Analyzing Me and Writing (2) - How Reading Inspires Writing

Two posts ago, I listed four quotes that completely apply to me in terms of writing. Simply listing them here on the blog apparently wasn't enough for my feverish little brain, though. I kept thinking about them for days and nights and those life-preventing times called the working hours. So finally, I wrote my thoughts down, because that always helps me muddle through things.

Here are my thoughts on quote number two:

Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.

Susan Sontag

It's true. I get inspired to write by reading other people's writing. If I'm really enjoying a story, the urge to write something of my own itches in my fingertips. Solutions to problems in a story I'm working on spring to mind as if they've always been there and only needed to be unlocked. By reading.

Yet this all happens on an unconscious level, because I'm completely immersed in the world and characters I'm reading about. I'm not consciously trying to work out my own story-problems, or fervently trying to come up with new ideas. They just suddenly pop into mind, nudged to the forefront by something in the book I'm reading. Sometimes I get all excited about the idea, but if the book is that good I keep reading and later have to dig deep in my memory to find that idea again.

Not all of them are useful, but even the useless ones often bump me onto the right path. Some of them are downright crazy, and these are my favorites because they tend to be different and fresh, even if they aren't always useful, either.

So, the bottom line for me is: Reading stories opens and unlocks your mind to the infinite possibilities in storytelling and I believe that's why it inspires people to write something of their own. 

Analyzing Me and Writing (1) - Pantsing It

In my last post, I listed four quotes that completely apply to me in terms of writing. Blogging about them apparently wasn't enough for my feverish little brain, though. I kept thinking about them for days and nights and those life-preventing times called the working hours. So finally, I tried to figure out why they are so true for me. I came to several conclusions, which I want to share here in this and the next three posts.

The first ended up being an explanation about why I'm a pantser, not a plotter.


For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I'm surprised where the journey takes me.
Jack Dann

It's true, at least for me. The adventures my characters have are my adventures, too. But I only feel this sense of adventure and surprise if I don't outline beforehand. I've become wary of even jotting down ideas on how the story should proceed or what should happen, even if they are only single keywords. Heading towards an already ordained point in the plot limits my imagination and drowns my adventurous spirit. I'm a pantser first and a plotter never.

I'm aware that most writing-savvy people say you need at least some kind of outline. It makes sense and, believe me, I've tried. I've written outlines to great stories (if I may say so myself), and enjoyed writing them. But as soon as an outline is finished, I'm not invested in the project enough anymore to actually type tens of thousands of words, first of all because I already know what's going to happen (no more exploration), and second of all because I have to rein myself in all the time, so as to not stray from the pre-ordained frame of events. Sure, there's nobody but myself to make me stay within my outline, but if I know I'm not going to keep to it after page two, why then should I invest all the work in it in the first place? A single word in one line of dialogue can be enough to veer the plot into a different direction than previously assumed. I don't know my characters well enough in the beginning to be certain as to how they will react and what they will do when confronted with certain things that will force them to act and make decisions.

Yes, I have an idea where the story is going, but no, I never write it down, because the idea can change from chapter to chapter, from scene to scene, from sentence to sentence even. That may sound random and arbitrary and rambling, but that's how it works for me. 

What I do make notes of are questions that arise while I write and which need to be answered by the end of the story - that demand 'pay-off', if you will. I frequently return to these questions and either mark them as 'paid' or contemplate whether I can use them to further the plot at the point I'm currently at. As I said, I never know beforehand when or how they will turn up again or be paid-off.

In the end, everything in the story must serve a purpose. If something turns out to be a dead end or isn't resolvable or important, it's fodder for the delete-button. Which is my best friend in reviewing / rewriting and sees a lot of use, I must admit. Plotters probably don't delete quite as much as this-here pantser does.

Now you might observe that I'm not a professional author, that I've not managed to publish any of my novels with this extreme anti-outline philosophy and you'd be right. But my answer would be that, by pantsing it, I've at least finished several novels - not just outlines.

And I've had a hell of a fun ride along the way.

Quotes on Writing

It’s been over a month since my last post. A lot of stuff has happened, just none of it new on the writing-front. My screenwriting-studies are going so-so (at the moment I’m still reading more about it than doing and handing in my tasks) and my latest novel is coming along at a good clip.




I recently found a website that lists hundreds of quotes on writing. I haven't gotten through even a fraction of them all, but I found a few I totally agree with or that apply to me as a writer. It's kind of good to know I'm not alone.


