January 2017: The Optimistic Year Plan

January

Prompt: 

What’s your Wriye Word Count goal and why did you choose it? What are you going to be focusing on this year? What are you doing differently this year compared to last year?

     My goal for this year is 75k- fairly modest for WriYe, but still more than I managed last year. I think I managed 73k by the end of 2016? I could check, but I'm being lazy this morning. Regardless, I was this close to winning WriYe for the first time ever and then all motivation went *poof.*

Last year I had had to change my goal from 100k to 75k due to "life in general compounded by lack of  desire to write." This year, I'm going to start with a goal I know I can make, and hopefully change it to a higher word count if I meet it. 

     I have experimented, and find it more motivating to start with attainable goals, rather than crazy high ones. If I start with something hard, I apparently loose interest as soon as I fall off the bandwagon. Which generally happens by March, if not even earlier.

     This year, I'm hoping to focus on- well, focusing. When I finally bully myself into writing, I am far to easily distracted. I would like to find a set up that will get me into writing mode, and the self discipline to actually sit and write for the twenty minutes to an hour before getting lost in the internet.

And there are so many ways to wander....

Bonus:

What are you most excited about for in 2017? Writing wise or not. Let us know!

Currently, I'm most excited about possible vacation ideas. Last year I went to England with my sister and a friend for two weeks- I'd love to do something like that again, though maybe a little closer to home. I've had half an idea to try a road trip up to Nova Scotia and possibly Cape Breton, but the  timing is tricky with the cold weather. Another idea is heading for a resort in the Dominican for a week as a family vacation, though we still need to figure out pet care while we're gone.

I recently started Rosetta Stone Japanese, as I am trying to be a bit more serious about learning the language. I would like to visit Japan, possibly during the Olympics in 2020. But languages take a long time, and though I've picked up a bit from anime and an informal group I attended for a few months, I would like to be able to make myself understood before getting lost in a foreign country. I figure if I can understand and speak a little, I might be able to get away with not being able to parse katakana/hiragana. Hopefully.

We've been cleaning out and reorganizing the craft "room" in the basement since the week after Christmas- finally bought cabinets and tearing apart a desk to have a setup with two tables that will work better for us. Having spent about four weekends working on it, we're at least 80% finished. I am hoping to be done by the end of February, and able to get back to working on projects. 

Maybe this year I'll finish a few!

December 2016: 2017 and Beyond!

December

And that was our year in writing - both blogs and novels/short stories/plays/whathaveyou.

Prompt: Resolutions

After your year of writing, you've seen the good and the bad that happen as time goes on. You know your high months and you know your low months. You should know where you are lacking and where you're awesome. Take that all into account and give us five (5) resolutions for improving your writing next year.

Oh dear, New Year Resolutions are due already?!? I still feel like I just nearly killed myself trying to do NaNo...
It's a good thing I like lists. Okay, here goes:

1) Write at least 1000 words every month.

      This worked pretty well for me this year, and I think I'll keep it, especially for those months when I really don't want to write.

2) Jot down story ideas as they come to me.

      Did pretty well at this. I have some interesting lines, started two fan fictions and got at least... 5-10k out of new ideas (read, plot bunnies), as well as a good bit of plotting for Jafar and King's Shadow. :) I even have a specific notebook for my "Story Journal" now.

3) Post on this blog once every month- or at least have all the posts up by the end of the year.

     This, I am very bad at accomplishing for some reason. This year, I only got behind by a month or two, then caught up. Unlike 2015, which I am still catching up. I think there is one more post I missed, out of the eight I added to my "to do" pile in January of 2016?
     Ah well, third year's the charm, right?

4) Start a Travel Journal/ blog.

     Why, you ask? Because they sound amazing, and I actually leave on trips now! I got the idea/inspiration when I went to England this year, and what with planned trips and conventions, I thought it would be a fun way to keep track of where I've been, people I met and possibly share my experiences and photos with friends and family- well,, maybe family. ;)

5) FINISH SOMETHING!

