Coffee & Conversation: What’s the most valuable thing you own?

29 Monday Jun 2020

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answer, Fantasy, FAQ, question, reading, Writing

Many years ago, after I lost a flash drive (one of those incredibly old, barely hold anything but a couple of documents and don’t you dare try to put art or (gasp!) music on it or else it will implode) I requested another for Christmas. I ended up finding the first one again, but that doesn’t matter because I still got a higher storage one from my honey as a present anyway.

It was the cutest turtle, with a keychain attachment and everything.

You’d pop off his little head and stuff his butt in your computer and he’d save all your stories in 1997 word so you wouldn’t have to use the crappy upgraded ribbon bullshit until you were ready for internet access.

I’ve since broken the keychain part. (That didn’t actually take very long to do because I carried my keys around daily.) And then went ahead and lost the head part a few years later. So now all that’s left is the butt. The cute turtle butt that sticks out of my computers, his invisible little head somewhere inside eating my stories up and storing them in his belly.

If I had to rescue one (writing-related) thing from a burning fire, that would be the thing I grab. A little turtle butt that stores all my completed stories. (And if I’m being honest, I’d probably make it one of a top three things I’d grab if we headed into an all things situation and not just writing-related things.)

Since, I’ve also been gifted a panda bear and an elephant and though they get their time occasionally in the sun, they’re probably put-out that an old, dirty turtle butt gets more use and love.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What’s your favorite saying?

22 Monday Jun 2020

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answer, FAQ, questions, quote, reading, saying, Writing

“Everything’s okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”

I think, not only does this give insight into me as a person, it does an honestly great job at describing the vast majority (if not all of) the stories I write.

Because, let’s face it, even if I do awful, horrible things to my characters, I want them to be happy at the end. I like seeing them accomplish their goals, discover how to be better versions of themselves. I don’t like killing people off. Even when I try to kill people off I tend to immediately write up an outline as to how they still get their happy ending (remember Wes from Haunt of the Wilds…heh. How he got those fiery abilities comes back to haunt him.) I just can’t help it.

On the other hand, I do all those awful, horrible things to my characters… And sometimes people don’t like that. They’d prefer a much cleaner, safer zone, and I understand that. But I don’t want to write clean and safe; I want to write dragons eating people and secret assassin guilds…but have it all end up with some sort of happy/hopeful finale.

It gives me hope whenever I’m done in real life too. That hey, it might be the hellish middle chapters at any given point, but there’s always a point when the try/fail cycle becomes a try/succeed. As long as you don’t give up.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What is your favorite nursery rhyme?

15 Monday Jun 2020

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There’s a ton of nursery rhymes about boys, right. And even a few about men. But no, my favorite one is about a lady:

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
And she shall have music wherever she goes

I want to write a story using this as my base inspiration. I’ve even brainstormed it a bit, things like gender-bending the lady, altering her actual importance in the rhyme, etc., yet I haven’t quite come up with something I like yet. Nothing that really hits on the music theme and the ability to get it all into a story without it being too far on the side of corny.

And magic. There needs to be a magical element and though I have ideas, not a one of them are any good thus far. This is one of those ‘one-day-maybe’ ideas that might never get priority.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What scares you the most about getting older?

08 Monday Jun 2020

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When I was young I’d get these debilitating fears over the fact that I’d never get to read everything I wanted before I die. I’d spend whole summers cooped up inside, damn near reading a book a day. And if I thought about it for too long, this sharp fear would grasp my heart and turn me all cold. Because all those books I might never get to!

I’m happy to say that this fear has become far more demure and will never be listed ever again as a problem. Rather, it’s quite nice to think that there’s always so much more out there to discover.

Nope, I’ve just transferred this fear into its counterpart. Now I’m afraid I’m going to die before I get to write all the stories I want to tell. What’s worse, is that there are new story ideas for miles every year. I don’t even work on most of the damn things; they just sit in saved files or notebooks or bookmarks online so I can refind something cool that would be neat to write about.

It’s awful. I wish I wrote ten thousand words a day. Then maybe I’d make a dent on the list and not get these dreadful fears that I’ll die without having finished the hundred books I want to write. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: What is your #1 priority in the morning?

01 Monday Jun 2020

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Coffee.

I could probably leave things there and be pretty freaking accurate. Reality is, I have a love/hate relationship with this liquid. It’s delicious and wonderful and perfect and yet hateful and traitorous. Caffeine is awful. Caffeine is glorious. Sometimes decaf is necessary. Why must something so bad for you taste so good? I’ll just leave this here: Ode to Coffee.

