel like I'm wasting time or things. I no longer have anxiety that I need to clean and tidy and straighten all the time because there are fewer things that can get out of place.

Why wouldn't you want the same feeling for your novel?

So, the next time you write - condense, condense, condense - and the next time you throw a party, how about cutting out one excess meat option just for me and animals :)

Get Up, Get Motivated, and Write

It's no secret that I am in love with Asheville, North Carolina. If you've ever checked out my Pinterest page, you know that I have an extensive board dedicated entirely to Asheville. I first visited Asheville in March of 2014, when I wrote you this post about my Southeastern vacation. And then there was this post a little over a month ago referring to my move to North Carolina.

What you may not know is that I fell so completely in love with Asheville during my 2014 trip that I (with the help of my mom) convinced my entire family to move to North Carolina with me. My grandparents went first, then finally my parents' house sold and my mom, dad, brother and I moved. However, there was one little kink in my plan: no one else loved Asheville like I did.

So, instead of moving straight to my utopia, I landed an hour and a half away in a suburb of Charlotte. It's great here, don't get me wrong - the weather is blisteringly awesome, and I'm having a lot of fun decorating my new room and taking evening trips to Charlotte - but it isn't Asheville.

When I heard that the HGTV Urban Oasis 2015 was located in Asheville, NC - my Asheville, NC! - I set a countdown widget and waited for the first day I could begin entering. Since that day, I've logged on to the Urban Oasis site everyday and entered to win my perfect dream home in my perfect dream location.

As soon as I turn my computer on - before I begin writing or blogging or searching Pinterest - I go to the site and enter myself into the drawing for the Urban Oasis.

And that routine got me thinking...what if we applied this sort of routine to writing life? If you're truly dedicated to writing, if it's what you long for and desire above everything else is to write, then why not make it the start of your day, every day?

Before you check your email - write a sentence.

Before you heat your tea - write a paragraph.

Before you walk out the door for your commute - write a phrase, a period, a word - anything!

If it's your dream, if it's something you want with all your heart, then why shouldn't you make it happen in any way that you can?

John McPhee once did an interview with The Paris Review where he said,

"put a drop in a bucket every day, after three hundred and sixty-five days, the bucket's going to have some water in it."

Writing takes dedication and motivation. It takes getting up early and staying up way too late. Sometimes, it takes sneaking a sentence in here and there whenever you can, just so you can move that story farther along.

But the more you do it, the more it repays you. In the end you could have a wonderful piece that's ready for publication. You could have a whole novel or an epic poem. You could be walking away with your own dream house.

Inspiration Knocking

I hope you participated in the Challenge Post from last week and submitted a new piece of writing for publication. If you did (heck, even if you didn't), you probably need some new inspiration right about now.

Struggling to find a topic for your next poem? Don't have enough tension to sustain your short story? Stuck in the middle of your novel-in-progress?

Calling inspiration!

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098064397728/

Really, just as Oscar Wilde said, inspiration isn't as illusive as our writer brain makes us think.

There are poems about cats like Christopher Smart's "For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry". Poems about jobs (like pet sitting) in Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz's "things that happen during pet sitting...". Poems about standing in line like Robert Funge's "A Starbucks Romance". Poems about catalogs like Philip A. Waterhouse's "Castlekeep".

Really, anything in our daily lives, when seen through an artistic eye, can be made into something extraordinary.

Did you once have hiccups for three days straight? Write an essay about it.

Did you watch grazing deer out your window while washing dishes? Make it into a poem.

Did you hear a strange conversation while sitting in your cafe booth during breakfast? Use it in a novel chapter.

Anything - literally anything - can be the inspiration for your next writing project. Take it from Orson Scott Card...

Image From: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098064894077/

Pins Around!

Have you been following the Writing board on my Pinterest? This one. Have you? No? Really?

Here's what you're missing out on.

1. Reasons why writers are ninjas-

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098065531196/

2. Practical snippets on character development-

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098065531185/

3. Amazingly insightful rewriting tips-

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098065520661/

4. Analogies, similes, and metaphors-

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098065520632/

5. And the all important writer-funnies-

Image from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098065033666/

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

And if you ever find a great image or pin or quote I need to know about, don't be afraid to share it with me either directly on Pinterest or through the comments of this blog. 

