A New Year's Resolution about Gaming

Hell world!

     Where have I been? Good question. November just sped along until travel and holidays took over.  And December? Well, that is today's story.

     The Game, my novel, is about people and cultures. But the setting is a theme park with real-life gaming (instead of virtual). Many writers treat setting as a character. My wonderful reader’s group felt that the setting wasn’t as well developed as my other characters. 

     Consequently, just before Thanksgiving I started playing a virtual game as research.  I hoped to make the novel more attractive to gamers – and everyone else.I joined a game through Facebook called “Kingdoms of Camelot.” Within a week, I was totally addicted. Hooked. Mesmerized.  And the fascination has not worn off. (ç Understatement.)

     I became accustomed to building cities and alliances and attacking enemies, and was drawn into the community chat. I met wonderful people there.

     A gentle chiropractor in ND.

     A one-time-bad-boy carpenter, struggling to find work in the damaged economy of southern CA.

     A boy with stunning leadership skills.

     A cancer researcher in Sweden.  

     A lonely lover in East Java.

     Two Lebanese college students.

     An Australian contingent, including a Kiwi.

     Canadians, folks from the UK. People from all over the world. Relationships forming and growing.

All of which is wonderful. Superb, in fact. And similar in many ways to the community that forms in my book.. It all came together!

     Only, I need to regain control of my time.  Balance this wonderful new community with my need to work. So that’s what I’ll do.

     My first resolution of 2011.

Write On the Sound (WOTS) Part 3: So Am I Writing?

Hello World!

On my previous entry I received a question asking if I was writing. Yes! Yes! Yes!

If you've been following this blog for long, you know that one of my earliest rants was about sharing my book with a few relatives and friends only to get zero helpful feedback (and I only exaggerate slightly.) Up until now, the hardest part of writing for me was having to go it alone. I so wanted to hear something -- especially something critical -- from a reader.

I had considered hiring an editor just to get some feedback, but the expense put me off. I'm just not that far along in my rewrite yet. To hire an editor at this point would cost me double, because I'd probably have to do it again later. Obviously my family and friends were too nice to tell me what every writer knows -- rough drafts suck. And those critique groups I knew of had offered me no invitation to join despite my pointed hints.

But an awesome thing happened as a result of the Write On the Sound (WOTS) Friday workshop. I've begun exchanging work with several other writers! Not only does practicing my editing skills on their work sharpen my ability to see glitches in my own, but they critique mine! This has been better than Christmas. Seriously.

With one fellow, I have sent two chapters and critiqued three of his. A doctor, he has been able to help me make a medical scene much more realistic. Then, my new online critique group finished our first round a couple of weeks ago. As I wrote in a summary e-mail, two of the women pointed out the descriptions they really appreciated, while the third, primarily a flash fiction writer, helped me weed thorough the rest and tighten up my chapter. Then, from one I got a three-word description of a main character that blew me away, one reminded me to consider the grittier side of gaming in my book, and one shared her hope for what might come next in the story. (Her idea was so much better than mine that I changed my story!)

I find myself on fire to write again. My muse is grabbing me and taking me on a rollercoaster ride. I love rides. And critiquing with my new on-line writer's group has helped me move forward far faster than I was able to do before -- even counting all the time I put into my critiques of their work. 

As one character likes to say in my book, "Sometime, life can be very good."

Part 2: WOTS Conference Discoveries and Amazon.com Links

Hello World!

In my last blog entry, I started telling you about the Write on the Sound Conference. I'm nowhere near finished. I learned so much.

The keynoter was Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones and other books. With a gentle voice and excellent humor she gave a wonderful talk on how she discovered who she was. As her journey continued, she started writing and discovered she liked it. She became an author.

Writing Down the Bones was 17 years in the writing (and 4 in the publishing), the result of long meditation on the writing process and the way of life. She tells people to practice, practice, practice.  Translated, that means write, write, write -- even if it's sh#t. We all need to keep reminding each other to keep going. Keep our mechanism oiled and ready. If you read the comments on my last blog entry, you'll see that another writer who heard Natalie speak reminded me of that fact recently! (Thank you!)

Natalie had three main bits of wisdom for writers. 

1. Never stop writing. Write daily, even if you have nothing to write. "It’s a deep practice," she said.
2. "Don’t be tossed away," she said. Every time you're put down, after each fall, get up again. And again -- write.
3. "Make positive effort for the good," she told us. As with any good habit like just picking up the toothbrush and brushing your teeth, "just pick up the pen and write."

