This weekend, I immersed myself as much as my schedule allowed in plotting a new novel. Not a romance this time but a mainstreamish/women’s lit-ish story that literally won’t let me sleep.

In the past, I’ve always been a pantser–write now, plot later–should be a tshirt in my closet. But this time I tried something a bit different, based on an idea I found in the amazing Create A Plot Clinic, by Holly Lisle Her line-for-idea cards are where I am at the moment, and it’s all working pretty nicely (thus far).

The coolest thing about plotting, to me, is my ability to “hear” my characters in my head before their stories are fully fleshed out. I get truly random snippets of dialogue in my brain at random times (“You’re the least traditional person I’ve ever met”, “Smoking is disgusting and gives you wrinkles. And I care about you.”, and “Can Rick be Elvis at my wedding?”) (you’ll have to read the book to find out where these fall!)

Some people need medication to stop these voices, but I encourage it. These words aren’t just random phrases but sentences and conversations I actually hear crystal-clear between my ears. Since I just started plotting today, I know I’ll start hearing more of them at times during the day when I least expect it. It’s just the way my first draft goes. I could probably write an entire draft in only dialogue. Maybe I should be a screenwriter…!

How about you? Do you hear your characters? How do your first drafts take shape and form from the abstract images and storylines in your brain? I’d love to know. (If for nothing else to make sure I’m not the only one who hears voices …LOL)

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• Filed in BethWorld, From Notes to Novel

Sorry the WIP TIPs have gone AWOL. I have a reason, to get to in an upcoming post, but they should be back soon, hopefully by Monday. Thanks for the emails asking about them. It’s actually a good story…

With that said, I’m off the PC to head outside and begin something you’ve heard me swear off of many times. I’m plotting a new novel. This time, it’s not romance. I’m not taking this lightly because the idea struck me about a month and a half ago and, unlike other novel ideas that get smothered from my daily nonfiction writing and …life…, this one has only gained strength. Weird. I’m a bit freaked out by the idea of a non-romance novel, but there is a slight bit of romance in the internal conflict plotline.

Who knows? Might just be another one of those good ideas gone wrong, but I like to play with words. Headed outside to see what I can dump out of the brain….wish me luck.

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• Filed in BethWorld

Story Behind the Story

Dream or Destiny by Lillie Ammann. Published by GASLight Publishing, LLC

Thanks for joining us today, Lillie. Give us a short synopsis of your story.

Marilee Anderson dreams about a murder and wakes to find it really happened. She and David Nichols, the victim’s brother, become the prime suspects. Though they have their secrets and aren’t sure they can trust each other, Marilee and David team up to find the killer.

Very interesting! I love anything that has to do with dreams, in fiction or real life. What sparked the idea for this story?

I saw a TV documentary about a woman who used psychic dreams to help law enforcement solve crimes. On the show, she led the police to a body buried in a shallow grave on a mountain. She provided enough information about the crime to solve the cold case and lead to the conviction of the killer. Psychic dreams intrigued me, and I decided to write about a woman who dreamed of a murder. The real psychic dreamed about crimes after they happened, but I wondered what would happen if someone dreamed of a murder before it happened.

I’m curious: did the story end up how you initially envisioned it?

I didn’t know how the story was going to turn out. In fact, I was far into the book before I learned who the killer was.

Mysteries for readers are often mysteries for writers, aren’t they? Tell us how you sold this story to the publisher.

I had an agent for a couple of years and ended up with a nothing but a few rejections. I put this book aside and gave up on it for a while, then submitted it and sold it to a small publisher. However, before the book even went into the production cycle, the publisher changed its business model to focus on erotica. My book wouldn’t be a good fit with the rest of the inventory, so I asked to be released from the contract. Though I put the manuscript away in a virtual drawer in my computer, the characters continued to call me. I pulled it out of the drawer to revise and edit periodically for ten years. Not only did I edit to make the writing better, but also I revised because of changes in society and technology. Finally, I submitted it GASLight Publishing, who accepted it.

Ten years. Wow! What a model in perseverance. Good for you in hanging in there. Writing is never a simple, easy business. Anything you’d change in the process of getting this story published?

Probably not. My first reaction is that I would have been more aggressive in submitting through the years, which might have led to publication sooner. However, I have improved as a writer during that time, and the story is far better after the latest revisions. So, no, I don’t think I would change anything.

Aside from the dream/psychic element, what makes this story special?

