Creative Nonfiction: A Reflection of the Past Year

Good evening, fellow writers! This is just a quick update, since the holiday festivities have me beat. Just a quick note: look at the top of the page and notice the beautiful banner I created. Procrastinating revisions? Hell yes.

Since many of us have been thinking about the past year--our regrets, our accomplishments, etc.--so I've been using those contemplative times for inspiration for my writing.

One thing I've been experimenting this semester is creative nonfiction. For those that don't know, creative nonfiction (in my opinion) combines some great aspects from both fiction and nonfiction: writing real life events in a story-like format. I find that I can really get a lot of emotion out of the events that really happened to me, and writing them in a novel format helps me improve my writing.

So this is my prompt for you this week. Think back on any event at all this past year, one that stands out in your mind. It can be elating, devastating, angering, anything. Then write about the moment, describing as much as you can remember (from the scenery to dialog) and write it like you would a short story. It should have a beginning, middle, and end, but it can be as long as it takes to tell the story. Happy writing!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Have you ever written creative nonfiction?

To-Do List: Ally or Enemy?

Good afternoon, writers! Today I've been thinking about how I hardly have time to write. However, something I recently learned is that you have to MAKE time. I always say "I'm too busy to write," when in reality, I just don't make time. I always lower it and lower it on my priorities list. I have homework and studying, yes, but then I decide to go out to eat with my friends or go to the movies or write Christmas cards. How serious you are as a writer and how high writing is on your to-do list will show how determined you are to finish that novel or to get that article published.

This post is a short one, because, of course, I have many other things on my priorities list. But do me a favor: try to inspect your to-do list and see how you can rearrange it. Then you'll discover how much writing truly means to you.

If you have any comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. I guess it's time to pick up that pencil...

Question: How often do you write? Do you "have time" to write?

Writer's Block: Curse or Myth?

Good evening, bloggers! Today's topic is writer's block, the plague to us all. We often blame out lack of a word count for days, weeks, or even months on this little disease. Some people say it's the death of writers while others believe it's only a state of mind.

It can be a lack of inspiration or just a lack of motivation. Personally, you can have no ideas for a certain story you're writing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you have writer's block. If you lack ideas for one story you may very well have a surplus of ideas for another. Or, it can be that you have so many ideas for a story that they get jumbled in your brain and the excess amount of ideas just boggles you and seems too overwhelming to work on.

If you have a plot hole, I see it as more of an obstacle to overcome than a block. A block, to me, sounds permanent, while an obstacle sounds like something to work hard for and achieve. If you have no ideas for it, try working on something else and coming back to it later. I solve many of my plot holes just out of the blue, either getting ideas from school assignments or conversations with friends or during a shower. Inspiration just hits you like an oncoming train sometimes--fast, unexpected, and hard.

One thing I'm sure to do is that, no matter what time it is or where I am, I write down any ideas I have. Even though an idea might seem like nothing down, it will someday grow. You can be pondering over it later and it can turn into a full-fledged novel idea. At 3am when I awake from a dream, I always groan and get up to turn on a light to write down my story idea from my dream. If I'm in school I write it on the corner of my notes to remember it.

If you just get lazy, that's your own fault. Or if you're just so busy that you find it hard to write, start off small with a prompt or a poem. Try a short story or something else before going back to your work in progress. Perhaps your WIP is boring you and you need to spice it up. If it seems like you have such a long way to go, think of it in sections and just remember how happy and accomplished you'll feel when it's done.

Sometimes writer's block is just a menace that prevents the right words from being released from your ballpoint pen. If you can't get the words out, try an exercise to get the juices flowing, like being really descriptive with something (look at an object and describe it in great detail with all five senses). Learning some new vocab can help too; I get Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. If I just need to reconnect with my characters, I write a short scene or some drabble with them. Sometimes I even wind up altering them and inserting them into my story!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil..

Question: Do you believe in writer's block? Do you suffer from it often?

Retrace Your Steps--Don't Get Lost!

Good evening, writers! Picture this event in your head: You write a great story with a flowing storyline and a solid plot, then suddenly--BAM--your manuscript is read and pulled apart, the beta (or whomever) shedding light to the small plot hole that ruins your story. What you have to do then is go back and retrace your steps to change the plot while still producing the main result. Ever experience that? I have. I'm sure many of you have, too. That's why I'm going to share my advice on retracing your steps to edit your plot. Don't give up or get lost! If you don't go back and change it, you'll never finish it! :[ All that effort, forever wasted. You don't want that, do you? I'll provide some tips, plus some reasons to keep going.

