On Writing. 750 Words Saturday, 30 July 2011.

I am a writer i am a writer i am a writer

I just read a blog post by this dude named Chuck Wendig. The post I read was ’25 ways to become a better writer’ on this site ‘Terribleminds’. I love how this guy writes, for example

Number 18;

“Sometimes you have to sit down over a pitcher of moonshine (or a hookah burning with the ash of an 1st edition Finnegan’s Wake) and confab the shit out of that palaver with other writers. Meaning: talk it out. Talk about careers. Techniques. Books you love. Writers you hate. Writer conventions and conferences are good places for this. Just remember: the writers are always at the bar. Like moths to a porchlight.”

I found this blog yesterday, before I wrote my blog or after I wrote it I can’t really remember. My memory is shit at the best of times.

Lately I’ve been feeling kinda shit about myself, and my life in general, then I read this earlier;

“Do what you love. Do what you love. Do what you love.

It doesn't have to make sense, it can be completely illogical - but when you're walking in your joy and your bliss, your life truly begins.

AHHHHH so fucking grateful man, but get off your ass if you're reading this, because you can do it too. We tell ourselves all the time, ohhh they were special, or ooohhhh they had this because of that. No. Tell your brain to shut up. I was scared SHITLESS 100% of the time while I was doing what I was doing. I'm STILL scared shitless. But take that as a constant, you'll never NOT be scared shitless. I post my stories to give people permission to do the same. In fact, that's why when we started I used to give out permission slips to people to be unapologetically awesome. It's a psychological trick. So here ... here is your permission slip, now go be awesome. I can't WAIT to see you all at the table of life!!! =) =) =)”

I read this and immediately felt like she was talking to me. The woman who wrote this is Jen Friel (@JenFriel) and I totally adore this girl. It felt like she was actually talking to me, as selfish as that sounds it true.

I sometime sit here waiting for someone to kick my ass into shape, to get my ass moving on something and yesterday I told you that I usually always wait until I have no time left.

For example, I do my job search each and every day (except Sundays) and I wrote what I do down on what ever piece of paper is near by, because I have to fill out a job seekers booklet to take to the job centre every other week. Now I have lots of scraps of paper with lots of different things written on them. But I don’t fill in the actual book until at 3am the night before I have to get up at 8am in order to get to the job centre. And I have no idea why, it could be that I’d rather not do it, I’d rather be working instead of looking for a job and doing job searched, but then I don’t I just write this stuff in the booklet instead of on these scraps of paper. Again I have no idea.

Anyway, I read through the ‘25 ways’ above and most of it is purely common sense, if you want to get better at writing, Write, and read, read and write outside of your comfort zone, don’t just read and write what you know you’ll like, read and write in another genre altogether. Don’t be a Book Nazi.

I figured that I’d give this a go, I’ve already been doing my daily 750, so why can’t I do a little more?

I started writing a series of short stories a few years back, I only wrote 4, and I did loose one of them, bummer I know, but hey. I went to a blog I uploaded the other three to back then and copy pasted them to my word-processor (Pages) and saved them to a new folder, which I just remembered I have to back them up, I figured I’d just go back to them for now, I mean I never planned them, I just wrote very descriptive narratives as they came to me, so far people have liked them. Its called ‘The Corridor of my Subconscious’

And of course I have tons of other things to write but I don’t want to swamp myself, if I do that I’ll end up going backwards and I don’t want to do that, again. If I keep my writing light for now. Do my 750 words, and one short story a week and we’ll see how that goes for me.

I think as well that I might start a new Wordpress blog for them, to keep them separate from my other blogs. Maybe.

[Edit]

So i just downloaded an app called 'Writing Prompts'. I was looking for a writing aid, something to help my if i'm stuck on my daily 750. like a have been the last week or so. So basically the app has 4 main tabs 'Sketches' 'Scenes' 'Texts' and 'Words' the app will randomise each tab to give you prompts to write a short story. Example, The app opened on a Scene so i'll go with that, it says Place: beneath the streets. Character" a dolphin. Object: a full spiral binder. Time/Date: daytime. So i'd then have to right a story based on a dolphin under the streets, i'm guessing in a sewer, having issues with its spirituality during the day.

I have another one, which i've had for ages, i just forgot i had it, its called 'Brainstormer' in this app you get three columns you can either roll each one separately or you can tap the dice to get a random set. Tapping the dice, and the three words i have are, Remorse, Arthurian and Colony.

I think i might use these apps if i'm stuck for a 750 or for a weekly short story, assuming i remember to write one. And i shall try, promise. There is no limit to how many words they have to be, unless its for my 750, but i can pad that out with other stuff if i need to.