Ray Bradbury on Being Too Serious

I love this quote because often in writing we take everything too seriously. We focus more on the aspect of getting published than the writing itself.

I admit - I've fallen into this trap. When you focus too much on becoming published, it can be easy to fall into a spiral of hopes and dreams without doing the one thing that could actually make it happen: writing. 

Not only does it distract us from writing, but being too serious can also affect how we write. It can bring out our inner editor. Inner editors nit pick and more often than not cause writers' block. 

Sometimes it is okay just to lighten up and relax. Especially since as teen writers, we are also balancing school, homework, and after school activities. 

I'm off to New York City tomorrow! Unfortunately not much writing will be done while I'm there, but I will have a post for you when I get back. Have a great weekend!

My Spartina 449 agenda...

So today I am going to talk about my agenda. I am a HUGE agenda/notebook person. I use them for anything and everything.

It all started when I walked into the Paper Store a few weeks ago. As school is coming up around the corner, I decided to check out the agenda section. Your typical brands were there (Lily Pulitzer, Vera Bradley, etc). Last year I had a bad experience with a Vera Bradley agenda (color faded/scratched off, binding came undone, etc). I was weary of buying another cutesy name brand agenda that would just fall apart. Nonetheless, I perused the agendas hoping to find something worth buying.

Our true enemy in writing

Many people will ask writers about writers about writers' block. Does it happen often? How do you get around it? 

Writers' block usually occurs when we as writers get stuck in a plot hole, lose interest, or just plainly get stuck. Most of the time, we brainstorm, take a break, free write, or rework other portions to get around writers' block.

However, there could be a much easier way. I love this quote because it speaks volumes about writers. We get so self-conscious of our writing. We don't want people to judge us or our writing. We get wrapped in fear that someone won't like the story or will think the writing is poor. 

A Plot Change

A few minutes ago, I experienced something that I know many other writers have experienced.

My entire plot changed. I'm not talking a couple of characters and the beginning. I'm talking my characters entire motivation, the story's heart, the entire thing guiding my story.

And I loved it.

I started writing it as a way to take something away from my character and it evolved before my eyes into something that has affected my main character her entire life. It filled a few holes in my story and changed the way I connected with my character.

It breathed life into a story that was beginning to become boring and changed it into something that can draw readers in. Even though it might change again, these plot changes can be super helpful. They fix problems you couldn't quite figure out and can make writing fun again.

Has this happened to you before. If so, what changed?  How did it affect your character? Did it motivate you to keep writing?

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Next week I will be posting a post about my agenda and how it has helped me as a writer.

Ray Bradbury on what we learn from writing

So for my new posting schedule I've decided to make Tuesdays a day for quotes and inspo from other writers. Today, I've selected this quote by Ray Bradbury:

I love this because it calls writing a privilege, not a right. So many people take their writing for granted. I also love that Bradbury says that writing reminds us that we are alive. I think this is so true. There is nothing like writing and feeling all of the ideas just flow. 

I tend to feel this sensation especially during NaNoWriMo when my word count grows and grows. Just seeing the words hit the page is enough to make me giddy. I didn't get much time to write during July's Camp NaNoWriMo, but winning at the end of April was an amazing form of motivation. If you haven't participated in NaNoWriMo or Camp NaNoWriMo yet, I highly recommend it. There is an entire community of support along with great sponsors that provide great tools/trials especially for NaNoWriMo participants. Camp takes place in April and July, while NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) occurs every November. 

I am already so excited for November! I cant wait to feel that adrenaline again.  

On Thursday I am going to post something about my white board. It's a place where I organize my thoughts and writing ideas. Next week I am going to try and show you my agenda, which I absolutely LOVE, as well as my writing binder.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

-Kat

I'm back!

After a long spring/beginning of summer, I'm officially back! The posting schedule is going to be a little different (with slightly fewer posts throughout the week), but I'm hoping this new schedule will allow for more consistency. My goal is to be more informational without dumping facts and research.

