Writer Not Writing

Have you ever had one of those days?

Of course you have.

I should be writing, but I’m not. Or I could be creating illustrations for the comic series I create with Charlene Brash Sorensen, but I’m not. What have I been doing? Well I did write a post for another blog, TVWriter.com on shutting up.  And, of course I’m writing this.

That doesn’t change the fact that I should be photo-shopping a small blue horseshoe print (don’t ask, but it goes with this 

 - note the blue hoofs). And then there’s the manuscript I need to create from a screen script (if you read this blog you no doubt saw the wonderful illustration associated with it last week). Yeah, well, I’ll get to writing that tomorrow…or maybe I’ll stay up late tonight. 

I do take some pride in the fact that I spent some time today helping an aspiring writer. He has a bit of a way to go yet, but he’s already come a long stretch. Kuddos on him! His project has gone from a long book to the idea of a trilogy and then back to a single long book. Long, of course, being relative, as it fits cleanly into its genre.

The trouble with a day like today is the distractions from writing  are plenty and the urge to play at anything other than being a writer great. It’s easy to give in to those distractions when they’re so close at hand – like a click away to hit Facebook or Twitter. And there’s beautiful spring sunshine outside. On top of that they tell us it’s going to snow by next Monday, so maybe I should take a bit of time off the indoor task of writing now before it hits again ahead of the real spring that’s coming when no doubt I'll get spring fever and want to skip the writing again.

Ah, yes, but back to where I am today. I have a writer's to do list on my desk just to my right and I’m scratching off stuff as I get it done. So far, despite my dithering on this day instead of writing, I’ve scratched off two of the eight things on the list and will scratch off another once this blog post is added to my site.That leaves five and probably a long evening ahead.

This is the kind of day I’m having. I’m almost looking forward to the need to take a break and fix dinner, and I don’t particularly like to cook. But, it’s my night, so I will.

To top it off, I look down at my keyboard (I usually don’t because I touch type at a high rate  of speed) and I see the ‘n’ and ‘m’ are both worn off…again.  Probably should buy a new keyboard but who needs the expense? Besides, I touch-type so I hardly look at them. But when I do a correct and do need to look down I almost always hit an ‘m’ for the ‘n’ because the letters are worn off the keys. A small writer's plague.

Sigh.

That’s the kind of day I’m having. Distractions and procrastination. I can only hope the rest of the world is accomplishing more than I.

Okay, back to that writer's to do list. I guess I’ll photoshop the blue horseshoe print.  Not exactly writing, but who knows, it may lead to greater things.

Tomorrow will be better…I'll just add to my list.

Destructive or Constructive Criticism And The Writer And Reader

All right readers and writers, gather around. This isn’t going to be a whiny rant about how people are mean to writers and how their criticism is the pits (though at times it can be), but a bit of a quick analysis of the situation and how everyone, readers and writers alike can deal with it.

Look, constructive criticism is a good thing and writers should get over their ire at having anything they create criticized by anybody. Hey, that’s life. And, constructive criticism can point out flaws or maybe a bit of a slip in editing that would, when corrected, make the book, short story or article much better. Really.

Oh, and readers who post criticism, think about how you couch it. You’re entitled to your opinions and of course if there are glaring editing or grammatical errors in a work you might want to point out that’s happening so other readers will be aware, but it can be put in language that isn’t a personal attack. You might feel the urge to be a ripsaw, but curb it. Remember that writer, whoever it is, put a lot of thought and work into the project. Because it isn’t up to certain standards now doesn’t mean the writer isn’t striving to improve and will, indeed improve. Helpful criticism is one thing, an all-out attack is another. Think about it. Does attack make you in some way feel good? What if your work, whatever it is, was attacked with a vicious edge and you were left feeling naked and abused? You might consider, even with a poorly written work, turning your own thoughts around and saying something encouraging instead. Or just plain shut up. If you have to point out a flaw, maybe you can point out a good thing as well. Maybe the book needs a lot of typo fixing but the story itself is interesting, just hard to see through all those errors. Pause and reflect. Just sayin’.

