Can You Run Out of Creativity?

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. -Maya Angelou

Hello! :) This is our quote of the week, as you've probably guessed. ;)

The first thing I thought of when I read this quote was love. Why? Because the more love you give away, the more you have.

Do you think this is true? The more creativity you use, the more you have? One could argue that this makes no sense; how can you have more of something after using it? Well, this isn't exactly an easy question to answer.

The first thing that I thought of was love. It's not exactly an answer, but it reminds you that not all of your questions can be answered. Not everything can be used up. Love - and creativity - aren't material, therefore you can't run out of them.

If you aren't satisfied with that, let me give you another answer. :)

When you are creative, you are making room for more creativity. In other words, creativity inspires itself. When you write, you are being creative. And if you never start, then you won't be able to be creative further. In turn, when you are creative, you are able to be creative further.

So don't worry that you'll ever run out of ideas. You simply can't!

-Autumn



Introductions

So, I realized that I never really did an introductory post. There's always my About Autumn, so you can check that out, but I still thought it would be nice to introduce myself. :)

Her name is Autumn Browne. She's a teenager with a passion for writing, because you don't have to be an adult to love to write! Known for her daydreaming talents, Autumn loves curling up in a thunderstorm with a good book, some chocolate, and a box of tissues.

She's a newly beginning blogger, and admits how glad she is that she started, for she has learned how to schedule and how to "practice what you preach." :)

Currently, Autumn is working on a novel entitled Immortal Fire, began in November 2014 and is on the fourth draft, having stopped and restarted numerous times. More information about Immortal Fire can be found under the Current Works tab, which *ahem* is under renovations (aka, it will be up soon.). She's only written short stories and poetry before, but she says that she loves noveling, although it is a challenge.

Autumn is an avid reader. She reads many genres including fantasy, science fiction, and Christian. If you meet her on the street, don't be surprised if she is carrying a book. "If you'd ever like to chat over books sometime," Autumn says, "I'd love that! But watch out, because once you start me, I may never stop!"

She also enjoys drawing and calligraphy, being a true artist at heart. Autumn loves dogs, especially Shih Tzus and even more especially, Mal-Shihs. She also wishes desperately for a pet dragon, but her house isn't large enough. So dragons frequently influence her writing because who doesn't love dragons? ;)

On that happy note, we return you to your regularly scheduled blogging. Autumn loves blogging for you lovely people, and hopes you come back soon!

-Autumn

Character Names

One of the first things you pin down in character development is their name. (Note: I said one. ;) There are many 'first things'.) But names are essential. Your character has to have a name. That's how you keep track of them, and make them more relatable to your audience.

On rare occasions, your characters will practically name themselves, or you create them already knowing their name. But what do you do when they don't?

I enjoy using baby name generators and books. Nameberry and Behind The Name are just two examples. Also SheKnows and various blogs.
A simple Google search will do the trick in this case. Search "baby name generator" and add "male/boy" or "female/girl" depending on the gender you're looking for. If you have any more specifics in what you're looking for, type that in as well! It never hurts to be more specific. :)

In my fantasy, I often make up names for them. Sometimes, I take a popular name and twist it, changing it somehow to create a whole different name. Another method is to try out sounds, joining them together to create a name you like.

One thing to avoid while naming characters:
Don't name them after famous people, or similar characters in other books. This just leads to confusion and annoyance on the part of your readers.

I hope this helps you! I know I often need help when it comes to naming. :)
-Autumn

Scene Starters

Hi again! I'm starting a three-week 'project' on here. Each week, I'll be dropping off ten new prompts!

Part 1: Scene Starters
Part 2: Plots
Part 3: Twists

This week, we have Scene Starters! Have fun!

Scene Starters:

1. "You don't want to know. There was a reason we kept this from you."

2. Write a scene set in/by some large body of water.

3. "You're kidding. You've got to be kidding."

4. Write a scene that includes a sarcastic character and a dragon.

5. "I've always loved you, you know. And I hoped you would love me back."

6. Write a scene with a sleepy cat and a peppy, enthusiastic boy.

7.  'All of a sudden -'

8. 'He looked down at his arm, inspecting it thoroughly.'

9. Write a scene set in a castle.

10. Write a scene between your two least favorite characters.

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There we have it! Tune in next week, folks, for your next installment! ;)

-Autumn

Sketching

For Christmas, one of my presents was drawing pencils. I already owned a small sketching pad, the perfect size to fit in a purse or bag.

That got me to start drawing more. I've checked out drawing books, experimented, and searched Pinterest for things to draw. The one thing that I wanted to draw, however, was people. In art class, we've drawn portraits of ourselves, and I really enjoyed that. But I'd never really drawn full body portraits.
A.K.A. I am a total beginner. ;)

Of course, I really wanted to draw the characters from my book. Being *ahem* overly-ambitious, I started planning out poses/scenes to put them in. Some poses... let's just say, some are easier than others.

One of the methods I prefer the most is the Ball-and-Socket technique. It's really handy, and makes it a lot simpler. Take it from me, a total amateur. :) My people-drawing has improved under this.

1. You lightly sketch out the "wire frames", or the basic pose your person/character will be in. Draw small balls to show where the joints are, and simple "sticks" for the basic arms and legs.

