Killer-Nashville Conference.
August 23, 2012, Thursday.
Arrived at Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Tn, about 4:30pm. Gotta tell you...this place knows how to treat their guests. Everything is first class. Conference doesn't open until 6. After I had a free glass of wine, then went to Ted's (as in Ted Turner) Montana Grill and had a bison burger. It was delicious. I heard there's one in Atlanta.
After dinner, we checked in with conference officials, I took 17 books to the book store and we retired to our room and had a good time talking writing.
August 24, 2012, Friday.
Session #1. Bill Bass of the Body Farm. Excellent speaker. Interesting subject matter. Retired, but still works 60 hrs a week. Slide show about explosion of barn where fireworks were made illegally in Polk County, TN. Photos very educational, not bloody, but a tad gory. Clothes blown off, people and their body parts, were scattered over wide area. The trees were draped with intestines.
Session #4. Cozy, humor and crime. Panel discussion. Time is 10am CST. Each author is reading from their own novel. Dull beyond words! Walked out.
Session #2 Steven Womack. Interesting speaker. Animated, great speaking voice. The Writers Journey by Vogel. Understanding the structure of your story/plot. Suck in your readers' brain. You can give it back to them later. "The man who went up the hill and came down from a mountain." The protagonist's journey, his/her call to adventure. Energy, obstacles, whatever to change his/her life. Physical need, emotional need. Arch-a-type. "Call to adventure." Flaws need to be redeemed. Whatever is broken, fix it. Refusal of the call. Next step is meeting with the mentor...powerful dynamic in the story w/the hero/heroine. The push to move forward. Mentor can be your own conscience. Speaker had great recall of old movies and books, even remembering the names of the main characters. He pointed out strong points as well as flaws in the plot structure and bad dialogue.
Session #8. John Jefferson (half of Jefferson Bass, author) moderator of 3 panelists. Scene descriptions. Be more vivid in your descriptions of scenes. Setting the scene is "monstrously" important. Setting is like seasoning in cooking. Too much leaves a bad taste in the mouth of your reader. A few words in a description could trigger the imagination in the reader. Good descriptions should trigger a movie in your mind. Create a visualization. It can even foreshadow an event. How long should your descriptions be? Not so long that you bore your reader, but enough to create the emotion that is to follow. Murders usually take place on a "dark and stormy night" not when it's sunny...I say...not necessarily. #2 speaker better than #1. #3 speaker is difficult to hear. She has written a novel in the Medici and Michelangelo era, circa 1530. Not a subject I'm interested in. She was boring and read way too much from herown novel.
Session #17. My panel was on murder and comedy in the Cozy Mystery. Had a good time. How can you talk about humor and murder and not have a good time? I found that getting an audience to laugh is quite exhilarating. I only read about 6 lines from my novel. When you say something and everyone picks up their pencil, I feel you've really made a good point. A quote from Wm. Faulkner: "The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself."
Session #21. Using the Social Media to sell your books. Beyond Facebook. Getting an ad on Facebook. Linked (spelling). #1 speaker promotes ads on Facebook. Aimed at only people who are interested in your content and genre. His example is "Irish, race horses, middle east conflict". #2 speaker isn't on social media but believes in personal contact...postcards and bookmarks. #3 speaker is difficult to hear. #4 speaker was talking but saying nothing. Just find what works and continue to press forward. The object is to drive an individual to the "buying point." My personal opinion is to incite the curiosity of a Facebook "friend". If someone is curious about my dog, cat, or even the Smoky Mountains, they will be prompted to buy my books. Although speaker thought it was effective, don't use Twitter if you don't like it. One author said it gives the impression that your book is popular. Personally, I've never tried it. Look at: mysteryscene.com. (this leads you to B&N) He believes web advertising is much more effective than paper. Lori's Reading Corner is another. (Note: she has 285 blogs if you want to wade through them). Targeted audience/groups....mystery buffs.
