Thursday, December 28, 2006

Muse - full speed ahead

During a fitfull sleep the other night, I kept dreaming the story of a girl named Lacy. I kept waking up, even to the point of reading for a while, but every time I fell asleep, I returned to Lacy's story. I suppose it's a love story because she tells me about her relationship with Ned Stevens - how she met him, how she feels about him, etc.

What was interesting to me, was the story was told as a story, to the point of the actual opening sentence and so forth. Every detail was rich to the specks of dust, smells, sounds, feelings. When morning rolled around I had no choice but to get up and get the story out of my brain and on paper (virtual paper, that is). I wrote it as it came to me, with the understanding that it would need editing later to remove some of the surreal dream aspects.

I discussed it with Melly and told her how good it felt to have the need to write back. The book I've been working on was created consciously, with the goal of a certain Harlequin line in mind. Once I get going on it, it flows, but the process is just that... a process.

Writing the story that came to me unconsciously is effortless. I'm curious what experience you've had with this. Do your stories come naturally or are they forced? Do you think one method is better than another? Do we need to work with both in order to be productive?

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Characters - real or fictional?

Okay, so anyone who knows me a bit, knows how concerned I am about my characters being real and 3-D. I don't like one-dimensional characters, I like development, I like character driven books (although I have been know to be an Asimov fan, so go figure...).

In any event, lately, I decided my antagonist needed a little change in character to make him more interesting. You see, despite the interesting bits I tried to inject to his character, at the end of the day, I felt he was predictable.

So I made him do something out of character. Being the selfish, self-centered, control freak that he is, I made him do a selfless act.

I discussed this with a buddy who said that while in real life, this would probably never happen as we do tend to stay in character, in fiction it is necessary. Fictional characters, he said, should act totally against their nature as it adds more depth to them and it makes for great drama.

So it's a funny thing. I keep wanting to have "real characters," yet to make them real, they have to be fictional. I like this.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Fugitive found a home

Hi everybody .... it's Melly

After Nienke's last post, I fear the news might disappoint...
You see, my own blog was suffering neglect of late. So following the sad state of my blog, Nienke offered me a refuge here, in her corner.

Let me tell you, this is the best solution I could come up with. I can actually stay within the community of writer-bloggers I've grown to know over the past year (or so). I can't believe how kind (and smart) Nienke is. I'm forever indebted to her.

I'm really excited about this and can't wait to "meet" all of Nienke's friends I don't know yet.

So to many more posts and collaborations.

Thanks for having me Nienke and everybody :)

Exciting news

I have some exciting news about this blog... I just can't tell you yet. However, there will be some significant changes and I think many readers will be pleased.

Stay tuned folks!

Monday, December 11, 2006

Ready for Christmas?

As illustrated by my dwindling posts, I am busy with Christmas and wrapping up year end deadlines at work. I'm actually ahead of the game in terms of shopping... I often leave most of it till the last minute. I'm also in the spirit this year, which feels nice. You ready for Christmas?

Christmas Shopping
"In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'" ~ Dave Barry

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?
Claustrophobic.

Play Evil Elves

Friday, December 01, 2006

NaNoWriMo - what I've learned

CONGRATULATIONS to those who made 50k during November! You ROCK!

I didn't make the finish line for NaNoWriMo. However, it was very successful for me and I've learned much.

Here are some of the things I've learned:
1. Any writing is better than no writing.
2. I can find time to write.
3. I get gut rot from too much coffee.
4. Writing 50,000 words in one month is hard!
5. Once I get into the groove of my story, and I write regularly, the story stays with me and I think about it all the time.
6. First drafts can, and usually do, suck.
7. You can't rewrite or improve a blank page.
8. It's fun to watch word count go up.
9. (one I already knew) The online writing community is very supportive. Thank you - you know who you are.
10. Hey, maybe I CAN write a book!!

What have you learned?