It’s Only Painful Until You Start

Life is Pain — and you get to choose: either the Pain of Discipline or the Pain of Disappointment.

via Dear You Who Doesn’t Want to Do that Hard Thing
| A Holy Experience.

The thing is: choosing the pain of discipline doesn’t guarantee you won’t also get the pain of disappointment:

  • Work hard on your story and it may be rejected
  • Turn up to write every day and still fail to craft best-selling commercial fiction
  • Write your stories but fail to find the right readers.

Why Not Skip Straight To The Pain of Disappointment?

Because as long as you are showing up, Doing The Thing, writing the story, losing yourself int he words; disappointment will remain a fleeting thing.

Écriture/WritingDisappointments will only ever be momentary because you will have on-demand access to the joy of those moments when the writing is going well and you sense something greater than your every day self, just at the edges of your consciousness.

No matter if anyone buys your work, the writing itself will make you a better, happier, more-fulfilled and easier-to-live-with person.

(Added to which, if you do the work even when the discipline is painful, you are doing the work that may eventually turn in to something people want to read. They can’t read your aspirations. They can’t read anything you haven’t had the discipline to sit down and write, edit, improve and publish!)

The pain of discipline or the pain of disappointment?

I chose the latter for too long. Now I’m trying to embrace the former.

What I’ve Discovered About The Pain of Discipline.

  • It’s only painful until you get started.
  • The hardest part about writing is the ‘butt in chair’ part. And the keeping the butt in the chair part.)

Which is why I say:

Try StoryADay this May.

  • No, you won’t write a worthwhile story every day.
  • No, you may not manage to write a complete story draft every day.
  • Yes, you will write every day.
  • Yes, you will finish a story some days.
  • Yes, you will come back every day and break through the Pain of Discipline. The Stumbling Block of Starting, The Resistance, The Fear of Failure, The Myth of Perfection.

Do that for 31 days and you will be more of a writer than 99% of people who claim the title.

Sign up now!

[Write On Wednesday] Giving Up

No! I don’t mean you! And I don’t mean me.

But there comes a point in any venture when a person thinks of giving up.

I recently wrote about how glad I was for the tenacity and commitment of the star of a show I went to see. And it got me thinking about all the other stories that could have resulted from each decision he had made during his life. And that I have made. And that you have made. And that our characters make…

The Prompt

Giving Up

Write a story in which your character is tempted to give up on something that matters to them. Or maybe they already have.

Tips

  • Think about the emotional ramifications of making that decision. Is it something they have wanted for a long time, or just a whim? Your answer dictates how big a deal the decision is.
  • Think about the fall out from the decision. Who does it affect the most? Do the consequences match the expectations of your character? Is it easier than they thought it would be? Harder?
  • Think about how you can convey these things without directly telling the reader “She was finding it harder than she had expected”. What does it do to a person’s energy level, gait, relationships, ability to focus, when things are tough? What does it do to all these things if the character is surprised by how happy they are, after giving up?
  • You can write about the process of coming to the decision, or about the consequences, but remember to include some immediacy, some sense of movement in the events of the story. Don’t just tell it as if everything was resolved before you put pen to paper.

Go!

Post your story in the comments, or tell us how it went.

[Reading Room] The Knife by Richard Adams

On first coming to the end of this taut little tale I was a bit disappointed: is that it? But then I realized that the last line was perfect and the story really was done and that was all there was to it.

This is an atmospheric and well-drawn tale of a boy in a 1938 English boarding school, being bullied and wondering if he’s found a way out. It will feel familiar to anyone who has read C. S. Lewis’s memoirs about growing up and attending a school like this…or any fiction set in English public schools (what they call fee-paying schools). Heck, it’ll feel familiar to anyone who has watched the Human Nature/Family Of Blood episodes of Doctor Who.

Nevertheless, it is a unique and engrossing short tale with a chill in its bones and an absolutely delicious last line.