It's been a full day of workshops. My brain is overloaded with information. Gonna prop my feet up tonight and work on Smoky Mountain Miracle. Been going to conferences for ten years and Steve Womack's workshop (Session #2) was the best in recent memory. He was very passionate about the subject matter. His passion was contagious.
We got my car out and we drove south on West End Avenue to find a restaurant. We chose Italian. After dinner, we went back to the room and talked about writing until we fell asleep.
August 25, 2012, Saturday
Session #27. Philip Ciofari. Turning competent into compelling.
Keep reading. See what makes a novel or a scene work. Learn by osmosis. Read and re-read a good passage. Break a scene down that you think creates tension. Tight and focused. Be organized in keeping scenes in order to build tension.
Side note: People and their cell phones. So rude to have a loud ring breaking up your train of thought. If you're in a workshop, TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!! "I didn't pay good money and drive nearly 200 miles to hear your phone ring."
This man is a also college professor. Great speaking voice. He's passionate about his subject manner. Also humorous. When writing, don't plan to go back and add tension. Learn to do it as you write.
He read first page of Postman Always Rings Twice as well as
3 o'clock. (by author of Rear Window).
These stories start with a big blast of tension.
A raving lunatic can be methodical. Don't repeat a word in same paragraph unless you are making a dramatic point.
"Where are you going, where have you been." (by Oates). Character struggle needs to be in 1st paragraph. You have no story w/o struggle. No struggle, no tension, no story.
You know what to do, you own the information, but articulating this knowledge into your mss is difficult. Words create the visual action.
"Liquid muscle of the river glistened in the moonlight."
Play up the moodiness of darkness. Visual tension.
Character action. What steps does he takes to get what he wants? If we don't want something, there is no life. Struggle is the main plot of your story. Even a drunk either struggles to get sober or struggles to get the money to buy his next bottle.
"Whose broad face was as blank as a cabbage."
Let's talk about voice. What is voice? Writing voice. Length of sentence, rhythm of sentence, arrangement of words.
The sound & the fury. Great American novel. By Faulkner.
4 parts. 3 brothers obsessed by sister in each of 1st 3 parts, then part 4 was omniscient. Housekeeper was moral character.
To create anger, leave out a words.
Language. Eliminate unnecessary words to create tension. Too many words create a softness. Words w/o pictures. More verbs. Tighten sentence by removing prepositional words. Word choice. Re-arrange words in a sentence. Hearing the chopper.....(description). Invert. (description)...then heard the chopper.
Try not to have a bad sentence in your mss.
Session #33. Talk is Cheap. Five panel members.
Dialogue should move your story forward. I strongly disagree w/panel member, Nell Dickerson, who says don't use dialect. My view is that dialect brings your minor and secondary characters alive...his education and where he's from, and even if he's excited, sad or frightened. Nell is a sour puss. She is a photographer and writes non-fiction coffee table books, but wants to write fiction. Two panel members disagreed w/Nell concerning dialect. Dialogue should sparkle. Mark Troy (excellent speaker) likes a lot of conversation. Especially with two people. Women use more words than men. Women use more complete sentences and men say what they want w/shorter sentences. (Note: Pay attention to this in my own novel.) Joseph Terrell doesn't like adverbs. Nell reads..."His speech was southern, but obviously North of Mississippi."(written by Shelby Foote, her cousin).
Hemingways' White Elephant is excellent example of symbolism. Story is abt pregnancy and abortions w/o ever using those 2 words. Back in the days of Hemingway, you couldn't talk about such things...impotence, homosexual, etc., etc. today anything goes. However, people don't buy a book for its profanity. Sex, but not profanity. Tony Soprano did it, but he was Mafioso.
"He said, she said" are invisible tag lines, especially when 2 people are speaking, you don't need as many tag lines.
Elmore Leonard. Master at dialogue using very few words. "Pronto".
New Yorkers interrupt each other and like to talk at the same time. It's called New Yorkese.
The main objective for spending the money and going to a conference is:
#1. create interest in my characters, Jack and Jill.
