Seven Writing Links -- Volume 152
A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, the spinoff movie from the Harry Potter franchise. It was good fun and kept me entertained, but I'll have to admit that it didn't capture my imagination nearly as much as the Harry Potter movies did. Perhaps it had something to do with the movie taking place somewhere other than Hogwarts (which I always thought was the best part of the franchise), but I suspect it might also have had something to do with the fact that the story was never in book form. In the original Harry Potter movies, the screenwriters and directors had plenty of material from the books to work with, allowing them to pack a lot of content into those movies. But this movie came directly from a screenplay, and so it seemed a little lean at times, depending more on special effects than an engaging story. At least that's the way it seemed to me. My daughter will be seeing the movie this weekend, so I'll be interested to see what she thinks.
In any case, the movie did cause me to set aside the story I've been struggling with working on lately and spend some time working on the Hogwarts' story that started me down the path of writing many years ago. To be honest, working on that fan fic is kind of a guilty pleasure. Since Rowling did a fair amount of telling in her books (and since I'm doing my best to match her style), I don't feel as constrained to follow the so-called "rules of writing" as I do when working on my "real" story. It's like taking a deep breath of crisp, clean, cool air.
But it's more than just not stressing over the rules.
When I work on my Hogwarts' story, I allow my own voice to come out (since it's rather close to Rowling's) and the words just seem to flow. But when I'm writing my "real" story, the one I'd like to sell one day, I try too hard to make it sound like a "real" book instead of just having fun with it. And so the words, while functional, just seem kind of bland. So tonight I might try sitting down in front of the computer with a bottle of wine and write whatever pleases my muse, no matter how silly it might sound, and see where it goes.
What can it hurt?
Have a great weekend and enjoy the links!
ChemistKen
Make Settings Come to Life with Sensory Details
Formatting Print Interiors for Self-Publishing
Merchandising For Authors
10 Tips For Writing Short Stories That Sell
How to Find Your Agent Match
How to Make Readers Deeply Connect to Your Characters
Business Musings: The Hybrid Learning Curve
That should tell you something - just relax and let your real voice flow in your own story.
ReplyDeleteI thought movie lacked a little something and was a bit thin on plot sometimes as well.
I don't think I ever write with rules in mind. I'm all about entertaining myself first. If other people like it, then bonus. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's great to write whatever you feel like occasionally - helps spark creativity.
ReplyDeleteHave a great holiday, Ken. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
I think it's best to just follow the story and see where it goes first without worrying about what might or might not be expected. There's always time for tweaks and finishing touches later. Hope you have a great writing 2017!
ReplyDelete