Found in Stories: All-New Tales – Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrntonio

Plot Twists To Avoid

  • The heroine/narrator is revealed to be a cat, dog, car, possum, tree or ghost!
  • A partner’s mysterious arrangements turn out to be for a surprise party
  • The perpetrators murder plan backfires and s/he eats the poison
  • A woman meets up with a handsome “stranger” for a steamy rendezvous and it turns out to be her husband
  • Someone nervous about a first day at school turns out to be the teacher; or about a wedding, the vicar; or an interview, the interviewer.
  • A woman spots her boyfriend/man of her dreams with a beautiful blonde lady – who turns out to be his sister
  • Anything involving twinsA murder/death actually turns out to be part of a play rehearsal

via Fast Fiction Guidelines – thats life!.

 

This is a great list of plot twists to avoid, found in the Writers’ Guidelines for an Australian magazine.

(The rest of the guidelines are good, too. I like the bit where they point out that too many characters and a story gets confusing. They recommend topping out at four.)

 

Although, it has to be said, the thrawn and perverse side of me is very tempted to write a series of stories in which one or all of these things happen, just to see if I could have fun with them. (Hey, the poison one worked for The Princess Bride…)

[Write On Wednesday] Christmas Redux

It’s the perfect time to write a Christmas/New Year/Winter story!

Don’t believe me? Take a lesson from the wily Dutch.

Everybody knows that the time to plant spring bulbs is in the autumn and yet every spring I receive multiple catalogues from dutch tulip and daffodil distributors. Six months after (or before) I should (have) plant(ed) their products. What lunacy is this?

The bulb marketers know that in spring I’m experiencing floral beauty and regretting not having planted more bulbs last year. It’s all fresh. I can see where I could put this Red Matador and that Orange Empress to fill a scraggy gap in my flower beds. I am full of good intentions about next year.

And, in January, is that not how you feel? As you pack away the holiday decorations, are you not full of regret over the things not done? The gifts unsought? The cards unsent? Is the memory of your brother-in-law’s annual jokes about your dessert not fresh in your memory?

Indeed. So now is the perfect time to write a story set in the season we have just endured enjoyed.

The Prompt

Write A December/Jan Holiday Story[1. No, I’m not conducting a War on Christmas. I, myself, celebrate Christmas. I just feel it’s polite to acknowledge the other 68% of humanity. It has less punch than “write a Christmas story”, I grant you. But if that’s the price for doing unto others, then I’m willing to pay it here in my blog…]

Tips

  • Think back over this past season and watch for strong emotions that pop up. What are they related to? Regrets? Vows of ‘never again’? Longing for next year’s repeat? Write those things down.
  • Think of moments that stood out for you. Why? What was the emotional resonance?
  • Think of a character you can put in a seasonal story who wants something. It can be something that is in tune with the message of the season or at odds with it, but they must feel strongly about it.
  • Now go about messing with their day. Put obstacles in their path. Put obnoxious visitors underfoot. Burn the turkey. Send in the ghosts of Christmas to settle their hash. Whatever works for your story…

Go!

There. Now you have a story ready to post on your blog/submit to a seasonal publication in early autumn/send out with your Christmas cards next Black Friday (you are going to send Christmas cards next year, aren’t you? Unlike this year? I know, I know, it’ll be our little secret…)

Now, excuse me while I check my mailbox for the Breck’s Bulb Catalogue…

 

 

(Do you send out a holiday story in seasonal cards to your friends? Make a note now on your calendar to do this next year!)

[Reading Room] A Mother’s Love by Lottie Lynn

A Mother’s Love is a chilling science fiction story that was selected for the BBC Radio 4 Opening Lines series in 2014.

