MY WRITING BRAIN

I’m on vacation. The kids are enjoying the lake. I’ve gone horse-back riding; I’ve played golf (with my limited skills) and I’ve had a great time relaxing with my family. But no matter what I do, I find some way to fit my writing into each activity.

This is not something I’ve done intentionally. I’ve even tried to take a real break from writing but all I do is end up thinking about it obsessively. No matter how I try not to do it, I find myself comparing the action in a movie to the action in one of my WIP’s. Or I find myself thinking about one of my characters and how they would hate or enjoy an activity I might be engaged in.

Do these obsessive thoughts make me crazy? I don’t think so. I think it’s probably normal for writers. It’s difficult to suddenly drop a character that’s been with you for years because you want to “do something else for a while.” It almost seems selfish.  Why can’t they tag along, too? Maybe you’ll learn something new about your character that helps with your story.

I’m not saying that you have to be in writer mode 24/7 but if you can go away on vacation and not think about any of your characters, one of your WIP’s, or some aspect of your writing maybe you’re not passionate enough about it. This is my opinion, of course, but it seems the more I write and read – the more I think about these things when I am engaged in activities that have seemingly nothing to do with them.

This has been a good thing: It forces me to see the world differently. I see a potential story-line in the guy in the cabin beside ours, leaning over the railing staring off into space. I see a potential story in the way my oldest daughter’s eyes water and discolor when she comes back from the lake. I watch people as they react to the world around them. I store these reactions for later use when I try to write as descriptively as I can. These are good things.

However, this obsessiveness can have its draw backs. The one area that I find the drawback is my ability to quiet my thoughts and fall asleep. It takes me forever. My brain suddenly goes into rewind and I’m picking over my day and possibly the next… I never fall to sleep immediately unless I’m sick. I’ve been this way so long, it almost seems wrong to count it as a negative. I’m used to it now.

Does your writer brain kick in when you’re doing other activities? Do you find this distracting?

 

 

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh

MY HORRIBLE DAY

Sorry, I missed my post day, yesterday. I had a terrible day. It started when I first opened my eyes. Late for work. My mood was instantly foul. I tried to shake it. To snap myself out of it.  Eventually, I gave in to it and sulked to the office.

Once I got there, I decided to glance at my personal email. I shouldn’t have done that. Sitting there, nice and innocent, was a message from Facebook stating that I’d been tagged in a post. Oh, wow. Some writerly wisdom, perhaps. Or an adorable pic of one of my nieces or nephews to lift my sprits.

Nope. It was a message from a family member regarding another family member… not the good kind of info either. But not this person’s fault for sharing it this way – this was her method of reaching most of the family. I understood. But my attitude caught the brunt of it. Oh, then one of my co-workers called in and guess who was stuck doing some of this person’s work!

I tried to shake loose my tude that was down in the dumps. I couldn’t. I eventually gave in to my bitterness. I had to bite my tongue with a few of my customers. Maybe I had a target on my head that said “annoy her here.”  Then at the end of the day, I thought my mood would lift.

It did. But just in time for me to get home and learn that the wi-fi in the house was on the fritz and was screwing up all our cells, the cable, and the house phone. Grrrr!!!! Yeah, AT&T man, you didn’t fix it. I was thoroughly pissed now. And I hate writing at length on my laptop. I only use the laptop when I’m away from my PC. *Do I sound whiny enough?*

My day had been horrible! Nothing went right. And just as I was crawling in to bed, a thought hit me. I had twitted first thing that morning that I had sat myself a writing quota for the week. I hadn’t even been able to write one sentence – let alone get anywhere near what I was supposed to write.

I know you’re tired of me moaning and complaining…I’m off my soapbox. I just needed to vent. Today, I might add, was no where near as terrible as yesterday. How has your week been so far?

 

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MANUSCRIPT, SHINE, SING, DANCE, AND WHATEVER ELSE YOU WANT IT TO...AGAIN

I’ve been so busy today that I barely have time for a post. So…I thought I’d recycle one that I especially thought was helpful from a few years ago – originally posted 9/19/11. I hope you find something here that you can use.

 

I’m almost finished with my massive, colossal, humongous, edit. These are the rules I live by when editing. Of course, this list isn't all encompassing. There’s a ton of other great tips at your fingertips. So here, I’ve listed only 25 of the ones I can’t forget:

1.  Don’t over do it on the adjectives. But a few sprinkled throughout the MS is fine.

2.  Avoid starting a sentence with – There are/was/is/

3.  Punctuation and grammar are important.

4.  Avoid starting a sentence with – It is/was

5.   You can delete most (not all) instances of the word “that” from your manuscript without changing the meaning of the sentence.

6.  Don’t start all the sentences with the same first word. Can you say boring.  

7.  Structure your sentences so their not all the same length.

8.   Use a comma before “which” in a sentence with a non-restrictive clause (the information could be removed without compromising understanding).

