All About the Writing

Character Discovery

I love discovering new characters when I start writing a story.

However, it can be nervewracking when they set off down a different path than the one I'd initially planned. They give me a jaunty wave and say, "Let us show you what we have in mind", and I try to be brave enough to let them do just that. I remind myself that characters are meant to have a life of their own, and if they didn't, they wouldn't interest writers, or readers.

A TV show I really enjoy right now is Endgame. It's about a Russian chess master, Arkady Balagan, who is unable to leave the hotel where he lives because he saw his fiancé get killed right outside the hotel. The last time he was outdoors was when he ran to her exploding car, but it was too late to save her. He is attempting to solve the mystery of his fiancé's death, and each week he also solves a variety of other situations involving hotel guests.

I wasn't sure there would be anything beyond this premise, so I didn't anticipate the show would hold my interest. For example, Arkady walks around the hotel in his bare feet, often wearing lounging clothes of some kind, treating the place as if it is his home, because it is. At first it seems a bit contrived--because it is.

However, the actor brings his own special interpretation to that collection of quirks and personality traits. He manages to inhabit the character so that what was a gimmick at the beginning actually becomes an indelible part of Arkady's persona.

It didn't take long before I was convinced he was acting this way because it's the way he is.

One scene shows him getting off the elevator, walking into the hotel lobby with his bare toes held apart by cotton balls since he just got a pedicure. It fits his personality perfectly. He's arrogant, and abrasive, insistent on getting his way, even when he's in the wrong. Yet we know he's in emotional pain from his fiancé's violent death, and we sympathize because he is doing his best to handle it, even if it is imperfectly.

These are some of the reasons he's endeared himself to me, so I will continue watching the show, just to see more of his character and what he will do.

I love when this same thing happens with my books. I know just a small portion of my characters when I sit down to start their story, and I never know exactly what they'll do after I set them down in that first scene.

They reveal bits and pieces to me as I go along, showing me what they're feeling, and telling me what motivates them. Soon I can see them as fully-developed vibrant characters. I may have to revise that initial scene, but it's worth it, because it gives me a chance to watch them grow into their personalities.

They become people worth caring about, and it's my job to develop their story to fit who they really are.

Writing on Faith

I heard a Stevie Wonder song the other day, one I've heard a million times – Superstition – and one line hit me in a different way than all the other times I listened to it:

"When you believe in things that you don't understand"

I realized that can apply not only to superstition, but to faith. Superstition is clearly fear-based, while faith is hope-based. I have a tendency to use both, since the primitive part of my brain is fairly well-entrenched, and I figure it can't hurt to knock on wood or wish upon a star to placate any entity willing to help me out.

Writing is definitely an act of faith, one that borders on hubris. Here I am creating something that has not existed before, and I do this with the belief that it is worthwhile and worth the effort. It feels like magic sometimes, because I'm watching something materialize in my brain that doesn't have a physical form until I start tapping on my keyboard. Once it does appear, I have to draw on my faith that I can take this vague-ish idea and form it into a cohesive, entertaining story. Readers have faith in me to give them an emotional experience with the words I put together in the way only I can.

However, faith is not something that you acquire once and then you're set for life. If only.

A lot of things I write show up mere seconds before "I'm not sure this is going to work" shoots through my mind. But I choose to believe it will, even when there's no guarantee. I've learned those crazy-ass ideas are the ones I want to pursue because, more times than not, they work in an even more spectacular fashion than the "normal" or "safe" things do.

My faith has a tendency to ebb during the final stretch of the revision process. After many hours and days chipping away the rough edges, and smoothing over boo boos that weren't visible before you started making improvements. . .the finish line keeps getting farther and farther away. That's when faith starts to flicker like a light bulb ready to stop shining forever. You're exhausted and dispirited and convinced you've finally met the challenge that was meant to annihilate you all along. You'll have nothing to show for your efforts but a mass of broken paragraphs and massacred scenes that used to be a decent first draft, all of it covered with your blood, sweat and tears.