New Writing Inspiration Board

Have you guys been on Pinterest lately? As you know, I'm a self-professed Pinterest junkie. I have the app on my phone which only enables me to use it more often.

Because of this I've started a new Writing Board.

I'll have a plethora of different images and links there. From inspirational quotes, to photos of people writing *in the wild*, to writing prompts, and word charts. If it inspires, motivates, or makes me laugh, and relates to writing, it'll be on there.

So what are you waiting for? Go check it out: https://www.pinterest.com/alyssanedbal/writing/

If you haven't clicked the link above, and still need some convincing, here's a few examples of pins on my Writing Board. I promise there are more where these came from.

Happy Pinning ..... ahem...... I mean, Writing. :)

Books That Inspired Me To Write: Or, When I Learned About Choices

With my start in reading, I could have easily been one of those kids who reads/falls in love with/rereads the Harry Potter series and never picks up a different book again. I would have been just fine with it. My reading would have stopped with the Boy Who Lived.

But it didn't.

The books that were formative in my early reading life - the ones that kept the spark for reading alive within me - happened simultaneously.

The first was my discovery of the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine.

Now, I'm not sure how many Goosebumps stories I read, or even if a majority of them were a completely different series all together, but one constant remains; I adored "choose your own adventure/ending" stories.

It was the first time in my life that my decisions as a reader (and probably as a person) mattered to the outcome of the story. Who cared that nine out of ten times I chose the wrong turn and died? I was making the story happen. I was in control.

I think this power was my first taste of what it was like to be a writer. Suddenly, I wasn't just along for the ride, I was orchestrating it.

The second discovery of my young readership happened entirely because of my mother. When I was a child, my mother signed me up for a monthly reader program. Basically, every month a new 60-90 page novel would arrive at my doorstep. They were all related to animals (though I no longer remember the name of the club or even if they still exist. This was the 90s, after all). Rescuing animals, taking care of animals, learning about new animal species.

And I dutifully read every story - cover to cover - before the next one arrived in the mail.

At the time, I was just reading cute animal stories. But now that I'm older, I realize that I was learning how to foster a life-long love for reading. I flew through the books, one month after another, and was always excited to pick up the next one.

My mother was a mastermind. From Potter to the book club, she made sure that I was going to love reading all different kinds of literature.

And it was due to this that I wrote. Because the time between me finishing the last book, and prior to receiving the next in the series, I had to do something to keep myself occupied.

Yep. I wrote.

Photo Credits:
Goosebumps book cover from: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/125592.Tick_Tock_You_re_Dead_
Puppy and duck picture from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/121597258661438479/

Try Different Keys to Break Through Revision

45 minutes. That's how much time I still had on lunch break. I stared back at my tablet where my story sat, waiting for revision. I had the time. I had the tools. Now why couldn't I make the story - the already written story, for God's sake - better. Why couldn't I finish it?

44 minutes.

Have you been where I sat? You finally have the time and the motivation to revise, yet somehow, you can't. You know the story isn't finished or anywhere near great but you can't change anything? No ideas are coming to you.

What do you do?

In my experience, two things have helped.

Step One: email the manuscript to yourself - or transfer it to a USB drive - and put it on another device. If you wrote it on your laptop, transfer it to your tablet. If you wrote it on your tablet, try revising on your smart phone. Or print out the manuscript and go back to good old pen and paper.

Why does this help the revision process? Because you're seeing it through different eyes. Sometimes the ones we wrote the story on need to be swapped out before we can begin revision. By transferring it to another device, you trick your brain into reading the story differently, and can speed up your revision process.

(Note: some writers also claim that changing the font can help them revise because the story looks different. Try it and see if it works for you, but I didn't have luck with this method. I was too preoccupied studying the curly letters than reading and evaluating what was on the page.)

Step Two: go somewhere new. If you wrote the story at your desk, revise on the couch. Did you write in the dining room? Shoot for the garden. If your whole house is a black hole of writing, go to a friend's house, the gym, a coffee shop, or the library.

Getting away from your normal environment, much like transferring devices, helps you to think differently. Now, you're not associating that purple pen with a beautiful metaphor in your story, you're reading the metaphor for what it really is. Does it still hold up?

So, next time the revision process has you staring, dumbfound, at your screen, wasting your precious free time, try mixing it up. Take your typewriter to the park. See what happens next.

