Robin Freedom Writes

Hi, my writing name is Robin Freedom (and no, you will never get my actual name, NEVER!) and this blog is dedicated to recording my writing and publishing experience (which I will write about as soon as I have any).

[metradell-vyorei-deactivated202]

YO WRITERS

Stop what you’re doing right now and go write 3 sentences of your story.

Every time you see this, write 3 lines.

Reblog so other writers will do the same, let’s finish these damn stories.

[robinfreedomwrites]

If you don’t describe everything like a Victorian poet, you’re doing something wrong.

[robinfreedomwrites]

I’ve been getting back to my manuscript from April NaNoWriMo, and as I was working, I quickly realized that most of it was in the 1st person. I like to think it’s because I was really relating to my main characters and therefore saw myself as them, but in any case I have to go through and change the entire thing to 3rd person. Oops 

[robinfreedomwrites]

So true.

[humanityinahandbag]

Why I Love Writers

How We Write: The world in the morning was a land frost kissed and chilled. The sun rising above the willows to burn away fog and drink it up again. We rise anew, our bones stretching, our skin shimmering, our blood beating a drummer boys concerto. The land is coffee beans and frying pans and sweetness on the tongue, and we follow its path to whatever life may bring. We are the people and we are alive and we are ready.

How We Talk: Um- I mean… sure… yeah… uh, I mean I guess I’m a morning person I mean oh shit I stuttered didn’t I I mean fu-frick, there’s a lot of stuff in the morning that I like and coffee is basically, you know, good or something or… um… the floor is cold? And sorry, I keep saying cruse words, oh shit I mean curse words I messed up my letters lol um… wow this is super awkward um… maybe we could start over and HOLY SHIT A PUPPY.

[miraculousturtle]

ARE YOU IN MY HEAD?

[savvy-mutant-turtle-banger]

OMG!! THIS IS SO ACCURATE!! LIKE YOU ARE IN MY HEAD TOO!

[robinfreedomwrites]

How to Make Paper Longer (Not Just Look Longer)

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a big procrastinator. I’m not the biggest procrastinator I know, but I am writing this as I am supposed to be writing a 1200 word history paper that’s due in, oh, two days. Should it have been done by now? Yeah, but that’s not the point. The point is that I’m writing it and since I’m not the best under pressure, the words aren’t just coming to me. So, how do I lengthen my paper from about 700 words to 1200? 

Some say to use those tricky editing skills of yours and change font and margin size, add to the header and footer unncessarily long, use fluff sentences and whatnot. And to that I say- if you can get that past your teachers, great, if that works for you, go ahead. But my teachers can literally tell a .5 font difference and they can also tell when sentences are fluff or not. So, how do you add actual content to your paper without adding extra ideas? I’ve found a few ways.

1. QUOTES

If your paper is lacking, it’s probably because you don’t have enough quotes. Use at least two per paragraph, preferably more, especially for literature papers (Lit teachers love citation). It helps back up your point and shows that you’ve done a fair bit of research, especially when you use quotes from multiple sources. For history, use quotes from famous figures, and for literature papers, use secondary texts, if they are allowed.

2. DESCRIPTION

Not all of us are Ernest Hemingway and use simple sentences like “It was amazing champagne” (I mean, it worked for him, so more power to him), but most sentences can be elaborated. This can give you the benefit of clarifying ideas and making absolutely sure that your teacher knows exactly what you’re trying to say. Take “the women’s rights movement was similar to the Abolition movement” (yes, this was an actual sentence from my paper). This can be elaborated and clarified into “Similarly, the women’s rights movement had a argument based on the natural equality of the sexes and the end of privilege”. BOOM. Double the words. Do that to most of you sentences and you not only sound smarter, but also you make yourself clearer as you add to your word count.

3. CONNECTING YOUR PAPER TO THE MODERN DAY

If there’s one thing that teachers love in a paper, it’s a connection to the present day, If you can do that, it shows that you understand how important what you’re talking about is and how it is relevant today, For most history topics (racism, globalization, civil rights, industrialization, war etc) it is not too hard to talk about the past’s continued effects on today’s world. For literature, it’s a bit harder, though some works, like war novels, are easier to bring back that connection to. This can add anywhere from a paragraph to a page to your paper and elevates it to a whole ‘nother maturity level. Understanding how what you’re writing about is important to you today is a big plus for just about any paper.

