jonnah

Crippling even.

Terrible, terrible anxiety.

Why you need to keep everything that you write: 
          
          On my blog (which I haven't updated in months), someone stumbled across a post in which I was being especially self-deprecating to myself, where I was bringing myself down the well of my own depression, believing for a moment that maybe I wasn't cut out for writing, maybe there was no point in my writing the words that I do. Maybe, my voice is not important to the world; someone else will have to change it on some other day, but it wasn't going to be me. That was the summer of last y ear, July to be specific. It's been more than a year later from there, and I can't tell you how much I still have left to say, want to say, and want to do with my words. If I had given up there, i would have never written some of my best fiction to date, some of my most well honed stories, the stories that I'd be proud to have millions of people gasp in shock at. The sort of stories I feel confident giving my teachers, despite the content. The sort of stories which never get read on Wattpad because they're not cut out for it (are they over the heads of most? Are they too far out, man? Whatever the reason, I have an amassed seventy tomething reads on the site, and I'm fine with that). The point of the matter is that, I was given a special gift, or a special candle which I had the ability to transform into a fire, and then into a bonfire, and then into a raging hell storm.
          
          Progress. 
          Everyone has to make progress, and how will you ever know that you've come further if you can never look back to see from where you came? I'm not a fan of the nonpermenance movement on the internet with Snapchat, Vine, Instagram, etc., etc. I think we need to look back, we need that history, we need to see grown in ourselves. 
          
          We are not simply, we have become.

When writing dialogue, it is also very important to be able to know when to say something as well as when to just be quiet. This keeps you from creating mechanical, useless dialogue which readers hardly care about. Instead of taking the time to say, "I want to go to the store," simply state, "Chloe tells me she's going to the store, and just minutes laters, she's backing out the driveway."
          
          Important dialogue: 
          -Dialogue which develops a character. 
          -Dialogue which advances the plot 
          -Dialogue which helps to build the world you are creating. 
          
          Useless dialogue: 
          -Dialogue which states action 
          -Dialogue which is used to fill a page
          -Dialogue which explains something that just happened
          -"Chit-chat" dialogue that doesn't go anywhere.

Dialogue tip: 
          -Watch some of the Tarantino films (Django is my personal favorite, the three hours fly by faster every time I watch it). If there is one person who understands dialogue, it's Tarantino. The man is absolutely witty, clever, and genius when it comes to the stuff, and I think many writers could learn quite a bit from just a couple of minutes with Tarantino, he should probably be taught in English classes, but "The Children!" Kanye once said, "Oooh, they so sensitive." Suck it up. it's a couple of words, get over it. 
          
          -Eavesdrop. Seriously. Especially if you live in an area where there are people who talk with a dialogue (i.e., black folk). You'll never write dialogue the same way again if you actually take the time to understand the constructed English of various people. 
          
          -Listen to rap music. This may not be your cup of tea, but trust me, it helps a lot, not just in dialogue, but in numerous other areas. But to focus on dialogue, rap often times has to construct a narrative that you can follow, and the language and way they bend the language to their will to create these stories can easily help you understand how people should speak, especially since more and more concept albums are coming out these days. The most recent example of this would be the Game's Documentary 2. Give it a spin, it's not only a very good album, but features a LOT of dialogue which blends with the verses perfectly. Also, rap often utilizes "back-and-forth", which is typically the dialogue many writers strive for. It helps to understand how characters can play off of each other, and helps to keep the dialogue from being one sided. If you want a less aggressive example of this outside of hip-hop, try watching some sitcoms or reading some Shakespeare (The Taming of the Shrew is good for this, since it is in fact a comedy).

Respect yourself. It seems simple, but the fact of the matter is, most people don't. All this means is to present yourself, not as some slab of meat, but as someone who is worth the time to talk to, someone who is worth listening to. If you come off as cruel, ignorant, or unprofessional, people are going to treat you that way. Don't be that sort of person.

Also, Kendrick, that was salty. Saying you're on the album and you don't even have a proper verse. Smh. 

J.Cole rocks. 
          
          If you understand that, 10 points to you

The beauty of not planning: 
          Being able to smile at your own, dumb genius.

When you finish a story. 
          Everything makes sense. It all makes sense now. 
          Every little connection, every word, they all just click. You've been listening to this conversation for days now, and you were just listening, never really taking it in, until now, now that you've completed the interview with the vampire, now that you are able to sing the lyrics to your favorite song. 
           #crackingthecode