NaNo Progress

As of today, I am 33% of the way to 50K!

YEAH YEAH!! (CanIgetta..WHOO WHOO?!)

That comes out to 16,715 words in 8 days. A little over 2,000 a day, which has been my goal. I want to get a little ahead in case I fall on a rough patch (more on this later), and because I'm heading to Breckenridge next week for at least 7 days of fun-filled Colorado time. While I plan to write while I'm there, you just never know. The mountains know my siren song, and will beg me to do nothing but hike and spend time outside. I am more than willing to oblige. Plus I'll have the pups with me, and I've vowed to make Chloe's trip to Breckenridge this year extra, extra special. :)

This week has been fun. It's quite lovely trying my hand at a new story. It's going in some unexpected directions, but I'm loving the process. I've had to fight my internal editor tooth and nail when it comes to reading back through and fixing things I know I want to change. I've bonked her on the head for now, and onward I go. I just keep telling myself this doesn't need to be perfect. It DOESN'T need to be perfect! A TOUGH thing for me to reconcile, believe you me.

That said, I've struggled to get my butt in chair the past 2-3 days. I'm not even finding the writing all that hard. I just want to do...other. things. It's hard because right now I have family staying with me while they wait to move into their new home. Being as they're here from California, none of them are currently working. That means they're spending their days playing cards....watching TV....dozing. I LOVE all of those things!! lol And me? I'm spending as much time as I can writing...then heading off to work in the evenings. It can be quite tiring all around.

Ah well, I must do everything to keep my hard-earned cash out of that meglomaniac's hands. See HERE if you don't know what I'm talking about.


As I said before, I'm trying to keep this one a little quiet until finished. That said, here are some hints about this book:

1. I'm writing in multiple POVs. (Yeah, WOW, right? But this is big for me.) One is...Omni. Whaaaaaat?? I know.

2. It's a dark fairytale. (Hence the Omni.)

3. It's an historical setting, though I'm not quite settled on when yet.

4. Given the fairytale motif, there is maaaaaagic involved. YEAH.

Okay, enough hints for now. LOL.

Just for fun, I'm basing my heroine's character on the below picture of Lily Collins. So pretty!!

That I all for now. Hope y'all are doing well!

The Ultimate Form of Motivation

(What's this picture for, Jen? Hmmmmm. :) See below)

Okay, so I know it's not November, but I'm needing a little extra motivation to get my butt in chair these days. I've been working on the same book for, well, forever, and I'm just hitting a creative brick wall over and over. I need something fresh. Something new. Something to get me back into a regular writing routine.

Therefore, I'm going to NaNo, starting today.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, every November there's a thing called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), during which participants agree to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I'm just tweaking the thing a little and doing it, starting today...July 25, 2016... and ending it on August 24th, 2016. That actually gives me 31 days, but I figured a bonus day wouldn't hurt should I run into any roadblocks along the way. You'll understand in a bit why it is Very. Important. for me to finish this novel.

Anyway, there are several basic rules: It has to be a completed novel and it must be a NEW story.

Ah, can you see the appeal it has for me? Something NEW. SHINY. YAY. (As an aside, I'm attending the Surrey International Writers Conference for the first time this year and well, I just need something new to talk about. No more same old, same old. UGH. :))

Alrighty, the contract:

Find the verbiage/copy of the contract HERE.

I've made a very important addition to mine, however. And it reads as follows:

Edited: Should I fail to achieve my goal, I vow to set aside all dislike and downright loathing of Donald J. Trump, and donate $50.00 of my hard earned cash to the “Make America Great Again” campaign. As many can attest, this will kill my soul—leaving it a shattered piece of dead garbage that no longer holds any joy for this world. A post-dated check, which I have already signed will be mailed by my sister, Sherry Hendren, should I fail in this endeavor. May God speed my words and may God Bless our poor souls should I lose and/or that Oompah Loompah win this election.

Now do you see why it's so important that I win???

Ugh. Just writing the check out gave me a case of the hives. You can ask my sister. I was quite visibly distressed throughout the entire process.

Donald J Trump President, Inc???? Seriously?? Did you know you could incorporate a presidency?? I think I threw up in my mouth a little when I read where to send my check.

My one consolation in this process is that on the Memo line of the check I wrote:

I hate you, but I lost a bet.

If on August 24th I fail to produce a completed novel of at least 50K words, my sister has vowed to mail this stupid check. It's even hanging on my weekly bulletin board as a constant reminder.

So, my NaNo journey begins. I had the idea for this story some time ago (apparently), as I found notes for it in a drawer I was cleaning out. I don't remember writing the notes or how/when I came up with the idea but to say the least, I was intrigued by what I wrote. The top picture is something I've hung above my computer for motivation and inspiration. That's all I'm saying about this new project for now. I'm keeping this one close until I have a finished--and likely very flawed--novel at the end of this. I'm sure it will be a rather large steaming pile of poo, but honestly, I'm sort of okay with that. I will write with abandon and see which way this ride takes me. :) If it turns out to be any good...FABULOUS.

Okay, off I go. I'll be keeping a word counter in the sidebar somewhere. Feel free to stop by and cheerlead to your heart's desire. :) And if anyone wants to have a "writing date", please let me know and we'll set something up.

