Guide to Writing: Tips and Ideas

CONTENTS

Introduction
BOOK 1 -
Writing In General: Life and Habit

Call and Response
Sanity of the Insane
Consonance
Virtue of listening
Voice and Gut
The Great Library
Fishing 4 ideas (catching a great white w/out getting eaten.)
Why Writing divorced English, and got custody of the kids.
Relationship of Writing.
Out of the ordinary- Rituals of Writing
Spirituality and Meditation
Thinking outside yourself
Jokes
Storytelling
Morality
Style with attitude
Humor, for those who have none
Sleep
P.O.E.
Real people and fake people
Rhythm and Flavor
A writer with an artist's eye
Self-discipline and Confidence
Emotion
Scientia est potentia
T.H.C.
Killing the Editor
Absolute Consciousness

Writing Fiction

(Character Formulation- born from ink grown into flesh and bone)

Details, details
P.O.V.
Personality
Nicknames and Nomers
Voice

Good, Bad, and Worse
Tools of the trade
Secondary characters

(Plot)
Concept to actualization
Addiction: how to hook the reader
Newton's third law: the inciting incident

(Dialogue)
Say what? - Dialogue and characterization
Tips on spicing up dialogue

Writing Screenplays

Logline/high concept
Interesting opening
Being an Actor
Trippy Titles
Studying favorite movies
Internet and screenplays

Writing Poetry

What is poetry?
Observing
Enslaving Karma
Types of Poetry that suites you
Syntax
Trust Yourself
Daydream

FIN

Introduction

Writing is a mysterious journey, delving deep into your inner psyche. Through this medium one may explore different worlds. Writing is life captured in language.This book is divided into meditations, each one taking you a step closer to being a writer.
Begin the expansion of your mind.

Open the third eye!

WRITING IN GENERAL: LIFE AND HABIT

Call and Response

Call and response is a term used in music specifically blues melodies. It refers to the "call" i.e. singing and the guitar, the "response." Everything in life is based on a system of call and response. Whether you're adding a system of numbers to get the desired product, or throwing a ball. It's the same in writing.The "call" takes place when the writer first sits down and scribbles out a few ideas on paper. It is the ideas, concepts, presented in the written form. The "response" is people's reactions to the writer's ideas.
It's always important to keep audience in mind when writing. This not only helps to market your ideas to the public, but also keeps syntax in check ensuring comprehension of your targeted reader.When in doubt of your audience, think of Barney giving a graduation speech at Yale. Doesn't work, does it?

Syntax and expression= targeted audience.

Sanity of the Insane

Have you ever read a book and wondered, "How the hell did he come up with that?" Well, if you have your not alone. Writer's minds are variegated like the homeless of New York City.
Inspiration for ideas comes in many forms. Some naturally have them spring forth out of odd corners of their mind; others perhaps read something that triggers their muse into action.
I like to think that new ideas come from the sanity of the insane. So often we classify people insane because their perception differs from the norm. But maybe if we saw things from their perception we could begin to understand why they think the way they do. Thus, when coming up with new ideas, don't try to think along the flow of the norm. Think abstractly, out of the box, "crazy" if you will: perceiving things from different vantage points. This is the sanity of the insane, the ability to understand the nature of things in a different state of consciousness.
Understanding of this allows mother invention to work unhindered by the restraints of the sane.
New ideas are raw and often receive criticism from yourself or others, but just remember that like a newborn these ideas will mature and develop with time and care.

Consonance

Consonance is the music of writing. It is the ebb and flow. When writing try to think about the word flow. Do the words run smoothly? Clash harshly? Try reading your sentences out loud noting the inflections in your voice. Pick up a few random books lying round the house, and read some of the lines. No two people have the same music. Each should be unique. Music is the compassion, the soul, of writing. Find your music.

Virtue of listening

There are two ways of listening:

Introverted listening,

Observe the world in silence. Silence is the world within the world, the unspoken third person watcher. For practice go to someplace quiet whether in your house or outdoors. Sit, watch, listen.

Extroverted listening,

Go someplace that's active, maybe a park or coffee shop. Once there listen to conversations, studying their dialogue (tone, inflection, mood) This will greatly enhance your character building abilities with practice.

The Great Library

Alexander the Great knew the importance of having a source of knowledge when he created the Great Library in Alexandria, and so should you.Research is an important process. Write what you know, and research what you don't.

