Reach 'The End'

 

A common problem for creatives can be finishing a project. This can be particularly so if you are struggling and finding it difficult to be creatively motivated or breach an obstacle. Fear of failure, over-editing as you write and writers’ block are a few examples of issues writers can face.

Sometimes it can be beneficial to put a project down and leave it to gestate a while. However, if you find you do this more often than not, and never seem to finish anything you start, it could be time to reassess your approach. Here are a couple of ideas.

Don’t rush yourself. Have patience and trust that you can take as long as you need to complete your work, to ensure it’s as good as it can be and also that you don’t become stressed about trying to reach those infamous words: “the end”.

Familiarise yourself with your productive ‘sweet spot’ – how long you can be successfully creative for in one session. Whether it is 10 minutes or 2 hours, know it and arrange the relevant lengths of time into your daily schedule (in and around your other commitments). This way, if you know you are a 5-minute writer, you can allot 5 minutes and be happy when you finish the time slot, rather than disappointed because you scheduled a one-hour slot and only did 5 minutes!

Finally, have a serious talk with the perfectionist within you. When it comes to redrafting and editing your work, do not allow yourself to go through too many permutations. Agree with yourself at what draft you will send it off for editing and reserve a final draft stage when the editor's results come back to you for finalising the piece. Hopefully you will reach 'The End'!

Keep Creative

 

I expect we’ve all had moments of lagging creativity, some more than others and some for longer than others. However brief or extended your creative lapse, the first thing we must do is accept it. Creativity cannot be forced.

It is better to honour the fatigue and have patience with yourself. If outside/world influences are to blame, consider Stephen Covey’s ‘circle of influence’ (7 Habits of Highly Effective People). If we cannot personally control it, it is out of our hands and therefore we need waste no energy worrying about it.

Hone your focus: find some replacement stimulation through photographs, music or aroma; work as freely as your mood will allow you (or not at all if it feels best to take time off) and remember to acknowledge even the smallest of achievements.

If you write one sentence, or even one word, praise yourself for it and issue a reward – something as simple as a cup of tea or five minutes closing your eyes and doing nothing. This gratitude will soon cause more creativity.

See Opportunities

 

When your writing isn’t working out, don’t panic. Set it aside and walk away for a short while. Put the kettle on or take the dog for a walk. It’s not always easy to step back, but even if it’s for a day or half a day it can really help. A moment of light reflection or distraction can work wonders.

When you feel ready to return, ask yourself to see the possibilities; find some alternatives. There will be a way out of that corner you have written yourself into. Somewhere in there will be an opportunity to tweak the story so that it flows again.

If not, be brave. Take the step to side-line the plot you currently have. Repurpose the prose and try a different direction that will still move the story along and take the characters where they need to go. Often these literary leaps of faith prove to be the defining moments in our stories.

Embracing the New

 

Ring in the new. Ring out the old. As another year draws to a close, we are often talking about what a new year will bring and the elements of the old year we are pleased to leave behind. We begin to sift through our lives to uncover what worked, or did not work for us over the past year. It is a time of reflection and redirection.

This is also the main concept of rewriting and editing your novel. As you revisit your work, you should ask yourself what new things you can bring to your work – what can you allow in and what must be relegated to the reject pile? How can you make this draft of your story better than the last? What IS working and what is NOT working?

As in life, so with your writing always be open to new ideas and changes you can make. Consider amendments that will alleviate plot problems. When something isn’t working or you are at an impasse, ask yourself if there are any new themes you could embrace. Can you alter the fate of a character, or at least a part of their journey, to enable the story to flow better?

Never be afraid to allow new ideas to form and changes to release you from blocks or setbacks in your writing. Be brave and look for alternative solutions. Ring in the new if the old is no longer viable. See light where there had once been darkness.

Find your Author Power

Empowering yourself as an author has so much to do with mindset. If we believe in ourselves, the hard part has been accomplished. However, this is so often the stumbling block for many creatives. You can erase self-doubt by boosting your self-confidence in a few ways.