9.  You do not use a comma before “that” in a sentence with a restrictive clause (the information is vital to the meaning).

10.  Keep the dialogue tags to a minimum. Let the character’s personality be the tag.

11.  Show the reader – don’t tell them.

12.  If you can say it properly in 4 words, don’t say it in 10.

13.  Subjects must agree with verbs, pronouns, and objects.

14.  Use the active form of verbs.

15.  Choose your nouns wisely. A carefully selected noun will not need an adjective.

16.   Watch out for overused words: saw/see, can/could, then, just, look, felt …

17.  Don’t make your villain a wuss. Make him as evil and diabolical as you can.

18.  Don’t start your fantasy world off without first establishing the normal world for your protagonist.

19.  If you’re going first person point of view (especially for YA) go deep.

20.  Cut back on the use of the word “was” and “ing” ending words – it slows the pace of the story.

21.  If you’re writing a YA/MG story and your MS is 120,000 words after the revisions and editing- you probably have an issue.

22.  Don’t go it alone – get a Critique Partner and a Beta Reader (more than one if you can).

23.  Pacing is the key to keeping your audience up all night reading.

24.  Do research your setting if you’re writing contemporary realistic fiction.

25.  Not one tip on this page is guaranteed to make your MS a best-seller. But they’ll enhance what you’ve written and make the possibility of a best-seller more a reality than a dream. And if you haven’t already figured it out, some of these rules can be broken and your story still be a best-seller. The key is knowing when to break the rules.

Do you have a writing tip? We’d love to hear it. Please share your tip in the comments.


 

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!!!  

 

MOVIE REVIEW: WORLD WAR Z

I’ve been on the zombie thing for a while.

I’ve read Amanda Hocking’s Hollowland series, watched Zombieland with Woody Harrelson, I am Legend with Will Smith and Warm Bodies. I really enjoyed Amanda Hockings books and Zombieland but I was a little disappointed with I am Legend and Warm Bodies. Not that I didn’t like both movies. The concepts were brilliant but I envisioned something…different. They fell a little flat for me.

So when I saw the preview for World War Z, I wasn’t certain I would see it. Then I kicked myself and said “what the heck you thinking? You love Brad Pitt.”

So guess what I did this past weekend?

Yep! My family and I went to see World War Z. It didn’t disappoint. As always, I’m not giving anything away, but I loved the story and the fast moving zombies (kinda like, I am Legend). It had the right balance of action/suspense and drama. It even had a few comical moments. I highly recommend this movie for anyone wanting to catch a great story on the big screen. The acting, not just by Pitt, was solid also, and there are some scenes that are visual masterpieces. I sat in the theatre in awe.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!

THE MOST HORRIBLE, DISPICABLE, HORRENDOUS WORDS IN ALL OF THE WRITING COMMUNITY: SLUSH PILE

Yes, folks, those words are that loathed. Well, at least they were/are for me. How is it that we can birth an entire novel but find it laborious to produce 250 words that describe our manuscripts? It’s almost funny.

Almost.

But the query letter is serious business. Serious Business. Business - being the operative word. Not an opportunity for you to chat with the agent/publisher. It is an opportunity for you to make a great first impression. It is an opportunity for you to showcase your skills as an expert orchestrator of words. It is not the time for you to tell the agent/publisher how great you are. They can glean that information from how well you’ve written the query.

Show, don’t tell. Remember?

What are the keys to a great query letter? Gosh, that’s a hard question and I’m not an agent. But if I take into account what I’ve learned, the following list would be what I would include or not include in a solid query letter:

Query written in the voice the manuscript is written in. What I mean is it is not too safe. An agent doesn’t want to read a boring list of events.

·       Don’t list every major plot in the story…only the most important plot details. Remember it is a “letter” not an essay. So keep it to 200-350 – I think 350 is the higher range but every agent is different.

·       Don’t get bogged down by the details. Make sure to list the most exciting, interesting aspects of the plot - something that will make the agent want to actually read the story. The agent could care less that the MC had a pretty little dog…unless the dog dies then comes back from the grave and terrorizes the MC throughout the manuscript. No reincarnated Cujo – no mention in the query letter.

·       Don’t creep out the agent/publisher. How do you creep them out? By offering to babysit their children for a chance at representation…  By offering up your first born as a sacrifice for publication…. By cyber stalking their every keystroke…

·       Do list why you are seeking representation from this agent. Offer up why you choose this particular agent over the many others you could have chosen. Make sure to list a specific agent/editor when you query – no “Dear Agent/Editor” allowed. The query fairies will find you and sprinkle “you’re an idiot” powder over you as you sleep. People will begin to laugh at you for no apparent reason…but the fairies and the agent/editor will know…

·       Don’t get too gimmicky. Fun and quirky is good. But if you’ve written a children’s story don’t write the query from the perspective of your three year old MC… “Me want you to pick me… UM… not cool. If I were an agent I might recommend a good, tight, straight-jacket.

