Fuzzy Thoughts » Using my Degree

Writing

Michelle — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:59:34 +0000

Many of you know I’m working on a novel. I’m working on line edits, and have some minor revisons based on beta reads I’m waiting on.

It’s almost done.

I’ve been working on this novel for 10 years. Why so long? Well funny enough a bachelors in English does not give you much insight on writing a novel. In some circles, it’s actually frowned upon. I wasn’t even sure I had a novel or (or three or four) in me until I’d been working on it for a year.

Writing takes practice. People practice on short stories, essays, articles, novel drafts and even blog posts. The novel is one of the most complicated pieces of writing around today….next to a sonnet. Sonnets are the hardest form of poetry imo.

It doesn’t seem like it should be complicated. After all, what is a short story but a mini 3 act novel?

The problem is that not every story is a 3 act novel.

It could be 6 or 9 or even 1 act. You may have three characters or 3000. You have to be able to sustain the story for tens of thousands of words or worse, hundreds of thousands of words. You have to plot, describe, and kick characters in the pants. You may write 100,000 words only find you forgot a whole nother view point you had to add or that you for got which side of a river the mountain was on.

I started Without Honor as a short story. Then I realized it was long enough for a novel. I got halfway through and found out that it was only half a novel and I had to write another half. Then I realized I needed maps, outlines, character sheets. Then I had to change the begining because the end had changed. Worse I changed the ending because I realized it was much more interesting if a pivitol character said no, and therefore had to change the beginning again.

Then after writing THE END. I found out that there were threads for reglion, and a sequal that had to be polished.

Over the years writing became soemthing I did, rather than something I just wanted to do. Yet, I still had to learn to spot the mistakes, to find my darlings and kill them, and to just know when something was way more workable than not at all. And I’m still wrong.

I have other novel manuscripts in various stages of done. They are going much faster simply because I took my bruises and learned. Lately, especially over the last four years, I find I have less time for other things because I must be writing. I will get this done. I will not stop.

I just hope it all leads somewhere.

Morning Pages

Michelle — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:13:53 +0000

Since I have some extra time in the mornings and I really should do more writing not just editing the novel, I thought I’d get back into the habit of morning pages. Also this is an excuse to post here every day. I warn you, no sense may be had.

I needed a coffee cup for Job of Irony. This is a green company, which is fancy talk for more trashcans with no idea what goes in which and we’ll charge you for cups, flatware, plates and bowls. Supposedly this is also a healthly company, but I can’t use those benefits yet. Except the vending machines which say they only stock healthy snacks. However, the nutrional value of the Snickers and Twix stocked in them don’t really fall into the realm of a “healthy snack”.

So I used to have a nice tea travel mug but some how all the parts are gone making it useless. Since I already have a humungo Camel water bottle, I wanted something smaller. Travel chopsticks and Hello Kitty travel flatware aside, I wanted something pretty.

Speaking of which, those ceramic tea and coffee travel mugs look beautiful! But really, how long do those even last? How do you not break them or die from the wieght of carrying those around?

I found this nice mug at Starbucks. It is small, only 8 oz. The lid fits well, and doesn’t do anything wierd like spout or well the coffee that misses your mouth back into the cup. But the bonus is that it is decorated by a rainbow scratch paper that you scratch your self. So I put stars, dragons and a creepy bear fox thing that stares at you from the corner. That way no one will steal it. (Or that’s what I tell myself).

ooo! I got my old bluetooth keyboard to work with my phone. It’s handy for just writing, like I am now. Not so much for the editng but at least that’s still happing. I officially hate the words come, just and look. Sucky stupid line edits.

I’ve put Manali and Memorial pages away long enough that I better get to editing them so I can send them out. That won’t take nearly so long but I’m afraid that Manali may grow to 10,000 words. Then what?

Okay, time for Job of Irony.

I Finished a Novel

Michelle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 06:29:15 +0000

On Friday, I finished line edits on my novel and I set it out to be read one more time. I’m pretty confident it will be one more time. A person could come back and tell me it makes no sense at all or my characters all suck. That could happen, but I don’t think it will. Okay, I really hope it won’t.

