Ask the Author: C.S.R. Heinonen
Answered Questions (6)
C.S.R. Heinonen
It's better to put a problem on the back burner rather than beating your head against a brick wall.
As long as you have a problem in the back of your mind, your brain will work on it and can send you ideas and give you those ever-so-coveted eureka moments. Of course, you need to actually keep the problem in the back of your mind, so you should still make efforts to come back to it periodically to see if new ideas have developed.
Sometimes, I have to run out of the shower or get out of bed once I do get an idea to scribble it down, which can feel quite comical. :)
As long as you have a problem in the back of your mind, your brain will work on it and can send you ideas and give you those ever-so-coveted eureka moments. Of course, you need to actually keep the problem in the back of your mind, so you should still make efforts to come back to it periodically to see if new ideas have developed.
Sometimes, I have to run out of the shower or get out of bed once I do get an idea to scribble it down, which can feel quite comical. :)
C.S.R. Heinonen
Expressing yourself, coming up with an idea then battling it out in your head to see which part wins. You also get to vent out your frustrations and hopefully inspire others as well. There is also something powerful about being God over your own world, a power fantasy you can feed in its fullest through engaging in creative work.
However, THE single most rewarding thing I have ever felt was when I noticed my initial arc was wrong: The dynamic of the story told me that a thing HAD to be a certain way, so I changed it. In a sense, the story had taken on a life of its own. You're not always in complete control, and you don't always have the answers. Instead, the answers come to you sometimes.
However, THE single most rewarding thing I have ever felt was when I noticed my initial arc was wrong: The dynamic of the story told me that a thing HAD to be a certain way, so I changed it. In a sense, the story had taken on a life of its own. You're not always in complete control, and you don't always have the answers. Instead, the answers come to you sometimes.
C.S.R. Heinonen
I've touched upon them in my other answers, but I'll summarize them here: Follow your interests, write what you would want to read (and odds are someone else would want to read it as well), and don't concern yourself with being creative; creativity is a by-product.
Also, keep in mind that readers will only ever see the final artwork, not your first few drafts. If you feel like you're writing complete bullcrap, just keep writing until you finish and then criticize it until it's good. As Dan Harmon once said, criticizing is easy, creating is hard.
This is awesome => This is trash => I'm trash => I might actually be on to something here => This is awesome.
The above is a completely normal cycle when it comes to creative work, so have no fear if you struggle at times. It's called a trash can for a reason, not a trash cannot. Focus on the work, not on your failings as a human being.
Also, keep in mind that readers will only ever see the final artwork, not your first few drafts. If you feel like you're writing complete bullcrap, just keep writing until you finish and then criticize it until it's good. As Dan Harmon once said, criticizing is easy, creating is hard.
This is awesome => This is trash => I'm trash => I might actually be on to something here => This is awesome.
The above is a completely normal cycle when it comes to creative work, so have no fear if you struggle at times. It's called a trash can for a reason, not a trash cannot. Focus on the work, not on your failings as a human being.
C.S.R. Heinonen
The second book in the Runeblade trilogy is my ongoing project, though since I'm not a full-time author, I juggle that with other employment.
A problem I also have is that I get really invested in certain ideas and can get off track, so I have some other irons in the fire as well... Maybe too many in fact.
Here's a tip that might help when that happens: If you're worried about forgetting cool new ideas, allow yourself to write them down in note-form in or in short passages BUT then force yourself to continue working on your current project. That way, you save up loads of ideas for later, while--and here's the kicker--ACTUALLY GETTING STUFF DONE!!!
A problem I also have is that I get really invested in certain ideas and can get off track, so I have some other irons in the fire as well... Maybe too many in fact.
Here's a tip that might help when that happens: If you're worried about forgetting cool new ideas, allow yourself to write them down in note-form in or in short passages BUT then force yourself to continue working on your current project. That way, you save up loads of ideas for later, while--and here's the kicker--ACTUALLY GETTING STUFF DONE!!!
C.S.R. Heinonen
Documentaries (Nature documentaries are a goldmine for fantastical creatures: You can mix and match from reality to create something new! :D), everyday life, shower thoughts, academic interests (Don't read too much into this. I essentially mean I take what I'm interested in from current math and science and see if I could boil it down to its essence and the concept could be used in fantasy), and even memes sometimes.
If I see something that I find to be real or true and feel a desire to explore why that might be, I can find material for writing. The most important thing is to not hold yourself back... I used to think of myself as unoriginal, which I very well might be, but just focus on making something good and see what comes of that. :)
If I see something that I find to be real or true and feel a desire to explore why that might be, I can find material for writing. The most important thing is to not hold yourself back... I used to think of myself as unoriginal, which I very well might be, but just focus on making something good and see what comes of that. :)
C.S.R. Heinonen
The ideas came from my personal life and by combining the fiction I enjoy to write something that I would want to read.
For the setting, the idea of the story taking place in an enchanted forest came from the fact that I struggle with spatial awareness and get lost often. I thought about how things look different from various angles, so I can't remember the objects I've seen, which is something I use to orient myself. I probably have a low visual-spatial IQ, to be honest. xD
As for characters and their struggles, some I took from people I know, some I took from my own troubles and adapted it to different characters. For circumstances I am unfamiliar with, I try to look at situations where the feeling might have been the same regardless of the differing contexts and try to empathize as best I can based on personal experience.
You can't write from what you don't know, so you have to find some relation to what you do know, right? ^^
Making abstract thoughts, feelings and struggles into something concrete is part of why I like Fantasy so much. I find it deals with metaphor much better than other genres.
For the setting, the idea of the story taking place in an enchanted forest came from the fact that I struggle with spatial awareness and get lost often. I thought about how things look different from various angles, so I can't remember the objects I've seen, which is something I use to orient myself. I probably have a low visual-spatial IQ, to be honest. xD
As for characters and their struggles, some I took from people I know, some I took from my own troubles and adapted it to different characters. For circumstances I am unfamiliar with, I try to look at situations where the feeling might have been the same regardless of the differing contexts and try to empathize as best I can based on personal experience.
You can't write from what you don't know, so you have to find some relation to what you do know, right? ^^
Making abstract thoughts, feelings and struggles into something concrete is part of why I like Fantasy so much. I find it deals with metaphor much better than other genres.
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