As I continue to write, I am beginning to learn things.  Not just how to form a sentence better, nor how to correct grammar (though I need to work on that), I am learning much more.

Each writer is in 1 of 4 main stages.  And each stage is hard fought for, no one can be born one step ahead, nor one step behind.  But they can advance at faster paces.

These 4 steps you ask?  Simple.  They are; Unconscious Incompetence.

We all start here, at level one.  We are unknowing that we are incompetent at writing.     But don't feel bad, I'll say it again EVERYONE, starts at this level.

Secondly, Conscious Incompetence.

This is when we know we are incompetent, yet still can't become competent.  This is a large step up from Unconscious Incompetence.  But not everyone has is up to this level of writing, I'm not trying to belittle them, I am only stating the truth.  I will explain what I mean a little later.

Third, Conscious Competence.

This is where we can do it, we can write, but we have to focus hard and long on it, and really concentrate.

And lastly, Unconscious Competence.

Here, we know how to write so well, we don't even think as we type (or scribble).

Now, I'm going to expand on these things.

These 'levels' are not writing as a whole.  No, I mean in each aspect of writing we go through this process.
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Say there were three people, Bob, John, and Jill.

Bob was really great at coming up with a plot, so much so, in fact, he was in the Unconscious Competent state.  John, however, was at the Unconscious Incompetence level for creating a plot.  However, he was at stage 3 in Character Development.

And lastly, Jill was superb at the flowing of words and the rhythm, yet she too lacked in both Plot and Character Development.
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Did you get the point of that example?  Each of us are better at one thing or another, and we each go through those stages each and every section of writing, Character Development, the Flow of the sentence, Plot, Intrigue, Description, the list is almost endless, but we each have our own specialty.

Do you have any thoughts on this post?  Please, go ahead and comment.

Farewell.

The WordWeaver
 
I am entering a short story contest.

I don't know which one... but I'm going to enter one.

Why?  Because my dad heard about one on the radio, which got me thinking.  So I looked some things up on the internet and... I didn't find a contest I wanted to enter.

HOWEVER, I did read some inspiring stuff.  One guy said that he entered an excerpt from his novel.  While he didn't achieve first place, though in the top five, he was able to contact publishers.  And, using the bit of 'fame' he got from the contest, he actually got published.

So I don't have hope for something that big, though it would AWESOME to actually win something.  Though I don't have hopes for that either.

Anyway, as most of you may know, I've just killed some WF (Writer's Flu), and in the meanwhile defeated its ally, Procrastination.  Now I'm hunting for some inspiration.

But I don't necessarily need inspiration.  I need a drive.  Something to strive for.

NaNoWriMo was perfect.  I wrote more in one month than I could have ever before.  60,000 words.  Just think, 60,000 words is like... like an army.  An army of words.

Enough of that though.  As I was saying, I need to have a drive to write, a dead line (you know, where you get to it or else you're dead, the most serious kind of dead line), and I also need some hope.

While the May deadline for the NaNoWriMo books is making me anxious, I just can't focus on that.  I've spent a whole month dedicated to writing 2,000  words each day, I need something fresh, and I've found that taking the month of December off didn't help me.

So... I am going to 'host' my own Short Story Contest.  Why?  Just for fun.  But, if you do write a short story, send it to me using my email -> scoutofdunnwood[AT]gmail.com <- And I'll give you a badge.  (:D)  (If you don't want to send it to me, it's just fine, I'll give it to you anyway).


A second post coming later today... or early tomorrow.

"Thy word is thy weapon.  Use it with caution." -Me

The WordWeaver
 
That title is what I have, (and I know other writers have) gone through.

Inspiration just doesn't always come.  You can't just summon it with a snap of your fingers, or the stomp of a foot.

No, your going to have to go after it, ready for a fight.  And I have to admit I didn't do that these past few days.

I get an idea, I write for an hour or less, then suddenly, I feel no longer inspired and drop my ideas, and leave.  That, in part, was because I wasn't hunting the right inspiration.  I was taking anything that came to me.  I was desperate to write, but not desperate enough to stick with it.

My proof?  I've started 2 books that, likely, will never go beyond ten pages.  Nothing is extremely wrong with that, but it shows that I'm not focused, and that those two books are pieces of worthless trash.

Now don't try to convince me otherwise, I bet you, that while I'll possibly take a few elements from those two stories, I will never, never complete them.

And that's the hole that I have fell into this December.  Writing a novel isn't easy.  On the contrary, it's one of the hardest things a 12 year old like me could do.  But I was making it up to myself that it was easy.  Biggest mistake so far I've made of 2013 (not like we are far into it...).

(Cuts off rabbit-trail)  Back to the point.

Inspiration is a fleeting glimpse you'll see everywhere.  Especially when you are lost and  don't know what to write.  But Do Not fall into the trap I did; going after goose trails and expecting to win something from it.  Those bits of 'inspiration' will eventually stab you in the back by abandoning you ten pages in.

So I tell you now to go after the real inspiration, and before anything at all is written down.  Test your story.

It must be like a trampoline.  Bounce you up when you need help, but not keep you stuck and confined to the rules, by lifting you up... did I just make any sense?  I hope so.

Then, test the story's originality.  Is it a copy of Narnia?  The Lord of the Rings?  Star Wars?

Next, you must assure the amount of material you have for it.  How many scenes do you have?  How many characters, events, places?  It helps this entire process if you have an outline, outlines are a MUST (but that is for another post).

So to finish this post up, I'll say this last thing.  Know your story.  Will it hold you up?  Because those times when you fall... well, you're going to have something strong to hold you up.

May thy Pen rush with the ink of true inspiration, thy pencil flow with alacrity, and thy keyboard blaze with words of fire.

The WordWeaver
 
I haven't posted anything really about Christmas or the New Year.  So I'll quickly fill you in before getting on with post.

Christmas was very good, exponentially exhilarating.  Yeah.

New Years Eve night I didn't sleep.  Not at least until the first morning of 2013 - if you get my logic.

Anyway, onto writing.

I've had a mix of Writer's Block (or Writer's Flu as I call it) and Procrastination.  Therefore, whenever I finally began to kill the Writer's Flu the cruel little goblins from the land of Procrastination came hobbling along, chatter-choking themselves off.

So I guess you get the idea.  Whenever Writer's Flu wasn't there to plague me, scrounging in and around me, killing my writing spirit, the minions from the Empire of Procrastination come out to attack me.

Yep - no writing done then.

Thankfully I have an ally, and I think every writer has one too.  And often it may change, then again it could stay the same for a very long time.  Mine was the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

I was aggravated with myself for not writing in several days.  Not only that, but when I did write I didn't do it before in a long span of time.

So I'll just say this one last thing.

The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack is a writer's life saver (or just career saver).

Also, I have several posts on many different things.  I will post them SOON.  If I don't, post a comment, you'll get my attention that way. ;)