Tips for Writers – Mindflight

11 things I wished I’d known as a young artist

Or, “Art, Talent, and Arrogance”

This is a painful subject for me, and one that has hampered my progress my entire life. I still struggle with it. In fact some would consider I’ve lost the battle merely by writing this article!

I’m talking of course about arrogance in relation to art. Personally, this has manifested in the idea that my thoughts were superior to others. I didn’t often think of it that way but that’s really what I was saying every time I refused input, avoided constructive critique, or thought my work didn’t need improvement. This was deadly to my progress and nearly caused me to leave art altogether. I know I’m not alone here, this is something many artists struggle with, and that’s why I’m talking about it. If I can cause even one artist to rethink some of the decisions that caused me so much struggle, than it’s worth it.

Quick story: I was having fun with art, drawing whatever my li’l heart desired. I was on DeviantArt. I was posting every day, doing all kinds of paintings and drawings and proudly posting them. I was a bit too blind to my mistakes. On my profile I’d put that I was professional level and had some high number of years in art – over twenty years I think, because I was counting the stuff I’d done when younger. Some of it was middling, some of it had promise. Someone came along and posted on my profile that I didn’t look like I’d been doing that art that long. I don’t even think they were all that rude about it. I was crushed – that was one of the biggest reasons why I deleted my profile. There were others at the time but that was a biggue.

The biggest problem here was the poster was right. Objectively, if a person compared my stuff to an actual professional (not just one who occasionally did an illustration or two for pay) the difference was like night and day. I had a long way to go, mostly because I’d focused on the stuff I thought I was good at, rarely pushed myself, and hated using references. At best I was an amateur with promise provided I actually applied myself.

I see that now and that’s why I carefully label myself as “hobbyist.” I’m finally getting to a level that I’m somewhat pleased with but I know I have a hell of a long way to go before professional level. It’s okay though because I’m enjoying art again and that’s important to me. I could avoided a lot of heartache if I’d seen feedback – even HONEST feedback – as the gift it is.

When I got feedback as a young artist, I never really saw it that way. I pretended to because after a certain point I knew it was expected, but it always hurt inside. At some level I saw my work as perfect, and I saw myself as talented, special. As a talented person I didn’t need to think of these things as much as others did. Or maybe my judgement was superior. Sometimes I told myself that it wasn’t my fault if other people didn’t see what I was trying for. Actually it was – art is primarily about communication and I can guarantee you my technique always needed work.

One of my biggest roadblocks was believing the idea that I was talented. If so, that was mostly in the fact that I was a bit better than average at getting my tools to do what I wanted them to. I certainly wasn’t better at observation or remembering what I saw! My visual memory is actually a bit worse than average. Over and over I deluded myself that drawing from imagination was better. However since no one around me could draw at all, I got away with it until I went to school for art, and saw how wrong I actually was. It hurt a lot. Later I went online and saw how amazing so many other people were. That was great to see but hurt more. I started realizing that I needed to quit believing my own PR.

A great art teacher recently said that if someone looks at your art and says you are talented, they are in a way insulting your hard work. I totally understand that for most people it’s just a simple compliment and they don’t mean anything by it, but I wish I’d heard that when I was young. For me, my “talent” was mostly a passionate interest that caused me to practiced more. If I had practiced properly, and had worked harder in the right ways, I could have harnessed that interest into some really phenomenal art. If I’d actually taken people’s advice and used references more, or learned to draw from life, it would have been a game-changer. But I was too busy thinking I was too special and too talented to do all those boring things, meanwhile I was still getting paint up into the ferrules of my brushes and lacking basic studio skills.

I’m not bashing myself. I am however looking honestly at the fact that I hampered myself more than circumstance ever did. That mindset hurt me more than inadequate art supplies or poverty ever did. You can make amazing art with the simplest of tools if you have the right mindset! Here are the things that would have helped me most:

Tips for anyone wanting to be great at art (or anything really)

Maintain Beginner’s Mind – there’s always something to learn

Stay Curious about new techniques and how others do things

Listen when feedback is offered, because it truly is a gift – probably the hardest tip in here

Find out the basics about your tools even if you think you already know them

Whenever possible, practice from life, or at least photos – even fantasy is based on reality

Spend time on the fundamentals, they are the basic building blocks of your craft

Think about what your goal is and what you want to communicate

Observe in as many ways possible, new information is grist for your creative mill

Forgive yourself your mistakes but always try to figure out what to do better

Keep it fun by challenging yourself

Stay humble!