The characters. I think of myself as a character-driven writer, and these characters really drove me. I didn’t know there would be anything about domestic violence when I started writing, but David told me about the abuse he and his sister suffered. One of my favorite reactions to Dream or Destiny was a question from a reviewer who is also a domestic violence advocate. She asked if I had personal experience with abuse because David’s reactions were so true-to-life, not the stereotyped behavior she’s accustomed to seeing in fiction. Marilee, savvy and strong in business but shy and vulnerable in private life, gets involved in the case even though she’s always tried to avoid ridicule by hiding her psychic gift. Two of the secondary characters will have their stories told in sequels. I’m working on Bonita’s story now, and the book after that will feature Tess, the “crazy lady.”

Any final advice on writing can you share with writers?

Persevere. We hear that advice so often because it is so important. Most writers spend years developing their writing skills and learning the market before they are published. You will certainly fail if you quit; you will probably succeed if you persist.

Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Lillie. Best of luck with the book and your writing.

———–

Bio:

Lillie Ammann is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in helping authors self-publish their books. She blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye http://lillieammann.com/blog.

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• Filed in Guest Bloggers, WIP Tip, Writer's Life

If you’re a fiction writer, go somewhere you’ve never been but that your hero or heroine has been or would find interesting. Sci Fi & historical folks might find this daunting but perhaps there’s a restaurant or event in your town this summer your character would find fascinating. Go for the experience, then use some of your details to infuse your writing.

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• Filed in Fiction Advice, WIP Tip

To too many Americans, Memorial Day is just a Monday off work. I’m guilty of the same thinking at times myself.

But as the granddaughter of a soldier who served in France during WWII, the cousin of a soldier who served in Iraq, the great great great great great…(there may be more) niece of a true Yankee soldier and the daughter of an National Guardsman who watched the Berlin Wall crumble first-hand (and only my brother got a Tshirt!), Memorial Day has a deeper significance for me than “just another Monday off.”

Make a list of all the reasons Memorial Day means so much to so many people. Go beyond the traditional, staid “It means we’re free” stuff. You’re a writer. Get some emotional punch behind it.

I’d love to see your lists.

And to all those who’ve given their time and their lives to bringing freedom to my life, thank you.

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• Filed in WIP Tip

Because behind every writer is an impressive set of goals…

Make a writing plan for the upcoming week. Take into account your schedule and obligations. How many words or pages will you finish?
Share your goals as comments so we can cheer you on. You can do it!

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• Filed in Goal Setting, WIP Tip

I am addicted to Law and Order. Actually, not the new episodes. I’m not so keen on Cutter. Something I just don’t like about him or his character. But give me Jack McCoy as ADA any day and I’m a happy girl.

I even refer to Jack in my daily life, off the cuff. Like Sam Waterston’s character is someone I personally know. “You need to go Jack McCoy on him,” I told the hubby one day when he mentioned knowing a secret that would embarrass a colleague who’s a real jerk to others. “Jack McCoy would get the truth out of you so fast your head would spin,” I tell my son. “Less Serena, more Jack,” I tell myself when I have to be gruff with someone I don’t like. Stuff like that.

My theory is that it’s because Jack’s tactics are so unlike mine I have a secret crush on his ability to be direct, straightforward and sometimes even mean.

I gave up fiction writing at the start of the year. Flat-out cold turkey. Packed away all my notebooks, moved all my work-in-progress files to the thumb drive and off the laptop, told the muse to go home. I wasn’t feeling fiction. I haven’t been as successful in selling my fiction (all romance-based works) as I have been my nonfiction, and it frustrated me to no end. Several big things were happening in other areas of my life as well, and I think I just needed a break from the compulsion to escape my life and head to a fictional world where everything was just a plot step away from solving.

I immersed myself in nonfiction and memoir writing. Had some luck at it. Really enjoyed what I was doing. Unleashing memories is a powerful, exciting, scary thing to do. It got me back into the routine of daily writing, which I desperately needed. I’d missed my early AM sessions with me and a few thousand new words every day. Fictional ideas teased my muse, buzzed around my head now and then like the occasional mosquito, but I brushed them away. No more romance for me. I’m not good at it.

I kept the fiction ideas at bay (not an easy task, if you’re a writer. Giving up ideas cold turkey is so much worse than giving up smoking. If I were a smoker, I could keep cigarettes out of my house. I can’t keep thoughts from inside my brain) for quite some time. I don’t even get romance-based ideas now. Not even for short stories.

But the peace didn’t last. I got a mainstream novel idea from one of my essays the other day. Given my track record in fiction, I first dismissed it as my muse once again not listening to anything I had to say. The idea fizzled into a few airy words and evaporating mental pictures.

Fizzled until a few days later, when I saw something that again triggered a fiction idea. The same fiction idea. But this time, it was a different puzzle piece to the same story. Again, I threatened the muse with no more coffee dates if she led me astray from working on the memoirs I now love writing. She pouted and let the idea go reluctantly.