2. Enlarge it, building the body to be more realistic and not so much of just a stick figure.

3. Erase the sketch marks, going over it, fixing the smaller bits.

4. Draw in hair, expression, etc.

5. If you are like me, make minor changes/edits several times.

6. Go over with a finer tipped pencil, fixing rough patches.

7. (Optional) Color.

I prefer to keep my sketches just... sketches. But that's just me. ;)

There you have it! My tips to drawing the basic human figure. Now get to sketching!

Jovana

Here we are, already time for me to introduce another character! So I give you:

Jovana Ala

 

 

__________

 

 

Hello, all. I'm Jovana Ala. As you can see, that's supposed to be me up there. It's not too off, surprisingly, but, like Keshi - my twin sister - I have a tendency to obsess over small details. That's something we actually have in common. Anyways, the picture isn't that off, as I said before. My hair is lighter, more of what my author says is a honey-bronde color and it's slightly curlier than that.  But, on most days, that's the color of my eyes and my skin is about that color.

 

I'm not as talkative as Keshi, but I want you to get the right image of me. I mean, if my author ever finishes her book, it should be important, right? You'll get to know me then, but - Sorry. Sometimes, when I'm nervous, I chatter on and on.

 

I'm a Sky Akarei, specifically the clouds. I've heard Keshi grumble about how hers isn't "glorious", but there's nothing wrong with it. It fits her, I believe. That's not an insult, at all. She's darling. She's always liked- Wait, I'm off topic again. This is supposed to be all about me. However, it's so much easier talking about other people than talking about yourself, at least in my experience.

 

I'm quieter than most. I'm not an adventure girl like Keshi. I prefer sipping cinna in front of a warm fire and reading a book. If I'm not there, I'm usually out riding my dragon. With me, it's not limited to fair-weather: I enjoy the rain, the clouds, the storms. They satisfy something deep inside, something that won't be restrained; wants to be wild and free. When I'm sad, I go out in the rain with my dragon. Somehow, the water flowing down expresses things that I never could by crying the tears I can never cry.

 

Now you're going to just going to think I'm odd.

My favorite subject here is languages, but people here just think I'm a nerd for liking it so much. They already think I'm a nerd, though, because I care about my grades and how well I do in class. I don't tell Keshi how much I get made fun of, because all she does is go get into fights on my behalf, when it just makes it worse.
You've probably guessed that I'm not really the popular one. But I don't really mind. I prefer watching people over interacting with them.

 

Um... I'm not sure what else to tell you. I've gone out of my comfort zone already, which my author and all my friends say I should do more often. But I'm safe in my comfort zone, so why go out of it?

 

*to me* Is there some sort of polite way to leave? I'm starting to get tired after all of this. Do I just close off?

 

*to you* So, I have to go now. Er, bye and nice meeting you!

__________

 

Now you know Jovana, one of the main characters from my work-in-progress. I hope you enjoyed meeting her!

Again, if you'd like to ask Jovana any questions, post it down in the comments and she'll answer. If any questions reveal too much about herself or the story, she might not answer, but she'll be somewhat pleased at the attention. ;)

 

Happy writing!

-Autumn

Pruning

Writing is my life. I enjoy it and - remember that one R.A. Salvatore quote? *wink, wink* - I couldn't just not write. But writing isn't all roses and butterflies, all fun and games. I wish it was. Yes, I do wish it was.

I'm bringing up this topic because of a writing experience I just had. I'm growing as a writer, like all of you, and learning new things and being taught new lessons. Is that fun? In some ways, yes, it is. But on the other hand, does pruning always feel good? No, of course not.

I'm being pruned, and a certain cutting off of a branch hit me hard recently, so I'm going to share that story with you. :)

I'm kind.

We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses, and it's good to know your own strengths and weaknesses. It took me forever to be able to admit my own strengths,  but admitting the weaknesses came far too easily. I'm too much of a critic for my own good. :)

I am just naturally a kind person. That's how God made me.

As you can imagine, that makes it really hard to hurt my characters. *pauses* Well, that's not entirely true. I've hurled all kinds of mental "roadblocks" on them, inflicted with them impossible missions, pain, loss, and all kinds of fun stuff like that. ;) But they've always remained relatively (physically) unharmed. They were all sore, bruised, and had minor injuries, but that didn't prepare me.
One character suffered an awful injury. I didn't want that to happen, but it happened. I couldn't take it out, because it was necessary to the story. It took me a while to get over it, but I did.

Finally, I got over my shock. I couldn't believe that I had written that. In spite of the pain it cost me, it got out there and it wasn't too bad. It needs pruning and it needs work, but it isn't too bad. Why? Because I had felt every word with my heart. It had pained me, and I had poured out my soul. It was hard for me to write, but sometimes, the hard scenes end up being the best.

Then, another thing happened. I had to wound a character far deeper than I ever had before. Physically, which as I said, is harder for me. Much deeper than the wounds inflicted on the Anonymous Character mentioned above. And it hurt. Every word felt like salt on a wound: Painful.

I still haven't gotten over that one scene, having written it just today. But you know what? I will. I'll get over it, and I'll be a stronger writer in spite of it and because of it.

It will hurt. But the pruning is what lets better things blossom out.

-Autumn