On waiting

I have been rare in these days. There are a number of reasons, among which the fact that my laptop has died on me. We tried but didn’t manage to resuscitate it. So now I am using another computer, temporarily, waiting for my new laptop to arrive (which should do shortly, fingers crossed). And then there will be the usual trying out of all the features, keyboard in primis. I have bought it on the Internet, after a good research even on the field, but after all, what is a good computer for a writer? We need space, yes, but also I know very well the utility of saving everything you write somewhere else. So memory yes, but up to a point (and nowadays they all have decent memories right?). Then there is the keyboard. Yes because the feel of the keys, the position, the easiness of wrist-resting, all those little things we have to remember if we don’t want to end up with sprains and so on. Then I suppose there are things like Word or some other writing software, but that is also easier because there are many that can be bought after, even on the Net. Then there are other factors, such as: Mac or Pc (apparently us artists should all prefere Macs because they are more…”artsy”. Plus apparently they fall prey of viruses much less then their opponents.) Then there is color, dvd reader, microphones, plugs, camera, whatever.

I mean, I use the computer for a lot besides just the writing itself. I’m often on the Internet, either for research or to get books to download or read or listen online. I do listen to a fair amount of music and radio too. I do watch movies and videos, plus I play (oh yes. I’m a nerdy). So I should probably get the new full-on bigger stronger thing there is on the market, and possibile bribe somebody to up the specs on it too. But money aside, a huge factor anyway, my previous laptop weights something like 3,2 Kg. That is not peanuts. I want something I can carry around. I am used at reading book for goodness sake, I don’t need a huge screen either. If I want I can always connect it to the desktop pc monitor, or the tv.  They told me that usually a laptop should be changed every one or least two years. I had the previous one for about 4 years. And it was good, even if a bit slow.

And after all, I don’t need much gizmo. As long as I have something to write on which runs fairly decent (and with good battery, that yes was a problem on the old one), I am happy. Maybe it is because I have other supports, first of all the internt, or maybe because I am a writer. And a writer writes on literally everything, as fussy as we can say we are on our favorite pens and soft-edged keys.

…And when time is just wrong

Bad news make bad days, and sometimes you think when a day is bad enough any more problems won’t really matter. Well sometimes they do. My laptop decided not to work today, so I face possibly losing all of my work except for the little part that is saved and what is in my mind. Aside from that, I have to go out tomorrow morning and let’s not talk about that because it’s just better to put a veil over it. Not only all those things, which in a day should be enough, but I come from a bad week, and this evening is really the worse of all. I have to pull through, somebody will say that is not so bad, and quit whinging. But hey, it is bad when you just know that you wrote so many things just yesterday and today for the love of yourself you cannot remember more than a few lines. It is bad when you allow yourself to be derailed by the problems so much that you can’t write. Because that is what happens, you just feel your shoulders dropping, same as your main character who is been in that same room for the past few days and yet you are not taking her out of it. She is feeling tired, but so she should. She is feeling like she can’t cope and what the hell, but so she should. She has the right to feel that way! So why are you, still comfortable on your chair, whinging about not being able to use your computer or that you have to wait and wait and feel the empty house? She isn’t alone but she is in a worse company that you would probably ever find. Because that is the point. We put our characters in such positions and then we drop some coffee on the floor and it’s a tragedy. I mean it should put a bit of prospective in our life, to be honest, seeing how those people run around facing dangers and fear and everything else, without even complaining that much. Good on them, they are made of a different fiber than the usual person, even of who writes them, I have to admit. Of course that is also because we like to read about people that do stuff and face their challenges. Otherwise we would have a bunch of books about people that could go on adventure or change the world but instead they just cry and sit in a corner and don’t do anything. But that’s us. We are the people that feel frustrated and flustered and hopeless and we just trudge along. We leave greatness for our characters, because greatness in a book is safe, no matter how daring on your writing you are. It’s still on a page, and you are not the one doing it. I bet even Lewis Carroll would have reacted differently from Alice had he fallen in a hole and met a huge talkign rabbit. How would we react, really, if somebody were to tell us that the world is ending, or that there’s a bunch of zombies outside our door? So yes, my computer is sitting there looking evil and useless, and the rest of the story is just as bad. But I don’t have to face horrible monsters tomorrow, and I have yet to find out that one of my worse enemies is about to rule the world.

