Work Room - Week 3

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

The Results from Week 2 are in: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/720883.html

The new Topic is up: http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/720983.html

Which means it's time for a new Work Room!

One of the features that we have had in the past is that I recruit someone to come in as serve as your Mentor for the week. They have a post where they give some advice and then pop their head in during the course of the week to help answer any questions you might have. Think of them as your Tim Gunn.

For this first time out, I've invited back Season 7 winner amenquohi!

So I'll turn this over to her!

****

Hello everyone! It's so nice to be back on the Idol stage looking at all you poor schmucks as you pound your way through this. God love you.

I must say, I alternately envy and pity you.This contest is exhilarating in the extreme but it's also a real bear. And the best way to eat a bear? One bite at a time.

So Gary has asked me to impart some wisdom to all of you, since I am - thanks to the confidence I gained from this very contest - a paid, professional writer.

I blog five days a week on two (http://www.womansday.com/sex-relationships/divorce-diaries) platforms (http://www.singlemomtism.com), I write freelance articles (http://www.blogher.com/i-got-my-feelings-hurt-internet-1), I have self-published two (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/415225) thirds (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/419430) of an erotic romance book trilogy, and in a little over two weeks, I am pitching my YA novel to a room full of traditional editors and agents in New York. Cross your fingers for me.

So the bottom line of all that attention whoring I just did is that I write. A lot. Every day. I even write fanfiction in addition to that just because. And I've found that the more I write....the more I write. And the better I'm getting at doing it, I think. So here are my little pointers, and a few resources:

1. Just write. Stop second guessing yourself. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and just write, no matter how rambling, no matter how pedantic, no matter how weird or out there or not gonna work it is. You can always go back and tweak it or rip it apart or rework it. But you have to write it first. Stop waiting for it to flow perfectly from your brain.

2. Save the stuff you cut. Seriously - put it in a running word file or something. Those two paragraphs may slow your story down or send your character in a direction you don't want them to go, but just because they need to be cut doesn't mean they aren't still good. You may be able to rework them into another story somewhere.

3. This list (http://imgur.com/a/fPLnM) is an incredible resource, but number 4 on that list is invaluable.

4. When you hit a block, ask yourself what would happen if your protagonist didn't get what he or she wanted. Kill somebody off. Make someone secretly evil - or good. Write a grand story, kill everyone off and have someone wake up and it was all a dream and then they have a stroke and go back to the dreamworld again. In other worlds, make a big, bold, ridiculous choice and fly with it. You never know where it will take you and at the very least, it'll stretch your writer brain and get the blood flowing again.

5. Don't forget to play to the crowd. When this contest gets down to a smaller group, and your ass is hanging by a thread or you barely eeked through last round, it's time to pull out all the stops. Comment on everyone you can - more so than usual. Don't write a long epic of a story - some people pass the long ones over automatically (sad, but true), Post your entry as early as you can. If you wait till twenty minutes before the vote, who the hell will have time to read it? Play smart.

That's my two cents, and now, a few more resources. The first two I'm sharing from my Google drive and they are awesome writer tools. The first one, Saying Said, gives you alternatives to the word "said" grouped by emotion/descriptive response. The second one is the Wheel of Adverbs. Great to have, but don't get carried away.


Saying Said: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7hra5032IWYYmhrYjdteGwtV09vSjd4emNKUnlLN0tRUDlJ/edit?usp=sharing

Wheel of Adverbs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7hra5032IWYVUZoby15dXp2ZlU/edit?usp=sharing

And then there are these:

Forty-five ways to avoid using the word "very" - http://writerswrite.co.za/45-ways-to-avoid-using-the-word-very

Ray Bradbury on how list making increases productivity - http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/10/18/ray-bradbury-on-lists/

I hope some or all of that is helpful. Now go out there and write, you magnificent bastards! Write!!

Amenquohi

(or as Gary likes to call me - "Seven of Nine")

Comments

[crazed_delusion]

I love this topic. I also am torn as to what to write.

But I love Mario so by default I love this topic.

ETA: Also Frist apparently...do I read to fast?

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

Nope, but you didn't spend as much time wanking about the topic in your comment as I did in mine. XD

[n3m3sis42.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the awesome tips. :D

Anyone want to brainstorm the topic with me? I stayed up to see it and am about to go to sleep, so my brain isn't so much storming as, um... sprinkling? But anyway.

Here were my immediate thoughts:
video games (duh)
literal princesses (please god no)
fairy tales
you always find it in the last place you look
a dream deferred
somebody's been eating too many mushrooms
getting (literally or metaphorically) lost?

...

Yeahhhhh, I think I'm too tired to brainstorm. Let's make fun of me instead.

[roina-arwen.livejournal.com]

My immediate thoughts were the TV show "Castle" (see icon), something based in / around a castle (for which I have quite a few icons), and something having to do with chess (castling).

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

OMG THIS TOPIC THIS TOPIC EEEEEEEE!!!

I audibly shrieked with joy when I saw it. Which was kind of embarrassing because I was in public, but no matter! Silly muggles don't need to understand.