     I don't even care what anymore. Instead of finishing King's Shadow this year, I've overhauled it and started practically from scratch. I then started co writing two new fan fictions, am currently talking to another writing buddy about picking up several story threads we took a break from, started another two fan fictions by myself, and started Jafar. So I have five to nine WIPs that I am currently attempting to work on, and still nothing done. 

Good grief, no wonder I find writing tiring... 😒

Bonus: Tell us how you plan on completing each one!

November 2016- The War of the Words

November 2014

We're going to do this blogging month a bit differently... Because it is NaNoWriMo, for crying out loud!


Progress
Every week, at the least, post a blog of your weekly word count (total and week-only) and an excerpt from your novel. We'll cheer you on.

Week One (11/7): 7338/11668  = I wrote 7338 words this week. I also completed my first successful 5k weekend. Still behind, but not too badly- yet.

Week Two (11/14): 17393/23333  = I wrote 10055 words during the week. First ever 5k day on Sunday! Still way behind, and coming down with a bad head cold. If only I didn't have to work like an adult...

Random Update (11/19): So... the cold knocked me out for pretty much the entire week, but as of this afternoon I have finally gotten back to the keyboard- started at 17395, ended at 19073. almost to 20k!

Week Three (11/21): 

October 2016: Sure I Have Plans- Many Plans

October 2016

Just one month left before NaNoWriMo! So our next topic is pretty obvious...


October
If you are a planner, what part of planning is your favorite? If you’re a pantser, what is your favorite part of pantsing?      I am totally a planner. I don't really enjoy planning, per say, but if I neglect to plan before writing, I get somewhere between 200 and 5,000 words into a story and stall out completely because I don't know where I'm going. Not that there is no end goal, but in the sense that I have no idea how to bet from Point A to Point T, from which I would be able to finish the story.
      Really, Planning is a necessary evil.
      I suppose my favorite part of planning is world building. Most of my stories fall into the fantasy genre, and planning gives me time to jot down all those interesting cultural quirks- naming conventions, why countries don't get along, family history of the main character, legends, etc.
      These tidbits make the story much more interesting to write, and knowing that the main character's mother came from a well off trading family in a foreign city but disappeared when her betrothal fell through eighteen years earlier and has not contacted them since adds a lot of depth to "Jafar joins a caravan and travels to Lore (a large city in another country) to avoid pursuit." Now he gets to meet his extended family, which he was unaware he had.

      When writing with a buddy, the planning takes a back seat. Plan, who needs a Plan- all I need to know is what we want to do for the next scene, and I rarely get stuck when I have someone to work off of. The creative energy doesn't even have to be there. I learn so much more about my characters much more quickly and easily when I don't have to control the entire cast, and the goal of writing isn't getting to the end of an arc so much as enjoying the journey there.

Bonus: Show us your NaNo planning - handwritten or computer screen!

September 2016- Just Let Me Finish This First

• Select Post
• Deselect Post
• Link to Post
• Report Post
• Member
  • Send Message
  • Give Gift
• Back to Top

September 2014

School days... Starting up again. So let’s get in as much writing as we can before the books hit!

Procrastination
What is your worst time waster?

Reading. Always has been.

I would get so much more done if I could stop reading for even a week, but generally I read just about every spare minute- books, fan fiction, blog posts... My page counts are probably higher than my word counts.

How long do you allow yourself to procrastinate?

 I- never stop? Generally, I manage not to procrastinate about four days per month. The rest of the time, I'm lucky if I get to writing or chores eventually.

Do you regret it, or do you think it’s worth it?

Totally worth it. I love reading, it is my one true hobby. Everything else is secondary. Well, except work, but that is mandatory.

Bonus: Try to forego one of your time wasters this month and see how much higher your WC is! But not that school, work, necessary stuff. We need you happy, healthy and not in trouble for truancy.

So, I managed to go without reading for the three day Labor Day weekend holiday. I did get a lot of things I had been putting off done- and then I found stupid games on my phone through Google Play. At least I got something done before I found a new way to procrastinate?

August 2016- Saying more with Less?

