Method to madness: scheduling vs. spontaneity, which is better?

Rather than going on a pre-answer rant, let’s cut to the chase… there is no method better than another. Each option has its own virtues, pros, cons and vulnerabilities. The fact of the matter remains, sometimes you need to go the direction opposite of what usually works for you if you are firmly set in your ways if only to keep yourself on your toes. Let’s profile each:

Scheduling:

PROS:

Helps you be more productive. When you stick to a plan, you are often rewarded for concentrated efforts. This means that if you force yourself to write nonstop for a couple of hours, you can really boost your word count.

More structured. By having a preset hour and goal, you will get to your quota or at the very least, get near it. You will see your writing also become a bit more consistent, which itself has its pros and cons.

More measurable. In a world where people are obsessed with numbers, results and measuring, you have a pretty good idea of how long something will take you to do. Although that may seem trivial, that is a vital part of being a writer if you happen to chance on a deadline. You’ll know how long you need to get X or Y done.

CONS:

You write out of habit. You may hit quotas and pump out thousands of words, but you run the risk of writing for the sake of writing and although commendable to a point… does that really make you happy? Are you writing your best work? If you are (which is a possibility, don’t let anyone tell you differently) then by all means, stick to it and plow away.

Creativity within the narrative becomes secondary. For me at least, having a very rigorous word quota honestly doesn’t work. I actually normally try to finish a chapter to capture lighting in a bottle and have the same feeling flowing throughout rather than settling on starting and stopping. I’m actually the same way when it comes to reading. I HATE leaving a chapter unfinished.

You focus on results rather than the story. I know people who meet ridiculous deadlines and push through out of sheer stubbornness but if writing Only Human taught me anything, it’s that the story is paramount, that when it comes, it’ll come in torrents and that at least for me, having a schedule is useless.

OK, so what about the other side of the coin?

Spontaneity

PROS:

There’s freedom in flexibility. Truly something I enjoy of the times I’ve written in the spur of the moment is the sheer flexibility of going wherever my brain wants to go without overthinking it. I’ve known to pick up a notebook and pump out a full 15 page chapter in one sitting and knowing when my system NEEDS to write has helped me tremendously in my writing, especially in the sequel to Only Human (10 chapters done, woohoo).

Creativity often thrives. By letting your impulse drive your will to write, you’ll be at your creative zenith and put in a 1000% with little or no effort and truly, when writing is effortless, some of your best work may be borne.

Personality shines through better when unpressured. I found my voice as a writer when I finally desisted from having to write and if anything, I’ve enjoyed a lot of people saying I have a voice all my own throughout most of my work. That’s special to me and worth the price of admission.

CONS:

This can take a LONG time. Only Human took 8 years to write. From research, to writing, to transcribing, to editing, to publishing… eight years. Having a full time job and other responsibilities did pose challenges, although the reality is that I didn’t want to force it and when it took off, it flew on its own…  but eight years is a long time. In about 2 months I’m already almost 25% done with the sequel… then again, I did find my voice, which explains a lot.

Editing can be a nightmare. When you write stream of thought and leave long gaps between writing sessions, weird things can happen… plot holes, tone shifts, you forget where you wanted to go and cohesion is a pain. I learned the hard way.

So in the end, what I’ve done is combine elements of both styles and have found a happy medium. When I feel too much time has passed in between writing sessions, I bite the bullet and force myself into a groove and when I feel I’m being too rigorous, I’ve known to step away from a page, another valuable lesson I’ll talk about later. The end all correct answer is that you have to find what works for you and constantly tweak your formula to always be productive yet always enjoy. So best of luck in that search. 

Peace, love and maki rolls,

JD.

Method to madness: finding inspiration

“How do I get inspired?”

This was actually a question I got asked the other day and to be honest, it kind of scared me. As a writer, lack of inspiration has to be frustrating, as a person it has to be borderline depressing. In essence, inspiration is quite possibly the best feeling in the world, especially since it can apply to anything you do. You can feel inspired to cook, clean, create, work, talk, chat, paint or help. It is the currency of desire and it’s up to us to spend it wisely and look for it anywhere we can.

So when I got asked that, it really made me think… what can inspire me?

Lucky for me, I’m actually pretty inspired and often look into different things to keep the muse fresh and flowing. I read, I write, I listen, I play, I try new things, I doodle and I daydream (a lot). I also work to the bone because although money can’t buy me love, it does happen to pay the bills and afford me the possibility to do other things. So to answer this question, I offer you two options, the five against one method and the stumble/spur method.

The five against one method is focusing on each of your senses and looking for alternatives to see how each one affects your inspiration.

