Hi Folks,
This is to introduce a new series of posts.
Two of my recent posts have been about learning, but many others (especially those on FrostProof808) have been about writing into the dark, a function of the subconscious mind.
The thing is, you LEARN with the conscious (critical) mind. You WRITE with your subconscious, creative mind.
So this series will be nuts and bolts stuff to feed your conscious mind. What is important will sift into your subconscious and flow out through your fingers as you type.
I know some of you believe that is nonsense. Some of you believe you have to think your way through writing a book.
But consider, do you have to stop and consciously think about where each letter goes in a word as you write it? Of course not. Do you have to stop and consciously think about whether to use a period or a question mark after a particular group of words? No.
Note: If you just thought Well, every now and then I have to stop and think of how to spell a word, that’s your conscious mind trying to “protect” you from trusting your subconscious. It’s trying to protect you from writing, finishing what you write, and submitting it for publication or publishing it. If you don’t do any one of those, then you can’t suffer rejection.
Why? Because you LEARNED those things years ago. You absorbed them. They sifted into your subconscious and now they simply flow out as necessary.
So this series will be some more stuff, no doubt a refresher, that you may consider, comment on, ask questions about. Or just take it to the bank and let it seep into your subconscious.
If you have not heard ME talk about some of the upcoming topics, just trust me, you want this series. If you HAVE heard me talk about it or you have my books, this will still be a good refresher and provide you with a place (the comments section) where you can ask questions.
ALSO, all of these topics will be updated with new information I’ve picked up since I’ve been writing full time (since October 19, 2014). Like all other writers, I continue to learn.
In addition to writing about overall topics like Memoir, Priorities, Creating Flow, Writing Great Beginnings, “Show Don’t Tell” and others, I’ll also hit some of the nuts and bolts stuff. And if you haven’t heard MY take on this stuff, seriously, you want to hang around:
Punctuation for Writers — this isn’t the same old stuff you heard repeatedly in school. Come to think of it, if what they told us was so good, why did they have to tell us year after year after year and yet we still don’t quite get it? Hang around here. You will get it.
Hyphens, the Em Dash, Ellipses, Oh My! — A special, more in-depth look at these and more “spelling punctuation”… as well as why I call some of these spelling punctuation and what makes all of these different from regular punctuation.
Writing Dialogue — again, stuff you’ve never heard before or have never heard like this.
Capitalization — when to capitalize, what to capitalize, what NOT to capitalize
Writing Dialect, The Dialogue-Narrative Percentage, The Use of Tag Lines, Writing Characters — all of these and more are coming in this nuts and bolts series.
There will also be posts on newer things I’ve learned, things I’ve not blogged about before, like Pacing, Writing Setting, Writing Scene and more.
This is not the art, the wine. This is the whiskey, the hard stuff, the mechanical stuff, the gears and cogs and little whirring sounds that bring your story to life for the reader. Many of you have heard of deus ex machina, the god from the machine. This stuff is the machinery inside the god.
Stay tuned, and get your friends to drop by. I think you’re gonna like it.
Harvey
Note: If you find something of value in these posts or on this website, consider dropping a tip into Harvey’s Tip Jar on your way out. If you’ve already contributed, Thanks! If you can’t make a monetary donation, please at least consider forwarding this post to a friend or several. Again, thank you.
Oops, I forgot the math at the bottom. What I was saying, I am sorry I am way late, but these new posts sound very interesting, fascinating, subjects I need to learn more about. So I’ll hang around, even when I have to run to catch up because life throws me one curve ball after another. But I want to learn more and write more, and read more!
Thank you for being a steady teacher!
Anytime you come around is fine, Ronny. No time limit. I probably will begin posting over here more often soon.