August 2014

Let’s talk a bit about...

Writing Short Stories
What do you like about writing short stories? 
      I don't write short stories; I just don't finish them.
What don’t you like about writing short stories?
      How you have to move the plot so quickly that there isn't enough time to develop the characters- at least I feel that way. I might be able to get around it if I were doing a fan fiction piece, because I would already have a good understanding of the character; most likely, my audience would as well. As I usually don't "know" my characters until I've been writing them for a while, I find it nrealy impossible to write short stories that I am happy with.
How do you think short stories differ from novels?
     The pacing needs to be completely different, the writer needs to pay a lot more attention to "suggesting" the setting and character to the reader, rather than describing everything in detail unless the setting is the focus of the piece, and the character either tends to be focused on one major decision point or not develop much at all.

Bonus: What is your favorite short story anthology?
 J.R.R. Tolkien's Silmarillion- All the backstory you ever wondered about for the Lord of the Rings.

July 2016- And Every Year...

July 2016

Well, the zombies have taken over.

         They have? I didn't even notice...

 Which means we can talk a bit about...

Traditions

Zombies are a July tradition here at Wriye. Do you have a writing tradition of your own?
      I suppose NaNoWriMo and more recently their "camp" events are something of a tradition of mine- generally failing them. But I faithfully sign up and write at least a few thousand words, all through college. I've done probably four or five years, at this point, most of those as a "rebel" working on a story I had already started or writing with buddies.

     Hurrah for rebelling!How did it come about?
     A friend of my sister's mentioned it to us my junior year of high school. We told her that she was crazy, and we did not have time. Then we started writing anyway, but did not actually sign up as neither of us had reliable computer access. That first year, we wrote by hand, usually on the bus on our way to sports practice or in the car on our way to other classes. I think I only made about 5k that year, but NaNo had caught me. I did several events during both undergrad and graduate school, even if I only won once and had to count all of my college papers in my rebelling- at least I had motivation for actually doing my homework!

        My last year of graduate school, I found WriYe, and here I am.

Bonus: Share an example of your tradition!

{Insert Novel List here... photo still in editing}

June 2016: Are you talking to me?

June 2014

With the start of Last WriYer Standing, let’s talk about...

Critique and Criticism

What is your method of critiquing a piece of writing? 

     I read though the entire text twice, once to get an idea of what I'm reading, and the second so that I can pick up on what I missed in the first read-through. Then I either start talking, or jot down notes if I'm "critiquing" in google documents or via email. In Google docs, I highlight what I'm talking about and leave comments. In an email, I quote and then write my impressions, and highlight the text with suggestions.

What do you expect out of people critiquing your work?

    My expectations mostly depend on what is being critiqued. With letters or reports, I mostly want a human grammar checker and feedback on whether I am communicating my ideas effectively or, if not, how to better get my point across.
     With fiction writing, I'm mostly looking for feedback on overall feel or plot and character realism.

Bonus: Here’s a non-blog bonus: go into the Read Me, Feed Me forum and critique someone’s work. They’ll thank you for it!

May 2016: Genre- how to find your friends in the library

May 2014

You guys still around? I hope so! Let’s go into...

GenreWhat’s your main genre? 
... Fantasy.

Why do you write in that genre? 
Because I do not believe that I could do justice to a strictly realistic world, and it allows for a lot of flexibility in creating a world. I enjoy "realistic" fiction when I'm writing with others, but am just not comfortable writing it when I control all of the characters.

Do you have a tip to share for someone wanting to break into that genre? 
Don't be afraid to experiment, and as long as you take the time to world build and explain why things work the way they do, anything can happen. Your character wants to walk on water? Ok, did you want that as a special ability, or a normal thing? ;)

What genre would you like to break into?
I'm not sure, really- I'm quite happy here. There's just so many options.

Bonus: What is your favorite book written in your genre? (Written by you or another great writer!)
... There are many favorite books of mine that fall into the fantasy category. How about a top ten list? No? Okay, fine. Top Three.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R.R. Tolkein 

Inda by Sherwood Smith

The Magic of Recluse by L.E Modesitt Jr.

