Tag: Writing

Out of Practice

Writing is a skill like any other. If you stop writing, you begin to forget things.

The first day it might be a character’s motivation for picking a fight with her best friend. Rewriting the scene to change the fight with something else to start it makes the scene where they make up (or part ways forever) a little different, too.

Then the notes jotted on the side of the climax scene start losing their clarity. Why did they need to climb that mountain, anyway?

Soon the entire project gets dusty sitting on the shelf with no idea left in the writer’s head what was supposed to happen to it. That isn’t always a bad thing – getting distance is important for some writers to be able to pick up the pen and edit or rewrite to get the best pieces of the story to the surface.

However, there’s only so long a project can sit without gaining too much distance. It isn’t always a good thing to pull something out of a drawer and say “did I write that?”

Even if a writer needs distance before digging into that first major edit, take that time to write something else. There are other stories to be told, and a writer continues to write.

I took too much time off, though I didn’t mean to. Class took too much time from me – some weeks I spent about 20 hours preparing for Friday, where I spent about 6 hours at the college. On top of my other two part-time jobs. I do know that if I had it more together, I’d have eked out a story or something in that time anyway.

Some people don’t know how I manage to do the things I do manage, but it doesn’t feel like I’m accomplishing that much on a daily basis. Except for my daughter – she’s coming along well. She’s walking and talking and generally getting into everything as she explores her world.

So, I guess I’ve been working on my top priority. Everything else has been second place. Writing is coming back, slowly, but it’s been a couple months. I barely know how to start a story anymore. I didn’t think those skills would get rusty so fast.

I’ve finally caught up on the class; all that’s left is to grade homework and give them a final next Friday. Unfortunately it sounds like another class is on the horizon with another new curriculum to sort out. I have got to get a story done between now and then.

Somehow. I mean, nobody looks back on their deathbed and wishes they spent more time cleaning the house, right?

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

In Remembrance

Be prepared. The following post probably isn’t about what you think, since it’s Veteran’s Day. So, first, a thank you to the veterans who served our country and keep us free. Second, happy anniversary to my parents. Third, a random blog post that caught my eye on my way to blog this morning about being free.

When I started this blog, I was at home full time trying to be a writer. I succeeded at the writing bit, at least, and I have at least rough drafts of a couple novels to prove it. I enjoyed posting here and I tried to do it once a day.

One of the writers who strongly encouraged me was Jamie Eyberg, may he rest in peace. We’d attended the same small school in southwestern Iowa and he found me on Facebook when I joined. It was nice to have someone to talk to about that writing stuff, especially since my husband just doesn’t get it. Jamie commented frequently, either directly here or sending me a message.

I think I’ve just been avoiding posting here since he died. Yes, a ton of other things get in the way, but they always do. Motherhood and part-time jobs keep me running in circles all day. One of them – teaching at a college – has usurped far too much time. I hear the first time teaching any class is like that.

Other people do read this blog, and maybe someone else won’t be afraid to make comments and keep up the dialogue. I appreciate all of you who have commented and watch for my updates.

I’m not doing NaNo this year, due to my other commitments. However, I’m starting to get myself writing by bits and pieces again. I don’t know how I let myself get so derailed from the process. I haven’t been to a writer’s group of any kind in over two months.

All of that is changeable. Saturday’s another meeting in West Des Moines. I can keep scribbling out pieces when I get breaks, or rather make breaks to keep up my scribbling (or even random typing).

Admitting the part that’s holding me back is just one step to getting back to where I need to be. So, I’m accepting that I’ve been shirking my blog. I promise to post more often, at least once a week. At least until I can get that daily vibe back.

Happy NaNo to everyone attempting it this year. A novel in a month is always a happy thing, even if it needs severe rewriting. Don’t forget to keep going until it’s finished and don’t just stop at the 50,000 words!

Posted on by ransomnoble 4

Protagonists

Do you ever wonder why so many main characters we see on TV and read about in books seem to be writers or artists or something people-related?

