Wednesday, June 17, 2009
June 2009 archive
Second on the list of major offenders for WORDS I HATE is actually a 2fer:
NICE and PRETTY.
Gag me. Now, I can’t take credit for hating the word nice all by myself. One of my best friends in high school used to get ticked with me for using the word NICE a little too often. He said (and I quote) “There are so many other words to use except NICE. Everything can be NICE. Use a better word.”
IMHO, PRETTY is the same way. If I use pretty (as an adjective, not an adverb), I always eliminate it and nail down the description with one single detail to add something to my story.
Have your editing shears? Red pen? Get out your story and find all the NICEs and PRETTYs. Don’t cut them out–rather, rework them to be more specific and add more punch to your prose. You can do this!
Share an example of a change by making a comment if you like. I’m always up for a good example of how editing makes a story stronger!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
6/16 WIP Tip: Editing Out The Words I Hate, Part 1
I’m a cranky reader. I hate stumbling over unnecessary words in a story or manuscript that serve no purpose. I’m such a word nerd! I even have a list of WORDS I HATE in a notebook.
Number one offender? THAT. I hate the word THAT with all my might. Too many writers use it needlessly and could speed up the reading/enjoyment process for the rest of us if they’d chop it out.
Your job today is to go through your WIP, or even a finished story, and eliminate all of the unnecessary THATs cluttering your prose. Even better, read it out loud, find where you stumble and cut, cut, cut. Unmercifully. You’ll feel better, I promise you THAT. UGH!
What words do you hate most when using your editorial eye? Do share!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
What Jack Nicklaus Taught Me About Writing
The Memorial Tournament is a big event to golfers everywhere and especially those of us in Golden Bear Land, aka central Ohio. Jack Nicklaus is the consummate golfer’s golfer and an amazing inspiration on many levels of life.
Watching the wrap-up on Saturday, I caught the tail-end of a conversation between Jack and the other announcers. Jack was discussing different approaches to practicing over the course of his career. He shared that one of his methods of practicing at Muirfield was to hit from the ladies tee (I forget which hole he specified) so that he could directly hit his ball to the edge/corner of the creek, then he’d play out of it back to the green or fairway.
One of the other announcers made some type of remark about this, to which Jack, in his quiet, knowledgeable voice shared that he did this in order to practice for the bad shot he knew was inevitable in golf. I can’t recall his exact words, but a paraphrase is that you’re foolish if you don’t use your practice time to hit shots out of the rough or sand or water. To only use practice time to get things perfect isn’t a good way to spend time. Practice hitting out of the crappy lie, not making perfect drives and putts.
As always, my brain started mulling this in terms of the writer’s life–and I discovered that it makes a huge amount of sense for writers to heed Jack’s wisdom. Too often, we sit down at our laptops or with our notions of perfect prose just on the tip of our brain and dreams of publishing grandeur. We all want the words to come out “just so,” reflecting the internal angst of our heroines, the inescapable mood of our setting, the most crucial elements of our plot.
And we get royally hacked off when the words have other ideas. They hide from us, our muse picks words we’d never use, we write around our plot point or can’t find those specific terms to describe our characters. This lack of linear-ness to writing stymies many a writer, often resulting in what we consider a writing block or a creative block. In severe cases, this can stop us from writing, creating, valuing our literary talent and storytelling skills…even turn us off from facing the page.
I’ve never heard a golfer say they have a “golfer’s block”. Regardless of how bad they’re hitting, they still go out and play a round. Like us, they don’t know what a new day has in store for us, have no idea if they’re going to hit twelve sand traps or two birdies and an eagle. They just play, play and play again. They play for the love, for the escape, for the passion. They don’t give up when the ball goes somewhere it shouldn’t–they simply adjust their perception, play through and learn something about the course that they didn’t know before.
Writers would be wise to do the same. It’s too easy to sit down and expect only the perfect words to bubble to the surface. We have to learn to play with average words, muddy plots, horrible endings and misguided beginnings. We may need to cut a couple thousand words, change a scene’s point of view or trash a morning’s worth of words because at the end of our writing time, we’ve hit a dead end. We’ve got to find ways to continue showing up to face the blank page and tricks to get us through the doldrums when it feels our creativity has bottomed out and we may not write another intelligent sentence again.
Golf and writing, as I learned from Jack, aren’t about perfect putts and sparkling sentences. They’re about being dedicated, disciplined and creative enough to work yourself into a corner (sometimes on purpose) and using all of your knowledge and skill to keep yourself in the game and on the page. Every draft and every swing exists to teach us something–what are you learning from your game?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
6/14 WIP Tip Sunday
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!
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Creative Mind: T. Murray
Today’s interview features freelance writer and creator of the “Stuck on Stupid” books, author T. Murray.
Thanks for joining us today, T. We love creative minds! Tell us about your daily writing process.
