Sherwood Salutation

Once upon a time, many books ago, I read some extremely helpful advice about what to do when you have writer's block. I believe the suggestion came from Mr. S. (otherwise known as Daniel Schwabauer of OYAN fame) When the creative part of your brain feels like a dried-up pea, take in some other artwork and take a break from putting out artwork. Can't figure out where your plot is going? Read someone else's book. Watch a movie. Listen to music, or look at paintings. I've always found it extremely helpful. Be aware that this can turn into procrastination if you're not careful, but you have to get your creativity from somewhere. Art is one of the many things that fuels imagination. Last semester, my creative writing professor sent us on a field trip to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. Our assignment was to choose two paintings, and write a poem about each of them. I found enough inspiration that day to fill a lifetime of stories. As I was wandering through the confusing conglomeration of rooms and hallways, I came across a massive painting by one of my favorite artists, N.C. Wyeth. Apparently, it was one of the paintings he did as illustrations for Robin Hood. I scoured the internet, but unfortunately I couldn't find a digital copy of it to share with you, but this painting, also by Wyeth, will give you some idea of what it was like:

It was startlingly bright and vivid, so big that it seemed more like a doorway into Robin Hood's world than a painting. I was alone, and a little lonely, so the sudden appearance of Robin Hood in that quiet world of stiff Renaissance nobles and tortured modern shapes felt like the appearance of a long-lost friend. I adored the Robin Hood stories as a child, and still love them to this day.
I tried to capture a little of the joy of the painting and my own joy in the poem:

Sherwood Salutation

by Olivia Taylor

They told me you were dead--

 My old friend Robin Hood

When I came to the end of the story

They told me you were dead.

But the news-- like everything else about you--

Must be greatly exaggerated, for

I ran into you yesterday

Not quite as I remembered, but it was

You all the same.

Launching sporting arrows

Into the warm rich world of summer afternoon sun

That divine jewel-bright workmanship of light

Lending a bit of heaven’s color to

Our Sherwood:

Verdant greenwood splashed with

Cerulean blue under twisting pillars of

Smooth rough towering oaks

You and the Merry Men

Take the forest as your style

In the green of leafy shadows,

Dull grey of ancient forbidden wood

Calmly glowing

 Brown of

A smile always in your eyes 

With laughter quick to follow.

  

Experiments in Poetry

I know I haven't posted in ages... College has taken up most of my creative writing time, but now it's summer!

 Last semester, I was fortunate enough to be able to take an excellent creative writing class. It was wonderful to be able to count creative writing as homework, and I immensely enjoyed being able to re-enter the magical world of imagination. One of the main purposes of the class was to help us explore different types of creative writing, including poetry, drama, and stories, my personal favorite. 

Poetry was definitely the most challenging--I tend to go big when I'm writing, which is partly how I ended up with four books to my name. In poetry, everything is generally much smaller and more concentrated. Like story-writing, it's challenging, and while you always want to revise and do your best, you'll lose your mind if you obsess over the imperfections too much. It's a great way to practice writing creatively when you don't have much time to spare, and the tighter focus will help your prose stories be more vivid. Trying out different styles of writing gives me better perspective on all areas of writing, and I encourage you to do the same!

I thought I would share one of the poems I wrote for creative writing class as a way to begin the summer. 

"Pro" Tip: If you're feeling stuck with your current project, take it outside if you can! There's something about being outside that's extremely stimulating to creativity. I was completely at a loss for a topic until I went outside and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day, and it reminded me of my undying love for the color blue, so I wrote this poem:     

Blue Happy

by Olivia Taylor

Blue like fish-sparkling ocean tide swirling cold

Against my bare ankles

Ringed in salty impossible lace

Dissolving in the wind

The infinite taste of summers gone by and returning

Blue like infinite canvas of sky with new eyes spreading end of night

Music of the spheres opera notes flying

Blue like moody star-flung twilight roaming into cloth of memories 

Familiar metal dull sheen of everyday miracles

Turrets of Cinderella Castle reminding the sky

Blue like a stuffed kangaroo from a misty bedtime story

Mismatched china plates telling stories

Indigo’s name and Errol’s eyes

America trying to keep its color

The hottest of fires and icicle lights

Blue staining raspberry slushies on Yellowstone roads.  

