Writing Class: Day One, Two, and Three!

So!

As you can read on the descriptions to my videos over at my Youtube Channel, I had some major technical issues, so I have three videos from the last three days for you guys!

I have now solved the problem, and we are all caught up and back to normal!

                  Writing Class: Day One!:

                  Writing Class: Day Two!:

                  Writing Class: Day Three!:

So, I'll be posting one more Video later tonight, Day Four, which is actually what is SUPPOSED to happen!

So sorry about the huge dump of videos, and thank you guys so much for hanging in there!

Thanks for reading/watching!

Top Three Thursday: Gifts for Writers!

An honor of my Birthday that just passed on April 22nd, I've decided this weeks Top Three Thursday will be about Gifts for Writers!

Now, everyone loves presents, topped with bows and heaps of love (Unless you're one of those people that give gifts out of obligation. Then it's heaped with hatred or poison, but it's just as well.).

 Those who know you better, such as best friends or family, will know you inside and out and will instinctively get you the most perfect gift ever.

But what about those who don't know you as well?

They know you're a writer.

But still--what do you buy a writer?

We are sad, strange little beings with entire worlds in our heads. Do you get them a mental help? Do you get them a Unicorn?  (The answer to that last one is yes. Yes. Get them a Unicorn.)

I'll list my personal Top Three suggestions down below on MY ideal gift!

            1. Books!

It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Writers read, so getting them a book is a pretty safe area.

But what kind of book?

You might check out their To-Read Goodreads page to see what books they have and don't have, want desperately or will-get-to-it-someday. You might ask people they're close to to stalk their shelves to see if it's there.

And, worse case, if you can't figure out what book to get them, just get them a helpful Book-On-Writing. Some of my favorites are listed over HERE, so that may be a good place to start!

         2. Writing Tools!

Get them a cool pencil, a notebook with kittens on it, a sketchbook to create timelines on!

I know that I can never have too many pencils/pens/ect, and I'm sure I'm not the only one!

Or get them some Writing themed gifts, such as a T-Shirt or picture! One of the best places for Writerly gifts can be found HERE!

       3. Something Fluffy!

And by this, I don't mean you have to go out and buy them a pet cat (Thought that would be appreciated).

I mean get them a stuffed animal--a cat, a bunny, a teddy bear. Writers are very lonely people, spending hours at a time locked away in their bedroom in front of a blank page, and it's always helpful to have a fuzzy little friend to hug when we're getting stressed out, to tell all of our plot lines to, or, on occasion, to throw across the room when we see a horrible plot hole.

I know that I like to write surrounded by little fluffy friends and, again, I'm sure I'm not the only one!

...Right?

So there are my Top Three suggestions on Gifts for Writers! 

Now go out and share some love with the Writer in your life, and go out and buy some of these things for yourself! You deserve it!

What do you think is a good gift for a writer? Do you agree with any of these?

Thanks for reading!

Falling in Love With Your Stories: My Adventure of Procrastination

So I talked about Writers Block a few days ago, with the promise to myself that I would get over this sluggish writing and get back to it!

And, I am glad to say, that I have indeed been writing, though, this time regretfully to say, it is not really any easier.

After my long break during this winter, I made myself start writing knowing that I would snap and get back to it like I always do after writing those first few words after a writing slump, but this time that didn't happen. It still hasn't.

And I think I've figured out why.

So this book that I'm currently writing is the third and final book in my Dragon Master Trilogy, and I started it back in November for NaNoWriMo, with the word count far past the goal of 50k words.

Currently, this book has 85k words, and 230 pages, and I have only just started writing the ending--which I pretty much consider everything after the halfway point.

This is the longest book I've ever written, the first two in the trilogy ranging from 60k words to 65k.

But none of this is the problem. The problem is that I think I'm afraid to finish it, stalling for as long as I can before having to type The End.

One reason for this is because I absolutely adore these books and these characters, and I hate to wrap up their story--but I've done this before, and I've gotten over this before, so saying goodbye for now isn't why I'm procrastinating so hard.

I think the actual reason is the fear of what happened last time I finished one of my series.

The first set of books I ever wrote was titled ATREA, with five 50k word books. Soon after I typed The End on that one, I started a SECOND series to ATREA, with five more books and 50k more words each, of the next generation of the characters in the first.

But, after I typed The End on the second series, I sort of stopped and stared off for a minute...

...What was I supposed to write, now?

I was convinced that was it. I would never write another world that I love as much as Atrea, and never create wonderful characters like them and I could never think of another good plot. I mean, how could I? Atrea was and is my life--how could I replace it with something equally as good, let alone better?

I tried for many months. I would get half formed ideas and desperately try to make a plot out of it, a character--something! I had nothing to write, and I felt like I would never do anything great with words ever again.

And then the Dragon Master Trilogy hit my like a sack of bricks, and into another world I fell, writing and writing for nearly two years until my fingers hurt and my brain melted.

And now, for the first time in those two years, I've nearly stopped writing the Dragon Master Trilogy. I've slowed down.

Because I fear what comes after I type The End.

Can I really think of something else to fall in love with, as I did with ATREA and the Dragon Master Trilogy? Of course I can. I've done it before, right?

But then I remember all of the months of lamenting over ideas, waiting for 'The One' idea.

'The One' idea meaning the one book that I will write and love. The one idea out of all of the little scattered thoughts that will fully form and drag me along. The one perfect spark of imagination that will create my next favorite character or my next devastating plot twist.

I like to look at it in the form of falling in love with someone:

"How do you know he/she is the one?"

