Uninspired Blog Posts - The Craetive Process

UNINSPIRED BLOG POSTS

It can be a headache for me trying to come up with blog posts every week. For a long time it was a case of writing them well in advance and posting them whenever I felt like it. Then for a period after I started to post every Monday it would be something I did on the Monday it was due, but that sometimes meant that I was working well into the night and still no closer to knowing what to say. And then I hit on the idea that along with my usual end of month stuff, I would write the coming months blog posts as well as the one for the first of the next month. It was a headache in the beginning but now I've gotten into a routine that when I'm running out of ideas, I look at my sticky note and start to brainstorm as well as going over what I've covered in the past six months or so.

Because a lot of what I post on a Monday is advice, I don't want to be doing too much along the same topics, but I've also made them my own too in that I will, around releases and such, have character pieces that I write and publish closer to that time of the year. I never usually have more than a couple of months worth planned because the ideas can be hard to find. It's a creative thing for me just as writing is that a lot of the time a topic will come to me and I'll have to write it down. Usually when I get low on ideas, I fall back on what's done well before. I have my mini series with Spoonie Writer, Trials Of A Crime Writer and Trials Of An Indie Author, and they're pretty easy to narrow down too because they have a specific readership and meaning on the blog.

You could say the same for the After Process. It's pretty easy to work out what belongs in the pieces that happen once you're published, but when it comes to the Creative Process, well, sometimes I'm just stumped and unsure about what to do. A lot of the time I'll sit down at the end of the month, once I've recorded my final vlog and are getting ready to wrap everything up and then it's about pulling teeth to bring out the blog posts. And I know I'm not the only one who feels like that, so why do I keep doing it?

Simply put, it's something I do well at. I get a lot of interaction, less so on the blog, but more so on the places that it's cross-posted to that tell me that my advice and snippets of wisdom are well received and wanted. My audience is telling me to continue. Same with the Friday posts where I promote other authors, it's something that gets a light shined on my blog, but also makes me feel like I'm sharing the wealth as it were. And those are all good things.

But today, when I sat down to write, I realised that I just didn't have a full calender for the coming month. I didn't know what to write about, what to advise on and given that I'm still coming back from burnout (piece found here) and have talked about taking a break to refill my creative well (piece found here) I thought I would be honest and talk about what happens when you're just not inspired to write an advice piece. The question can sometimes be simply answered by just not doing it any more. I've covered why I don't take that route, but it might be one open to you.

The other side of it is that I like my schedule the way it is. I have excelled at getting myself to make the most of my time, my energy and all the others things that are needed from me to stay both mentally and physically healthy, but also to keep writing which adds to the first two. Sometimes that means that I just don't have time to think up a specific piece of advice, and I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is: that's okay.

There is so much pressure both in the actual writing community and from ourselves to be pouring out this and that twenty-four/seven. And sometimes you just can't. Sometimes your brain is saying nope, your body is having a fit and you just can't produce what you normally would. And I don't feel like enough people say that, guess what? It happens to us all and it is okay. You are not weak. You are not a failure. This is not the end of you. You will get through this. And you will be okay.

So take a breath and just hold onto that. There's no shame in having an off week. I go through stages of having them weeks in a row. But also don't be afraid to ask for help, to reach out, there are people around you who care and they will listen, and if they don't, then reach out to someone who will. You gotta take care of you, and that's more than okay.

So that's my wisdom for the day. Now I'm gonna curl up with a good book and call it done!

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That Light Bulb Moment - The Creative Process

That Light Bulb Moment

I'm sure you've experienced something similar if you're a writer. It's that moment when you've been stuck for a while and suddenly you know exactly what you have to do to complete the piece and to tie up all the loose ends. I had a moment like that today when I'd been up since 2:30am because of insomniac nine year old. I've done really well this fortnight and I'm already onto what I call my "bonus" chapters. I couldn't sleep and didn't want to spend the wee hours doing very little because that would drive me insane, so I tried to write.

The problem was I had gotten to a point in the book I'm working on where I needed more than just plot, I needed direction too. I needed to know not just where the end is, but what is going to get my characters to that point. So, I spent some time reading, some time playing around online and some time writing a chapter that would work without needing to know the direction. Still though, I wasn't there yet.

The light bulb moment hit me as I was driving out to the local petrol station just before 7 am. I could suddenly see the bread crumbs that I had left myself through previous chapters, pieces that at the time had been  more about character development than anything else and BAM! There it was, the answer to my problem. I knew exactly why this character did that and what their intentions were, even though I hadn't known when I wrote it. That's one of the many things that I love about being a writer. It's not just about being able to tell a story, it's about making the puzzle pieces fit together when sometimes you don't even know what kind of picture you're making.

