Knowledge is Power!

(Schoolhouse Rock reference intended)

AP tests.

Death.

I’m taking less than half as one of my other friends though. She’s taking five, two of which are on the same day. Now that is death. But I’m pretty close. Not to mention the fact that my other teachers/classes don’t seem to acknowledge their existence and are giving us the same amount of homework and tests as we’ve always had.

Joy.

But of course this not a blog where I complain about my school life, though it does cut into my writing time which I guess makes it relevant.

I cannot stress how much I recommend have writing buddies. They say make friends with people who share your same interests, but especially when those interests include serious writing. Those are the friends who will know your pain, give you sympathy, help and sometimes ideas. They understand what you want to do, why you want to do it, and a lot of time two people can figure out a lot more info about publishing and such than one can. And now even agents are looking for referrals rather than unsolicited material, so if your friend manages to get their foot in the door they can refer YOU. That’s how Cassandra Clare got her first publication. Her friend Holly Black had gotten a publishing deal and referred Clare to her agent. Now she has over 8 books with millions of copies sold each, a movie, and at least 4 more on the way. If you still need to be convinced, check out the full article on it, Writing Buddies.)

If you read a bit around on this blog, you’ll know that my Writing Buddy also happens to be my best friend. In fact that’s another reason why I haven’t been as faithful updating this blog the past week or so, I’ve been working on her birthday present with every spare minute I haven’t been studying. It’s finally in the mail (a week late- HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGARET! You’ve got 3 years left to get your two books. You can do it!). But she’s not my only writing friend, and one of the things that I’ve noticed, being able to compare the two, is that writers know a lot of weird stuff.

I know that might sound weird, but it’s true. We know a lot of weird stuff.

I have no interest whatsoever in going into the medical field, much less becoming an OBGYN doctor, yet I know an astonishing amount about preterm births. I am also very much not Jewish, nor do I have any family or close friends who are Jewish. Yet I know quite a bit about Jewish funerals. And I know far more about malaria and how it affects a person than anyone other than someone working on a malarial vaccine should know. Why? Because I researched all of these for a story.

There is no reason that my other friend would know so much about modern day pirates or Somalia. Most people I know wouldn’t know where to point on a map to find Somalia. Except that she has a character who is a Somalian pirate.

It doesn’t always have to be stuff found researched for a story though, it can also be stuff that’s just been picked up reading or in school. I will never forget where the latissimus dorsi muscle is in your back because my teacher described it as “the wing shaped muscle” but I misheard her as “the muscle where the wing attaches.” Now I knew that I had misheard, but I’ve certainly never forgotten. I believe that historical fiction is probably the best way to learn history.

Sometimes we run into stuff we don’t know though, or something that we’re not sure about because we’ve seen it on TV, but can you really trust Hollywood at all? (usually the answer to that is no. If you think you know something because you saw it in a movie, please research it before you try to put it to paper. When it comes to information always assume that Hollywood is a liar.)

The internet is probably everyone’s best friend in this case. There is no end to the information you can find out with a Google search (I would have said a quick Google search, but some information is very far from a quick Google search. I’ve spent hours trying to get a simple question answered while people just keep on telling me stuff I already know. New mommy websites, I love you.) But just like Hollywood, you have to be very careful about the answers you find. Make sure that they’re correct.

What is your source? Are you looking on yahoo!answers, or are you looking on The World Health Organization’s official website/reports?

• Dot orgs are usually much safer than dot coms, I think we all know that having grown up in the Information Age.

• If you’re looking for historical information like stuff people would be wearing or dressed in, I would suggest finding a website for roleplayers- sorry. Reenactors. Especially on the American Civil War, you will be able to find out just about anything you want to know about that war from hard core reenactors.

• Medical information should usually come from a website sponsored by a hospital.

• Don’t trust Wikipedia, unless it’s a highly specialized topic. Yes people can edit what it says on Wiki, but who’s going to both modifying highly specialize/scientific information?

• I’ve found that you can usually find a lot of statistical information from either the UN an/or its various break off branches, or if you’re looking for information about the US, PewResearch.org is a great place to go.

• Then there’s also the New Mommy type websites. Websites that are designed to help people figure out what to do when they have no idea. This category would also include First Aid websites too.

• New articles, if you can find one related to your topic are… usually pretty good. It depends on what your topic is and who wrote the article. Usually they’re pretty good. Usually.

And you can always try to find someone who knows what they’re talking about. When I was doing my writing project on incompetent cervixes, there was no one better to ask for help than my OBGYN Aunt. Asking actual people is really nice because you get to ask them questions and they will answer that specifically. And let us not forget the still very valuable source of information called BOOKS. We’re all trying to write one, right?

If you’re looking at the right sources, you can find out all sort of relevant information to your topic… and lots of other cool/weird information that you can impress/freak out your friend with later.

