A Writer’s Vocabulary Journal: Owning the Perfect Word

If you’ve ever spent countless amounts of time looking for the perfect word, you’ve probably smacked yourself in the head when it finally came to you.
 
Most of the time, when I’m banging my head up against a concrete wall, it’s not only because I can’t locate the perfect, but it’s also because my personal vocabulary has become a bit meh. After we leave school, most of us don’t take time every day to look up interesting words we’ve come across, or maybe we don’t play word games like we used to, or we forget to highlight an astounding word another author used in their work – or better yet, we buy one of those books titled The BIG Book of Words You Should Know and forget to even crack open the cover.
 
It happens. Life gets too busy. And if we are highlighting and/or writing those interesting words down, we often find that list growing, growing, and growing to the point where we feel overwhelmed at definition time. Other times it’s not that life’s too busy, it’s just we forget to write them down and the memory isn’t what it used to be. *raises hand*
 
This is where the vocabulary journal comes in.
 

Dear Vocab Journal….

Hopefully we finally learn that we’ve had enough after one too many concussions. When that happens, it’s brainstorm/resolution time.
 
As if ordained by God or something, a few hours after I decided to not only start keeping a journal, but to update it nightly with definitions and review previous entries, I came across this post on Write It Sideways: 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary. Well, well...if Bill Engvall had been around in that moment the phrase “Here’s your sign” would’ve been all too opportunistic.
 
A vocabulary journey can range from a small notebook you keep on you at all times to a larger notebook you carry around with worksheets/templates for each word entry (including a space specific for synonyms/antonyms). Whatever floats your boat (cliché!) and ensures the words are gonna stick, be sure to do it. I began by writing the words on index cards. I carry them in my purse, along with a small accordion file. At the end of the day I transfer the words into a larger notebook I keep at the house.
 

Getting the Words to Stick

Now that we’re been keeping track of words we’ve either read or heard throughout the day, we gotta made sure they stick.
 
Every night, or every other night, sit down with your journal. Add in definitions, synonyms/antonyms and/or pictures/diagrams for each entry. I stick with definitions and synonyms.
 
By seeing these words again, writing their definitions, looking at similar or opposing words, they’ll stick in your brain. Regardless of how long it’s been since our brains had to absorb and learn new information, the words will stick in some way, shape or form. And the best part is that this journal isn’t going anywhere either. It’ll always be there when you know you have the perfect word but can’t find it.
 
The key to this step is to keep ourselves from revisiting these once a week. Then we’re stuck feeling overwhelmed again and the cycle begins anew. Strive for either every night, or every other night. It takes no more than 10 minutes – 20 minutes if you have a long list after a great read.
 
Now that the vocab level is increasing, the perfect word can – hopefully – be easily found. Because – hopefully – you will own it in your journal. You’ll know it, you can recite it, you’ve learned to love it.
 

What is a Perfect Word?

I’ve been getting some writing education these last two months with Margie Lawson. She is a genius when it comes to empowering emotions, body language, and all those other psychologically gripping methods of writing and editing that slip under our readers’ conscious radars to dig into their subconscious and make them want more. She’s also the creator of the Deep Editing system I’ve come to know and love.
 
Margie’s coined a few terms that sum up what the perfect word is better than I ever could: Scene-themed, Emotion-themed, Character-themed. The perfect word your WIP needs will more than likely need to fall into one of those themes. Either it is a word fit for the scene itself (the setting, characters within it, goal, tension), the emotion surrounding the passage (inner emotion/turmoil, not necessarily outwardly expressed), or the character’s unique internalizations or speech (you wouldn’t have a cop call someone a ‘bad guy’ – it’d either be the suspect, the unsub, the defendant, etc.).
 
So ultimately the perfect word is one that fits the character, their current situation and frame of mind, and most importantly: your voice.
 
Knowing these three areas of themed words has personally helped me tremendously in selecting the perfect word. Perfect because it adds a psychological punch to a scene and/or passage with high tension and/or emotion. I highly suggest either signing up for a month-long course with Margie, or purchasing one of her lecture packets (warning, they are HUGE, but every lesson shines with her genius). I’m so amazed by how much I’ve learned, and flabbergasted by how my WIP has transformed by 2 online classes and 1 lecture packet that I’m flying out to Colorado – with 5 other authors – for an Immersion Master class. Woo hoo!
 
What are some of the tasks you do to keep your vocab on its toes? Word puzzles? Reading the dictionary? What about afterwards when you’ve assimilated the newer vocabulary? How do you select the perfect word? Is it a long drawn out struggle where you have think on it for a day or so, or is it as quick as the click of a button?

Writerly Wednesday: Under the Weather Writing–Er, Sleeping

First off, I do apologize for not having a Writing Lessons from the Movies post together and ready for today.  I spent most of the past weekend asleep in bed due to the crud finally managing to knock me down.  And that’s exactly what I’d like to talk about today:

What do you do when you’re feeling under the weather?!?

If you’re like me – a perfectionist – you can’t even fathom the idea of spending an entire Saturday and Sunday in bed (not to mention the Friday before) under the haze the meds tend to give you.  Let’s paint a picture of how three sick days can normally look:

Friday: Wake up at 7:15am, tell hubby good-bye, take medicine, fall back asleep. Wake up again at 10am, turn on computer, respond to comments on blog, get some food, feel too worn out to do anything else, go back to bed. Wake up again at 3pm, turn on computer, try to be a little active on Twitter but realize you may not be making sense, so back to bed it is. Wake up again at 7pm, eat dinner, get back on computer for a bit, make a little more sense on Twitter before attempting to look at your current WIP – in comes the overwhelming feeling of not really knowing where to begin because you’re still rather foggy from meds, so you lay back down and call it a night.

Saturday: Wake up at 10am, take meds then attempt to read a book…only to be awakened 30 minutes later by the cat who is playing with your hair because you literally fell over in the bed and landed on top of him. Play with the cat a little to satisfy his playful side before rolling back over in bed and sleeping another few hours. Wake up at 3pm and attempt to read again after taking more meds. This time, you’re a little more clear and actually don’t fall asleep mid-sentence. So after doing that for about an hour, you attempt to actually make some dinner for yourself and the husband – chicken and pastry (otherwise known as dumplings). Sit down and eat the best dinner you’ve ever had in a week at about 5:30 before thinking, ‘Hey, I think I might be able to stay awake the rest of the night.’  So you go to the grocery store – ‘cause let’s face it, you’re not going to go the following day when they’re calling for rain and snow – and you return home feeling a wee bit tired, but not too much, so you decide to watch The Princess Bride for this week’s post. Twenty minutes into the movie, you’ve fallen over and the cat is playing with your hair – once again. *sigh* So you call it a night.

Sunday: Wake up at 10am feeling more like you did before the crud found you. Make breakfast for you and husband – sausage biscuits, a Sunday morning ritual now – and sit back down to watch The Princess Bride only to realize that it takes at least 3 run throughs of the movie in order to complete your post and you’ve got laundry and dishes that absolutely have to be done, not to mention some pre-packing and one or two rooms that absolutely need to be cleaned. So you bite the bullet and realize that writing and watching a movie 3 times in one day just isn’t going to work, especially the weekend before you have to take a out-of-state trip for work for a few days. *sigh* So you start the laundry, take a nap, switch out the laundry and fold some, take another small cat nap, wash the dishes and fold some more clothes, take another small nap, then take shower, eat some food, read a book and go back to bed hoping that it doesn’t snow too much overnight so you can at least get into the office the following morning.

Does this sicky-type schedule look familiar to you??  Good – I was hoping that I was not alone in this one.