My daily writing process is really to write down any ideas or thoughts I have that I might want to include in a book, blog or other bit of writing I am working on. I have napkins, scraps of paper and post-its on which I have scribbled plot ideas or topics. I always come back to them at some point and have some collected in a binder. I like to write late at night. I’ve never been much of a morning person. I tend to get into a rhythm after the sun goes down and if I try to tackle my subject matter early in the day I run into writer’s block or get distracted. One of the best gifts I ever received is the book The Writer’s Block: 786 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Imagination. It is literally a “block” with activities and ideas that are meant to get the creative juices flowing. I keep it on my desk.
I’m notorious for having notebooks full of future ideas myself. How do you approach new projects/stories?
I approach new writing projects by putting together a quick outline of what I want the work to look like and how it should flow. This is particularly helpful with my book projects. I find this helpful whether I am writing fiction or non-fiction.
I generally have high energy for new projects. I struggle with trying to juggle too many writing projects at once and to balance I prioritize projects by deadlines and due dates.
Speaking of due dates, how about giving us a 3-sentence overview of your current WIP.
My current work in progress is the second book in the Stuck on Stupid Book Series. The first, Stuck on Stupid: A Guide for Today’s Single Woman Stuck in Yesterday’s Stupid Relationships, was released in 2006. I am now working on Stuck on Stupid: A Guide for Professional’s Stuck in a Job They Can’t Stand. This book will cover the ways that we sabotage our true career goals by sticking with a company or profession that cramps our creativity and hinders our happiness.
In the grand scheme of writing, what are your favorite and least favorite parts of your creativity/creative process?
My favorite part of the creative process is the energy that comes from it. When I am birthing a new idea for a print or online project it really is like bringing a new “life” into the world. I like the process of perfecting the piece and getting it to read just as I imagine it in my head.
My least favorite part of the creative process is taking the creation and editing it or completing revisions. It can be tedious and is the least creative part of the creative process, in my opinion.
Getting stuck is part of the game in writing. Tell us 2 surefire ways you spark your creativity when the muse isn’t cooperating.
Sometimes the best way to spark creativity is to take a trip. I think being in the same environment too long can stifle creativity. I believe that is why so many writers travel to the venues which appear in their work. I recommend taking a trip during the writing process. It is amazing what a slight change to your surroundings can do for your end product.
Fabulous. Thank you so much for spending time with us discussing your creativity. Where can we pick up your books and find out more about your services?
You can find my book at http://www.StuckonStupidBooks.com. I am self published and currently working with an agent in New York City. I also write quirky event recommendations for http://www.Go2.com Atlanta and blogs for http://www.FlaglerHill.com. I take on freelance writing projects through my company http://www.PersonalityonaPage.com.
What last bit of advice would you like to share about the creative process?
The creative process is just that: a process. There are going to be points in the creative process where patience is key. When you feel you’ve hit a writing roadblock don’t let frustration get the best of you. Make sure you have exercises and activities that get you brain buzzing with ideas. You may just need to take a break and come back to your project. Also remember to think outside of the box. New ideas are the result of creativity. Take your writing to a new level and don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.
Thanks, T. Best of luck with your series and your ongoing projects!
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Bio:
T. Murray is the creator of the Stuck on Stupid Book Series,found at: http://www.StuckonStupidBooks.com and owner of her own freelance writing service, PersonalityOnaPage.com. She has written for a number of websites including About.com, Yelp.com, First30Days.com and FlagerHill.com. Check her out on Twitter @TMurrayOnline!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
She’s Hearing Voices…Again
Last night while the hubby golfed and the kid watched baseball, I had a few hours alone to myself. On the first night of summer vacation from school, this was quite a coup. No pool party to oversee, no dinner to whip up. Just me, a book I’d been itching to start reading and a beautiful sunset. I’d barely snuggled into the lounge chair–cover still closed on the book–when I heard the voice.
How would you feel?
Excuse me? I asked my muse, who approached me in the voice of my heroine. Where did that line come from? I sensed the question wasn’t about my reading material, but I played along.
I said–how would you feel?
Feel about what, I questioned.
Feel if you found out what Em told me. How would you feel?
Em is the younger sister of my heroine M. (I abbreviate M. because I’m not sure her name will stay. Em, aka Emily, probably will). In the most crucial scene of my WIP, which at this point was only a single line scratched on an index card (“Em tells M. THE SECRET”), Em reveals a secret that will literally change my heroine’s life and perception of the life she’s lived to this point in time. I really hadn’t been worried about the scene, knowing when it’s time to write it, I have faith that it will flow. I was a little worried a few days ago when I got the scene, the whole axis of the story, that maybe I couldn’t do it emotional justice since I’d never experienced something like it in my own life, but still had faith that I could tell M’s point of view successfully in that crucial scene.
I played the M.’s game. “I’d feel like my whole life was crumbling. Like I’d lived a lie.”Having a sense that the M. was going to give me something good, I set the book down and got up to get a notepad. “But what does that matter,” I questioned. “This story isn’t about me, it’s about you.”
