It's been a while since I've done an early post. Okay, a loooooong while. However, with everyone in full swing for Thanksgiving, football, and realizing there are only four more shopping weekends until Christmas, I figured of all times, this was a great one to post on Monday.
And since we're in the season, let's talk about holidays.
It is known by every person on this planet that holidays equal conflict. Something always goes wrong with the food, too many relatives that don't necessarily get along are thrust into a too-small kitchen together, you realize you've forgotten some food and or decor item but can't run to the store because everyone is closed.
Holiday scenes in your novel or short story can be calculatingly dramatic. But since everyone's been there and done that, it's important to amp the stakes up even higher when writing family get-togethers in fiction. Because Aunt Mae can always drop the turkey on the floor in real life. But only in fiction will a pack of wild dogs storm the house and take all your holiday food (including the soiled turkey) so there is nothing left to eat. (Does the chortling shout of: BUMPUSES! ring a bell?)
Need some stakes ramping inspiration? Check out this YouTube video called "Holiday Dinner Party" performed by Sandy and Richard Riccardi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX9EAavxrus
Happy Holidays!
Monday, November 24, 2014
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Revision: focus not on what you're losing, but on what you're bound to gain.
I had one of those moments the other day - you know the ones where you're dealing with two completely different problems and then BAM! they both have surprisingly the same solution. Here were my dilemmas:
1. A friend of mine was told by her writing group that the beginning of her story needs major revision. She had me read the first chapter as well, and I agreed that a change would be for the better. However, she confided that the thought of revising what she already had (and which was, as she pointed out, fine) sent her into hour long bouts of petrified terror. How did I convince her that revision would not ruin her story but make it great?
2. I've been living a vegetarian lifestyle for over a year, and now am making the transition to veganism. We're talking no milk, eggs, butter, cheese, honey, or any beauty or home products that aren't cruelty free. Having grown up in a traditional steak-and-potatoes type of family, I needed a way to counteract their questions as to why this lifestyle was right for me. Especially when my mother looked at me with glossy eyes and said, "But...cheesecake!" How did I convince them that I was passionate about my decision, even though it went against what they had taught me growing up?
Over a bowl of oatmeal, the answer hit me - focus not on what you're losing, but on what you're bound to gain.
That's right. Instead of saying, "I really miss that cheesecake and I can never eat it again," think instead, "I'm going to eat this delicious vegan double chocolate smoothie!"
And for that revision-stuck friend of mine, I told her not to focus on a few beautiful sentences she'll lose by revising chapter one, but on the possibilities of what she could gain. A better insight into her protagonist, a well paced first chapter, a first sentence that kicks the breath right out of the agent that sets eyes on it, etc.
Because if you're too scared to change what you have, you'll never know if something else - even if it's difficult and takes a lot of your time - is infinitely better.
So I urge you this week, take a chance within your writing or your life (both, perhaps?)! See what kinds of wondrous new possibilities are out there that can propel you in the direction you wish to go.
1. A friend of mine was told by her writing group that the beginning of her story needs major revision. She had me read the first chapter as well, and I agreed that a change would be for the better. However, she confided that the thought of revising what she already had (and which was, as she pointed out, fine) sent her into hour long bouts of petrified terror. How did I convince her that revision would not ruin her story but make it great?
2. I've been living a vegetarian lifestyle for over a year, and now am making the transition to veganism. We're talking no milk, eggs, butter, cheese, honey, or any beauty or home products that aren't cruelty free. Having grown up in a traditional steak-and-potatoes type of family, I needed a way to counteract their questions as to why this lifestyle was right for me. Especially when my mother looked at me with glossy eyes and said, "But...cheesecake!" How did I convince them that I was passionate about my decision, even though it went against what they had taught me growing up?
Over a bowl of oatmeal, the answer hit me - focus not on what you're losing, but on what you're bound to gain.