Words for today: 2,007

Exploring New Ideas

I have really vivid dreams sometimes. I mean, crystal clear, hard to forget dreams that stick with me. When I was younger, I used to have a recurring nightmare about this demonic little girl in this rundown house. I probably had this dream a dozen or more times, and I would actually say to my dream self, "Oh no, not again." Seriously. SCARY stuff. The worst part is that it would be the same each and every time. And even though I'd experienced it on such a consistent loop, it still scared me senseless. To the point I wouldn't want to go back to sleep out of fear of dropping back into it. And yes, that happened on occasion.

Thankfully, I haven't had that dream in a long time. Let's hope I haven't stirred it up by talking about it here. (g) I can still remember bits and pieces of it, but thank gawd, it's fading around the edges. I would gladly give up the few brain cells that are still clinging to its memory in order to have it gone for good. JUst sayin'.

Don't even get me started on my dreams about sharks. Holy moley. I mean, really??

You could say my imagination has always been overly active. I suspect this has a great deal to do with the fact my mother introduced me to horror films at a VERY young age. Five, to be exact. And yes, this will age me -- but my mother took my sister and me to see the original Halloween. Y'all, I think we lasted until the girl bit it in the garage. We screamed non-stop and she was forced to take us out of the theatre. Let's hear it for the good parenting decisions made by young mothers. LOL. At any rate, and probably completely unbeknownst to my mother at the time--she kicked off what would be a life-long love/hate relationship between me and horror movies. I love to be scared. I hate to be scared. And dang it, I can't lay off.

Where was I going with this?

Yes. Dreams.

As a writer, my dreams have started becoming quite useful for generating story ideas. Oh, I have enough waking ideas to deal with, and as with most people, my dreams can be somewhat scattered and completely random. But there are the occasional dreams (little girl in the house, anyone?) that really tell a story that my waking mind can't let go of. I recently had one such dream -- well, actually, it was quite a few months ago. But no matter how much time passes, I can't seem to let it go. It sparked an idea and I'm dying...DYING... to play around with it. A real pickle when I have an overdue book I need to write. (MEH!)

I see the characters, I see the story, I feel the tension and emotions involved. I want to write this book!

But yes, it will have to remain on the back burner for now. Thankfully, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

That said, I stumbled back to CompuServe Writers Forum this month--after a very prolonged absence--and writers exercises was hosting a 5 week, 5 act story exercise -- with each act limited to 100 words. It was too tempting to pass up. I had to join in. These probably aren't the prettiest words I've ever written--some spots are just downright MEH to me now--but it was a great opportunity to explore this new idea and see what I could come up with. Oh, and did I mention that each week we had five random words chosen for us that we had to incorporate?? Yeah, tough one. And you really had to think about each word to make it beneath the word count. I'm happy to say, I ended up with exactly 498 words in the end. SHAZAAM!

So, I thought I'd share it with y'all -- if there's actually anyone out there reading, that is. LOL. This idea doesn't even have so much as a working title -- it's that fresh. And despite the point of the exercise, I'm not sure I wrote a complete story. It's more of a thread of a thread, that yes, ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Hey, did you expect anything less from me? (g)

~
Week One: Intro of setting and characters and inciting incident.
incite, endless, drive, pact, over

Week Two: Act I - Rising action, development of conflict
astray, blood, toast, cursed, boardinghouse

Week Three: Act III - Twists and reversals
grain, obey, approach, backward, eyetooth

Week Four: Act IV - Climax and resolution
bizarre, forgotten, abomination, feast, black

Week Five: – Denouement
Inner, pinch, belong, treasure, dove
~

The barren landscape stretched before Charlie’s eyes, endless and unforgiving. She wanted this to be over, to lay her weary body down on the hard ground and lose herself in a dream. Only in sleep’s embrace could she go back to the way things were before. She staggered, almost giving in. But no, it was unforgivable to lose herself to this fantasy. Her father was gone. She must press on. Drive harder. Spencer’s actions had incited the wraiths into attacking. By God, if she had to make a pact with the devil himself, she would make him pay.

~

Several days passed before Charlie stumbled upon Spencer’s trail. Exhausted, she shuffled toward a cluster of abandoned buildings, convinced she was being led astray by delirium. Thankfully they were real. She pushed through the rotted door of what appeared to be an old boardinghouse. Its rooms were numerous, but she dropped her pack on the main floor, too tired to explore. It was there she spied the remains of a fire. She plunged her fingers into the ash and cursed. It was cold. Had Spencer toasted his toes here? She smiled. At last, she’d caught the scent of his blood.

~

The uneven grain of the wood floor made sleep nearly impossible. She’d have given her eyetooth for a real bed. When sleep at last found her, it was an uneasy and dreamless sleep, her mind unable to give her even a brief reprieve from this waking nightmare. On alert, she jerked upright, not knowing what had awoken her until it was too late. Spencer. She hadn’t heard him approach and cursed her own body for its weakness. Spencer looked as beat up as she felt. Gun in hand, he motioned for her to move backward, against the wall. She obeyed.

~

Growth covered the planes of Spencer’s face, his eyes black in the pale moonlight seeping through the window. For some bizarre reason, Charlie wanted to see his eyes—eyes blue as the sky she’d longed for her entire life. She shook herself. These feelings were an abomination to her father’s memory. Ones best forgotten. Calculating her chances of disarming the boy, Charlie was surprised when Spencer unceremoniously flipped the gun and pressed its grip into her palm. Her fingers curled around the gun. At last she could feast upon her anger and have her vengeance.

“Charlie,” he said.

She faltered.

~

One beat, two. The thud of metal meeting wood.

Her fingers dove into his hair, fisting around the thick strands to pull him close. Just one taste, her inner voice argued. One small moment to treasure during the dark nights to come.

