Scott Westerfeld: On Rewriting & Growing Up

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Scott Westerfeld: On Rewriting & Growing Up

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The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Scott Westerfeld delivers some wisdom with his pep:

At the end of drafting a novel, I’m usually in need of a laugh, so I return to the very first pages I wrote. It’s like looking at photos of myself twenty years ago: How callow I was then, how artless and unkempt, how innocent of what was to come. But what I’ve gained since those early days isn’t so much knowledge or wisdom or a better haircut, but simple perspective. I can see now where things were headed then.

Sadly, when looking at old pictures, you can’t go back and give yourself advice, or change those unfortunate clothing choices. But with first drafts you can. In that moment before revising begins, you’re no longer embedded in the hurly burly of what-happens-next and what’s-this-character’s-motivation. You have perspective.

saved! this is so helpful to me rn you have no idea

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#saved!

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Harry Potter as a teen comedy…

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maybe the best example of editing can portray a mood, tbh

like this is really funny but it’s also just artistically amazing

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i literally always reblog this because its soooo good

Source: justaskinnyboy.com harry potter one of my favorite videos ever just shows the power of editing

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Expressing Emotions Through Your Writing

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Hello, I need some help on my writing. Whenever I see others writing, then see mine, they just don’t match up. It isn’t with grammar or anything, but it is struggle with showing how to express deep emotion into my writing. I am not very emotional person, so writing can be challenge when I try to be. -doitsus-ass-is-spooky

I feel like this is something a few writers might struggle with, and while I can’t relate, I can offer advice on how I work emotions for both scenes and characters.

Gather Inspiration

Read. Read a whole lot of things by authors that are great at what you’re not: expressing emotions into your writing. In Reading as a Writer, we talked about the things to consider when doing this. Remember that just because you’re not good at a part of writing, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer. Everyone has flaws and strengths and you can get better at it through practice and perseverance.

If you want to write a sad scene, read and study how other authors go through these sad scenes. Don’t outright steal, but try to really understand the root of the feeling. Read poetry, too, because one of the most important things of poetry is to portray emotions, thoughts, and feelings, in a subtle yet interesting way. Also, listen to music related to the feeling. Listen to sad music, good sad music, and try to understand the lyrics or why it is sad.

Why to gather inspiration? To most people, it helps. It gets our imaginations going and makes the writing flow more easily since we have a starting point, however blurry it might be.

Show, don’t tell

(tw: war) “The difference between telling and showing in writing is simple. When you write about war, don’t describe the details and actions of the war. Show the reader the burnt socks of children in the street, the head of a doll sizzling by the curb, and the violent screams suddenly extinguished. If you can do this, the image of war will be branded into the reader’s mind.” - TBV

The ever present rule for writing style, showing and not telling has a simple premise: describe things. Take a moment to really try to show us the scene that we need to see. It comes awfully helpful when writing emotions because you don’t get much from us, the readers, if you tell us that your protagonist is sad. If you show us that they’re sad, through expressions and actions caused by this sadness, through body language, and through speech, we might get a better idea of it, and we might actually feel something too.

You could be failing at this because it’s very easy to fall into the telling, but believe me: if your scene is important and so are the emotions, showing is the way. So, consider the significance of the emotions. Like with any other piece, you have decide on what’s the feeling you want to convey through the writing, and then you have to work towards it. It’s fine if in the first draft you tell, because you can fix and develop it more, later.

Your Character’s Reactions

Everyone has a different way to react to things that affect them, including characters. Some people are more emotional than others and that’s okay; some show emotion in a different way, and that’s okay too. If you want to get better at portraying each of their behaviors in a true-to-them way, then no longer think of how your feeling process goes, but your character’s. Do try to connect however you can to it, though. This goes into the character development and description part of writing, and if your skill is better in this part, or worse, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you’re willing to get better. Find out how your characters express themselves, and you’ll get better at showing and not telling for them.

Link-Around

Emotions

Body Language

Show, Don’t Tell, and Descriptions

Emotions, Body Language, Descriptions, Scene Help
Message, Submit

-Alex

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reblogging this like the wind and god bless the person who made this

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10 Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice

amandaonwriting

Whether you blog for fun or write novels, it’s essential for you to know the writing voice that is uniquely you. If you struggle with retaining readers or with being consistent in your writing, you…

An exercise for finding your voice

Not sure where to start? No problem. Most of us need help understanding our voice. Here’s a short exercise that can help you — just follow these 10 steps:

Describe yourself in three adjectives.
Example: snarky, fun, and flirty.
Ask (and answer) the question: “Is this how I talk?”
Imagine your ideal reader. Describe him in detail. Then, write to him, and only him.
Example: My ideal reader is smart. He has a sense of humor, a short attention span, and is pretty savvy when it comes to technology and pop culture. He’s sarcastic and fun, but doesn’t like to waste time. And he loves pizza.
Jot down at least five books, articles, or blogs you like to read. Spend some time examining them. How are they alike? How are they different? What abouthow they’re written intrigues you? Often what we admire is what we aspire to be.
Example: Copyblogger, Chris Brogan, Seth Godin, Ernest Hemingway, and C.S. Lewis. I like these writers, because their writing is intelligent, pithy, and poignant.
List your favorite artistic and cultural influences. Are you using these as references in your writing, or avoiding them, because you don’t think people would understand them?
Example: I use some of my favorite bands’ music in my writing to teach deeper lessons.
Ask other people: “What’s my voice? What do I sound like?” Take notes of the answers you get.
Free-write. Just go nuts. Write in a way that’s most comfortable to you, without editing. Then go back and read it, asking yourself, “Do I publish stuff that sounds like this?”
Read something you’ve recently written, and honestly ask yourself, “Is this something I would read?” If not, you must change your voice.
Ask yourself: “Do I enjoy what I’m writing as I’m writing it?” If it feels like work, you may not be writing like yourself. (Caveat: Not every writer loves the act of writing, but it’s at least worth asking.)
Pay attention to how you’re feeling. How do you feel before publishing?Afraid? Nervous? Worried? Good. You’re on the right track. If you’re completely calm, then you probably aren’t being vulnerable. Try writing something dangerous, something a little more you. Fear can be good. It motivates you to make your writing matter.