#2. sell books
#3. get your creative juices flowing
#4. improve my writing skills
#5. remind myself to check for those invisible errors.
The big question is "did I get my money's worth?" Yes, I did. Most of the workshops were entertaining and informative. I also figured out that just because you are a writer, doesn't mean that you can be an effective speaker.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Blog Number Twenty-one
I have come to realize that I would make a very poor school teacher. When I run out of patience, I tend to get a wee bit testy. I have trouble with the idea that a student can read instructions and then ignore them completely.
Today's blog is titled: HOW TO PUBLISH WITH KINDLE (Nook has the same rules). If you read the "submission guidelines" for either Kindle or Nook, you will become so confused that you'll be tempted to run out and spend several hundred dollars on software that supposedly makes the process simple. Don't waste your money.
A very kind lady from British Columbia I met through my Facebook Fiction Writers Group simplified the entire process.
If you do all of your writing in the proper format to begin with, then the process of uploading will be hassle-free. I am a Mac-user and have been since 1989. I do all of my writing on an Apple program called "Pages." I have purchased "Microsoft Office for Mac" that I only use for the publishing process. First is your title page--Title of your book and author. Second page is "copyright by (your name) Month 2012. Next line: Kindle edition. You can add your personalized notation. For my Smoky Mtn Murder Series, mine says "Although Gatlinburg is a real city nestled in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Old Towne and all the characters therein are fictional." On the last page of your novel insert a page break and add "About the Author." I give my website, Facebook and a gmail account that I've set up for this purpose. Once I've finished my novel, I cut and paste the entire manuscript from Pages to Word. Make certain that all your formatting has come through.
If you write on MS Word, here's what you should do: go into draft view, turn on view invisibles, set the margins (one inch all around), set automatic indent at five spaces, remove headers, footers and page numbers. Use Times New Roman (no fancy fonts), size at 10 (you can make title a little bigger), single space. At the end of each chapter, insert page break, go down two lines and type in "Chapter Heading". If you hit the "enter" key MORE than three times, it will result in a blank page in Kindle. Do not use underline. You can use BOLD, italics and you are allowed to use the "center" function. Do not hit the space bar multiple times, or the tab key. Unless you are writing non-fiction, do not use a table of contents. Once on Kindle, the page numbers will be all wrong.
Once all that is accomplished, go back into "layout" view and "Save as" html or web page.
If you do not have a Kindle (and it's free on my iPad), let me explain that the reader has the option to make the print large for the visually impaired, thus a 200 page novel will be 400 pages. The reader can also set the font size to their liking, also increasing or decreasing the number of pages. That's why you remove the headers, footers and page numbers.
Okay! Now you are ready for the uploading procedure. I create a file folder which I've titled "Ready for Kindle". You will need the following: Your html manuscript, your cover art in .jpeg (Use a thumbnail version. They will reject large files), your bio, your back-cover blurb, your photo (Kindle helps you create an author page for free).
One of the most important features is to select seven key words to help the readers find your book through a search engine. Readers know what they want to read: mystery, love story, ghost, paranormal, historical, Civil War, etc., etc. Help them find you with a wise choice of words. Don't try to be clever.
If you want to get paid, you'll have to give them your Social Security Number. You can also give them your bank routing number and every month they transfer earnings directly into your designated bank account. (that's my favorite feature).
Once you have gathered all the necessary data in your special folder, go to Kindle's website. https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help
You need to have a prior account with Amazon. (who doesn't have that?). Go to the left, under "Publish your book" and follow their instructions regarding "Add Title." They will assign you an ISBN number.
They also request that you download the Kindle Previewer. Don't argue. Just do it. You have the opportunity to glance through the finished product to make certain that all your formatting is correct. Select "enable" and they will protect your digital rights. One of my early books (back in the 1990's) is being sold in India and I don't get a penny in royalty.
