by Teri Terry
a.k.a. the Bunny Whisperer
Part 4 in Making Things Up: a blog series about the creative process.
The other day I was chatting with one of my fellow bloggers - Addy - and made a comment about Plot Bunnies, when she said....What is a Plot Bunny?
Just in case any other writers out there aren't in with the Plot Bunnies, here we go!
And if this is all sounding rather daft to the sensible, here is the literary kudos. Although Plot Bunnies have been around since the beginning of time, Steinbeck phrased it rather nicely:Ideas are like rabbits. You get a few and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
Plot Bunnies inhabit your daydreams, your unconscious, your subconscious, everywhere you're not using logic or conscious thought, and they want attention. One bunny leads to another, and another, and another - and you never know where they might take you.
They can be distracting, but ignore them at your peril. They are the lifeblood of being a writer.It can be very tempting when you're deep in the writing cave to ignore your Plot Bunnies. You're a Serious Writer; you have a deadline, whether self-imposed or in a contract. You are focused, committed, and you will write 1000 words or whatever you've set yourself and you will finish chapter X. Serious Writers don't have time for the bunnies. WRONG.Plot Bunnies are your friends, and they must be cared for and nurtured. If they are, they refuse to go away until you write them. They are those ideas that wiggle and jump inside your head for attention; they must be written. They NEED to be written. They will make your writing better. They may make you waste time now and then, true, but if you routinely quash them down, they may not be there when you need them.
So, how do you encourage visits by these shy and elusive creatures? This depends on the writer and Plot Bunnies involved.
My Plot Bunnies need the following:
Tea. Lots of tea, in mugs with interesting or inspirational messages (Don't Panic, above, is one of my favourites).
Notebooks. usually brightly coloured, with or without frogs and hamsters. 
Banrock - of course. As chief muse he is a Plot Bunny wrangler.
The *right* pens.
Appropriate T shirts: particularly favoured if actual bunnies are involved, as above.
Naps. Walks. Environmentally unfriendly long showers, where I'm so away with the Plot Bunnies that I can't remember whether I've washed my hair or not and have to start over again.
Sometimes, even chocolate and wine!! |
Banrock, Chief Muse and Plot Bunny Wrangler,
has been there since the beginning:
here he is with Slated proofs - back in 2011! |
No matter how important and serious your writing is to you - and believe me, mine is to me - without enough of the crazy, it just doesn't work.
 |
| Thanks to Cathy for the photo of her bunny, Alice |
a.k.a. The Eric and Ern Guide to Writing
a.k.a. Conquering the Crap Mountain
by Teri Terry
Part 3 in Making Things up: a blog series about the creative process.
So, you're a writer, and you've decided to take it seriously (part 1).
You've got an idea, and you've got started (part 2). How do you keep going when the going gets tough?
Don't we all live for the days when inspiration hits and words flow? Actually, saying 'days' is misleading. So would be hours. How about...minutes? Let's face it: for me, anyhow, moments of pure joy and inspiration and muse love are rare. How do you keep going when the rest of the time it feels more like pulling your finger nails off slowly with pliers? On days when you'd rather hang from a tower in a cage like this unfortunate chap than face another blank page?
We're supposed to love writing. We're doing it because we want to, right? So why does it feel this way sometimes? Maybe this is it:
Does your internal critic rate your work according to a crap mountain? 
If the best you can hope for is ‘getting closer, but still crap’ – and only a tiny percentage of your work can scale this dizzying height – why would you go on? I wouldn’t. I’d develop ever more creative modes of procrastination (duck polishing, anyone?), and look for chocolate.
This is something I have to remind myself of over and over again:The first draft of everything is shite. Hemingway
If Hemingway's first drafts were shite, I'm guessing it's OK if mine are, too.
Do you remember this Eric & Ern moment of comedy gold history? Eric Morecambe’s line in answer to the complaints of Conductor Previn about his piano playing:
‘I’m playing all the right notes – but not necessarily in the right order.’
And that is what a first draft is all about. Getting the words out, in whatever form they may take.