So, with my new outlook, I made some more character note cards to refer back to because I didn't want this epiphany to get away from me and then be struggling again in a few chapters time. I have been pretty lucky with the fact that most of the time, once I get that light bulb switched on, I don't really have problems keeping it lit. However, I like to be prepared, so character notes were needed.

I'm actually about to start the chapter before one of the big reveals...it's not the major one, but it is one that will start to make the main characters think that the problem is solved. Once I've lured them into a false sense of security, I'll be able to spring the rest of it on them. I even had the answer to some of my concerns already noted on my character notes, but because those characters had not yet come into play, I had not seen the connection and was wondering and worrying about how to make it.

Having light bulb moments are one of the perks of the job. Being able to plan meticulously works for me (and I did a piece about my planning here) but it's also about being able to think outside the box. To see what isn't in the plan and to go from there. It's all very well and good following the plan, but what happens when the characters don't do as you planned and then you have to deviate to get back on track? For me, as organised as I am, that just sounds like a nightmare and I'm sure other writers would agree with me.

You see, sometimes characters push to go one way when you're convinced they should have gone the other. Writing out a bare bones plan doesn't work for me, but at the same time, you should always be prepared to throw that plan out of the window and go where your characters lead you. You may be pleasantly surprised. You may find yourself writing the story in a different way than you had first planned and that's not always a bad thing. The thing about being a writer is that sometimes you have to change course and as long as your work matches up with that then there is little problem doing so.

So, wherever you are, remember that inspiration is all over the place. That sometimes you have thought up the solution and noted it down, but you haven't looked at it recently. Remember that sometimes characters will walk you down a different path and that it's not always a bad thing. Also, when that light bulb goes off, be ready to get working because it's now nearly 11 am and I haven't stopped since!

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How To Nurture Plot Bunnies & Your Muse - The Creative Process

How To Nurture Plot Bunnes & Your Muse

May I first say that I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season and I wish you a Happy New Year. Thanks for following me for the past year and I hope that 2014 holds many good things for you.

I don't know about any other writers, but my muse has a physical form. It's a NanoBug and sometimes when I'm stuck, I switch it on and let it run rampant over my chapter plans and character notes. Sometimes it works and I get myself out of the funk that I was in, other times it falls off my desk and goes zooming around under my feet looking for a place to hide before it gets rolled over or trapped. Muses are like that sometimes, they're great when they're doing what you've asked them to do, but other times they can be little buggars and withhold what you need from them. So, how do you nurture your muse and any plot bunnies that come to visit you?

Plot bunnies are a difficult breed, they visit at odd times of the day and night. I know that some writers will keep a notebook and pen by their bed so that as they're drifting off to sleep they can write down any ideas that come to them. I know of other artists and people who do the same. It does seem to be the general case that plot bunnies will come hopping along as you're drifting towards sleep. I also know that they seem to come with an amnesia pill that wipes you of their plans when you wake up the following morning. You are aware that they were there but they never let you actually remember what they whispered into your ear.

Of course, muses that zoom around the desk and plot bunnies that act like the sandman are just my personal way of describing the things that inspire both your writing whilst working on a project and the initial idea that kicks if all off. I recently wrote a piece about how sometimes writers can take on too much work at once (found here) and told you all about how my latest plot bunny paid me a visit whilst I'm in the midst of two other books and simply do not have the time to spare to start a third. I tried to work on it, but my muse had other plans.

I have learnt during the time I have been a writer, more years than I care to admit really, that sometimes you have to apply tough love to your muse to get the job done. I think it was Neil Gaiman who said that part of being a writer is that you can't just write when you're inspired. You have to write when you're not too. He has a good point, writing daily is something that most, if not all, writers should try to do. But what do you do when the ideas have dried up and you're left without any inspiration on where to go next? I certainly don't hold the key to that answer, but I have employed a few tricks in the time I've been doing this and thought they may be of some use to you.

