Favorite book in 2012

I am willing to admit that I'm a slow reader. So when someone asks me "What's your favorite book this year," I have a short list to pick from. In fact, this year, the list is only 11 books long. (12 if I can finish one before the end of the month.)

Yes, I'm major behind on the "trends" because I take so long to read.

This is why when I can claim best of the year from my reading, it is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

I'm going to copy the review I wrote on Librarything for the sake of saving my typing fingers:


I can honestly say this is another book that rates high on my recommend list. It comes across as a brutal story exploring Katniss's experiences through the Hunger Games, held in the Capitol of Panem each year. The writing flows easily and would allow one to flow through it with little effort. Just when you think that the author is going to slow the pace, she adds a new twist. I found it difficult to put down, almost overwhelmingly buried in the world.
While the ending came across as honest and well thought, it felt disappointing when compared with the rest of the book. One story line just ended. In a way, I'm anxious to get to the sequel, so I can see where that storyline goes...


Because I'm a slow reader, I'm also slower to pick up on the reading trends. I didn't start reading Harry Potter until book 4. I read through the entire series, grew disappointed in book 6 and struggled with book 7. (Blasphemous. I know.)

You might wonder, why do you take so long to read a book?

This comes from me taking in multiple concepts while reading one paragraph. It isn't just words on a page to me. It's the theme and story, the construction and flow, the feel and mood... Things writers look to create and things the reader enjoys. Even when reading for pleasure, I'm looking for things to translate into my own writing.

So perhaps in 2013, my list will be longer, but perhaps not.
Happy New Era! Merry Christmas! Happy Yule!
And a Wonderful new year!
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Today's post was inspired by the topic “My favorite book of 2012” as part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/. This ongoing tour allows you, the reader, travel around the world from author's blog to author's blog.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s posting over at: http://suesantore.com/
If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com

In Memorium : Newtown Connecticut shootings

I had planned a long winded diatribe about the benefits of writing and why we shouldn't forgo our creativity when we leave school. Then I heard of the shootings in Connecticut, with the loss of 26 lives, more than half of which were children.

Yeah, that killed my other post in its tracks.

So now, I wish to hold my style of a moment of silence for the lives lost on Friday, December 14, 2012:




















































The above 52 lines represent the loss of that much creativity and expression that those who were shot won't provide the world. I mourn the loss of each line of text they might have created, in addition to the loss of their lives, some way too soon...

Blog Hopping - The Next Big Thing

A writing forum I'm part of started this thing called a blog hop, which is similar to the Merry Go Round Blog Tour.  An author gets a series of questions about their latest project then posts the answers with tags for the next five authors. (Unfortunately, I don't know five authors to tag with blogs, but if people are interested, please feel free to leave me a comment!) So here we go!


Where did the idea come from for the book?

It started as a short story that I’d been sending to publishers, but that kept getting rejected. My beta readers loved it and I got a few positive comments in personal rejections, but no publications. So I’ve expanded the concept to encompass a full book of stories based around the arrival of Death at various locations.

What genre does your book fall under?

In a way, I guess it would be considered fantasy, since I am personifying Death and his travels. Though it might also come under humor. I really don’t consider genre until the book is completely written. Right now, its just three stories.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Short story collection that follows Death’s travels for a day.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m thinking this may be my foray into self-publishing, just so I can get the stories out into the public eye. If an agency likes what they see and decides to offer me a contract, I won’t object. (Unless it’s PublishAmerica or linked to the Write Agenda.)

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

While I'm writing a book, I don't like to compare it to others in the field, because I don't want to be influenced. I just write and hope for the best.  Once it's done, I might revisit this question.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Rejection inspired this concept. After fifteen rejections of a story that I’m told is some of my best work, I decided to expand it to something greater. I figured if I can make it a book and sell it, it will prove those rejecting it that they were wrong.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The stories are going to bring to light the fact that Death and other concepts are going to be as mundane as everyone else. The first completed story for the collection right now has Death buying shoes. Not an altogether common sight, but one people can relate to (I hope.)



