Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Dealing with 'Writer's Block'

As I struggled to decide what I should post about, I had a brilliant idea of writing about what to do when you can’t write! All of us at some point or another have frozen with our fingers curled over the keyboard, twitching this way and that, trying to decide which combination of letters, numbers, and/or punctuation to punch in. The common term for this is ‘writer’s block’. For some it can last minutes, others days, weeks, months, etc. I decided to hit the dictionary to see what the how writer’s block is described. Here’s what I found:
*Merriam-Webster.com

writer’s block
noun
Definition of WRITER’S BLOCK
: a psychological inhibition preventing a writer from proceeding with a piece
First Known Use of WRITER’S BLOCK
1950
So, pretty much it’s all in our heads. It’s like there’s some evil witch in our head that closes the door to the world that is trying to make its way out of us. It’s the evil witch that locks Rapunzel up in the tower and refuses to let us rescue her. Why does this happen? What are we to do?
Sometimes I lose perspective on a story if I’m concentrating on it too much. I need to step back and take a break. I need to let the evil witch let her guard down while I get juiced up and can break through her wall of thorns surrounding the castle.
Other times, the evil witch will drop you on the outside of a maze with the castle in the middle. Your story starts flowing as you go through the twists and turns. Then you face plant into a dead in. Do you give up? Heck no! You go back and see where you/your story took a wrong turn and try a different approach.
You keep going and going, until you get to the end and save Rapunzel. Or, in my case, some super sexy guy with a few tattoos that was only kept from me because of… Whoa, sorry. Got caught up in the moment there. You get the point. Don’t let writer’s block kick your butt, kick back and eventually you’ll get through.
 
*Don't forget to follow me at my new address: http://www.dianamlong.wordpress.com
Signature
 

Friday, April 19, 2013

Fun Friday #1

I often received inspiration from my family that I think, "hmm...how can I work this into writing/reading?". In honor of them, I've decided to start Fun Fridays. It will be exactly what it says: 'fun' and on 'Fridays'.

This first post is thanks to my baby sister, Laura.
Like me, she's addicted to reading. While reading a paranormal book that involved a girl finding out that her boyfriend was a werewolf, she scoffed at the girl's reaction and said:
"If I found out my boyfriend was a werewolf, my first thought would be, 'Crap! How many times have they smelled or heard my silent farts? Or heard my belly gurgle while I'm digesting?'."
Yes, guys, she is single. And 19, so she's legal. If you're interested, leave an email in the comments and I'll send you her number. ;)
So, for my first Fun Friday, here's your question:
 
What would your first reaction be if you found out your boyfriend/girlfriend was a werewolf?
 
*Don't forget to follow my new blog. The link is over here. ====>

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Character Names

Coming up with names for your characters is important. Click here to go to my new blog where I'm discussing different things you should take into account when naming your characters, as well as linking to my favorite sites.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Fictional Boyfriends

Everyone has one. Or two. Or twenty. Whatever your number is, join the club. This post was sparked by a pretty sweet facebook page I found the other day called A Book Whore’s Obsession. What the two moderators do, is find pictures of super hot guys and pair them with their super hot literary doppelgangers. It’s all in good fun, you may agree with who they pick, you may disagree. Either way, there’s drool-worthy guys and drool-worthy quotes to go with them.
Alright, time to lay the cards on the table. Who is your favorite literary crush? I’ll go first. Mine is Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. I was in love/lust with him waaaaay before the TV show came out. I loved his bad boy persona and sexy attitude. When Ian Somerhalder was chosen to play him on the TV show, my obsession started all over again.

photo credit: Rico Predador via photopin cc

This is a writing blog, so let’s tie this into writing. When writing about your lead hero, how do you make him swoon worthy enough to become somebody’s next fictional boyfriend? Do you make him sweet and caring? Sexy and tormented by his past? Chiseled abs and a brain to match? I personally prefer my literary hunks to be bad boys with some sort of issue that the heroine needs to help him get past. (Think TVD, 50 Shades, Strength) How about you?

*Don't forget to check the sidebar =====> for the link to my new blog!!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

My Favorite Quote


There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you. - Maya Angelou

I love this quote. It's even the screen saver on my desktop. Those who aren't writers probably won't understand the truth behind this statement. Those of us who are... well, you know what I'm talking about.

A story may start off as something small; a dream, a commercial you saw on tv, a pin on Pinterest. Then it slowly begins to build and build, until it's a whirling tornado of a whole other world inside of you, begging to get out. It occupies your mind during lunch meetings, while you're doing the dishes, while you sleep. It keeps crawling its way to the front of your subconcious until you finally give and pour your soul out on paper.

You get so enthralled in the demands of your characters, their problems, their joys. They won't stop hounding you until you've given them closure. They want the world to know what they're going through and you're the only one who can translate for them.

What's your favorite quote?

*Don't forget to follow me at my new address! I will no longer be posting on this one beginning May 18, 2013!

Sunday, April 7, 2013

I'm moving! Blogs, that is...

Blogger or WordPress? The biggest decision in every new blogger's life. At first I started out with blogger (obviously), but the more I looked at blogs using WordPress, the more I liked the clean lines and set up. After researching about the pros and cons of both, I've decided to go to WP. It's definitely different than Blogger, but still pretty easy to navigate, especially with the power of Google at my fingertips. I wish there was a way to just transfer all of my sweet followers over, but I'm stumped. If you know a way, let me know. For now, I'm just going to double post here and at my new WP blog for a while and leave the link to WP for you to follow over there. I appologize for the inconvenience, but I hope to see you all over there!

http://dianamlong.wordpress.com