Getting physical with words

Writing is a physical process.

Sometimes it seems that our stories are grabbed out of the ether and piped onto our software package of choice and then onto an appropriate digital destination such as Blogger or an e-bookstore.

Well fine. This is true sometimes...

In fact writer is and has always been a very real and tangible business. Our minds and bodies interact as part of the creative process. The act of writing a word or sentence fragment alters the physical structure of our brains. It effects us. We interact with the world.

I love the physicality of creative writing on another level.

Handwriting is a joy after weeks of staring at computer screens. I work in IT (when I am not fighting goblins, piloting star ships or rescuing beautiful elf princesses) This means I look at a lot of screens. My eyes and hands are often exhausted after a day long battle with the dreaded 'Software.' I have to use a computer for writing. The digital express train needs to run. I have to publish and that means a word processor and blog or e-book converter but there is nothing quite as rewarding as a scratchy Biro and pad of loose paper.

Pen and paper are proven technology.

I am attempting to boost my productivity by getting 'more physical' with my work. I want to write every day. That means I need to have multiple methods of doing so. If I can not type I will hand write. If I find using a pen doesn't get the muse working then out comes the microphone and voice recognition software. I know it all has to be edited. Write and revise but above all write.

So that is the plan. I love creating things this way. Lets hope this method bears fruit?

Focus sharply on the things that matter.

I have just watched a fascinating documentary on the Japanese city of Kamakura.

The film talked about the traditions of the Samurai and their association with Zen Buddhism. The world of Medieval Japan was warlike at times but there was a much deeper spiritual dimension to society, something that persists into the modern era.

The concept of 'stilling the mind' attracts me. I would love to cut out all the clutter of daily life and focus much more sharply on the things that matter. Meditation is good for mind and body. I am struggling with the discipline needed for this activity but it is a positive step forward for me in my battle against stress.

It will help me with my writing as well I believe.

My mind is like furnace. It is full of fire and energy but the chaos can be difficult to live with. It makes progress in writing erratic and unpredictable. I need to be calm. I want to harness my creative side properly and I reckon meditation will help me do that.

Sometimes less is more.

As with the other aspects of writing the need to 'make the time available' is the key to success. I will get up earlier and stop doing things that get in the way. I will be a better person for it and a better writer. If the ancient Japanese could make a go of it, sometimes devoting years of their lives to their pursuit of 'self knowledge' and 'inner discipline' then I can find twenty or thirty minutes out my schedule to do something vaguely similar.

Nothing in life is easy if it is really worth it. So I will give this a chance.

What not to write (Just yet)

What I am not planning on doing at the moment (or for a while) is to write a book on... 'How to write.'

Who am I to tell you?

I create my stories in my own unique way. I have processes and techniques I use that work. I continuously look for means of finding improvements. Innovation is part of everything I do. I could share my secrets with you. That's not the problem.

The issues is that what works for me would not necessarily suit anyone else. Also I think each writer should find his or her own way. It is healthy and more effective to do this. 

Don't let anyone tell you how to write!

Listen to good advice. Learn from the masters. Read widely. I should do more of these things.

The best thing to do is to enjoy the whole process. Creative writing is the best past time I know about including ones involving less clothes...

And when you are a successful writer then (and only then... and I am not there yet!) you can make your very own decision on whether to write a book on 'How to write.'

'The Block' can be defeated

Quite often when I am conplaining of 'the block' I end up staring at my bookshelves.

There is something quite reassuring them

For me they represent memories. My past is tangled up in mix of fantasy stories and world that will never exist in our reality. I just have to pick up one of those volumes and I am carried away once more.

Brilliant, but that does not get me writing.

The other thing I like about physical books is that they are evidence that 'it can be done!' Thousands upon thousands of other people have written the darned things. Start stories and even finished them. This is a continual source of hope and inspiration to this struggling writer.

I will get there.

One day my books will sit on someone else's bookshelf. I hope that person gets carried away to some wonderful place that originated from my imagination. I hope so. Its only fair I give something back.

And to tell the truth I did manage 158 words on my short story this morning...

Figures of fun

I used to love playing with toy soldiers.

My oldest friends will remember me covering my room with thousands of these little blighters.  I used to break them regular because they were everywhere. This was fine because I would just go down the model shop and buy more. It was great having pocket money in those days.

I still buy toy soldiers. I have one sitting on my bedroom window sill. A warhammer dwarf legionary (or whatever) I think he is as striking match for Thorin Oakenshield from that recent movie (and book) but hey it is hard to be sure.

Before the soldiers I drew pictures. Complex montages of battles and faraway settings. My grandparents used to enjoy be producing these wonderful creations but got rather annoyed with me when I started to cross things out and update the image. The soldiers were being killed. Of course they needed crossing out!

Well stories move on. My Grandma did not see my reasoning but it is true. Even when a book is finished the story continues in the minds of the readers and the writer.

My little dwarf warrior is looking lonely.

The future is unwritten.

In the depths of my memory I can recall the odd (and they were quite 'odd') lecture on quantum mechanics.

The future is a mystery. A bubble of possibilities that is unformed. Unwritten.

So often we thing that the past determines our destiny. We are a collection of memories, experiences, genetics and maybe something more but life seems to follow a set path. It is not always true but for many of us it appears to be the case.

When I say it is always true I mean something else. It is not true at all.

The past is no more real than our future. It exists in our minds. It is gone. The quantum mechanical foam has reclaimed it. Why be its prisoner?