If you meet self-doubt down a dark alley in your mind, walk past it; leave it in the shadows and head for the light – work through it by writing yourself away from it. Getting creative will leave your mind little space for sinking into doubts and fears. If it’s a long alleyway, take small steps that can broaden as you gain confidence and therefore move more swiftly to success.

Be comfortable in your creative process. There is nothing more sapping on your creativity than an uncomfortable chair, or a pen or laptop that won’t cooperate! Find the best place and the best method to write, even if your choices sound crazy to others. Write what you want and how you want, otherwise it may not happen at all.

Lastly, never believe you know everything. Creative journeys involve ongoing learning, so don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. There is continual room for improvement and it is part of the fun of creating!

Find the Flaws

A good part of writing believable, 3D characters is ensuring your readers find an emotional connection. If your protagonist is too perfect, no one will be able to relate to them. We spend most of our lives downplaying our best skills, hiding behind humility and chiding ourselves for our mistakes. No one can relate to a character who gets everything right ALL the time and truly believes in themselves without exception!

Find the flaws. Weed out the vulnerability of even the hardest villain and toughest heroine. Seek moments of tenderness, where the reader can catch the smallest glimpse of reality behind a character’s usual façade. When I sculpt all my characters, the first thing I do after physical description is list their flaws and weaknesses. It is somehow easier than attempting to list strengths. I prefer the latter to be the shortest list as well.

Try it with your existing characters or give it a go when you next have to design a brand-new character. Flows and weaknesses are much more interesting and will result in more exciting story stakes.

Classical Themes - 1 of 4

Classical Themes within the ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series

Myths, magic, rituals, quests, places, people and animals; all of these elements are helping to shape the forthcoming tales in my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series. Here is the first of FOUR posts.

Magical beasts and food; feuding siblings; rags to riches; death and rebirth; initiation and rites of passage; serpents, dragons and treasure – drawing on ancient and classical themes are of utmost importance in providing familiar storytelling arcs that readers can naturally connect with. Whether we realise it or not, most stories will resonate with an ancient theme and ‘remind’ us of something we have encountered previously in our conscious or subconscious. Fairytales are but one example of how repeated themes provide a wide variety of stories. 

Consider:

Sleeping Beauty                      Beauty and the Beast

Cinderella                               Snow White

King Arthur                              Chronicles of Narnia

Red Riding Hood                     Alice in Wonderland

Lord of the Rings

Stag in misty forest

I have immense pleasure incorporating these fascinating myths, legends and beliefs into my ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ series and hope you, my readers, have as much pleasure hunting for the morsels embroidered into my tales; small threads weaving through the whole. In my second ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ novel I have elements of the following themes:

Rights of Succession of Kings

This is deeply rooted in Indo-European mythology. There is an underlying, ancient archetype of a son or grandson killing their father or grandfather in order to marry and/or rule alongside the queen or mother goddess. The son has a hand in despatching the father (not necessarily a blood descendant and not necessarily with malice) and the son-lover joins the female sovereignty until the next ‘son’ arrives and repeats the cycle.

Think of:          Perseus and Acrisius, or

                        Oedipus and Laius

Celtic warrior aloft a war chariot drawn by two horses

Feuding Siblings

These also appear frequently in my sagas, though not all are blood-related. Brothers and sisters can be actual relatives, or bonded kinsfolk in religious orders or warrior bands. For my second ‘Wolf Spear Saga’ I was inspired by the half-brothers Nissyen (who wished for harmony) and Evnissyen (who wished for discord) from the ‘Sorrows of Branwen’ in the Mabinogion. Where there is disharmony, there is always interesting conflict!

Pair of wolves

Cinderella Stories

These are another recurring theme in many cultures: a hero or heroine undergoes a series of trials at the domestic hearth or in the wilderness, their true worth revealed at the story’s climax. This crisis-initiation-resolution appears in several forms. I’ve already used it for two main characters in my first novel in my series ‘Wulfsuna’ and expect to see it again in future sagas.