The stories are supposed to “”have a strong emphasis on narrative”” and this one does. Here’s the opening:

“Child wanted something to do. Mother had left him in their room, because she had to fix a pipe. He had wanted to help; but she said no, she didn’t want him to get hurt. Child thought it was because he lacked sadness whenever she left…”

I love stories like this, where no-one really explains much and you have to figure it out from the clues in the story. And I had to keep reading when, in the second paragraph, I came across this line,

“Pulling at his wires, he began to move towards the jumbled mass of objects Mother had given him to play with.”

What: wires?!

What had started out like a twisted domestic scene had taken a turn for the strange and intriguing. Note to self: breadcrumbs in stories are essential for turning it from ‘good’ to ‘un-put-down-able’.

This year’s deadline for entries is Feb 13, 2015.

Revisiting Morning Pages – Charlotte Rains Dixon

If you haven’t tried Morning Pages, you are likely grousing that you don’t have time for such thing. I hear you.  But I say you’ll create time by doing them.  Because you’ll have more clarity, less anxiety and more of an ability to focus on what you really want to do throughout the day.  So try it:

via Revisiting Morning Pages – Charlotte Rains Dixon.

I first heard about Morning Pages and The Artist’s Way [af] from a co-workers in 1999 — not a writer, by the way, just a guy trying to get his stuff together.

I started turning my sporadic-journalling into Morning Pages and, like Charlotte, have revisited them over the years. It sounds too simple to be any use, but seriously: write three pages of stream of consciousness stuff as close to the start of your day as you can (even if you have to write “I can’t think of anything to write” over and over until you get so sick of yourself that you DO think of something to write) and you will fine yourself more creative, more calm and ready for anything.

I highly recommend the Artist’s Dates that Cameron talks about too. More on that later.

The Top Three Benefits of Writing Flash Fiction – DIY MFA : DIY MFA

The benefits of writing flash fiction can’t be denied. In addition to testing and sharing new story ideas and formats, flash fiction can teach you, as a writer, lessons you may not otherwise learn without hours and hours of classes and hundreds or thousands of dollars.

via The Top Three Benefits of Writing Flash Fiction – DIY MFA : DIY MFA.

 

You know how you sometimes have an idea that is interesting but you’re not sure if it’s a story? Take a leaf out of Alicia’s book and write it up as a Flash Fiction story, test it on some writer/reader friends. If they are hungry for more (backstory, front story or just MORE story) think about expanding it to a short story, novella or even a novel!

The Price Of Quitting

I was lucky enough to go to see Cabaret on Broadway this past December. The Emcee was played by Alan Cumming who, like me, is from Scotland.

I was absolutely transfixed by his performance and I couldn’t help being so very grateful that he had stuck with his talent through what must have been a challenging road from Carnoustie to Studio 54 in NYC, in part so that I, a total stranger, could experience a few moments of joy.

(Is there a reader out there, waiting for your story?)

It struck me:

  • What if he had decided not to leave home to go to theater school because it was too far away?
  • What if he had quit after a failed audition?
  • What if he had cared about all those people who make fun of boys who like the theater?
  • What if he had been scared to sing in public that first time?
  • What if he had let bad reviews get to him?
  • What if he had decided coming back to Broadway all these years later, would make him look foolish?
  • What if he had decided not to work so hard, to be mediocre, to be lazy because artistic success is difficult and chancy and really, why not just be cynical about it instead of working hard?

If he had let all those doubts, naysayers, fears and nerves gang up on him, I would have missed out on an absolutely transcendent moment.

Alan Cumming can’t possibly know what my trip to NYC and the fabulous performances in that show meant to me (unless he’s reading this. Hi, Alan!). But he did his bit, for 35 or so years, to become the performer he is today, and I thank him for that.

Where Do Your Talents Lie?

Do you understand that you can’t know who your stories will touch?

Are you brave enough to write the best stories you can, the truest stories you can muster, and put them out into the world to find their audience?

Are you strong enough to keep writing, year after year, using your gifts just for their own sake?

I hope so.

Because you never know who is out there, needing to hear your story.

