It's been a long time since I posted - I appreciate any readers who have remained with me during my long absence. It was not because of writer's block that I've been gone - it was just life. I got a job, am still home schooling, taking care of my elderly mother, etc, etc. I know, I know, everyone has a life. Mine just sort of fell into a black hole for a bit. I did not stop writing, but it's hard to be creative when you're in a hurry. I'm actually at Chapter 19, for those of you who are following my progress. I'm excited! The entire novel takes place, mostly, in about one week, and I'm on Friday! This project is nearing completion. There is a sense of purpose, of having accomplished what I set out to do...almost, anyway. I still have to tie in the lose ends, and leave some hanging. I think, perhaps, that this is the hardest part of the writing. While I've been doing all of this, I'm also reading for a friend. And wouldn't you know it, he got BAD writer's block right about the time I started staring at my computer, wondering where my story was going.
So I've been thinking about writer's block. What is it that makes us 'lose our way' or 'forget why we came into this room' while writing our novels? And when we get there, how do we navigate out of it?
I would love to hear from the rest of you what thoughts you have and what things you've tried. For me, I've tried a few things that seem to work and I'll share them here.
The first one is a bit time consuming. I did this at the beginning, when I only had a few chapters to read. But now I have over 50,000 words so this method is...cumbersome. I would go back and read the entire story, not allowing myself time for editing, but just racing through the story. Then, when I reached the part I was trying to write, my brain would kick in and carry on with more. Perhaps I could still do this, by using my story board?
Which brings me to the next thing - story boards. I bought those thin strips of cork board, in a metal frame, about 4 feet long. I put each chapter and major scene on an index card, color coded by character groups and sub plots. (I would love to have one like Castle has, but you know, I'm not a best selling author, yet, ha!)
Day dream. I know, if people walk in on me, it's a little awkward, so I lock my door and slip into one of my characters. Yep, it's weird, but hey, it works.
Take a walk. Or a long drive. This seems to be my most effective helper. I take my digital recorder with me and let the sunshine and fresh air stir up my mind.
So...any input from the rest of you? What do you do to jump start your story line?
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Marketing...
Wow...someone offered to help me market my book...and it's someone I know and trust. :-) How can you beat that??
Reading and Being Read
Perhaps I am just tenacious. But for a long time, I would have people read my work and then they would give me negative feedback. Either I'm a glutton for punishment, or...well, yeah, I think that's it. I've said before in my blogs that you can't learn to write well if you are not writing...and it's the same if you are not reading. So I kept at it, feeling like maybe I just really sucked at writing...but I couldn't stop. I HAD to write. I would wake up in the middle of night, fly out of bed and tap my toe impatiently while the computer took too long to load all of my settings.
My current WIP (Work in Progress) was actually begun over ten years ago. I wrote out of my imagination, lacking depth (I wonder what that says about me...?) and changed it over and over...oh, at least a thousand times or so. I could fill a room with all the stuff I've thrown out from this particular novel.
Today, a friend taught me how to do a water color painting. I sketched a drawing of what I wanted to paint. Then I chose a background color, and a brush. When I was done with the background, the sketch was all but obscured by the pretty lavender color blotted all over my paper. Huh. My friend helped me set up for the colors to use on my sketch...and I panicked. What if it's not good? She said "Don't worry, this is practice!" I swallowed the lump in my throat and watched her show me how to 'play' with the colors on scratch paper. My jaw dropped at the simplicity with which she created not only a beautiful color but a beautiful representation of a flower petal. Little by little, I painted, let it dry and painted over the top, until my project was complete. Layer upon layer... I had one more moment of panic...I wanted to just paint the picture, one time, have it turn out awesome and be done. That's not how it's done. There is blending of paint, choosing of brushes for different affects, adding of highlights, letting it dry...
This is SO much like writing a novel. I felt the impact of what I'd learned from a simple painting of Black-eyed Susans. So what if it has taken me over ten years to cultivate the story I'm dreaming up! Layer upon layer, a story of substance has emerged. And now, as I'm sharing my work with others, I'm getting feedback that is...a kick in the pants. The best review I've gotten so far? "This is a story that needs to be told." And "I think you've found your niche." Due to my persistence in asking for feedback, I am now privy to other people's writing as well - and that, too, is a kick in the pants. Am I tenacious? Yes. A glutton for punishment? Yep. Going to publish this novel? Uh huh. And soon.
