Hee! Why am I so excited tonight? I've got RoadRunner! Yes, our household finally broke down and got RoadRunner, which I haven't had in around ten years. Hubby wants to look into getting his Masters degree, and he'll need to do it online - so it makes sense to have high-speed Internet.
As always, there is a downside.
The connection runs through my office computer, which, of course, is the one I use to write when I am not using my Alphasmart Dana. This means that yes, I can check a fact quickly without running to our other computer which had been hooked up to dial-up, then waiting for it to boot up, then getting my info, then coming back to my office computer to write. I now have to resist the multitude of Other Interesting Activities and plant my butt in the seat to write - really write.
This is me going. (Hee!)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Hey, I'm A Girl!
It's rare for me, but once in a while, I like to be girly. And oddly enough, it usually happens this time of year. Why? Because the Sterling Renaissance Festival is going on. This is the time of year I like to dress up in actual skirts and dresses, do my hair differently, wear perfume .... Yes, I'm weird.
Anyway, we went to the local farmer's market last weekend, and I found a dress I love, love, love. It's Indian-style, royal blue with beautiful embroidery down the front, basically a tank dress that ties in the back. And it looks fabulous on me. The best part? It was $26.00. The farmer's market ROCKS.
Anyway, we went to the local farmer's market last weekend, and I found a dress I love, love, love. It's Indian-style, royal blue with beautiful embroidery down the front, basically a tank dress that ties in the back. And it looks fabulous on me. The best part? It was $26.00. The farmer's market ROCKS.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Be Your Own Worst Critic (So Others Won't Want To)
We all do it. We write a book we love. It's wonderful. Its characters made us laugh. They made us cry. They made us fall in love. "That book is my baby," we say.
Until that manuscript goes into a drawer for a month while you let the ink dry, and the objectivity comes back.
This is what you must do as a writer, to distance yourself from the books you've written. Only after you haven't seen the work for a while, can you read it with fresh eyes. And when you come back and hate the words you've put on the page, and you're ready to burn it, and you think you should never torture the world with your prose again ... then you're ready to revise.
Being critical of your work is not a bad thing. In fact, it will help you get the thick skin you need to be an author. Your worst critic--you--is about to become your best ally on the road to publication.
First and foremost, you'll need to look at the mechanics of your writing. Are the sentences structured properly? Are you using poor grammar only where it's done on purpose (There are such instances!)? Is your book loaded with adverbs? Too much telling and not enough showing? Remember: Unless you fix the mechanics, your reader won't be able to see past clunky writing to appreciate the great plot and characters of your book.
Next, look at characterization, POV, and flow of your storyline. Is everything consistent? Do a character's actions and reactions make sense for his/her worldview? Do the scenes flow nicely? Are some too short and others too long? Do you get to spend enough time in each major character's head to fall in love with him/her? Could a scene be written better in someone else's POV? Cut scenes, move them, rewrite them. You can save the whole enchilada as a new file in your computer, so that you have the old version on hand, should you want to change something back.
Do not be afraid to slash and burn parts of your book. If the core of your story is strong and moving, it will survive the editing process! And if an agent or editor suggests a change to your manuscript, consider it carefully. Most of them are experienced in what sells, and they want you to get the best bang possible out of your manuscript. They aren't out to tear up your work, I promise.
That's your job. :)
Until that manuscript goes into a drawer for a month while you let the ink dry, and the objectivity comes back.
This is what you must do as a writer, to distance yourself from the books you've written. Only after you haven't seen the work for a while, can you read it with fresh eyes. And when you come back and hate the words you've put on the page, and you're ready to burn it, and you think you should never torture the world with your prose again ... then you're ready to revise.
Being critical of your work is not a bad thing. In fact, it will help you get the thick skin you need to be an author. Your worst critic--you--is about to become your best ally on the road to publication.
First and foremost, you'll need to look at the mechanics of your writing. Are the sentences structured properly? Are you using poor grammar only where it's done on purpose (There are such instances!)? Is your book loaded with adverbs? Too much telling and not enough showing? Remember: Unless you fix the mechanics, your reader won't be able to see past clunky writing to appreciate the great plot and characters of your book.
Next, look at characterization, POV, and flow of your storyline. Is everything consistent? Do a character's actions and reactions make sense for his/her worldview? Do the scenes flow nicely? Are some too short and others too long? Do you get to spend enough time in each major character's head to fall in love with him/her? Could a scene be written better in someone else's POV? Cut scenes, move them, rewrite them. You can save the whole enchilada as a new file in your computer, so that you have the old version on hand, should you want to change something back.
Do not be afraid to slash and burn parts of your book. If the core of your story is strong and moving, it will survive the editing process! And if an agent or editor suggests a change to your manuscript, consider it carefully. Most of them are experienced in what sells, and they want you to get the best bang possible out of your manuscript. They aren't out to tear up your work, I promise.
That's your job. :)
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Lucky Me! (Well, My CafePress Shop Is)
You could call it coincidence, but I'd rather think I lead a charmed life. :) Last week, someone ordered a hat and tote from my CafePress shop, and the day they got the order confirmation, they won $70 from a slot machine! Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I buy scratch-off tickets while wearing one of my shirts ... ? (No, really, this isn't a shameless plug to visit my CafePress shop and get some stuff. Ahem. :-D)
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Filler, and Fixing It
Today's subject is filler - you know, the stuff you throw in to raise word count, but which doesn't further your plot. As writers, we all do it. This is why the aforementioned outline of your story is so important.
