A Story of Ghosts

 

I wanted to give a little writing update, something I haven't done in a bit. I've been working on a Middle Grade ghost novel for over a year. It's a complicated story and I've been consistently interrupted by life, but have continued to work on it nonetheless.

This week, I had a bit of a breakthrough. I'm currently writing a pivotal scene where the action is going to turn. There are two schools of thought when it comes to writing these types of passages. One is to get the idea down and push through, then go back and make it perfect. The other is to suffer through carefully and make sure the tone and details are solid. I fall into the second school of thought. For me, getting the tone right here will set the style for the rest of the story. Getting it wrong can lead to the wrong trajectory and ruin a story.

The other night I was perfecting an encounter and once I nailed it, a burst of what was to come hit me. I love these kinds of breakthroughs. The trick is to harness them into momentum.

The Sounds We See

As I wrote yesterday, I've been insanely busy this past month with grad school, and honestly, for the past year. Given that I also have a three year old, and a full time job, my time for writing has been limited to say the least. Despite this, I've written a few times over the past half year or so that ideas have been gestating and the itch to get back to writing has grown more severe over the past few months, an itch that grew last night during a concert I attending.

I went to see Langhorne Slim in Woodstock last night, and while he was amazing, this post is about the opening performer, James Wallace of Skyway Man. There was something about his songs that created intense images in my head, images involving two of the stories that have been gestating in there. Music has always acted as a fertilizer for my imagination, but every now and then I encounter something that acts like Miracle Gro. 

He was selling his album between acts and as I was the only one there, we chatted a bit and I got him to sign the record. I can't wait to have a little spurt of time to listen to it and let it inspire me some more.

Thoughts on the Future that Come from the Past

Moving is a headache! There's no doubt about that. There's lots of boxes. Putting things into boxes. Taking things out of boxes. Disposing of said boxes. But it's also a chance to ferret through the collection of stuff that one has acquired during their lifetime. 

Three years ago, when I moved out of my home of a decade and into what I knew would be a temporary rental house until we found a place we wanted to call home, I had to give up having a full office and settled for a nook. As a result I had marked several boxes from my old office as "DO NOT UNPACK." These brief time capsules have recently been opened as I once again find myself set up in an office of my own. 

In these dusty musty boxes, I came across notes on many, many half-started and abandoned writing projects and have begun thumbing through their contents. The new manuscript I've been working on is structured in such a way that it should allow me to include these fragmented elements in some way, shape or form. Though currently inconclusive, I feel that my hoarding has not been utterly useless.

Journey Through the Pages

Just over a month ago, I wrote about a dream I had venturing through a day in the Interzone and I talked about how it inspired me. A few days later, I began work on novel. This is the first bit of writing I've done in about four years where I feel as though it's the best thing I've written after each session. It's one of these books that takes place during one day in the summer of my imagined youth. Thirty pages in and the story is still very clear and present in my mind for at least the next fifty to a hundred pages. I haven't been this excited about writing in a long time and just wanted to share my enthusiasm. That is all.

Alphabetcial Disorder

There's this notion out there that organizing things alphabetically somehow makes you efficient and conscientious. The arguments are easy to make. You always know where to find things because you know where they are. Nothing ever gets lost. You won't waste time searching shelves to find this book or that record, because you simply go to the letter in the alphabet where that item is supposed to be. And that all makes sense. It's hard to argue with the notion, but I'm going to.

My two library collections, books and music, are not organized alphabetically. Does this create search problems? Well, yes...sometimes. But not usually. The problem with alphabetical, especially when it comes to my own personal collections, is that I'm rarely looking for something specific. When I want to read a new book, or listen to an album, I don't typically have a title in mind. I rarely jump up thinking ooohhhh, I know what I want to hear! My brain doesn't work that way.

I think in moods and ideas and look for things that will conjure the images I seek. I'm looking for a vibe or a groove, not for a particular item. My collections are organized by genre and mood. When I'm feeling a certain way, I know which area in the collection to browse. And I enjoy browsing through those sections to find what I want. In that way, I'm often refreshed on what I actually have in the collection. It may not be efficient or conscientious, but it's inspirational and that's better in my opinion.

The Unseen Playmate

The other night, I was reading A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson to my daughter before bed and came across the "The Unseen Playmate." The first two stanzas may be the most terrifying thing I've ever read:

"When children are playing alone on the green,
                     In comes the playmate that never was seen.
When children are happy and lonely and good,
                    The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood.

Nobody hear him and nobody saw,
                    His is a picture you never could draw,
But he's sure to be present, abroad or at home,
                    When children are happy and playing along."