Please send me an email if you don't understand any portion of this guideline and I will do my best to clarify. srhinock8@gmail.com
Today's blog is titled: HOW TO PUBLISH WITH KINDLE (Nook has the same rules). If you read the "submission guidelines" for either Kindle or Nook, you will become so confused that you'll be tempted to run out and spend several hundred dollars on software that supposedly makes the process simple. Don't waste your money.
A very kind lady from British Columbia I met through my Facebook Fiction Writers Group simplified the entire process.
If you do all of your writing in the proper format to begin with, then the process of uploading will be hassle-free. I am a Mac-user and have been since 1989. I do all of my writing on an Apple program called "Pages." I have purchased "Microsoft Office for Mac" that I only use for the publishing process. First is your title page--Title of your book and author. Second page is "copyright by (your name) Month 2012. Next line: Kindle edition. You can add your personalized notation. For my Smoky Mtn Murder Series, mine says "Although Gatlinburg is a real city nestled in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Old Towne and all the characters therein are fictional." On the last page of your novel insert a page break and add "About the Author." I give my website, Facebook and a gmail account that I've set up for this purpose. Once I've finished my novel, I cut and paste the entire manuscript from Pages to Word. Make certain that all your formatting has come through.
If you write on MS Word, here's what you should do: go into draft view, turn on view invisibles, set the margins (one inch all around), set automatic indent at five spaces, remove headers, footers and page numbers. Use Times New Roman (no fancy fonts), size at 10 (you can make title a little bigger), single space. At the end of each chapter, insert page break, go down two lines and type in "Chapter Heading". If you hit the "enter" key MORE than three times, it will result in a blank page in Kindle. Do not use underline. You can use BOLD, italics and you are allowed to use the "center" function. Do not hit the space bar multiple times, or the tab key. Unless you are writing non-fiction, do not use a table of contents. Once on Kindle, the page numbers will be all wrong.
Once all that is accomplished, go back into "layout" view and "Save as" html or web page.
If you do not have a Kindle (and it's free on my iPad), let me explain that the reader has the option to make the print large for the visually impaired, thus a 200 page novel will be 400 pages. The reader can also set the font size to their liking, also increasing or decreasing the number of pages. That's why you remove the headers, footers and page numbers.
Okay! Now you are ready for the uploading procedure. I create a file folder which I've titled "Ready for Kindle". You will need the following: Your html manuscript, your cover art in .jpeg (Use a thumbnail version. They will reject large files), your bio, your back-cover blurb, your photo (Kindle helps you create an author page for free).
One of the most important features is to select seven key words to help the readers find your book through a search engine. Readers know what they want to read: mystery, love story, ghost, paranormal, historical, Civil War, etc., etc. Help them find you with a wise choice of words. Don't try to be clever.
If you want to get paid, you'll have to give them your Social Security Number. You can also give them your bank routing number and every month they transfer earnings directly into your designated bank account. (that's my favorite feature).
Once you have gathered all the necessary data in your special folder, go to Kindle's website. https://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/help
You need to have a prior account with Amazon. (who doesn't have that?). Go to the left, under "Publish your book" and follow their instructions regarding "Add Title." They will assign you an ISBN number.
They also request that you download the Kindle Previewer. Don't argue. Just do it. You have the opportunity to glance through the finished product to make certain that all your formatting is correct. Select "enable" and they will protect your digital rights. One of my early books (back in the 1990's) is being sold in India and I don't get a penny in royalty.
Please send me an email if you don't understand any portion of this guideline and I will do my best to clarify. srhinock8@gmail.com
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Blog Number Twenty
Haven't posted a blog in over a month. I've endured Thanksgiving, back surgery, a bad chest cold, and Christmas. I'm starting the New Year 2012 feeling hale, hearty and mentally refreshed.
I've come across a technical software problem facing many authors trying to get their manuscripts published with Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. Whereas www.createspace.com will accept your manuscript in "save as" PDF format, the e-readers will not. Createspace simply prints your document as you present it--even your mistakes. The e-readers requirements are entirely different.
