WRITE ON CON AND INDEX CARDS

Geesh, when did I get so analytical?

I'm a panster. I come up with an idea, then I dreamscape it out for weeks or months until I have the first half of the book completed in my head. Next, I start writing out scenes in my handy dandy notebook, which I later transcribed into the computer.

I work in linear fashion. Each chapter connected to the one before until I get stuck. When I get jammed, I write the end of the book. This helps to clear my block so I can connect the beginning of the story to the end.

So what happened when I checked out Write On Con? I found all these wonderful events like The Index Card and Revision by author Katy Longshore and Plotting with 3×5 cards by author Kimberley Griffiths Little.

I got totally inspired. I bought some post it notes and...

Well, the rest is history.

I broke each chapter down into scenes. Some chapters have more scenes than others even though they are roughly an equal number of pages.

I also color coded the scenes. Blue are paranormal activity, yellow are romance. Orange is everything else. The problem is that I need more colors to really break it down better. There are some scenes that have paranormal and romance. Others which are action scenes. I want something for conflict, etc.

Obviously, I've gotten a little sticky note crazy.

Still, there's something gratifying about having your entire book broken down for clarity; especially, in the revision process or even if you are a panster who hates to outline (like me) this is a good way to see what you have and what you've missed.

What do you think? Is this a process you would try?

HOOKED

This weekend I woke up my kids at the crack of dawn for the annual “Hooked on Fishing, Not On Drugs” day. This is an annual event which I’ve missed for the last five years, but I stumbled across the article in the local paper on Friday. I was so excited. My father fished all the time and I always enjoyed the times we went together. This is something I wanted my own children to experience again, even though none of us know how to use a fishing pole.

Kiwi spent the night at her friend’s house (they live in the condo below ours) but came home early specifically to go fishing. My son wasn’t as enthusiastic. We dragged him out of the house kicking and screaming, “I’m an inside person.” He even has a T-shirt with this very sentiment blazed across the front in bright blue letters.

I thought we left early enough, but by 7:30 a.m. we still had to park half a mile away. The lake was packed. People stood crowded along the bank, dodging each others casts into the water. The lake had been stocked with approximately 8,000 pounds of channel catfish. We watched kids pulling out catfish that were larger than they were, but my son was the only one in my family to catch anything.

And he caught me.

Yes, that is a worm threaded on a hook caught in my hair. It took much patience and skill to detangle that darn hook. The same can be said when it comes to writing. We see the word all the time. There is the opening hook in the query letter. It is a sentence intricately crafted to grab the agents’ attention and keep them from hitting the delete button. There’s the first page of your manuscript, which is supposed to hook the reader and entice them into buying your book. There is the cliffhanger ending of your chapter or scene which should keep the person from putting your book down. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this, right?

So, what do you think? How do you hook your readers?

SCENE BLOCKS

As mentioned in the last post, I’ve been working on a new manuscript. It’s the sequel to JUJU’s CHILD, so in theory, it shouldn’t be too difficult to jump into. I know the characters. They evolved in the last book, carrying over issues to be addressed in this book. I’m still not totally clear on the totality of the plot, but I have enough outlined in my head to at least get a couple of chapters written.

Here is my problem: I can’t figure out where to start the first chapter.

This is an issue which has impeded upon my motivation to begin working on the story. Or rather, to progress in a full scale battle charge as is my norm. Typically, I write in linear order. With the first chapter full actualized before I begin to write; although, the draft goes through multiple revisions due to my dissatisfaction with the finished product during revisions. This frustration stems from my inability to fully articulate who the characters are and their motivation during the initial draft. This evolves with time and familiarity.

With this sequel, I have two potential first chapters. And I’m not happy with either version. I’ve found that it is difficult for me to bypass this issue until I come up with a solution to the problem. I hate dangling plot threads. It irritates me. Does any of this make sense?

I discussed this issue with @CRehse and found out I wasn’t alone. She was having a similar issue with finishing the first chapter in her wip. She has several scenes clawing at her mind trying to get out, but hadn’t finished her first chapter. We decided it would be best to forge ahead and write up the scenes taking up space in our brains. Once we get the tangled plotlines out of our head and onto paper, it should be easier to move forward. Our goal is to get a chapter (first or otherwise) onto paper by Saturday.