Midnight pyre

• Can you think of other classical themes repeated in literature?
• Do you like to include ancient themes in your writing?

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Breathing in the Past

Nothing compares to visiting historical sites and locations used in your novels to literally ‘inhale’ the past around you. If you write about locations near to where you live, this is a boon and most convenient, and should not stop you from exploring what your characters would have explored.

Thundery skies over the Avebury Circle

However, we may write about far away places and if, for any number of reasons [national lockdown the latest barrier], you are unable to reach those destinations, there are alternatives. Consider the topography of the location: flora and fauna, how the land lies, types of trees and animals, weather. Then challenge yourself to find the same or similar in environments around you.

Stag in a misty forest

You may have to visit multiple local areas to come into contact with the sounds, sights and smells of the place you are writing about, but the important aspect here is to experience the same sensory stimulations.

Lady reclining on a hill in the sunshine

If it is a hot country, go out on a warm day and notice the difference in temperature on the skin, how sound travels in a dry atmosphere and how the heat can accentuate scents. If it is a Scandinavian country find a pine forest and visit on a cold, damp day to absorb the smell of the foliage and soil and the sound of how the wind sounds through the pine tops.

Waterfall

These will not be complete substitutes of actually going to a particular place, but it is all part of research as a novelist and making the most of what is available to you. The rest will be added using your imagination and creativity as a writer!

Once upon a time...

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Creative Boost

A rainbow of journals

If, like me, you are one of the may writers who have lost momentum during lockdown (read my previous post) or you have decided to change career direction though are not sure where you want to go, or what you want to do, there is something you can try. Journalling and keeping a diary have been used for hundreds of years as an expressive art form and more recently as a therapeutic process. Documenting your daily thoughts and feelings keeps you focussed on the present and can reveal patterns in your lifestyle that you love, or that you want to change. Why not use this to your advantage?

Astronaut in space

Writing a daily journal keeps you ‘in the moment’ and distracts you from what’s happening around you. If you use the opportunity to write yourself into a preferred ‘reality’ by referring to yourself in the third person, you can escape into this make-believe world for a while. The distance you gain from daily troubles will reduce your anxiety. Also, by inserting yourself into a story of the life you want, you gain an insight into your dreams and create positive manifestation. By writing of the life you would like, you can bring about the changes to achieve it in the real world.

A beautiful garden and a gate leading somewhere...

Use positive quotes, clippings and photographs to assist you and enjoy the chance to ‘escape’ to anywhere in the world (or indeed the universe!). Make it as real or fantastical as you like, from wanting a change in home or career to a total lifestyle change such as becoming a millionaire or flying a rocket to Mars. Don’t plan it. Write it as it comes, off-the-cuff as it were. This way your subconscious will creep through and you may be surprised by what you create. If you are fortunate, you may gain insight into what makes you happy. You could unlock changes you can implement into your ‘real’ life.

Handwriting with pen on paper

While many of us prefer technology and our smartphones, this technique is best done with pen and paper. This method connects more closely to our subconscious through muscle memory and is more immersive.*

Grab a pen and explore!

• If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
• If you could be anything, what would it be?

*Mental Health Disclaimer – if you are under any medication and/or guidance for mental health issues, for safeguarding purposes please consult your GP or psychologist before trying this immersive diary technique.

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Inspiration Hibernation

A blank piece of paper

You would imagine having twelve weeks at home would have been a writers' dream. No external distractions; no time wasted on journeys here, there and everywhere; no meeting friends in coffee shops or wasting time mooching around department stores. I'd been waking much earlier, often before my alarm at 6.15am, and not retiring to bed before 11pm most evenings. But... and this is the BIG 'but', I hadn't spent any extra time writing. My inspiration had gone into hibernation along with me!

