The Wow Factor [Warning! genuine Thought-Dump]
Everytime I write something, especially for someone - some institution, some contest, anyone who isn't me - I learn something new.
Today I want to talk about the wow factor.
There's just something, not just in writing, but probably in everything, that makes that thing special. Pertaining to writing - because that's what I'm talking about - a certain work may have all the right ingredients. It may have content that's not cliched and fantastic, there may be no grammar mistakes at all, and it may be coherent writing.
But there's this thing called the wow factor. And it has nothing to do with grammar, content, coherency, and everything to do with good writing.
Two sentences may mean the same thing, but because of certain word choices, because of some slight sentence arrangement, one will be fantastic, and overall wow, while other is just dull.
It's like love. You meet people, and many of them are great. But there's always one person who has that factor, you know? Something that you don't quite know exactly what it is, but something that still draws your attention and attracts you in a way that others don't.
I think it's been called alpha plus from another source - one about Julius Caesar, and how he had that. It's nothing tangible, really, but because of that subtle thing, everything's changed and elevated.
Yesterday, I finished writing something with a short deadline - later that evening, actually. And I looked at it, and I thought: "Nope. No Wow Factor."
So I scrapped everything and began again.
That was my lesson number two. Get that first draft down. And hate it, if you must, and you probably would. The thing is, now you know what's wrong. You look at it, and you think of all the reasons why you hate it. Now you know what to fix, what to do in order to make it a great writing.
If, on the other hand, you're just sitting there laboring to churn out a Fabulous Sentence, you'll never know what exactly it is that you want.
The NaNo book, No Plot? No Problem! actually tells the readers to make two magna cartas, one with things you love, another with things you hate, about certain books and writings. From there, you know what to work with.
Alpha plus, the wow factor, whatever - it's what gives life to writing.
I suppose most writers spend their entire lives trying to get this.
Personal rambling!
I HAS MY NANOWRIMO NAO.
It came to me in a dream. Whoa, how cliched - and utterly cool, damn it - is that? Anyways, it came to me in a thirteen-hour sleep. So you can imagine that it has lots of plot. In fact, I kept waking up and returning to it, so that I would know what happened next. Thankfully, having no sleep during the weekdays because of school means I'm pretty much sleepy all the time, even after sleeping, so I was able to fall asleep and grasp this dream and plot.
Of course, even after waking up, it still stayed in my mind, growing and growing. Even now, I can't think of sleeping without remembering that dream... and the main character.
I IS IN LOVE.
It might be a bad idea to be in love with the character you're writing - you might tempted to give that guy Ultra Cool Powers With Everyone Falling At His Feet and overall create a mary sue. Yuck.
But hey, Dumas did it, didn't he? :P
I'm in love. I think I actually wanted to sleep because I wanted to see him more. Call me crazy and deluded, for wanting to stay asleep so that I can watch this character who does not exist. Yes, I exist in a dream world, nice to meet you.
The only problem now is that I want to write, so badly.
The good thing is that I'm prepared to create a whole new world. This'll be the first time in many years. So it gives me a lot to think about, to plan out what this world is like.
I'm excited.
Today I want to talk about the wow factor.
There's just something, not just in writing, but probably in everything, that makes that thing special. Pertaining to writing - because that's what I'm talking about - a certain work may have all the right ingredients. It may have content that's not cliched and fantastic, there may be no grammar mistakes at all, and it may be coherent writing.
But there's this thing called the wow factor. And it has nothing to do with grammar, content, coherency, and everything to do with good writing.
Two sentences may mean the same thing, but because of certain word choices, because of some slight sentence arrangement, one will be fantastic, and overall wow, while other is just dull.
It's like love. You meet people, and many of them are great. But there's always one person who has that factor, you know? Something that you don't quite know exactly what it is, but something that still draws your attention and attracts you in a way that others don't.
I think it's been called alpha plus from another source - one about Julius Caesar, and how he had that. It's nothing tangible, really, but because of that subtle thing, everything's changed and elevated.
Yesterday, I finished writing something with a short deadline - later that evening, actually. And I looked at it, and I thought: "Nope. No Wow Factor."
So I scrapped everything and began again.
That was my lesson number two. Get that first draft down. And hate it, if you must, and you probably would. The thing is, now you know what's wrong. You look at it, and you think of all the reasons why you hate it. Now you know what to fix, what to do in order to make it a great writing.
If, on the other hand, you're just sitting there laboring to churn out a Fabulous Sentence, you'll never know what exactly it is that you want.
The NaNo book, No Plot? No Problem! actually tells the readers to make two magna cartas, one with things you love, another with things you hate, about certain books and writings. From there, you know what to work with.
Alpha plus, the wow factor, whatever - it's what gives life to writing.
I suppose most writers spend their entire lives trying to get this.
Personal rambling!
I HAS MY NANOWRIMO NAO.
It came to me in a dream. Whoa, how cliched - and utterly cool, damn it - is that? Anyways, it came to me in a thirteen-hour sleep. So you can imagine that it has lots of plot. In fact, I kept waking up and returning to it, so that I would know what happened next. Thankfully, having no sleep during the weekdays because of school means I'm pretty much sleepy all the time, even after sleeping, so I was able to fall asleep and grasp this dream and plot.
Of course, even after waking up, it still stayed in my mind, growing and growing. Even now, I can't think of sleeping without remembering that dream... and the main character.
I IS IN LOVE.
It might be a bad idea to be in love with the character you're writing - you might tempted to give that guy Ultra Cool Powers With Everyone Falling At His Feet and overall create a mary sue. Yuck.
But hey, Dumas did it, didn't he? :P
I'm in love. I think I actually wanted to sleep because I wanted to see him more. Call me crazy and deluded, for wanting to stay asleep so that I can watch this character who does not exist. Yes, I exist in a dream world, nice to meet you.
The only problem now is that I want to write, so badly.
The good thing is that I'm prepared to create a whole new world. This'll be the first time in many years. So it gives me a lot to think about, to plan out what this world is like.
I'm excited.