Here’s the deal, when you’re sick and down for the count like this, your body is clearly telling you something: it needs a break! Whether you’ve been up late for too many nights in a row, stressing too much over a plot or the day job, your body just wants to break down and get some rest so it can be at 100% when it’s time to hit the ground running again.

And that’s completely OKAY!

The writing? It’ll still be there. Plotting? It’ll still be there. Blogging? It’ll still be there. The TBR pile? It’ll still be there.  ALL of these things will STILL be there when you become 100% healthy again! So it’s going to be undeniably okay for you to take the break your body’s been craving to sit back and relax a little…or practically sleep 90% of the weekend away.

Worse comes to worse, you throw your schedule out the window, take some medicine and enjoy the comfy softness of your bed and the fact that your hubby is willing to wait on you hand and foot in between long naps. *smile*

Here are some ideas of what you can do if you absolutely cannot stand to step away from writing/plotting/blogging:

• Writing: Try and read through some of what you’ve already written in that current WIP but limit yourself to only reading and maybe making a note here and there. Once you start to dive into major revisions you’re asking for either A) trouble because you may not be thinking 100% coherently, or B) you’re only going to wear yourself out even more and you’ll end up tacking an additional hour on your sleeping time.
• Plotting: Having time to sit around and think is something you’ll definitely have in between those long naps. If you’ll notice, I didn’t include this in my day-to-day sicky-schedule above, but I did do a bit of plotting here and there, especially while I was waiting for Saturday night’s dinner to be ready. So not all hope was lost, eh?
• Blogging: Right now it’s Monday night and I’m in the middle of making dinner before I start packing for my work trip to Atlanta. So I’ve squeezed in the creation of this post into wherever I could. If I didn’t think I could’ve done this, I might’ve reached out to my online writing family on Sunday and asked if anyone could possibly do a guest post on my blog for Wednesday instead. There may not have been a lot of notice but from what I’ve seen and learned from the writing community, it’s that we’re there for each other – even if it’s 3 days before a deadline. So I’m sure someone would’ve been able to help me out this week if I needed it. If not, then I would’ve missed the one blog post…and heaven, earth, and hell would still remain where they are.

As you might have guessed, next week we will be visiting writing lessons from The Princess Bride, which is a request from a blog reader and friend, Jennifer.  I’m really enjoying having these movies picked out for me, so keep the requests coming! In two weeks we’ll be visiting Across the Universe and that particular post will come with a challenge to blog readers – and a giveaway to the best creation from that challenge! 

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What about you? How does your schedule normally look when you’re pretty much down for the count thanks to the crud? Are the suggestions above on how to handle your writing life during that time a little helpful? What other ideas do you have for those of us who may find ourselves in mini-hibernation for a few days?

Writerly Wednesday: On 50th Anniversaries and Writing Novels….

My Grandparents on their Wedding Day

I recently undertook a large project, and if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you may have heard me mention it a few times over the past month or so. My grandparents celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary this past Saturday, and in celebration of this amazing fete, I gathered over 500 photos taken throughout the 50 years that they have been happily married (plus some from their childhoods) and created a DVD video. That’s a lot of photos, right?! Any-who, needless to say I had this grand idea in my head of what I wanted the project to be, what I wanted it to look like, how I thought it should come together, and I was also very naïve in thinking how easy this project should be.

And as in all things in life, nothing is ever as simple as it may seem…..

Countless hours were put into scanning photos before I could even begin to sit down, edit the pictures and put them into a nifty program called Magix Photostory. Beginning in September and not finishing – completely – until last Wednesday (and the event was on Saturday) speaks volumes for how hard a project like this can be, especially when we have high aspirations for it.

It wasn’t until I sat back and watched through the entire thirty-five minute PhotoStory video that I realized how similar to writing a novel this entire process was:

1. Kernel of an Idea: Every story – whether a short story or full-fledged novel – begins with a tiny kernel, a mere idea that you’re eager to expand on, that you have the highest expectations of. Making a PhotoStory DVD is about the same – you get a grand idea in your head, but putting it together is another story entirely.
2. Expanding the Idea: Once you have the idea/plot of your story written down, it’s time to set out on the journey of bringing it to life, breathing into it the characters, worlds, locations and relationships while you plot (or pants) your way through the twists and turns your story will take. This is where the kernel of an idea begins to grow into something with a backbone that you can expand upon later. Picture DVD’s are much like this – you do the ground work in scanning/selecting your pictures, editing/cropping them, and uploading them into your program of choice.
3. Editing the Idea: This is where the real work begins. You’ve taken your idea and fleshed it out, created characters and scenes, built your world and plotted when/where every twist and turn is going to happen. But now you have to go back and take another look at your work, examining the words, descriptions, cutting scenes that aren’t needed because they don’t do anything to further the plot, adding more to the scenes that are a bit ‘meh’ and possibly rearranging and rewriting some scenes here and there. The same can be said for creating a PhotoStory DVD: you’ve uploaded your photos and put them in an order that seems to make sense, but then you come across a few photos here and there that, while you really want them to make the ‘cut,’ they’re not really needed and are just adding to the ever-increasing playing-time of your video. So you cut those, and maybe rearrange a few photos here and there, and maybe you also add some picture-in-picture collages (which are really cool animations by the way, and a great way to cut down on a few seconds here and there). At times, you may even find yourself going back and scanning some photos you initially didn’t think you needed. :0)
4. Adding those Finishing Touches: You’ve run through your MS countless amounts of times, now it’s time to add a few finishing touches. Maybe now it’s time for you add in chapter breaks, maybe a little extra fluff here and there (AKA: descriptions, action dialogue tags, etc) in places that you didn’t notice before, send it out to your CP or Beta Readers, write a query letter so that your newly polished MS is ready for submission requests after you’ve made the changes your CP or Beta Readers have sent to you. With a PhotoStory DVD, once you have the photos in order and the animations and transitions added, this is when you go back and add the music that will accompany your beautiful photos! :0)  This part is so much fun, especially since you can see the end in sight. With this particular project, I searched far and wide for music as far back as the 50’s, and I carefully selected each song, ensuring that the words fit for the section/decade they were representing. This part was actually fairly easy, but you also have to remember that you will continually second guess yourself when make those decisions – which is much like it is in writing when you make those last-minute edits.
5. Sitting Back and Seeing Your Baby Enjoyed: Though I have no idea what it could possibly feel like, I can only hope that one day we will all be published and we can take a moment to relax and enjoy seeing our hard work as it sits on a shelf in a bookstore (if we’re really lucky, it won’t be there ‘cause it sold out!). Yes, there’s more work to do with marketing and signings and blog tours, but you’re finally able to enjoy the fruits of your labor as you read through what I’m sure will be rave reviews of your work. What I can speak from experience on is how good it felt to see my grandparent’s faces as they sat down and watched the entire video. That in and of itself was the best feeling in the world as they kept asking ‘how did you do that?’ and ‘I love that graphic there!’ They laughed in the places where I was meaning for people to laugh, and they were silenced in the spots where I hoped they would as well. And seeing the large amount of people in the fellowship hall as they came by to celebrate with all of us on Saturday, and watching them watch ‘my baby’ as it played on loop throughout the entire gathering, was a feeling that I rather enjoyed and hope to replicate with a published book one day.