So as they have said even on a basket game, Just man up and go play.

When you have time…

I recently found myself with a lot of time on my hands. Not by my choice, and it’s not like I died horribly, but they were still a few hours where I couldn’t do much. Of course, me being a writer (and used to traveling long hours) I had some paper and pens. So while I was waiting (for that was the issue: I was left waiting for hours, outside, in two different places, not even in my house) I managed to jot down some stuff. I was reading Holly Lisle‘s website the other day (a good website for writers, it has lots of different and useful articles from world building to how’s life as a full-time writer and so on) and there was a quiz you could take to see if you were truly a writer. So, not to spoil things but the first question wanted to test if you could entertain yourself for some time in an empty room. The message being: if you can’t come up with some ideas/scenarios/little stories while you had no distractions and nothing else to do…well, are you sure you are a writer?

So yesterday I had the perfect chance to find it out “on the street” as it were. And I came home with a few ideas, at least three of which for book-length stories, some dialogue lines and characterizations and other little bits and pieces. Woo-oo, you’d said, so what? Writers do it every day.

Maybe that is true. But it is nice to see that you can come up with stuff. That your mind does work, and is able to produce new stuff. Which brings me to the next step: what to do with all those ideas? You look at them when you come home, you save them on computer and the next day  you come down with your cup of coffee and? Well, your mind has been busy, for you just sit down and voilà, questions and questions and more questions. Yes. No answers so far, mostly because I am largely ignorant in lots of fields. Because as you know, if you have an idea for let’s say a guy and a girl falling in love, you have to choose the set, let’s say New York (gosh, it’s cliches galore), do a bit of research if you don’t know the city and you are basically done (broadly speaking). When your idea consists of at least two different planets, neither of which is technically the Earth, with governments you aren’t sure of yet, you have to face questions such as: how about two stars or more? How far is the Moon from Earth? How far is generally a moon from a planet? How can two different planets evolve? How do these people travel through space? And so on. Not as easy and straightforward as looking up some bagel places in Manhattan.

With this I am not saying that writing “realistic” fiction is any less hard. I am just saying that for me and all my fellow fantasy/scifi writers there are a few more steps sometimes than just picking up a place to set the story into. Not that that bothers me, I do love the fact I “have” to learn new stuff on a fairly regular basis. I also found out that I do love those pages with nothing but questions, because since I don’t know much, I can just throw “what ifs” in the pot and see where they take me.

And for fantasy writing, I hear you ask? Sometimes it’s actually even more difficult. yes because you are creating your world. You know the rules. That is, you should know the rules on our Earth so you can change and tweak them as you prefer. If you don’t start with the “real” base…your world isn’t probably that believable. Of course one can just say “but it’s Magic!” Yes, but readers are (mostly) not stupid. Suspension of disbelief is not that easy to keep up. And there is the problem that you can’t really just find out some books that tell how volcanoes work and how supernovas go about. Because nobody has written any books on your world yet. There is no reference other than what other writers have invented, or the “Earth” stuff.

