Writing a book: tips

Got your attention?
 Good; now read ==>

  Here's some advice on writing for anyone who cares to listen. I'm not big and famous, but I have been writing for most of my life, so I do have some experience. Here is the why, what, who, when, where, and how of writing.

1. Words of warning. You will not be famous. You will not be rich. The first idea you ever have will be a joke, your characters will be flat, your plot will be full of holes, and your prose will need tons of work. This is coming from someone who started at eight-nine years old; at seventeen, I still need more practice. And this isn't just me. Every writer must go through the process (though some will be luckier than others).

2. The message. This is the why of writing. Your story will have some meaning, whether it's that love conquers all, that we should take better care of our planet, or even that a laugh does a person good. I truly don't care what you choose, but it must mean something to you. If you try to write about something that doesn't put fire in your heart and charge up your soul, you will fail in your writing.

Check your work, kids.

3. Plot. This is what you write. This is the most difficult part of writing, from my perspective (every writer is different). If you want it to be believable and realistic, you will have problem after problem with this. Comedies are easier but not strictly easy. You will write, realize that it doesn't work, take pieces from that to rewrite, and repeat. Eventually, you may have a working story, but even then, it could be just a mash-up, in which case your prose has suffered, and you must redo it all. But don't give up! You will find that story, even if it takes a very long time.

4. Characters. This is the who of writing. After so many years of practice based solely on this area of writing, characters are my expertise. I was even told that, though my plot is sometimes weak, the strength of my characters make up for it. Anyway, it may not be so "easy" (years of practice, remember?) for you. A character has to be more than a list of attributes and clothing colors. He must be a person to be believable. You have to know him; you have to grow to know him like you would any friend. One of the best ways is to write short stories centered on one character. It doesn't even have to fit your real story; it's just there for you to discover how he talks, acts, and thinks. You'll know when he/she is right.

It's a delicate job.

5. Setting. This is the when and where of your work. It doesn't matter what you choose; you will need to do research. Are you writing about a town in your own state/country? What street do they live on? (I actually made up the town in Redemption, but I still have to research small towns in general.) Are you writing about the jungles of South America? What do you know about jungles, not including what you learned from Indiana Jones? How about medieval times? Yes, you even have to research that. Use the heck out of Wikipedia and Google; they are very helpful tools.

Overwhelming? Thesaurus.com is
your best friend.

5. Style. This is how you write. This is not something I can explain because it develops on its own over time, and everyone is different. However, there are a special few who rise above the rest, and these are the ones who become famous. Take a look at some of Ted Dekker's, Dean Koontz's, or Tosca Lee's works and notice the poetry they are able to work into their novels. It's truly beautiful. I know quite a few authors, and most of them are very, very good, but only a few are truly unique, rising stars of the writing world. One of these is a dear friend of mine, whose name I won't post for privacy issues. His wording is so elegant and different that I always have to pause and look again. Truly amazing work.

And one more thing. "There is no such thing as writer's block. There is only fear. Fear of the unknown." - Ted Dekker. There is fear that you are not good enough and fear that you never will be. Sometimes, it becomes frustrating and overwhelming, but don't give up! Stick with it because it is always worth it to write, whether or not you even become published.

He causes the blind to see

  I got contacts!

  I am not technically blind.  But I am legally blind, and I refuse to take off my glasses in public because I hate the helpless feeling I get when I can't see.  I have to trust someone a lot to take off my glasses with them, which is why a good optometrist is so important.

  I have had glasses for nine years.  I hate things touching me, hate plastic rims on my face, and hate the dependency I have on those things.  I can't take them off, and when I do, they're always inches away.  (In the morning sometimes, I drop them.  Then I have to blindly find my mama or wait for someone, hopefully her, to walk in and help me.)  Another downside of my nearsightedness is that no one can really see my eyes.  First, people are distracted by the glasses.  Then, my eyes are made small by the lenses (like a backwards magnifying glass).

  So what do I think of contacts?  They're freaking amazing!  A bit difficult to put in but easy to take out, and I can't feel them at all.  Do you know what that means?

  If I don't think about it, I have perfect vision.  I feel like a normal person, and I can SEE!  I LOVE IT!!!

  Sure, I only just got them, so they do irritate after I wear them awhile.  Then there's the process of putting them in, which is annoying after a dozen or so tries, but I'm stubborn, and every hit-and-miss makes me angry, so I keep trying until I get it.  Like playing Zelda.

