As if I don't have enough writing projects in various stages of flux, I thought of a new book idea. It's really good too and will be fun to write. I think it will be the kind of book I can sit down and write pretty quickly. A conversational story that happens over the course of a few days.
I'm enjoying reading my finished book and having fun writing my second most finished book, but I'm really looking forward to starting this new story. Now, if only I could find the time to finish my two previous projects and start a new one ...
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
A New Conundrum
So, here's my latest conundrum. What do you do when you're writing along at a good pace -- the story's flowing from your brain down your arms and out of your fingertips to the keyboard at just the right pace so that you can keep up -- but you know you've got things that you've got to go back and correct or enhance in some way?
I feel like I've got to get the story out of my head and on to the page (or saved in my computer), so that I don't lose track of the path that I'm on. But at the same time, I worry that I'm making so many mistakes or creating so many holes or inconsistencies as I go that it's going to be a fiasco to edit it after I get to the end of the story.
It's just another one of those writing conundrums that makes it hard for me to focus on things like work, especially when I'm on deadline for an article that's due and it's not the best time for my mind to wander.
Here's another dilemma. Until today, it had been a while since I worked on my first book -- the finished one. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I opened the document and read a chapter, but I'm still only about four-sevenths of the way through editing it (precise enough for you?). I got to a point where I was just kind of sick of it. I needed a break from Marc and Emily for a while.
I think what I need to do, when I finally get to the end, is have someone else read it. So far, only one other person besides me has read it. I need more outside input. But who will be my next victim? Who would be willing to read it? Whose opinion do I respect enough that I won't be offended by their criticism, because I know they mean well? Another conundrum.
I feel like I've got to get the story out of my head and on to the page (or saved in my computer), so that I don't lose track of the path that I'm on. But at the same time, I worry that I'm making so many mistakes or creating so many holes or inconsistencies as I go that it's going to be a fiasco to edit it after I get to the end of the story.
It's just another one of those writing conundrums that makes it hard for me to focus on things like work, especially when I'm on deadline for an article that's due and it's not the best time for my mind to wander.
Here's another dilemma. Until today, it had been a while since I worked on my first book -- the finished one. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I opened the document and read a chapter, but I'm still only about four-sevenths of the way through editing it (precise enough for you?). I got to a point where I was just kind of sick of it. I needed a break from Marc and Emily for a while.
I think what I need to do, when I finally get to the end, is have someone else read it. So far, only one other person besides me has read it. I need more outside input. But who will be my next victim? Who would be willing to read it? Whose opinion do I respect enough that I won't be offended by their criticism, because I know they mean well? Another conundrum.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Stuck Then Unstuck
I was writing along the other day, typing away happily, until the story stopped streaming from my brain down my arms and through my fingertips. I introduced a new, highly anticipated character (for me and for my main character) and then I had to stop.
I knew what her personality would be like, but I could not see what she looked like. Would she have dark hair and blue eyes like her brother? Would she be pretty or plain? Would she be skinny or athletically thin? Even though I knew how she would act and what she would say, I couldn't picture her doing anything until I could picture her.
So, I stopped writing. I walked away from the computer in a huff and did something else. Probably sat down to read a book. Not exactly productive.
Today, tired and groggy from a poor night of sleep, I sat down and started working on the story again. My main character studied her boyfriend's sister and told me what she looked like. Her reaction to this girl, who she was afraid to meet, helped me picture her. Her responses shaped the sister's mannerisms and appearance. What a relief!
I also pictured a girl I saw working in a craft store, probably five or six years ago. She had dark hair and tattoos, but she had a friendly face and soft features. I stole the beautiful orchid tattoo she had on the back of her hand and put it on my character's bicep.
It's amazing what you pick up and what you remember years later. I only saw that sales clerk once, but I remember staring at her tattoo. Not because it was so large and bold and probably painful, since it was on the back of her hand and used A LOT of ink, but because I thought it was beautiful and the kind of thing I might get if I was ever brave enough to get a tattoo (although on my shoulder or back, not somewhere that's likely to be extra painful like the back of my hand or top of my foot).
I guess everything is fuel for writing, no matter where or when you see or hear it.
I knew what her personality would be like, but I could not see what she looked like. Would she have dark hair and blue eyes like her brother? Would she be pretty or plain? Would she be skinny or athletically thin? Even though I knew how she would act and what she would say, I couldn't picture her doing anything until I could picture her.
