Be Persistent

There is no doubt that one of the most difficult things for me to do is start something. I spend too much time planning and fantasizing (and talking about it) that it never ends up getting off the ground. Eventually, I do muster up the courage, and do whatever it was that I was planning (writing a story, talking about myself to strangers, actually going to that one place I keep meaning to).

Usually though, doing something once isn't enough. I don't like to talk about myself, but sometimes I do feel particularly proud of something and want to share it. I may post a link on Facebook, and I will get some extra traffic, but not a lot of long-term readers. It's just people who check it out and usually forget it.

That doesn't mean there is a problem with Cheff Salad, nor does it mean that those readers didn't like my blog. Most likely, they simply forgot. All I am missing is persistence. If I want more readers and I want people to keep coming back, I simply have to not let them forget. Keep advertising. Keep linking. Keep it in people's heads.

And the same is true for any of your endeavors, including writing itself. You want to be a writer? Then write. Quit thinking about it or talking about it and do it. You finished one piece? Great! Start another. Or at least do something more with it (get it published or otherwise share it).

Cheff Salad itself is an example of this persistence. It will never be enough. It always needs one more entry. And I will always be adding one more entry. And because of that, I will always be a writer (and a persistent one at that).

Being Divisive

I'm a fairly quiet dude, especially in large groups; they have tricky dynamics, especially when they are already established like a family or a clique of friends. Part of the reason I'm quiet is that I do not want to put my foot in my mouth. The other reason is that I am studying the group to figure out who the players are and what ground rules are in effect.

Eventually, I do figure those things out. And when the time is right, I crack a joke or make an interjection and it usually goes over quite well.

I actually really like working a crowd. It's fun to manipulate people with established relationships, sometimes because of those relationships, it's particularly amusing (married couples are so easy to make laugh [when they aren't fighting]).

But, for as easy as it is to make people laugh and bond, it can be just as easy to be divisive. It basically comes down to manipulating the same relationships, bending the ground rules, and getting the right players to go head-on.

Why am I saying these things? Because some people are not team players. And some people are even worse than not being team players. Some people actively try to break up the team. When you write your stories, consider a divisive character. How can a perfectly good situation be wrecked through no fault of the plan or the protagonists? Somebody pulling on the right strings can do that. It can throw people off their mental game, agitate them, and coax them into releasing that anger in negative ways.

It is easy for a divisive character to become cartoonish or unnecessarily evil. Don't let these characters out of control. Understand who they are and why they're doing it, (and since you created them, try to give them a compelling reason to do it).

Fix It In Post

It amazes me, the idea of post-production. Obviously it is a necessity. After the filming, there is processing and editing to be done, but more than that, you can fix your mistakes. Bad lighting can be corrected. Bad voice can be corrected. You can damn near make a movie from scratch in post production (probably because it is still production).

Writing is quite a similar process. With revising, editing, proofing, and all the other steps in the process after the story is written, you can fix basically any error that comes up, basically including redoing the whole thing.

It is so calming and relaxing knowing that I don't have to get things perfect the first try. As long as I lay a solid foundation, I'm golden. I can always remodel from there.

Next time you get all antsy about your writing, just say, "No worries. I'll fix it in post."

Correct vs. Compelling

I had a discussion with a friend recently about the sentence, "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." He had a very difficult time accepting that this sentence is 100% correct. But, it is correct.

'Buffalo' has three definitions. One is a city in New York. One is a large hoofed animal. And one is a verb meaning to bully. The sentence also makes use of English's ability to omit many words and retain meaning.

To use synonyms, the sentence can be translated as, "Bison from Buffalo that bully other bison from Buffalo bully bison from Buffalo."

Even when I explained why this sentence was totally correct, my friend was not satisfied. Frankly, I wasn't satisfied either (mostly because it's a horrible sentence).

But therein lies the lesson for today. Just because something is correct does not mean it is compelling. As such, things that are technically incorrect can be quite compelling.

Since I am a storyteller, I care far, far more about being compelling. Being correct is certainly nice (it keeps Grammar Nazis off my back), but if I have to sacrifice one for the other, I will always make the same choice. And since I am a linguist, I also recognize that the rules are all made up and the only thing that matters is effective communication. What compels people the most will be accepted as correct. Of this, I have no doubt.

Try Writing All Day

Writing is an exhausting activity. It requires vast amounts of mental energy for every single aspect of it, but it doesn't use very much physical energy. After extended periods of time, you are totally burned out, but simultaneously restless. It can put you in a very bizarre state of being.

It's like the polar opposite of running. Very similar though. The first steps are easy and fun. It is a struggle to find your pace and rhythm initially, but you find it and keep a steady pace. You are working, but there is a calmness to it. After some time (depending on your stamina), you start to feel aches as your energy levels decrease and you push on.

Casual writers (and runners) tend to stop around here. Maybe they push themselves a little further just to try to feel better or feel like they are improving (and, by the way, if you actually can do more than you used to, then you are improving), but they are hurting, so they figure it's break time.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a secret level that comes afterward. If you can push yourself through that zone of pain, you can reach a sort of zen state (like the runner's high) where you have completely entered your world and it unfolds itself to you. You can create instantly and record quickly. It is a chore to reach, but can be done.

Try writing all day. Just for one day. Do all your chores beforehand or the next day. Turn off your phone, your internet connection, and lock your door. Put on some good writing music or work in silence (whatever is less distracting to you) and just pound away. It helps if you have a large project you are working on. National Novel Writing Month is coming up. It could be a great excuse to do exactly that.

Wide-Ruled Paper

I was writing a story overview and happened to be using a composition notebook. I don't generally like to use them - they're small, I don't like the binding, they all look the same - but it was there and I'm not terribly picky (especially when I don't have an option).

The overview was for a short film, intended to be under 5 minutes in length. Unsurprisingly, there was not a whole lot to put in there. With a film being so short, describing the action and bits of dialogue still doesn't take a lot of words. The nice thing, though, was that it did take up a lot of space.

I filled up one and a third pages of that composition notebook. It does not sound like a lot by any means, but if I had typed the whole thing out, it would probably take only a quarter of that much space. So when I had filled up an entire page and still had more to go, I felt very accomplished. It was a good start to the project; it had substance.

This is a nice little trick to get you started. Use any kind of wide-ruled paper. It fills up faster, but you feel just as accomplished for filling the street. And if that trick doesn't work because you know it's a trick, then the only way you'll ever be satisfied is to fill college-ruled paper and to fill up a lot of it, so this post isn't about you.

Bad Habits Can Come Back

I haven't done a lot of fictional prose writing for some time. I've mostly been doing short nonfiction (Cheff Salad) or I have been working on projects with a visual component (comics, children's stories). I haven't been practicing telling a whole story with only words.

Coming back into it, I realize that so many of my bad habits have returned. I am getting fussy with my wording. I am trying to write a near-perfect first draft. I am spending so much time planning that I feel like I am not making enough progress. And, in turn, that is sapping my energy to write continuously for extended periods of time.

It is a sobering reminder that if you don't use it, you will lose it. Bad habits can come back. If you aren't careful, something you worked very hard to do may be lost and something you worked very hard to lose may come back.

The one positive side to it is that you will be aware of it. You will also have the knowledge and experience of breaking your bad habits once already. Rebreaking bad habits is far easier to do.

Obviously, the best option is to simply keep your chops up and not let yourself get rusty. But, if you do find yourself out of practice, don't let it get you down. Just remember how you used to be and how you got there and go through those steps to get your process back. I promise it won't be that bad (as long as you promise to try).