Creative or Scientific?

I believe there are two types of people — scientific and creative. The creative ones are the dreamers, the ones who, well, create. The scientific ones are the fact-regurgitators, the ones who can kick your butt in Trivial Pursuit. I also believe the scientific/creative thing is a continuum. No one is 100% creative or 100% scientific.

The more creative someone is, the more hobbies and the less routines they seem to have, as well.

Take my husband, for example. He's been known to read the encyclopedia for the fun of it. Lucky for me, his memory isn't what it used to be, so I still have a shot at Trivial Pursuit!

Me? I lean more to the creative side. I am always doing something. In addition to writing, I read a lot (and then I blog a book review at my own site). But I don't really think of that as creative.

My creative hobbies are as varied as possible. I take china painting classes. (This tile just got a second place ribbon in the fair. I'd show the piece that got first place, but it's a gift for my mom and she sometimes reads this blog!) I knit and crochet (yes, I'm on Ravelry!) I make soap and candles. I sew and embroider (currently, we aren't eating meals at the kitchen table because the embroidery machine is in use there!). I draw and paint. I cook.

To me those are all creative outlets and I enjoy them all. I have to keep my mind busy to keep my sanity and these hobbies help me do that. I'm able to put one aside for a bit when I get bored (which happens.... trust me!) and pick up something else.

What about you? What are your hobbies? What ones should I try next?

Blessings!

Nichole

World Building

On my desk I have a notebook, a folder, pens, and three books.

On my wall I have a whiteboard scribbled with text and a storyboard pasted with pictures.

Why?

Because I’m beginning a new series filled with brand new concepts, characters and storylines. In essence, I’m building a world and these are my tools.

World building is one of the most exciting aspects of the writing process. You get to research, brainstorm and basically make stuff up. What’s not to love?

So let me breakdown how I use these tools and why they are necessary.

The notebook is the bible for my series. This is where I jot down ideas, research notes, dialogue snippets, plot points, character sketches and anything else that hits me along the way. Eventually, most of the stuff from the notebook gets recorded into my writer’s word processing program. I use WriteWay. But Word and Excel work great too. I use the same notebook for the entire series.

Next is the folder. Each is a different color for each book. The folder holds news clippings I may find interesting that tie into the theme, internet research, loose paper with notes I made when I didn’t have my notebook, photos, sketches and anything else I stumble across that rings of my story.

Pens and post-its are what I use to mark pages in research books I buy or borrow. The research books help tremendously when building a fictional world, even in the paranormal, sci-fi, or fantasy genres.

There are at least twenty authors I can think of off the top of my head who write about vampires and most of them differ greatly, but they all know the myths of the traditional vampire stories. That doesn’t mean they adhere to them. But they know what they are and if the garlic, sunlight, stake issues are ignored, you bet readers notice. Not to mention Fae, witches and weres. Real research comes in handy even in the mythical genres. In fact, employing lore makes for a more realistic storyline. A truer fantasyland.

To the whiteboard goes the brainstorming ideas. The what ifs? Of the plotlines. And the ‘rules’ of the world. What do I mean by that? Here’s an example.


Sookie Stackhouse can mind-read. But only if she’s in the room with the person. And only if the person is human.

These are rules. You can’t have a character who is all-powerful or all-knowing or the story wouldn’t be much fun to read. So even if you have a demon hunter, a werewolf, a sprite, a medium, or a ghost in your story, there has to be restrictions to their capabilities. Figure out what they are, then figure out ways around them and be consistent throughout the story. If that sprite only has a twenty year life-span, he better be dead by book three.

Last, the storyboard. This is fun. I get a poster board and clip images from magazines or websites that pertain to the story and glue them on. Right now, the board has photos of my protagonist, my villains, the setting, and a map. It’s a great way to visualize the story before you start writing. It also helps if you’ve been away from the work for a while, to guide you back to it.

So there you have it. How do you plan a new novel?

Barbra Annino