Writing, Research & Making it Happen

 Novels, short stories, bloggy blurbs. All writing is intertwined with our society. Sometimes it's a good thing to share our lives so that others can see they're not alone. Stuff happens, experiences may be unique to you but someone, somewhere has probably faced something like that, too. Seeing that can help.

How does this relate to writing? 

It's said there are no new story lines and that everything has been done before. That's probably true but since I haven't read every single book/writing in the universe, I can only guess.  What does that mean? 

Nothing. 

Your story is unique and will be only yours. So string those words together, share those ideas & stories in your head and know that putting it out there in the world is a good thing. Fear not. 

In the beginning I was afraid if I wrote a certain scene the people I know would think less of me? Think I was weird? Deranged?  It was fear of what others think. Where does that fear come from? The all present Ego. 

Here's an example. The other day I was at the rescue where I work and we had to weigh the puppies coming in. Some puppies fit on the little scale. Others were too big. So the team turns to the smallest, skinniest woman there and asked if she'd get on the big scale. See, they asked her because to do this she would have to be weighed, then pick up the puppy and we weigh her again and do the math, we have the puppy's weight.  

Then the girl left. Oh no! There were still more puppies to weigh. Now I'm not at an ideal weight but I stepped up. "I don't care if you know how much I weigh." And I stepped on the scale. They announced my weight, I got off, picked up that puppy and got back on the scale. Math was done and we had the puppy's weight. 

Why didn't I care? Because I took a lesson from Popeye (remember him?) Popeye walked around singing "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Popeye knew. He put himself out there without that ego block. Ego is the thing that makes us aware of the opinions of others. Ego blocks our actions especially in matters of art, writing and any creative matter. 

A wise friend once told me, "Put your ego in the backseat and go forward." 

Best advice I ever got. I pull up those words when faced with the ego. 

So go ahead and write your story. Truthfully? I see people who do that as brave souls. They know who they are and aren't afraid to show it. 

Basic Story Structure

 If you look at all the famous stories they usually follow the Hero's Journey. This tracks your character's experiences from beginning to end. This outline was created by Joseph Campbell and later reworked/explained by Christopher Vogler.  Both these men had a big part in creating better stories & better writers. 

You can fit Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Iron Man all into the format of the Hero's Journey. 

The basics of the Hero's Journey are better explained but here's a simplified version of the basics; 

• The Ordinary World - Where the MC (main character) is now.
• The Call to Adventure - Event that makes the MC alerted to the challenge ahead.
• Refusing the Call to Adventure - Might not want or be able to join the adventure.
• Meeting the Mentor - Someone who imparts advice & encouragement for the journey. 
• Crossing the Threshold - It's happening, the MC is part of this now.
• Test, Allies, and Enemies - Things start happening, this shit's getting real. 
• Approach to the Inmost Cave - Almost there, approaching the climax of the story
• The Ordeal - The big event/goal is reached. 
• The Reward - Achieves the goal and gets what the MC was seeking
• The Road Back - MC head for home, thinking it's over. Is it? 
• Resurrection - One final test. 
• Return With the Elixir - MC returns home a hero. 

What more details? Check out this link from Grand Valley State University

Just Google the Hero's Journey and you'll find some easy to use graphics that map out the most popular stories. 

Gearing Up for NANOWRIMO

 Here comes National Novel Writing Month! Are you ready for November and to get that novel written? 

Write that 50,000 word novel by putting the fingers to the keyboard every day to crank out the next great novel. 

I've done NANO several times and even published one of my NANO's. Getting that first draft down was the easy part. Editing it for publication was hard!  But that's beside the point. Now it's time to start thinking about what kind of novel you have inside you. 

There are several ways you can come up with ideas. Head over to Pinterest and type in "Writing prompts" or "Story Ideas" and pull up a treasure trove of ideas. 

Another way is to pick a genre. Romance, RomCom, Mystery, Horror, or Fantasy. 

I was reading one of my emails about writing (yes, I'm signed up for quite a few) and saw one publishing company looking for Dark Academia. Hmmm, what exactly is that?  Confession; I had to look it up. Of course the words Dark and Academia give us a pretty good clue but I had to seek out that exact meaning. And I'm intrigued. Now may mind is churning with ideas.... 

Check out NANOWRIMO here; https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano to find out more.  

Looking for that Writing Mojo

 It's a slump? Writer's Block? No, I don't believe in writer's block because there's always something to write about. This is more like too damn busy to get any writing done. 

Up early and in work at 7 am. Out at 3 pm and then either to second job or home to do paperwork. And if I sit still for too long, I fall asleep.  It's lack of time. Too much to do and not enough hours in the day.  Super old excuse. 

So how to overcome it? 

Since I have some drive time I'm listening to books about writing. Donald Mass is a good one with the Emotional Craft of Fiction. Stephen King's On Writing - a must read. 

Any other favorite books on writing? I need to get inspired, to pull back into that writing zone. The place that comes from deep inside and spits out stories one after another. I need to get back to that place. That zone. 