I first heard about two other books at WOTS that interest me. One is Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King. Self editing is something I want to learn well.  I've been an editor for others for years, but editing my own work is harder. So it's on my list, and I'll tell you more about it once I've read it. The other one -- as my writer friend reminded me in that comment I mentioned above -- is a current popular YA book called Hunger Games. She (and I) hope it will help inform the game in my own book-to-be, The Game. I have it on reserve at my public library.

If you are interested in the Amazon.com info on these books, I've added a look-up link and a display at the bottom of this page. All the books in the display are my picks -- only the books I've discussed on this blog. I'm a great supporter of the library system, but occasionally I buy books to use over and over again. If you would like to purchase these (or other) books, and do so here, I get a little kickback. Seems like a benefit all around to have the link available. Hope you don't mind.

Write On The Sound Conference (WOTS) in Edmonds Washington

Hello World!

I spent the weekend at the Write on the Sound (WOTS) Conference. I'm so glad. What an infusion of information and motivation!

On Friday afternoon, I attended a special workshop where 10 fiction writers read and shared possible edits and structural changes on each other's writing. The leader was a Community College writing professor and author. I met some good people (one from Denver, CO!) and learned quite a bit about how writers work together.

One thing that became evident is that such workshops are not a great place to take your worst writing. How do I know? Well, guess who was naive enough to do so? Yep.

We sent in 10 pages of text that was distributed to the other writers. I figured that since I had this chance, I'd send 10 pages that I was really struggling with. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Most of the writers and the leader seemed unsure what to do with my pages, though the leader intends to e-mail additional thoughts. One participant gave back little more than a statement that the writing held no interest for him/her. (I'm not sure interest should have been the deciding factor in whether or not to give feedback, but that is a different issue.)

Most people presented work in progress at a higher level of revision than mine. About half brought work that bordered on polished. One woman's work was so far along in the process that all I could really do was list the questions I would want to answer if I were able to read on. I hoped that knowing how one reader's mind worked might be helpful. Giving critique can be quite challenging!

The best result from this experience so far, aside from learning what level of work to submit and discovering the difficulty of critique, was that another writer, DIane, and I plan to work together, reading and commenting on each other's novel. I have wanted to do this with someone for over a year, so I am very excited. Hopefully, by the time  Diane next encounters the 10 pages I submitted, if they are in no better shape (a false assumption, I hope), she will better understand how they fit into the story, be able to follow what is going on, and thereby share useful feedback with me. And I will get to read more of her novel, a YA story that already has captured me!

I have lots more to write about the conference, but I think I'll stop for today. I want to encourage other writers to attend a writer's conference, especially if you feel stuck and want a boost in motivation. You may also get a fresh pallet of tools to apply as well!

Redesigning Myself

Hello World!

While I prepared my various prose chunks for "Write On The Sound" (WOTS) conference, I rewrote, not only my book summary for The Game, but my author bio as well. Actually, I ended up with several bios of various lengths, starting with my 100 word version, and gradually cutting down to the mere 30 words that would be read about me were I to win (ha, ha) the WOTS short story contest. Although I'm still not at all sure I have a final version, I have come a long way from my original effort. My fear now is that I've gone overly creative compared to the more prosaic one I posted earlier!

See what you think.

Sharman Badgett’s wondrous internal universe was more winsome in childhood than the “real” world. Adults’ inability to understand made her fear she was a changeling-child. Finding non-fiction dry and dead, she discovered life’s deepest truths in fiction, attempting her own first novel in sixth grade. As a mystic wanderer-adventurer, Badgett gathers examples of unexpected cultural assumptions. Then, as a therapist, researcher and instructor, she helps others broaden their experience of freedom, spirituality and life. Her writing explores misunderstandings, motivations, isolation and connectedness, and the yearning to love and be loved well. She enjoys living in the cool green Pacific Northwest.

Looking At Myself Differently

Hello World!

What a month! It started with my second Marketing Yourself and Your Work class, included over a week off the grid at remote Holden Village in the North Cascade Mountins, and ended with preparation of a short story for a writing contest.

