STARTING A NOVEL: How to Stop Chasing the Rabbit

 Hey guys! Welcome back to Homestead. I got many comments from writers in my article last week that the problem they were facing wasn't that they didn't think enough, it was that they thought too much. I wanted to help the writers who are, like me, overthinkers. So, settle in as we discover how to overcome the planning phase. 

For the past six years, since I started writing I've definitely fallen deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. Everyone has a rabbit. A rabbit is anything that you’re chasing. That can be a car, a promotion, or a relationship. In writing, it can be searching for a character trope that will hook your reader, or a dynamic you're so obsessed with you can't stop thinking about, or a plot point you find yourself giggling and kicking your feet over. These are rabbits. Say hi to your rabbit. Give them some lettuce, some scritches, some love. These are all things we love doing and are good to do, but only in moderation. If we chase after these things long enough, we can lose ourselves. My Dad called it quality of life. It’s all about balance. 

 If you focus too much on what readers will enjoy, you'll forget what it's like to enjoy writing for you.  

If you think too much about a dynamic, you may become so fixed on it that your creative flow is impeded. 

If you're busy enjoying the thought of something, you'll become addicted to thinking about it and never actually write it.  

Not to fear! With every downside, there are three upsides. 1:3 is a nice ratio, and the best part is that chasing a rabbit into its bunker fulfills something you as a writer are craving. But like Alice, if you chase it too deeply, you'll end up losing yourself. 

This happened to me about two years ago. I was so consumed with just dreaming and imagining scenes that I forgot two important things.  

1) What reality is like 
2) In order to be a writer, you have to actually write 

How I overcame this was writing out of order, which I know isn't recommended for writers, but this helped me get out of my funk. I wrote down everything I was excited to write and used that as a launching pad to fill in the gaps. The first draft isn't supposed to be perfect and coherent. It’s just supposed to exist. That's what editing is for. Also, you know that big scene that you must write that the entire plot hinges on? Yeah, that scene in particular. Write it. Stop running from your responsibilities!  

Another way to stop chasing rabbits is to hone in and focus. Lock in. Keeping a journal helps, I have a notebook for every story. Using Pinterest to visualize characters and settings and drawing your character can also help bring your ideas out of your mind and into the real world!
 
That's all for today folks, thanks for joining me and as always, stay tuned! 

STARTING A NOVEL: How to Overcome Writers Block

 

You know the feeling. You've carved out a chunk of your time, scheduled it for days, even weeks "This is the day I'm going to write" and you sit down at the desk, open your computer, type in a heading and rest your fingertips on the keyboard. All the ideas you've been pondering just fly out of the window and any attempt at the first sentence sounds like trash. Nothing hits right and by the third hour of staring, you give up. 

 

This, my friends, is writers block. As always, welcome to my blog! If you're a follower, welcome back. If you're new, welcome to the Homestead. Take some cheese, get a drink, take off your shoes and stay awhile while we dive into my advice for how to overcome writers' block and finally start your novel. 

 

Your novel, when it's first starting, is like a color. For you painters in the audience, the page is your canvas, and your words is the paint brush. The paint itself is your creativity. When you squeeze the paint out of the tube and look at it on the palate, it doesn't mean anything, it's just a color, just a concept. The wonder comes as you add more paint, more colors, more ideas onto that canvas, but it's hard sometimes to get that initial idea on the page. So, what do you do? How do you get so motivated that writing isn't just a hobby, it's a lifeline, it's an addiction? 

 

You think. 

