On Hiatus

Creativity really is like water. It ebbs and flows, trickles and floods, and can be anything from a gentle shower to a roaring tsunami. I've often thought of mine as a fountain; probably why I'm so drawn to them in real life. My creativity constantly cycles from a basin of dreams, inspiration and joy. If I lose sight of any of those three things, the supply starts to evaporate.

2017 taught me that the more you use your creativity, the more you need to find new sources to replenish it. There is endless inspiration in the world, but you need time to recognize it, absorb it, and learn from it. Likewise you also have to keep your creativity protected against anything that will pollute it. Toxic influences can end up poisoning everything you try to do.

That said, you can't wall yourself up in an ivory tower and tell everyone never to darken your door again. Creative people need each other. Almost everything writers do has to be accomplished alone. Having someone who deals with the same thing to talk to makes it less lonely. You feel part of something bigger than yourself when you have a circle of friends who understand you. We all need that person who gets it, even if it's just one friend. We can offer the support that they need, too.

In the year ahead I hope you all take some time to nurture your creativity as well as doing the same for others. If you can find the right balance of the two, there's nothing that will get between you and your goals.

Now I'm going to take some time off to replenish. It won't be five months this time, I promise. I just need a decent break from the internet. I'll check in now and then, and When I get back I'll have a full report.

See you once the fountain is back up to the brim.

Off Again

I'm unplugging this week to have some fun. See you on Friday.

Off Yet Again

I apologize, but I have to skip Just Write today and unplug so I can get caught up on some work that pays the bills. Since Mother's Day is next Sunday I'll try to reschedule it for later this week. In the meantime, I'm off to write for the clients. See you tomorrow.

Unplugging

I'm taking off today so I can catch up on some work and help my kid get through her finals. See you tomorrow.

Off Again

I finished a big work project last night, so I'm taking the day off to recoop. See you tomorrow.

Off Again

I'm bailing on you all again today. The upper respiratory infection I thought I had beat came back with a vengeance, and decided to migrate into my ears and throat. I went to see the doc, and he prescribed the horse pill antibiotics and sinus spray, and told me to stay in bed and chug sports drinks. As miserable as I feel, I think this time I will, although tea and lemon and honey is more my sick room beverage.

I'll try to do Just Write tomorrow, but if I'm not feeling well enough you'll see this post instead. Send good thoughts my way if you have a chance; this bug is being very stubborn. See you when I can be vertical again.

Off to be Mom

I'm taking the day off for a family event. See you tomorrow.

Off to Finish Up

I'm going to bail on you guys for a few days in order to slay a deadline for a client. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, here's a PBW archives blast from the past:

Know Thy Hub

While I've been reading Mr. Ray's book on writing, I realized why he is so object-obsessed. He encourages writers to make noun lists and use them to spark ideas because he uses objects as story hubs, or that thing around which everything else in the story revolves. Once you know what a writer's favorite or most frequently used hub is, you can begin picking them out (for Ray Bradbury, the playroom, the carnival, the tattoo, the planet Mars and the book have all served as hubs.)

The object as hub is an effective device: Guy de Maupassant likely used a beautiful diamond necklace to write one of the most miserably ironic short stories of all time; Stephen King used a '58 Plymouth Fury named Christine for a novel that made most of us give our cars an uneasy look or two (two more of his vehicle-as-hub works are From a Buick 8 and Trucks.)

My story hubs are almost always characters (the faceless man, the girl-knight, the golden assassin) or character-based concepts (the doctor who can never get sick or die.) This is probably because I find people more fascinating than objects, settings, events, etc. I've used one character as the hub for a ten-book series, and seven characters as the hub for a single novel. Even in my one dog story, Familiar, the shepherd who serves as the hub used to be a person and still retains most of his human qualities.

Some writers may argue that they never use a hub, and that's a possibility, although I think in those cases the hub may be tucked away in the subconscious. The process of discovering the story as they write it may be more important than knowing the hub up front. Organic writers who just sit down and let it flow might not want to name their hub is because it could kill their momentum. Hubs are not always great things, either; they can repeat on you, and if you're not careful, they can take over your work. This may be why those writers reuse the same hub for their books over and over ad nauseum end up becoming cookie-cutter novelists; they can't escape that one hub that sinks its claws into their brains.

Knowing your hub isn't a requirement of writing, but I think it helps to know what you were planning to write around whenever you get stuck. At times when I falter, stumble or otherwise get mired down in a story, I usually end up thinking about the hub character and asking myself questions as to how my problem relates to them and their situation. Everyone and everything in the story serves the hub, and if it doesn't, I've gotten off-track and wandered away from my story, usually with another character who distracts me (nine times out of ten, that's always the case.)

If you're not sure how to determine what your hub is, think about what inspired you to write the story, or make a list of those elements that are most important to you and/or that you spend the most time developing. If knowing doesn't squash your enthusiasm, having a good grasp of what your hub is gives you some advantages, especially when you write up your story premise for a query or a synopsis for a submission package.

(Originally posted on PBW on 1/15/11)

Off to Not Be Here

Create a sticky note online for your blog at Wigflip.com's sticky note generator, Superstickies (link originally swiped long ago from Gerard over at The Generator Blog.)

Off for Now

I'm taking off for a bit -- be back when I can.

Logging Off, Editing with Ernest

I'm taking the weekend off to celebrate the holiday and be with my family and not be on the internet as much as possible. Selfish of me, I know, but I can get that way sometimes. Comments moderation will likely be slow and/or backed up as a result. So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, let me share some info on an online editing tool:

You can get immediate editing help for anything you write online via the desktop version of HemingwayApp, which allows you to type in (or cut-n-paste) text and then have the app edit it (first you have to highlight and delete the instructions, btw.) Here's a screenshot to explain more details:



And the text version of the same:

Hemingway App makes your writing bold and clear.

Hemingway highlights long, complex sentences and common errors; if you see a yellow highlight, shorten the sentence or split it. If you see a red highlight, your sentence is so dense and complicated that your readers will get lost trying to follow its meandering, splitting logic — try editing this sentence to remove the red.

Adverbs are helpfully shown in blue. Get rid of them and pick verbs with force instead.

You can utilize a shorter word in place of a purple one. Mouse over it for hints.

Phrases in green have been marked to show passive voice.

Paste in something you're working on and edit away. Or, click the Write button to compose something new.

I tested it with a random passage from one of my novels, and here is a screenshot of the results. It flagged me on the only two adverbs I used -- I don't loathe adverbs like some writers, so having them in the text okay with me -- and gave me a green light on everything else. I should write worse.

You can use this online tool to edit fiction, blog posts, e-mails, or basically anything you write, and it may see something you don't, so check it out when you have a chance.