Category Archives: Writing

Adverbs and Adjectives

Back into writing exercises!

I’ve hopped back into doing writing exercises from Ursula K. Le Guin’s Steering the Craft.

Today, I did exercise five which involves writing a paragraph of descriptive prose without adjectives or adverbs.

Here’s what I realized:

  1. I need to brush up on my grammar.  Throughout the exercise I was asking myself, “Is this an adjective?”  And because I was actually sitting down and writing for the first time in ages, I really didn’t want to substantially interrupt the flow of writing to look up grammar rules.  So I didn’t.  But it made me realize that since I’ve been teaching Reading instead of English for the last two years, I’ve been neglecting my grammar knowledge.  I think I might start by re-reading a little Strunk and White.
  2. The point of the exercise was to make you more conscious of choosing strong nouns and verbs and making use of simile and metaphor instead of adjectives and adverbs.  I definitely concentrated on that, and more than once found myself trading out weak choices for stronger ones.
  3. My biggest dilemma in avoiding adjectives or adverbs was in describing color, material, size, and time.  You can see below in my sample that I slipped up quite a few times.  I figured I still got what was intended out of the exercise, and didn’t want the end product to read weird.  Maybe I shouldn’t care about the product if I’m just doing an exercise, but personally, if I’m making the time to sit down and write, then I want to be at least a little happy with the result.
Here’s a sample of today’s work:
The last time I’d traveled to London was well before my parent’s death, at least six or seven years ago.  I believe I was just ten years old.  The first shock that bombards my senses is the noise.  The din of the carriage that I’d thought was so deafening on the journey is nothing compared to the onslaught of sound that pours in as we open the carriage door.  Whistles of steam, the clanging of metal, bellows of men, and the clicking of gears surround me.  My head whips around as I try to find the sources of such noises.
“Come, Anne.  Or we’ll leave you behind,” my aunt snaps.
I hurry after her, already several paces behind after standing mesmerized by the cacophony.
As I weave between women wearing corsets and men in top hats, I run my hands over my own wool dress.  The color reminds me of a gray field mouse.  The plainness of it must stand out amid the jewel tones that are so clearly in fashion–I push through a sea of people in emerald silks and purple velvet.
Just as the crowd is beginning to be too much, just as my head becomes light and my eyes have trouble focusing, my aunt turns and climbs up a short flight of stairs to a rowhouse.

Feel free to try the exercise for yourself.  It’s harder than it looks  😉

Response to Maggie’s "A Proper Education"

Maggie Stiefvater rocks my socks.  I heart her.  Glad that’s out of the way because I’m about to agree and disagree with her a little bit.

Maggie recently blogged about her education to become a writer in a post titled “A Proper Education.”

Some points I agree with, but others I don’t.

AGREE
Maggie brings up the 10,000 hour rule.  That you must spend 10,000 hours at something to become an expert in a field.  I totally agree with her on this.  People who spend the most time working at something will be the people to succeed.  It’s crystal clear to someone who is a teacher: the more time a kid spends on something, the closer they are to mastering it.

Maggie’s big argument seems to be that creative writing programs are not the end-all-be-all of getting a writing education.

“But I think that there are lots of ways to accomplish those [10,000] hours. You can self teach. You can apprentice. You can take classes. You can workshop. You can get a writing critique partner. You can steal someone else’s brain.” 

I agree that all of the above are important to a writer’s education. (Perhaps with the exception of brain stealing–  😛 )

Here’s where I start to disagree:

“I reckon before I post this, I should emphasize that I have nothing against degrees in Creative Writing. If you think you need one to keep you motivated or to structure your education, go for it. But it’s not the way I learn. And I’d wager in some cases it can do more harm to an introverted creative person’s psyche than good. But the most important thing is: they’re pretty much invisible when it comes to getting your book published. Your education, however you manage it, is the process: the book is the result. Agents, editors, readers: they don’t care how you got there, just that you did.”

The whole “if you think you need one” bit comes off a tad on the condescending side.  But knowing that she hasn’t been through a writing program, I’ll try not to hold it against her.

