I've been distracted lately, weird I know, that's so unlike me. Besides being on my last week of the semester (thank baby Jesus), dealing with all that comes with life, hammering out the summer programming at work, among other things, I have a pretty full plate. So of course instead of blogging I decided, "Hey! I'm going to start writing ANOTHER book!" This makes five. I have started to write five books. This is only counting the ones I have starting typing on here, that doesn't include the random notebook pages where I scribble down a few paragraphs when I suddenly have an idea. I have completed writing zero books. Turns out when you start it, you have to come back to it and it's a lot of work. Maybe once one is finished, it will be easier but until then I'll just have my scattered chapters floating around in various stages. I'm alright with that.
What I like about writing, is that it's basically Sims without restrictions. You can come up with your own characters, make them look however you want, give them personalities, feelings, place them in different scenarios. You can write from any perspective you want, you can tell a story from a third persons point of view, first persons, you can switch points of view, switch characters. There are literally no limits to what you can do. Write about something you hate, write about something you love. Write about the things you wish would happen to you or write about things that have happened to you. It is unlimited. THERE'S NO RULES!
It's evolved imagination. If I want to spend the afternoon getting plowed by a sexy ranch hand, I can do that. After our sweaty, erotic romp in the hay we decide to go out and disembowel a child predator, consider it done. Then we might run off to Fiji and relax in the sun while being served exotic drinks and watching the sunset. Sound like the perfect ending to a perfect day!
But Rachel, writing is boring. You just sit there and write. WHHHAATTTT? You are an idiot. You can write anywhere. You can go to the park, a coffee shop, sit in a tree. Better yet, I've never been to Fiji, how the hell am I supposed to know what it's like. I can't be writing a bunch of untrue shit. Someone who has actually been there is going to end up calling me out on it and I'll look like a dumbass. Solution: Better get my ass to Fiji and do some research. Even if you have no idea what you're going to eventually write about, go somewhere and just sit. Write down what you see, smell, feel, the weather, the people, what you hear, the overall vibe. That way, when you do actually pen something, its pertinent to setting. Like the smell of warm oranges on a sunny California afternoon, the fragrant aroma of spices in a Bangladesh marketplace or the tangy mix of disinfectant, latex and body odor at the local sexporium. Making someone feel like they are there, in that moment, is a critical part of composing a novel. My favorite books to read are the ones that give me a visceral reaction. If I feel like I'm about to die when I read your book, good for you! If I read something so perverse and depraved that I start seriously considering what the hell I'm doing with my life reading this shit, you get a gold star! Lookin' at you Palahniuk, you sick, wonderful fuck.
What I'm trying to say is, write something. Anything. I don't give a shit if it's a Facebook post or a post it. Take pride in it, use proper grammar and punctuation. Put your feelings on paper and look at them. You just made that. That paragraph came from inside of YOU. Look at you, my amazing little unicorn! You're a god damn writer. Now let's go fuck up the world together.
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