And then there was yesterday. She knows my favorite time of day is that time when I’m bordering on the edge of sleep, stepping from the lip of reality to the abyss of slumber and my brain is transitioning from reality to the dream state. So what did she do? She met me at 4:30 am, fully dressed with two crucial character names and part of a plot I have been unable to get out of my head for two solid days.

What did I do? I went Jack McCoy mean on her. Here’s part of the conversation from yesterday morning (I changed her name to protect the innocent)

Me: Why are you doing this? What’s your motive? You peddle ideas like crack, selling faulty ideas a dime a dozen around every dark corner. In writing circles, that’s creative murder with a deadly weapon.

Muse: This idea is a freebie. On me. You’ve never written first person fiction. It’s not romance. It’s a story about [classified info here]. It’s up your alley. I already have the heroine worked out, the mentor formed and part of the plot. I gave you the mental picture yesterday of a budding rosemary plant, didn’t I?

Me: Oh, you sure did. So crystal clear I had to stop at Lowe’s and buy myself a new rosemary plant on the way home from school. But rosemary isn’t going to make me come back to fiction willingly. I might be willing to make a deal for the right price.

Muse: It’s a beautiful story. And rosemary has beautiful blooms. The rosemary is just the start. The heroine is a woman, much like you, who…

Me: Bullcrap. The rosemary is a prop. You’re attempting to stage a crime scene, which is as much as an admission of guilt. You’re the worse kind of criminal. I’m willing to give you man 2. Fifteen years at Rikers. Or sealed in a Rubbermaid container in the basement with the notebooks you’ve made me fill with six unsold novels. I’m sure Rikers is much nicer.

Muse: But I can bring in more plot twists and enough motivation to keep you through to the black moment. Just give it a try.

Me: Oh, accomplices?

Muse: Friends. Mutual friends. I’m not guilty of leaving you in the middle of those other stories, anyways. I just saw a few pretty, sparkly things that were more interesting at the time. Admit it. You liked ‘em too.

Me: Where’s the evidence? Can you give me proof that you won’t do the same thing again?

Muse: Here’s increased motivation and an intriguing premise. That good enough for you?

Me: No deal. I want it all upfront or I’m taking you to jury. And don’t think they won’t notice your history of abandoned manuscripts covered in blood, sweat and tears. I don’t see a lot of mercy. No one’s giving your fiction idea a second glance.

Muse: I’ll give you the rosemary, two character names and an internal conflict. If I see you’re working, I’ll throw in the external conflict and a setting later.

Me: No deal. I want it all upfront, on the table. I don’t buy the evidence. See you in court.

With that, I slammed my portfolio closed and headed out of the interrogation room (aka the shower). I just can’t do the fiction thing again. Not yet. Not that the muse isn’t pestering me, almost constantly, now. I hate to ignore her, but she’s not held up her end of the bargain in the past.

If she brings anything else to the table, I’ll let you know. If she can pass the Jack test, I’ll listen to her offers…

(don’t act like you don’t talk to your muse! I know you do.)

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• Filed in BethWorld, Writer's Life

Published author? Click on the “For Authors” tab above and request 1, 2 or all four author interviews for WIP readers. We’ll send them off and schedule your responses as an upcoming post. Feel free to pass us along to your other published friends. Everyone loves an author interview!

Unpublished author? Click on the “Contact Me” tab above and send me your most pressing writing questions. Craft, business, creativity…hit me with your best shot! I’ll use your questions as upcoming posts.

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• Filed in WIP Tip, Writer's Life

I’m not a screenwriter nor do I play one on TV, but here’s a cool offer from StoryLink.com for screenwriters to get a craft question answered by Alex Kurtzman & Robert Orci–screen writers for the adaptation of the new Star Trek everyone’s talking about.

Here’s a quick bit about the offer. Follow the link below for all the juicy details. And good luck!

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StoryLink is thrilled to feature blockbuster screenwriting team Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Transformers), who will be answering questions from the StoryLink Community in the June eZine.

Kurtzman and Orci have a hand in what may be some of this summers’ biggest hits: writing the Star Trek adaptation (which they also co-produced) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. They even produced the upcoming Sandra Bullock film: The Proposal. Variety is, after all, the spice of life!

Kurtzman and Orci started out in television, writing for shows such as Hercules and Xena: Warrior Princess, as well as Alias, where they became executive producers. They more recently co-created Fringe with J.J. Abrams. Plus, they have many other film and TV projects in development.

Get all the info at StoryLink

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• Filed in Fiction Advice, Sites for Writers

When was the last time you took your muse on a date? Go somewhere with yourself and vow not to write (Ok, you can take notes) but instead immerse yourself in the experience.

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• Filed in Writer's Life