Apple blossom

I have spoken with other creatives who haven’t sat at a laptop or picked up a pen or paintbrush either. Unable to go out and about, to see people or places, had sapped our spark. To rectify this I began by posting my ‘Hibernation Inspiration’ blog posts. These were a small effort to aid fellow creatives and a channel for me to kick-start some writing by creating the mini poems and prose for the posts. Here is my first 'Hibernation Inspiration post.

My little tray of filter coffee and matching mug

The ability to ‘find’ ideas comes from stimulation or solace, neither of which are always attainable when you are indoors for months with all your family! The muse wanders, so you have to find new methods. I substituted visits to coffee shops, woodland walks and running my local writing group with coffee moments at home, writing letters and spending more time in our garden for work or leisure. To maintain my writing group, I organised video meetings for my members and emailed them topics. I have found beauty and inspiration closer to home. To spur my writing, I switched to smaller projects needing less focus time and a shorter attention span. I extended deadlines on larger projects and succumbed to a slower pace of life.

Scales of work/life balance

Life is all about balance and when something is tossed at you that tips the scales, you make adjustments until you regain that balance. Sometimes it takes a while, but when you find the magical mix, mind and body relax. Relaxation of mind and body facilitates the return of the muse and eases creative production. If you are stuck in a creative rut, keep trying. Your muse it out there. You may simply need a little longer to find it. And take heart… during this time of global hibernation many people around the world have chosen the creative arts to express themselves, to entertain them and to inspire them to try new careers.

• Have you struggled to write through lockdown?
• What have you done to maintain inspiration?

~   ~   ~

Blood, betrayal and brotherhood.

They come to honour a Warrior-Lord’s dream,

An ancient saga weaving their destiny,

But a treacherous rival threatens their fate.

The Wolf Sons are coming.

WULFSUNA

Hibernation Inspiration #2

More observations on the themes of 'hibernation' and 'emergence' - some Spring things to inspire ideas!

Another week and another morsel of inspiration from my personal photo collection and an observational poem. I'm sure many of you will be able to do better justice to poetry - so have a go!

Try some Haiku or flash fiction. Begin a new story and see where it leads you. Above all - have fun with words.

'What are the words,

Exchanged between birds?

What do they say to one another?

Do pigeons coo of love?

Do robins tweet of the sun above?

Do blackbirds chirp when tugging worms are a bother?

Who is the crow cawing to?

Where to the swallows fly from and to?

Do baby birds fight with their brothers?'

Hibernation Inspiration #1

For a few posts, I shall be sharing observations on themes of 'hibernation' and 'emergence' as we enter Spring.

In this time of mass hibernation, it can be difficult to distance ourselves from the negativity and find inspiration. For those of us who crave constant creativity, who want to write as well as read others' writings, ideas may be hard to come by.

Having just completed 14 days in self-isolation with my family, due to me being ill, I've encountered the ideas desert; the epitome of the empty wild west town with tumbleweed rolling across my mind.

And so to combat this, and provide some assistance to anyone else out there who would like a little dollop of inspiration, I will be posting some photos and snippets of my own observations that I've attempted to sculpt into poetry. (Please be kind, as I have not written poetry since I was an adolescent!)

'Like the field mouse, hedgehog or mole,

Who winter inside their cosy hole,

We emerge, like the sun on a day anew,

To see the mist settle on green grass, as dew.

Birds eat works and make new nests,

And go hunting for tasty morsels they love best.'

Try some poetry or flash fiction, or begin a short story imagining the daily routine of a field mouse or hedgehog; imagine a blackbird or magpie looking for food and nesting materials.

Find the simplest joy from a tiny morsel of food or basking in the midday sunshine, safe from predators.

Author Interview: Louise Ann Knight

Today's author interview is with debut fantasy author, Louise Ann Knight:

Louise lives in England and loves to read, garden and wander wild places. She writes fantasy, modern and children’s fiction. She is a freelance administration and event volunteer in her local community. After working in business administration, she trained as a meditation teacher. She is currently writing the next novel and producing a children's book for release.