Okay, now writers, it’s your job to write well, to edit like a pro and cut mercilessly so you don’t surround your readers with needless fluff. It’s also a fact of life that no matter how good you get, no matter how well-known, you’re going to get those personal attacks and not just criticism for the obvious typos or grammar errors. Sadly, it comes with the territory.

BUT you don’t have to let that get you down. Of course they’re going to find the typos you miss no matter how hard you try and the grammar slip-ups and the story twist that didn’t quite do the pirouette you planned on. Take it with good grace when they’re pointed out and correct or you can decide their point isn’t valid. Up to you as writer.

Of course there’s going to be the ‘nasty’ out there who lives to do nothing more than try to tear others down. You don’t have to buy into it. Let the moment pass. You already know there’s no critic out there who can be harder on you than you are on yourself. Forgive the nasties, you don’t know what they may be dealing with that creates the inner demons who just want to attack and destroy. And if you can’t forgive them, cultivate your own positive attitude and don’t bother to respond.

Writers keep writing. Keep moving forward. Readers enjoy and give an occasional thought to the person behind the writing.

Developing Your Craft – of Writing

We do a lot of wandering in this blog about writing, writers, the craft of writing, websites for writers; pretty much anything writing related. This time around we're going to get back to some basics and those basics apply to pretty much all writing. 

A number of these you may have heard before, but well, you're going to hear them again.  This is a wake up call – get your head out of the sand and improve your craft. We know you have good ideas. Now's the time to back up, take a break, look around and get really good at expressing those stories into books, screenplays, whatever  your pleasure.

So, here goes ~

1. Use simple, declarative sentences. Don't get all fancy and flowery on us. Write tight and write exciting. Grab the reader by the eyeballs and that doesn't happen when you write the sentence that never ends.

2.  Avoid using the passive voice. Who wants passive in an exciting, engaging and interesting story? So don't use sentences like “The village had been scorched by the dragon's fiery breath”, instead, make it, “The dragon scorched the village with his fiery breath.” or “Why was the road crossed by the chicken” becomes “Why did the chicken cross the road.” Really folks, it's not that hard, read with an eye toward passive voice – look it up on the web if you need more examples or don't get what I'm telling you here.

3. Again, keep it simple and limit your use of adjectives and adverbs. Yes, give your reader the information he or she needs to want to continue reading, but a continual barrage of adjectives and adverbs. If you have trouble with this concept Karen Elizabeth Gordon's book, The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed may be of assistance.

4.  Go easy on your descriptive narrative.  Yes your readers want the scene set, they want to know about the people, but they don't want it to go on forever so don't overwrite.  And that leads us to –

5.  Reread your work – consider each word you've written thats three syllables or more long and think about whether it can be replaced by a simpler, crisper word.

6.  Avoid ifs, buts, and can'ts – unless absolutely necessary. I try not to say things like this, but I've seen them peppered throughout manuscripts and it's definitely worth keeping your eye on.

7. Oh, and finally, cut the crap and never rescue your hero. Seriously. He got himself into this, he can darn well get himself out. In fact he better get himself out. I mean where is your imagination? If the main character doesn't find a way out of whatever hot water you've tossed him or her into and you need to extract tweezers and pluck the hero out of the boiling cauldron, what fun is that? Nope, that stalwart has to find a way out. You're not it – well you are in the sense that you're writing the story, the book, the screenplay, but you know what I mean.

8.  And finally you might consider stopping the multi-tasking crap when you write and go more with mono-tasking. Turn off the phone, Click off your browser (unless you're researching and then click off when you're done). Break your addiction and focus.

Think about it and writers tell me if any of these reminders strike a chord.

Readers, tell me if any of the above ring any bells and have caused you to be unhappy with a book or to give up on it altogether.~ We're all in this together.