Where do you get that inspiration? How do you find that writer's zone when life gets in the way?

Banned Book Week

In Florida they're banning books. 

Other States are joining in. 

And then there's Texas. Land of the free, unless you live in Texas. 

Speak out. 

Speak up.

And check with your local school district. 

Do you know what they're doing? 

Censorship leaves us in the dark - Keep the light on. 

NANO ~~~ Why have I deserted you?

 Yes, the beginning of NANOWriMo was rockin'. I wrote and wrote and then started a new story and wrote some more. Problem? I took the premise as a challenge from my daughter and never really fell in love with the character or thrust of the story. 

No lie, I have about 100 story starts in my computer. Whenever something pops into my head I get it down before I forget it. I sometimes do a whole Hero's Journey outline then stuff it in a file. Sometimes I just write the book blurb. I dream of the day when I can just stay home and write. 

Oh wait! I had two months of that last year. Did I finish a book? No, I was too wound up worrying about my business. (We started a business 7 months before we were shut down for covid) 

So now I have other excuses. 3 very needy foster dogs. Business work stuff; meetings, marketing and paperwork.  Oh yeah! Tomorrow I get my booster vax so I can use that excuse, too? Eh I didn't react to the last two shots so probably won't this time either. 

Excuses aside, there are 3 solid days left for NANO. I'm at 4573 words in Aliens Hiding in Plain Sight (not really a title)  story and 1056 words in Xiberon Survivors, another 813 words in Day 864. I think I wrote a little in Saving Saverine, too but that was on my other computer so I don't have the word count. 

I feel this NANO is doomed. 

So cheer me up! How's your NANO going? 

Double Timing NaNoWriMo Word Count

 I have two laptops. My old laptop is on my desk at home.  Most of  my writing takes place on that one. It's got a lot of stories and idea blurbs on it. 

NaNoWriMo is Here! Are you Rockin' It?

 I'm a bit over 2000 words. Not really a great count for day 6 of NaNo, but its something. 

Here's the problem. 

This was a challenge to do from a randomly picked prompt. not my idea or something I'd usually write about.  So I spend a lot of time forcing myself into the shoes of my MC (main character) to come up with the next move. 

This time I also printed out a worksheet of the Hero's Journey to fit my story into. I've got some of it down but mostly I have no freakin' clue where I'm going with this story. 

And so I flounder... questions! Questions! Questions! 

What next? 

What should MC do now? 

How does she know this isn't just her imagination? 

Is the guy she just met one of them or will he help her?

Is she about to get sucked into a nightmare? how do I save her and let this get crazy? Should I? 

Oy! My head! 

Ok, NaNo, See in tomorrow at 7 am with coffee. 

Good luck out there you NaNo wizards. Write on, Write good, Write often. 

How's your word count? 

Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo

 Most writers know what NaNoWriMo is; National Novel Writing Month in November. It's yearly challenge, started in 1999, for writers to complete a 50,000 word novel within the month. Yes, it's possible. My novel, Soul Mates was a NaNo. Good things come through a little discipline. And coffee.... lots of coffee. 

How???

Here's a few tips to do now to get ready to join the NaNoWriMo challenge. 

Best Habit a Writer Needs

They say if you can do the same thing for 30 days it becomes a habit. Every day for 30 days. Now you've got a habit that easy to go to, easy to do. 

So what's the best habit for a writer? Show up. Make a writing time and place and go to it every day. 

Every. Single. Day. 

When I wrote Soul Mates (A different kind of love story) I set a 6 am alarm to get writing time in before that other real job thingy. After a week or two I didn't even need an alarm. I just stumbled out of bed, hit the button on the coffee maker and headed for my desk. Everyday until I typed the words "The End."  

One thing that did was get the book finished. At least the first draft. But considering the other first drafts I had from other creative endeavors this was a pretty clean first draft. I believe that's because I was more focused on my task. It was time to get to work and that's where I went on time.  It also gave a deep satisfaction. Yes, I could finish a book. All it took was a little discipline. 

Do you have to get up at 6 am? No. 

Do you have to set a time to write? Yes, that gets you to the table where your craft begins. 

Stephen King said, in his book On Writing, that he goes to his desk and doesn't get up until he had 10 pages written. Some days he's happily tripping down the road at noon, other day's he's there late until he chokes out those 10 pages. That is discipline and that is why he's such a prolific writer. I highly recommend his book, On Writing, for all writers. 

Okay, you've picked a time to write, now what? 

Set up your desk so you can get right to work and not have to struggle to find a pen, plug in your laptop, or find your reading glasses. Your writing space should be ready when you are. 

Now it doesn't have to be a fancy desk by a beautiful view and your favorite mug. No. It can be a quiet corner in your bedroom, a little nook off the kitchen, or anywhere there's less distractions. King wrote his first book with an old selectric on his knees in a laundry room. Get creative, get a refreshment, and go to work. Okay, you can bring your favorite mug. 

So that's it folks. Most important thing a writer needs is a set time to go to work just like any other job. Show up and get to work. 

You can do it!