Author Archives: storytellergirlgrace

Music to write by

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I never listen to music while I write. Songs with words are way too distracting when I’m trying to come up with words of my own. Even instrumental music can be a distraction for me, unless it’s so in the background that I can ignore it, like blending with voices and other noises at a coffee shop.

That being said, when I’m not writing, I love listening to music. I’ll often just sit with my eyes closed, doing nothing but listening to a piece of music. I also listen to music while I’m driving (not with my eyes closed). It’s during these times of contemplative listening that I either get ideas for a story, or am able to delve deeper into the world of what I’m currently writing.

For the fantasy story I’m working on right now, I have several pieces of music that are my go-to tracks to get me into the right mind-set. Many of these tracks are by a band called Angelit, formerly called Angelin Tytöt. The band is from a tiny place called Angeli, in northern Finland. (Angelin Tytöt means “The Girls of Angeli,” and Angelit translates as something close to “The Angelis”).

Angelit’s music instantly takes me far away, both to real places I’ve never been, and imaginary places where I have been. If I’m brainstorming about a fast-paced scene I need to write, like a battle or some other adventure, I’ll listen to a song like “Garkit.” The loud beat and almost soundtrack-like quality conjures up the images I need, and I’m ready to go.

A more relaxing, mesmerizing song like “Gidda Beaivvas” lets my mind wander more slowly through my world. Sometimes images put to the music helps, sometimes all I have to do is listen.

 

The underlying theme in all of Angelit’s music is the Sami yoik and traditional music sounds. The band members belong to the Sami people (also known as Lapps)–the indigenous people who live in the high arctic of northern Scandinavia. Angelit usually sings in their native Sami dialect, rather than Finnish, and they incorporate variations of the Sami traditional “yoik” singing into their music.

This cultural backdrop is another reason why Angelit’s music serves as my muse for my story. The story is set in Lapland in northern Finland (yes, I promise it’s a fantasy story), and some of my characters are Sami. I realize that some cultural inaccuracies will occur, since I’m not a Sami and haven’t been there, but give me a little leeway–it really is a fantasy story, and the majority of it does not take place in Lapland. But whether I’m writing a scene that’s set in a real place or set in a place of my own making, the songs of Angelit always get my creativity going.

I’d love to hear some feedback! Any other writers out there who have a go-to song or two to get your creative juices flowing?

The First Sentence

Posted in Writings about Writing by

Today’s blog subject I’m totally stealing from one of my favorite blogs that I read. Ava Jae wrote a great post on her Writability blog about great first lines of books.

So to continue on that thread, I decided to write about my take on the first sentence of a story.  What makes a good beginning to a novel or story anyway?

1. The first line should be attention-getting. It’s “the hook,” as folks in the writing world like to call it. A good example of an attention-getting first line can be found in the novel The Third Witch by Rebecca Reisert:

                “’Tis time to rob the dead.”

First of all, it’s a line of dialogue, so it puts the reader right into the middle of something happening. For me, I want to read on to find out who is talking, who they are talking to, and why.

Secondly, it’s a bit shocking. Grave-robbing is not generally something that’s done or even talked about in polite society. Immediately the reader is jolted awake (just in case they’d dozed off somewhere between the cover and the first page).  Not every first sentence needs to be this startling and grisly, but a hook of some sort is a good way to begin a novel.

2. The first line should involve the main character. The MC doesn’t have to be in the first sentence, or even the second or third sentence, but it’s a good idea if the beginning lines point to the MC somehow. As a reader, I, for one, want a story that’s about a character, not just a retelling of a Wikipedia entry.

Here’s a first line that introduces one of the main characters. It’s from C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, my favorite book from the Chronicles of Narnia.

                There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.

What a humorous—and attention-getting—intro to the book and the character! Right away, Lewis incites both dislike and pity for Eustace, as well as piquing curiosity as to the specifics of why he deserved such a name.

3. The first line shouldn’t be about the weather. I know I’ve read this tip in multiple places, and if I could find the blogs or remember who might have tweeted it, I’d include them here.

Weather (or descriptions of the setting or environment) is certainly important, but so easily it could become the Wikipedia entry that I mentioned earlier. Some sense of setting is good, but we all remember the classic no-no of beginning a story with “It was a dark and stormy night.”

The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett (oddly, I’m using two books about sea-going boats in my examples) has a good first line that involves a mention of the setting and weather, but also has the main character and a hook.