I put the fiction entry into the mail today. Taking the story of two secondary characters from my book, The Game, I stripped out the parts that were only necessary to the longer story, and shortened up the remaining 3,500 words into a 1,500 word story that (I thought) read quite well (entitled "Defining Love" or DL). Part of my process included thinking I had DL finished and having Tom read it and do a copy edit for me. He told me it was good, but not very good. As a rather common human story, it needed more color and descriptive language to make it unique. That set me off on an additional day of further rewriting that moved it up in both his and my ranking system. By the time I sent it in, we agreed that I had added a "very" to my good story.

I'm certain that two excellent stories will win the prizes, but I don't mind. As I take parts of DL and weave it  back into The Game, I know some important scenes will sparkle from the work I completed. The competition results won't be anounced until October at the "Write on the Sound" (WOTS) conference. I look forward to reading the winning stories and discovering what it would take to move a short story up in the ranks another notch.

I also will be attending a half-day workshop at WOTS where 10 of us with a local writer/professor will critique one anothers' writing. My next project is choosing and spiffing up (a technical term!) another section of The Game for submission to that class. I get to send in just 10 double spaced pages of text, so I'll have to skim through and find an appropriate segment.

The other presentations at WOTS look very helpful as well. Even though this conference is a local Edmonds, Washington affair, it appears that some talented people will offer invaluable assistance. I have to admit, I'm excited.

Book Summary: The Game

Hello World!

At the second session of my "Marketing Yourself and Your Writing" class, I received feedback on the 75-- to 100--word summary of my book, The Game. This summary might appear on the back cover, though it has other uses as well. In response to class feedback, I have re-written the summary, and decided to share this version with you.

I always assumed that a publisher would choose these words. As with my bio, writing them myself makes me a trifle uncomfortable. At least you are getting a later version of my book summary than I posted of my bio.

Hopefully, since this is its purpose, this summary will make you want to read the book! Your comments are welcome, as always. Let me know if it works. Here goes.

The Game

Relocating to Eastern Washington, Jason’s foreign commune encounters traditional wariness of the atypical. Lee enjoys their theme park with its hidden clues and extreme challenges. But as Lee draws closer to playful Jason and odd “Honest Gabe,” she wonders whether the immigrants’ excessive friendliness belies some ulterior purpose. Then, Jason, stunned by family crisis, becomes a target of violence. To support Jason and Gabe, Lee immerses herself in bizarre secrets the community rarely reveals. Using romance, mystery, and speculative science, The Game examines the power of assumptions, how we attach and detach from one another and the need for Home.

Marketing Myself and My Writing

Hello world,

The class I'm taking on marketing myself and my writing assigned me challenging homework. -- to write a 50 to 100 word bio that could be used on a book jacket. It appears that this bio will have numerous other uses over time, as well.

It's harder than I thought putting together a short piece about myself, written in third person. Everything sounds commonplace and boring instead of being something that would cause a potential publisher or reader to bounce in excitement. My ego is taking a beating while I work on finding the right words. Maybe I'll see if I hear from any of you before I take this to class tomorrow night.

I've put my first draft of the bio below. All suggestions are welcome!

"Sharman Badgett has a background in technical writing and social science/educational research that gives her fiction depth and believability. Through experience as a therapist, Sharman creates complex characters and explores what causes them to attach and detach. She enjoys visiting diverse cultures and discovering the assumptions that lead people toward either trust or fear. Having ridden elephant back through jungles of Thailand, white-water rafted in Costa Rica and bungee jumped in Canada, Sharman makes her home in the Pacific Northwest."

Port Townsend for July 4th

Hello World!

I just returned yesterday from a recuperative four-day weekend in Port Townsend. (Ahhh.) While there, tucked above a bookstore, I came across an informative, petite shop on Water Street, "The Writers' Workshoppe." In my many trips to P. T., I'd never seen it before. My conversation with the owner, Anna Quinn, was full of interesting information.

For those close enough to benefit, she and guest speakers offer regular workshops for writers at various stages in the process. Check her website at http://www.writersworkshoppe.com/. I am seriously considering one in late summer or fall, as Anna and her guest speakers offer fascinating topics of study. If I go, I'll let you know about my insights.

One thing Anna told me stands out above the others. Most people never finish their books. Only a fraction of those who do finish continue into the labyrinth of submission for publication. Consequently, only about 1% of writers get to the point where they receive those tedious piles of rejection notices that we all dread. (At least the piles are fine fire starters for cold feet in the winter, I hear.)

For some reason, my heart feels lighter knowing this. Can I make it into the 1%? Certainly. I have no doubt. From there, with so much of the competition already fallen by the wayside, I feel I will have a better chance than I'd feared I might. I shall enter the Labyrinth.