#1 FEED YOUR MUSE & PLOT BUNNIES
The number one thing you should always do is find ways to keep that elusive muse singing (or in my case whizzing around my desk). The same idea applies to plot bunnies. If you leave out breadcrumbs, they will come looking for you. Ideas are plentiful, I have always said that I will keep writing books until I run out of ideas and after nearly twelve books written, I can say that the ideas are still coming. Finding inspiration is not as hard as it seems, at least at times it isn't. It's about being able to turn the everyday things into something that inspires you to write a scene in your book. Whether it's someone you see in the supermarket whose eyes have wandered onto a beautiful woman and are looking at them with nothing but love in their eyes. Or watching the news and being inspired by the dark side of humanity with the crime stories, and the brighter parts with the latest scientific discovery. Inspiration is EVERYWHERE and part of being a writer is knowing what will and will not work.

#2 GET A WAY TO REMEMBER
As I said, when plot bunnies visit just before you fall asleep, they try to wipe your memory. I mentioned that some people keep a notepad to jot those ideas down, but it doesn't work for everyone. I personally, can no longer write more than a couple of words with a pen because of the cramps in my hand from Fibromyalgia. It's one of the reasons I no longer hand write chapters but use a tablet instead. So, upgrading the notepad to an app is fine, but what if you don't want to jolt yourself awake for every little idea that in hindsight wasn't workable or even that good? It's a thin line between getting the visit of the plot bunny down in print and torturing yourself through lack of sleep. You have to know when to draw the line. Other suggestions are using a Dictaphone, or an app where you can just record what you're thinking and then look back on it in the light of day. Another is to not make any record and hope that you remember in the morning - it works for some people, but for others it doesn't. Whatever way you use, it has to be something that won't mean you're sacrificing sleep, but still managing to stop those bunnies from wiping your memory.

#3 KNOW YOUR LIMITS
It's all very well and good having a great way to record each and every idea that comes to your mind. Or to write out every scene that has inspired you, but you have to realise that we all have limits, some more than others. Since becoming chronically ill, I have been made all the more aware of those limits. One thing that is important when dealing with muses and bunnies is knowing when to say "I'm too busy". If you've reached the point where you're not sleeping because you're writing everything down, or you're not finishing anything because you stop to write a new scene before you can complete the previous task, then you need to realise that you have reached the limit of what you can and can not do. I have said many times that part of the creative process is knowing how many balls you can juggle at one time. For me it's uni work, two books and various other commitments. Others can handle a lot more, and some a lot less. There is no shame in not being able to do as much as this one writer you know who writes six books at once, all within six months of starting as well as doing three degrees and holding down five other jobs. It's just not realistic to hold yourself to someone else's standards and abilities.

#4 LET THE IDEAS BREW FOR A BIT
As an English person who likes tea, I can tell you that every good cuppa needs some time for the tea to do it's magic and the water to infuse the tea leaves. The same can be said for ideas and inspiration. Sometimes, taking a step back and letting yourself mull over the idea is the best plan. It allows you to decide whether or not it's one that you feel can be worked through. It also gives your brain time to make other connections to that one idea. Perhaps linking it with a scene you wanted to write, or a genre that you've been meaning to break into. Allowing yourself time to think about it can lead to less time wasted looking at a blank screen and cursing yourself for ever thinking you could write about this. This point links up with the third one, knowing your limits. If you let the idea sit around for a while before jumping in and starting to write, it could be that by the time your workload has shifted to allow you to start working on the new project, you have pages and pages of research done, ideas and character plans and all of the rest that will enable you to write quicker and with a better idea of how the story should go.

Finally #5 REMEMBER TO BREATHE
As someone who frequently says that they believe breathing is optional, I know how hard it is sometimes to stop and just breathe. Sometimes taking a moment to catch your breath can allow you to properly judge whether or not an idea is viable. If you have let it brew for a bit but are too caught up in the fact that it sounds good and exciting and you need to start it right NOW!! You can't always see that in the long run, it's not actually going to work because person A would come off as a stalker if they chased person B after one meeting in the supermarket. Or that killing this person in that way would mean that the detective would have no evidence to find out who did it without bending the rules of reality a little. Sometimes, just taking a moment to breathe allows us to look at things a little more critically and gives our judgement a chance to really examine the idea. So, just remember folks, that a brittle asthmatic may think breathing is optional, but it's not really!

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Taming Your Muse - The Creative Process

Taming Your Muse

See the picture above? That's what I call my muse. Silly I know, but I like to have something physical to hold onto and play around with while I'm waiting for inspiration to strike. I've talked about writer's block (here) and the struggle with that. I've also talked about when inspiration strikes at the worst times (here) but now I'd like to talk about how you tame your muse.

