Some Weeks are Better Than Others

September 28, 2009 | Writing

So as you might have guessed from the amusing little potato man word meter, (which I found at Writertopia) last week was a bit of a struggle for Blood and Bone.  Actually, I would even say I was blocked. I don’t usually deal with writer’s block. If something feels sluggish, or it’s not working, I just push through and opt to fix it on the rewrite. This time, though, I couldn’t seem to get it going.

I asked some of my writer friends what they did when dealing with writer’s block. All suggested taking a break. Some said take a walk, others read book, and others suggested reading my own finished pieces. All very good advice.

In the end, I did take a break. I think pressure of staring at a blank screen really doesn’t do much for one’s creativity. Then I tidied my office, getting rid of any clutter. At the risk of sounding neurotic, I like a tidy workspace. When bits of paper and books and whatever else clutter up my desk, I feel a little crowded. The next day when I sat down, I decided to just write until I hit my word goal and not worry about the quality. Even if every word I typed was absolute crap, who cares? That’s what rewrites are for.

So far I’ve hit my word goal every day for the last three days. Hopefully, I’m on a roll.

Mood: Better

Fall is Here!!

September 25, 2009 | Uncategorized

Okay, so fall actually arrived a few days ago, but I think the fall weather arrived sometime through the night. I woke up freezing this morning. So in honor of my favorite season, and because I don’t really have anything interesting to blog about, here is an autumn quiz. I’m not sure how accurate it is. I’ve never considered myself high-strung.

You Are High Strung and a Bit Wild

You are a energetic, warm, optimistic person. You approach everything with a lot of enthusiasm.When you’re happiest, you are outgoing and expressive . You love celebrations, and you enjoy showing off a little. You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different. You find hard work to be the most comforting thing in the world. You like the feeling of accomplishing something. Your ideal day is spent in contemplation. You enjoy a quiet day where you can take time to think and day dream. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don’t obsess over the past or future.

The People In My Head

September 22, 2009 | Writing

When I’m writing something new, something in the first draft form, I rely heavily on my characters to tell the story. This is probably because I don’t plot. I sit down at the computer, watch how the scene plays out in my head, then try to get as much down on paper–or screen if I’m going to be literal–as possible. This is writing at its best for me. Learning about the characters, watching the story unfold, and that moment when everything just sort of clicks. Yeah, I love the click.

Conversely, there are times where a scene feels forced, where I just know something is off and it feels like I’ve hit a brick wall. When this happens it’s  usually character related. I am either trying to force a character to do something they wouldn’t, or I don’t know them well enough.

As was the case with the WIP last week. My hero was being…difficult. As I was writing a scene which I really needed to shed a little insight about him, everything felt stilted and forced. I realized couldn’t hear him. I had no idea how he would react because he wouldn’t tell me. Rather than the scene playing out like a movie, he was more like a puppet that I was forcing into action.

So what could I do? I could either go on as I was and fix it on the rewrite, hoping of course that the problem solved itself before I typed THE END, or I could try to delve a little deeper into my hero to see what I was doing wrong. I decided on the latter–a nightmarish amount of work for the second draft is a terrific motivator.

I decided to interview him. I pictured him sitting across the table and asked him series of questions. The first: What are you doing in my story, and why are being such a pain in the ass? Then I built on them from there. As well as making notes on his answers, I listened to how he answered, what his voice sounded like. I watched his body language, and for questions he tried to evade. By the time I finished, I realized that I had him pegged completely wrong. No wonder he wouldn’t speak to me. 

I do realize that conversations with people in my head don’t exactly speak well for my sanity, but I’m willing to risk it to keep the story moving forward.

Back in the Swing

September 15, 2009 | Uncategorized

I’m back. Actually, I’ve been back for about a week, but buried beneath ridiculous amounts of laundry and email. But, I’m organized (well as organized as I get) and feeling refreshed after some much needed time away. It’s amazing what just giving yourself some quiet can do to boost the creativity.

DS is also back at school, which means I no longer have to break from writing to play board games. Though, I may come to miss my attempts at world domination while playing Settlers of Catan.

With school back in, I’m back to work on Blood and Bone. This is after a three week break. I was kind of hoping that by putting it aside for a while, I would start back at it feeling eager and full of ideas. But that didn’t happen. In truth, each word was like pulling teeth. Though, the longer I was at it, the easier the words came, and I did manage to finish the scene I wanted to. Only one more scene and that chapter’s done. I’m about to put my characters through the emotional wringer, so perhaps I’ll be able to get into the story more. Either way, I’m determined to get this one done so I can really concentrate on other things.

Mood: Up