Where did I get the image? Pinterest, of course! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/547609635914867891/

Pondering Lit Mags and some Advice from Doug of Pixar's UP

You know when you go to a favorite literary magazine's submissions page and read their guidelines? About two paragraphs in there's a page-long rant about how you NEED, DEAR GOD, NEED to read their magazine at least for a good year so you understand what they like and accept. So you understand what kind of story they'll publish. Then you'll understand that if your story isn't a carbon copy of these previously published stories, you shouldn't waste their time and your own by submitting it to them.

I often find myself turned off by these rants. Even when it's a literary magazine I've subscribed to in the past or one I really look up to. It can sometimes feel that the literary community has turned against us as writers. If they want nothing new and inventive - if they want us to write only what's already been published - then why are we here? What are we striving toward?

This is something I've been grappling with for years. The American culture puts so little value into the arts. If you're a creator or an innovator, whatever you make had better generate its own cash-flow or you're worthless.

However, other cultures, like Japan, can see the value in the arts, and they respect things that are beautiful and innovative not solely from a basis of profit but from the aspect of a cultural advancement.

Because, really, what are we without art? Will we ever grow as a species if no one thinks outside the confines of what we already know and accept? Why do we put so little heft into the words or pictures brought forth by artists that wish to broaden our definition of humanity? Why do we ridicule the artist herself so?

These questions are the ones that boggle me. They are even more boggling when the community that is supposed to be supportive of the artist and his work turn against him.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for these questions, or a reason that America seems to dislike those who wish to allow us to grow and see things through new eyes. Perhaps it will not be within my lifetime that our thoughts switch and we value art.

Most humans, after all, dislike change.

But we keep doing it, why? Because we love it, and we can't stop. Even when no one else believes in us or shows us any support.

To keep you rolling with your writing, even when the haters get you down, here's a list of 22 tips on better storytelling from Pixar:

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/191403052888669266/

Pinterest Will Heal Me...Right?

I've been a little under the weather these past few days, and so this week's blog post is going to be short and sweet (like my writing time lately). To keep you going, even when you can't type or sit up straight, here's a quote.

I found it, where else? Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098062726632/

Happy Writing!

Mini Getaway from Stress

If you've read a few posts in this blog, you know I'm a big supporter of the "write every single day" rule. And I'm not backing down on that. Even if it's one sentence, a sentence fragment, or a word, you should write every single day.

However, everyone burns out. We've got stressful jobs, kids, chores, errands, and often times, it comes down to choosing writing or sleep.

That's why, next week Tuesday, there will be no blog post. I'm going to take a much needed break from life and stress and worry. I'm going on a girls' getaway with a friend and we're going to sit poolside and eat fattening junk food and not think about work or family or that guy that still hasn't called.

I suggest, if the pressure of life is welling up in you, too - take a break! You deserve it. Your novel will still be there when you get back. Just make sure you're truly resting so that when you return, you can get right back to writing another word per day.

Think of it as counterbalance for your personal life.

Positive thoughts, positive words, positive rest. That's my new motto.

And if a getaway just isn't financially applicable or timely in your life right now, I've attached some beautiful pictures from Pinterest below. Put on some calming music, take a deep breath, and pretend you're there.

Happy almost-end-of-summer, everyone!

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/487655465874624377/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/152348399869639877/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/489062840757988060/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/299841287664158880/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/299841287664158822/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/214906213442184019/

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/490822059359971536/

A Bird Just Hit My Window -- Is That My Hogwarts Letter?!?

I'm still getting ready to shop my YA novel around, and have subsequently used my (non-existent) free time to start another YA novel that I'm obsessed with writing, but can donate only about 20 minutes to per day. So frustrating. This time has been shortened by extra work hours, summer, and the fact that Harry Potter Diagon Alley just opened in Universal Orlando and I've been fan girling hard.

So, here's a quote I found on Pinterest from one of the greatest thinkers and the owner of the most popular theme park in this country: Walk Disney.

Now, please excuse me while I read all 7 Harry Potter books (again), marathon watch all 8 movies (again), and then skip my happy butt all the way to Florida (eventually). No worries, man.

