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Tag: writing advice

Writing

Scene Transitions!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 8, 2018November 26, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 405 Views
Amazing Header Image by Timothy Winkler

No video today! Doing things a little differently. I have come to accept sometimes I just get camera fatigue. And that’s okay. Because the great thing about working across a wide-variety of mediums… means I can still talk to you even when I don’t want to be in front of a camera.

Oh kindred, isn’t technology awesome?

So. Scene-transitions. This is something I was asked to talk about–how do you decide what to write about, when a scene ends, what you skip over and cover in exposition in passing.

This took me a while to ponder because for me this has been a very gut-based thing and I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it.

I think I’ve an analogy and I am hoping this will work for you.

But first, let’s talk about blocking out the scene on a very VERY basic level. What HAS to happen in this scene in order for the story to go forward? What does each character want from the other? Keep that in mind as you outline how Character A will approach B in order to get what they want. What does Character B think about this approach? What do they say/how do they respond? Bear in mind very few people say exactly what they’re thinking–and I don’t mean to say they speak falsely. But if your boss came to you with an insane and idiotic request, you very likely wouldn’t voice it that way. Your relationship does not allow for that kind of harsh blunt talk.

So you have to also keep in mind how these people relate to each other. As you go back and forth in this conversation, working through objectives, trying to figure out the best path for them to take for your scene objective to be reached.

For me, the scene almost always finishes when that objective is reached. I tend to be very minimalist when it comes to between character interactions. You want to really consider if this thing serves the story. Does it feel slow? Does it push us forward? Is it something that could just be as easily mentioned by a character in the NEXT scene or one after that?

For the most part no major event should ever happen ‘off stage’ with the exception of something chosen VERY VERY deliberately.

I’m going to use Hamlet as an example here because whatever your opinion of Shakespeare is, he knew his shit. Hamlet is a rather bloody play. So many people die. But Ophelia’s death is one that happens off-stage and is instead recounted to us by Gertrude in EXCRUCIATING detail. Why?

Because we’re being told two things in that moment (depending how you decide to interpret the text, but bear with me). The first is that Ophelia did in fact kill herself, and the second is that Gertrude has chosen to lie for her so that the poor girl can be buried in consecrated ground. Why? Because Gertrude feels responsible and guilty for Ophelia’s state of mind. It was her son that killed Ophelia’s father, her son that Ophelia had fallen in love with and been rejected violently by, her son that she angered by marrying his father’s uncle.

So if you’re going to have something like a major character’s demise happen in exposition–you need to have a very deliberate reason for it.

Which brings back me to my analogy. Think of hacky sack. Or, something which I frankly find more relatable–don’t let object X touch the floor. We’ve all played this at some point in our childhood, I’m willing to bet. Whether that object was a balloon, whether it was a ball, whether it was an organized game of say volley ball which is basically a professional version of this concept, or a goof with friends, or just trying to amuse yourself while bored. There is an energy in the room when you’re focused on something like this. You can feel it in your chest. And when that object finally DOES hit the ground, you can feel that energy significantly drop.

That’s when you change a scene.

I’m completely serious. Imagine the conversation of your scene, the action, the driving force, that is the ball in the air. Go back and forth with your characters and their objectives until you feel that ball drop. 9/10 that’s when you move on to the next scene. Television shows–comedies especially have this down to a rhythmic art. So much you can almost hear that final ball ‘whoomp’ as it drops to accentuate the end of the scene.

The exception here (because there are always exceptions) is creating awkward tension. When characters can feel that ball drop… but the scene keeps going. This can create a fantastic sense of tension.

For instance if you had three characters talking, and C brings up something huge only A was supposed to know.

Ball drop. Everyone pauses. Conversation ceases. If this was a television show, this could be the moment where we fade to black of “To be continued.”

But it doesn’t.

Because those three are still stuck in the room together. One may quickly dismiss themselves, another may stop it, but the energy has dropped and shifted.

That shift is imperative. Because it still creates a driving force. If you feel your scene has stalled and it’s not really going anywhere, go back and read. Where did it get off track? Do you need to change a new path? Or did it just need to end sooner?

Trust your gut. Read it aloud. It helps more than you could imagine.

We’ll talk more about dialogue tomorrow.

Writing

Flesh ’em out!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 7, 2018November 7, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 277 Views
Writing

Rest!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 4, 2018November 7, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 277 Views
Writing

Goals!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 3, 2018November 7, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 250 Views
Uncategorized

Conflict!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 2, 2018November 7, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 230 Views
Writing

Setting Up & Setting The Scene!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onNovember 1, 2018November 1, 2018 NaNoWriMo, video, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 465 Views

Welcome to Day 1 of NaNoWriMo!

No matter what your writing goals, it looks like the folks at NaNoWriMo are here to help us out!

Choose your timeline, choose your word count and you’re off! But where to start? Check out the video.

Feeling stuck? Find us on the community Discord for extra help!

Writing

Writing Outlines!

Kiri Callaghan Posted onOctober 30, 2018October 30, 2018 NaNoWriMo, story structure, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 494 Views

An outline is an often daunting thing for writers. We’re scattered and disorganized, we take a strange amount of pride in our spontaneity and for some reason we treat art like some people view magic–if there is a method to it, if there are explainable things, it becomes science and when you understand it, it loses something.

Let me joyfully and eagerly tell you that this is absolute and utter lies.

Science IS magic, and even if I were to delve into my most hippie-dippie pagan green-witch self, I would still tell you there are methods to spells and prayers.

And that they are still beautiful and wonderful all the same.

Alys started with an outline. A rather detailed one. And I retooled it many times. Does knowing that make it any less enjoyable? I would hope not, that’d be rather silly.

