Writer-In-Progress

Following yesterday’s Story Dump post, as promised, here’s how to use this lump of brain refuse to get yourself back into the story.

It’s pretty simple, actually. First off, let the story dump sit a bit. At least a day, if not more. I usually find I can stay away for a day or two at most. Then, the curiosity gets me back and interested slightly. I don’t know about you, but when I write, (and especially when I let the stream of consciousness take over), I write stuff I don’t remember writing. Lotsa times, that’s the good stuff.

After it’s sat a bit, I take two highlighters (pink and purple, but that’s just my preference) and a black pen (lately it’s been a sharpie thin tip). If I’ve done my story dump on the PC, I print off a copy.

Time to face the music. I reread the SD once, all the way through. If something just jumps out at me this first time, it’s purple-highlighted. Purple (or your color of preference) to me signals “I can and want to write this scene right now”.

The second time through the SD, I use the pink and black in tandem. Either a line gets pink highlighted, meaning it has promise and/or excites me about the book (it may be a bit of knowledge I didn’t know about a character, a new ending for a scene, a story question that needs answered…something truly pertinent to the story), or lined through in black. Black is the true garbage of the SD. Nothing usable. Sometimes in an SD, just to keep writing, I’ll type a question over and over–those are black lined. So is any information I already know or have already written. If it makes no sense to my story, black line.

Following this fun step, I go back through and make a list in order of color: purple sentences/phrases/ideas
pink sentences/phrases/ideas

and use those to get me back into the story.

When you want and need to write, it can be like pulling teeth if your muse doesn’t help. Try the SD approach once and see if you don’t get moving a little bit…

I’d love to know if the SD process works for you. Leave a comment and tell us if it helps you get back into your story

Happy Writing!

• 1 Comment
• Filed in Fiction Advice, WIP Tip

There are times when the story gangs up against your writer’s mind and refuses to be written. You worry all day over the fact that you just can’t sit and write anything because nothing is coming. Here’s your solution: Story Dump.

Story dump is exactly what it sounds like. Open a new file on your computer or go to a fresh, new page in your notebook and JUST START WRITING. I almost always start with the same line: “Here’s the problem”. Your subconscious knows exactly what the problem is in your writing, but your conscious mind is often louder and refuses to be quiet while you figure things out.

Write about your story, where you are. Write about your frustrations. Write all the floaty little story bits in your mind without anchors. Just write. Without abandon, without judgement, without goal.

Tomorrow I’ll show you how to use the story dump to transition your way back into your story. For now, just write

• Comments Off
• Filed in WIP Tip

The Writer’s Dozen Interview, featuring award-winning author Ron Chepesiuk.

Welcome, Ron. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the writing life with us. Let’s start with something easy: what brought you into writing?

In the early 1980s I was a university professor who had dreamed of being a writer but who had done nothing to realize that ambition. I use to smirk when people told me they were writers, but as far as I could see, did little to advance their professed careers. I promised myself that I would never be like that. In 1981 I got a sabbatical to Ireland, a very literary dynamic country, and I got struck with the writing bug after reading a couple of the books of Jeffrey Archer, at the time, a best-selling British author. I thought that, with some effort, I could write as well as him.

After you realized you wanted to write, how long did you write before your first sale?

I started to send queries to local newspapers back home as well as to some of the biggies. I got to write some non-paying articles about my Irish sabbatical experience for the local newspaper, but, at the time, I didn’t know how to write a decent query letter that could get me a big paying assignment. I heard that Belfast was staging its first marathon. At the time the religious divide in the North of Ireland was quite sharp and the security situation, tenuous, so staging such an event was considered quite remarkable. I went to a newsstand and found an English running magazine (“Marathon Runner”). I queried the mag and got the assignment. It paid a princely sum of 50 pounds (less than a $100 at the time). I spent more money researching the article than I made in pay, but, most importantly, I was in print and had some credibility. I always teach my writing students that a freelance writer is an entrepreneur. So to make money at freelance writing you have to spend money getting established.

What would you say is the best part of being a writer?

Where do you begin with the best part! I love most of the parts—the independence, research, the interviewing, exercising your creative muse, the crafting of the story, seeing my name in print. After about 24 books and 4,000 articles, that experience has never gotten old.

What is the worst part of being a writer?