Anna also complimented me for taking on the difficult job of carefully rewriting each scene. I'm making certain that character development, drama, and tension occur in each scene and goals, changes and themes are clearly mapped, as suggested by Martha Alderson (see previous blog). From Anna's comment, I feel reassured that I am still journeying along the right path, slow and rocky though it may be.

I have enrolled in a two-day writing class here in town led by two successful writers. It concerns marketing your work. For awhile, I put on blinders so I wouldn't become discouraged by what I heard about publishing and marketing. Now, I'm finally ready to hear about what I imagine will be the toughest steps. After my classes, I'll share a few high points with you.

Meanwhile, I hope I'll find some of you traveling through the labyrinth when I arrive. Wouldn't it be fun to journey together? If we combine our piles of rejection slips, we can keep our feet warmer than if we travel alone.

A Book Report and a Favor

Hello World!

Today I have a book report to share and a favor to ask.

I know several of you follow my blog. I’d like to ask a favor of you. Would you please share with my readers and me one or both of the following?

• sources that you find helpful when you write
• the author you would emulate if you were to write a novel

My responses follow.

I mentioned before that my favorite book on writing is Martha Alderson's Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple. See my April 1st 2010 post for more about why it is my favorite.

The author I would emulate in my novel is Mary Doria Russell. Her first book, Sparrow, completely blew me away. It is a tale of difficulties, beyond language, that keep Earth scientists and clerics from communicating clearly with two intelligent species coexisting on another planet. The expedition occurs because the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) finally picks up signals alien signals. Scientists and the Roman Catholic Church plan and fund the space trip together.

My book, The Game, also looks at the differences between cultures, a foreign communal group that has recently relocated to Eastern Washington and the local people they meet. My two groups are not different as those in Sparrow, but I hope I can make them both as similar and as distinct.

It’s not that Ms. Russell’s three cultures cannot understand each other. Problems arise when the conclusions they draw from facts and observations are incomplete or incorrect. Assumptions based on those findings bring about totally unexpected results, though everyone is certain relations are caring and peaceful between the people of Earth and the two new cultures.

As a person who learns more from fiction than non-fiction, I appreciate how well Ms. Russell presents the fallacy of believing quantitative information is truth. Not only do facts tell only part of the story, they are necessarily viewed through our cultural sieve, something I want readers of The Game to experience.

Ms. Russell’s story continues in Children of God. The two books excel in creating complex cultures containing complex characters. Hers is not a tale of good and bad guys. Instead, each character has strengths and weaknesses and creates success or chaos depending on the situation. How I would enjoy creating characters as 3-D as hers!

Hopefully I can present your writing and fiction choices in a later blog.

Congratulations (At Least, a Mini One)

Hello World!

Today I congratulate myself.

Don’t get too excited -- this is a small celebration. No, I have not yet finished my scene by scene analysis and rewrite, an effort that will undoubtedly take longer than writing my original draft. I have, however, completed a copy edit pass through the entire novel that tightened up its extensive length.

At its longest, The Game ran 588 pages. It now stands at 482 pages. Yay!

Not all of those pages vanished through my copy editing. Several entire scenes did not survive the extensive analysis/rewrite process. Hopefully, I’ll find more of those, because I plan to add several exciting additional scenes as well.

In case you are still concerned at The Game’s length, I’ll let you in on a secret. My pages are a bit shorter than actual book pages. In the end, I will convert them. For now, I continue to estimate the “tomeishness” of my work by counting its original-length pages.

Although a rewrite is more vital than copy editing, I’m pleased by the evidence of my progress. Maybe an occasional celebration should be required during long-term projects like writing a book. It makes feel better about my work and energized to move forward.

Congratulations to me!

Researching The Game

Hello World!

I’ve been thinking a lot about research lately. Most of my life I’ve worked in social science and educational research, which includes a lot of writing. Writing this book, I’ve discovered that writing includes a lot of research, as well. It is fortunate for me that the two fit so well together.

Of course, if I wrote non-fiction, I’d plan for lots of research – after all, think of all those facts! Yet day after day during the writing phase of my novel, I’d come up with answers I needed so my setting and characters would remain believable. Some were quick googles, while others took deeper research. Occasionally I lost an entire day to exploration. ! even took a class on one of my research topics.

The working title for my novel is The Game. My research made me feel like I was one of my characters, involved in my own game. Below are some examples.

