Writing Specific New Year's Resolutions

New year, new resolutions . . .

    As this wonderful year of 2016 comes to a close, I and a plethora of other people who have written New Year's Resolutions have been reviewing the old lists, trying to discern if all the goals were met. As I analyzed my results, I got to thinking about and analyzing the process I took to get the results, and something occurred to me. Something that applies to goal writing in general, in fact: Resolutions work much better when they're specific instead of vague.
    Making a vague goal means that there are no definite qualifications for reaching the goal, and when nothing is definite . . . Well, for example; if someone resolved to "be better at writing essays" without mentioning any specifics, at the end of the year they could tell themselves, "Well, I didn't get anything lower than a C on any assignments, which is better than what I did last year, so I have gotten better at writing essays!" It would be true on a technicality, but is that really the kind of improvement a goal is supposed to create?
    To make big improvements, the goal should be specific and loophole-free. Using the example of wanting to improve essay writing skills, a person could resolve to "get nothing lower than a B, and earn at least two As within the year." This would be a definite goal to reach for; something a person can't explain away. It would also produce a very specific result: a better grade, and probably an array of methods that the person collected in order to earn the desired grades.
    In addition to making the goals themselves specific, it would probably also be more effective for a person to make the methods of attaining them specific. One way to do that would be writing down some guidelines (tentative ideas or instructions to follow by the letter). Still going with the essay writing example, the person could write down that they're going to see a tutor by the end of February, or record their process for writing every essay in a document they'll review once they get the next assignment. The specific dates maintain a clear path to the goal, and by writing this stuff down on a calendar, it would also eliminate the problem of forgetting certain New Year's Resolutions.
    And at the end of the year, one would also be able to see a list of specific accomplishments and have a definite understanding of the improvement that's been made, which would definitely be satisfying!
    I haven't been very specific about my New Year's Resolutions in the past, but I'm going to try to be this time around.  How about you? :)

John Rogers: "Don't Write Action Scenes"

"Don't write action scenes. Write suspense scenes that require action to resolve."

~John Rogers

    "Don't write action scenes? Uh, no way. You can't not have at least one action scene." Did anyone else think something like that when they first saw this quote? I did. But it makes a lot more sense when one thinks about it.
    I don't think Rogers is saying that writing scenes in which there's action (like a fight or a chase or something like that) is ineffective writing, but he's saying that writing scenes that are completely about the action is ineffective. Maybe it's wrong to make action the only point (or the only important one) of a chapter, because then all the other things in that chapter just exist for that particular action. The setup's purpose would only be to lead up to it, and it would seem that after the action, there'd be very few options for ending the scene aside from a cliffhanger.
    It also risks having faulty reasoning, prompting a reader's questions such as: "Wait, how did that little argument turn into a full-out fight?" or "Why was she even there in the first place?" or "If he has a phone he can call for help with, why is he going after the guy himself?"  Most people would try to avoid conflict until they have no other choice, so when there's a fight (or another action event) there's got to be a very, very good reason for it; there's got be something building up to it, a suspenseful series of events, like John Rogers proposes. This would make the action the natural effect of other events in the scene, instead of making all those other events unnatural effects of the action.
    What's your opinion on the matter? Do agree with John Rogers and think that chapters should be "suspense scenes" with action occurring only as a result of the suspense, or do you think that "action scenes" are "action scenes," and that there's nothing wrong with making the fight (or whatever action it is) the main attraction? Or are you in a gray zone between the two?

Isaiah 7:14

 

"'Therefore the LORD Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.'"

Isaiah 7:14 (NKJ)

    That name Immanuel is such a good point in this prophecy about Christ. It means "God with us," and it totally describes how when Jesus came to earth as an infant, He could have come as an adult with angels for company, but instead He chose to live with us, amongst the people He would be saving. There's just something wonderfully personal and loving about that decision; it's another example of how true and deep God's love for us is.
    Merry Christmas, everyone!

Wintertime!

A winter sunset; what a blessing they are!

    Winter is a wonderful time of year.
    All of the seasons of the year are wonderful, and they each have their own style of beauty, but personally I love the changes that wintertime brings to the world most.
    Firstly, there's the matter of holidays. Christmas and New Year's happen during wintertime, and Christmas is the celebration of how Jesus Christ came to the earth to save mankind. It's definitely an important and joyous thing to celebrate! And New Year's Eve/Day is also a wonderful time to think about the past year's accomplishments and memories, and be glad for the gift of the new year!
    Then there's the weather. I think I've mentioned before that it rarely isn't hot or warm where I live, so chilly weather is a treat. Being able to bundle up in warm clothes, feel the cool air, and see the amazing phenomena that is snow . . . Winter weather's beauty is both elegant and strong at the same time, and it's a delightful thing to behold.
    And then there's the sky when the sun comes up and goes down. I'm not sure if this is something that happens everywhere, but during winter, the sunsets and sunrises I see are different than sunsets that occur during the rest of the year. During the winter, they tend to be more vibrant, with deeper colors and a smoother fusion of them that remind me of a painting. For some reason, it's like these amazing kind of sunsets only come during the end of the year, and they're something I really look forward to when it's becoming wintertime.
    So those are the major things I enjoy during this time of year. What are your winters like? :)