Cursing herself, Charlie snaked a belt around his neck, pinching off his ragged breaths with one hard jerk. She made quiet shushing noises against his temple until at last he succumbed, crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

Tears wet her eyes. The decision of whether he lived or died no longer belonged to her.

“Please, God. Help us both.”

~The End~

It's not great, but it's something to use once I'm able to focus on this story. Until then, it will continue to simmer in the back of my mind. :)


OH...and yes, my horror movie fest continues. Of course, it does! How else am I going to take in enough fodder to have some freakishly scary dreams?!

Tonight's feature: 30 Days of Night

I'll be honest -- I've only seen it once, and I don't really remember much about it. Not even whether or not I enjoyed it. But I'm willing to give it another shot. It has Josh Hartnett in it, and he's a cutie patootie.

Check out this little freak-a-doodle. Vampire children are scary.

If It Were Easy...

...Everyone Would Do It... The fact that it's hard is what makes it so great.

I was watching some movie this weekend, and a character said that. I think it may have been Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own. At any rate, they weren't talking about writing...but baseball. But what this character said is true, and totally got me thinking about the pursuit of writing. It's so TRUE.

Seriously... if writing were easy, everyone would be doing it.

I can't tell you how much I beat myself up sometimes. I keep thinking that this whole writing gig should be getting easier. I've written two books--torn them both apart--and built them back up. Shouldn't I know what the heck I'm doing by now? Yet despite this, I still struggle. I still feel like WIS is never going to be finished--that I don't know what I'm doing. That my writing is total crap and I'm the worst writer to ever put words on the page.

It frustrates me to no end that the hardest thing for me to do is to sit my dang butt down in a chair and just start writing. That I piss and moan about how I'm tired...that I can't write when I've got a headache...that I have a million and one other things to do. ANYTHING to keep me from actually sitting down. It makes NO sense. But the truth of the matter is--writing is HARD. And I'm not talking about the whole concept of stringing words together, but the very act of sitting down--hour after hour, day after day, and just seeing a book through from start to finish. It takes a lot of will and determination, and just plain old tenacity. The ability to work through the low patches when you truly are writing shit. The ability to push away the distractions of the outside world. The patience to watch a small kernel of an idea grow slowly over time...I mean, for the love of Pete, grass grows faster!

Not everyone has everything it takes. I mean, how many people have you heard say that they want to write a book? How many of them actually have or will?

Not many.

I have to remind myself of that sometimes. Especially when I'm hitting a rough patch and my confidence wanes. It's times like these I just have to put my head down and keep pushing through. Why? Because I know how it feels to coast down the other side of the hill. The hard work it takes to get there is worth the gratification and pride of knowing you've completed a book. It's what makes writing truly great. The end product. When you can finally look back at the total wreck you were while you were writing the book and be able to say..."Eh, that wasn't so bad!" LOL.

I'll get there eventually. Then with the next book, I expect to be right back where I am now.

Ah. Writing.

Day 4 -- CHECK!

I'm on my way to bed in a few minutes, but thought I'd drop in to say I've survived my fourth day of Nano. Even met my goal -- for FOUR nights in a row. That puts me over the 7K mark. WHOOT!

I very nearly called tonight a no-go. Didn't start writing until after 11 -- but I said, gut it out, Jen. Don't get behind. And so, I did.

The scene is fairly pivotal, and pretty much sets up the ending of the book--whatever that will be. LOL. This without a real beginning or middle of the book written. Go figure. Welcome to the world of a chunk writer. LOL. I LOVE IT, though. For me, knowing the end helps me to figure out a way to get there. I know, weird...assbackwards, but in my opinion, you do what you have to do to get the job done. For me, this works.

That said, I'm excited to see what happens next!! Whoo!!! :)

Booyah!

So tonight was tough. I came home, utterly exhausted. I didn't sleep well last night, was late getting to work, had a fairly stressful day. Bah. It was no good, I tell ya. (Well, a few highlights...*big wink*...but nothing I can talk about here.)

At any rate--the thought of churning out 1700 words tonight was not a good one. I also made the mistake of staying at my aunt's house to watch the women's volleyball game (go Huskers!), which set me even further behind schedule. In short, I wound up falling asleep at 9...and waking up around 11 to write. Uh...does anyone else see the stupidity of this plan??

Well, I very nearly said forget it. That I'd try to make up the words this weekend. But then the guilt set in. The ladies at ATWOP are doing such an amazing job...in fact, they're kicking some major BOOTAY, and I didn't want to be the one to drag the group down with lame excuses. I would hate saying I didn't get anything written, if you must know. So, I told myself to write 500 words. It's something at least, and helps move the word counter up, even if it's only a little bit.

I set to work -- head and body and soul, bone-tired.

I got a few hundred words in fairly quickly... hmmm, maybe I could do the full 1700... So I kept going...and lo and behold, I ended up with 1822 words in a little over an hour! This when I didn't think I would be able to get the 500. BOOYAH, I say! Sometimes you just have to show up to work and count on yourself to get the job done.

YAY. Happy Dance.

Now I'm going to bed, yo. Night.

Direction

Well, I will give my friend, Jenna, a lot of credit for calling this one. I was sharing with her the fact that I had NO idea...absolutely NO idea what this book was going to be about. I mean, I knew general/big picture stuff...but had no clue what kind of story arc would take place to get the job done.

She told me -- as did others -- JUST WRITE. It will come to you eventually.