1) Know how the story is going to end. Having a clear idea of how the story will end definitely will help you decide how to advance. If your character has to get from A to B, it helps narrow down the options.

2) Use the experience to your knowledge. The second time around, you know what went wrong and what went right, so not as much experimentation is needed. You have better knowledge of grammar than before (I would hope) and you know which things don't work in certain situations. It will be faster this time around.

3) You already know your characters! You know your characters a lot better since you have spent more time with them. You have their catchphrases and behaviors, plus you know how they would react in certain situations. This will help you think "Hmm, if So-and-So did this, then this would happen." Knowing you characters will help you greatly.

Plus, the best thing is, you're not starting all over. You have the majority of the story in your mind, from the ending to the characters to the setting. Even if it's a major change, you still have most of the learning already done. See? It won't be so hard. You can do it!

P.S. The Quill and Ink Forums (a forum I moderate) is having a Thanksgiving writing contest. Check out the forum for more details. In one contest, we are giving out Chris Baty's [i]No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in Thirty Days[/i], so check out the blog for more details.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Have you ever hit a plot snag in your novel? Found a plot bunny hiding in the bushes? How did you fix it?

Start Your Horses!

On your mark, get set, go! Today is November 1st, the first day of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).

Basically, for those who don't know what NaNoWriMo is, the main idea behind it is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days (the month of November). One of the main objectives of NaNoWriMo is to get aspiring novelists to actually write their novel, but in 30 days. Why such a short time period? Well, in my opinion, if you gain the confidence of knowing you are fully capable of writing a 50,000 word novel (by finishing NaNoWriMo), you'll be able to more easily write your next novel (taking longer than thirty days of course). A major problem with to-be writers is that they lack confidence, thinking they'll never be able to finish, or lack discipline, not having the ability to just set time aside to their novel every day. With NaNo, you HAVE to budget your time or you'll never finish, so it teaches you time management. Once you finish a novel, you are free to gloat. Plus, after writing your novel and go back to revise it a few months later, you can learn about all of the errors you made and learn how to correct them.

A few tips to finishing your NaNoWriMo novel

1) Don't procrastinate. See how I posted this blog post? Yeah, try not to do that as much. That's time wasted that you could be writing your novel. I'm only posting this because I love you guys.

2) Don't edit. No matter how much you want to revise your previously-written chapters, don't look back. We both know they aren't you best, but don't reread them yet. That's for December.

3) Write the required 1667 words (or about) each day. It helps you keep a time line and not have to write all 50k in the last weekend of November. That's what I call stressful.

4) Calm down and have fun. Don't worry about if your writing is good or bad or about plot holes. Just write. It will all sort itself out. If it doesn't, that's what December's revisions are for.

I hope this helps! After all, I did use up valuable NaNoWriMo time typing it up. :] Best of luck to the participants! See you in December! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Have you decided to do NaNoWriMo this November? Why or why not? If so, what are you hoping to get from it?

Welcome to Halloweentown

Good evening, writers! Halloween is less than a week away and I can't wait! I love it all: the candy, the parties, the costumes. One of my favorite things about Halloween is the horror stories.

Horror stories, Halloween shorts, filled with blood, gore, and guts galore! Don't you love horror stories? They're so much fun to write, especially when goosebumps start forming on your skin with every word. I think many people are intimidated by the thought of writing horror because they can't be too soft (then it's not horror), but if it's just blood and gore, that's not a very good read (and it's gross). You have to find a good balance between gore, a good plot line, and enough horror to make it interesting without being a disgusting turn-off. Still, you need the chill-down-the-spine spook factor that all of those scary movies have. You have to create tension and suspense in an attempt to actually frighten the reader.

Here are a few tips:

1) Study the classics. One of the best ways to learn, in my opinion, is by learning through example. Pick up a copy of Dracula (by Bram Stoker) and see how it's done. Then you can adapt your own style and ideas.

2) Research. Please, please, do your research. If you're writing a scary vampire story, read different myths and adaptations on the vampire before creating your own version. Try to make it as original as possible, yet pay attention to your audience.

3) Think about what scares YOU. Do creepy, crawly insects freak you out? Write about something that has to do with bugs. What would happen in your worst nightmares? Put it on paper. Surely if something scares you, it's bound to scare somebody else.