Because I happened to find a writing program that I consider a total blessing.  It has provided me with:

  • A nurturing creative environment
  • Companionship and writing peers that I respect
  • Mentors whose guidance has helped me develop my craft
  • Classes that have stimulated growth in me as a writer because they forced me to stretch myself outside my comfort zone
I know not everyone can afford to pay thousands of dollars to take college/graduate courses, and I should consider myself lucky that I’ve been privileged to do so.  But I really don’t think I would have grown as a writer as much as I have in the past two years without my graduate program.
I adore my graduate program.  And I do think it’s made me a better writer.
But I will concede some points she made:
  • A writing program could be damaging to someone if they don’t find the right program.  I’ve heard horror stories about elitist writing programs that do more damage than good.  Persevering through that kind of program just for a piece of paper is not worth it.  Especially if you aren’t growing as a writer and having your self-worth as a writer torn apart.
  • A piece of paper won’t necessarily mean you are more qualified.  (Though I do think it will give you some street cred.)  There will be different levels of skill coming out of my program.  One piece of paper for each of us won’t mean we’re all equally skilled.  Your work will speak for itself.  I think that comes back to the 10,000 hours thing.  People who put in more hours will be more qualified, and that includes the hours you spend putting into your coursework.  If you truly take advantage of a writing program, then you do build up hours towards your 10,000.
I know Maggie’s post was not meant to be a personal slight to writing programs.  She just wanted to say that you can become a good writer without one.
But I sincerely wish that everyone could experience what an amazing writing program can have to offer.  I was lucky enough to find a perfect fit.  🙂

The End is in Sight…

This has been one crazy autumn.  From my online grad class to big changes happening at my school, the pace of my life has left me breathless and with a twitchy eye.  (For real, my eye has been twitching for months.  Stress or exhaustion induced.)

And as much as I’ve been enjoying my grad class on Newbery books, I’m greatly looking forward to having some free time at my disposal.

And here’s why I decided to blog.  What will I be doing with said free time?

Two things.

ONE: Reading for Pleasure

My to-read list:

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

And others, but those have made their way to the top for one reason or another.

TWO: Writing (New Exciting Project)

I had a fantastic idea in July for a novel that would be a steampunk twist on a classic book.  I made myself hold off on beginning to write, thinking I would use said idea for NaNoWriMo. (Click here if you want to know what NaNoWriMo is.)  When November rolled around, I knew I couldn’t handle NaNo with the current state of my sanity (remember stress-induced twitchy eye?).  So I held off further.

And I’m glad I held off.  Here’s why.

I’ve been brainstorming in a way that I haven’t before.  I drive home to see my family pretty regularly, about an hour drive, and I’ve been turning off the radio and plotting in my head during the drives.  But I haven’t just been plotting scenes–I’ve been thinking about character arcs.  (Click here for a nifty website explaining what a character arc is.)  The story has evolved over the past 4 months, and I’m pretty tickled.

I have three arcs that interweave for my main character; three ways she will grow over the course of the book.  I have a skill based arc, a fear based arc, and a human relationship based arc.  Each arc now has a clearly outlined progression and the arcs connect with each other in a logical way.

I never would have come up with this if I’d just started writing with the initial idea in July.  I would have had a really crappy first draft.  Probably one with a decent action plot but with no emotional plot whatsoever.  Having it brew over four months like this was something I’d never done before, and I’m hoping the payoff will be great.  I’m really optimistic and eager to start writing.

I also want to give a little tip of my hat to my Writing Fantasy teacher this summer who helped me learn to pay attention to both the action plot and emotional plot.

So look forward to more posts about writing in December  🙂

Woo hoo!

The Importance of Conflict

I’m taking a class on Newbery award winning books, and I’m reading some fantastic award winning literature for children.  Some of the books are truly out-of-this-world fantastic, such as:

  • One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams
  • Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz
  • Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice by Phillip Hoose

But some other books on my reading list I’m having issues with.  And they have have something in common: lack of conflict.

They’re written beautifully.  They have big themes.  They have style and voice.

But I really take issue with the lack of conflict because it makes me ask: so what?  Why are we reading about this character in this moment?  So what?  Why is this event important?  So what?  How is this character learning, changing, growing, evolving if they don’t face any challenges?  So what?  Why write this story, about this character, in this moment?

If there isn’t any conflict, then the story itself loses immediacy, urgency, and importance.  Where’s the risk? Where’s the possibility of failure?  Why should the reader root for success?  And then why should that success mean something?

Stories that lack conflict also lack pacing.  And perhaps this is why the Newbery has been criticized as being a bunch of “great” books that kids don’t read.  Pacing is critically important in engaging child readers.  Without conflict, without tension, without risk, keeping the pages turning is near impossible.

