Hey All!!!
So, I'm working on a new YA novel. When I was first outlining this story, I saw the love interest as an all around nice guy - the athlete who likes to take tons of photos in his spare time. The guy who tells everyone that he takes those photos as a hobby to "beef up his resume", but who deep down loves everything there is about photography.
But when I started writing the first major scene between him and my main character, I was surprised to find he's a bit more snarky and arrogant than I originally thought. It's not that that's who he is deep down, it's just that people have expected certain things from him for so long and he's started to believe the lies.
The realization of the layers to my character shocked the heck out of me...but it also filled me with excitement and amazement!
That's the joy of writing. Not only does it enable me to get all of these voices and stories and what ifs out of my head, but it also enables me to discover so many different lives and personalities. It gives me hope in people and keeps me in awe of our wonderful complexities. And that's something I'll always value.
Happy Reading and Writing!!!
Showing posts with label outlining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outlining. Show all posts
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, April 1, 2013
WHEN AWESOME IDEAS ATTACK
Hey All!!!
Imagine this:
You're at your writing critique group meeting, shooting the breeze, talking plot points, and just chatting about overall life. In your spare time you've been trying to work out a new story idea that would fit in with the current reading trends you're seeing. You know the one: girl meets boy, girl likes boy but knows there's something seriously wrong with boy, girl finds boy is X, girl finds herself very attracted to boy because of X or Y redeeming qualities, girl and boy fall in love and fight X situation together.
Suddenly, one of your critique group members makes a comment that leads you to think on one of your favorite sci-fi shows and voila, you've got a spankin' new tale on your hands.
Something similar happened to me tonight. An idea just hit me out of the blue when chatting it up with friends. And it's GOOD!!! Well, I think it is anyway.
There's nothing more exciting than when you get that sudden burst of a shiny new idea. It's the beginning...a new start. And the possibilities of where that tale can take you are endless. I love this part of writing. The glimmer of an idea. Fleshing out the main characters and who they are. Thinking about what they want and what gets in their way. And finally penning that first draft.
I don't know about you guys, but when I get in these moods, I become darn near obsessed. I eat, drink, and breathe the details until they solidify.
Now all I need is a new notebook to jot all of this down in!
How do you all handle the idea phase of your writing process? Is it something you revel in, or something you don't look forward to?
Happy Writing!!!
Imagine this:
You're at your writing critique group meeting, shooting the breeze, talking plot points, and just chatting about overall life. In your spare time you've been trying to work out a new story idea that would fit in with the current reading trends you're seeing. You know the one: girl meets boy, girl likes boy but knows there's something seriously wrong with boy, girl finds boy is X, girl finds herself very attracted to boy because of X or Y redeeming qualities, girl and boy fall in love and fight X situation together.
Suddenly, one of your critique group members makes a comment that leads you to think on one of your favorite sci-fi shows and voila, you've got a spankin' new tale on your hands.
Something similar happened to me tonight. An idea just hit me out of the blue when chatting it up with friends. And it's GOOD!!! Well, I think it is anyway.
There's nothing more exciting than when you get that sudden burst of a shiny new idea. It's the beginning...a new start. And the possibilities of where that tale can take you are endless. I love this part of writing. The glimmer of an idea. Fleshing out the main characters and who they are. Thinking about what they want and what gets in their way. And finally penning that first draft.
I don't know about you guys, but when I get in these moods, I become darn near obsessed. I eat, drink, and breathe the details until they solidify.
Now all I need is a new notebook to jot all of this down in!
How do you all handle the idea phase of your writing process? Is it something you revel in, or something you don't look forward to?
Happy Writing!!!
Monday, October 22, 2012
WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY
Hey All!!!
This weekend I was faced with one of the many things that can completely derail a writer when he or she is attempting to be as productive as possible, the inconvenient and always annoying illness - more specifically, in my case, my chronic sinisitis. There I was folks, kicking butts and taking names in my awesome ability to research the heck out of a wide range of topics while waiting for my story to present it itself to me, and then my nose starts acting up!!! To say that I was angry, well, that doesn't even cut it.
I found myself laid up in my bed (or on the couch, depending on what time of the day it was), able to do nothing more than sleep and mindlessly watch bad television while heavily medicating myself so I could function.
So, what did I do to try to keep productive while incapacitated?
I changed my viewpoint of the situation I was in.
Instead of being angry with my bum sinus cavity for acting an ass, I shifted my focus on resting so I could get better sooner. See, normally I work myself to the bone, only stopping to rest after office hours or during the weekend. It seems sad to waste perfectly good Paid Time Off hours on being sick, so I try to avoid this at all costs. But this time I took a day or two off to really focus on getting better. Being at work while sick isn't really helping myself or anyone else, and it prolongs my illness by days, I'm sure. And when I was feeling a bit better, I focused my time on reading more and researching agents and publishing houses for my two books.