Okay, as for the rest of my morning priorities: feed the cat (so she doesn’t kill me), water and turn the plants, open the window blinds (again, so the cat doesn’t kill me), check my phone (so I can think about answering…maybe later), pick up and love on the cat (until she wants to kill me).

I’m so normally boring it hurts.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: Are you a planner (plotter) or spontaneous (pantser)?

25 Monday May 2020

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I am, like most folks, some combination of the two.

Interestingly enough, for a good long time I was completely a pantser in my writing (no outline, just sit down and start writing with an idea (or an inkling of an idea)) while in my life I was a planner. The sort who memorized school schedules and maps and directions because otherwise my brain would freeze up on the spot.

This opposite behavior made some sense though, given in writing, it doesn’t matter how many times you get a sentence wrong, you can always go back and change it until it’s perfect. Could craft witty character interactions with hours or even days in between their responses to one another. You’re like a god or goddess meddling in people’s affairs. Powerful!

In real life there are no do-overs. It’s one and done. You say words backwards, you can’t suddenly unfuck them. You head for ten minutes in the wrong direction, you’re going to inevitably be late for everything, and if you sit in the wrong class or pull up to the wrong building you’ll get the immense pleasure of feeling like a moron when someone points out that you don’t belong.

Spontaneous behavior in life is freeing though. It breathes a sort of carefree happiness into your actions and there’s a lot to be said for its ability to alter your mental state. In a positive direction.

And outlining before you write can unfuck problems long before you fucked them up in the first place. (I guess that’s the purpose of planning, isn’t it?)

Which is all a convoluted way of saying that while I’m still a planner, I’m learning to be more spontaneous (though I do have to recuperate after each time), and while I’m still a pantser, outlines before you start are actually quite handy (even if I throw half of it out partway though).

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What do you think should be censored?

18 Monday May 2020

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adult fiction, answers, author responsibility, FAQ, middle grade, question, reading, stalking, Twilight, Writing, writing advice, YA, young adult

Personally, I’m in the camp that any and all adult fiction or non-fiction should not be censored at all for the adult population.

But you’re probably aware I purposefully said the word “adult.”

I think most people (or at least I hope most people) would agree that children’s fiction should not have high (or perhaps any) levels of gratuitous violence, sexual activity, swearing, hate, etc. And that’s simple enough to say when the child in question is reading board books, picture books, chapter books, etc.

But things begin to get slightly dicey when we reach middle grade, where certain levels of violence or difficult situations may, in fact, be favorable to show coming-of-age story lines or excite children who want to read about dragon-riding or dinosaurs or space battles where the heroes come out on top.

Then there’s YA, strictly in a camp all its own. And that camp is a complete and utter mess, if you ask me (which you weren’t, but I’m answering anyway).

YA, despite its moniker of young adult, is generally considered aimed at children between the ages of 12/13-18. Which, again, if you ask me, is a pretty huge disparity. Children at age 12 might not even have begun puberty, where at 18, you’re not only considered an adult in most countries, but you’ve probably been faced with many adult decisions concerning your own health, sexual activity, future, life choices, relationships, etc. One would hope that at 18 you’d have enough past experiences, enough common sense, enough knowledge to think analytically. Sure, you’ll still make mistakes, but we all do at any age.

However, I have a distinct problem with YA authors aiming their books solely at that higher range audience and forgetting that children as young as 12-13 will also be picking up and reading their work. No, I’m not going to say that all violence and sexual situations should be removed. However, I do adamantly believe authors of YA have just as much responsibility as any other children’s fiction author.

LET’S TAKE AN EXAMPLE: Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: How do you handle two-faced people?

11 Monday May 2020

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answer, FAQ, internal monologue, point-of-view, question, reading, secondary characters, unreliable narrator, Writing, writing advice

Not in your real life; I’d think that’s a loaded question with too many answers to count. But in writing, things are a tiny bit simpler. Tiny bit.

There are two main different situations where you might find yourself writing a two-faced person.

THROUGH POINT-OF-VIEW CHARACTER

This situation can be as complicated or as easy depending upon how self-aware the character happens to be.

An incredibly self-aware character, one who knows and accepts their two-facedness, can easily show their true colors through their interactions with other characters and through their own internal thoughts. Their internal thoughts will align completely with their actions, giving the reader a double whammy of explanation. This is where you can write simple, uncomplicated statements, such as “He/I lied” or “He/I didn’t care who he/I hurt” inter-spaced with other, longer internal motivation that will bolster the character’s actions and give the reader a complete sense of what kind of character they’re dealing with.

