April Fool Update

Foolin' around

I'm an April Fool. April Fools is a writing challenge not unlike NaNoWriMo except that you set your own goal. Mine's 15,000 words for the month of April. 500 words a day, and I'm behind already. LOL

Just finished reading Gods In Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson. It's a gem. Joshilyn has a fresh voice and the story line is unique and engrossing. She has a way of making the reader root for a vulnerable character. I'm so glad her next book is out, Between, Georgia, because I crave to read more from her. I read an exerpt of the first chapter and it looks great too.

Desert Rat made a good point in the comments of my last post. Time to start focusing on reasons to write, not excuses not to. Thx DR.

Have you read any great books lately?

Friday's Excuse Not To Write

Reprinted with permission from 101 Excuses Not to Write.

Oh, and the other excuse is spending time with my convalescing kitty (who's coming around remarkably)! Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts, my friends!

Happiest Woman Alive

Those who know me know how much my pets mean to me. Well, I apologize for not being around much this past while, but my kitty, Cairo, has been very sick. In fact, I thought I was going to have to put him down this morning, but he showed signs of improvement over the weekend, so he's coming home.


Long story short, we thought his liver failed because he was unable to metabolize the drugs he had for an operation for bladder stones. He showed no sign of improvement last week so the vet and I decided to just wait out the weekend and see. One of the technicians at the clinic actually took him home to watch him (way above and beyond the call of duty, I might add). So, when the call came this morning, I said to the vet, "Please tell me you have good news."

"I do," he said.


I am so happy. Welcome home, Cairo.

Thank you to everyone at the Morningside Animal Clinic.

I, uh, write fiction

Rene had an interesting post about her secret identity—being a writer—the other day. She came up with some good reasons why writers might avoid telling people about their writing. At the same time, she understands why people might not take her writing seriously, “because they have no idea how important it is to me.” She says, “I can't expect people to appreciate my being a writer until I appreciate it myself.”

I suppose I’m lucky in that I write for a living, so I have no issue with calling myself a writer. However, I do hold back about my fiction writing except to those closest to me. I remember how I hated telling people I was a waitress back in the days. I’d tell them I was in “public service.” So, when the opportunity came up to call myself anything but, I took it. Now I’m working on the novelist part.

Chrys, in her post ‘Own It,’ talks about how calling herself a writer was a freeing experience. She says, “You ARE a writer. Don't dismiss it. Don't shove it under the rug. Own it. Because it's who you are. No matter if you publish or not. No matter if no one but you ever reads your work. You. Are. A. Writer. OWN IT!” (God luv ya Chrys)

LINKS
I should add that I have no problem calling myself a linker so, true to form, I’ve come up with some links to help us declare our truth!

Mark Pettus, of The Bluff, had a good post, Strike three. Are you out?, last year.

Judy Reeves says, “Until your call yourself a writer, you will never be a writer who writes—and keeps writing!” In the article, an excerpt from her book, Writing Alone, Writing Together, she says,

How do you claim yourself as writer? First, say it. “I'm a writer.” Say it out
loud. Say it to yourself in the mirror. Say it to your friends and family. Say
it to the next person you meet at a party who asks, “What do you do?” Say it to
a stranger in line at the grocery store. Say it to your mother. Mostly, say it
to yourself: “I'm a writer.”

What Makes You Think You Can Write? by Debra Koontz Traverso discusses the top ten doubts writers have.

Becoming a Writer Is Not a Choice by Beth Mende Conny talks about why we must write. (By the way, this site has more awesome articles.)

Liz Strauss, in her blog post, Are You a Writer? 7 Traits that Writers Have in Common, has a list you can check yourself against. A couple items from the list:

• Writers often start out feeling like an imposter. The message we’re told is that the writing is strong and compelling, or well on its way, but we think the messenger could be mistaken.
• Every writer is in a self-actualizing process. Writing is an apprenticeship. A writer is always becoming a writer.
• Nothing in life can prepare you to be a writer, except everything in your life.

What advice would you give to writers who don’t ‘own it’ yet?

Well hello Lajos

Perhaps I live in a vacuum but, I, writing article addict, had not heard of Lajos Egri before yesterday. I stumbled across Notes on Lajos Egri’s Art of Creative Writing on Dark Cloud Press' website. Incredible.

Egri has some fundamental beliefs about creative writing which include:

"Every type of creative writing depends on the credibility of a character. Whatever a character does or says, he does or says for only two reasons:
1. To create sympathy for himself.
2. To show how important he is."

Every story needs a premise. "The premise is the seed from which the story grows. It is a thumbnail synopsis of the story you want to write."

"Desire is a mild word for the strongest motivation there is. Self-preservation is the second."