Let Go or Be Dragged

In American culture we're so used to beating ourselves up over the smallest things. You know, when you sneak a few M&M's from the work shared candy bowl and then have to write it in your food journal to forever document your self loathing?

Writing - and really any artistic venture - is no exception. You pulled extra hours at work, went to the kids' soccer game, had to scrounge something up for dinner, and then passed out to do it all over again tomorrow - without writing a word. Even when we make just one sentence happen in a day, we feel like failures.

Really, if we accept life and its challenges, we'd be freer to write when the time presented itself. Gone would be the self loathing and the hate of our inability to function as writers. Instead, our minds would be clear and our inspiration running high - ready to rush in whenever we're ready to accept it.

So free the muse and the worry of yet another part of life. Be free to write again.

And now I leave you this hectic week in my own life, with an inspirational picture from Pinterest:

From http://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098061537069/

The Word Choice Chart

We've spoken before about word choice. Along with plot and characterization, word choice is one of the fundamental aspects of writing. If you have bad word choice, writers will put down your novel. No questions asked.

It's natural for us, as humans, to reuse the same words over and over again. You know the people who use the word "like" every other sentence. However, reusing your words within the same paragraph - even within the same page - is tedious for the reader. Rather than focusing on your amazing writing, the reader will be looking for nothing but the next time you use the word "turned".

Another word choice snafu is using boring words or words inappropriate for the situation. For example, you could definitely use the word "walked" all the time, but wouldn't it be more interesting (and more descriptive) for the reader if you used "trundled", "lumbered", "promenaded", or "skipped"? And if you're writing a dramatic or somber scene, you don't want to use words with a positive connotation or risk pulling the reader right out of your scene.

To help you switch up your word choice in new and original ways, I found this chart of Pinterest. So, the next time you want to say your character is "mad" for third time, consult the chart and try something new.

 

Original from: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/476326098061437968/

Success?

I found this wonderful picture on Pinterest. (By the way, I'm a confirmed Pinterest junkie. You can find me by searching for Alyssa Nedbal. If you follow me, you'll see some pretty awesome posts, if I do say so myself.) The original photo is from Joanna Goddard's blog, and you can get to it through the pin here.

This chart is true of almost anything in life, but especially careers, and most especially creative careers. Many bios about artists in magazines, feature articles, or documentaries make the climb to success seem very simple.

Example: Writer A picked up his first pen at three hours old, and wrote his first novel at age five. Though the spelling was atrocious, it was picked up by a small publishing house in Oregon state. At fourteen, he found his agent and entered the Iowa Writer's workshop - graduating faster than anyone in history. Fast forward six years and he's a household name with vacation homes in twelve countries and a private jet. Now, he debuts his two thousandth novel here in this publication.

You read this with a contorted face, wondering how in the hell someone can have such good luck at such a steady pace.

Either Writer A is an anomaly, or the publication just happened to skip all the rejections and downright terrible things that happened to him over his life. They didn't talk about the time he was homeless, or got suspended from college, or about how his first agent dropped him after two years without selling his manuscript.

So when you're feeling down about a bad first draft or realize you've used the word "looked" 26 times in chapter 3, just remember you're somewhere in the middle of this jumble toward success. And when this novel is published and you're using your six figure advance to quit your job and write another novel, remember that you start back at the bottom of the success chart with your new baby and it will be a struggle again.

No one said writing was going to be easy, but when you love it, you won't let the downward squiggles stop you.

High Expectations

It's that time of season. A string of holiday parties, family dinners, and themed outings. If you're anything like me, when you're the host of one of those parties, you want everything (and I mean everything) to be perfect.

No poorly frosted cookies, no crooked stockings, no unlit bulbs, and definitely no family scuffles. If you're anything like me, not one year has gone your way.

But that's okay. Both in your writing (or lackthereof in this hectic time) and your social life, nothing is going to be perfect. Do the best you can and remember to breathe. Sometimes, falling a little short of your high expectations can bring unexpected opportunities, or at least a good laugh.



Happy Holidays!

Photo from: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/142707881915407994/

Reality vs. Fiction

Let's start off with a fool-proof method of interest; a picture and a famous quote.

(I found this wonderful image on QuoteSpr's Pinterest page here)
When you think about it, you realize Clancy has a great point. Many people read fiction to escape reality. They read it for a story, the characters, or to learn more about your topic. They also want to be kept in suspense, they want to turn those pages! When a book like this is discovered, most describe the experience as, "feeling real". The characters "feel real" the setting "feels real" the dialogue "feels real".

