I know I owe you all a more complete post about book piracy.
But to do it right I need to talk about a lot of things and right now I am not
sure what I was wanting to say little own how to get to it. So I am not going
there. Instead it be close to November and Nano I want to talk about writing.
About how to form a story.
I am given to understand that this is a hard thing to
understand. But I do not see why. They only thing I can think of is that people
are over thinking. Getting caught up in having everything perfect the first
time. That won’t happen. Just like an essay or a research paper a story goes
though a lot of drafts and many changes. It will take work to get something
good, and the long the paper the more checking and changes there will be. But
to get there you have to something to start with. Some say that their first
work is not even the first draft, but draft zero.
I think they do that because the point of the first draft,
the first righting, is simply to get the words on the page. To give form and
shape to the people involved and get a rough image of what is going on. There
will likely be a changes that have to be made. Names that get mixed up, events
out of order and such. More so if you are like me and simply can’t make an
outline before you right as you have no idea where you are going until you get
there. (Which is likely why these post bounce as they do. I make it a point to
write as it come, go with the words for this. It is what I told myself when I
started writing here.) But I think even the planers will agree that first
drafts are a mess. Unexpected things happen to them as well, I would imagine.
As I said I am not a planer, but a pantsters, that is to say
I go where my story and characters take me. I usually have a lose idea of the
world and a few elements. Hopefully a name or two. But some need none of that
they just write. A planer will know exactly where the story is going, but some
leave a bit of room, others have, or hope they have, a full road map of what
will happen when where and why. Though things can come up as you are writing.
As you get used the players something that planed just might not fit with them
any more. That is part of a first writing it is a good thing. It means you have
found your character’s voice, that they are starting to become whole. You can
work though it, just change a few things to fit. It might be bumpy, and mean
changes need to be made to some things that came before. But don’t do that now,
that is for the next draft. If you need to make a note about what has to be
fixed. But don’t go back. Keep moving. The point is to finish, to get the words
down. You can fix it in the next draft. There will like be many drafts to get
everything done right. But you will never get to that point if you don’t get
the words down in the first place.
There are just three things to a story. It is not that hard,
though some times the side roads make it seem so. The beginning where you introduce
the reader to the players. ‘This is Dog. Dog loves his back yard, it is nice
and big.’
The middle, where the
big trouble happens. “Dog has lost his big bone. He is hunting all over the
back yard, but it is nowhere to be found. Someone took it.” Ok so not that way
but you get the idea.
Then the conclusion, where the big problem is solved and at
least a few lose ends tide up. (Well ok in sires there is likely a big problem that
is not solved, but that problem won’t be the focus of the story, just the thing
that made the stories problem happen. Yes I know messy, but yet its not once
you get into writing it will fall into place. The more you do it the more you
will understand.) “Dog sits down under the tree and tries to think who would of
taken the bone. It had to be Billy Tabor. He was saying how he never got such a
good bone. Dog was getting up to go get his bone back when it landed on his
head. Turned out the prank play chipmunk had it and thought it was a good joke
to watch Dog run around looking for it.’ (Bad I know, but you get the idea I
hope.)
So find an idea or a character, something that speaks to
you. I can not tell you how to do it, where to look. Everyone is different.
Some just know others are inspired by what they see, some by a dream or a bit
of talk. I see stories all around. But some are not worth writing and some I
don’t think I can tell right. No one will see the same story in anything, but
everything has a story. Try looking at paintings and think of what was happing
in the moments before and after. That might give you a start. Or if that won’t
work take some other object and give it a life away from you. That is what
happens to it when you are not there?
The point is just to get the words down. You will be surprised
once you do.
For my nano this year at this time, two weeks away from start I have a 16 year old named Sara (but I think the spelling is off.) who lives in a world that was all most blown up, but old powers woke and stopped the bombs. however that messed up a lot of other things. But all that happened in her Grandfathers childhood, so her by now folks have kind of adjust. But the changes in the would has caused changes in beliefs and she is caught between two systems, the one she was raised in and the one she wants.
From that I will get 50+k words in 30 days. I have no idea how and there will be a lot of rough edges but I will do it.
All it takes for me is a place to start. Others need an plan. But still it is not that hard. Just a place, a few chars and a problem that gets solved. With that you have a story.
I am sure you can do it if you try.
Good luck to those who are. May your fingers fly. And forgive me but to those who aren't may the ideas start hunting you until you are ready to try. I think writing, no matter if only you see it, will help you understand better what it takes to get those books made. It makes you appreciate the work that goes into them more.
Well with that I will say:
Good night Imaginary reader. Pleasant Dreams.