"Insecurity is the basic law of existence. All human emotions, good or evil, without exception, spring from this one eternal source."

"To create an original story, pick one individual with and outstanding trait. This person may embody all other virtues in existence, but they have one trait that makes them loveable or intolerable to live with. This character will totally possess one trait – one trait that is 100%. A compulsive trait. If you’re writing about a self-centered man, don’t make him just a little self-centered. Make his universe revolve around him alone."

Lots more. Go read the notes. I'm going to buy the book.

Sabotage and subterfuge

I often despair about having no time to write, but I know it’s all a state of mind. I’m definitely one of those who enjoy “having written.”

One form of procrastination I partake in is taking on new projects such as freelance writing assignments and joining committees at my local United Way. I get so excited about them and they’re fun and satisfying, but they end up taking away the precious personal time I should be dedicating to my passion of writing fiction. I’m just a dichotomy of commitment and over-extension. The commitment side is the protagonist who loves writing and works hard towards hopefully being a published novelist one day. Then there’s the other side, the antagonist cajoling me, “You can do it. Take on more. Say yes.” He always makes me feel like I can do it all.

Well, I finally put my foot down. I’ve resigned from the UW and my most recent freelancing project. It was hard and I felt guilty, but it’s time for me to learn to say no and pay attention to MY list of priorities.

What subtle techniques do you use to avoid writing? What do you do to beat them?

"a masterpiece of organized chaos"

You think you're a plotter?

Check out Will Self's office - click here. (Then click on photo to see next photo.)

Warning: these photos are intended for mature writers only.

Friday's Excuse Not To Write

Reprinted with permission from 101 Excuses Not to Write.
What do you do to keep yourself motivated with your writing?

On using dialogue

As a follow-up to my post about dialogue tags, I thought I would offer some links on how to write dialogue. What I found interesting in my research is that what characters say is important, but so is what they don't say. In addition, body language is a very important part of communication -- which lends itself well to avoiding the use of tags.

When writing dialogue, remember this:

Studies have shown that, in a face-to-face interaction, 58 percent of communication is through body language, 35 percent through how it was said, and a mere seven percent through the content of the message.

In addition, how well do your characters listen? Do they always understand the true meaning behind what's being said? Dialogue, and the interaction that surrounds it, can be a great tool to show your character's goals and characteristics as well as a tool to help you manipulate your story.

Here are some links:
Holly Lisle's Dialogue Workshop
Dialogue Tips
Special Tips On Dialogue For The Romance Writer
How To Improve Your Dialogue
Dialogue: The best action
Dazzling Dialogue Tips
Writing Dialogue - Part One
Writing Dialogue - Part Two
Writing Good Dialogue
Ten Tips for Writing Dialogue
Punctuating Dialogue
Writers' Toolkit - Dialogue
Writing Effective Dialogue
"Good Dialogue," the Editor Said.
Tension In Dialogue
12 Exercises for Improving Dialogue

Romance Novel TV

Okay, this is just too much fun.

Romance Novel TV

Dialogue tags NOT to use

Writing advice on dialogue often tells us to use only the word 'said' as a dialogue tag. They seldom tell us what words not to use. Here are words NOT to use as dialogue tags:

Acknowledged
Added
Admitted
Advised
Agreed
Announced
Answered
Approved
Argued

Asserted
Assumed
Assured
Asked
Babbled
Bargained
Began

Bellowed
Boasted
Bragged
Called
Claimed
Commanded
Commented
Complained
Cried
Decided

Declared
Demanded
Denied
Described
Dictated
Emphasized
Estimated
Exclaimed
Explained
Expressed
Feared
Giggled
Grinned
Grunted

Howled
Indicated
Insisted
Instructed
Laughed
Lectured
Lied
Mentioned
Moaned
Mumbled
Murmured
Nagged
Noted
Notified
Objected
Observed
Ordered
Pleaded
Pointed out
Prayed
Predicted
Questioned
Reassured
Related
Repeated
Replied
Responded
Requested
Restated
Revealed
Roared
Ruled
Scolded
Screamed
Shouted
Shrieked
Snapped
Sneered
Sobbed
Spoke
Sputtered
Stammered
Stated
Stormed
Suggested
Taunted
Thought
Told
Urged
Uttered
Vented
Vocalized
Voiced
Vowed
Wailed
Warned
Whispered

Got more?

How to Write a Book

How to Write a Book in Three Easy Steps

CLICK HERE

I command thee... I mean me

Gretchen Rubin over at The Happiness Project has made a list of 12 commandments for herself. I think that’s a great idea. I especially like her first one, ‘Be Gretchen.’ I think I’ll steal it for my own commandments (as well as a couple of others that are perfect for me).