Things I've Learnd from Preparing to Rewrite

    I've been working on preparing to rewrite a manuscript lately. Not actually revising it yet, but just preparing to by creating a guideline of notes to follow. I've found that when I just dive into revising a work, making changes one chapter at a time, overall plot problems are overlooked because I can't see the story as a whole. Editing a book involves adjusting the plot and characters and making sure everything's balanced, and it can be pretty hard to do that when one doesn't prepare beforehand.
    I haven't really revised a long writing piece like the one I'm working on now in a very long time, so I've had to play with note-taking strategies for rewriting chapters. This experience has been fun and interesting, and I've learned some very helpful concepts in the process; I hope you don't mind if I share some! :)

There's no "perfect" way to take notes,
but I find typed notes more convenient
and neat, provided that they're
eventually printed.

     Thing Number One that I realized: when one has a computer with which to take notes, they should use it! During my first attempt to take notes on the manuscript, I wrote by hand. I got the basic ideas down, but when I was finished, I noticed that I had notes in later sections that I should be able to see while working on earlier chapters, but I couldn't exactly move them there because it wouldn't all fit in the margin (plus, cluttering up the margin like that makes the paper hard to read). So I ended up copying all my written notes onto a computer document, and not only was it quicker, but I found it easier to add more ideas that came to mind.
    Thing Number Two that I learned while preparing to rewrite: prioritizing is very, very important. The notes that one takes when preparing for a revision is what they'll be paying close attention to when they start rewriting. When I start my revisions, I plan to study each section carefully, taking in everything; too much unnecessary information (like a character's physical description, when the current rewrite is only focusing on plot) will seriously slow down the revision process, and create distractions. I've had to resist the urge to write down every really awesome bit of dialogue or funny moment that I read, and just write down what I'll be needing, but now I see it's been worth it because the concise notes won't have to be sifted through later.

These are my chapter cards.

And this is the calendar; it was great for
solidifying the plot structure.

    Thing Number Three that I've learned: preparing for a rewrite should have multiple mediums. Not just notes that point out problems, but visuals that help one understand the structure of the story. For my own manuscript, I ended up making little "chapter cards," each with one or two sentences summarizing a chapter. Laying them out and using small objects to highlight chapters with certain elements (like putting strands of yarn on chapters where the antagonist appears, or placing pencils between cards that occur on different days), I could see the story as a whole, notice imbalances, and be more able to tell when chapters need to be added or removed. In addition to the cards, I also typed up a calendar, which really helped with making the timeline of the story clear.

It's so satisfying to have a finished set of notes
at the end. :)

    And finally; Thing Number Four that I've learned: keep working. Not for hours on end, attempting to write quality notes and plans for twenty chapters in a single morning, (because when that isn't impossible, it's utterly exhausting),but just making sure to keep working consistently. Like during any other stage of the writing process, when one stops thinking about a story, or takes a long break from working on it, the details and the mindset for the story fades from memory, and one loses the sort of groove they had when they were working on the manuscript every day. So even if it's just one chapter's worth of notes, I think it's worth taking the time to complete it.
    So these are a few things that came to my attention while preparing to work on Draft Number Two. What about you? What kind of things do you do to prepare for a revision?

Psalm 18:28

 

"For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness."

Psalm 18:28 (NKJ)

    Light is good. There's safety in light; it keeps someone from standing/sitting/walking around in complete darkness. And in addition to that, light also provides enlightenment by which to see things (like one's surroundings).
    These two factors can be applied to the Lord as well. Like an unwavering, pure light, God protects us from being swallowed up in darkness and He also enlightens us, giving us a true understanding about Himself and about everything in life.
    God is light, and He is very, very, very good. Amen? :)

Martin Luther King Jr.: "Faith is Taking the First Step"

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase."

~Martin Luther King Jr.