And yet. . .somehow it always works out. It's the result of "believing in something you don't understand". Maybe this is part of the process, breaking things down until the fear can no longer touch you. Now, while you're in a more humble state, you can see what it was you wanted to do with this story. Having a crisis of faith is actually what restores your belief. It bolsters you for the next time you falter and want to give up.

Faith is what made you start writing the story, when nobody but you thought it was possible you could write. Faith will get you through the process, because you know how much you want to create this story, no matter how many obstacles you encounter. 

Faith keeps growing with each word you write.

Creativity Tune-up

I work at a place that prizes creativity, and encourages people to make it a daily priority.

I like this philosophy, and I embrace it. However, there are days when creativity does not flow. It's not necessarily stuck. It's just dormant. It's taken me a while to learn that it is recharging, and gathering steam, and it will end up being almost too strong to handle when it does come back.

So what do you do when you want to be creative but your creativity is hibernating?

1. Don't panic -- This is the hardest part. It always, and I mean always, feels like we've had our last date with the muse, and we can't help but wonder what we did to drive her away. We don't believe her when she flits away, tossing over her shoulder, "I'll call you". We wring our hands, desperately trying to figure out a solution, ready to sell our soul to make her happy once more. But just as we have a need to step away from the work, so does the muse. Give her some space. Everyone will benefit from the separation.
2. Fix the easy stuff -- Concentrate on things that are more rote, or mundane--all of those little details that you don't have time for when you're in the giddy phase of word sprints. Now you can search for extra spaces in your manuscript. Check the formatting. Or spend some time on that research that makes you feel guilty when you "should" be writing. Check the links on previous blog posts. While you're re-reading them, see if they spark any new ideas and write down some notes for when the muse is back in town.
3. Read your own work -- This time read your story as a reader, not a writer. Let yourself get lost in the characters and the events you created. Fall in love again with the world you imagined a long while ago, before you had to tear it down and rebuild it. Remember what it was like to immerse yourself in a book that sprang from your heart. Sometimes this is enough to resuscitate that creative spirit that has gone dormant temporarily.
4. Take time to play -- We get so absorbed with writing, and writing-related activities, we don't know how to enjoy other aspects of life. We forget that writing is a reflection of our non-writing experiences. We need to replenish those, so that we have something to draw on when it's time to add words to the page. So enjoy the unexpected break from the writing routine. Go outside and see what the rest of the world is doing. Store up some events that will inspire you at a later date. You might be surprised at what is outside your four walls.

I'm definitely ready for a creativity tune-up today. Anyone else want to join me?

The Two Most Important Things About Writing a Book

1. Start it
2. Finish it

It's awful to see it pointed out like that. But it's really all we need to know. Unfortunately, these are also two of the hardest parts of writing a book.

We talk about getting started. And talk, and talk, and talk. And then get up to check on the dust bunnies in the corner. Or refill our coffee. Or do some stretches. Because it's important that we take care of ourselves while we're Not Writing. Ooops.

We tell ourselves we're "getting started". It's a process, after all. Then we sit back down, and well, we better check Twitter, and Goodreads, and our email, and it probably wouldn't hurt to check the blog stats while we're at it. Stats? Almost forgot to see how things are doing on Amazon and Smashwords. It's best to clear all of those distractions from our minds so we can get going on our WIP, or those pesky revisions that have been haunting us since the dawn of time.

And then it's time to start the whole "getting ready" cycle again.

Or maybe we're really good at starting a book. And then starting another one. Maybe we have tons of books we've started, but they languish on the hard drive, desperate for our attention. But we can't be bothered, because we've been lured into starting yet another book.

The finish line keeps getting farther and farther away, because we're too worried about making the book perfect, and if we finish it imperfectly, we won't be able to handle the disappointment. Somehow it's easier to convince ourselves the regret of never finishing a story is better than the anguish of finishing one that will need revision.

Fear makes us run away from what we desire the most.

So what's the answer?

