Writing is my life right now. Meeting with the critique group every two weeks helps me to establish a deadline. We made an agreement to submit the work at the current meeting to be critiqued at the next meeting. For example, while we talk about our critiques on Chapter 2 at the group (because we have all taken them home and critiqued them), we also have Chapter 3 for the group to take home and do their critiques. This all gives us plenty of time to critique and do our own writing. For the most part, this has been working well. However, we are all open and flexible to this rule for when a member cannot provide their piece at the meeting.
Sometimes I write like crazy, other times I make excuses about low motivation. The truth is that I like this system of writing a lot and then taking a day or two off. It seems to work for me, especially since I am revising right now. I have draft one completed of my novel, but it feels very disconnected and weak when it comes to characterization. This revision, along with the help of my critique cohorts, is bringing some depth to my characters and the story itself.
In my last entry, I touched upon my thirty-year class reunion. It is only a week away on September 5. I am excited, but also a little nervous. While I have gotten in touch with some classmates via Facebook, the truth is that I do not remember a whole lot from high school. I remember many of my classmates, especially those I went to grade school and high school with, but others I would not recognize if I passed them on the street. Thirty years is a long time! However, I find the class reunion to be a great opportunity to make some new friends and catch up on what others have been doing, and to share myself as well!
Well, time to write on my novel. Happy writing all!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Last week was the first time in my life that I have been home sick for an entire five days. In fact, I rarely get sick other than a cold or flu. Monday morning, I woke, fed the cats and dressed to go on my usual run. I pushed myself out the door, just as I had been doing for the last couple of weeks. Well, about halfway through my run, I started getting nauseated and ran out of energy. I ended up walking the rest of the way home. By 8:30, I was still feeling nauseated and not very well and called in ill to work. To make a long story short, I had a fever and nausea for most of the week, had no appetite whatsoever and slept a lot. On Tuesday, the doctor told me to try to fight off whatever it was with my own resources, but to pick up antibiotics if I was not remarkably better toward the end of the week. About six hours after taking my first dose of antibiotics on Thursday, I finally began to feel better. Now, I am not 100%, but I am on the mend.
During the week, writing was the last thing on my mind. I seriously thought I was going to die. Well, on Friday night, I could not get to sleep- I tossed and turned, read, had a small bowl of cereal. Nothing would lead me into that sweet slumber. Finally, I brought my laptop into my room and wrote on my novel. Once I let my characters come out and live their lives, I was finally able to get to sleep.
Now that I have made changed in the plot of my story, it is moving along quite well. My critique group likes it thus far. I no longer feel like I am trying to force the story, but that the story is now coming together on its own. My job is to make sure I sit down and write, and to write to the best of my ability. All I can say is that it is coming along.
The other thing on my plate is my upcoming class reunion. Thirty years. I told the reunion head that I would love to help find missing students. To be honest, I could not recall how many kids I graduated with and expected there might be 15 or 20 missing students. Well, there was around one hundred! (I now know our graduating class must have been over 200!) I did not know how I was going to do this, but I truly believe where there is a will, there is a way. The glass is always half full in any given circumstance. Finally, I discovered USSearch, an extensive public records database, was offering a seven-day free trial. I found addresses for 88 missing kids! Some addresses I'm sure of, others are as sure as I can get right now.
I feel well and blessed today. Happy writing all!
During the week, writing was the last thing on my mind. I seriously thought I was going to die. Well, on Friday night, I could not get to sleep- I tossed and turned, read, had a small bowl of cereal. Nothing would lead me into that sweet slumber. Finally, I brought my laptop into my room and wrote on my novel. Once I let my characters come out and live their lives, I was finally able to get to sleep.
Now that I have made changed in the plot of my story, it is moving along quite well. My critique group likes it thus far. I no longer feel like I am trying to force the story, but that the story is now coming together on its own. My job is to make sure I sit down and write, and to write to the best of my ability. All I can say is that it is coming along.
The other thing on my plate is my upcoming class reunion. Thirty years. I told the reunion head that I would love to help find missing students. To be honest, I could not recall how many kids I graduated with and expected there might be 15 or 20 missing students. Well, there was around one hundred! (I now know our graduating class must have been over 200!) I did not know how I was going to do this, but I truly believe where there is a will, there is a way. The glass is always half full in any given circumstance. Finally, I discovered USSearch, an extensive public records database, was offering a seven-day free trial. I found addresses for 88 missing kids! Some addresses I'm sure of, others are as sure as I can get right now.