4) Rhythm and Intensity. These two elements are very important for creating tension and fright in your reader. Scary movies are scary when they have a character walking down the street in a slow rhythm, when suddenly--BAM!--a monster appears out of the bushes. Set the mood with intense description, the angry, thrusting tree branches can make for a spooky appeal in the nighttime horror of suburbia.

Here are some elements to make your horror's villain, horrifying: Make him a mystery and make him completely unexpected. We find fear in what we don't know. The darkness scares people because we have no idea what may be lurking there. Also, who would have thought he creeped through the shadows into your bedroom before you shut the door? Who would have seen him bust through the wall? It's all in the element of surprise that spooks us out. Make him creep up slowly.

That's all for now! Now start spooking! Feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Ever try writing a horror story? If so, how did it turn out? If not, why not?

Practice Makes Perfect--Keep At It!

Good morning! What? It's not a very good morning for you? I'm sorry to hear that.

Have you ever just felt sad or worthless? Felt that your wriitng just sucks and no one loves you and you need a big hug? We all have. It's important to keep in mind the old idiom that "practice makes perfect." If you want to get better, you have to write. You don't have to show anyone your embarrassing first short story, but writing and recognizing what you liked and disliked will help you become a better writer. Plus, realizing if things are just incorrect, such as grammar and facts, will teach you to research and learn your rules. You can learn which writing rules you want to break (such as the controversy over dialogue tags--use 'em or lose 'em) and which you like, and that will help you form a wriitng style of your own. You can cross the bridge from "okay" to "great" with practice and a little bit (or a lot) of faith.

Remember that when you're exhausted from schoolwork, projects, work, homework, and balancing your social life. Exhaustion can take a toll on you, but you have to aim for your goals. Writing can be very rewarding, and that happy, accomplished feeling is one thing I love about writing. It makes me feel so proud of myself, whether the work is good or bad, finished or incomplete. Never give up something you love because you're scared or afraid of doing badly. If you feel like you're not good enough, pull yourself up and pick up a pencil. Show yourself who's boss. You can write as well as anyone else as long as you keep at it. One of my English teachers always said, "Perfect practice makes perfect," but I completely disagree with that. Practice makes perfect, because you find what is and isn't perfect for you. There isn't one perfect way of writing; that's why there are so many different published authors. Everyone has a different way of writing and you'll find yours with time. Stick to it! You can do it!

Well, right now, I have to go work on my three AP projects and my homework, but while doing so, I'll think about how I'll get to work on my story later, so that will motivate me to get all of this boring stuff done. =] Email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com if you have any questions or comments! Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Do you ever have those days when you feel unworthy and not good enough? How did you pull yourself up? And do you find writing rewarding?

Wake up, Muse! It's Saturday!

Welcome all, to another lovely weekend. I love the weekends. Why? I give my life five days a week for others (school, homework, job hunting, etc.) The weekend is mine to do with as I please (except for AP projects. Eep!) A picture-perfect weekend for me would be sitting in my room, relaxed with nothing to do, and writing on my laptop. That's it! I'm a simple person.

Thus, because of my lovely weekend (I am home because I am sick, not very "picture-perfect"), I have decided to post more prompts for those of you who just can't get themselves to write. I myself have done all of these prompts in the past, so I can assure you that (at least for me) they definitely get the writing-juices flowing.

1. Pictures! Picture prompts are so helpful when writing a scene, a poem, or any prose, because there's a vivid image already there for you. If you find a good picture, print it out, take a picture with your phone, something to keep that image fresh in your mind. You can even take short notes of what it looked like to you. Feel free to write anything: a poem, a scene, a short story, even random drabble. Just get writing. A few pictures to get you started: One, Two, and Three.

2. Wikipedia! Wikipedia's "Random Article" button is my best friend. Why? It creates prompts for me, for free! The link is on the left hand side of any Wikipedia page, in the top section. The words read, "Main page," "contents," "featured contents," "current events," "random article". Granted, some will be harder than others, but you're free to continue clicking it until something piques your interest. (I got "human anus" once, that was fun.)

3. Quotes! I know I mentioned in my previous blog post about how you can go onto a quotes site and write. However, why does it have to be a formal quote? It can be something you heard on T.V., something your friend said, hell, it can even be from something you've written previously! You can use the quote however you wish, just as a jumping off point for inspiration or include it in your story.

