Character Name Contest

Hey Everyone,

I have four characters in my new WiP, so far. The first is Emmaleigh Forrester, age 21. I have a 19yo girl, a 23yo young man and a 27yo young man. They live in Denver. Please submit your name suggestions here and the winner will be awarded a copy of Stoning the Crows (when it comes out) or the current un-named WiP.

Here is an exerpt, likely the back cover, of the current WiP:

          Very rarely is the perfect crime committed. Given the time and the resources, investigators find…things. Evidence. That which is missing often tells stories in its absence. That which remains conspires with truth to reveal all. Time and resources, however, strain against the system until they become strangers to those who hunt the wolf. Without a solid lead, in time, the case is filed away, unsolved. It resides there in the file cabinet, silently mourning its victims…while their killer rests his head upon his pillow. 

Keep a fire extinguisher close by...

I'm in the editing process.  Need I say more?  I just read Kristen Lamb's blog about how to tear apart that baby you call your WIP when it needs it.  Yeah.  This is the most nail-biting part of the process.  And I've already chewed the poor dears down to nubs.  So, keep a fire extinguisher handy...just in case I spontaneously combust in the middle of the editing adventure.

Maneuvering through writer's block

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?

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...

"It Sells Because It Sells"

I have a friend who has published a book. Sans marketing, it sort of hit the market like a rotten plum. It really did not sell, and he lamented that he did not have the time to toot his own horn. He has told me on many occasions, as he mentored me in writing novels, that 'books sell because they sell.' So as I'm writing, I'm thinking through this marking 'thing.' There is a lot to be said about having a little help in this area. I'm not so sure I know the right people, although those who follow me here and those I follow are good sources of information and contact. Some (most) of you are excellent bloggers, and have truly found your niche here in blogland. People read what you write - they are interested. This will prove an open door in the market. Interviews are an excellent means of getting your name out there. Book reviews also help a great deal. Getting good, or even not-so-good reviews of your work from other authors is excellent. And having good cover art is, I'm certain, something worth paying for. But the self-publisher is, in reality, quite on their own.

I am currently spending most of my time teaching, guiding and grading my home schoolers. (One more week...) Reading books has sort of 'left the building,' so to speak. I have not read a good book in some time, though I'm trying to finish a Dekker novel that I keep falling asleep over - not because it's boring, mind you. It's just that I'm pushing and pushed to the limit. It is simply that season of life for me, and will remain so, to a certain degree, for the next ten to twelve years. Hm.

But I am still driven to complete this novel that I am laboring over. I dream about it. I jot notes in the middle of walks, or pull the car over to write down something that was just said or something that came to mind. I talk to my characters in the shower. (!!) I seriously need a tape recorder. I share clips with others to get their input. And all the while, I wonder if I have something to say that others will want to read. And how will they know, if my published work is not at eye level?

This is really what marketing is all about, from what I gather - putting your book at eye level. You know how they put the candy in the check-out isle at the grocery store...and they put the toys on the shelves that the little kids can see. My above-mentioned friend is also of the opinion that having your book appear in the local grocery store is an achievement worth its weight in gold. Why? Because it puts your book at eye level. EVERYONE goes to the grocery store. But still and all, books sell because they sell.

But finally, it is the writer who writes for the joy of it, and not for the sell, who achieves the cherished goal.

Live now

Easter Sunday brought home to me a message that God has, perhaps, been sweetly whispering in my ear for a number of years... Live now! Don't wait until the kids are grown, until school is finished for the year, until the house is in order, until, until, until...

I got to thinking about the power of good books in my life. You know, the ones that you keep or buy again if you misplace them. The kind that hang on and you find yourself either quoting or referring to the story line over and over...and when you remember them, you get that far away look in your eyes and that beatific little smile.

Well, life caught up to me over the last few weeks and I stopped blogging. Just couldn't seem to get here. My 18yo son qualified for the USMC and is now scheduled to swear in on August 10th and get kicked out to boot camp. Suddenly, that family photo session I've been putting off is somehow SO important and time is marching past. Hmmm. Live now! Don't wait. And as the country song says, "Don't blink." Yeah.

