Category: On Writing

Nowadays, I write by hand when I’m brainstorming, making notes to myself, or jotting ideas on post-its. In this sense, I don’t write short stories or novels on paper. I have written chapters on paper from time to time, but that’s the extent of my handwriting stories.

I find it indispensable, however, to record my ideas on paper when working on a project. In addition, I draw lines/arrows connecting ideas, create mind maps/diagrams, as well as underline or highlight key ideas.

Typing on the computer is advantageous for many reasons. For one, it’s easy to edit and it doesn’t take up any physical space (in terms of paper, that is). It’s also efficient given all the editing and formatting tools that are available in the writing software, such as changing the font, size, color, etc. In a word, typing is so fast, efficient, and versatile that it has become the primary means of writing.

But let’s not set aside handwriting. It’s useful when we’re writing on the fly (i.e. jotting down a spontaneous idea on, say, a napkin or post-it), writing on the margins of books, and of course, writing when there is no electronic device at hand.

When writing by hand, I put down ideas regardless if I’m making mistakes/errors. Also, when writing on paper, I can fold it or divide it into sections to organize my thoughts. You can be creative with it, even tear it up into pieces and write words on torn bits so that you can organize the ideas hierarchically or linearly or however you want.

Typing is limited in this sense, since typing is on 2 dimensions and can only be utilitzed in terms of the parameters of the software. You can, of course, draw boxes and arrows and make diagrams in the computer if you wanted to make a mind map. But it doesn’t have the same immediacy as you have on paper.

But I digress. So back to the main idea: what are the benefits of handwriting?

Many years ago, I would write essays or stories that would cover the paper(s) front to back. They were full of spelling and grammatical errors, and sometimes, parts of it weren’t even legible.

But the great thing about the process was that I never looked back as I wrote. I kept writing because unlike typing on a computer, you can’t delete what you write unless you erase it. And who has time to erase when the words are pouring out rapidly?

The beauty of handwriting was that I could pen a continuous stream of thoughts without concern for errors or doubling back to edit the piece. After a writing session was done, there’d be a pile of pages to edit, but the point was to get all of the thoughts down.

When we look back at the writers of the past, it’s incredible to think that they had written their stories by hand. How many drafts did they write until they completed their final manuscript? It took dedication and discipline; it was a labor of love.

Typing certainly makes writing easy and convenient. Handwriting can feel like it takes forever as well as tedious to convey one’s thoughts. As aforementioned, I write by hand when I’m brainstorming or jotting down ideas. But I can’t imagine not writing by hand again. Although typing is efficient, it doesn’t allow me to freely write anywhere on the page–to write beyond the confines of the margins/borders.

I tend to visualize a scene as I write, almost like staging a scene for a movie or play. Visualizing a scene helps me describe it in detail, particularly the gestures of the characters, the lighting, the objects and set pieces of the environment, etc.

A motif in my writing is the sky, particularly the time of day and the lighting cast by the sun or the moon. For me, it sets the tone, and I can visualize almost everything else as it happens. If it’s dark, I tend to write a scene more edgier. If it’s the morning, things are happening slower–calmer.

The pace at which the characters are moving also affect how I write a scene. If they are running, I tend to write it as if it were a chase scene. But if the characters are sauntering or moving at a slow pace, I give the characters a chance to talk or to explore the environment.

There are some authors that are very descriptive of the environment/scenery, and others that describe just enough so that you know what’s going on. When there are paragraphs or pages of minute detail, I’ll get lost in the text and lose focus on what’s happening. For example, if there is a ton of detail on the appearance of a character, I’ll lose track of what’s going on since I’ve spent a larger part of my concentration trying to picture/visualize the character.

I’d have to double back to figure out what the context was to put the information back together. But when too little description is given, I’m not sure how to visualize the scene or where the characters are geographically. It gives me the impression that the characters are merely cardboard, or that the scene is flying by without much there to imagine it lucidly.

There needs to be a balance, especially once a scene begins. As a reader, I want to be pulled into the world and to have a clear idea of what’s going on. Once the scenery is established, I feel it’s easy to follow the scene, and, perhaps, the rest of the story.

Dialogue is one of the most enjoyable things to write, as it gives life to the characters. A lot can be conveyed in dialogue, including the attitude and values of the characters. Writing dialogue can be like an out of body experience, since the characters can communicate in a way that is unnatural or alien to the author but is completely natural for the characters.

Dialogue takes a lot of time and practice to get right, since I find that the characters might say contradictory things, and this raises the question of where they really stand on a point, or if they would really say such and such line. Dialogue can be nuanced when we look at how the characters pronounce words, their speech patterns, and if they pause during speech or speak in brevity or in long-winded sentences.

A lot has to be worked out in dialogue, but when it works, it feels natural and the characters take on a life of their own. Dialogue also helps us access the characters thoughts and feelings, as well as understand their motivations.

I find that each author writes dialogue differently. Cormac McCarthy, for example, doesn’t use quotations, which can make reading his dialogue puzzling when determining who the speaker is or if a line is intended to be dialogue. But once I got used to this format, I learned that each character has a distinct style to their dialogue (speech pattern), which illuminated who the speaker was, even when multiple characters are speaking. Perhaps that’s what authors are aiming for with or without quotation marks: lines that sound natural and real for each character.