Whether your critics are external, like Ern's, or internal, like mine usually are, if you’re frozen by fear – fear of not being good enough, of what you’re writing on the page not measuring up to what is in your head, and what you are writing and what is in your head not measuring up to some perceived standard you want to attain or you feel others want or expect you to attain – well. Nothing you can put on paper will ever be good enough if you feel that way. Even if your internal critic is more reasonable, you still need to shut them up to get on with things. I’d suggest a crap mountain Hill of Hoorays that is more like this:
When things seem beyond impossible, some days it is enough to get words on the page - making the words the goal in and of themselves. They can be as messy and convoluted and misspelled and disordered as the worst writing in the history of the world, but that’s ok. Because they’ve better than crap. You can rewrite them, delete them, rewrite them and delete them again and again, but that’s still ok. They’re still better than crap. It’s a modest goal, but one that helps keep me go on the rough days.A few specifics that I find also help:
1. Keep your story warm. Even when you're insanely busy, even if you only tinker with a few lines for a few minutes on crazy days, it helps. The longer it has been since you've dived in, the harder the diving gets. The colder the water and you just don't want to get in there, and if it has frozen over completely...well. That's a nightmare. |
| Brrrr...a total head cracker |
 |
| Lovely! Warm! Your toes so *want* to dip in, and the rest to follow |
2. Know where to stop. Say you've just finished a scene you're really happy with, and you're knackered and deserve some nice treats, maybe a glass of wine and half a bar of chocolate and some mindless TV, and that is quite enough for today...DON'T STOP THERE. Don't stop at the end of a scene, the end of a chapter. Even if you only make a few notes or write a paragraph, start the next bit. It makes starting the next day SO much easier. Even better is to stop when you're in the middle of whatever it is you love to write, so you're desperate to start again - with me, that's usually dialogue or action. If I'm half way through an action scene the next day begins like a dream.
Likewise, if you're writing a series and you've just finished book 1 and sent it off to your editor and deserve the holiday of a lifetime, right now....DON'T let anyone sleep on your laptop just yet, no matter how cute.While it is all in your head, write just a little of book 2 - a few chapters, some notes. Otherwise by the time you get edits back on book 1 and deal with those, starting book 2 will become a Thing. Like Things that live under the bed or the stairs, and only come out in nightmares. Or so you hope...
3. Do other things with the story without actually writing it. OK, that might sound a bit wrong when you're trying to get going with your writing...but sometimes I find editing a bit I've already written or drawing some nice plot flow charts or filling in a bit of a plot summary is a good way of sneaking up on what I have to do. It gets my mind in the story, and then it is easier to get going. Plus it takes the pressure off thinking I have to start writing as soon as I open my laptop.
 |
| The bottom middle notebook is the one for my current WIP. |
4. Pen and Paper. I'm really happy writing direct on my laptop most of the time, but sometimes having that physical feel of a pen in my hand, running across paper, really helps the words come. Of course, it is vitally important to regularly update your stationery supplies so you're ready for these emergencies.
5. Deadlines. Like 'em or loathe 'em, sometimes they help to focus the mind. Even if you don't have an agent or an editor waiting for you to get on with it, setting deadlines and targets can really help. Also try mini deadlines along the way - say, to hit a certain page number or word count by a certain date. This is especially helpful if the big overall Book Must Be Done By Date is too scary to contemplate. Only make sure they are reasonably achievable, or it's just another crap mountain.
 |
| Self control App - and large mug of tea - in action |
6. Get Self Control. The app, I mean. There are lots of versions of internet blocking apps that let you get on with it without being led astray by interesting blogs, shopping for notebooks or hearing the latest on FaceTwit. This is my favourite one; it only blocks what you want it to block, so you can block your distractions but still be able to do bits of research if you need to. You set it for whatever time period you want. I usually do 45 minute blocks. That's about as long as I can go without FaceTwit.
6. Keep the Faith.Keep the faith: the right words will be there, somewhere in the mess.You can put them in the right order when the editing begins.