I feel well and blessed today. Happy writing all!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Writing Experience
These last few weeks, I've been having some strange experiences that seem perfect for scenes in my writing. For example, a few weeks ago, I was taking a walk in my neighborhood when a little girl carrying a doll walked toward me and asked, "have you seen my mommy?"
I thought I heard wrong and said, "what did you say, honey?"
"Have you seen my mommy?"
I stood there looking down at this darling little six year old, not knowing what to do. I had never come across a lost child before. I didn't have my cell phone with me. Seconds later, the little girl walked past me. I turned to see her walking toward a young man who had just parked and gotten out of this truck. Luckily, the young man turned out to be her brother and the one she had been speaking too!
However, this experience was eerie for me, because my novel is about an adult male who finds out he was abducted when he was six , and his journey to finding himself. My protagonist also works as a missing children's investigator and is on the hunt for a little girl who has been abducted. Even though I have not gotten this scene on to paper yet, I know how it will be perfect for my novel.
Speaking of my novel, it is progressing well. Since becoming part of a critique group with others who are writing similar type novels, I have felt supported in my writing endeavors. I would encourage all writers to join a critique group.
Well, time to get back to work on my novel. Happy writing all!
I thought I heard wrong and said, "what did you say, honey?"
"Have you seen my mommy?"
I stood there looking down at this darling little six year old, not knowing what to do. I had never come across a lost child before. I didn't have my cell phone with me. Seconds later, the little girl walked past me. I turned to see her walking toward a young man who had just parked and gotten out of this truck. Luckily, the young man turned out to be her brother and the one she had been speaking too!
However, this experience was eerie for me, because my novel is about an adult male who finds out he was abducted when he was six , and his journey to finding himself. My protagonist also works as a missing children's investigator and is on the hunt for a little girl who has been abducted. Even though I have not gotten this scene on to paper yet, I know how it will be perfect for my novel.
Speaking of my novel, it is progressing well. Since becoming part of a critique group with others who are writing similar type novels, I have felt supported in my writing endeavors. I would encourage all writers to join a critique group.
Well, time to get back to work on my novel. Happy writing all!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Muse
If there is any truth to the existence of a muse, then he/she has made a sudden appearance. The first draft of my novel has been completed for quite awhile now, but is not ready to be presented to an agent. The characters don't have enough bones, blood and definition, and the plot is disconnected with holes that look like a children's snowflake cutout.
I began working on my revision about three or four months ago, when I decided to sign up for a thriller critique group. With the deadlines of meeting every other week, I have been writing like crazy. Recently, my writing cohorts asked me in the kindest way they could, "What does the murder have to do with what is going on with your main character?" I did not know what to say, probably because I did not know the answer!
Over the next few weeks, their question rolled through my mind like a gentle flowing river. I stopped and thought about my main character and asked him to share his story. Every time his voice came into my head, I listened. Finally, I realized that the murder is not important. However, the type of work he does is central to the story (in case you are wondering, he investigates missing children). The murder went, the work stayed.
I have rewritten chapters one and two and look forward to three. My story feels alive, real (well not real real) and my fingers are on fire. Speaking of, it's time to write now.
Happy Writing!
I began working on my revision about three or four months ago, when I decided to sign up for a thriller critique group. With the deadlines of meeting every other week, I have been writing like crazy. Recently, my writing cohorts asked me in the kindest way they could, "What does the murder have to do with what is going on with your main character?" I did not know what to say, probably because I did not know the answer!
Over the next few weeks, their question rolled through my mind like a gentle flowing river. I stopped and thought about my main character and asked him to share his story. Every time his voice came into my head, I listened. Finally, I realized that the murder is not important. However, the type of work he does is central to the story (in case you are wondering, he investigates missing children). The murder went, the work stayed.
I have rewritten chapters one and two and look forward to three. My story feels alive, real (well not real real) and my fingers are on fire. Speaking of, it's time to write now.
Happy Writing!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Creating Character
In my writing, I often question whether I create my characters or whether they create themselves. I have a more difficult time writing about characters in a longer piece of work such as a novella or novel, and I find it easier to portray my characters in short stories.
