Symbolism

(Ooh, yay. The default font is Times New Roman. Did I mention how much I love my Times? ^___^ It's one of my main OCD tendencies to automatically change my text to 12 pt Times before I start writing.)

So it's Friday, and I don't have any schoolwork to do, and I had an idea for a blog entry all about symbolism in story writing for a while now. I've only recently learned of its importance, but it is really crucial yet rather misunderstood in the writing world. So today, you are going to learn my take on symbolism.

When you first think of symbolism, you think of something big and unique--say, an amulet in a fantasy story that stands for some power source or summat (I'm not sure if that's what you automatically think of, it's just what popped into my head). But the majority of symbolism done by successful authors is rather small and weaves itself into the story, almost to the point where the reader doesn't notice it but is still aware that it's...there. Know what I'm saying?

Keep in mind, though, that this isn't true in all cases. Symbolism always finds its way into the bigger picture, the main plot, whether you know it or not. It is always fairly obvious, and if you don't think your plot has any, it does. Heck, the story in itself symbolizes something.

Alas, that is not the main point I am trying to get across here today. Smaller symbolization is harder, but it's one of the many ways to get your story or novel read. And usually, unless you're using it for foreshadowing (which is also a good idea, hint hint), it doesn't have to really even matter. *insert collective gasp from the crowd here*. It could just be that girl that your character passes every morning on their way to third period (maybe they make eye contact for a split second every day, maybe she mysteriously disappears one Friday the 13th, maybe she turns around and becomes a huge, plot-twisting murderer, or maybe your male character just has a small crush on her and is working to get the guts to raise his voice). It could be the Hungarian spoon collection your character's great aunt Gertrude has in her attic, or maybe you are writing a fantasy story and it does turn out to be a mysterious amulet a character wears around his/her neck. Maybe it could be an inside joke between friends or a secret handshake--no one said it had to be physical.

Like many other writing-related topics, I could drone on and on about the importance of such a simple thing. I urge you, though, to delve deeper into your favorite books to see what you can find. Take apart the pieces to the brilliance of that author's writing and apply it to your own. Think of this as a small step towards your goal to be that brilliant writer who weaves things so expertly in between words it's invisible to the average human eye. Because hey, who said that writers are average?

Hello again.

Yeah, I realize I kind of let this blog go by the wayside...sorry about that. *pets blog* Anyways, now that I'm back in the flow of writing in general, I'll also try to update this as much as I can.

I just recently started a new story that I'm planning on calling, "The Shadows of Heaven." (Of course, I'm still keeping my mind open to other title possibilities, seeing as I don't really know the main gist of the story yet). Recently, as in the past three months or so of the boredom of summer vacation, I've grown a vast interest in psychology and researching mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, autism, anxiety disorders, etc. I've also recently gotten into the writing of a man named John Green after reading his *amazing* book, The Fault in Our Stars. Both have inspired me to take a step into some of my unknown territories: realistic fiction.

I'm not going to give you a full summary yet, but it focuses mainly on schizophrenia and some autism, two disorders of which I've studied the most. I don't think I could write any realistic fiction novel if it wasn't like this one; by this I mean where I could resort to my characters' mental fantasy worlds to get my brain away from the dullness of everyday life. Because they do play a big-ish part in the story, and I'm planning on getting my readers connected to them just as much as they'd be connected to the real life factors.

It would be cheating if I completely based this off of John Green's writing, because no one wants to read a carbon copy, do they? I know I've read quite a few of these that have made me cringe. I like to think that I've been inspired by him--his voice, his sense of humor (although a few things may differ in that category), all of which makes a genre I generally hate enjoyable. So I can make the genre I hate enjoyable to those who may love it--or, who knows, hate it, like I did.

Which leads me to my final points, to any writers that may be out there reading this: Write about something you love. It makes it that much easier to get those fingers moving across the keys and make it more educated and professional, you feel me? And don't be afraid to take inspiration from others who have been successful. It's a whole lot harder to be in a boat alone with an unexplored idea (which, mind you, are very difficult to come across) than to be beside others who dared to take that uncharted adventure before you.

As soon as I get the different sections of the blog figured out in order to make things more organized, you can expect some excerpts soon.

Am I doing this right?

This is officially my first blog post, I guess. So...hi? I really am not sure what to say...I had a truckload of ideas in my head when I went to make this blog, and now they're all gone, like...blah. Well, I guess I'm not necessarily supposed to give you any huge tips on the first blog post, just introduce myself (which is, in itself, something I'd much rather not do as I hate explaining myself over and over again.)

Anyways, as you all know, I'm a writer. I may post excerpts here of whatever I decide to write, or give out writing tips, or whatever. I also like to use smiley faces, so if that comes across as odd to you I guess you should just leave right now. ^_____^ XDDD

I'm also a grammar Nazi, so I'm fairly sure you won't find much, if any, typos or grammatical errors on here, unless they're purposeful in writing. Please tell me if you do, thanks.

Uh, well, I dunno...I guess I may post some excerpts or whatever later, or tips (if I can think of any, dagnabbit. (I also don't curse, I use words such as the one I just used)). I'm also going away on vacation for two or so weeks before I go back to school (yes, I'm under the age of 18, I'll give you that much info) so I may be sort of inactive for awhile. But when I get back I will certainly try to fire up this thing and see if I even get any comments or however people respond to these things.

Thanks for listening to this meaningless thing. I shall now go and fiddle around with my blog settings some more. Adios.