I am obliged to apologise for not posting in so many months. I was very caught up in my A Level exams. It fills me with a vague concoction of dread and excitement when I think: I will be at university in October! Well, anyway, enough about my personal life, that's boring.
Having been absent for months, you would think I would have some ideas to give you on story-writing. My own novel, which I have been writing for more than three years now, is almost finished. I have 1/4 to complete - but you never know with these things, your story changes all the time. Well, I was thinking, as I was redrafting a chapter yesterday: wow, I actually feel like these characters are real people that I know. I think this is very important, because it allows you to develop the characters with more ease, which is vital to your story.
To keep my story-writing skills and techniques flowing, I have read about ten novels: most of the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, the second and third Game of Thrones novel by G.R. Martin, and I have just recently begun reading Jean Auel's Earth's Children series. The latter is a very interesting series about human life during the Ice Age and the doomed reign of the Neanderthals. I won't say anymore, because I do not wish to ruin it for anyone else! However I do recommend them, they are all inspiring, exciting, wonderfully written series.
Another story-writing tip: there must be a structure to your story. I'm not talking about the 'beginning, climax, end' structure, no, suit it to yourself and your story. A story that follows the same mood and pattern for too many pages will soon become boring. It needs a collision between characters, a death, a betrayal, drama, you name it. I call it a 'climax.' A bit like the structure of a play - it keeps readers hooked. The structure of my story has many minute climax points, which lead to the main climax at the very end. Perhaps this structure would fit your story better? Remember, it's all up to you. Writing a story is a creative, unique process to every individual.
At this moment, I cannot conjure any story-writing techniques - that I haven't mentioned already - to mind.
But I have some beautiful tracks I have found, here, to inspire you whilst you are writing your own story:
This one is by Birdy, called 'Shadow'. Sorry about the Spanish subtitles, it's the only video I could find on YouTube. But this is an emotional, ethereal track that describes the relationship a woman (or man) has with her lover. Their strong, unbreakable love is powerful - she has become their shadow in falling in love with them - but it was overpowered her as a person. She is controlled, influenced too easily by this person she orbits around, held there by her love. A very dark, emotional song that instantly tugged at my heart strings... :')
Another track by Birdy. It addresses a person who "wait[s] on [the speaker's] defeat," telling them that this emotional battle is not over yet. I think it is a song that uplifts the soul and really gives the listener confidence in whatever situation they are caught in at the moment.
Birdy again! She is one of my favourite artists. This is a song she wrote for the film 'The Edge of Seventeen' a while before the previous songs. It is about being lost. Its raw honesty draws you in, exposing you to the heart-wrenching vocals and lyrics. I think it is a very healing song :)
This song is by Simon and Garfunkel, two older artists, who focused on society and drew their ideas from the cracks and flaws they saw within it. They were fascinated with the doom humanity brought upon itself in order to survived, and also to be loved. This song expresses the harshness of life itself, and evokes a raw need to be free, to be who and what you want, which society strictly restricts people from. They address 'man' who is 'tied down to the ground,' giving 'the world its saddest sound.' A sentimental track that really loosens the mind, allowing new ideas to flow in.