I think it's a truth universal that every panster freaks out a bit when beginning a new book. I've completed two novels, parts of several others, and each and every time I begin, I feel like there's NO WAY in hell I'm going to be able to do it again. It probably seems pretty crazy to outliners/planners when they hear about someone like me who says... eh, I think I'll write a book. (What's it about?) Oh..no clue. I know there are werewolves... and well, yeah.. that's about it. (What happens?) Eh.. I think there will be a scene where this happens... but I'm not really sure what leads into it... or what will happen after it. No clue if it's in the middle, beginning, or end... Yeah, but I THINK it's going to play a part.

Yeah, people don't usually understand that way of thinking.

At any rate, I dug in last night with the one scene I KNEW for sure I wanted in the book. It really has no major impact on the plot -- just a cool scene idea I've had knocking around in my brain for a long time. Of course it plays into the book...but I'm not sure when it will take place, how it will impact the story as a whole... yeah, I just wrote it.

It's definitely not great... I'm sure it will change drastically at the "meld" point. (When I take all of my random scenes and try to figure out how they go together to form a story). But it was a start and it led to a couple of little brain firings. All in all, I got 1702 words... not a stellar night, certainly not on par with the ladies over at ATWOP, but a nice start.

NO CLUE what I would write next, and I finished slightly freaked out about the thought of having to produce another 1700 words today.

Well, the good news is that Jenna was right. By golly, as I was walking into work today, I had a mini-epiphany. Nothing major, mind...but definitely a beginning to a story arc... a reason for my MC to move forward in search of the answer to a particular question. It gives her purpose... and well, something for me to write! LOL. PHEW. I'm off to do that now... wish me luck.

Dipping A Pinkie Toe In...

Well, I'll admit my writing has been.....nonexistent. My schedule is hectic as all get out and what little time I have, I'm usually exhausted, a bit cranky, and in the mood to do nothing much other than laze around. Watch TV. Read a book. Sleep. :)

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and took one small step towards that goal tonight. I had a writing date with my friend Jenna. :) We promised each other that we would both hop online and write tonight. On IM so we could poke each other into action if need be.

I didn't want to write tonight. Oh no, Jen did not want to write. First of all, I ran around town doing a bunch of errands, taking so long doing them that I was late for our date! Then I wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl about some girly gossip things...then I wanted to give myself a pedicure and go to bed. Uh, but wait...I promised I would write. Well shit.

I made a load of excuses to myself, but Jenna--bless her--was there to remind me that we were going to write tonight. That said,I vowed I would get at least 200 words before calling it a night.

I still put it off...checking this blog...watching this video... giggling some more about our girly gossip stuff. Eventually I ran out of excuses and dang it...I had promised at least 200 words.

So, I started. And it hurt. It hurt bad, and I stretched muscles I haven't used in a very long time. But dang it...I did it. 217 words.

It ain't much. But it's a start.

Annnnnnd...

We have a date tomorrow night, too. ;)

P.S. For the curious among you, I worked on FAKING IT tonight. 217 brand spankin' new words for one of the scenes I've avoided all this time. The words fall somewhere in the middle (of course) and honestly...even if I'm feeling a little rusty, there was a glimmer of that old feeling. Hmmm. :)

I'm Better Than YOU!

HA. :)

I love JA Konrath's blog, and this message is just one of the reasons why.

I'll admit that my confidence is shaky, even at the best of times*. But I admire his outlook and will strive to find that self-confidence in my own writing. :)

*Okay, sometimes I have back-slapping, YOU ARE A GENIUS! moments. They're few and far between, but when they happen, there ain't nothing that can stop me. I need to bottle that stuff.

The Hazards Of Writing In First Person

I was reading Elizabeth George's WRITE AWAY last night. The chapter about picking your POV. She mentioned something interesting that I hadn't given much thought to before. She said that most neophyte writers (is it just me or does that word make us sound like a bunch of clueless hacks? (g)) write their first novels in first person because they believe it's the easiest of all the POV's. However, she would argue that that is a complete misconception because plotting is a bitch in 1st--mainly because you can't slip into another character's POV when you're in a bind. (g) Okay, she didn't say that last bit exactly like that, but that was the gist of her point.

I agree!

Well, I don't quite fit into the whole "I'm going to write my first book in 1st because I believe it's easier" part. I actually started writing FI in third and it just felt all kinds o' wrong. When I slipped into first, it began to flow. I'll never regret that decision. It makes Madison come alive under my fingers, and I love it. However, I DO agree with the other -- plotting in first person is a pain in the arse! :)

So, I took a weekend sabbatical from FI. I hadn't really intended to, but with Father's Day, and work, and just some general confusion about several scenes plaguing me to no end, I needed time to stew. My problem was that I was having a hard time grasping the motivation of one of my non-POV characters. As a good chunk of this book centers around Madison playing off this particular character -- having to deal with the reprucussions of his actions -- both on a professional and personal level -- I needed to get a better handle on him. Simple as that.

Erm, not so simple. I had to answer one big question -- WHY?? Why does he do this -- why does he say that. Why does he say this when he actually means something entirely different? Why does he hide this from her, but then reveal it in the next scene? Oh man, I was full of Why?? Poor Jenna had to listen to me run through it all. Bless her for her patience. (g)

So, this is what I did. First I mulled it all over, and then I pulled out a lot of hair. Then I mulled some more.