The emphasis on trying to build the so-called “platform.” I know it’s important, but it never seems to end. You have to spend so much time on the platform when you could be writing. Sometimes I feel like I’m playing the role Elmer Gantry. But if you a professional writer you realize it’s something you have to do to move your career forward.

With so many works in publication, which of your works is your favorite? Why?

My book, “Drug Lords,” would be my favorite, I guess, because of the research that went into and the challenge in crafting a story, given the mass of information I collected and the topic it covered. The book chronicles the rise and fall of Colombia’s Cali Cartel, perhaps the most powerful criminal organization in history. I interviewed over a 100 sources and did a lot of research in Colombia. I’m proud that some law enforcement officials liked the book so much they have read it twice.

Every author is unique in their approach to writing. What is the most unique aspect of your creative process?

I don’t really work with an outline anymore, whether I’m working on a book or magazine article. Right now, I’m writing a screenplay, but I’ve largely abandoned the outline I had. For a book, I’ll know how many chapters I’ll have to write and how they should be arranged, but when I start writing a chapter what I have for a structure is in my head. I’m always thinking about a project, so I believe my subconscious is always working. In any case, it seems to work out and I’ve never suffered from that overplayed and over rated pseudo complex, the so-called “writer’s block.”

Give us a 3-sentence overview of your current WIP.

I will have two books coming out this fall, “Gangsters of Miami” and “Sergeant Smack: The Lives and Times of Ike Atkinson, Kingpin, and his Band of Brothers,” so I am getting ready to market them. I’m also half way through the screenplay I mentioned. It’s about one of the character gangsters in my book, “Gangsters of Harlem.” Writing a screenplay is a different kind of writing experience, but it’s a lot fun. After 20 years as professional freelance writer, I feel my writing career is just getting started. Oops. Is that three sentences?

Which book, magazine article, website or blog has had the most impact on your career?

That’s a tough question. I wish it would be that easy—to narrow it down to a single influence. I guess if I had to, I would say reading Ernest Hemingway’s book, “A Moveable Feast,” as a teenager and dreaming that someday I could lead the life of a writer.

Everyone thinks they know how to write but few do. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about writing?

Stephen Bach, who wrote a fine biography of Marlene Dietrich, one said, “Publishing is about marketing, not about writing or writers.” That piece of wisdom recognizes that publishing is a business and to be successful—that is, to do it full-time as a career—one has to get good at the business aspect of it.

List your 5 favorite authors/books. Why are they your faves?

Well, I have lot of writers and books I admire and like, but, okay, let’s limit it to five.
1. Ernest Hemingway, “A Moveable Feast,” an inspiring book about becoming a writer. Hemingway is THE master stylist.
2. Fyodor Dostoevsky, “Crime and Punishment,” Still the best crime novel ever written and maybe the greatest novel of all time. At least that’s what the critics say. A great book for any aspiring writer to read and to learn from.
3. John Grisham, “The Innocent Man” or any of his novels. Reading Grisham can teach a writer how to write in scenes and to write a page-turner—in other words, be a best-selling writer.
4. Gary Provost, “Make Every Word Count” or any of his books on writing. The late Gary Provost was the best writing instructor ever and influenced my career greatly.
5. Dominick Dunne, contributing writer to Vanity Fair magazine. Anything by him. I don’t why but I love this guy’s writing and his writing style. It’s so effortless and interesting. So what if a lot of what he writes about is gossip?

What topic would be your dream topic to write about?

Any topic that paid me a lot of money. Just kidding. Probably a topic that could change the world or the direction of a nation…. a book, say, like Woodward and Bernstein’s “All the Presidents,” which helped bring down the corrupt (Richard) Nixon presidential administration.

I can buy one book this month. Why should I choose one of your works?

I guess because they will get a good story that has been thoroughly researched.

What advice on the writer’s life can you share with writers?

Do it! Don’t buy the idea that there is such a thing as writer’s block. It will be become an excuse for failure. Rather, accept the idea that you will have many creative problems during your writing career, but if you stick at it long enough (don’t move from that desk), you can solve them. Remember, too, that writing is largely a craft. A scant few of use will master the craft to the point where our writing becomes art, but almost all of us, if we try hard enough, practice, keep an open mind and learn all we can, can become competent professional writers. I’m a strong believer in the Puritan Ethic without its religious component. If you work hard enough and long enough on your goal, you can achieve it.

