Muse Music: October Edition

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Explaining your story and listening to others

One of the things I find most frustrating yet so helpful is explaining your story.
So here we are, still freshly started on NaNoWriMo and my story is just creeping along. I can already tell my brain is having a hard time putting all the pieces together and making everything fit in the way I eventually want it to work out.
One of the ways I get through these slow times is I talk to someone (a friend or my relatives) about my story. As I explain my story I start working out what doesn't work in the story and what could help as a catalyst to bring about other events in the story.
The problem I find, however...is the listener. They tend to ask too many questions right off the bat and aren't content to just listen to the story as you have it in your head. So then you have to stop and explain a back story or an obscure motivation that explains why the character does this or that, but then your listener gets stuck on asking more questions about the back story too!
And on and on it goes until you are so far back in time that you are explaining how the character's parents met.
I do think that we as writers get so caught up in the idea of certain story elements and events that we lose sight of if it is plausible. I think having a listener is a good idea because they can offer insight into what simply doesn't work in a story or when something works so well you need to expound upon the idea.

What I have noticed as a writer is it's hard to listen to other writers who are trying to explain their stories. I believe it's because we as writers don't think about our stories in a clean cut, linear timeline. We have all of these lines of a spider web connecting relationships between characters, backstories, sub-plots, motivations, antagonists, protagonists, and all the characters in between the two. Simply asking a writer "What's the main character's motivation?" is a can of worms that no one is ready to open and deal with, not even the writer because they have to explain too many elements of the story in order for the motivation to make sense!
The right questions to ask are more specific to the writer's story because it shows that you (as a listener) have been comprehensively listening to what actually is going on and truly want to understand the story.

Deep breath.

Now that I got that off my chest it is time to go back to writing...

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NaNoWriMo

This year I'm going to try this again.
Last year I didn't even come close to crossing the 50,000 word finish line and I think I know why...

Sure, the idea is that you can marathon sprint your novel into existence but like every marathon, you need to practice. At the time, I was writing maybe 1,000 words a month. It is not a completely terrible pace considering I have a full-time job, and a life. But to go from that to trying to strangle 50 times that out of my brain is freaking difficult.

Another thing is I didn't plan. Wrimos call it "pantsing" as in "flying by the seat of your pants." It is a fun idea to see where the winds of inspiration will lead. But the winds died in the second week into it last year and I deleted my account out of spite.

As I registered my new account this month, I went poking around the website and I found the "regions" section. I didn't bother with much beyond the word count on the website last time and now that I decided to look around, I'm glad I did. The regions' tab got me connected with people in my area who participate in NaNoWriMo too! The foreigners in South Korea can be quite diverse and it can be hard to find others who have similar interests. So, not only is this a chance to create a motivating network, it also serves as a way to meet new and interesting people who already share a lot in common.

So here is the checklist of things I need to work on BEFORE November 1st rolls around:

1. Start getting the hang of writing every day with small goals at first and work up to larger word counts.

2. Plan a general outline of the story. This includes characters, major events, plot twists, culture tips, Pinterest the crap out of pictures that give great visuals for the story, and a good music playlist.

3. Connect with people who are also doing NaNoWriMo and share inspirations, tips, and give support. Don't be so selfish!

While I did some reading on ways to be successful at NaNoWriMo and how to prepare for it, I also saw a lot of people out there who are completely against the idea of a National Novel Writing Month. Most of the negativity seems to revolve around the belief that it is just about a word count and will be worth nothing at the end of a month. Where do you go with a novel that is full of "reallys and verys?" You edit.
This is only a first draft.
Maybe they should call December the National Edit Your Draft Month. No, wait...we need a break after that marathon in November and a chance to enjoy the holidays since Thanksgiving gets all gobbled up. Pun intended.
Anyway, my point is to stay away from the naysayers and just work on getting the novel out of the brain. Worry about the cutting board later.

Let's do this!

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How To Find Inspiration Through Topic Immersion

Imagine with me for a minute, you get inspired to write a story about some kids who solve a mystery in their hometown. You decide to write out the first scene that comes to mind, and as you write the scene you start to wonder "Is this a realistic conversation between kids?" It's a valid concern since you haven't been a kid in a while (well at least I haven't). So, what do you do about it?

I research! My favorite way to research in this particular case is by watching movies/tv-shows, or reading books that are already out there that have this same sort of topic. Off the top of my head, three movies, and a tv show come to mind: Hocus Pocus, Stand By Me, Earth to Echo, and Granite Flats. All of these are a great jumping-off-point for getting your dialogs rolling and who knows, maybe you will pick up some good ideas for more characters to add or mysteries to include?

This type of research method is what I like to call "topic immersion." Of course you can also include a diet of documentaries, and news articles, or get out there and do field research! A long time ago, I was working on a story that was based in a small town in Connecticut. I watched a lot of Gilmore Girls and browsed small town websites in the area I wanted to base my story in, but ultimately it was traveling there and having a good old-fashioned road trip on the back roads of Connecticut that helped me visualize the story and make it feel more realistic. It's the same method Janet Evanovich used while she was researching her Stephanie Plum novels. She actually did a ride-along in a cop car to understand what it was like in a day in the life of a New Jersey cop. 

Topic immersion is also the method I choose to keep the muse alive in my head. For instance, while I work on a space opera I will watch anything from Star Trek to The Fifth Element, to get a feel for a space-themed culture of sorts, as well as browse through interesting articles in Science News for topics that might work for possible plot twists or character development (can we say "biohacking?").