[crazed_delusion]

I was kinda the same. My love for video games made me flail.

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

Honestly, this topic made my entire night. YAY AWESOME TOPIC! And thank you for all the awesome recommendations and resources!

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

I love the topic too! It could work on so many levels... romantic, funny, personal.

I... have a terrible idea that I kind of want to go with. I think it makes me a bad person though. Hmmmm.

and good luck with your pitch, Amenquohi :-)

[amenquohi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am SOFREAKINGNERVOUS.

[kandigurl.livejournal.com]

That Pixar list is gold, I ADORE Pixar's storytelling chops SO. MUCH. Thanks for the tips and the resources!

[crazed_delusion]

1. Just write. Stop second guessing yourself. Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and just write, no matter how rambling, no matter how pedantic, no matter how weird or out there or not gonna work it is. You can always go back and tweak it or rip it apart or rework it. But you have to write it first. Stop waiting for it to flow perfectly from your brain.

Also this is by far my biggest problem. I really tend to throw out and mass delete so much writing on the slightest whim and I am attempting to work on that.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess now we understand Gary's Frozen ramblings.

I don't understand all the squee about it, but I agree it's a better topic than we've had.

Oddly enough one of my thoughts was In Another (episode of) Castle.

Heh.

[porn-this-way.livejournal.com]

The squee is a chorus of 1980s gamer nerds raising our voices as one and rejoicing in one of the most iconic video game taglines ever. In other words: dweeby Nintendo shit :p

[i-will-not-say.livejournal.com]

I almost dislike this topic because it seems geared towards fantasy writing. Perhaps irrationally, I'm worried everyone and their dog is going to do a fantasy story, making any fantasy I write get lost in the crowd. Fantasy is one of my favorite genres to write in, yet this topic is perversely making me feel like I shouldn't write fantasy (even if it isn't overcrowded this week).

Oh, and this journal was supposed to be a character alt, but I don't know if I'm even going to go that way now. (Evil characters, like my alt is, can be rather uncooperative.)

No, brain, I am NOT writing personal non-video-game nonfiction this week about how difficult college is. Nope, brain, NOT WRITING THAT. (My brain has been giving me random nonfiction ideas a lot this season, and I hope this one is just brain vomit before I get a better idea I'd actually enjoy writing.)

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

You could write about hamburgers - In Another White Castle
Or chess.
Or Nathan Fillion.
Or playing in the sand.

[p-m-cryan.livejournal.com]

Dear Amenquohi:

Your #2 suggestion is one I give to my editorial clients.

And as far as your suggestions go, Uncle Ray's advice has stood me in good stead for many a year.

===================

As far as this week's topic goes... no clue why suddenly I'm thinking of poetry.

I *******never********* do poetry.

.......

Dear Work-Room-At-Large:

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Should I do poetry this time around?

---pmc2

[amenquohi.livejournal.com]

Ray Bradbury was a GOD.

[tonithegreat.livejournal.com]

I'm glad the rest of the kids have explained the nintendo connection, because I wouldn't have gotten it. This topic is dauntingly wide open, though.

[sweeny-todd.livejournal.com]

see, I love wide open! Because there is so much room to play!

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

Damnit, I saw this topic and all I could think of is my son's obsession with any and all Mario games.

And his favorite character is Toad.

...but I don't wanna go with the obvious, damnit. Lol

I'm going back to bed and sleeping on this. =p

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

So, okay, I was reading a tumblr post tonight about how there aren't any queer romantic comedies and then this topic got posted so now I have cute funny badass queer princesses on the brain, which is a MUCH better thing for my brain to play around with than ruminating on my evening thus far, which has been rather upsetting. So would anyone read a rom-com-fantasy short story about a couple of princess-loving princesses? I can't guarantee there won't be some inspiration from The L Word in there, too.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

Is it wrong that my brain went directly to a really butch character that says, "Call me 'Princess' again and I'll deck you"?

[lawchicky.livejournal.com]

Have I mentioned I love Amenquohi?

Because I do. She is wonderful.

I already have a couple of ideas for the topic and am hoping we have a good internet connection in Philadelphia so that I can write something and not have to take a bye. I love to hoard my bye weeks as though I'm auditioning for an episode on A&E.

"Ma'am what is that room full of?"

"You can't go in there, those are my BYES!"

Anyway, I'm sure I'll change my mind 50 times between now and when I actually post (assuming I CAN actually post), but for now, I have to get myself to bed.

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

How long are you in Philly?

[eternal-ot.livejournal.com]

That was really helpful amenquohi...nice to have you here..:)

[amenquohi.livejournal.com]

It's great to be back :)

[binaryorchid.livejournal.com]

Thank you Amenquohi, for your advice:) I was just looking at the new topic and my brain came up with the picture of a real castle I had visited years ago. It was one of those castles that only allow entrance to a small part of it and there are guards everywhere so that no one will sneak out with a golden chandelier under his coat...

Seriously, just doing some more brainstorming now.

[xo-kizzy-xo.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one not particularly loving this topic?

