Writing Tips I've Been Given

I'm a reader, like a big reader. I read whenever I can, I have two bookshelves in my room full of books and I've read close to 1/4 of the mystery section in my library. Not to mention there are about 3 or so other bookshelves in my house that are full. So, it's a big thing in my family. I've also found that I enjoy writing. But this is a bit different since writing takes a bit more thought than reading a mystery book. I have started about 2 or 3 stories that I've dreamed about turning into books, but I haven't found a character that I had a long enough interest in to finish more than 3 or 4 chapters. Not to mention there is not nearly enough time in a day for me to get everything in that I want, but since when is that news?

Anyways, I wanted to share some advice I got from multiple sources about writing and what it takes, and how to make t not so much easier as more manageable.

1. Write everyday. Seriously, one of the best ways to become a better writer is to write everyday. I carry around 2 notebooks in my purse as of late: one for notes on daily life while the other is my writing notebook. Whenever I am bit with something that I feel would be a good section in a story, I write it down, because heaven knows if I wait until I'm home it'll never come out!

2. Read what you can. By reading what is interesting to you, you develop a style that is all your own but shares in bits of the styles of the writers you admire and want to be like. A writer who does not read has only his own life to write about.

3. Talk to your characters. If you don't feel like these charaters you are creating are real, your readers won't see them as real either. You are only as good as you let yourself be, and your characters are people/creatures so let them tell you what they are doing rather than you telling them what to do. I understand that this seems a bit weird, but seriously it's true!

4. Don't be afraid of more drafts. Rewriting your chapters may get rid of some of your characters and may change your plot completely, but if you did not like it the way it was, then your readers won't either. Don't be afraid to have 5 or 6 drafts! Each time you change something, you are getting better at your writing. Just know that if you are looking for perfection, it will take much longer, but only stop when you are satisfied or when your characters stop talking to you.

5. Relate to others. If you can't understand why other people do what they do, why they get angry, why they get sad, why try jump for joy, if they jump for joy, how are you supposed to be able to write about how a character of your creation acts? They are people in your mind as well, and it is just as important for you to understand why they do what they do. You can make one character like yourself but an entire story with little mini-me's running around really is not that interesting, there's no plot or conflict and that tends to only come when oh understand other characters and how the issue comes up. And to do this, you have to understand other personalities. Good luck!

6. Write what you like. They always say write what you know, but what f what you know is not what holds your interest? In my opinion, it should be write what you like because that is what you'll end up passionate about. Your passion will show in your writing and will get your readers as excited as you are about whatever it is! So if you want to write about snow, then write about snow, were about why you like snow and what happens on the snow. Write about freaking snow! 

7. Write the book you want to read. Ok, this one I got off Pinterest, but it seriously ring true. It might make it harder to write but it brings is back to passion. Just go write something!

I hope that this was at least interesting, a bit of a change in pace from my routine stuff! I'm working on taking my own advice ere and tying to get into the habit of writing everyday (so far...not too good) maybe it can help with stress!

I'm sorry that I've been so distracted lately, but life is crazy! I love you all for coming back and reading even though it's not consistent :)

Love,

Sara :)

Shower Cat

Hey guys, so I'm heading to my first ever professional conference tomorrow! It's on injuries in athletic youth and I'm definitely going to be low on sleep for it but I had a date night with Matt (which shall come up later :P) and then got distracted by my cat sitting in the shower. Well, standing by the time I got a picture, but yes! Have a good night all!!

Love,

Sara :)

Wait...It's February?!

Where on earth did January go?! Ok, yes, it is a few days into February, but I kind of tend to sign out of reality during the weekends and January just seemed to have gone by so fast. Maybe being busy is what was doing that. I hope that you all had a wonderful beginning to 2014. I've got a few things going on this month that I wanted to try and start now, in hopes that I am able to do much better at posting for this month than I did last month...

Well, first off, a friend and I are looking for an apartment! We are planning on moving before summer (fingers crossed!) to Brown Deer, which is about 30-40 minutes south of where we currently live with our parentals. As of now we have not picked a place, but we are looking and that is super exciting! So, hopefully this month I will be able to update you all on that and the craziness and excitement of moving! This also means that I will be doing some DIY stuff to get ready for moving as well as after moving (because I have not for a while and my mind and fingers are itching for activity!) starting with reupholstering a set of dinning room chairs that we may end up using (stay tuned!).

Also, I'm two months into my new job as a personal trainer, meaning that I am supposed to have a handle on what I'm doing. While I would not say that I am an expert or extremely good by any stretch, I would say that I am for sure learning and I'm getting to that stage slowly but surly :). I'm also working on dropping some of my times at my first job that are affecting my current work. Since personal training is what I want to do (at least for now) I think concentrating on that would be a good idea, so I'm going to try to slowly drift away from my last job in hopes of putting more focus and energy into the training job.

