I just couldn't let this sit here any longer with nothing but a sorry picture of my desktop on it. I have nothing profound to say, just needed to move beyond the meme.
If you're wondering what I've been up to lately, you can check out my other blog. I just finished updating that one too. Stewart, I'm sorry to say that I haven't written you a vampire story, but I have an excuse. Really, I do. It's um, it's uh... the cat ate my mouse. Yeah, that was it. And by the way, where are the links you promised us? I haven't seen your entry yet.
As for the rest of you, I've been lurking about, reading your blogs. Just haven't had much time lately and blogger doesn't always let me comment. Keep up the good work, folks.
Showing posts with label writing process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing process. Show all posts
Friday, October 19, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Help, please
I know there are some baseball fans out there (Stewart, Jon?) and while I've done some research for a story I'm working on, I can't find the answer to the burning question: do baseball players still wear cups?
I know that kids' baseball requires them, but from what I can gather so far, that may not be true for adult players. Is it only pitchers now? No one? Anyone who wants to, according to preference? Inquiring minds want to know.
I'm mainly concerned with the habits of local, amateur teams--you know, the ones sponsored by Joe's Bar & Grill type teams. It's actually a rather important plot point since the heroine and her best friend decide which team won based on the cups the players are wearing and how well their pants fit. Are the cups and jock straps one size fits all? How does a soft cup differ from a hard cup? I've only seen the hard ones. (No comments, please.)
Ok, any help would be appreciated. Thanks. :)
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Get Real
I've probably whined--I mean, blogged--about this before, but one of Steve's recent blogs and something I did the other day brought it up again.
See, I've been looking through my many works-in-progress, trying to figure out which one to focus on (get out of my lazy funk and finish something already) and I came across something interesting. I hadn't touched a number of my files for some time, and some of the ones I'd remembered as being good, were fairly blah--a few even downright bad. But there was one that I remembered as being boring crap, which actually held my attention and made me care about the characters in just a few pages. I was surprised, because I had abandoned that work some time ago on the basis that it was too boring.
After some contemplating, I realized why I thought it was much better than the others upon re-reading. It was written from real emotion, based on deep feelings that I had experienced, and that made it ring true. The situation was complete fiction (a selkie and a summer cottage) but the emotion was real, and that made all the difference.
Everywhere, I find the advice to "dig deeper" - go for the gut emotional appeal. It takes courage to do that. I find it very hard (being such a coward and all.) I've abandoned other works because the emotional toll was so great, and I'm a little suspicious that may have been what was truly behind my abandoning the selkie story. It wasn't boring - it was painful.
So I applaud those of you who dig deep, look closer, pull out the hard truths and put them out there for everyone to see. Good on ya.
See, I've been looking through my many works-in-progress, trying to figure out which one to focus on (get out of my lazy funk and finish something already) and I came across something interesting. I hadn't touched a number of my files for some time, and some of the ones I'd remembered as being good, were fairly blah--a few even downright bad. But there was one that I remembered as being boring crap, which actually held my attention and made me care about the characters in just a few pages. I was surprised, because I had abandoned that work some time ago on the basis that it was too boring.
After some contemplating, I realized why I thought it was much better than the others upon re-reading. It was written from real emotion, based on deep feelings that I had experienced, and that made it ring true. The situation was complete fiction (a selkie and a summer cottage) but the emotion was real, and that made all the difference.
Everywhere, I find the advice to "dig deeper" - go for the gut emotional appeal. It takes courage to do that. I find it very hard (being such a coward and all.) I've abandoned other works because the emotional toll was so great, and I'm a little suspicious that may have been what was truly behind my abandoning the selkie story. It wasn't boring - it was painful.
So I applaud those of you who dig deep, look closer, pull out the hard truths and put them out there for everyone to see. Good on ya.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Block Busters
Instead of working this morning as I was supposed to do, I went blog-hopping. (I figured, hey, the only reason I have to work on a weekend is because no one else did their job on time so that I could do mine, plus, it's only Saturday so I've still got tomorrow, so, well, screw it.)