    Life is a lot like a staircase. A long staircase, with a lot of twists and turns (maybe one of those fancy spiral staircases), and a staircase that you can't see the end of until you're actually there.
    I think certain things we do in life are also like a staircase. A ministry that one commits to, for example, or a career path, or a new relationship. Like a spiral staircase, it's a journey that one can't see the end of from the bottom; one actually has to embark on a trek without knowing what exactly is going to happen, or how long it'll take. When we start a new project or plan, we don't know for sure how it'll turn out, or if it'll even turn out at all! That can make it seem a lot like a risk.
    But it isn't really an unreliable risk with the Lord in our lives, is it? Since we've given ourselves to God, He's placed a purpose in and a diligent plan for our lives, which means that He's got everything figured out step by step, all the way. When He places a "staircase" in our lives to climb, He'll give us the strength and endurance to make it to the top, to a good and fruitful end.
     But to make it up to that good and fruitful end, one actually has to take the first step, which requires faith, as Dr. King states in this quote. To live out God's wonderful plan, one has to believe that He has a plan, a whole set of stairs for us to climb, and that He'll guide us through each one to the end. It takes faith throughout the whole way, but faith is especially needed at the beginning; it ignites the action that starts the whole thing.
    A staircase is a pretty interesting way to picture this, don't you think? :)

Writing Games: Never and All the Time

    Have you ever gotten bored of trying to describe characters in one sentence? "John is a sullen person," "Jane is happy-go-lucky." Short summarizing statements like this can be good for making a character's personality consistent, but it can get pretty tricky sometimes to keep from using the same term for multiple characters.
    But what if instead of focusing on one character and one adjective, a sentence like this was used to summarize: "John never smiles, but Jane does it all the time."
    There are numerous helpful things about never/all the time sentences like this. For one, it helps come up with a defining characteristic for not one but two characters, and it does it in a more creative way than coming up with just one word to describe them.

Squirrels in the park are never very
dramatic . . .


    Secondly, writing never/all the time sentences is an exercise that helps one remember characters in their story. It jogs the memory of what they're like and how they might have associated with each other.
    Thirdly, a never/all the time statement might uncover a parallel trait that wouldn't usually come up. Using the John and Jane example: if John never smiles, he could just be a pretty serious person, or he could be hiding his emotions behind a continual scowl; similarly, if Jane's always grinning from ear to ear, she's got to be either uniquely peppy or someone who's very accustomed to masking her real feelings, like John. In this context, the never/all the time sentence doesn't show opposing personalities, but opposing reactions, which can make a relationship between these characters more interesting.

. . . but spoiled housecats, on the other
hand, are dramatic all the time!

    Fourthly, writing never/all the time statements for characters is useful because they could point out a weaknesses of each character, which could be focused more on in the written story. John could look at Jane and think that he's never as happy as her, or Jane could look at John and think that she's never as focused and respected as he is; either of these could add conflict to the story or build on a recurring theme.
    Finally, coming up with never/all the time sentences is also just fun to do; it's a writing game!
    Can you think of a "never and all the time statement" for two characters in one of your stories? :)

1 Chronicles 16:27

 

"Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place."

1 Chronicles 16:27 (NKJ)

    God is so great. Among many, many, many pure virtues, the He has invincible strength, and He has perfect joy. This truth is a delightful and comforting thing to know, and 1 Chronicles 16:27 is good for remembering that.
    And in addition to that, this verse also points out another wonderful truth: as we walk through life with the Lord, and spend time with Him, He makes us stronger and more glad! As we read the Bible, He helps us remember His word and strengthens our spirits; as we worship Him, our hearts come alight with joy.
    God is great, and He's also so generous and kind! He is good, isn't He?

Deviating from the Schedule; the Solution?

It's usually not a good sign when one's working by lamplight instead
of daylight by the time they get to work on the most important
item on the To-Do List . . .

    Schedules are great! They put the events of a day in order, they keep a person from forgetting important tasks, and good schedules ensure that there's enough time to get everything done that needs to be done.
    But when one has this fantastic schedule that gives just enough time to get all the work done, and one ends up not getting to anything on time because they chose to deviate from the plan . . . everything on the schedule gets shifted time-wise, and it's definitely not great. Things that are supposed to be done around evening-time can become a late-night task, or something to quickly attempt to finish in the morning. Not getting to work at the right time also crams up the day even more, taking from minutes of "breathers" that could have been had the schedule not been altered.
    On top of those things, not doing something scheduled when it's scheduled to be done devours time, it's succumbing to distractions (not the small things like sharpening a pencil, but larger jobs like sharpening every pencil one has), and when one finds themselves scrambling around to finish the important stuff at the last minute, stress and guilt usually join forces to make a person feel really, really crummy (and tired).
    It's yet another form of procrastination, along with a few other things. Hesitation for fear of messing up the task (I think I posted about that in September), and having a sudden thought to do something else (a decidedly more interesting work than the scheduled activity) can also contribute to the frustrating and guilt-prompting choice to not get to work when one really needs to.
    So let's see; what are the solutions? Prioritizing, remembering the reasons why tasks need to be completed ASAP, remembering what happened the last time the planned schedule was shifted; all of these are good, but it seems sometimes that they can be easily forgotten when one's caught up in an unplanned task.
    So maybe involving other people would strengthen these solutions. Requesting that a friend ask about the progress of something major on the To-Do List, asking a family member to point it out when they notice you surfing the Web for a while. It's hard to forget the importance of a task when someone else is talking about it, right? What do you think?

