Blog Entries from Lifeline

  1. Judgement

    Due to my sex, cultural baggage, being born somewhere else, I never served. For most of my life, it didn't matter. When I started to write as a hobby, I found a layer of reality—war—I had no idea existed, a part of humanity I didn't understand. This reality lies under the surface, doesn't get screentime in movies. No one talks. The more memoirs and non-fiction I read, the more I uncover stories that touch the heart of what makes me human. I ache with them. I feel them. True stories have...
  2. Do you want to write your story? Or someone elses?

    I've made my share of mistakes, and they probably are legion. But you know what I've never done? I never told someone elses story. I'm telling mine. What are you doing? Are you also writing your own story? I don't mean a memoir necessarily, but the story you bit into with joy, consternation and despair? Lightbulbs going off all over your brain when some scene that's been giving you headaches suddenly made sense? Hours and hours of arranging tiles on a storyboard to get just the perfect...
  3. Can one write purely by instinct?

    I'm throwing this bone out there for your delectation, because I'm divided in my own mind. The issue came up just a few hours before, when I read through the recent thread about 'antagonists' vs. 'villains'. Now, it's not a secret that I am quite stubborn and like to batter my own way through whichever wall may stand in my way. In terms of writing this means that I shun writing-guide books. I've tried a few times to read them, because it would be smart to use guidance if it's offered, but...
  4. Crutch-words, or: how to get your writing to sparkle just a little bit more

    On and off I get the urge to learn something new about writing. This morning, I wrote about a thousand words and my brain needed a breather. But still I wanted to write. I knew I couldn't (because, y'know, exhausted brain), so the next best thing was 'Think about writing'. The following 'treatise' on crutch-words was what one-and-a-half hours of reading in the web produced. Some of the presented information I knew already (overused adverbs, yikes!), but some I hadn't thought of before...
  5. The secret to my creativity - or: how to make the brain jump sideways

    Recently I discovered how to get into 'creative' mode and I share it here, because maybe it'll help one of you people when stuck on a plot-problem. 1) Feed your brain. Doesn't matter with what. Learn lots of different things. Read news articles. Comics. Books. Watch docus and films. Discuss. The important part is: with different things. I reiterate: diverse topics. Even ones you don't need for your story. Especially these topics. 2) Sit down somewhere quiet, with lots of time. Best if it's...
  6. Agatha Christie's writing style

    I was alerted to this article, regarding the style/word-choices of Agatha Christie [URL]http://www.christiemystery.co.uk/method.html[/URL] In particular, the following passages as published on the above linked website were valuable to me, in terms of how to arrest a reader's attention. Maybe they'll be valuable to you, too. The research team also analysed each of Christie's books for its word length, frequency and sentence structure. They found that all of her books are very similar in style, using...
  7. People and Names - and onomatopoeia

    Characters and Names: why are they such a big hangup? In real life, we all get saddled with random names our parents dreamed up when we were born and no one knew into which kind of person we'd grow up. Some of us fit our names, some don't (I don't think I fit mine ;) ), however we didn't have a say in what we got called. So in real life, any specific name doesn't correlate with specific character traits, it would have to be totally random - or not? That's the big question. Ludwig...
  8. A post about grammar - part 2 - Beginning of a sentence

    Comma at the beginning of a sentence: Because I lost the race, I had to pay five dollars. (dependent clauses before independent clauses) Honestly, you should have told me months ago. (sentence adverb) Hey, remember me? Yep, I did it. (interjections) She kissed me passionately. And then she decked me. (coordinating conjunctions) Tommy told me he washed and put away the dishes. Yet he can’t even reach the sink. (coordinating conjunctions) Yet, and this is crucial, I’d forgotten to pack my...
  9. Fun in writing

    This is definitely not a rant and I promise to be brief: I recently got hit over the head by a dear friend with the very true observation that not everything in writing is supposed to be determination to get this thing DONE, toil, and struggle. There needs to be joy and outright laughter too. I have taken the lesson to heart, writing scenes that are just backstory and will not wind up in my WIP - and that feels so good. 'Fanfic' if you need a proper word, for me alone. I needn't be serious...
  10. A post about Grammar - part 1

    Because I am a stickler for detail, I'll make here a list of grammar stuff to remind myself not to make these particular errors, and to make a comprehensive list. I'll only very briefly tell what the error is, and, if any reader is interested, he/she would do well to look up the proper definition him/herself. This list will get enlarged. I'll try to keep it for American English. Parallels (yeah, I know this list grew a lot!): Incorrect: I like reading, writing, and that I can help others...
  11. Writing pitfalls to look out for

    For anyone interested how to edit, or even write the first time around :D Clarity issues: - Cause/Effect. That's a major hang-up. - Closely followed by paragraph breaks, when to set them or when NOT. - Clarity. Includes fancy words or 'poetry' when not warranted. - Who is speaking? When to use the name of the POV character, and when it is clear enough to use 'He'. 'Craft of writing' issues: - Pacing. Short vs long sentences according to action/passivity - Only what the MC is experiencing...
  12. The first paragraph, Chapter one.

    The last days I have pondered what makes a start 'good', connects the reader to the coming story. In order to do that I have tried to remember which first paragraphs have stuck in my mind. I have read scores of books in my time, but only very rarely I remember first paragraphs. In fact exactly two in I-don't-know-how-many books I have read. "Bridge of Birds", by Barry Hughart: I shall clasp my hands together and bow to the corners of the world. My surname is Lu and my personal name is Yu,...
  13. The courage to make mistakes

    I am not sure if that will be another rant or should be read as encouraging. Honestly people, don't you want your very own story? Aren't you interested what you'll discover on your own? Other people won't ever share your vision - it is solely up to you to capture it however you can. All these threads, bouncing ideas out there, giving others a choice where YOUR story should go, there is something decidedly off with that. See paragraph one. Yeah, there WILL be mistakes. You WILL make them,...
  14. A salute to the gay community

    I am a coward. Not that it is a new realisation (I suspected for some time), but it sure is an uncomfortable one. But maybe I should start at the beginning. I am one of the storytellers that are not real creative. Oh, since I started on this forum I believe I have learned something about stringing words together and sometimes I get an inkling what creativity must be like, but I am not creative per se. I always prefer action to words, even if my fingers can't lay off writing. I blame...
  15. Linebreaks 101 - Internal monologue/scene setting

    I recently wrote an explanation for a good friend about how to set linebreaks. During pull-apart I realised that there was an art behind it, and that it takes a whole lot until they are set right. So I thought I'd share. I'll not claim to be an expert, or that this is all there is to it, just my very own five cents as far as I have figured stuff out by now. Have fun! ================= Linebreaks are needed when two consecutive sentences are disconnected in - not cause/effect - but 'theme'...
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