Pretty much every writer I've known has either had something they refer to as their muse. They may also call it their "inspiration" for the story they have written. Sometimes, like in the case of the TV show, CASTLE, it's a person. Sometimes, like in my case, it's an object that's whole purpose in life is to both annoy me and make me giggle like a three year old. Whatever you think of as your muse. You have to learn how to take the inspiration from its starting point to where it will end up in your writing.

I'm a planner (read about it here) and I'm also someone who easily gets distracted (read here). I struggle with my writing at times, but I also set myself goals to keep me orientated. Like writing two books at once (here), or writing a whole series (here). I find that I work best when I know exactly what I want from myself, but also when my elusive muse decides to let me in on how the story *should* go.

Sometimes I spend ages staring at it and cursing at it. I spend time making it vibrate across my desk and chapter plans. I beg it, I plead with it. I just want to write a few sentences, I say, can I just not get a helping hand up to the start? Sometimes it plays ball, other times it just screws with me for shits and giggles. Most of the time I don't know when it's doing either to be quite honest.

Being a writer and writing stories, be they novels, novellas or even a short article, you need to find that balance between relying on that inanimate object or person or whatever to write the piece for you, and finding the words from inside yourself. Once you strike that balance (and you will, eventually) you'll soon see that it's just something you keep around for sentimental reasons and not because you need it. Or at least that's what I tell myself when I'm going through a good patch writing wise.

"NanoBug", that's what my muse is called. It has no other function but to help me to think OUTSIDE the box. I need to write (hell, we all need to write) original works. It's not good taking something someone else has done previously and trying to make it similar but different enough that you won't be sued for plagiarism. You want an original idea. You want something that's within your comfort zone, something that you will enjoy writing and think others will enjoy reading. However, it's far too easy to get stuck in that little box of comfort and just churn out book after book without breaking a sweat. You need to make yourself work for the prize.

That's why you need to tame your muse. If, like me, you prefer to stick to one genre that you enjoy yourself then you need to make a compromise. You can write teen fiction, you can write books for middle aged women, whatever you fancy. It's the genre where you need to sometimes jump outside your box with your eyes closed and pray you land on something soft. So, say you are me. Which is good, coz I'm rather awesome ;) You write teen fiction and you mostly write for the crime genre. Yet, you know that you can't just sit there forever. You have to embrace new things. Art does not stand still and writing is an art form all on its own.

So, you step out and you think, I'll write a teen fiction book with the focus on romance, or one for pre-teens, or one with a different kind of crime story. Throw in a little supernatural, throw in some thing you've wanted to explore but have never gotten the chance. The idea is to think outside the box and sometimes that means dipping your toe into the pool and being unsure if you'll sink or swim. Every writer will go through this at some point and you never know, it might end up being something you thoroughly enjoy and plan to do again. It might even become your new main genre.

Whatever the outcome, we live in an age when a wealth of information is at our fingertips. The internet and while I don't advise using it as your ONLY source of research, it can come in handy for those little pieces that makes your work even more real to the reader.

So, learn to tame your muse. Bring it under your control and step outside of the box on occasion. If it all goes horribly wrong then at least you've learnt that that particular genre is not for you. Not everything you write has to make it to the final stages of publication. Explore the world a little, learn new things and enjoy making your readers enjoy them too. Most of all, have fun. If it becomes something you dread doing, then you're doing it wrong!

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When Inspiration Strikes - The Creative Process

When Inspiration Strikes...

You're a writer which means you're pretty much reliant on those creative juices flowing by whatever means necessary. You find something that works for you and you stick to it. Maybe you have a routine you go through - a special cup, a special pen, paper (for those who are old school) or you have a set up on your laptop for when you want to write. Generally, it keeps you churning out the pages and that's the main thing, right?

So, it's getting late and you realise you are so close to finishing this chapter but you know that it will be a few more pages and it could be late. If you're like me, you know that sometimes you just can't leave it and pick up again in the morning. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice sleep to make sure that you stay in the "zone". Inspiration is a little sod, and you are at it's mercy.

This happened me to me recently. I had been blocked and couldn't seem to get started on the next few chapters of one of my current works in progress. Now, if you know anything about me, you'll know that I generally write two books at once (here). You'll also know that I'm a planner (here) and I like to stick to the plan. So, when faced with inspiration dangling in my face and basically telling me that I could go to bed, but there was no guarantee it was going to hang around until morning.

There was the other problem I was faced with which was that my brain was plagued with what I could write and added to my problems with pain management, I decided that I would get the chapters finished, give into the master named "Inspiration" and *then* I would go to bed. Yeah, if, like me you've ever done this, you'll know that it rarely ends up with you getting much, if any sleep.

