Understanding Being A Writer

I've noticed over the last few years that the only people who really understand being a writer are other writers. I'll be agonizing over a huge plot hole or wondering how to make a character less annoying when I suddenly notice whoever I'd been talking to- be it my husband, mom, best friend, Starbucks lady- is rocking that glassy eyed look. You know the one, where they're there, and they physically hear you, but mentally they're a thousand miles away? And who can blame them really? It's the equivalent of trying to have a serious discussion about a movie they haven't even seen.

I think that's why having critique partners and following other writer blogs can be so helpful. You get to see everyone else pushing through the fog of novel writing and you're surrounded by people who actually understand.

But sometimes it can be so frustrating! All I want to do sometimes is sit and talk about my story without feeling like I'm imposing. Writing can be so hard without support... 

Who listens to you ramble? Do they do it willingly or are they like my husband- fighting an eye roll the whole time? :-)

Ah Revisions...

So I'm smack dab in the middle of my second week of revisions for Wolfy Love Story. Admittedly, this is new territory for me- since I have the attention span of a fruit fly and almost never see a story idea all the way through the end.

And I find I have several tasks ahead of me. Fist, and most importantly, I've got to go through and lengthen the parts I rushed and slow down the parts that drag on so the whole thing flows better, but that's much easier said than done.

What do you delete? What will you regret deleting? Does that part where the two MC's are having that heartfelt conversation at the beach really move the story along, or do you just like it?

It's really hard to find that balance. Even with feedback from a crit partner, but that's mostly because I'm always fighting that voice in my head that says "She just doesn't understand the characters as well as you do, that's why she doesn't think is necessary."

That little voice gets on my nerves about seven hundred and twelve times a day and there's no shutting her up.

I also have to figure out how to get from around 112,000 words to around 95,000, which is better than I expected. It would be a lot harder to chop out say, fifty thousand words, but when everything still feels vital, even five hundred is like tearing off your own skin.

Normally at this point I'd set Wolfy aside and  start on something else, but this story is so ridiculously stuck in my brain that I dream about wolf tracks in the sand, and I can't listen to country music without totally zoning out into that little coastal Maine town that lives in my mind. I even catch myself keeping track of how full the moon is!

So I'm in need of some tips! When you're wrapped up in a story like a raccoon caught in a fishing net, how do you distance yourself when taking time away just isn't an option yet? How do you separate the cute from the vital? How much of the love story can you sacrifice in favor of action before you lose the characters drive to do the things they do to save each other?

When real life gets in the way...

Sometimes I feel like I get so wrapped up in my writing world that the real world sort of vanishes for a little while, and then other times real life is so damn insistent that I can't do anything but focus on the mundane. :-( 

This last month was like the latter. There's a surprisingly small amount of time left in the day when you're packing, moving, unpacking, and trying to find the charger for your laptop- while pulling a certain little boy out of empty boxes so the movers could finish packing. And real life is so much less fun than my imaginary life. Full of writing checks, and grocery shopping- not a single werewolf attack to break up the ordinary a little. 

A few exciting things are happening in the real world however! I'm smack dab in the middle of month 7 with baby #2! Since we're having a girl this time, I have no use for about 2 tons of baby boy clothes with sayings like "Mommy's little boy" and "Daddy's tiny pilot" and have to start over with pink and yellow. I wouldn't complain except for how expensive baby clothes are. But my mind is full of tiny little flower headbands and tutu's. :-)

Also on the agenda is a new puppy! We pick her up next Saturday, she's a six week old Beagle, and my three year old says he can't decide what to name her, but apparently it's a toss up between "Chloe" and "Monkey." I'm rooting for Chloe. Monkey is a funny name for a puppy, but not so much for an 11 year old arthritic dog that likes to dig in the neighbors yard. Can you imagine running through the neighborhood yelling "Monkey! Get back here!" Nope, neither can I.

We have 3rd pick on a girl, so one of these will be ours:

They're adorable! And for my 3 1/2 old it's just about the most exciting event in his entire little life.

On the writing front I finished my rough draft of Wolfy Love Story and sent it off for a first read through by my fabulous CP Celeste. She's too nice as usual, but now that I have her feedback I feel like I have a good footing for where to start with revisions. So as soon as real life settles down a little I'll dive into revisions and I'll be looking for some beta readers around the middle of July. I figure I can send it off then, and they can take their time reading through while I'm knee deep in newborn diapers and can't think of anything but sleep. :-)

If anyone is interested in doing some reading for me in a couple months just let me know! I'll happily return the favor.

So to recap, boring real life, moving, 7 months pregnant, new adorable puppy, and finished rough draft. :-) It's been a crazy month...

How is your spring going?  Have you been inspired or suffering writers block? 

Toodles!

Megan.

Finding Your Writing Fingerprint

What do all your favorite authors have in common? What do they have that makes their books feel so special to you?

They have voices. I can pick up anything written by Cassandra Clare, or Nicholas Sparks and without looking at anything but the writing I can tell you who the author is.

When I think of each and every one of my favorite books I know they all have that in common. The way the author strings together their words, the way they describe their characters, how they approach action or romance, it's all unique to them and their own personal writing style.

