What MY Writing Has Taught Me

Today I thought I'd share a fun little post about what I have learned from my writing this year.  Take a peek at the list below.  Then share your own learning experiences if you'd like.  Here goes:

1. The writing method I use today will be different a year from now.  It may even be different tomorrow.

2. It's okay if my story becomes something other than what I planned.

3. I need a cheat sheet at my desk for using lay vs lie.

4. Cutting words can lower the word count but can also make room for the right words to be added.

5. Revision is not a shameful word.

6. Character emotions are better shown with a balance of physical actions and internal sensations.

7. Every character has a part to play or shouldn't have a part at all.

8. Spending eight hours editing thirty pages is okay if that's what it takes to get it right.

9. Writing few words in many hours is also okay if that's what it takes to get it right.

10. My knowledge will grow beyond this list, as it should.

Hope you enjoyed.  Please share your own learning experiences below. :)

A No Writing Weekend

Instead of writing more for REKINDLE, I spent the weekend helping my husband mow.  Sitting on a mower in ninety degree weather with the sun beating down is not how I originally planned to spend the two days.  But I was able to help him get caught up, and in the process, I had plenty of time to daydream.  This morning I scribbled in my notebook as fast as I could, afraid I'd forget about a scene or idea I had thought of over the weekend.  So now I have tons of notes.

I had a few days last week to work on the story, and the word count is just over 5,000, which isn't a bad start.  It's not as far along as I'd like to be, but hey...at least I have a WIP again.  And it's like I'm in exploration mode.  I'm learning a lot about the characters, which is pretty cool.  Plus the web is being weaved (i.e. the conflict is being interwoven), and that's awesome to see, also.

Anyway...short post today.  Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend.

Character Traits Are Important

Today's post has been inspired by Diane Carlisle, a fellow writer, blogger, and Absolute Write member.  Before deciding what to post today, I read her latest blog entry which discusses character wounds and why they are important.  If you have a chance, you really should check out her post.

Anyway, her post got me thinking about character traits in general.  I've seen many discussions about the dreaded "Mary Sue's" of fiction.  You know the girls who are beautiful, multi-talented just because, have perfect families, perfect friends, their whole lives are perfect perfect perfect.  They make you want to gag, right? Now take the same girl, tells us her mom is obsessed with the perfect image and forces her to diet and get plastic surgery, her dad's tells her she's worthless and so she keeps adding to her list of talents in hopes of pleasing him, and all she really wants to do is buy a box of twinkies and run away with the goth guy down the road.  Okay, that's a crazy example but you get the point.  Readers need a reason to care about the characters.  As human being we are not perfect, so how can we identify with a perfect MC? If I have a choice between a perfect MC and an MC who's been knocked down a few times but gets back up each time, I'll take the latter any day.

Most readers feel the same.  And that is why getting a character right is so important.  There has to be a nice mix of good qualities and flaws/wounds/problems etc.  A story can be ruined without that mix.

So, again, check out Diane's post.  And if you'd like to add anything, feel free to leave a comment below!

Writing and the Imagination

I woke up this morning not fully myself; part of me was still participating in the dream I woke up from.  The dream lingered in my mind for quite some time, which isn't at all unusual.  I have always been a vivid dreamer with the ability to recall the slightest details.  In fact, I've always wanted to keep a dream journal.  But I think that's a lost cause for me.  They just take too long to write due to the amount of detail.  As I was considering the dream this morning, I began thinking about the imagination and writing.  I rarely dream about things that are going on in my life or about people I know.  And although I am aware of all the dream studies that have been done and how much information there is that suggests our dreams reflect our sub-conscious mind, for the most part I think my dreams are a figment of my imagination, except on the rare occasion when I can connect the dots and see why I dreamed about a particular thing/person/etc.  And this makes me wonder about the writing abilities of people with highly active imaginations. 

For me, I believe creating a story has a lot to do with my imagination.  What usually happens is I get an idea for a story, and the majority of it just takes shape.  I don't have to think about what the characters to look like.  I see them in my mind first and then write them down.  I don't wonder too much what the characters are going to do; their "lives" play out in my mind without much thought from me.  Now making all the pieces fit isn't necessarily easy just as figuring out how to word it all isn't.  In other words, the writing part isn't a piece of cake, but the story itself comes to life on its own.  I've never had a problem "picturing" a scene, that's for sure.  All this makes me wonder about the correlation between writing and the imagination. 

Now all that being said, I do not think a person has to have a great imagination to produce a great story.  My opinion is that some people have no trouble at all with the creative or technical aspect of writing; some people struggle with all of it.  And more than likely, the majority falls somewhere in between the spectrum.  I'm curious what everyone else thinks.  Feel free to leave a comment, and thanks in advance.

My Love For Reading

I'm not sure if this makes me unusual or not, but I don't remember learning how to read.  I don't recall if my parents ever read to me as a child, either.  As a kid I mostly enjoyed playing with ponies, barbies, play doh, and I loved to draw.  That was how I occupied my time when inside.  Outside I was all tom-boy.  Climbing trees, splashing in the creek, sitting in the dirt, riding my bike.  And though I have a few vague memories of reading Peter Rabbit and some book about kittens, I don't think I developed a true love of reading until fifth grade.

Before junior high I was checking out four books a day from the library (library policy wouldn't allow me to get more than that at the time).  I'd read them all and exchange them the next day for more.  Some of my favorites were the Babysitters Club series and the Fear Street series.  Goosebumps were okay, but they weren't a favorite.  And then I read Gone With the Wind in eighth grade.  That book is still one of my all time favorites.  And I think that was the first time I was really pulled into the story as if I was there.  As a side note, I was upset for days after reading that.  I couldn't believe the ending! I was so mad at Scarlett!

A love for westerns and western/romance came next.  I kept with those two categories for several years, and not until the last couple years have I developed a more eclectic taste.  However, I do have to admit I am still somewhat picky when it comes to what books I will read.  If I don't think I'll love it, more of than not I'll pass it by.  And that's a shame, but it is what it is.  I love reading and I want to love what I read.

My husband thinks I'm crazy, but when I'm reading a book I have a hard time putting it down.  That being the case, I usually have a book done within two days.  I can't help it.  I get drawn in.  I feel what the characters feel; I laugh with them, cry with them.  And yes, sometimes I get upset with the characters as if they are real people.  Last week I read a book, and I was so mad at the main character that I had to keep reading just so I could get to the ending.  Because of the type of book it was, I was confident the character would redeem himself by the last page, which he did.  But I was so angry that I couldn't put the book down half way through; I would have been too angry to sleep! That's just how I am.

So who's with me? Feel free to share your reading experiences.

Editing Out Characters

So far during the editing process of my current story I have found it necessary to cut out a few characters.  Michelle, Rachel, and Willy were the first to go.  Although they each had a few short lines of dialogue, they really weren't important to the story.  Next came Becca.  She was created to be one of my MC's roommates in college.  She was rude, crude, crazy annoying, and everything my MC isn't.  Her main purpose was to introduce Emily (my MC) to Jason.  Deciding Becca wasn't necessary either, I removed her and had Emily meet Jason on her own.  Removing these characters hasn't bothered me, but now I'm considering removing Jason.  Emily dates him for seven months in an effort to get over her feelings for her best friend Nicky so Jason has a significant part in the story.  I think I can get to the same ending without him, though.  The problem is I like him and the part he plays so if I take him out, it's going to hurt.  But part of editing is deciding what's best for the story, or perhaps I should say who is best for the story.  Characters shouldn't be kept in just for the sake of having multiple characters. 

Poor Jason.  His future is undecided.