kayak writes

updates on my writing, tips & other stuff.

[kayakwrites]

what’s the best way to start a new project?

personally, i usually end up with a couple different ways i begin with a story, and i’ve realized it’s dependent on how much of the story i have figured out! this will help you if you have the rough outlnes of an idea, but can’t quite find the entire story yet!

1: BEGIN WITH THE END

whenever i work on a LONG project (anywhere between 10,000 words to 70,000) i tend to write the end of the story first. This strategy helps me get out a precise ending, because in most cases i know how it’s going to end before it starts.

HOW TO/WHEN TO USE:

-write act three in it’s (usually the falling action - conclusion) 

-If you have a solid idea on the climax/major plot twist of your story

-if you tend to be able to come up with characters, and their ‘end’ before you know WHO they are

2: SCATTER SCENES

this will be a helpful strategy to those who are character-driven writers! by using this strategy, which i call scatter scenes, you can get the building blocks of your story by writing scenes that come to you, and not waiting for your ‘ah ha! moment’

HOW/WHEN TO USE:

-when you have an idea for a scene(s), but no particular plot quite yet 

-to get out of writers idea-block! sometimes it’s easy to forget that writing is a PROCESS! and at the end of the day nothing needs to be perfect. 

-write as you find things out; no need to know the whole story ASAP

3: BULLET POINT THAT STORY ALLLL THE WAY

bullet pointing is a lighter version of an outline; it puts less pressure on you because YOU DON’T NEED TO FIGURE OUT EVERY SCENE--just outline the major ones

HOW/WHEN TO USE

-if your a planster

-if you seem to be caught up in one particular MAJOR scene, and don’t know what happens before/after

-HAND WRITE IT!! #1 tip when using this strategy! writing it out by hand seems to let the mind wander more and you’re able to put down whatever you think at the time--it’ll come in handy later!

[kayakwrites]

how to know what your story is

is it a novel? is it a short story? is it poorly written two a.m. poetry?

PINPOINT A VAUGE PLOT

Yes, even the pantsiest of pantsers--know your beginning, middle, and end. there’s no need to make it complicated! from there, you can decide how much time and effort you need going foward to give the story justice. what’s important? Are there vital details that would be too long to include in a short story? questions like this stem from finding your basic plot.

WHO ARE YOUR CHARACTERS?

this seems to go hand in hand with the last one, but if you’re more of a character driven writer, then you could lean towards this as well/more. what’s their backstory? is it complicated, is it necessary to the story? what is their endgame in the story and their overall character arc. Is there a certain role they need to play? Taking this into account you can help formulate your plot and therefore recognize what route you need to take to reach the end!

REVIEW YOUR WORK & KNOW YOUR LIMITS

what have you written in the past? what have you written in regards to this story so far? Even if you have the tiniest bits written, look over it and decide if you need more time to brainstorm the idea or if you’re ready to go on. just by looking over your work, you may see new potential in the story and realize what best fits it. whether that’s making it longer or shorter than originally planned, it still gives you a new perspective/a fresh look at what it could be. If you find something seems to not work, review it and contemplate the idea of shortening/lengthing it--there’s no shame in making your story better, even if that means to delete some beloved scenes. (i’m sorry to say, but killing your darlings can REALLY save a story sometimes!)

remember this is YOUR story and any little idea you have can turn into something great! have fun writing!

[headspace-hotel]

The two seasons of a writer:

1. where have all the words gone? has all speech that has issued from the human tongue since the dawn of language deserted me now? must my keyboard lie mute forever, my pen silent?

2. whERE are aLL THES E W ORDs c Om I NG FROM

[kayakwrites]

please write! the world needs your words more than you could imagine.

you need your words more than you realize.

[kayakwrites]

how to finish a WIP

the hardest thing about starting a project you love is actually following through with it and completing it. here are some tips to do so!

1: Set REALISTIC GOALS!

    One of the biggest things you can do is find a doable goal to reach each day, that way you’ll feel accomplished and motivated to keep writing later on. I started to set a goal of 200 words per day, and i’ve held on to the story for about six months and am nearly done. 

2: Have a vauge idea of the ending

     Okay this one mostly goes for the pantsers out there. If you know how your WIP is going to end, it’s going to be easier to find your end goal and feel as if your project is complete & not overwritten. Also: If you know your ending, you can then vaugely plan out what needs to happen so you can reach that scene, rather than jumping around from place to place.

3: THINK ABOUT YOUR WRITING!

Let’s be honest, you’re going to get discouraged and want to stop writing. So, in this situation think about your characters and the situation they’re in. What color shirt are they wearing when they find the monster? Would they be good at a certain board game? Learn things about your characters that may seem useless and might not make it into the story--but just mundane brainstorming might help you get into the groove of writing again and find a new scene to write!

have fun writing!

[kayakwrites]

find the THING

find the thing that fuels your writing

-read the same books over & over again if they give you the inspiration to write

Stories come from Stories!

-create a playlist that gives you the energy to write--put on songs that make you think of a character!

-draw out scenes (even if it isn’t very good) 

ALL IN ALL, GET THE CREATIVITY OUT EVEN IF YOU CAN’T PUT IT INTO WORDS YET

[kayakwrites]

first draft things!

yes, first drafts suck, but here are somethings to remember:

1: JUST WRITE WHAT COMES TO MIND- in all honesty, you’ll never finish if you keep trying to edit that one paragraph over and over. write out your story first--leave the refining until later.

2: OVERWRITING/UNDERWRITING- yes, these are both things everyone struggles with. remember to take a break from a certain scene if you feel like its going too far or going nowhere, even if it’s important to the plot. WORK ON SOMETHING ELSE. I find that if I let something sit for a day or even a couple hours I'll find a way to end the scene properly and not make it rushed or too much.