So, when it comes down to it, sometimes resting oneself can be just as important to being productive as writing, reading, and any other activity a writer may be involved in.
Happy Writing!!!
This weekend I was faced with one of the many things that can completely derail a writer when he or she is attempting to be as productive as possible, the inconvenient and always annoying illness - more specifically, in my case, my chronic sinisitis. There I was folks, kicking butts and taking names in my awesome ability to research the heck out of a wide range of topics while waiting for my story to present it itself to me, and then my nose starts acting up!!! To say that I was angry, well, that doesn't even cut it.
I found myself laid up in my bed (or on the couch, depending on what time of the day it was), able to do nothing more than sleep and mindlessly watch bad television while heavily medicating myself so I could function.
So, what did I do to try to keep productive while incapacitated?
I changed my viewpoint of the situation I was in.
Instead of being angry with my bum sinus cavity for acting an ass, I shifted my focus on resting so I could get better sooner. See, normally I work myself to the bone, only stopping to rest after office hours or during the weekend. It seems sad to waste perfectly good Paid Time Off hours on being sick, so I try to avoid this at all costs. But this time I took a day or two off to really focus on getting better. Being at work while sick isn't really helping myself or anyone else, and it prolongs my illness by days, I'm sure. And when I was feeling a bit better, I focused my time on reading more and researching agents and publishing houses for my two books.
So, when it comes down to it, sometimes resting oneself can be just as important to being productive as writing, reading, and any other activity a writer may be involved in.
Happy Writing!!!
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
RESEARCHING AND THE WAITING GAME
Hey All!!!
So, as always, it's been way too long since I last posted. I definitely have to get better at this regular posting thing. In the months since I last spoke to you guys, nothing much has happened. I got comfy in my day job, got financially stable for the first time in a few years, and am feeling more like my good ol' writing machine self. I have a new story that I'm working on, while querying the one I just finished polishing. I've amassed what feels like a ton of rejections, but I know that that's the business and will keep on trucking (said while putting all feelings of failure in a box so I can completely ignore them =) ).
The biggest issue I'm having right now is with really getting into my new story. I always have what I like to think of as a lull in excitement/activity when it comes to my writing. These lulls happen right as I start a new project - before the main character's voice starts taking up serious space in my head - and when I'm about 3/4 of the way through - when I'm having to trudge through to the end. But I have to say, the sense of anticipation that I get while waiting for the character to really start speaking to me is both tortuous and exciting all at once.
So what do I do while I wait for this roller coaster ride to start up - why, research of course! Since I know my main character is Pakistani, I'm going to look up everything I can on that culture - food, clothes, religion, etc. I want to know what it's like for those who live in Pakistan, and those who have migrated to other countries as well. What are the issues that face a young Pakistani girl in this day and age. And I have to say I've been very inspired by the tale of Malala Yousufzai, a young girl who was shot in Pakistan for daring to continue with her education and for speaking up for young Pakistani girls there. In doing this searching, I'm hoping that Alana will begin speaking to me and my story will begin to take shape.
What do you do when you hit a lull in your writing? How do you break the surface of a new tale.
Until next time - and hopefully it won't be as long!!!
So, as always, it's been way too long since I last posted. I definitely have to get better at this regular posting thing. In the months since I last spoke to you guys, nothing much has happened. I got comfy in my day job, got financially stable for the first time in a few years, and am feeling more like my good ol' writing machine self. I have a new story that I'm working on, while querying the one I just finished polishing. I've amassed what feels like a ton of rejections, but I know that that's the business and will keep on trucking (said while putting all feelings of failure in a box so I can completely ignore them =) ).
The biggest issue I'm having right now is with really getting into my new story. I always have what I like to think of as a lull in excitement/activity when it comes to my writing. These lulls happen right as I start a new project - before the main character's voice starts taking up serious space in my head - and when I'm about 3/4 of the way through - when I'm having to trudge through to the end. But I have to say, the sense of anticipation that I get while waiting for the character to really start speaking to me is both tortuous and exciting all at once.
So what do I do while I wait for this roller coaster ride to start up - why, research of course! Since I know my main character is Pakistani, I'm going to look up everything I can on that culture - food, clothes, religion, etc. I want to know what it's like for those who live in Pakistan, and those who have migrated to other countries as well. What are the issues that face a young Pakistani girl in this day and age. And I have to say I've been very inspired by the tale of Malala Yousufzai, a young girl who was shot in Pakistan for daring to continue with her education and for speaking up for young Pakistani girls there. In doing this searching, I'm hoping that Alana will begin speaking to me and my story will begin to take shape.
What do you do when you hit a lull in your writing? How do you break the surface of a new tale.
Until next time - and hopefully it won't be as long!!!
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