Research topics for my novel The Game (selective list)

• What has contributed to various peoples growing taller in some parts of the world than in others?
• In what months do various crops mature in Eastern Washington?
• How are body hair, pubic hair and facial hair similar and different?
• Had the past 60 years of U.S. defense/war resources gone to our space program instead, where might it be today?
• What happens to the mother and the embryo during the first 3 months of pregnancy?
• What allowed the Love Israel family to continue so much longer than other communal groups?
• What changes have occurred over the past 30 years in Walla Walla and the surrounding area?
• Historically, which nationalities and ethnicities immigrated into Eastern Washington and when?
• How long do cows and goats give milk after bearing young?
• When is the yearly rodeo in the Walla Walla area?
• What advances are anticipated over the next 10 year in genetics?

Perhaps my research has been more difficult, in some ways, than non-fiction research. The variety of topics I’ve had to consider may be wider, for instance. However they compare, I now understand why some authors hire researchers on various questions. If I didn’t love the search, I could easily bog down in the writing.

Writing and other jobs I've held

Hello World!

I’m about 1/6th of the way through my first rewrite of my novel. I don’t find rewriting to be nearly as much fun as writing. Although I expected as much, I had hoped I might be happily surprised once I got going. Instead, this part of the process has the feeling of simply plodding along.

Rewriting is far more structured, for one thing, than writing was in the haphazard fashion I chose that fit my personality. Going through the list of attributes each scene has to contain, and figuring out how to fit them all in smoothly can be difficult as well, especially in a short scene.

On the other hand, I love being back with my characters again. I’m quite fond of them! And watching their story get tighter and more interesting is very rewarding.

A wonderful surprise has been how much I love throwing scenes away. I’ll find one I wrote mainly for myself, so I knew where the story was going, and I’ll read through it, getting ever more excited as I realize how much I can cut. I love looking at the total number of pages at the bottom of my Word window, blowing the scene away (wheeeeee!), and seeing how many pages have vanished. I keep deleted scenes in a separate file, in case I need something from them later, and that gives me freedow from worrying that I’ve lost anything. Watching those drearier scenes go is seeing improvement in real time sans slog.

Every job I’ve held in my life was similar in that no matter how much I really enjoyed suggesting books as a librarian, counseling a client, or discovering new information as a researcher, there were always the tasks that I needed to plod through: shelving books, doing paperwork, or entering data. The difference is that the enjoyment level of the writing, for me, was far above the enjoyment level of many of my jobs, and so far, the plodding part is still better than most of the past mud slogging.

I wonder how running the publishing gamut will feel? I suspect it will be my least favorite part, but I’m not ready to go there yet. I’m going to stay in the now as long as the rewriting lasts.

"I Could Never Write a Book"

Hello World!

How often have you heard someone say, "I could never write a book"? I feel sorry for some who have said it to me recently.

Do some people have no interest in writing? Absolutely. Find all writing tedious? Of course. Have too short an attention span, an inability to comprehend the needed skills, or an exclusive addiction to tweeting and gaming? Sure. However, these are not the people for whom I am sad.

Those I'm thinking of are reasonably educated, can write an e-mail or letter or blog that others can understand and appreciate, could carve out the time (albeit perhaps with some difficulty), and have a desire to write. Yet they still say, wistfully, "I could never write a book."

Perhaps they have poor self-esteem and so think themselves incapable. Possibly, they place writers upon a high marble pedestal. Maybe some adult discouraged them before they developed skills they have today. They may struggle finding a topic, or consider themselves non-creative. Or maybe, like me, they disliked how they were taught to write, because it didn't fit their personality/learning style.

If I found these people, I'd tell them this: There is a vast variety of writer-types and there are many correct ways to write well.

Outlining or pre-writing didn't work for me, nor did fleshing out characters before they stepped onto the page. I felt constrained instead of reassured by these activities. I needed permission to change my mind. I had more luck developing my plot and characters as the story progressed.

Writing linearly also didn't work for me. I wrote what was in my mind -- what excited me, what begged to be told, what my characters whispered in my ear. After those parts were written, I was inspired to fit them together.

I don't pretend that my way is best. Instead, I encourage you to figure out what you'd like to try. Then, do it! Succeed or fail without letting it affect your belief in your ability. Learn what you can from the process and try again. Whether or not you ever mention your writing is your choice.

