A Love for A Lifetime & Friday Tidbits

Celebrating!!!

Today's my 16th wedding anniversary. I don't even know whether Hubby reads my blog but if you do, Babe, here's to you! I love you!

I wonder whether my typing will catch up with my writing. I'm still scribbling longhand but since this is a holiday weekend, I'll make a major push to get it all typed up. Just in time to start scribbling again next week!

Took a bit of a break from the SORMAG conference yesterday but I'm back over there today for the "Business of Writing" workshops. Join me!

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Here are this week's tidbits:

First, something fun. How addicted to blogging are you?

62%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Clearly when I'm pressed for time the 2nd thing to go--behind email--better be blogging!

There's a site that allows authors to post their works and readers to download them for a mere $0.99. And every time someone downloads, the author gets paid! If you write short literature, Palibra might be for you.

RWA is starting Public Author Chats in September. The first will be on September 6th, featuring author Terri Garey. More info here.

More from RWA (of which I'm not a member but I plan to be): Podcasts from the 2007 conference can be found here.

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Oh yeah, before I go...I have a title! The title of my current wip is Dreams of My Heart. I've updated my counter.

Enjoy this Labor Day weekend! Do something you meant to do all summer. If the weather permits, I'm going to the beach!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Nearing the End

The end of August, not my manuscript (smile). I knew that title would grab folks! But note, my word count is creeping up as I get all those pages typed. And I'm continuing to write more longhand, even as I'm typing previous pages. I sure better get that grant so I can buy my Alphasmart!

Seriously, I'm ready for this writing month to be over. I took on way too much this month but it has been one exhiliarating ride!

First, I've been working hard on my current wip. Based on my original schedule, I have three more weeks to complete the first draft. I've passed the 30,000 mark for the first time ever so I'm pumped!

Then, I've been trying to keep up with this blog, because I enjoy sharing and I get so much encouragement from the comments you folks leave for me.

Of course, I've also been trying to keep up with email and other folks' blogs too. I feel that if I want people to read and comment on mine, I should do the same for them. The truth is I'm completely addicted to this blogging thing, because I get to meet and interact with such great people and I learn so much.

Don't forget I'm also taking that 4-week Plotting Bootcamp course. This is the final week. Although I'm keeping up with all the posts and printing all the handouts, I must admit I kind of bailed on completing the assignments. Something had to go!

Still reading and writing book reviews, although my pace has slowed quite a bit. Cut in half. I'm on my sixth book, about half of what I would normally read. But I still need to read, in moments when I truly need a break to keep my head from exploding, even from my wip, or when reading is absolutely more convenient than writing. It's my guilty pleasure. (I'm working on Roz Bailey's Mommies Behaving Badly, which releases in September. I'll be writing a review.)

Last, this week I'm "attending" the SORMAG online conference. Tremendous event! I can't say enough good things about it. And for me, there's not much more that I have to do, because it's via blog, so it fits right in with my already stated addiction.

Everything has had a purpose and believe it or not, in some way has helped me with my wip. But, whew, I'm beat! In September, I will focus almost exclusively on finishing this wip. I'll still blog, especially once I get into revisions but maybe not quite as much.

So as we head into the Labor Day weekend, which means 2/3 of the year will be behind us, are you doing the things you planned to do to move your writing career forward in 2007?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Snagging A Mini-Critique

Started typing up my pages yesterday. Also analyzed my overall progress over the weekend. I'm four weeks into an eight-week first draft effort. Which means I should be at 40,000 words or better. I'm not (at least I don't think so). Last week was a terrible writing week, which I tried to make up for on the weekend. This week is not shaping up much better so far.

That's okay. Only means I need to make a few adjustments. To finish on time, I need to increase my target weekly word count. I'll do that as soon as I finish typing up those longhand pages.

I also realize that I'm unlikely to get much writing done during the day anymore, because work has heated up and I'm working through lunch most of the time. Also okay. Because kids are going to bed earlier since school began, so I can write in the evenings. I actually spend more time with hubby that way because he's watching TV or on the computer, and I'm right beside him with my notebook. It works.

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I'm participating in the SORMAG online conference this week. It's a conference via blog so participants can jump in and out as time permits, and "attend" every workshop rather than having to pick one in an alloted time slot.

Lots of published authors, debut authors, aspiring authors. It's authors galore! Our friend Bettye is there for the Mainstream Authors panel.