Thanks Ron. We appreciate your time and insight at the WIP. Best of luck with the works in progress!
==========
Bio:
Ron Chepesiuk is the author of 24 books and more 4,000 magazine, newspaper and web articles. He is a two-time Fulbright Scholar to Bangledesh and Indonesia , a consultant to the History Channel’s “Gangland” television series and an adjunct instructor of journalism in UCLA’s online extension program,. His books have won several awards from the IPPY, Foreword Magazine USA Book News and other contests. For more information, see:
http://www.ronchepesiuk.com,
http://www.gangstersofharlem.com, and

http://laurajames.typepad.com/clews/2008/02/clews-interview.html

• 2 Comments
• Filed in Guest Bloggers, Writer's Life

One problem I have with writing is occasional apathy toward my working environment. In other words, I sometimes need variety where I write.

If you’re blocked, your words stagnant, your energy on your WIP waning, try writing in a different venue. Coffee shops are only one option. Try a library, park or shaded table on a patio outside. City parks are inspirational at times as are quiet restaurants (during the afternoon, several small restaurants in my town are ghost towns), a different room in your house or even a friend’s house. Maybe you and a writing friend can meet at your place one day, her place the next.

Don’t let your writing suffer because your surroundings don’t inspire you. Keep looking…a writer’s work is never done!

• Comments Off
• Filed in WIP Tip

Article Series: Minority Religions–The Path Less Travelled, by Peter Fergus-Moore, published by Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal (daily newspaper)

Thanks for joining us today, Peter. Can you share with us a short synopsis of your story?

Among Thunder Bay, Ontario’s 105,000 people, members of minority religions, such as Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, etc, altogether comprise less than 1% of the city’s population. I wanted to find out how these religious, ethnic and cultural minorities maintained their integrity, stayed faithful (or did they?), and lived as minorities in Canadian culture.

Since I work with kids from other countries, cultures and religions, this is fascinating to me. What sparked the initial idea for this story?

It’s a bit strange: the features editor at the time had heard about the local Unitarian Fellowship performing same-sex wedding ceremonies and thought that might be a neat (and edgy—she was into edgy) story. It turns out that I had contacts among the Unitarians, so it wouldn’t have been hard to get some interviews.

But I quickly got another idea (see #6).

Did the series end up how you initially envisioned it?
It turned out better than I initially envisioned it, and totally unlike the editor’s original idea!

How did you sell the changed story?
On thinking over her suggestion, I made a counter proposal: how about a series on the non-Christian religions in Thunder Bay, like Hinduism, etc? The Unitarian story could be part of the series, but would take in more than just the same-sex wedding angle (in other words, don’t trash the editor’s idea completely!  ). This series was to go into almost completely untouched territory, something utterly new for the paper to take on, and I did my best to convey my enthusiasm for the idea to the editor.

Fortunately, we had by then built up a very good working relationship, and she respected my writing. She bit.

Anything you’d change in the process of getting this story published?
Only some of the accompanying visuals (most were stunningly good), and the title of one of the pieces. Other than that, not a thing.

What makes your series special?
See #6 above: I saw it as illuminating people in our city, their lives, their beliefs and practices, to the mainstream majority, and perhaps building some bridges of understanding in then process. It quickly became something of a treasure hunt: I discovered that we have a one-person Buddhist monastery south of the city, that we have a Hindu temple in the basement of a city variety store, and that there are less than 30 Sikhs in the city altogether, and much more.

In every case, the question of how you survive as a minority, how you remain faithful when going against the cultural mainstream, came up and each group had a different answer. Some are managing better than others. All strongly identify with their adopted country while trying to remain faithful to their respective faiths.

A few weeks after the series ended, I was asked to do another series by the news editor on Christmas celebrations. As Chanukah, the end of Ramadan (and of course the Baha’i New Year) and Christmas all happened at around the same time that particular year (2000), the series went well beyond Christmas itself, into other territory. All articles became a learning experience for readers unfamiliar with these lives and ways. Both series got very positive reaction around the city.

Ironically, nine months later came the events of September 11, 2001. The series would have been much more timely—and much more unlikely to happen—at that time.

Your story really exemplifies my belief that we, as writers, get specific ideas at specific times for specific reasons, even if we don’t know why at the time! What advice on writing can you share with writers?

Most of it you’ve already encountered, I’m sure: above all, write something regularly (daily, if possible), to keep your practice up. Find what works for you as a routine and a practice (I used The Artist’s Way for nearly 10 years, and it served me very well).