So... if other writers are interested in answering this, leave me a comment and I'll gladly send the questions along, linking to this post once you've completed it.

Also, I'll gladly answer additional questions!

Tactics of an Inner Editor

Many writers have to deal with that pest we call an inner editor. It hacks at the writer and their ideas. It shreds prose. In general, it makes a nuisance of itself, stealing any fun a writer might find, until the writer either binds it in a corner or they throw up their hands in disgust. The latter is what the IE hopes to accomplish. Or really, it’s what the writer’s fears want to accomplish, because that is really what the inner editor really is the personification of. Let’s talk a little about this pain’s tactics and how we can work our ways around it.

GUILT
I used to think the Roman Catholic Church had the market cornered when it came to guilt. Then I became a writer. No one buries you in guilt better than a nun or an inner editor.

“The kids are hungry.”
“The dishes need washing.”
“This is wasting time you could be spending working in the garden.”

I’m sure there are hundreds of comments we hear from our IE when we sit to write. Of course, they continue the barrage throughout the writing session. This is your guilt because you’re not feeling like your writing time fits your life.

So how do we deal with them? Remembering that every journey is different, I’ll offer my tactics. You can adjust them or try something else. Would love to hear how in the comments.

Being raised as a Roman Catholic, I’ve learned that guilt is that third angel on the shoulder they never show. Good, Evil, Guilt. If guilt gets to you, it brings you down. The best tactic I’ve found to combat guilt is to create a schedule. I’ll write for an hour then wash the dishes. Dinner is in the oven, I have time to write for a half hour. I offer a reason why the guilt isn’t strong enough to get past my writing time I’ve blocked out of my schedule. By pushing toward traditional publication, I can also chalk writing up as my second job which also quiets the guilt trip.


BULLYING
I think I’m being nice by labeling the IE a bully at this point.

Write a sentence and it pipes in with a jab or a right cross, based on word selection, structure, or even punctuation. It berates you, hammers at your confidence, even so much as emotionally slams you into second guessing what you just wrote. For some, this is the constant. You can’t just write, because the IE is so strong you feel it must be perfect to shut the darn thing up.

Rest assured, this is not necessary.

Some writers work best when they can edit the previous session’s work before diving into the new material. This is fine. As long as they realize that the new material will have time for editing, to just get the words on the paper first. Editing is part of the process of writing; it could be the worst or the best, depending on your viewpoint. But no manuscript will be perfect upon completion of the first draft.

Yes, I’ve heard the boasts from writers that claim they havw a perfect first draft. Unless they are self-publishing, I know of no writer who hasn’t had repair requests from an editor.

Never fear, there is a way to repair this problem.

Just write. Put the words on the page/screen and don’t worry about anything else. If you have to edit when you write, split your writing time into two parts. Edit for the first half or second half of your designated writing time. Work to put new words on the page during the opposite half.

Psychology has proven this is actually the better way to work. This works because your creative side, or the right brain, doesn’t work the same as the analytical side, the left brain. Trying to work them together creates conflict and stress. It creates an inner dispute. To continue with the Psychology narrative, it’s a battle of Super Ego versus your ID. The Superego is the analytical side trying to perfect everything, while the Id is the creative side just trying to have fun. Splitting their time allows both to work without conflict.

Overall, I think the important part to realize is that the Inner Editor is nothing more than a construct, an excuse within yourself, for why you’re having difficulties. What really needs to happen is for one to find where their inner editor works best. Once you establish this, you’ll break your excuse and jump through the next writing hoop.

There are other senses?

How often do we write things and focus on things like what the character sees and hears?  Do we ever check the room’s smells?  Have you ever challenged a reader with the taste of something or the texture a character feels as they run their hand over something?

