L is for Learning

To me, being a writer is also being committed to life-long learning. I'm someone who never has been able to "turn myself off" and am constantly wondering, inspired to research a particular topic I might have heard or read something about, or itching to try something new. That's probably why I love writing so much - there's always something entirely new to learn while doing it.

I am always learning from my fellow writers. Just about everyday I read a blog post which makes me think about an aspect of my writing in a new way. And CPs and Betas reveal specifics about my writing so I can pin-point my weaknesses and research methods to work on them. I learn all sorts of new things before my work is ever seen by anyone else. Researching ideas, places, people, time periods, etc. for my manuscripts leads to new information in topics in nearly every field of study. 

But, there are the less obvious ways in which writers learn too. All I have to do is keep my eyes and ears open while riding public transportation and I'll learn something new which might translate to a character or scene in my current work in progress. And then there's the life experiences. When I first moved to Germany, I decided to say yes to anything anyone asked me to do. Sure, I ended up spending significant amounts of time outside of my comfort zone, drinking copious amounts of coffee to get through the day-after at work, and generally spending more money on things I wasn't even sure I wanted to do than made sense. But, I learned so much - I learned things about myself, learned what it felt like to experience things I might not otherwise have experienced, and I learned that doing things that might not sound very "me" can be awesome, especially if I'm surrounded by amazing friends (which are so much easier to find when you give everyone a "test-run" by accepting any and all invitations to hang out).

I don't have a degree in literature, or English, or even anything remotely related to writing, but I don't really feel like I'm missing out on anything. Reading (awesome novels within and outside of what I write as well as craft novels) and writing and learning from other writers (published or not) has provided me with an amazing foundation and I'm excited to apply everything I learn to each new WiP. The only thing I would love to do which I haven't yet done is attend a writer's conference/workshop - preferably this one in Big Sur. :)

So what about you? How do you learn the things you need to learn in order to be the best writer you can be? And do you think it's important to have a writing-related degree?

Exercising the Right Brain

Yesterday's post led me into some information about how to stimulate the right brain. As a writer, it is important to use both sides of the brain to their fullest potential. The left brain is responsible for language, logic, keeping track of details, and organization. All of these things are crucial to a coherent story. But, those things don't add up to an amazing story. Creativity is needed for that. And that's where the right brain comes into play.

The problem is, our society places higher importance on the left brain than the right. So our left brain is constantly being exercised and growing (not literally), while our right brain my not be getting the attention it deserves.

In the video below, author Whitney Ferre talks about her book "The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit" and her Creatively Fit Program. The program's goal is to develop right brain thinking so that our left and right hemispheres operate in perfect balance.

I found her comments about "setting the mood" for the right brain to be particularly interesting. If lighting a scented candle or incense, listening to music (or practicing an instrument), or even placing a bouquet of fresh flowers on my desk before I start writing could help my creative process, then I'm all for it! And when I think about it, I have noticed that I'm particularly inspired to write after going to the theater or opera or visiting an art gallery.

Do you do anything to stimulate your right brain before you start writing (painting, drawing, listening to or creating music, singing)? Or while you write (filling your writing space with art, lighting candles or incense, placing fresh flowers or plants on your writing desk)?

500 new fairytales discovered

Yesterday there was an article in the Guardian confirming that 500 new fairytales were discovered. Do you know what this means? 500 new opportunities to re-tell a fairytale! Exciting stuff.

And on that note, I should be getting to CINDER soon! Have you read any fairy-tale retellings lately? And if you are a fan of fairytales (or have some fairytale writing you're thinking about submitting), check out Enchanted Conversation

Write what you know, or not?

There seems to be a monopoly on most common advice out there for aspiring authors (Write what you know). Not everyone agrees though (Don't write what you know). But could I write about a culture that isn't my own with the authenticity required?

At this point, all of my WiPs have taken place within the American culture. The only other culture I could imagine trying my hand at would be German. Then again, I don't think I could pull off writing about a character who wasn't at least half-American. Not yet anyways. I've lived in Germany for about 2.5 years now, but I still don't understand the way of thinking which leads my neighbors to stare at me in disapproval when I smile and say hello (we don't really know each other after all). Especially not when every patient entering or leaving the doctor's office waiting room is expected to greet the group of complete strangers both on the way in and on the way out. And if I don't understand something as basic as that, I can't imagine I'd be able to write a whole novel from a German character's point of view.

Some authors have done it though. For example:

Holly Thompson is an American living in Japan and her YA novel, ORCHARDS is about a half-Japanese, half-American girl who spends a summer in her mother's ancestral Japan.

Monika Schröder is a German who has lived in India and her YA novel SARASWATI'S WAY follows an Indian boy as he aims for a scholarship to study math.










BORDER CROSSING is a YA novel about a boy who is half-Mexican, half-American boy living in Texas. The author, Jessica Lee Anderson, lives in Texas but did not grow up there and as far as I can tell, does not have Mexican heritage.










I haven't read these books yet, but the reviews I've read seem to agree on the authenticity each author has achieved with their multicultural stories. I wonder who's judging the authenticity though - native English speakers?

What multicultural books have you read recently and what did you think? Would you ever try (or have you tried) to write from the POV of a culture you aren't a part of?

blood magic and other things writers might google

Writing a fictional novel means you get to make everything up, right? Well, mostly. But research is a big part of writing, bigger than I'd ever expected it to be before I started. You have to get the details right if you want the story and characters to have any credibility. When I open a book, I'm ready to believe the narrator's description of events and the world-building, but it's hard to ignore the blatantly impossible and ridiculous. Of course, if the author gives me a reason to accept the blatantly impossible as actually possible (maybe the story takes place in an alternate world where everyone is born with magical powers), I can accept that too.

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON is urban fantasy and so anything out of the ordinary which happens in the real world needs to be explained. And that's where research comes in - adding in the details which maintain plausibility.

Google and Wikipedia have been my go-to sources for research while writing DAUGHTER OF THE MOON and her sequel and I thought I'd take a look back at some of the more interesting things I've googled. Things like:

alchemy transmutation circle, Persephone mythology, conditions which mimic a vampire attack, committing suicide by drowning, porphyria, stages of death, lunar cycles, bus routes from L.A to Montreal, anticoagulants in mosquitoes, blood magic

Last night I watched an episode of Law and Order where a woman's google search history was used as evidence she'd committed a crime. But what if she was really just a writer? What's the strangest thing you've googled lately?