Don’t judge what you write until it’s time to edit, but when you do edit, do so ruthlessly. Better yet, when the ms. is ready, get someone else to edit for you. Fresh eyes are a must.

Get good tools: decent dictionaries (online ones are still problematic) and handy reference materials. Research. Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions—the unasked ones will come back to bite you in the form of mistakes.

Live a varied, healthy life: exercise, eat well, get the sleep you need; get outside when you can, do non-writing things like walk the dog. This is not procrastination (unless you start talking weeks and months!), because your subconscious is still busy at the keyboard while your conscious mind takes a break. The so-called inspiration you have is often the subconscious sending you the latest edit.

Enjoy writing! Stephen King is right: the process can be a pain at times, but it is and should be, fun. Write about what you have an interest in, and (unless you’re an investigative reporter), write from love.

Thanks so much, Peter, for sharing with Writer-In-Progress readers.
———
Bio

Originally from London, Ontario, Peter Fergus-Moore has made Thunder Bay, Ontario, his home for over ten years. An instructor in adult literacy, Peter is also a freelance writer and editor, and has had his work published both locally, in the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, and more widely, as in Lake Superior Magazine and the Winnipeg Free Press. Most recently, he has made a foray into fiction with his spy thriller novella, The Demon Dragonfly & the Burning Wheel.

Peter locates his work as a whole within “regional writing”, a label which he qualifies by insisting that “good regional writing must be universal enough to be appreciated beyond its locale.”

• Comments Off
• Filed in Guest Bloggers, Writer's Life

First off…happy Father’s Day to all the dads in the crowd

Now back to your regularly scheduled 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!

• Comments Off
• Filed in WIP Tip

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.

• Comments Off
• Filed in Guest Bloggers, WIP Tip

Woohoo! Another Friday and a tighter manuscript, if you’ve been cutting.

Today’s WORDS I HATE is another group: CONJUNCTIONS. Now, before you begin revolting by throwing your old Schoolhouse Rock cassettes at me, let me explain.

Conjunctions are very important in a writing sense. They either join two like sentences/phrases (AND, OR) or they create opposition (BUT). Yeah, there are more conjunctions, but in my experience of reading published works, these are the biggest offenders.

Here’s the problem: in writing, it’s very easy–too easy–in the draft stages to continue a thought, a description or narrative (remember, these rules don’t necessarily apply in dialogue, unless you have a character spewing out conjunctions just to hear herself talk) on and on until we find the meat of our meaning. I’d actually encourage overuse of conjunctions in the draft stages as it helps to keep going on a tangent to get down to the real story.

However, at the publishing level, that doesn’t fly. If a reader reads and needs to take a breath to finish a sentence, or has to look back to the start of the sentence to remember who’s talking and what the conversation is about, you’ve got too many conjunctions.

Again, the simplest way to eliminate unnecessary conjunctions is to read and read aloud your manuscript. Doing a find and replace search will lead to a headache because many conjunctions fill a need and move story along. You’ll have more conjunctions that you leave in than you take out, but the ones you take out will make the most difference to your story.

How’d it go this week? How much did you change, chop and learn about your story?

• Comments Off
• Filed in WIP Tip, Words I Hate

Warning…very long post chronicling my adventure writing 10,000 words in one day. Be sure the caffeine is close…LOL

Earlier this week, I found a tweet at Twitter from a writer challenging herself to writing 10K words today and inviting anyone else along for the ride. Since I’m such a creative masochist, I figured what the heck. I sent her a note and told her I was up for the challenge. After all, I’ve been working with the idea for this new novel for a few weeks now. My original goal for next week was to get 30 plot cards done. Since I’m upwards of 40 now (I need about 70-80 for a single title book), I figured it was time to put up or shut up.

Yesterday instead of brainstorming, I spent my morning and mid-afternoon I fixing up the plot cards. I was amazed by how much (usable, workable, realistic, interesting) plot has come out of my brain (and how I’ve been able to corral it effectively). There were some major gaps, and as of this post, there still are, but I can work with plot gaps once the writing faucet turns on. I also told the boys they were in charge of dinner for this evening and charged up the iPod and netbook in anticipation of ending today with about 40 pages of the new novel by sundown.

Alas, ran out of fictional gas at 7,770. Being a fan of Vegas (ironically, where my conclusion takes place), I kinda like that number. My brain is literally mush, I feel as though my butt has taken on the shape of my writing chair and I believe that if I type past 8pm, my eyes will permanently cross.