Overall this experience was one that I learned a LOT from and am extremely grateful to have as I truly believe that my writing process has benefited from the lessons learned throughout this process. Dare I say it, but I believe that I may have turned a bit into a plotter *gasp* since I found myself writing scenes on index cards (due to the lack of writing time I’ve had) for a new idea I got, and eventually placing them in order for when I’m ready to get back to writing – which looks to be much sooner than I initially thought. :0)

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What other non-writerly activities have you participated in to where you realized, maybe after the fact, that the process you followed for it mirrored that of writing a novel or short story? Did that activity make you a better writer in the end, or did your process remain the same?

Writerly Wednesday: How to Achieve the Big ‘O’…



Photo Credit

Had you goin’ there for a second, didn’t I?

But no, I’m not talking about that – I’m referring to that place of Zen for every writer that is commonly known as Organization!

While there are many ways to get yourself organized in your writing and the journey to become published, I’m only going to address 3 particular aspects of writerly organization today:

1. Research/Outlining: So you’ve got this killer plot – or a killer character – and you’re ready to start banging it all out on the keyboard…but wait, you have to organize your thinking a little before you move any further. Sure, there are those moments where the dialogue is swimming in your head and you absolutely must get a scene out first, but after you’ve done that you’ll want to take a step back and think about the basics. The following three questions are the first ones I ask myself when a new character or plot pops into my head. I answer each of these and save all of the information I’ve compiled into a folder on my desktop (I also print everything out and keep it in a small accordion file in case anything should happen to my trusty computer), and I enter some of the highlights of my research onto the handy little index cards in Scrivener. By answering all of these and doing a little research, you’re able to write the best first draft possible (just remember that it’s still the first draft, so it’s going to be messy regardless, this will keep it ‘less messy’):

• Where is the story taking place?
• Is it taking place in Real Town, USA, or is going to be in Fantasy Land? Once you decide where, you can begin to research/create that location. Even if you’re a pantser, feeling as if you know more about where your story is going to take place will help tremendously when you’re writing your way through the first draft. If it’s a fantasy land that your story takes place in, then it may be good to go ahead and set some ground rules before writing any more words (this creates less work for you during the editing process).
• Who is going to tell this story?
• Will we be following a single character, or several? Even though I like to mainly consider myself an ‘organic’ writer (that’s a fancy way of saying ‘pantser’), I still like to sit down with my main characters ahead of time and get to know them. Completing a questionnaire on each of your main characters is a great way to get to know them better (and there are some that this does not work for, so be prepared to leave a gaping hole on their stats until you’ve written a few scenes with them in it).
• How are you going to tell this story?
• This is an important decision since your voice is what’s going either make or break this novel. And not only should you think about the voice, you should also consider the POV from which this particular adventure should be told. Is it first POV as we follow a single character and her journey, or should it be third POV since there are several characters you’re eager to follow throughout the plot?

2. The Actual Writing: Now that you know the who, what, where, when, how of your story, it’s time to get crackin’ writing! First things first: keep in mind the Three Act Structure as you write – this will save you some headache when you’re revising (Alexandra Sokoloff has some great posts on story structure and the elements)!

Some writers write their entire first draft in a Word doc – start to finish – and this is totally okay as I this is exactly what I used to do. However, I have recently learned a more organized way of getting that first draft down, and I couldn’t be happier now that I’ve found it: Scrivener (or a similar writing program).

Given that most first drafts mainly consist of scene after scene after scene – in which you will go back and add a little ‘fluff’ – I’ve learned that Scrivener is awesome for this process. You’re able write those individual scenes into their own little section for you to go back and flesh out individually if you’d like, or you can compile them all at the end and attack them all at once. Yes, you’re breaking down your work as you truck through it, but you can give each scene a short title in case you ever need to refer back to it later in the novel (who else hates having to scroll through fifty pages to find the one scene you need info from?).

3. Editing/Revising: You either just groaned or said ‘Eh’ when you read this one, and hopefully you’re not groaning because your editing process is disorganized. Before you begin editing, print out your entire MS. Yes, I know that most of ours are going to be 300+ pages (double spaced), but words look and feel completely different in print than they do on the computer scene – trust me! Once you’ve done that, make a plan for how you’re going to attack the editing process. You don’t want to go all out during the first pass – you’ll be way too tuckered out to continue after about a week or so. Here’s a sample of an organized plan:

• First Pass: Grab your trusty red pen and check for plot holes, flow, and inconsistencies as you read through the entire MS (which will be the first time *hopefully* in at least two weeks). Ask yourself through each scene, “Is this really needed?”, “Does this move the story forward?” If your answer is no to either of these, make a note to cut and paste that scene and save it somewhere safe in case you want to come back to it in the future. If you find plot holes or areas where the words or scene just doesn’t seem to flow, attack each area, one at a time, until you’ve reached a point that you feel as though you can bare leaving it (even if for the time being).
• Second Pass: Grab your pen again and check for grammar, spelling, missing/confusing dialogue tags, repetitive words, etc. Go ahead and get *most* of that dirty work out of the way. *smiles*
• Third Pass: Take a break before reprinting your MS with all of the changes you made in passes one and two, then dive back into reading through it – which will be your second or third time out of, oh say, maybe a hundred – once again, checking for plot (remember the Three Act Structure), flow, inconsistencies, etc., etc. This is also a good time to add in some of that ‘fluff’ (i.e.: incredible descriptions and transitions) I referred to earlier, especially now that you’ve worked on or fleshed out most of the scenes. I personally tend to wait until the second or third pass to do this since by that time, I’m a little more comfortable with where the scenes are placed and how the story’s developing.
• Repeat
• Repeat
• Repeat

And so on and so forth – remember I called this a *sample* organized plan. Your story will require you to add many more items to check for as your editing (more than I could really name in what’s supposed to be a blog post and not a novel in itself).
 

Keep in mind that everything I’ve listed is just a guideline as there’s still so much more you can do to obtain that ‘Big O’ within your writing journey – such as being organized with receiving and incorporating your critiques, being organized when you’re about to start querying agents, organizing your rejection letters partial or full requests….
 
Have you achieved your writerly place of Zen? How do you manage to stay organized through the chaos (also known as the writing life)? Do you have a process that you’d like to share?

This Week in Favs……

Playing on the Zune(mp3): Map of the Problematique by Muse Yup, movin’ and groovin’ to one of my favorite tunes! :0)

10) “And Pretty Words All in a Row: Tightening Your Narrative Voice” on The Other Side of the Story by Janice Hardy. This is one of the hardest parts about editing/revising…but it can also be one of the fun parts. Janice is right, during the drafting process, we tend to think faster than our fingers can type, so we end up with run-on sentences, more than one topic per paragraph, and we can wander a little from the scene we’re writing at that moment. But all of that is okay because the first draft is *supposed* to be messy. That’s the reason they call it a draft. Janice has highlighted the three main areas that everyone must go back and tighten before even thinking of sending our MS over to a CP or beta reader. I enjoyed the examples – er, mini-lessons – she gave as well.


9) “Numbers Are Our Friend – Writers and the Wild World of Metrics” by Kristen Lamb. (Don’t forget to also check out Kristen’s latest entry into structure: “Structure Part 3 – Introducing the Opposition”) Numbers, folks! This week, there’s been talk and more talk about the numbers – and more talk about how the numbers behind an author doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to become a NYTBS. I’ve learned in the last few months to not focus so much on the numbers and focus more on the quality of the relationships I’m building. Kristen’s post this week was rather enjoyable since she took a different approach to the number’s game: “Numbers help us improve. They help us adjust and make a new plan if the old one isn’t working.” Hmm…..I never thought of it that way. Now that I am, I’ve been spending some time brainstorming post ideas…..