7. And if all else fails...? I have a post-it note for these moments.A weird thing I've found out about writing as I've gone along is that what works when you are writing one story won't necessarily work when you are writing another one. Sometimes you just have to find your way as you go.
Now...for ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW WHO ERIC AND ERN ARE *shocked voice* (and I mean you, Candy), here is a snippet! All worth watching, but the famous line is at about 2:25.
A few last words confessions:
Just in case you were thinking my Hill of Hoorays and helpful hints and deadline and faith keeping and Eric and Ern and all that have me all sorted out....well...
I did the right thing; I started book 2 before I edited book 1; I even like the started bit, and it even doesn't need to change after editing book 1. I've made lots of notes by hand and drawn things with arrows and made some tables. But oh my: it is so, so COLD, even looking sidewise at the file minimised at the bottom of the computer screen is giving me chills. I love the story, I want to write it, I can write it, I've got faith in all these things...but it's going to take an ice pick at least.
It is Weds 17 Feb right now and this blog post is going up on Monday 22 Feb. I've been trying to start for days, and getting nowhere.
So here is my mini deadline: I WILL break through the ice before then, and report back in the comments.
Now: where's the chocolate?
About the Author
Teri Terry is the author of the Slated trilogy, Mind Games, and Dangerous Games. She should be writing book 2 of the Dark Matter trilogy (coming in 2017) right now, but was hoping writing a blog post about keeping going would give her the kick to, you know, actually get on with it. Until then, here is one she prepared earlier: Book of Lies, out on 24th March.
p.s. sorry about the gratuitous kittens - I couldn't help myself.
By Teri Terry
Part 2 in Making Things Up: a blog series about the creative process.
So...you like writing. You think you’ve got a knack for it, and you have some things to say. Or maybe you’ve written loads already, and the time has come to write something new, but you’re stuck. How do you get started?
How do you begin putting words on paper? Blank paper. Accusing paper. Gorgeous, pristine paper that doesn’t want to be sullied by anything less than brilliant. |
| A Blank Page...EEEEEEEK!! |
One of the questions most asked of authors is this one: Where do you get your ideas?
The assumption behind the question seems to be that before any words can appear on that blank page, there must be an original, awesome, inspiring, exciting idea! Just a little pressure, then.
Not necessarily. Sometimes the heart of the story is only found by writing it. But how do you start if you only have an inkling or a vague idea what to write about, or even aren’t sure at all where to begin?
First up: Choose your weapon!
It shouldn’t matter so much, but it does to me. I do most of my writing directly on my laptop, but I always start with a notebook – one chosen specifically for a new story – and I’m simply incapable of writing anything worthwhile on paper that isn’t at least A4 in size. And ideally hard backed, coil bound, white paper, lines - ones that aren’t too thick or in a weird colour - spaced just so, maybe with an interesting picture on the front...so I’m not fussy at all, am I? And whenever I’m planning or get stuck, I go back to the notebook. Many stretched handbags and sore shoulders later I’ve tried to break this habit, but I just can’t. |
Here we have working notebooks! From left: Slated; Book of Lies;
and the current one, book one of my new trilogy, Dark Matter |
Interestingly, I was recently rereading one of my favourite writing books, Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, and came across this in the opening chapter (p. 6-7):The size of your notebook matters, too. A small notebook can be kept in your pocket, but then you have small thoughts... It is true that the inside world creates the outside world, but the outside world and our tools also affect the way we form our thoughts.
This made me wonder: does the size of notebook relate to the kind of stuff I like to write? If I wrote, say, quirky literary fiction that focused in on the minutae of one life, would a smaller notebook be just right? It’d be worth trying it to save my handbags and shoulders. |
| Just a few of my notebooks in waiting... |
But whatever you need to write, make it so. If you suffer from not wanting to sully the pages of a beautiful notebook, it may be that plain is the way to go. And pocket sized notebooks may be just right for you, despite what Natalie said, or you might think better with a keyboard.
Second: Write, write, write...but what?