I wish someone had told me this stuff! If they did, I wish I would have listened! Who knows, maybe I’d be doing art for a living? It’s an expending field with more opportunity than ever.

Do you have any tips that should be included? Things you wish you would have known?

Finding your Element

Tips for Artists, Tips for Writers

I was having trouble thinking the other day. Worries were piling up and also things were just not connecting. It seemed like I couldn’t do the simplest things the first time. My dear spouse gave me a modern parable that I wanted to pass along because I found a lot of truth in it.

She said, “how well does a Corsair or a P-51 Mustang run on the ground?”

Thinking about it, I recalled when I used to live next to a flight museum. Those particular airplanes coughed and sputtered on the ground, but once they were airborne and operating at full power, their engines smoothed to a powerful roar. I said “They run like crap.”

She said, “exactly.” The implication being that my brain was like that, and it ran best when operating closer to full capacity.

I think that’s true for many of us. We might have trouble in an environment we aren’t suited to, or thinking at too low a level, we might have trouble. But when we find what element we are best in, we might find that we are fare more intelligent and capable than we thought! How many people do we know who are amazing with their hands but useless with words? Or who couldn’t tell a nut from a bolt but can write words that make your soul sing? Or clean a place till it sparkles, but can’t play chess?

Moreover, the speed at which you do a thing can have a huge impact. Some people are best when they are working fast and yet lose momentum if they try to slow down. Some people keep making mistakes if they don’t take their time. Like the proper operation of a vehicle, finding your “best RPM range” can be critical to your success at what you do.

Don’t just take another person’s word for it, either. Find your own best pace.

If we all find that thing we are best at, and the rate at which we work well, those are the keys to realizing our full value as human beings.

What’s up with calling people Ginger?

Thoughts About Life, Tips for Writers

I clearly remember a time when people with reddish hair called themselves “redheads.” If others were being a bit rude to that redhead they might call them “carrot top.” If I saw a cat of a generally marmalade shade, I’d say “that’s a cute orange cat!” Or “will that darn red tabby stay out of my bushes?”

Now it’s all gone to “ginger.” I know there are some places in the world where this term has always been common. It seems to be spreading though. “Ginger” is simple and a lazy way to describe something, giving almost no real information. I’d rather be more descriptive. I’d rather say “redhead,” “copper haired,” “strawberry blonde,” “russet,” “red,” “orange,” “ocher,” “auburn,” “fiery,” or any number of other descriptors than simply “ginger.”

Here’s a bonus tip for authors. If you use more precise descriptions, not just going to the most commonly used but non-informative word, your writing will have more life in it and engage your audience better. Dare I say, your writing will have more color?

How long will it be until I stop hearing about blood bay, strawberry roan, and red chestnut horses and start hearing about ginger horses?

Besides, though ginger is one of my favorite spices, and is really, really tasty, it’s not red in any way. So why not “cinnamon?” It’s reddish, at least!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/gingerly/

Max your Writing Moxie

Tips for Writers

Do you want to be the best writer you can be?

If you want to write good stories, read good stories and pay attention.

That looks a little too simple, doesn’t it? It’s still the truest piece of advice I can give. There’s an old programmer’s motto: GIGO. Garbage In, Garbage Out. Put another way, you are what you eat.

I used to think I knew what made a good story. I thought what I watched and read was great. It was not really great though – most of it was simplistic, with hackneyed plots and cardboard cutout characters and it didn’t challenge me at all. It caused my stories to be just as simplistic. Then I started reading and watching really high quality stuff, and found what I had missed. I discovered levels of artistry and complexity that took my breath away. Twists and turns of plot, well written stories, mysteries that were done right, and more. I began to see how my own stories were woefully simplistic. I saw ways of improving them, too. I now have a habit of seeking out the best stories I can find.

