Day - 51

Writing Tip

Have Fun!

I have a lot of fun when I'm writing. However, me being a perfectionist can make it not fun at times. It is hard for me to write and not expect it to be perfect. This isn't realistic at all because even published authors think of different things they could have done to their stories. Finding the medium and always remembering to have fun when writing is the challenge. There isn't anything that I can think of that I'd rather do than write. Whether that pans out into something remains to be seen.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 50

Writing Tip

Carry a notebook around to jot down ideas.

As silly as it may sound, I actually like this writing tip. Some authors have suggested that aspiring writers carry around a notebook to jot down ideas to peruse through later. It may look a little bit silly and nerdish, but I think that there is some weight to this tip. I get a lot of ideas for stories and plot lines while I'm driving around for work. I can't exactly pull over every time I have an idea, so maybe I should opt for a voice recorder.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 49

Writing Tip

What If?

I've found this writing tip on several author's websites and on other writing websites. Asking the question, "What if?" can help writers (or me in this case) brainstorm on possible new plots lines or things that can be used to further develop the characters. The only problem I see with this is that I ask "what if" too much and come up with too many plot lines. Finding the balance with this type of brainstorming is going to take some practice.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 48

Writing Tip

Whose story is it?

I found a writing tip that asks a writer to determine whose story the book is about. Maybe it's a primary character or maybe it's more than one.

Obviously, Crush follows Chris and Jordan. The two main characters. Red Bow follows Mason, the main character. Untitled....that I'm not sure yet. I've got three main characters. I'm wondering if I'm biting off more than I can chew with that many main characters.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 47

Unfortunately, work this week promises to take up a lot of time. This results in less time to write. I'm fascinated how published authors manager their busy schedules and can still churn out novels.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 46

Conflict

In most stories, there will inevitably be some type of conflict that arises. It could be something as simple as debating what to eat for dinner or a police officer playing a cat and mouse game with a criminal. Conflict is interesting and the more unique the conflict, the more interesting the plot can get in my opinion.

In Crush, there is definitely conflict but two of the main characters are good. If the conflict is good vs. good, the reader can possibly finish the story with a win/win outcome. At least, that's my two cents.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 45

Writing Tip - Establish Author Authenticity

I had to reread this tip a few times to understand what it really meant. From what I can gather, this encourages an author to be concise with the details written and allows the reader to believe what is written. Sure, someone can write out the details of a scene, but blending factual information with concise details can beef up the story and help readers buy into the plot.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 44

Writing Tip - Show Don't Tell

A new tip I found for novel writing is to "Show, don't tell." If there is a person in the story that is happy or sad, don't just say that they are happy or sad, show how they are happy or sad. This can be based on a situation or as a result of an event.

This is a great tip and I will admit that this is something that I struggle with. I will write something that is supposed to be dramatic or sad and I don't show how it's dramatic or sad. I think this will come with more practice and reading, but it is an area that I will love to improve on in my writing.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 43

Sticking with the theme of the show "Snapped" providing so many story ideas, I've found a new show on the ID channel called "Cold Blood." It's probably very morbid that I am fascinated with all of these crime shows, but there is something with the puzzle aspect of the cases that draws me in. If you think about it, a crime or murder case is basically just a puzzle that needs to be solved. Now the complexity of that puzzle can be very simple or difficult.

The thing that I'm hoping for is to be able to transfer some of that puzzle aspect of real crime scenarios to novel ideas. I love a good mystery and maybe some of the plot twists and turns from these shows will help me become a better writer.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 42

"Every story needs a good villain."

I remember hearing that statement in a TV show and it made me think about all of the movies and books that I've read. There was always some type of villain. I particularly enjoy the books where the villain is likable. It creates a sense of believability with the villain and the reader.

So what makes a good villain? Someone who is really twisted? Someone who is funny? Someone who is unbelievable?

I think there are numerous things that make a good villain. Personally, I like to see humor with villains. It could be a snarky comment or a sarcastic action. Even if the villain is say a serial murderer, I'd still like to be able to pull something from said character that either makes them very interesting or likable to me. I know, I know, that sounds weird, but then again....I'm weird.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 41

Writing Tip

I found a writing tip that says "develop a main character you can readily identify with." This is interesting because the main characters in Crush and Red Bow I can really identify with. I'd even go so far as to say that there are elements of me in those characters. I've touched on this before, but different characters have different traits from people I know. It's like a big melting pot. So chances are, if I know you, you or a characteristic will be in one of my stories. :)

I've been playing around with secondary/supporting characters. One of the characters, Marcos, from Red Bow becomes more prominent in Untitled. He even has a love interest. Thinking back on different books that I've read, the supporting character can make or break a story. He/she can provide insight, comic relief, or support to the main characters. These secondary characters are just as important, if not as important as the leads in my opinion. Think about a story that you've ready and enjoyed. Now think about whether or not there was a supporting character in that story. I'm willing to be there was and that character had a large impact on the overall story.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 40

Does it sound weird if I say that I dreamed about different scenes for Untitled last night? I think my brain is overloaded with too many different plot ideas. It would also be helpful to come up with a title besides "Untitled." The last two stories have gotten the titles after writing a few chapters, so I'm hoping that the same is true for Untitled.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 39

Staying on the topic of Untitled, visiting Seattle this weekend made me think of several new scenes to incorporate based on visiting the city itself. I'm tossing around the idea of using a program called MindMapper to keep track of all of my ideas and tie them into plots. I used it when I first started my Thesis and found it helpful in keeping things organized.