As a Mac-person, I'm not technically proficient in Microsoft Word. I write in Mac's "Pages" and don't transfer to MS Word until I have finished a novel. However, if you will pull down the view menu, "Show invisibles" will allow to see the formatting mistakes you have made. "Hard tabs" (that is physically hitting the tab key for each paragraph indent) at the beginning of each paragraph are not acceptable. Unfortunately, you must remove each one individually. If Microsoft has a "one-step" remedy, please let me know. You must set the indent for the entire document and let it happen automatically. You have to be in "draft" format to make changes to your entire document. Formatting done to the entire document is reversible.
Also, you must insert a hard "page break" at the end of each chapter. That is, pulling down the “Insert” menu and choosing “Page Break.” Simply hitting the "enter" key multiple times to start a new chapter on a new page, will not be acceptable. They will not accept any overly fancy fonts, but will accept bold and italics.
Another must is to remove page numbers for Kindle and Nook. Because e-readers change from landscape to portrait and the print can be small or enlarged for the visually impaired, a 200-page novel can be squeezed to 100 pages or enlarged to 400 pages. My Kindle (which I downloaded for free to my iPad) has a bar at the bottom to let you know where you are. Every time you open a Kindle book, it automatically goes back where you left off.
So, here we are. Page one is your title and author name. I recommend researching Amazon to make certain your title is as unique as possible. You don't want to be number zillion on a common title. Using "alignment" for centering is acceptable. Page two is for your dedications, etc. Both Nook and Kindle will give you their own new ISBN numbers. Do not use any other numbers given by other publishers. "Kindle Edition published in 2012". On the last page of your novel, insert page break and add your bio, website address, Facebook address, and a list of your previous novels, if any.
I can't caution you enough about proof reading. Any thing put out in cyberspace will be there FOREVER. Once you have your error-free manuscript, open your document and pull down the file menu to "save as html."
This is what you will need organized before going to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) website:
Manuscript in html.
Front page cover art in .jpeg
my son the photographer can do websites and cover art for a fee
mwooten54@comcast.net
Your complete bio with photo (for prospective buyers on Kindle website)
Back cover blurb
Choosing 5 key words to direct Amazon/Kindle surfers to your book
This is extremely important
Website address
Suggestions: weebly.com, wordpress, godaddy andGoogle
will help you do this on your own. Or call on a relative to do
the job.
Just received this information from Paula Petty:
Microsoft word (at least my version) has a tool (usually at the top of the screen) that by default has "normal spacing" highlighted. However, you can highlight your text and click "no spacing" and it takes away all line spacing, tabs, etc. I wonder if this would help--before you save as html.
I've come across a technical software problem facing many authors trying to get their manuscripts published with Kindle, Nook and Smashwords. Whereas www.createspace.com will accept your manuscript in "save as" PDF format, the e-readers will not. Createspace simply prints your document as you present it--even your mistakes. The e-readers requirements are entirely different.
As a Mac-person, I'm not technically proficient in Microsoft Word. I write in Mac's "Pages" and don't transfer to MS Word until I have finished a novel. However, if you will pull down the view menu, "Show invisibles" will allow to see the formatting mistakes you have made. "Hard tabs" (that is physically hitting the tab key for each paragraph indent) at the beginning of each paragraph are not acceptable. Unfortunately, you must remove each one individually. If Microsoft has a "one-step" remedy, please let me know. You must set the indent for the entire document and let it happen automatically. You have to be in "draft" format to make changes to your entire document. Formatting done to the entire document is reversible.
Also, you must insert a hard "page break" at the end of each chapter. That is, pulling down the “Insert” menu and choosing “Page Break.” Simply hitting the "enter" key multiple times to start a new chapter on a new page, will not be acceptable. They will not accept any overly fancy fonts, but will accept bold and italics.
Another must is to remove page numbers for Kindle and Nook. Because e-readers change from landscape to portrait and the print can be small or enlarged for the visually impaired, a 200-page novel can be squeezed to 100 pages or enlarged to 400 pages. My Kindle (which I downloaded for free to my iPad) has a bar at the bottom to let you know where you are. Every time you open a Kindle book, it automatically goes back where you left off.
