You Know What I'm Talking 'bout!

Good evening, writers! I'm here on this lovely evening to discuss the controversy of using pop culture references in writing.

One of the main things we've been discussing on the forum lately is the use of pop culture references. Everyone has their own opinion on the use of pop culture in novels. It's up to you to decide whether or not you want to use them, so I'll give you my pros and cons and you can choose.

Pros

1) Realism and Relate-ability:> For example, when you want a cup of Sprite, you don't say, "Pass the lemon-lime soda." No, you say, "Pass the Sprite." The dialogue flows a little easier and is a little more realistic with the brand name rather than the actual noun. The reader immediately knows what the character is talking about without an explanation. You could make up your own lemon-lime soda brand, like L2L (or some other letter-number combination), but you will then have to explain what the brand name is. Is it popular? Is it a rare soda found in a market at the edge of town? Is it what the cool kids drink?

2) They add to the setting: In different parts of the world, people eat, drink, and use different things. In Japan, people may use chopsticks more and eat more rice and fish than people in the U.S. If you see a woman dressed in a kimono and sandals with socks and using chopsticks, you might be able to assume the story takes place in traditional Japan.

Cons

1) They date your novel: A character using Windows 98 who is obsessed with the band 98 degrees might be very relate-able to anyone in 1990s, but in the 2000s, we laugh and joke about old-fashioned things like Windows 98. If I were to use Windows 7 in a novel, it would only be up-to-date for so long before the novel would seem old and dated. It's only "cool" and "hip" for a limited time.

2) Your novel doesn't seem as original: Sure, having your characters go to Krispy Kreme sounds like fun, but isn't having your characters get their doughnuts from Dori's Donuts much more exciting? In my opinion, having original references make your novel 100% original and just keeps it timeless and enjoyable.

Just remember: less is more. Some references are good, giving the reader a connection to the character, yet some should be avoided.

Well, that's all I have for you today. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Questions: Do you use pop culture references in your novels? Why or why not?

Dreams Come True...

Good afternoon, glorious writers! I hope you're awake, because today's topic is dreams.

Dreams. Hmm. Who ever knew a word could hold so much emotion? Relaxation, distress, anger. They can be, well, surreal, or they can be nightmares and hold your deepest worries and stress-producers.

A dream in your novel should hold some sort of premonition or foreshadowing for what's to come, or at least give us the mood. They don't have to be smack-in-the-face obvious, but certain dreams can definitely hint oblivion or that something bad is going to happen.

To get ideas, I usually go on a dream dictionary site and look up some of the words to see their meanings, like I do whenever I'm trying to decipher one of the dreams I've had. I also look around the dream forums on the website, looking at the dreams other people have posted. I've used similar ones, just changing them around to fit my purpose. I sometimes use similar dreams to my own, or completely make them up entirely.

I think dreams are very useful in stories--they're much better than flat out telling--but you have to make them foreshadow something. Foreshadowing is never clear-cut, so don't worry if the dream doesn't shout out its meaning, as dreams never do. Happy sleeping!

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 use dreams in your stories? If so, what information do they tell us?

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?