I like to think of it as a writers fingerprint. When you first start writing, all you have is that lonely arch along the top of your finger. It's a start, but nothing to identify you by. Then a few months or a year later- maybe after you've got a terrible finished manuscript, and several dozen amazing reads under your belt making you feel completely unworthy- that lonely arch becomes a carefully curved pattern of arches slowly wrapping its way around in a distinctive pattern.

The longer you write, and the more books you read, the closer you are to finding what works for you as a writer. You get to see how you can attack revisions without pulling your hair out. You find a way to describe a person memorably, so you don't feel the need to repeat how they look in each chapter so your readers remember. You see a pattern of words you like to use, and comma placement, and whether you prefer the semi-colon or the dash. (I'm a dash sort of person myself- in case you haven't noticed.)

And before you know it you have your own writers fingerprint. Your words are woven together so uniquely that they're discernable from everyone else. As unique as that little pattern on the ends of your fingers.

So next time you're reading something that just makes you feel like you'll never get where they are, or someone small minded tells you that you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than being published in this market, look at your fingers. At one point they weren't all that unique either. The longer you write, and the more effort you put into it the closer you are to finding that thing, whatever it is, that makes your stories fly off the page and grab someone around the heartstrings like a vice.

And remember, the chances of you being struck by lightening are never going to change, but the chances of you being published improve with every word you write.

Happy Wednesday!

Do You Character Profile?

One of the most difficult tasks I face as a writer is forgetting who I'm trying to write about. I know, that makes me sound senile, but it's true! I remember the personality, and what happens with that character, but it's difficult for me to remember their physical traits.

More often than not, my main characters will start off with black hair, and end with red. They'll have a tattoo in the beginning that never ever comes up again. And from beginning to end, their eyes will hit the entire range of the color spectrum. If you were to read the character description in the beginning, and try again at the end, it would seem like two entirely different people with the same personality.

My solution? A character profile.

I make a new one for each story idea, since each story will need certain traits listed. For instance, if I'm writing a YA Science Fiction story about various aliens living on one planet it might look something like this:

Age:

Height:

Race Name:

Skin Color:

Skin Type:

Special Markings:

Number of Hands:

Number of Eyes:

Hair Type:

Hair Color:

Special Features:

Etc.

And if I were writing about normal humans with normal features it would be more limited to basics: hair color, eye color, height, weight, skin tone, special markings, age, full name, birthplace, birth date. Most of the time my characters have seven pages worth of profiles, with everything from the basics to a characters fears, and likes and dislikes. Before I'm done I even have my main characters favorite movie documented.

Before I'm done my characters are as real to me as actual people and it helps me keep my stories straight.

How do you keep your characters straight? Are you a fan of the character profile or are you more of a "write now, fix the hair later" sort of writer?

What is the most important question you have for your main characters?

Swearing in YA? What the #&%@!

There's a lot of controversy in the writing world when it comes to teenage characters and curse words. On one side are the people writing these foul mouthed characters, arguing that real teenagers swear all the time so why not use it if it feels natural to the story??

On the other side are the parents/teachers/librarians/etc who feel its their duty to protect children from bad influences such as sex, violence, and curse words in their literature.

My stance? I think it's OK. Realistically, there's absolutely nothing a teenager is going to read about in a book that they won't hear coming out of their peers mouths, especially the older they get. Hell, most high school seniors swear more often than Marines.

But I think there has to be a reason behind it. If your character is just cursing because that's what teenagers do, then I don't see that as a necessary part of your story. If, however, they're cursing at their boyfriend who just cheated on them, or dropping the f-bomb after breaking their arm- and its a natural response to the situation- I at least won't bat an eye.

As far as the adults looking to censor what their children read, or see on television, I completely understand their position. I think its important for parents to have opinions on their children, but there's also a line. Do I believe its inappropriate for a 13 or 14 year old to read a book about a child prostitute? Yes! Of course! Do I think that someone older than 16 is going to be damaged by reading a character dropping the F-bomb? Nope.

So for me, it all comes down to the age range. In my own writing I'll limit swearing if I'm aiming the book for the younger side of the YA scale. Of course I won't curse up the whole story just because its for older teens. A swear word is a choice just like every other word you choose to use. It has to have an impact and a purpose, otherwise its just unnecessary.


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What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my position? And how often do your characters drop a four letter word?

Do you put swearing into the same category as sex when it comes to YA??

What else is YA taboo in your opinion???


Toodles!

How Long Have You Been Writing?

I started writing about two and a half years ago; and when I say "writing" I mean fumbling through stories that had absolutely no plot, no arc, and pretty much raced through twenty or so thousand words and then spend forty on the big climactic ending.


Yeah, it blew.

But I was sitting here a little while ago and just thought "Holy crap, I've been writing for years!" I guess it still feels like I just started doing it and then all of a sudden here I am, roughly 1,000 days, a writing course, and two years worth of NaNo later.

Time flies when you're having fun, and I am most definitely having fun. :-)

How about you? How long have you been writing?

Are you like me, with dozens of unfinished manuscripts, or have you actually completed something? Lol.

Ps: Anybody like me, please speak up. Most days I feel like an idiot for having such a short attention span! :-) And to anybody NOT like me... I'd tip my hat to you, if I were wearing a hat...

Keep those words flowing writing friends.

Megan.