So, here we are. Page one is your title and author name. I recommend researching Amazon to make certain your title is as unique as possible. You don't want to be number zillion on a common title. Using "alignment" for centering is acceptable. Page two is for your dedications, etc. Both Nook and Kindle will give you their own new ISBN numbers. Do not use any other numbers given by other publishers. "Kindle Edition published in 2012". On the last page of your novel, insert page break and add your bio, website address, Facebook address, and a list of your previous novels, if any.
I can't caution you enough about proof reading. Any thing put out in cyberspace will be there FOREVER. Once you have your error-free manuscript, open your document and pull down the file menu to "save as html."
This is what you will need organized before going to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) website:
Manuscript in html.
Front page cover art in .jpeg
my son the photographer can do websites and cover art for a fee
mwooten54@comcast.net
Your complete bio with photo (for prospective buyers on Kindle website)
Back cover blurb
Choosing 5 key words to direct Amazon/Kindle surfers to your book
This is extremely important
Website address
Suggestions: weebly.com, wordpress, godaddy andGoogle
will help you do this on your own. Or call on a relative to do
the job.
Just received this information from Paula Petty:
Microsoft word (at least my version) has a tool (usually at the top of the screen) that by default has "normal spacing" highlighted. However, you can highlight your text and click "no spacing" and it takes away all line spacing, tabs, etc. I wonder if this would help--before you save as html.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Blog Number Nineteen
There's an eight hundred pound gorilla in the room. Every body knows he's there, but nobody wants to talk about him...except me. I'll talk.
I've written a lot of love scenes. But I ask you to stop and think. How many nice, pretty words are out there in our American vocabulary to describe an act as old as time? Darn few. And I figure I've used all of them more than once. Remember, I said nice, pretty words. Finally, I grew jaded, tired of my fruitless search for those illusive words.
Then it dawned on me...Cozy Mysteries. They kill people and they do it without sex. Oh wow! I could be the next Agatha Christie. After all these years, I've found my new niche.
So, I headed to Amazon (virtually speaking) and purchased a stack of cozy mysteries by many different authors. Several notable things kept popping up: a continuing character (female amateur sleuth), plus a super intelligent dog or cat helping the amateur human to solve mysteries.
Hey, I'm a big animal lover. I can do this. I used to raise and show Dandie Dinmont Terriers--a rare breed from Scotland. I was an instructor at the local Obedience Club (B.A. that's before arthritis). As I grew older, I decided on a smaller breed and switched to Norwich Terriers. After he died and I got even older (bone years are the same as dog years), we decided to switch to cats--they don't need to be walked or taken to obedience classes.
My monumental decision was made. I would start writing Cozy Mysteries.
I was giddy with excitement as I turned on my computer and stared at the blank screen. Hmm, I was going to have to think about this one for awhile.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Blog Number Eighteen
"Where do you get your ideas from?" is another question I'm often asked. It's a hard one to answer. I can get an idea from a newspaper article I've read or heard on the evening news. It might be a car passing me on the freeway driven by a hooded character, or a bum at the exit with a sign "will work for food." Even a TV show, documentary or movie can get my juices flowing.
Zap! This is where creativity gets launched. I start thinking..."what if?"
My best advice to you is to have pencil and paper handy, or if you're on the road a great deal, how about a hand-held recorder. Can the smart phones do that? Later, I type them up and put them in a file. When I'm in between novels, I can get out the file and thumb through my old ideas--some I had completely forgotten. One might tickle my fancy and launch my next journey.
Which of my ten novels is my favorite? That's like asking a mother which is her favorite child. Of course, I can answer that one with ease since I only had one son. Definitely, he is my favorite.
