Recovering the magic

That sounds like the title of a relationship advice column, doesn't it? I suppose it is, in a way. When you are working on a story, you have a relationship with it, for better or worse (and for richer or poorer - usually poorer). At a certain stage in the process, this can become a marriage of convenience as you both stick it out for the principle of the thing but can't bear each other's company for much longer. This always happens. I know to expect it, after the initial euphoria and excitement of a new idea. But it always makes me sad.

When did it get like this?

I have a very vivid memory of sitting in my Grade One classroom, writing a very long and involved story about a fairy for my English class. I don't remember the bell ringing, class ending or my teacher trying to attract my attention. All I remember is sitting down to write a story, and then looking up to find that I was the only kid left in the classroom and that Mum and my teacher were both trying to get me to go home. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave my story. My teacher let me take my exercise book home, and I worked on it all afternoon. I had this same intense relationship with all the stories I wrote as I grew up. I spent hours and hours writing 'books' in the garden, lying on a picnic blanket. It was completely absorbing and completely wonderful.

And then I grew up. And I learned about the technique and craft of writing. And I started to take it seriously.

I became a better writer, but with that came a greater self-awareness and criticism that killed some of the pure pleasure I used to take in "making things up." I want to recapture some of that feeling, and, over the years, I have found a few methods that can work pretty well.

Drawing the characters

I used to do this a lot. I am an average artist at best, but I spent hours drawing all the characters in my books, paying particular attention to their costumes. The wonderful Natalie Whipple, whose blog I love, sketches her characters frequently (see here and here), and I always love seeing someone she has painted in words become a highly coloured, vividly imagined drawing.

Drawing maps

This has always been a favourite activity of mine. I have always loved maps, and had a slight obsession with globes and atlases when I was little that has abated only slightly. Drawing a map of your book's setting is great fun. Get a huge sheet of paper or card, some pencils or crayons, and go crazy. You don't even have to be writing a fantasy novel (although creating maps for imagined worlds is completely awesome). Draw the layout of your character's house, or their school, or their town.

Drawing scenes from the book

Even if you're no good at illustrating (like me), it's still fun.

Playing a character

Am I the only one who does this? I know it's a little weird. Pretending to be one of your characters as you go about normal tasks can give you great insight into their motivations and personality. And it can liven up an otherwise routine day. I sometimes do this as a way to deal with difficult or intimidating situations - if I pretend to be one of my braver characters who wouldn't be phased by whatever the problem is, it can make things easier. I'm not saying you should take this to crazy lengths, but it can be interesting in short bursts. And even if you don't want to actually inhabit a character, you can learn more about them by doing something they would do. Do they love to swim? Go to the pool. Is there a subject that fascinates them? Go to the library and check out the sorts of books they would check out. Instead of choosing what you would normally have from a restaurant menu, choose what your character would like to eat. Drink what they would like to drink (malt beer? Pineapple juice? Absinthe?). Wear something they would wear. It's an interesting exercise.

Creating an inspiration board

I love doing this! Get a stack of magazines and rip out anything and everything that speaks to you about your book. You don't have to do it all at once - a lot of writers have inspiration boards or files that they add to over a period of months while working on a project - but it's a fun way to spend an afternoon. You might be surprised at the images and symbols that crop up.

Creating a Polyvore set

Pretty similar to creating an inspiration board - but Polyvore is so much fun in its own right. For Nanowrimo last year, I asked each member of my writing group to create a Polyvore set that reflected the subject matter of their novel. The results were really quite amazing, and gave a great deal of insight into the atmosphere and imagery of each project.

Writing fanfiction - for your own stuff

I have a soft spot for fanfiction. When I had a breakdown and burned out a few years ago, I couldn't bring myself to write anything more taxing than fanfic - and I wrote a lot of it. It was fun; there were no expectations; and there was no pressure. I knew that it would never be published or make it into any sort of portfolio, and so did it for the sheer enjoyment. It was great. I don't write fanfiction anymore, but I do write the odd piece of fanfic-lite about one of my own characters. Try it. The piece may never make it into the book, but it could show you something about a character that you haven't seen before. Put them in an unexpected situation. Introduce them to someone new. Heck, send them into Space. Whatever seems fun, interesting and likely to spark that old feeling of magic again.

P.S. This great quote that Me from Overimaginated left in the comments describes the subject perfectly - thank you!

"Your relationship with people or with your job has to be a growing organism ... It's not something where you reach a certain point and then you start preserving it. You have to nurture it, you have to stay curious and hungry and foolish. Once you stop doing that, you get satisfied, and you get stuck." - Susan Sarandon

'Foolish' being the operative word! You have to maintain a certain childlike quality and joy in your work in order to be creative, I think.

Blogger meet-up and a biscuit with a face

Today I was lucky enough to meet the lovely Clare from Between Laundry Days - she was visiting from Chicago, and made time in her busy Austin schedule to eat a cookie with a face and put up with my nonsense for an hour! It was so lovely to meet you, Clare, and I hope we can meet up again the next time you visit. Although the pumpkin cookie did scare me a little bit.

Being a 'real' writer

Holly: What do you do, anyway?
Paul: I'm a writer, I guess.
Holly: You guess? Don't you know?
Paul: OK, positive statement. Ringing affirmative. I'm a writer.

...

Holly: Tell me, are you a real writer? I mean, does anybody buy what you write or publish it or anything?

- Breakfast at Tiffany's


I think all writers have met with this question at some point. Declaring you are a writer as a 'ringing affirmative' opens you up to questioning and, sometimes, judgement. "That's great!" is followed by "So are you published?" Or, my personal nightmare, "Have I heard of you?" No, no you haven't heard of me, unless you went to my high school that year I threw a pie at the DJ during prom night. Now, at the moment I'm able to answer that question with a bit more confidence because of The Cry of the Go-away Bird, but that opens up its own can of worms. (Are you going to be famous/rich/on television? No. Are you going to be the next J.K. Rowling/Dan Brown? No. And so on). Before I signed with an agent and a publisher, however, I dreaded these questions even more, because it felt like I had to defend my status as a real writer with some sort of hard evidence ... and I was never quite sure how to defend it or where to find this evidence, because half the time I didn't feel 'real' at all. Still don't. Sometimes I wished there was a Real Writer ID badge I could whip out when questioned.

From chatting to writerly friends, I think we all doubt we're 'real' writers, no matter how far down the road we are. We all doubt ourselves, look at other writers and think "they are so much more successful/hard-working/creative than me and they have a much snazzier beret than I do. They're REAL writers. I am intimidated by their REAL-ness." We all have days where the words just don't come and we panic and wonder whether we have used up our quota of words and will be forced to work as accountants or plumbers for the rest of our lives.

Here's the thing: I don't think there is one accurate way to define a 'real' writer. To one person it might mean, as Holly Golightly said, being paid for your work. To another person it might mean putting in a certain amount of daily work on a project. To yet another, it might mean sitting on panels at writer conferences and signing books for queues of fans. Everyone has a different definition.

To me, you are a real writer if you really write. And by 'really' writing I mean working hard, seriously and with persistence on your writing, whatever it is, rather than writing one haiku every six months and never touching it again because everything you create is perfect. If you are really writing, you are a writer. Congratulations! But I still think we should have ID badges.