So now, it’s synopsis and query writing time. And more active market research. Oh my.

Writers

Michelle — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:08:39 +0000

Writers are not considered part of the larger ecosystem. Creativity and art are afforded little value in today’s corporate culture. It’s a lie, of course — writers are everywhere. Our work is ever-present yet our role remains unconsidered. The written word is a powerful support structure, and it’s everywhere you look. Magazines, billboards, instruction manuals, marketing copy, and, oh, I dunno, the entire Internet. Nearly everything begins with the written word, and yet, despite this significant contribution, writers and other creatives exist as a marginalized group. Further, our support system is eroding.

Just so.

Rereading Storm of Swords and Observations on Feast of Crows

Michelle — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:03:58 +0000

I’ve reviewed Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin before on this blog. I still cried when Sansa made Winterfell; I still hated that the Starks kept missing each other; and I still cheered a bit for Tyrion and Jaime.

Then I finally picked up Feast of Crows. I have been putting off reading this one because I knew he was working on a fifth and now sixth book. If you read my blog then you know that if I have comments on a book I’m not finished with, there are issues.

Martin is missing something. Somewhere along the line, he decided that every minor character must have their say. He’s now giving full chapters to Head of Guards, The Priest, etc. These don’t further the story anymore than one sentence would. Instead of a couple of thousand words from the Head of the Guards, he could have said, “Dorne may go to war with the Lannisters” which he did say in Storm of Swords. Instead of a chapter from the priestly Greyjoy, he could have said, “Now with Balon dead, the ironmen are fighting over their next ruler.”

I’m staring at a 1000 pages of fluff. Stuff that the author knows that we really don’t need to know. Martin isn’t writing a story any more. He’s interviewing characters. We already know that Cersei is batshit crazy, being in her head doesn’t help matters. Martin isn’t answering questions but harping on what we already know from the last three books. I have yet to find any story forwarding material in Feast of Crows. I’m hesitant to say you can skip this book…but I am afraid that when it comes time to review the fourth Song of Ice and Fire book, that I’ll be able to say you can skip this and you’ll never know the difference.

New Post at Denver Fiction Writers

Michelle — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 22:53:12 +0000

A new post by me is up at Denver Fiction Writers, where I wander on about the English language and the comma.

Creating Religion

Michelle — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:52:10 +0000

The current book I’m working on deals with the religion in the world I’ve built. Creating a religion for a fantasy is a doubled edged as uni-climate planets and universal languages. Most authors force the entire world to believe the same.

First, I settled on a one religion with many regional parts. There are countries who as a whole do not subscribe to the belief and others that take parts more serious than others. Some of this is regional and some governmental.

The first step is to ask what do these people worship and why. What do they provide? What does the infrastructure provide and why?

In a fantasy world, magic tends to interfere with religion. Whether it is part of the religion, despised by the religion or just separate comes into play. I choose to have the magic interweave with the religion, which poses its own set of problems.

How much is for the people? What isn’t for the people?

In this book, I’m using religion as a haven. The main character wants to part of it but her duties are keeping her from it. It’s about agreeing to lose something for the greater good and what drives you to that.

Every swear, ritual and myth that I work into the story goes into the file. I’m not sure it’s clear all the way through. What pertains to the story and what is relevant back-story is a puzzle that I’m trying to fit into the plot.

Belief is a tricky thing.

Waiting Behind the E-Reader Evolution

Michelle — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:37:08 +0000

I don’t have an E-Reader.

Okay, we have iPads in the house, I have various ebook applications on my computer, but I’m not buying ebooks. I can’t bring myself to do it. I have various reasons. Ebooks are the furture…we’ve known this for a long time. However it’s time is not yet now.

Waiting for VHS

At some point all this silliness will cease and we will have a single ebook format. I don’t want to buy an ebook now and not be able to read it later because I choose my ebook format poorly. This is my primary motivation for avoiding e-readers. Lets just go through the paces which the music and movie industry still shutter through every few years.