But I’m not done yet. This blog post is going to count, and I’m determined to hit 10K. Setting a goal of 40 pages isn’t something I take lightly, especially when I’ve blogged, Facebooked and Twittered about it. Anyone who doesn’t use the power of social media to publicly humiliate themselves and highlight their shortcomings is not using these things correctly!

Today’s adventures in writing land come with a story all their own. Let’s start from the beginning.

Pre-Race Prep

I didn’t stress about it. I’ve managed to do 30 pages in a day before, while on deadline for a nonfiction book, so I knew it was possible. I also know that in my writing process, I will always, always give up if I don’t have something fresh to move on to when I know the muse is out of something to say regarding a certain topic. Being that I’m at the start of this new novel, and had only written four pages on it total so far was incentive to me. I hadn’t even fleshed out the most important scenes, hadn’t brought characters to life. That’s crucial to me. Had this challenge been in the middle to near-end of my book, I don’t think I could have sustained that creative push.

What I did last night was arrange my plot cards and went over each one, creating the scene in my mind. Scenes, to me, come in words and dialogue, not pictures. With several of the cards, I immediately got snippets of dialogue and scribbled some down on the back of the cards. Then I went back through the cards looking for places where two or more cards created a lengthier section of the book. Some of the cards, at this beginning stage, are stand-alone cards: I know something happens at this point of the book, know the event, but it doesn’t “connect” to either the card before or the card after it because I haven’t yet put the right plot card in that place (haven’t figured out what goes there yet!)

Here’s what that part looked like:

See the green post-its? When I discovered 2 or more plot/scene cards that naturally flowed into the next one, I marked them with the green post-it. My method was to put the green post-it directly on top of the first plot card in the sequence and write the number of cards that followed it to the end of that sequence. For example, on the very top green post-it, there’s a number 4. That means the card below it “heroine goes to professor to ask help and he dismisses her” connects directly into the next one (she goes to the garden, meets the hero) (agrees to allow niece to stay) (is relieved the niece is not the ailing nephew). I did this because I knew once I get going on a single plot event/scene, if I have the right notes, I can write all the way through because this excites me when writing.

I did this for all of the plot/scene cards I currently have lined up. I found three particular sequences that I could come to whenever I needed a new tangent to write on. I could walk into the dining room, pick the cards off the table when needed and continue writing. Major motivator for me! (and I threatened the kid within an inch of his life that if he touched the table, he’d lose fingers and/or his iPod Touch).

But–I also know that after writing a massive amount of fiction, my brain likes to wrap up things in the nonfiction realm–that is, I like to process what I’ve done by writing about it. That’s why I’m here Not sure of how far the fiction would take me, I also brainstormed a short list of nonfiction article ideas I’ve been wanting to write. As Stephen King says in his book On Writing, “Writing Begets Writing.” Once I’m going, as long as I have something to jump towards, I’ll keep going. I’d say it’s working!

The last thing I did was create a schedule. Sounds terribly formal, I know. But I also know that I’ll slavedrive myself to death and burn out faster than a match in a tornado if I don’t mentally prepare some type of break. I worked in a weight-lifting workout, a walk with the dog, lunch and an hour for my soap (Young & The Restless–must find out what Nina is up to–). Of course, I didn’t follow it to a T, but I followed it enough to get to this point, right now: 8802 words.

(and you’re still reading?) (8806)

Race Day

After brewing a cup of tea, grabbing the first two plot cards and a notepad, I headed outside to my patio. I was a little behind schedule, but that was OK. I Tweeted, got some much-needed inspiration from my fellow writers (big shout-out to @jenniholbrook for being a great writing partner and @annaDeStefano for creating #writegoals) and turned off the ‘net. It was time to write.

I picked up where my scene ended on Tuesday and ran with the second part. Two solid hours of writing and I ended up with 2700 words. (Here’s my post at the Fear of Writing 10K Challenge Blog)

Nose back to the grindstone, (writer stone as they call it there), and I checked in at 5,121 words. In time for lunch, a break and time to clean the kitchen while my son’s friends came over for a pool party.

I fidgeted in the afternoon but never really considered throwing in the towel. After all, this is MY work-in-progress and I have this block of time available. I’d discovered some amazing things about my heroine and my storyline, and I wasn’t about to stop. Can you sense my eyes starting to cross at this point?