  I used to pray that God would heal my vision.  And I know He did, even if He did it with Acuvue Oasis instead of a flash of bright light and thunder.  How do I know He did it?  I have astigmatism like my daddy, and his eyes are so sensitive.  Plus, the idea of touching his own eye bothers him immensely.  I am blessed with being able to put them in with barely a flinch; blinking is reflex, but I'm not consciously disturbed.  And it doesn't hurt!  That's God.

  Now I just need to get the money to keep them.  They're disposable because the kind you can keep give people infections, so they don't make them anymore.  I have to throw mine out every 2 weeks or a month (I forget).  So I'm hoping that I can give up Christmas and maybe my birthday in April for these...

Prejudiced parents

  I have recently discovered a new type of prejudice.  By reading two blogs (that hardly makes me an expert, I know) by parents with autistic children, I have learned what some, at least this one and her readers, think of those parents who have what they call "typical" kids.  In this particular post, she writes that "Typical Parents Are a Bunch of Drunken Pussies." (If you don't understand this, please don't look it up.)
  This sickens me. And it isn't just one post; she is constantly bashing "typical" parents and their "angelic" kids. She has this air of, "My life is harder, so I can say whatever I want," about her writing.
WRONG.  Life is not about who has it the worst. No one can judge that. For example, I know it's hard raising an autistic child, but is it really harder than raising my sister? The girl who started dating (which means, of course, going behind my parents' backs with boys) when she was in elementary school. The girl who snuck out at all hours of the night to be with the boyfriend who was four years older than her. The one who blank-faced lied to her parents, cursed at her mother (a cardinal sin in my book), hit her little sister (that would be me), and did everything else she could to provoke. Why? Her biological father, a sociopath and a druggie, left when she was three. Not because her mother remarried to a good-hearted, Christian man who loved them both with his whole heart. And you think my parents had it easy?  Now this one riles me. With this post, "typical" parents are reduced to ignorant jerks. Just because someone is blessed doesn't mean that he or she doesn't sympathize with your situation! There are ignorant Philistines out there who think that autism is just faulty parenting, but you cannot judge everyone by the few morons.
  And this. That comment by j* made me so incredibly upset. "Typical" parents have it easy, huh? Why are "typical" parents so unhappy?
  Because, creep, we all live in the same devastating world with the same terrible problems. Do you want to know why my mama took "happy pills" for a while? I was eleven in 2005, but I remember the grief around me after my aunt died. She was my father's big sissy and my mother's best friend since school. That means they were friends for more years than I care to count.
  Same year, quite soon after my aunt's sudden death (in which she left behind four children, three of them minors, and many, many loved ones), my sister moved out. Eighteen, just graduated, and angry at the world, she barely came around the house anymore. She got a "roommate" named Jessica, and they later "came out." Now, she got over that phase relatively quick and went back to men, not that her choices with them were much better.  (Now, I love my sister, and she has really turned her life around.  I forgive her choices, and I know that God does too, so there is no more judgement here, only a stating of facts.)
  So all of this is going on, and my parents get some medication from their doctor. Because they're DEPRESSED. And, no, they don't have any autistic children. Do you still think your life is harder? Still think you have more stress?
  Thankfully, we have Jesus to level us out, but that doesn't mean that life is a cakewalk. This prejudice against "typical" people has me shaking with anger, just like almost all other prejudices will do to me. You have a right to your own opinion, but treat others around with the respect that all human beings deserve. That is the only way to ensure tolerance and a fair world, which we all long for, even if it is in secret

Day by day

  I haven't updated my... uh... the internet on anything lately.  So here's how my life is going.

  My sister's boyfriend of three years left her three days before their second child was born.  He was cheating on her.  After that devastation, my sister and her kids moved in with me (I live with my parents and little brother.) Now I have my big sis who I never get along with, my two-year-old niece, and my four-month-old nephew living on the bunk bed below me.  They also took over my desk for homework, so I write from my bed most of the time.

  I am no longer a dual-credit student in college.  I failed a computer class, and high school kids must make at least a C to stay in class.  When I graduate, I'll retake it; I need it for my AA.

My favorite writing snack.

