Appropriate or inappropriate, that is the question.

I recently stumbled across an article talking about an English teacher in Kingswood Regional High School assigning a creative writing project based on a prompt most people are deeming inappropriate. In case you haven't heard of this, the specific prompt was, "If you knocked your brother down, would you urinate in his mouth?" And no, I'm not kidding. The question was posed to a creative writing class composed of about 12 seniors. The teacher is well known for motivating her students, but obviously everyone had a problem with this particular prompt.

Now, I don't want to get into this particular instance on whether the teacher was right or wrong, it honestly doesn't matter at this point. However, I do feel it begs the question of what is and is not appropriate where creative writing is concerned. So most of this blog is going to be about my personal opinions, consider yourself forewarned. lol

While on the one hand I think the particular audience you are writing for will determine the appropriateness of the material, on the other, I do think writing is an art form. I don't feel that you should be restricted what so ever on what you can and cannot write. You can't control art. It takes you were it wants to, whether you agree or not. And I'm not even going to bring up the laws we have in the United States guaranteeing the right to free speech and freedom of press. Otherwise this blog will be gigantic and I'll go off on a tangent of rights slowly being taken away, not by the government, but by ourselves.

Getting back to the topic at hand, how do you go about deciding what is right? I think the easiest answer to that question is to do massive amounts of research into your specific audience, and also what the publishers, etc, are expecting. If you are planning on writing an article for Home and Garden magazine, or whatever, then you should take the time out to read through several past issues. Pay attention to the stories they have bought and what they are looking for. I also think its extremely important to know ahead of time where you are writing for and not be absurd about your expectations. Obviously a story about aliens invading earth is going to be more fitting for something like Asimov's Science Fiction magazine or Heavy Metal than Vogue or PC Gamer. Find a fitting target and write to those specifications.

Which brings me to my next point, pay attention to their writing guidelines. You would think this is a given, but I have heard many, many people say well my story is X amount words longer but I'm sure they will take it. While it is never feasible to say it's impossible for that to happen, it is however, unlikely. These people get millions of submissions each month, and I can almost guarantee that if they see you are over in word count, they won't even bother reading it. They have better things to do, and work to read from people that actually follow instructions. Harsh, but true.

And if your thinking, "But CoD, I'm writing a novel, not an article for a magazine. So this really doesn't apply to me," you are dead wrong. Every publishing company out there has its own individual submission guidelines. And yes, different companies are looking for different kinds of work. For example Flying Pen Press or Dark Cloud Press are certainly not going to publish that steamy erotica story you have, no matter how good it is.

So to sum everything up, because this blog is getting longer than I intended, I suppose being appropriate is in the eye of the beholder. By all means write whatever you want, on whatever subject you choose, just make sure that you gear your writing towards an appropriate audience when its sell time.

Until next time peeps,
CoD

And now, because Sandra already took the awesome Inappropriate Drawings video, I bring you, Inappropriate Comeback Guy...

Rambling, Writing...Route 23?

Its that time again and there seems to be a problem. I have absolutely no clue what to blog about. Several ideas passed through my head, not bad ones either, but none of them seemed fitting. Or more aptly, none of them I really felt like writing. Which begs the question, what do you do when you absolutely have to write something, but don't feel like writing anything in particular? I, personally, will wing it. A lot can be said for just sitting down and writing the first thing that comes to mind, whether you like it or not is a moot point. Sometimes some of the best ideas tend to come from nowhere, ones that wouldn't have thought of in a million years had you tried.

Sandra in her post this week compared creative writing to a train (an excellent blog btw) saying that you need to follow the track laid before you in order to get to the end. It was an excellent analogy, however I tend to think of it more like a tree. I'll start with one general idea, or perhaps none at all, just the dirt; and all the sudden something miraculous springs forth. Building on that idea, that pops outta nowhere, I start to get little bits here and there that are all connected. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to use them, but they are there all the same. For example, I may never put into a story or a book that my main characters ex-husband, at one point, had the same gym teacher in high-school as the current love interest, but I know it. So while the reader doesn't see that one tiny little twig in the upper corner of my tree, its there all the same, and it adds to the fullness of my tree. Not because the reader can or cannot see it, but because I, as the author, know it is there; which in turn makes me more in tune with my characters.

But I didn't mean to go off on an analogy of my own, I was trying to expound on my point. Even if nothing is coming to mind, sit down and write anyway. Write the first thing that comes to mind, even if its horribly cliche and go from there. Have fun with it! So all that came to mind was, jokingly, "On a dark and story night..." well, on a dark and stormy night what? Is a clown in full get up walking up to the spooky house filled with *gasp* millions of kids ready to attack? Laugh all you like, but even poorly written pieces are bringing you one step closer to your dream.

