My Muse and Inspiration

Unfortunately, it has been a few weeks since I've had the opportunity to write. Both my sister and grandmother are clamoring for the next installment of my manuscript and frankly so am I. Not only have I missed creating my characters and their world but honestly I want to know what happens next. I guess you'd classify me as a 'seat of your pants' writer. This is my second attempt at my first novel. Yep, you read that right. Second attempt, first novel four years into the process at this point.

Shrieks are coming from the floor beside me as I type this post. Both my children are home and running rampant as usual. So what is a girl to do when there are constant distractions and interruptions. Why the answer is simple...build yourself a creative writing world!

My adoration and appreciation go out to Sabrina Jeffries, one of my favorite writers. I took her advice to heart and I'm going to share it with you.

"First, learn to be selfish sometimes. You already give more to your family than the average person. Don’t let your loved ones make you feel guilty about taking something for yourself. If you don’t take what you need, you won’t write and you will go crazy. Establish boundaries and protect them fiercely. If you don’t have a room that you can dedicate to writing, then find a corner, but make it yours alone. Fill it with objects and books that inspire your writing—dictionaries, inspiring quotations, etc. If you have a family typewriter or computer, set hours during which only you are allowed to use it. I know it is hard to tell your husband (or wife) that you can’t type that letter to the insurance company until after you write your three pages, but you must treat yourself as a professional before anyone else will treat you as one."*

I took this to heart and began by creating a 'Novel' file on my desktop. Anytime I had an idea it went in there, my notes, my inspirations, pictures of people I use when I describe my characters looks, photos of scenery, buildings, maps etc. I have a whole world pieced together that I can browse. This helps me get in the mind set of my story. I've heard other authors talk about their writing space. And you know what, they all talk about having similar puzzle pieces for their muse around them in one version or another. Either up around their working space or in a portable version.

In theory, I have a library in my mostly finished basement with a beautiful built in bookshelf my husband created. It is lined floor to ceiling with books that I love. I've an amazingly comfortable chaise lounge where I while away hours reading said novels. I also have a newly installed wireless internet system. A hand-crafted framed bulletin/cork board posted on the wall doubling as the entrance cover to my crawl space. I am patiently awaiting the money tree fairy to make a generous donation to my account so that I can finish this basement project. I wish for nothing more than to happily relocate from my particle board desk in my kitchen to the cozy space my Shining Knight created for me.

What is stopping me? A desk or laptop. At this point I don't really care which comes first. Currently I'm anchored to an ancient desktop with an 18" deep monitor that flickers. I long for the moment I can print my inspirational items and hang them around my creative space. My wonderful husband has declared he will be making my built in desk to match my bookcases. Did I mention the large bookcase anchored to a piano hinge that will swing out from the wall to access the utility area? I have a very uniquely designed 300 sq ft basement that we have squeezed every spare inch out of. I am very thankful for my handyman of a hubby who may look at me like I've lost my mind but attempt to create my haven anyway. But I digress. Until the day finally comes that I have my writing oasis I am learning creative ways to have one anyway.

In my 'Novel' folder I have letters my characters have written. Pictures of locations, places and people. Anything that brings my story to life. I have a whole file simply of discards, things I needed to know creating my imaginary world but my readers don't.

At our last writer's meeting a member showed me her portable version. She had a notebook with her that was simply AMAZING! I have pondered the advisability of creating one myself. There were character synopses, outlines using sticky notes that she could rearrange, photos and much much more. Needless to say I was supremely impressed. While I'd thought of carrying around a small notebook which fits in my purse, for the express purpose of jotting ideas when and wherever they struck, I hadn't thought to package my inspiration in such a fashion as to make it portable. Thanks for the tips Erin!

When you get discouraged and struggle with immersing yourself in the world you've created. Don't forget to get out those mementos of inspiration. Just as setting is important to characters, let your setting help you.

*http://www.sabrinajeffries.com/zindex.cfm?fuseaction=author&pageID=17

Let the Music Move You

I'm always fascinated by the different habits writers have. I think it has to do with the fact that we all have different ways to reach the same goal--tell a story. Some writers need their writing space to be neat and tidy, others need it to be cluttered. Some write out of sequence, others have to write chronologically within the story. Some of us have to have background noise when we write, others need complete silence.

I fall into the background noise camp. Granted, most of the time the background noise is whatever random thing I can find on TV. I've been known to write while watching Grey's Anatomy, NCIS reruns, and various Food Network shows. Sometimes during NaNoWriMo, I'll write while watching old Gilmore Girls episodes, because they talk so fast and so much it somehow gets me to write the run-on sentences I need to write that many words in 30 days.