April 2016: I think I'm going to need a bigger trunk

And we've made it through editing! Hopefully. If you are still stuck there, all the chocolate and cake for you.

All the more cake for me, then. I'm always stuck there. My inner editor is very stubborn.

Trunked Novels

Have you ever set a novel aside? 

Yes- many times, as I have never finished one.

Was it finished or unfinished?

Unfinished- see above. :P

 Why did you abandon that novel? 

Usually, I run out of ideas, get tangled up in the plot, end up so annoyed with my lack of progress that I scrap the entire thing with the intention of starting over, edit my original plan  ( ie. - no, MC, your personality makes no sense for a fourteen year old. Ah well- what if I speed up the plot and make all of the characters two to four years older?) get 5-10k into my "re-write" and lose interest. Defeated again.
Or, my life goes haywire- college, grad school, health issues, most recently full time employment- and I write so seldom that I forget the plot entirely.

What would it take for you to go back to it? 

Inspiration, a pot of tea and a mountain of chocolate.

Bonus: Post an excerpt of your trunked novel.

I guess I need all the bonus points I can get.... here goes:

     Tsora stood and stared moodily up at the first year tower. Well, I suppose I have now been successfully shipped off to boarding school. They couldn't get rid of me fast enough. There should be a limit to being scared of people. Even at school, they tuck me away in the top floor of this unnaturally tall tower. I mean, give me a break! I haven't done anything yet! 

     Depressed, he began hauling his trunk up the winding tower stairs. What did they put in this thing? It's heavy! I knew I should have packed myself. Well, I guess I'll find out when I open it. I wonder what my roommate will be like- though the powers that be may have decided not to bother giving me one. I'm not as dangerous as all that.

     Lost in thought, he stumbled, nearly tumbling down the stairs. Darn- I wish I could use magic for this! too bad I was banned until I get to training. It would be much more convenient- I am an Air mage, after all. Finally, he reached the top of the staircase, setting his trunk down on the landing. He waited until he caught his breath, then walked over to pull open the door to his new room.

     Inside was fairly bright, despite the setting sun outside. there was a mage light bumping against the ceiling, and a bunk bed against the far wall. Under the windows to the left were two identical desks, books already stacked atop them. Well, guess I do have a roommate. I hope at least he won't be too much of a jerk. And not like the cousins at home, either. I mean, he won't even know me. so, as long as I'm civil he won't have reason to dislike me, right? I just hope the world really works that way. If it doesn't , school won't be much better than "home." Though it hasn't felt like Home in years- I really prefer wandering the city. People are so interesting, and as long as they don't know who I am, we don't run into any problems. If they did- I don't know what would happen. Well, I suppose that mages don't generally wander around the districts outside the market- but I'm not doing anything illegal, just wasting time. It isn't as if father wants me around. I know I'm just another chore to him. I wish he'd pay me some attention, though. I'm not another one of his paintings. I enjoy talking to people. At least my roommate won't be as bad as he is---

     "Excuse me." said a quiet voice behind him.

     Tsora spun around, then stood frozen. 

     "Whoa- A ghost!"

***

     Saeki stood in the hallway, dripping. The headache had only gotten worse after dinner-he had hoped the shower would clear it, or at least lessen it. No such luck. and now that he had climbed the long twisting tower to the top floor that was his room assignment, there was a stranger standing in the doorway, looking in. He has Chestnut brown hair cut short, and was slightly taller than Saeki himself. And I was hoping to have a room way from other people....

     "Excuse me." he said quietly. The stranger half turned and nearly jumped a foot into the air. 

     "Whoa- a ghost!"

     Here we go again. Saeki thought despairingly.

***

     The ghost rolled its silver eyes. "My name is Kuroni," it said sarcastically. Water dripped from long silver hair, rapidly collecting around the ghost's feet. Wait, ghosts don't have feet- he's real! My roommate?

     "Um, are you my roommate?" Tsora asked.

     "Why else would I be at the top of this tower?"