With all that said, what makes a good story? I didn’t know how to recognize one reliably, after all, I thought I WAS reading and watching good stuff! So here is a list of general characteristics that can point you toward better stories, whether you are looking for a book, an anime, a role playing game, a movie, or a TV show.

A good story…

…makes you think.

…will give you clues when it’s a mystery, but make them very subtle. It will make your mind work.

…uses good descriptions or dialogue to bring you in to the story.

…avoids stereotypes.

…isn’t always a “classic.” Some classics are woefully bad, but are classics because they are old.

…doesn’t talk down to the audience.

…shows how the characters grow and develop.

…lets the characters change and doesn’t leave them in the same place at the end as they were at the beginning.

…challenges you. A story you can sleep through is no story at all.

…gives motivations behind the character’s actions, beyond “because he wanted to.”

…makes you think.

Finding good stories can be easy or hard depending on what genre you are interested in. Ask for recommendations from people you admire, read reviews on sites like Goodreads, check out forum posts about potential TV shows. Pay attention to why people like things and how they talk about them. If a person writes well when describing why they like a story, then the quality of the story is likely to be higher.

When you find a great story, pay attention to why it’s great! Then think about how you could incorporate the same techniques into your own work. Eventually, you’ll absorb aspects of the great writing styles you love.

Read great stories. Write great stories. Build your moxie.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/moxie/

Making your stories tender, not tough

Tips for Writers

Using Metaphor and Simile

Both metaphors and similes are great tools for livening up your writing. Stories without them are dry as baked parchment, yet having too many makes a narrative tough to read and enjoy. Having the right amount makes the story interesting and readable and pulls your reader deeper into it.

The best way to use them is to think of them like spices. The right amount makes a tasty dish. By the way, the difference between a metaphor and a simile is simple – similes use like or as, metaphors do not. Here are some examples.

Metaphors:

The sky is a blue pottery bowl gleaming in the sun.

I slogged through the wordy, simile laden book. (Slogging implies walking through thick mud or snow, likening the book to that substance)

Her hair was spun gold.

Similes:

Her hair was like spun gold.

The sky was blue as a cornflower.

Reading the book was like slogging through muddy snowbanks.

As I said, a few of these are great. They enliven the text and give the reader a sense of being in the scenario. They are especially helpful for making an unfamiliar situation seem familiar, by likening it to something the reader has seen. For instance, say you are describing an alien creature. You might say “Its green skin was glossy and rubbery and its eyes were two gold-flecked marbles that stared out of an elongated, horse-like face.”

Some authors think that more is better when it comes to metaphors/similes. It’s usually best to only use those that give new information about the situation or story. Sometimes it’s fun to keep whimsical ones in as well, however always avoid cliches!

Why no cliches?
The best reason not to use cliches is because they turn the reader’s brain off. They disengage the reader from the story. Sometimes they also make the reader think the author is uninspired, and sometimes the reader is right. Cliches are used when the writer isn’t being creative. Generally, a sentence is cliched when you can hear the first part and finish the sentence without really thinking about it.

“She jumped for joy.”

“As cold as ice.”

“Hot as Hell.”

Though being too clever can be a danger, a more descriptive comparison is usually better, and engages the mind. An engaged mind usually means a happy reader!

Instead, try something like

“Her mood soared like a balloon.”

“As cold as those first drops of water in the shower.”

“Hot as a bed of coals, ready for a steak.”

If you have trouble thinking of metaphors, it can be a fun exercise to take a sheet of paper and write down as many similes and metaphors as you can think of, using your surroundings as inspiration. This is a great workout for the imagination.

Good metaphors and similes engage the senses and imagination, avoid cliche, and are used only when needed. Happy describing!

via Daily Prompt: Tender

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/tender/

Spam risk isn’t imaginary

Tips for Writers

Most of you have probably encountered spam comments. Those can be bad enough.

Lately, I’ve had some occasions where spammers will actually post entries on my blog. It hasn’t happened at this site but it’s happened over at Rohvannynshaw.com. It even caused my blog to be booted from Goodreads!