Jill Elizabeth Nelson, author of Reluctant Burglar, Reluctant Runaway, and the upcoming Reluctant Smuggler, did a workshop on Deep POV. This is where showing, not telling, is so effective that the reader experiences emotions and senses with the character. Makes a story come alive. Good stuff.

Anyway, Ms. Nelson offered to do a mini-critique of 1-2 pages for anyone willing to post an excerpt in the comments. No hesitation. I dived right in. Weird, because I've still been reluctant to post for my critique group, feeling as though I need to finish the manuscript first, so as not to be distracted from moving forward. But this was just a snippet, for which Ms. Nelson would primarily be giving feedback about deep pov. So I went for it.

You can read my excerpt and Ms. Nelson's comments here. Her feedback was priceless because I can use it for the remainder of my first draft, and certainly during revisions. Thanks a million, Jill!

No question today. Instead of chatting with me, hop over to the SORMAG conference!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Middle Name Meme

Quick update on weekend writing: I wrote. Seriously, I penned 21 pages, longhand. Not sure what that amounts to but hey, it's something. Give me until Wednesday to get that stuff typed up and update the word count. I'm definitely approaching 40,000 words, the midpoint of my wip.

If you haven't dropped by the SORMAG online conference, you are missing something special! Dee Stewart did a workshop on plotting yesterday and Jill Elizabeth Nelson is doing one on Deep POV today. There are panel discussions, door prizes, and lots of networking (the subject of another workshop). Don't miss it!
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Something easy today. Kaye Dacus tagged me. Here's the deal:

1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.

4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

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My middle name is Louise.

L -- Loving. I really do believe the greatest commandment is to love so I try hard to find something lovable about everyone I meet and to present myself in a lovable way. I could have used Laughing because I enjoy a good laugh, even when the joke's on me.

O -- Open. To the world around me. Don't like everything. Don't agree with everything. But I'm curious and I do try to understand. Sometimes I worry that I'm too tolerant. I express my views, including my faith, but I don't try to force them on others. Living my Christian faith as honestly and purely as I can is the best witness. I do share my faith with others who are open to God or seeking to know Him. I try to encourage and help others to grow in their faith, to stand with them through the difficult moments and celebrate the joys with them. Still, I wonder if my approach is too laid-back. Hope this doesn't earn me a return ticket at the pearly gates.

U -- Unavailable. To every man except my husband. Have been since I said yes to his proposal. No wavering. And I like it that way! We celebrate our 16th anniversary on the 31st! (And today's his birthday!)

I -- This is the tough one. I wanted to be insouciant but I do worry. I'm not intrepid because I do fear. There are a host of "I" words with negative meanings. Intelligent? Aren't we all in some way? A bit too egotistical for my liking. So I'll go with Introspective. Because I'm always thinking and asking why. Good for a writer and bad for a writer. Have to be careful not to have too much introspection on every page and not to explain things before the reader needs to know.

S -- Sleep Deprived. Constant, general state of affairs for working, writing mother of three. But I love Most Honorable Son Number One, Middle One, and Littlest One. Wouldn't have it any other way.

E -- Eager. Eager to learn more about writing. Eager to improve as a writer. Eager to be published.

I tag Mel, Angela, Chelle, Chicki, Bettye, and Vicki. (Sorry if I've tagged you before. I really need to expand my circle of friends! :smile: )

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Catching Up & Friday Tidbits

I blogged very little this week so today's post will be a bit of a catch-all.

First, on a personal level, I think the You On a Diet folks are spying on me. Last week there was the none too subtle reminder that diet alone won't do it. Exercise required. This week, I get a message about how lack of sleep torpedos the weight loss process, this when I'm suffering from sleep deprivation after returning to the school schedule (and had two munchy nights in a row!)