**Indigo and Errol are two of my characters, Errol being my favorite**

Best of luck on your next writing adventure! 

--Jodi

Sorry for not posting in 79 years, heh....

Here is a post somewhat explaining my absence.

Hello All!

I have been thinking and praying about this quite a bit recently.

You know how we always hear at church about how God has plans for your life, and about following His will?

I thought I /had/ been following His will, concerning careers. I thought I knew that I was going to go to college, majoring in either illustration or costume design. But know I'm wondering if that's /my/ will, not God's.

I've felt uncertain about it. I still don't know and I'm going to keep praying about it.


As most of you know, I write- or I used to.

I was convinced that my writing wasn't very good. I'm still doubting it. But I think that's what God wants me to do. I want to spread God's love in the writing industry. I want teens my age to be able to read books that are clean but not boring.

That being said, I'm not going to stop doing art. I just want to focus on writing right now.

I'm going to be working on my 3rd(?) draft of my novel, Worlds Away, seeing if I can salvage it. AKA major rewrites. I also have another book idea that I might pursue.

I will keep you updated! Prayers would be much appreciated. <3

E.C. 

Music!

Hello everyone, my name is Corinne Starr, I'm sixteen and the second oldest of ten kids.

I don't know about you guys but for me, music is a huge part of my writing. It makes my imagination run wild with new ideas, story plots, plot twists, characters, scenes, etc. If I haven't made it clear enough already, I love music (and not just because it blocks out the noise of all the chaos and craziness going on around me ;) I honestly have no idea what I'd do without it.
So, I thought that I would compile some lists of music that inspires me the most when writing. Almost all of these songs I pulled from my Spotify playlists so you can search for them there or on YouTube too. (Spotify, by the way, is the greatest music app ever invented. If you haven't heard of it, I highly suggest you check it out.)
Anyway, here are my lists, which I hope spark your imagination and boost your motivation.

HEROES/HEROINES:

1. Unstoppable - E.S. Posthumus
2. Epic Game of Thrones - Pisces Rising (no, I don't watch this TV show, I just really like the score)
3. Adagio in D Minor (Orchestra Mix) - John Murphy
4. The Tribute/Agnus Dei - Michael W. Smith (if you want, skip to 3:05 for the best part)
5. Return of the Heroes - Patryk Scelina
6. We Will Not Lose - Mayrain, EpicMusicVn
7. Heroes - Michael W. Smith
8. Facing His Destiny - 8Dawn
9. Surrender to Hope - Immediate
10. I Like to Win - Shonlock
11. Top Gun - Sound Adventures
12. Aura - StoneOcean
13. Arise - E.S. Posthumus
14. A Useful Striker - Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra
15. Isles of Wonder - London Symphony Orchestra


HAPPY:

1. More Love - StoneOcean
2. Celebration - StoneOcean
3. Medieval Anthem - Peter Crowley
4. Night of My Life - Group 1 Crew
5. Oraanu Pi - E.S. Posthumus
6. Code Lyoko 'A World Without Danger' - Walt Ribeiro
7. Awaken - StoneOcean
8. Hard Headed Woman - Elvis Presley
9. Smack Attack - Audiomachine
10. River's Dance - Firefly OST
11. The Bathtub - Beasts of the Southern Wild(soundtrack)
12. Finale (William Tell Overture) - Hans Zimmer
13. Spirit of Moravia - Two Steps from Hell
14. The Kiss - Trevor Jones


SAD:

1. Remember Me - Ivan Torrent (ft. Roger Berruezo)  
2. Love Lost - Mattia Lupelli
3. D*** Few - Nathan Furst
4. Cows on a Hill - Jay Ungar
5. Legends Never Die - Ferras, Katy Perry
6. Eulogy for a Friend - Harry Gregson-Williams
7. Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift
8. Porcelain - Helen Jane Long
9. The Last Paradise - Yiruma
10. Only the Winds - Olafur Arnalds
11. Home - Clinton Shorter
12. Patriot - Michael W. Smith
13. See You on the Other Side - Harry Gregson-Williams
14. Children from the War - Two Steps from Hell
15. A Song for Sienna - Brian Crain


DEFEATED/BROKEN:

1. Rain and Pain - Christian Reindl
2. Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
3. Lost on You - LP
4. Rosebud - Marco Beltrami
5. Torn - Nathan Lanier
6. Resistance - Muse
7. Runnin' - Adam Lambert
8. On Trees and Birds and Fire - I am Oak
9. Tessa - Steve Jablonsky
10. Nuvole Blanche - Ludovico Einaudi
11. Land of Shadows - Audiomachine
12. An Old Friend - Henry Jackman
13. Hunted - Steve Jablonsky
14. Fix You - Coldplay
15. My Blood - Ellie Goulding


FIGHT SCENES/CHASE:

1. Run Boy Run - Woodkid
2. Invaders Must Die - The Prodigy
3. Dope Nose - Weezer
4. Fever - Wisin & Yandel
5. Hong Kong Chase - Steve Joblonsky
6. If it Ain't Dutch - Armin Van Buuren, W&W
7. Must Be Love - Christina Grimmie
8. Run - Pryda
9. Surpass - PostHaste Music
10. Xscape - Audiomachine
11. Kalki - E.S. Posthumus
12. One Minute Over - Zack Hemsey
13. Sinister Threat - Danny Cocke
14. This is Our Legacy - Zack Hemsey
15. Tribal Battles - West One Music


VILLAINOUS:

1. Glory and Gore - Lorde
2. Blood Red Roses - C21Fx
3. Silent Runner - Alexis Troy
4. Ushas - E.S. Posthumus
5. Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde
6. Power Changes Everything - Harry Gregson-Williams
7. Skyfall - Adele
8. Why So Serious? - Hans Zimmer
9. Santa's Nightmare - StoneOcean (ignore the bells and the 'ho, ho, ho')
10. A Thousand Details - Trent Reznor
11. Main Title (Terminator 2 theme) - Brad Fiedel
12. Tech War - Dark Electronic Music
13. Informing the Target - Zack Hemsey
14. Shredder - ReallySlowMotion Music
15. Outlaw - Peter Roe


COUPLES:

1. If I Had You - Adam Lambert
2. Hanging On - Ellie Goulding
3. Compass - Jonathan Thulin, Manwell Reyes
4. ABC - Alexander Fairchild
5. Hypnotize Me - Taylor Berrett
6. Stand By You - Rachael Platten
7. Oh My Love - The Score
8. Surrender(acoustic) - Cash Cash
9. Hero - Enrique Iglesias
10. I Love You - Alex & Sierra
11. Such a Night - Elvis Presley
12. Magic of Love - Celtic Music
13. Romantic Flight - John Powell
14. More Than Friends - Two Steps from Hell
15. Take My Hand - Emily Hackett, Will Anderson


VICTORIOUS:

1. Stand Up - The Prodigy
2. If Elephants Could Fly - Marcus Warner
3. Road to Victory - Veigar Margeirsson
4. Go Time - Network Music Ensemble
5. Pulsaris Prime - Gothic Storm
6. Demacia Rising - League of Legends
7. Hope of Men - Blytheway-May
8. Vishnu - E.S. Posthumus
9. Rise (epic music) - John Dreamer
10. Let Them Up - Tom Holkenborg (dang...what a name...)
11. Glory Battle - Michael W. Smith
12. Autobots Reunite - Steve Jablonsky
13. Breaking Through - Audiomachine
14. Victory Lap - Audiomachine
15. The New Earth - Audiomachine