Once you've created an outline, including the important plot points or character reveals within each scene, you'll notice whether a scene is moving your story ahead, or just stagnating it. If your characters spend an entire scene chit-chatting about the tree in the heroine's garden, chances are it's not crucial (unless your hero is a landscaper who suddenly discovers this is a rare Superficus greenacea that might be the only cure for the devastating earache plague that's killing swimmers everywhere ... but I digress). If your characters spend the scene repeating something the reader already knows, chop it. Do it. It'll make your story better, I promise. Think of it as pruning. (Oh, no, here she goes again ...)
Don't be afraid to delete scenes. I chopped the entire first three chapters of one book after realizing how much they slowed my story down. Take whatever might be crucial information in those scenes, and move it somewhere else. Your reader will never know she missed the filler - and she'll get a faster, better read. If you're worried about your word count sinking below the required mark, chances are your story didn't already have enough "meat" on its bones. Think up a good subplot that ties in with the main plot, and thread it through the whole story. Word count will then take care of itself.
Once you've created an outline, including the important plot points or character reveals within each scene, you'll notice whether a scene is moving your story ahead, or just stagnating it. If your characters spend an entire scene chit-chatting about the tree in the heroine's garden, chances are it's not crucial (unless your hero is a landscaper who suddenly discovers this is a rare Superficus greenacea that might be the only cure for the devastating earache plague that's killing swimmers everywhere ... but I digress). If your characters spend the scene repeating something the reader already knows, chop it. Do it. It'll make your story better, I promise. Think of it as pruning. (Oh, no, here she goes again ...)
Don't be afraid to delete scenes. I chopped the entire first three chapters of one book after realizing how much they slowed my story down. Take whatever might be crucial information in those scenes, and move it somewhere else. Your reader will never know she missed the filler - and she'll get a faster, better read. If you're worried about your word count sinking below the required mark, chances are your story didn't already have enough "meat" on its bones. Think up a good subplot that ties in with the main plot, and thread it through the whole story. Word count will then take care of itself.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Making Outlines
A helpful way to organize your story, once it's written, and decide if a scene is working or going nowhere, is to make an outline of chapter, page numbers, scene, POV, and major plot points. For example (yes, a silly example, but you'll get the point):
CHAPTER ONE, 20 pages
Scene 1 - Tarzan's POV
* Introduce Tarzan and his internal conflict
* Establish setting (jungle)
* We learn that Tarzan likes bananas
Scene 2 - Jane's POV
* Introduce Jane and her major external conflict with Tarzan
* Hint at her internal conflict
* We learn that Jane's father runs an anti-banana regime aimed at taking over the world and allowing people to eat only oranges
And so on, all the way to The End. Only the important plot points may be added to your outline. We don't need fine details--just what drives most of the action, and what your reader must know in order to keep reading cohesively. Fine details are just polish (character descriptions that aren't crucial to the plot, minor characters, etc). You want to extract the nuts and bolts and bullet-point them in your scenes.
This will help you discover whether your scene really has a purpose driving it forward, or whether it's just filler. If your reader doesn't learn any important points or clues about character or story in the scene, it may not be needed. If those important points could be learned in another scene without overloading it, you might be able to move them to that other scene and thus improve your pacing. You'll realize whether a new setting is even necessary (Think like a movie producer - do you want to have to pay out the dough to build that extraneous locker room set, or can this dialogue take place on the football field you already have available? Don't just intro a setting because it's "cool" - make sure it has purpose.). You'll also notice if you've been in one character's POV too long, and your reader might be missing the full range of story emotion from your other major characters.
Outlining your story greatly improves your speed when it comes time to revise. You'll notice it's easier to move plot points seamlessly from one place to another, and it will be easier to edit out (or sometimes add or flesh out) scenes when necessary. I strongly suggest outlining your story before submitting to an editor. That way, when (oh, joy!) he or she requests revisions, you can get them ready that much faster.
CHAPTER ONE, 20 pages
Scene 1 - Tarzan's POV
* Introduce Tarzan and his internal conflict
* Establish setting (jungle)
* We learn that Tarzan likes bananas
Scene 2 - Jane's POV
* Introduce Jane and her major external conflict with Tarzan
* Hint at her internal conflict
* We learn that Jane's father runs an anti-banana regime aimed at taking over the world and allowing people to eat only oranges
And so on, all the way to The End. Only the important plot points may be added to your outline. We don't need fine details--just what drives most of the action, and what your reader must know in order to keep reading cohesively. Fine details are just polish (character descriptions that aren't crucial to the plot, minor characters, etc). You want to extract the nuts and bolts and bullet-point them in your scenes.
This will help you discover whether your scene really has a purpose driving it forward, or whether it's just filler. If your reader doesn't learn any important points or clues about character or story in the scene, it may not be needed. If those important points could be learned in another scene without overloading it, you might be able to move them to that other scene and thus improve your pacing. You'll realize whether a new setting is even necessary (Think like a movie producer - do you want to have to pay out the dough to build that extraneous locker room set, or can this dialogue take place on the football field you already have available? Don't just intro a setting because it's "cool" - make sure it has purpose.). You'll also notice if you've been in one character's POV too long, and your reader might be missing the full range of story emotion from your other major characters.
Outlining your story greatly improves your speed when it comes time to revise. You'll notice it's easier to move plot points seamlessly from one place to another, and it will be easier to edit out (or sometimes add or flesh out) scenes when necessary. I strongly suggest outlining your story before submitting to an editor. That way, when (oh, joy!) he or she requests revisions, you can get them ready that much faster.
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