                He was standing on the wharf, peering down at the Delaware River while the sun beat on his shoulders.

So we know it’s a sunny day by a river. But more importantly, it involves the main character, and it leads the reader to wonder why he’s on the wharf and why it’s the Delaware River specifically, and thus read on.

And now, for a final example of a first sentence, here is the first line of the fantasy novel that I’m currently working on:

                It was barely dawn when Lyylia Niiranen hauled her suitcase out of the trunk of the taxi cab.

I’m not claiming that this is the best first line ever, especially according to the criteria I just laid out, and the other examples. But I would be interested in some feedback. Does my first line grab your attention at all? Does it make you want to give the next sentence a chance, or are you already underwhelmed? What are some of your favorite first lines?

Comments are welcome!

3 Reasons Why I Love Beatrix Potter

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses, Writings about Writing by

A few days ago I re-watched one of my favorite movies of all time—Miss Potter. In case you haven’t seen it, the film is a reasonably accurate portrayal of a span of several years in the life of Beatrix Potter. It covers her journey from a single woman bored with life with her parents and their pretentions at aristocracy to her life as a published author and wealthy community leader. The film stars Reneé Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (that should be reason enough to see it, with that line-up…)

Number 1: I love Beatrix Potter because she wrote some awesome stories. For a hundred years now, children have read and loved the stories about Peter Rabbit, Tom Kitten, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and all the rest.

One of my personal favorites was The Roly-Poly Pudding (or The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, depending on the edition). There was something about that story that was creepy but fun, like ghost stories around a campfire. In the story it was chillingly cool that the house was so big that Tom Kitten could get lost for days before anyone might find him and that the walls were three feet thick.

In reality, if I lived in a house where I could hear dancing and partying inside the walls, and there were rats big enough to run off with things like rolling pins, I’d move. But Beatrix Potter turned it into an adventure story, complete with the thinly-veiled moral of “always obey your mother.”

Number 2: I love Beatrix Potter because her life inspired the Miss Potter movie. Did I mention that this movie is one of my all-time favorites?

One of the things I love most about the movie is the way that the director brings the audience not just into Beatrix’s life, but into her creative process and into her mind. There are little moments—just a few, and very subtle—when Beatrix’s drawings come to life and respond to her. These moments are not long or overt and don’t interfere with the stodgy Victorian setting—they’re just little animated tweaks that let the viewer know how deeply Beatrix was involved with her characters and art. How real they were to her.

As a writer, I can readily identify with this concept. My characters are my friends; I enjoy spending time with them, and sometimes we even argue. For example, right now one of my characters (Teija is her name, and she’s normally a somewhat timid girl) is loudly banging on my mind to remind me that I left her last scene hanging much too long ago and when am I going to finish it already.

There’s a scene in Miss Potter when Beatrix is trying to cope with a sudden tragedy in her life and she stays up all night sketching—only to have her beloved Peter turn away from her as she’s drawing. Peter Rabbit, frightened by his creator’s sadness and anger, flees from her, running away through the various drawings scattered across her desk.

The pencil sketch of Peter Rabbit hides behind some flower pots in one drawing and peer out at her, as if to give her firm instructions: “don’t you dare try to paint me or tell my story until you’re in a better frame of mind.” Peter may be a troublemaker of a little bunny most of the time, but in that instance, he is giving his creator some sorely-needed guidance.

Any other writers or artists out there besides me and the movie Beatrix who have experienced this? Have you ever felt guided (or even pushed) by your characters, instead of the other way around?

Number 3: I love Beatrix Potter because she achieved every writer’s dream. No, not every author or artist wants to live on a farm in the country raising sheep, but she did that because she loved it and she was making enough money with her books to live the lifestyle that she wanted. Control over their own life is every person’s dream to one extent or another, I believe. Not everyone will achieve this dream—and not every writer will get rich with their books—but the way I see it, if even one person did it, then there’s a chance that someone else can, too.