RANDOM (AKA: no category but still freakin' epic)

1. Myotis - Hans Zimmer
2. Molossus - Hans Zimmer
3. Tai Lung Escapes - Hans Zimmer, John Powell
4. Arabian Nights - StoneOcean
5. Who We Are- Imagine Dragons
6. Time is Running Out - Muse
7. Echo Sensation - DJ Airecho
8. Awakening - Michael Allen Harrison
9. Assassin's Creed Rogue Main Theme - Elitsa Alexandrova
10. Whitaker's Wonder - Michael W. Smith
11. The Wild West - Wild Western Music
12. Rising Force - R. Armando Morabito
13. Lockdown - Steve Jablonsky
14. Pirates - Sound Adventures
15. Turning Point - Audiomachine


There it is. Hope you enjoy! :)

-Corinne

NaNoWriMo Help!

So, how are your brains and your novels going now that we're officially into day 4 of NaNoWriMo?  Usually, by this time, you'll either feel super pumped, or the exact opposite. Which is it, my dear friends?  I can tell you, as of right now, I'm in the middle.  I'm trying to wonder if that's possible.  My novel is going... pretty well.  But my word count is WAY down. I'm a whole 1K behind, and I started out NaNoWriMo being 3K ahead.  But that's okay, I'll get it.

For all of those out there who are feeling the same way, WE CAN DEFEAT THIS GIANT!  WE ARE CONQUERORS! conquerors... that word looks weird typed out...

Anywho!  If you're struggling with your novel, I have made a NaNoWriMo help board on pinterest where us authors can get help, comments, suggestions, and feedback.  Even if you're not stuck on your novel, it's nice to take a break, look at other's novel, develop your characters more with a CC, or just hang out and talk with other NaNoers.  All that fun jazz.  :)  Check it out!

CLICK ME FOR THE LINK TO THE BOARD


~Angie

How I NaNoWriMo (plus me introducing myself)

Hi everyone! Considering this is my first post, I wanted to quickly introduce myself. My name is Kirsi (pronounced KEER-see), I'm 15, I'm a middle child, and I have the best brothers ever. Don't even try to fight me on that, you will not win.

Anyway, NaNoWriMo is coming up, as Angie mentioned in her most recent post, and I wanted to share how I am preparing for this upcoming challenge.

I. LOVE. POST-IT NOTES. So I use them. A lot. I have all sorts of colors and sizes and shapes, some of which aren't even pictured here. I'm gonna kinda walk you through each of my different post it notes really fast, then talk more about some NaNoWriMo tips.

Okay so the closeup picture of Laurence's sheet of paper down below is the one for my main character. I used the pink post-it for words describing him (I chose six words), yellow is physical description (based on the actor I picture him as), green is the role he plays (it says main character/protagonist on it), blue is the challenges he has faced, and purple is his greatest accomplishment (I like to color code, lol).Those five things seem so simple but they're so much harder than I expected! I learned way more about my characters than i thought i would. It helped me just dig a bit deeper, though I won't stop digging there.

One last thing about the picture above. The picture of Laurence (partially hidden under the pink post-it) is a picture of the actor I imagine him looking like printed on a white post-it note. I found out how to print on post-its from this website: http://tatertotsandjello.com/2013/07/diy-secret-how-to-use-post-it-notes-in-your-printer-free-printable.html (Also don't judge my messy, "in-the-zone" handwriting.)

Alright. Now to the other helpful, handy dandy, super duper tips.

