Reading outside the box

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I follow a lot of "writing boards" on Pinterest with lots of writing quotes, writing prompts and helpful hints. One thing I see over and over again is to read widely, which to me seems to say read from a mix of different genres. I am guilty of frequently only reading historical fiction and right now I have been addicted to WWI novels as I am trying to gain both inspiration and insight for my own story. However the last two books I have read and the book I am currently reading have nothing to do with WWI. I had Stella Bain in my bag and my co-worker was intrigued by the cover and asked me what it was about I said "a nurse in WWI" and he joked "Always WWI." Well as you can read from my post that I was not a big fan of the book. Then I read Divergent and then I read Lunch in Paris, though these books are nothing a like they are both about choices and how they define you.

Sorry I don't know the author of this quote
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Lunch in Paris is a memoir of Elizabeth Bard who moves to Paris to be with the man she loves and while she has always idealized Paris she now has to fight against her "Americanized" ways to embrace the French culture, but sometimes she has to pick her battles. I felt she constantly had to keep choosing Paris and choosing that life style. In my last post I wrote about making choices and I am thankful that we don't have just one choice in life but sometimes in life when we make a choice we have to keep choosing that choice. I have chose to live in Boston (which is completely different then my background of living in Oklahoma and California) and even though I hate the long winters I have continued to live here. I have made a life here with my friends and my second family.  In continuing to live here I have grown appreciate and love things about this city for example when it above 40 degrees in January or February I consider it a nice day and if it is sunny I go on walks to let myself enjoy the day.

In my last post I was facing some adulthood angst about making decisions and trying to figure out my life and maybe that will happen throughout my life. However I feel as an adult sometimes you have to make decisions and you have to keep choosing them and not giving up on the choices you make even when they cause struggles because struggles give us stories.

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Sorry I did not mean for this post to become all deep, I guess that is what happen when I let my thoughts flow. I wanted to write that those stories may not be my typical books I read, I am happy I am reading them because they have given me more insight and have raised some thought provoking questions to ponder in my own head.

I am currently reading Dear Mr. Knightley, I first picked up this book because I thought there would be a Jane Austen connection with the title being such. It is not another retelling of Jane Austen book. It is about a girl Sam Moore, who has had a troubling past of floating between foster homes never really making connections as she hide behinds her books. However, she has been given a generous grant to go to Northwestern University's journalism school with the condition she must write letters to the benefactor, Mr. Knightley. I am only 80 pages in so I don't know all the details of the story but so far I am enjoying learning how Sam is overcoming her struggles. While the title of the book intrigued me it was reading an acclaim for the book that got me to read this novel... "Katherine Reay invites readers into each moment of a young woman's discovery that real heroes are fallible, falling in love isn't always better in books, and literature is meant to enhance life--not serve as a substitute for living" (Serena Chase, USA Today's Happy Ever After Blog). I sometimes think I am like Sam hiding out in the world of my books and my own stories but for life to truly happen I have to break out of that.

Though these books have nothing to do with WWI, they are inspiring me to think outside the box and really wonder about things in my own life... and not just getting lost in an epic historical novel.

Writing is a puzzle

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Classes are over, and I know I have to work on my thesis, but I'd rather be working on my story, but I believe writing as always kept me sane so I feel like that justifies me spending some time getting in some fun writing.

As I wrote on my last post I find inspiration for my story on Pinterest. Over the last couple of months when I have not been wanting to work on my thesis I have been working on re-writing my story of Mattie Harrington. I have shared the first paragraphs of this story in my "Beginning Again". However, right now I am jumping ahead...

One of the changes I have made in this story is changing it from a first person perspective story to a third person perspective. Through this I have been adding little details and also remembering details. One detail of my story is that Southerton does not keep horses so whenever Mattie wants to go riding she has to go to Cranston Court, which allows for lots interactions with Kelby. However, when I was originally writing this story I had written that Mattie had snuck out of the house early and went for a ride and in that she has an accident. I realize how can she get in a horse accident when she doesn't own a horse. If she went to Cranston to borrow a horse, Kelby would have gone out riding with her and this would prevent the accident... so I was stuck. What to do?