So, I stopped writing. I walked away from the computer in a huff and did something else. Probably sat down to read a book. Not exactly productive.
Today, tired and groggy from a poor night of sleep, I sat down and started working on the story again. My main character studied her boyfriend's sister and told me what she looked like. Her reaction to this girl, who she was afraid to meet, helped me picture her. Her responses shaped the sister's mannerisms and appearance. What a relief!
I also pictured a girl I saw working in a craft store, probably five or six years ago. She had dark hair and tattoos, but she had a friendly face and soft features. I stole the beautiful orchid tattoo she had on the back of her hand and put it on my character's bicep.
It's amazing what you pick up and what you remember years later. I only saw that sales clerk once, but I remember staring at her tattoo. Not because it was so large and bold and probably painful, since it was on the back of her hand and used A LOT of ink, but because I thought it was beautiful and the kind of thing I might get if I was ever brave enough to get a tattoo (although on my shoulder or back, not somewhere that's likely to be extra painful like the back of my hand or top of my foot).
I guess everything is fuel for writing, no matter where or when you see or hear it.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Bits and Pieces
I've been writing bits and pieces, here and there, whenever I can squeeze in a little time between working, parenting, cooking, reading ... and wherever that black hole is that seems to suck up so much of my time.
Bit by bit my latest project is coming together. It feels pretty good right now. The characters are taking me where they want to go. We'll see what I think when I go back and read the whole thing from start to finish. I'd guess that I'm one-half to three-fifths through the story at this point.
I started reading "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher today, but kept getting interrupted by e-mail and phone calls while I was on my lunch break at work. I'm resisting the urge to read it right now, because I want to do some writing. And, darn-it-all, I have something I need to look at for work. There goes that dreaded black hole again, sucking up all of my free time.
Bit by bit my latest project is coming together. It feels pretty good right now. The characters are taking me where they want to go. We'll see what I think when I go back and read the whole thing from start to finish. I'd guess that I'm one-half to three-fifths through the story at this point.
I started reading "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher today, but kept getting interrupted by e-mail and phone calls while I was on my lunch break at work. I'm resisting the urge to read it right now, because I want to do some writing. And, darn-it-all, I have something I need to look at for work. There goes that dreaded black hole again, sucking up all of my free time.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Oh, Wow. It's Been How Long ... ?
Two weeks. That's how long it's been since I stopped by here. Oops.
As usual, I've been reading a lot: Gayle Forman's "Where She Went," the sequel to "If I Stay;" "Revolution" by Jennifer Donnelly; "The Scorch Trials," the sequel to "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner; and maybe one or two more.
But, I've also been writing -- reading a chapter here and there in my finished book and working on a second book. It's coming together nicely, so far. I know there are some things I need to go back and fix or add in, but the story is working pretty well. It feels great to be writing something new, rather than editing a story I finished last year.
My challenge is that I keep feeling like I'm getting pretty close to the end of the story, but it's not long enough yet for a novel. A novella, maybe, but I don't think those sell very well. Fortunately, I keep thinking of new challenges for my main character to enliven the story and stretch it out.
That makes it the opposite problem of the book I've finished, which is still too long. I wonder if the difference is that one is an adult novel and the other is "teen fiction." I hope not, because my third and fourth books for adult and for teen readers.
As usual, I've been reading a lot: Gayle Forman's "Where She Went," the sequel to "If I Stay;" "Revolution" by Jennifer Donnelly; "The Scorch Trials," the sequel to "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner; and maybe one or two more.
But, I've also been writing -- reading a chapter here and there in my finished book and working on a second book. It's coming together nicely, so far. I know there are some things I need to go back and fix or add in, but the story is working pretty well. It feels great to be writing something new, rather than editing a story I finished last year.
My challenge is that I keep feeling like I'm getting pretty close to the end of the story, but it's not long enough yet for a novel. A novella, maybe, but I don't think those sell very well. Fortunately, I keep thinking of new challenges for my main character to enliven the story and stretch it out.
That makes it the opposite problem of the book I've finished, which is still too long. I wonder if the difference is that one is an adult novel and the other is "teen fiction." I hope not, because my third and fourth books for adult and for teen readers.
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