“But Kiri, I’m not a real writer, I can’t do an outline–”

Shhh, little traveler. Shh. You are.

Let’s start right there. You. Are. A. Writer.

Do you write? Do you enjoy writing?

Bam. Writer.

That’s all it takes. I know that’s bewildering and seems like a snake oil, but I promise you friend, it’s true.

So, again, let’s get back to outlines.

Outlines are going to be your map. But the thing to remember is this is a map of your making. And you may find you will have to add to it or correct it along the way. And just because you HAVE a map, does not mean you don’t have the license to wander. In fact, you’ll find you’re more inclined to explore because you HAVE that map. You know where you’ve been, where you’re going or where you’re likely to go.

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Writing

Let The Feast Begin (NaNoWriMo Prep)

Kiri Callaghan Posted onSeptember 6, 2018September 6, 2018 NaNoWriMo, writing, writing advice 4 Comments 961 Views
[img by Cassandra Zwart]

Hello my beautiful Curios, it’s been some time!

Summer is FINALLY OVER (I know it’s not until September 21st, but let me have this)! We’re trekking into the glorious time on this planet Earth of autumn and leaves changing (if you’re lucky enough to live in a place where trees do that). Everything is starting to smell like cinnamon and apple and pumpkin pie. Warm colors blossom everywhere. You may even get to use a scarf!

But most importantly of all…

November is coming.

Yes, dear heart, we’ve barely stumbled into September and I’ve got NaNoWriMo in my sights. Why? Because this year, my love, even if you have never done so before, this year you’re going to win. And I’m going to be with you every step of the way.

And to start? You’re going to story-load. It’s like carbo-loading, but with stories. Download new audiobooks, try a new show–go see a movie (or three) that intrigues you. CONSUME. ALL. THE. THINGS. New things. Not the comfortable re-watches, new things where you don’t always know what’s coming. Why?

Because in order to create art, we have to feel, we have to experience, and I’m a firm believer that we can only write our own stories after we’ve filled our minds, hearts, and bellies with so many others.

So for our NaNo prep, we’re gonna be sponges! Absorb, digest, and ponder. What do you like about these stories? What do you not like? What would you do differently? Let’s talk!

As we continue forward we’re going to add what we see/read in the comments below and talk a little about each. Let’s get those creative thoughts going, warmed up and primed. Because come November, if you haven’t loaded up on stories and tales, you’re going to feel absolutely creatively STARVED.

Let’s do this, friends. Grab a chair and a plate. Let’s dig in.

Ask A Bard

The Writing Habit

Kiri Callaghan Posted onOctober 18, 2017November 30, 2017 habit, life, writing, writing advice Leave a Comment 1047 Views

A dear friend recently reached out to me for advice that I’m not entirely sure I’m qualified to give. They were feeling overwhelmed with the world, distraught, and finding it difficult to focus on art through their medical struggles and wanted some wisdom on how to push through it.

Every response I can think of honestly feels rather trite.

But perhaps that’s okay. Perhaps things are overused for a reason, but we overlook them because it seems so commonplace and useless. We’re all familiar with “tried and true” but perhaps there is value in the idea of “trite, but true.”

And that’s all I can really offer you during these times of artistic constipation. A small piece of trite but true advice.

Sit down and just do it. Just vomit it out, as if it were no different than doing a dish or tying your shoe. It doesn’t have to be clever or pretty, it doesn’t have to be anything worth anything–you just need to do it. Just put your fingers to the keys or pen to paper and write. It doesn’t have to be relevant, it can literally be just a string of words that aren’t even relevant to your current project–or even ones that don’t make sense!

It’s a bit like jumpstarting a car. When you’ve left it alone for a while, sometimes you need to give it a jolt simply to get it back on track.

And sometimes the best way to do this, I’ve found, is to bleed everything into ink. I had a bad day? I write about it. I have a moment of elation? I jot it down. Sometimes they’re useless little notes in my phone, recently I’ve taken to carrying around a Field Notes journal because it’s small and fits even in my useless girl pockets (truly, why is it the pockets in pants made for women can’t seem to hold anything? What is the point of a purely aesthetic pocket? Yes, the detailing helps keep the garment from looking too plain, but one does want for some utilitarian purpose.)

The point is, if you want to push past the fog, I’ve found the best way is to literally write about everything. The mundane things, the excruciating things, the “wow no one will ever believe me this happened” things, and once you’ve gotten back in that habit–and it is, I’m afraid, a habit–the rest will be much easier. Not easy, mind you, I’m fairly certain anyone who says writing is ‘easy’ is an absolute liar but… easier.

Because you’re training your brain. You’re starting an almost Pavlovian experiment. You have a thought, your impulse is to write it down. You hear a joke? You write it down, without thinking. You are struck with a heart-wrenching, absolute soul hollowing feeling?

You. Write. It. Down.

It may feel crass at first, you’re likely not going to feel very good at any of it, that’s for certain for quite some time. Hell, at this point I’ve been writing for years, have put up a live performance of my work, published works through self-determination and traditional press…

And I’m still not sure if I’m very good at it.

But it’s become a habit I can’t break. It’s become a compulsion that I feel uncomfortable if I don’t follow through with it.

Perhaps that’s all a bit trite and cliche. But it just so happens that I know it to be true.

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Kiri Callaghan

Author of The Terra Mirrum Chronicles.

Storyteller & Vocalist.

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  • Well helloooooo, Valentine’s Day at the office.

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Also it rained this morning and that made me happy.

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Note: @angelicrockwood and I are not actually married or engaged at this time, this was purely character plot that neither of us planned or anticipated XD.

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