Saw an interview with an award-winning writer on the Colbert show. He said that he prefers to write his novels by hand, in handwriting, because it forces him to take his time. I've noticed this about myself too.

He also said that he had not had any tragedy in his life - although he became a father at a young age. He would imagine the worst things that could happen to his loved ones, then made them happen to his characters. He said that not having tragedy didn't make him a bad writer - but I think it's clear he's "lived" a lot, anyway.

You have to be interesting before you can be made sympathetic

If you need to introduce a character that will later be killed off or suffer some tragedy, make sure that you make them interesting first. People won't be as connected to a generic character. E.g. TV show Bitten - they introduce a woman who will later be killed; her story is just that she's a young bride about to be married, and is related to the main character. There's not enough there to really hook the reader in - we can see what's coming, we can predict this character will be gotten rid of. If she seemed more important to the story, it would have more impact when she was taken away, with the greater purpose of creating a sense of unpredictability for the reader.

Let It All Flow, THEN Edit

Neurological studies show you can't be creative and critical at the same time.

Sometimes I feel stuck for an idea. I might have a bunch of vague, half-formed ideas running around in my mind, but nothing in particular is grabbing me at the moment. Or maybe I'm drawing a complete blank. When I'm feeling like this, I put my pen to the paper and start writing about whatever vague idea is on my mind. (Writing prompts are helpful here, too.) Did I have an image of a purple tiger in my head? Fine - that is the image that is resonating with me right now. I'm not going to question it, I'm just going to write about it. As I keep writing, the story begins to take on a life of its own. After a faltering start, eventually, EVENTUALLY, I get into it. Your unconscious is brimming with ideas and feelings and images, and it knows what it wants to write about. You have to take off the leash and let it run.

Remember: This is Supposed to Be Fun

I once heard a writer say that "Good writing is fun for the reader to read, and fun for the author to write."

- feeling angsty - idea isn't coming along; feeling stuck in editing process - remember that this should be fun. Maybe the editing feels gruelling right now, but it won't last forever. Eventually it'll be done, and you can go back to the fun of writing.



I love this quote for several reasons.

If you ever feel stuck for an idea,

Sometimes, I find myself getting angsty about my writing. Maybe a "great idea" isn't humming along as well as I thought it would. Maybe I'm...


When in doubt, you can

Inspiration - Writing from Cultural Legends and Fairytales

Walt Disney is well known for adapting fairytales to the big screen, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves by the Brothers Grimm, to Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid/The Snow Queen (the inspiration for Frozen). It's no coincidence that Disney drew from these rich sources. Fairytales...

- Fairytales have lasted for a long time; have meanings, morals, images that transcend time. Transcend time *and* different cultures.  Timeless, universal appeal. They reflect core parts of the human experience; reflect deep/resonant truths about the human experience; they capture our imagination and impart wisdom.


- include ideas I read in the "official" Disney biography

Taffy: I love your poem. It was romantic, and it rhymed. 
Milhouse Van Houten: Well, I used a rhyming dictionary, but it only gives you options. The job of the poet is to say, "this one, I guess." 

Things We Can Learn from Enimen's Writing Technique

• The vast majority of what you write is not for public consumption. Write for you. Don't be afraid to play with words, experiment, explore, practice. Don't worry if what you're writing is not "marketable" or going to end up as a finished, polished piece; you're developing the tools that will enable you to write great publishable work. A figure skater doesn't practice their jumps only in the context of a routine.

"I write constantly, to the point where while I'm writing in my books I know 95 percent of this stuff, 98 percent of it's never gonna get used. But by writing all the time it's like I'm sharpening my tools. And I'm more able to draw upon that skill-set when needed." - from http://nahright.com/news/2013/11/08/rick-rubin-on-eminems-writing-process/

• Take the time to learn new words. Eminem goes through the dictionary from time to time and picks up new words to add them to his arsenal.

• It's okay to write fragments and scraps of things, return to them later and pull out the good stuff. 

"Sometimes a reference that I wrote two years ago might come back and find it's way into a record completely unrelated just because I was doing this homework and coming up with a new rhyme scheme or just hearing a word I liked and thinking about how that could rhyme. And there might not be any context for it. But then I might be working on a song years later and think, 'Oh, maybe that phrase could work in this context.'" - from http://nahright.com/news/2013/11/08/rick-rubin-on-eminems-writing-process/

Inspiration - Write from Accounts of a Real Event

I watched Disney's Pocahontas this morning. It's one of my favourite movies of all-time, and remains a special part of my childhood.

After a trip to Wikipedia, I was amazed to find out that many parts of the movie were based on real life events (or at least, accounts of supposedly real life events - there are some grey areas).

- John Smith was a real explorer and English colonist, who landed in Virginia in April 1607.

- His company built a fort there by the James River. They had several encounters with Native American people, led by Chief Powhatan.

- John Smith was captured while exploring the Chickahominy River (the name of the river that Pocahontas teaches to John Smith in the movie. Smith is also taken captive in the film, but for the  crime of killing Kocoum.)

