A Filing Cabinet

When I was a little girl, one of my FAVOURITE things to watch was Anne of Green Gables. I have seen those DVDs so many times now, I almost know them by heart.

As I was driving my son home from kindy yesterday, my mind was flickering with images of my new project and I wondered if I should be writing any of this down then a line from Anne of Green Gables came to me.

It was in the second series and the wind had blown all her pages of writing away. As she was offered help in gathering them up she said it really wasn't a problem. "I've got it all filed away in my imagination."

Me too!
Don't get me wrong, I do write stuff down, but when I'm in the middle of planning out a story, my imagination works as the perfect filing system. As scenes grow and develop, my filing cabinet is culled and new things are put in its place, but I find it a great way to work.

How do you guys plan?
Do you have everything filed away in your brain or do you have to get stuff down as soon as it comes to you?

A bubblin' and a brewing

When a new story idea hits you, how does it work?

For me, I get this sizzle of an idea. It sparks in my brain... just a small thought. It might be inspired by a song, or a line from a movie, or a poem, or a scenario that flits through my head.

That spark lights a small flame that begins to simmer in my brain. The small idea becomes a scene. From there things begin to grow. I usually start with the ending... where do I want these characters to end up? The end scene then sends me shooting forward to the beginning... where were these characters in the first place? What about their life needed to change?

Once I have this base, I can stick my cauldron of water on top of my flame and go for it. As the days pass, new scenes pop into my head. Like adding flavours to a good stew, the ending of my story changes and gets better, my beginning develops more depth as back stories are given to my characters. Layers are added, themes start to appear, the characters become real people with real problems. Other characters pop out of the wood work and add to the story. More days pass and I come up with better scenes and dialogue. The story changes yet again.

It usually takes a couple of weeks. The story bubbles in the back of my brain continually during this time, distracting me. By this stage I have run the story through my mind dozens of times. Re-enacting favourite scenes over and over. Memorising what the characters said, picturing their facial expressions, feeling their emotions.

Throughout this time I've been writing frantic notes. Like scribbling down ingredients that I'm shoving into a recipe. I don't want to forget how a character spoke, the expression they used. I don't want to forget the essence of a particular scene.

My notes become a jumbled mess. Characters get new names half way through the process. Bits get added in a mish-mash order. My 'Ideas Document' would be total confusion for anyone to try and read.

Eventually the story comes to a place of satisfaction in my brain. My stew is starting to taste like stew. That's when I sit down to sort through my notes, research what I need to, write character profiles, outline exactly where my story will go.

Finally, finally, I get to start writing. No doubt the story will change some more, but I have a solid foundation.

I have to say, this cooking stage of a project... it's my favourite part :)

How about you guys?
How do stories form in your brain?

Have patience

When I was a kid and I started getting impatient, my Dad would always start singing this song...

"Have patience, have patience, don't be in such a hurry. When you get impatient, you only start to worry..."

It used to drive me crazy!!
And now I sing it to my kids. Go figure :)

Funny how I still have to sing it to myself sometimes, especially when it comes to my writing.
I get so excited I want everything to happen now.
I want my career to start. I want my book to be finished. I want thousands of copies to sell.

I am learning that to do well in this particular career, it takes patience. If you want to succeed, you have to take the time to make your writing brilliant. You have to study, train, refine, improve, edit, change, adapt, revise... not to mention the benefits of getting your work critiqued. All of those things take time. It's worth taking a deep breath or two, stepping back and waiting until something is awesome before launching yourself forward.

I don't just want to be a writer. I want to be an outstanding writer... and so I must have patience, have patience, and not be in such a hurry.

Do any of you struggle with wanting to surge ahead?
What things do you find hard about the writing process?

What makes you choose a certain book?

A few days ago a read a blog post entitled Looks Matter. It was all about book covers and which ones tickle your fancy.

It got me thinking about why I choose to read certain books. What makes me pick up a book I have never read before?

First and foremost, I choose to read a book based on the author. This is, of course, if I know the author and have read and liked their work before. This doesn't guarantee me the best read ever, but I'll have a pretty high chance of enjoying the book.

Secondly, word of mouth. If someone recommends a book, I'll look out for it. If I read a good review on a blog, I'll hunt the book down.