How about writing prompts? If you haven't tried this with a friend, I highly recommend it, they are super fun. Sandra and I have spent many hours playing with this. Have a friend write an opening paragraph or sentence, about whatever comes to mind, and you do the same. Now that you have that sentence or paragraph, swap, give them yours and you take theirs. Going off of whatever your friend has written, just write what comes naturally after that. Don't worry about spelling and grammar, you are writing for the joy of it, and perfecting your craft as you go!

And to prove what a big girl I am, instead of providing a video this time, I'm going to post one of the writing prompts I did. There is absolutely no editing done to this (so beware,) its short, and its horrible, but you know what? It was fun! Go and try this with a friend, I guarantee you'll enjoy it, or your money back!

CoD

(writing prompt given is in purple)

"Stages of Death"

I stared down into his eyes and realized, I'd never know what went on behind them. No matter how hard I tried. He was human no longer. Reaching down I gently caressed the blood splattered hair out of his open, sightless eyes.
He always did have such beautiful blue eyes, my Tommy. My Tommy. Never again will I get those sarcastic looks cast over his broad shoulder when I say something stupid. No more intense midnight conversations on politics while watching a brilliant light shining behind those baby blues. I'll never see those eyes burning with passion, hot enough to heat us both on the coldest of winter nights. I'll never see Tommy.

The tears that had been freely flowing down my face to splatter on Tommy's open chest cavity stopped suddenly. So suddenly in fact that they startled me out of my downward spiral of sadness. Almost as if some switch buried deep inside had given me my five minutes to grieve but had decided enough is enough. And I realized that I was no longer sad. I was no longer anything.

Standing up I stepped over the body of my late husband on the floor and walked to my dressing mirror. An antique oaken mirror that had been carved in the shape of tulips was the only legacy my mother had left me. The mirror stood there proudly, strong as the tree it was once carved from. And even splattered in the blood of my husband it called to me.

Ignoring the blood I surveyed my reflection. A dark brown dress stickily clung to my body. With spaces of white covered in pink flowers, showing in between the mass of congealed blood. No, the dress would never do. Looking at my face I reached up to flatten that one stray hair that never seems to stay in place behind my ear and in the process managed to smear blood along my cheek. Well, at least my hair stayed in place, thank god for hair spray. Miraculously it seemed with the exception of that stray piece no blood had gotten in my hair, of course it was brown too so it blended in better.
Last, I glanced at my eyes, they too were blue. And for some reason it didn't seem strange to me to see blue ice staring back at me from amid an island of molten lava. Fire and ice, how fitting.
Yes a shower was definitely needed.


Emerging from my closet after my shower I once again walked to my mirror. Carefully avoiding stepping in the majority of the blood drenched room.
Blue ice once again stared back at me but this time it was drowning amid smooth milk. My hair was now pulled into a tight marm style bun and a little black dress tightly encased my body. With the bottom of the dress barely reaching mid thigh the black leather boots matched perfectly, with only an inch between them. Turning away from the mirror I looked once more at my husband on the floor, and smiled for the first time in years.
Inside a very small part of me wailed and gnashed and beat at the cage I had her enclosed in, causing my smile to falter.
“Oh Sophie, don’t be such a fuddy duddy. He wouldn’t let us have fun, but now we can.”

The caged housewife curled in a tight ball deep inside, and wept oceans of tears that her body would never again shed.

My friend, Procrastination

I thought after the last two posts (ok, technically three) that it would be useful to have one concerning blocking out all those distractions and getting down to writing. Sure you now have the awesome website, and nifty social networks promoting yourself, but you seem to be running out of time to get any actual writing done.

First, surround yourself with other authors. Twitter, while it is a distraction all its own, also can be a good kick in the pants. Nothing guilts me into writing more than seeing all these writers out there talking about how many words they have written so far. They are at 900 for the night...already? I haven’t even started yet! Followed closely by mad typing on my part so I can post that I’m now at a measly 350. Peer pressure at its finest..without actual pressure that is. ;)

Find someone to hold you accountable. A best friend works wonders for this role. Hand over that imaginary whip to them and ask them to bug you about it. Just make sure you don’t snap their head off for asking. Sometimes something as simple as that can make you realize that although you would love to be surfing the internet at the moment, that chapter needs to be finished and is much more important.

If you find another author, whether published or no, and can trade what you’ve written for the day, it’s a help to you both. It holds you accountable to have something for them to read over, and vice versa. Not only will you be writing more, but you have the benefit of having someone else point out errors that you may have missed. This step could easily be incorporated into the last one if your best friend happens to write as well.

You know how when your trying to lose weight you post a picture of a horribly obese person, or maybe even yourself on the fridge to deter you from snacking? Well you can do the same with writing. Find you a picture that reminds you of writing, or maybe even one of your characters and make it your desktop. Adding a caption saying “GO WRITE” or “I WANT TO LIVE” will help bring the point home. How can you be selfish and procrastinate whenever a character is not only begging to be born but literally staring at you as your playing?

