In a Manner of Speaking . . .

“When someone says, “One last thing,” it never is. Unless they die right after speaking. Make sure that they do. 
Check their pulse to be certain." -Jarod Kinz

First: found my writing binder again on Monday. Proceeded to give the first three chapters away on Thursday, with no backup or hard copy. Silly, silly me.

So, I have this habit of reading books and then looking up the reviews on my Kindle and spending several hours reading them. I'll often either be agreeing with all the bad comments and saying, "They're right! Why did I ever spend eight dollars on this?" or scanning all the bad comments and saying, "Wow. How'd they get that?"

One of the complaints I see is about dialect. Usually it's not about how awful it is, though I know that there are some out there that say its too stiff and feels like you're trying to fit a beam into a blender. But I see things about how "modern" the dialect is, complaining that it doesn't fit with the era it's placed in. And yes, it does happen. It probably happens a lot. First, dialect changes with time, place, and person. But some words just weren't used in the past. Just as how "rad" and "groovy" are considered very odd and out of place now and "mates" and "bloke" is associated with Europe, every word matters.

First: look over your writing. Look for the obvious ones like "guys" and "whatever." But then consider: do you have modern day sayings hidden in there? I found one in the first line of a completely medieval story: "still as a statue." Sayings are a lot harder to find than you would think; they like to slip in and cling to the words of the story. But sometimes its fun to make up your own proverbs and such. I've made up several, and it satisfies me to be able to put something small and original in my work. I spend time thinking about it and writing it down, but I don't do overkill. Sayings are common in our lives, whether you notice it or not. And, as an aspiring author, you have to notice everything.

Have a good weekend!

Kirah

Gone, But Not Lost

"Losing would be painful, but not as painful as knowing there's something you could've done." -Joe Trippi

Ah . . . I lost my writing binder. That equals almost a hundred pages of writing, revising, and maps- gone. Hours upon hours of head-ducked, out-of-reality, feverish work- gone. What do you do? Do you break down and cry, hiding in your room in a refusal to face reality, but unable to refuge? Should you refuse to write ever again, saying that fate as intervened and you're clearly not destined to be a writer? Do you freak out and grab your friends, shouting that its gone and do they have any idea what this means?

Or do you continue to write?

A story is not just words; a story is a part of you. I can still recall certain phrases and entire scenes from my first books in fifth grade. They might make me shudder as I remember my clumsy way and form of getting my point across, but I haven't forgotten.

Never stop writing. You can do this. It doesn't matter what's gone in the physical world- there's another much more appealing reality in your head. Write what's true, write what's false, write the reality and the fiction. It doesn't matter what it is- just write. Who cares if you're crazy? At least your "I'm going to go hide in my room for three hours with my imaginary friends" crazy, and not several other negative types of crazy. Just write.

And write.

Never doubt yourself. If you do doubt yourself, please come over here and let me tell you how amazing you are.

Kirah

Themes

"When I look back over my novels what I find is that when I think I'm finished with a theme, I'm generally not. And usually themes will recur from novel to novel in odd, new guises." -Richard Russo

Themes are literally what defines our books. They are similar to the main idea, but they're not quite as jump-out-and-smack-you-in-the-face, if you know what I mean. It wriggles its way through the pages, making pointed comments and altering the plot ever so slightly to make it fit its own needs.

The theme of Hunger Games is rebellion- the idea of rising up and breaking the rules. My book, Realms, has the main theme of overcoming the past and approaching the future. (I think.)

One of my newer experiments, which I still don't have a name for, has a similar theme, but at a different angle. Its theme is something like what your home is and how it defines you. My two main characters define this well. One is an amnesic thief that can't remember anything from five years earlier, so he doesn't know where he's from or how he got to his current location. The other is from a very traditional country, where family is almost holy to them. He's asked to take on a task that will probably destroy him and his culture forces him to take it on. It makes for some interesting and different internal conflict.

I was once advised to subtly mention the theme within the first few chapters, preferably within the first. Some of my friends do this; I don't. I usually don't even realize the theme until the first few chapters are done. I just barely realized what the theme was for my newest work. But reflecting on it now, I see that the theme is just a part of the story. And that's what it is to me. Sometimes it takes some self-discovery, some thought, some work, some tears to weave your theme into it. But face it- we'd be doing that anyway. So its okay.

What's the theme in your books? How are you going to express it? How do your characters compliment or reject that theme?

Good luck!

Kirah