Those folks must be watching! I should keep this in mind when getting dressed. Don't want to get caught in a Candid Camera-type fashion nightmare!
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I've got two new book reviews posted at freshfiction.com. Take a look:

• Unfinished Business by Karyn Langhorne
  
• In His Dreams by Gail Gaymer Martin

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In an effort to get the pages out, I've been writing longhand this from just yet. Can't update wordcount (25,292) until I type everything up. But I have 12 pages so far and I'll definitely get some more writing in over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Plotting Bootcamp continues. This week focused on mapping out the major plot lines, using either the Hero's Journey, a structure familiar to many plotters, or the Novem Structure--neither name nor origin of this one is certain--a slightly different but largely similar structure. Choosing one is a matter of comfort for each writer; I'm looking at the Novem Structure. It goes something like this:

1. The story begins
2. The idyll is shattered
3. The hero and heroine meet
4. There are "three bumps and a push" that get in the way of the hero reaching his goal
5. The hero commits
6. The hero tries Plan A
7. The hero faces a turnaround
8. The hero tries Plan B
9. The story ends.

This has raised questions for me. In romance, do both the hero and the heroine need to have external goals beyond the romance? Should all the plotlines for each main goal follow this structure? What about subplots? Do they fit within this same construct? No answers yet but working on these exercises keeps my plot evolving. I'm starting to think that the final version of this story will barely resemble the original concept, beyond having two characters who fall in love by the end.

Today's question: If you have used The Hero's Journey or similar plotting structure, was it helpful? Do you think about this during the first draft or use it as a revision tool to check for plot holes?
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And since it is Friday, I have a few parting tidbits:
The bankruptcy of romance and sci-fi publisher, Triskelon Publishing, suggests additional considerations for authors as they consider signing with a publisher. Get the story here.

For those folks who want help keeping their queries and submissions straight, there's Query Tracker, an free online tracking tool for writers.

Lastly, another freebie. The SORMAG Online Writers Conference begins on Sunday. The deadline for pitch submissions, the writing contest, and requesting critiques has passed but the registration deadline has been extended until this Saturday. More info can be found here.

Have a great weekend!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Rolling Right Along

Rollin', rollin'...

Well, sort of.

Notice the word counter has not moved in days. And I was definitely feeling stuck, at that point where I'd gotten all the easy stuff down on paper and was at a loss for what would happen next. Ordinarily that point would bother me, as would the static counter, but I'm progressing in other ways. Let me tell you all about it...

• Plotting Bootcamp
  I continue to work through the workshop exercises. After deciding who played what role in the novel, we moved on to character descriptions, setting, and internal and external conflict. Great stuff. (I really recommend this workshop although it's a bear keeping up with the friendly "drill instructors", Delilah Devlin and Ella James.)
  
  This week we're looking at the hero's journey, which I believe will help me tighten the holes in my plot.
  
  Because there are holes. Lots of them. Some big enough to swallow an elephant! Moon craters!
  
  
• Synopsis
  In working through the character exercises for the workshop over the weekend, it got my juices going again. And I already said I needed a map. So I created one. I wrote a synopsis for my entire story. Yay!
  
  Already know some things will change. Knew it minutes after completion. But that's okay because it's a map.
  
  I have a plan.
  
  At least now, I can continue to write. And if, along the way, I think of some better plot developments, I'll work them in.

And to top it all off,

1. Kids went back to school today. Everyone got off to their respective locations without a hitch.
   
   
2. Exercised over the weekend. More jogging around the track and a full hour of kickboxing, courtesy of FitTV, before church yesterday. Legs are a bit tight today but in a good way.
   
   
3. Had gotten a little lazy with eating plan. Got back on track.
   
   
4. Began reading another book for review purposes. A nice respite after slaving over the synopsis, which I wrote longhand, most of yesterday.
   
   
5. Mulling over starting another blog. More like, starting to listen to (or stop ignoring) that still small voice. Will be once a week, I think, at least starting out. Inspirational musings. "Whispers of My Heart" or "Pearls for Praise and Pondering". Something like that.

I'm definitely one of those people who is most productive when they have the most to do, and feel like they are capable and motivated for completion. (As opposed to having lots to do and not wanting to or being able to do any of it, which only leads to stress.)

How about you? Do you like your plate overflowing, full to the brim, or holding just a few select items at a time?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Friday Tidbits

Today I'm focusing on a different king of "sagging middle". I exercised this week! Hubby and Sons have taken me on as a project so they took me to a neighborhood park where there's a track twice this week. We'll go again tonight. And I pulled out the resistance bands that I bought six or seven years ago and never opened. Found a workout show on FIT TV and had a ball!

Pray this is the beginning of something and not a blip!

A bit off track on the writing due to back-to-school machinations. I'm done. Middle school orientation was last night. School starts Monday.