If you’re waiting for that engineer to become the star of the show, you’d probably better stick to Dilbert. Though Big Bang Theory might make it seem dorky in a good way. Both of those are outside the norm, and both of them poke fun at the profession.

It’s hard to imagine pages of someone working by himself in an office with a computer all day, who prefers not to converse or interact with others most of the time. Isn’t it? Yet that’s the stereotype. As a writer, we dramatize it as much as possible and try to connect with the emotions. The reader has to related to the character or she’ll stop reading.

Maybe the problem is so many people don’t connect to math. Logic and emotion don’t mix well.  You can call our society math-phobic, so it’d likely be a bad idea to write random equations in a fiction book.

That might be an idea for a short story. The target audience would be fairly small, but it might work. Coming soon for engineers, scientists, and math geeks only!

Posted on by ransomnoble 3

Careers

See my interview with Mike Manno today!

What do you say when someone asks what you do? I’m sure for some people it’s easy. Some people go to work and go home and stop working.

They’re not writers.

Not many of us can stay at home full time and crank out the stories, even if we’d prefer to do just that. So we work more, during the day at our regular jobs and during the evenings typing by the light of silver screens.

Sometimes we’re lucky and get in print. Then the marketing fun begins. It’s interesting that so many writers are introverts, but the few who aren’t seem to be the ones who are successful at  marketing.

And still, they all have their day jobs. At least, the ones at the Book Event did. We all mention our other activities, like we’re finding things in common. We write books on so many subjects we have something for everyone who reads.

It’s hard to write a book for people who don’t read.

So sometimes I mention the stay-at-home mother thing. Other times I don’t know what to say. I tutor and teach. And all the time, I write. It’s a career if that’s what I put my time and passion into, no matter how much money it makes. Right?

Artists work not for fame or fortune.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Description

How do you know when it’s too much or too little?

I usually err on the side of ‘not enough’. I work while I revise to make certain the world, the character, and the actions are shown enough for the reader to make sense of it. Sometimes I keep too much of it in my head in the first draft.

There are exercises to work on description, but they don’t change what I do as I write. I’m getting better at finding the line where the descriptions are needed, but I never want to put in too many.

I’ve never been a fan of purple prose.

When I find those overflowing, descriptive passages, they’re in other people’s work. It can be very pretty, except when it gets in the way of the story. It’s so hard to tell someone, “You know, I don’t think this is working for your story. What’s actually happening here?”

I get the “show, don’t tell” references, but precious few references tell you how to go about that. And they don’t say a lot for when you think you’re showing it all, only to find out you’re on a tangent that doesn’t advance the plot.

Wait, they do have a saying for it: Kill your darlings.

It doesn’t tell you how. Or where. Or why. Is it measurable between dialogue beats, narration, emotional response of character to events? I doubt it will surprise anyone to say I’m reading a book about it to understand more and critique better, partly because I can’t just say, “This is the point where my mind wanders away. Fix it.”

Writing is such a harsh business. We have to be critical to each other, critical of our own work, and submit to the critique of editors and agents we may never meet.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

A Working Schedule

Schedules don’t have to be bad things. Work has to be done, and it’s better to do it when you’re fresh – or at least when you’re ready to do it.

When I sit down to write, it’s when my daughter goes down to nap. I suppose it doesn’t really matter what time of day it is, it’s just very difficult to concentrate on my book when she’s awake.

I hear a lot of advice saying to write before she gets up, but I don’t normally get up before she does. I often keep at it after she’s asleep, but that’s only because I can’t get myself to sleep at 8pm when I make her go to bed.

If I could, I might wake up early enough to get stuff done before she wakes.