If I can figure out how to get a picture of my painting onto my computer, I will post it. It turned out pretty good. :-)
My current WIP (Work in Progress) was actually begun over ten years ago. I wrote out of my imagination, lacking depth (I wonder what that says about me...?) and changed it over and over...oh, at least a thousand times or so. I could fill a room with all the stuff I've thrown out from this particular novel.
Today, a friend taught me how to do a water color painting. I sketched a drawing of what I wanted to paint. Then I chose a background color, and a brush. When I was done with the background, the sketch was all but obscured by the pretty lavender color blotted all over my paper. Huh. My friend helped me set up for the colors to use on my sketch...and I panicked. What if it's not good? She said "Don't worry, this is practice!" I swallowed the lump in my throat and watched her show me how to 'play' with the colors on scratch paper. My jaw dropped at the simplicity with which she created not only a beautiful color but a beautiful representation of a flower petal. Little by little, I painted, let it dry and painted over the top, until my project was complete. Layer upon layer... I had one more moment of panic...I wanted to just paint the picture, one time, have it turn out awesome and be done. That's not how it's done. There is blending of paint, choosing of brushes for different affects, adding of highlights, letting it dry...
This is SO much like writing a novel. I felt the impact of what I'd learned from a simple painting of Black-eyed Susans. So what if it has taken me over ten years to cultivate the story I'm dreaming up! Layer upon layer, a story of substance has emerged. And now, as I'm sharing my work with others, I'm getting feedback that is...a kick in the pants. The best review I've gotten so far? "This is a story that needs to be told." And "I think you've found your niche." Due to my persistence in asking for feedback, I am now privy to other people's writing as well - and that, too, is a kick in the pants. Am I tenacious? Yes. A glutton for punishment? Yep. Going to publish this novel? Uh huh. And soon.
If I can figure out how to get a picture of my painting onto my computer, I will post it. It turned out pretty good. :-)
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Things I've Learned About Writing
Writing Tips I Learned From My Writing Coach and Others
1. Post a sign on your computer that says: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch
2. Show. Don’t tell. Use of a fair amount of dialogue will help you do this.
3. Don’t write for more than 4 hours a day – you’ll lose your focus.
4. Just write. You can’t learn to write if you don’t write.
5. Books sell because they sell.
6. Write about what you know.
7. Vary your sentence openers.
a. Subject openers
b. Prepositional openers
c. Ly openers (Lately,…)
d. Ing openers (Fuming…)
e. Clausal openers (When, While, Because, etc.)
f. VSS – Very short sentences (5 words or less)
g. –ed openers (Galvanized…)
8. Don’t use too many prodigious words – you’ll lose people. :P
9. Finish what you start.
10. Edit your printed work by turning it upside down to read it.
11. Accuracy can make or break your story.
12. Read a LOT.
13. Read the Classics.
14. Avoid overuse of pronouns.
15. Vary your vocabulary.
16. Take paper and pen with you EVERYwhere.
17. Or use a digital recorder (but take it with you EVERYwhere).
18. Copy your work to a thumb drive, disc, or other file saving medium. Copy it more than once. Email it to yourself AND a friend. Print it. DON’T let your compute crash with your only copy.
19. Roll-play your characters’ actions. (Ex: fight scene)
20. Write descriptively. But don’t over-write it.
21. Write at the same time every day. The consistency helps your creativity.
22. Write in active voice, avoid passive voice.
23. Eat well. Seriously. :-)
24. Keep all of your old stuff – you never know.
25. Blog, follow blogs, review books and comment. It’s how you get your name out there.
1. Post a sign on your computer that says: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, Touch
2. Show. Don’t tell. Use of a fair amount of dialogue will help you do this.
3. Don’t write for more than 4 hours a day – you’ll lose your focus.
4. Just write. You can’t learn to write if you don’t write.
5. Books sell because they sell.
6. Write about what you know.
7. Vary your sentence openers.
a. Subject openers
b. Prepositional openers
c. Ly openers (Lately,…)
d. Ing openers (Fuming…)
e. Clausal openers (When, While, Because, etc.)
f. VSS – Very short sentences (5 words or less)
g. –ed openers (Galvanized…)
8. Don’t use too many prodigious words – you’ll lose people. :P
9. Finish what you start.
10. Edit your printed work by turning it upside down to read it.
11. Accuracy can make or break your story.
12. Read a LOT.
13. Read the Classics.
14. Avoid overuse of pronouns.
15. Vary your vocabulary.
16. Take paper and pen with you EVERYwhere.
17. Or use a digital recorder (but take it with you EVERYwhere).
18. Copy your work to a thumb drive, disc, or other file saving medium. Copy it more than once. Email it to yourself AND a friend. Print it. DON’T let your compute crash with your only copy.