Voice and Gut

The difference between voice and gut is that voice has been defined before and cut into segments: first person, second, third. Gut isn't always clearly defined. Gut in its most rudimentary example is your chi. You're inner essence. Writing from the gut involves summing up the creative strength within you and releasing that energy in the form of a story, poem, etc. Gut is instinct, animal nature reighing supreme.
When you write don't try to edit, just let the words flow naturally. Focus on image and theme, not form.

Fishing 4 ideas (catching a Great White w/out getting eaten.)

Your mind is like the ocean. When your fishing for ideas be prepared. First, have a pen and notebook close at hand. Always write down your ideas right away to avoid forgetting them later on.Keep in mind that your not going to catch a great idea every time. Some times it may be more of a mackerel of an idea. Just keep a positive attitude about it. Time is what will decide if you snag a great idea.Read everything you can get ahold of. Read articles on the internet or in the paper and read books. The more you read the better your ideas will be.

Why Writing divorced English and got custody of the kids.

Writing and English are two separate entities. They share common background, but differ nonetheless.Writing is independent and gut wrenching like rock and roll. Whereas English is structured, and formulated, like classical music.
When writing don't think from the English perspective, that comes later on when you confront the inner editor.

Relationship of Writing

Think of writing as a relationship. You have to work at it, be devoted to it; but every once in the while it will irritate you, so get away from it. Some times it's best to take a break, before coming back to your work. This refreshes you and keeps you from burning all of your work.

Out of the Ordinary- Rituals of Writing

Develop a ritual. Whether its lighting incense or writing with a favorite pen, rituals help develop a sense of rhythm to writing. It gets you in the right mind set. Try to find out the time of day when you write best and set a number of minutes in which to practice. Stick to the regiment.

Spirituality and Meditation

Spirituality is an essential gift in writing. It helps form belief and attitude toward daily values. Also it aides in overall personal well-being. Being Spiritual differs from being religious. A spiritual person believes that there is no objective truth about which path to follow. A spiritual writer tends to accept variegated themes and ideas about life readily.
Meditation is another valuable tool. It is the state when the mind and body are relaxed, allowing spiritual incite and new found understanding of everything.

Thinking Outside of Yourself

Lose your feeling of individuality for a moment. Loss of Ego, or self, helps to create a new vantage point from which to write. By thinking less of yourself, a trend furthering the overwhelming meaning sense of wholeness, and connection to the universe is created.

Jokes

Jokes are good examples of storytelling. They have a specified path: to provoke laughter from the audience. Building the audiences curiosity in the beginning is very important with jokes, as with any piece of writing. Storytelling

Being a good storyteller allows for you to better understand the componets of structure. Think of a story as a sort of being. It has a skeleton, "internal squishy things"-organs, and muscle.

Storytelling suggests that you have a skeleton, that is, a certain system of occurrences in your story starting from beginning, through middle, and finally end.

The organs of the story is the content. What is your story about? Why should the reader care?

Finally, the muscle is the kinetic movement of your story. It is the action, plot points, twists. Action and reaction, why does your character do a certain action?
Morality

Be respectful of other cultures and races. Everything interconnects, each a small part of the puzzle. To be disrespectful is to show your ignorance.

Style with Attitude

Style is the way you roll. The way words come out of your mouth: subtext, content, and form.

Attitude is one's mental set.

Realize who you are. This will help define your style with attitude.

Humor, for those who have none.

There are three basic concepts of humor: Animal humor, Child humor, and Machine humor.

Animal humor is humor dealing with bodily function.

Child humor is when characters sometimes as old as forty act childish, or view their world from a child's point of view. Think Mr. Bean.

Machine humor is when the character doesn't react. Say a character gets hit in the head while playing kickball, and just stands there, no reaction.

Sleep

Sleep is very important. Without it your battery doesn't recharge, and you stalk through life the next day a zombie.

If you have writer's block or are getting stressed from writing then take a break or take a nap.
P.O.E.

Process of elimination, the fine art of B.S. Sometimes in writing your not exactly sure about a certain course of action your character takes, just B.S. it. When you research you can always come back to the question raised.

Real people and fake people

Real people have complex feelings, emotions, thoughts. They have their own separate lives, driver's license, social security numbers, etc.

Fake people, literary characters, likewise, must have this. They must have complex thoughts, and personal attributes. The only difference between fake people and real people is that fake people only come alive on the written page, their own world.

Rhythm and Flavor

Rhythm is the length of sentences in which you write. Varying the length of sentences allows a kind of "stride" to writing. Whether you choose to walk, jog, or run, always make sure you very the length so the reader doesn't get tired.