Thirdly, genre. If I'm in the library or a bookstore I head towards the YA section and can usually find a book that suits me, but this is where the cover and title become important.

Fourth reason I choose a book - the title... when books are stacked on shelves you are usually looking at their spines. The title needs to be catchy, strong, quirky... something that will grab my attention. If I like the sound of it, I'll pull it out and take a look at the cover.

Fifth reason - the cover... it has to be striking, and I often find the simpler the better. The Twilight covers - I love those and Amanda Hocking's Trylle trilogy... the new covers being produce by St Martins press are gorgeous.

Once I like the cover, I'll skim the blurb. If it's exciting or, okay I'll be honest, romantic in anyway I'm going to be interested.

Lastly I'll give the first few chapters a skim. If they grab me, I'm walking to the sales counter.

Now, if I'm getting a book from the library, I will usually give the author a minimum of six chapters to grab me. I know that is far more generous than most agents and publishing houses, but I have had the odd occasion where my persistence has paid off. When I was younger I felt absolute guilt if I did not read every word of the book, but I just don't have that kind of time anymore. I still remember when I returned a book to the library unfinished... it was a very bizarre feeling.

Okay, so the point of me breaking this all down, is that it has made me realize just how important each aspect of this process is. It's made me think about what I need to do to in order to make writing a career.

1. I need to continue learning and training, so I can be the best writer possible
2. I need to use social media to build a name for myself
3. I need to write in the genre that I love, keeping this whole process enjoyable. I also need to keep reading and reading so I can stay up with the play on market trends and also hone my writing skills further.
4. I need to make sure my titles are catchy and engaging
5. My cover art needs to be simple, yet breath taking
6. My pitch/blurb needs to grab the reader
7. Back to my first point again.... my writing needs to be sensational - particularly the first few chapters :)

Feel free to disagree with any of my points, I just found this a very interesting exercise, particularly if I do take the road of self-publishing.

What makes you choose a certain book?

Getting Back In The Game

In 2010 I was obsessed with writing and getting published. It was all I thought about and having to switch my brain off to concentrate on other things was really hard.

Then I got sick.

Having to put aside my writing for close to a year was a little heart breaking, but now that I'm recovered and ready to start again I feel as though I have a new, fresh perspective... a healthier one.

I've just sent off my second query this week. Nervous? Yes. Excited? Extremely. Fretting that it won't be picked up and my life will be over? Not so much.

I would LOVE to get published. It would be a dream come true! But if I don't, I am going to keep on writing. I love writing and nothing is going to change that. All these stories racing around in my brain are meant to be put on paper and if the one I am currently submitting does not get picked up, another one might. No matter the outcome, I still get to write and that is the best part.

I am not hounded by the same sense of urgency anymore, so having to put writing aside to focus on my family and other things around me is much easier. I'm feeling greater joy in the whole process and far less bogged down. All I can hope is that I manage to keep this up.

A career in writing is what I want and I will work hard to get there, but I've come to realize that if it doesn't happen tomorrow, that's okay.

I hope everyone else is happy in their journey and writing with joy and passion.

Have a great week!

The best part...

I have been slow to update my blog recently. Having been holed up in bed for a couple of weeks now, my blog has been the first thing to go.

Raging a continuing war against self-pity I have stared at the ceiling and wished for release. I am now propped up with pillows and decided my blog needed attending no matter how I felt.

So what good has come from my convalesced state? Well, as I've lain hear hour upon hour, my mind has been able to wander and that is just so much fun :)

For me, imagining scenes in my head is the best part about writing. I love taking my mind to a new place where characters come to life. I don't need pen, paper or keyboard to do any of this. I just watch my characters talk to each other, choreograph exciting action sequences and feel all the emotion of what they are going through. It's totally awesome.

I am not out of the woods yet. I think I'm still a few weeks away from bouncing out of bed and being my normal self again, so in the meantime I will relish this time of exploration in my story telling.

What's your favourite part of story construction? So much goes into it - I'm fascinated to hear what others think.

Hope everyone is having a great writing week.

Rewrites!!

Having finished my rewrite of Book 1, I was hoping to be able to read through Book 2 and 3, do a few minor revisions and say "Voila! I'm done!"

Yeah right!

