Musings on Writing: Keep it Simple  

Posted by Jonathan Hop

Alright I'm going to share a silly story today, but it has to do with writing, I promise.  I base my philosophy on writing simply and always being mindful that I must communicate effectively to my reader, whether its physical description, action, or dialogue.  Simplicity is key.  You do not have to sacrifice your "artistry" to remain simple.  It just depends on your relationship to your writing, and therefore your reader.  I used to watch a sitcom called "Step by Step" which was a modern rendition of the Brady Bunch (with the genders of the two youngest children switched) starring Suzanne Summers.  The episode I watched was later in the show, like the fourth season, where the eldest female child, Dana, was about to go to college.  Of course, she really didn't think too much on how she was going to pay for college, and assumed her parents would foot the bill for Stanford or Yale, college worthy of her intellect.  Her father informed her that he had seven children and a house, and that if she had a scholarship for a full ride, then she could make it, if not, community college it is!  Dana didn't like the idea of going to college with all the rabble, thinking that somehow it was beneath her to stand shoulder to shoulder with non-Harvard peasants.  

With nothing else to do, Dana went to the local community college and sat it on her first English class.  She was given a writing assignment, and went home thinking that she would show the professor that she was heads and shoulders above the rest.  She used as many large words as she could fit and wrote in a dense, convoluted manner.  The next day in class, she got a big "D" across the face of her paper.  Incredulous, she marched straight up to the professor, demanding to know why she failed.  The professor explained  to Dana that she spent more effort in seeming erudite than having a solid message and properly communicating it.  "The purpose of language is to communicate, and you've failed at that."  Dana was of course dejected and went home to her family where they had a lovely mom-daughter scene.  All mushiness aside, that scene stuck with me for years.  It shaped the way I write.

The purpose of language is to communicate.  Sounds pithy at first, but it helps us cultivate our attitude towards our writing.  This could be for any genre: fantasy, science fiction, a term paper, business writing, anything really.  When you're writing your next masterpiece, do you have your audience in mind, or are you off in the clouds, imagining you are in the drawing room having a drink with Dostoevsky, Camus, and Tolstoy?  I can hear some of you grumbling, thinking about the "Twilight" phenomenon and how you could write so much better and bemoan all of the people who have such "low" tastes.  My knee jerk reaction is to agree, but the author of Twilight was successful in keeping his/her audience in the forefront and communicating to them on their wavelength.  

This idea also helps to keep your writing tight and your message on point.  A lot of times new authors will try to cram as many large words, metaphors, and imagery into a single sentence. You end up with verbose behemoths striding through your novel, making it a laborious task to read instead of an experience to enjoy.  Getting your exact point across with few words is the goal, and knowing your audience and focusing on communication helps you achieve that goal.  Treasure your readers.  You can tease them, challenge them, shock them, entrance them, but you should always talk to them like a dear friend.  Every word counts, ever image matters, and your final presentation will be that much more enjoyable with this in mind.

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Creative Juices  

Posted by Jonathan Hop

So where do you actually sit down and write?  I was thinking how important our environment is when we write.  Do you write at home in a special study you have tucked away in the back of your house, or do the people at Starbucks know you by name?  I'm sure most people write on their computer with ebooks and all, but sometimes I like to jot things down in a notebook I carry with me or write out handwritten prose just for the sensation.

The environment we choose to write in is everything.  I find that I get far too bored sitting at home to really write because the scenery is so static.  I like to go to a nice cafe down the street or a McDonald's and sit in the corner while tapping away at the keys.  Then again, with a slight change in mood, the silence of the library can be just the right venue to get to work.  Do you write indoors, or do you sit outside to enjoy the breeze and people watch?  Do you need occasional distractions to occupy your mind for a few moments, and then re-engage with your work?

Here's a question, where do you like to write and why?  How does your mood affect your writing, and how does your choice of writing environment affect the creative process?

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Writing Exercise #1  

Posted by Jonathan Hop

Here's an exercise that we did once when I was taking a class on translation, and I thought it really helped in being mindful of voice and how to switch it to convey different information.  The idea is quite simple. You can do this exercise if you're working on a big project, like a major paper or a book.  For the class, we had an extensive 20 page paper due by the end of class on a topic that we had been steadily researching.  


Picture that you're in the following situations.  Then, try and explain your novel/idea to the person in these settings.  Try to sell them on your idea and communicate.


1. Meeting an elderly woman on the bus.  By chance you and she strike up a conversation after she drops something, or someone bumps into you.  You tell her you're an author, and she asks you what your book is about.


2. You and your best friend are chilling at a bar.  The music is going, people are all around, and you and he/her have a moment where you can really talk.  "So, what's this novel you're working on?" he/she asks.


