Why I Take Long Showers

 

                I take long showers, guys. My family gives me grief for it, but I myself am at peace, for one very important reason.

A high, high percentage of my story-related epiphanies come to me while I’m in the shower. Or brushing my hair, or riding in the car, or anything routine where my mind can flutter where it wants…which is usually straight to my WIP.

                Still, sometimes just ‘waiting’ for ideas to land isn’t enough. So I’m going to share something only slightly embarrassing that I do. Often. Repeatedly.

                I interview myself.

                Under the premise that my current WIP has been published. Or optioned for the film rights. Or in some other way has been successful.

                I pretend I’m talking to a reporter/blogger, or taking questions at a book signing, or (perhaps most embarrassingly) telling the cast of the WIP movie exactly what they need to know about each character so they can play them the way I’d always imagined.

                … I swear this isn’t just to boost my ego, guys.

                It makes me think about my story.

                It makes me ask questions—ones that would potentially be asked by people who are not me.

                “Why did you write [THIS] the way you did, instead of this way?”

                “What purpose does [CHARACTER] serve in the story?”

                “What makes [SO-AND-SO] a good couple?”

                “What is your secret ship? If your MC wasn’t with [CHARACTER], who might they have ended up with?”

                Asking myself things about the story, and characters, and all the different connections taking place under the surface… It makes me search for answers.

Answers deeper than “Because I needed it to be this way.” or “Because it was the first thing I thought of.”

It gets me into character’s mindsets. It makes me think about what makes my characters who they are. And why they do things, and how we got to this point, and all the MOTIVATIONS that I love so much.

And okay. It might also be for my ego. A little.

But I’ll share my thoughts on that in the next post.

Am I the only one who does this? (Please say no) What would you ask yourself in an interview? Where do your best ideas come from?

Also, guys, I’m sure interviewing yourself could work just as well OUT of the shower—perhaps even better because then you can write down everything instead of trying to remember it by the time you get out. Just sayin’ what works for me. ;D

Reviving Your Writing: The Epiphany Mode

Okay. So. Aside from my guest post about NaNowrimo on another blog, I completely failed to post regularly during November. But that’s okay, because I’m reviving the blog now that December is upon us.

                It seemed fitting to write a post about revivals. Plus, it lets me tell you about all the things I’ve been doing that have not, unfortunately, been blogging.

                I’ve been in Epiphany Mode, dear readers. I’m sure some of you know what I mean, even if you’ve never called it that.

                You go about your business. Mow the lawn, take a shower, brush your hair, etc. etc. etc. Mundane things, that don’t take much brain power. This leaves your mind open to thinking about other things…

                Like stories.

                And suddenly, the ideas rush in. Plot points click together, character motivations finally make sense, and you suddenly realize The THING that will give your story the potential to be perfect.

                This, dear readers, is why I am now steampunking ALL the things in one previously genre-confused series (Any experts on meteorites or electricity?  Contact me, please). It’s also why I wrote down thirteen dialogue snatches the other night after my shower – and those were only the things I could half remember.

                It’s why two extensively-plotted series are currently battling for attention in my mind, with others lurking in the background. I’m working on a comic book for one of them, for heaven’s sake. [And since starting to write this blog post, Series #3 has landed back on the table. *sigh*] [And since adding that line, Series #3 has completely crowded out the others and soared into awesomeness.]

                To put it mildly, readers, I am not often the writer who has trouble finding ideas.

                But if you are… Or even if you’re just wiped after National Novel Writing Month, but still want to keep writing every day (this is where I’m at, but I understand that some might need time to recover. ;) ) here are some things I’ve found helpful for reenergizing.

                MUSIC

                Put your music on shuffle. All of it. Think about your stories and character as you listen, and when your mind snags on a lyric, see if the rest of the song relates to your book as well. Add it to a playlist for your novel, and go back to listen to it whenever you need to find the story again. Lots of authors do this, and it’s interesting to see what inspired them. Even if you’re the kind of person who needs quiet to write, that doesn’t need to stop you from listening to your story playlist at other times.

                Also, movie soundtracks and instrumentals are lovely.

                READING

                Certain books exist in this world, that catch our minds on fire.

                You read them, and get the warm fuzzies inside at the thought that you are a writer. You could write things like that someday. Scott Westerfeld’s books do this to me all the time. I finally read Divergent by Veronica Roth this weekend (and passed it on to friends; the infiltration of my school has begun. >:) ) and l finally understand why I’ve heard so much about it. I also read Bloodhound, by Tamora Pierce, during NaNoWriMo. The feel of the book, the language, the ‘dog’ terminology, and even the journal-style format all kept me thinking about my NaNo novel, which was sort of my plan to begin with.

                There are also books that make you think “I could do better than this.”

                When those books come along? Do better.

                ART

                I don’t claim to be a serious artist. It’s a hobby, it’s fun, and it can really help me finalize ideas about a story – about scenes I’m picturing, the world my characters inhabit, the look of the characters themselves… I’m good enough to impress some classmates who watch me doodle over my shoulder, but I’m not as good as I’d like to be.

(click pics to embiggen)

                This was my ‘cover’ for this year’s NaNo Novel:

                And this page will be part of the aforementioned comic book: a short little thing depicting some events that take place before Book 1 in the series.

                I would post the actual cover, but it’s taking forever to color/shade etc. Obviously, things like this take up time I could’ve spent writing. But like I said, doodling things from my stories helps me finalize ideas. What do I think about the whole time I’m working on something like this? The characters. The story.

                And if you feel like even stick figures can be a stretch for you, why not look around on some photo-sharing websites, or magazines? Start gathering pictures that scream the title of your story, whether that means artistic shots of people who resemble your main characters, or a random pic of spider webs that find their way into your setting.

                Sometimes having something to look at is all the nudge you need to get excited about a project all over again.

                How do you revive your writing? What music or books have inspired you? And do any experts want to help me research some things? ;)