I Don't Know What You'll Get

I'm a pretty calm and collected dude, but I'm also fairly unstable. Let's be real: everybody is fairly unstable; this is not rare or surprising. Common though it may be, it is a good fact to be aware of.

When I wake up, I have no idea what mood I'm going to be in (well, I'm always grumpy in the morning, but after I really wake up). When I have a conversation with somebody, I don't know if I'm going to be very serious or if I'll be a total smartass (or if I'll be completely indifferent).

When I get an idea for a story, I don't know if it's going to be a comedy or a drama. I find that out when I'm writing it.

I sometimes entertain the idea of doing improv (comedy, poetry, or anything else). I generally dismiss it, though, because I know I'm not stable. If I go to a comedy club and improv a totally dramatic scene, people won't be too happy.

However, I really do find this to be a potentially beneficial quality. It means I'm diverse. I have a wide range. I won't be pigeon-holed. And even if I do tend to have my own predictable style, it is harder to predict which one of my styles I'm going to use.

I find it very important to keep things different and changing. In that sense, it's kind of nice that even my own reactions are a surprise to me. I am also aware, though, that I must be careful what situations I put myself in. And when I am in a situation where only one kind of response is acceptable, I use all my effort to hold back all of the unacceptable responses that come to mind.

Writing, though, is freedom. You just let it all come out. Make sense of it later. I don't know what you'll get. You don't know what you'll get, either. But no matter what, when you are putting words together, you will end up with something.

Peace

When I'm ending a conversation with somebody, more often than not, I'll say "Peace." It's my favorite way to say goodbye.

"Peace" is a commonly known and accepted farewell. Because of that, it is readily received. But that is only half of the story.

Like so many other words and phrases, people usually don't think about them. They all have meanings, though. And "peace" isn't too difficult to figure out.

I really wish peace upon people. We all have struggles, difficulties, stresses. I would like for people to be able to handle those stresses and let go of their frustrations. I want people to be at peace, even if only momentarily.

Although I say it casually, I take care to say it when somebody is obviously on the frazzled side. If somebody comes to me and they're in a great mood, I don't need to wish peace upon them (though I still might).

People may not think about my intentions, but they can still be affected by them. Just hearing or reading the word "peace" may reach them subconsciously. It may spark them to start thinking about the word, thinking about the concept, realizing that it may be something they want.

And maybe nothing will happen. I don't know. Nothing is guaranteed, especially when it comes to humans and subtlety.

Still, this is why word choice matters. The difference between 'goodbye', 'farewell', 'peace', 'later', 'see you later', 'see ya later', 'catch ya later' and all the other phrases we have just for this one instance of human interaction (or cessation thereof) are minute, but still exist. Those are the fine points of your writing. They are the finishing touches (even though you may do it in your first draft or at the very end of your final polishing stage).

They are how you build atmosphere without looking like you're trying to build atmosphere (an incredibly handy skill for the succinct writer). You may do this with conscious effort or you may do it naturally. In either case, be aware of it.

Peace.

Genuine Human Response

I am reading a friend's unpublished novel. I have been deplorably slow in reading through a scant 200 pages. One day, I told my friend this and explained why. Part of it is that the unplanned parts of life got in the way, but more of it was that the book wasn't my cup of tea. Not a genre I cared for, etc.

Although I was told that I didn't have to keep reading, I knew I was going to. First of all, I said I was. Second, I like to read my friends' writings - the opportunity is not so frequent and I want to see what they have to say. Third, I have learned from experience with other friends' writings that I could totally have a story pegged wrong and get blown away if I kept reading. And I had to know if that would happen.

Tonight, I continued reading, and I got blown away.

One of the things that bothered me was that the cast was high school students and listening to high school problems is so ridiculous. But as I read one of those ridiculous situations, the paragraph that followed was the protagonist's reaction. And that reaction was powerful.

To an outsider looking in, relationships and all related drama sound like melodrama. But to the person experiencing it, it is their entire world. My friend expertly captured that. She used just the right words that caught my attention and made me feel. She described the reaction like a real human would react, like I myself would probably react. I had to keep going.

As I continued reading, real drama happened. Things got serious. They got exciting. I literally only stopped reading because it was 3 AM and I couldn't keep my eyes open.