     "I apologize- that was rude of me. My name is Tsora. Tsora Silvena. So- you're a Kuroni. What's your first name?"

     "That is no concern of yours. Just call me 'Kuroni.'"

     "I can't do that!" Tsora objected. "There are dozens of Kuroni's at this school! Come on, what's your name?" 

     The silver-eyed boy stared back stubbornly.

     "Fine, I'll come up with something else to call you. You can be - Ayaki! Because in runes, "aya" is silver." Hearing no objection -'Ayaki' remained sullenly silent- Tsora decided that the name was perfect. It was fitting enough-  his roommate had silver eyes and hair, and very fair skin. It didn't help that he was also wearing very light grey clothing; he really did resemble a ghost.

Hiding from my Inner Editor

March

EdMo - the Month for Editing. Let’s just talk a bit about it for this month’s prompt.. Revision

Oh, must we? I've locked my inner editor away and moved into a tower on a different continent where she can't find me and harp about how terrible my writing is...

What is the one thing you struggle with when it comes to editing? 

     When Editing, I struggle most with restructuring the plot and scenes. I loathe the "re-writing" phase, because I have so much difficulty getting the words down on the page in the first place. I am not a prolific writer, and I want the scene to "just be right" the first time, requiring at most grammar, spelling and sentence structure corrections in editing, and maybe dialogue re-working if my character comes across incorrectly when I'm re-reading.

What is the one thing that you find easy to do? 

     I like editing for grammar- I find it simple, and most of my mistakes are just because I was writing quickly (or while overtired, which happens more often than not.)

What is your favorite editing tip?

     If you don't know the meaning of the words off the top of your head, don't use it (unless it's a cultural thing). I have been a reader for years, and my vocabulary tends to be wider than most. If I don't know the word- actually don't know it, as opposed to looking it up for specific definition or spelling- then anyone reading my writing would probably need to look it up as well. And who wants to stop in the middle of a story to go grab a dictionary?

Bonus: Take a selfie/novel-ie of you/your novel in the midst of revision.

     Nope, sorry- these pictures do not exist. I don't currently have anything in the editing process, and if I stop to edit now, I'll never get back to the first drafts. This is a proven fact, and a major reason that after seven years of writing, I still have no finished works.

Missed Connections- Because February is late

February

Onward! This month's prompt...

Character Connection:

How do your characters connect with one another? 

 Generally, my characters connect somewhat by accident.  I'll start a story with one character, and more introduce themselves (or just barge in) as I continue writing. For example, I started a new story in January with a character named Jafar. I knew very little about him, except that he lived in a lord's household and was somehow related to the "main family." And then I met his mother, step-father and two half sisters who live more than two weeks journey away, and his Uncle, who apparently is in charge of his education. This took about... two hours of staring at blank pages.

What kind of connection do they have? How do you connect your characters to the reader? 

     I like having mentor relationships- thus the Uncle- and struggle with writing multiple characters the same age and/or peer group. I generally prefer writing with a buddy to avoid the struggle to create both sides of a friendship or romantic relationship before I really fill in the characters personalities. 

     I connect (or attempt to connect ) the characters to the reader by getting their thoughts onto the page and making them believable in their interactions and reactions. 

Bonus:

Share with us an excerpt from your current or completed novel(s) that demonstrates your favorite example of character connection.