4. Moods! Pick an emotion or mood. Come on, any will do! Be it fear, contempt, or joy, write something that relates to that emotion. Whatever that word makes you think about, jot it down on paper. You could also do the opposite and take an idea (ex. waiting for relatives) and make a mood (ex. anxiety). Have fun with it. (Some of my favorite moods for this activity are anxiousness, rage, and contentment).

5.Music! I received a comment last week from someone that uses music to awaken their muse. I happen to agree with them; there are many songs that can make me angry or make me want to cry. Although I mentioned this last week, I'll say it again: music is amazing. There are lyrics to listen to and instruments to speculate. Either put your music player (I use iTunes) on "Shuffle" or pick a favorite song and write with whatever comes to mind. Try writing for the duration of the song and see what you have and then switch to another song, or keep with the same song (I put mine on "repeat") and continue your prose. (Some songs I've used are "Accidentally In Love" by Counting Crows and "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus).

Feeling more creative this time? Good, I'm glad. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: What are your favorite prompts? Why?

Procrastination & Writer's Block

Welcome to the first meeting of Procrastinators Anonymous.

Just kidding. Though if that was a real group, pretty much all of us would have to join.

Procrastination. Just combining that word with "writing" makes me want to cringe, since I'm guilty of neglecting my writing and watching it slowly descend to the bottom of my priorities list. I procrastinate on things I enjoy and the thing I hate wind up being at the top of my to-do list. But that's life, isn't it? School, work, sports, clubs. They fill up our lives, defining them, but not allowing us to do what we love most.

Many claim that writer's block has prevented them from writing. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I don't think writer's block should stop you from writing at all. If I get stuck on a story and can't think of what to do next, I simply move on to something else. I have so many ideas floating around in my head, so when I am stuck with one idea, I pluck the next one out. The theory of writer's block shouldn't keep you from something you enjoy. Laryngitis can keep a singer from singing, but writer's block can't keep a writer from writing. You will not get worse if you write with writer's block. In fact, for me, writing when I have writer's block helps me get rid of it. Sometimes, if you're procrastinating writing or just have writer's block, try a small prompt to get your juices flowing.

Writing prompts to wake your muse:

1) Put on a song you like. Really listen to the lyrics and mood of the song. Then begin to write. Don't be distracted with grammar. Just write. You can stop when the song is over and choose another one to put on, or you can continue on. Sometimes putting the song that really inspires you on replay helps.

2) Pick an object, any at all. If you are at a loss, pick something around the room. Now write a short story (not long, as long as you want to make it) and make that object central to the story line.

3) Write about something that has happened to you and either write about your experience in depth or alter it and make it a work of fiction. It could be from a heated argument to a first kiss. Make it as long as you want.

4) Go onto a quote site such as Quoteland and pick any quote that appeals to you. Then write about whatever comes to your mind.

I hope this helped awake your muse! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to post them here or email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: How do you awake your muse? If you use a prompt, which ones do you enjoy most?

Stick to It!

Ever have trouble sticking to your writing? Every writer does. It's human nature; we get distracted easily. We all have undiagnosed A.D.D. It's just how we are.

One of the most popular ways to stay on track is to make goals, both large and small. Many authors try to have a minimum word count per day. As well as a daily work count minimum, many writers make long-term goals, either for a month, a season, or until a set date. Sometimes people like to make a time line of their progress so they know how far along they are and how much more time they need to reach their goals.

The old "rewards and punishments" comes into play as well. I've met people (such as on the lovely Quill and Ink forums I moderate) who punish themselves for not reaching their goals. People cut away their favorite snacks or hobbies.

There are always small time slots for you to fit in a couple hundred words here and there. Free period in school? Definitely. Fifteen minutes before leaving the house? Can do! If you can compile the few minutes we waste in between activities, you could have a thousand words without even trying!

Well that's all for this week. You are feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com if you have any questions or comments. I'll respond as soon as I can. I would love to hear what you think about this topic! Now it's time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: Ever feel like you just can't write anymore? How did you overcome it?

Welcome to Intent Forgotten!

Hello! I have created this blog as a way to help young aspiring authors like myself to improve their writing. Many of us only dream of having a novel published and I hope to teach all of you what I have learned so far about writing and perhaps we could reach our dreams of publication together.

I came up with the name of my blog because, as usual, I was distracted from my writing. As much as I love to write, I get distracted so easily. I always forget what it was that I had to do, why I was in such a place, etc. So, if you ever lose your muse or intentions, feel free to stop by and leave a comment or simply read my newest post.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. You can also leave a comment if you so wish to. Time to go sharpen that pencil...