8) “Publishing in the Brave New World” by Rachelle Gardner. Given the topic circulating the blogosphere this week, I wanted to throw this one in so that we have all ends of the spectrum represented with regards to numbers. After getting a little frustrated over the post from the day before, I’m glad she wrote this one as a follow-up. Rachelle’s rant on this post posed an interesting prospective as well as a reality check: “Publishers did not create this brave new techno-world we live in.” Well, that may be true, but most of them sure have clung to it more in certain areas than others. But I do like the fact that Rachelle doesn’t enjoy that simple fact anymore than we do. 


7) “A Guide to Preparing for NaNoWriMo: The Pantsless Way” by Amber West on A Day Without Sushi. Even if you’re a plotter, some of these NaNoWriMo prep tips should be helpful – especially those on making a schedule, changing your voicemail, and pre-apologies <—Yes, pre-apologies is a BIG one around this time of year. I’m still getting around to mine since I plan on hitting it hard next month to bang out *more* than the 50,000 word-count goal! Overall, this was definitely an enjoyable and refreshing read.


6) “How Bad is Plagiarism?” by Jami Gold and “Beware of the Confidence Man” by Amber West. I still find it hard to believe that there are people out there who are more than willing to steal the genius and hard work of others, stamp their name on it, and sell/mark it as their own. But I’m extremely grateful that this blogger and so-called ‘writer’ was busted. By the way, Terrell Mims’ site where all of this happened on? It’s officially been deleted from WordPress. Reading Jami and Amber’s posts are a good reminder for all of us to be weary of some of the people out there in the blogging and Twitter worlds. It makes me sick to my stomach to even think about how many writers were betrayed…and even more sick to think there are others out there who haven’t been caught yet.


5) “25 Questions to Ask as You Write” by Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds. **Language warning on this one** If you’re easily offended, then you may not want to read this one. But if you’re like me and you’re not *smiles*, then pop over to this page. This was a rather enjoyable and entertaining read as I’m sure that most of us have asked at least 8-10 of these questions while writing. If you find yourself nodding too many times to count, then I’d say the click over there was well worth it. :0)


4) “Write With Passion or Not at All” by Daniel Swenson on SurlyMuse. YES! Please, dear God, write what you’re passionate about – not what other people say you should write or what you think your family and/or friends will love. If you’re heart’s not in it, then nobody’s going to buy it. “I’m saying that giving yourself permission to suck can lead you through the Valley of Suck to the Mountain of Awesome, whereas taking the shortcut through the Cave of Guilt only leads to the Lava-Filled Grotto of Hopelessness…” Well said, Daniel! Bravo!


3) “5 Tips for Not Screwing Up Your Character’s Name” by Suzanne Johnson on Roni Loren’s Writing Blog: Fiction Groupie. Naming a character can either be fun or downright frustrating. If you’re like me, you search through surname databases by origin – be it French, English, Italian, etc. – and you’re able to narrow it down to oh, maybe 20 possible names for one character. I liked this post because it actually might make the name-selection process a little simpler for everyone. If you take into account the origin, how much you love it (and whether or not you can live it with for several years), and the history behind the name, then selecting a name should be a whole lost easy going forward. This is definitely one that was printing and added to the book!


2) “The Sum of the Parts: Writing a Synopsis” on The Other Side of the Story with Janice Hardy. Remember the post from Roni Loren on synopsis? Well, here’s another great post that makes this process seem a little easier to approach. It’s another for flagging/printing – right alongside Roni’s fabulous post!


1) “Insanity Behind the Pressure to Have ‘Numbers’” by Jami Gold. *cracks knuckles* *stops and thinks for a moment* Actually, I think I already feel better now that I have also ranted in public…though on Jami’s blog. But nonetheless, I have got to give Jami kudos here for having the anatomy to speak up – once again – and say exactly what’s been on the minds of most of us writers. I stewed a little over Rachelle’s post earlier this week that sparked Jami’s post, but Jami put it out there and guess what! She was able to get to the heart of the matter (which sparked Rachelle’s second post on numbers listed above), instill hope in a lot of us writers, and build on another genuine relationship. I encourage everyone to dive in and share your opinion/thoughts on the subject...after all, it effects all of us. 

Are we ready for a bit of Friday fun?

I seriously don’t know why, but this video is hilarious….something about the way this guy lands against the wall then falls to the floor? I dunno – but it had me cracking up for at least 10 minutes.

Hope you enjoy!!

 


Happy Reading & Writing!!!

Melinda

What’s in Your Toolbox? – A Writer’s Bookshelf

Recently, I did a major overhaul on my writing space. The overhaul allowed me to create some much-needed space on my shelves for books on the craft as well as added space on my physical desktop for the research I’ve been doing on my next idea.

This process got me thinking about a writer’s toolbox.
 
We each have one, but what we carry inside can be vastly different from our fellow writers.
 
A few of the items I believe all writers have inside their immediate (the one we carry everywhere) toolbox are: our ideas (or Muse – if they can actually fit inside that small, tight confined space), experiences, vocabulary, music that drives the words onto the page, a pen and a notebook (or index cards or post-it notes).
 
But what about the other items – the ones we can’t take with us everywhere we go? The first obvious one that comes to mind is our computer, since those can be a little too bulky to carry around everywhere. But I’m mainly thinking about the many books on/about the craft that accumulate on our shelves. Looking at my stack of writing books made me wonder what’s on everyone’s shelves and whether or not all of us have a few of the same books.
 
Given the fact that the writing community is forever open and honest, and everyone enjoys sharing ideas and resources with each other, I wanted to take this opportunity to find out what you have on your shelves at home.
 
I’ll show you mine if you show me yours. *smile*

• Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus
• The BIG Book of Words You Should Know (this is an interesting book as it separates words into those you should absolutely know, words most people don’t know, words you should know but probably don’t, and words you shouldn’t know)
• Write That Book Already! By Sam Barry & Kathi Kamen Goldmark
• *Writer’s Market Guide to Getting Published from the Editors of Writer’s Digest
• *Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
• Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
• *Write Great Fiction: Dialogue by Gloria Kempton
• *Write Great Fiction: Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell
• *Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
• *Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder
• Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliot, Ph. D.
• The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider’s Guide (particular section entitled: ‘For Writers’) by J.R. Ward
• Writing the Paranormal Novel by Steven Harper
• *On Writing by Steven King
• *The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. & E.B. White
• *The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell

*Book not pictured as it is on my Nook/computer:

• Writing Fiction for All You’re Worth by James Scott Bell
• Love Writing by Virna DePaul & Tawny Weber

 
**I highly recommend these for writers.

These are the books that are on my actual shelves – it does not include those that have managed to find themselves in a box where one day, I will end up searching high and low for them – and driving myself crazy until I find them.
 
Now it’s your turn!
 
Name some of the writing books you have on your shelf at home. Which ones are your favorites? Is there a book in particular that you don’t see on my shelf that you feel we as writers absolutely must have?

Song of the Week: Waking the Witch by Kate Bush

This week's song was not chosen because of Halloween - though it was another awesome reason this song was chosen. This song was 'mainly' chosen because it is one of those amazing songs you can get lost in writing to.

When I hit 'play' on this one, everything fades into the background - all my focus is on what's in front of me....the characters and their story.

Hope you enjoy!

**Don't forget to leave any music/playlist suggestions in the comments. I'm always looking for new music to add to my writing playlist. :)

This Week in Favs…….