Which brings me to my next point, surround yourself with your world. Notes you’ve made, pictures you’ve found, chapters you have printed, anything really. Just make it so that it’s the first thing you see when you settle down at your computer, or however you write. Tape notes or pictures everywhere. How about the before mentioned character staring at you from the medicine cabinet as you brush your teeth in the morning? Granted your spouse and kids might find it freaky but I’m sure the character will appreciate it. Lol

Follow a schedule. Sit down and slot you in specific times to write, distractions be damned. You can play during the time allotted for it, but not before. If other people continually distract you, let them know what’s going on and ask for privacy. I’m sure if you tell them with some modicum of politeness they will easily understand and leave you be, if not, well... invest in a deadbolt. Personally the only way I can get my husband to leave me alone is to get pissy with him. Sounds horrible I know, but it works and allows me some privacy. Plus, he is aware what I’m doing so its not so bad, and he knows if he’s hit the pissy stage he’s bugging me too much and backs off.
So there you have it, a few simple things to do to battle the urge of procrastination. I would love to hear of any ways you manage to get yourself in gear and write. And once again I apologize for making the weekly blog a day late. Most of you are not aware, but through the week when I’m online I’m actually at work. So every now and then, if situations arise I just get so swamped I have to give up my precious laptop time.

Until next time peeps,
CoD

And in honor of the subject matter, I present to you not one, but two video’s to procrastinate on...

Friday Post

Ok guys, so the real world is being a meanie again and I'm swamped with work tonight, so no blog. Although I suppose technically this is a blog so you do get one, its just not blog worthy.

I will try and get on here this weekend though, probably some time Saturday and post the regular weekly blog.

I apologize profusely,
CoD

Off to my slave labor...

The elusive muse. Where to find, observe and kidnap inspiration.

In keeping with the past few “easy” blogs, this week we’ll be going in search of the deadliest of all creatures, the muse. That perfect idea that gets your creative juices bubbling, the spark of genius that has you giggling in glee as you type for all your worth while hyped up on sleep deprivation and caffeine. Easy now, we’re trained professionals, no need to fear for our safety.

The first thing we’ll need to do on this field trip is some research. Everyone knows you can’t go searching for dangerous animals without knowing a little bit about them, or at least seeing some really good examples of previously captured ones. So we’ll hit the local library, Barnes and Noble, or even Amazon, whatever the preference. Read, and read everything! No information is to much. Granted we don’t want to steal other’s successful methods, but it will get our brain amped up to think of our own ideas. And who knows, maybe you’ll manage to nab one hiding in mounds of dust covered books, and your search will end here.

While we’re doing all this reading, lets not forget to look at the pretty pictures. Sometimes all it takes is to see a particular photo and begin to wonder, how it came to be. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Google is your friend... or a multi-billion dollar operation out to take over the world, either way, it works for our purposes. Our muse is a slippery character, able to hide anywhere, so be sure to pay attention to everything.

Tv and movies are also excellent ways to gather some Intel. Because honestly, what are those but books brought to life. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but waste some time in front of the zombie box. You never know what you might stumble across.

Now that we’ve managed to while away several hours/days doing “research” we need to find ourselves some tunage. Obviously we can’t be out hunting without our Ipods in this day and age, what would our friends think! So stroll on over to Itunes or your massive cd collection collecting spider webs in the closet and delve into the world of music. Think about the music your listening to, and really think about it. What is the artist really trying to say? What does the song mean to you? What situations would have to happen in order for people to wind up in that situation? Do keep a sharp eye out for our critter while your looking though, she likes to sneak up and surprise you.


When you’ve finally selected the proper hunting music, we’re off to the dangerous part, finding the muse in an outdoor environment. That’s right, I said outdoor. Take a walk or drive around. It doesn’t have to be just the local conservation center, it can be anywhere. Go look at the run down buildings in your cities old downtown area, or maybe the local park and study the trees. The point is to look everywhere! Watch the people as they walk by and wonder where they are going. Look at the way they are dressed, are they rich? Poor? Are they on their way to a secret rendevous with an estranged ex-lover? Maybe they’re really undercover government agents trying to find clues to a renegade shifter. Who knows, but pay attention.

Having looked around everywhere outside to no avail, why don’t you head indoors. Check out your local grocery store, library (again, I know) or even PTA meeting. And while your people watching, be sure to eavesdrop if you can. Obviously don’t get caught, or do it just to be nosy, but if you hear to old woman reminiscing about the good old days, drop an ear or two. You mind stumble upon a memory of theirs that just has to be recorded, in your own way of course, on paper. Or what about that mother trying to deal with her out of control toddler. She’s obviously stressed and embarrassed at her child’s behavior, start to wonder about the rest of her life. Where is the child’s father? Is she an only mother having to work two jobs because she’s estranged from her family and the kids dad is dead? What’s really going on in her life.

I think we’re going to stop our hunt there for now as I see mine slipping through the tree’s ahead. She’s cunning like a fox and extremely facetious, but those are probably just personal traits to this one in particular. Wish me luck, and good luck on catching yours!

Until next time!
CoD