Posts Tagged ‘Michael Crane’

Mike C’s Creative Tip: Objects can be your guide.

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Table of contents for Mike C's Creative Tips

  1. Mike C’s Creative Tip: Objects can be your guide.

OBJECTS CAN BE YOUR GUIDE

Not only is fiction about people, but it can also be about objects.  If you’re in a creative rut, think of an object.  What is its story?  Where has it been?  Who possessed it at one point?  Were they good people, or bad?  Did the object cause some sort of a conflict?  Does it mean anything to anybody?

Here are a few examples to start you off:

1)  Think of a simple photograph of a diner.  Who took the picture?  Who does the picture belong to?  Why was it taken?  Does it mean anything significant?  Is there anybody of particular interest that is standing outside of the diner?

2)  A stuffed and aged teddy bear that is in less than perfect condtion.  Who’s the owner?  Is that person grown?  Why hang onto it?  What’s its importance?  What kind of memories surround it; good or bad?

3)  A child’s red bicycle.  Again, who does it belong to?  Where is that person now?  What significant event revolves around it?  Is the person still alive?  Who did it belong to previously before the current owner, and why is it not in their possession any more?

Those are just a few to name, but I think you get the point.  Objects can be just as crucial to a successful storyline as people.  Objects bring us together, after all.  There’s always some sort of a connection, whether it may be good or bad.

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HOW SELF-PUBLISHING CAN BE A GREAT MOTIVATOR

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

Table of contents for Mike C's Creative Tips

  1. Mike C’s Creative Tips: Character Journals
  2. Mike C’s Creative Tips: CONFLICT
  3. HOW SELF-PUBLISHING CAN BE A GREAT MOTIVATOR
  4. Mike C. – Movie Reviews: You’re Still Writing!

You’ve just received another rejection.  It’s one of those generic rejections that you have memorized word for word, because it’s always the same one they use.  They were pleased to read your work, but unfortunately they won’t be able to use your story blah blah blah blah blah.  Of course, as a writer you’ve gotten used to rejections, but for whatever reason that one hits you personally.  You feel like a fraud.  Like you’re not good enough.  That you have no business calling yourself a “writer.”

But, to calm yourself down you pull out a copy of your very own book.  It was self-published, but it looks like any ordinary book.  The simple act of seeing your name on the cover immediately puts you in a better place. You flip through the pages and seeing your words in printing that’s in an actual book, rather than just printed out pages from Microsoft Word, reminds you that you are a writer.

I self-published a book of short stories, Falling Apart, with iUniverse.  I knew I wasn’t going to make a lot of money from it.  I knew that most of the people who would be buying it would be friends and relatives, but I didn’t care.  I did it for me.  I wanted to see something of mine as a real book.  It was a little pricey, but doing that was far more worth it than spending the money on meaningless movies or CDs.  Anytime I feel discouraged, or anytime I feel that sting of doubt, I take out a copy of my book and stare at it.

You’d be surprised what a motivational boost it is, to see your own book.  It was self-published.  So what?  The book’s on Amazon.  You can go to the Barnes and Nobel website and order it.  It’s a book.  A real book.  Something you can hold in your hands and be proud of.

I’m not saying that self-publishing should always be the first way to go.  Unless you’re a marketing genius with a lot of connections, chances are you’re not going to make a whole lot of money.  If you want something published because you really want to see your name in print, and you want your book to be available even if there’s a chance you’re not going to make the money back from what it ended up costing, then I’d say it’s a nice investment.

As with anything else in life, it’s just another option.  Another route to take.  Always try to find a home for your work, but it’s nice to know that there’s always another way to go about it when need be.

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Mike C’s Creative Tips: CONFLICT

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

A Note from Krow:

Apologies for the delay in posting, the holidays are like that at times. I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season and remember Mike’s book makes an awesome gift! Get it @ Amazon: Falling Apart: A Short Story Collection

IT AIN’T A STORY IF THERE ISN’T ANY CONFLICT

I admit I’m no expert when it comes to getting down to the fine technical aspects of writing or a story, but there’s one element that is pretty much in any story that you have ever read.

Conflict.

You cannot tell a story where everything is “fine and dandy.” Why? Because that’s a boring story, and it’s no story at all. Seriously, would you want to read a story about a guy who had a perfect day where nothing went wrong? Of course not. While we may wish that our lives revolved around less conflict, that isn’t so when it comes to the world of storytelling.