News articles are goldmines when it comes to plot twists, in my opinion. What was the saying..."truth is stranger than fiction?" Especially when I come across articles about mysterious objects being found and experts speculations on them (have you ever read into the Voynich Manuscript?). GOLD. PURE GOLD.

I could go on and talk about how the life of a writer is hard since we have to know so much...but this picture pretty much sums up everything I want to say...

One more thing: don't get discouraged when you feel overwhelmed by too much info out there. Take a break and remember not everything is pertinent to your story.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the way I like to research.
How do you research your stories? Let me know!

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World Building: Including Culture

If there is one thing that Game of Thrones has taught me, it's the pressing need for culture in one's story. I'm not just talking about fantasy or sci-fi stories, I mean in just about every genre. CULTURE IS IMPORTANT!
Culture includes (but is not limited to):

• Traditions
• Design (buildings, clothes)
• Religion
• History
• Politics
• Entertainment
• Language

A story or series that is rich in culture feels like you could actually book a trip there and immerse yourself in that society using that book as a reference guide. If you have ever read or watched Game of Thrones, you already know what I'm talking about. The characters and the places feel real, don't they? They have different styles of dress and architecture based on where they live. The religion that is dominant in each place dictates the rituals performed for marriage and death. The super long history is brought up in everyday conversations just like in the real-world. AND THE LANGUAGE! I'm a huge fan of idioms and slang terms, so phrases like "taking the black" and "craven" that have absolutely no meaning in real life but means so much in the story really rings my bell.

Another good book series that has a rich sense of culture in it is The Cat Who...series by Lilian Jackson Braun. 

This series plays out in the fictional town of Pickax in Moose County which is "400 miles north of everywhere." Based somewhat off of a real town in Michigan, she brought this fictional town to life with family feuds, local legends, superstitions, small town politics, mysteries, and even a weird drink with a funny story (squunk water).

Because of these types of book series that have such a rich sense of culture in them, the books that lack a few of the elements from above tend to feel rather one dimensional. Sure, not everyone needs to have a ridiculously long history all written and ready to quote, or have a whole dictionary or two of completely different languages (I'm looking at you LOTR). But just a suggestion of something bigger and broader outside the direct storyline or point of view we are witnessing goes a long way. 

Culture is a difficult one for me to keep track of and mention in my stories and it's something I work on constantly. Remember I said I love idioms and slang terms? I also like to work in new phrases or words in my stories like the tv show Firefly does...or did (cue sob-scene). Firefly's use of some non-toxic swear words like "Rutting" and "Gorram" are encouraging for me as a writer, especially since I don't particularly like to use real-world swear words. Now the dialog with said new swear word turns out to be less lewd and more of a creative expression! Win-win!

Also, I wanted to share some of my favorite links for helping to work through World Building and Storytelling. 
Mythcreants is a great blog for fantasy and sci-fi writers and has lots of great articles about storytelling method dos and don'ts. 
Seventh Sanctum is a site that has generators for days. Some of the generators have story ideas and prompts as well as writing challenges and plot twists! 

What are some other books/tv shows/movies that have some good or bad examples of culture? Let me know!

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Discover: Character Interrogation

For the past few months, I have been banging my head against a wall trying to figure out the motives for my characters in this current story I'm working on. The basic plot elements are all finished, but the hows and whys are not answered. AND I NEED ANSWERS, PEOPLE! I guess my approach to this was a little off since I have been writing this story in first-person and thus have only been thinking about what motivates my main character...not about the people around her. 

The plot has an underlying theme of espionage, so for a fun creative challenge, I decided to write the confession of the character who is the spy in the story.

AND I'M SO GLAD I DID. Having him tell his side of the story and what he has been through in order to make the decisions he has made...it helped me understand the whole story a little more. The best part is, letting a character tell the story from another perspective, more options opened up and the plot started flowing!

Now, during my free time, I can't wait to keep writing his confession just so I can keep mining the plot-gold!

I'm debating on doing this same sort of method with a few other characters, but instead of using an interrogation as the background to get them to talk, I'm going to use a scene that is a little more natural for them. 

Obviously someone who is not a criminal, a witness, etc. wouldn't really be found needing to confess anything. The girl-next-door character might feel more natural if you write a conversation she has on the phone with a friend. Or a character you are designing just for that epic death scene in your story decides to reminisce about his life as he is being taken to heaven by an angel. 

What other ways can you get your characters to talk?

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Welcome!

Welcome to the new and improved Mermaid Tea! This was a blog I started years ago and sadly lost track of after I moved to South Korea back in 2012. 

Originally this blog was a creative outlet for me and also a place where I hoped others would find inspiration for story ideas and whatnot. Now I would like to continue with the original plan but also add some other fun topics such as:

• What I get inspired by (movies, TV shows, music, news articles, blogs, and books).
• Places that make my soul happy (destinations and restaurants). 
• A bunch of random stuff that maybe no one will care much about (story blurbs, mental-happy-dance-worthy silly junk).

I love to write stories and I especially enjoy challenging myself to write stories based on random things I come across in daily life. One thing I used to do was find a song or a picture of something that just spoke to me and write a short (or long) story pertaining to that bit of inspiration. I want to start that up again as well, so what I will do is share the inspiration source and also the story blurb that I was inspired to write.

Also, I have been using Pinterest as a way to find writing techniques and inspiration. They have so many writing prompts and "how to make your villain truly evil" type of links to articles and blogs that I find fascinating! And don't worry, I'll be sharing those brain-ticklers here for you too!

In closing, I hope you will enjoy the wild ride of topics on here and maybe find a little cup of creativity too.

Cheers to a new start!

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