Because we live in a very visually oriented world, we frequently focus on the images the characters see.  Since sounds are frequently associated with images, it becomes an easy link to describe the sights and sounds of an event. 

But here’s the challenge.  What happens when those aren’t available?

Let me offer this thought to bring it into prospective.  Open up your imagination.  (Can’t close your eyes and read, huh?)

Okay, consider standing on the battlefield at Gettysburg, July 1863.  Gunshots are exploding around you and the air is filled with white smoke.  Your ability to see is limited to the length of your gun.  Hearing is lost.  In fact, your sense of taste is probably coated with the ash of burned gun powder. 

Where’s your scene?

Sure, you could dive into the character’s head, but if you're lost in that smoke cloud for a while, you’ll lose your reader because of all the introspection.  Could the character leave the battle?  Sure, but you’ve still lost the sense of hearing, because of the explosions so close to the character’s ear. 

Another thought.  What happens when a flash-bang grenade explodes near your character?  Blind and deaf for several moments.  Again, introspection might work for a couple sentences, but in text the blindness and deafness is an eternity if all you rely on is the auditory and visual cues.

I want to offer this challenge.  Pick a room in your house.  On a dark night, with no moon or stars, turn off all your lights and electronics.  Make the room completely dark.  Put in ear plugs so no one can help you.  Then navigate the room.  Let me know how you do in the comments.

Just remember as your writing your stories, we have five senses.  (In some cases, your characters may have six.)  Try to use them all to submerse the reader.

Not an Outline – NO!

When I speak with other creative types, the mention of an outline seems to create shudders and signs of the cross or other holy gestures to ward off a demon.  I try to find the reason that my fellows do such things.  Most times, I get told an outline is too stifling to their creative process.  I’ve yet to convince them that a modern writer’s outline is nothing like we’re taught to create in school. 

I’m sure everyone knows this style of outline, as its what the teachers hammered into our minds:

Title goes here
I.  First Chapter heading
     A.  Concept point 1
            1.  Support
            2.  Support
     B.  Concept point 2
            1.  Support
            2.  Support
II.  Second chapter...

It’s a very rigid structure.  Not easy to break into a story.  But it was what everyone was taught an outline was.

Yeah.  No.

Here’s another thought.  Take a story concept that you’re considering and write out a series of bullet points that you’d like the idea to cover.  Maybe add a sub point with snippets of dialogue, or character motivations for that scene. 

- John and Jane trapse through the woods.
    - Jane wants a new wand for magic school
    - John wants Jane
- A wolf descends on John and Jane
    - wolf is Jane’s father
- John beans wolf in temple
- They run home, find Jane’s dad with ice pack against temple

Believe it or not, the above is also a type of outline.  It’s more open, more free flowing.  Its not something that you’re stuck with as you go through the story.  How often does the concept and the story match from inception to completion?  It shifts, I’m sure.  So the outline must shift with it.  Suppose the wolf is actually Jane’s mother, or John’s father?  That shift can be made.

A writer’s outline is designed to be a tool to assist them with the creation of the story, not a noose to hang them with if they break into a tangent.  Yes, some writers do create without an outline.  Nothing wrong with that, or with any other method. 

You have to use what works best for you.

Perfection Not Required

Sometimes, all the advice in the world won’t get you past your writer’s block.

Why? Because the writer’s block isn’t caused by a difficulty in the idea or a problem with time.

This new writer’s block is mental. I don’t mean cuckoo house mental, but I do mean it is something within your mind.

How often does the sentence not read right? How often can you not find the right words?

A first draft is not expected to come out perfect. Problems will exist. No writer will produce pristine copy on their first attempt, no matter what anyone says.

It’s not that we don’t try! However, sometimes, just putting words on page is more important than making sure not to repeat “suit” every sentence when referring to a man in black. When you write, allow for the not quite right word. Put the sentence down that has initially entered your pen or fingers.

