Exciting News!

If you build it, they will come.

If you build it, they will come.

Or rather,

If you declare it, they will come.  Opportunities, that is.

I declared 2013 "The Year of the Writer."  I set my goals, put my butt in the chair, and started to make the motto my reality.  And I have been wonderfully rewarded!

I received a notice this week that I was accepted as a freelance writer for the online site www.FamilyShare.com.   I had applied near the end of last year, but I hadn't heard anything for months.  I figured either my application had been lost or I just wasn't a good fit for their program.  Happily, I was wrong on both accounts.

I will be contributing 20 articles a month.  That's about one per day, five days a week.  I've finished and submitted my first article, and I'm now waiting for editing.  I'm almost finished with a second, and have started a third.

I've already found a pattern for writing that seems to work well for me.  I start the article in the afternoon.  Then, I go to bed, thinking about problems with it or changes I want to make.  I wake up and finish the article.  Then, I'm ready to start the next one in the afternoon.

I believe this will help advance my writing.  It will give me the opportunity to write a lot.  Practice makes perfect!  I'm sure to see an improvement in my writing that will spill over into my fiction.  It gets my name out there and builds my resume.  Being a paid writer is a little more prestigious than being one of so many aspiring writers.

I'm excited for this new stage in my writing journey!

What good news have you received lately?

25 Words

25 Words

2013: The Year of the Writer has officially hit its first bump in the road.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't let writer's block get the best of me.  I put my butt in the chair and added to my story every day.  But some days, it sure felt like work.

Then, I heard about this great technique that I think will help me be more successful.  Perhaps, ahem, 1000 words a day was a bit, shall we say, ambitious.  Some parts of my story just aren't ready for 1000 words.  Sometimes I need to take a step back and get a little more research done before I can make a scene work.

Like yesterday, for example.  I needed to craft a knife fight.  But, you see, I've never been in a knife fight.  The closest I've been is watching my sons whittle with their pocket knives, or chiffonading spinach for an omelette with my chef's knife.  I needed to learn a thing or two if I wanted to make it authentic.

Needless to say, it took me awhile to eke out my 500-word scene.

I decided I needed a more manageable goal. And a friend of mine came up with the perfect solution:

25 words.

Now there's a daily goal I can manage!

It makes perfect sense.  Twenty-five words is just enough to get your creative juices flowing.  It's like a piece of chocolate or Lay's potato chips: you can't eat just one, you can't stop there, you have to keep going.  And if not?  Well, it's still an accomplishment.

So what tricks do you use to jump-start your muse?

Good Things, Good Times

Ladies and Gentlemen, drum roll please........

I have made it eleven days into the New Year with my resolutions intact!

(pause for vociferous applause)

Why thank you, thank you very much. *bows*

It has been an exceptionally good week for me.  I have been putting my "butt in the chair," and it is paying off.  I have made some great progress on my current project, my second short story in the Freeborn series. 

You know, I was having some trouble with it at the beginning of the week, and I couldn't figure out what was wrong.  Then, I was reading a book on editing, and the topic was point of view.  It suddenly dawned on me that the fast pace of this story required a first person present point of view.  I need Nick to tell me his story as it's happening.  Once I stepped out of the way and gave him free rein, Nick completely took over.  I found his voice, and my story is so much more interesting and entertaining.  That Nick is pretty funny.

My second victory came from my new online writing group.  We met this week to choose a name.  I groaned inside; I'm terrible at this sort of thing!  I sat back and let the others brainstorm a few ideas, thinking that they were so much more clever than I.  Then, someone mentioned the name Cyber Scrawlers, which I really liked.  My brain took a walk, playing with the word "scrawl," and I thought "Scrawl Space."  I typed it in, nervously, I have to admit.  Well, they loved it!  We voted unanimously to adopt "Scrawl Space" as the name for our group.

Dang, I felt so proud of myself!  And I really do believe The Universe was reinforcing my determination to make 2013 The Year of the Writer.  I needed that small validation.  I am a writer, and I am creative.  The Universe said so.

I've noticed that I have a tendency to do other writing exercises when I'm feeling blocked on my projects.  So, I guess it's a good thing that I didn't really have time to do much blogging and exercises this week.  I'll still dabble from time to time, just to keep me on my toes. 

So, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? 

As Yellow As...

A pirate's parrot?  A Yankee traitor?  A blazing sun?

Today's exercise takes the last lesson on similes and metaphors a little further.  In poetry, as in all effective writing, you want to use descriptions that utilize all the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.  It creates more interest, and it gives you more tools in your arsenal.  It makes your writing richer and more expressive.

So, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to take your favorite food and describe it using each of the five senses and using similes and metaphors.

Example:

Orange like a...

An orange is...
Orange like a fiery sun
Bumpy like a toad
Hissing like a deflating balloon
Sour like an old maid
Fruity like a bottle of old wine.





OK, now it's your turn.  Take a peek in your fridge if you need inspiration.  Share your efforts in the comments.

Similes and Metaphors

Hello!... (hello)... (hello)...

*crickets*

My apologies for neglecting my poor blog for so long.  Health and other issues had me rather sidetracked for awhile.  The writer in me has NOT been happy.  I've decided I must give my writing a lot more attention.

Yesterday I wrote a poem.  For the first time in over a decade.  It wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad, either.  I had a friend ask to read it, and he was very complimentary.  He then asked if I would help him learn to write poetry.  My first thought was, whoa, you don't learn how to write poetry -- you just do it!  But then I realized there are some tips and exercises that could be helpful in awakening your inner poet.

So, I agreed to help him out, and I thought this would be a great place for me to do it.  If you'd like to join in the creative writing fun, please feel free to jump in!  Any comments and suggestions are of course welcome.

When searching the internet for ideas on how to proceed, I found a lot of information on structure, meter, rhyme schemes, and the different types of poems.  It sounded good, if you were looking for nuts and bolts information.  But to me, poetry is about finding the exact right voice to put your emotions into words.  Before you start to look at mechanics, I think you need to learn the language of poetry.

Poetry uses a lot of symbolism and imagery.  You say one thing when you really mean another.  The easiest way to do that is to use similes and metaphors.

Both similes and metaphors are used to compare two like things.  A simile uses the words "like" and "as" to make the comparison.  A metaphor makes the comparison by stating something "is" the other thing.

The trick to effective creative writing is choosing a simile or metaphor that is not cliche -- not overused or obvious.  When trying to find the right comparison, the first thing that pops into your head is not likely to be the best or most expressive.  Dig deeper, brain storm a little bit, write down everything that comes into your mind.  Your best simile or metaphor is probably going to be your third, fourth, or even fifth choice.

For example, when I say, "It was as dark as..."

What do you automatically think of?  I bet you thought "night," didn't you?  I did.  However, in one creative writing class, a young girl came up with "dark as a secret."  Oooh, how good is that?  I love the feeling it elicits.  There is nothing darker than my secrets.

So, here's a little practice for you.  I'm going to write a series of adjectives, and I'd like you to come up with your best similes and metaphors.  Leave them in the comments section.  And if I don't get very many participants, then it's my own dang fault for neglecting my blog for so long.

Red

Round

Flat

Light

Funny

Bumpy

Smooth

Blue

Questions, Questions, Questions

A woman from my writing group shared that she was advised at a writing workshop to never have a character ask questions in her thoughts.  She couldn't remember why; she just remembered that rule.  That's silly, I thought.  People naturally ask themselves questions.  I chalked it up to a rule I was determined to break.

But occasionally, I'll be reading a book, sometimes a very good book, and I'll notice that the character is asking a lot of questions through inner dialogue.  And it begins to irritate me.  The character starts to seem whiny and weak.  Is that really what the author intended?  I'm especially annoyed if all the characters keep asking questions, and it doesn't seem authentic to me.

Here's an example:

"Good grief, I think.  Do people really do that?  Do they ask themselves questions over and over?  Why can't they just form an opinion and stick to it?"

vs.

"Good grief, I think. People don't really do that.  They don't sit there and ask themselves questions over and over.  They form an opinion and stick to it."

Guess which example reflects my actual thought?  The latter.