:wanders away muttering:

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

I'm with ya. I just did a Mario post so I can't exactly fall back on that again. Not exactly sure what I'm doing yet. Totally just going to end up doing a shape poem. Or like.. this.



Creating
Awful
Sad
Twisted
Livejournal
Entries

Done.

[i-will-not-say.livejournal.com]

Dear Brain, why did you wake me up at like 5-whatever AM? This is silly; I don't like this.

So, as I mentioned earlier, I kind of have an urban fantasy idea about stoner demon hunters searching for a demon princess in various White Castles. (Demon royalty are a bit odd, you see.) The main problem with this idea? I'm not sure I could pull it off, mostly because I'm not a stoner at all and am not sure I could write stoner leads reasonably. But an epic battle with a demon at a White Castle would be kind of kickass.

I had vague thoughts about a love spell story, but they're amorphous at this stage. The nebulous quasi-idea was about a character who has the "perfect boyfriend/girlfriend" but isn't attracted to them (probably because they're in denial of their sexuality), so they cast a love spell on themselves to "fix" themselves (even though there's nothing that actually needs fixing). This, naturally, doesn't work, and the love spell does odd things to the cast. Love spells in this vague idea can't change your Kinsey number, but if you're not aware of what your number is, unexpected things can happen.

My brain also hasn't given up on a "dreams deferred/delayed" nonfiction idea, though I'm saving that for an emergency as I really don't like writing nonfiction, especially serious nonfiction.

Oh right, this journal was supposed to be a character alt. Right....

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I've been up since 4:30. On purpose. I want to go back to sleep. XD

Guess what I am writing about this week.

[dusty-chenille.livejournal.com]

Good advice, and tools. Thank you!

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

I am one of those who did not get the Mario reference (though my husband did when I told him later).

My current idea comes at the topic sideways, uses the idea of a never-ending task but has nothing to do with castles. Makes me a tad nervous.

Oh well, I should probably start a something and see how it flows/works.

[eska818.livejournal.com]

I make a solemn promise to read your entry, because it will be different! ^.^

[whipchick.livejournal.com]

Great resources, thanks!

One cautionary note - using more descriptive verbs as dialogue tags instead of "said" or "asked" can become purple prose if not used cautiously. Ditto on adverbs.

When I was trying to do a style of "cliched genre writing" last week, I deliberately went through and took out most of the "said" tags, replacing them with descriptive dialogue tags.

Dialogue tags and adverbs are like salt - a little bit perks everything up, a fraction too much and the whole thing's wrecked.

[vaudy.livejournal.com]

Yes! Also, overuse of adverbs can steer writing into "telling" territory instead of showing. Especially with dialogue--if I have adverbs on my dialogue tags, I'm learning to replace them with facial expressions or actions that convey the same thing as the adverb (or occasionally a descriptive verb).

[vaudy.livejournal.com]

Hey, #2 is something I already do! Yay, I'm already taking advice! (It is really good advice; you never know when you'll find the perfect spot for those cut passages.)

I'm waffling between writing another story in the fantasy world I just introduced last week (probably with different characters, because those characters weren't going to a castle--though I suppose there's not reason they couldn't), doing a fairy tale sorta thing, or a nonfiction piece about identifying myself as a gamer (or not).

I'm leaning toward the non-fiction, because I already have a solid idea of the direction it would go in, and I'm going to be a little short on writing time this week. (Of course, I know there will already be probably a ton of both gamer entries and fantasy entries. If I think of something that's not one of those, I should probably run with it.)

[i-will-not-say.livejournal.com]

You could do a fairy tale style entry... but set it in a sci-fi world instead of a fantasy one? So, fairy tale writing and tropes, but with spaceships and aliens and stuff? That might be cool.

I would also like to see more of your fantasy world, if you are still waffling about what to choose!

[shimmerdream.livejournal.com]

To me, this topic is almost too good (if that's possible). It's positively screaming "Fantasy!" at me, which I love to write, but I suspect it's screaming "fantasy" at everyone else too. So the question is how to make my entry stand out from the crowd. Lots to think about...

[i-will-not-say.livejournal.com]

This is almost exactly what I'm feeling. I love fantasy and would love to write it, but how do I make any given fantasy story stand out from everybody else's fantasy story?

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I'm playing around with the idea of doing either nonfiction or poetry about the idea that I've never wanted to be a princess. I know that's not an unusual sentiment in this group of people, so I'm hoping for inspiration on how to make it stand out and be worthwhile. This is why I'm leaning towards poetry. Any ideas?

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally know what you should write about. PM me, and I'll hit you with the obvious. ;)

[witchwife.livejournal.com]

Alright. I think I might have an idea. Problem being..I want to try to write it in magazine article format, which I've never actually done before.

Anyone willing to beta read?

[theun4givables.livejournal.com]

Me. :) I actually just finished my piece, if you wish to swap beta reads. ;) I need opinions on whether it fits the topic anyway or if I'm stretching it a liiiiittle too much.

I'm currently running it through the BFF first and awaiting her opinions, though, so I wouldn't be sending it right away. :)