3. You're in a board meeting with some imposing looking executives in full business attire.  You've just shook hands with each one, and you're thankful that your connections with the secretary got you this meeting at all.  They're interested in your idea/novel.  How do you sell it to them?


This not only helps with say, book descriptions for product listings or teasers for your work, it's also a great way to stop and ask yourself: "What's my voice?"  What tone do you take when you write and how would switching it up change your style?

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Brand New Blog Brand New Day!  

Posted by Jonathan Hop

Hello and welcome, my name is Jonathan Hop.  I run a blog about the Chinese game of Go, but I thought I would create a second blog where I could talk exclusively about writing.  Since this blog is just now getting off the ground I'll take a moment to introduce myself and why it is I've chosen writing as a full time profession.  I've always been a writer.  It's a blessing and a curse in many ways.  I used to write short stories when I was eight years old on my mother's word processor.  I miss that thing.  It had real soul.  Old school word processors could function as typewriters, so as a kid I could enjoy the sound of the keys hitting the paper.  I used to write one to two page short stories about a variety of things, and it usually impressed my teachers when I went in to school with a writing assignment double the length of the one they had assigned.  I would always get inspired by a story I had just read and often tried to write books of my own.  I actually accomplished a "Choose Your Own Adventure" tale once by writing in a journal my mother had bought me.  I did it after the style of another CYOA book called "Lone Wolf."  I had the entire series and hunted them down in any bookstore where they might be.

The reason I call this blog "World of Alterone" is because it's basically going to be the culmination of my many scraps of writing over the years.  Alterone was a mythical city I invented in my head when I was 16 and working as a cashier at a grocery store.  The job was okay, but I often found myself wandering away in my own head and created characters, plots, and worlds to pass the time.  I was also an avid Dungeons and Dragons player, as group storytelling was also rewarding.  College turned writing into a job though, as graduate students have to churn out page after page after page of research.  I've written so much about the Meiji restoration, Modernism and Japan, and Feudal Japanese warlords that I sometimes felt I was turning into a Japanese person myself.  Well, I've gotten away from that and have found my sea legs again and want to write for the joy of it.  

I'm also a big Go player, which is why I wrote some books on Go.  I wanted more people to play Go so that there could be more competition.  It's a fun game and it never gets boring, I just think because of its complexity and because it takes awhile before you can really become good at it that people shy away from it. I have been pretty successful so far as I've found a good formula for teaching people Go so they feel like they're having fun and might, you know, play one of these days.  They've sold pretty well, but I haven't done a whole lot to promote them outside of my blog.  They were my first three books ever, and I had this glow that I'm sure every writer gets when they get their proof in the mail, unwrap the packaging, and lovingly thumb through the pages to see a part of their mind in the physical world.  I love that exhilaration and that's why I want to really push to improve my craft.   

My next project is a novelization of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign my friends and I played over the course of a year and a half in high school.  We all lived far apart so we played online using mIRC.  We'd actually play once a day during the summer for 3-5 hours a go, so we had a really long, thought out, exciting campaign, and I wanted to start from there for my first actual novel.  Also it'd be great to talk about something other than Go :P  So far I'm going at a good clip.  I finished a book on my year as an ESL teacher in Korea.  However, I find that writing is a highly emotional pursuit and I have to take great care to stay in an energetic mood to write for long periods of time.  I even write in my head while walking to the grocery store, where I'll play out scenes or think of witty dialogue.  It's really an engrossing, all day process.

So what can you expect to read from this blog?  Well, I think writers should write, so I like to do quick writing exercises to test my ability to perform certain tasks, and will share them with you in hopes that they are useful to you if you are on the long journey of becoming a writer. I used to write a lot of fan fiction (yes I'm a guy), but not the kind where you pair two characters and put them on a date.  I usually tried to either continue or rewrite stories.  I'd keep characterization, mood, and style as best I could, but offered fresh ideas or plot re-sequencing for video games and anime I enjoyed.  Each fan fic was like a writing exercise, in that there was always a challenge and therefore a way to make my writing better and to improve my style.  I'll pose little writing challenges from time to time, just something to get your juices flowing and your mind whirring.

Aside from that, I'll also post some things to help writers, and share whatever knowledge I have on the craft with anyone willing to read.   I have done a lot of freelance writing for non profits, for marketers, and just for fun, so hopefully I have some knowledge that will be of use to you.  Also, if you're looking for a cover illustrator or a book editor that's within your budget, I know of several people who've done so much in helping me get my stuff off the ground, and I'm sure they'd be happy in making your dream come true.  

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