Format, copying the format, sharing the format and finally realizing after DRM, congressional reviews, and random idiocy from pundits and industry whosits and finally the semi realization that sharing and copying mean more sales.

Yawn. This is so 1970.

I keep things. I have my own library. I have books that are so awesome and JUST DON’T Exist anymore. They aren’t going to be republished, they are not in the public domain and they are treasures. Until I can digitize these treasures I can’t not look back. I still have tapes because I can’t bear to part with them until I find a CD to digitize them, get one of those tape digitizing machines or finally find it to buy again on itunes. Same deal for VHS. Two drawers full until I can find these guys on dvd or blue ray. I have dvd cases of movies stolen by movers that I’m waiting to find again (Lion King hurry up and can anyone get me Last Unicorn again?).

These treasures do not deserve to be lost. Let me get this straight though. I OWN these copies and they are mine to do with as I will as long as I don’t make copies, charge money and just give it out to everyone. Digital makes no difference. I have to be able to share my books with friends and I have to be able to pick up a treasure ten years from now and enjoy it.

Otherwise it’s fleeting and forgotten. And no writer, especially me, wants that for any book.

CPGO – Step 6: Scene by Scene

Michelle — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:52:11 +0000

We’re down to the meat, the scene by scene outline. The structure I use for this is inherent in yWriter, but let’s talk about scenes first.

A scene is a moment in the story defined by a time and place. BiaM and You Can Write a Novel both adhere to the ten scene model. That is, action packed movies and books have ten or less major scene. Neither of them are talking about fantasy. A lot of writers I know look at the ten scene theory and freak. However, this, like other things involved in novel writing, is only a suggestion. Me? I go through and lay out the scenes without counting them.

Exercise: Do the Scene Shuffle.
If you’re having trouble figuring out which scenes go where then this might help. Write out the descriptions of each scene you know is going to be in your novel on index cards or in a software package that allows you to reorder cards or scenes. yWriter does this but sometimes I like things a little free form. My current writing computer is a touch screen with Windows 7 installed. So I use Windows stickies on the cork board. This way I have card like in real life without needing the space of the cards. Most novel writing packages have this ability and a lot of people use mind mapping software to organize. Do whatever works for you.

After I know what order my scenes are in, I create the number of chapters in yWriter I think I need. This is based off the Setting Sketch step. Currently I think I need nine chapters. Then I go to chapter one. I ignore chapter descriptions until I’m finished with the last revision. Instead, I create a scene in chapter one. I open that, give it a date, fill out the scene description, associate characters, locations and items. Finally, I fill out the Goal, Conflict and Outcome tab. I used to ignore that but I’ve found filling that out gives me a better perspective on the scene.

I do this for each scene in each chapter till I’m satisfied. I copy the date and the scene description in my timeline Excel file. I might find I need more scenes and chapters than I think I do.

This is about it. I have an outline. Used to do more rehashing of the plot sketch but stopped exactly because it was a rehash.

The next step is writing the novel. I’ll be back when I start revising Without Honor.

CPGO – Step 5: Plot Sketch

Michelle — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:27:41 +0000

I’ve said good-bye to BiaM and You Can Write a Novel. Smith’s book will be back when I get to the revision stage. BiaM has a little influence in what’s coming next and will have a say when I get to scenes. Then that is it. BiaM encourages outlining while writing for the rest of the book.

Step 5 is the Plot Sketch. The setting sketch was a list of settings in order of appearance with a description of the story at this place, the time period, season and about how many chapters I think it will take to write out the descriptions (which I’m usually wrong about but hey, it’s a starting place).

Now I have this snapshot of a plot, it is time to answer some questions about the plot. I create a new note called Plot Sketch in yWriter.

FDi30D called the Plot Sketch the list of the elements of the story. In all the books, the elements of the story come up. These are the Hero’s Journey, and Story in 3 Acts, Action/Reaction, Quest, Mini Climax, Black Moment, Climax, Denouement and combinations of all of these. The Plot Sketch asks questions about all of these things.

