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.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