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This week's tidbit:

Missed the 2007 BEA? Booksurge, Writer's Digest, and Write Bros. offer video webcasts of some of the most popular sessions at low cost, including a FREE listen to Jodi Piccoult's keynote address. Go here.

Enjoy the weekend!

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Wandering Through The Sagging Middle

Right now I feel a bit like the Israelites, wandering through the wilderness of my sagging middle to get to the Promised Land. I don't know exactly where my finish line is or how long it will take me to get there.

What kept the Israelites wandering though was rebelliousness. Everything that they could ever want or need was provided for them. All they had to do was follow the instructions. Follow the path laid out for them. Without grumbling or giving up.

Here's where I part company with the Israelites. I try not to grumble, although it's a bit of a learned habit. Hopefully, I'm not too loud or whiny about it.

Unlike my fellow wanderers, I, however, absolutely will NOT give up!

I recognize that everything I need has been provided. I believe I'm gifted with the ability to write and to learn the things I need to know to do it well. I'm creative. Even my very technical and at times less than lovely career has been based on my ability to ask "what-if?" I've got access to excellent writing resources via the library (books) and Internet (people, online courses, articles, blogs, etc.)

But how do I get back my warm and fuzzy euphoric feeling that I'm heading in the right direction? And how do I get to The End without setting myself up for the daunting feeling that I've just wasted eight weeks and 80,000 words because there's no way I can make something readable out of what I've written?

I skimmed my wip. Boy, was it illuminating! I found conflicts I'd forgotten about. Internal struggles I'd glossed over and external obstacles I'd left dangling. Some of which were much more interesting than where I'm headed at the moment. All this at roughly 25,000 words. Imagine if I'd kept going without looking back. I'd have wound up with 80,000 words of mish-mash!

The orderly, analytic part of me just can't let that happen. There has to be a better way. I thought about this last night and nearly slapped myself in the head when it dawned on me. Go. Back. To. The. Plan!

I started with an outline. Only thing is I left my outline in the dust around page six, rendering it pretty useless at this point. I'm tossing it out the window. Instead, I'm going to write a synopsis from what I have so far, and then take a shot at completing the synopsis for the unwritten part.

Looking more like the process I raved about before? Of course it is. I am neither pantser nor strict plotter. I'm a bit of both but I definitely lean toward plotting. Those first few chapters roll off the fingertips but then things start getting murky. Quickly. I need a map, a tool to help me get from the beginning to the end. An outline. A synopsis. Something.

The trick will be discovering how to use that map as a guide when my fingers hit the keyboard and all these wonderful plot detours come to mind. I don't want to be tied to it but I also don't want to wander for forty years. Maybe I need to do a synopsis check at the end of every chapter, to see whether I remain straight ahead or I've begun to veer off. Then I can decide which way I want to go. Kind of like checking the directions periodically on a long road trip.

More process thought required...

If you use an outline or synopsis for your writing, how do you keep on track?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Entering the Dreaded Middle

I'm entering that most scary of places for an inexperienced writer. The dreaded Middle.

I'm just shy of 25,000 words against a target of 80,000.

Since I've usually stopped writing by now, this is uncharted territory for me. I'm going in with a one main plotline that feels bloated and weighed down by too much melodrama, and another main plotline that feels lighter than marshmallow fluff. Then there are a few subplots that seem to come and go as they please, unsure whether they're really even part of the story.

As I venture forward, I see darkness with only the faintest of light far off into the distance. I hear noises. "You'll never finish. You'll run out of gas first." "This story is going nowhere. Fast!" "What makes you think you can write romance?" I feel a coldness about me. My hands tremble as I type, and my mind, previously unfettered, has begun to feel as though the door to my creative center has been chained shut.

I'm tempted to turn tail and run.

Forget about the middle sagging. Let's hope the boat from which I write doesn't spring a leak half way across the ocean of manuscripts and capsize.

I don't even have a title yet!

Don't worry. I'm still moving forward, even if it is with trepidation.

Was this what the explorers felt like when they went off in search of new albeit already settled lands?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Friday's Tidbits

It's actually Saturday but I was so busy yesterday thatI never got around to posting. We're in the height of back-to-school preparations. Shopping, phase 1 completed. Phase 2 later today. But part of that busyness was writing--about 800 words yesterday afternoon and several pages under the hair dryer at the salon this morning. So it's all good.

