Writing ideas and stuff

Hey everybody!

Feels like it's been a while since I've posted a bloggy like this one.

Here' a few ideas about writing scenes, themes, characters and stuff.

Just one caveat before we get started -- thinking about it, I really don't want to call this "advice" (especially put it in the realm of "mechanical advice" though there is some in it), so feel free to do your own thing with it. None of this is, like, rigid or anything. Just some ideas and things I like to use, and how I approach stuff ^^

Openings and Scenes

I like to open with a description, usually of an action or of a character's feelings... something that pulls me in to want to write more. If I'm invested in creating it's a good sign that, well, it's gunna show others that same enthusiasm (pardon the ego ^^).

In the case of transitions, I sometimes like to use onomatopoeia -- an opening door with creaky hinges, the sound of walking or a sound through a wall. I try to use words that would give me reason to infer why something sounds a certain way. For transitions between scenes I tend to use 3-astriks, which is pretty common.

Setting scenes I often consider the end-goal and what I'm hoping to say in that particular part of the story. I usually don't write it down usually, but rather I'll tend to free-form and see where it takes me, with that end goal in mind keeping me centered (except when I go off on tangents in my writing, which does happen XD).

Alternatively, if I'm finding that doesn't work, I sometimes write a skeleton of the scene (or sometimes of the entire section or story) and then go back and fill in/alter what needs to be. Ultimately I really don't like doing this and I find the end result sometimes feel more... well, stilted, but it's necessary when the more relaxed approach isn't working. It's these instances I spend a lot of time polishing, which often helps, as I have mini-free-form sessions in the work then tht comes from sitting down and thinking about why things aren't working, and that sometimes can eradicate the more mechanical feelings of sections all together.

As an aside, I keep using this term "free-form" and really, the only way to describe it is when the fingers fly and I'm not thinking about anything.l, I just go into a happy, almost meditative frenzy where it's like I'm feeling what the characters are feeling and using actions and dialogue to express those ideas. I love writing like this, when I can, but the only downside is, if I get interrupted... it's gone. Poof, just like that, and the ideas don't come back the same, which is maddening. It's like, when you're trying to sell something at work and your co-worker butts and breaks the focus, even if it's trying to be helpful. It's for this reason I'm afraid to say, in my frustration, I can act a bit like Jack Torrence from The Shining when I get repeatedly interrupted (especially about stupid stuff), but if a writer's able to do this in work, well... he or she needs to accept life is not going to go on hold when the writing starts and it will happen every now and again.

Themes

Themes are a bit more nebulous to work in and talk about, because it's more of a feeling to me than something I can just describe. Of course I'll try

It's very easy to be heavy-handed and overbearing with ideas and imagery... which frankly doesn't do it for me in reading, so I tend to avoid it. I don't know if this is going to make any sense but I try to work in the characters nature into how the themes are expressed, particularly in MLP fanfiction. I'm not sure I know how to explain it further, so I'll try this:

MLP seems consistently very character-driven, with episodes often about the characters having to look inside themselves, see the errors in their ways, and that they're not perfect, and then either grow from within or ask for help and take other's energy and work with it. It's about self-actualization, being the best that one can be and being open to the ideas that maybe, well... it's possible there's a bit of Hegelian dialectics thrown in there as well -- where two opposites meet, sometimes go to war, then create a stronger approach through compromise and self-examination that removes some of the flaws of each, replacing them with the strengths of the other. The characters are better usually at the end of the episode when this happens, and talk about what they've learned in the end.

I build some of my themes off the above ideas, but in writing fan fiction, we can take that same patterns of logic and reasoning and apply them to more grown-up ideas. I bounce the character's energy off this and see what it creates, and it often creates some of the tension and curiosity I feel when writing, so I just go from there.

I don't know if this makes any sense, and my apologizes for being so subjective in this, but if anybody's reading this out of curiosity or to get tips hope it helped.

Characters, Dialogue and Narratives

I've found what usually helps me is locking into the character's "music" when they talk. A lot of the characters -- Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity (especially Rarity) -- have a very sing-songy characteristic to their voice and an easy to pick up rhythm. They tend to put the accent on certain syllables, tend to have a certain inflection, and dare I say... cadence to their mode of speech. To try an exercise:

"Um, hello? Everypony has a reason for talking the way they do! It's, like, the best way we express ourselves. I mean, who in Equestria could fault us for that?"

"Quite right, and there's nothing wrong with it. However, there's much more to a pony than just the way she talks. There's also personality, and, failing that, the things she most often stands up for..."