It instantly conjured images from Pinterest Dark Imagination board and got me thinking about a story I had been envisioning while creating that board. I'm currently working on something else, but this passage has certainly inspired me to revisit the horror story I had been thinking back a few years ago. Be afraid...be very afraid. 

Show Me the Way to the Next World

With all of the intrigue and turmoil going on in the world of politics, one story that seemed to get a little lost over the past two weeks was the discovery of a relatively nearby solar system very similar to ours, with at least a few potentially habitable planets. 

Since childhood, I've always been fascinated with the idea of space travel (and time travel, though it a subject for another post). I recall countless hours of daydreaming about visiting other planets. I was always obsessed with any space related sci-fi, and for the most part, I still am. After this story broke, my imagination on the topic was re-awoken. When scrolling through for a movie to watch last week, I had a hard time deciding between Interstellar and a Mass Effect anime. I went with the anime. 

I spent some time this morning looking at various writing ideas that I've collect over the years that involve space and other planets. Given this recent news, I'm feeling inspired to travel through the stars once again.

From Where Things Come

The other day I was packing up the last remnants of my old office and came across this sticker of Jabber Jaw. As a kid, I loved Jabber Jaw. He never failed to crack me up. Anyone familiar with that '80s cartoon character, and my picture book The Shark Who Was Afraid of Everything, must surely know that it was the inspiration for the story. It's funny how things like that can stay with you, and as I eagerly await the birth of my first child, I can't wait to see what she discovers and watch what things will inspire her.

Scattering Demons

One of the most exciting aspects of writing is when fascinating new elements seem to emerge from the hidden depths of the imagination. This process happens all throughout the initial writing, but I find that the most interesting elements tend to come out during revisions. 

Sitting down to re-work a manuscript is sometimes daunting. Knowing that things need to be added, and that certain complications need to be solved can often lead to static thinking. One tries to logically solve these problems, but logic usually leads to boring solutions. However, somewhere along the line, a strange image or thought will pass through your mind, setting free the little demons that hide there. Once struck, the creative energies gather these snippets of madness, piecing them together in impossible ways, and suddenly those formerly difficult problems are given brilliant conclusions.

It's important for any artist to be comfortable letting their demons run the show every now and again.

Inspiring the Youth

I spent most of this week in the great state of Ohio speaking with creative writing students at LCCC in Elyria. The staff was kind enough to invite me out there and the students were kind enough to care. Though I've done many school visits, this was the first time I spoke with college students and it was a fantastic experience. They were so eager to learn all that they could, and though I know I've been doing this for a long time, it's easy to forget that you have anything to offer.

Writers rarely have the opportunity to discuss their craft. Or rather, they rarely have the opportunity to discuss their craft with an audience that cares to listen to what they have to say. Most people think writing is the simple process of sitting down and making up a story. Not that they have any illusion of it being it easy, but they don't understand the amount of work that goes into it. So having an audience of young writers is a wonderful experience. They have already experienced many of the difficulties that come with the writing process and therefor are aware that you are speaking from a position of authority and come prepared with interesting and challenging questions. 

It always impresses me how motivated young writers are. I was once that way. We all were. But somewhere along the path of life, motivation becomes something more akin to dedication, like that of a tired old man still cutting his lawn rather than paying someone else to do it purely out of stubbornness. One of the reasons that I love visiting with young writers is that their enthusiasm inspires me at the same time my advice inspires them. The best experiences are those who benefit everyone involved.

Paddington, Please!

Today is Michael Bond's birthday, the author of Paddington Bear. Paddington was my favorite series when I was in second grade. It was also the first series I remember seeking out on my own to read. I wasn't much of a reader as a child. I was a good reader in school, but did little reading in my free time. I much preferred to play with toys and have them act out stories of my own creation. But something about Paddington spoke to my stuffed-animal obsession. I fondly remember checking out many books from the school library, and buying quite a few at the book fair. 

On a trip to London a few years ago, I bought the Paddington bear in the photo above and took him around with me in my pocket. Then I snapped this picture of him in front of Paddington Station. There's something about the books you love as a child that influences you throughout your life, which is one of the many reasons that I love what I do. So thank you Michael Bond for sharing your imagination with us all, and have a wonderful birthday!

The World of Animal Children

Over the past two months, I've started drawing and painting again. I used to do a lot of drawing, but in the last few years I haven't made the time, focusing instead on digital collage and a few basic character sketches. What I forgot in that time was how much the artistic process can inspire my writing process. By working on an art piece, it leads my mind in different directions and invites stories to be born.