Some of this was the author's doing. She made some crazy stuff happen that shook things up. But what was most compelling was the characters. They were real. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about how well people's thoughts and actions were like my own or like people I knew.

I speak often of our characters and the effort that we should put in to convey their reality. I sometimes forget what it is like to be a reader experiencing that (I read too much nonfiction nowadays, so prose fiction is special).

No matter how silly a situation may seem to you, the people in it see it as quite serious. As such, they have a genuine human reaction to it. That's what makes a story powerful.

Don't Reveal Your Secrets

I can sense the irony immediately reading the title of this post and realizing that this is a blog on writing, where I am purposefully revealing all of my secrets. Let me explain.

I was talking with a friend tonight and bantering. I made some comment to which my friend said, "That was funny!" Meanwhile, I was just dumbfounded. I didn't tell a joke. I simply made a comment like I would in any normal situation.

All I could say was, "Of course it was. I wasn't trying to be funny."

Flash forward two hours and I'm standing in the shower thinking, why did I admit that?! I could have just kept my mouth shut and looked brilliant.

That's when I thought about the saying that "a magician never reveals his secrets." And I felt like the kind of guy who does a trick and immediately shouts out, "Here's how I did it!"

Sometimes the audience just needs the experience. They don't need to know what's going on behind the scenes. Sometimes you get really excited about all of the inner workings. If you made them, you are very proud of them. And you want to share that pride by telling people. But not everybody will have the same appreciation.

Keep a little mystery involved. Let people wonder about you. Make it be a special thing when you reveal some unknown fact about your stories or your process. It makes you look better and it can make your work more enjoyable.

Double Posts, Single Subject

My rule here is one post per day. If I miss a day, no matter what the reason, I post two on the second day (or three on the third day if I miss two in a row). The point is that it evens out.

Although I hate to miss an update, some things are beyond my control. There is a bright side to it, though. I can make a double update on a single subject. Recently, I did a double post on voice. One was about your writer's voice, and the other was about your spoken voice.

They easily could stand alone, and I could have written them one day apart like usual, but since I had them and since I was going to do two posts, it seemed like a good idea to put them together. That way you could read these different facets of a subject at the same time.

Maybe not every cloud has a silver lining, but you can often make positive outcomes from negative situations. It also means there is never an excuse to stop writing, nor is there an excuse to feel bad about missing your update. Just means you have to keep it up.

Preconceived Notions

I call myself a scientist. I care about facts more than anything else. Without facts, the world is a horrifying mass of confusion. And the only way to acquire facts is though research, experimentation, and analyzing results. Generally, this process is known as the scientific method

I have been taught the scientific method throughout my schooling. It is always described the same way and it always bothers the crap out of me. The first step is always "Make a hypothesis." Hypotheses are stupid and worthless. In fact, they're worse than that; they're detrimental.

'Hypothesis' is a fancy term for 'preconceived notion' (which, admittedly, is also a fairly fancy term). In short, you walk into an experiment expecting a certain result. But when you do that, you start to see things in a way that supports your hypothesis. Basically, if you want to see a certain outcome bad enough, you will find that outcome.

Much writing is experimental. The point of an experiment is to find answers, so begin it by asking questions. What would happen if these two different people were in close quarters for an extended period of time? What would happen if a person with particular personality traits was placed in an unfamiliar setting?

You may have some thoughts come to you of possible results. These are preconceived notions. But they are thoughts, not assertions. Let them be and do your writing to find out what actually happens. Then you will be a proud scientist and probably a decent writer.

I'm Not Talking About You

I wax philosophical. It's what I do. I will start talking in generalities because some particular concept is on my mind.

Now, regardless of what may have stimulated those thoughts, once I'm talking in generalities, I am not talking about you.

The point of generalities is that they can apply to countless people and situations. They are designed to make people think, to look around them and to look within.

What I may be saying could directly apply to you. It could make you feel very strongly that I am hinting or nudging. Ultimately, though, that's not the case. It isn't my style.

In a sense, you should think like generalities are aimed toward you (because you sould think about how they apply to you and your life), but act like they are not. You get all of the benefit with none of the pain.