Playing on the Zune: “Misguided Ghosts” by Paramore <—This just so happens to be one of my favorite bands. I can always find the perfect song to fuel my writing with these guys on my playlist  :0) 

10) “A Time to Kill…Your Novel” by Marcus Brotherton, guest blogger on Rachelle Gardner’s blog. Ack! I hate the words ‘kill’ and ‘your novel’ in the same sentence…but it’s a fact of the writer’s life that must be faced. Not everything is going to be gold when it’s completed – and as I’ve said before: Every completed MS you write is a stepping stone in the journey to getting published. You learn something valuable from every single one of them, taking it with you onto the next, hoping the next one will be the one to bring you success in reaching your ultimate goal.

9) “5 Great Bits of Wisdom from a New York Times Bestseller” by Jenny Hansen. Yes, these are the same tips that you read and hear about so often within the writing blogoverse – but they’re SO TRUE! Never give up, visualize your goals, never stop learning, be a good ‘writing’ friend, and show up to the page and do the work. Save and/or print this page. It served as a good reminder for me this week when I started to feel lost and frustrated with my writing. Maybe it’ll either do the same or something different for you.  :0) 

8) “Guest Author Kenn Crawford: Tools of the Trade to Beat Writer’s Block” on The Other Side of the Story with Janice Hardy. Ok, I don’t necessarily believe in writer’s block….I believe in the Muse taking a major vacay without me. But nonetheless, even while the Muse is out on the beach drinkin’ Mai Tai’s, there are words that have to be written – even if it’s just 500/day – and the tools we should have are the write ticket to getting the creative juices flowing again: dictionary, thesaurus, ‘idea file’….not to mention the fact that we should always just keep writing whenever the block hits. Words have the power to pull you through!

7) “Symbolism in Writing: Shell Cottage: A Respite from the Storm” by SP Sipal on Harry Potter for Writers. Why hadn’t I thought of this before?!? Oh, duh! *head palm* I know why! Because sometimes what is staring you straight in the face – such as symbolism – isn’t what you see at first glance. Thanks to Susan, my mind is wide open to the symbols we see in everyday life. They may not be meant to have a meaning, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find one. I love how Susan explained the history behind a shell’s meaning then weaved it into a pivotal moment in young Mr. Potter’s life. Genius!

**Want some help on weaving symbols into your writing? Go check out the Symbolism Thesaurus on The Bookshelf Muse.

6) “10 Ways to Launch Strong Scenes” by Jordan E. Rosenfield on Writer’s Digest. What an informative article! Three different types of launches – action, narrative, and setting – and tips on how to get your scene airborne from each one! I loves it! Here’s a little tidbit to get you wanting to read more: “Each new scene still has a responsibility to the idea or plot you started with, and that is to communicate your idea in a way that is vivifying for the reader and that provides an experience, not a lecture.”

5) “Structure Part 2 – Plot Problems – Falcor the Luck Dragon & the Purple Tornado” by Kristen Lamb. Despite what my husband may think, I did not choose this post just because it had a picture of Falcor (although that helped *wink*). Any story that has a major plot issue is doomed to fail – and I believe I just stated the obvious, didn’t I? But it’s true. And unlike The Neverending Story, we can’t call upon Falcor to fly in and save us. Instead, we have to back track and fix it because it’s never going to sell if we don’t. I also loved Kristen’s story behind the purple tornado – major plot events that are too much, too soon. She really nailed it on the head in this article, pointing out the major reasons why plots tend to either fail or leave the reader high and dry for the rest of the story.

4) “Character or Plot or Setting? Building Your Story’s Universe” on Adventure’s in Children’s Publishing.  Do you begin with character, plot, or setting when you write? This is the main question this article posed to me this week. My honest answer would be the characters and the setting. Plot tends to tag along at the end of the day saying, “Yeah, I’ll show up to the party if you really want me to.” This is both good and bad, but it just means that I really have to focus on the plot of the story somewhere in the middle of writing – and that’s okay, because the writing process is one that you make your own. <—this is obvious by the great comments that followed the post which were just as enjoyable to read as the article itself.

3) “Make Your Setting a Character” by Susan Meissner on Novel Rocket. I just noticed how this post can tie right into #4. For some writers, setting is what comes first. When that comes first, the setting truly is a character of the story – it has a personality all on its own, and I’ve read quite a few books where the setting was more intriguing to me than the story itself, but this article isn’t geared towards doing that. It’s geared towards bringing your setting to life on the page. As a way to flex your writing muscles on this, there’s a little exercise at the end of the article that actually has me planning on re-watching You’ve Got Mail sometime this weekend. :0)

2) “What Does It Take to Sell Books” by Jami Gold. This is one of Jami’s best posts by far! I took a lot out of this one as it made me think about the writing friends I’ve come to know and love, through Twitter and blogging, and the fact that they are there for me throughout the writing process. If they’re here for me now, then won’t they also be here for me whenever I’m published? To me, that is invaluable because as you know, the writing community is one where ideas are spread and support is given more than any of us could’ve ever imagined. The personal connections you make with others is how you sell books…but it’s not about quantity – it’s about the quality of your work and the quality of those connections. 

1) “Why Steve Jobs Could Have Been a Writer” by Lisa Gail Green on Paranormal Point of View. This one truly needs no words from me as Steve Jobs was a genius – but I DARE you to listen to the speech in its entirety and not feel like he was speaking directly to you. Thank you, Lisa, for posting his speech. He really could’ve been a writer – and an amazing one at that! Now, go over and there and have a listen. Go ahead…I double-dog dare you! 

And here’s some more Friday fun: A new Simon’s Cat has been posted!!

ENJOY!

Happy Reading & Writing Everyone!!!!

Melinda

This Week in Favs……

Playing on the Zune: “Factory of Faith” by Red Hot Chili Peppers – Yes, I’m still listening to their new album and I can’t get enough of it!! :0)

10) “Don’t Be a Poser: Write What You Love” by Roni Loren. I can’t think of a better way to start off this week’s round-up than with a post of 100% truth – Write what you love! I agree with Roni – it’s easy when you think about it, correct? But for some, it’s not so easy. Some of us get caught up in what’s hot in the market – currently – or we listen to the direction of others who tell us what we should be writing. But the fact is, when you don’t truly love what you’re writing….. it shows!!! BIG time! If you love it, write it and let that writing speak for itself. I love the advice Roni gives: “…try to find the balance between writing a story that you think will sell with writing the story that you are passionate about.”

9) “Why Gatekeeper’s Aren’t Evil” by Ava Jae on Writability. You had me at the word evil, Ava. *grin* In all seriousness though, Ava is absolutely, 100% spot-on with this post: not everything we write is going to pour out of us like gold. We have to gather tools, sharpen them, and be willing to toss the manuscripts aside that aren’t the one – the ones that aren’t meant to help you find an agent or a publisher. It hurts, but we have to remember that saying: “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” I personally believe that timing is everything – and that success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. All those manuscripts are stepping stones – they’re guiding your way to the ultimate story that will make you a STAR.

8) “Research: Getting the Details Right” by Lisa Hall-Wilson on Girls With Pens. Oh, I totally dislike a book that doesn’t have the details right – especially when it comes to foreign languages and locations. It makes me toss the book aside asking, “Has the reader not heard of Google?!?” I love using Google to find all sorts of resources that are required before sitting down to write that first draft. Google Earth is so much fun and I use Google Translator almost everyday and lately, that’s because I’ve discovered a few more phrases for my WIP that need translating. Prior to that, I took a chance and asked an American author who lives in France, Amy Plum, a favor for some translations (for that, I'll always be grateful). The point is, research can be one of the most enjoyable parts – other than the writing itself – of pulling a story together.