So out with this linear bull, ‘cause it’s not working for me with this book.

 Please wish me luck. I need itJ

HANGING OVER A CLIFF

As a teenager, I had a bit of a daredevil streak. It’s not that I’m overly brave; I just hate to be afraid. If I was scared of something, I had the overwhelming need to facedown that particular fear. I refused to own it or let it control me.

Plus, I got a kick out of the adrenaline rush. I call it my young and stupid phase. Thankfully, I survived it; although, I had some close calls.

My dad got stationed in California the year I graduated from high school, and I decided I didn’t want to stay by my lonesome in Kansas, so I moved with my folks. I had just finished my first college semester. I still lived at home, and I felt stifled by m parent’s rules. I wanted to live life on my own terms to see if I could. I think a lot of kids on the cusp of adulthood go through growing pains at this age.

I was studying to be a Wildlife Biologist at the time, and I thought it would be a good experience for me to join the California Conservation Corps (CCC). I thought I would be working in one of the State Parks fighting wildfires and communing with nature. Instead, I was sent to San Pedro, CA (basically, Los Angeles), and I worked in the kitchen.

Still, for three months, I was free from my loving, slightly overprotective parents. It was wonderful. And it sucked eggs.

 I learned a few things from this experience:

      1)      I could survive on my own.

  2)      I wasn’t ready to be on my own.

I also learned to never to go dirt surfing off of the edge of a cliff.

There is a brief moment when you’re hanging onto the edge by the tips of your fingers when you think, “Damn, this is stupid.”

The ocean below a 20 feet drop looks kind of welcoming in a terrifying way, especially when the alternative is smashing against the rocks. I was fortunate. I missed both. I fell, hit a rock-free patch of sand, then rolled (a lot) until I fetched up on the beach. I had some bruises and scraps, no broken bones, and a new-found fear of falling/heights, which I combat by forcing myself to climb really high ladders and rappel off of buildings. My kids take after me in this respect. Kiwi almost reached the top of this rock climbing wall

Me, and my son, M- age 4- 2006

Kiwi- age 6- 2006

Which is why I want to acknowledge the importance of CLIFFHANGER.

When a reader gets to the end of a chapter they are faced with a choice: to turn the page or put the book down. You, the writer, want them to keep reading. To keep them engaged, they need to feel like I did while hanging over that stupid cliff and wondering what’s going to happen next. Are the characters going to survive—emotionally, physically or are they doomed to fall onto the jagged rocks below?

 So, how do you deal with those pesky chapter endings? Do you like a good cliffhanger?

I'm Back!

Did you miss me?

I have to admit, I've missed posting and my responses from my readers. Thank ya’ll very much for supporting me.

I spent the holidays in Virginia and Washington DC. If I ever find my camera, I'll post pictures. I had a wonderful time and the weather was beautiful. After we returned, I spent the rest of my blog hiatus editing.

Yeah, typically I’d say I’d rather be doing anything but editing. I include poop scooping during my dog’s evening walk in this list. However, do you know what I’ve noticed during this last round of editing—I love it.

How the world did this happen?  

I’d like to think it’s because I’m better at self-editing while writing the story. I tend to catch my tense slips, run-on sentences, and lapses into telling not showing. I’ve also learned a ton from my critique partners. They tend to catch the invisible words in the ms. You know, the words my brain tells me are there, but not. See, I forgot—they’re—in that sentence. I’m still sketchy on comma placement, but I’m learning.

I finished editing Djinni. It’s ready for my critique partners, but I’m holding off sending it to them for the simple fact that I’d prefer for them to read Quest for the Golden Apple first. I so totally love this story.

Yes, I’m biased. A bad mommy to play favorites, but this story has wiggled its way into my heart, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Still, I have a wee bit of a problem. I think subconsiously, or rather consciously now I've figured out my issue, I love Quest so much that I can't bear to finish it. I still have one last chapter to write. I've put it off for two months. It's outlined in my head. I know exactly what needs to happen, but I haven't put The End down on paper.

It's purely a matter of not wanting to abandon my characters. How can I say goodbye?

I guess I'll have to come up with a sequel.