As promised, here are this week's reader/writer tibits:

1) The best blog post I read this week was on Stephanie Feagan's blog. She has a terrific blog post about the secret to getting and staying published. Check it out. Check out her bio too because it's pretty funny and, if her humor comes through in her books, I'll have to pick one up.

2) Just learned of a relatively new review site, Romantic Advances. Their aim is review all romance releases every month for RWA-recognized publishers. Don't think their staffed for that just yet but it is certainly a lofty and worthy goal. Check them out.

3) For those writers who are members of the Christian Writers Guild (or are currently students with CWG), they are accepting submissions for this year's Operation First Novel and Operation First Book (Non-fiction) contests. The winners get up to $20,000 and publication. Learn more here.

That's all for this week. Enjoy the weekend! See you on Monday.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

In The Writing Zone

I'm doing this diet thing, right? And I'm doing okay. 11 lbs since the beginning of July. But I haven't exercised, as everyone knows, anyone with serious weight loss goals needs to do. And my goals are pretty serious. Let's just say, I'm only 15% of the way in. You do the math.

So I'm contemplating the need to exercise. I contemplate it daily. I just don't do it. But I've now printed every recipe they have off the You on a Diet website, filling a 3 in. 3-ring binder to the max. And I get weekly newsletters from them for inspiration. What's the first paragraph in this week's newsletter?

When it comes to losing weight, changing your eating habits without boosting your physical activity level is like trying to tiptoe across a high wire without a balance pole. Sure, you could give it a go. But wouldn't it be easier with the right tools?

Can it get any plainer than that? Back to contemplation...

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To yesterday's post, Chicki commented, "...it sounds like you're in a zone now."

Me? In a zone?

I guess I am. I have soooo much still to learn but I'm doing something writing related every day now. Every single day.

Most importantly, I continue to move my wip forward. I'm below the target for the week but I plan to get quite a bit of writing down today (I've already added 1,559 words since breakfast) and even more on the weekend.

Here's what I'm not doing:

• Not stressing over the quality of what I'm writing, although who doesn't want to get it right the first time?
  
• Not stressing over the many tangents my story has taken away from my outline, because the path is changing but the end remains the same. (And I thought of a great twist this morning for the climax!)
  
• Not stressing over not having an agent, editor, or contract in sight.
  
• Not stressing over all the other aspirants out there who are writing just as feverishly as I in hopes of cracking the publication ceiling nor the many multi-published authors with a track record that will give them favor in the eyes of publishing houses.
  
• Not stressing over having to divide my time between family, home, work, and writing.
  
• Not stressing over my still-dead laptop (fingers still crossed for getting that grant!)
  
• Not stressing over never having met anyone face-to-face in this industry, and knowing that networking can make a difference
  
• Not stressing over not having the funds to attend out of state conferences, buy every book I've ever wanted to read, or otherwise invest in my writing career.

Nope. I'm not stressing.

Instead, I feel light as a bird. I get up thinking about writing and go to sleep the same. I feel ebulliant during the day, despite project deadlines under less than ideal circumstances and the requisite less than desirable paycheck that corporate American deigns to cough up.

Repeat. I'm not stressing.

I think of Buzz Lightyear, from the movie TOY STORY. When he arrives in Andy's bedroom, he demonstrates his ability to fly by jumping off the bed. Woody, the naysayer at this point, says, "That's not flying. That's just falling with style." Perhaps but Buzz doesn't care because at this point, he doesn't know he's a toy. He truly believes he's a space ranger. Later, he discovers the truth and falls into a slight depression but by the end of the story, he's at peace with who he is and Woody, who has now become his best friend says, "Hey Buzz, you're flying", to which Buzz says, "This isn't flying. It's just falling with style." Then he proceeds to overshoot their original target and land with success right where he's supposed to be.

I might be flying, I might be falling with style. But I'm going to keep on doing my thing, convinced that in the end, I'll be right where I'm supposed to be, which will entail success beyond my wildest dreams.

Are you in the zone?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Focus on Focusing...and Characters

I want to be timely about giving out info my fellow bloggers might find interesting and/or useful but I'm wondering whether I should save it all up for the end of the week, posting "Useful Tidbits" on Fridays? What do you think?

