The Dreamer Poses a Question on I-85

I'm back after an 8-hour trip back to Charlotte. It was a pretty good visit, although it's good to be home. On I-85, between Greensboro and Charlotte, an interesting van passed us and I stared at it for some time. It was reddish-gold with a picture spray painted on the driver's side back window. It was of an man with dreadlocks and wearing green clothing. The passenger's side back window had a thought-provoking message: "White Art, Black Art, Why can't it just be ART?"

Why indeed? Why can't it just be "art" or "writing" or "a reflection of the Human condition?" Is it just a tendency to classify all things according to how they're different? The color of the writer's/artist's skin? A need to seek out people and objects which we're comfortable with i.e. the ones most like us? Is it a matter of convenience or something else?

What do you think?

Ironically enough, the driver's information was also spray-painted on the side window: "Robbie the Dreamer" and his phone number. Although we only passed each other on the interstate and didn't actually meet, he left a definite impression on me, not to mention a question to find an answer.

All original writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

New Facebook Page: I Gotta Write Community

Now there's a page on Facebook connected with the blog, here: I Gotta Write Community Page. Stop on by and say hi on the Discussion Page! If you are a writer, artist, or all-around creative person (who is all of us!), you're definitely welcome! If you also have a blog, website or Facebook/MySpace page and would like to exchange links, please let me know and I'll add you to the IGW! main page.


Thanks,
Annie

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

What Do my Characters Look Like?

When I start a story project, one of my first questions is, What does my protagonist look like? What does my antagonist look like?Words paint a picture for the reader. "The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, even with the three-inch heels." "He tied his long hair back in a ponytail, making sure it was safely out of the way." "I could imagine him twirling the ends of his mustache like some bad Frenchman in an awful dime store romance novel." Show your reader through their movements (twirling the mustache), comparison (much shorter than he is, even with the heels) or action (tying his long hair back in a ponytail).


I am a visual person and sometimes I have a hard time imagining the character in my mind's eye. A fellow author I know bases his characters' likenesses on actors and actresses, past and present. It gives him a base to build his characters, a guide on how they react to other characters, and a general idea on their personalities. My approach is a bit different from his: as a visual artist, I sketch, draw, paint who I see for the character. Use the approach that is most helpful for your writing.


Here are some examples (all artwork copyright 2010 by A. Dameron):

Holly, a character from

my sci-fi story, "First Duty."

Ramon the Scribe from "The Eye of the Falcon"

Magadalena from "Cantadora"

                                                                                                                                            

 Isabel and Morena "Cantadora"

                                                                                  

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Outlines and Plotlines

It's been a while since I've written a complicated plot-driven story. I'm more a short-story writer who writes one-shots (single chapter pieces) or stories w/12 short chapters at most. But I think the plot hippos (which are plot idea bunnies on steroids) have decided to visit from Africa and they've pitched camp in front of my keyboard.


People ask me if I outline my stories before I write them. The short answer: not really. I have a beginning, an end goal, and then I find out how to get from point A to point B. Interesting things pop us as I write that wouldn't fit in any outline...and so my first draft resembles a weird road map. My husband describes it as "how the drunk cow staggers from point A to point B, not how the crow flies." Rough drafts are just that, rough drafts. Everything and anything goes, and editing happens much later.


I know a writer who outlines everything that will happen in his story, explains every plot point and makes meticulous notes before he starts writing. Another friend adopts the "whatever happens spills on the page" method. Normally, I fall more on the latter end of the spectrum. If the fiction piece isn't a long one, that approach just works better for me. I suppose I take more of a holistic view of the process.


Now, if I'm writing a non-fiction article, or a long novel, I end up doing a lot more "prep work". I make sure all of my research is in order and plan out exactly how it will appear on the computer screen. I use a computer program called Writer's Block , which helps organize my thoughts. Its format reminds me of someone using index cards to put information in order, and you can toggle between "block mode", manuscript mode, or split screen. It's pretty convenient.


For this particular project, it began as "write as I go" to "oh boy, what was this guy's name? What about this plot and how does it affect this...?" So I find myself being more left-brained, more methodical in my writing approach. This shift in gears is so gradual that I'm not usually aware of it, but it always surprises me and amuses my (left-brained, practical) engineer husband. Yes, I'm capable of being "organized" when I need to be.


And I think I'll need to definitely rein in the scattered threads into a coherent plot. For my own sanity's sake.

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Pen to Music: Tunes that I Write to...

I went through my playlist and picked out some of the music I write to. Most of them  are instrumental, though there are some with lyrics.


Gaelic Storm (CDs: "Bring your Wellies" "How are we Getting Home?" "What's the Rumpus?")
Star Wars Trilogy (Soundtracks: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)
The Very Best of Alan Jackson (CD)
Gloria Estefan (CDs: Destiny, Mi Tierra, Greatest Hits)
Angelique Kidjo (Cd: Oyaya)
Baha Men (CD: Greatest Movie Hits)
Josh Groban (CD: Closer)
Ray Charles (Soundtrack: Ray)
The Wiggles (various CDs)
The Essential Billy Joel
Avenue Q Soundtrack
The Best of Star Trek (30th anniversary, and Volume 2)
Putamayo Collections (Samba!, Celtic Collection, Music from the Chocolate Lands, Music From the Tea Lands, Americana, The Dougie McLean Collections, among a LOT of others)
Harry Potter (Soundtracks from all the movies)


There's a lot of soundtracks in there. I tend to buy the soundtrack of a movie I like. I also collect international music. When I have a particular scene in mind, I try to find a piece that will convey the feeling of what's going on. Space battle? Star Wars. Evil mischief afoot? Selections from Star Trek Enterprise: In a Mirror Darkly, Parts I and II. Romantic? Josh Groban. An alien culture? Various Putamayo collections. Kid-friendly? Wiggles or the Imagination Movers (I have 3 kids under 10). A little naughty? Avenue Q.


