Mar 05 2014

Writerly Links of the Week

Author: Anne MacLachlan • Discussion: No Comments
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Errol Le Cain, The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Epic Pin of the Week!

Planning and Plotting

Found some top-shelf articles on plotting this week, one from Chuck Wendig, the other from Patricia C. Wrede (her Dealing with Dragons series ranks among my FAVOURITE childhood fantasy!). I’ve put them at the top of the list for easy find-age.

Also, discovered some profound writing-related thinkings via my toddler-sized-but-deep-thinking nephew.

Classic Fantasy Quote of the Week:

“The King and Queen did the best they could. They hired the most superior tutors and governesses to teach Cimorene all the things a princess ought to know— dancing, embroidery, drawing, and etiquette. There was a great deal of etiquette, from the proper way to curtsy before a visiting prince to how loudly it was permissible to scream when being carried off by a giant.”                                     ~ Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

Writerly Wisdom of the Week:

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”       ~ Terry Prachett

Links on Writing:

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Mar 02 2014

Literal Thinking for Creative Folk

Author: Anne MacLachlan • Discussion: No Comments
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The fantasy writer in me shudders to say this, but today I declared a renewed commitment to literal thinking.

Much in the sense that Broadway revivals and remixed chart-toppers can be charming and refreshing (when they aren’t soul-sucking abominations…as always, there’s a fine line to be walked), so too can a reversion to more literal thinking create a sense of novelty in writing.

We writerly folk have all sorts of metaphoric, simile-ic, imagery-ic stuff bouncing around in our overimaginative heads (‘specially us fantasy folk, I think…shh, don’t tell the normals!). Lemme examplify. We writers don’t have oceans; we have “shimmering expanses of a goddess’ tears.” Now as a piece of prose, that sounds pretty purple. However, what if the ocean really truly was composed of a goddess’ tears. As metaphor, the phrase is meh. Taken literally, it’s way cooler. Now we’ve got new mythologies to play with: what made the goddess cry?; when did this happen?; was she consoled with nectar-infused ice cream?.

Nephew being a miner

See? Photos were required.

This train of thought was jump-started (pst, you should now be picturing booster cables for a locomotive) by my 2-and-a-half-year-old nephew. His name is Nephew (alas, my sister may have taken the new “literal thinking” craze to a new level). He is a master of literal thinking. As such, his comedic timing and sense of “moment” is unparalleled in my family.

Today, he was enjoying the wonderful world of flashlights (this may have been because I told him monkeys lived in our air vents, then played monkey sounds on my phone when he put his ear to the grate…just being a good aunt). Now we have a headlamp from my caving days, and when he wears it, he looks like a tiny adorable miner. Photos were required.

Unfortunately, the toddler attention span dictates that as soon as a relation reaches for a camera, toddler will immediately cease cute behaviour, and off came the adorable miner-flashlight hat.

Fortunately, Nephew is a tractable fellow. When asked to put the flashlight back on his head, he complied. This was the result:

Nephew being literal

Ah, the power of literal thinking…

To me, this is a far superior picture. Aside from the fact that he made the room dissolve into hyena-esque giggles, it is a far better memento of the day. I wanted to preserve Nephew’s cuteness and curiosity in picture form; his literal thinking (which my foolish adult mind could never have duplicated) improved my vision a zillion-fold (<– actual measurement).

Literal thinking, then, can be comedic gold. Think Amelia Bedelia (what? no one else loved those? her boss told her to draw the drapes, so she drew the drapes…geddit?…with a pencil?…pff, you all wasted your childhoods). Can you add a character who struggles to understand cliches and colloquialisms? Could you lighten a tense section with an ill-timed misunderstanding?

Fantasy writers (and you other guys), literal thinking can be a great worldbuilding tool. What do the common sayings of various classes tell us about their world? Is there truth rattling around at the bottom of certain expletives or landmarks?

As was the case with today’s impromptu photo session, sometimes the literal interpretation can shine a fresh light (see what I did there?) on your work.

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Feb 20 2014

Writerly Links of the Week

Author: Anne MacLachlan • Discussion: No Comments
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Aglauros

Epic Pin of the Week!

It’s a hodgepodge (does this word make anyone else think of a sticky hedgehog with a clutter issue? no? just me?) of links this week. Some more publishing battle continuation from last week, including a post from authorearnings.com guy Hugh Howey with some neat points. A bunch of social media for authors news, including a cool new Pin It button and some blog curation points.

My fave link is stuck at the top of the list. It’s a really neat one about log lines, pitches and synopses (hate those guys) that I found super useful. Pretty sure there were 2-3 more links in the same vein this week.

Also, for the worldbuilders and fantasy lovers among us, I discovered VERY cool Pinterest-y things this week, including charts on medieval weapons, colours, plants, trees, rocks, clothes, travel, horses…well. You see what I’m saying. Go at once to revel in the pictorial awesomes (and ignore the Disney princesses…I have NO idea how they got there…):)

Classic Fantasy Quote of the Week:

“They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they cannot be taken out.”   ~ The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Writerly Wisdom of the Week:

“The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like.”       ~ Neil Gaiman

Links on Writing:

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