Today's tidbits:

1. NPD market research on the popularity and usefulness of blogs. In case, you're wondering, read here.
   
   
2. The ebook reader of the future just might be Apple's IPhone. Read here.

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So much for writing everyday. Didn't get home late but took time to read to Two Youngest--have you noticed I almost always talk about these two as though they were a matching set? Hence the capitalization--who I realize I have been getting shafted by my spending all the evening reading time with Most Honorable Son #1 and the latest Harry Potter. Really can't be helped. I'm dying to get to the end, and I'm weary from re-reading the same shark and space books over and over to Two Youngest.

Note to self: Take all shark and space-related books back to library and get some others!

But only seven chapters of HP left. And this is very important to #1, whose love of reading has waned some in the last couple of years. When we're done, I can get back to normal 30 minute reading with Two Youngest and back to writing in the evening. Did scribble a bit this AM and again, for the last hour, so word count up just slightly.

Next assignment in class? Character role descriptions. When I think of my characters, I think of their names, their physical descriptions, anything unique about them, their back stories, and their goals. I never thought about what role they play in the story, and certainly didn't know how many different roles there are.

Most folks knows the protagonist, the main character. In romance, both the hero and heroine usually play this role. And most know the antagonist, the villain, the person who tries to keep hero and/or heroine from achieving their goals.

But do you know what a contagonist is? Who plays the roles of mentor, blind support, or naysayer in your current wip? Who is the voice of reason? The voice of the heart/emotion?

I'm bad about defining secondary characters up front. They show up in my stories, as needed. This is good and bad. In a romance, the focus is on the hero and heroine, so a writer doesn't want too many secondary characters. But secondary folks make things interesting so there is value to thinking ahead. Do the main characters have best friends? Enemies? Friends they turn to for one thing but would never go to for another? People who drop into their lives with an unexpected but much needed word of wisdom? People who drop into their lives and wreak havoc?

No one lives in a vacuum, even in the world of romance. A good secondary character can make the story. Have to be careful not to let them steal the spotlight but rather, to round out the story and maybe pique enough interest for their own.

HP, by the way, has great secondary characters. One might argue there are too many to keep track of but all are unique and interesting, and add something to the story. If I had to lose anyone, it would be Fleur. (As of the end of Book 6, she's Bill Weasley's fiance. No spoilers here.) But she does serve a purpose and other than her, I think JK Rowling's character creation is pretty masterful.

So, in addition to focusing more on my writing for the next couple of days, I'll be giving some thought to my characters.

How and when do you meet your characters? When planning? While writing? Does everyone who starts out in the story end up in the final version?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Theme, Loglines, and Premise

Housekeeping:

For those who are selling books in Amazon and care about tracking their rankings, try Sales Rank Express.

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Still writing. Remembered my notebook today, and typed up my pages from over the weekend. Fell about 1800 words short of last week's goal but that's only one extra day of writing. Since I didn't write yesterday--my writing weeks begin on Mondays--I have to write everyday for the remainder of the week or really bump out my output. I'm tracking my word count: daily and weekly output vs. daily and weekly goals. It really helps to see my progress on paper and let's me know just how much I'm off track.

Speaking of which, I'm nearly 20,000 words in, about the point where my plot and my character's motivations start getting a bit fuzzy. I have somewhat of an outline, not as detailed as what I have for my other wip, Because I Love You but it doesn't matter because I honestly haven't been following it. I've been feeling my way through the first part of the story, allowing it to twist and turn in whatever direction it may. I like most of what I have. Some of it is pure rubbish, and will be disposed of in like manner. I'll need to revisit my outline before I go much further. But I won't get bogged down, because my online class, the Plotting Bootcamp, will make sure of that.

The first Bootcamp lesson is on theme, loglines, and premise. We were asked to give our theme in just a few words, our logline in one sentence, and our premise in four sentences. Talk about making us work! (I guess that's why it's called bootcamp!)

I can't post mine here--remember this wip is a contest submission--but suffice it to say, that I really had to think hard about my story. What is the theme? (I know I said I would deal with this topic months ago but obviously I'm procrastinating because I don't have much to say/share yet.) I learned a logline is the one sentence that encapsulates the story. It's something like

Anxiety-filled woman falls for a con artist who challenges her to stretch beyond her phobias.

It's the line that you use to pitch your story to editors or agents. It's short and sweet, and leaves out unnecessary details, like character names and motivations, and gets to the heart of the matter.

