Ten Weeks of Writer's Prep and Challenges: Week Nine
Welcome back to Ten Week's of challenges! If you don't fancy yourself a writer and have no interest in beginning, scroll on down for your challenge.
Ten Weeks of Writer's Prep
Week Nine: Know Your Resources!
Last time around, the second last week of challenges was dedicated to research (see here), this time around I'm challenging you to know your resources. It's great to be able to do research, but it's even better- and quite frankly easier- when you know where to look.
Here are some easy steps to help you determine where do look.
1. Know what you are looking to develop with your research.
Are you looking to develop your characters? Are you looking to develop the setting? Personally, I love the thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, but take a look at various character and setting development books and website out there and find which ones work best for you. Don't forget that you can also expand your research by learning a little bit about the language and culture of the characters you are creating, if they are from a different country or time period, you could do some research on that as well (fashion, environment, diet, dialects, cultural norms, etc.) There are all kinds of resources out there now to connect you with people from around the world. I myself am currently using a conversation exchange website to connect with people wishing to learn English in exchange for their native tongue. What do I always say? The possibilities are endless!
2. Locate your resources and save the information!
I can't stress this enough. It's frustrating when you find information you want to use, tell yourself you'll remember, and then want to go back to clarify certain details only to forget where you'd gotten the information. It's also frustrating when you had information you wanted to include, but forgot to do so. If you're doing your research online, I suggest saving all of the information you find along with the links. Don't just bookmark the links, the information may be removed, or you could find they have changed location or that you forget exactly what you are looking for. If you're working with books in your personal collection- sticky tabs (the easily removable kind) are your best friend, it's always good to keep a notebook with the subject of your search as well as the books and pages where the information was found. If the books were borrowed, copy down the information and indicate the title and author of the book, along with who you borrowed it from or if it was from the library and which library that was.
3. Review what you have saved.
You never know when some previously discovered information might become handy again, whether or not you chose to use it the first time around. It may just inspire you!
I hope this helps, good luck!
Here are some easy steps to help you determine where do look.
1. Know what you are looking to develop with your research.
Are you looking to develop your characters? Are you looking to develop the setting? Personally, I love the thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi, but take a look at various character and setting development books and website out there and find which ones work best for you. Don't forget that you can also expand your research by learning a little bit about the language and culture of the characters you are creating, if they are from a different country or time period, you could do some research on that as well (fashion, environment, diet, dialects, cultural norms, etc.) There are all kinds of resources out there now to connect you with people from around the world. I myself am currently using a conversation exchange website to connect with people wishing to learn English in exchange for their native tongue. What do I always say? The possibilities are endless!
2. Locate your resources and save the information!
I can't stress this enough. It's frustrating when you find information you want to use, tell yourself you'll remember, and then want to go back to clarify certain details only to forget where you'd gotten the information. It's also frustrating when you had information you wanted to include, but forgot to do so. If you're doing your research online, I suggest saving all of the information you find along with the links. Don't just bookmark the links, the information may be removed, or you could find they have changed location or that you forget exactly what you are looking for. If you're working with books in your personal collection- sticky tabs (the easily removable kind) are your best friend, it's always good to keep a notebook with the subject of your search as well as the books and pages where the information was found. If the books were borrowed, copy down the information and indicate the title and author of the book, along with who you borrowed it from or if it was from the library and which library that was.
3. Review what you have saved.
You never know when some previously discovered information might become handy again, whether or not you chose to use it the first time around. It may just inspire you!
I hope this helps, good luck!
Ten Weeks of Challenges
Week Nine: Make Time for What You Love!
Last time around, your final challenge was to do something that you loved (see here), this time I had intended to challenge you to make time for those things. That being said, at present time and in face of the current global pandemic, you either have all of the time in the world, or you're an essential worker and have no time at all.
If the former, you're probably already doing what you love. Or at least, I hope you are. If you find yourself struggling to keep motivated right now, your challenge will be to create a time slot every day, even if it's just for a half hour or an hour, to do something that you love, perhaps that you had previously wished you had more time for. It may help you find engagement in these dreary days we're facing. You can even create a group among friends to do a daily video call where you chit-chat while doing that thing. I myself will be meeting up with friends over a Facebook call tonight to do crafts together.
Unfortunately, if you're part of the latter group, you're probably working all hours and exhausted by the time you can make it home. Whether you have a say in working or not, I want to thank you for what you are doing. I also want to remind you that your mental health is important, now more than ever. I want to challenge you to something a little less time consuming, five minutes. If you can't set aside a half hour every day, or even an hour every week to do something you love, I want to challenge you to five or ten minutes a day. If it's possible, set an alarm on your phone to remind you. If you have a job where it's simply not feasible to step away at the same time every day, you're going to have to create a way of reminding yourself. Perhaps immediately when you finish work, have a break, or get in your driveway once home. Take five or ten minutes to just Breathe, maybe play your favourite song to lift you up and inspire you, to make you feel strong, or a meditation track to relax you. Just give yourself five or ten minutes to simply exist outside of all of the madness.
I'm wishing you all health in these troubling times. Good luck!
*****
Hey Ramblers! Whether you are a writer or not, I hope you enjoy week nine of your challenge. As always, feel free to comment below or email me at thebrastreetrambler@gmail.com to share your experiences or feedback.
Cheers!
The Bra Street Rambler
Comments
Post a Comment