Not only can these clutter up your blog and cause readers not to return, but also they can spread links to malicious software. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check your blog every so often. Keep the activity high, post at least once a week. Spammers tend to be drawn to sites that aren’t updated very often. Also, set up spam blocking extensions or apps and make sure your password is hard to quess and change it frquently. Not only will a frequently updated blog attract more readers, but spammers may be more likely to pass it by.

Safety Tips for Bloggers

Make a new entry at least once a week

Use only small (1000 px or less) or watermarked images to prevent theft

Moderate all comments before allowing them on your site

Trash all suspicious comments

Keep your password updated

Investigate spam blockers like Akismet

Visit your own site periodically to check for entries you didn’t make

If you can afford it, pay for website privacy

If you use WordPress, keep the security updates current

via Daily Prompt: Imaginary

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/imaginary/

Freelancer tip: Avoid clients who pay… later.

Tips for Artists, Tips for Self Publishing, Tips for Writers

Payment can be a tough subject for many of us who are freelancers. Yet, it’s important! After all, why are we working? Sure, we truly enjoy our craft, whether it be writing, visual art, graphic design, crafts, or whatever the case may be. But we don’t do it purely for love. We do it because we need something to pay the bills and put food on the table.

That’s why today’s post is dedicated to that most uplifting of prose, “pay to the order of.” We’ll talk about pay, getting paid, and things to do to make sure you get paid! If anyone has questions, feel free to ask and I’ll probably add it on as another question.

Tips for Freelancers:

Set clear expectations.

Have a place on your website that explains when you expect to be paid, how much, and when. Then you will have a leg to stand on when someone starts to argue. For an example, check out my commissions page: http://rohvannynshaw.com/commissions/

Have a contract.

This helps both client and creator understand the terms of the deal, and protects both if something goes wrong. When is pay expected? When is the work supposed to be complete? What is the scope of the work, and how many rounds of editing are allowed before the client needs to pay more? This prevents clients from adding extra things or deciding to pay… later. Keep all copies and send the contract in a PDF if you have to email it, that way nothing can be changed.

Price fairly.

This means not pricing too high, but it also means not pricing too low. Do research in your field, and see what other people doing similar work get paid. If you price too high, you may not get customers. If you price too low, you devalue other people’s work and you also may drive customers off. After all, no one likes to buy at a fire sale.

Keep all records.

I said it above, but it bears repeating. Don’t just keep the contract. Also keep all emails (preferably archived in PDF format) related to the project, all materials provided to you, and any other correspondence. Keep it in a separate folder and if possible archive it on a thumb drive, just so you have it ready to hand in case you need it. This way, if someone takes legal action against you, or you need to do the same, you’ll have everything and won’t have to go hunting around.

Don’t discount.

Family and friends are famous for asking for “buddy discounts.” The trouble with this is, they often start offering that same discount to their own friends. Pretty soon every available client seems to think they should get the family rate. I didn’t think this would happened to me and it did – so it can happen to anyone. It can happen to you. So price fairly and then if they give you static, calmly explain that this is the going rate for professional work.

Don’t “do it for the clicks.”

Doing work for exposure only goes so far. I write for free on this blog and I feature artists and authors for free. However, I never do art, editing, or manuscripts for free. You can’t eat clicks, you can’t pay bills with exposure. Not only that, but every time someone does something for free it drives down the value of what other freelancers do!

Fire clients if you have to.

It can be scary to fire a client. You may think “I’ll never find another,” or “how am I supposed to work if I fire my clients?” So I’m not saying to fire every client, or to do it quickly and easily. However, some people are just not worth your valuable time or stress level. If you have a client who keeps trying to get you to lower your rates after you’ve agreed on a price, or if they treat you badly, or if they make it impossible to do a good job, fire them. Do it simply, do it calmly, and you don’t have to explain why.

Set limits on how much you will do for a certain fee.

If you write, put a clause in your contract saying “includes three rounds of editing.” You can do something similar for art. If you build websites, find out up front how many pages you’ll be designing. Think similarly for any other project. Otherwise, you may have a client who creates a seemingly endless project for one low starter fee.

Don’t undersell the competition by too great a margin.