That was my last post. At least, until I finish here. Now, I could go link to all my twitter tweets (@buckeye_bethm) but that’d be overkill. Instead, I’m sitting here on my couch, finishing what I started.

General Race Observations & Suggestions for those considering a 10K in a day themselves…

I’m a morning person. Straight out of the gate, I went hard-charge and didn’t take a breath or breather until my ideas started getting cobwebby.

Work in a workout. Moving my muscles made me feel more alive, got the blood flowing. Helped clear out the cobwebs.

Have a support system. When the DH came home, he came up to my writing room. I announced that at that point in the day, I’d finished 6550 words. He was extremely underwhelmed. I didn’t get mad, couldn’t blame him. It’s the same way I react to announcements of his golf game. Ugh. I didn’t look for motivation and support (I know he supports me as a writer, he just doesn’t get excited by the actual writing process) where I knew I wouldn’t find it–I’d connected to my network of author friends online. If I hadn’t had my friends to visit on Twitter & Facebook, I’d have let one of them know I was writing and would have set up an email exchange so that I could check in with them on occasion. Accountability makes a difference. You’ve gotta toot your own horn sometimes, and it feels good to do it.

I realize now that if I’d have signed up earlier, I could have done a series of blog posts leading up to the actual writing itself and even blogged my progress on my own site. Next time, next time. Plus, it would have been fun to have some of you wonderful, longtime readers & writers join me. Next time! (Or maybe we can throw our own 10K party here…)

Eat. I personally like this suggestion the best because I didn’t berate myself at all for scarfing down chocolate this afternoon. It’s better to have something healthy with protein to sustain your energy. Believe me–around 4pm I was seriously dragging. It’s my normal nap time, plus I was mentally worn out and a little achy from sitting so long. I got a fresh glass of water and a handful of chips to keep me going. Of course, that hunger could have been from my lunchtime fiasco. Read more about it at the bottom…

How My Story Improved

I love finding out new stuff about my story. I only find out new stuff by writing the stuff that’s already piled in my brain. Here are some of the things I now know about my story that I only learned as a result of the 10K challenge: (names changed to protect the innocent and/or currently unnamed characters)

*Baby Z dies from the same heart defect that Baby G has now.

*Baby G has a transplant–inciting incident

*F., the heroine’s niece, hates Hannah Montana.

*M., the heroine, believes F loves Hannah Montana. (plays into my theme)

*The heroine’s overarching goal is to bridge the disparity between the high achievers and low achievers in her botany class. (that’s a HUGE one)

*There’s a secretary, J., who is an absolute hoot.

*E., the heroine’s sister, isn’t as self-centered as she seems.

*F. likes to curse when she’s alone. (I like that).

*The bus driver has the best laugh!

Excuses I Thought About Using to Give Up on the Dream of 10K:

“The voices in my head have stopped. I can’t go on with reality!”

“There’s a death in the story I didn’t know about until now. I need to grieve.”

“I spilled green tea/water/root beer/Dr. Pepper on my keyboard and can’t go on.”

“I got a paper cut and it seems I’m bleeding chocolate.”

“My butt is now shaped like my writing chair. I’m headed to the ER.”

The Best Excuse I Could Have Used to Give Up on the Dream of 10K:

“The dog ate my lunch.”

Why is this the best? Because it’s true (so are the others, this one is just too funny.)

After tossing a pan of brownie batter in the oven for my son’s friends, I heated up lunch. Wasn’t hungry for anything in particular, so I grabbed a box of pizza rolls from the freezer. Dumped them out on a sheet pan and stuck them in the oven with the brownies.

When they were done, I put them on a plate with a handful of chips and escaped to my writing room upstairs, away from the raucous laughter of the teens. Just inside the writing room, I realized I’d left my drink on the bookcase in the hallway. I set my plate on the chair, retrieved my drink and returned.

Once back in the room, I noticed my dog incessantly licking her lips. She only does this when she eats something super-spicy hot. I figured the boys had given her a corner of their pizza downstairs when I spied my lunch plate, which was now suspiciously half-empty.

My dog ate my lunch. Right off the plate. Seems she likes pizza rolls as much as me. Of course, I fed her some chips to go with it. After all, no one wants to eat pizza rolls without a side of chips….*sigh* (9896)

Parting Thoughts

I’d hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but you can see for yourself I’ve got a little more to go before the finish line…

At some point during the day, the thought crossed my mind that writing this much in one day is very similar to running a marathon. Funny, because I’ve never run a marathon. Doubly funny because I never plan to. But within the last month I’ve started jogging again, after about 13 years off, and this writing gig was, in many ways, a mirror of those first few horrendously slow runs. (Not that I’m blazing any trails with my 18:40 mile LOL).