[Write on Wednesday] Day 1 Of Your New Routine: Madlibs

I know, it’s January 14 and you haven’t quite got that whole ‘Write Every Day’ thing down yet. I’m not sure many of us have.

So here’s a ‘story formula’ prompt to get you going again. Today is Day One of your new routine. Yes, you! You know I’m talking to you!

(Take heart! Any day can be Day One!).

Go through this exercise quickly and then write a fast & messy story from it. Have fun. No pressure! No standards! Post it, if you dare, in the comments!

Go!

 

Follow along with this exercise to get your creative juices flowing:

why do [these people] never [verb][nouns]?

(e.g. Why do corporate raiders never fall in love with the woman who owns the indy bookstore they are about to destroy? OR, my husband’s suggestion: “Why do chemists never eat broccoli?”)

What would happen if they suddenly did?

(e.g. What would happen if Tom Hanks fell in love with the adorkable indy bookseller? OR What would happen if a chemist suddenly tempted fate by eating the forbidden brassica?)

What if they stopped? What if they didn't?

(e.g. What if Tom Hanks resists Meg Ryan’s charms? OR What if Tom’s bosses tell him to break it off, but he doesn’t? Two different stories, no?)

What if their friends staged an intervention

(Imagine Tom’s bosses, or our chemist’s colleagues, sitting around in a room, ready to lay out the stakes for Tom, the chemist, and the story, not to mention the adorkable lady bookseller and/or the diminishing stores of broccolonium, the one potential source of Everything This Planet Needs, that non-chemists are wantonly chowing down on, right left and center!)

What if we walked into the room just before they decide how to respond?

(Take a moment to picture this in your mind. Who’s there? Who does it matter to?)

We can see [nouns]

(Who is there? Where are they? Standing? Sitting? What does their posture tell us? Where is our hero? What’s in the room with them? What does that lend to the atmosphere? What do the objects in the room tell us about the overall setting of the story? What do the objects tell us about the tone of the scene? Corporate furniture=an ambush. Cosy bookstore=Our hero on home turf)

We can hear [what?]. We can smell [what?]

(What details can you draw on to color in the scene for the reader?)

It feels...

(Is the atmosphere convivial? Is it adversarial? Are people witty? Are there undercurrents? What are those undercurrents?)

Start Your Story Now

 (Write anything! Except the broccoli story. That one’s mine!)

Bonus Points: Post your story in the comments. Read and comment on other people’s stories.

How did they turn out? Did you get something original and *you*? Did you write something different from everyone else?

SWAGr January 2015 Check In

First up: Here’s what happened here at StoryADay in 2014.

Now, on to 2015.

This month, it’s a special Serious Writer’s Accountability Group: a brand new year is upon us. List your resolutions for the month (or the year) here and check in again next month to update us all!

Remember the SMART acronym: make your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (remember to build in a ‘when’, for when you’ll do all the writing you set yourself)

 

What people are saying about StoryADayMay 2014

Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.

(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)

Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments on previous SWAGr posts.

And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!

****

Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months

  • Complete a draft of a story – Ashley
  • Write 1 blog post a week – Cris
  • Write 10,000 (fiction) words this month.” – Julie
  • Read a new short story every day.” – Julie
  • Track my time and see what’s getting in the way of my writing – Alex
  • Revise two short stories and research possible markets – Jeannie
  •  Schedule “me time” to recharge my creative juices  – Jeannie
  • Finish one of my other short stories and send it out – Maureen
  • Write at least 500 words a day on any project – Maureen
  • Write 1,500 words a day on my book. On weekends … write 2,500 words a day – Jeffrey
  • Writing the synopsis for my novel – Misa
  • Finish one story draft each month – Carol

 So, what will you do this month? Leave your comment below:

(Next check-in, Feb 1, 2015. Tell your friends. )


Don’t forget, if you need inspiration for a story you can still get ALL THE PROMPTS from StoryADay May 2014 and support the running of the StoryADay challenge at the same time. Give a little, get a little 🙂 Click here.