Anyway, Spyscribbler's blog had a link to this blog about breaking through writer's blocks. Among the comments there were the usual prats who said they never had it, but there was also some useful advice, and this bit:
------------------------
"CREATIVITY" by Martha Graham
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; it is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your worth. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time; there is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marking and makes us more alive than the others.
--------------------------
Over the past year, I've come in contact with several writers--some in real life, some on the Internet--and most of us seem to suffer the same insecurities and doubts. Some of us wonder if we're wasting our time, if we're any good, even if we should even be writing at all; others believe in their writing but not their ability to market it. Some want to share their stories with everyone; others don't want to share at all. Others, like myself, tend to drift in and out of those all those feelings and more.
Today, I read a short post on a blog that left me in awe of this man's ability to write: Jon Zech. I immediately looked to see if he had books published, but from what I could surmise, he tends to fall into the "only share once in a while" category. That made me sad. I'd like for the world to see his work. I want to publish him. Him, and so many others.
We all have our unique perspectives, our stories to tell. Let's not keep them to ourselves, even if we do think they're less than perfect. I'm glad I finally managed to write some more last night, even it was only 700 words. It's about time.
Anyway, Spyscribbler's blog had a link to this blog about breaking through writer's blocks. Among the comments there were the usual prats who said they never had it, but there was also some useful advice, and this bit:
------------------------
"CREATIVITY" by Martha Graham
There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; it is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your worth. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time; there is only a strange, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marking and makes us more alive than the others.
--------------------------
Over the past year, I've come in contact with several writers--some in real life, some on the Internet--and most of us seem to suffer the same insecurities and doubts. Some of us wonder if we're wasting our time, if we're any good, even if we should even be writing at all; others believe in their writing but not their ability to market it. Some want to share their stories with everyone; others don't want to share at all. Others, like myself, tend to drift in and out of those all those feelings and more.
Today, I read a short post on a blog that left me in awe of this man's ability to write: Jon Zech. I immediately looked to see if he had books published, but from what I could surmise, he tends to fall into the "only share once in a while" category. That made me sad. I'd like for the world to see his work. I want to publish him. Him, and so many others.
We all have our unique perspectives, our stories to tell. Let's not keep them to ourselves, even if we do think they're less than perfect. I'm glad I finally managed to write some more last night, even it was only 700 words. It's about time.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
How Do You "See" Your Characters?
I read Michelle Diener's blog this morning, and her post about having a soundtrack for her books was interesting - what struck me most, though, was the comment by Edie who said she didn't "see" her characters when she wrote, she "heard" them.
It made me wonder how other people experience the scenes and characters in their books. I've been guilty of expecting everyone to be like me: I see (and consciously try to feel) everything in my head, then have to try to translate that into words. It didn't occur to me that other people might experience it differently. (Duh)
I wondered if the differences could be traced along learner styles: aural, kinesthetic and visual. I'm a strong visual learner with feeling/doing coming in second place - almost no auditory involvement at all. In fact, my daughter was aggravated with me last night because I couldn't understand what she was reading to me unless I looked at it myself.
So now I'm really curious -- how do you experience the characters and scenes you write about? Do you see them? Hear them? Feel them? Something else?
Inquiring minds want to know. Can you see a correlation to your learning style?
It made me wonder how other people experience the scenes and characters in their books. I've been guilty of expecting everyone to be like me: I see (and consciously try to feel) everything in my head, then have to try to translate that into words. It didn't occur to me that other people might experience it differently. (Duh)
I wondered if the differences could be traced along learner styles: aural, kinesthetic and visual. I'm a strong visual learner with feeling/doing coming in second place - almost no auditory involvement at all. In fact, my daughter was aggravated with me last night because I couldn't understand what she was reading to me unless I looked at it myself.
So now I'm really curious -- how do you experience the characters and scenes you write about? Do you see them? Hear them? Feel them? Something else?
Inquiring minds want to know. Can you see a correlation to your learning style?
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