Writing slump

I haven't been writing anything for so long. I don't know if I should keep on writing, I am in limbo and I don't know how to get out. I usually always get to this point. I have an idea, I start to write the synopsis of the story. Most of the time it's quite detailed, ranging from a page to a couple of pages. Then, the story seemingly sizzles and puffs out and I am left with nothing. The whole concept then feels foreign to me and I abort mission for good. The great news is, that isn't happening with the book I am working on right now. The bad news is, I'm not sure if the book is coming along, and so I am hitting a writing slump.

I don't have writer friends, and I am not even sure if I did if it would be of any use to my own writing. I have come up with a plan of action though to help me continue writing, even if it happens to be complete crap. The plan has two major components. The first component is quite simple and relatable to any craft and that is research. I am not really going to research on how to write, but I am going to read and critically analyze work that I loved and try to understand why it is that I love the book so much. The second component is something that I will try to practice at least once a week, and that is imitation. I will find a film, a passage, an image, really anything I can turn into words and recreate the story. This gives me something tangible to work with and I can easily check my work by comparing it to the original. I might put up an image up on my blog and have my version or interpretive story on the image.

Here's a list of the books I will be analyzing:

Sabriel by Garth Nixon
Castle in the air by Diana Wynne Jones
The pigman by Paul Zindel
To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Now the above books are books that I have already read and allows me to analyze them, without focusing too much attention to the story especially since I've already read them. I also will be analyzing books that I haven't read that I feel will enhance my writing perspective:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Ocean at the end of the lane Neil Gaiman
Disappearing act by Terry Mcmillan
Great and terrible beauty by Libba Bray
Book Thief by Markus Zusack

Now, I have a mix of books, but since I plan on writing for young adults particularly the 8-16 range, I think it is good to have some YA books in the mix. Since I am currently working on a piece for any age, I feel like the more adult books are appropriate as well.
Why am I doing all this? I don't know, I just think it is an organic way of learning the craft of writing. I also think that forcing someone to read a number of books they don't naturally enjoy (college) might ruin their desire to wright good fiction. So, if I actively throttle the attempts at making me hate reading and writing, I feel I will only come on top for it.

QUOTE
"Don't let schooling interfere with your education"
--Mark Twain

Sorry I haven't really been writing anything on this site, it's mainly due to the fact that I am in full swing of classes. I know I said I wouldn't BS my reading and all that, but I have come to the realization that I am a slow reader and I need to savor what I read. I still fully intend on reading all the material, just not exactly when my courses intend me to do so. That's it for now, looking forward to more posts in the future.

I leave you with this:

I would hurl words into this darkness and wait for an echo, and if an echo sounded, no matter how faintly, I would send other words to tell, to march, to fight, to create a sense of hunger for life that gnaws in us all.  ~Richard Wright, American Hunger, 1977

What a writer needs.

I have gone clothes shopping and I have also purchased some items that I think are probably pretty important if you want to write for a living or get in the habit of writing as a hobby. Now before I get into any of that I would just like to say that I really don't write, as a hobby or for a living. I have just got it into my head that for some odd reason, I'd like to write. I have always been curious about the art, but the more I want to well just write that more I feel it is the hardest thing in life to do.
So, be under no impression that I really know what I am talking about, but for the most part when it comes to suppling yourself with the right tools, I think I have some really good choice items to consider:
*Index card

*Wide barrel pens

*Agenda ( to keep on track)

*Clear removable notes (to correct mistakes without a mess)

*Highlighter

*Laptop (if you writer better with one)

*Composition book

*Thesaurus (they come in mini)

*Music (personal preference)

*Silence (limit distraction)

*File system (digital or non-digital)

I think that's it. To be quite honest with you I focused a lot on the low tech tools of the trade. There are so many information on things that you will need that is usually some software or other. I believe when you really want to write, it would be best to start with the pen and paper, you will know if it is for you or not right away. After that, you can advance to a more technical route. That's it for now. I hope you like the list and can make good use of it.


"Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed." -- Ray Bradbury

Books and other things

Just left wordpress for BlogSpot, talk about complicated! Ok, so I am going to start the fall semester on the 26th of this month and I just can't wait. Today, I woke up early as hell! Actually, it was 7am, I wanted to wake up at 5am and crank out the words, but I couldn't be bothered. It's a really long story. Anyways, I will try my best to wake up at 5am or 6am and just stare at a blank piece of paper if I have to. As I was writing my story, I realized something. I didn't like it! Ok, that was 3 exclamation points already, I will keep them to a minimum from here on out. What I realized was that writing in the 3rd person for the book I am working on now, really isn't the way to go. I'm serious, but at the same time I sort of despise first person narrative.
Ok, so here's the gist of the story. It's a story about a guy that loses his mother from an illness and stumbles onto a procedure that renders himself immortal. He tries to get his wife in on the action but she commits suicide. He is alone for 300 years before he comes out of hiding to help normal everyday mortals. So, I was thinking that his portion of the story has to be first person, while the other characters will be third person. I'm really upset about this, but I think this is part of the growing process a writer has to go through.
Ok, I am currently reading two books so far. One that makes me want to read more books and the other that sort of sucks the reading life out of me. "Where'd you go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple and "Doctor No" by Ian Fleming. The thing is I like the Fleming guys book when I do manage to read it, but it comes with the consequences of not really wanting to read anything after it. Now I recently introduced Semple's book into the picture and it really makes me want to devour it whole. C'est la vie...
The next couple of post I will talk about my writing process.