First drafts are expected to be messy. A bit of writing advice I received once said to just write, don’t worry if you meander away from your plot. That’s what the second draft is for: bringing focus to the work. Sometimes, allowing the mess to form allows the writer to find that “Oh WOW!” character or moment that they didn’t expect. That is the big plus of just writing. This isn’t to say you can’t do this with an outline. But don’t make the need to follow the outline so stiff and structured that it freezes your fingers (or pen) and prevents you from moving forward with the story.

The nice thing about writing is we have the power to change things before they become permanent with a publication. Unlike the old days where a misplaced word required a complete retype of a page, or even the entire document, writing can change and move and dance on the page. We don’t have a solidified piece until we send it to a publisher or agent. Computers have made that ability to change even easier than our earlier counterparts who had just typewriters – or just pen and paper – to do as we do now.

So consider how the digital age has advanced our job.

And remember, you can always go back and fix it later.

The Sampson of Details

Frequently, we speak of a writer’s strengths. When a person reads our writing, they speak of how great a certain aspect of the writing spoke to them, be it the dialogue, the description, the action. It comes up when we discuss our writing with our fellow writers.

This is also one reason why I say no two writers are traveling the same journey. Everyone has a different vantage point on what they feel is good or bad, what they see as a strength and what is a weakness. We can even look at recent writings and find that fact. Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series becomes my great example. There is a split opinion of the series. People either love the intricate details (strength) or they feel it interferes with the pace of the book (weakness). The character’s consistency when reacting to stress gets praise and criticism, because at one point, a character becomes a cardboard cutout because that is her reaction to everything.

But how do we know what our strength is?

Our first step is to become prolific writers. The more we have in some written form, the more we can look at and compare to find our strengths and weaknesses. When we have one story, we have very little from which to draw our conclusions. People can’t declare Stephen King among the masters of suspense based on one book (though they tried). No, it took six, or for some people over ten, to make that call.

The second step is allowing others to peruse our prolific library of output, so they can help us locate our weaknesses. Good critiques will also praise your work, finding turns of phrase or whole paragraphs that sang to their senses. What I like to do, with each critique, is I make a list of the positive statements and the negative comments. When you have multiple people looking, it makes the list much better.

The third and final step takes us back to some of our early writing, reviewing it, and poking holes in our problems. Once we do that, we can review recent writings, to find if we continue with the same problem or if we’ve grown beyond it. Sometimes, you’ll find a different error crop up when you fix the first. Other times, it will just read as a better piece.

It’s definitely a good idea to explore your strengths, so that you can gain your Sampson writing muscles.


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Today's post was inspired by the topic “My Strengths as a writer” as part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/. This ongoing tour allows you, the reader, travel around the world from author's blog to author's blog.
Don’t miss tomorrow’s posting over at: http://suesantore.com/

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com

Know what you write

No, I didn’t title this incorrectly. Everyone knows the old adage that writers have thrown at them when they begin. I’m not bothering to repeat that old cliché because I don’t feel it valid advice. Besides, I suspect that the cliché was spoken in a non-English language and translated incorrectly.

In this day of the internet, where hundreds of millions of facts are available at your fingertips, you can learn a lot more than in the “olden days.”

So instead, I want to point your pen in a different direction. It’s easy to do a little research, to find things to make your story more realistic or to correct that nagging mistake. Wikipedia offers a wonderful starting point. (Note I don’t say use it for the only source of information.) If you use your favorite search engine, you could find local experts in the field that could talk with you.

Think about this. How many people talk about dropping out of a story because some fact the writer included just doesn’t jive with what they know? Everyone has a base field, even if it covers mundane things like house cleaning. If someone gets that field wrong, a reader will know.

I admit, I’ve been listening to some writing podcasts recently. www.writingexcuses.com offers some great advice to writers. In one of their more recent episodes (Season 7, episode 17) they have a guest and they discuss guns in fiction. This same concept I’m writing above, they cover in detail with regard just to guns. So imagine how many other subjects could cause a stir, if you use the wrong phrase or name an item wrong.