I am as good at avoiding and procrastinating as the next writer. In fact, I've practically made a religion out of Not Writing. The funny thing is I get itchy and twitchy when I can't write, or when I haven't written for a while. Once I do get started, I'm enthralled and obsessed and entranced and don't ever want to stop. I'll forget to eat. The sun goes down without me realizing it. I'm totally lost in this world that I was trying to steer clear from.

I have to sit myself down every once in a while and remind myself why I write. I love my stories. I love my characters. I also want readers to love them. But they can't if I won't finish my stories and share them.

So that is my motivational tool today, reminding myself of the exhilaration I experience when I hear someone say they love my book. That's what I'm using to get myself undistracted from all the shiny toys on the internet, and finishing all the stories that make me laugh and sniffle happy tears and have me falling headlong into love all over again.

Hopefully I'm not the only one.

Rev Your Writing Engine

I’m in the midst of revising a manuscript, one that I haven't looked at for a while, and I'm quite tickled with it. I'm delighted at how fresh it sounds when I read it. I've chuckled several times at the humorous dialogue, and I've smiled at how engaging the characters are. I excitedly turn the pages, as if I don't know how it ends. I'm really happy with my efforts, telling myself, "You know, it doesn't need as much revising as I thought".

And that's when I stop dead in my tracks.

Whenever I think something like that, all of a sudden Endora the muse swoops in, with a clipboard filled with rules and regulations. She cackles with way too much glee as she reminds me of how I need to keep this in mind, and keep that in mind, and next thing I know I can't remember why I thought this manuscript was worthwhile. She's convinced me it should be totaled, thrown onto the junk heap, and smooshed into oblivion.

Thankfully I stumbled across a great post by George Angus, where he talks about a time when he was an auto claims adjuster and had to take pics of a stolen car that had been recovered. On the back of the car was a bumper sticker that said "Drive It Like You Stole It".  He says:

In a lot of ways, I think the best kind of writing happens this way.  I know that when I’ve been inspired, the adrenaline kicks in a bit. I rip out the turn indicator and rear view mirror and toss them on the side of the highway. Don’t get in my way ’cause I’m on a mission and I’m treating the ride like it don’t belong to me. The rules of the road matter little and I’m cruisin’ with no particular destination in mind.

This is exactly how I drafted this manuscript, with my foot planted on the accelerator, dodging the rules like they were pylons in an obstacle course, zooming to the finish line with a grin on my face. I could sense that unbridled sense of joy when I first started reading the manuscript. That devil-may-care attitude permeated every single scene.

But then all of a sudden fear crept in. It threw a huge roadblock in front of me, one that had warnings and caution signs and all kinds of penalties for breaking the rules. I slam on the brakes and yank the steering wheel to the side, bracing for a horrific crash, the mournful strains of "Last Kiss" playing as I wait to see the manuscript engulfed in a fireball.

Miraculously I somehow steer around the roadblock. How did I manage such an amazing feat?

I remembered why I loved this story, and why I felt compelled to write it in the first place. I didn't know as many of the rules then as I do now, blissfully ignorant to anything but how much I enjoyed the characters and the situations they were in.

I was reminded that the rules aren't meant to impede your forward progress, as you merrily zip from Point A to Point B. They are meant to guide you around trouble spots, to help you avoid massive plotholes that could derail your entire journey. They are designed to get you to the end of the trip so you don't drive around in circles or follow every detour and forget where you were headed.

So let 'er rip today.

Rev your writing engine.

To hell with limits.

Go as fast and as far as your story takes you, and then spin around and do it again. 

 The joyride of writing awaits you. 

Tell, Don't Show

Tell me your story.

You're a storyteller. So tell me what I need to know, about the characters, and what they're feeling, and the events they're experiencing. Tell me what's so important about these people, and why I should be interested in what happens to them.

Don't show me how clever you are with the current incarnation of writing rules. Don't show me your awareness of the latest storytelling trends. 