After talking to Jenna, I decided it was time to write some of this stuff down. (g) I wrote down a header for each scene giving me trouble and then wrote down a few lines explaining why this character does/says such and such, and any possible after effects I saw coming in later scenes. I wouldn't call it an outline, exactly, but I guess you could. LOL. It's more just a form of SOC from my non-POV character so that when I'm writing/reworking these scenes, I'll have a better handle on his motivations at any particular time, and hopefully, I won't become so totally confused again. Three days ago, I didn't think all of these scenes would be able to fit into the same book (eeee!! Panic attack!). Now I see they all do -- and that they work exceedingly well together. So even though I was freaking out, my subconscious had all my ducks in a row. Yay. I swear, it's freaky.

Right now I'm working on a pretty pivotal scene that I couldn't even start before this weekend. It's coming together -- 1400 words just today. I guess it would be easier if my characters were more honest with each other, but alas, where's the drama in that? (g) All will soon be revealed, tho. Muhahaha. I can't wait to send this out to readers -- I hope it all makes sense and works in total.

Eating My Words, But Loving It

A lot of you probably know I'm not a huge proponent of craft books. It's not really a matter of thinking the authors don't know what they're talking about or that it would be a waste of someone's time to read them. Rather it's about not wanting too many voices/rules floating around in my head at any given time. I firmly believed (still do, really) the best way to learn "craft" is to write. And read. And then write some more.

Anyway -- I've been having serious issues getting back into a solid writing routine. I think the main thing is that I've been focusing SO much on the idea of the finished book that I've started to become frustrated at the first bump in the road. When the words come out at a slow, painful tricle (or not at all), I've been giving up all too easily. To be frank, writing hit rock bottom on my priority list. And some of my "priorities" were pretty dang lame.

I've been trying anything and everything to get my mojo back. Nothing worked! I KNEW I could write a book -- could start, muddle through the middle, and finish one. I've done it twice. But for some reason I just couldn't get over the big hurdle of finsihing anything major in FI. My files are chock full of half finished scenes -- a bit of this one...a few lines of dialogue for this other one... But for whatever reason, I couldn't find the glue to hold it all together.

I finally gave in and thought I'd give someone else's methods a try. First on the list was Elizabeth George's book, WRITE AWAY. Why? I heard someone mention it on the forum and it was the only one I had on my mind at the time. LOL. I'm very discriminating. (g) Anyway, our writing styles couldn't be any more different. LOL. But yanno what? Within the span of about sixty pages, a lightbulb had gone on in my head--in a major way. I just KNEW how to tackle a scene that had been giving me MAJOR problems for several months. I could hear it...see it...almost like a mini-movie in my mind. Going from a completely blank screen to a full-blown scene within about 2 minutes is a VERY weird experience. But dude, it rocked.

Have I learned anything earth shattering in the course of reading this book? Eh, I wouldn't say that. BUT, it's taught me to look at things from a couple of new angles and given me a few back doors to figuring out where to begin a scene. You're going to laugh when I tell you the trick that caused this big epiphany. What's funny is that I have to look up the term she used. LOL. (be right back)

Okay, here it is. She calls them THAD's (aka Talking Head Avoidance Devices). ROFL on that term, btw. I'm sooo a member of the THAD police. Nothing bothers me more. (I digress). Anyway, per it's name, a THAD is what the characters are doing while they're talking. That can be anything. They can be making dinner, conducting an autopsy, playing a game, etc. etc. For whatever reason, thinking about THAD's helped me find the foothold I needed for this scene. At last!!!

Obviously I know how to use THAD's, though I didn't know that term until a couple of days ago. Again, I wouldn't say this book has taught me anything earth shattering. What it IS doing is helping to put me into a writer's frame of mind. Almost like it's reminding me of all the skills that have rusted over in the past few months. And even if I don't take on the techniques they endorse (no one, and I mean NO ONE is going to convince me that an outline is the best way to go -- but then, maybe SOMEONE will (g)), it's helping to light the fires.

So yeah, my plan is to keep reading about how people write. Even if it's only a few pages here and there -- maybe when I'm having a rough time and need a little inspiration. (Seriously, who can say Stephen King's spike full of rejection letters didn't make them stand up a little taller? (g)) I'm only about a third of the way through George's book, but next on the block is Evanovich and Grafton.

If you have any recommendations, please pass them along. :)

Unearthed Treasure

I managed to knock my phone off my headboard this afternoon -- and beside it, tucked between my headboard and nightstand, was TADA...my writing journal! Good grief! I haven't seen it forever. Which means, by default, I haven't written in it for _a long time_. I must rectify that pronto.

I casually perused the pages...

There are some notes about where I would take COTM next... (Back in June of 2006) Progress on that was sidetracked--as shown by the notes on NARC (aka FI) that came next, and my decision to take that series of books in a more comedic direction. AHA...here are my thoughts on the very first scene I wrote, which I might add is still going strong in the current version. YAY.

Notes on NARC 2...and COTM 2 (heh)... (tease tease)

The day I finished NARC...

Hmmm, nothing on when I began BTPM, but that's pretty well documented on my lj.

Oh...brief notes on future NARC books. Book 3, 4...5...

The day I started working on THE BRAEDEN (2/15/07) -- lots of notes on this one. Man, need to get back to it soon. When? Who knows.

More story ideas...hush hush.

Ohhh...notes on WALKING IN SHADOW (BTPM 2)...

So many ideas and thoughts. Time to add some new ones. :)

The Results

I got a bit sidetracked by life this weekend, and didn't get around to actually conducting my timed writing experiment until this afternoon. But here are the results (I started small):

30 minutes -- 505 words written.

