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Tag: writing techniques

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Craft

An Easy Way to Characterise Your Setting

Characterise Your Setting

Writers and readers often discuss setting as a character, which usually means that the setting impacts a story or the character to such an extent that it becomes lifelike.

The setting and environment play an active role in the story, like the marsh in Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens). The marsh, the creatures that live within it, the way it impacts the tension in the novel (doing my best not to give away any spoilers here), how it works with the main character and the plot, turns into more than a setting: it is a living character in the story.

But how do we characterise our setting?

Let’s break it down and make it simple, using Where the Crawdads Sing as inspiration:

Behaviour: How does your world behave? In Where the Crawdads Sing, the marsh is a living thing, providing education, food, a living, creativity, and more, for the main character.

Culture: What do people know and believe about your world? In Where the Crawdads Sing, the marsh is not inhabited by the townsfolk. It is viewed as a nuisance place, disliked by the general population for the very reasons the main character loves it. The fact that the main character is left alone plays a huge role in both her story and the overall plotline.

Secrets: What lies beneath that shiny veneer of your world? In Where the Crawdads Sing, the marsh keeps the deepest secrets that only the main character knows. The other townsfolk try to find out but do not know the space as the main character does. The secrets are even mentioned in the text:

“The marsh did not confine them but defined them and, like any sacred ground, kept their secrets deep. No one cared that they held the land because nobody else wanted it. After all, it was wasteland bog.” (Delia Owens)

So, do you want the easy way to remember these three hints at turning your setting into character? Next time you’re struggling to remember how to do this, remember the following mnemonic device (I’ve come up with this, so I’m sorry if this is a cringer. You become a bit cringe in your middle age and care less and less about it):

  • Become (behaviour)
  • Character (culture)
  • Setting (secrets)

There you go. I hope this was useful, and I can’t wait to see your setting character develop! Or, if I have just encouraged you to read Where the Crawdads Sing, that’s no bad thing.

 

Categories
Craft

Foreboding vs Foreshadowing

foreboding vs foreshadowing

 

Let’s talk about foreboding and foreshadowing. They sound similar, but they do different things in your novel and are both very effective in their own right.

Here’s what each does and how to utilise them effectively:

Foreboding:

You may have heard the phrase, ‘Filled with a sense of foreboding,’ or perhaps you have even said it yourself! It means that you feel impending disaster, a concern for the future. Are we going to talk about The Lord of the Rings now? Yes, of course we are. I can barely get through a blog post without mentioning it. Galadriel has the gift of seeing visions in her ‘mirror’, so she has more than foreboding; she has the skill of predicting an outcome based on a set of circumstances. Frodo looks into the mirror and sees the destruction of the Shire, the arrest of his friends, and more. Now, this is a slightly different way of showing foreboding; it isn’t the witches in Macbeth relaying their sense that ‘something wicked this way comes,’ and therefore indicating a shift to the reader, but it is a hint of what could be, at what Frodo fears might happen, should he fail in his duty to destroy the one ring. Foreboding, therefore, hints at peril on the horizon, making the tension in the story that much stronger. Whether or not that peril comes to pass is up to you as the author.

Foreshadowing:

Foreshadowing is different. Foreshadowing is about dropping breadcrumbs that your reader may not even notice until they have seen the whole loaf of bread at the end of the novel. You might foreshadow by planting an image, a detail, that won’t be significant until a final reveal. Foreshadowing can also be in dialogue, like in Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet declares, “If he be married / My grave is like to be my wedding bed.” When you first hear this, you think that she is talking about the depth of her love, in that way that young lovers do, when it feels like the very emotion is life and death. What is being foreshadowed, however, is that she is exactly right. There’s no exaggeration here, but we won’t know that until the end. So, if foreboding creates tension, what does foreshadowing do? It can create a deeper connection between your reader and the narrative, giving them an ‘Oh!’ moment when they see how an incident has been foreshadowed. It can also keep a reader curious, throw them off the scent (red herrings are a classic foreshadowing tool; only the things you’re foreshadowing are irrelevant), and ultimately, is an enticing tool that makes a novel memorable.

As a side note, too much of anything is never good (unless it is cheese, perhaps). Too much foreboding will do the opposite of your intention, desensitising the reader to the tension in the story. Too much foreshadowing will make the story predictable and will signpost what’s to come.

Found this blog post helpful? Check out the following:

What Is ‘The Sacred Flaw’ In Writing?

What Does It Mean to Edit for Genre?

What Does It Mean to Write What You Know?

Categories
Craft

Six Books on Writing I Recommend

recommended books

Let’s chat about my favourite, and by that I mean my most recommended, books on writing. Why? Because if reading is how you become a better writer (spoiler alert, it is), imagine how great you’ll be if you’re reading about writing.

The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

There are several books in this incredible series, from the Emotion Thesaurus’ to the Urban Setting Thesaurus, but this is my favourite. It is an unflinching examination of everything that could happen to a person, with triggers that might come from that, aftershocks, character traits, behaviours, and more. When it comes to creating a character and developing a plot around them (writing a character-driven novel), this book is so helpful that it ought to sit pride of place on your bookshelf. In fact, mine sits right beside me on my study desk, as I dip into it so often.

Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life – Dani Shapiro.

I have probably spoken about this before on the blog or in newsletters somewhere because this book is a firm fave and has been for years. If I were ever to gift a fellow writer a book, it would be this one. Why? Because it will give you insight into the life of a writer and, in doing so, make you feel seen. It’s a mixture of craft, memoir, and what it means to write. In short, it’s pretty wonderful.