     “Rakae, I need you to listen.” Rizek stated firmly. He waited until Trakaen nodded his understanding, and then continued. “I do not blame you for- for how things turned out.” He held up a hand when Rakae made to interrupt, “No, let me finish. You were not precisely blameless, but what happened was not solely of your own making. We all made mistakes. We assumed that your father would allow you to return to Illum after he had spoken to you- all of us. It is true that you left us no way to contact you, but neither Izel nor I thought to ask for one. 
When you left- you spoke in good faith, fully expecting to come back and marry her. When you never came back- well, we all did what we had to, Rakae. You became your family’s lord, I married Izel, and Izel had your child.” Rizek paused for a moment, considering. “Did you give your brother a chance to explain why I mad the journey to see you, or did he tell you that I was here and you ran off before he got to the point?” Rakaen dropped his gaze  to the floor guiltily. Rizek shook his head and sighed. “Izel’s child- your child, Rakae. You have a son. We have taken care of all of our children as best we can, but- you can give him more, here. Imael told us that if we needed to, we could bring him to this house and the K’vorne family would take care of him. My- our other option is to indenture him. We don’t have the money to apply for an apprenticeship, and we’ve two daughters now.”
     “Rizek- I- of course we’ll take him! He’s my- my son. I have- Desrella is pregnant. If this child lives, he might never inherit, even if he should be my heir by birthright alone, but- he is my blood, Rizek. It would be an honor to be allowed to educate him accordingly, especially after- what I did not do, over the last several years.” Trakaen looked up and met his former friend’s eyes, “How can you- even think about offering this to me, Rizek? I don’t even deserve the chance to-”

     Rizek interrupted him, his voice low and fierce, “Because he is your son ! If he is to be given into the  care of anyone but his mother, it should be you. Because we trust you to love him, as well as take care of him as we cannot. Because, despite what happened after your father called you home, we loved you. We still do, even though we can never go back.” Rizek breathed in deeply, then exhaled, forcing the tension to leave his shoulders. “You were her betrothed. And you were my lord, but more than that-  you were like a brother to me. We lost a part of our family when you left, not just an employer or a contract. I always wanted the son of yours I was raising to know you, and so did Izel, as much as she did not wish to lose contact with her child. He has that chance- you have that chance. Even if he does have a half-brother and cannot be your heir within the K’vorne family- let him be a part of your own family. If he grows up to be like you and your, he will be a good man- and there can never be enough of those in the world.”

Aand last out of the starting gate....

January

Another year, another Blog-Go-Round. The WriYe Blog Circle is a collection of us writers who also have blogs. Every month, we’ll give you a prompt, with a bonus challenge. Write about the prompt (answer the questions or don’t - up to you!) and share your link here. Try to build up a blog roll with your fellow WriYers.

We’ll start off the way every New Year starts off...

Goals:

What’s your Wriye Word Count goal and why did you chose it? 

This year- 100,000. so, roughly 10k each month to give me a little wiggle room for the busy months and time to take vacations (Because those are important to my mental health!)

What are you going to be focusing on this year? 

 This year, I just want to meet my monthly goals at least half the time. Apparently "finish a story" is at this point such a large goal that I don't even want to try. Instead of more "overall" goals, I think I need to break them down further.

What are you doing differently this year compared to last year?

Working full time with two hours of commuting time a day- oh, wait, you meant with my writing.

Uh, Hopefully doing it?

Bonus:

Set your intention for this year. Share it with us!

Really, I'd like to commit to trying for 2k each week and go from there.

Also, I want to finish crocheting my blanket before the end of March.

December- 2015 over, on to 2016!

Foiled again in 2015!

But at least I managed some progress before I tripped into the creativity-destroying wasteland that is full time employment.

Regardless, new year, new Plans!

Goals for this year:

• Write at least 1,000 words a month to keep the ideas flowing
• Write the dang plots down as they come to me, especially the ideas I get at work- store a notebook at my desk for those moments
• Continue updating idea project in Scrivener.
• Write something to post on AO3?
• Finish Kings Shadow - because I still haven't
• Post on blog at least once every month - because I failed at it last year. Terribly.

October 2015 - Planning vs. Pantsing

October 2014

Just one month left before NaNoWriMo! So our next topic is pretty obvious...

NaNo Planning vs. NaNo Pantsing
Which is better for you? 
     By this, you assume that something actually works. I usually start by pantsing. Plot bunny appears, I write a chapter or so, then I sit and plan, and re-plan, and never finish anything.
Which one always fails?
     Straight pantsing. If I can't find a coherent plot in my writing, I end up either frustrated or bored, depending on the story. My writing time is generally very ruched during November. I didn't participate in Nano before I started college, so November was always exam season. I then started working full time and 'not having time' is the norm. So I have to make time, and if I'm not motivated to do so I can easily go months without writing.
Or can you do either or?