While I definitely encourage research, I also advocate knowing when to stop.

If you have three sources that tell you the same thing, most likely you’ve found the correct fact and can move on. Three conflicting viewpoints might require a little additional research to solidify one position. Just be careful not to get so caught in the research that you never write!

Research is just one aspect of our calling. We are, after all, writers.

We need to act less passively

Lately, my thoughts have been dancing around passive voice versus active voice.

I’ve heard the mythological “rule” that says don’t write in passive voice. Note how I phrased that. I state this in such a way to show that it is more guideline than rule. The reason the guideline was created came from stories that ran over with passive voice with no noticeable movement within the words. So editors started chopping, and now it has become a “rule.”

Let’s look at why. I’ll start with an example sentence.

We were given a book.

In the context of normal grammar, this is a fine sentence. Subject followed by verb. Looking closer, though, we see an action problem. It conveys the passing of a book, but it has very little umph to it. So you got a book from someone. So what?

Let’s try a rewrite.

They slammed the book on our desk.

NOW! we have some more information. It works on many levels. The receiver had a desk. The book didn’t just change hands, it made its presence known. The giver was upset or the book was heavy. The reader can HEAR the book’s arrival. This was why they encouraged active voice instead of passive voice. You can convey a lot more information.

There will be times when passive voice is needed. Most people don’t speak in active voice. Natural diction will ask for both active and passive. Plus, use it to break up your structure a little. Variety for your spice of life.

Editor's Note

For the month of August, it must have seemed like I took a hiatus.

That wasn't my intention. The posts were written, just lost in the shuffle of summer, writing, and other important activities - like family.

I've remedied this problem, so the posts are up with the proper date.

The Merry Go Round Tour posts will be finished by the end of the weekend, I hope. Then I'll be back on track!

Happy Labor Day to my American Readers and may you have good writing ahead!

Don’t Tell Me I’m Not Showing Again!

One of the big pieces of writing advice every writer is given is the phrase “show – don’t tell.” It gets drummed in from almost every angle. And if you get an especially prickly critique partner, the comments about showing become overbearing.
(An actual comment from one critique I got: “ZOMGWTFBBQ! Too much tell!”)

So what exactly are they harping on here that makes this phrase so much of an importance to writers, yet causes their teeth to grind at the same time?

A lot of the reactions come from how something was written. At times, it may be labeled as a show vs. tell issue, when it is really a point of view issue, but the critique partner can’t articulate it.

Telling is more of a bland writing, with little emotional connection for the reader. Showing gives the reader more connection. Let me show you. One of my big glitches would be what others call laundry list sentences.

The criminals walked the beach. They broke the car window. They stole the stereo.

This series of sentences tell action. The verbs are active. Yet this is a section of telling. Why? Because it comes across bland. It would be great for a police report, very succinct. However, a reader wants more than the police report bullet points. In this section – What was the criminal’s walk like? Did they appear to have nefarious motives? How did they break the window? What about cuts? Glass shards hamper any activities? Did the stereo theft cause any issues? Perhaps the stereo fought back…
Just from three sentences, it could be expanded to offer so many more details, so the reader has a better idea of the image in your head. Engage the senses, as many as possible, for the scene, to really make the reader understand.

Another tell problem is when it comes to exposition of surrounding details, of background history. Instead of saying something like:

He was a religious zealot.

Think about how to give the image of the character as a religious zealot. Maybe something like this:

The man stood with a worn New Testament in his left hand and a rosary in his right. Each person he approached, he’d make a sign of the cross with the rosary, sometimes trying to press it to the forehead of those he found dressed in the Goth style. As he spoke, he’d try to include a passage within the context of his conversation. If someone tried to take him toward the adult entertainment facility on the corner, he’d hiss and swat their arms with his bible while screaming “Heathen!”