Historicals (and I would imagine that space and futuristic plots might fall in this category) are the most difficult to write. Your facts must be accurate. You can't kill someone with a firearm that had yet to be invented; or have mail delivered to your castle before the era of Benjamin Franklin; or mow the grass before the invention of the rotary lawn mower. You think....well, it's fiction, I can do whatever I want. Yes, you can, but the whole idea of writing a story is to make it believable. You want to take your reader on a journey and glaring errors snap them out of the mood that you've been trying to create.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Blog Number Seventeen
So, how do you write an entire novel when you only have small "snippets" of time? If you posed this same question to a dozen different writers (both published and unpublished) and you would hear about a dozen different systems. One system that seems popular is to use sticky notes with scenes written out and stuck on a bulletin board. This never worked for me.
One book that might give you some good ideas is "The Weekend Novelist", by Robert Ray. Whereas his system wouldn't work for me, I still enjoyed the book and especially liked the way he attacked the subject.
Next you should analyze your life. Figure out EXACTLY when and how much time you are able to devote to your writing. My personal experience is that you need at least one undisturbed hour. Some folks start at the beginning and just plow all the way through beginning to end and then go back and edit. No single method is better than another. I can only tell you what works for me and what works for some of my writer friends. You must find (through trial and error) what works for you.
So here's my system--first, I get the plot idea. Second, I write a narrative or synopsis of my story. Third, I create my cast of characters. Fourth, I create a few chapter headings and write a sentence or two as a guide to some of the pivotal scenes. Last, but certainly not least, I begin to write. Of course, nothing is set in stone. An old saying that is sometimes true... "there's many a slip twix the cup and the lip." Yes, sometimes I do wander from my original plot. As the characters develop their personalities, I might change my mind as to the identity of the murderer. The character originally chosen to be the bad guy, might turn out to be good. You just never know what will happen as the word count grows.
One book that might give you some good ideas is "The Weekend Novelist", by Robert Ray. Whereas his system wouldn't work for me, I still enjoyed the book and especially liked the way he attacked the subject.
Next you should analyze your life. Figure out EXACTLY when and how much time you are able to devote to your writing. My personal experience is that you need at least one undisturbed hour. Some folks start at the beginning and just plow all the way through beginning to end and then go back and edit. No single method is better than another. I can only tell you what works for me and what works for some of my writer friends. You must find (through trial and error) what works for you.
So here's my system--first, I get the plot idea. Second, I write a narrative or synopsis of my story. Third, I create my cast of characters. Fourth, I create a few chapter headings and write a sentence or two as a guide to some of the pivotal scenes. Last, but certainly not least, I begin to write. Of course, nothing is set in stone. An old saying that is sometimes true... "there's many a slip twix the cup and the lip." Yes, sometimes I do wander from my original plot. As the characters develop their personalities, I might change my mind as to the identity of the murderer. The character originally chosen to be the bad guy, might turn out to be good. You just never know what will happen as the word count grows.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Blog Number Sixteen
PROCRASTINATION IS LETHAL!
If time is both the enemy and the best friend of the writer, then procrastination is lethal. If you're a woman, first, you tell yourself that when your toddlers start school, THEN you'll have time to write, but you get busy and keep putting it off. Then you tell yourself when the kids go off to college, you'll have time to write. But you have to take a second job to afford their tuition.
If that's the abbreviated story for a female writer, the male of the species have another set of obstacles. Writing wouldn't be "cool" if you tried to find time as a teenager. Besides, anyone who tries to write at a young age, doesn't have "life experiences" to draw on. In college there's pressure to keep your grades up, then a guy gets married, has kids, car payments and a hefty mortgage. Their career consumes them and they simply don't have time to write.
Get the picture?
It's all about time.
Just as you budget your money, you must learn to budget your time. Of course, this article is being written by a female born under the sign of Capricorn. It's written in the stars for me to be well-organized and it comes easy to me.
My mantra is "do what I have to do so I can do what I want to do."
My advice is to go look in the mirror and be totally honest with yourself. How great, how deep, how urgent is your drive to write and create. If your answer is all three (great, deep and urgent), then FIND the time to write.
Don't do what I did...I looked in the mirror when I was sixty years old and realized that I had wasted many, many productive years.
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