WOOOHOO. Not bad!

To describe the experience, I set my little digital timer and put it right next to my computer so I could see the countdown. I have a natural tendency to want to toggle through other open windows when I'm writing. (I know, I know...I should just close all of them, right? BABY STEPS, people. Without my internet, I'd feel like I'm writing without my left arm attached. (g)) Anyway, when there was a lull, I automatically started clicking away...wondering if there was anything new going on over at the forum...*Jen glimpsed the clock* CRAP! Back to work...type type type...

Dogs begin to bark, and the aunt comes home. *Jen starts to get up* DOUBLE CRAP! Only five minutes to go. Aunt can go that long without my saying hello! Type type type!

In the end, although it was difficult in spots, that little clock sitting there helped keep me on task in a big way. I think the short interval worked perfectly and, I may stick with 30 rather than 60 minutes for now. I mean, hey, who can't squeeze _30_ minutes in at least a couple of times a day? If I can keep up the pace, that's 1000 words for an hour's worth of time. A decent amount for anyone...and well, if I can squeeze in a couple more sessions throughout the day, hopefully I'll be WELL on my way to finishing this damn book. (G)

So, yes...the experiment was a success. :)

Experiment About To Commence

Not tonight, mind. I had way too much schoolwork...and well, American Idol and the season finale of Project Runway was on... (HEH) Gah, and next week Top Chef begins...

As you can see, I'm very easily distracted. TV shows...my dogs...my family...shiny objects... I need to BUCKLE DOWN.

So, after reading about one forumite's methods for staying on task, I've decided to give it a try.

Here's the deal: She has an egg timer. (Yeah, I know...bear with me.) What she does is set that egg timer in one hour increments. While it's running, she writes...non-stop. No interruptions are allowed. No phone calls, no emails, no surfing the forum, etc. When it goes off, she sets it again and goes for another round, this time trying to best her word count from the previous hour. On and on and on. In between the hours, she'll do the essential things she needs to do around the house.

Hmmm, sounds good.. Almost like a game. And I love me some games. Perhaps this will see me through to the end of FI. We shall see. :) I've got my timer (eight bucks at Target--that was mid-price range), and I start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

It's Oh So Quiet

Dude, did everyone go on vacation this weekend? Blogger has been exceptionally quiet. (g) Me? HEH. I spent yesterday reading...all. day. long. Yes, I'm horrible. I finished THE SWEET FAR THING, tho. :) I'm gonna give it a day or two to settle before I write a review....it was good, tho...very good. Now I've begun the Midnighters series by Westerfeld. It's quick, so at least I know I'll have time to write today. (g)

One great thing about my little vacation is that I've had a couple of little kernels bubble up for WALKING IN SHADOW and THE PRESENCE. Notice neither is FI, which of course, is a bit of a problem. (g) But what can you do? I'm reading about high school students and well, naturally my thoughts would go to those particular books. LOL. One kernel, for WIS, gives me goosebumps -- had to write that one down. It was less than 200 words and obviously part of a much longer scene, but write it or lose it.. yanno how that goes.

It all serves to remind me how invigorating the creative process is... gah, love it. Miss it. Hope to recapture it with FI. Perhaps this will all help jump start me back into that book. Actually, one of my writer friends suggested I work on something else for a bit... finding the love being the ultimate goal. I'll admit I've been a bit hesitant to test that particular theory. Mostly I'm worried that once I get going on another wip, I won't want to switch back to FI. But I suppose these little bits won't really hurt anything (I hope).

But seriously, folks...where are you guys? (g)

Taking A Cue From My Dogs

My aunt bought a squirt gun for my dogs. The whole idea being that she'd give them a little zap every time they start barking incessantly at our visitors. Sure, it works, but man...they're scared of that thing. And once it's gone, they're right back to their bad behavior. I watched in silence for a long time. I mean, it's their house, they have the right to try whatever they think will work...and it wasn't _hurting_ the dogs.

Anyway, I got a little fed up about the complaints when it didn't work out well and suggested a solution. Instead of zapping them with water...why not make them sit down for a treat? After all, if they're sitting, they can't jump or bark at our incoming guests...and if they sit for long enough, they calm down and won't go all nutso. Guess what? Yup, it worked. It was a bit rocky at first, but now when they hear the doorbell ring, they both run to the kitchen (treat jar) and those butts hit the marble. Yeah, where there is food, there are good lil' doggies. Positive reinforcement is ten times better than negative.

So how does this relate to me?

I've gotten really wrapped up in the idea that I MUST finish FI...and I must do it _right now_. The result? Very little progress because of the overwhelming (and self-imposed) pressure... I've had non-stop headaches...and just a lot of nervous anxiety and worries that I do not need. In addition, I won't let myself be rewarded for what little I do accomplish. Now that's nuts.

Therefore, I'm taking a cue from what works for my dogs...and what got me 13K the week after Christmas. (g) Rather than enforcing negative reinforcement, I'm going back to positive.

Yes, that means I'm cracking THE SWEET FAR THING--allowing a certain number of pages when I hit my goals. In fact, I'm giving myself a hundred page credit to get me started tonight--my official night off from stressing about FI. Then I think I'll go back to my 2500 words for 100 pages thing. That will get me a lot closer to the end. And in the mean time, hopefully a good book will give me the incentive and inspiration to get back in the groove. Sounds like a plan, man.

