Writers, Are You Writing?

Giveaway ends July 7!

No, really, are you writing the projects you want to and need to complete? Are you getting those ideas down on paper? Writing stories? Writing articles?

Or, do you feel like you’re not getting any writing done despite the fact that you sit in front of a computer for hours, fingers flying? Do you feel like you’re accomplishing little to nothing, that you’re procrastinating, not getting to the writing you need to do? 

Of course you’re writing. I’ll bet you’re sending emails to friends and business associates, probably texting like crazy, posting to Facebook, maybe writing promo blurbs. How much writing does all that add up to? Have you added it up? How many words did you write with all that?

Well, doesn’t matter really, so many of us writers are writing what we think we need to write; posting to blogs (like this one!), tweeting, facebook pages, Linked In and even more. 

And yes, we pretty much do need to do those things, but that means there are more and more demands on time we’ve carved out for writing stories, articles and the like. 

Look, Hemingway and Steinbeck didn’t have these problems. I mean don’t you find yourself putting off the ‘real’ writing to get these other chores done? And what about cell phones, tablets and laptops? Yep, we’re constantly in touch, constantly working, constantly writing. At the same time we wonder why we aren’t getting more done. 

Have we all gone insane? 

Technologies that promised to lighten our work load (such as computers in the beginning, word processors that meant we wouldn’t have to type and erase and retype any more) have actually ended up adding to it. 

So, what are we to do? 

Want my advice?

Yep, I write this blog, guest on TV Writer, I Facebook and I Twitter. Even Pinterest. But here’s the thing. I focus on what counts and a bit of small distraction I enjoy. I focus my time (even give myself allotted minutes to accomplish tasks), then get off the net and get down to writing work. Put away the phone and the tablet, close my browser.

Slow down, pull back. In an era when we can ‘do business anywhere’ …. we shouldn’t. You can’t do it all even if you’re foolish enough to want to. And, keep in mind, you’re not going to be able to promote your work to all those ‘outlets’ if you don’t get that writing work done. 

Hey, that’s where technology can help again. Tweets will pile up – you can check them later. Same with Facebook. Phones can take messages. Emails can wait, they’ll be saved on your account, even if they’re fan mail. Give yourself a break and get down to what you really want to accomplish. 

Be a writer first and write…for real.

Writing a Novel? Tips For What Not To Do

No long intro here, I’m going right for the meat of it. You’re writing a novel, you’re in love with your words. Well, look again and see what you need to change:

One:

Do you have your characters living in a happy fantasy land sort of like the fairy tale creatures out of Disney? Is everybody just getting along hunky-dorey and skipping hand-in-hand down the garden path?

Well, stop it! Come on, you know darn well that even best friends can have disagreements and fights. Family members scrap all the time. If everybody’s happy your readers will be BORED. Look, stressful situations can bring out the worst in even the best of people. Add some tension, pepper it with strife. Don’t let your characters get away with being so freaking happy. Really. Spice it up.

Two:

Have you gone a bit too far? Have you created a ‘hero’ or ‘heroine’ that nobody really likes? In fiction, novel or script, the main character has to be someone the reader or watcher can identify with, bond with, hope will succeed and want to follow along with throughout the entire story. Of course your main character can have flaws, baggage, irritating habits, but watch out. If you push it to far you’ll end up with a protagonist who’s demanding, insensitive, timid, wimpy or cold (or a host of other flaws that go above and beyond). Go for sympathetic and likeable – with a few quirks and flaws.

Three:

How’s your description going? Yes, description is needed to fill in the background, to give a feel to the story, to weave a great tale, but if you’re writing paragraph after paragraph describing weather and scenery then you’re going too far. Weave background into your story. Tell your readers about the weather when it has an impact on the story or the main character(s). Perhaps the weather is trapping someone somewhere and/or affecting their mood because of it. Details are what make the background the canvas against which your story is told. But be selective. Give the details that add to characterization or which might affect your main character’s ability to achieve his/her goals. 

And 

Four:

How many of you have used the “as you know…..” cheat? Don’t look blank. You know darn well it’s just a way to dump information by using a character’s dialog. It’s when a character tells another character something they both already know just to bring your readers in on it. Don’t do it. It’s annoying and amateurish and it causes your reader to blank out and pass over that passage, so they don’t even get the information you planned to impart in the first place – might even cause that reader to put the book down. Don’t do it.

Think about these. There are lots more, but I’ll leave them to a later post – meanwhile, you can tell me – what are your biggest ‘no-nos’ for writing?

Writers Websites Wednesday - Murder by 4

Come on you aspiring thriller writers, check out Murder By 4, a blog run by 4 suspense authors and it's a must follow if you write or want to write thrillers. Excellent articles and even a contest.

Heads Up Writers - The Weather Is Your Friend

Okay, writers, listen up.  Despite all those jokes about “A dark and stormy night” via Edward Bulwer-Lytton and the ongoing Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest the simple fact is the weather can be and frequently is a writer’s friend.

At the risk of rattling a few cages and creating some writers’ angst, there’s a whole lot you can do with the weather whether in a script or a novel or short story. For one thing you can’t avoid the weather, it’s there. And it offers the opportunity for all sorts of descriptive, atmospheric and elements to advance a plot.

The intrepid writer can utilize weather to raise the stakes in a book or movie - hey, there are lots of weather conditions that can turn life-threatening and add great interest to a story (provided you’re not tossing it in just for some action and it doesn’t relate to the plot). I mean look, things are pretty tricky if a protagonist has werewolves on his trail, but things get that much worse when he gets trapped by a rising flood inside a high-rise WITH the werewolves and no way out.

A writer could simply set the mood for his or her story with weather. Many times sadness is reflected with drifting snow outside a window or a drizzling rain falling from gray skies. Weather affects us all and contributes to our moods. Adding a bit to your story wouldn’t hurt.

Have you noticed weather can put forth irony as well?  What about a beautiful sunrise, chirping birds and the news a loved one has died? Maybe the opposite - a raging blizzard, a computer that works and gives up the information the protagonist has just won the lottery but can’t get out of the house.

It can also be a way to present your reader of your writing or watcher of your movie some symbolism. Weather can be evocative of memories; happy ones of a snowy Christmas - or a palm-bedecked Christmas if in the tropics. And what of the character who’s always sunny and happy no matter how dismal the weather?

Weather can also create an interesting setting. Bring color into your writing. Add rain, snow, sleet, ice, wind, whatever and add spice to a scene. Take a scene of a couple merely standing and talking and turn it into a bit of a comedy by having them slipping and sliding on the ice, clutching each other to keep from falling. Zip things up.

So don’t hesitate to use weather to your advantage - but remember to use a light hand and in small doses, interwoven with action and dialog and remember to use it when it’s important. As a writer you don’t want to plague your readers with endless pages of snow drifting lightly down on the trees, covering the walks, making driving slow and difficult, coating the little birds’ heads, melting into ice patches, etc.

Use it the right way and add spice, color and life to your story, but like everything else, in moderation.

Come on, tell me when you’ve used weather to spice up a story or add drama. Who's afraid of Bulwer-Lytton?

Writers and Readers Websites Wednesday - Zeno's Site

Yep, it's that day again - I have a site for you all. This time it's Zeno's Forensic Site. For all you writers out there in need of resources on chemistry, arson, guns, traffic, explosives, fingerprints and much more, here you go. For you readers with great curiosity on how this stuff works, this is the place. It offers a lot of links to a lot of resources. 

Satisfy your curiosity or do the research your book or script needs.