Beatrix Potter not only gained control of her lifestyle with her books, but she accomplished what is perhaps an even deeper universal dream—she created a legacy. She wrote something worth reading long after she was gone. More than 50 years after her death, and her stories and drawings are still bringing joy to children everywhere.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Any other fans of Beatrix Potter out there? What author’s life story has inspired you?

peterrabbit_group_800

Some legal disclaimers, just in case…

Frederick Warne and Co owns all rights and copyrights to Beatrix Potter’s works

Miss Potter, 2006 by Phoenix Pictures, directed by Chris Noonan

The Devil’s Horse

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I’m taking the title of this blog from the title of a book I’m re-reading: The Devil’s Horse: Tales from the Kalevala by Keith Bosley. Published in the 1960s and intended to be a children’s book, it’s a translation and re-telling in prose form of the Finnish epic poem called The Kalevala. This epic poem is actually a compilation of folk songs and oral tales gathered from the country people of rural Finland during the 19th century.

Since I’m not quite proficient enough in Finnish (yet!) to read the original Kalevala, I have to settle for English translations. This children’s book by Bosley was my first introduction to the world of Finnish folk tales and mythology. Bosley’s witty prose and often snarky dialogue add a touch of humor to this translation of ancient tales of heroes, evil witches, the land of the dead, and other mythological adventures.

Now, this actually does pertain to my writing habits, not just my reading habits. I’ve always been very inspired by ancient tales, mythology, and folk songs so old that no one knows when they were written or by whom. The fantasy trilogy I’m currently writing draws very strongly from The Kalevala. It’s not a re-telling of any of the stories found in The Kalevala; but in my novels, just like in The Kalevala, the reader will encounter a magic kantele or two, characters with names like Iku-Turso, and maybe even the ever-mysterious Sampo. And there’s even a fiery horse–the “devil’s horse” of the title.

The Kalevala still influences modern Finnish life, especially in the areas of art and music. In my story, some of the characters muse about this very fact. The story begins in modern-day Finland (and then fantasy adventure ensues from there). The characters (being Finnish, most of them) note the various parallels between their fantastical adventures and the cultural literary icon of The Kalevala. This is why I call my story “inspired by The Kalevala,” rather than a re-telling of it, like Bosley’s The Devil’s Horse.

Whether you’re wanting a story that’s “inspired by” or a “re-telling of,” I do recommend delving into the world of The Kalevala, if you have any interest in folk tales or mythology. A lot of Finnish music (both past and current) falls into both categories of “inspired by” and “re-telling of,” as well. A lot of my inspiration and writing motivation has come from Kalevala-influenced music; I’ll be blogging about that some in the near future.

And finally, a quick disclaimer of sorts–I am not Finnish, I have not been to Finland (yet!), and I am by no means a Kalevala scholar (there are such people as Kalevala scholars, and I have no wish to offend them by making any pretensions of being one). I’m just a big fan of mythology, epic poems, and folks songs in languages I don’t know. And I’m a writer who is greatly inspired by all of these things.

However, if someone reading this is a Kalevala scholar and can tell me exactly what a Sampo really is, that would be appreciated…

My imagination

Posted in Music, Movies, and other Muses by

I’m new to this blogging thing, but I’m not new to writing. I know that no one has heard of me as an author, but I’ve been inventing stories since I could talk, and writing down stories ever since I could spell. I have what many might call an over-active imagination; but even during bouts of low self-image attacks when I tried to squelch my imagination and live like “normal” people, I found that I never could manage to turn it off.

So here I am, finally deciding to embrace my run-away mind and all the worlds it creates. So now the question is, how well will that translate into a blog that people actually want to read? Or, better yet, books that people want to pay good money for and read? Well, I’ll never know till I try…

To start with, I should probably talk a bit about what I’m currently writing (besides this fabulous blog, of course). I’m working on a fantasy trilogy—just finished the first draft of book one, and now I’m in the first re-write phase and have started book two. Four hundred-plus pages and 175,000-plus words of fantasy adventure…so now my goal for the re-write is to shave it down by about 50,000 words or so. I’ve trimmed off about 1,000 words (i.e. about two pages) of unnecessary fluff so far. A good start, right?

The term “fantasy” can encompass a lot of things, so to briefly describe this trilogy, I would call it either cross-world fantasy or just straight up plain fantasy (as opposed to urban fantasy, high fantasy, etc). It’s set in Finland, and involves the northern lights, reindeer, some musical instruments, and a dose of Finnish mythology. Sound interesting?

I hope so! I’ll be blogging in the future about some of the research that I’ve done for this series (yes, research for a fantasy story), and some of the things that have inspired me. And maybe I’ll even show a few excerpts from the first book. Time will tell…