I'm going into high school this year (ahhhh), so I'm hoping to include some tools for students was well. These might include my own personal templates for taking notes, apps that I find useful, etc. I'm including these because as teen writers, we are also students!

It feels great to be back! If you have any suggestions for posts you might like or for the blog, comment them below! Thank you for being so understanding!

-Kat

A Tiny, Eensy-Weensy Little Vacation

I've seriously neglected this blog. It's gotten bad, I know.  If there were DCYF for blogs, I'd be a serious offender.

To make it even more serious, I've decided to take a tiny, eensy-weensy vacation to focus on my writing. It'll be short, I promise. Then, I'll do my best to write plenty more posts to keep the flow going.

This vacation will be brief. It's just going to be a short time for me to catch up on writing and write a bunch of great posts worth publishing.

For now, here is a favorite quote of mine by Ernest Hemingway. I've been channeling this lately. I don't know, but I've been a huge fan of this at present. I think of it every time I go to write.

 

Even though we may not use typewriters anymore (most of us anyway), this quote can easily be applied. All we have to do is let the words pour out of us. 

Pantsing vs Plotting: Part 1-Pantsing

For a long time, there has been a lengthy debate in the writing world. Pants or plot? For this post, I'm, going to focus on Pantsing.

The Definition: This simply means "by the seat of your pants". This form of writing is when you jump right into writing without an endpoint in mind or any plan whatsoever.

Some Input: No outline to hold you down means you have the complete freedom to write whatever. You don't have to feel tied down or forced to write according to an outline. From personal experience, this can be good and bad. When I was writing, I kinda just let things flow. But at some parts, it was easy to get stuck. Panting is great if you don't even have a concept and just want to write, but it can be deadly if you have a great concept and get stuck with it because you have no idea what you want to happen. When this happens, the project gets put on a shelf and gathers dust.

My Story: A couple of years ago, I decided I was going to sit down and finally write a book (I had always written short stories). I snuggled up next to the fire (It was winter here in New England and frigid as always) and just wrote. It was strange. All I had were the words "there I was". I wrote whatever came to me, but it took days just to get a page written. It felt like I moving through sludge. Since I had no ending in sight and no basic concept, I felt doomed. I only wrote about 4 pages of that story (mind you it was 11 pt font, single-spaced-but still...) Since then, I have at least made sure that I had a general, original idea with at least a teensy-weensy little idea of how I want it to go.

Now, I'm not saying that pantsing is the worst thing in the world. A lot of people prefer it to traditional plotting. And if it works for you, go for it!

With my current project, I've spent a little bit more time planning than usual, but it can't really be considered plotting or pantsing (more on that next week).  My next post will be on plotting.

What do you think about pantsing?

MS Walk Boston

Recently, my oldest sister was diagnosed with MS, or multiple sclerosis. As a family, we are participating in the MS Walk in Boston in April. My sister is one of my best friends. We may fight, but I can always count on her. In my family, I am commonly referenced to as her "mini-me. I've even had teachers call me by her name do to our uncanny resemblance. Because my sister is very into in fitness and health, this walk is the perfect way to support her. Any help is appreciated. If you'd like to donate, I will post the link below.

This is a picture of us from a really long time ago...

What is multiple sclerosis?

About MS
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million worldwide. (source: National MS Society)

All the money raised goes to the National MS Society to provide resources for people with the disease. Here is the link if you would like to donate: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MAMWalkEvents?px=13829383&pg=personal&fr_id=25444

The answer to all writing...

Happy Wednesday! My goal for the new year is to post more often. I think that this quote embodies the whole idea of writing. You have to love writing, otherwise it will become a chore. 

How the movie Frozen is just like writing a book...

The movie Frozen took the world by storm in 2014 ;). In so many ways, the movie Frozen is just like writing a book.

1. You can't fear words and the power they give you

2. It's good to have a partner (like a critique partner) or just a really supportive friend

3. Don't become desperate and don't settle (when it comes to revising/editing. A bad first draft is OK)

4.  Reward yourself when you reach your goals (or defeat an evil prince set on destroying you)

5. Never give up on your dreams

What do you think? Did you like the Frozen craze?

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