Pictures from the past

Curious Conditions: Emergency Room

Books Change How a Child’s Brain Grows

I recently read this article regarding how powerful books and reading truly are to a child and their brain development. Please read and share:

 

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/books-growing-brain/

Quote of the Day

This quote relates to the writing process in many ways. Hope this inspires you as much as it inspires me.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -Albert Einstein
 

Letting the writing take control

I began writing; it involved a quiet space and my laptop. I had to be warm and cozy; my family home was perfect for that. It definitely helped having an outline in hand as it helped guide my direction. It was really important to have various colorful images around to help me visualize my scenes and characters. I would get frustrated at times because I was aiming for perfection. I realized that this was my crappy first draft and that I should not aim towards perfection but rather keep my goals aligned. After two long weeks, I felt fine with my first draft. It included everything I wanted to incorporate but again, it was nothing close to perfection and I was alright with that. An awesome quote to keep in mind is this quote from Michael Crichton:

"Books aren't written, they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it..." -M.C.

Curious Conditions: Dentist lets go!

So having my topic narrowed down was half the battle, now it was time to write this thing. My approach to write was a lot different than writing Curious Conditions: Emergency Room (CC:ER for short!). The writing experience with CC:ER was long, frustrating at times, and required a lot of editing as I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t use an outline, but this time around I created one and found it to be a HUGE help. Outlining entails me to write down any possible thought that crosses my mind, no matter how small and dumb. It helps me put ideas in an organized and usable manner. The outline was helpful in many ways because I could see a clear direction. The elements that I did want to incorporate in this story included creating the character’s imagination more wild than before. I wanted to make sure to stay away from writing in a technical manner, for more or less that was how CC:ER sounded. I wanted to stick to a plot that was organized but also expose creative and surprising elements. I wanted to stay away from a generic and boring tour of the dental office, but rather make the experience fun and thrilling. With my outline in hand, I knew what I wanted so I let the writing happen.