Nuts and Bolts: Self Care

Nuts and bolts is a series on the details of being a writer and honing my craft.  Today’s brief post may not seem directly about writing, but is still absolutely vital to the creative process.

This has been a strange week.  I have exciting things going on and at the same time there’s some really hard stuff going on as well.  I thought it would be a good time to go over some of my own coping skills.

Story Ideas – Conceptualizing stories is probably my favorite part of the writing process (before the more detailed planning stages).  Coming up with scenes for a future story helps me process some of what has been going on in my own life.

Music – Usually when I’m wiped out, I head over to YouTube and start listening to new stuff. I’m always on the lookout for songs to add to my writing play list.

Fitness – I’ve been using fitness apps to make sure I’m taking care of myself (and to make me stop reaching for junk food when I’m feeling down).

Chopping the To-Do List – I am mindful of the time I have and typically start reprioritizing when I start feeling overwhelmed.  I begin by focusing on what absolutely has to happen instead of all the things I want to happen.

Prayer & Meditation – Last but not least, prayer.  I am a spiritual person and my prayers may not get quick answers, but there is a peace in realizing that I’m not in control of everything.

Writing is like Exercising

A lot of things are like physical exercising.  Playing music requires practice, keeping a house clean requires diligence, learning a new skill requires lots of use and maintenance.

Writing is not any different.

I have always written.  I loved the stories mom would read chapter books to my brother and I. We always wanted her to keep going and would beg her for more at the end of a reading.  When I was 9, I even attempted my own mystery story, it was not my best work of art and I think I may have gotten rid of that old copy (but not before my mom proudly showed it to my teacher).

Since then, I would attempt stories of my own sporadically, though my imagination was running wild 24/7.  In high school, I discovered several web comics that I absolutely loved and started making plans to possibly write my own.  I had character notes and a general idea of the plot but I never really sat down and wrote it (though, my drawing abilities excelled during this time because I was not going to produce a web comic unless I was sure I could make its quality stand out).

It was during this time that the ideas for my trilogy of fantasy books started coming together.

Finally, in 2015 a couple friends and I started our own critique group and for the first time I was writing more rigorously and more often.  I also participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time and  I went from 16000 total words at the beginning to 180000 in the last two years on various drafts.

And you know what?  With every single second I spend critiquing, writing, and learning from writing masters, I can see my work become better.

I have a philosophy in life that we never really arrive.  Life is a journey and it’s also like a balance beam.  We are constantly improving and we are constantly having to adjust for our balance.  Like our core muscles, the more we consciously work at this balancing act, the less we notice the individual muscles, with every experience we’re strengthened so that the next time, we’re not as sore.

By practicing the basics, we become ready for what comes next.

Just like life, writing is an exercise, grow lax and it takes longer to get back into shape.

Last of the Summer Series: Brandon Sanderson BYU Writing Class

Children are back in school, pumpkin spice lattes are making a reappearance, and I’m getting back to a more normalized schedule.  Fall is here and I have one last link to share as a part of the summer series of YouTube videos (and podcasts) I have found helpful for writing.

I was able to spend a lot of time this summer listening to writing podcasts and an assortment of audio books at work, all of which I believe have helped to strengthen my craft.  I’ve also developed a taste for Yoga and I’m hoping the introduction of a new discipline will also aid in getting back into the regularity of a writing routine (though bribing myself with pumpkin spice lattes are also likely to help).

That said, here’s the video of the week.  Brandon Sanderson, in addition to hosting “Writing Excuses”, also teaches a creative writing class over at BYU wherein the assignment of the semester is to create a novella.  I believe one of the stipulations of him teaching the class is that his lectures must be allowed to be available online.

What that means for the rest of us is a free workshop on writing fiction with one of the great high fantasy authors of our time.

“What Writers Should Learn From The Lord of the Rings” by Just Write

I ran across this video recently and thought the separation of a plot climax and story climax was intriguing. I had not honestly thought of it as two separate entities, especially in regard to Lord of the Rings.

I’ll be honest, I disagree with a few of the points that were made, but it may be because I’m thinking about the book more than the movie (the movie version of “The Return of the King” is this video’s focus).

Worth a watch.

This will be the penultimate summer post. Starting in September I will be going back to a more normal schedule. (Yes, it’s because I’m a writer that I get to use fancy words like penultimate, when “next-to-last” would do.)

Summer Series 1: “How Movies Teach Manhood” Ted Talk

This summer I am going to be swamped between work and catching up on my stories.  Instead of extending my accidental blog hiatus, I’ll be highlighting various videos and resources that I have found helpful until life gets a bit more manageable again.

First up is “How Movies Teach Manhood” by Colin Stokes on the Ted Talks channel.

I think he brings up particularly poignant thoughts I would like to keep in mind while I’m working on my own characters.

Weddings

Between my family and friends I have seen my fair share of lives changed by the united utterance of “I do.”  One such time was this past weekend.  Two of my more recent friends committed their love and lives to each other, and it was utterly beautiful.