You just do. It's this gut instinct that tells you this is right. It makes you happy and makes you excited and, basically, just makes you fall in love.

So I'm having a hard time writing the ending of the third and final book, because I know after this I will have to think of something else entirely to carry me throughout the next however many years.

Don't get me wrong--I have tons of ideas I've been dying to write--but that's just it. They all simply feel like 'ideas' and nothing more. No big OMG I HAVE TO WRITE THIS NOW nor any THIS IS BRILLIANT I'M DYING ideas.

No stories to make me fall in love.

So I am very torn about my feelings, because I am so excited for this ending, but I'm also so crushed to have to say goodbye again to the story I love. Thought there will be rewrites and editing and revising and such, there's nothing quite like writing a first draft for the very first time, and if I could go back in time and write my stories for the first time again, figuring out the plot holes and gasping when something I didn't expect happens and crying when someone died, I would in a heart beat.

Creating things is beautiful to me, and it breaks my heart when I can't think of anything to create.

An advice/opinions on this subject? Have you ever had trouble typing The End on a book? What's your favorite way to come up with ideas that make you fall in love?

I'm going to attempt to get some more work done on the third book, so wish me luck!

The Truth of Writers Block

I'll just say it.

Writers Block doesn't exist. It's not real.

It's something we, as authors, tell ourselves is real so that we have an excuse not to write something.

There IS a form of Writers Block that is real, but it should under no circumstance go as that title.

If it's under that title, you think you are blocked. You can't write anything, you can't brainstorm, and your creative flow is blocked by... What?

The need for a break. 'Writers Block' often comes after you plot a ton or you write for however many hours straight, or are surrounded by your own words for days/weeks on end. Another time it comes is if you've taken a short break, such as a vacation, or a busy schedule, ect, and in turn it makes it incredibly hard to get back into the groove of writing.

I am experiencing the second, which is perhaps why my words sound so bitter.

I know it is not Writers Block I am going through, because that is just an old fairy tale that is more myth than fact, but I AM going through "Writers Rehabilitation". I am on the way to getting back to normal, to falling in love with my stories again, embracing the beautiful flow of writing.

As hard as it is to believe, I'm sure I'm not the only one who understands that sometimes, whether there's a tangible cause or not, writers just get distracted from their writing. While their characters ride back seat, they are patiently waiting for the day--after days or months or years of distractions--for you to pick up the pencil/keyboard again and continue their wonderful lives full of adventure and challenges.

I think these breaks are healthy, to a point. I know that what I have done--gone without writing for over three months--is one of the unhealthy cases. And, of course, my reason for this was editing AWAKEN in order to get it pretty enough for a printed copy for my personal use.

I think a few days off of writing is a good idea, here and there, but the longer you wait to get back into your stories, the harder it's going to be. So, as you can well imagine, right now it's most certainly a struggle to return to the natural order of things.

I once read somewhere, in response to a person saying they haven't written in a few months, that they 'may not be a real writer, then.'. Like not writing for months or even years strips you of your 'writer' title?

Writing is not the act of one person putting words on paper. Writing is the act of one person seeing the world in a way that makes you capable of sharing that view of the world through, not just ink on paper, but any form of words. Writing, to me, is not a hobby or a career or a past-time--it is a mindset.

Writing is a personality trait.

So my break is officially over. I need to find the proper balance between things, and while I'm still trying to figure that out correctly, I can say I will be making an effort to keep more constant posts up here, while also juggling other life priorities.

Defying Impossible is like my own child, and I hate to leave it empty for so long at a time.

Do you have any theories about Writers Block? What is one of your favorite ways to get out of a writing break?

Want more Defying Impossible? Make sure to keep up to date with my Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr!

Writing with Music

I promise I haven't forgotten about you guys!

I've been insanely busy writing, trying to finish FORSAKEN before November comes to an end, but I'm able to sneak away for a few minutes to write this!

I want to talk about writing with music, for a minute.

Anytime I plan to get some serious writing done--like when I'm planning on sitting down at the computer for three hours at the least, and ignore all of the internetz, the first step is to put on my headphones and start my playlist.

Most of the time I open up my FORSAKEN playlist, which is full of Jennifer Thomas and Brian Crain and such, OR, on days that I need a little more motivation and excitement, I click over to my playlist titled 'EMOTIONS' which is packed full of lyrical songs that make me happy and have a good tune, such as Twenty One Pilots, Evanescence, and plenty of other songs I've heard on the radio and added.

Music has the power, to me, to make my book better than I ever could have written it. With a soundtrack in the back, I can't spend a bunch of time thinking about which words to use, or worrying about if it sounds good, ect. This is a good thing. Editing comes later, and having music to half-way distract me keeps me from critiquing AS I'm writing, which I think is what most authors struggle with.

It also has the power to set a scene. Is it an emotional song? Is it a fun, pop song? Is it full of sad violins and quiet pianos? Every song carries an emotion, so be careful which song you're playing when, because, believe it or not, it has power over you, as the writer, to accidentally seep into your writing as well. You expected that scene you wrote to be lighthearted, yet you were listening to a hard rock song? Yeah, think again.

Music has influenced my writing to the point that, if a good enough song is playing, something COMPLETELY unexpected happens, and I have to rearrange my entire plot just because a certain song played.

This is just how it is for ME, of course--I'm not sure about other writers. I've heard some writers need complete silence, others with a rainfall sound in the background--we each have different quirks. What's yours?

Do you play music while writing? Does music influence your writing? What is your favorite artist to listen to?

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon!

(Actually, I won't SEE you, because this is a blog and technically I'm looking at a computer screen right now, but... Whatever, you get the point.)