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Then a few days ago I found this picture on pinterest and it was like a light bulb came on... she can easily crash a bike. Now I have to figure out the details of how to get the bike into the story. (I think Daphne will bring it back from London). I also have to figure out why Mattie goes for a bike ride, usually when she wants to clear her head she goes for a walk, why would she chose a bike that day?

Here is a few lines I have written for Kelby and Mattie in 1921, I will have to see how to fit into my story... 

"Do you remember the day you got this," he stroked the side of her forehead feeling the scar beneath his thumb

"Yes I fell from that blasted bicycle."

"I knew then. As soon as I saw you fell, and thought you could have ded. I knew then, I ran to you faster than I had ever ran. I came to you and I called out, 'Mattie, Mattie, sweetheart'. It was foolish but then again it wasn't. You are my sweetheart and I felt from that day on I could not do without you."

He kissed her scar and she wanted to melt in his arms. "I guess I owe that blasted bike to letting me know of my affections," he whispered. Mattie giggled at joy in this moment. 

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Sometimes these moments of inspiration are like a puzzle that you have to put together. 

To follow the progress of my story just follow the label "Grand Days" (that is my working title of my story)

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Yes it is Joey and Pacey from Dawson's Creek but I thought it was good for Mattie and Kelby.
Sorry link no longer works but this pic was too good to pass up on.

My characters and what is to come.

As I am an aspiring author I have found motivation in seeking character inspiration from Hollywood or the BBC. These are my main characters for my new story "The Grand Days."

Kelby Gray, portrayed by James McAvoy, quiet and usually in his books cares a great deal for Mattie, but is careful to walk the line between friendship and wanting more than friendship. He also tends to the horses at Cranston Court, however he is smarter them. He wants to fight in The Great war but at his mother's wished stays behind. 

my ideal "back woods"
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Lady Adelaide Welford, portrayed by Amy Adams, is a quite a beauty to Mattie both on the inside and out. Though she seems tough and confident she is actually quite weak after the death of her daughter Aurora (before the novel). There always seems to be a twinge of gloom to her though she smiles the prettiest. 

Mathilda "Mattie" Harrington, portrayed by Imogen Poots (Miss Austen Regrets), thinks herself the plain daughter not meant to be very much in life. However, she is the protagonist of the story. She wants grand adventure and has a special bond with her brother Marcus because of this. She is often left behind because she is too young and mostly watches events unfold. That is until a wealthy widower takes notice of her and then she has to decide between love of Kelby Gray and following her mother's desires. 

Daphne Harrington, portrayed by Emily Blunt, the oldest daughter and the beauty of the girls. She is idealistic in her views on love, when it comes to Shane Gray. She also has very strong will and demands perfection. War crushes her when Shane is killed and she quickly engages herself to Parker Welford... No worries that is not a spoiler as it is written about with in the first few pages. 

Percival Marcus Harrington, portrayed by Ben Aldridge (Lark Rise to Candleford), the oldest and only son knows what he is obligated to do but wants to be a new kind of explorer, a pilot. Goes off to fight in war, and is injured but mostly mentally. 

Rewriting...enjoying the process.

Since finishing my semester I have been enjoying getting back into fun writing and enjoying bits and pieces of it with you my loyal readers. I have written about my writing process a bit (post: Writing is my oasis) about how I have to hand write my stories and then bit by bit type them up. I have discovered that one thing that is useful to me is when I am writing my stories and I feel like I have written my characters into a corner, it helps to type it out. Through typing and giving my mind to meld it over I can usually work out how to get my character out of the corner. I have found this beneficial. 

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In my current story I got to a scene that I didn't honestly know how my character should respond. An author should know everything about a character but in my times of writing as much as I put myself in a character sometimes my character goes places in the story I never imagined when I started. I am still an aspiring author so I wonder if this is common. Because I had put my character in a situation I did not know how to respond to, I decided the best thing for my story was just to begin again. I went back to the start of the story I liked and began from there and re-wrote lots of pages and now I am writing with any spare moment I have. 

I know as a writer you pour your heart into your work. I know I am constantly looking in my thesaurus to find the right word perfect word to grasp at what I mean and with that sometimes it is hard to cross out paragraphs or tear out pages. It was hard for me but I feel in sometimes in doing this I get to the best in your story and the best out of my characters. As much as it sucked to tear out pages of my hard work I am happy I did because I feel my story has gone to better place.