·       Touch – Texture is vastly overlooked when it comes to inspiration and it’s one of the most powerful senses we neglect. The best way to explore this sense is with the assistance of someone. Arrange a series of materials and textures nearby and have them pass you the material so you can focus on how it feels while wearing a blindfold. I suggest a two person operation to ensure you deprive your sense of vision so all other senses are heightened. Have them pass you materials and then spend up to one minute with each material. Feel the contours, the shape, how it resists when you tug it or squeeze it. Really explore it and have your hands do the talking.

·       Taste – I LOVE tasting new dishes, new drinks, new candies. Does that mean I overlook my favorites or what would be deemed a classic? Of course not. The thing is that by broadening my horizons and exploring taste and texture, I gain a whole new appreciation for every new thing I taste. Some people stick to chicken and lasagna… although I enjoy both dishes, life is not the same flight every day and by varying what I eat, I vary the destinations I can traverse. When describing lumiere and nova in Only Human, I had AMPLE culinary experiences to know how they taste in my brain. Think of it this way, what did Butter Beer taste like in JK Rowling’s head? I’m pretty sure it’s pretty close to what they offer in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter because at least for me, it was spot on and it brought a smile to my face to taste something I read. She could already taste it even though it didn't exist at the time. The same happened when I tried Turkish delight for the first time… and it didn’t take me a second attempt to understand why Edmund was enchanted by the White Queen.

·       Sight – by far the most abused sense is sight. It is also the one that receives the least variety. If you have a dayjob, you will probably end up looking at the same things over and over and over. Workbook sheets, texts, charts, powerpoint presentations and the such… if you don’t cleanse your palate, your sight might dull. What’s amazing about sight is that we also don’t care for it as we should. Most office lights do not project light in a full spectrum, this causes eye strain, visual fatigue and contributes to retinal decay. So it’s your job to look at fresh images to keep the brain functioning and active. On Facebook there are a ton of groups with interesting visuals to share which is a great starting point. Another thing you should do is check out nature. When was the last time you saw a leaf up close? We are surrounded by amazing achievements by nature and it’s there for you to appreciate if you only give it the chance.

·       Hearing – a lot of people say they don’t like X or Y genre of music, and I often think they’re doing themselves a disservice by not trying to find something within the genre that works for them, just to expose their senses to something new. So the first recommendation would be to listen to as much music as possible, including classical music. A lot of people say they don’t like classical music and I disagree… I just think they aren’t looking right because I’ve heard symphonic orchestras play the theme song to the Predator Movie and an Angry Birds suite and it’s fascinating how intense these pieces are. Not into classical music but a videogame freak? Then every year there are dozens of concerts that celebrate the achievements of videogames. Now that I got that out of the way… here’s another suggestions… take off your headphones. Listen to nature, listen to the bustle of people and see how many things you can pick up. Although it may not seem like it, we are immersed in melody and the thumping of machinery are the rhythm section. If you want to see to what level, listen to music by Stomp! or check out Koyaanisqatsi. 

·       Smell – As with all other senses, smell can be taken to another level by simply paying attention to it. Our bodies are amazing and we owe it to ourselves to explore each of our senses.

The second method I was referring to is the stumble / spur method. This one is actually a lot simpler. In a digital age where we have apps and the Internet readily accessible, it’s funny people don’t search for more information. Ask yourself what a nebula is, wonder what a base prime number is, search for Bruce Lee’s one inch punch, refresh information from grade school. Use apps like Stumble Upon, visit Mashable, click on I’m feeling lucky on Google.com and whenever a random question arises, either write it down or look for it in realtime.

And lastly, make sure you don’t have something else that’s keeping you uninspired. It’s also up to you to keep your mind, body and soul healthy (btw, you don’t need religion to nurture your soul, just saying).

Hope this helps and feel free to keep in touch here through twitter @jdestradwriter or through email @ jdestradawriter@gmail.com.

Peace, love and maki rolls.

Method to madness: Unblocking the writer in you

Writer’s block is one of the most frustrating things you can face in your life, whether it’s writing a short story, a novel, a thesis or a term paper. Sometimes we get blocked and it’s a very nerve-racking experience where everything is brought into question.

To be honest, I rarely have writer’s block (I’ve probably just jinxed myself and will get a block once I post this). Snide remarks in parentheses notwithstanding, there’s a couple of things I do to avoid a block. So first, let’s treat this as medicine, first offering some preventive tips and then some tips if you are in the block.

Preventing the block

Although there are hundreds of things I could recommend, I’ll offer 4 things you can do preventively to avoid the block.

Read any and everything. Something I do to keep the mind rolling constantly is looking up miscellaneous things on Wikipedia or using Stumbleupon to expose my brain to different things. A lot of people I know read only within their comfort zone and I think that in the end, that can eventually bite you in the rear end. If you only read one genre, you might be depriving yourself of a new angle you could find by just broadening your horizons. I’m sure there are dozens of people that say to gorge on your genre of choice and although I can see their reasoning, for me it doesn’t work and I constantly switch rhythm in what I’m reading to keep my brain on its toes. Case in point, for Only Human, I did research on History, Geography, religious figures, angels, botany and foreign folk tales in search of different twists I could give. For the Human trilogy, research is essential because although I know where the story wants to go, I often find little tidbits that open up whole new chapters just because of some line I read and my imagination ran with it.