Love instructions? Read several sets and find one that fits (or two you can combine). Have a scene already in your head? Start writing. Do learning-exercises light up your bulb? Hang up a whole string! Just start, and use flexibility in the directions or structures or freedoms you choose. You are a writer, not a slave.

Do whatever works to get your rough draft on paper. The most important part is the initial draft. There’s plenty of opportunity for changing, editing, researching, rearranging and rewriting once it's all down on the page.

So? On your mark, get set, go! Go! Go!! You'll never write if you don't start.

One Small Exciting Experience: Attempt #2

Hello World!

I haven’t written in a while, because in uploading my last entry, I lost what I’d written. I’ve learned an important lesson: write in Word and then transfer it over here. I’m through being mad now, so I’m back.

One of the hardest things about writing my book is getting critical feedback. It’s probably best in a writers’ group, but I’m not yet in one. So I sent my first few chapters to my sister and a close friend, and printed them out for my husband, expecting lots of great feedback. My friend and sister said only, “It was good. I liked it.” When pressed, they added that they’d like to read more -- the sum total of their feedback.

My husband, on the other hand, is a good copy editor. At that time, however, it was too early, since I’d just have to edit again after my rewrite(s). His search for troubled wording yielded one rather important and humorous find – I called my two main women “mystery lovers” when they were actually platonic friends who both loved mysteries. Go figure.

At Christmas, I gave my sister and my mom the finished rough draft to read. My mother has not finished it, but my sister again said she liked it. I read it aloud to my husband who gave me some good feedback on conversations between characters. (Thank You!)

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was changing protagonists during my rewrite. When I told my sister, she suddenly worried about the characters and events that she wanted to keep. Ah! At last!

At a recent retreat, my friend told me she usually takes things as they come, and has difficulty imagining them as different. When I asked what she recalled, over six months later, she still remembered my farmer character. Excellent!

So now, at least, I have a fair idea of what worked. That’s very helpful as I discard or change the rest. Thank you all. I’m on my way!

One Small, Exciting Experience

New Opening Chapters

Hi World!

The main task I've pursued in the last couple weeks, since I began my rewrite, is creating two new chapters that precede what I had written before. The chapters bring out the personality and background of my new protagonist (P2) and the three sisters he lives with.

At first, I thought a scene or so would serve to introduce P2 first and establish his importance. Then I realized that a very important element of the story, something dramatic that happens to my favorite of P2's sisters (Jamie), had been covered only in a conversation between the sister and my original protagonist (P1) before. Now that the story starts a month or two earlier, I could show this tragedy happening-- a great dramatic addition for the story. Yay!

Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to introduce another character, integral to the story, who visits the park where P2 works about a week before P1 does. I don't know. Hmm.

As I ponder, I've started re-orienting parts of the original draft to the point of view of P2. I've also cut out now-unneeded descriptions of P2, and removed descriptions of the park that one can intuit from the new chapters.

Next, I really must carefully evaluate and rewrite each scene to make certain I have emotional development, unanswered questions, and dramatic action. These are requirements of creating a good plot from the book Blockbuster Plots Pure and Simple (BPPS) by Alderson that I cited in my last blog entry.

A big part of me would rather write new chapters than revise old ones, so I better draw the line soon and get back on track with revisions. At first, there was compelling reason for new writing, but that is no longer true. It's time for the harder work!

Wish me well as I rein in my unstructured self for the step-by-step evaluation that is so important to the book's readability. I can certainly use the support!

Resources That Have Helped

Hello World!

Today I list recent resources I've used for inspiration and creativity.

Yesterday, I discussed a pivotal exercise that revealed my novel's true protagonist. It comes from Martha Alderson's Blockbuster Plots Pure & Simple (BPPS). The exercise is called "Character Emotional/ Psychological Plot Information" (a title I might have eschewed had she not explained it on her DVD!) If you want to write fiction or non-that follows a plot line, check out BPPS, http://www.blockbusterplots.com/ (the exercise is here as well), and http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/.

Innkeeper/author Marcia Breece gave me her extra copy of BPPS plus DVD when I stayed at her Morgan Hill Retreat near Poulsbo, WA (http://www.morganhillretreat.com/). She shared great advice on writing during our brief conversations and told me to return or pass on BPPS when I finished with it. I don't yet know when that will be (BPPS is that good), but at least I shared how to find it. Don't miss Morgan Hill Retreat for a vacation or creative retreat, and Breece's memoir, Finding This Place, One Woman’s Journey Beyond Restriction, is worth a read as well!