Maybe I was being unfair.  I decided to investigate.  Since reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, I have been writing stream-of-consciousness morning pages for several months.  I have three or four notebooks filled with my uncensored thoughts.  I picked up one of my old notebooks and thumbed through it, looking for question marks.

What did I find?  Long expanses where I did not use a single question mark.  I discovered I'm very opinionated when it comes to my husband, my children, the birds outside, and the weather.  I noticed I occasionally threw in a rhetorical question, especially if I was trying to be clever or funny.

But then I'd hit a passage that blew my theory out of the water.  Tons and tons of question marks.  I read closer to find out what was going on.  I discovered that when I was truly soul-searching, I used a lot of questions.  If something was bothering me and I needed to dig it up, I asked questions.  But here's the kicker.  They were not rhetorical questions, and I always answered myself.

My conclusion, then, is that questions can be useful in inner dialogue if used purposefully.  If you have a weak character, questions are a subtle way to emphasize that weakness.  It's also a subtle way to show character arc when you have a weak character gaining personal strength -- change the inner dialogue from questions to statements of opinion.  And it's very powerful to show your character wrestling with inner demons -- if you remember to answer the questions you raise.

What do you think?  Do your characters ask too many questions?

Pay The Writer

My apologies for the language in this video, but I applaud the man's message and his passion.  Never, never, never undervalue the work that you do.

Xenophobe vs. Xenophile

a.k.a. Battle of the Verts.

In one corner, we have the Extroverts. Extraversion is "the act, state, or habit of being predominantly concerned with and obtaining gratification from what is outside the self". Extroverts enjoy human interaction; they are gregarious, aggressive, enthusiastic, and talkative. They are energized when spending time with other people and tend towards boredom when left to their own devices.

In the opposite corner, we have the Introverts. Introversion is "the state of or tendency toward being wholly or predominantly concerned with and interested in one's own mental life". Introverts are energized through reflection and sapped by interaction. They tend to be more reserved and less outspoken than their counterparts.

So, which are you? Chances are that you are an introvert, as the archetypical artist – and we writers are, indeed, artists – is highly introverted. The bigger question is, can you write extroverted characters? Or do you let your own biases sneak in where they don't belong?

Let's say you have a character who is a teacher. Does she come home exhausted every day, eager to lose herself in a little Jane Austen and a glass of wine? Then you'd better not make her the life of the party at her sister's wedding. But that scene is critical to your story, you say. Easy fix – she becomes more dynamic in the classroom, maybe offering after-school tutoring or mentoring a club.

How do you create characters that are alien to you? What are your strategies?

WTF

Sheesh, get your mind out of the gutter. Of course I would never say that. WTF stands for Write the Funny.

I think I'm a funny person. I come up with a zinger or two from time to time. I'd love to be able to add some humor to my novels, but I find I just can't do it on purpose. So, I did a little research to find some tips on how to write humor.

The Set-Up. The set-up can be as important as the punchline. Sometimes it isn't directly stated. It's better if it's implied, but sometimes an explicit set-up is essential for clarity.

Surprise. The punchline should be the very last word of the joke. You want to hide the surprise until the very end. The more surprising and unexpected, the funnier the joke.

The Twist. Good humor often has a twist at the end.

Relationships. Relationships and connections are key to every joke. Pay attention to how things are the same and different. Look for positive and negative connections.

Life Experiences. Some of the funniest moments can come from real life. For example: My son did an experiment to see if the Tooth Fairy is real. He had his tooth under his pillow for four days without telling anyone.

Go Beyond Ordinary. Exaggeration and extrapolation can take you to a funny place.

Word Play. Also known as the double entendre. Play with different meanings of words.

Spelling. Similarly, you can swap homonyms to create a new, humorous meaning.

You tell me. What cracks you up?

Tips for Writers

Random tips, in no particular order:

1. Create a writing ritual. Mothers know how important it is to create a bedtime routine to help their children calm down and prepare to sleep. Likewise, a writing ritual can tell your muse it is time to write. A writing ritual could include lighting a candle, putting on some music, taking a few deep breaths, and repeating some affirmations.

2. Write a brief synopsis of your story from each character's point of view. Write as if your minor character is the main character of the story. This gives you a better idea of who all your characters are and what they want.