Instead, tell me a story that only you can tell. Tell me you trust your instincts about this particular tale. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief about a lot of things, as long as you entertain me, and make me care about your characters.

Have no doubts--I'm going to watch HOW you accomplish your storytelling feats. After all, I'm a writer too. But I won't be doing that while I'm engrossed in your story. That will come afterwards, when I finish racing through the pages, and barely have enough breath left to say, "Wow!"

I've read plenty of stories that were sheer technical perfection. . .but they left me unmoved. I knew exactly what the writer was doing, and why they did it. I could see how they followed every single rule: No adverbs. Jump right into the action. No flashbacks or backstory.

But that's all I could see. I couldn't see any life in the story. The characters were emoting, but they were not filled with emotion. They certainly weren't providing me with an emotional experience.

And that's the danger of not telling our stories the way they need to be told.

There's a reason you have certain crazy ideas pop into your head when you're writing. Explore those to the nth degree. See where they take you. You might have to retreat and rewrite and revise. But that's why erasers and delete keys were invented--along with thumb drives and external backup disks. You can investigate plot threads and storylines and character arcs to your heart's content, saving each discovery and deleted scene, until you decide on the best way to tell the story you've been carrying around in your heart.

That's the story I want you to tell me. The one that is filled with your passion, and your idealism, and your belief in the characters you've created. The one that bravely proclaims, "This story could only be told this way".

That's a book I can't wait to read.

I Have This Idea for a Book

When people find out you're a writer, one of the first things they ask is, "Where do you get your ideas?"  

My answer? "Everywhere".

Seriously.

It's like I'm swimming in idea-infested waters. They constantly bump into me, nudge me, try to get my attention in all kinds of devious ways. There's something about mundane tasks, like driving, or taking a shower, that revs up the idea generators. Okay, I confess. Sometimes when I'm stuck on a scene, I'll take a shower or a leisurely drive, just to wake up the brain cells.

I used to worry about losing a great idea, which is why I have millions of scraps of paper and Post-it Notes (most of which I can't even find anymore) with obscure scribblings on them, which of course means more ideas bubble to the surface as I'm trying to decipher what the hell I wrote.

My brain is always latching onto information, like a packrat that can find a use for every oddity it encounters. It never fails to amaze me how much writing occurs just from seeing people go about their daily business, or reading something completely unrelated to what I'm writing, or overhearing bits of conversation.

For example, one time while I was in the Sea-Tac airport, I walked past a bank of pay telephones (yeah, that tells you just how long ago it was), and I overheard a woman's disdainful voice enunciating to the person on the other end of the line, "My husband's body is not at the airport".

Wow. All kinds of possibilities there, which of course I've written down until I can get to it. If I can remember which notebook I used.

Another story idea came from something I misread. What I thought I saw on a book cover was, "from one of the most rejected writers in the business". You have to admit there are so many more interesting possibilities than if I hadn't mentally substituted "respected" for "rejected".

My romantic comedy, Shoot Me If I Do, starts with gunfire at a wedding. I truly can't remember where that idea originated. When I attended a conference a couple years ago, and Lisa Scottoline mentioned a family member being ostracized for bringing a gun to a wedding -- well, it made me feel like I was on the right track! It would be nice to say her story inspired me, but since I'd started the manuscript a while before that, I'll have to keep digging through the memory banks to see how I came up with that idea.

The idea for Lord Midnight came about from a newspaper article I read on how the U.S. Vice President's political fortunes pretty much hinge on something happening to the President. It made me think of English aristocrats and their line of succession, and how it's a similar situation. Mmmm. What if someone tried to kill the heir, to make himself next in line?

The hard part isn't coming up with AN idea. There's so many to choose from, and they can generate a rush of excitement that makes you sit down and start drafting a scene, or a chapter.

The tricky part is when the initial idea does its job, and then you have to decide what's next in line. That's when you go back to the idea cauldron, give it a stir, and see which bits collide and then bubble to the surface.