And when there's not something that interests me on TV, or if I need to write a particularly difficult scene, I listen to my novel's playlist.

I first got introduced to the concept of making playlists to write to only a couple of years ago, and I've gotten hooked. First of all, it's a great way for me to procrastinate. When I hit that rut that I can't get through, I have a tendency to use making a playlist for said rut as an excuse to not deal with it for a short bit of time while I think it over. But, more than that, playlists are a great way for me to get into the emotional heart of the story. I don't usually make separate playlists for different characters--typically, I only have one playlist for the whole novel. However, there was one time when writing the end of the novel I'm currently revising that I needed a separate playlist just for those scenes. They were particularly emotional and I was having trouble getting into that mindset. So I made a playlist just for those scenes and it worked wonders.

I know many people can't have songs with lyrics in their playlists, but I'm quite the opposite on that one. Most of my playlists consist of songs with lyrics. Musicals, movie soundtracks, random things I hear on the radio or that people recommend...all of these types of music end up on my novel playlists. My iTunes library is pretty eclectic anyway, because I like most everything, and I find this is incredibly helpful when it comes to putting together a playlist for whatever I'm writing--a novel, a scene, a character.

To give you an idea of what kinds of things end up on my playlists, here's a short list of songs that are on the playlist of the novel that I'm currently revising to get ready to send out:

1. We're Not Gonna Take It--Twisted Sister
2. Our Lives--The Calling
3. A Little Hope--composed by Scott Alan, performed by Shoshana Bean
4. O Children--Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
5. The Call--Regina Spektor
6. I Stand--Idina Menzel
7. Sing--My Chemical Romance
8. Get It Right--Glee cast
9. Do You Hear the People Sing?--Les Miserable
10. American Elegy--composed by Frank Ticheli
11. Totally F***ed--Spring Awakening
12. 21 Guns--Green Day
13. Hope--Idina Menzel
14. The Human Heart--Stephanie J. Block
15. A Thousand Beautiful Things/A Beautiful Day--Julia Murney

Plus, a good half of my playlist for this novel consists of clips from a podcast called Smart Mouths, much like the clip right here (warning, there is some language involved).

What kinds of things do you like listening to while you write? Do you make playlists? What songs are on yours?

Unfinish Manuscripts: How Many Do You Have?

Let's be honest, most of us writers get shiny new ideas (SNIs) that we start off gun-ho about when we open that new document, but soon we let them fizzle. We close out the document when we run out of steam and leave the story sit, sometimes forever. I'm guilty of this myself. I have a whole folder of stories with only one chapter. Why do we do this to ourselves? I've often wondered how the idea seems so brilliant and then when I go to write it, blah, nothing great ever comes out. I guess you could say that's a form of writers block or maybe the idea truly wasn't as fantastic as I thought it was. Who knows. On the other hand, I've started a couple different stories where I couldn't sleep until they were completed. They kept calling to me and the characters kept talking to me (You writers know what I mean. To everyone else, I swear I'm not completely insane. It's just a writers thing.) I would get aggravated that there wasn't enough time in the day to get it finished. I once competed a first draft in roughly 3-4 weeks. Yeah, crazy. I know. That story stayed/and is still on my mind ALL THE TIME.

What I'm wondering is: What are the elements of a SNI that grabs you to where you feel like you have to finish or you just might die if you don't get it out? And what makes us fizzle out on great ideas? What can we do as writers to keep ourselves motivated? Shout it out! Maybe something you do will work for someone else. :)

Happy Writing!!

For YA Reviews:

READING, WRITING AND WAITING

Writing Suspense: Use of Red-Herrings

Definition of Red-Herring: a false lead, assumed outcome or obvious solution that a writer plants in a story to fool the audience from guessing the real outcome.

This technique introduces one or more suspects or sets up false possibilities to add more tension and conflict in the novel and, in the process, prolongs the suspense and confuses the reader. These suspects will have motive and opportunity to have committed the crime.

Secondary characters are often used as red herrings. Though they might have a legitimate goal in the plot, they can also be set up to mislead the reader to think they have a part in the criminal action. Remember, a Red-Herring must always have some kind of motivation and opportunity. Suspense has to do with anticipation and expectation which helps create anxiety and tension.

Examples of Red Herring Uses

• Distracting the main character
• Appearance of lending support but tendency to send momentum awry
• Get in the way of resolution intentionally or not
• Cause of new events though not always helpful towards solution

A word of caution, never place something in your story simply to mislead your reader. You must always have a reasonable explanation for your misdirection that will come to light or be explained later in the story. Furthermore, don't incorporate too many Red-Herrings, this will be overly frustrating to your reader. And lastly, there is a difference between misleading your reader and misleading your investigator. Readers enjoy following the crumb trail with the investigator, they are especially drawn in when they know something the investigator does not.