1 - Tidy up your workspace! Even if your workspace is your bed, or the kitchen table, the clutter and mess just gives you more things to get distracted by. If you work in your bedroom, whether at a desk or on a bed or on the floor, tidy up your area. Make your bed (a little at least), organize your desk, tidy up the floor a bit. It makes your environment less stressful (because you don't need to add stress to NaNoWriMo), and makes you less irritable. I recently was able to get my own office, and it's clutter free, my own space, and MADE FOR ME AND ME ONLY. It's so much easier. Before, i had to write on my bed, and it did a number on my back. Which leads to my next tip:

2 - If possible, have your own workspace. I understand this is not an easy task for some people. Some of you share a room with someone else, or there's never a moment where someone isn't by the dining room table, or whatever the reason - it isn't easy. I get that. If you are able to have your own workspace, though, DO IT. I love having my own workspace now. Writing is just so much easier. No distractions. Nothin'.

3 - Have a chart. If you look at the picture way up at the top, you'll see a random, blue post-it. That's my chart. It has every thousand from 1,000 to 50,000 on it, each one having a check box next to it. I don't want a schedule, because I know if I get off schedule it'll freak me out and I'll quit. I know approximately how much I need to write each day, but if I do more or less, it's no biggie. 

4 - CANDY!!! Candy. Have some candy, or nuts, or crackers, or anything to munch on while you write. With Halloween coming up, that isn't a terribly difficult thing. I have some candy on my desk that takes a really long time to chew so I don't eat too much and get fat... But in the past I've had blueberries just sitting in a bowl on my desk, and, well... I ate the whole bowl in one sitting. Healthy, right?? It was great though. Snacks just make things more enjoyable. Right? Right.

5 - Don't strain yourself. If you've been sitting there, staring at a screen for awhile, you're starting to get sore, (you know the feeling. Your butt starts to get numb and your eyes are burning every time you blink.) you need a break. Even if you've only written 10 of your 1,670 words for the day, take a break. It doesn't have to be long, just get up, grab a drink, take a shower, something. Don't strain yourself too much. Also, if it's 12 am, or later, and you can't even keep your eyes open as you write, GO TO BED. Everything you write when you get to that point isn't gonna make sense and you know it's gonna suck to you the next day. So why waste the time and sleep?! Go to bed. 

6 - Start catching up on sleep now, before NaNoWriMo. You know you're behind. Everyone is. Try to get as much sleep as you can before NaNoWriMo, so your mind can work properly and you won't have to dread December as much, when you start editing.

7 - HAVE FUN! What is the point of wasting countless hours over the course of November if you aren't going to enjoy yourself??! That seems so ridiculous. So have fun with it! Try to find friends that are doing it too! You can help each other stay caught up, and encourage each other to keep going! If you and/or the other person/people you do it with are competitive, maybe you can see who writes the most by the end of November (if you finish your book early by doing this, just write other stories or start editing:), or see who gets to 50,000 first. Just do what you have to do to make it fun.

I really hope these tips helped. I'm so excited to be a part of this blog! 

~Kirsi <3

NaNoWriMo 2015 (Yay!)

It's October, and we all know what that means.  No, not Halloween, not fall weather (though that is a wonderful relief to this summer heat), not cinnamon brooms and fall decorations, but NaNoWriMo!  (Shall I insert my favorite gif...?  Yes... yes I shall.)




For those of you doing the painful challenge of NaNoWriMo this year, I applaud and bow down to your dedication.  Some of you may be scratching your head and going... "NaNoWhatO?"  If that's you, let me explain.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It's always in November of each year, and, as it implies, your goal is to complete a full novel in a month.  It's not a competition, but if it helps you to think that, it's a competition against yourself.  For youths (those of us who are 18 and under), it's easier because we get to set our word goal count manually.  It can be as low as 100 words to as high 100,000 words!  Not so easy for those of us who are "adults" (yeah, being an adult doesn't have as many benefits when it comes to that area).

For some (maybe most, maybe even all), NaNoWriMo can be quite... overwhelming, daunting, even scary.  But if you're equipped with the right knowledge and preparation, I promise that it will be less stressful and maybe even really fun. :)  Here are some things that I do before NaNoWriMo and during to prepare and meet my word goal.  Hopefully, it will be helpful to some of you.