For example, in my short story The Softball Crush (Vintage Voices Four Part Harmony, 2008), creating the situation and characters was easy, because the characters were based on children I went to grade school with. The story situation was based on two truths I had as a child: I could not play softball to save my life, and in eighth grade the most popular boy in school asked me to be his girlfriend.
My story The Bicycle will be published in the Vintage Voices anthology to come out this year. The only truths in that story were that my father really would not let me have a bike, and I grew up in a small town in California. The rest is fictional.
However, my novel-in-progress is not based on any part of my life. Through a series of circumstances, my protagonist finds out a truth about his past that literally sends him into a another world (we are not talking science fiction here). Thus, he finds himself embarking on a life changing journey that brings him in touch with parts of himself that he never knew existed.
We have all encountered finding missing parts of ourselves and learning how to integrate them into who we are today. I have never dealt with the depth of what has been missing in my protagonist for most of his life, and I have no real person to base his life on. Therefore, I am having to work harder on creating this character.
Writing is hard work not matter how you look at it. While my short stories might seem easier to write, I still have to put a lot of work into them to make sure they are what people might want to read. Sometimes I feel like throwing the pages of my novel across the room, other times I want to keep it close to me as I would a child. No matter how I feel, I won't give up on writing my novel. Feelings are fleeting, they just are. The written word is permanent.
Happy writing to all.
For example, in my short story The Softball Crush (Vintage Voices Four Part Harmony, 2008), creating the situation and characters was easy, because the characters were based on children I went to grade school with. The story situation was based on two truths I had as a child: I could not play softball to save my life, and in eighth grade the most popular boy in school asked me to be his girlfriend.
My story The Bicycle will be published in the Vintage Voices anthology to come out this year. The only truths in that story were that my father really would not let me have a bike, and I grew up in a small town in California. The rest is fictional.
However, my novel-in-progress is not based on any part of my life. Through a series of circumstances, my protagonist finds out a truth about his past that literally sends him into a another world (we are not talking science fiction here). Thus, he finds himself embarking on a life changing journey that brings him in touch with parts of himself that he never knew existed.
We have all encountered finding missing parts of ourselves and learning how to integrate them into who we are today. I have never dealt with the depth of what has been missing in my protagonist for most of his life, and I have no real person to base his life on. Therefore, I am having to work harder on creating this character.
Writing is hard work not matter how you look at it. While my short stories might seem easier to write, I still have to put a lot of work into them to make sure they are what people might want to read. Sometimes I feel like throwing the pages of my novel across the room, other times I want to keep it close to me as I would a child. No matter how I feel, I won't give up on writing my novel. Feelings are fleeting, they just are. The written word is permanent.
Happy writing to all.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Writing
It's been awhile. I have been spending a lot of time on Facebook, my main source of networking with other writers. So far, I have connected with most members in the Redwood Branch of the California Writer's Club, as well as hooked up with many local friends, friends from long ago, and family members. I have been having a great time!
I also helped create a critique group for thriller writers through the auspices of our writer's club. We meet twice a month and critique each other's work. For me, it is an invaluable experience to hear from other writers what they like about my work, what they don't like and any suggestions they might have. I also enjoy reading the work of my writer cohorts in the group. All the stories are different, but contain thriller aspects in them. In this type of situation, I have learned there is no room for hurt feelings. It's a matter of taking what I like and leaving the rest.
I enjoy writing on my novel as much as I can. However, as usual, I can find many distractions. It's not writer's block, just my own shortcoming of not being able to discipline myself. The deadlines with my writer's group helps keep me on track. It would be embarrassing to tell my group I have nothing for them to critique!
It's time for me to unhook my computer from the dsl modem, take my laptop into the living room and sit down and write.
Happy writing all!
I also helped create a critique group for thriller writers through the auspices of our writer's club. We meet twice a month and critique each other's work. For me, it is an invaluable experience to hear from other writers what they like about my work, what they don't like and any suggestions they might have. I also enjoy reading the work of my writer cohorts in the group. All the stories are different, but contain thriller aspects in them. In this type of situation, I have learned there is no room for hurt feelings. It's a matter of taking what I like and leaving the rest.
I enjoy writing on my novel as much as I can. However, as usual, I can find many distractions. It's not writer's block, just my own shortcoming of not being able to discipline myself. The deadlines with my writer's group helps keep me on track. It would be embarrassing to tell my group I have nothing for them to critique!