I really like Alicia Rasley’s article, Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes. Here’s a list of questions and answering them gives you a better picture of your plot. So first thing first, I answer her questions about Between Kingdoms. This covers the main character’s motivation and goals. Once I have that down I fill out FDi30D Plot Sketch.

The Plot Sketch starts with the goal and has you identify romance, subplots, conflict, resolution, downtime, black moment and resolution. I now have character motivations and an overview of the plot.

BiaM has two sheets similar to this, the Story Idea Map and the VBIAM Plot Check Sheet. I find the Story Idea Map redundant at this point. The Plot Check Sheet is sectioned off by things that happen in the story and who is there and does it advance the plot. I might come back to this for the revision but for now, I just put it aside.

Next we get down to the meaty part of the operation, scenes.

Writing Ideas – You Don’t Have to Pick Just One

Michelle — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:17:21 +0000

I’ve always wanted to write, but I have so many ideas I can’t decide which one to write.

I hear this excuse daily. On writing forums, mailing lists, in person, on social media and in my email. They want to know how to start writing. How to choose the idea.

The answer is all of them.

If your goal is to write then you have to write. It’s not about writing once and not every writing again. Oh yes NaNoWriMo is about just that for a lot of people. And that’s fine. This is not for you.

Take all of your ideas and write them down. Stick them in separate folders.

Pick one up and write. Finish. Repeat.

You need to have a lot of ideas in order to keep writing. One idea isn’t going to get you anywhere. In fact, if you only have one idea and refuse to quit until it is executed perfectly according to your dream, then you will fail. You fall into the trap of contamination and you end up gibbering in the woods somewhere with your only companion a puppet with a KFC bucket on its head.

If too many ideas are keeping you from writing, ask yourself, do I really want to write? Really? Maybe you don’t want to be a writer after all.

This is how life works; you will make time for anything that’s important to you. And all those things you wish you had time for? Not important at all.

NaNoWriMo 2010 Thoughts

Michelle — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:28:10 +0000

So we have three days till NaNoWriMo begins. I have an outline and my idea is going to be fun. This is my 7th year as an ML and my 9th doing NaNo. I have three wins in all that time, but a lot of material.

This year I have an outline and a manuscript to finish on top of NaNo. Plus daily writing deadlines. It’s a large task but I have a schedule.

NaNo: 2,000 – 5,000 words
Work
Other Novel: 1,000 words
Outline
Video Games
Knitting

Insane right? Oh well we’ll see how it all goes.

CPGO: Step 4 – Setting Sketch

Michelle — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:56:01 +0000

At this point I’m diverging from BiaM and You Can Write a Novel. Both mention setting briefly. Smith goes as far to suggest treating settings like a character. Instead, I’m leaving these books at the wayside for now and concentrating on the setting sketch from FDi30D.

I know where BK will be set. I’m listing the settings in yWriter and in my notes software. This is the first part of this step. Once I have the settings down for further reference, I start the setting sketch.

What I used to do is start this in my notes program in a tree view. I really don’t like this, nor do I want to use the worksheets from the book. So this time I’m looking towards yWriter to get this down. One of the features of yWriter is the ability to assign locations to scenes. Combined with scene notes I think I can pull this off.

First I write down the names of the setting in the order I think they’ll go in the novel. This could be by country, city, places within the city or times of day.

I create a chapter and a scene, naming the scene “Setting Sketch”. I add the location for that chapter by dragging it over. In the notes tab, I do the setting sketch or what I think what will happen at that setting.

The actual setting sketch details the place, time, who’s there, a summary of what happens and how many chapters I think it’s gonna take to write it out.

There are two things going on here. I’m not just getting down the where and when, but I’m also getting down the basic plot at the same time. I’m not going to go back on this part. Once it’s down I’ll reference it only once more before deleting it.

Tips for Today:

WD: I am not an Exception: That is learn the rules and follow the guidelines. There are rules on writing, submitting and publishing.

NaNo: Study your favorite authors, their voice style and content. NaNo advises practicing to write like them for awhile. This is great practice but it doesn’t belong in a finished piece.