She laughed. Cackled actually. “That’s where you’re wrong, big shot. This story is about you, too.”
“Me? How in the world is a fictional story about [insert black moment scene here] relevant to my life?”
“As I said, how would you feel?”
Up for her challenge (and to make her hush so I could read my book in peace), I grabbed the notepad and pen and wrote her question at the top of my page.
How would I feel?
I assumed it’d be simple and straightforward. Angry. Mad. Deceived. Humiliated. Like I was living a lie. As I wrote, however, I felt myself go through the stages of what it must have/will feel like for M. to find out her sister’s secret. In my logical mind, I could toss out a few words on the subject, all appropriate for index cards. In my subconscious, the one that M. tapped with that simple question, I found chaos. Messiness. Words I wouldn’t have used in a million years. A perspective I could respect but in real life would have no way of knowing or feeling myself.
I also found the point of view of my story. Instead of the default third person limited character M. has been to this point, I found strength in first person. Pain and humility. Humanity and honesty. In six pages, she took me on the emotional journey from discovery to realization that I might never have gotten had I not listened to her.
She gave me the scene (albeit in very rough draft, very bare-boned form) that my entire WIP is leading up to. And a few additional scene ideas that need peppered throughout the first 2/3 of the story.
And she left me exhausted. Good writing will do that to me. That’s how I know I have something valuable. I feel wiped out and like I need a break before I continue.
It’s so easy to pass up the muse’s voice when I’d rather be doing something else, but I’ve chosen to invite this chick in for her ideas. I can’t risk shutting her out and missing a crucial part of the story. As long as she’s not waking me up in the middle of the night–which I know she will, sooner or later….
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
6/10 WIP Tip: Make Mistakes III
Are you sensing a theme here? 
Today we’ll let up on you a bit and focus that mistake-laser on a colleague. What is the biggest mistake you’ve seen a writing colleague (published or unpublished) make? And what did you learn from it to make yourself a better writer?
You can post their mistakes with anonymity if you like…LOL!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
6/9 WIP Tip: Make Mistakes II
Continuing yesterday’s thread on the necessity of making mistakes to our future success, what is the single biggest writing mistake you’ve made? Don’t limit this to your actual writing, but your career as a whole.
Take a few minutes to jot it in your journal, then list three ways that mistake helped you change your writing for the better.
I’d love it if you’d share; I understand if you want everyone to continue thinking you’re perfect LOL.
Monday, June 8, 2009
6/8 WIP Tip: Make Mistakes
The only way we find perfection is through making mistakes.
This is my paraphrase of a Jack Nicklaus conversation I heard this weekend I plan to blog about soon, but I’ve been thinking a lot on this topic.
What was the last big writing/creative mistake you made? Don’t worry, you don’t have to admit it to us, but you do need to admit it to yourself. Go journal about the experience–how it felt as you made the mistake, how you felt when you realized it, what you learned from the mistake and how it’s made you a better writer.
If we can’t learn from our mistakes, we can’t succeed.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Week 1 Update: Plotting
From Notes to Novel
I want to say I’ve been going to town on the plotting, but I’m not sure what “going to town” implies. If it means I’m excited, curious and coming up with an amazingly multi-dimensional plot that blows me away, then I’m going to town.
Each day when I’ve sat down to write and work on this book, I’ve felt resistance to writing. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a perfection thing. I sit down not having any idea what I’ll be writing about, which is something I hate. Often it deters me from writing if I don’t have anything to say.
But using Holly Lisle’s Create A Plot Clinic gives me a route to follow. No one–and I mean NO ONE–has ever made me think about plot at the level of depth and complexity as Holly does in her amazing book. I’m currently working through the “throwing stuff against the wall” section and literally come up with at least one new plot scene for each card (You’ll have to read it to know what I’m talking about. And I promise it’s worth it.)
I’m about 10 scenes into the novel and I estimate I’ve got 70 or so total scenes to come up with. The difference between this novel and the other 6 I’ve finished is that those ones were always started with only the beginning and ending scenes in mind. I never fully developed my story before starting, considering myself much more a pantser than plotter. Problem was, when I got through about the first 1/3 of the story, I’d hit a wall. Not knowing where I was going to write next turned into my enemy, not my friend.
But I want to try writing this novel differently. Knowing the plot events before I get started makes sense. We’ll see if I continue to feel that way. I don’t feel my creativity is being compromised by “outlining” my fiction. I hope it doesn’t, because at that point, the joy fizzles out of creative writing. We shall see!
Are you a pantser or plotter? What gives you the most grief in your writing process? What gives you the most pleasure?
It's pretty simple, really. I'm a writer who loves writing about writing, and sharing all the tricks of the trade with other writers. And when I'm not writing, I'm thinking about writing. I have a hunch you know what I mean :)