To Read or Not To Read

One of my last year's resolutions was to read more in 2013. I have both succeeded and failed. I read more than I did the previous year, yet I failed to reach my goal of 50 books. Reading one book a week is a reasonable goal for me. I have been known to devour several tomes a week. If left alone, I can spend the whole day reading.

My parents have told me I learned to read before I entered school. I have trouble remembering the early years. It is a blur of swings, recess, and The Billy Goats Gruff. Thus, I have to trust their memories are accurate. Since learning to read, it has become one of my favorite ways to pass the time. Summers were spent at the library losing myself in different worlds. The love I have for the written word is no secret. I have boxes upon boxes of books and many electronic files on my computer and smartphone.

The first book I read in 2013 was Cold Days by Jim Butcher. Harry Dresden is a character I adore and I can't think of a better book to start off my new year. I read the first book of Dresden Files series after hearing many friends rave about them. They were right. Butcher is a talented story teller and I read every book in the series with gusto. In 2014, I want to read his Codex Alera series.

As for the last book I read in 2013, it is likely to be Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reily. I enjoyed reading Killing Lincoln earlier in the year. The story is unfolding as I thought it would. But I was surprised by one thing, how close The United States was to nuclear war. I knew about the Cuban Missile Crisis before reading the book. I just didn't realize the gravity of the situation.

The books in between the two. are an eclectic mix of fiction and non-fiction. Some were good, some were bad. I read "new to me" authors and old friends, like Neil Gaiman. (disclaimer, I do not personally know Neil. I have read all his books and his work is familiar to me) My reading tastes are varied. I read YA, urban fantasy, literary fiction, woman's fiction, non-fiction, ect. This is reflected in the books I read during the year.

Next year I want to read 50 books as well as write a couple of my own. A writer reads. Said simply, but nonetheless true.

What Would I Do

Watching movies and reading is difficult for me. Being a writer and having seen lots of movies and read lots of books, I have become brilliant at predicting how stories will end. Not much surprises me any more. I applaud the story teller who captures my interest, holds it, and thrills me with an ending I never saw coming. (This is the part where I give examples, but my mind is old and full of holes.)

One thing writers learn when they begin their journey into the literary world is every story that can be told has been told before. The trick, we are counseled, is to do it uniquely. How does one take a story which  has been told through the ages and make it their own? If I knew the secret to this, I would be a best selling author by now.

What would I do? It is a game I play every time I encounter a tale unfolding. "Well, if it were me, I would..." I'm not always right, I have to admit. But I do get it right enough times to believe I have become jaded.

I called my cousin the other day to discuss a book. I didn't think the character acted appropriately. I know if  I woke up one day to find I were a pixie and green, I would react with a bit more excitement than this character did. In my story, she would scream a bit and maybe try to wipe the green away. But the catch is, it wasn't my story and the author told it the way she saw it. Who am I to say if she got it right or not?

Onward and Upward

The past few days have not been productive. Various things kept coming between me and my December writing goals. Errands, headaches, and family commitments are just a few of the items which took precedence over the words. They were pushed to the back burner and not made a priority. This is a habit I want to nip in the bud as I prepare to write with purpose in 2014.

I have been thinking about my goals in 2014 and what I want to accomplish. First on the list is write at least 100,000 words during the year. A bit ambitious for me since I recently started writing again after an almost two year break. But I want to complete a second draft of my NaNoWriMo project and complete the first draft of the second book. I didn't start out to write a series, but it seemed natural to do so. The main character's story wasn't finished after one volume.

Which brings me to the second and third goals on my list; write the second draft of The Valiant and write the first draft of The Hunted. The plan is to rewrite a scene a day once I begin working on my second draft. In a perfect world, I would begin writing the first draft of the second volume at the same time, also focusing on a scene a day. With the turmoil which is my life at the moment, I doubt I will able to stick to this schedule.

Fourth on my list of 2014, is send the finished second draft of The Valiant to willing beta readers. This goal is by far the scariest on the list. I haven't shared my fiction often. Fear holds me back. I'm afraid of failure or someone will tell me I'm not a writer. I think all writers are a bit afraid. Having the courage to share a story with others deserves respect and kudos. Our stories are like our children and it is frightening to send them out in the world. What if no one likes them?

Last on my long list of writing goals for the coming year is to write a query letter to an agent. I have never attempted to write a query, let alone mail it to someone. If I am serious about writing, then it is the next logical step in the process. My palms are getting sweaty just thinking about it. What is the worst that can happen?  I get rejected. But I have to try. I can't let all the words I've written in my life time be for nothing. I have to try.

What are your goals for the coming year? 