Now that I've rewritten Book 1, I need to make changes to Book 2 so that the flow and consistency stays the same. I read through the book thinking "I have to go back to the drawing board with this one."
Thankfully i can keep a majority of my scenes. I'm only adjusting a few and adding in a little more depth and punch to my climax. Not too major, but it did get me thinking about planning.

I know some people write without planning. I know others can't do without it. I have always been in between. Plan as I go... I always knew my beginning and ending and would be about five chapters ahead of myself as I wrote. The more I learn, the more I lean towards thorough planning from the start. What am I really trying to say? Where do I want my story to go?

Stripping back the layers of Book 2 is hard work and if I'd taken the time to plan originally I may have saved myself some stress.

In saying all of this - I am learning so much through the process that maybe this mistake was worth it. I know I'll get a better book if I put in the hard work and make these changes.

What is it like for you guys?
How do you plan?
How much depth do you go into?

Hope everyone has a great week :)

It's Gone!!

Spent last night refining my synopsis and sending off my manuscript to agent Laura Bradford. It's such a mix of excitement and fear as you press that send button, isn't it?

This is the first time I've had more than one person critique my work before sending it off and I found it really challenging. Out of the five writers who read my first few chapters for me, I had two different views. Three said - awesome, want to read more. Two said - the beginning was a little slow.
So who do I listen to?

Do you any of you struggle with that?

In some ways writing is so subjective. I can appreciate good writing, but I'm not drawn to everything I read. Of course my critique of a genre I don't love will be harsher.

One agent might read my stuff and hate it while another might love my voice and want to go for it.

I guess that's why this business is one of the hardest to break into. All I can hope is that there is an agent out there who likes my manuscript enough to want to work with me. I am more than happy to make revisions - I'm sure an agent or editor can suggest things I've never thought of.

I guess the point I am trying to make is... I have worked on this story until I think it is at it's best. Now I just have to bite the bullet and get it out there. If I believe in my work then it's going to get snagged eventually.

Hope everyone is having a great writing week :)

Where do you dream?

You know that feeling when a story rises inside you like it has wings. It flies through your system, flashing images into your mind and filling you with a buzz that makes you feel light and happy.

I love that rush. A seed of an idea forming into a coherent story... or even just a new scene for your current WIP that's exciting and fresh.

I had a moment like that the other day. I was packing away some equipment after a pre-school music session with my son. I was the only person in this empty room and could feel the wings of my imagination start to flutter. I smiled. I let myself bask in it for a minute before dragging my feet back to the cacophony of toddlers.

It got me thinking - where does my imagination bloom?
Usually when I'm on my own. An empty room, a shower box, standing in a forest or on hiking trail where no one can see me. I love those places. I love the seclusion and the freedom to let my imagination take flight.

Does anyone else out there get that same feeling?
Where does your imagination bloom?

Hope you have a great week people :)

Overwhelmed

Well, I had a fantastic holiday in Australia. The sun was shining, the weather was warm enough for my son to spend hours splashing in the waves and apart from the 5.30 wake up calls each morning (thank you jet lag!!) the trip was a great success.

I have returned home to a plethora of e-mails and a ridiculous list of blogs I wanted to catch up on. I have just finished reading most of them and I am left feeling overwhelmed. I know it's probably silly to feel this way, but reading so much advice all in one hit makes me realize how far I have to go! I am having one of those moments where I feel like I'm never going to make it.

HOWEVER - I finished my blog reading with this: http://meganrebekahblogs.blogspot.com/ and it's helped put things in perspective.

I love writing. No matter what happens in the future, I'm going to write because it makes my day better, it excites me and helps me through those tough times when reality sucks. Whether or not I get published doesn't matter.

Of course I am going to work really hard at achieving my goal of getting published. I am going to keep learning, improving and making my writing the best it can be. Hopefully my perseverance will one day be rewarded, but if it never is... THAT'S OKAY.
Nothing can stop me from writing.

All this advice I have absorbed throughout my reading session has been great. One particular post that I collected off Nathan Bransford blog was particularly cool. Here's the link.... http://janetfitchwrites.wordpress.com/2010/07/08/10-writing-tips-that-can-help-anyone/

So - for all of you out there who are having a day like me - DON'T GIVE UP. Enjoy the process :)

I hope everyone has a great week.

Scene construction

How do you write your scenes?
Are you the type of person that concocts it all in your head first? Or do you take bullet point notes then turn it into a scene? Or are you the type who just sits down and lets your brain create as you type?
What works best for you?