Obviously, this won’t work for some papers (lab reports and such) but the idea is the same; you need to make sure you’re absolutely clear and elaborate as much as you can, while still providing new information. If you just elaborate by say “very” five times, you’re not adding to the content of your paper; you’re writing fluff. With these tips, you add to the quality of your paper while not adding too much more as far as new ideas go. That way, if you’re in a writer’s block or simply need an extra hundred or so words, you won’t be overcrowding the paper. 

I hope these tips help you as much as they have me! Thank you for reading!

[patientno7]

the suffering never ends

[sinksanksockie2]

This is the real process

[robinfreedomwrites]

Genuinely how the process works.  

[robinfreedomwrites]

Movie Reviews from a Writer: The Last Five Years

Hello! Welcome to my new series on this blog “Movie Reviews from a Writer”! In this series, I review movies from the perspective of a writer, looking at the plot, character development and dialogue of the movie and analyzing, well, everything. WARNING SPOILERS.

This post’s movie is “The Last Five Years”.

Firstly, I say “movie” loosely, because this is  musical, and not like in the way something like “Wicked” is; there is almost no dialogue that is not sung. The soundtrack is only 3 or 4 minutes shorter than the movie, that’s how little dialogue there is. However, the lyrics are very well written, and there’s a lot of parallels between the songs, either from the reusing of lyrics (miles and piles of you) or the repetition of themes or musical chords. They express a lot of emotion, especially when acted out so well.

Now, if you haven’t seen the movie, here’s a brief synopsis of the way the timeline works: the story is told from the perspectives of Jamie and Catherine, with Jamie’s working from their meeting to their breaking up and Cathy’s being from their breakup to their first date. These stories are interwoven and meet up in the middle before moving on. It can be confusing at times, though I had a fair bit of an easier time understanding it than my sister, probably because I watch a lot of Doctor Who. Though it can be confusing and may take several viewings to fully catch on, I find it to be an interesting plot device and it’s fairly well executed, especially in the last song “Goodbye for now/I Could Never Rescue You”.

As far as characters, I relate more to Jamie then Cathy. Is it because I’m a writer and Jamie is also a writer? Yeah, probably, seeing as my sister relates more to Cathy and she’s an actor, as Cathy is. But you can see both of their character arcs very clearly as the movie goes on, and more and more of their story is revealed. We see them going from young starving artists in love to a suddenly successful writer and his supportive wife to a cheater and his wife who resents his success more and more as she continues to fail. It’s bittersweet and tragic, but their eventual break up doesn’t seem to pop up out of nowhere; it is built up to carefully and slowly, and they did try to fix their marriage (with “shrinks” and “compromises”), though in my opinion Jamie tried harder than Cathy, although that does not justify his cheating.

On a personal note, for me it was very fascinating to see a relationship between a writer and a non-writer, even a fictional one. I have heard, though I cannot relate if this is true, that having a relationship with a writer is very difficult, especially for the non-writer. Particularly if the writer is successful, as Jamie becomes. While it can be a wonderful experience to be in a relationship with a writer, the other partner can also feel overshadowed, or like they’re not an equal member in the relationship. I can see how this would be the case, and the song “A Part of That” captures all of this really well (Cathy sings “Yes, he's insane, but look what he can do, and I'm a part of that”, but also “And it's true I tend to follow in his stride, instead of side by side; I take his cue”). At that moment, it doesn’t bother her, but she grows to resent all of it, especially as Jamie becomes more successful and she keeps on not being successful. Jamie, in what I feel to be a justified, if harsh, statement acknowledges this resentment in “If I Didn’t Believe in You”-“I will not fail so you can be comfortable, Cathy. I will not lose because you can't win”. It’s definitely a tricky situation, and it’s very well done, in my opinion.