#1.  Actually have an idea.  Yeah, it's hard, I know, even if you're planning to start NaNoWriMo the day before, it's a really good idea (obviously... duh.) to have an idea of what you're going to write.  Even if you don't have an idea at all, you can start by asking yourself some questions.  What genre am I writing about (or want to write about)?  The protagonist's personality vs. antagonist's?  Those kind of questions.  What I might do sometimes (ssshhhhh) is look at a few of my favorite movies or tv shows and take my favorite aspects from each and try to come up with an idea from that.  But that's only if I'm desperate and on the brink of brain deadness.  Pinterest always helps, too.  Looking at story inspiration boards really helps... more than I could ever fathom, really.

#2.  When you have an idea, outline it, plot it.  Yes, yes, I know, I know, you've heard this a million and a half times, and it can get... redundant.  I hate plotting.  I absolutely HATE it!  It makes me feel like I have to stick to this one thing, I have to get organized, and I have to stay in a box.  But it's really not like that.  I have found (for the unorganized and list haters out there like me *cough*) that if you plot the beginning, middle, end - along with critical turning points in the storyline (which I usually write in different sentences at the end of the document) - then it's not so bad and lets you be more flexible with your storyline.  But for those of us who are strict plotters, I applaud you and encourage you to do just that.

#3.  Character personalities.  This is an area that I feel I'm stronger in (unlike plotting *hides face in shame because I'm not one of those people who can plot extremely well*), and is actually one of my favorite aspects of "planning".  In order to have a good novel, you MUST have characters with strong personalities.  Not strong as in overbearing, but strong as in sound and dissectable (yes, I made that word up), not shallow and boring.  The key to this is really getting to know your character, feeling your character, putting yourself in their shoes.  I know with some characters it's a bit hard to "be" them, but that's where imagination comes in handy.  Character questionnaires are also a great way to better know and develop your characters.  You may have an awesome storyline, but if your characters are shallow and stink, then it's not worth the read.  The other way around, however, might be forgivable.  Stinky plotline maybe possibly be saved by amazing characters.  Trust me, it's worked for me in the past.

#4.  Set a schedule.  On the NaNoWriMo website, once you type in your set goal wordcount (for YWP, where you can set your word goal), it automatically tells you how many words you must write a day for you to finish on time with your set word goal.


#5.  (Optional, depending on what kind of a writer you are, if you can stand this sort of thing) Have inspirational music going on in the background as you write.  I know - for me, at least - that when there is righteous music going while I'm writing, it inspires me, makes me feel the emotions of what I'm writing, and also makes me feel that I can do (write) anything!  Also gets your brain juices flowing.  ;)  If you don't already do this, then I encourage you to at least try it.  If you're looking for good writing music, I have a list made out especially for writers, some of my music. :)

#6.  Write.  "Well, duh, Angie."  Yes, this one is a bit obvious (a bit?), but it can also be the most challenging.  Actually find time to write in the day.  If you're super busy, find time at night, or early in the mornings.  This is critical to meeting that word count goal.  (Well duh again)

#7.  Push through.  Sometimes when writing, we can get bored with out plot or characters or whatever aspect on the book (as a huge procrastinator, I find this very true for me).  We can even get discouraged at our daunting word count goal, or even the way the story is turning out.  But no matter what, PUSH THROUGH!  It will be totally worth it in the long run, trust me.  Here's a little tip I have for this "sickness": write another scene, switch POV, change your text color to something bright and different every time a new speaker or paragraph or scene comes on.  Believe me, these little things can actually help.  What I DON'T suggest doing: going on pinterest for inspiration.  If you do that, then you'll be stuck there for eternity.  Take it from the Queen of Procrastination, you don't want to do that.


As I said in the beginning of this post, NaNoWriMo can be really scary, but if you just tackle it head on with a clobbering stick, then you'll be just fine this November.  I applaud you, writers for NaNoWriMo 2015.  You are brave souls.


~Angie