(Mind you, that was off the top of my head.)

Yes, it uses more words, but it also gives a better picture of the character. With the single sentence, could you have seen the bible or the rosary? What about the blessing? Perhaps the reader wouldn't see this person as a zealot. But the description gives a much better feel for what you want to portray.

This isn’t to suggest that telling doesn’t have a place in a story, because a writing journey isn’t absolute for any one person. Besides, some things you just can’t show. This, like most writing rules, is to act as a guideline early on. Learn to keep things moving with details, then as you grow as a writer, start finding where a telling space would keep the story moving without killing the action.

Just remember that the rule is about engaging the reader in the story and making it sing for them.

The Butt in Chair Method – BIC

In past posts, I’ve passed over the various ideas behind writing. Most things I’ve kept open ended and, as they say in business management, “high level.” For this post, I’m going to delve a touch deeper.

I want to talk today about what is affectionately called the Butt In Chair method, or BIC. When I first saw the BIC method, I wondered why a pen company wanted to be involved in writing. Yes, a forehead slap was warranted. Once I started reading, things made sense.

I’m actually using the shortened name of the method, as it should be Butt In Chair, Hands on Keyboard or BICHOK. I think BIC sounds easier and allows for those who write long hand.

The entire concept behind this method is if you want to be a writer, you need to write. Simple. It’s meant to fight against the Excuse method, which tends to find reasons NOT to write. You’ll note I’ve already addressed excuses in an earlier post. Really, it isn’t meant to tell you about sentence structure, grammar, or paragraph lengths.

All it talks about is making time to write.

So consider this. In the BIC method, it states someone should create time to write. During that time, your butt should be in a chair with your fingers on a keyboard, or pen in hand against a piece of paper. Just because the page or screen is blank doesn’t grant you an excuse to avoid the writing you want to do. If you’re blocked, you’re supposed to just free write, let anything in your mind flow onto the page or screen.

The entire idea is to write.

What did I chose this for my post? Because I wanted to offer a thought process to people. I praise National Novel Writing Month for being a training ground for writerly habits. The BIC method is one habit that NaNoWriMo should instill in someone serious about the writing craft. You can’t win NaNoWriMo by waiting for inspiration to strike. Three weeks may pass before the Muse decides you’re worthy, then you have seven days to attempt to write 50,000 words, provided the Muse gave you enough material. I’m not prolific when I write, so I don’t think I could pull 7200 words a day from my head. Some writers can and Bless them for that ability. It isn’t something everyone can do.

I’ve stated before that I don’t believe writing every day is a necessity. Some people just drain their creative batteries faster than others. When first beginning the writerly path, you do need to develop good habits that will sustain your writing.

Perhaps a lot of this method is also a question of your desire for your writing. Are you a hobbyist, where awaiting the Muse’s inspiration doesn’t matter, because you’re the only one that sees it? Or are you looking to make a career of your words in print, either through the Big Six or by self-publication? This will answer whether the BIC method is of import to your writing life.

A Writer from Any Stripe

As I read through some of the other posts from the Merry Go Round tour, I note a trend. Many of them wanted to write from an early age. They made up stories and tried to write them as youngsters.

I can say part of that is true for me. I made up stories but I never bothered trying to write them. Sure, I had the Car Wars going in my bedroom, or the fire emergency with my trucks. Those I saw as mine, my play time.

It wasn’t until I reached high school that something about writing really started to grab me. That started with a simple assignment, where I copied my favorite author at the time. Parody and Satire weren’t my strong suit, as became apparent from that project. My writing slacked until the following school year, when a teacher assigned us a daily journal entry for English class. She held no requirement on what the entry had to be, so I could write a paragraph of story each day. It rambled and didn’t go very far, but it was story.