Nienke's 10 Commandments

1. Be Nienke
2. Do it now
3. Do not let emotions rule me
4. Write every day (of course, what do you expect on a blog called The Writing Life?)
5. Stand up for myself
6. Believe in myself
7. Enjoy life – every day and every moment
8. Don’t take things personally
9. Do something nice for myself every day
10. Don’t betray myself

What would be on your list?
What would be on your protagonist's list?

Friday's Excuse Not To Write

Reprinted with permission from 101 Excuses Not to Write.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated with your writing?

And, since you're not writing, why not check out online writing magazine, Vision?

Monday is business in your bathrobe day

Meet Spice Author Jina Bacarr, author of The Blonde Geisha and Naughty Paris:



http://www.businessinyourbathrobeday.com/
http://www.webmomz.com/

Humpday Hunk

Sean Patrick Flanery

Powder is one of my favorite movies. But, really folks, can this be the same guy that played Powder??? To boot, he's credited with more than 66 shows and films! No actor's block there.

Speaking of blockages, check out this post on hacks for writing.

Me

Close the book

When a book is not being read, it should be closed.




(That's my Cairo BTW)

Isn't it romantic?

Understanding human behavior - especially how it relates to love and romance - is important for the romance novelist. Here are some links so you can avoid real writing...

"Romance novels also can provide opportunities for learning about adult loving relationships," says Dr. Bill Emener on his blog, Dr. Bill's Harley Wisdom. Emener has been a licensed psychologist for 33 years and is the author of self-help book Adult Loving Relationships, and romance novels Fear of Feeling Loved and My Sweetpea: Seven Years and Seven Days.

In his post, Emener talks about three distinct stages of adult loving relationships and how they relate to real life as well as romance novels. Check it out.

John Bowlby believed psychoanalytic view that early experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behavior later in life. Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship. In addition to this, Bowlby believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in survival. He devoted extensive research to the concept of attachment and came up with his own theory, which you can find here. Click here for more on Bowlby's Attachment Theory.

The people we're most attracted to are those who have a blueprint that complements our own. We're looking for similarities of experience but, more significantly, we're also looking for differences. Read more about the Unconscious Fit.

How to be romantic.

Romance 101 includes articles on Manhood, Murphys Laws On Sex, and Intimacy (short, but makes a good point for writers).

What about you? Got any tips on romance?

Furry Babies

Thought I'd post some pictures of my furry baby collection. Just because.

This is my australian cattle dog/hound mix, Piffy (short for Epiphany). She's 7. We got her from a border collie rescue mission that saved her from euthanasia when she was 2. She had been stray before that and was very, very skinny. She's not so skinny anymore.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you may remember we adopted an abandoned cat in July. This is Cairo. He's just over a year now.

Another picture of Cairo.

This is Suki, another abandoned kitty we took in during October. He was 10 weeks then, so he's about 5 or 6 months old now. He is so soft and cuddly. He's also gained about 10 pounds since then.

Another Suki post (this one's older from November when he was still closer to 2 pounds).

Who else has pictures posted of their furry babies? Share your link so I can check them out.

Inner Conflict

So, I’ve done some research to try and understand the concept of inner conflict a little better. My main issue was whether or not you could – or should – have inner conflict independently of external conflict. It seems the two are more intertwined than I thought. Which, BTW, will make writing a little easier for me.

The Ottawa-Carlton District School Board English 4U Student Handbook says, “Inner conflict refers to emotional or analytical struggles a character has due to his values, his role in society, or the company he finds himself with. For example, Willy Loman cannot emotionally ignore his failure as a breadwinner, failure as a faithful husband, and his failure to bring up decent sons.”

Redchurch says, “The best advice I've read says that where you can, try to link the inner conflict with the external and interpersonal conflicts.” He also says, “Someone being forced to compromise their values of honesty is an inner conflict. But, it is externalized if they are forced to confront a corrupt police force, for example. Their inner conflict is smacking right up against something going on in the world. If it's just their inner conflict by itself, it's not as powerful as when some external factor or force creates conflict based around the character's inner values.”

Mary Casanova says, “We all struggle. We carry around inner conflict in the private places of our hearts where we search for our identity; we struggle with ego, pride, and jealousy; we cry out for love and yearn to be heard; and we try to listen to the small, still voice of God. The heart is a place of darkness and light, often in conflict with itself. It is from the heart that conflict originates and resolution emerges, and in the heart that change and personal growth occur.”

