Lending an Ear to My Characters, Another NaNoWriMo Lesson

November 8, 2012 by

One of the motto’s of NaNoWriMo is “No Plot, No Problem.”

The idea being that one should turn off the internal editor, ignore the rules and guidelines and just create. Let the wheels turn and let the story grow organically.  November is for writing. December is for editing.

This isn’t too far off from my normal plan of action, as I usually right by the seat of my pants — though I usually know a few plot points along the way. What I’ve learned about this process — and was reminded of again yesterday — is that you need to listen to what your characters are telling you. Or that voice in your gut that says “Something is just not right here.”

I have been having a difficult time wrapping up my current work in progress. Over the last week and a half I’ve been writing and rewriting the last few scenes to this book, looking forward to being done with the rough draft and getting into the process of polishing.

But my hero wasn’t having any part of it.

In fact, he’s been quite vocal, via that voice in my gut, saying that it just wasn’t right. Today, I figured out why. I wasn’t staying true to his character.

Once I realized that and got back to his core, the words started flowing. Hopefully, I’m on the right track now and this rough draft will be finished this week.

Filed Under: Fairyproof, Fiction, NaNoWriMo Tagged With: , , ,

What If … I’m Jaded?

October 5, 2011 by

I’m a “what if” kind of writer. My ideas for the books I write come to me in question form: “What if…?”

That simple question, leads to more questions, of course. Those answers become plot points. The ‘what ifs’ are inspired from many things: song lyrics, news items, and even things I experience in my everyday life.  But lately I’ve noticed a new trend.

The answers to those what if scenarios have become very dark.

Not always the best course of action for a romance writer.

An interesting story requires twists and turns, heartbreak and heartache, but even my premises have taken a darker turn lately. Leaving me with another all important question.

Am I becoming jaded?

Have I developed a hard, crusty edge that doesn’t allow me to see the rainbow through the rain?

Since I’m still able to develop a happily-ever-after, I’m self diagnosing myself as not-quite-jaded-yet. In actuality, I’ve never been a light and fluffy writer and I think I’m just getting more comfortable with my darker toned voice.

How would you describe your voice?

 

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: , , , ,

…Like Making a Stew

September 27, 2010 by

Every September my RWA chapter, MVRWA, holds our annual brainstorming retreat.  Aside from being a weekend away from home with brilliant, creative people, it’s time to laugh, eat more than we should, and — of course — help each other brainstorm our novels for the coming year(s).

I know this isn’t the first time someone has compared writing to some other activity, and probably not the first the time a cooking analogy has been used either, but one of the lessons I learned this weekend was that writing (or at the very least brainstorming) is like making a stew. All sorts of ingredients have to meld together and it all has to simmer a bit before you know just what you have.

Your story’s plot, sort of like the stew’s recipe, will be the road map to your finished product.

For those like me — a pantster by nature — you might  think brainstorming would not be very helpful, but it is.  Coincidentally, I take a similar approach when I cook.  I read through the ingredient list, and if it has something I don’t like (peas for example) I just leave it off or replace it with something comparable that I do like. .Even as I stare at the list of ideas tossed out at me for my new WIP, I can see what plot-points are definitely something that needs to be worked in, what has possibility, and what is the equivalent of peas.

Have you ever tasted a work-in-progress stew and felt like something was missing? Some salt? Fresh basil maybe? As writers, we feel that way about our plot lines too. Brainstorming, whether it’s with yourself and a pad of paper or a group of fellow writers, can help you figure out just what that missing ingredient is.

Filed Under: Life, Writing Life Tagged With: , ,

Nearing The End

July 7, 2010 by

With only three weeks left until RWA National Convention, I’m working hard to meet my goal: to finish my latest project before I leave for Orlando.  With about sixty pages left (And probably thirty or so pages in additional scenes to write) I can definitely see the end in site.

Though, I think I’ve done a good job of tightening up the middle and combating any “sagginess” I am coming up on my favorite part of this story — and really any story — the end.  The apex has been reached, and the characters are sliding into what will hopefully be an emotionally satisfying ending.  It can also be bittersweet, knowing my time left to form these characters and their stories is nearing the end. It will soon be time to send them out into the world and move on to something new.

And even though I must admit a preference to crafting a new tale, there is something satisfying about the editing process. Rounding out the rough edges and polishing up the lackluster words is very much a part of the process — it is the real work of the craft.

It’s in this draft that I can really give dimension to the my characters too. Since I am a seat-of-the-pants writer, sometimes I’m only see sketches of the characters in the beginning.  It’s only when I hit the mid-point of my rough draft do they become like old friends. Sometimes it’s not until the two-thirds point that completely understand the motivations for all their actions. So, it in the rewrite — or second draft — stage that I can take what I’ve learned and apply it to the first half of the book, giving it a depth that is often missing in the first draft.

It is also where I can sprinkle in foreshadowing and bits of teasing.

When I hit those mystic words this time, I will not be completely done. I will then set the book aside for about four weeks while I work on a synopsis and query letter and then begin fine tuning the idea — maybe even writing — the next book. After four weeks, I will read the book again from beginning to end, hopefully not finding too much to fix. And then I’ll begin the querying process and hope to achieve the next step — the sale.

Filed Under: Fiction, Writing Life Tagged With: , , ,

Monday Musings: Writing it Longhand

January 25, 2010 by

So,at the end of last week I hit one of those walls. Even though I was closing in on the end of my draft, things stopped feeling right. It wasn’t that what I’d written was bad. Some of it showed real promise, but not for this particular journey or this moment in time.

I spent a good day arguing with that little voice in my head.  You know the whiny one that realizes going back, means throwing away about thirty pages. The one that’s afraid that what I’ll write the second time around is even ‘more wrong’ that what is already on the page. She tried to bribe the side of me that knew the truth with chocolate, encouraged her to keep going with the ‘shitty first draft’ ’till we hit those magical words the end, and then reevaluate.  Under normal circumstance I’d do just that, but this was one of those moments when I just knew I’d made a wrong turn. Going forward was only going to get me further lost.

As a safety net, I picked up a yellow legal pad and one of my purple pens and nestled in a cozy chair. If I just experiment with a few ideas, without hitting the magic delete button in my file, I could play with some scenarios without throwing away the old ones. If I didn’t come up with anything really good. I could start just moving forward  today.

But it didn’t take more than about 30 seconds to remember a truth I’d forgotten. Putting a pen to paper (at least for me) opens up something. It’s more intimate than typing at a keyboard. Slower–yes–and maybe it’s that forcing the brain to slow down a bit that helps spark new life. About 90 seconds after that realization, I found the new path. The right path. Today, I hit delete. (Okay, not really. I cut out the old text and paste it into a file labeled cut and save it for awhile, just in case).  Today I move forward on the right path.

Filed Under: Writing Life Tagged With: , , ,