Let me set an example for the “but it’s magic!” approach. Let’s say there is this world, with lots of colorful and pretty animals that don’t exist anywhere else (but the writer likes them). First point: what are those animals for? They are cute, and send off sparks of magic. Mh, ok. What do they do? What do they eat? Well, they could eat grass, but the writer prefers that they eat maaagic. Mh. So there are no animals that eat other animals? Of course not! Mh. Do humans (or the similar race invented for the case) don’t eat them? Well..yes. Ok, so the animals’ numbers are controlled by human consumption. Mh…is the writer sweating yet? But let’s move on. What do the humans do? They live in villages. Medieval-type villages, and women wear long dresses and long hair. Ok, cliched but hey. What do they do? Do they know agriculture? Do they jsut hunt? They have machines? No, there is Maagic! Ok so what does this magic do? Well…it does magic! Makes pretty lights, and blow stuff up! Oh. So these people are at war? No of course not! It’s a pretty world with unicorns and stuff. Ok. What do they blow up then? Mhh the evil people. Who are those? People who are evil. What do they do? They..And who can use magic? Everybody? Only some? Why? Does it take energy? Knowledge and books? Who teaches it? Where does the magic come from? If it has altered the animals, why not the humans? Is it continually altering the world and living things, almost like a radiation? Is it completely safe?

See what I was trying to say? In the real world we know that if we throw a feather down a balcony it will flutter and maybe move with the breeze. In a magic world, anything can happen. But it that something special happens, it better have an effect on everything else.

I leave this here. There have been many discussions about the creation of worlds and magic and all this. To you I leave a question, at least for the moment: if a butterfly beats its wings in your magic world, what happens to the other side?

And why?

Marathons

So I am probably addicted to writing marathons. Remember what I have said about deadlines and such? Well I was thinking, after nanowrimo and scriptfrenzy, that I would also do the Julnowrimo, which runs in July, for in May I was a bit busy (besides I didn’t have much of a story ready…see how is turning out now, writing everyday to finish a book). Then, yesterday I have found out that there’s Write a Damn Novel in June! Oh-oh, this time the goal is still 50000 words, but it can be a bunch of different things put together, so I am thinking either to do another novel, or to go for some short stories…who knows. I mean, I still have to finish this book, and I don’t really want to start another one until this draft is finished, or else I will get confused (more likely, I will abandon this one for the future one). But hey, why my eyes sparkle everything I hear the magic words Writing months or similar? I am truly addicted. I make my own challenges, right?

Well so you have another few links, if anything.

The goals we give

I said yesterday that I wanted to write at least 7000 words. Why? Well, I would like to finish the first draft of this book round about the end of May/beginning of June. The thing is, I don’t have a contract with a publishing house (yeah…wish you were here). Nobody is breathing down my neck for me to finish at the last day of May, or of June or any other month. I mean, since I’m supposed to be a writer, I believe somebody kinda expects me to write something. But so, why am I giving myself this daily goal? Yesterday for example, I ended up writing just about 5000 words. I am no way used to these numbers anyway, but it is still quite a bit of writing (considering that I didn’t spend all day in front of the keyboard…at least not writing). This morning I put out other 2000 and odd words. So to keep on track I should still write 7000 more before I go to bed. Which I could manage, to be honest, maybe with a few low moments. I suppose it’s always in the back of my mind that because I am not a published author and so far I don’t go to work everyday (nor every other day), I am not doing anything really. Which sometimes is true, honestly. Or at least it used to be true, since in the last period I have tried to be better and to fill my time not only with the “I’ve got to wash dishes and floors, darn”, but also with things that involve writing. From the actual thing to reading about writing and stuff like that. So I have not been so unproductive as it might seem on paper. And maybe it is also why I give myself deadlines. I have done NanoWrimo and found that if I wanted, I could easily and probably manage more than 50000 words in a month (of not utter gibberish either). I have done Script Frenzy, and then again, I have managed easily the 100 pages goal. Of course what I write is not the last word, set in stone as they say. That I can accept. And I can accept the fact that sometimes the piece of story I am working on just isn’t coming out in that particular hour. But it does feel good to end the day and know that you have done your part. Somehow, even if it will never happen, I am quite satisfied for the moment if I can say “Oh yes, I am writing a book…about 7000 words a day/7 pages a day…” I would love to be able to add “And I am also finishing up my storyboard for the GN, you know…” but that actually has been stopped for about 10 days or so. So, back to the point, why do we give deadlines and goals? I think it does give a sense of purpose. Without a contract or other arrangement (like a contest deadline) to keep mind of, the days in front of us roll out with no end. It could be easy that way to just “write when you feel like”…and so never finish. More for those that have lots of other duties, from work to family to hobbies or whatever, writing could lose its place in our life so easily. Because I have found out that if one always waits for inspiration, it never really comes. Or when it comes, we are not able to welcome it, and it gets relegated near the umbrella stand.