Then there's the premise. I, like many of my fellow recruits, mistakenly wrote a mini-synopsis. About four paragraphs, which the drill instructors, Delilah and Elle, suggested I reduce to four sentences. Four sentences? How could I possibly tell you--or an editor or agent--everything needed to buy my story in four sentences?

Think back cover blurb. Something like

Susie Person, riddled with phobias her entire life, is tired of being afraid. So she signs up for a course entitled, "You Can Do It Too", which promises to help her face and conquer her fears. Only the course instructor dies before her class begins, and a handsome con man steps in to take his place. When Susie falls for Larry Swindler, will he come clean or take advantage of not only Susie's fears but her heart?

Not a perfect example but you get the idea. Could I do it? It was tough but I slashed like crazy and got something workable. I'll likely revise it as I learn more but it's a start.

With feedback from the group on just my logline and premise, I discovered I was going to need a bit stronger conflict between the hero and heroine. Good to know now so I can readjust and incorporate it into the remainder of the manuscript. I can fix the beginning during revisions. Many of my fellow recruits also have wips that they're using this workshop to complete or enhance in some way.

An added bonus from a small class like this, maybe fifteen or twenty writers, is the opportunity to get to know more writing folks. Already I've met one woman from the area of NY where I grew up, and another from Cincinnati where I lived for ten years. Then there are the two inspirational writers, a genre I plan to pursue, although my current wip is not in this category.

Have you written a logline and/or premise before? Do you do it at the beginning or after you've completed your manuscript? Is it easy for you?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Have I Lost My Mind?

A bit crazed right now.

First, things are hectic at work. I usually can sneak in a little blogging or even writing but haven't been able to for the last week. That puts added pressure on carving out time at home.

At home, I'm focusing on family. Back-to-school in exactly two weeks. Tax-free shopping this week so I'll be loading up on school supplies and clothing. Still have to register youngest two for preschool. Still have to get Most Honorable Son #1 to radiologist for sinus x-ray, and then back to allergist. Last, need to figure out what the AM routine is going to look like with getting everyone off to school and me hooking up with my carpool.

Still writing. Know that I'm well short of the 6-7k I needed to do over the weekend but that's okay this one time. I spent Friday evening and all day Saturday organizing and hosting my neighborhood's Edy's ice cream party. A lot of work but a lot of fun!

I feel a bit naked today because I LEFT MY NOTEBOOK AT HOME! This is major for me, because I wrote about eight pages longhand over the weekend and wanted to at least get those typed into manuscript so I could up my word count. Also, it means I can't write while I'm commuting, which makes that lost time. I had to catch myself from falling in a minor funk when I realized it this morning. Oh well!

Then if all that isn't enough, I signed up for a month-long online writing class. PLOTTING BOOTCAMP sponsored by the ladies at Rose Colored Glasses (sisters Ella James and Delilah Devlin). I really think this will be a useful workshop. It's limited to a small number of people and it's very hands-on with specific assignments to help us work through plotting a novel. I'm going to use my current wip, so that I'll be plotting in the workshop as I'm actually writing. I think this will help me identify plot holes to address during my revision stage. In the first assignment, we're working on theme, logline, and premise, which already got me to thinking about ways to better my story.

At the end of the month, once school is well underway, the writing workshop is over, and I'm putting the finishing touches on my first draft, I'll sigh in relief and treat myself to something nice, like some new earrings or a new pair of shoes.

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Aug 2007 Goals Check-In

Couple of items:
Brenda Novak and Karen Rose, romantic suspense authors, have an interesting who-dunnit contest on their website for the purpose of promoting their upcoming releases. Find out more here.

The finalists for the American Christian Fiction Writers 2007 Book of the Year have been announced. The list is available here.

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It is soggy here in Central FL. We only get this kind of rain during the hurricane season, which lasts six months officially but only about 10 weeks unofficially, so it's kinda like the downside of pregnancy, once it's over, you forget all about it until it happens to you again. Then you remember every pain and you hate it!

Last check-in on my annual goals was mid-May. Time to take a look.

I'm making good progress on finishing and submitting a novel. The word count climbs daily. I'm motivated and you kind folks have cut me no slack! Longhand works well in the evenings, after dinner is done and before kids go to bed. Don't think hubby is thrilled, however, about me occasionally bringing notebook to bed. Bringing a book to read every night was bad enough. Need about 6200 words over the weekend to remain on target.