So, what can you do to get inspiration from striking at the worst possible moment? Not much, but I've tried a few things to get inspiration flowing at the right times and I'll pass these onto you here.

1. Routine is good...

Like so many writers I have my routine when I'm going to do some writing. I make myself a nice cup of tea. I open my word program, sometimes I put some music on to set the mood and then I read through the last couple of chapters to put myself in the zone. If I'm lucky, I'll just need a sentence or two before my brain kicks into gear and off I go.

2....except when it's not
However, sometimes routine is the thing that stops me. I personally don't work that well under pressure. Call it a character flaw or whatever. I like to know that I am in control of when whatever I am doing is due then I work better and that's one of the reasons I work to my own deadlines with a lot of what I do. So, sometimes changing some of the routine - like writing a different book than the one I'm supposed to be working on, or doing some planning for later chapters will be enough to keep the inspiration flowing

3. When it works, keep going

Since I already did a piece on writer's block (here) I'm trying to keep this piece about what I do when inspiration strikes at a bad time and this is one thing I try to do. It can be 4am, when I roll over and go for a pee and I realise that I can do this or that with Tara (I'm generally always working on a DYING THOUGHTS book, so this  usually is what I think about) or that other character(s) and if I can, I write it down somewhere - thank goodness for tablets - so that I can come back to it in the morning. If I'm working on something late at night and I feel like I'm there and that if I stop it would disrupt me, I try to keep going. It isn't always possible. I do have other responsibilities like uni work, oh and that eight year old that likes to go to school on occasion. However, sometimes one late night is worth the results. It's when they become too frequent that you have problems.

4. It is never inconvenient to be inspired

When I think about some of the places and times I have been inspired to start a book or carry on with a story, I laugh. I remember once, early in my writing career when I had basically given up with a book (it was the first DYING THOUGHTS actually) and I had sent chapters, four at a time, to a friend to read. I had basically backed myself into a corner. Anyway, I went on holiday and met up with her and the first thing she asked was when was I going to finish the book because she was desperate to know the answer. Inspiration struck and I spent the evening in the hotel writing the ending. So, from that I conclude that there is never a "wrong" time for your muse to start singing from the right hymn sheet.

So, whether the light bulb goes off when you expect it to, or if it waits until you're fumbling round in the dark for the light switch, remind yourself that it's all for the greater good. Inspiration leads to stories and stories lead to creating. Creating is fun and, for me the best part of the job (though arguably it's the only part of the job!)

Now, I'm running on about three hours sleep so I'm going to go back to the less fun part of the job and do more editing...

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Something Fun!

INTRODUCING: 'NANOBUG' THE MUSE

It seems to be the case that some writers have what they call 'muses'. Sometimes they are things - objects, places, music etc. Sometimes they are a person - lover, friend, child etc. It's not just writers who claim to have them, but artists too, of all kinds! People in the creative world seem to have something that works for them, helps them produce their art - be that painting, sketching, building, writer, creating, anything. 

As a writer I've always had something "real" that I call my muse - for a while it was a stuffed monkey, called "Matt" that was a gift to me by a dear friend. However, Matt never reappeared when we moved house and so I am unsure if he ever made the move. As it so happens, up until now I've never had the need to replace him with anything. For a while it was because I was only writing in the summers and therefore didn't have the want or need for something physical to talk to when I got blocked.

However, my god daughter managed to get her 100m & 200m in swimming the other week and as a reward I said I would buy her something. We walked up and down the toy aisle in Tescos and I spotted the HexBug Nano's for sale and thought "Hmm, as I am known online as "JoeyBug" wouldn't it be appropriate for me to have a muse that was also a "Bug"?". I offered to buy my god daughter one, but she chose something else. The next day, however, I went back and brought myself one. They advertised that they had a purple one and as you all know, purple is my favourite colour! I couldn't find a purple one - they only seemed to have blue, green and black, so I settled for a black one.

It's a great little bug, it whizzes around in circles and has fallen off my desk and tried to escape more than once! I like it, and it seems to be working as the past week has been filled with chapters being written and one of my finished books almost has a front cover! My artist, and best friend, B now only has one front cover to draw and all the finished books are done. She plans to then go back and "update" the other front covers to have them all look more recent and "professional" as she puts it. So, keep you eyes pealed for new covers - you'll hear about them here first! Also you can "like" me on Facebook for all updates there too!

Anyway, back to writing some chapters - do any of you have "muses"? Are they a person, place or object?