It's time for me to unhook my computer from the dsl modem, take my laptop into the living room and sit down and write.
Happy writing all!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Lesson About Balking
If there is one thing I have learned in life, it is that every time I balk at someone’s new adventure, I generally end up following not far behind. Take a popular eating plan as an example. Somewhere around fifteen years ago, numerous people started following this plan, a vegetarian no dairy eat all you want and still lose weight diet. Being overweight and trying to shed pounds, I knew that it was impossible to eat all I wanted and still loose weight. No, experience told me I needed to exercise, eat three healthy meals a day within a certain calorie range, and forget the Ben and Jerry’s. I knew without a doubt that these people were not living in reality.
Over a span of several months, I watched my friends become healthier- they shed the pounds, their skin began to glow and they swore it was indeed that they were eating what they wanted and still losing weight. I was eating all I wanted, when I wanted and gaining weight, had stomach problems and headaches galore. The more I watched my friends flourish with health, and the less healthy I began to feel, the more I decided it was time to see what they were talking about.
So, I tried the same eating plan. I ate as much as I wanted within the confines of the diet. I didn’t lose weight, but I stopped gaining weight too. Other amazing things began to happen as well- my stomach problems cleared up and, by not eating dairy products and sugar anymore, I realized that they were both sources of my headaches and stomach discomfort.
While I did not reap the benefits that my friends did, I certainly reaped my own rewards. My headaches went away, my stomach began to feel better, and I learned how to eat properly. Eight years later, I did lose all my excess weight and have been able to keep it off for the last seven years. I learned a lot from that experience.
Now, it’s about an interactive site on the internet. I heard how several friends signed up for this service, but I balked and formed my own opinion that was not favorable. However, this time, it took me less time to realize that I balked because I was afraid to try it. Well, a few weeks ago, my Writer’s Club announced they were now a member of this website. I went and signed up because I wanted to see what they were doing. As it turns out, this wonderful interactive website has become a networking opportunity with other writers that I never thought possible. Now, even a few personal friends are on there, and I have even contacted two friends who I have not seen in years.
My lesson is this: when I start balking about something someone else is doing (sometimes the balking is internal, other times I have to voice my opinion), it’s time for me to step back and look at my own fears.
As for the writing- I’m writing this moment. I was stumped on my novel for quite some time and had to go on to writing other things. I finally figured out the problem was telling the story rather than showing. Now, that I have started showing, the story line seems to be flowing well.
Happy writing all!
Over a span of several months, I watched my friends become healthier- they shed the pounds, their skin began to glow and they swore it was indeed that they were eating what they wanted and still losing weight. I was eating all I wanted, when I wanted and gaining weight, had stomach problems and headaches galore. The more I watched my friends flourish with health, and the less healthy I began to feel, the more I decided it was time to see what they were talking about.
So, I tried the same eating plan. I ate as much as I wanted within the confines of the diet. I didn’t lose weight, but I stopped gaining weight too. Other amazing things began to happen as well- my stomach problems cleared up and, by not eating dairy products and sugar anymore, I realized that they were both sources of my headaches and stomach discomfort.
While I did not reap the benefits that my friends did, I certainly reaped my own rewards. My headaches went away, my stomach began to feel better, and I learned how to eat properly. Eight years later, I did lose all my excess weight and have been able to keep it off for the last seven years. I learned a lot from that experience.
Now, it’s about an interactive site on the internet. I heard how several friends signed up for this service, but I balked and formed my own opinion that was not favorable. However, this time, it took me less time to realize that I balked because I was afraid to try it. Well, a few weeks ago, my Writer’s Club announced they were now a member of this website. I went and signed up because I wanted to see what they were doing. As it turns out, this wonderful interactive website has become a networking opportunity with other writers that I never thought possible. Now, even a few personal friends are on there, and I have even contacted two friends who I have not seen in years.
My lesson is this: when I start balking about something someone else is doing (sometimes the balking is internal, other times I have to voice my opinion), it’s time for me to step back and look at my own fears.
As for the writing- I’m writing this moment. I was stumped on my novel for quite some time and had to go on to writing other things. I finally figured out the problem was telling the story rather than showing. Now, that I have started showing, the story line seems to be flowing well.
Happy writing all!
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