Guestblogging Today

Michelle — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:23:59 +0000

Hi all!

I have a guest blog up at http://www.ianthealy.com! Go have a look see!

CPGO: Asides – Story Bible

Michelle — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:42:53 +0000

World Building is the bane of my existence. I love it but it continually defies my need for organization. I’ve tried 3×5 cards, notebooks, loose leaf notebooks, software, and sketch books. I’ve come to terms with the need for a digital solution. Novel planning software only goes as deep as characters, locations and items. Note software seems to disappear ever few years leaving me in a panic. I’m trying to be better.

I tend to fill out my world as I write. So set up this file under step 2 if am not working on already done world. This becomes my world bible. Currently I use AllMyNotes Organizer. This gives me the organizational tree I need for my process. Before that I used Keynote, but I get antsy when software isn’t supported anymore. I know there is a new developer for that but I’m not impressed by the new version. I’ve tried Evernote, but the wiki stuff drives me nuts. I hate wiki’s with an unbridled passion. They’re reinventing the wheel and making it complicated for no reason other than to be cute. A lot of gamers like wikis as an interactive way to deal with players. IMNSHO: there are better ways to do this that don’t drive me up a wall.

Now I have a lot of books on world building both on philosophy and random tables. I don’t follow any of them for the most part. Well I do…just not in the order they may take.

Step 1: Map
I use AutoRealm to make my maps. Export them as jpg and stick a copy in a maps folder under my world name and a copy in my note program.

Step 2: Add Details
I decided the locations for the story. As I write I pull out details and stick them in my notes.

And that’s it. I get this dang thing going. I add to my maps as I discover new locations and people and things. This is totally opposite of my outline fixation. That’s why this step is an aside.

I’m all complex that way.

In the Cards:

NaNo Card: Naming. Names come from everywhere. When I used to do the secretary thing I’d write down interesting names from mailing list. Random phone book and baby book suggestions helped too.

WD Tip: Forgetting the Reader. It’s the reader, not you, whose’s going to decided what your story is about and if it’s good. They have to care about your work, understand it and want to recommend it. This is where critique groups, beta readers, and others come in handy. Find out what’s confusing, boring and fix it.

CPGO: Step 3 – Characters

Michelle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:51:47 +0000

I start this step much as the last one, but this is not optional. I start entering characters into yWriter, starting with main and adding side characters next. The character file grows as the story grows, entering a new character as needed. As I mentioned before we’re in different steps in the books. So, a little back tracking.

Smith has prep as step two through three, step four is characters. Schmidt doesn’t get to characters till day four. Wiesner has characters step one in outlining.

I believe characters are the soul of the story and without them you just have a catalog of events and description…you don’t have the actually happening of action, you lose emotion without characters.
But how to do this? There are a thousand questions you can ask a character and you may not know every detail. This is how I do it.

Write what you know now and the rest will come. That’s it. I put down what I know and I just add more as the book shapes itself.

Ever character gets a description, may have a short bio and a birthplace. If I learn more I add it to the file. yWriter lets you have a description and bio separately and you can structure it how you want. I don’t give everyone a name…some people are just their job description unless they speak up. Any dates I come up with go into that timeline (See Step2) in Excel so I can keep track of my timing.

FDi30D gets complicated on characters. The character sketch is a simple sheet, but then she has character settings (sheets where you list the areas you might find the characters. And in her research she includes research for these locations and accents and such. Too much. Write what you have then go on till you discover it later.

Smith has two notepads of forms for major and minor characters. I prefer the computer. He does have a point about listing flaws and grace. So I’ll keep note on that. I don’t actively search out pictures but grab them when I see them. I do write down interesting names I see, but that’s outside of the outline process and something I just do. Smith talks a lot about habits to pick up as a writer. They are good but I have those. His best advice just put down with you need. Creating characters can be a full time job and distract you from writing. Smith concentrates on files and such in the physical realm…I try to stay digital.

Sit that damn character in a chapter and take what you can get. Mainly I try to get:
Description, Short Bio, Name, Occupation, Goals, birth place. There you go.