Three Ways to Talk with Characters

    Talking with characters is a great writing experience. Putting the "we talk to imaginary people" jokes aside, it's both an indicator and a writing tool. Being able to construct a realistic and interesting conversation with a character is a sign of how deep and well written a character is. And as a writing tool, conversations with characters can give an opportunity to develop the character more, and bring up important factors in their backstory that wouldn't come up in the written manuscript. Plus, frankly, having a talk with interesting figures (even if they're fictional) can be really fun.
    A couple forms of talking with characters include:
   Narratives. These would be just like regular scenes that focus on questioning, told from the point of view of either the questioner (oneself, the writer) or the character being questioned. Like this:

    "So," the stranger said to John. "What's your favorite color?"

    John had a really deep feeling that he knew this person somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Nevertheless, he decided to go with it. "Red, I guess."

    It's really great how one can get an in to the character's thoughts through scenes like this; it gives more room for developing the inner details (emotions, immediate thoughts, minute gestures), which formal interview scenes can't really do. Plus, narratives are a good exercise for balancing actions, thoughts, dialogue, and descriptions. However, unfortunately, narrative scenes like this have an upsetting potential for going down rabbit holes (leading away from the planned questions), and finding smooth ways to go from question to question can be pretty tough.
     Interviews. Very different than narratives, formal interviews are usually solely dialogue and the occasional action tag. To avoid the temptation of adding description or excessive action tags, it's helpful to write it as a script like this:

    Writer: What's your favorite color?

    Character: Uh . . . [squints, deep in thought] blue, maybe?

    Interviews are a little quicker than narrative scenes because one doesn't have to mention action in the background, every single gesture the character makes, and setting descriptions are cut out completely. One can just go down a list of questions naturally, and while avoiding (most) rabbit trails. The downside to this sort of chat though is that sometimes it can be difficult to come up with really deep questions (deeper prompts than "What's your favorite color?"), and gauging reactions without descriptive gestures can be tricky.
    Mental conversations. It can actually be done out loud, but being quiet about it is probably best, since it really is awkward to be seen talking to a wall. Having a mental conversation is just like it sounds; basically just thinking out a conversation between oneself and a character. No plans, no outlines, just daydreaming. Such a conversation might go like this:

    "So, what's your favorite color?"
    "My favorite color? Why on earth do you want to know that?"
    "Uh . . . curiosity?"
    "Funny thing to be curious about . . ."

    This is the easiest and quickest way to talk with a character, and it can bring out the character's strongest voice, but it's also sort of the least reliable way to get information unless one is somehow recording the chat. An audio recording would catch everything if the conversation is spoken aloud, and a few quick notes on the important subjects (like a unique term the character tends to use) can be just as effective. However, if diligent notes aren't taken, and there's no record whatsoever, the risk of forgetting what could have been useful is very, very, very high.
    Talking with characters; what's your view on the matter? Do you ever do it? Do you use any methods other than these three?

Genesis 12:3

 

"'I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"

Genesis 12:3 (NKJ)

    This promise of the Lord's is incredible for at least two major reasons.
    For one, it showcases a great promise made to a great nation--an ancient, enduring, blessed nation.
    And secondly, this verse also includes a promise made to the entire world. The part where it's said that "all the families of the earth shall be blessed," is a direct reference to Jesus Christ! Just as this promise conveys, He came through the descendants of Abraham (to whom God is speaking in this verse), and made eternal life available to anyone and everyone in the world.
    It's so awesome hearing prophecies about Christ as early as Genesis 12; don't you agree?

Lovingkindness

    "Lovingkindness;" what a wonderful, wonderful word. The very sound of it emanates emotional comfort; kindness with immense care, beautiful grace.
    It's used in the Book of Psalms in the Bible a couple times. "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You" (Psalm 63:3, NKJ),  "Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You" (Psalm 143:8, NKJ).  Most if not every time, "lovingkindness" is used when referring to the Lord, to His deeply caring nature.
    Which is fitting, since such continual kindness from love totally fits the way the Lord is. He is deeply kind, lovely, and His care for us is obviously immeasurable.
    This word in and of itself is great for how it's an instant reminder. Just hearing "lovingkindness" can bring to mind all the good, kind things the Lord has done and still does for us, and it reminds of how unstoppable and strong God's love is.
    Part of me wishes that "lovingkindness" was still in common use today, but the other part of me likes how its rarity makes it special and associated with God. You know what I mean? Don't you think "lovingkindness" is a beautiful word?