In closing, I quite liked the movie, despite the fact that this movie is not in my movie genre comfort zone, as it were. The characters and relationship are realistic and believable, which may help overshadow the confusing timeline for some. It’s an interesting comment on artists and their relationships, as well as relationships in general and how people need to feel equal in relationships, and especially how communication is key.

Plot: 4/5, a well developed romance

Dialogue: 3.5/5, little spoken word but lyrics have impact

Characters: 5/5, very believable and dynamic

Watchability: 2.5/5, once you get over the timeline it’s fine

Overall Enjoyment: 3.5/5

Total: 18.5/25

Thanks for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed this review and if you have any movie suggestions, please send them to me!

[robinfreedomwrites]

How to Write a Novel

HOW TO OUTLINE YOUR NOVEL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKO3vnE1ei8 HOW TO WRITE BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8lmp569ywA HOW TO...

This is a video I really found helpful from one of my favorite writers on YouTube! I hope you find this helpful too!

[robinfreedomwrites]

Plotting vs. Pantsing; a Comparison

To plot or not to plot, that is the question. At least, that’s the question for most writers when they decide to write a book. Plotting or not plotting, or “pantsing” as I, and many others, call it, is one of the most basic choices you can make as a writer in regards to your book’s structure. Almost everyone seems to fall into one or the other category, but no one can decide which is better. 

That’s basically because there is no “better” way to write- it’s about which way works best for you and your writing style. But how do you determine that? Well, there’s always the “old fashioned” way- trying out both and seeing which works better. But that can take a lot of time and, in my experience, can actually ruin a book idea for you, which is not a good feeling. In order to help you out, I’ve decided to make this post, in which I will compare both methods. Keep in mind, this is just my experiences/observations/opinions, and I am in no way a professional writer, so take all of this with about one to two angsty teenager’s worth of salt. Alright, let’s get to it!

                                                    Plottting

Plotting can be useful if you like having a clear idea of where your story is going, how it is going to end and how many chapters it will have. It can also help eliminate potential plot holes and mis-characterization. 

Plotting can be limiting, in my experience, because if you learn more about your characters while you’re writing, as I do, you might decide midway through your story that the ending you planned is not in line with what they want and then you have to go back and rewrite you plot (which is better than having to go back and rewrite your whole story, but it still sucks). If you know your characters backwards and forwards and inside out, then this probably won’t happen, but you never know, even if you do have a good idea of who your characters are.

                                                    Pantsing

Pantsing can be exciting and wonderful; you can just let your creativity take over and lead you into new and interesting places in your story. You get to experience the plot at the same time as your characters, pretty much, and it can help you create genuine reactions for your characters. 

On the other hand, when you’re in a creative slump or writer’s block (which I will write about later, as well as ways you can try and break out of it), your story screeches to a halt, and you can become frustrated and angry at your story. Plot holes, changing or mis-characterization and suddenly having no clue where the plot is going are also major problems that can arise. 

I tend to see that new writers (like I was-little baby bird Robin) tend to just pants it because they’re so excited. This can lead to aforementioned halt in the middle of the story because you have no idea what to do with the story and this can cause some people to turn away from writing with a metaphorical bad taste in their mouth. On the other hand, having your first story writing experience be bogged down with formatting and planning and all of the work necessary for plotting before you even start writing can lead to breaking away from a project before you even start it. 

I find a combination of the two works best for me- I can’t just let the story run wild, but I have to give the characters room to grow and wiggle around, so to speak. I’ll make a few main, primary plot points and leave the smaller scenes in between figure themselves out. I try to pull it all together with themes- if a scene doesn’t have one of the main themes of the book, it probably shouldn’t be there. That said, I don’t normally plot out romances (if two of my characters want to be together, they kind of just force me to write it in there, if that makes any sense) but I just did for my novel that’s I’m writing for Camp NaNoWriMo next month (if you’re reading this after the publication, that’s the April 2016 session) and it’s actually kind of nice to know that they’re going to get together because that way I can put in little hints here and there early on. 

I hope you found this helpful and informative! Whatever way works best for you, I hope you have writing success!