This is, by far, the easiest two-faced character to create. However, if the character is completely morally ambiguous, you’ll have a much more difficult time convincing the reader to have empathy for him. To improve empathy, you’ll have to show his likableness by 1) having him engage in ‘nice’ or ‘kind’ behavior, 2) by showing other people enjoying his presence or comparing him favorably, or 3) by giving him a clearly defined motivation that readers can identify with.

A character lacking in self-awareness (a type of unreliable narrator), will cause slightly more difficulty given their actions and their thoughts will not align. This is the character who thinks of himself as correct, moral, or a victim in situations rather than a perpetrator. A character who does not take responsibility for the negative outcomes of his actions because he believes in his own false narrative. In this situation, you can’t write “He lied” ever because as far as the character is concerned, he isn’t lying. Continue reading →

Coffee & Conversation: What is something you continually procrastinate on?

04 Monday May 2020

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Okay, I thought this a suitable question.

When it comes to writing, the writing part is actually the easiest. It’s just you and the blank page. No one watches. No one sees the mess-ups. No one sees the tangential paragraphs where you go on for two, three, four hundred words about how you have no idea what the next plot point is or repeatedly asking yourself why this character is even in this story. It’s a private affair. Where doubts intermix with excitement.

On the other hand…

Edits require you to dull the creative part of your brain. Force it into a little box with air holes that it might leak out, but only at appropriate times.

Formatting requires you to completely lock the creative side of you away. Forget it exists. Staunch it until it’s just a murmur begging to be let free.

Social Media requires you to plant your feet firmly in the here and the now, in a place where the date matters and the story is just a story and never an overactive part of your mind where you just want to linger forever.

Synopsis writing requires you to take your entire story, every living, breathing part of it, and turn it into something bland, dry, and dull that fits on two pages.

These are the things I procrastinate on the most. They are antithetical to everything writers tend to love. The clean-up at the end of the party.

Oh, we know we shouldn‘t procrastinate on them. The longer they sit needing to be done, the larger they loom. The more stories you complete in the meantime, the more end work accumulates. Yet, they sit out there still, demanding to be done by you and only you because someone else might do it all very wrong and you know it.

~Emmi

Coffee & Conversation: What are your most used phrases?

13 Monday Apr 2020

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answer, FAQ, habits, prose, question, reading, Writing, writing mistakes, writing quirks

Oh, the dreaded repetition, always showing up, rearing its head as part of an unconscious bias as your fingers type across the page. Characters raising their brows or cocking their heads and everly speaking in dry manners. Characters turn and turn again, they sneak quick glances or stare unashamedly and hold each other’s gazes as if in a staring contest.

A lot of these phrases are used by millions of authors and I’m sure non-English speaking writers have their own bevy of phrases that crop in every tale known to man.

Some authors have their own specific words they seem to have fallen in love with. For instance, I once read a series where every male character would stalk across the room and pop their jaw (ouch?). Read another where every person was described as ingenious. Great word, ingenious, but its likely not every character meets its requirements.

Sometimes, a group of writers all joined by a social circle will use certain words or phrases in their books (the schlep phenomenon comes to mind).

As for me? I have my own specific quirks, notwithstanding the above mentioned plethora of head-cocking and dry-speaking. But here’s the rub…it’s incredibly hard to pinpoint your own overused phrases. There might very well be a million of them, yet unless the phrases are long enough and specific enough, it won’t stick out in my mind.

Here’s a paraphrase of one I’ve used a few times: “They do X, Y, Z, but he didn’t even know who ‘they’ were.” I’ve stumbled across myself using that one in both novels and short stories many times. Sometimes I catch it and edit the comments into something different. Sometimes I don’t catch it at all.

Another I use is a nostalgic beginning. I lean into a certain way of starting some stories: “Once he’d been…” or “There’d been a time…” or “Before he’d never…” and “Now he wasn’t so sure…” These types of phrasing all lend themselves to evoking a sense of loss or a sense of time passing, essentially that nostalgia I mentioned. It’s a hard habit to break because oftentimes I really like the feeling it calls and I’m not so sure what other powerful emotion I could replace it with.

I’m sure there’s many other examples. And I’m just as sure if you’re a reader you’ve caught plenty of these kinds of phrases from your favorite authors, just as I have. Habits are hard things to break though, especially when it all reads perfectly fine to you.

~Emmi