Did you know that parasitic flatworms have the most complex reproductive systems of an animal?

The Importance of Writing Buddies

I would like to address a topic that is very near and dear to my heart.

Writing Buddies.

Or Buddy, in my case, but that’s not a guideline or anything.

Margaret’s written a post about this topic before (on a different blog) and that will be added in its entirety at the end as well as heavily quoted.

Guys I am going to say one thing that is the main focus and goal of this post:

If you don’t have a writing buddy, you need one.

Writers are by nature rather solitary people. We usually like hanging out with a particular small group of people we’re very familiar with and sticking with them for long periods of time. Or just not really associating with humans, which I wouldn’t suggest because looking from a completely professional view it’s best to associate with the subjects you’re going to be writing about. It’s important to study people.

But I Don’t Need/Want a Writer Buddy

I understand if you don’t want to go out and try to find a writing buddy (from here on out to be called WB). It could get awkward and you can’t just walk up to someone and say “Hi! Do you like to write stories and would be okay with listening to me ramble about mine and my ideas for hours on end?”.

But you will need them. I quote my ABSOLUTELY AMAZING WB:

“Part of the reason writer’s write is that we want to share our imaginary worlds with the ‘real’ world.

Or at least, that’s part of the reason I write.

And when sitting all the lonesome, staring balefully at your computer, more often than not – you lose sight of that.”

I really wish it weren't true. And maybe it won’t be for you. Maybe that’s not why you want to write or maybe that’s not where you have a problem. But for the majority of us, after working 50 hours on a project over a three week period, you start to lose sight of where it’s going, why you’re writing it, why you want to write it, what the purpose is…

If you have a WB and they’re good, they will be able to encourage you, keep you going. But if that’s not your problem they should also be there to listen to you talk about ideas. I consider myself a pretty good WB. I am not joking when I say I've probably listened to WELL over 100 hours of Margaret going on and on and on and on and on about her characters, her world, her plot…

Well over 100. If not well over 200. If not 300.

Let me clear the air right here and now. Probably the part that actually makes me a good WB is that I don’t mind. I really don’t. I love hearing about her characters and her concepts. It’s gotten to the point where I know her characters almost as well as she does. I DREAM about her characters for crying out loud. Today in PE I ran the mile imagining that one of them was chasing behind me with a sword after I stole her coffee (word of advice: don't steal her coffe). I could almost literally write her next book for her (though I don’t think she’d want me to- I might end up pairing her two main characters together XP)

I love hearing about her story and writing.

Once again, I would like to repeat that, more for her than for you guys.

I ENJOY HEARING ABOUT THEM. SO STOP APOLOGIZING. IF I WAS REALLY ANNOYED, I WOULD TELL YOU OR CHANGE THE SUBJECT.

She never stops apologizing. To the point where she should apologize for apologizing so much.

Any who…

You have to find someone who can take sitting down and listening to you ramble on, because trust me, you need to ramble. You need someone to help fill in the plot holes over the dead bodies. You need someone to help you figure out “How the @#^&*& is Character A supposed to get from here to there if she lost her wings?”

What Do I Need to Look For in a WB?

Good question.

It really just depends on you. They have to be someone you can work with on a daily basis. I’m not saying you have to work with them on a daily basis, but it has to be someone you could. My suggestion is to find someone you could easily be a friend with.

My WB is my best friend.  I’m hers. (I think…)

To the point where we’re claiming to be sisters on this blog.

I’m not saying you have to be best friends with your WB. We were just very fortunate that it worked out that way. But you should 100% be friends.

I can’t tell you what you like in a friend. That’s something you should know for yourself (I hope you do… If you don’t that kinda means you have no friends…). If they’re not a person you can get along with, you probably shouldn’t be working with them.

They should be able to listen (as mentioned before) and as the term WRITING buddy implies, they should be just as if not more motivated towards writing and becoming an author as you are. You want them there to push you forward. You want them to be able to help you at as if they were coming at the problem their own manuscripts. You should pass writing back and forth, lean on each other.

And you have to, I repeat HAVE TO be able to TRUST them. That’s not going to come quickly and you’re probably going to have to spend a few months getting to that point. Margaret and I have been friends for three years now. We trust each other a lot.

You do not want someone who you can’t trust because if you can’t trust them to not share your manuscript with ANYONE, then you can’t trust them enough to send it to them, and the entire point of having the WB is ruined. Trust is imperative. And since I’m fairly sure we’re all young writers here, it’s a good idea to gain the trust of their parents too. I didn't get to read her first book for WEEKS after she finished it cause her mom didn't want me to steal the idea. So make sure the parents know that you can be trusted.

Trust is important.