That's right. Instead of saying, "I really miss that cheesecake and I can never eat it again," think instead, "I'm going to eat this delicious vegan double chocolate smoothie!"
And for that revision-stuck friend of mine, I told her not to focus on a few beautiful sentences she'll lose by revising chapter one, but on the possibilities of what she could gain. A better insight into her protagonist, a well paced first chapter, a first sentence that kicks the breath right out of the agent that sets eyes on it, etc.
Because if you're too scared to change what you have, you'll never know if something else - even if it's difficult and takes a lot of your time - is infinitely better.
So I urge you this week, take a chance within your writing or your life (both, perhaps?)! See what kinds of wondrous new possibilities are out there that can propel you in the direction you wish to go.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
When To Cheat On Your Writing
Have you ever read more than one book at a time? You start one from your to-read shelf, then find another lying around you had promised the next read, and then when you pass a book store an unexpected fantastic book just pops out at you and you have to buy it and read it immediately. Before you know it, you're reading five books at one time.
And you feel like a cheat don't you?
I always do. It's like I've committed myself to the first book, then the second, now the third and after a while I feel like I'm having affairs on all of them. I'm a dirty reader.
I never used to have this problem when I was younger and had hours of reading time on my hands. But now that jobs, cooking, cleaning, snow removal, and writing have taken up so much of my time, it feels like I never read fast enough. Perhaps that's why I crave to start new books all the time. My body and mind are used to the newness every few weeks, and even though I can't keep up, I start new ones anyway.
I'm trying to break this habit, but there are so many good books out there that need to be read. So many authors I would adore and stories I need to fantasize about.
And now this bad habit of reading too many books at once has leaked into my writing. I've got a YA manuscript that needs massive revision, a memoir I'm rewriting, a short story in progress, a YA series that's unfinished and sitting in a cluster of outlines on my desktop, and I feel the need to add in a new MG book to write. All these open projects have made writing daunting. Where do I start? Which novel gets my attention today? Do I want to write or revise? Both? Neither?
Much like the reading of too many novels in tandem, writing a wide variety at the same time can be troublesome. But I've also found that it can help, too. For instance, if I know I need to write but the words just aren't coming, I pop over to a revision project and work on that for an hour or so until I'm in a writing frame of mind. On the flip side, if I'm frustrated with how many keys my fingers have pounded today, I can always sweep through an already written chapter and improve it.
Just like reading, writing in tandem can be just as beneficial as you feel it is detrimental. So don't feel like you're cheating on those other books or your other stories. In a roundabout way, they're all getting help. As long as you promise to write every day, eventually everything will get finished.
Will they all have the same dedication each day? No.
Will they all be completed on a set deadline? Probably not.
Will you be a writer? Definitely.
Will you one day finish them all (and then some more)? Heck yeah.
And you feel like a cheat don't you?
I always do. It's like I've committed myself to the first book, then the second, now the third and after a while I feel like I'm having affairs on all of them. I'm a dirty reader.
I never used to have this problem when I was younger and had hours of reading time on my hands. But now that jobs, cooking, cleaning, snow removal, and writing have taken up so much of my time, it feels like I never read fast enough. Perhaps that's why I crave to start new books all the time. My body and mind are used to the newness every few weeks, and even though I can't keep up, I start new ones anyway.
I'm trying to break this habit, but there are so many good books out there that need to be read. So many authors I would adore and stories I need to fantasize about.
And now this bad habit of reading too many books at once has leaked into my writing. I've got a YA manuscript that needs massive revision, a memoir I'm rewriting, a short story in progress, a YA series that's unfinished and sitting in a cluster of outlines on my desktop, and I feel the need to add in a new MG book to write. All these open projects have made writing daunting. Where do I start? Which novel gets my attention today? Do I want to write or revise? Both? Neither?