Me?

Let's see..

The scenes that seem to come out best are ones I construct in my head first. Having done my planning, I know where I want the scene to go, but getting there in a unique and interesting way is the challenge.
I usually act out the scene where no one can see me :) and go over the dialogue until it runs smoothly. I then jot down the dialogue and any significant actions. I let that mull for a few days and come back to it. This is when I write my first draft. It is usually total crap and the only part I'm happy with is the dialogue. I then need to walk away again. I often find if I try and solve all the problems then and there I just get frustrated.
After stewing over what I've written (this can take as little as an hour and up to a few days), I head back to the keyboard and re-read the scene, adding, changing, taking away until draft 2 is complete.
I often have do this again to make draft three and then I'll move on.

I find it really hard to move on to my next chapter or scene until I'm happy with the one I've just completed. By happy, I mean that it's passable - not yet brilliant, but enough for me to put it out of my head and move forward.

I'd be really interested to read how others work.

I hope everyone has a great writing week :)

A Writing Buddy

I've just been away for a whole weekend with my best friend. It was bliss. We watched movies, talked about all the things our husbands aren't interested in and most importantly we wrote. It was so much fun and it made me realize just how important it is to have one other person that totally gets it.

It was such a joy to be able to blather on about my current manuscript and hash out plot ideas. We are both working our way through a huge pile of books on writing and we spent time sharing what we've learned and incorporating the new lessons into our writing. I managed to finish the planning stage of my latest manuscript while I was away and I'm going to start writing soon. Can't wait!!!

Being able to share this excitement and passion with someone is such a treat.
I hope you all have someone like that in your life too.

As awesome as it is to have a friend to share this with, I think it would be beneficial for us to also belong to a writing group. We find it hard to critique each other. Being objective isn't easy when you're with a friend. Our problem is, we aren't really sure where to start looking.

For those of you who do stumble across this blog - I'd love hear your experiences. How did you find a writing group? What sorts of things do you do? What does belonging to a writing group entail?

Thanks in advance for those of you who do leave a comment.

Hope everyone has a great week.

The Big Rewrite

Having received feedback from a number of people and also having read a number of excellent books on story structure and character profiling, I have decided to rewrite the first book of my trilogy. I'm still trying to decide whether to rewrite without referring to the old version or whether to still paste in some of the scenes I really liked.

I'm surprised by how un-freaked out I am. I'm really looking forward to it actually. If it makes the book better - bring it on!
I'm interested though - I'm assuming others have been in this position. How did you find having to rewrite hours of work? Did you refer back to your old stuff?

Hopefully this will all be worth the effort. Either way it will be fun to hang out with these characters again.

Wish me luck!

Rejected = Dejected

When it comes to writing I have been surprised by how unfazed I have been by rejection letters. I was feeling relatively invincible, until last week. I don't know what it was about this particular rejection, but it totally bummed me out!

I think the thing that made me feel so dejected was that this agent had asked to see more. My hopes were soaring and then a week later totally crashing when she got back to me. Her comments said my writing just wasn't good enough. Yep - that's it right there - dejection. My writing was not good enough. Talk about feeling stink.

So - my brave friend (who co-authored the book with me) wrote back and very politely asked if she could be more specific. The agent generously replied saying that our writing reflects our inexperience, but if we are willing to learn and put in some effort, we'll most likely get there. She also included a list of books that she thought were gold when it came to writing fiction. We have hunted them down and will be reading for a fair few hours over the coming weeks.

It will be great to learn and grow.

So, even though rejection can sometimes feel like dejection it can also lead to improvement and ultimately acceptance.

In spite of how useless I felt last week, I am not going to give up. I love writing too much to consider that option. In the words of a very wise Regal Blue Tang fish, I am going to "Just keep swimming."

What to include...

I think it's fair to say that most people live by a certain set of values. How you were raised, what you were taught to believe, what you've chosen for yourself over the years have shaped you into the person you are today.

So my question is, if your writing contradicts your values and beliefs, do you still write it anyway?

My current WIP has a a couple of characters that behave in a way I never would. I have to stay true to who they are, but how do I do that in a way that doesn't make other people think I'm promoting this kind of behavior?