Writers Websites Wednesday - Adventures in Agentland

Photo by Chance Agrella

This is admittedly aimed much more at writers than readers, but I know it would have interest in readers who are thinking of pursuing the writing dream. 

It's Adventures In Agentland. It's run by Natalie Lokosil of the Bradford Literary Agency. A blog that answers a lot of practical questions about queries and submissions.

Self publishing, traditional publishing - it's all out there and if you're thinking of agents and publishing houses you'll find some helpful and interesting posts at Adventures in Agentland.

Are You a Writer Striving For a Novel Ending?

Writing is tricky.

Novel writing is even trickier.

Trickiest of all is bringing in that ending with punch, pow, wow and 'I'm sorry it's over' power that brings readers back for more, clamoring for your next book. The ending that helps get you an agent or a publisher - which helps lead to those readers.

So today I decided I'd write a bit about things you should and shouldn't do to create that nail-biting, throat-gripping ending.  Of course HOW you accomplish these ideals is up to you - you're the writer - but lets clarify some of the things that will help make the ending of your novel outstanding. 

First some things you SHOULD do.

Near the end is where your biggest surprises should happen.  Here's where some tiny trivial detail seen earlier in the book might play a big part in the ending. Not just might, but should.  Here's where that small detail the reader may well have skimmed over will pop out and be a very decisive factor in the novel's ending.  Remember that pocket knife Jimmy's dad gave him for his birthday?  Here's where that little knife can chisel a hole in the way and let him and his little sister escape to safety away from kidnappers.  Remember the bubble gum wrapper the killer dropped on the floor when he left the scene of the murder? Here's where that wrapper can play a crucial part in the murder's apprehension.  You get it.  The 'Wow' factor. 

Another thing you, as the writer, needs to do is to resolve the main conflict of your novel. No, I'm not telling you all your novels must be possessed of a 'happily ever after' ending, but something in your ending that's uplifting is a real boost. Readers love to be raised up a the end and remember publishers, editors and agents want to give readers what they want. So do you, actually. Here's where you put your imagination to the test.

As you write your way to the end of your novel it's also important to give your hero a chance to redeem himself.  Yes, he's screwed up royally along the way, made a mess of things, been a bit of a jerk, but it's part of the 'uplifting' thing above - in the end allow your reader to know the hero has done the right thing.

Here's also where you want to be writing those loose ends together.  All through the book you wrote you planted questions - yes you did.  This is the place, the here and now where your writing skills need to be directed to addressing each of those questions, creating closures.  Readers don't like to be left hanging so answer the questions even if it's just to say there's an issue that will be resolved after the book ends or perhaps in another book coming in the series (IF it is a series).

Those are some of the things that, as a writer, you should do.  So what shouldn't you do?

Well the ending isn't the place to introduce new characters and/or subplots. Don't stick something in that hasn't been foreshadowded.  It's jarring and it could well cause your readers to blow you off for future books.

The ending of your novel isn't the time to change your writer's voice or tone either. Be consistent.

Avoid writing page after page of explanation of philosophizing at the end of your book.  Keep your descriptions to a minimum and focus on the conflict and it's resolution. You should have planted all sorts of goodies previous to the last 50 or so pages of your story. Now's the time to moved it along and wrap it up.

And please, above all, don't create a gimmicky ending. Don't come up with some strange twist in your writing that is nothing more than the coward's way out of completing the novel you've written. If your reader is here with you at the end it's because you've written well, tossed out the interesting hooks and he or she is looking for a satisfying ending.  Don't trick or cheat your reader, you're a better writer than that.

Writers Websites Wednesday - Expressions & Sayings

Ever wonder where a word came from? where a phrase or expression originated?  Love language and want to include some of the stranger and more entertaining things in your writing for one reason or another?  Here's a great collection of just that at Expressions And Sayings.  There's frequently lots of debate over the origins of a lot of the expressions we know, but this site gives a good summary of the generally accepted definitions. 