  My book is coming along.  I mean, it's slow, but it's coming.  I work on short stories quite often, and I have a few novels in the works or in the idea stage, but my baby is always there.  The name is Redemption, and I've been working on it for about a year (though the plot, characters, and setting are nothing new in my writings; I just finally found the right combination).  I pray about it quite often, and I believe that this is the book God wants me to write.  We'll see if I have it figured out or not though.

It's like being a stay-at-home mom,
but the kids and home aren't mine!
Oh, and I don't usually cook.
Peachy, right? -_-

  So what is my average day?  Wake up anywhere from 7 (when my sister leaves for class and my mother for work) to 8, take care of my nephew.  He may or may not go back to sleep, and he may or may not be in that beautifully happy mood.  My niece sometimes sleeps late (I take the boy into the living room so as not to wake her), but more often, she gets up at around 8 or 8:30.  After that, my sister comes home at around ten, which is when I get to shower, and then she leaves for her three-hour class.  I spend the rest of the day getting my brother to do his school work, washing dishes/cleaning the kitchen (mama hates working, so I try to make her feel good by coming home to a clean house), reading, watching the kidlets, watching cartoons, reading webcomics, and writing when the mood gets me.  After my sister and parents get home, I'm usually free to go to my room and blog, write, or chat.  It's a hectic but ultimately rewarding life.

Buy them!

Seriously! Right now!

  I can't think of anything else.  Reading a lot of books (Jane Eyre, Havah, and The Priest's Graveyard are WIN), praying as often as I remember to, washing a ton of dishes, and texting all my family on AfE.

  So that's what my life is.  If you find any of that interesting, you are very awesome, and I hope we can be friends!

Something Called Writer's Block

  I wrote this last night.  I've had writer's block for about a month now, and this was an exploration of what that actually means.  In the words of my hero, "There is no such thing as writer's block.  There is only fear.  Fear of the unknown."  Ted Dekker is very right, but sometimes there are other things.  Like limitations.

  So here is my... thing. I hope you enjoy it because it is a glimpse into my mind.

Something Called Writer’s Block

The limits of my language are driving me insane.  There are no words to describe what I see and feel.  I can’t make my reader see what is inside my mind, the beautiful world that is tearing to reach the page.  How can I describe my passion, my love, my art?  How can I send my babies to you without explaining them?  I firmly believe that a story should say what it needs to itself, no notes from the author required.

But my characters are my children.

My setting is my home.

My plot is my world.

And my words are my life.

How can I describe that to you?  How can I take everything I am and put it down on a page?  Do I have to write it with blood to express my feelings in a way that language can’t?  Should I include pictures to show the rainbow of colors I see in my mind?  Here, there are colors that don’t exist in the “real” world.

I look at this world that my loving God created.  The beauty is beyond expression.  I feel like I’m going to explode because this body, this mind, cannot hold the emotions that rage through my soul.  I feel a pain I can’t quite describe because there are no simple terms for it.  It makes my heart cry in frustration, not in grief of anger.  It is a constant ache at the back of my mind all through the day, a sharp pain when I sit and stare at the computer screen or notepad.

Words are nothing.  Words are useless.  Words are my life.

I write and write and type and type, but nothing ever happens.  The world I see does not fit on the page.  I write what my characters say, but you don’t hear them speaking.  You can’t see what I see, and I don’t understand why.

We all see things differently, and some understand me when I try and fail to describe my view.  But no one sees it exactly as I do.

I’ll just keep writing those same words until I find the magic order that makes them tell the truth.  I will continue to describe beauty, passion, love, honor, truth, pain, glory, and light until my fingers bleed and beyond because I cannot stop.  Every word you read here is me.  Every time a character cries in grief, writhes in pain, or screams in anger, that is me.

My God, why is Your gift so often my curse?

Autism awareness

  I have been afraid for years that I have either Asperger's syndrome or a form of autism.  Well, "afraid" is a loose term for it.

  When I first thought, maybe, I wouldn't accept it.  After watching the movie Adam, I was terrified of having something wrong with me, and it still bothers me some.  Then, I made a friend (who's name, strangely, is also Adam), and he has Asperger's.  Now, I've come to accept the fact that it may not be a bad thing (plus, if it is true, I was born with it. Nothing has changed for me).  People with Asperger's, or "Aspies," as they're called, are usually extra intelligent, specializing in one area (for me, that's language).  I think I am an Aspie, but there are varying degrees of this syndrome.  Some don't experience as many side affects as others.