7) “Strike Back Against Setbacks” by Jael McHenry on Writer Unboxed. We’ve all faced setbacks in our writing lives – from not being able to find the time to edit because the day job’s too crazy so you get home too late to do anything, to not being able to catch enough sleep to meet that writing goal. I liked Jael’s three simple ways to address any setback (when a positive outlook doesn’t feel like enough): Head-on, Off to to the Side, and Not at All. Yup – this one’s been printed and added to the wall’o’encouragement!

6) “Feed Your Senses” by Lisa Gail Green on Paranormal Point of View. Like some other writers out there, I’ve been feeding my senses while writing without truly knowing it. Thanks to Lisa’s post, I’m now conscious of it and can add a few things here and there to make the experience better – adding a good-smelling candle to my desk, ensuring I have the right song on in the background for the scene (since I tend to forget the music is still set for the scene before because I’m so focused), and possibly writing a few scenes in longhand from the comfort of my bed – which may do wonders so I’m hoping my writing is fast enough to keep up with how fast my thoughts fly when writing. *crosses fingers* And Lisa, I too enjoy a nice glass of wine while writing in the evening. :0)

5) “Top 10 Writing Distractions” by Katy, Storytelling Nomad. Ah….the distractions that keep us from getting down to business. I think Katy pretty much pegged every distraction I’ve ever had in my writing life: housework, food, sleep, DVD’s, reading, Twitter, blogging, exercise and time. Katy lists the reason and gives the argument and reality of each one – and she makes some super-awesome points on a few. This is a new blog for me so I’ll be watching this one closely. So far, I’m loving what I’m reading from Katy. 

4) “Hook Lines and Stinkers: Crafting Lines to Draw the Reader In” by Janice Hardy on The Other Side of the Story. I was hooked into this article this week by Janice simply because of her rule of thumb that she shares: “I have one to three hook lines most pages…If you don’t have at least one hook like per page, that could be a red flag that something is off.” Hmmm…..never thought of it that way for some reason, and now I can’t help but want to read through my MS again to ensure I do, in fact, have at least one hook line per page. *pulls MS out and forgets about this post* <—J/K!

3) “Being Your Own Inspiration” by Martina Boone on Adventures in Children’s Publishing. Here’s our dose of inspiration for the week! I’ll let you go to this site and read the post for yourself instead of spoiling the inspiration for you. It may feel a bit stronger if you read it from Martina – without my input on this one. Don’t forget to leave a comment and enter for the giveaway!

2) “So You’re Looking for a Literary Agent…” by Tina Moss. I failed to congratulate Tina on the blog last week on an incredibly exciting announcement she had last week: She’s got an agent!!!! So, congrats again, Tina! Now, onto her post on lit agents: This is some of the best advice I’ve heard with regards to finding and signing with a literary agent. And I thoroughly enjoyed how Tina presented it – from the ‘do you have what it takes’ questions to the step-by-step guidebook about the journey into gaining representation (The ‘PB & J time’ dancer is awesome also!). Thank you, Tina, for the information and the amazing advice: “BElieve in YOUrself” :0)

1) “How to Avoid the Publishing Kool-Aid” and “Are Writers Entrepreneurs?” by Jami Gold. THESE posts had me wanting to jump around – though I don’t think anyone in the office would’ve appreciated it at the time. *smile* Jami is a rock star thanks to these posts. In her first post this week, she put something out there that most of us have been thinking – self-publishing vs. traditional publishing: neither is better than the other. It truly does depend on the writer. With the second post, she shows us exactly why a writer would choose one over the other – because it truly depends on how we see our business <—which is the business of writing! If we plan to make a living from writing, which is the ultimate dream, then we may see writing as a business that we need to grow from the ground-up. And how we go about that has everything to do with our personal philosophy. Bravo, Jami!! You rock, my dear!!! *high fives*

Here's a funny video that some of you may have seen already since I posted on Twitter earlier this week. Harry Potter fans will definitely get a kick out of it - and those who aren't, you'll still find it rather enjoyable. ;)

Happy Reading & Writing!!!

Melinda

Takin’ a Look Back at Seven Special Posts

Last week, a fabulous fellow blogger/writer, SP Sipal, gave me the “7 X 7 Link Award”!

I was super-excited to receive this and can’t believe that even though I’ve only been at this since May, I’ve got an answer for each one of these categories! :0)

If any of your answers are different from mine, please feel free to comment and let me know! It can be hard to decipher these for yourself since you, as the writer, are not the intended audience for the posts.


Here we go:

MOST SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL: “Whose Line?!? Using Multiple Points of View in Your Writing” I loved writing this one – and not just because I actually watched a few episodes of ‘Whose Line?’ to get me into writing it. There’s nothing I love more than to write a book where there are multiple viewpoints (that are clear and concise) are used to show the entire story as it happens around the many characters. :0)

MOST CONTROVERSIAL: I don’t really think that I’ve had one, but if I had to choose, it’d be “First Sentences”. This was a scary thing for me to post (although it was so much fun to be in Barnes & Noble for three hours doing research) because I was basically taking published author’s books, critiquing their first lines (without knowing anything else about the book other than the name and what the cover looked like) and posting it here for others to read – and more of those comments were fun and not intending to really hurt anyone’s feelings.

MOST BEAUTIFUL: Hmmm….. I don’t really think that I have a post that I’d consider '’most beautiful’, but the first thing that came to mind when I went looking for one was a Song of the Week post: “Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse”. I love this band and for me, this song is beautiful because it really evokes an emotion out of the listener – be it to take a chance of to get out there and change the world….one book at a time, that is :0)

MOST POPULAR: This is one that’s not even one I’ve written – which is completely awesome. It’s from the Week of the Writer, and it was the post that ended our fun week of celebration: “Top 10 Tips of Writing I Learned from Studying JK Rowling” by SP Sipal. As of today, that post has had 450 page views (it’s original post date was August 26th, 2011). Needless to say, that was an unbelievable post and I’m so thrilled to have hosted it on my blog!

MOST UNDERRATED: “Editing Is Fun….Yes, I’m Serious!!” <—This is a post that I thought would’ve been a little more popular than it was – simply because of the title, maybe? I’m not sure, but this is one of the first posts I’d written about the craft – and it’s one that came from out of nowhere. I was editing one night and BAM! I had a new & shiny article to post on my blog :0)

MOST PRIDE WORTHY: “Finding the Balance” Yeah….this is definitely my most pride worthy because I basically put my struggles out there for everyone to see – along with how I was going to solve the ever-nagging problem of ‘how can we do it all?’. I’ve struggled a little bit – okay, a lot – with the schedule I had set forth for myself, but because I’ve written this article, the balance is always in the back of mind, reminding me that I need to slow down and relax a little. We can’t all be Superman, can we?

MOST HELPFUL: As of today, I think my most helpful post would be “Getting From Point A to Point Z: The Unruly, Untrusting and Hard-Headed Character” because it personally helped me. After I wrote this, the character I’d been struggling with finally pulled a brick from their wall and let me in a little. I’m still getting to know him, and everyday I learn more, but I don’t think I would’ve been able to get this far without having sat down and banged out this article.

Thank you, Susan, for the award and the chance to take a look back over the last few months of my ‘blogging life’. There were smiles, frowns, grins, laughs, and booty dances along the way to figuring out which posts would make the cut for these categories.

Now, in the spirit of paying it forward, I’m going to pass this award along to a few fantastic bloggers:

Merry Farmer
Trish Gentry
Charissa Weeks
J.C. Fiske

Happy Reading & Writing, Everyone!!!

Melinda

This Week in Favs…..