3: PINTEREST SOLVES EVERYTHING- okay, maybe not everything, but there’s a lot of inspiration there & I recommend for everyone to make a board for your story, it’ll make everything a little more ‘real’

4: SCREAM ABOUT YOUR WORK- yup do it. now. telling others you’re working on something is terrifying, but the moment you do you, somethings become a bit easier. find someone to push you to write--find that one friend who you can spoil the book to and they’ll be hyped with you.

have fun writing!

[kayakwrites]

current wips & what i've learned

when working on more than one book at the same time my brain feels full--heres the word counts & one thing I've learned from writing each project.

(actively writing) YA Romance: 4,657 words--started on dec. 26, 2019

what I've learned: write the scenes as they come to you. It’ll be easier to get on with the story that way even if you don’t write it in order.

Fantasy rewrite: 2,400 words--started on dec. 13, 2019

what I've learned: multiple povs should have different voices! aka: varying dialect, internal conflicts. & writing from the antagonist’s pov is fun & important!

Nano Contemporary: 14,121--started on nov. 1, 2019

what I've learned: friendships & diversity between friends is hard--it’s like fleshing out three different main characters at once; so do it one by one--start with the MC and then slowly introduce different aspects of the friend group!

[kayakwrites]

character development!

Of course, development is essential to every narrative, but it should be done right to convey a believable story.

before we get started some exceptions:

characters can make a drastic turn around in behaviors/motives suddenly due to:

grief, death, life-changing realizations--(ex.familial relations revealed). and more

Now, for a series--there should be gradual development of the main character & even of the antagonist.

so how do I do this?

-start with a solid beginning motive & end for the character

-make sure you create interactions/scenes throughout the book in which the character has a realization or slight change of mind (which should be subtle enough to pick up on if the reader is rereading the scene/book)

now what are some causes of casual development in a character?

-meeting a new person, that is overall more/less reasonable, which then leads the character to think like the other

-looking for new ways to resolve the conflict--if previous ways hadn’t worked (this can show how the character acts in frustration/how creative, intuitive this character is.)

-learning more about surroundings, powers (in a fantasy setting) and the people around them.--new information that is slowly realized can help the character change pov’s on certain people/the conflict at hand 

[kayakwrites]

descriptive language

when writing a complex scene, it can be tempting to describe the setting--which is no doubt important, but overuse of descriptive language can be hurtful to the scene. Giving the reader too much to think about may lead them to be confused or forget why the character had been in that setting. so:

start with general descriptions and throughout the scene weave in small details that the character notices.

it’s simply unrealistic for someone to notice the tiny, golden crystals that shine from the large, ethereal chandelier that hangs from the beautifully painted concave ceiling of the church. 

that entire sentence felt too long and unnecessary, even if it set up a beautiful room around the action. Doing this can be especially hurtful if the character is in a tense situation, for if you describe something irrelevant you take the reader outside of the conflict--which isn’t important.

instead write:

As she walked into the church, golden light shone upon her face. Her chest was tight, nerves working the way through her body. Looking around, she noticed that the blaring light came from a chandelier above her. Finally she spotted the person she’d been looking for....

Overall this creates the setting around the scene, rather than the other way around. However, one of many reasons to give a small detail early on is if you need to foreshadow that specific object. Which can be significant to having a good narrative

[kayakwrites]

the “the the monster”

One of the best writing tips I'd ever gotten was from my seventh grade history teacher--that of which he called the ‘the the monster’

the best way to explain it is that you should never start two sentences with the same word. this might seem like a simple idea/very mundane--pretty much something everyone would know. However, you can find yourself doing this a lot more often than you think. 

for example writing this:

The soft, warm blanket lay atop her and keeping her warm as she slept. The boy had been waiting for her to wake up for awhile, constantly checking her. 

is a lot chopper than writing this:

The soft, warm blanket lay atop her, keeping her warm as she slept. Across the room, the boy sat and anxiously waited for her to wake.

personally, I like to give a two sentence space between using the same word to start. Doing this makes the writing seem less repetitive & overall can make you think of creative ways to get certain points across. I find if the sentences sound too similar it will bore the reader fairly quickly, leaving them to skim over what could be important information. Similarly, using the same word twice in one sentence has similar effects. That shows lack of ‘creativity’ so to say. 

overall, try to vary your writing! it might be tough sometimes but you got this!

[kayakwrites]

How to pick POV: 1st or 3rd

The biggest struggle I've had in my rewrites is whether or not to change the POV of the story. Up until this point it has been third, but here’s some tips that I’ve picked up on & questions I’ve asked myself.

1: How easy is it to get the motives/personality of the character across?

      -If you can’t communicate the characters wants and or reason behind their actions without having thoughts inserted into the narrative multiple times a page, then it should be told via first person, rather than third. It will make the story telling a lot smoother if you don’t put ‘they thought,’ every three sentences and it can help the reader understand the conflict & story easier. 

2: Why am I writing in this POV?

   -nine times out of ten you write in whatever POV you’re most comfortable in. doing this not only holds you back from telling your story properly, but from expanding as a writer. If your only reason to continue on with writing in your current POV is because you’re ‘better’ at it, it needs to be changed. 

3: As you find your writing style, and you go back to read a wip, you may find the story just doesn’t read/ feel right anymore. 

   -this is something I've been challenged with. The most important part about writing is to tell the story you want to tell. Even if you have spilled your guts writing a first person story, but third person seems like the better option, do it. Likelihood is if you see something wrong, so will others. 

It might take forever to finally find your story, but it’ll be so rewarding in the end. Change the story as needed! 

[kayakwrites]

current wips!

ya fantasy; 14,400 words--redrafting/rewriting

ya contemporary; 15,000 words--currently writing

redraft of ya fant; 300 words--planning characters & motives