19. Roll-play your characters’ actions. (Ex: fight scene)
20. Write descriptively. But don’t over-write it.
21. Write at the same time every day. The consistency helps your creativity.
22. Write in active voice, avoid passive voice.
23. Eat well. Seriously. :-)
24. Keep all of your old stuff – you never know.
25. Blog, follow blogs, review books and comment. It’s how you get your name out there.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Not for lack of desire...
I write in small spurts. C'mon, I have 5 children at home still, one who is in the Marines, and one who just gave me a grandchild. My mother thinks that her mother is still alive and that she needs to go see her. She also can't figure out who my husband is - she thinks she worked with him. Fortunately, she lives about 40 minutes from me, so I can go see her. The point being, life is exceedingly full at the moment. Over the next 6 years, I will be graduating 4 children, with 1 more to go...
But I dream in technicolor...my characters from Stoning the Crows walk through my dreams and tell me things about themselves that I did not know. I am driven to write and often sacrifice sleep to do so. My most recent endeavor, and I suspect that other writers can identify with this, is to pull out some of the excess in my story. I have about 40,000 words in the novel. I have been told to 'slow down,' so I'm working now on trying to accomplish this feat - maybe a little less coffee?? Several characters are receding in the rewrite. One is becoming a ghost. Well, not a real ghost. But I like the sound of that for my undercover cop. These others...well, I like them. So I'll keep their stories and perhaps write them into sequels. I have at least one sequel in the works. Why not 2?
My favorite endeavor, at the moment, is little interludes from the future with my 'ghost.' He's being investigated. So he's answering questions for an interrogator who holds him in, um, low regard. He looks like a crook. But he'll come out smelling like roses. Is it a perfume to cover up the bad smell? Or is he really the good guy? Is what appears to be unethical really only the lesser of two evils? As I untwist his logic in this interview, I, too, will find out the answer to these questions.
I am on the edge of my seat...
But I dream in technicolor...my characters from Stoning the Crows walk through my dreams and tell me things about themselves that I did not know. I am driven to write and often sacrifice sleep to do so. My most recent endeavor, and I suspect that other writers can identify with this, is to pull out some of the excess in my story. I have about 40,000 words in the novel. I have been told to 'slow down,' so I'm working now on trying to accomplish this feat - maybe a little less coffee?? Several characters are receding in the rewrite. One is becoming a ghost. Well, not a real ghost. But I like the sound of that for my undercover cop. These others...well, I like them. So I'll keep their stories and perhaps write them into sequels. I have at least one sequel in the works. Why not 2?
My favorite endeavor, at the moment, is little interludes from the future with my 'ghost.' He's being investigated. So he's answering questions for an interrogator who holds him in, um, low regard. He looks like a crook. But he'll come out smelling like roses. Is it a perfume to cover up the bad smell? Or is he really the good guy? Is what appears to be unethical really only the lesser of two evils? As I untwist his logic in this interview, I, too, will find out the answer to these questions.
I am on the edge of my seat...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
What pulls your strings?
Last week, our pastor spoke about underlying fears and how they control our thoughts and our actions. I started thinking about my characters...what underlying 'things' are pulling their strings. Everyone has something. Is it fear? Is it uncertainty? (which is in the category of fear...) Is it greed? Or how about a sense of need - do they just need to feel loved? Accepted? Are they driven to succeed? Or they lacking in any drive whatsoever, and therefore sliding into whatever venue happens to be available?
There are those who make things happen, and there are those who watch things happen and there are those who wonder WHAT happened...
As the characters are somewhat an extension of myself (yikes!) these are stimulating subjects to ponder. Some of my characters are what I wish I was. Others are what I wish I wasn't. Some are very foreign to me...or are they? I would never steal or drug someone for the purpose of taking advantage. What are his strings? And who pulls them?
Currently, however, I'm working with my under cover cop...who is, perhaps, not a cop at all...
There are those who make things happen, and there are those who watch things happen and there are those who wonder WHAT happened...
As the characters are somewhat an extension of myself (yikes!) these are stimulating subjects to ponder. Some of my characters are what I wish I was. Others are what I wish I wasn't. Some are very foreign to me...or are they? I would never steal or drug someone for the purpose of taking advantage. What are his strings? And who pulls them?
Currently, however, I'm working with my under cover cop...who is, perhaps, not a cop at all...
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