The tragic part is that many of us get to latter years and wonder what we have to show for it. We look back and can check off the list of things we did, but what is that, a grocery list? I'm a quiet person, who likes to live behind the curtain, pointing so that others know where to go, and smiling encouragement to those headed out on the stage. Writing allows me to do that. I can nod, point and smile, unseen, behind the computer keys, a vessel in God's Hands.

Listen to that Voice in your ear...live now! Write, play, hug, touch...this is how we become good writers.

What remains...

Memories link, one to another, and form the playing field upon which we walk. Think about your last ten years…You don’t remember every detail. Some memories waft through your mind, sparked by a current circumstance or something someone said, or even a scent. A certain berry bush has a distinct smell that takes me way back to daycare, when I was very small. Every time I smell it, I’m suddenly only three feet tall. Music is the same. It takes us places, like the sci fi portal into another dimension. It’s odd, the things that remain in the memory. Some seem so disconnected, yet there they are. Every memory finds its way into the present because it is connected somehow. Without the connection, it is lost.

Now think of all the books you’ve read. What is it that has remained of those books? Do you remember the words that were spoken? The witty little phrases? Maybe. Do you remember how the book felt in your hands? Or the image on the cover? Well, I suppose that one might remain long, especially if you are a visual learner. Some stories remain because they touch us, where we live. We can relate. We feel them. But we don’t remember the exact words…in fact, in some cases, we don’t even remember the title of the book. What we remember is how we felt, while walking in the character’s shoes, or how they looked while we watched them from within the story. We remember how we felt when they said something to us or reacted and we wanted to stop them or slap them or hug them. We are relational creatures. If a character touches our lives, our hearts, our minds, they will remain. As writers, we have the opportunity to reach into the lives of people we’ve never met and touch them, where they live, to leave an impression that will link with their memories and remain a part of them. How cool is that?

Point of View

My writing coach told me to try different things in my writing, as often as I can. It adds variety and depth to your stories. It is kind of fun to experiment. Scenes that are not written omnisciently, I find, are actually a little more engaging, sometimes. Write the scene, perhaps, from the point of view of the baby who is sitting on a lady’s lap. Or maybe from the dog’s POV, as he is lying on the carpet – you know, sideways and from the floor. Or soar in from the sky, over the rooftops, through the branches of the tree, under the overhang of the porch and into the lap of the old woman who is rocking on her old country porch. Or what about this…? How about writing the story or scene from the viewpoint of an autistic child? Or a blind man? Or the crazy squirrel who is hanging on the screen door, panicked and wild eyed? I know, I know, you’re supposed to keep the same POV throughout the story. I ask, ‘Says who?’ Break the rules little now and then. Writing is an expression of your soul. And it is intensely fun to let it out occasionally to speak its mind.

My favorite experiment, so far, with this type of skewed viewpoint is a very short clip that has to do with the death of a martyr. The reader is brought in through a raindrop that falls gently over the leaves of a low plant. From there, the scene takes place around the hems and boots of the people watching the young girl get burned at the stake. You move forward until you’re face to face with the girl…and the demon who taunts her. Then, in the last breath, you explode into the sky and view the scene from the sparks that ride on the night wind. Great fun! Go ahead, express yourself!

The Adventure of Writing

Books have the ability to take you away from today, to make you cry, to make you laugh. In books, you can fall in love for the first time, or even again. You can fly, or run like the wind, become royalty or a homeless wanderer. Life can be experienced from a different angle, and you can see truth that couldn't be seen from the perch in your current circumstance. Stories bring home things we only knew deep inside and help us recognize our own image in the mirror of a character with whom we identify.

Writing stories is like spinning yarn, or crocheting a blanket. Stitch upon stitch, the vision unfolds until finally we can see it all, and in seeing it all, we are completed. Even the writer could not see it until the last stitch fell into place.

I've heard it said that good writers merely follow their characters through the story. The characters come to life and lead the writer through their choices, their mistakes and their triumphs and their realizations. This is good writing. I have a long way to go, but this is how I want to write. I want my readers to fall apart in the betrayal, right along with the character, and to feel the release when forgiveness is granted, to taste the fear when monsters loom.

There is a certain power in the written word that the author relishes. When I told my coach that I cried while reading one of his co-authored books, he said "well, then, I've achieved a good thing." To have the reader identify...this is the adventure of writing.