I've recently finished a series of half-animal, half-children illustrations titled The World of Animal Children. It's a theme that's always intrigued me. I wrote an entire chapter book series on the premise after all. (Of course, CatKid was included.) Currently I have a renewed conviction that artists must have multiple outlets in order to keep their imagination fresh.

The Past Becomes the Present

After the big rewrite project I recently completed, I'm ready for a change of pace. This past week I started the first chapter of my next manuscript. I wanted to write something younger, and something funny. So I'm returning to fifth grade memories for inspiration, hoping to chronicle that year which is still one of the more vivid years of my life. 

The inspiration for the story came from looking over several pages that I'd written a few years back. It was a few months ago when I found the story and read it, really enjoying the mood. But it wasn't thought out, which is probably why I abandoned it in favor of something else way back when. This time I went about it with a completely different approach, trying to create a very different book than the ones I've written before. And once I had that clear in my mind, I spent time thinking about what would happen during the course of the story and outlined the first few chapters.

I'm really excited to work on this. It's really the first time I'm writing a children's novel that is based on autobiographical material. I'm very interested to see how it will turn out. 

Fiction Friday (20)

Sometimes the right book just seems to come along at the right time. The book I most recently read is one such novel. I bought this book years ago at a Border's that was closing down. I walked out of that store with a stack of books nearly as tall as me, The Invisible Order being one of them. I was attracted to the book by the beautiful cover, and when I read the synopsis, I thought it sounded like a good book to read while researching a middle grade manuscript I was planning. When I abandoned that project several months later, the book lingered for years on my to-read shelf. Having restarted work on that manuscript in the past few months, I was once again drawn to the book and decided to read it. My instinct about it turned out to be spot on. It had the exact same feel that I was going for, and reading it really accelerated my progress on my manuscript. I was totally inspired and am pleased to share it with you. Enjoy.

The Invisible Order Book One: Rise of the Darklings by Paul Crilley
(Egmont, 2010)

Emily Snow is an orphan on the streets of Victorian London, trying her best to take care of herself and her younger brother William, when an unexpected encounter turns her life upside down. In a dark alley, Emily witnesses something she was never supposed to be able to see; a sword fight between two rival Faerie armies. She makes the crucial decision to help one of the injured piskies after the battle, a choice that puts her at odds with a secretive group known as The Invisible Order, whose task it is to eliminate the Faerie from the face of the earth.

Over the course of the next two days, Emily must free her brother from the clutches of a traitorous queen, break into the mysterious headquarters of the Invisible Order with the help of her street urchin friend Jack, face off against double-crossing enemies from all sides, and solve confounding riddles that just might save the world. I quite loved this book. The exciting plot, with all its intriguing twists, is extremely well thought out. And the characters, especially the tenacious Emily Snow, made the action that much more enjoyable to read.

In many ways, this book felt like a fantasy Dickens may have written if he wrote fantasy. It was pitch perfect in every way and I can't wait to dive into the sequel.

Whistling in the Wind

Over the last few days, I've felt a burst of creative energy coinciding with the end of a sweltering heat wave. It's no surprise. My moods often match the weather. And with the cooling air blowing in, my imagination has cleared some of the dust that had been settling and I feel ready to tackle several projects at once. 

Most recently, I came across a project idea that I'd sketched out quite some time ago, as in three or more years ago. A comic strip panel of Charlie Brown that I'd seen sparked renewed interest in the character I'd set aside in a folder to be forgotten. When I opened it to see what it contained, I was surprised by how much I liked what I found. I instantly felt a desire to return to it, complete with fresh ideas and a new vision for what it could be. 

The lesson in all of this is that sometimes you have to know when to put an idea aside rather than force it to completion. There are times when you know you've come up with something compelling, but simply can't quite figure out what to do with it. But if it's truly as good as you expect, eventually it will come to you. It may be hours later, or it may be years...which is why a writer never throws anything away.

Walking in Wonderland

Recently I've been busying myself with the revisions of a Middle Grade manuscript that I wrote about two years ago, and while I love revisiting stories and enriching them, it's definitely the "work" aspect of writing. Most writers will admit that this isn't their favorite part of the process. The part we love is the creating of the stories and the weaving of the narratives that make those ideas come alive. 

So, it goes without saying that while revising my manuscript I've also been daydreaming about other stories I want to write. The stories come in little snippets of observation, lines from song lyrics, and encounters with strangers. These elements start to piece themselves together on their own, forming characters and plots. I find it's always better to let a story come together over time rather than sitting down and trying to figure out what to write about. That never works for me. 