Pretty much missed this year's conference season. There's still the ACFW conference in September, which I would love to attend. But that won't happen this year. I am, however, planning to participate in SORMAG's online writing conference at the end of August. SORMAG was the first real writing community I found when I embarked on this new adventure some six years ago, and it continues to be a warm, inviting, and supportive bunch of scribes. Check it out.

No short stories. Difficult to commit the time while completing a novel. Realistically, I think short story writing will be a nice filler between novel manuscripts. Spending a week or two away working on something completely different and short-term will be a nice way to change gears and give a manuscript a breather before diving into edits/revisions.

If one hangs out on the web as I do, it's impossible not to continue to broaden the network of writer friends. You folks have been an inspiration, an encouragement, and a fount of craft advice and wisdom. I appreciate you all.

I joined the International Black Writers Association (IBWA), hence meeting my goal to join a professional organization. The dues were more reasonable than some others, and it was exciting to be on the ground floor of something new. But the group, which began less than a year ago, is already defunct so I'll have to look elsewhere. I'll save my pennies and join RWA and ACFW as I've always intended to do.

No focus at all on marketing and promotion. Completely sensible seeing as I have nothing to market or promote yet. LOL! But I continue to read newsletters and blogs where these topics are addressed so I'm learning.

I'm still reading for pleasure and for writing book reviews but at a slower pace than usual in order to focus on writing.

Non-writing goals? Online Bible study fell by the way side. It was too easy to skip over the email messages with the intent of reading them later. Later never came. No accountability. Hubby and I continue to work on our ministry project. You've heard about my dieting successes (and woes). Children are happy and healthy.

That about sums it up. Now that more than half of the year is behind us, how are you doing with your goals for this year?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.

Oh, The Prose!

Over 10,000 words and pumping! More than 10% of my first draft target (nearly 20% of a final draft of 60,000 words) completed.

They suck!

Don't get me wrong. There are some really good sentences, some really beautiful passages, IMHO. As I write, I feel particularly smart or witty at times. At other times, I feel emotionally transparent, able to capture all that my characters are thinking and feeling flawlessly.

Then there are times when I'm certain that everything I've written is complete dreck!

I already know that I'm going to take the hero's conflict in a slightly different direction. That should slice half of what I've already written from the manuscript. But I'm not going backward. Can't. Won't.

The more I listen to and learn from writers more experienced than myself, I've come to accept one thing. The first draft is truly a draft. My story is likely to go through many edits, revisions, and incarnations before it is deemed ready for publication.

Some writers experience "first draft" syndrome, wherein they hate part or all of what they've written, their entire writing career and it makes them sick. Others get better about the quality of their first draft but they always remember that regardless of how good it may get, their first draft is "for their eyes only". (Don't remember who said it but this point has stuck with me.) Still others don't care because it's more important for them to get the story out. They accept a less than desirable first draft as part of the process and embrace--maybe even enjoy?--the revision phase.

Knowing that multi-published authors still write dreck in their first drafts helps. The old "misery loves company" thing. Makes them more human and me less...freshman-like. I don't know where I'll eventually come out on the spectrum but I've picked up a few important tidbits:

• My first draft does not have to be perfect. It just has to be.
  
• Getting the story out and on paper is most important. I can't revise what I haven't written. (I believe Nora Roberts is credited with that sentiment.)
  
• I can use my critique group while writing in a way that won't kill my forward momentum. It's called readjustment. (Another Kaye-ism, fresh off the presses. (I'll be submitting chapters soon, Chicki!)

Sure, there's a part of me that wishes I could write the perfect book, no revision required but that's not going to happen. But I don't mind going back to put in emotions, landscape, reader clues. The hard part is making the overall prose sing, to keep it from getting weighted down by verbosity or tepid dialogue.

Ultimately, I want to write a good book, which to me means a story I'm proud to tell and that readers enjoy.

So I'll keep marching forward, adding words to the page, pages to the draft. I might readjust along the way. Eventually I'll get to the end. Then I'll revise.

What kind of writer are you? Do you edit/revise as you go, or do you write full steam ahead and tackle the revisions later?

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Peace & Blessings,
Patricia

Stay focused. Be deliberate. Believe.