If everyone is designing book covers for $200-$500, don’t say “hey, I’ll do just as good a job for ten bucks!” You’ll see this all over DeviantArt. People will do amazing work for five or ten dollars, or even for free. Now, the artists are just thinking about having fun and not considering the effects of what they are doing. However, you have a choice. For every freelancer who offers services at rock bottom prices, other freelancers can’t put food on the table because people are using the ultra-cheap options offered by the irresponsible freelancers. Sites like Fiverr.com, by offering extremely low prices, are ultimately harming the industry. Don’t be part of that trend. Remind your clients and potential clients that they get what they pay for, and can rely on you to provide professional, responsible service at a fair price.

Be responsive to questions.

When someone asks a question about you or your business, be friendly, informative, and respond quickly. This is especially true if they contact you via your contact link on your website. One of the great things about hiring a freelancer is being able to communicate openly with them, so help people see that advantage by being there.

Be punctual and professional.

Similarly, if there is a time expectation set, meet or exceed that expectation. Use good business style in all your communications. Be unfailingly polite and cheerful. Explain things clearly and answer all questions. If there is a misunderstanding, be as clear as you can and try to help your client understand. Sometimes misunderstandings can be as simple as a different use of language, and easily solved with a few questions.

Being a freelancer can be a lot of fun and a very rewarding career. Following these tips will help it be even better!

via Daily Prompt: Later\

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/later/

Avoiding Purple Prose

Tips for Writers

Many readers shut the book or turn off their eReader when they see too much prose that’s purple! It’s really best to avoid it. First, though, what’s purple prose?

Wikipedia has to say this about it:

In literary criticism, purple prose is prose text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself.^[1] Purple prose is characterized by the extensive use of adjectives, adverbs, and metaphors. When it is limited to certain passages, they may be termed purple patches or purple passages, standing out from the rest of the work.

Wikipedia further gives this amusing example:

“On occasion, one finds oneself immersed in the literary throes of a piece of prose where there is very little in the way of advancement of the plot or development of the characters, but the pages are still filled with words. Since the esteemed author has allowed their writing to take a turn for the dry and dull, they gallantly attempt to overcompensate for the lack of stimulation by indulging in elaborate turns of phrase.”^{[8] – Liz Bureman}

The best way I’ve found to avoid this literary pitfall is this: write simply. If you use good, vivid words, it will help you avoid using excess words to make your point.

It’s really worthwhile to go through a manuscript and look for places where you could have said something more simply, clearly, and effectively. While it’s impossible avoid adjectives, trimming excessive ones can help your work. Always strive to make one paragraph flow naturally into another, without anything to jolt your reader out of the story you are telling.

When using metaphor, simple is usually best. Make sure your metaphors aren’t cliched. A cliche not only kicks the reader out of the story, but it often makes them stop thinking about what you have said. A great metaphor engages the senses simply, but in a way that makes the reader share the experience you are presenting.

To further avoid prose of a purplish color, break up your sentences. Also, make sure your words are active, not passive. Sometimes it helps you read your work aloud. This lets us hear how the story is flowing, and find the faults more easily. Many times I’ve read a finished story out loud, only to make half a dozen corrections as I go along.

As I have simplified my writing and gotten away from purple prose, I’ve seen it improve tremendously. If you’re like me, you can too.

via Daily Prompt: Purple

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/purple/

Ruminations about Feedback

Tips for Writers

As any successful author knows, feedback is the key to quality.

I’ll be perfectly honest here. I struggle to take feedback well. Criticism, even constructive criticism, makes me cringe. I have always had a very thin skin. I’m easily hurt, and my reactions have cheated me out of some very valuable lessons. When I hear something I don’t like, and I feel hurt because of it, I put up a mental wall. Information starts bouncing off as I close my mental doors. I’m not interested in input. Instead, I’m focusing on how much I feel hurt and how I can make it stop.