The added benefit of working in this manner, it gives me motivation to finish those edits. 

And Only Weeks Before the Guns all Came and Rained on Everyone

For someone like me, it is a very strange habit to write in a diary. Not only that I have never written before, but it strikes me that later neither I, nor anyone else, will care for the outpouring of a thirteen year old schoolgirl. -Anne Frank

The first written voice that I ever connected with was when I read The Diary of Anne Frank when I was eleven years old. Never before had I encountered a voice that I felt was talking directly to me, explaining feelings that I had also felt but could never put into words. In many ways, the influence of her writing is still very present in my own. The conversational tone I take with the reader owes an incredible debt to her diary.

She was the first literary character I ever had a crush on and I still remember finishing the last few pages while laying on my bed and hoping against all reason and fact that the story would end differently. I still feel that way every time I listen to Neutral Milk Hotel's Holland, 1945 and it still makes me sad. I've recently incorporated those experiences into the manuscript I finished this spring, and Anne Frank is mentioned quite a bit. Today would have been her eighty fourth birthday....and though she died far too young, her spirit lives on in the words she shared with everyone. 

The Lost Art of Lost Art

This past week, I've spent a lot of time painting, something I haven't done in quite a while. For many years, it was part of my routine. I always believed that one creative outlet fed another like a conjoined parasite. An image I drew would become inspiration for a scene I would write, and an image I wrote would become the seed of something to paint. I lived in that circle quite contently for a long time, but eventually the demands of one outweighed the time left for another. 

After this week, I realize again how important the connection is between them. If for no other reason, it allows the imagination to work in a different way, to pull free from the tracks that keep it running on a straight course and take it for a scenic loop. Sometimes detours are the best route to take.

Ghouls Night Out

Inspiration is a funny thing sometimes. It amazes me how one glance at a picture can start a whirlwind of ideas. Lately I've been working on the rewrite of a Middle Grade novel that I wrote quite some time ago. After nailing down the first third of the book, adding extensive dialogue and descriptions, I've had to take a pause in order to flesh out some of the changes I have planned for the rest of the story. The skeleton of the story is very strong, but as with any skeleton, it can support a lot more weight.

Last night I spent some time going through old CDs and loading up some songs that I wanted add to my digital library. I came across an image in one of the booklets that sparked several pages of notes. It wasn't just details, but entire elements that would enrich the story and take it to another level. I was barely able to keep up with my mind as I jotted them down. Whether I use all of them or not remains to be seen, but it's nice when that damn finally breaks and the ideas come rushing out. 

Spring Break, Y'all

Harmony Korine is a writer and director I've followed for a long time. There is something about his visual imagination that I've always felt a connection with. His film Gummo definitely had an influence on my writing, as did Julian Donkey Boy. His movies tend to focus on characters who exist on the fringes of society, and those are the stories I like to tell as well. Last night I got to see his newest film Spring Breakers, and it was pretty phenomenal.

The movie is told in such a way that it washes over you in waves, and like the tide coming in, it eventually pulls you under and submerses the viewer into its world. The imagery feels very literary to me, like a William Burroughs story told in pictures instead of words. His use of repetition and story looping was very reminiscent of Alain Robbe-Grillet's style of writing. Characters would repeat sections of dialogue four or five times, each time with different images flashing across the screen until the dialogue caught up, creating a layered effect that was quite brilliant. By the end, the film is a powerful portrait of a generation lost in the excess of our culture...a doomed generation feeding off the adrenaline of civilization's decline.

On the surface, everything in the movie seems shallow, like an MTV documentary on spring break frat parties, but as it follows four college girls down to Florida, it steadily begins to expose the darker issues that hide underneath. The backdrop of spring break becomes a perfect metaphor for escaping the stifling boredom of every day life in favor of a drug-fueled fantasy.

James Franco is amazingly magnetic in this movie. His character reminds me of John Milton's Satan in Paradise Lost. He represents the attraction of giving in to temptation and how easy it is to succumb to a philosophy of life based on constant distraction and amusement. Morals are quickly abandoned in favor of enjoyment as the other characters him into a metaphorical Hell. But the movie doesn't necessarily place a morality onto the story. Even in Hell there is beauty to be found. And though the characters may seem reprehensible to mainstream values, they are shown to be human just like anyone else. Much Alec in A Clockwork Orange, I feel like these characters are simply victims of the modern age.

It's a movie that will stay with you and have you wondering if anything was learned or not? Were the characters right or wrong? Good or evil? And does it really even matter? Eventually bringing you back to the characters' main dilemma; does anything matter except the pursuit of pleasure in all its forms?