I know I am still a naive writer but if you are a writer and feel stuck in a corner I recommend going back to a paragraph, a page, or a scene you like and start over again. It might help. More thoughts from a naive writer click here...

Well put Hemingway
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A naive writer's sentiments

One of the many blogs I follow is Scribble Chicks. It is written by 4 women who blog about being a writer. I find it very amusing. Well in Monday's post Confession they wrote:

MYTH: You can tell you are supposed to be or are a writer because you cannot imagine living life without writing and you don't enjoy the time when you aren't writing.

They explained this as a myth because...

TRUTH: There are definitely times when I greatly dislike writing. Usually it's when my deadline is creeping up on me and I have gotten myself backed into a wall in my story. There are often times during breaks in deadlines when I really wonder if I have another book in me. Or after I've gotten a contract when I stare at a blank Word document and I can't for the life of me figure out a good opening scene.

To read more click here 

I know right now I am just an aspiring author with this blog and some poems I got published my high school literary magazine as my only publishing credits. So I know I do not feel the pressure of a deadline on me... though I will say I do try to publish here once every 2 days. Though I write frequently in between to prepare for up coming post. And I know I have never gotten a contract so I can't go against their truths but I do question their myths.

Over my trip with my mom I told her even though I am in grad school for Library Science, I long to be a writer and I think the reason I gave was much the same as the myth. When I can't fun write thanks to school it is hard and I long to write again. Then when I can write, thanks to summer or long snow storms, I feel like writing is the only thing I should be doing. Rather it be this blog, my journal, or my story I love seeing my thoughts on paper. Sometimes writing is the only thing that makes sense in my life and in my stories I can escape and make sense of things. Maybe in my naive sense I feel like that is why people enter the world of writing.

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I am still thinking over this myth. Maybe if I ever truly become a published author I will understand the pressure of a deadline. Right now in my writing I have finished my story The Sisters of Pine Haven and have sent it to my mom, my current editor, to read over. In the fall I have to write my Master's thesis so I don't think I will get back to it until after that. Now I am just trying to work on my story, Rose Gray, as much as possible. Then with two stories under my belt and having finished Grad-school I might feel like seeking publication. Right now I still believe this...

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Yeah my thoughts might be naive but I am hoping I will always love to write as it has been such a comfort all these years.

More from a naive writer:

A Naive Writer's Advice

posted: June, 2012

If you a published author I would love to hear your thoughts on this. 

A naive writer's advice

I am not a published author, so you can take my advice with a grain of salt and I won't be offended. But in my years of writing I have discovered a few things.

1. Writing is a lonely job. So I say find a group of writers to hang out with, not just bloggers but people in real life. A few weeks ago a woman from my church started a Facebook page for people who go to my church who want to be writers. While yes it is a Facebook page, I see these people at least on Sundays so it is great to have them in real life and virtually give me advice and support. I think for our sanity writer's need support, while friends are great, a little group of other writers is great. So if you are a writer- find other writers, take up seats at a coffee shop and just be there for others. 

2. Be okay with crossed out pages. I don't know how people write by looking at a computer screen. I can only be inspired when I am hand writing stories... I know it takes me a long time to write because of this but I love to write in journals. For a long time I hated when I written something then crossed it out, I am slightly a perfectionist and I didn't like the way it looked to have it crossed out, but now I have embraced it. I would rather cross things out and make them better than be stuck with something I don't like. 

A page from my story notebook

3. Just write. Sometimes easier said then done. Lately I have really been pushing myself to write and finish my story but sometimes my brain is stuck so I give myself time to go for a walk, read a book or just watch TV but at the hours I know I think best creatively I "force" myself to write. Find the hours you think more creatively, find a spot you like to sit and write. For me it is 10PM to 1AM (I don't know why is late) and the corner of my bed. I have a day bed and I find the top corner of my bed the best place to write. Also make sure to give yourself time to not write, if needed.

4. Embrace your voice. In school teachers always said that they can know when you plagiarize because it doesn't sound like you. I think this is very true in all writing. We are each given our own thoughts, our tone and our own writing style. As much as I would love to write like Jane Austen, where paragraphs could last for pages, I am not Jane Austen and that is not how I write. So instead of pushing myself to write long paragraphs I have to write my own way. Also embracing your voice is writing what you are passionate about even if you think you are the only person who will like it.

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