"The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape"
"The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties"
"Toughness"
It has taken me two weeks to recover from my latest flare. Today is the first day I've felt good enough to be online and typing. Today is the day I "spring back into shape" and carry on. A fortnight was lost, but now I carry on.
I lowered my Camp NaNoWriMo goal to correspond with my difficulties. I wrote over 11,000 words in April and an amazing bit of back story came to me in an odd moment, so I am declaring the month a success and moving forward. I don't think your failures should define you. It is what you do with the failures and how you proceed after the dust has settled. Moving forward and not letting adversity derail progress is important.
The goal for today is to write a piece for LJ Idol. I have several ideas for how I want to approach the prompt. So far this season, my entries have been non-fiction stories about my life. Do I vary from the norm or continue in the same vein? Things to think about.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Meddling Kids
After plotting my second novel in less than a year, I have story structure ingrained on my brain.
Inciting incident. check.
First major conflict check.
and so on. If you are a writer, then you know the drill. Even the most die-hard pantser has some idea about the path their story will take. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle of plotting every detail and letting the story take me where it may.
Yesterday, my grandchildren were watching an old episode of Scooby-Doo and I was reminded of Saturday mornings spent sitting in front of the television with a bowl of cold cereal balanced precariously on my lap. Back then I didn't care about the predictably of the cartoon. It was reassuring in a way. I knew by the end of twenty minutes those crazy kids in the funky van would catch the bad guy. Now, I can see the structure of the story telling.
There is an inciting incident.
Usually the van breaks down in the middle of nowhere near a creepy house, amusement park, movie theater, ect. and a mystery presents itself.
Conflict develops within the group as Shaggy and Scooby uncover a clue and no one takes them seriously. I can understand why they don't, a dog with a weird accent and an obvious stoner aren't exactly to be trusted.
Next, the heroes come up with a plan which usually fails and someone is kidnapped, in danger, ect. The group then splits up to cover more ground.
A chase scene infuses more conflict in the story.
It is all wrapped up tidy at the end, usually deus ex machina, and the culprit turns out to be the last person anyone would suspect.
Yes, it is predictable, but I watched faithfully, every Saturday. I like to think I was waiting for Fred to break character and sweep Thelma off her feet.
Formula stories don't have to be boring. I think it is possible to follow a structure guide loosely and produce a piece of fiction capable of surprising and thrilling readers. It takes a bit of skill and the art of misdirection, but it can be done. I love those types of stories, the ones that start out and you think you know how it is going to end, but then something different happens to throw you off. Those are the ones I recommend to friends. Those are the ones I want to write.
Inciting incident. check.
First major conflict check.
and so on. If you are a writer, then you know the drill. Even the most die-hard pantser has some idea about the path their story will take. Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle of plotting every detail and letting the story take me where it may.
Yesterday, my grandchildren were watching an old episode of Scooby-Doo and I was reminded of Saturday mornings spent sitting in front of the television with a bowl of cold cereal balanced precariously on my lap. Back then I didn't care about the predictably of the cartoon. It was reassuring in a way. I knew by the end of twenty minutes those crazy kids in the funky van would catch the bad guy. Now, I can see the structure of the story telling.
There is an inciting incident.
Usually the van breaks down in the middle of nowhere near a creepy house, amusement park, movie theater, ect. and a mystery presents itself.
Conflict develops within the group as Shaggy and Scooby uncover a clue and no one takes them seriously. I can understand why they don't, a dog with a weird accent and an obvious stoner aren't exactly to be trusted.
Next, the heroes come up with a plan which usually fails and someone is kidnapped, in danger, ect. The group then splits up to cover more ground.
A chase scene infuses more conflict in the story.
It is all wrapped up tidy at the end, usually deus ex machina, and the culprit turns out to be the last person anyone would suspect.
Yes, it is predictable, but I watched faithfully, every Saturday. I like to think I was waiting for Fred to break character and sweep Thelma off her feet.
Formula stories don't have to be boring. I think it is possible to follow a structure guide loosely and produce a piece of fiction capable of surprising and thrilling readers. It takes a bit of skill and the art of misdirection, but it can be done. I love those types of stories, the ones that start out and you think you know how it is going to end, but then something different happens to throw you off. Those are the ones I recommend to friends. Those are the ones I want to write.
Friday, April 4, 2014
Accountability
For me, staying in the habit of writing every day is hard. I need a deadline to help me focus and to keep me moving forward. If left to my own devices, I will wile away my days watching bad television and playing video games. This might be why my edit/rewrite of my NaNoWriMo novel is taking so long. I need the accountability of a public forum to stay motivated.
I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo and I'm using the month of April to write the first draft of the next book in the series. Writing another first draft when I have one I need to edit seems like a weird thing to do, but I feel I need to get the entire story out of my head before it disappears. A part of me wishes I started writing the second book back in December when I had a clear idea of where I wanted the plot to go. The partial outline I completed then doesn't seem like enough of a road map. I have fragmented notes, but they are confusing to me. Brain fog is the symptom of fibromyalgia I hate the most. Thoughts, ideas, and memories fall out of my mind so easy.
When new writers are starting on their journeys, they are encouraged to write every day. The practice of putting words on the page daily sharpens your skills and makes you a better writer. I agree with this idea one hundred percent. But it is easy to let life and other things keep you from following your dreams. Pain, sickness, and just plain procrastination has deterred me from writing on a daily basis. It was only since I lost my job, that I have rediscovered the joy of creating worlds out of words.
Not writing for a couple of years was a good choice for me. I think I appreciate it more now and I think I am better writer than I was back then. I spent the time reading and thinking about writing. I feel lucky to have a writing group who stood beside me during the times when I wasn't writing. They have become like family to me.
I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo and I'm using the month of April to write the first draft of the next book in the series. Writing another first draft when I have one I need to edit seems like a weird thing to do, but I feel I need to get the entire story out of my head before it disappears. A part of me wishes I started writing the second book back in December when I had a clear idea of where I wanted the plot to go. The partial outline I completed then doesn't seem like enough of a road map. I have fragmented notes, but they are confusing to me. Brain fog is the symptom of fibromyalgia I hate the most. Thoughts, ideas, and memories fall out of my mind so easy.
When new writers are starting on their journeys, they are encouraged to write every day. The practice of putting words on the page daily sharpens your skills and makes you a better writer. I agree with this idea one hundred percent. But it is easy to let life and other things keep you from following your dreams. Pain, sickness, and just plain procrastination has deterred me from writing on a daily basis. It was only since I lost my job, that I have rediscovered the joy of creating worlds out of words.
Not writing for a couple of years was a good choice for me. I think I appreciate it more now and I think I am better writer than I was back then. I spent the time reading and thinking about writing. I feel lucky to have a writing group who stood beside me during the times when I wasn't writing. They have become like family to me.
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