Have I left off any really great query writing tips? I was certain I would. Share your tips in the comments.

 

 

 

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh.

MOVIE REVIEW: MAN OF STEEL

I dragged the hubby out on Saturday to the movies to see the highly anticipated, Man of Steel. I have been so stoked for this movie it’s almost comical. I love action movies and superhero movies even more. Initially, critics were saying the movie would be a flop. The wrote it off, said it would be horrible and wasn’t worth the time to see it. Of course, I never listen to the critics and couldn’t wait to see the movie myself.

I must admit a part of me, initially, at the very beginning, doubted I’d like it. Why? I enjoyed the Brandon Routh movie and couldn’t understand why they changed the character of Superman to this new guy. Plus, let’s be honest ladies…Routh is a hottie. But I saw this movie called, Immortals and was blown away by the lead in that movie, Henry Cavil. His acting was good and his abs were superb. So were his sculpted arms, chiseled face…okay, I’m married. You get it. He’s hot!

When I realized this guy would be playing Superman, I rethought my stance on the movie. I’m so glad I did. I really enjoyed it. *Plus he had a shirtless scene that made my mouth hang open.*  Unlike the previous movie, which I also enjoyed, this movie had buckets of action. It also did something I had never seen any of the previous movies do, it told the backstory. The time, before The Daily Planet, position.  It showed his struggle to become a man but not just a super being, but as a human. I don’t want to give anything away but I enjoyed it. The hubby not so much. His reason: it was too slow in the beginning. But that was fine with me. I loved the story and there is one scene that nearly drove me to tears. I hope you check it out for yourself.

Have you seen the movie? Did you enjoy? Why or why not?

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!

LET'S ESCAPE FROM OUR COMFORT ZONES

I'm certain it will come as no surprise that I love YA literature. I write for the YA audience, after all. But, this cannot be stated enough, we should read and practice writing outside of our normal/comfort zone parameters. I write science fiction and fantasy but I have written poems, short stories, a novella...all for the sake of practicing. But also as a tool to learn. The more you do something the better you'll get at it. Right?

Some of my favorite literature isn't found in the YA section at the library. I thought I'd share some of my literary favorites that aren't YA. Maybe you've heard of a few. If you haven't, you could check them out for yourself. They are rich with symbolism, uncommon/ingenious metaphors, and some are a bit satirical.

Short Story/Essays:

The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Lagoon
A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
The Canterbury Tales - The Wife of Bath's Tale

Poetry:

Daddy by Sylvia Plath
The Flea by John Donne
Lord Randall by Anonymous
The Ladies Dressing Room by Jonathan Swift
We Wear the Mask by Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Mythology:

Greek: Herakles - Hercules
Greek: Theseus
Greek: Daedalus and Icarus

Plays:

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

Did I list any of your favorites? Did I leave your favorite off my list. Please let us know in the comments.




Have a great day! Read a book and laugh.

CHARACTER: TEENAGER

As I sat talking with my daughters, I realized that though pop culture changes constantly there are some things that remain the same. I write young adult fiction and though many of my tales are not based in reality, I write fantasy and science fiction, my stories and characters do have to be grounded in a real world. A part of creating this real world entails me making their make-believe world as real to the reader as possible.

How do I do this?

Though there are many fantastical elements to many of the stories I write I ground the story from the beginning using our natural laws or natural order. For instance, in the natural world it is strange for a character to have the ability to move objects with their minds. It is the same in my stories, unless the character is a Peacekeeper sent to protect the earth. They will have this ability.

Another way I make my imagined world more believable is by making my characters more believable. Though my characters sometimes have extraordinary power, are different in appearance and/or can travel through space and time – they are no different than regular teenagers.

How do I know what teenagers are like or what they want?

Well, duh! I was one once. Plus, my daughter says all the time.

This is how I break it down:

In 9^th grade (between 14 and 15): OMG! I cannot believe I’m in high school. I’m so scared. I’m so excited. This is going to be the best four years of my life. I’m going to make a lot of friends and my life will be completely different.

In 10^th grade (between 15 – 16): I’m still super excited about high school. This year will be different than last year. I can do this. I’ve got this. Parent’s always tell me I can do anything so I know I can do this.

In 11^th grade (between 16 – 17): I can’t do this. Help!!!! I’m so freakin’ lame. My parents are ruining my life and school is a joke. I’ve got to get a good score on the SAT. I’ve got to pass physics. I’ve to get a good GPA or else its McDonald’s instead of college. I absolutely hate my life.

In 12^th grade (17 – 18): I’m so badass! I’ve got this. No problem. I’m outta here…good riddance. Can’t wait to leave this god-awful place. College here I come. My life will be so much better once I leave this place.