As with all things "Practice makes perfect". Pull out your favorite suspense or mystery author and examine what it is about their style that draws you in. Don't forget...enjoy your trip through a good book!

Polishing Your Writing

I will admit up front that misspelled words are a pet peeve of mine. Perhaps it's because I’m a bit...ahem, shall we call it “diligent” about grammar and spelling? Or perhaps it’s just because I love words. Yes, all of them. (Thank you, Mrs. Alexander)

I imagine we’ve all seen an article or blog post (or 2, or 10) bemoaning the decline of the written word in the era of texting, Twitter and the like. If you’re looking for the other side of that argument, this isn’t it. Sorry.

As writers, our job – our whole job – is about choosing the right words. We have a reason for choosing the word “conundrum” instead of the more commonly used “problem.” So after carefully choosing your words, it’s just as important to make sure you’ve spelled them correctly, especially if it’s one of the “problem” words that sound alike but have different spellings. We all remember this from 2nd grade – their, there and they’re come to mind. And don’t forget the words that are misused – effect and affect, for example.

Consider the following sentence: I don’t no what there whether is going two bee tomorrow, but it won’t effect me to much.

Phonetically, you can figure out what is being said, but technically it's not even close to being correct. So you’re probably thinking that Word (or similar word processing program) will catch and/or fix your spelling and grammar mistakes – and I’ll admit, it probably will catch most of them. But it probably won’t catch all of them. There are 7 misspelled or misused words in the above sentence – can you find them all?

If spelling and grammar is something you struggle with in polishing your writing, there are some websites that can help.
Grammar Girl – a great resource for all of your grammar questions
Your Dictionary – there are links on the home page to help with navigating
Google search – sometime the easiest way to find something quickly

Having a friend or group to read your work can also help with this problem. In our local critique group, no surprise, I’m known as “grammar chick” – but really, everyone in our group is good at finding problem words. Yes, even I have been known to screw up a word or two.


Challenge for today: In the comments, rewrite the above incorrect sentence and make it “right.” No peaking peeking at other peoples answers either!

Tips for pushing through the block

Free Associate: This is probably the most popular writing exercise to get the juices flowing. Pull up a new Word document, take a deep breath and just write whatever comes to mind. Dig as deep as you can into your subconscious and don’t worry about what comes out. Sometimes there’s a mental blockage with something that’s been bothering you, so it helps to write it down and get it out of your system.

Get out of your box: Think of something you’re passionate about, like a hobby or a love interest, and write everything you know about it. Sometimes writing slumps happen and it helps to write about something you love. Even if you just write a paragraph, it’s better to write something that’s not your current project. This will rejuvenate you to re-start on your current project.

Sharpen your wits: Something I do is read a favorite author’s work, especially an author who writes in the same style or format as my current project. Escaping into someone else’s world for a bit can relax you enough to delve into your own imaginary world again.

Eavesdrop: This is a wonderful exercise if you struggle to write natural dialogue between your characters. Sit in a public place like a park or at your local college campus and listen to the things people say as they walk by. Take copious notes and share them with other writers. This exercise is also great if you need a laugh.

Use Music: Writers feel their work, and when you can't quite get the description on paper, it can be frustrating. Find some songs that appeal to you and the scene or piece you’re working on. Grooveshark.com and Pandora.com are two websites that offer free, instant music streaming to get those juices flowing.

Practice Writing Prompts: A writing prompt is simply a topic around which you start jotting down ideas. The prompt could be a single word, a short phrase, a complete paragraph or even a picture, with the idea being to give you something to focus upon as you write.

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-writing-exercises-to-tighten-your-writing/

Do Writers Ever Rest?

I've just returned from an eight day family vacation. Although I didn't bring my laptop with me, I didn't completely rest from my writing. At first I was a little anxious to be away from my work in progress for that long, I knew I would miss my characters.

I learned a few things though from taking a "rest". Resting and procrastinating are two different things. This resting time actually allowed my brain the time it needed to work out a few plot problems that had been simmering in my mind. I just brought along a good old fashioned notebook and pen, and all of my thoughts were easily recorded.

The time away from my story also allowed my mind to drift over to the next project which has been stirring around in my mind for a few months now. So while I was technically resting from my writing, my mind was still working. Whatever the reason, sometimes it helps to take a step back from your work in progress.

Happy Writing