Hey everyone.
Still undecided on the 12 by 12 in 2012, though I’m leaning on the side of yes while reminding myself that I have a lot of schoolwork to do, I want to be more involved with capoeira and crafts, and that I need time to breathe!
But I keep thinking, “Why was I given all this energy and enthusiasm, if not to use it?”
What I’m reading this week:
Some stuff for school, actually, A LOT OF STUFF for school, so the reading bit will be a bit sparse.
I’m trying to get rid of some books that I have.
Not that they aren’t AWESOME, it’s just I move at least once a year, and I can’t keep packing books up.
Plus, I can get these books anywhere, and, if the author isn’t coming soon to sign them in a place near me, I’d rather that someone else gets a chance to read them!
That said, I’ve started the Mysterious Benedict Series again. Just finished the first one:
LOVE this book! Not sure how I heard about it, I think I just bought it at Target or something ridiculous like that, and then ran out to get the other ones. That being said, I flew through this book. The story is great and just enough of a mystery for me, the characters are people I would genuinely want to be friends with, and when you finish the book, you just feel good about things. And it’s many pages, so you can impress people that you’ve read such a great book.
Since finishing that one, I’ve started in on the second one:
I am just about to the point where it is going to get really fast paced and I won’t be able to put it down. I’ve put it down on purpose at the spot so I can continue with schoolwork and being a good student. I did get a lot of reading done at the DMV today though while waiting to take my license test.
Yes, you have to take a test in CA even if you have a license from another state!
So basically I was hanging out with a bunch of 16 year olds.
Good research for future stories.
As far as writing goes, I’ve been writing a bit, humoring myself with the “pay myself for writing” idea.
I also came across this interesting link:
25 things writers should stop doing
I enjoyed the article, but I’m just not the type of person who likes the negative side of things.
SOOO
I took what I learned from it and made notes to myself about what I SHOULD BE doing
when it comes to writing.
What can I say, I cannot RESIST a positive spin.
So…
Dear Kathy Ellen,
Here are some things you should be doing as a writer.
Thanks,
your friend,
Inner-Artist Ellen.
(p.s. Since I have a two part first name, I find it very interesting to, at points, put an adjective in for the Kathy.)
- HAVE FUN!
What is writing if not fun? Why would you even think about worrying about it? Just sit down at the computer and start typing and put on pandora and see what happens! - Take your time and do it right.
Yes, there are all those people who have books published already, and yes, some of them are younger than you are. BUT think of all the cool things you have done and how much better it will be when you start sending out good work! - SING OUT!
Remember when you sang that song that had that really HIGH note in it, right on the word OUT, in the phrase, Sing OUT? Remember how hard it was to hit that note? Remember how fun it was to just try and sing loud and smile? It’s the same thing when it comes to writing. You may not be able to hit that high note, but you are putting your spin on it, you are letting your voice sing out, and you know what, every voice is different. And there is bound to be at least one person (besides your mother) who is going to LOVE the sound of your writing voice. - Write those stories that have to be told!
Remember the night that you read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson and you said, “There’s a story that needs to be told.” You have a few stories like that, that you JUST NEED to tell. If not you, then who? Keep working on those, even if they only end up being large files that just stay on your computer for the rest of your life. - Keep writing books that you want to read.
So you like to write about quirky characters.
So most of your stories are about characters struggling to fit in.
So most of that comes from your own experience.
Who cares? That’s what makes writing good. Keep going with that! - Write your stories how you think they should be written, regardless.
That graphic novel that you’re writing that you couldn’t possibly illustrate?
All those ideas about french books?
Remember that fleeting idea about a cloth book?
It doesn’t matter that they may not end up that way or that you don’t have the skills right now to make those stories what they should be in the format you want.
Write ’em anyway. You never know what’s going to happen. - Draw, draw, draw.
You may not ever be a real-life illustrator.
But hey, you draw.
In real life.
So that kind of makes you a real life illustrator.
You learn so much when you draw your characters, and you have a lot of fun, so keep doing it! - Read books by headlamp.
Squeeze reading in any time that you can, and especially at night before bed.
You know how many ideas you get from reading books, so why would you ever stop?
Oh, and pay that library fine.
They need the 50 dollars. - Share your stuff.
Keep working on sending stuff out to your critique group.
Keep having fun with stories on storybird.
C’mon already and just join the 12 by 12 in 2012.
You know how good sharing makes you feel…it’ll kick your writing up a notch!
And writing letters counts as sharing too! - Mine that idea book.
Remember PiBoIdMo?
And all those ideas you had?
Go back to them.
Add one word. Add a whole story. Add whatever you’d like.
Just work on them.
They’re like gold (or maybe some are like fools gold!) But you’ll never know until you start mining. - ORGANIZE!
How many stories do you have saved under wrong names on your computer?
A chart would be good, you know, to keep track of everything.
I know you can do it.
Ok, enough from my inner artist.
I’ve got homework to do and critiquing for my writing-mates!
Until next time,
KE
This is a fantastic list, and whether you do or don’t join us for 12 x 12, I know you’ll have a great year!
Excellent list. I like how having fun is number 1. I took a semester off of University, last year, because the writing I had to for classes ceased to be fun (it was like pulling teeth), but now I’m back. This time I added a couple of creative courses to my schedule (writing poetry for instances). I hope you join the 12 x 12 in 2012 challenge and write those stories that need to be told! I know I joined the challenge because I have a few stories floating around my head that I haven’t made the time to write down.
Yes, Rena, having fun is always number 1!
I get the “writing isn’t fun” thing.
I got a minor in journalism in college and liked writing stories for newspapers, but I always wanted to write the story the way I wanted to, and that wasn’t always possible, so I decided fiction was better than turning into a Stephen Glass story!
I think I am going to join the challenge….it is nice to have something like that to keep you going.
Good luck with your creative courses!
KE