I'm not a huge swearer, just the odd expletive when I hurt myself or am really mad. My WIP antagonist is a complete potty mouth. I'm finding it hard to portray this without including the odd cuss in his scenes. I feel I can't change that attribute in him, that's just who he is!

I'm also not a huge fan of people sleeping together really quickly. I don't like the idea of promoting one night stands. I'm about to write a scene for one of my central protagonists and I just know that he wants to sleep with this girl and totally would if I'd let him. But I really don't want to promote that so I'm thinking I'll make the girl shy away from it - that way my character can still stay true to form.

I'm find this tricky. I really want my characters to be realistic. I want this book to be a tad grittier than other things I've written. It suits the plot. But I also don't want to compromise my beliefs and values.

Does any one else out there ever face this problem? How do you deal with it?

Just Keep Writing

I am having one of those weeks where the enormity of this whole writing scene is overwhelming. I have been skimming through various blogs, reading forums, taking in advice and thinking - "I'm never going to make it!"

The thing is - I really, REALLY want to make it. So I can't let my doubts win.

It's so easy to get caught up with the obsession of getting my work in print that I forget why I'm doing this in the first place. I find myself getting stressed and down. But I need to stop and remember.... The reason I do all this is because I love writing. I love losing myself in a story. I love creating a world, different characters and exciting scenarios. I love the drama.

SO - no matter how overwhelming this publishing thing is... I am going to keep writing. I am going to keep putting myself out there and one day, who knows, I might just see a Melissa Pearl novel on the shelves of my favorite book stores.

My son is currently obsessed with the movie "Finding Nemo." One of the main characters, Dory, swims along singing, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." I can hear the tune in my head now... "Just keep writing, just keep writing."

Testing the waters

I am school teacher, well, when I'm not being a mother that is. I substitute teach at the local middle school I used to work at before having my son. Having just finished at young adult trilogy that has been rejected by a few agents, I decided I'd test out my work on my target audience.

My friend's class has about 11 kids that were willing to read my work and give me some honest feedback. It's been awesome. So far the kids are loving it, but they have had a few things to say about character development and the odd scene that bugged them. When they have finished all three books, I'm going to pull them aside and interview them further on their thoughts.

Now granted, these kids are not seasoned writers. I understand this is not a professional critique, but I am finding this a really helpful exercise. I agree with the things they have mentioned and totally understand why they have given me this feedback. I'm looking forward to sitting down and undergoing a big revamp before starting to query agents again.

I guess what I'm most excited about, is that if the kids are bounding up to me at recess begging me for the next book then I might just be on to a good thing.

The waiting game

I have just completed a young adult fiction trilogy that I'm hugely excited about. I'm currently preening and perfecting it, with the hope that there is an agent out there who would love to take it on board.

Now comes the hard part. Getting it accepted. I am currently in the throws of learning all about how to do that and I'm loving every moment of it.

Except... the waiting. The waiting sucks!

You spend hours debating over every syllable of your query letter. You revise it to perfection. You spend hours reading agent blogs, finding ways to show them that you've done your research and you know a little about their style. Then you compose your e-mail, press that send button and wait.

Over the next few days I find myself obsessively checking my e-mail, willing a response to pop up on my screen. Even if it is a rejection, you know where you stand. You can feel sad then pick yourself up again and move on. But the waiting - that is just painful.

I guess this whole process is teaching me the art of patience and I should be very grateful. A little waiting never hurt anybody... just possibly made them mentally unstable :)

Any suggestions on how to make this part of the journey easier are more than welcome!

Let It Begin

Learning the ropes of the writing world is a fascinating and daunting task. My dream of one day being published burns bright as I climb this steep hill.

In my enthusiasm to make this dream a reality I have made a few errors that I want to share in the hope that others will not make the same mistakes. Just a few tips from a very junior member of this profession...

1. Slow down - take the time that's needed to make your work shine.

2. Research, research, research - read blogs from other writers, read books designed to help you, chat to people in the business. Nathan Bransford's blog is FULL of awesome info to really help us "newbies" out.

3. Don't give up.

I am currently unpublished and in search of an agent. I have written several manuscripts now, two of which I think are ready to go. I will continue to put myself out there and learn what I can along the way.

I encourage everyone out there with the desire and follow through to finish a novel. I know how hard it is :) Keep putting yourself out there... the right way... you never know what the future holds.