How Do I Find a WB

Another good question… I actually can’t really answer that very well to be honest. We're such a rare case that I don’t know how most people go about finding one. *wince* Sorry about that. For a little vague back story:

We met on an obscure little website for Artemis Fowl Fan Fiction. She had been writing there for a few months already and I was brand new. I will freely admit it. I worshiped every word she WROTE. She says she didn’t think of me as a puppy dog and was more flattered than annoyed, but I’m pretty sure that she says that to spare my feelings. I was pretty puppy-ish.

And it was in the puppy-dogish worship that I followed her and a couple of the other authors to another website geared for something unrelated to Artemis Fowl, but related to the website. Wish I could tell you more but I can’t really. But I will say that it was mostly RPing and she was pretty much the only person who took me seriously. Which only made me like her more. Sometimes after the drama (And boy was it DRAMA. Serious. Like… crazy stuff. Every night. But beside the point again) we would have conversations.

Fun conversations. Where poles started attacking people and legendary Pokémon would come out the sky and lend us a hand in our chainsaw vanquishing.

If you think I’m joking, I’m not.

We make jokes about it to this day.

And then we started talking over email and stopped communicating for a bit. Then about a year and a half ago she sent me a message about another RPish thing she had created and I felt very very happy she had thought to include me in that. So I joined in. We started talking in and out of it. Then we both got a Skype and she started talking to me about her ideas… (which she actually wasn’t supposed to do) and… here we are.

Best friends.

I have no idea what your experience will be like. Hopefully it will be just as fun. Maybe it won’t be. Cassandra Clare wrote about it in her “Writer’s Advice” column.

She says:

“It can often be easier to find a critique group online than in real life. Some of the most famous include Critters and The Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction and Fantasy. You can also search through yahoo groups or Goggle groups for writing groups devoted to your specialization. In real life, try looking at message boards in libraries, taking classes at community colleges or universities, or putting out flyers yourself to meet other writers.”

I say take her advice.

Like I said… probably not the best person to ask on how to find/get one. I would say that everyone’s story is going to be unique. You’re likely going to find your WB completely differently from anyone except your WB. And it can be a group. In fact I would suggest a group. More opinions.

Summary

YOU NEED A WRITING BUDDY. OR MULTIPLE IF YOU CAN GET THEM.

THEY SHOULD BE FRIENDS YOU WOULD WANT TO HANG OUT WITH NORMALLY

BE THE WB YOU WOULD WANT TO HAVE (not explicitly said, but it was subtext)

YOU HAVE TO TRUST THEM

THE VINSHIRE SISTERS HAVE AN ODD AND WEIRD PAST AND ARE NOT TO BE SOUGHT FOR ADVICE ON HOW TO FIND A WB

And I’m just going to give a little shout out to two of the biggest famous WBs that I know of

Cassandra Clare (Writer of the Mortal Instruments/Infernal Devices- if you don’t know them READ THEM) is best friends with Holly Black (writer of Farie Tales- only really made it through the first two; the last made me want to throw it against the wall…) Black introduced Clare to her agent and kick-started her career which has hit best seller lists, sold millions of copies, and is working on a movie.

And then we have perhaps THE most famous example:

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien.

If you don’t know who either of those are, you need to go hide under a rock and stop pretending you ever had a childhood.

They were best friends who both taught at the same college and had tea every Wednesday.

WB’s are very important. They can influence you in ways that you cannot even imagine.

You need one.

Get one.

Margaret's Old Post:

Subtitle: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a lonesome writer must be in want of a writing buddy.

Well, it should be universally acknowledged. Part of the reason writer’s write is that we want to share our imaginary worlds with the ‘real’ world.

Or at least, that’s part of the reason I  write.

And when sitting all the lonesome, staring balefully at your computer, more often than not – you loose sight of that.

Magnificent prose leaves your fingers, however unneeded that prose might be – and as your stroke your manuscript hissing “Precious” and find that while you know you should cut things – every single word is ever so lovely and- and that’s when – without writing buddy – you can find yourself in a harrowing situation.

They also make a fantastic cheering team – while I don’t use my writing buddy so much for editing and helping me cut – I do use her as my babble-to person, someone who listens to me as I bounce ideas off of her.

It’s magnificently helpful!

Look – there is about five billion and one reasons for one to choose and find a writing buddy.

There’s this fantastic story I found once – A writer was talking to a brain surgeon, and after informing the surgeon that she wrote books, the surgeon responded, “Oh how nice! I was thinking of writing a book myself when I retire!” and the writer responded, “Really! Isn’t that the oddest thing – I was thinking of being a brain surgeon when I retire myself!”

Writing a book isn’t easy.

But it’s easier if you have someone who can coax and help you and listen to hours and hours and hours of ideas as you babble endlessly into her ear so badly she keels over, sobbing. And you have to attend her funeral after she accidentally kills herself banging her head on the wall to escape.

…Not that any of that ever happened to me! Of course not! Why doth you ask such a thing?

~Amanda Vinshire (with input from Margaret)