  I believe I have this syndrome because of the strange... things I do.  Or have been told that I do anyway.  Apparently, I take things completely literally (if you didn't mean it, why say it?), make noises in my throat or with my nose (these, I sometimes notice, and I hate when people point them out), am bothered my sounds like whistling (whistling. It's demonic music), and "stim," as it's called.  The noises I make are also a part of this, and stimming is just... something autistic people do.  Funny repetitive movements (you've seen the rocking on television, but there are many other kinds), noises, anything with a pattern or mentally stimulating.  I also have problems related to OCD, and mental disorders tend to go together.

  My problem now is that I have never been tested.  I've taken the online tests and made high scores, but those are just for fun really.  I want to see a psychiatrist so that I can finally now for sure whether I am an Aspie or not.  The problem is money and of course... asking my parents.  I know they would understand (my dad is very like me, so he may have it too), but I don't want to ask.  It's hard to explain.

  Until I've been tested, I don't want to call myself an Aspie or autistic.  Here's my reasoning:

  Has anyone ever told you that he or she had ADD or ADHD?  Did you believer him or her?  I give the benefit of the doubt, but I probably would not believe that person.

  If we degrade the term "autistic," no one will believe them either.  We'll have perfectly normal kids being treated for something they don't have while suffering children are being ignored and feeling very out of place (believe me, it's hard to understand why the world doesn't work the way you do).

  I think I have Asperger's syndrome.  But I refuse to say it for sure until I am tested because I wish to show respect to people who truly have problems.

Check out these to understand what parents or autistic kids deal with every day:

Autism Army Mom

Big Daddy Autism

And now for movies...

  I'm hugely into movies! I love eighties teen flicks, romantic comedies (mostly from the eighties), pretty much any fantasy, cult science fiction (though I do NOT cosplay), certain action films, and anything else with a good story. 

  I hate adult comedies, almost anything fraught with curses (the main exception is The Breakfast Club), and most science fiction movies. I firmly believe that any sci-fi needs more than two hours to give the fullness of its story. Star Wars, is one example; six movies! (I still need to watch those.) I do love the original Stargate movie, SG-1, and Atlantis.  Universe sucks though.

  But seriously, the eighties were the golden age. Music, movies, clothes (sometimes even the hair!), and etc. Most of the best romantic comedies are from the 80s-90s (Robert Downey Jr. people!).

  ~DISCLAIMER~ If you didn't know this already, I am homeschooled.  This means that no one TELLS me what's classic, what's incredible, and what's junk. I discover that on my own. Also, there will be spoilers in this.

  My most recent experiment with eighties flicks is Weird Science. I was never allowed to watch it, and I would never let a boy my age watch it, but I can take it now. Let's start with the music.

  Normally, when I turn on a movie, I expect music, but I don't really care. "Oh, yeah, some kind of... soundscape... New Age... what do they call that stuff?" Weird Science came on, the music started, and I went, "Oh! Eighties!" I love the good feeling that music gives me. Listen:

  Continue reading as you listen. Don't skip that song!

  Next, we'll talk about the acting. I already liked Anthony Michael Hall of Sixteen Candles and, more recently, The Dead Zone (television show adapted from the King novel), but this movie took him to an entirely new level. The drunk scene was one of the best I have ever seen in the movies, and I laughed so much. And then, surprise!, Robert Downey Jr. shows up! He's a school bully, a small part, but he is my favorite actor of all time. I love that guy so much.

  This is pretty quiet and only five seconds long, but it's one of the best parts of the entire movie:

  Now we'll get to the actual story. Everyone knows the plot because it's been ripped off so many times. Lonely teenage nerds build the perfect girl robot. But in this one, the original, robogirlfriend doesn't go insane and start killing people. Instead, she begins working on raising the boys' self esteem by sending challenges their way. Eventually, they meet the girls they truly want (the bullies' girlfriends) and spend the night with them. I would have liked it better if they had kissed and gone home, but it was still a good movie.

  Those are the big three: music, acting, and plot. Of course, I also care about dialogue (one of the reasons for my love of Joss Whedon), and Weird Science definitely had some quotable lines. This movie gets four stars from me, taking off one for the explicit language and ending.

  (But seriously, there's more than enough female nudity in this. Don't trust ratings; if it was made now instead of the 80s, it would have been rated R.)