Much like the reading of too many novels in tandem, writing a wide variety at the same time can be troublesome. But I've also found that it can help, too. For instance, if I know I need to write but the words just aren't coming, I pop over to a revision project and work on that for an hour or so until I'm in a writing frame of mind. On the flip side, if I'm frustrated with how many keys my fingers have pounded today, I can always sweep through an already written chapter and improve it.
Just like reading, writing in tandem can be just as beneficial as you feel it is detrimental. So don't feel like you're cheating on those other books or your other stories. In a roundabout way, they're all getting help. As long as you promise to write every day, eventually everything will get finished.
Will they all have the same dedication each day? No.
Will they all be completed on a set deadline? Probably not.
Will you be a writer? Definitely.
Will you one day finish them all (and then some more)? Heck yeah.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Try Different Keys to Break Through Revision
45 minutes. That's how much time I still had on lunch break. I stared back at my tablet where my story sat, waiting for revision. I had the time. I had the tools. Now why couldn't I make the story - the already written story, for God's sake - better. Why couldn't I finish it?
44 minutes.
Have you been where I sat? You finally have the time and the motivation to revise, yet somehow, you can't. You know the story isn't finished or anywhere near great but you can't change anything? No ideas are coming to you.
What do you do?
In my experience, two things have helped.
Step One: email the manuscript to yourself - or transfer it to a USB drive - and put it on another device. If you wrote it on your laptop, transfer it to your tablet. If you wrote it on your tablet, try revising on your smart phone. Or print out the manuscript and go back to good old pen and paper.
Why does this help the revision process? Because you're seeing it through different eyes. Sometimes the ones we wrote the story on need to be swapped out before we can begin revision. By transferring it to another device, you trick your brain into reading the story differently, and can speed up your revision process.
(Note: some writers also claim that changing the font can help them revise because the story looks different. Try it and see if it works for you, but I didn't have luck with this method. I was too preoccupied studying the curly letters than reading and evaluating what was on the page.)
Step Two: go somewhere new. If you wrote the story at your desk, revise on the couch. Did you write in the dining room? Shoot for the garden. If your whole house is a black hole of writing, go to a friend's house, the gym, a coffee shop, or the library.
Getting away from your normal environment, much like transferring devices, helps you to think differently. Now, you're not associating that purple pen with a beautiful metaphor in your story, you're reading the metaphor for what it really is. Does it still hold up?
So, next time the revision process has you staring, dumbfound, at your screen, wasting your precious free time, try mixing it up. Take your typewriter to the park. See what happens next.
Where did I get the image? Pinterest, of course! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/547609635914867891/
44 minutes.
Have you been where I sat? You finally have the time and the motivation to revise, yet somehow, you can't. You know the story isn't finished or anywhere near great but you can't change anything? No ideas are coming to you.
What do you do?
In my experience, two things have helped.
Step One: email the manuscript to yourself - or transfer it to a USB drive - and put it on another device. If you wrote it on your laptop, transfer it to your tablet. If you wrote it on your tablet, try revising on your smart phone. Or print out the manuscript and go back to good old pen and paper.
Why does this help the revision process? Because you're seeing it through different eyes. Sometimes the ones we wrote the story on need to be swapped out before we can begin revision. By transferring it to another device, you trick your brain into reading the story differently, and can speed up your revision process.
(Note: some writers also claim that changing the font can help them revise because the story looks different. Try it and see if it works for you, but I didn't have luck with this method. I was too preoccupied studying the curly letters than reading and evaluating what was on the page.)
Step Two: go somewhere new. If you wrote the story at your desk, revise on the couch. Did you write in the dining room? Shoot for the garden. If your whole house is a black hole of writing, go to a friend's house, the gym, a coffee shop, or the library.
Getting away from your normal environment, much like transferring devices, helps you to think differently. Now, you're not associating that purple pen with a beautiful metaphor in your story, you're reading the metaphor for what it really is. Does it still hold up?
So, next time the revision process has you staring, dumbfound, at your screen, wasting your precious free time, try mixing it up. Take your typewriter to the park. See what happens next.
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