Little House Has A Lesson For All

OMG...I'm such a sap. One of my all time favorite shows is Little House on the Prairie. I LOVE it. And I cry each and every episode. Seriously. I've tested it.

Netflix delivered the pilot movie and the first two discs to my doorstep today. I've had a mini-marathon. A marathon of lessons learned and tears shed. But seriously, who can hold back the tears when lil' Laura writes about how hard Ma works? Only her real essay consisted of four really sad sentences. Yes, she made it up. *sniff* But it was so sweet.

Anyway...where was I?

Oh, so I'm not sure what the deal is, but the first 2-3 episodes have _really bad_ sound. Whenever the characters are outside, in fact, there's next to no ambient noise at all. You SEE the teacher ringing the school bell...you SEE the horse carts going by... but nope, no sounds whatsoever.

It got me thinking about how a real void occurs in a book when no ambience is inserted in the text. I've read a few scenes that are just BARREN. Narry a sound or smell...not a description of what a character looks like...nada. Sure, there are times when a character is in a highly charged emotional state where they wouldn't notice such things around them...but most of the time you need _something_ for the five senses to pick up on. It's probably one of the things I'm most likely to forget in my first draft stage. I'm always having to go back to put in MORE, but I'm learning...getting better. (g) I heard a rule of thumb that you should try to have at least three senses used in every scene. Smell of course is probably the one most overlooked...but I'd bet touch is as well.

What's my point? Not sure I have one. Just something that occurred to me. (g) This show teaches me so much. *sniff*

I See The Light!

The past few days I've been feeling...well, both overwhelmed and underwhelmed by FI's prospects. On one hand, I've been super worried that this new version won't have the same OOMPH of the first one--on many levels. On the other, I've been worried that there is NO WAY IN HELL that I'll be able to tie up every thread in this new book. I've been pondering ways to cut, way before I'm at that stage in the process. Folks, I needed some direction. I needed to know that I'm going to be able to put this sucker in some coherent order that will make a good story in the end.

I don't know if I've actually hit that point yet, but this afternoon I decided to forego writing in favor of jotting down a basic "timeline" to the scenes I've got going. My timelines are pretty "seat of the pants" type things. A basic blurb, arrowed to the next blurb... with very few notes between.

Ex:

Lockerroom scene --> Club Scene (Such and such happens) --> X gives M info (try to sneak in THIS (a scene I do not want to cut)) --> M talks to Y, Q confesses, etc.**

**Pertinent characters changed to letters to protect the not so innocent.

Anyway, it's really helped to give me a clear picture of the basic shape of the story. And it also means I have A LOT of work ahead of me. (g) But I feel good about the mini-breakthroughs this has brought about... It's not following the original outline THAT closely, but then, I left myself plenty of wiggle room to stir things up a bit to see what would come out.

Now that I'm feeling all inspired-like, perhaps I can pound out some pages. *crosses fingers*

Absolutes

Last night was a sound bite kinda night. I couldn't work on a full scene to save my life, but I got little glimpses at several different points in the book. I said to heck with it and started writing down whatever images bubbled to the surface. I didn't get much, unfortunately. One of those nights.

(Quick aside: I'm adding the Line of the Day thingie to the sidebar right after this. Don't know how often it will change...so read it while the readings good. (g))

Anyway, during my marathon of ho-humming and naval gazing, I started surfing the net -- looking here and there for anything that would keep me awake and working. Heh, yeah. Catch-22 there.

I stumbled upon a person dishing out some writing tips to a new writer and had to sit on my hands to keep from firing off a snarky response to her "absolute no-no's"

First of all--and forgive my bluntness--any writer who is espousing absolutes is a writer I _absolutely_ do not want to read. Nor is it someone who should be offering any kind of advice to fledgling writers. There, said it. (g)

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there are NO absolutes in this business. A technique that fails 99 times out of a 100, still works in that 1%. Something that fits perfectly in one work, will stick out like a sore thumb in another. (And yes, even cliches are appropriate at certain times--back off cliche police!)

I "listened" to this woman systematically rip apart every technique this particular writer used. And I realized that a lot of the things she shot down are things _I_ do in my books. And yeah, it pissed me off. Who the heck is she to tell another writer that they _can't_ write their book the way they want to? There is a distinct difference between "offering suggestions" and becoming a friggin' asshole who will likely scare new writers back into seclusion. I know I was met with both types of critiques, and believe you me, I took much more away from people who offered suggestions (however strongly worded) than I did from those who told me to make changes that would destroy my particular style and voice.

Anyway, I just had to rant for a moment. (g) Another reason you need to choose your crit partners very carefully. You don't want someone who will be too easy, but you also don't want anyone who will lay down "absolutes" that could ruin your unique style.

There ain't a rule out there that wasn't made to be broken. And you can quote me on that. (g)

The Process

On the forum I belong to, we often share ideas about writing, etc. We talk about our process -- what works/doesn't work for us, etc. Anyway, in order to help out a fairly new writer, I wrote a post that gave the thought process behind my new YA -- trying to give her a brief glimpse at how I work when I begin a new book.

Anyway, being as I worked so hard on it, I figured I'd add it here. (g) Plus, it's fairly representative of how I work. All of this usually happens very quickly -- while in the process of writing, etc. But it shows how my mind starts to connect various chunks--even though I don't know the overall shape of the end story yet. Or, honestly, who the characters are. Hope you find it interesting.

