I completely agree about Jason's books - raw and powerful is an apt description of those early titles. And that latest sounds right up my alley. I will definitely grab it.
I have a confession to make too. For the last couple years I've been trying to write a book for an audience of one, ie me, mysel…
I completely agree about Jason's books - raw and powerful is an apt description of those early titles. And that latest sounds right up my alley. I will definitely grab it.
I have a confession to make too. For the last couple years I've been trying to write a book for an audience of one, ie me, myself and I. But I seem to be failing at finding an actual story to tell - I find myself instead caught up in the details of the worldbuilding and the history of the future universe I'm constructing in my head. Too many questions to answer, but I seem to be caught in a trap of my own making. Ah well, so it goes.
Hey- thanks for reading my stuff. Re: avoiding creativity traps. Because it's real. Here's what I do. First, come up with a tentative plan. Make sure it's all written down. Know where you want to begin, and then where you want it to end. Draw up a chapter outline following distinct story beats. Suggested reading "Save the Cat," or "How To Be a Writer." Upon demand I can flex you my Cheat Sheet Beat Sheet. Then, write. Don't be alarmed if your characters wake up and start doing off the hook shit. It happens. As long as they follow the beats, it's all good. If there's clutter, you can clear it on the final edit. Because then you're a long way to your goal- a complete MS. Execute.
Thanks Jason. That's this weeks goal then - get what I've got so far into a structure such as you describe. Luckily I do know how I want to begin and the overall shape of where I want to get to at the end.
And I'd never heard the term 'creativity trap' before but it makes sense from what I've now read of it.
Do you have someone you can trust to bounce ideas off? JB has Editing Cats and Plotting Dogs for this reason, sometimes it's hard to create when it's just you muttering to yourself.
I work as a developer in IT. There’s a ‘thing’ called ‘duck programming’ where if you get stuck and you’re about to reach out for help - paraphrase your problem and then ask a rubber duck. I know it sounds weird, but it engages a different part of the brain and sometimes the answer presents itself.
An excellent post on a number of levels.
I completely agree about Jason's books - raw and powerful is an apt description of those early titles. And that latest sounds right up my alley. I will definitely grab it.
I have a confession to make too. For the last couple years I've been trying to write a book for an audience of one, ie me, myself and I. But I seem to be failing at finding an actual story to tell - I find myself instead caught up in the details of the worldbuilding and the history of the future universe I'm constructing in my head. Too many questions to answer, but I seem to be caught in a trap of my own making. Ah well, so it goes.
Hey- thanks for reading my stuff. Re: avoiding creativity traps. Because it's real. Here's what I do. First, come up with a tentative plan. Make sure it's all written down. Know where you want to begin, and then where you want it to end. Draw up a chapter outline following distinct story beats. Suggested reading "Save the Cat," or "How To Be a Writer." Upon demand I can flex you my Cheat Sheet Beat Sheet. Then, write. Don't be alarmed if your characters wake up and start doing off the hook shit. It happens. As long as they follow the beats, it's all good. If there's clutter, you can clear it on the final edit. Because then you're a long way to your goal- a complete MS. Execute.
Thanks Jason. That's this weeks goal then - get what I've got so far into a structure such as you describe. Luckily I do know how I want to begin and the overall shape of where I want to get to at the end.
And I'd never heard the term 'creativity trap' before but it makes sense from what I've now read of it.
Do you have someone you can trust to bounce ideas off? JB has Editing Cats and Plotting Dogs for this reason, sometimes it's hard to create when it's just you muttering to yourself.
I work as a developer in IT. There’s a ‘thing’ called ‘duck programming’ where if you get stuck and you’re about to reach out for help - paraphrase your problem and then ask a rubber duck. I know it sounds weird, but it engages a different part of the brain and sometimes the answer presents itself.