And let’s make something clear; the conflict in your story doesn’t have to be world-changing. You don’t have to have your character literally doing battle with Satan himself. Something as simple as a character not being able to get the right kind of soda that he wants at a restaurant can be your conflict. Sound silly? It’s all about how your character reacts. Maybe he’s on a short fuse and the restaurant serving Pepsi instead of Coke is the final straw for him. What does he do? Does he yell and have a temper-tantrum? Does he keep it cool and collective until he finally gets into his car, and then ends up purposely crashing into somebody else? Does he demand to see the owner and cause a scene? Will somebody be badly injured by a fork somehow?

I think you get the picture. The point of all of that is to show you that even what seems to be the littlest problem in the world can spark a story or situation. Anytime you’re reading a story, chances are it revolves around some sort of problem that the characters have to deal with. When you’re writing, ask yourself, “What is the conflict?” If you’re having trouble on developing a story and have no idea where to start, think of some possible conflicts and what series of events that conflict can lead to. Sure, you might think that a “break-up” story is old and tired, but they’re never the same. This is because characters are unique and all have a different way of handling things.

So while you may loathe any sort of conflict or drama in your personal life, learn to EMBRACE it in your fiction. Draw out from your own experiences. Maybe your character does the exact same thing that you did when a specific conflict or incident appeared, or maybe they do something completely different.

Remember, your conflict does not have to be earth shattering. It does not have to be a life-or-death scenario. We all have obstacles that we must confront on a day-to-day basis.

Why should your characters be any different?

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Mike C’s Creative Tips: Character Journals

Friday, December 12th, 2008

Table of contents for Mike C's Creative Tips

  1. Mike C’s Creative Tips: Character Journals
  2. Mike C’s Creative Tips: CONFLICT
  3. HOW SELF-PUBLISHING CAN BE A GREAT MOTIVATOR
  4. Mike C. – Movie Reviews: You’re Still Writing!

A Note from Krow:

In an effort to bring you original content that will be helpful to your development as a writer / artist, I’ll be reaching out to others to share tips and tricks that help them do their thing. Michael Crane is a good friend of mine that has helped me out with my development as a writer on a number of occasions, he’s a published author with a degree in fiction and a book currently on sale @ Amazon: Falling Apart: A Short Story Collection

CHARACTER JOURNAL

Ever hit a rut where you’re not writing enough fiction? Maybe you’ve found yourself finally getting into the habit of journaling. For me, I used to loathe journaling because I couldn’t stand to write about myself. I live a very ordinary life. Nothing too terribly exciting happens to me, and the last thing I would want to do is babble on about some boring and meaningless crap that isn’t going to mean anything to anyone. Recently, I finally got myself over that hump and I was journaling—huge thanks to reading Kevin Smith’s diary that he published some time ago. It made me realize that my entries didn’t have to be exciting. I was never going to publish them. Once I saw journaling in a new light, I was constantly hanging out at a Borders or Barnes and Nobel, and I’d sit there with my coffee, iPod and journal. I was writing again and it finally felt like I was getting something done.

There was one problem. I was doing more journaling than writing fiction.

I was having a terrible time trying to think of new story concepts, themes and so on. It was depressing the hell out of me that I couldn’t write any fiction. I was happy that I was at least writing, but that writing wasn’t going into what I love doing.

So, I had a revelation one night: Character Journal.

It’s a simple idea, and I’m sure it’s been done before. I went out and bought a new journal. This would be my “Character Journal.” The idea behind it was that I would write entries in the journal, whether they ended up being real or imagined, but they couldn’t be written in my voice. Each entry would be written by a different character.

And here’s a rule: You are only allowed to write the character’s name on top of each entry. You cannot explain who they are, how old they are or anything like that. That all must come through the writing itself, which makes sense if you think about it. When you pick up a book, chances are you’re not going to find out the character’s entire life story in the first few lines, paragraphs or even chapters. We learn about a character through their actions and what they say.

How keeping a “Character Journal” is going to help you out:

a) You’re writing fiction again!

b) It helps you develop a sense of “voice.” No two people have the same speech pattern or habits.

c) You never know when one of these entries may end up leading to a full length story, or an idea for a story. Also, you need not worry if the entry doesn’t end up going anywhere. Many times in real life when you write a journal entry, half the time it ends up just becoming some sort of babble that may not end up going anywhere. These are supposed to be legit journal entries even though they are written by imaginary characters, so it’s allowed.

If you’ve hit one of these ruts like I have and would like to tackle some fiction, I highly recommend that you start a “Character Journal.” It should be separate from your personal journal. Just write a name of a potential character and see where he/she ends up taking you. Chances are you will be surprised. Most importantly, you will be WRITING.

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