Writers Websites Wednesday - Mashable Tools for Writers

Are you a writer who makes full use of technology and the social media?  Then you just might want to visit Mashable fairly frequently and keep ahead of the curve on pretty much everything techie and web. Lots of cheap yet valuable tools for writers. Lots of info - but don't get lost in this vast sea of information.

Writing Up The Little Guys - Creating Authenticity In Your World

Our world is full or people, places and things. So should the world your writing creates. If you want it to feel real, to draw the reader in (and I know you do) then you have to write to create a living breathing world.  Whether it's just down the street in your neighborhood or set in the distant reaches of space it is imperative that you fill in the details, make things real.

How?

Well for one thing, the world is full of 'walk-on' characters, people like waitresses, car mechanics, fast food servers, grocery check-out folks, bank tellers, pedestrians, security guards, cops, nurses - well, you get it. A good place to get a feel for this is the movies you like. Play a DVD or get a download online and pay attention to the background characters. Most are background, literally, you see them move around, but that's about it.  A few sort of cause something to happen or have a line or two of dialog, but are not a focal point in the story so they do what they do and then move on.  So with this in mind, remember your writing is going to reflect that as well.

You'll need to write in minor characters, sometimes important ones (as backdrop goes).

What about these people?

Well, they need no more than one or two lines of introduction. Probably they don't need names and just a bit of description is enough.

Focus on details.

Maybe the kid on the bicycle is skinny with a "TinTin" haircut and oversized jeans. Maybe the burger flipper is tall, skinny, wearing bright yellow and has dirty fingernails. The PTA mother could have flaming red hair and a temper to match. Maybe the baseball coach is revealed to be bald when he jerks off his cap and throws it into the dust in disgust.

You'll need to create these secondary characters with your writing so they form a backdrop for your main characters and don't steal the show themselves. They are actually more like 'things' than actual 'people' though of course they must be portrayed as real, not cardboard cut-outs.

All this means you need to strike a balance. Don't get carried away and write in too much punch for your minor characters. Through these characters give your readers taste of the environment they, and your main characters, occupy. Your minor character might even have a line or two of dialog, but what you're writing is to push the plot along.

And at times all you'll show through writing and words is a crowd scene, or a scattering of people with no real defining traits. More backdrop. If you're talking about a stadium full of people, a street scene or the opening run at Macy's bargain basement, you're not going to write descriptive passages about all the people occupying those scenes. Just the main characters and perhaps a minor character or two. The rest create a crowd and backdrop.

You might skim a couple of your favorite books with all this in mind and see how the writers of those books handled their lesser players. And if you'd like to read a bit more about creating minor characters click here.  But again, the article is about writing minor characters - not the ones who fill your written crowd scenes. 

Play with it, have fun. 

Writers Websites Wednesday - Character Personality Generator

Now here's something you don't see every day.  The Self Publishing Team offers some tools, and among them is the Mystery Thriller Random Personality Generator.  Go ahead, play with it,  have fun. Explore their site further as well.  There are other tools and tips.  Also info for those interested in self publishing.

Writers Websites Wednesday - Search Engines for Writers

Here's a site for the writer wrapped up in research - of all kinds. It offers 60 great sites where you can find out almost anything.  Writers professional sites, research sites, reference sites, stuff for niche writers, books and more. Don't miss this one.  check it out.  I know there'll be more than one site you'll be glad you found. 

And as a side note, my book Cloud Dancer is available at 50% at Smashwords at http://bit.ly/mSefTW - use Coupon Code TX72S at check out for special price of $2.98 through March 28 along with half off my book, Stormrider, also at Smashwords at

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/15798 - use coupon code SL67D at check out.  Special for my friends reading this post here. Ebooks here are available in various formats including Kindle, PDF, Mobi, EPUB, RTF and more.