In the midst of their love, there was also a larger scale showing of support.  I’m not sure I have ever seen so many friends instead of family take lead on throwing a wedding together, but we did (not to say the family wasn’t involved, just that the brunt of the wedding day set was taken care of by us).

Again, it was beautiful.

Tying that back to me, there’s a term I absolutely love: husbandry.  I have always conjured up this image of a farmer being wedded to the land.  A man or woman committed to the land through the good and the terrible, in an unshakable relationship.

Maybe that’s why I keep writing.  I am wedded to the work in a way more deeply than I had ever comprehended when I started.  It’s an overly optimistic obsession (much like farming).  And the writing contains my blood, sweat, and tears just as much as the land that I work on.

However, a marriage doesn’t work without support.  Just like how my friends and I love and support each other, without their support I would likely not be as far along in my projects as I am now.

I suppose if I were to sum it all up: without commitment rooted in love – the books, the farmland, friendships – all would fail.  We need each other.  We need commitment.  And a wedding is an amazing symbol of that.

Finding a Niche

Last month, I had a conversation with an acquaintance discussing my future and how it is really hard to find a day job that fits well with me.

Anyway, to shorten this story a bit, I was told very few people ever find a niche that truly works for them.  The idea was that I should settle for something I was good at, but hated because very few people find their niche.

I walked away, wondering why anyone could justify quitting the search for something that gives you a sense of fulfillment, just because most people never find it.

I had already written Skipping Stones by this point, and this story was more a reaction to current world events, while thinking of the “Green Fields of France” by Eric Bogle.  And now, it’s my first published work. It’s obviously not perfect, but no writer is ever totally perfect* and I am very pleased that this story is the first.

And I am also very pleased with my decision soon after to make a career transition.

—–

*Not only do many authors face rejection after rejection, but I’ve found typos and a grammatical issue or two in even my favorite published first editions.  My point?  We’re all human and working on our craft.  It would be ridiculous to quit after a first draft isn’t a masterpiece so why do we do that in “real life”?

Steps

Often when faced with uncertainty I freak out, pray, breathe, freak out, line out the steps that I need to take, breathe, freak out, and take action.

This does not always happen in that order.

The last week has been challenging.  I am in a week gap between an old and a new job.  I just moved quite a ways and went through more good byes than I like.

And then, a family emergency hit.  Next came the news that my short story “Skipping Stones” will be published over at Flash Fiction Press in January.  And meanwhile, I have all sorts of work to do in order to finalize the move.  People to notify, work to do, and oh goodness, lots of organizing and storing of miscellaneous boxes to do.

There are at least two takeaways from all this.  The first, coloring is actually quite therapeutic (I had gotten books as presents for other family members and might have also tried it out myself). The second, it does no good to worry about what you have no control over.

Put another way, the serenity prayer really does ring true:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.

Another quote I’m fond of is from Victor Hugo

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.”

So those are my takeaways. I’ve already discussed my misgivings about this year, but I am hopeful. There are books I will finish this year, short stories I will publish this year. We’re all still here, and we’re all still walking through this life step by step, together.

Inspiration: Final Fantasy Edition

I have been an off and on gamer ever since my cousins brought their original gameboys into my grandparents house to show me.  Then, when Kirby’s Adventure, Duck Hunt, and Super Mario Bros showed up in our house on the NES, I became quite proficient at Duck Hunt and Kirby, less so with Mario.

Later on, I gravitated towards games like Golden Sun, Pokemon, and Fire Emblem with their turn based battle systems and novel-like approach.

I think overall, I really enjoyed how role playing games were like a marriage of both cinema and literature.  In playing you got to experience the story as if you were living it.  In some games you even get a choose-your-own-adventure type flair.

Now what does all of this have to do with my writing?

Well for one, it is a great reminder that any story should immerse the reader in a world just as vivid and lush as a video game can portray.  The reader should feel the emotions and journey of the character as if they were that character.

And, while I have barely played any of the Final Fantasy games (due to budgetary and time constraints more than a lack of interest) I happened to see a preview for what was then Final Fantasy XIII Versus.

Until then and for some years afterward I wanted to write something that was more of a traditional fantasy in the medievel-esque of Lord of the Rings, Shannara, and even Redwall.

That trailer reminded me that a good fantasy can also happen in a more contemporary environment.

Fast forward around 8 years later from when I first saw the trailer and Final Fantasy XIII Versus became Final Fantasy XV (released this year after a decade in development).  And now I am also working on a Sci-Fi/Fantasy tale of epic proportions.

Below is one of the original Versus trailers.

***I had always joked that this would be the game that would make me break down and buy a current generation Playstation.  But, again, budgetary restrictions and all that.  However, with that being said, I hope the game is as good as it looks – perhaps I’ll get around to playing it one of these days.  If you are playing it, please let me know if you are enjoying it in the comments so I can live vicariously through your own gaming.