Schmidt has you enter characters as you summarize and detail but on day four it’s the fill out stage. Quick characters and special scenes for those characters. Ugh. No. Too much. These are long worksheets. I try to come up with fears and such when they are needed in the story then back fill.

Remember when I said I have sundry stuff. Well I took a look through that and I have a character sheet that is just too long. I like Wiesner’s sheet and I’ll stick to that.

So onto our Tips from NaNo and Writer’s Digest today!

NaNo Card: Aim Low…They’re not saying you should not do your best…just remember complete it and change it later. Obviously with this process I’m aiming to cut down on that time.

WD Tip: Misusing Writing Groups. There are people (you know who you are) who use a group for social and self gratification…which is fine, but instead of getting things done they just endlessly work on the same project…never finishing. I’ll admit sometimes it looks like I’ll never finish. Obviously I’m part of a group but it moves me forward with criticism to make my writing better. If at any time you can’t see the goal for the trees, time to see if you need those trees.

CPGO: Step 2 – Research List & Setup

Michelle — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:15:01 +0000

I have my idea written down. Time for step 2. This is where the books start to diverge. However I think this is the perfect time to start a research list and gather things I might need.

In ywriter, I click on Project notes and create a research note. I note anything I think I might need to research. Actual research will come later and I’ll probably add to it as I think of other things.

Some of the books such as Smith, suggest doing things like creating a fake cover, a sound track, magazine pictures anything to inspire. I don’t seek these things out on purpose. If I find them I take note, but this is not what I mean by setup.

I already have my yWriter file started. I need a new POV time-line sheet. For this I use Excel. What else? Depending on what I’m writing, I create entries in my little note software for world building.

This is a completely optional step. You may not really need research and maybe your setup is opening Word. This is just how I do it.

Let’s look at our writing tips!

NaNo Card 2: It’s rough for a reason
Problem 2: Not finishing

Whether its perfection or time getting in your way the object it write and finish it! Set yourself some goals and deadlines. Everyone of these books tells you to do that. Next, stick to them.

Joy

Michelle — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:57:42 +0000

The best part of what I’m doing right now?

I love doing it.

I’ve had other jobs that I’ve loved. A lot more which I’ve hated. However actually doing what I want to?

Nothing beats that. I haven’t been this happy with work in a long time.

A Crazy Person’s Guide to Outlining: Step One-The Idea

Michelle — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:57:55 +0000

Time to do another outline. I feel like I must be a schizophrenic outliner. I have a bunch of books on the subject, I tend to pick and choose through them, and I edit the outline as I go. When I first discovered that I wasn’t a “pantser” I found my characters went left, a lot. That led to maps and that, eventually led to outlines.

So yeah, outline. Excuse the dust while I figure all this crap out. I figure if I do it in public I’ll actually get my process down. I’m sure most of you will laugh at me, but I’m used to it.

And books. Here are the books that, over the years, I’ve gleaned pieces and parts from. I’ve not gone through all these books completely. I’m taking time to do that now.

First Draft in 30 Days by Karen S. Wiesner: This is first book I ever got on outlining a novel. It’s badly titled but contains a way of looking at outlining that I had never scene before. It gave me several tools that I really rely on now.

No Plot No Problem Novel-Writing Kit by Chris Baty: In some circles the book is considered the pantser’s bible. I cheated and just got the kit…which I find inspirational every November. Not sure how well it worked into outlining. I’m relying on the daily cards for this, the other items (cheer-leading and inspiration for NaNo) I’m not going to worry about.

Writer’s Digest Writing Kit Okay this is full of idea cards and mini markets and tips. I got it for a birthday a few years ago…it’s still sealed. Seems to be aimed at beginners. Inside are cards with basic writing tips and definitions, an idea deck, a market list and writing tips. I’m going to use the writing tips and ignore the rest for this exercise.

You Can Write A Novel Kit by James V. Smith: I loved Smith’s Writer’s Little Helper, as it was just that, a tiny book with a ton of help. And this has forms too. I like forms.

Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt: This book advocates writing while outlining. Which drives me nuts. But it has forms…and I am a form sucker.