 

Imagine you're a middle schooler again and there's this cute boy or girl you like. They occupy all your thoughts, but of course you don't like them :3 (hehehhehee) and you tell yourself to stop thinking about them. Well, you can't. The more you think and dwell on their best qualities, the more obsessed you get. The same is true for WRITING. The more you think and dwell on your book, the more you fall in love with it and that's the secret that most writers miss. They don't spend the time to fall in love with their project. Some projects are harder to fall in love with than others, but it's essential to keep turning over ideas in your head, imagine scenes, create character designs, do everything you can to immerse yourself in the world you want to create. It also helps with ideas. When you're looking for inspiration and thinking "I wonder how [insert character] would [insert activity]" then you're becoming the character. Example, for the book I'm writing, He Needs A Father, I was sitting by the pool and I was thinking "I wonder if William knows how to swim, or just sinks." then I laughed for the next few minutes because the mental image of William just sinking straight down to the bottom made me happy. When you do this, the story becomes so real that it is real. And if it's real to you, it'll feel real to your readers. 

 

So instead of scheduling time in your busy schedule to write, instead take time to think. Just sit in a quiet place and think. Take time to fall in love with your novel and then writing won't feel like a chore. The emotions and words will leap off the page and writing will feel effortless.  

 

That's all for today, folks. Don't forget your coats, your purses! Thanks for stopping by and until the next time, Stay Tuned!!

THE KING'S ACTORS Development pt 4 Jason

"Jason frowned. She should choose her friends better. Keeping the company of murderers is never wise."

 As always, Welcome to the Homestead. Grab a seat by the warm hearth and get cozy while we dive together into the last main character of The King's Actors, Ava 

Background: Jason Allons! One of my favorite characters, mostly because HE IS A BEAN. The development was hard to pick up and for the first 4 years, there was none. In the beginning Jason was more of a concept than a character. I knew that sometime halfway through the story, which was at this time the beginning of book 2, I wanted to introduce a character that would help assist the main three on their journey. His original name was Will McCloud, my brother's Lego figure, and I thought that was cool. I wanted to base him off my brother originally, so I made him a pilot and gave him shades, because, for a sixth grader, that was the epitome of coolness. Eventually, as siblings do, he told me he didn't want me to use his name for the character, so Jason fell into the abyss while I focused on writing and perfecting the first part of the story (which I rewrote at least 4 times). Four years later, I was happy with the first book, and I continued on with the story until I hit a roadblock...what was I going to do about Will McCloud? Now, my family and I had gone to a resort near Universal Studios as a birthday present so one night I was just drawing, hoping that if I could get a character design scrawled down, maybe I could put a name to a face and figure out the character from there. I had just found this song on Spotify that I was listening to on loop, Detective Detective by Static-P and I stared at my paper until it clicked.  
 
Jason should be a detective. 
 
Inspiration struck and I was quick to seize it. That night I designed the character, gave him a name, and decided what his role in the story would be.  
 
Personality: Jason's character is one of my favorite in the book, next to Rex, because even though he doesn't always make the right decisions, he has a heart of gold. Jason's a huge introvert. He would rather sit at home in dim lighting and watch anime, or read, or sketch rather than deal with people. He's highly intuitive and has a moral compass of steel. In Jason's mind, what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. No grey area. He dreams of one day following in his father's footsteps and becoming a detective. Jason doesn't do well with ambiguity and always tries to solve things. He's, as I describe in the book, a gentle giant. His size makes him look like the boy who would beat you up on the playground and steal your lunch money, but he usually just keeps his hood over his head and shyly continues his business. He's effortlessly sweet and tries to protect and care for those he cares about the best he can. 
 
Voice: Unlike the main three, Jason's voice is kind of a blend of characters. He's similar to Chestnut in that he's in his own thoughts most of the time. He's the opposite of Rex's point of view, which is very grey area, abstract, feeling focused. Jason is black and white, logical, and fact focused. I really wanted to distance the two from each other as much as I could to not have them be too similar. I made a Venn diagram of the two characters and every time there was a similar trait, I decided who would get it and the opposite.  
 
Honestly, Jason was probably the easiest character to figure out. I haven't messed with his scenes too much and most of what I wrote in the first draft stayed in the final draft. After the hiatus I took with his character, the inspiration was there, and everything just clicked into place. I can't wait for you all to meet him in the book! 18 days left until it is released!!