And if that doesn't give instant results, then it's time for a shower. Or maybe a drive.

Note: My days off have changed recently, and my poor rattled brain did not realize yesterday that a blog post was due today. I hope you enjoy this previously published one while I work on an idea this post stirred in my mind.

The Playground of My Mind

My brain is filled to overflowing right now.

I've mentioned before how my mental "filing system" (definite "air quotes" in use here) is not as organized as it could be. If it were, it would be so much easier to locate all the stuff that has been crammed into the nooks and crannies of already overcrowded brain cells.

To make things even more challenging, I have characters that roam around up there. Some of them tiptoe through the mayhem and try not to gape. But others are a lot more nosy. They have to poke a stick at something that catches their interest, which makes something else topple over, which crashes into yet another pile of ideas. . .

It's a good thing. I think. I'm pretty sure. I mean, that's how crazy notions manage to get their start. Although I do wonder what it would be like if I had a brain that was neat and tidy, with row after row of labeled, organized ideas, and scenes, and heck, whole manuscripts in their proper place.

Actually it might frighten me to see it like that. It wouldn't feel like me. It would definitely seem like I'd been transplanted into someone else's brain. (You can see another story idea forming, can't you?)

I envy non-writers, since I imagine their brains are wide open and spacious, with plenty of room for new stuff to be imported. The best I can do to achieve that status is to keep pouring my stories out, in an attempt to make room for new ones.

Unfortunately, with new stories comes new secondary characters, and they move in with no plan to move back out. And somehow they have friends I didn't know about when I said, "Sure, stay for a few days. There's plenty of room."

Next thing you know I'm running a day care center for stray characters. And all their baggage, and everything they need to go through to stretch and grow and move on to their HEA.

It's a giant playground up there, filled with a multitude of fascinating heroes and heroines. I don't want to be a cranky hall monitor, so they've learned to keep the noise down while I'm sleeping. But as soon as I'm awake, it's fair game. Unless they have other plans of course, which they frequently do, and I'm the last to know about it.

Still, I wouldn't have it any other way. I've grown accustomed to wandering through my brain, shushing one batch of characters, and drawing out another group that is unnecessarily quiet. When I write their stories, it ends up being a veritable scrapbook of where they've been, and where their hopes and dreams led them.

Too soon, before I'm quite ready, they're gone, and it's difficult to get used to the silence they've left behind.

All of a sudden I'm thinking, "You know, if I move that idea over there, and stack this with these others, there would be plenty of room for that new group of characters. . ."

Send Out a Search Party

I love looking at my blog stats, to see when people show up, and which pages they visit.

But even more fun is looking at the search terms they use to find my site. Here are a few of my favorites:

• An insect who knows how to wish upon a star – This tickles me, because it feels like it wasn't the first phrase that was used. Or maybe I'm projecting. There are times when you can type in the exact sequence of words to locate that one thing that eludes your brain cells--but not this time. And just so you don't have to look this up, they were searching for my beloved "Jiminy Cricket". Okay, I can't think of him singing that song or I'll get all misty-eyed again.
• Thigh high booted goddess of war – I'm wondering if this female marvel actually has a name or if the searcher was just hoping such a creature exists. Unfortunately now *I* want to know who she is, so I may have to go searching too. This landed on a post where I discussed boots, but I don't HAVE thigh high boots (yet), and I am pretty sure I'm not qualified to be a goddess of war (all in due time).
• Crickets in the bathtub – I happened to mention Jiminy in this post titled "Cricket in the Bathtub". I talked about how trying to get a cricket out of the bathtub was impossible--just like when you try to force a story to go the direction you preplanned for it when it is intent on going elsewhere. This is one of the most frequently searched terms in my stats, and I feel bad because I'm sure people are hoping for a solution with this issue, and instead I'm talking about wrestling a plot into submission.
• Character goals – This is the most popular search term. It makes me happy that one of my posts is actually being sought out by folks looking for writing advice. And if there's a different interpretation, I don't want to hear it. I like my rich fantasy life the way it is.
• I hate Jessica Fletcher – Who knew people would be hating on Jessica Fletcher? Unless. . .maybe it's a support group for all the criminals she busted with her clever ways and trusty typewriter. It's the only possible answer I can come up with. There are also a lot of people who get to my site because they want to know, "what is Jessica Fletcher typing on her typewriter?" Well, I think it's obvious she's writing a bestseller, right?
• Mad at my muse Endora – This baffled me because I hadn't really thought I was sharing Endora with anyone else. And then it hit me. All those times Endora disappeared in a puff of smoke. . . She was consorting with other writers! I'd believed we were writing exclusively. That witch.