From First Draft to Finished Novel by Karen S. Wiesner: I’ve skimmed this book so not sure how much I’ll use.

Sundry Items: There are various tips, worksheets and such I’ve collected over the years. I’ll be referring to these as well from time to time.

So anyway on to Day One, Step One! Oh wait, you want to know why?

I started Without Honor in 2001, just after September. Not only was the world as we know it imploding but my life imploded as well. That’s nearly nine years. I have plenty of partial manuscripts around…why did my first novel take that long to complete?

I had no idea what I was doing. A creative writing degree doesn’t deal with novel composition at all. Okay it may now, but back then it sure didn’t. This was odd, considering how many novels we had to read. (I had fifty to ready for one class that fall of 2001…they were YA novels but still that’s not including the rest of my course load).

Without Honor started as a hokey dream that basically played out like a title sequence of my friends dressed in renfair garb playing up to the camera while they played up to the camera and theme music.

Yes, my dreams are weird. Back on topic:

I started a short story, decided I had a novel. I think I wrote three scenes…and then didn’t touch it until December 2002, after my first NaNo and had 16,000 words towards a sequel that would become two chapters of WH.

My life was crazy. I was writing every day but most of it was non-fic and helped me do things like provided food for my daughter. Now I have this finished thing except for a final sweeping revision…and I really like it.

I want to do that again, in a much smaller span of time.

Technically, Between Kingdoms already has an outline. However, I haven’t looked at it for a long time. The one written scene was written nearly six years ago. Let’s start fresh and get this down and ready.

Step One: The Idea

Everything starts with the glimmer of an idea. Ideas come from anywhere, a phrase, a joke, a mention, a dream, real life, fiction, anywhere.

I’ve heard a few would be authors’ claim they have so many ideas and can’t pick one. Write them down, pick one, work on it, finish it and then go onto the next. How is that hard…well I’ll get to that.

The current project came to me in a dream. A long narrative dream which I still remember vividly. I kept it in my head for a long time thing about it. Percolating as several authors call it. Now to get it in a novel I have to define it. So let’s start this outline.

1. Get an Idea
Got one? Good. No? Wiesner suggests brainstorming, reading, etc. Schimidt has a questionnaire about likes and dislikes to help you come up with an idea. Write that idea down. If notes, pictures and such come while your formulating…stick them all together. Smith suggests a salable idea. Then he states know one knows what that is until they see it. So make sure the idea is something you love and are willing to research and devote time too. If not. Drop it.

2. Write the Idea Down
Describe the idea in one sentence. Schmidt calls this the pitch. Smith calls this the nugget and includes title as well as small paragraph. Starting with a sentence you have the idea condensed from the start. It saves later condensing, and can be rewritten if the central idea changes later. I open yWriter, start a new project. Open the project settings and fill out the project description. Title, one sentence, followed by a paragraph.

3. Idea and Reality
Smith has a test for checking your idea. It’s like a Cosmo quiz that start’s “How do you rate?”. He also lists some Cardinal Rules that boil down to don’t be boring. This is similar to Richard Peck’s 10 Questions ask about your Novel. I don’t write these down but ask myself these questions about my idea.

And that’s step one. Now for inspiration!

NaNoWriMo Card 1: Just Write
Problem One: Not Writing

You know why not everyone who has an idea writes a novel? Because they don’t write.

Visits to the Vampire and Fantasy Worlds

Michelle — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:03:14 +0000

Just got done with my local vampire. We’ll see if my thyroid needs more medcation. But otherwise it looks like flexerol will be my drug of choice for fibro.

Did I tell you that I got an hp tmt2? Convertable touch tablet pc with a wacom digtitzer! With windows 7 and painter it is heaven. I’m completely enjoying it for writing and painting.

I’m nearing the end of WH. The last chapter is taking time to refine then I will have to go through revise. I can’t wait to be done with it but I finally have the writing life I want so I suspect other novels will go faster. At least I hope so.

I have my current short story out to the next market. And I’m still revising my flash piece. Go me.