Easy to say? No. Not for me. I have spent a lifetime trapped by a set of assumptions and learned behaviours  Stress had claimed the first thirty or so years of my life. I have been bouncing around like a cork in the wake of a supertanker. I have had no control.

But I have dreamed of something different.

From year zero my gift for creating fantastic alternative versions of my reality has saved me from being crushed by my own mind and bodies stress reactions. It gives me hope. It makes me the person I am. It is why I must keep struggling. Keep writing.

But the future is uncharted territory. I am free of the clutches of my past. The present is the only hard and fast reality. My future is indeed unwritten.

And I am determined to write it.

So many stories to tell

I just have to write more.

I need to create more things of worth both in my fictional worlds and the real one.

Stress drags us all down. It is fact of modern life that none of us can escape from forever. Creative writing offers a way out for both the writer and readers. The mere act of storytelling releases natural chemicals into our bloodstreams that cancels the evils of the stress reaction.

In a very real sense stories make our lives better.

Writing should be for everyone. That is the brilliant reality that the 'indie revolution  is bring to so many people. Write a good story. Publish it on the Internet and improve your lifestyle (and in some cases income) as a result. Above all enjoy the act of writing.

When I was a child I was inspired by the imaginations of people such as Gene Roddenberry and Steven Spielberg. I cried at the death ET and I was a dedicated follower of Kirk, Spock and co. I still am.

If only there were more stories like this. I studied Ursula Le Guin at secondary school and that got me going on the path I follow today. The stories are all around us.

And today we all can be authors.

That has to be a good thing. For us personally and for each other. So get writing.

The return of the Gamebook

If you are as ancient as me you might remember that back in the 1980's there were these rather curious publications called Game-books.

They seem to be making a come back.

Game-books or 'Choose your own adventure' books were ones in which the reader took on the role of the protagonist and could make decisions on how to proceed through the story. The most successful series were written by the likes of Ian Livingston, Steve Jackson and Joe Dever. There were plenty of other writers producing these wonderful products and I spent many an afternoon lost in the worlds of the Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf or Way of the Tiger universes.

Ah...

Alas computer games replaced the old format. There are still a few physical ('old style') single player role playing books around but they are mostly re-published classics. The concept is still a good one and with the resurgence of 'Text Adventuring' I can see that their could be a market for Game-books, both for today's young adults and then 'not so young' kids (I am in the later category)

Lone Wolf has returned in e-book/App form. Tin Man Games in Australia is re-producing the Fighting Fantasy series. I look forward to playing them both.

And I would love to write my own. One day I will.

A healthy writing habit

So we should all write every day.

Why?

I know all the arguments about the need for discipline. I understand the need to organise the day so that at least an attempt is made on a regular basis to create something of worth. The words add up. a few dozen here a hundred there. Pretty soon substantial progress is achieved. Humans are creatures of habit and these patterns have to be established and maintained through brute effort.

But there are even better reasons for getting hold of the pen or hitting keyboards each day.

If is incredibly good for the mental (and physical) health of the writer.

Creative activities such as writing release natural chemicals that counter stress and anxiety. Forming words orders thoughts. It calms the mind. It lifts the mood and expands the horizons of our imaginations. Reading and writing go hand in glove and both can be useful in countering the darker moods and pitfalls that life throws in our path.

I know this works.

So if writing is such a wonderful 'therapy' the only smart thing to do is practice lots of it. On a regular basis. Get the advantages of word-smithing every day.

The more you do the better you get. Practice makes perfect. It is not all about selling lots of e-books or getting your name on as many shelves as possible. Both those things are good in their way but writing has a much deeper purpose. It heals our souls. It makes us more complete. I helps us become better people and through that process makes our world a better place.

So write as often as you can. Be the best writer and the best person that you can be. Get those words out of your head and make room for even more. Enjoy your writing and your life.

Why not?

Unintended consequences

The human mind never ceases to amaze me.

I have just had the luxury of ten days off work. I re-planed a fantasy novel, drank an industrial amount of caffeine related drinks and even managed to relax to some extent.

So I count my time away from the day job a success.

Today I had intended to get cracking on the book. I was going to pen the first words of chapter one. I had high hopes of making progress after the considerable amount of time spent thinking and conceiving the structure of the third draft. That was the plan.

Well you know what they say about plans...

Instead I spent the afternoon in a daydream. I drank even more caffeine. I spent long hours staring into space. It was wonderful.

I got nothing done.

But this is not strictly true. In the course of my creative diversion (read procrastination) I manage to connect together abandoned story concepts from the past with fabulous ideas for a future project. It will be fabulous if I get to implement it.

It all started off this morning when I saw an image on one of the social networks. Looking at the Internet can be dangerous. I saw in my minds eye a girl lost in an emotional turmoil. An angel captured by darkness. I immediately associated her with several disconnected stories. Something new was born.

I am not sure at the moment whether this idea will find resolution as a novella, novel or just a series of short pieces of fiction. It will appear one day. I have faith.

I simply love the way my brain does this to me. It may seem a bit inefficient, chaotic even, but that is how it works for me. I will get the words out. It just takes time for the jumbled mess of thoughts and intentions to slot into place.

So today was not a waste of time. Writing is never pointless. I will keep beavering away at this idea and no doubt there will be plenty of other diversionary tactics sprung on me by my mischievous synapses.

That is the joy of being a writer.