3. If you're struggling to deepen POV, write the scene in first-person first. Then change it to third-person, keeping much of the inner dialogue.

4. Delete every adjective and adverb in your novel. But make sure you save a copy first. This will force you to show instead of tell, and you will find out if your adjective is really necessary.

5. Pay attention to the lyrics of your favorite music. Lyrics are half-way between poetry and prose. Many songwriters find unique and descriptive ways to convey their meaning. It's a great way to understand metaphors.

6. Learn to write with distractions. Don't wait for the perfect circumstances to write. Smart parents know their new babies will learn to sleep even while the rest of the family goes about their business. Writers can train their muses to get to work in the same way.

7. But set boundaries. Don't answer the phone or check your e-mail. Have a code so your family knows not to interrupt if you're in the middle of an important scene, like raise your hand and have them sit and wait until you give them the go-ahead.

8. Write crap. Seriously, not every word has to be a masterpiece. Sometimes you just have to get a scene down on paper. Use place setters to keep it moving, like “neighbor girl, or “car” or “guard 1.” You can, should, and will go back and fix it later.

9. Experiment with your approach to writing. Like to write by the seat of your pants (aka “pantser”)? Try outlining your story. Love, love, love to outline? Run with it for a change and let your imagination go wherever it wants. You may discover that a combination of the two is right for you.

10. Do creative things that have nothing to do with writing. Cook, paint, sing, create something crafty. Knit, crochet, or sew something pretty. Press flowers, garden, create a collage.

What about you? What writing tips have been the most helpful to you?

Links, Links, Links!

I'm a giver.  I like to share.  So, here are some fantastic little helpers I have found over time.

Dr. Wicked's Write or Die.  Dr. Wicked is great for those first drafts where you just need to spit it out on the page.  He forces me to turn off the inner editor and just keep the words flowing.  I like to choose the Gentle and Forgiving setting, because it reminds me to be gentle and forgiving of my writing.

750 Words.  750 words sends you an e-mail reminder to do your writing and gives you a place online to write and track your progress.  I use it when I want to give my inner editor a little more freedom and I want to take my time crafting my words.

Edit Minion.  This is also from Dr. Wicked and is nice for a first pass through a piece.  It highlights my lazy writing -- adverbs, dialogue tags. and overused "placesetter" words.

The Bookshelf Muses's Emotion Thesaurus. Show, don't tell.  Show, don't tell.  How many times have you heard that advice?  This emotion thesaurus helps you do that.  Is you character angry?  Then I imagine his nostrils will flare and he'll clench his fists and a vein will bulge from his neck.  Maybe she's frustrated.  Then she might grit her teeth or throw her hands up.  Lots of emotions, lots of options for each.

Descriptive Faces.  Another site to help you show, don't tell.  Charity Bradford shares descriptions of eyes, lips, noses, hair, body types, and expressions.

You know I love writing flash fiction, and you're thinking you'd like to give it a try.  Write Anything has a weekly flash fiction prompt.  If the prompt du jour doesn't thrill you, you can also try WritingFix's prompt generator and keep clicking until something clicks.  Adam Maxwell's Writing Lounge also provides a nice prompt generator.

52 Projects.  Finally, we all need to find ways to recharge our creative energy.  52 Projects lists ... well, 52 projects that you can do to give yourself a boost.  If you're a fan of Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way (and I am! I am!), then these are perfect for a weekly artist date.

For more helpful links, visit my Toolbox right up there just under the title of my blog.  Or just click on the handy link I just provided you.

Do you have any wonderful tools that you use?  Let me know, I'd love to add them to my Toolbox!

Excuses

1. My muse is on strike for more chocolate.
2. I'm letting my ideas simmer.
3. The dog ate my... um... computer?
4. It's that time of the month.
5. My kids have the week off from school. What kind of mom would I be if I ignored them all day?
6. I'm not goofing around on Facebook and Twitter. I'm marketing.
7. I'm exercising my right as a temperamental artist to be difficult, petulant, and rebellious.
8. My characters stopped talking to me.
9. Um, research – yeah, that's it, I'm doing research.
10. Ooooh, shiny!