Looking at the different author websites, I haven't found anything in the way of plot organization tips, other than keeping a notebook full of ideas. Since my writing is illegible, maybe MindMapper would be a good thing for me to use.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 38

I have some of my core landmarks jotted down for Untitled and have mapped out a couple of the scene's locations. Speaking of Seattle, I'm going to be down at Safeco field today so not only will I be going to a baseball game, but I'll also be doing first person research on scene locations for Untitled. :)

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 37

Geography in stories.....

Untitled is set in Seattle. Part of the reason for putting this story in Seattle is because I needed a bigger city than Rayville (from Red Bow) to work with the first plot line of the story. Furthermore, several scenes that I've jotted down ideas for require certain land marks such as the Space Needle, Pike's Place Market, and Safeco Field. I'm doing research on my street names and other land marks because I want the environment and geographical descriptions to be as accurate as possible.

When I read Mark Henry's first book, I was able to get a clear picture of the location, Seattle, and knew exactly what location in the city he was describing or at least I could picture it based on surrounding areas. I think that it's important to have some sort of accuracy when dealing with a real city in a story. A made up city, well that just leaves everything to the imagination. I'm not that skilled to write about a large made up city....yet. Down the road hopefully.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 36

I'm taking a break from Crush again and going back to Untitled. In Red Bow, a character named Marcos was introduced. He's pretty a pretty mysterious character because not a lot about his past is described in Red Bow. Because I made him so mysterious in Red Bow, I wanted to develop his character more so in Untitled. Part of that will involve a love interest, which sheds light on his mysterious past. I know, I know, so cliche.....but the mystery of his background provides a TON of options as far as developing his character.

So do people like mysterious characters? I do because I'm always wanting to know more about what makes them tick. Maybe that's just me though....

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 35

Showing part of the ending at the beginning.....

The start of Crush is actually part of the ending. It starts out with a scene where one of the main characters has made a decision. Then it goes backwards and shows the plots leading up to the ending. A lot of TV shows do this and I thought it would be a good way to start the story because frankly, the first few chapters didn't really draw me in. Weird for me to say that as it's my own writing. I thought it best to try to give some insight on what the whole point of the book was and how the characters got to that decision. Maybe it's a bad way to start the book Hmm....

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 34

Developed new plot lines for the middle section of Crush. I'm finding this part of the writing process to be much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Connecting the plot lines together is like putting together a puzzle...and I really enjoy puzzles.

I can recall one author putting characters and plot lines onto index cards and shuffling them around to see how they end up. That may be a little bit more advanced than I'm ready for, but down the road I would like to be able to do that.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 33

I finished up another Rachel Caine book this weekend and really enjoy the the way that she adds twists and cliffhangers at the end of books. Some people don't like these types of endings, but I (as the reader) really enjoy them. Sure it may be frustrating to be left wondering what happens next, but that just makes me want to read the next book.

RC's cliffhangers are simple and concise, but certainly throw a monkey wrench into the loop. I can only aspire to learn how to add that into my writing someday.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 32

I went to another book signing this week and I found out that the author not only wrote several novels that made the NYT bestsellers list, but she did this while teaching full time. That leaves me with no excuse at all to not be able to finish these three books. While the workload that I have is large, it in no way compares to what a teacher has to do everyday.

Motivation.....

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 31

The start of a new month. So I've been at this for a month and although my progress isn't quite where I want it to be, it's a good start.

My goals for month two are to be more diligent in my writing and continue to research writing methods and of course read different authors.

My goal is to have my first draft for Crush completely done and start on the first round of edits. This is a pretty hefty goal, but I enjoy a challenge. If I'm able to meet that goal, I can knock out the polishing and then revisit Red Bow. Seriously, after watching so many Snapped episodes, there are a LOT of twists and turns I can add to the story.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 30

Getting back on track. I really enjoy Friday's where I have the day off and can just write. Did some research and knocked out a few more scenes in Crush. Oddly enough, have several new ideas for the middle part of the book now that the beginning and ending are done. Working on linking the scenes together for continuity.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 29

Ok, so there is a very important kissing scene in Crush. I'm trying to make it interesting, while not crossing the line to over the top. That is easier said than done. With a movie, you have music, slow motion, etc. In a book, your description has to paint a visual picture.

I think the scene turned out well, so we'll have to wait and see what people think about it and whether or not it's appropriate or crossing the line.

Can I Get Published In A Year

Day - 28

Wow, getting a little behind on updating the blog. Playing catch up........

Can I Get Published In A Year