This is some of the emotions my daughter says she had (she’ll be a senior next year) and this is how I felt at times. This cycle doesn’t change too much. So even if you write that your protagonist is a 16 year-old serial killing mermaid, they’ll most likely exhibit some of the emotions above. Your readers will appreciate the fact that though the main character is different from them physically, they do share some similarities. This will add empathy for your character. And empathy is definitely a good thing.

Can you think of behavior you or a friend exhibited in high school that you incorporate into your writing to create empathy and believability for your characters?

TOTAL RANDOMNESS

I couldn’t think of anything witty and smart to say so I decided to talk about what’s been going on in my life. I’m not a superstar so my life isn’t glammed out but it is mine. I’m not the most interesting person in the world but who is…

 

1. My daughter is going to Prom tonight. Kids grow up so fast. It seems like just yesterday I was sending her off to high school. I remember her saying not too long ago, "I'm not worried about guys, Mom. I'm concentrating on my grades so I can get into a good college." Where'd that girl go! She’s been dating a senior on the football team all year. They went to Homecoming and I thought, yeah, this won’t last long. I was wrong. I guess now I’m trying to see what will happen for her senior year next year.

2. I’m babysitting a toddler. My brother-in-law and his wife are going out for the weekend and asked if I could watch my adorable nephew. I fawn over him every time he comes to the house. He is the cutest little man I’ve seen in a long time. But he also cries a lot – mainly for his Daddy. And the biggest concern I have….he’s not potty trained. Guh! All the adorableness in the world can’t make up for a full diaper.

3. I’ve recently finished editing one of my WIPs and instead of sending it out to the slouch pile, I’ve been thinking about self-publishing. This is an older manuscript I took a break from to write another manuscript and now I’ve reworked it. I sent it to agents but got a lot of “this just isn’t for me” and “I like what you are trying to do here but I don’t think this is for me”…Grrr I haven’t sent it out to publishers yet though and I’m wondering if I should do this before I try to self-pub it.

What’s been going on in your world? Anything interesting you want to share.

 

 

Have a great day! Read a book and smile.

MY ADVICE...TO ME

What would I have told my newbie writer self four years ago…

About four years ago I thought, what the hey, I’ll write that book I’ve been dreaming about. And I did. Yeah me!

But it wasn’t that simple.

I toiled with the idea of writing a book for years. I put it off. Got married. Had kids. Dropped out of college - three times. Then one day I decided I was going to take a break from cooking, my day job, school, housework….and sit and read. I had always loved to read but I barely had time to shower let alone sit and enjoy a book. But I decided I had to make time. I needed the comfort books had always brought me. I started reading what was being called Young Adult – because that was what my daughter was reading. I wanted to be a responsible parent and monitor what she read. But I ended up liking it myself. I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading these books about these kids doing all this interesting things.

Then one day, I sat down and wrote out a recurring scene from a story that had been in my head for years. I let my oldest daughter read it. I didn’t tell her I had written the piece – I wanted her honest opinion. She loved it and wanted to read the entire story. But that was it I told her. “And I wrote it,” I triumphantly announced.

This was my first realization that I could actually write a novel. A whole, real, full length, novel. I was thrilled. And revving to go. I wrote that first story so fast I barely had time to breath. I was so proud of myself. I was so going to be famous for the wonderful story I had written. I quickly let my daughter, then in the 7^th grade, read what I had written. She loved the entire story. I was on my way – I even had a fan.

Let’s stop the story here…I think everyone can kinda see where this is going. It’s almost comical now. Almost. I also think it’s a bit sad. I had so much to learn. So what would I have said to myself four years ago had I the knowledge:

Have patience.

And

Read and Write. Then write more.

That’s it. That is what I would have said to myself or any other newbie writer. Without patience, perfecting your work is impossible. Without patience, the revision process becomes a joke. Without patience, you don’t make your manuscript shine, you bring yourself to shame.

Why read? Reading what you write and what you don’t write offers many opportunities to learn from those published authors. Just like a student needs to study for a test, a writer must study also. A writer studies the craft of writing. Not simply getting the story down but arranging the words and actions of the characters so that the audience will not want to put the book down.

Why write and write more. With anything, and everything in life ‘practice makes perfect.’ I can’t say how true this statement is. I have seen a drastic change in the manner in which I write. I was so serious about my craft that I decided to finish school this time *insert huge grin here* and I majored in English. Oh, the many papers I wrote that had nothing to do with kids with supernatural ability, or teenage angst over their first loves. But the lessons I learned were invaluable. I wrote short stories, poems, anything – not to have them published but to practice. To get better. And I did. And this time, it wasn’t my daughter who told me she loved my story…but that’s another post entirely.

What advice would you give your newbie writer self?

Have a great day. Read a gook and laugh!

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