So, without further ado:

The main things I try to remember:
1. Don’t stress over not knowing what happens next. Write what bubbles up and that will, in turn, reveal the next scene.
2. Don’t stress over not knowing every nuance of every character. You can’t truly know who they are until you throw them into a situation and see how they respond.
3. Have fun! Write what you love and don’t try to write like someone else. The great thing about writing is that YOUR individual voice is what will make your book special. Let it develop.

Against all better judgment and time constraints, I started a new YA paranormal this past weekend. Didn’t see it coming whatsoever. All I know is that I was watching a show about hauntings, and all of a sudden I thought it would be a great idea to write a book about ghosts. Random. Unexpected. And wholly unformed in my mind.

For whatever reason, YA felt right to me. And of course, a female MC because I’m still uncomfortable writing in a male POV. So, girl…ghost…high school… EH…nothing else. What’s the story?? *a bit of thinking*

I’m a child of horror movies. I grew up watching them LONG before I should have and spent many sleepless nights reading Stephen King novels. I like scary. So, it’ll be a scary ghost and not just a run of the mill haunting. Nothing where she has to help some poor hapless soul deal with unfinished business so it can move into the light. I want some heart-pounding, hands shaking, scary stuff.

K…girl…scary ghost…high school.

In this program I watched, they showed this girl clutching her young son to her chest as she stands completely frozen, petrified as this mist surrounds her. She’s standing in front of a mirror and can see this man in the reflection, sort of hovering around her, glaring down at her. He’s only in the reflection, but she’s terrified by the sight. It’s not just things going bump in the night, this ghost is terrorizing her.

Ohhhhh… next jump in logic--it follows her no matter how hard she tries to get away. So, she’s moving around a lot, each time hoping it’ll fail to find her… So, what does that do to her family? Gotta be stressful, right? In fact, it might actually break up a marriage if one parent is unable to cope. So, there I have it… she lives alone with her mother, who vows to stick by her daughter. However, she’s getting desperate, so much so that the daughter is worried sick and blaming herself for everything. After all, if the ghost is terrorizing HER, she’d probably think she’s done something to cause the whole thing.

So, guilty daughter, distraught mother, scary stalker ghost, many high schools – always the new girl. Always hoping ‘this time will be different.’

Scene idea bubbles up: They’ve moved again, hoping the “thing” is gone. The fear and anxiety of not knowing what will happen. And then bam…the thing reveals itself again, shattering their hope. I write it and discover that the ghost doesn’t reveal itself in front of the mother. Does she ever see things happen?? Hmmm, not sure on that one yet so I tuck it away to mull over. But in THIS scene, the mother doesn’t know it’s come back. The daughter is going to try and hide it – to alleviate the stress from her mother. But how much can one person bear alone?

I need another character to help her through this. If this has been going on a while, she’s probably confided in others before. So, what happened? Most likely they didn’t believe her… or if they did, were scared off. She’s become very independent and alone during this time, afraid to trust people. What’s the point, right? If she tells them, they’ll think she’s a freak. She’s not going to just blurt it out. This person will have to see something happen and seek HER out.

So who?? Being a romantic, I always have a love interest of some sort. So, a guy….

Scene idea: He confronts her and wants her to confide in him. She’s scared to. In fact, the presence “warns” her not to speak. The guy plays the hero and gets her to confess. But wait, the big strong guy rushing in to save the day is SOO boring. Maybe he’s scared sh*tless, but manages to reign in his fear long enough to stick by her… Oh, I like that. I write the scene. He confronts the ghost and gets it to leave her alone long enough to tell her story so they can “understand” it. The entire time, his hands are shaking, voice trembling, sweating profusely. It’s endearing. (g)

But wait…they haven’t even met yet! LOL. What in the world would that be like? Who is this guy anyway? Being as she’s the epitome of a fractured soul, he should be the antithesis of her. Normal life, good family, lots of friends, outgoing, etc. Not quite the man on campus, but definitely well-liked. What would he think of her? Who is she anyway?

We know she’s hiding this big secret. That’s got to be killer on your nerves…hard to eat or sleep…always on edge. She’s thin, she’s slightly pale…she doesn’t interact with the other students at the school. So why would he like her?? Don’t know yet – tuck that away to think about. But right now, they’ve got to meet.

Right about this time, I’m thinking pure 1st person POV isn’t going to work. For one thing, if I’m going to have anything truly terrifying happen to her, wouldn’t it be better to get the perspective of someone on the outside looking in? Oh yeek, that means I’ll have to jump into his head. Okay, I can do that, but it also means I have to write in third.

Scene idea: He sees her at school and is drawn to her, though he can’t figure out why. There’s something different about her, though, and he wants to meet her. I write part of this scene…not the actual meeting, but just him seeing her across the school quad and taking an interest.

Okay, so that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I have no idea WHO the ghost is. I have no idea how this story will resolve… but as I go forward, one little thing will trigger another idea and everything will begin to come into focus. Not going to stress out about anything at this point. I’ll learn more about the characters as I go… and they’ll tell me the story.

Right now, I have several “kernels” coming to a slow boil. I see a scene where he follows her home. What would her house be like? The activity can be quite destructive, and they’ve been going through this for a long time. You’d think their furniture would be pretty jacked up by now – and instead of replacing items just to have them broken again, they would get to the point where they’re buying second hand. So, rag tag furniture… lots of lights because she’s afraid to be in the dark… no artwork on the walls, no knick knacks. Spartan. Nothing to provide this thing ammunition.

And I need to have him witness something. What? No clue. It will bubble up eventually.

And onward I go…