It's February, and that means Valentine's Day! While I did have to remind Matt (twice...) about the date, he now has it written down and we are going to have a date day, probably on the 15th since we both work until late on the 14th. Besides, I think it's all worth it and hopefully we will have some fun :D Any suggestions for a place for dinner or activities?

I also found my camera (yay!!) while I was cleaning this past weekend! This means that I can start trying to take better pictures. Although, I am still saving up for a nice camera (or a video camera, I still have not decided) it's nice to have something other than my iPhone to take pictures.

I can't wait to do more during February and get a handle on everything that I'm doing :P It is going to be a very, VERY busy month!

Love,
Sara :)

ps. As you've probably noticed, we've been playing around with the style of the blog. I owe this to Matt, who really seemed to get into it last night and we found a new style that may or may not be changing again :P

Muisca Monday

This past weekend, I was able to sleep in and relax Sunday morning and Saturday afternoon. I had some reading to do for the newsletters I'm writing for my personal training job but other than that I was relaxing. It was a very nice feeling. I did work on reupholstering the dinning room chairs that Morgan and I will (maybe) be taking with us when we move, but that was actually quite a bit of fun.
It's nice on the weekends when I don't work because I get to dress just how I want. I'm not complaining about wearing exercise cloths everyday to work, but I never thought I'd miss the way jeans feel! Anyways, Sunday was my relaxing day and relaxing is exactly what I did! I turned the music up and I did some reading and crafting :) One of my favorite songs for this relaxing time is by the well-known Regina Spektor. Her debut album was 11:11 released in 2001 by herself (I could have worded that better but I'm too lazy to change it). The song I'm picking for you all to listen to today is from her 2009 album Far. Her song "The Calculation" just makes me want to put on a pretty dress (even in the middle of Wisconsin winter) and spin around with a smile on my face! What do you guys think?

Love,
Sara :)

This Week

This week has been one of those super long weeks that's not even over with but has yay far ended in a dramatic emotional breakdown in front of my boss at work today. *heavy sigh* That's not to say that I haven't gotten anything done, but it has been quite difficult to do anything when my mind is going in about six different directions at once. As my boss says I'm "burning the candle at both ends", this sadly does not help with maintaining ones sanity and should thus be avoided. Just to add to everything I'm coming off a cold today which has drained all of my remaining energy (there isn't as much as I'd like there to be but that happens) and caused a craving for hot cocoa and soup (or Matt's cinnamon and sugar toast, yummy!) and a desire to curl up in a little ball and sleep, ignoring like everything. However, since that is not an option, I shall instead curl up in my pjs tonight and watch some documentary (or perhaps a show) tonight.
I do hear a bottle of wine calling my name for perhaps this weekend? Any takers? Well, I just wanted to post that I haven't forgotten about this blog, I just have been feeling so down in the dumps lately that I haven't had anything of interest to post! That, however, shall hopefully change by next week!
Also, Valentine's Day is coming up! I gotta figure out something to do!! *Panic*
Love you all and thanks for being understanding, I know there have been a lot of excuses lately...
Sara :)

Musica Monday

For this Musica Monday, I'm going to have a bit of fun. I've been asked to take some of my artistic skills (if one would call it that) and try and help a certain band come up with artistic ideas. I am also to pass this information on to Matt, who is the resident freelance artist :D. They are a quirky band called BEAKER. This song that I'm showing here tonight is the first song of theirs I heard. It is a bit strange but if you go in with a good attitude, it is quite amusing. I mean.....squirrel!! This song, you just have to listen to to understand. I know the main singer and he's pretty awesome and super funny! I hope that you guys enjoy this song and at least find it funny. If you have any ideas for these guys as far as humorous/funky/punk art goes feel free to send it to them or post it here :D

Love,
Sara :)

History Lesson: Theory of Nun

Egyptian Mythology is probably one of my favorite mythologies. Norse and Greek and Roman aren't far away, but Egyptian was the first mythology that caught my interest. Maybe it is because the gods and goddesses are so numerous and so interesting looking. Well, I'll be doing some talking about Egyptian mythology every so often here, but for today I want to talk about the theory of Nun.

Nun was the father of the gods, also called 'Nu' or chaos. Unlike other gods, Nun was a purely intellectual concept, meaning there were (and are) no temples or worshipers. The theory of Nun is the Egyptian theory of the beginning of humankind. The theory is the idea that there was a primordial ocean with no surface that completely filled the entire universe. This ocean started retreating and in this process it leaves little pools which are the basics of life as we know it.

What do you think? I thought this was cool and I'm adding it to my storytelling book that I'm working on (one of those projects that I'm not sure I will ever get done, but I've always wanted to write a book).

Also, a big thanks to Matt for having my back and producing an awesome Musica Monday on Monday :) you're awesome!!!!

Love,

Sara