Tag: Writing

Feedback

Whenever I write a new piece, I want to share it if I think it’s good. I get really excited about some things as I finish them, and I eagerly await the time when my friends can read it.

Then they try to tell me what I want to know, which is how to make it better. Some of them do better than others. All of the things they say about it are valuable to me. I want to know how they felt about it and whether a certain part got confusing. A few even can get into the nitty grammar details that sometimes bog me down. (Do I use ‘s after first names ending in s for possessive? Answers may vary.)

I struggle with the proper questions so I can get the information I really want. Is it enough if someone likes it? Does the hook work? Is the main character likeable enough? Eventually I find a happy medium between what I want to say and how it comes across to others – then I submit it somewhere.

Sometimes this method even works.

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On Blogging

I found out this morning about a few of my readers. I’m always amazed, though it’s delightful to see that little number of hits button go up. I think I still know many of my readers, but I’m surprised how many of them keep regular tabs on me and more surprised when people turn up that I don’t know.

Drop me a line and let me know who you are.

I also received an award for this blog, but I’ll have to think about it and post it later. The links to seven other blogs that also deserve the award require a lot of thought!

Posted on by ransomnoble 5

Screenwriting, continued…

A buddy of mine shared the link for Celtx, a free software to organize media projects. While it seems geared more toward scripts for plays or film, it also has a plain text editor, features for audio play, AV scripts like ads, music videos or documentaries, and even something for comic books.

It’s funny that it came up right after that conversation between my husband and I about screen writing. Another tool to try to tackle new challenges. It also has a community associated with it called Project Central that offers peer reviews and sneak previews for Celtx members.

I know in the book publishing world, if I can see it without logging in with a password it’s already considered ‘public’ and ‘published’ whether you got paid for it or not. If it’s the same for these other media, I think some of these users might not be happy that I can see it just by clicking. (I have not created an account there.) The only issue I saw with the software was it created a backup file on their secure server. I’d have to play more to see if it went public or if that was an option I set myself.

A year or two ago I wouldn’t have even considered that last option. Now it seems to be in the front of my mind anytime I share with someone. The best part of publishing, for me, is to share my stories with people I don’t even know.

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Endless Possibilities

My husband had the helpful suggestion I ought to write scripts last night. His suggestion is all about the money he thinks I’d receive from the slight change in focus.

I reminded him I’ve never written a script. I think I wrote a play-style piece, once, when I was in fifth grade. That doesn’t count. I think it’d be a different thing entirely than the novels I’m slowly churning out.

But every time someone talks about a different medium, I am curious to try it. There’s something about a new challenge that makes it more interesting.

The suggestion came amidst a conversation about famous Iowans, Ashton Kutcher and Shawn Johnson were on a replay of a wrestling match on the Big Ten Network. I don’t think I need to write screenplays to be a famous Iowan, though. I’m sure novels could get me there, with time and patience and maybe a little luck.

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Writing Meetings

I attended my writer’s group this week. Usually my mother is there, too, but this time she didn’t make it because the weather kept her out of town an extra day.

These are wonderful tools for writers for many reasons. First, I get read something to the group and listen to their feedback. They started me on editing my latest project, the novel I finished last month with the working title Dreams. Second, I get to listen to all of their submissions and critique.

Listening to their writings requires a good ear. The first time I went, I was amazed how well they could do that. I’d never tried to offer opinions on something I’d heard aloud. I’d always been able to read the piece and then mark it up. Unfortunately, my brain still wants to mull things over and I often don’t catch things I might have if given more time. I have learned to add more to discussions and I’ve noticed it gets easier. I’m starting to hear things in my own pieces when I’m reading them, as well. It makes me understand why people tell you to read it aloud before sending it somewhere. I haven’t always done this, and I still struggle with reading aloud to myself at home.

I have learned it isn’t the same to stare at the writing on the paper and just say the words in your head. I think it’s something about actually speaking the words into the air and making your ear hear them. It’d be an interesting experiment to run if we had a way to see how the brain worked while doing both.

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Plot is a Verb

I read often. Professional or amateur writer – I always feel I can learn from their styles.

This phrase from Plot, “Plot is a verb,” sticks with me when I read some things. The plot must move. It goes somewhere. It generally changes the protagonist in some way. A lot of little snippets have events and don’t change the main character. While these snippets can be interesting, entertaining, or sometimes neither, they don’t always keep all the elements of a story.

Sometimes writers forget who the story is about, or the story they start telling isn’t the one they finish telling. It’s not easy to tell a good story, and it is worth the effort to keep trying.

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Attempt to Publish

I’m always both excited and nervous when it comes time to submit to a new market. I have a short story geared toward children I’m sending to a magazine that’s a bigger market than I’ve tried before. Usually I’ve been submitting adult articles to science fiction magazines, so it’s different that way, too.