Playing on the mp3 player (Zune): “Did I Let You Know” by Red Hot Chili Peppers – since I have a sleeping cat in my lap,  I can’t booty dance in my seat like I want, but nonetheless, this is my current jam (many thanks to my bestie for getting me hooked!).

10) “7 Ways Add Variety to Your Dialogue” by Marcy Kennedy & Lisa Hall-Wilson on Girls with Pens. Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue! THIS is what makes a story. While I enjoy the descriptions and world-building of a great story, what makes it an enjoyable read for me is the dialogue. You learn more about the characters through their interactions with one another. I particularly enjoyed this article because Marcy and Lisa show us how to change up our dialogue so that we’re not using the same technique over, and over, and over….. Get over there and read this and be sure to either print or bookmark this one. I can guarantee you it will come in handy while you’re writing. 

9) “Blogging Tips: Make Your Text POP” by Angela Ackerman on The Bookshelf Muse. I know, I know – this isn’t an article about the craft, but it’s one that I just HAD to highlight this week. Given the fact that there are sooo many writing blogs out there, we could use as many tips as possible to help make our own blog memorable. And Angela hit it out of the ball park with her simple Do’s and Don’ts. Now that I think about it, in regards to the Don’ts: How is my background? Is everyone able to read everything pretty well? Are there are critiques or ideas you have for me that will help improve my blog’s look? Oh! And Angela: the picture of Carrot Top? Eeewwww!!!! LOL! Hehe :0) 

8) “Guest Author Dana Marton: 7 Tips to Improve Your Novel’s Pacing” on The Other Side of the Story with Janice Hardy.  Ah, yes! The importance of pacing in your novel in order to keep the reader interested and not want to put it down to get some sleep although it’s 4am and they have to be at work at 6am <—Yes, a book has done this to me and it was worth every hour of lost sleep. *smile* Dana gives us seven simple key point on how to improve the pacing of our MS’s, and I’m so incredibly thankful for how understandable she has written this out for us all. I’m sure there are loads more tips out there on pacing, but this particular article will be easy to tuck away and pull out when it’s time for some dreaded fun-time editing.

7) “Why Your Should Only Query 6-8 Agents at a Time” by Chuck Sambuchino on Writer Unboxed. I believe we’ve all heard this piece of advice before, but you know me – I like a good reminder every now and then: “If you’re not progressing as you hope, try to identify where you’re going wrong so you can improve on it as quickly as possible. Protect yourself. Give yourself the best chance of success.”

6) “Reading Out Loud – Not Just For Kids” by Laura Harrington on Writer Unboxed. This is the part of the review & read-through process I dread: reading aloud. And here’s why: “…storytelling is a dramatic art, no matter what form is takes. Reading your work aloud is a brutally honest look at your novel and its drama or lack thereof.”  I’ve had many discussions over this with my bestie, and it was decided that it may be best if she and one or two other people take turns and read the entire novel aloud while everyone else, and myself, listen. Why not me? Well, because I know how my sentences/words/rhythms/tones/tempos are supposed to sound. That doesn’t mean that’s how they’re going to come across to the reader. What may make sense to me when I read it aloud may not make sense for a reader who knows nothing about my story. So I like the idea of having others read it aloud while I listen so I can sit there and write down the areas they’re stumbling over – that and it’ll save my voice so I can continue to sing this Red Hot Chili Peppers song at the top of my lungs. :0)

5) “Guest Post: You Must Write High Concept!” by Laura Pauling on Harry Potter for Writers. Just about every book you pick up on the shelf these days is high concept. I honestly don’t think I’ve read a powerful but literary story in a looooong time. Readers want a MC they can latch onto and a world they can escape to. Both of which, in my opinion, can only be found in high concept novels. I liked this particular article by Laura because she simply put it out there: What is it? Do you want to create it? Do you have to? And what about after the idea? <—that’s the BIG one right there. Even with a high concept idea, you still need to have all of the other elements of craft in place in order to make it work.

4) “Engaging the Reader” by Lydia Sharpe on The Sharp Angle. This article sort of goes with the above pacing article from Dana (#8) since pacing is a way that we can keep the reader engaged in our story. Lydia tells us what makes her, as a reader, DNF a book. By doing this, she’s provided a wonderful lesson on what to do in order to keep our readers engaged by taking a look at prose/writing style/voice, cliffhangers vs tension, and making the reader think vs being preachy <—I really really dislike this one as a reader also, so I have definitely made sure that I steer as far as away from sounding preachy as possible!

3) “Can You Really Force a Character to Do What You Want?” by Lisa Gail Green on Paranormal Point of View. “I don’t care if you’re 7” tall & muscular, Rick. You’re got to fit through that doggie door!” Yeah…that wouldn’t work, and neither would asking Rick to do something that is not in his nature in your story. Lisa makes a fantastic point in this article: characters are just like people, and like people, we can’t change everything about them to fit this vision we have in our heads. Maybe you just need to change some small things about them, and that’s okay, but drastic changes? Not so much. I like Lisa’s idea suggestion: “Maybe they weren’t the right character for the situation. Maybe you need someone else.” Hmm…I’m thinking back to my difficult character post and it’s making me wonder if I should try inserting a different character until the stubborn one is ready to open up…….

2) “Are All Writers Delusional?” by Jami Gold. *raises hand* “Yes, Jami. My name is Melinda and I am a delusional writer who lives in a world full of vampires, lycans, witches, warlocks and sorcerers.” <—Did you see that? Admission is the first step. *grins* I thoroughly enjoyed Jami’s analogy of big fish, small pond (and vice versa). There are times where we *think* we know what we’re talking about and *think* we’re giving the best advice, but guess what? Maybe we’re just small fish in a big pond that need to hop back over into our home pond and gain more knowledge first. When it comes to my writing, I like to think that I’m not delusion by knowing I’ve got a great idea/plot. I also know I’m not delusional by thinking that the MS that comes out of said idea/plot really needs work. This is why I look to others like Jami Gold, Lisa Gail Green, SP Sipal, Tina Moss, Kristen Lamb, Lydia Sharpe, Angela Ackerman, Marcy Kennedy, Lisa Hall-Wilson and others to help me along the way. It’s also why I put this post together every week so that others can learn from the vast knowledge they share with us.

1) “Write What You Love, But Make Sure Only You Can Write It” by Martina Boone on Adventures in Children’s Publishing. I honestly don’t have any words to describe how awesome I thought Martina’s post was this week, so I’ll give you one my favorite lines from this one: “Write what you love. Love what you write. But make sure there is something in the manuscript, on every page of manuscript, that contains an essential truth – a different truth – from what is already being published. If your pages could’ve been written by anyone else, there probably isn’t enough of you on them yet.” ‘Nuff said. Thank you, Martina!! Loves this post! :0) 

And…. here’s something fun for your Friday! I’m going to let my geek flag fly high today by sharing this awesome video with you all – courtesy of my hubby.

A computer programmer made special floppy drives – remember those? – so that when they are being read by the computer, they play a song.

See if you can tell what song this one is…trust me, you’ll enjoy this and I won’t be the only one with their geek flag in the air today. :0)

Happy Reading and Writing!!!

Melinda

World-Building: It’s Not Just For Kids!

Today’s blog topic came from my 12-year old brother – or rather, the teacher who gave him a world-building assignment. :0)

This week, my brother, Andrew, had a Social Studies project in which he had to ‘create his own world’. Well, I can definitely see how this is something for a Social Studies class, but when I heard ‘create your own world’, I was immediately thrown into ‘writer-mode’ and thought, “Oh, that’s crazy-fun!”