Caro Clarke says, “Conflict is opposing desires, mismatches, uncertainty, deadlines, pressures, incompatible goals, uneasiness, tension. We are all caught up in some of these conflicts every day. And, so should your characters. A convincing story has many conflicts built into it, layered and connected. The first layer is inside your characters. Once you know what these are, you can use them to make the conflicts between the characters more convincing and interesting.

“A character's inner conflict is not just being in two minds about something, not just being torn between obvious incompatibles (“I want to be a priest, and yet I love her”) but is about being in a new situation where old attitudes and habits war with and hinder the need for change. For instance, a man who drives himself to succeed because he doesn't want to be like his happy-go-lucky father is suddenly confronted with a situation where he isn't winning. Or an executive discovers that her ambition to be vice president of her company is being thwarted by her own self-doubt. This war inside each of your characters makes them act and react in complex ways.

“You show these internal conflicts not by means of internal dialogue (which is a cop-out and is dull), but by showing your characters responding to their own inner compulsions. She, for instance, decides to confront her own self-doubts by taking on a no-win project where the local people are opposing a development. She is determined to be hard-nosed, prove she's vice-president material. He is always confrontational, fearing that one minute of negotiation would be the first step to becoming a wimp like his father. You have a grade-A opposites-attract situation here, yet it is believable because we understand why each of them is acting the way they do, why they are foolishly stubborn, by it's important for each of them to win.

“A character's inner conflict can be between what he thinks he wants and what he really wants… Conflict must always be resolved, and every layer you create needs its closure. A satisfying and economical way of achieving this is to use one big knot to close two or more conflicts together in the same action or in a double whammy, where one leads ineluctably to the next.”

Finally, Michael Hauge says, “WHAT IS YOUR HERO'S DESIRE? What compelling goal does your hero HAVE to accomplish by the end of the movie, and why does he desperately want that? The answer to these questions will define your story concept, propel the plot forward, give the reader a specific outcome to root for and lead you deeper into the inner motivations of your character.

“WHAT TERRIFIES YOUR HERO? On the plot level, this question will force you to determine which obstacles the hero must face to achieve his objective -- what's at stake for him, what's he up against and which conflicts will give the story its necessary emotion? And on the level of character growth and theme, your hero's emotional fear will reveal his inner conflict: the wounds from his past, the identity he clings to, the risks he is desperate to avoid and the arc the story will lead him through as he finds his necessary emotional courage.”

Thanks everyone, for your comments, which basically said: “Just write already!” So, off I go.

Image courtesy of Magdalene Gluszek.

Help!

I've been working on my WIP and, while I write, I'm not concentrating at all times on my characters' goals, motivations, and conflicts. Is this something for the second draft? Should I plot more extensively before I write?

Also, what is your definition of inner conflict (vs. external conflict) and can you give me an example?

Thx guys.

a lotta linky fun

IMHO, these are worth checking out...

Storybase.net
The Paris Review - Interviews
Novel in 90 Days (LiveJournal group)
Whole Writing (redchurch - I think you'll like this one)
Angela Booth's Top Ten Writing Tips To Help You To Write More
POWER POPP! - dedicated to helping people realize their dreams. Success lies in wait for those who plan, organize, pursue, and persist.
Poynter Online Ten Paradoxes of the Writing Life

Okay, that's enough. Get back to work.

Friday's Excuse Not To Write

Reprinted with permission from 101 Excuses Not to Write.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated with your writing?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

Every year, I make a list of all aspects of my life and how I want to improve them. I've written about this before, and every year the list includes writing more.

I've learned a lot about myself as a writer this past year, so now it's a matter of putting a plan into place. Like my most recent post addresses, right now I'm learning about structured writing processes versus organic writing. This issue is not unlike plotters versus pantsers. I thought I was a total plotter, but my recent experience with a story that had to come out has make me rethink my whole strategy. For me, what it comes down to is finding what will make me want to keep writing. I still think plotting is important, but perhaps my Virgo side took over and I need to learn to relax a little. The bottom line: GET THE FIRST DRAFT DONE ALREADY.

So, my writing goal? To get the first draft done. I'll be setting a deadline and plan of action and try to keep away from my incessant desire to research, plot, and build story lines.

On another note, I watched some of the Rocky movies yesterday. One channel had a marathon featuring Rocky I to V. Every time I watch these movies, I am so impressed with the writing (by Sylvester Stallone). True, the plot is simple, but Stallone does a great job in creating characters with desires and needs, plotting, and remembering the audience can figure things out for themselves. I find his writing almost textbook well done. And, with each movie, he develops his characters further. So now I'm dying to see the newest installment, Rocky Balboa. I've heard it's pretty good... anyone seen it yet?

So, my questions to you: Any writing resolutions? Did you like Rocky Balboa and why?

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?

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.

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!

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

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?