- In Smith's records of his capture, he recounts having a feast and a long talk with Powhatan. (In the movie, Pocahontas wants Smith and her father to speak with each other. Powhatan agrees that he would listen if a settler wanted to speak to him, but things go awry with John Smith is captured for the murder of Kocoum. At the end of the film, Powhatan eventually agrees to lay down his weapons and chooses a peaceful course of action.)

- Smith describes an event in which Pocahontas saved him from execution by her father. As Smith writes, she threw himself across his body "at the minute of [his] execution." Pocahontas "hazarded the beating out of her own brains to save [his]; and not only that, but so prevailed with her father, that [he] was safely conducted to Jamestown". (Smith, Letter to Queen Anne) This is very similar to how events unfold in the movie.

Here's more historical writing from John Smith's Generall Historie, in which he describes himself as a character in the third person: "Two great stones were brought before Powhatan: then as many as could layd hands on him [Smith], dragged him to them, and thereon laid his head, and being ready with their clubs, to beate out his braines, Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne upon his to save him from death ..."

- Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, became friends with John Smith and the other settlers. She also aided them when they were starving: "every once in four or five days, Pocahontas with her attendants brought him [Smith] so much provision that saved many of their lives that else for all this had starved with hunger." (Smith, General History, p. 152.) In the film, Pocahontas introduces Smith and the settlers to corn; they are thrilled at not having to live on hardtack and gruel anymore. At the end of the movie, Pocahontas and a group of villagers bring baskets of food for the settlers to take back on their voyage home.

- Smith was forced to return home for medical care in 1609, when he was injured by exploding gunpowder. The film-version of Smith also returns home for medical care, but his injury comes from diving in front of Chief Powhatan to save him from a settler's gunfire.

- The romance between Pocahontas and John Smith is not generally thought to be a real event. However, a romance was written about them  in the early 1800s, before Disney was even formed - could it have been inspiration for the 1995 film?

- The name Pocahontas means "Little Playful One." In the movie, Pocahontas has a fun and playful personality. Her first remark about Kocoum, her fiance-to-be, is, "He's so serious." This is later echoed by Grandmother Willow.

- Pocahontas, like other girls in Tsenacommacah, would have learned to forage for food and farm - activities seen in the movie.

There's Always Another Idea

As a writer, there are lots of things you can angst about. (Feeling like a hack, the rising cost of...) One of the things that really gets me going sometimes: thinking of a good idea for a story, and then panicking that someone else is going to get there first, or realizing there's some flaw or loophole in this golden idea of mine and it's not so great after all.

This is where it's helpful to remember the saying: "Good ideas are a dime a dozen." If you have a good idea, you can be certain that you will have another good one. Don't despair: there *IS* something else for you in your future.

What if you have an idea that you feel strongly about,but when you sit down to write it out, you just can't seem to make it work? You want to force the damn thing out, but the stars just aren't aligning for your vision. It happens.

You don't want to dwell on something that just isn't working, for whatever reason - there's another great idea out there, and you can't let this one stop you from finding the one you're meant to find.

Here's some wisdom from Randy Bachman: When he first started working on the song, "Taking Care of Business," he couldn't get the lyrics right. So, in his own words, he put the song "on a shelf next to his heart," and held onto it until the time was right to get into it again. Years later, he had a hit.

Don't let dwelling on a past idea hold you back from the great idea you're truly meant to realize.

Need inspiration? Try writing from pictures.

If you're looking for a source of inspiration, try writing from pictures.

Numerous well-known authors have found this to be a useful technique, including Kenneth Oppel, author of the Silverwing series and many other popular books. I had the privilege to hear Kenneth Oppel speak about his writing at the University of Winnipeg in 2014. During his talk, he described how he likes to take the reader through different geographical spaces, which he sometimes bases on photos of real places. He showed us a powerpoint photo of the real lighthouse on which the one in Silverwing is based. He also clicked through to an image of a cityscape on a starry night, which I think inspired the city scenes.

J. R. R. Tolkien is another famous author who drew ideas from pictures. The character of Gandalf was inspired by this postcard he purchased on holiday in Switzerland:

On the back of his postcard, Tolkien wrote, "The origin of Gandalf."

The painting on the postcard is titled Der Berggeist, which is German for "the mountain spirit." You can certainly see a resemblance between the white-bearded woodsman in the painting, and Tolkien's final image of Gandalf. Isn't it exciting to think that Tolkien once looked at this piece of art, and his thoughts read: magic?

Stereotype of the Solitary Writer

There's a stereotype in North American culture of the solitary, brooding artiste - hunched over a typewriter, a bottle of open liquor at the ready, a wisp of silvery cigar smoke curling about his head. There's no doubt that writing requires solitary time to think and commit words to the page. However, contrary to the brooding artiste stereotype, writing doesn't have to be completely solitary. You might even say that being an involved participant in the world is necessary to achieve great writing.

When you walk in nature and observe the goings-on around you, when you sit and talk with friends or observe people at a cafe, when you read about current events or learn about a subject that intrigues you, you are gathering material for writing.

Writing can be what you want to make it. You can be as solitary or social as you need to be. *You* determine your own identity - no one else can write your story but you.