I am not here to advise anybody but I have read so many books and blogs about writing habits, and goal setting and word counts and inspiration that I have found out that no two people think really the same. It doesn’t surprise me, since we are not in the field where 2+2 ends up being 4 all the time. As always it is a personal point of view (and writers usually have a pretty strong POV, right?). I read once that apparently James Joyce wrote about 7 words per day. But of course some of us don’t really want to wait 4 years to finish a book (let’s not count revisions and rewrites for sake of sanity). I think that while for example for me is good to have deadlines, even daily ones, and that I don’t mind “putting in the work” (since, for crying aloud, writing is what I like to do), I still want to feel some degree of flexibility. Yesterday, I was tired. I didn’t want to trudge along my characters in the rain and in the mud for other 2000 words. So I did other things. This morning, easy peasy, I got it done. I am great at procrastinating, but I am aware of it and false modesty has no space in it. I know it and I prepare for it. Things will get done (as my garden, which is done in patches…every now and then…and it’s not my fault for all the rain either).

And I think partly it is habit-forming. I mean, the more I made myself write, the more I got used to write. And since it is for me, and not some essay or some other “homework” kind of thing, I am getting it done. The idea of being able to finish, edit and in the near future put my book out…well that is a strong enough push for me.

Listening: Diner by Martin Sexton

… returns (no, it’s not Superman)

So I’m here. I haven’t been here in quite some time, if one considers “here” to be the whole ether of Internet. So I am back, new to here (hello repetitions, goodbye silence), and hopefully back on some kind of weird track.

One can see when one is a writer, yes? The word of the day could very well be Hypergraphia since the plan for today is to write at least 7000 words of the book I am currently writing, and possibily more words in other media…aka…you got it, this blog. I had the idea to start blogging again for some time, then as you can see I have never managed to get round doin’ it (yes, some imperfect english can be found here….watch out!).

So yes, I am a writer. Who cares, says the silence of this void. I care, says the poor soul tapping at the keyboard. And that is why I am writing here. Because I do care about writing, and people should know things about writing. There are books, you say. Of course. I understand the fact that I am not the first, the only nor the last to write about writing. But hey, there are many movies and songs and singers and actors. There are millions of writers and millions of readers. There is place for everyone. [I have to believe that, you see, otherwise I would feel like all this is absolutely a waste of time.] I am not an expert, but I have opinions..or at least, doubts. Maybe they are the same doubts you have! [Points right in the direction of the void, that, as usual, is noncommittal.]

I am writing a book yes. A fantasy book, oh yes. No, there are no elves, goblins and mysterious rings. In fact, there probably will be no magic at all (nor dashing lost kings roaming around…there is a bit of roaming but hey, people have to move sometimes). I even have the whole story planned out, in broad strokes, and already I have found more stuff coming up as I was writing. Yuppie-do, isn’t that fun? Almost 10000 words and at least half of them about things you didn’t even know existed? Fantastic….happens all the time.

But that is not all. I should be finishing the storyboard for a Graphic Novel, and then I should start drawing it. Yessss….well I’m better with a pen than a pencil, if you get my drift. Hope is the last to die.

One tick to the daily agenda: write the darn blog already! Now, I will translate this lovely words into Italian for the other blog, which is…yes, you got it, this blog in Italian! I am Italian, you know, it’s not some random choice…more of my life in future posts, please come back! My life could be very interesting, you know? [Hope is the last...]

Listening to: Don’t worry be happy by Bobby McFerrin (you should watch the video!)