Bonus: Show us your NaNo planning - handwritten or computer screen!

September 2015- Distractions

September 2015

School days... Starting up again. So let’s get in as much writing as we can before the books hit!

Distractions
What is your worst distraction? Hopefully not blogging!
     Reading.
Are they self-chosen (TV, Reading, etc.) or more of a necessity (school, work, etc.)?

Um-  definitely both categories. Anything I can come up with. World class procrastinator, here.

Really though, I usually choose reading, in addition to my [mandatory] 40 our work week + ten hours of commuting which eat the majority of my time and energy. Reading is the great escape, where I can ignore what I'm not doing and  enjoy watching someone else's life.
Other 'distractions'- crochet, cosplay, manga, drawing, latch hook, cross stitch,
 needlepoint, quilting, chainmail jewelry, beading, cleaning/organizing, 
scrap booking, PC gaming, knitting, Dungeons and Dragons.... cooking/baking, 
and when I am truly desperate doing the dishes.

If you could get rid of ONE distraction, what would it be?

Why would I want to get rid of my distractions? I would be terribly bored.

Bonus: Try to forego one of your distractions this month and see how much higher your WC is! But not that school, work, necessary stuff. We need you happy, healthy and not in trouble for truancy.

August 2015- Short Stories

August 2015

Let’s talk a bit about...

Writing Short Stories

For those who write them often, give us some advice! 

For those who are new to the technique, what was the hardest thing to learn?

As I am neither, I'm not sure what to write about here. I'm not a big 'short story' person. By this, I mean that I don't write them and generally avoid reading them unless they are a part of an ongoing series, usually extra backstory that the author could not work into the overall tale but decided to publish later as a collection. 

If I were going to attempt a short story, the first thing I would focus on would be nailing down the main purpose of what I was writing. With so much less space on my virtual page to work with, I would want to make every bit of it count. Am I just trying to write the back round to a particular character I've already worked with in another piece? What instances am I going to cover, what shaped him or her into the person they became? Who did they interact with? What did they hate?

I would like to have an entire time line and know where I was going to end the story before I started, unlike my usual writing style.

Bonus: Who is your favorite short story writer? If you don’t have one, tell us about one you’re going to try and hunt down.

J.R.R. Tolkien- no surprises there. I especially enjoyed "Leaf, by Niggle" and Roverandom.

July 2015: Overused Tropes and Cliches

July 2015

Well, the zombies have taken over. Which means we can talk a bit about...

Overused Tropes and Cliches

Um- Hold on a minute. I use these words, but if I'm writing about them, an exact definition will be helpful.

trope
a : a word or expression used in a figurative sense : figure of speech
b : a common or overused theme or device : cliché <the usual horror movie tropes>: a phrase or verse added as an embellishment or interpolation to the sung parts of the Mass in the Middle Ages

cliché
1: a trite phrase or expression; also : the idea expressed by it
2: a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation
3: something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace

Thank you, Merriam-Webster.

Ok, now that I am certain that I know what I'm writing about...

We at WriYe know that zombies may be overdone, but we love them anyway. What are your favorite tropes/cliches? 

  I greatly enjoy that one character who interprets all figures of speech literally. They are hilarious in that while their responses are correct, they are no longer talking about the same thing as all of the other characters. The reason a character reasons that way tend not to vary overmuch: They are learning the language that is being spoken, Syntax is used differently than their home culture... they happen to be an alien... I don't particularly care, I just sit back and enjoy the comedy.
  Time travel/ fix-it, especially in fan fiction, um- runaway and or exiled royalty/nobility?

 Which ones are your least favorite?

   That the fathers and or adults in general are stupid, when animals that aren't dogs act just like dogs, when the timeline does not actually work and/or contradicts itself, plot holes (seriously, Ella Enchanted: "I order you to break the curse!" Option A- she breaks it, therefore it's broken. Option B- She can't break it, therefore breaking the curse. But no.)