My creative endeavors stopped for about three years, until I got to a composition class in college. There, I had a professor who did both the freshman comp class and the creative writing class. It helped that he sometimes crossed his curriculum between the two classes. He gave us a writing prompt at the beginning of class, challenged us to write a paragraph based on the prompt. My writing impressed him enough that he wanted me to write more. After class, I found a way to expand the story, but when I went to talk to the professor before the next class, I discovered he’d died in a car accident the previous day.

That day was when I truly started writing.

I spent about five years with the semiserious thought process working toward a couple stories, but nothing concrete. I’d completed the story started in class, but it never went anywhere. Refocused in 2000, but continued with the “I write when the muse strikes” commentary. So it was spotty. I finally took my writing seriously in 2005, when I entered my first National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo).

That is my path. I’d love to hear the path of others when it comes to why they write!

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Today's post was inspired by the topic “Why I became a writer” as part of the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour, http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/. This ongoing tour allows you, the reader, travel around the world from author's blog to author's blog.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s posting over at: http://suesantore.com/

If you want to get to know nearly twenty other writers, check out the Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com/

The Craft or the Art

Editor's note: This isn't really advice this time around. I had a rambling thought regarding writing and wanted to place it out there for others to comment. If you're seeking advice, feel free to skip this post. Thanks!

Frequently, it is heard in discussion circles about the “Art and Craft of Writing.” I sat and thought about that concept and I realized something. I don’t agree with the statement. There is the “Craft” of writing and then there is the “Art” of writing. They can be separated into distinct beasts, rather than being one entity.

Here is where my thoughts come from regarding this.

The craft of writing is dealing with the actual rules. You’re crafting sentences based on the structures the rules require. Nouns and verbs, adjectives and adverbs, they all factor into the craft. Craft is something that is learned.

The art of writing is taking what we know of the craft and melding it into a pleasing composition everyone can enjoy. The turn of phrase or the distinct point of view the writer choses all lead to art. While craft is something learned, Art is an innate sense. Some people can write art. Others just write.

One important thing to note about how I lay that out, one can exist without the other, but the reverse isn’t true. You can have craft without art, but cannot have art without the craft.

Everyone wants to believe that their writing is Art™. When first attempting to put pen to paper or words on the screen, it will be closer to stream of consciousness writing. This isn’t bad, as you’re still developing your craft. Writers like Anne McCaffery, Ray Bradbury, and Edgar Allan Poe didn’t have crystal prose during their first works. It took them years to develop into the artists we read now.

I guess I’m saying all that to say this: Don’t feel rushed because you want to write. I’m nearing the twenty year mark, and have only had one piece published. Time continues to work me through the awkward stage.

However, let me throw this out to the readers: What’s your thoughts on the “Art and Craft of Writing?”

Balance in the writer's life - What's that?

Back in June, I was supposed to write this post about finding balance within a writer's life for the Merry Go Round tour.

Here's the problem. I haven't found it yet.

So if and when someone finds a good solution, let me know!

Seriously, a lot of this is about scheduling, and knowing what you want to do.

If writing is just a hobby, it doesn't hold a high priority, so the scheduling remains low on the list and it fits in where you feel like it. If writing holds a higher calling, then it shows up on the schedule accordingly.

As my example, my writing shows up on the schedule 183 times a year. It's a priority every odd numbered day. Even days are for reading. This was the best compromise I could work out to get writing regularly on my schedule and not lose other desired activities.

Check your schedule, find where you fit your writing and ask if it fits where you want it to go.

The Symbol of the Theme is Life

How many of us remember the joys of English class in high school? Or Literature class from college/university? Those were the classes where the instructor took a work and tore things out of it like symbolism and theme. They’d deconstruct the story, take away what enjoyment might have rested within its pages.

Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little here.

So why am I poking this particular troll? Depending on how you write (planned or seat of the pants), you’ll have someone ask you about these things. If you have a template you use for planning, it may offer a place for these things. Shoot, my first published piece is being dissected for its symbol-logy by an old professor. They wanted to see if I learned my lessons well.