They do not mean what they say.

If you're going to be a writer, you need to know the difference between fiction and reality. Reality not only doesn't make sense, but it is very tedious. It takes us days or weeks to get to know someone, and then the dialogue is often chunky and filled with extraneous words and pleasantries. If fiction followed this format, the reader would put the book down in ten pages.

To keep the reader engaged in fiction, dialogue has to be snappy. As a rule, keep each character's dialogue to 4 lines or less. Yes, this means no monologues. If you're now saying, "But I really need that five page monologue in chapter 6!" tell yourself that any dialogue over 4 lines costs $50,000. Now, do you really need it that bad? Can you summarize, cut, or make the exchange into a dialogue rather than a monologue?

Also, unlike reality, fiction only gives the reader the information she needs when she needs it. Reality can be an overload of information and sensory detail. New writers often interpret this "reality" in their fiction by forcing an info dump in the first few chapters. You know all about the character's past, their likes and dislikes and their thoughts on everything. Though this is technically "realistic", it makes for a terrible reading experience. Space out your background info and only give what the readers NEEDS. (Note: this is easier said than done. Find a writing partner for help.) And sensory details should be included, but sparingly. We don't need to know what it tastes, smells, looks, feels, and sounds like unless it is quintessentially important as foreshadow or a clue in mystery novels. Otherwise, pick, say, two. Give the reader enough to feel engaged and immersed, but not too much to be overwhelmed.

In short, be like Clancy. Take the dizzying reality of the characters in your head and the life experiences you've gathered and turn them into fiction. Cut your dialogue or pay. Keep the senses in check, and keep suspense high by avoiding the ever-traveled road to the info dump. If you do these, you may end up with a beautiful work of fiction.

The Artist Effect

As some of you may know, I am an artist as well as a writer. For the past few months I've been doing more art than writing due to an exciting illustration project...more to come on that in a few months.

I also recently read a biography on Jackson Pollock, famous drip-painting/action-painting artist from the 40s and 50s. (You can see some images of his work here ) Pollock was notorious for seeing the work of other artists and instantly saying that his work was better and more innovative. Though many people remember witnessing these outbursts (most often when Pollock was drunk) he still questioned himself. He would often ask if what he was creating could even be considered art. He couldn't sketch - couldn't draw realistically at all - and he noted to his friends that if he could draw a hand, he wouldn't be creating his drip-paintings.

Pollock, called the greatest painter of his generation, contributed so much to modern art. Yet he was also questioning whether his art was worthy.

I think this mindset amongst artists - musical, visual, or literary - is common. I call it the Artist Effect. This Effect causes all of us to question ourselves and the worth of the things we create. If you've ever had that sinking feeling while rereading your writing or looking at your painting next day, when you say, "Wow, this isn't nearly as good as I thought it was," that's the Artist Effect.

The Effect often sucks. You doubt yourself, your worth, and your ability to ever create something another human being would want to view. It is in the thicket of the Effect that artists tear their canvas from the frame, and poets shred their newest verse. It's not fun to be under the Effect, but it seems to be an important part of every artist's life. Without internal struggle, nothing would improve. Without Pollock questioning his artistic ability, he wouldn't have pushed to create his drip-paintings. Without your sinking feeling, you wouldn't have the mindset to come back to your writing with new eyes - revision eyes. The Artist Effect is what makes it possible for us to push through what has been done before, and create something new instead.

The next time you look at your writing or art and think it's the worst thing ever created, step away. It's natural to feel sad, to beat yourself up a little, but don't let it get too strong. Walk away from it at that moment, settle down, and come back in a few hours or the next day. The shock of your horrific writing will have worn off and you can look at the piece anew. See what the real problems are: Too many cliches? Not enough sensory detail? Did you forget an entire story line? Fix them. The Artist Effect is like the artist's conscious. It lets you know something is wrong. But at the same time the Effect is beneficial, you can't let it take over. For example, don't turn to alcohol like Pollock did. Instead, listen to, but then rise above your inner critic to make your work the best possible.

For an illustrated, comical interpretation of the Artist Effect, check out this post on my Pinterest.