For me, writing is exploration; and most of the time, I'm surprised where the journey takes me.
Jack Dann


Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.
Susan Sontag


Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.
Gloria Steinem


I can’t help but to write, I have a inner need for it. If I’m not in the middle of some literary project, I’m utterly lost, unhappy and distressed. As soon as I get started, I calm down.
Kaari Utrio

The Only Way To Look At Negative Reviews

I haven’t published a book yet. I can count the number of people who’ve read my stuff on fingers and toes, all of them family and friends, or friends of friends, who all claimed to like it. (They had no choice but to say that, of course, because I know where their houses live.)

I know that if I ever do publish a book, and the reviews start coming in, I will take the negative ones very much to heart. That’s just the way I am. I try very hard not to care what others think of me, and as long as nobody attacks me personally, it usually works. But writing is very personal.

Well crafted (= ‘good’) negative reviews never attack the author and make a point of staying courteous. Still, it means that somebody didn’t like my ‘baby’, which inevitably carries and conveys a part of myself, and which was conceived and born out of a lot of hard work, sweat and blood (paper cuts still happen, even in this technological day and age).

That’s what makes it personal, at least for me. But that’s also my problem to deal with and get over. Finding the right perspective always helps in these situations. Beth Revis definitely found it: The best way to look at a negative review without beating yourself up about it. No, scratch that – the ONLY way to look at a negative review. Period.

Why I'm looking for an Agent

This is why I'm sending out queries to agents and not thinking about the self-publishing-route (yet).

I'm aware that this could mean a long wait. I'm working on the second novel I'll seriously try to find an agent and publisher for, but a lot of authors take six or seven books before the eighth is good enough and finds a home with a publisher (some take even more, some natural storytellers less). I'm sure they'd all tell you that those six or seven rejected books weren't in vain, because like with anything else it's about practicing, learning and honing your craft.

I'm (hopefully) in this for the long haul and I want to give my stories the chance to be as enjoyable as possible, which means taking my time with them and getting them edited before they're made available to readers.

Three Ps That Lead To No Writing

Oh yes!!

Or rather: no, don't let yourself be caught in the web of The Three Ps. 

Sure, this post was written by a painter instead of a fellow writer, but The Three Ps: Perfection, Procrastination, Paralysis can be applied to writing as well as painting. 

 I used to get caught up in exactly this poisoned web. Once you've made yourself comfortable in it, it's not so easy to break out, but I found ways to do so that work for me.

1. Write Every Day.

I try to write at least 300 words every day, even if they're crap. On weekdays, I write after I come home from work, on weekends I fit it in as soon as possible. It has become a routine, a ritual that carries me forward, even if it's only 300 words at a time. That's better than two weeks of writing nothing because of paralysis.

2. Write, then Edit.
When I write scenes for the first draft, I don't edit at the same time. Apparently, you use different parts of the brain to edit and write, and doing it at the same time messes up both processes. Obviously, I'm no brain specialist and don't know the particulars, but I do know that it's true for me, so when I write, I leave the editing to Future-Pia.

3. Skip Problem-Scenes.
If I feel like I can't seem to get a handle on the scene / chapter / dialogue / whatever I'm writing right now, I skip it and carry on with the next - I always have a next one in mind. The trick is to keep writing, not stay paralized. I go back to the skipped part later, when I know what the result of it should be. Often (though not always), when a scene just doesn't want to click, no matter how I fret about it, it turns out that it's not important for the story.

These are my personal remedies against The Three Ps, their effect and value figured out through a lot of trial and error.

I bet other writers, painters or artists in general have other ways of staving off paralysis - what are yours?

Back To School - Screenwriting

I did it. As considered about a year ago, I started my distance learning studies in screenwriting. I've gone through the first few lessons and tests and am very satisfied so far. I haven't learned that much brand-new stuff, because right now it's all about plot, characters and conflict - things you need in novels, too ;-). So the exercises aren't only helpful for screenwriting and it will get more specific soon. 


The fun thing is, I already see and watch movies through different eyes. As in: Why is this scene necessary? Could it have been left out? Why am I not relating to this character? Why is this a tad boring - no conflict potential, no identifiable characters, or is the setting unbelievable?


I've been niggling like that when reading books for a long time, but now my sense for questioning every element of a story has sharpened. Like I said, the lessons so far don't only apply to screenwriting, but to any writing. Especially my own.