Writing from the Senses: 59 Exercises to Ignite Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing – Laura Deutsch.

I found this book at a campsite book swap in the South Island, New Zealand. And it’s stunning. It focuses on that thing that really grabs your readers and pulls them into a story: the five senses. It is full of exercises and clever ideas to help you create.

How to Write Like Tolstoy – Richard Cohen

My inlaws gifted me this book when I graduated from my PhD. Then, it had just come out, and the title amused me. But, this isn’t really a book on how to write like Tolstoy, but it is an investigation into many storytellers’ processes, and it’s fascinating for it. It’s a very readable book, and I honestly think that even if you weren’t a writer, you would probably enjoy it!

Wonderbook – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction – Jeff Vandermeer.

In terms of books on writing, this has got to be the most visually beautiful one ever written. This is for all you fantasy writers, and it is full of information focusing on craft and motivation. It has essays from some of the greats in it, too. I find myself dipping into this often, and its illustrations make it so enjoyable to read.

Taking Reality by Surprise – Susan Sellers.

I purchased this book in 2006 when I went to university for my undergraduate degree in Creative Writing. It still sits on my bookshelf today and is a great resource I use often. It has craft guidance with exercises and very practical advice, and I find the level of detail in what you need to undertake the tasks and exercises so valuable.

I would love to hear about the books you recommend. What is your favourite book on writing? Let me know!

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Coaching Productivity

Mindfulness Techniques for Writers

Mindfulness techniques

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a type of meditation that can be practised at any time. It might be that you have heard people talk about eating ‘mindfully’, meaning that they focus on and are aware of what they are eating during that moment, and in many ways, this is the simplest way of describing it:

‘Mindfulness is being aware of yourself, others and the world around you.’ (Chaskalson, M and McMordie. M. Mindfulness for Coaches. New York, Routledge, 2018.)

You may not know this, but I have studied and practice mindfulness. This helps me every day, and I use it in my writing and coaching practice. Practising mindfulness involves focusing on your breathing, noticing thoughts without entirely giving in to them, and paying attention to the task at hand. Practising mindfulness has been proven to improve the ability to focus, regulate emotion and gain perspective. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

How can it help you write?

Mindfulness is all well and good, but if it weren’t linked in some way to writing, then I wouldn’t be talking about it! So, how can it actually help you write? It’s all linked to the act and process of writing. As we all know, sitting down to write is not always easy, and it can be stressful. Whether you feel pressure because of a deadline, don’t know what you should be focusing on next, or don’t know how you will fit writing into your busy week, practising mindfulness can help.

Why involve it in your Creative Writing practice?

Good question. The answer is because it can help move you forward. It can help with your mindset, allow you to have perspective, and offer you the ability to enjoy writing as a mindful process instead of one that potentially causes feelings of stress, comparison, and overwhelm. Just as a side note, these are totally normal feelings to have around writing. Why? Because it’s not as simple as sitting down and writing a fun story. Sometimes we feel stressed, and other times we can’t help but compare our writing or productivity to the highlight reel that is Instagram.

How to begin involving mindfulness in your process today:

If you are ready to give it a go, let’s start today. After all, if you’re being offered something that could improve your writing life, why not start as soon as possible? Here are some mindfulness techniques for writers:

Technique 1:
An excellent task to begin your mindful writing practice is to write for five minutes about your current surroundings. Five minutes is a short amount of time, so don’t feel that you are wasting time that could be spent on your work in progress – on the contrary, allowing yourself some time and space to warm up, embed yourself in the present, and notice the senses, will result in a happier writing experience. Why? Because you will feel calmer, and your mind will be more focused on the task at hand, having a similar result to task batching.

Technique 2:
Ring a bell. This is one of my favourite tasks because it helps me see when my mind has wandered from writing. Give it a go yourself, and see how it works for you. When writing your work in progress, keep a bell beside you. Every time you find that you have slipped from the narrative of your story and start thinking about something else – perhaps you begin to think about what you will have for dinner – ring the bell. This might sound strange, but what you are doing is practising paying attention to writing. You are being mindful of your practice. Ringing the bell is a physical activity that uses the senses, pulling you back into the present.

Technique 3:
Practice being present with your main character. You could do this in many ways, from writing a letter to them to hot seating them with interview type questions. One of my favourite ways of doing this is through drawing. You should know your character inside out, so spend some time with them. The better you know them, the better you will write them, and the easier it will be to focus purely on the act of telling their story.

Technique 4: 
To get a first draft down on the page, it helps to push revision to one side. Why? Because you cannot edit a blank page. If you are someone who struggles with the idea of this and find yourself re-reading what you have written as you are writing, catch yourself. Take a breath, and think of the next part of your story. If you notice that you are thinking thoughts such as ‘That doesn’t sound good,’ or ‘That word isn’t quite right,’ label it as a thought. Ask yourself if spending your writing time searching for the right word is the best thing you could be doing right now or whether you could spend those ten minutes writing one hundred new words. Taking a deep breath and noticing our thoughts is a big part of getting to the next stage of our writing process – the edit. Revision can be done then, so allow yourself the grace to write now.

There are four ways to practice mindfulness in your writing life today. Give it a go, and see what happens.
If this has brought anything up for you and you want to talk about how you can move forward in your writing life, get in touch. I would love to help you prosper and write a novel you are proud of.