I find it interesting that one relative – her children are about my parents’ age – thought it was good to take away naps to get them to sleep better at night. I wonder if her kids were cranky. Mine would be, if I tried that on her. I’d just as soon she had her naps in the daytime when I get a chance to be productive.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Dedication

I’ve been accused of being dedicated to my writing. It’s true. I was more dedicated (are there levels of dedication?) before my daughter was born.

Kids change plans because we’re not just accountable for ourselves anymore. Someone else needs time and attention and diaper changes and food. Lots of food!

Luckily she naps and gives me time to write. As long as I sleep less than she does, there’s time to squeeze it in. So you won’t find me doing laundry or dishes or any other household chores during that time, because I only keep up with them enough to get by.

I know I’ll never be an immaculate housekeeper because it isn’t that important to me. I prefer to write. Who wants to spend all their time keeping the house in perfect order anyway? My daughter scatters her toys all over the floor and it would be a full-time job to keep them – and her – corralled in one spot. If the kitchen and bathrooms are in order, a lot of the rest can slide.

Yeah, I bet a lot of you aren’t coming to my house anytime soon, but those that do can’t complain. I don’t let it get to a point where it’s embarrassing, but like the old saying goes: “on your death bed, you’ll never say you wished you spent more time cleaning your house.” Or was it at the office?

Does it really matter? If you know what’s important to you, get it done. There’s always time to squeeze in a little more. And there’s no room for belly-aching if you just didn’t want to get off the couch because there was another movie on. You can spend 30 hours a week playing video games. You may choose to do anything you want (within certain limits, such as legality and morality). It’s a choice. Live with it.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0

Getting in Trouble

It’s not as easy as it sounds. You send a character into the basement with a task that’s sure to land him in trouble, and he comes through with the only choice of twenty that’s free and clear.

I suppose I can’t hold it against the character for acting like a real person and trying to stay out of hot water. It’s just not where I can let him go.

That’s what rewrites are for. And I will be rewriting until I figure out which of the other 19 choices are best for him to land in an awesome pile of trouble.

Somehow.

Posted on by ransomnoble 2

Doubt

I read in a book, I think it was by Orson Scott Card, that at some point in every novel he’d call his agent and say he was quitting his novel project and he had something else he’d rather work on.

Sometimes I wonder how common that is among writers, and if we hit that wall of doubt in similar places. I suspect we don’t.

I’m finding my doubts coming through lately, slowing my pace considerably. Rough drafts I can knock out without much trouble, and I always tell myself it doesn’t matter what kind of shape it’s in, I can fix it later.

It’s after that when the doubts settle in. When I’m trying to change those stubborn passages until they work within the greater whole. When I’m working on the subplots that just popped up and took too much out of the main story. When the thing stares at me and just won’t do what I want it to do.

A couple of my short stories are similarly stalled at the moment. I’m at a loss how to pick up and go from here. I’d rather not start something new, but I don’t want to be doing nothing, either, when I’m so stuck on the current chapter of my book.

These niggling doubts hold me back, but I can’t just dismiss them. Well, I’d like to, but they won’t go away. It probably doesn’t help when I read about how tough it is to break into the publishing markets (nevermind that I’m already published, I still worry).

How do you deal with doubts?

Posted on by ransomnoble 5

Learning Languages

Just because a character is learning a language doesn’t mean you need to dump a bunch of information at the reader. By ‘information’ I mean the endless words that are not native to the language the story is in.

I think this is especially true for fantasy authors who may create their own.

Some authors are masters of creating languages, like J.R.R. Tolkien. We’re not all linguistic gurus, though, and we shouldn’t subject our readers to random strings of letters.

Not everyone loves Star Trek enough to learn Klingon, Vulcan, or any number of other created languages associated with it, and similarly most readers will not be pretending to be one of your creatures.

If you’re curious about creating a language, though, go here.

Don’t forget that characters might speak in programming languages or some other math-based jargon. That’s part of the beauty of creating a different world.

Just remember there’s no need to show off all the research you did. The story will be stronger most of the time without it.

Posted on by ransomnoble 0