There’s always a point in my jog (I always run the same exact path, same road every single jog. For now) when I hit a wall and feel like I can’t keep running. When I started, it was at the top of the first hill. I walked, slowed down, got my breath, quit sucking wind and picked back up with the jogging when I felt I could keep going. As I continued running 20 minutes a session, 3 times a week, I realized my “walking point” got further and further down the road. At the start, I was only able to master about 4 minutes of running before sucking wind; yesterday I only started walking at 11 minutes because I felt so good running that I was scared something bad would happen.

There are those few minutes in every run where I think I should stop. Stop running, I tell myself. You’re overweight, you come from a family of women with heavy thighs. You’ll never outrun your genetics. You’ll have to battle pumpkin pie every holiday and no one will notice that you’re slimmer through the middle. It’s not worth it.

Still, I keep going because I promised myself that I can do 20 minutes of solid, hard activity. I deserve it. I made a promise to myself (and I make fun of myself on my weight loss blog, so I need to keep running to keep the material coming) and for once, I’m going to stick with it even if I don’t know the outcome.

I had minutes…maybe a few hours…like that today. Give up, I thought. Your eyes are about to cross, your fingers are sore, the sun is gorgeous outside. You don’t need to finish all this in one day. You have more days in the summer, you need to work on your plot again before you keep writing, you don’t know the perfect first line of the scene. Give up, you worked hard. Take it easy….

Today was about ignoring that voice. I don’t have the doubting voice I used to have when I was a beginning writer–you know, the one who jabs you in the ribs and tells you you’ll never amount to anything. Being published killed that voice, but I still battle doubt. Doubt that my ideas are worthy of 90K words. Doubt that my finished book will attract an agent or editor. Doubt that I’ll ever get to the second draft.

Still, I continued writing. Why? Because I could. I had the ideas and the know-how, even had the energy. I just needed the discipline. While I grew physically weary, the words still kept coming (as you can tell, if you’re still awake at this point LOL). Who am I to shut them off, close them down, tell them to turn around a go home? I invited them here, I may as well hold up my end of the bargain.

Same thing with running. I invited running into my life. Maybe not as willingly as I invited writing, but I did. Though it’s tempting at times to stop writing and jogging, I won’t give in. I write because I have to and I now run because I have to. Running brings energy to my life, writing is how I interpret that life. It’s a good combination and an excellent synergistic relationship. I run because I can and I write because I can. That’s all I need to know!

Woohoo! I made it! That brings me to 10,574 words for one day of work. I’m tempted to keep going to hit 11,000 but I’ve got to get up and jog tomorrow to burn off all the junk I ate today. Can’t wait til the next 10K word challenge! I’d love for you to join me (don’t worry, I won’t make you jog!)

Happy writing & jogging,

Beth

(10, 642!)

• 7 Comments
• Filed in BethWorld, Writer's Life

Today it isn’t so much a word itself rather than a verb form:

TO BE

The main reason you need to cut TO BE, in all its forms (am, are, is, was, were and their accompanying tenses) is because using TO BE in a narrative sense (not if it’s in dialogue–or even as a flashback. I can accept those two) tells the reader what happened/is happening/will happen. Any good writer worth their weight in fountain pen ink knows the kiss of death is to tell, not show a story.

I’ve put down books in the first chapter, never to return to reading them again because too much TO BE yanks me right out of the story and shows amateurism.

Consider a few examples? These are from the next book in my TBR pile:

He was dying.
Ok, maybe I’ll let that one slide as well. But what about…
The will to live slipped a little from his bones each day.
The world around him grew fuzzy. Distant. Foreign.

…or…

They were funny.
What about…
Christine laughed so hard her ribs ached.
Laughter lightened Christine’s mood.
Since Stephan’s illness, Christine had almost forgotten how to laugh. Now, there was no way to hold her back.
(a bit lengthy but we get a lot more detail about the story rather than saying “they were funny”)

Your turn. Wipe out the TO BEs in your story and see how much you can add to the character, plot and setting when you get specific.

How did you make your story better?

• Comments Off
• Filed in WIP Tip, Words I Hate