Back before I had heard of BPPS or Marcia Breece, I took a workshop on creativity at Jubilate! Summer Festival. The leader recommended Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way to help free and channel our natural creative abilities. I, too, highly recommend both the book (http://www.theartistsway.com/) and Jubilate! (www.gbgm-umc.org/jubilate!) which are strong sources of creative and spiritual inspiration in my life.

Whew! Sharing these links ended up taking up an amazing amount of time, so I'll close for tonight. (Oops -- I see the night has fled while I googled.) My next entry should be easier reading, though far less rich in creative references. Those are the trade offs!

Discovering what I don't know

Hello world!

So what is a rewrite? An opportunity in humility, exploring my enormous mountain of ignorance.

My last entry makes me laugh. How certain I sound -- as if I was a writing professor rather than an ordinary jane, musing about my not-so-unique life experiences!! Each day of my rewrite, I've needed to learn something new. During the writing phase, I also experienced epiphanies, but they were "A-ha!" leaps forward in existing skills rather than slap-in-the face dumbfounding doubletakes. "Duh -- huh?"

As Thos commented, my biggest bombshell was discovering that I had written an entire novel featuring the wrong protagonist. During a rewriting exercise designed to fully flesh out my characters I recognized the issue. With each main character, and I have (too?) many, I struggled to meaningfully describe their weaknesses, needs, fears, etc. After pushing through the exercise on three or four characters, including my presumed female protagonist (P1), I suddenly found a character where I zipped through the answers without hesitation. I was sure of this guy.

I took a look at my answers closely. This male character (P2) certainly had more to gain or lose than P1. And I was clearer about what drove P2 than P1. P2 was a foreigner, which guaranteed gaps in knowledge and experience where conflict could sprout, and pique the reader's interest. I had wanted a strong female lead, but P2 was clearly stronger as a protagonist.

Strangely, P2 had not existed in the concept or outline of my novel. He wasn't in chapter one, where I thoughtfully introduced P1. In fact, I created P2 on the fly, as a foil to a fellow that attracted P1 -- just a dot of salsa to spice up the meal. Once born, though, P2 took on a life of his own, becoming ever more dominant, until I realized, partway through writing, that he had joined my palette of major characters. The fact that P2 had no outline to follow gave him the freedom to embody the opposite of all that was weak about P1. And I wrote on, as oblivious as a keyboard.

So rewrites. If not for the rewrite, I would have stuck with my initial concept -- my outline -- P1 as protagonist. I have to admit, she helped make my first draft somewhat insipid. It probably would have failed as a novel.

I'm still in the shallows of my rewrite. I tremble to think what tsunami may sweep over my story next.

Rewrites

Hello World!

I come in contact with diverse people from different walks of life -- students, trade folks, techies, professionals, parents, retirees, creators, doers, talkers, thinkers and even a few other writers. Yet, overwhelmingly, people look at me with surprise, curiosity or a supportive sadness, when I say that I am starting a rewrite of my book. The misconception appears strong that completing a book's rough draft means that one is virtually finished. I experience sparse understanding about the role of rewrites in authoring a novel.

Here are several things rewrites are not (primarily):

• copy editing -- checking for spelling, punctuation, grammar, clarity, word use, etc.
• an indication of flawed writing, or the need to "fix" a problem
• quick and simple
• rare or few in number
• the "polish" on a mostly finished product
• optional (especially for those of us who plan to publish)

So what is a rewrite? I'll share what I have discovered in my next post.

Beginnings

Welcome, world. I am Sharman -- a writer.

I always thought I would write a book. My first serious attempt was in elementary school. That story developed, over several months, to about 10 pages -- a great length, it seemed -- before I set it aside, overwhelmed at the amount remaining to be told.

The last week of May, 2009, I decided my goal would become reality. With the gift of a netbook, that I carried everywhere, I spent June through early October writing a first draft. Rough though it was, I shared it with three members of my family this winter. My infant novel exists!

This month, March of 2010, I've started my (first) rewrite. I'm excited, pleased that I have written over 550 pages for the first time in my life, and open to whatever improves the story.

My reasons for this blog are (in no particular order) to. . .

1. document my journey,
2. inspire others,
3. learn from creative people,
4. keep myself accountable, and . . .
5. find an audience for when I finally publish my novel. (I will not say "if!")

I hope you'll join me on this exciting journey. Welcome, world!