Avoid crutches. Some people need to drink (wine, tea, soda, water) to get their mojo going. The reality is that if you continually use a method to attain certain results, you will freak if and probably when you get a block. Plus, if you depend on any substance, it’s like any meds, eventually you will need to up the dosage until it no longer works.

Keep a pen and paper nearby (or OK use your phone). Lighting strikes when you least expect it. Be ready for it because the link to complete your story is within you and will only peek out once in a while. No matter how foolish an idea seems, jot it down. More often than not, you will either make it work or you will see the answer clearer thanks to that little note you scribbled on a napkin. Your brain can sometimes be a tease and you need to be ready to go when it wants to go.

Try different foods, drinks and experiences. Experience is the seed of inspiration and the more you live and the more you experience, the richer the well to gather inspiration from will be. Remember a good conversation can lead to brilliant writing because it’s based on something real.

Ok, so those are 4 tips to keep things fresh and your inspiration going strong… yet you still landed in a writer’s block. That’s fine too, it happens and you can deal with it.

Breaking the block

Step 1: Calm down

The most natural thing that happens when you think you’re getting a block is to lose your cool. The most important thing to remember is that there is no reason to not be calm. You are in control and your brain is endlessly more gifted and powerful than you give it credit for. First step is to stop writing and breathe. It could be a deadline that has you stressed. Think back to college or high school and think of all those times you aced a project you wrote the night before even when you had two months when you could have done it. You’re still capable of that with or without the stress. If you want to see how much you can get done in ten minutes, free write about any mundane thing. Just make sure to write straight for ten minutes about anything, even if it’s about your block. Just write. Once you see what you did in ten minutes about something trivial, you’ll feel a lot more confident about what you want or need to write about.

Step 2: Write something else or vary your method

Something that has been endlessly fundamental in my writing is to write more than one thing at a time or taking time to just jot down ideas of other things. If I’m writing a short story and I’m stuck, I jot down ideas for a novel, draft a story arc, write a song or a poem. So it's not to say I don't get blocks, I just don't dwell on them. By switching gears, it often helps me get the ball rolling and although I often finish what got me going, sometimes I don’t even finish that other thing and focus on the project I was blocked on. Another thing I do is that I vary my approach with each project. Like I said for Only Human, sometimes I do insane amounts of research, other times I just jot down things and draft a story arc from scratch. Rarely do I repeat the method when writing. Case in point, the first draft for Only Human was handwritten and it took four months to transcribe. For some upcoming projects, I’m writing some by hand and others directly on the computer. It helps me tap into different styles and rhythms and your brain operates different when you use any writing utensil than when you type. So if you’re using one method, go the other direction and see if that gives you the break you need. 

Step 3: Talk to your characters or to the speaker

Carl Jung is quoted as saying he had in-depth conversations with people whom he had never met and that these conversations led to some of the most intense revelations in his psychiatric career. Taking the time to know your characters, what they feel, how they react, how they think and what drives them will be essential in your writing, ESPECIALLY if you’re in a block. If you’re working on a term paper or thesis, ask the speaker a few questions, interview her or him and try to see what makes them tick. If might seem silly at first, until you have a deep conversation and see the path as clear as you’ve ever seen it. Besides, if you do that you’ll tap into something genuine that only you and the speaker or character know.

Step 4: Face your fear

Blocks can happen for a thousand reasons and something that truly strengthens a block is fear. Fear can happen because of the lack of time to write or because you’re afraid something will not be as good as it should. It could even be because you’re afraid of writing something. A topic might seem as if it’ll be controversial or a character you actually enjoy is going to die… both of these things are inevitable and if you truly believe you have to write both things to do your writing justice, do it. Allow yourself the freedom to be yourself and to break down barriers. Let pain enter what you write and live it and suffer it because if you do, chances are someone else will too… and they will thank you for it.

I hope these tips help you and by all means, if you have any questions feel free to write me @ jdestradawriter@gmail.com or follow me through twitter @jdestradawriter.

Peace, love and maki rolls.

JDE

Method to madness: an Introduction

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I’ve actually had a few people ask me how I wrote a book. I think a better question would be how I wrote a certain book because although some people stick religiously to a certain method for everything they do, I vary with each project. Thinking on some of the things I’ve been asked recently, if sharing some of what I do can help someone bring their dream to life, then I’m thrilled to share any of what I do in the hopes of making a difference.

So this is the first of a couple of posts I will write about creativity, writing, tips and techniques I use to get my dreams down on paper. Hope it helps and if you think it can help someone, by all means, pass it along.

Cheers,

JDE