Flavor is the taste of the writing. Does it sit well? Is it Spicy? Sweet? Sour? Writing is like food. Certain spices tastes good too the taste buds of some people, while others may find it to be vile.

Flavor is defined by two things: Consonance, and Style.

A Writer with an Artist's eye.

As a writer it is important that you view things with an artists eye. Colors, shapes, shadows, contours, all are held dear in an artist eye. A writers eye should be no different.
By absorbing colors, shapes, etc. a writer utilizes the senses:
Sight,smell,touch,taste,hearing. Thus adding imagery and detail to their written work.

An artist absorbs what he senses and emits the picture in his mind by on canvas, whereas a writer absorbs what he senses and emits the idea in his mind onto paper.

Self discipline and Confidence

Self discipline is the art of planning and executing. With self discipline set goals for yourself to accomplish, then accomplish those goals. Don't make excuses. Do what you set out to do with drive, and clarity.

Confidence is believing in yourself, your writing, and what you are trying to accomplish. Through confidence you can overcome any obstacles in your writing life, including writer's block.

Emotion

Feel what you write. Writing comes from the mind and soul. When you write, believe the words you write. Write with emotion.

Scientia est potentia

Scientia est potentia is a very old Latin saying that means: knowledge is power. This is as true today as it was back then. In writing it is as valuable as diamonds, to read, read, and then read some more. By reading you gain knowledge. Some books contain general knowledge while others hold more esoteric knowledge. But whether you are reading the newspaper or Aristotle's poetics, it is important that you allow knowledge to find your mind.

T.H.C.

The big question, at least in certain circles in various college poetic classes is "does marijuana affect your writing?" Now I'm not going to talk about the legality of it, but in terms of writing here is what I say:

Either your going to smoke pot, or leave it alone. As far as does it stimulate your mind, sure. But don't go be a burnout.

Your mind can work fine without any form of substances. But if you feel you want to enhance certain sensations within your mind by smoking grass, then the decision is ultimately up to you. Do what you want to do.

Killing the Editor

In the movie the Matrix, Morpheus told Neo to "free your mind." Good advice. By doing that you allow the inner creator time to conjur the muse onto paper. Kill the editor for the time being. Only reincarnate him and edit when you are done letting the creative juices flow.

Absolute Consciousness

Absolute Consciousness is attained by allowing all thoughts to be stifled for a second ,then rush through the receptors of your mind. To do this meditate for a period of ten minutes, then slowly come back to reality. Upon the return to reality, still remain in a quiet room. Maybe play soft music to stir creativity, than begin writing. Free write for another ten minutes writing down various ideas, parts of poems, or whatever you want.

WRITING FICTION

(Character formulaton: born from ink grown into flesh and bone.)

Details, details

Right down to the scar on your characters knee details are essential. The reader doesn't need to know all the details but you as the writer must have that knowledge. Knowing your character body, mind, and soul allows for greater range and depth into the insight on the thought process of that character.

P.O.V.

There are many different points of view. First, second, third, limited, omniscient, blah blah blah. Look in an English book for further details. What's important about (P.O.V.) is deciding which to write your story in. The best way to go about doing this is to figure out the core of your story. Would it be best if told by one character from their point of view? Or perhaps by a variety of characters? Decide on the P.O.V. and form your story.

Personality

Personality is defined by viewpoint. Each character has a certain viewpoint, or certain set of beliefs and values that they develop from childhood onward. Creating separate personalities for your characters helps them evolve into their own identity, and thus they become three dimensional.

Nicknames and Nomers

Naming your character can be challenging or simple. It all depends on what you the writer know about your character. Give your character a name that represents who they are, or something about them.

Better yet giving your characters nicknames allows for better understanding of them. It helps to create personality. Why do they have this nickname? How do they view themselves? How do others view them?

Voice

Your characters should have their own voice. They shouldn't sound like one another, nor should they sound like you. They should sound like themselves. Are they longwinded? Soft-spoken? Intelligent? Crazy? It's all for you to decide.

Good, Bad, and Worse

Some characters are good, some are bad, and some are worse. When writing think about the morality of your characters. Do you want a saint for a character? A cop? A con man? A death row inmate? Characters can be anything you want, they can be sinless or the most sinful. Just remember to place them correctly in the context of your story.

Tools of the Trade

Pocket Notebook- carry with you at all times, jot down anything that strikes your interest.

Camera- See a place that could be in your story? Take a snapshot so later on you will have a perfect memory of it through the photograph.