Here’s the interesting thing.

I don’t think about symbols of theme when I write. I get a good story in my head and I write it. If the story is meant to have symbols in it, they come out with my writing. The theme usually has something to do with the story concept, so to sit and ponder it takes away my writing time. And sometimes, as they say in the movie business, “I’ll fix it in post.” This means I can slip in the symbols I might want or need after the initial story is written.

There is no such thing as a perfect first draft. It is one of the few absolutes I believe when writing. You’ll always find something to change. This doesn’t mean that you’ll be rewriting the entire piece, unless you want to. Just that sometimes a word choice might not seem right, or a sentence might work better combined with another. While making these changes, you can add things for your symbols or other clues. It allows you time to assess your theme, if it runs as a thread through the entire story.

When I do this, I tend to write the story first. When I complete it, I pull out a planning template and fill in the questions based on the present story. This allows me to see if the story drifts too far from beginning to end, what I tried to say, and where I still need work.

It’s something to try if nothing else.

You Fraked my Beotch

A frequent discussion among writers addresses the need for cursing and sex in present writing. Naturally, like everything in writing, there are many viewpoints concerning this topic.

For some of these concepts, you need to take your age specific genres and leave them at the door. Middle grade and young readers are expected to remain clean and copulation free. Must protect the young’s minds.

With that elimination, let us look at the other concepts that bring this question.

I’ll start by addressing cursing. An f-bomb is a very powerful word, whether it seems like it or not in present society. Consider for a minute the value of words in a story. Every word must count. So if your character is dropping an f-bomb every five words, it’s lost its potency. Now if you hold back the expletive in question until it fits the scene, you’ve doubled the impact of the word. The same goes for the lesser curse words – the S-bomb, the B-word, even Damn.

If you feel you aren’t being true to the character by censoring their dialogue, then don’t. You’re the writer of the story. But realize your audience will react to the words you use.

Sex scenes are a different animal, so to speak.

When we consider things of this nature, we are looking at more than character. We’re also looking at plot. The story must progress with each scene. Adding that scene in the boudoir might be fun to write and titillating to boot, but if the plot doesn’t advance with the scene, its wasted space.

I know, how could plot advance with someone screwing around? It develops characterization. Does the character have multiple partners, so is unable to commit to one? Are they a minute man (or woman) or an ardent lover who takes their time? Does their lovemaking require them to hold the power position? Could any or all of these be shown in other ways that just in the bedroom?

Always consider what’s best for the story when deciding what to put in, before you start scribbling on the burning up the sheets, or dropping that bomb.

Not everyone will agree with this, I understand. That’s why I don’t claim to be the ultimate expert on any of this, I just offer my ideas.

(Untitled)

This post left untitled to honor the loss of a visionary in the writing field.

May you enjoy your well earned rest, Mr.Ray Bradbury...

Passion for your words

For this blog post, I’m going to do something people hate, because I don’t want to hear the surface answer.

Why do you write? What passion drives you to write?

I have heard the answers from all angles.
     The voices in my head make me.
     Teacher said I was good at it.
     Because I’d go crazy if I don’t.
     Because I can.

Maybe the real question is what motivates your writing? Do you look at the books out there, imagine some big payday, writing to the present trend? Does something inside you scream ‘I have something to say!’?

Writing is something that people can tell when your heart is buried within the work. If you are writing with one eye on the market trend, your writing may not survive an editor’s examination. They won’t feel your heart, your soul, your blood sweat and tears that are buried in the words.

Can you write something you enjoy? Sure! If you enjoy it, have a passion for it, it shows in what you’ve written. When it’s just a story you wrote, it feels mechanical. Readers will frown at it, call it slow, boring, uninspired. That last comment will be the closest to the truth.

So build your passion into your writing! It helps the story feel.

Think about WHY you write, what motivates your writing. I’d love to hear your answers!