Here’s how the conversation went with my mom when I heard about his project:

Mom: “Andrew has to create his own world. He has to figure out what he would wear, what kind of food he would eat, what holidays he would have…”

Me: “So, he’s basically being asked to be a writer.”

Mom: “Well, no. It’s for his Social Studies class, so it’s about culture.”

Me: “Ah…but he’s being asked to create as a writer does by making himself the character vs. creating one entirely from scratch and having to ask that character what their world is like.” *big smile*

Mom: “Oookay.”

See what happens when step into ‘writer-mode’? I completely turn his simple homework assignment into something BIG that would require more than just an hour or two to complete. Thank goodness I didn’t have this conversation with him because I may not have stopped myself from blowing his 12-year-old-mind! Which reminds me….why didn’t I get this kind of assignment when I was his age?? *crosses arms over chest and pouts*

But my point behind today’s post is to talk a little about world-building and what is we as writers look to discover about our worlds from our characters.

Here is a list of questions that I tend to ask every new character (in an effort to get to know them better, of course):

1. What year is it in your world?
2. Is your world somewhere I can find on a map or have will we be taking a trip into fantasy-land (please say fantasy!)?
1. If so, what type of government is in this world? I love it when I get a totalitarian government to try and overthrow :0)
2. Are there other creatures besides humans there? If so, can you tell me all about them? If no, then let’s put some in there just to make it fun.
3. Where does your story begin (location-wise)? Where does it end? Any field trips I should be aware of?
4. Where do you live (house, apartment, etc)? What kind of car do you drive?
5. If you were to walk outside right now, what would I see?
6. What is the weather like (or rather, what season are we in)?
7. What type of food do you eat?
8. What is the economy like in your world?
9. What do you do for fun? Movies? Books? TV?
10. Do you have any friends? If so, please tell me about them.
11. Do you have any enemies? If so, once again, please spill!!!

These are just questions that get me started on world-building because, as many of you know, there are many more out there – as well as many other ways to really dive into the world. One suggestion I’ve heard recently is to write out a ‘Day in the Life’ of your main character so you have a better feel for how they have to move around in their world.

What about you? Do you have a list of ‘must ask’ questions for your new characters? If so, please share? If not, what do you do to dive into the world of your characters in order to bring it to life?

This Week in Favs……..

10) “Finding the Heart of Your Story: A Tip from Donald Maass” by Martina Boone on Adventure’s in Children’s Publishing. This article was all about finding the theme of your story……the heart. Using a tip from Donald Maass, which is someone I don’t think I’d be able to write without the knowledge and tips we obtain from his books and/or blog posts, Martina shows us how we can look for the heart of our story by picking the one scene that you would never, ever cut from your story. Once you’ve got the scene, you can pull it apart to find what speaks to you. Be it an emotion or an idea that you really want the reader to connect with. Martina even gives us links to other great articles on theme, which made this particular article a winner this week…hands down!

9) “Setting – Adding Dimension to Your Fiction” by Kristen Lamb. Oh….soooo creepy to open this link and have Hannibal Lector’s face as the first thing you see. Kristen did a wonderful job in covering the many things setting can do for your novel and/or scenes. They help your characterization, amplify the mood, and can also symbolize something deeper within your story rather than just being a background for the characters. Kudos, Kristen!

8) “Forcing a Story to Evolve – From First Draft to Finished Draft” by Jami Gold on Writers In The Storm blog. In this article, Jami approached the types of ‘big picture’ revisions that we should be paying attention to as we’re editing. Voice, tone, point of view and theme are just a few types of ‘story evolution’ that she’s basically handed to us on a silver platter. Print this one out or write it down so you can refer to them when you’re in the middle of revisions. If we’re watching for these and ensuring they’re being properly developed, then our polished product is going to be a heck of a lot better when it’s querying time!

7) “Keep Your Dream Alive: Avoiding Despair at a Writer’s Conference” by Barbara Scott on Rachelle Gardner’s blog. I chose this particular article since it served a much-needed reader for all of the unpublished authors out there to continue to strive for the ultimate goal of one day being able to call themselves a published author. It’s a very tough world out there and it’s easy to become overwhelmed and discouraged – whether you’re at a writer’s conference, or in a chat room with other writers. As you can probably imagine, I’ve already printed this one up. Whenever I’m feeling a little down, I’ll be pulling this one out so it’ll turn that mood around OR push me to use those emotions in my writing. 

6) “The Grammar Hokey Pokey” by Ash Krafton on QueryTracker. Hehehe….I love this article. And here’s why: my hubby edits my blog posts and has often referred to me as ‘the comma whore’. LOL! This is only because I overuse commas throughout my writing. I used to pride myself on my grammar in writing and now I see that’s only because I know more than most, but not enough to not require someone to read behind me and make sure I’ve got everything right. Ash’s hokey pokey article is very similar to what me and the hubs are doing while I’m putting together my blog posts, but I’m getting better…I can assure you that :0)  Bottom line after reading this article: learn grammar! If you can’t, find someone who knows it better than you and ask them to do some grammar edits for you – and learn from their edits!

5) “How to Make Deep POV Enrich Your Internal Dialogue” by Lisa Hall-Wilson on Girls with Pens. I was on an author chat the other night, entitled “The Subtle Art of Show, Don’t Tell”, and when it came time for the Q&A portion of the chat, there were about 5 other writers in the chat whose questions were about deep POV: What exactly is it? How does it help? How can I do this? Well, needless to say, I pointed them to this blog with the mention that the Girls with Pens have enough articles about deep POV that you should fully understand the why’s and how’s of this concept. This particular article was wonderful for me because it gives a great list of guidelines on how to use deep POV to your advantage: by pulling the reader closer to the character so they will invest in the character’s story.

4) “Does Your MC Get the Best Lines?” by Jeannie Campbell, The Character Therapist. And here’s the article that really had me thinkin’ this week! I’m loving this line: “When we put our characters on such a high pedestal, we run the risk of not being able to write the very good scenes that show them falling off!” So, as I’m going through my MS one last time before sending to my CP, this is what I’ll be looking for. Our characters need to be relatable to the reader. Not bland. Go check out this article then take a look at your MC’s and secondary characters. Be sure the secondary characters are not stealing the spotlight from your MC with their snarky comments. Save the best possible lines for your MC. 

3) “What Comes After a First Draft” by Jami Gold. Jami hit another home run this week with this post! Like I said, she can always get you to think…even when you don’t really want to. ;o)  Jami brought up something in this article about using Microsoft Word’s Compare function. Hmm…. I didn’t even know there was such a thing. I’m most certainly glad I know now because I’d love to go back and see how my stories have grown since their first draft (after I get over a fear of seeing how ‘green’ my stories were in the beginning). It’s a lot like life: We have to know where we came from in order to not only begin to understand where we’re going, but to also see how far we’ve come when the road begins to get rocky.

2) “How Our Relationship With Our Characters is Like Dating a Vampire” by Lisa Gail Green on Paranormal Point of View. OMG I looooved this one. So, obviously I’m a big vampire fan, but this is something I’d never thought of: comparing our relationship with our characters to dating vampires. Very original, in my opinion, and a wonderful analogy. Genius, Lisa! Thank you for the great post - and for another pic of Damon which I just can’t get enough of either! ;o)

1) Ready for some Friday fun? I hope so because a new Simon’s Cat video has been posted and this one goes out to all my writerly friends who also have cats. I believe we all know how aggravating it is to try and get some writing done with a cat walking all over your keyboard, monitor, lap, mouse, etc. You name it, they’re on it! Am I right? So I really enjoyed seeing this being perfectly depicted by the artist.

Hope you enjoy!

Happy Reading & Writing!

Melinda