Natasha Rayne
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Advice 2 writers

9/8/2013

2 Comments

 
So, I have decided this is a writing blog (somewhat of a ‘duh’) and by that I mean I’m giving out writing advice. Now, everyone has to find what works best for them so not all of my advice I give out will always work for every writer. Other things are pretty basic.

I plan that I will post once a week (most likely on the weekends), but I might randomly post other times as well. For the most part week one is advice to writers, week two is some article or other thing I found on the internet that I’d like to share, week three will be a bit random but will usually include a book suggestion (as all good writers should be good readers), and the fourth week will be a little writing sample. I’ll explain the fourth week in more detail in a second.

Anyway September has 5 weeks in it, so all the weeks are just shifted down a bit.

ADVICE #1: Write. 

This might seem a bit like: What are you talking about Natasha? Of course writers write it’s in the name! But this can seriously be one of the biggest pieces of advice out there.

A great idea in your head, is just that, an IDEA. If you don’t take the time to write it out, put pen to paper, nothing will appear. It isn’t that magical, sadly. I know lives get busy (trust me, somehow I signed up for FOUR AP classes), but finding time to write is needed to develop and grow as a writer.

Try (and it’s understandable when you don’t always do it, but try) to write EVERYDAY. It can be for five minutes, it can be for an hour, anytime you can set aside is valuable time. A chapter that didn’t exist can sit there on your computer saying “Look, you accomplished something!”

That doesn’t mean you always have to continue writing what you were writing the day before. Short stories are a nice little trick. It’s over and done with. You get the sense of accomplishment from completing something and you can learn something new from every story you write and apply it to future writing.

If you do stick with one long story over time, it’s very difficult to reach the spot where you can write two words “The End”. Two words that can fill you with such an incredible feeling of joy (I threw myself a little ice cream party when I wrote ‘The End’ on the first draft of ‘The Dream Prison’).

There is a method I use to help me write a bit every day and I’m going to share that (if you don’t know of them) and those are word prompts. Short little prompts that can start you off, get over a bit of writers block (an entirely different topic), and towards a little warm up of writing. A fun one at that. 

Prompts

I mentioned that the fourth week needed to be explained more in detail, well, here it is. At the end of the first weeks post will be one of these prompts and on that fourth week I will post mine and if any of you have scribbled your own answers to the prompt, add them to the comments. It should be fun! Enjoy writing!

Writing Prompt: One morning you awake to find yourself in a straight jacket, being taken off to an asylum. How do you prove your sanity? What do the guards and psychiatrists say you did?

^^thanks to  http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

Can't wait to see what I and you come up with.

2 Comments
Avry
9/10/2013 11:14:43 am

I shall now write you a story without spellcheck or any planning whatsoever. Bear/bare with me. (I'm off to a great start, aren't I? I have no idea which one it is. :P)

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you're at school doing normal everyday stuff and then you find out that you're wearing a toga? And then your stupid dream self decides to carry on and hope nobody notices?

I was having one of those dreams. Except this time, it was a lucid dream. I knew that it was a dream. So when people began to laugh and point, I decided just to ignore them. When Jeremy Renner came in the classroom wearing a tutu I gave him a hearty greeting and ignored the rest of my classmates. And when the teacher gave me an essay to write I ripped it up into several pieces and started doing a Native American rain dance around the shreds. The rest of the dream is rather foggy and I don't remember much of it.

When I woke up, I was confused. I couldn't move my arms. I was staring at some sort of metal roof. With a start I gave a yelp.

"She's awake," someone said.

"Wh-what?" I asked. I was now frantically trying to move my arms. Something wasn't right. Was I MOVING?

"It's okay," the voice said again. "There's nothing to worry about."

"It's no use trying to communicate with her," another voice said, a woman's voice. "She went completely bonkers."

"Who are you people?" I asked. I was in some sort of truck. And it felt like I was wearing a STRAIGHT JACKET. This was not normal. I had half made up my mind that I was still in my dream.

"We're here to help you," the man said. "My name is Dave. I'm your friend."

"Or your worst nightmare," the woman added.

Okay, that settled it. I decided right then and there that I was being kidnapped. Without waiting another second I tried to lash out with my legs. Which, as I found out two seconds later, were strapped to some sort of bench.

"Take it easy," Dave said soothingly. "We're here to help you."

"Let me go!" I said, frantically. "I don't know what's going on!"

"We're going to take you to a safe place," Dave continued as if I hadn't said anything. "You'll be well taken care of there. If we have to, we might give you a little bit of medicine. That will make it all better, alright? There's nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry.... for Pete's sake, you've got the wrong person!" I shouted.

"Hush," the woman said. "You're fine. Your parents have been notified. Visiting hours are from..."

"SHUT UP!!!" I yelled. "I'm not crazy! You have to let me go! What is even going on? How did I end up in here?"

"Calm down," Dave said. "You wore a toga to school today. Then you started talking to people who weren't there and shredded a coloring book yelling, 'No homework! No homework!' This is not the first time weird activity has been..."

"Weird activity? It was a dream! A DREAM!!!"

The woman hushed me. "Dave, we might need to get out the medications for this one."

"I'm not crazy!" I yelled again, thrasing left and right. "Just look at me and tell me I'm crazy! LOOK AT ME!"

Dave rested a hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure this out," he said. "I promise."

"Or we could always just dispose of her," the woman said.

"No!" I yelled. "Dave, she's trying to kill me! SHE'S GOING TO KILL ME DEAD!!!"

"Who?" Dave asked.

"THE WOMAN!!!"

Dave looked at me in an odd sort of way. "Avry," he said. "There is no woman."

I took one look at his face. He wasn't lying. With a sound that resembled a sob mixed with a moan I burst into tears.


Well.... that story was weird. But it let me procrasinate on homework some more! :)

Reply
Natasha
9/12/2013 08:42:08 pm

Great story :D I enjoyed it a lot and don't worry about the low amount of editing. I probably won't edit mine when I write it.

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    Natasha

    The Author of the Dream vs Reality series and student at AFNORTH International High School.

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  • Home
  • Dream vs Reality Series
    • Map of the Dream World
    • Book One: The Dream Prison
    • Book Two: The Rise of Grimm
    • Book Three: Into the Wild
  • Meet the Author
    • Biography