Now I'm off to search for my fickle muse Endora. I doubt she's going to like how I phrase the search terms. . . 

What A Blurb Needs

Did you know “blurb” is actually a made-up word? I’m such a word nerd, and I like to make up words, so this tidbit makes me happier than it probably should. Let me just give you a little history about the word “blurb”.

According to wordorigins.org, it was invented in 1907 by a humorist named Gelett Burgess. Apparently it was a tradition at the annual trade association dinner for the publisher to distribute copies of books with a special jacket extolling the book’s praises. Mr. Burgess created his own book jacket, which shows a woman, her hand cupped to her mouth as if she’s delivering an important message, with the caption, “Miss Belinda Blurb, In the Act of Blurbing”. It was all done tongue-in-cheek, to make fun of how books were described in such lofty language, as if no other reading material could hope to measure up to THIS particular book’s wonderfulness.

Nowadays a blurb’s purpose is to hook readers, using elements of the story and characters to make the book so irresistible, the reader rushes to click "buy now" without thinking twice. 

So how do we create a blurb? It’s easy. Just step over here to my patented Blurb-O-Matic, and throw in some story elements, a character or two, maybe a few unexpected twists, and–-yeah, that would be great to have on the kitchen counter, wouldn’t it? Maybe we’ll have to explore this in a different fashion.

Let’s start with a basic question in a story: What happens?

How about an earthquake. Or a kidnapping. Or somebody falling in love.

Okay, those are some good events, and maybe they actually get your story started. But—yawn—I don’t really care that much. At least, not until I know WHO it happens to. 

So we could have a scientist. Or a Highland bride. Or how about a man with a lot of ex-wives. 

Now I care a little bit more. Still, not as much as when I learn WHY these events and people are connected. 

Maybe a scientist miscalculates where the next earthquake will occur. 

A Highland bride kidnaps a handsome young man to take the place of her betrothed.

A man with a lot of ex-wives falls in love with his marriage-counselor neighbor.

Now we have a premise. It’s a starting point, and it contains certain presumptions, all of it leading to the most important question in a blurb: WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

With the scientist, obviously professional credibility is important, so a reader can guess at the calamity that might ensue by making a wrong prediction. But we don’t know if this is the scientist’s fourteenth mess up, or if the fault line is hiding underneath a nuclear reactor. If those hints are given, there is a sense of urgency to the story that increases the need to know what happens next.

The Highland bride? Well, we know she’s not interested in the man she’s meant to marry, if she’s kidnapping a different one. Maybe the young man ends up with amnesia from her inept kidnapping techniques. Or maybe HE has a betrothed who will be charging after them. All kinds of intriguing possibilities, even without knowing specifically WHY she wants/needs a new man.

And then there’s the man who can’t stay married who falls for someone counseling people just like him. A marriage counselor has seen and heard it all, so would she even consider a man who has that many notches on his marital belt? How about if he had been married to her best friend?

An important thing to remember about a blurb: it RAISES the question, but it does NOT answer it. Oh, no. This is a seduction, and you’re the temptress. Think in terms of come-hither language, and promises of wonderful things between the covers (of the book).

You want the reader to see your blurb and think, “OMG, I will lose my freakin’ mind if I don’t find out what’s going to happen next.” 

When your blurb does that, it doesn't need anything else.