1.
How do you set an atmosphere/tone throughout your
work?
A
tone can be based on many factors. For instance, it can follow the
protagonist’s personality (is she/he cheerful, or rather gloomy). It can also
follow the genre; if it’s a romantic story, then a writer can choose a rather
romantic and artistic tone, and it can be reflected on the setting, the places,
the events where scenes are taking place, etc. It can also be more than one,
like a flow that changes as the storyline develops, i.e from gloomy to a
bright/optimistic tone.
2.
How do you make sure you are engaging with the reader?
We
won’t know for sure until our work reaches the readers. In the process, the
only person I can count on is myself. So, as I write my story, I need to be as
excited and as engaged as I want my readers to be. If it’s a funny scene, I
need to make it’s funny to me as well. I need to laugh at my own funny scene,
otherwise it probably won’t work for others either. I need to be in love with
my characters, as I’d imagine my writers would be. So, make sure your writing
is interesting for yourself first.
3.
How do you overcome writer’s block and get in the
right state of mind to write?
Based
on my experience, writer’s block mostly comes from technical issues. Sometimes
we need to get technical to fix it. We need to fix the character, to fix the
outline, to fix the plot, etc. The problem is, many beginner writers don’t like
dealing with those issues. Hence, the writer’s block phenomenon is
misunderstood as “lack of ideas”, or “lack of imagination”. Most of the time
it’s not the idea or imagination that’s need to be fixed, it’s the writing. My
best antidote for writer’s block is deadline. If you set a deadline and
determined to accomplish it, you’ll find ways to overcome your difficulties.
Just show commitment to your writing, set aside a dedicated time to work on it,
daily. May it be thirty minutes or one hour. But, show up everytime.
4.
Do you have any other tips you could give me about
writing in general?
For
beginner writers, what you need to strive for is to finish whatever it is that
you’re writing. Many people give up before they reach the end, therefore they
never know the real struggle during the creative process. Once they can finish
a writing, they will get more familiar with the whole process, and will have
more courage and confidence to start another one. Practice a lot. Don’t worry
about not being good enough. Once you’re familiar with finishing creative work
and what it takes, strive for a better technique. Learn by reading good books,
by reading books on writing techniques, attend seminars and workshops if you
have to. But, find out what it takes to produce a more quality writing. Writing
is a skill that takes a lifetime to learn. And that is good thing. It means
there’s always a room for improvement, no matter what stage you are at in the
given moment.
Posts