Dabbler

Being a writer has prompted me to become a dilettante in a variety of areas. One of my favorite parts of the writing process is research. In order to create a believable story, a writer must spend at least a portion of their time assembling facts on the pertinent details of their tale. Hemingway couldn't have created such a vivid book about bullfighting without first learning as much as he could about the craft.

A few topics I am researching for my current story include: The Atchafalaya Basin, yurts, RFID, and the physics of superheroes. Out of the things I've listed RFID and the applications of RFID have been been the most interesting. The prospect of using it to track products and create checker-less supermarkets blows my mind.

Back to the topic at hand, in order to create a believable world for their readers, a writer must commit to doing research. This can involve searching the internet, reading books, and talking to experts. The truth is in the detail. (this idiom can be traced back to the saying "God is in the detail," a fact I learned from research) The right details can enhance a good story, the wrong ones can break it.

This week, I have been creating a list of topics I need to research before starting my rewrite in January. My list is formidable, further pointing out the fact I jumped into my story without much forethought. The words "research this" enclosed in brackets can be found throughout my first draft. My favorite instance is following a scene where the main character is suppose to make every blood vessel in a antagonist's brain explode. I have no idea what this looks like in reality. Thus, the importance of research. (and becoming friends with a doctor) 

Deaf Ear

My story began as a dream. I woke up in the morning and said to myself "That dream was freakin' awesome, it must be a story." Like most people who write, I keep a list of story ideas. I used to write them on whatever piece of paper was available at the time. Now, I have a file on my smart phone entitled, aptly of course, Story Ideas. After I was awake enough to write a coherent sentence, the idea was filed away for future use. The fact I was on a hiatus from writing didn't matter, the ideas keep coming whether I use them or not.

Along came life and I was given free time to write again, if I chose to do so. Without much hesitation, I plunged back into the world of writing. It was October and I was going to participate in NaNoWriMo in less than a month.  The story idea I dreamed about months before seemed perfect for my re-entry. It didn't matter I had no clue who the main character was or what the plot would be. All would be revealed as I progressed.

The main character was born during my first free writing session. I wrote a scene from when she was six years old.The more I wrote about her, the more real she became to me. At times, I can feel what she is feeling, the pain and frustration of living with a gift. (or curse depending on who you ask) Half-way through November, she stopped talking to me. I couldn't find her voice anymore and it showed in the writing. My MC went from being strong and stubborn to whiny and emotional.

How do I find my way back? I am instructing myself to write more back story and create a journal for her. If all else fails, I can "interview" her and try to recapture the qualities that made me create her in the first place. I only hope when she begins to talk again, I am listening.

Death of the Imaginary Soul

Today I am in the throes of a dilemma. To kill or not to kill, a character. The person in question is my main character's mother. I feel her death does little to push the plot forward, beyond hurting the main character. After many minutes of indecision, I turned to Google for the answer, as I do often.

During my Google search, I came across a blog/website, Brain Pickings. There I found literary advice from a selection of the greats. Kurt Vonnegut instructed "Be a Sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them-in order that the reader may see what they are made of." I'm sure he would vote to kill the mother. Faulkner would've been with him based on his "kill all your darlings" quote.

Joss Whedon would have no problem sticking it to the broad. He is famous (or is it infamous) for killing characters people have come to love. He has embraced the advice of Faulkner and taken it to a whole other level. Does it make him a better story teller? I have no idea, but I don't know if I can forgive him for what he did to Wash.

In the end, I decided to leave the mother's death in my story. Her death will warp my character into the person I need her to be at the end of the tale. The funny part is, I'm more torn up about the death of a secondary character who has a bit part than I am about the demise of one of the main characters. I knew he would die when I was imagining him. I guess you could say he was born to die.

Life Support

If I didn't have a support system, I would have stopped writing years ago. Maybe I am lying. The stories keep coming to me whether I write them down or not. Regardless, having the support of family, friends, and other writers has helped me stay on my writing path. The road hasn't been straight or clear of obstacles. I have fought every step of the way. Someone once said, "Anything worth doing takes effort." (After researching this, I discovered it is based on a quote by Theodore Roosevelt. His version was "Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty... I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.")

During my journey, I have not walked alone. Writers have a way of finding each other. Hemingway had Fitzgerald and Stein. Dorthy Parker had the gang at the Algonquin. Ilona Andrews has Jeaniene Frost. Shay has her Yetis.(for those who don't know, The Yetis are my writing group.) I am fortunate to have found writing friends both in person and on the internet and for this I am thankful. As I have said many times over, writing is hard work. Having a group of people who share your interests and your pain helps.

My writing group has been supporting each other for the past six years. There have been times when I stopped writing or stopped going to meetings, yet they still support and love me. I wouldn't be the person or writer I am today if not for them. Chance brought us together and the love of the written word made us a family.