'Sky Drum' is available from Amazon

"Peace. Chaos. Potential. Cosmos. It will take them all to restore the sky drum. Journeys and friendships collide, in this elemental tale of old promises and new hope. Sky Drum is the first in the series about two planets, two suns and the people that unite them."

You can find out more from Louise's website

~ ~ ~

1. What was the initial inspiration for your current book/series?

A thunderstorm several years ago reminded me of recurring childhood dreams. I’ve always been fascinated in nature and the cosmos. I began thinking about people interacting and working with them directly. Nature provided the inspiration and the dreams a landscape. I began writing characters that connected them.

2. What aspect of your genre is the most, a) satisfying and b) annoying?

I love creating names – for people, places and things. I enjoy writing about a race of people that have lived through differences and similarities in history (global equality being a difference, plant medicine being a similarity). Continuity is annoying though necessary. Sky Drum required a lot of threads to weave a story through multiple characters and across two worlds. Now that is done, going forward is simpler.

3. Which of your characters is your personal favourite and why?

I enjoy writing all the characters, in different ways. Though the protagonists on each world are my favourites, because they go through the most change in the story. Ora is seeking a lost part of herself. She is willing to dismantle what she believes and thinks, to challenge all she knows. So that she can remember ways of being, that can help others. Illik gives himself in service to a purpose he cannot fully comprehend. He is prepared to be the person that is needed, even though he doubts himself. His trust in the land that shaped him and his love for others, gives him courage in the face of the unknown. And I think everyone can identify with those things, at one time or another.

4. Do you love or loathe research? Do you plan it or look it up as you write?

I love research! I do some initially and inspiration is bound to come from the non-fiction reading I enjoy. Some research takes place as I write. For the fantasy series, as one example, I looked at the food and housing of tribes around the world and throughout history. I then created flora and fauna within the landscape that would enable people on the otherworld to create homes, depending on what climate the settles were based in.

5. If you were to write in another genre, which would it be and why?

I like modern fiction because it is so broad and children’s fiction, because I love to nurture imagination.

6. Describe your ideal writing paradise.

The seasons encourage me to experience writing in different ways. I love writing at a wooden table or in a chair, near a large window. A view of nature. Hills, meadows, beach or barrow. The light, the air, the wind through trees. Or sat on a log or blanket, in amongst it all. Candlelight on dark evenings, a blanket. I write onto a computer though first I draft on paper. I love the tactile experience of ink flowing onto a page. I re-use paper so there's a stack of leftover notebooks people passed me and sheets of printed paper. A jar of pens and pencils. Pukka teas or Lavazza coffee on the hob. Bliss!

~ ~ ~

Workshop Cafe

Today I ran a 'Writing Workshop' at a local cake café in my neighbourhood. It was a beautiful blend of creative camaraderie and idea sharing, with cake!

A gaggle of writers

It all began one day while talking to the owners and enjoying their baked wonders. Kiss Me Cupcakes are a most welcome addition to our local community, not least because of their gorgeous baked delights. They are enthusiastic about bringing people together in their delightful wood-panelled café for a variety of events, sharing creative endeavours and eating cake. Did I mention there is cake?

Writers' Fuel

While I run a bi-monthly writing group at my local community centre, I thought it would be fun to hold a workshop, especially for those who find it difficult to begin a project. It can take time and immense effort for people to overcome the initial hurdle of putting those first few words on a page. Using some fun activities and simple handouts my little gaggle of writers went home today with 50-100 words of a story, a basic plot arc and some idea of direction.

Heads down for the '50 words' round!

We decided we loved it so much, we'll be doing it again soon. A big thank you not only to the café, but also the attendees who were inspiring and enthusiastic! Thank you especially for the marvellous feedback.

Me in my Author's Nook