I like the e-submit options that a lot of those magazines have. However, there’s something about actually printing the story that makes me keep reading it over. How good is good enough? When do you stop and just mail it? Where did I leave all my envelopes? (I moved a few months ago and I haven’t necessarily figured out where I put everything yet, though most things I ‘lose’ can be found within a few minutes searching.)

I promised myself it’d be ready to mail this week and Wednesday turned into Friday. I wasn’t planning to go to the post office today, but I’d better if I’m going to meet my goal!

The ‘good’ versus ‘good enough’ question gets a lot of writers, I think. I know several who don’t send things out, always tweaking just a little bit more. As we learn, yes, our stories improve, but if we never send anything out, what progress are we making? Isn’t the purpose to share?

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Editing Joy

Every time I write something, different things run through my mind. The story is the first part of the focus, but sentence structure intrudes most of the time at a secondary level.

The big things are sometimes the easiest to figure out, but some of them slip through the cracks. It was the final edit of my novel to be published where I found a mistake about who was in class with whom. (While I hope that was the last error, we shall see when it’s printed and everyone else gets to read it.)

In my current novel project I’m identifying all the places where the protagonists interacted with others and making sure it’s all consistent with their personalities. Later I’ll tweak my verbs and check for overall readability.

It may not sound like much fun, but digging into the story to bring it out more is enjoyable. It also means my characters get to live on in my head while longer!

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The Limits of Genre

“A YA novel is gritty and gruesome in a way that a middle grade novel never would be.”

While researching my latest novel, I came across this sentence. The “gritty and gruesome” part stuck with me; I really enjoy writing to the teen/young adult age group and part of the reason why is because of those two words.

I grew up reading Judy Blume. A lot of her more famous books covered life as a child, but there were also some books in there that talked about getting older and larger issues. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret, Deenie, and forever… are a few of those. She also wrote some novels for adults. In all of her books she treated her audience fairly and wrote the story as it needed to be told. I really respect her as a writer because of this, especially after listening to several children’s authors who believe everything must fit into their lowest category of sold books.

What I’ve learned from listening to writers and readers is that everyone has a limit of what they’ll read and enjoy. I understand this – it’s part of the human condition. I don’t feel like it should limit me on what I want to write and share because I also happen to publish young adult novels. One day I might write a picture book, but I don’t think that should limit me from putting a fist fight in another novel somewhere or mentioning that two (adult) characters had sex. It’s part of the story: leaving out those parts make a lot of stories weaker and less believable.

I love the genres I write. I would be ecstatic to become one of those names people think of when they talk about authors. More than anything I want to share the stories in my head, but I don’t want to limit them or pull my punches because I also write to a young audience.

I also don’t want to write a weaker story and say I had to because I also write for children. I’d rather take credit for my failings and say it was because I wasn’t comfortable writing the scene or that it went against my core values to take it farther than I did. If I market a book to an age group, I’ll fit that age group. If the book is to adults, then expect some adult content. I expect that of the books I read and I won’t give less to what I write.

Posted on by ransomnoble 3

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short, takes place in November. Thousands of writers all over the world attempt to write 50,000 words during the month. It averages to about 1667 words a day, and most of them don’t make it.

Today I finished the novel. Full length novels are generally 70,000 to 120,000 words, so making the word count doesn’t mean the novel is completed. Lucky for me, I decided a YA novel would be good for the challenge and guessed it would be finished near that 50k mark.

My rough draft is 51,147! I have 20 chapters, maybe 21 if I split it a little differently. Editing starts in December, or really whenever I want to now that I’ve finished. I’m finding new ways to write and outline this year that have really helped my efforts.

My average per day I wrote (and I didn’t get to write a few days in there) was 2557. All right, I admit I’m a bit of a nerd and I keep track of those things! My personal best today was today: I wrote 7678 words.

I’ve listened to a lot of people who have strong opinions about this event. Some of the nay-sayers think they need to write quality rather than quantity. I think I can understand that, but I know I’m the type of writer who needs to get the story out of my head before revising it. Sometimes, it takes a completely different turn than I’d planned at the beginning and I like seeing how it all comes to life. When it’s down on paper I find it easier to polish the story and really hone in on what I want to say and fix mistakes. As long as everyone understands it will get a rewrite later, maybe two, or however many it takes to get that gem to shine.

So I’ve been cheering on my friends. This year we prepped together. We challenged ourselves and we planned celebrations. I made it, and I hope every one of them does, too. Then we’ll edit. Some of us will even try to publish them. Wish us luck!

Posted on by ransomnoble 4