The Newbery committee typically focuses on the following criteria in literary fiction:

  • Interpretation of the theme or concept
  • Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization
  • Development of a plot
  • Delineation of characters
  • Delineation of a setting
  • Appropriateness of style.

Hmmmm.  Development of plot.  Seems to me that’s where conflict should go.  Or perhaps it could go under delineation of character. (As without testing your characters, how can you see what they’re made of?)

However, maybe conflict should get its own category.  I’d argue it’s important enough.  Aren’t some of the most memorable characters in classic literature made memorable through the challenges they face? Would Romeo and Juliet be as memorable without the feud between their two families?  Would Jane Eyre be as memorable without her internal struggle between passion and morality?  Would Pip be as memorable without the conflict between his superficial values and his conscience?

Something to think about if you’re a writer.  One of my favorite pieces of advice is: to be MEAN, be CRUEL to your characters.  Make them face their biggest fears.  Throw everything you can at them.  I love that advice.  When I do it, my characters become more alive, writer’s block isn’t a problem, and the plot moves at a steady pace.

Now if I can just get the Newbery committee to acknowledge conflict as its own crucial entity in the selection process…

Short and Long Sentences

Despite a daunting to-do list, I made time to do one writing exercise this morning.  I’m now on the third exercise in Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin, and each day I find myself looking forward to the hour I spend doing her exercises.

I’ve found that most of the exercises are things I’m already aware of in my writing because of teaching writing to middle schoolers.  Once you’ve had to teach the 6+1 Traits of Writing, you become more aware of what makes good writing.

But her exercises are still a fun challenge.  And it gets the words flowing faster than if I were to sit down and attempt to continue a manuscript.  And so far, I’ve been pretty pleased with what the exercises are producing.

Today’s exercise was to write a paragraph with short sentences (no more than 7 words) and then write another paragraph that is one long sentence.

Here are my results.  I’m doing every exercise with my Steampunk project in mind.  (And I really don’t know if the second sentence is grammatically correct… but it flows alright.  I can check it later if I end up using it in a draft.)

The door closed with a clatter.  She didn’t want me there.  I was a child.  They were adults.  But this room didn’t want me either.  I felt the cold.  I saw the dust stirring.  I knew I was not alone.

The mecha-carriage sputtered to a halt and within seconds the door was swinging open, and a world was revealed to me: a giant stone Mecha Fac with curls of steam rising from pipes like turrets into the misty air, air that was filled with noises–clanking, screeching, clicking, wailing, druming–which filled my overwhelmed ears and matched my overwhelmed eyes which saw more people than I’d encountered in my entire lifetime.

One thing I thought about while doing this exercise is how long a sentence is too long when writing for children?  At what point will the length of sentences shut down your readers?  I’m very alert to pacing and readability in what I write because it’s something that I evaluate a text on when choosing appropriate texts for my classroom.  Just something to think about…

Writing with NO punctuation

Today’s writing exercise was to write with no punctuation.  No line breaks, paragraphs, nothing.  I thought the exercise would be rather pointless.  I figured it would just make me appreciate commas, periods, etc.  But the exercise caused me to focus on the rhythm of my writing, and I did not expect that.  Because I could not use punctuation, my brain tried to find other ways to make the writing flow smoothly.  After reading the results over, I found I did this two ways:

  • Conjunctions (and, but, then)
  • Repetition of words or phrases
The suggestion was to write about a hurried, hectic, or confused moment.  I chose to write about a character in the middle of a chaotic dream.  I thought whatever I came up with would be useless, but I may be able to rework it so it’s usable.  I like the rhythm of it for a dream description.
Here, I’ll share a bit of it:
then the dream shifted tilted whirled and I found myself surrounded by flames not warm not comforting but painful malicious burning flames and through the crackling spitting flames was cackling laughter and I knew this was the danger I knew he needed my help I knew I must find him I knew she was evil I knew he was amid the piercing flames I knew I was now strong enough and by my feet were chains hot chains snaking their way through the flames and the chains were my path my clue my link to him and i had to follow the chains

The Universals of Creative Genius

This morning on CBS Sunday Morning, there was a segment on Keith Richards (Rolling Stones guitarist) that I really enjoyed.  He’s a far more traditional and normal guy than his reputation makes him out to be.