"Aside from the usual monster invasion, that is, there are also the little things... like how best to spend time with your friends. Trust me it's not always easy, but with friends by your side you can accomplish almost anything."

"Still, there ain't nothing wrong with it. Jus' relax and let it happen naturally when writin'. Don't think about it! Not that thinkin' is bad, or anythin'..."

"It's okay if it causes some people to freak out a little... it can feel really overwhelming to think about how all our personalities can intertwine and play off each other. Honestly I don't know if I could do it..."

"But just remember to have fun! Oh, wait... Wayward, even I think that one's a little too obvious. I mean, come on! Oh, ooOH! Can I try again? Pretty please? Pretty, pretty please!!! Really? Okay! What I mean to say is always do your best, and experiment to your hearts content with any number of styles, creating all sorts of wonderful things for every pony to enjoy."

"Pinkie, that doesn't sound anything like you!"

"Oh, really, Twilight... What do I sound like then, hmm?"

"I... don't know."

"Exactly!"

"Okay, that was fun... Moving on-"

"Fun? Fun, fun! ... Fun!"

"Oh, fudge... there's a stream of Pinkies on the horizon!"

"Take cover!"

"Hold on to yer hats!"

"FUN! FUN... FUN!"

*afterwards, in the darkness*

"Uh, Hello? Um, Mr. Wayward...? Oh, my, um... Please be alive."

"I don't know, that batch-a-Pinkies hit him real hard. Never seen green bruises before."

"Let me try, youngin'. Hello! Hello... hello? Is there anypony in there? ...jus' nod if you can hear me. Is there any pone at home? No? Oh, well... oh well."

Hopefully that didn't go on too long. Moving on...

I try to focus on this stuff first, the music and rhythm of the speech, and then the word list the characters tend to use comes from a composite of their archetype, along with what they've tended to use in the series. I know that probably sounds incredibly high-handed, but I hope it helps if anyone needs tips or is just curious.

When naming OCs... I think about the names of the characters in the series -- whether inflection goes up or down when saying their name, where it does, how many syllables they consist of, and the words used. With the exception of Twilight Sparkle, the names of the main characters consist of three syllables, with an ability to shorten it to two syllables, or may it just sound like two syllables (Fluttershy comes to mind, where you don't have to put an accent on the second syllable and it's kind of graced through). Maybe all this additional attention could feed her anxiety? I dunno ^^

I try to base most of my OCs names off this three or four syllable logic, with the ability to shorten it to two. Wayward can sweep downward or level off, for example, whereas Wayward Pony the infection goes more upward. With Buttercup the inflection kind of levels off, whereas Ironhoof fades. These are just a few examples.bMaybe at this point it's getting into the creator's projection, but Mollusk sounds like it spirals inward to me, and Cloudfire rises, then drops. Lentils sounds disjointed, with a hiss at the end, while Rice sounds harmless but ends in a hiss.

Inspiration and Derivatives

This one's tough... I tend to pull from things I've seen, and to a extent people I know or have known. I've known a number of people who the characters made me think of, particularity Pinkie and Fluttershy. It's kinda cool, and I think that's part of what pulled me into the series.

I also pull from media, particularly movies and some books, and even other fanfics -- Cupcakes and it's derivative works inspired Obsession and Regression, for example. Also events can inspire stuff. Their Final Crusade was initially inspired when I saw a little girl get hit by a bike at the park while playing with a dog... because the bike was able to slow down she was fine, except for, well, screaming bloody murder afterwards. It was scary to watch and I think stuck with me for a while, which leads me to this idea...

We can take something that upsets us, an idea or something we saw, and work with that to create something that explores it. It gives us power over our fears, what makes us angry or we've seen hurt others and been unable to do anything about it, and enables us to share that. Same goes, however, for what fills us with joy and inspires us --we can share that as well, in a way that (perhaps) other people will connect with. It's also fun to do this. I guess it's writing from the heart, as cliched and corny as that probably sounds ^^

In closing I'd be remissed if I show this, as it helped me get into the right mindset for my recent story Making Honey when I was having issues with certain parts:

As a writer I've found inspiration can sometimes be found anywhere, but I find it's best not to look for it but let the world wash over me via osmosis and think about the stuff I've seen. Because I've seen some stuff, man. But it's fair to say we all have. What I'm saying is I'm not so much on the lookout for inspiration, because if I was, for me at least, it wouldn't come naturally. I kinda run into it.

* * *

Hopefully that didn't take too long, and hopefully it made sense, as it's kinda hard to put into words how I write... I just kinda do it, but there are some things that I like to follow. I wanted to sit down and write something like this for a while (maybe a year).

Hope is was at least fun, and home everyone's well.

Peace