I like dialogue where the characters are making a point, and where the other characters are debating with them. I also prefer dialogue that is direct and simple so that the story flows quickly.

Overall, dialogue should move the story forward as well as educate you as to who the characters are. When that happens, it makes what the characters say sound natural and give their voice distinction.

Writing in silence or with music in the background is something I’ve switched back and forth between, and while I used to write with the music in the background, I now predominately write without music. It’s definitely a personal preference, since music can be a motivation boost for writers. For me though, I find that music can take over as I try to write, since I’ll start to reflect or think about other things while I listen to the song.

A happy medium I found is when the volume is very low while I write. I tend to concentrate a lot better in silence than I do with music in the background. For me, music is something that takes my mind elsewhere–a place where I’m reflecting on ideas or memories rather than generating/creating content.

Of course, I’m merely speaking for myself as I write, but I can see where writing with music playing can be inspiring. Perhaps it also depends on the type of music (i.e. music with or without lyrics).

I used to spend a lot of time browsing songs during a writing session. Of course, having a playlist would be helpful to deter this, but I find that when a song changes the mood I need to write I’ll start browsing for a song again.

Overall, I need to get into a rhythm when I write. Once I get into a rhythm, everything fades away and the ideas burst onto the page. I think what we’re all after is being in the zone.

What is the zone? It’s that place where only the story matters, where your mind is constantly coming up with ideas that can’t wait to come out. It’s when the writing takes precedence and you’re not aware of anything else.

After the release of THE INVAS10N, I decided to take a short break. I think it’s nice to take a break after completing/releasing a book/project, as it helps to regain your energy before starting a new project. Also, I read a lot more when I’m not writing, so it’s also great to be inspired by other authors.

Even as I relax, ideas continue to crop up in my mind daily. I can’t help but feel eager to get back into another story and write again. I often write my ideas down so I won’t forget them–to return to them later on another project. When the same idea keeps floating around in my head, it begins to evolve and take on a life of its own.

Another great thing about taking a break is that you give yourself the time to reflect on ideas you haven’t considered. I often say to myself that I want to write something new, to explore something I haven’t written before. We’ll see what I come up with.

I’m almost finished with editing the 10 short stories. I’m finding that editing a collection of short stories is a lot different compared to editing a novel. With a novel, you’re focusing on the progression of the events from one chapter to the next. You’re making sure that the narrative ties together by the conclusion of the story. With a short story, you’re focusing on the cohesiveness of the plot itself. You’re checking to see if you’ve conveyed what you needed to in a short amount of time/space.

With each short story, I felt like I was exploring a new scenario. A good analogy would be like visiting different rooms/galleries of a museum.

Because the short stories are linear, I had to plan the sequence of events as I would with a novel. The interesting thing about this collection is that it feels like a series of vignettes while something larger is happening. It’s definitely a neat experience.

I’m working on a collection of short stories right now. I’ve completed 3 of them so far, and my goal is to finish 10. They’ve been a lot of fun to write. The approach to writing short stories is a lot different than novels.

With writing novels, I’m eager to expand the world, to create layers of intrigue and suspense. It’s exciting to build the sequence of events, to add twists and turns in the narrative. There’s so much to explore in a novel, so many things that could happen.

With short stories, the approach is more like exploring an idea through a limited number of scenes. The twists and turns arrive much quicker, but one must be careful not to let them happen too fast or else it’ll spoil the surprise.

Instead of including a plethora of details as I would in a novel, I’m capturing the essence of the scenes, of the characters. When everything comes together, it feels as if it needn’t be long at all.

When I write a story, I try to have a certain number of chapters in it. I like even numbers such as 10, 20, etc., but if I had 17 or 19 chapters, it doesn’t seem right to me. If there are 19 chapters, it seems like there should be 20 chapters. Or if the last chapter is on 31, it should end at chapter 32.

But certain numbers like 7 or 11, etc., seem right to me. A lot of associations can be tied to those numbers. Perhaps this is just a feeling I have and it doesn’t really matter how many chapters a book has as long as it’s a great story.

But the one benefit I found to this approach is that I’ll write a new chapter (i.e. if it ends on chapter 19) just to make it fit a certain amount of chapters, and sometimes it ends up being really great.

When I write a story, I start with an idea that develops into a scene. From that scene, more ideas flow, and those ideas develop into more scenes. As this process continues, the scenes and ideas bounce off of each other into something more specific and refined.

It’s kind like essay writing. I start with a premise that I build into scenes that are like arguments for that premise. Then I pick it apart and see where the idea goes. That’s how I go about building the universe for the story–from that starting idea.

The characters I write give shape to the ideas of the story. The stories are about the characters and their decisions, actions, and the consequences of their actions. The most engaging aspect of a story is seeing what the characters pursue, or how they handle dilemmas/conflicts. The dialogue between characters can reveal a lot, just as much as their thoughts and actions.

I like to explore a little bit of each to understand the essence of a character.