Video Camera- A great way to remember people, places, or events is to film them when they happen. Later on you can watch the video and take elements you need for a story from it.

Recorder- A recorder is a useful tool as it serves the same purpose as the pocket notebook, however, you can capture sound faster than writing down ideas in a notebook.

Secondary Characters

Avoid stereotypical characters. Try to make your secondary characters interesting by giving them odd traits, quirks, or just plain something that stands away from the norm.

(Plot)

Concept to Actualization

Try to express the concept in one sentence, often called a logline in movie terminology. Think about your characters, their desires, fears, what they want most. Create conflict by creating opposition. Start filling in your plot slowly paying close attention to structure. Read other books to find out what the core of their story is.

Addiction: how to hook the reader.

Hook the reader within the first couple of pages or you can kiss your story "bye, bye." Hook them by introducing an interesting concept, scene, dialogue, or character within the first couple of pages. Do that and they will read on voraciously.

Newton's Third Law

Newton's Third Law of motion basically says "every thing is in a state of rest, until acted upon, thus receiving kinetic energy (energy in motion), every action has an opposite and equal reaction."

Thus, Newton's Third Law of motion fits the inciting incident of a story. The inciting incident is the first point that starts the character and/or plot in motion. It's the factor that changes the characters life, or throws their life completely off balance. The story is the process of trying to regain that balance.
(Dialogue)

Say what? - Dialogue and Characterization

Dialogue immediately characterizes a person. In one minute of them speaking you can tell their background, ideals, and whether you like them or not. Dialogue is a vehicle for characterization. Drive it well.

Tips on spicing up dialogue.

Dialogue should be sparse, lean, and mean. Each character should have a different rhythm when speaking. It should be indirect, not stating exactly what the character is thinking.

WRITING SCREENPLAYS

Logline and High Concept

Logline, as I mentioned before, is done in a sentence or two. It is the core of the story, who are your characters? What's the conflict? Why should the reader care?

High concept refers to a logline whose idea is vary unique and brilliantly stated. These are very marketable ideas in Hollywood.

Interesting Opening

Opening a screenplay with a unique image, character, sound, dialogue, or setting. Whatever you choose be positive that it serves like an inciting incident and gets the reader hooked.

Being an actor.

When writing a screenplay, be involved like an actor. Think like an actor would when trying to portray a certain character. Become the character as you write their dialogue. Perhaps, even get a friend to read lines from your script in contrast to the character you are reading.

Trippy Titles

Make sure you have an awesome title. You want something that captures the essence of your story and makes audience want to go see it. Take into account the Genre, or classification of your film when deciding on a title.

Studying favorite movies.

Take time to watch your favorite movies, studying them to see how they were executed. Ask yourself why are they your favorite movies? Who are these characters? What Genre are these movies?

Internet Screenplays.

The internet is the best place to check for screenplays. Example screenplays of some of your favorite movies are listed free of charge online for private study. Read as many as you can find, as they will help sharpen your own writing skills.

WRITING POETRY.

My idea of poetry is...

Turning off the editor, being enlightend, rebelling, spoken voice, R&R, streaking, phonics, punch in the face, deep, Gandhi, complex, outspoken, honest, soulful.

Observing.

Poets are great observers. They see things from various perspectives: either challenging or accepting what they see. They are curious about life, death, and everything in between.

Enslaving Karma

As a writer you have to make your own destiny. No one is going to tell you to write. You must write at least a little bit each day if you hope to get better. Being a writer isn't an easy way out: it's the hard way. It is probably best that you have a steady day job while you try to make it as a writer ,or you will learn first hand what it means to be a starving artist.

Type of Poetry that suites you

Poetry ranges from abecedarian poems to a villanelle. Start with the basics and work your way up through more complicated forms of poetry. Eventually you will find one or several that you feel most comfortable working with.

Syntax

Some poets have structured syntax. Others like e.e. cummings were pioneers in their total disregard for syntax and form. Some poets like the former style others the latter, but in the end it all depends upon your poem and what you are trying to create.

Trust Yourself

Trust yourself and your writing, and you will get far. Take critics comments with a grain of salt: Feel your poem. Don't be pompous though as conductive criticism is essential to your growth as a poet.

Daydream

What I hoped you have learned, above all else from my book, is that writing is a gradual process that takes time to learn. It is a skill and if you have the talent, confidence, and drive you will go far.

Just always remember to let your mind wander when trying to create. For in that daydream you may find your muse.