Category: writing

writing

character building

abby mumford

you can learn a lot about someone by what they say, but you can learn even more by what they don’t say or even just by the tone of their voice.

for instance:

bria: i’d love to find a good chicken salad recipe.

me: that’s so labor intensive. you have to boil the chicken, cut it into cube sizes pieces, and then make the sauce.

bria: you don’t cook much, do you?

me: *startled expression*

bria: you listed three steps. *laughs*

she’s right. i don’t cook much. i don’t particularly enjoy it plus cooking for one means i only need to cook once a week because a recipe yields plenty of leftovers, but that wasn’t the point i set out to make when i made that statement.

which got me thinking about writing. it’s the age old rule of SHOW, DON’T TELL, but to see it so clearly…

i said one thing, but the audience read (the truth) between the lines. chicken salad really isn’t that difficult to make and even with my limited culinary skills i could do so myself.

but again, not my point.

the point is that there are so many ways we get to know people – by talking, listening, watching – and it’s important to incorporate tidbits about the characters in a variety of ways because it’s not only more interesting, but it reflects reality and what’s fiction if not an exaggerated form of the truth?

what’s the sneakiest way you ever learned something about someone? (in real life OR a book.)

writing

habit forming

abby mumford

as i stood there, gravity forcing me to the side, and the guy next to me politely and discreetly offering his shoulder for balance, i couldn’t help but think, “how’d i becoming one of those unbalanced, newbie T riders?”

the truth of the matter is i don’t ride the T much anymore. i live and work on the same side of the river thus removing my need for daily subway rides and turning me into an uneasy rider. i can’t seem to remember when to bend my knees, when to lean against the curve vs. when to lean into it, all of which used to be second nature. back in the day, i could listen to my ipod and read a book and still remain solidly in place, but now because of disuse my T riding habits have gotten rusty.

which left me thinking about my writing habits… previously, i was only writing when the mood struck, not when the word count needed to be up, but since i’m now in the “disaster draft” stage of writing (as coined by bria quinlan), i need to be writing as often as i can.

i’m working hard to develop habits that resemble a professional.

even though i have been writing more regularly, it’s important to remember that just because i’m setting up these habits now, it doesn’t excuse me from hard work. even if it’s only 400 words a night, it’s reinforcing that pattern of sitting my butt in the chair and writing. i’d rather my joints get rusty from sitting too long than my words from non-use.

another way to make sure habits take hold is accountability.

one way is to have write-ins with friends. another way is to announce my goals on twitter because the twitterati always and randomly show up to support and challenge me. it’s that whole team mentality. it’s easier for me to get something done if i know there’s a deadline, but self-imposed deadlines (which are all i have right now) only work so well.

the solution is that i’m training myself to be more open about my actions so that the proper people (or improper if the case may be) can offer support and guidance and cheerleading.

and i’ll continue to hope that when life (or the T) takes an unexpected turn and my good habits take a nose dive, there will be a shoulder to lean on (thanks, random guy on the T) or someone to calm the panic (thanks, bria) or the saying “old habits die hard” comes true.

how do you feel about habits — are there any that can be unlearned? re-learned? do you have any you wish you didn’t? any you wish you did?

writing

writing through the wall (or writing 101)

abby mumford

i don’t know why or where or how i was under the impression that you only had to break through writer’s block just one time and that once you were through, it was all SUNSHINE and HAPPY THINGS and TRA LA LA LA LA all the time from your fingertips.

not so. oh, not so. you have to break through that wall EVERY. SINGLE. TIME you sit down to write.

EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

this post by jessica corra explains it all so much more eloquently, especially the part where she relates it to sports, specifically running. just because i hit 3 miles yesterday doesn’t mean that running today is going to be easy. i mean, it might. the weather might be cool and crisp and my legs might be fresh, but then again, the humidity might be solid and my legs could feel like that as well. who knows? all i know is that i have to push through and keep running because once i’m done that’s when i feel all ENDORPHINEY and SHINY and TRA LA LA LA LA LA and GOOD.

i want to get to that place from writing and the only way to do so is to finish. and to finish, i have to start. each day (or, you know, most days). word by word and sentence by sentence, the pages will fill up. sure, the rough draft is going to be icky and horrid and unfit for all human eyes (save my own), but that’s when the EDITING and POLISHING and SERIOUS WRITERLYISHNESS comes in.

getting that first draft down and out has been difficult for me. i’m not going to go all psychotherapist on myself to figure out why, but instead be grateful that i’ve stumbled into one bria quinlan who’s the funniest type of taskmaster. she’s getting me to put my butt in the chair (at the thinking cup and/or at california pizza kitchen and/or at my own house) and i’m writing. i really am. (look ma, no hands!) (wait…)

the other thing this fast drafting process has shown me is that i’m so busy working i don’t have time to sit and think, “hey, this is really bad and these characters all sound the same and the plot? what plot? and UGH, i stink and what’s dangling participle again?”

i’m just there in the moment writing.

like with running, i don’t have time to think, “hey, my arms aren’t swinging enough, my foot falls on its heel, do i look weird?” because i’m watching for traffic and deciding to go left or right and pushing forward and feeling how my lungs are doing.

i’m just there in the moment running.

it would appear that by just doing [said task], i’m able to push through that wall, which, for me, is composed (brick by brick) of self-doubt. your wall might be made of a different foundation, but the point is not what it’s made of. the point is not to give yourself time to think or worry or ponder, but to get around, over, under, through, past it any way you can.

and if you have trouble getting going, i think it’s okay to start by writing ON the wall.

feelings, writing

believe

abby mumford

jeannie moon’s friend jolyse barnett left a comment on jeannie’s blog and it ended with a single, profound statement:

“Believe in yourself, and write what you love. Nothing’s more real than that.”

yup. this. do it.

and if you need to, replace the word “write” with what you do.

teach, learn, coach, cook, sing, create, draw, drive, run, swim, jog, say, bike, read, skate, sail, jump, climb, sleep, row, etc.

*big, squishy hug for you all*

go do something grand today.

writing

aMUSEing (or i just had an AH HA moment.)

abby mumford

i had planned another post for today, but then i came across THIS ARTICLE by sarah fine and it was so brilliant, i had to write about it. it’s short, so i’ll wait for you to click through and read it.

ok, done? the thing that’s so great about that post is that it applies to a whole lot of creative endeavors.

writing
running
reading
cooking
listening
drawing
music-ing
knitting
dancing
taking pictures
painting

all of these things can be improved upon if you focus on the relationship between things rather than just one specific item. how much sassier would that still life painting be if, instead of just the orange sitting there, it’s about the orange and the table and how close it is to the edge?

see? electric.

so yeah, to quote Oprah, i just had an AH HA moment. the idea of squishing, ordering, and/or expecting your muse to show up in the form of one person or one place or one idea is ludicrous (to me), but until i read that article, that’s exactly what i was anticipating would happen. i don’t know where i came up with that idea because as i sit here and think about it no one i know exists in their life as just one person. we’re supported and surrounded and sometimes forced to deal with friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances and strangers and it’s all of these interactions that shape our responses, our days, our world. it’s these occurrences that make our lives and stories interesting.

as a writer, the way i express my creativity is through time spent alone because how else am i going to get the words out? i can’t do that in a room full of people expecting me to engage in conversation, but being social is something i like to do, so this idea that my muse involves a lot of people and a lot of relationships and the electricity between them, well, hell, i’ll go to that party.

and suddenly, just like that, the writing time isn’t so lonesome. AWESOME!

in other news, there is one other thing that charmed the pants off me (yes, pants. it’s mid-June and i’m still wearing pants. come on, New England!) is this quote that kelly breakey shared with me: “Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book!” oh my! how true that is. gosh, don’t you just love to read?