So, many of you who are reading this may be without a doubt participating in NaNoWriMo or at least using the site. I’ve noticed one of the most hindering problems in writing is actually beginning to write once you’ve pulled up your novel, instead of spacing out. As we all know, it’s easier to write once you’ve already started to write, but near impossible when you haven’t.
So an easy way to get into the rhythm is to read over your last few paragraphs, maybe a page or two. This will get you in the know on your own story and into the rhythm without even having to write. That way, you know just what you’re going to type next when you’re done. Go on, try it! I’ll update this post later with progress and comments on NaNo… actually, I probably won’t. NaNo is my priority right now, so I bidest thee adieu!

brains.

So, we’re on to Spotlight Saturday. Here, we have the creative writing corner! The title is pretty much self-explanatory. It’s filled with all sorts of things and advice for creative writing! Check it out. I’m not really in the blogging mood today, so I’m being lazy on the description.

http://www.blairhurley.com/

Onto business!

You may know that Friday, I talked about drawing, and that I had recently adopted a new cartooning style. Well, today, I found that my cartooning style translates well into MS Paint! Huzzah! Pictures of some of my characters will be posted at the bottom.

Now, the real deal. First, some more advice. Many writers are writing in between college and school and jobs, and that means in between homework. That may mean that you don’t have enough time to get your homework done, get in your fix of goofing off, AND write! Well, there is an easy solution to this. One of course, is setting a schedule, but I covered that before. Today, though, I’ll be covering blending in with homework. First, set a nice daily goal as all good writers should. Say for example…500 words a day on weekdays, 1,000 on weekends. If you’re in school and have a homework planner of some sort, then write it down in there. Now, treat every night like a homework assignment. You have to get those 500 words in or you might get a low grade on… uh… writing your novel! This may seem a little too contrived, but it’s not actually that hard. Add it to your work schedule is all you have to do. If you have parents or a roommate that likes to enforce you getting your work done, then get them in on it, too! A little prodding never helps.

Hooray, progress diary time. Today was the first time I wrote in ages, because I’m such a horrible procrastinator. How come I can tell others how to not procrastinate, but not I? And, as my horrible writing existence would have it, I wrote a measly one to two hundred words. Come on! Who does that? But, I like what I wrote. Houl’s riding cat, Basha, has been being stubborn and refuses to let him ride her. As a result, he has to tug her along by a rope on his way back to the wagon to catch up with the rest. If there’s one thing I’m good at writing, it’s a little slapstick. A paragraph or two ensues describing his futile attempts to mount her (get your mind out of the gutter, pervert). He, at one point, tries to feign giving up, and then leaps onto her at the last second. But, being a sly little cat, she sidesteps the ambush and he falls flat on the ground. For quite a while afterwards, Basha sits with his head cradled in her mouth like a lion cub playing with her litter mates. Only this is to subdue him. And so he… oh, never mind, you don’t want to hear me talk about MY needs anymore! Here are some pictures of characters from my novel done in MS Paint in a cartoony style!

The main villain giving us a toothy smile

Royce giving us a confused look in his GGH (generic grey hoody)

Why so serious, Sylviet?

Now, how does this have to do with writing, you ask? Simple. There’s nothing more fun for any writer who can at least scribble unrecognizable shapes than to scribble characters and scenes from your book! I really got things going by drawing cartoony, chibi-ish (which was a breath of fresh air, since I normally draw very realistically and painstakingly) versions of all of my book’s characters, even the minor ones, in a fashion similar to that in these cute (although embarrassingly girly) animations. And then I put them in different scenes from my book, both ones I’ve already done and some that haven’t been written yet. Seeing the glory of what you’ve put off writing is something encouraging, I’ll tell ya’. You don’t have to be GOOD at drawing to have it help get your brain working, or have a certain style. Draw whatever you can and however, it will work.

If I get my own digital camera, I may start putting up How-To-Draw videos for my style and characters, both my cartoony style and the more difficult, realistic style. Look forward to that in… not the near future, probably around mid-January. So yea, don’t look forward to it for a while, I guess.

Also, I’ve decided to not chicken out and make this regular-ol’ advice Friday. Now, I will replace the second piece of advice, which I can usually never come up with, with an encouraging quote by writers for writers!

“Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It’s a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write.”
(Paul Rudnick)

Hmm… I may just start ending every post with something like this. Who thinks I should? Comment, so I know you’re there! (comments make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and like I’m not talking into radio silence)

I actually happen to own an account on this site, I’m PYRE13, so feel free to send me a few  messages with nanomail if you too own one.

This site is so incredibly helpful, its unbelievable. It’s possibly the largest, friendliest free writing community out there, not to mention the most helpful. There’s a forum for just about everything, from music to write to (as I featured in the previous post) to writing tricks to character and plot realism Q&A. Anything you need is here. There are even boards for general talking, specific boards for genres, such as fantasy, and boards for MMO players! *sigh* I love this site.

I guess I SHOULD mention the point of the site. Keep in mind that actually doing this is OPTIONAL. Every November (yikes! It’s just around the corner!) it is [almost] every member’s goal to write a 50,000 word novel, or just 50,000 words if your like me, within the month. Don’t worry, the goal is quantity, not quality. But, since I just use it as an excuse to write more, I personally go for the other way around, mainly because I want to get published.

So, explore the forums! Explore the site! See how you like it! Join! I’ll be waiting!

Onto today’s next piece of advice… well, I’m stuck once again. Let’s just change this to “Advice Friday,” instead of “Double Advice Friday,” shall we?