Category Archives: Writing & Progress
Information and news about stories I am currently working on.
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Brain Monkeys
Brain Monkey
So, lately, I have been talking about brain monkeys on twitter. What am I talking about? What are brain monkeys? Well, let me explain…
One of my writer friends stated that her inspiration was, in part, determined by the monkeys residing in her brain. Sometimes they gave her great inspiration other times they threw poo…
Well, recently I have had my own experiences with these alleged brain monkeys. I have been awakened, through the night, with the monkeys screaming a piece of inspiration at me. If I ignore them they scream louder, keeping me awake; so I saté them by getting up and writing down the tidbit they offer. The problem is that when I return to that tidbit they throw poo at me and what I get out is a mess.
It seems as though they purposely choose the most inopportune times to give anything of worth, while asleep, in the shower, while driving, or while at work. Other times they throw poo and run around in my head till I give up and do something else. Then as if mad that I didn’t pay attention to them, they get me another tidbit of good stuff; I return to write it and they go wild again. …evil little monsters!
This is the war of the ages, the battle for our thoughts. We, writers, fight the brain monkeys so that you don’t have to. Well, that’s all I’ve got for now ’cause they are throwing poo at me again…sigh…
P.S. Just a little word to the wise: Brain monkeys are contagious and transmittable by any writer to another without ever coming in contact with them.
Evil Monkeys
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Who do you write like?
This is a great question. I happened on a website that analyzes your writing style based on what you paste or type in the box. I was interested to find out that my style changed from post to post or piece to piece. I have a funny feeling that the way I write is heavily influenced by things I have read recently. It may not mean much but I find this fascinating and worth investigating. My own style and voice is still being, and will continue to develop for the foreseeable future.
Based on the results of the tool, my writing seems to be similar to the following:
I guess, Neil Gaiman, Dan Brown, H.P. Lovecraft, and Edgar Allan Poe are some of the authors I have taken notes from. I checked many pieces of my writing and these seemed to repeat, so at least it seems consistent.
The voice I use in my book was most like Neil Gaiman, whereas my posts varied between Lovecraft and Dan Brown. Every now and then the analyzer would come up with Edgar Allan Poe, so I must have some small bit of poetic flow during those pieces.
Overall I think it is a good tool to see how your own voice changes. It could be useful for those seeking symmetry throughout a single work, so I recommend trying it out yourself: http://iwl.me/
Let me know who you write like.
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Excellent tips on inspiration.
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Current Progress
I have made lot’s of progress, and my plot line is slowly coming together. With all the twists and turns I intent to take readers through, I am trying to make reading and understanding the events as simple as possible. Like I have stated, my goal is to target both adult and young adults, but to hold the interest of each group requires a delicate balancing act.
I am still in the plotting and outline phase, but I’ve written a number of scenes already. If I can figure out a few area’s that I am struggling with, I will probably write like mad. Good old writer’s block is the thing slowing me down, but in spite of those sections of the story, other parts are taking shape. My characters are filling out and becoming who they need to be. It’s fun…really! 🙂
Writer's Zone 