Lessons Learned

Participating in the "Hone Your Skills" blogfest was an interesting and eye-opening experience for me.  Most of my work is off-the-cuff, impromptu writing.  In fact, the rules for Fiction Friday forbid editing.  I love it, because you have to turn your Inner Editor off, and it helps my creativity flow better.  I feel like I can go wherever my muse takes me, and if it's not perfect, that's OK, it's not supposed to be.

But "Honing Your Skills" implies revisions.  And quite frankly, I don't have a lot of experience with that.  Inviting people to critique my work was very helpful but nerve-wracking as well.  Here are the things that I learned.

1.  I use a lot of "place setters."  I know where I want to go with a story, and I'm impatient to get there, so I have a tendency to use a generic word to hold my place while I move on to the good stuff.  I figure I can always go back and prettify it later.

2.  Related to that, I'm not specific enough with my nouns.  A room is really a makeshift laboratory in the basement.  A gun is a Glock, Berretta or Ruger.  Flowers are sweet-scented roses or little purple pansies.  I know that in my mind, but I need to get in the habit of sharing that with my readers.

3.  Especially since I write flash fiction, I can cut a lot of unnecessary action.  Sometimes less is more.  I don't need to detail every turn down a maze of corridors or every step taken to exit a car and enter a building.  I need to learn to give less attention to unimportant elements so the important events get center stage.

4.  I'm not as tough as I like to think I am.  I found myself alternately embarrassed ("I can't believe I missed that") and defensive ("But if I change that, I'll give too much away").  I admit to feeling a little cranky and doubting my writing ability.

In the end, all the critiques I received have helped me tremendously.  The final story is much sharper, clearer, and better.  It has a much better chance of being accepted for publication by going through the process.  So, thank you Charity and Rosie, it was a great experience!  If I can grow a thicker hide, I'd love to participate again.

Enough Is Enough Already

I've discovered that not writing is much harder than writing.  I'm focusing my energy on my move, but my stories, all of them, keep dancing in my head, vying for attention.  My fingers itch.  And so, to calm the writer me, I have been reading books on the craft at night before bed.

Just last night, I was reading Orson Scott Card's Characters & Viewpoint.  In his chapter How to Raise Emotional Stakes, he talks about how slasher movies have raised the stakes so far that they've become laughable.  Today, I saw another example of going too far.

I caught the end of an episode of CSI.  I recognized that the writers were trying to raise the stakes -- one up themselves from previous episodes.  I realized how draining that must be with such a long-running series.  The outcome was truly laughable.  The forensics have now advanced to where they could get a voice recording from a clay vase, like a gramophone (really?).  Even the highly technical explanation couldn't shake the "no way" factor for me.  Also, the killer was a mother in an incestuous relationship with her mentally ill son who was having a homosexual relationship with another mental patient.  Again, really?

Sensationalism is no excuse for emotional resonance, the holy grail of good writing.  But, thanks, CSI for giving me a great illustration of Card's point.  It's not something I'm likely to forget.

The Perfect Story

It's sooooo good!  My main character is interesting and strong, with deep convictions that help move the story along.  I have a wonderful love interest for him.  She's gentle and caring as well as beautiful, although not in a traditional way, of course.  They are thrown together by their work, which they are both deeply committed to, although they see it differently.  I have great action, an incredible build to a heart-wrenching climax and a denouement sure to leave my readers in tears.  I have a theme that runs through the whole story that will keep my readers pondering for days after they've finished the story.  It's perfect!

And it's all in my head.  I haven't had the chance to write any flaws into the story yet.  I haven't stumbled over an important scene, a critical introduction, or a subtly placed symbol.  I have my three building blocks -- my three flash fiction pieces -- but everything else is beautifully, perfectly dancing in my head.

This is where writer's block comes in for me.  This is the moment when I am paralyzed by fear, because once I start writing, my perfect story won't be perfect anymore.  It will be flawed.

I need to remind myself that that is a good thing.  There is so much beauty in imperfection.  The imperfect is much more interesting than the perfect.  And if I were able to create a perfect story, where would I be found in such a thing?

No, I'm certain that I prefer a story with my own imperfect, flawed voice ringing through it.