BIRD BY BIRD (#4-6)

BIRD BY BIRD #4

PLOT

The plot is the main point of the story. The development of characters develops the plot. Reread what you have written the day before and imagine what would happen next. Whatever you picture, write it down to help your plot. Having others read your work will help you see mistakes that you wouldn’t have otherwise and that will help your plot too. Make sure to have drama somewhere in your plot because that is what grabs and holds the attention of the readers. Give a specific moment and give each character a role in it. Don’t fake the characters though. The readers will read right through it. Remember the formula for a story is ABDCE for action, background, development, climax, and ending. This will effect my writing because the plot is so so important. The plot keeps the readers engaged so its important to make sure you have a good plot that includes drama. To eliminate errors and have the best possible outcome, I need others to edit and read my paper.

DIALOGUE

Dialogue needs to flow and have movement, “good dialogue is such a pleasure to come across while reading, a complete change of pace from description and exposition and all that writing.” Dialogue is like a movie, it helps tremendously with the action. Listen and observe. As you learn and discover more about your characters, your compassion for them will grow. Dialogue is way for you to nail a character, work on your voice. Dialogue that is written in dialect is very tiring to read. Remember no one is reading your first drafts. Dialogue will effect my writing because, if done correctly, it is great for a story. It adds action and more imagery. To make dialogue good though, I need to listen and observe more.

SET DESIGN

When writing, imagine yourself as a set designer. This will help you think of what every room and exactly what all the action looks like in your story. If you want to talk about something in your story and you don’t have a lot of information or background on it then find someone or something that does have the information. Read about and study your topics!!!!! This will effect my writing because I know I need to research and study what I am writing about. I also need to imagine what every situation will exactly look like, every single detail needs to be visualized.

BIRD BY BIRD #5

FALSE STARTS

When reading something you have a good idea in your head as to how it ends. You think it is going to go in this one direction. Just like athletes expect to finish their game or race in a certain course and don’t. This will effect my writing because I will think out of the ordinary. I will come up with an ending no one expected. I will end my writings completely off course. I could even add a twist in somewhere in the middle to throw it off track surprise my readers.

PLOT TREATMENT

Some writers writer towards a specific scene not a plot. Anne talks about her experience with her second book. She had an idea and an image of how it would end. She worked on it for over two years and she sent it to her editor. He replied saying the novel just doesn’t work, so he wants her to start over completely. She was told by her friend to take a month off. After taking the month off she looked over her book and moved the scenes around creating a new plot. In the end, the book was published. This will effect my writing because I will know if I am struggling just take some time off and start over. I will never give up on my writing if its something I am inspired about.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU’RE DONE?

So how do you know when you’re done? Even Anne doesn’t know. She states the you just know when you are done, you get this gut feeling. There are always things to add but one indicator as to when you’re done is when you can’t add anything else. Compare your first draft to your final and that will help you decide if you are done. This will effect my writing because I will rely on that gut feeling of feeling like I am done. The editing for hours will help me reach my goal of being done.

Pt. 2

LOOKING AROUND

Writing isn’t all fun and games. You need to have respect and find the meaning when people are suffering. When you write you need to know yourself, to be a writer you need to be relevant. Think about children who are amazed by the smallest things. This will effect my writing because I will know I need to be real and honest. The more relevant I am with my writing the more success I will have. When I am not having fun and playing games I will think about the success I will have in the near future.

THE MORAL POINT OF VIEW

Things we believe in will seem real and true in majority of instances. We tend to like certain characters because they are good people or we could be fascinated by the bad guys because they are interesting. As writers, we should write about topic we are interested in and ones that are important to us. We need to tell the truth and fight for freedoms in whichever way matters most to us. This will effect my writing because I know I need to have interesting characters that the readers can relate to. The characters I write need to keep the readers interested and wanting to read more. I will write about things that are important to me and excite me.

Bird by Bird #6

BROCCOLI

As a writer, when you’re stuck you need to quiet down and listen to the voices inside your head. Writers need the ability to listen to their intuitions of what’s really going on and do not shy away from that because you are scared that it’s inconvenient for others. We need to trust ourselves in the first draft, almost like hypnotizing and unhypnotizing ourselves to get word done and then fix what needs to be fixed.  When writing, try whatever you want in many different ways to see if one way works, if it doesn’t work then it doesn’t work. Anne relates this to broccoli, she says, “Listen to your broccoli, and your broccoli will tell you how to eat it.” This will effect my writing because I will make sure to try things I am uncomfortable with and try them in different ways just to see what could happened. I won’t get discouraged and when I am stuck I will listen for a voice in my head.

RADIO STATION KFKD

Anne also relates writing and the process to a radio, radio being a metaphor for all the things you think or that are in your head that gets in the way of your intuition. Like most, she has music, specifically a radio station, on in the background when she is writing. She also found that praying and deep breathing aids her in a successful writing process. Writers should find a ritual that works for them. Remember, it is okay for your mind to wander, as long as it wanders back to your writing. This will effect my writing because I will know to be relaxed. Now when I write, I will find a comfortable spot and turn on some music. I will also try not to get stressed but if I do, I will try a deep breathing exercise.

JEALOUSY

Going back the radio station, KFKD to be exact, Anne says that this radio station is always talking about jealousy and it is so hard to turn off. During the writing process, other people will surpass you which causes one to feel jealous. There will always be those people who don’t work as hard or aren’t as deserving and will have more success, which will be even harder to not be jealous. There are three things that can help with jealousy ; 1. getting older, 2. talking about it until the fever breaks, 3. using it as material. Don’t sweat the small things, don’t take things personal. This will effect my writing because I will know that my work is good. I won’t get jealous because it is not worth it, especially knowing that my writing is good in its own way. I will work hard and not give up. I will also surround myself with positive people who will contribute to my state of mind and who will make me laugh and feel less stressed.