This has been disastrous for me. I’ve said really nasty things to people because I’ve been so desperate to stop them from hurting me, even when they weren’t really doing that. It’s never ended well. Then, instead of only one of us feeling hurt, then both of us feel hurt, and the relationship is seriously damaged, all because I hadn’t made the little adjustment needed.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Nobody has to feel hurt. Here’s how I’ve gotten around this over-sensitivity, so that I’ve been able to accept the valuable information that feedback gives. My trick is to shift my focus. Instead of thinking “This person is trying to tear me down,” I think “This person and I are trying to improve this book together.”

In short, I depersonalize. I take the information as important information that I can use to make things better. I give up the idea that my work is perfect in every way from the very start, no one’s work ever is. Editing is a good, normal part of the writing process. I knew a person who refused to change a single line of his work. His writing was terrible! To this day he hasn’t sold a single copy. Don’t be like him.

Feedback is valuable. Embrace it. Whether you take the advice or not, think about it, really consider it. It can be frustrating to edit your book over and over, but it doesn’t have to hurt emotionally. This simple mental shift takes practice to master, but you will have plenty of chances to do so. In the end, you’ll have a book to be proud of.

Via Daily Prompt: Ruminate

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/ruminate/

Vivid Descriptions Draw a Reader In

Tips for Writers

During my role playing session last night, an interesting topic came up. We started talking about different ways to make vivid descriptions. Anyone who has done tabletop role playing knows that if the person running the game can’t describe things well, it creates a boring game. The same is true for novels, essays, really anything that is written. It’s even true, in slightly different way, for paintings and drawings.

Accurate Descriptions

The key to vividness is accuracy. Have the scene firmly in mind, thinking of all the details about it, and then describe the scene while trying to engage the audience’s senses. Think about what it would look like, sound like, feel like. Then think about first impressions. You might get something like this:

“She stood on a sandy, lemon colored plain, vainly blinking to clear the fine, flourlike dust that lifted in swirls and puffs every time she made a move. As she wrapped her scarf firmly about her nose and mouth, she looked around at the looming, knifelike mountains. Even from this distance, they looked like black obsidian, carved and tortured by time. Her mouth tasted like dust and she shivered in the thin wind.”

The audience knows what flour is like, they’ve all had dust in their mouth, they may know what obsidian looks like and even if they don’t, they know what black looks like. They have a higher chance of connecting with the character with this paragraph than if you said

“She was standing on a yellow plain. She had dust in her eyes and it made her blink. She wrapped her scarf around her face and looked at the mountains, which were dark and brooding. It was cold.”

Active vs. Passive voice

The above paragraphs also demonstrate the difference between active and passive voice. I’m really not the queen of active voice, yet I know that when I use it in my writing, things come alive. Everything becomes more vivid.

Avoid Cliche

When you use a cliche, your reader stops thinking. You want your reader to stay engaged with what you have to say. So try to avoid cliches whenever possible. Cliches also lead to inaccuracy. The conversation I mentioned at the beginning of this article started about a cliche. In describing a planet, I had said it was a “blue green marble hanging before you in space, a golden yellow sun shining beyond.”

My player had an epiphany and realized that not only is that a cliche, but it’s also inaccurate! If both planet and sun are in front of you, you’d be viewing the dark side of the planet, with at best a crescent of light side showing. So I came up with this description.

“Ahead of your ship, you see a razor thin blue green crescent, flecked with white, cradling a glowing black opal, the golden primary shining beyond.”

Much better, more evocative, and no cliche to be found.

Conclusion

In general, it’s best to engage your reader’s senses and keep them interested in your story. Avoiding over-used phrases will help a lot. Put yourself in the story, see, hear and feel what’s around you in your imagination, and your readers will be able to do the same. Good description can make your writing truly come alive!

Bonus: how to be vivid – for artists

Many of these tips can be used when you are painting or drawing, too. Contrast is important if you are trying to make a strong visual impression. Pay attention to where the light falls, where the shadows lie, and how deep they are. Careful observation will help you here. Even if you make art from your imagination, observing real world things can make your art great. Faithful depiction of the details can make the same difference that good description does in a story. All my favorite artists pay attention to contrast and also small details. Sure, that swordsman has a belt, but are there signs of wear on it? Are his boots new, or are they a bit slouched, scuffed, and dusty? You get the idea.

via Daily Prompt: Vivid

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/vivid/