And while watching this piece, they spoke a bit about his creative process.  He spoke of the hard work, but also how guitar riffs would just come out of his fingers.

In reading bio pieces and watching interviews, I’ve come to notice three absolutes about creative greats (whether music, art, writing, design, etc.).

  1. The passion, the calling, creating your art is unavoidable.
  2. The process and the way in which great ideas come to your mind is mystifying.  They appear, they feel right, and you don’t know quite where they came from.
  3. Hard work.  The true greats spend the hours it takes to get to the top.
I really find creativity fascinating in any form.  Whether music, art, or writing, the process of how your brain creates something from nothing is awe inspiring to me.  🙂

Sound of Writing

I did a writing exercise today from LeGuin’s Steering the Craft that turned out really well and got me excited about a Steampunk novel that I’m itching to jump into.

The exercise focused on paying attention to the SOUND of your writing.  You could use onomatopoeia, alliteration, repetition, made-up words, but NOT rhyme or meter.

I chose to write about the major settings in my upcoming Steampunk project:

  1. A Factory
  2. A Gothic Manor
  3. An Abandoned Building
I found I needed to brainstorm before I jumped into writing.  I made lists of sound words for the factory.  For the other two locations I brainstormed descriptive words, but then chose to focus on ones with similar sounds.
The exercise went AWESOME for the factory portion.  The sound words really brought the place to life, and I even created some made-up words that will become terms/jargon in my novel.  The gothic manor didn’t go so well.  I couldn’t come up with the right sound for that location.  The abandoned building went better because I knew I wanted to focus on soft sounds because the place reminds me of hushed whispers.
I’d read a post earlier today on the blog Operation Awesome where they wanted readers to finish the sentence “I love Harry Potter because…”  One reason I love Harry Potter is because the names, places, and made-up words have such strong sounds that seem to match their intent.  Severus Snape could be no one other than a slippery double agent.  The sound of his name just FITS.  And what could sound more evil than Voldemort?  Rowling had a real ear for sound in her writing.
Maybe if I do this exercise enough, I’ll have the same skill she does in the area of SOUND.  🙂

Life Gets in the Way

Life has been getting in the way of the more important things in life.  My more important things are reading and writing.

Life includes:

  • Returning to my home that was abandoned for 8 weeks
  • An earthquake
  • Hurricane Irene
  • Two power outages
  • The beginning of a school year that included more meetings and technology issues than any other start of year EVER
Between the largest earthquake the East Coast has seen in 100 years and a hurricane that did billions of dollars in damage and closed schools throughout Maryland.  Between replacing the entire contents of my refrigerator… TWICE.  And negotiating new traffic patterns around downed wires and trees.  And then getting organized for a new school year with a record breaking number of students… (We don’t have enough lockers for our current enrollment.)
I’ve been BUSY.
So on this Labor Day weekend, I’m going to make some time to do the labor I love.  My main goals:
  1. Finish the last book in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series.
  2. Do some writing exercises from LeGuin’s Steering the Craft
  3. Make a 3000 word dent in one of my manuscripts
Other things that may interfere with my main goals:
  1. Online class coursework
  2. Lesson Planning
  3. Recycling
  4. Laundry
  5. Grocery shopping
We’ll see how this weekend goes.  Here’s to hoping it’s a CALM one.

Establishing Routine

This is my final week before school starts back up.  And I’m using this week for three things all of which fall under one larger category: establishing routine.

My goals for this week are:

1. Get my place clean and organized.
2. Spend 1-3 hours writing every day.
3. Get up early and begin the day with exercise.

The cleaning is necessary for me to be sane.  This is the first time since June 18 that I’ve been at my place for more than 2 consecutive days.  I need to pitch, donate, and recycle.  I need to vacuum and dust.  And I want to reorganize things so that my environment is more writing focused instead of teaching focused.  I’m going to try to keep teaching at school this year.  We shall see if I accomplish that or not…

I think it’s crucial that I get into the habit of writing every day now that I’m settled back at home.  Whether it’s writing exercises from Le Guin’s Steering the Craft or working on a WIP, I need to make time to write.  By establishing that routine now, I’m hoping it will stick once school rolls around.

And exercise.  I have this plan to read on the stationary bike.  So it will serve the dual purpose of exercise and reading time.  But I’ve never been an early morning exerciser… so we’ll see how this goes…