Here are a few approaches that may help:
1. What do you enjoy reading?
What are the essential elements of the type of story you love to read? Identify them and put them together in your own way, and you will have the start of a story.For example, if you love a good murder mystery, you need somebody to die. You need someone to find the body; someone, who may or may not be the same person, to solve the mystery and find the killer. If you start with someone dying in an interesting way or place, and develop characters for your victim, murderer, and sleuth, a story will appear.
Of perhaps you love a good romance. This  |
| True love! In one of its many guises |
isn’t so much my focus so I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure you need more than one character, whether it is boy-girl, girl-girl, boy-boy-girl – you need at least two to tango. You need reasons why they come to care for each other, you need challenges, growth: who are they, and what do they want? How do they meet? Why are they right or wrong for each other? What comes between them? Can this be overcome?
If plotting a whole book is too daunting, you don’t necessarily have to know everything about your characters and what will happen to them when you start. You can take an interesting character, introduce them to another in an interesting way or place, and see what develops.
I don’t mean to get into plotting here today, and everyone has a different approach as to how much plotting and planning they like to do before they write. But at a basic level, when you’re working out what to write, starting with the elements of the type of story you love is a good place to begin if you’re stuck what to write about.
2. Free writing
A less structured approach is to write something every day – often it helps if it is at a set time of day, for a set length of time – without any thought to where it is going or why. Begin with an object, a character, or a setting, and put pen to paper, and just go. Don’t let yourself think, just write whatever pops into your head. Once your set time for free writing is over, stop and read what you’ve written. Think about it, and ask yourself questions about the elements on the page, and see where it takes you. It won’t always work, but sometimes you can find interesting ideas or starting points from your unconscious mind have leaked into what you’ve written.
I also often use free writing from the point of view of different characters to help get to know them, but that is a whole other topic.
3. Mind mapping
Say you have an interesting scene or character but you don’t know what to do with them.
I find it really helpful to do a mind map. So, as an example I've got below - Phoebe, a character I'd introduced in Slated. Originally she was a walk on/walk off part, who trips Kyla up on a bus, and that was it. But she was somehow interesting, so I wanted to work out ways to increase her role in the story, and on this page I was coming up with options - some of which made it in to Slated, many of which didn't.
This also works well for me if I’m further into a story, and I’m not sure how to make something happen. Eg. I know my hero has to escape from the evil clutches of my villain, but how? If I write arrows of every possible option, no matter how daft they may seem, and the consequences that will flow from each one, the answer usually becomes obvious.
I said I wasn’t going to talk about plotting, but it’s kind of like I can’t help myself...
4. Serendipity strikes: kaboom!
OK, this does happen sometimes, and I live for these moments. It might seem a bit like luck or chance, but the more of the above kind of writing and exploring that is being done, the more these kinds of things seem to happen.With Slated, it started with a dream that I had, of a girl, running, terrified, on a beach. I wrote that down as soon as I woke up and, presto! it became a trilogy (well, there was a bit more involved than that, but that is how it started).
Mind Games started very differently. I happened to read an article about rationality and intelligence, and then wondered what would happen if rationality were prized over intelligence in a future world: who decides who is rational, and how? What are the consequences of being considered irrational and intelligent?
Finally:
Once you have a story in mind - if writing the first line, paragraph, page or chapter is too daunting, just write. Ramble. Play with words. Get going, and later on when you know your story and characters better, what should be those important first words should come to you.Writing – especially the coming up with ideas part at the beginning – should be fun*, not torture. Enjoy it!
*apart from the occasional influence of deadlines, but that is a whole other nightmare blog post...About the Author
Teri Terry is the author of the award winning, internationally best selling Slated trilogy - Slated, Fractured and Shattered. Mind Games, out in March, was recently nominated for the Carnegie. Dangerous Games will be in December, and Book of Lies in March 2016. After that is the Dark Matter trilogy, which she should be writing right now instead of blogging...but that is a whole other blog post.
Banrock - of course. As chief muse he is a Plot Bunny wrangler. 