Do you write with music? And what do you listen to while you write? Do you make specific choices or wing it?

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Journals as a Window to Other Worlds

Right now, I'm reading "Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters" edited by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, and Charles Foley. It's a collection of letters that the creator of Sherlock Holmes wrote to his mother, Mary Conan. He began writing to her during his boyhood in a Jesuit school and kept on until her death in 1920. The first two authors are members of the Baker Street Irregulars (a society devoted to Sherlock Holmes) and Charles Foley is Arthur C. Doyle's grand-nephew.


His world (late 19th-early 20th century Europe) is a different world from ours. He brought a lot of real-life aspects to his writing. His worst subject was mathematics, so he made Holmes's arch-nemesis, James Moriarty, a mathematician by training. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and so made Doctor James H. Watson a doctor. Doyle was horrible at dating his letters (not to mention organizing them and punctuating them), and Watson's chronicles were also written in the same haphazard way. Doyle also mentioned his idols (Poe's short stories inspired Holmes's serial adventures) and even mentioned some of his critics' early reviews of his work.


They say that art imitates life and that's true, especially about writers. "Write what you know." Journals can give you an insight into a writer's mind and into what influenced him/her to write about what they did. They write about their worlds from their unique points of view. Many casual diarists don't consider their lives special, but to an outsider, looking in, each entry reveals a little more about that life that I might not have known about.


I have a whole shelf full of journals written by various people. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. The Diary of Anne Frank (both "A Diary of a Young Girl" and a 1956 British copy inherited from my godmother), Zlata's Diary (of a girl living through the Balkan war), and A World War II Diary 1941-45 (of a U.S. Navy Sailor stationed on a destroyer in the Pacific). I also have a copy of a fictional journal of a girl in the Middle Ages, Catherine, called Birdie (2 copies, in English and Spanish). Call it a habit, but I've always been fascinated by other's journals.
I started my own journal when I was 8, in regular spiral-bound school notebooks. Then I switched to hard-bound journal books when I got married. Each book's cover reflects something going on at that time of my life. So far, I have 18 hard-bound books in a box in my closet. And I still write when I can.


Do you keep a journal? How often do you write in it and what do you write about? A friend of mine describes his as "The Life, The Universe and Everything" (with apologies to Douglas Adams). How special is it to you?

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Questions for Writers: First Drafts?

First Drafts: how do you do them?  Please reply with your comments. Thanks.


How do you write your first drafts?
A) Everything long-hand on paper, then typed into a computer.
B) Partly on paper, the rest on computer.
C) On some sort of external device (Palm Pilot, iPAD, etc.)
D) Completely on a computer (desktop or laptop)
E) Other? (explain)
F) More than one method above? (which ones?)


What do you use to write your first drafts?
A) Pen, Pencil
B) Stylus on a screen
C) Keyboard
D) Blood
E) Other? (explain)


Do you ask anyone to beta (proofread) before publishing?
A) Yes, I  use one reliable beta/proofreader.
B) Yes,  use more than one reliable beta/proofreader.
C) No, I don't ask anyone to proofread. I just publish as is.
D) That's what spellcheck is for.


How many drafts do you get through before the final draft?
A) Just one.
B) Two or three
C) At least four
D) More than five. (How many?)

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

Constructive Criticism, aka Everyone's a Critic

What's your definition of Constructive criticism?


Here's how I see it:


1) It has to have something to do with the story. No pulling in controversial issues or personal grudges.


2) Point out exactly where the question/criticism/whatever is and tell me what you think. And why. Reviews of just "It sucks." doesn't tell me how to improve it.


3) Constructive criticism helps to improve someone's writing, not cut it down. If you have a personal/professional axe to grind, don't take it out on the next writer. If you can't be impartial to the author of whatever you're looking at, don't do it.


4) Be respectful. This is a big issue for me. Do not blast someone, then backpedal and claim "a misunderstanding" and paint yourself as the victim. Not cool at all. Do not type half a page of insults and cut downs and disguise it as "helpful criticism". It isn't.


What do you consider "constructive criticism?"

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010

"Eureka!" she yelled in the bathtub...

I've got several fanfics and other things going on at once. I know that these times are usually pretty busy, with multiple windows open on the computer and plot threads all over the place. My Muse picks this time to pack up and go to Bermuda, and I can rarely convince Her to come back until she's damn good and ready.


But She left me a some ideas before she left. Now I have a good idea of how to write my "5 + 1" fic (which is a short fiction piece with 5 times an event happened and 1 time it didn't. Like "5 times [insert character here] cheated death and the 1 time [he/she] bit the dust.) and how to continue another story that I was stuck on. Eureka! moments never happen for me when I'm at the computer, of course. It's when I'm trying to get off a busy exit on I-85 or trying to keep my son from opening every box in the pantry or sitting with my younger daughter with her Legos.


And most times, it's when I don't have anything to write on or write with. I've taken to lugging a notebook and a pen with me wherever I go. If I don't write it down, I lose it. My brain functions that way.


How do ideas come to you? and how do you "capture" or remember them?

All writing and art copyright A. Dameron 2000-2010