Socializing

Writing is a lonely endeavor. Even with family and friends encouraging and inquiring about it, the writer sits and works in isolation. There is social media. One can tweet, pin, or post on Facebook. I’ve killed hours or precious writing time doing just that. But the act of writing remains solitary.

This week there was a social event for writers. Carol Lynch Williams and Ann Dee Ellis organized it. They may have had help from Queen Bee, Kyra Leigh. All of them host the blog, Throwing Up Words (http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com). Carol and company have down this before and a few weeks ago they posted to their blog they were doing it again.

We met at Olive Garden in Provo, about twenty of us or so. We ate, socialized, laughed, ate some more, read from our writing, and shared successes. Some of us read from our novels in progress, a few shared screenplays. Some brought spouses, some spouses were writers, too. It was a pleasant evening.

The best thing though, was the camaraderie. There were actual writers, sitting in that room, across from you and to your sides. Other people who struggle, have doubts, and continue to write away. There’s a bunch of us out there. We work in isolation, but it’s so good to know we’re not alone.

Thanks Carol, Ann Dee, and Kyra. Let’s do that again, sometime.

(This article also posted at http://writetimeluck.blogspot.com)

NaNoWriMo week 1

It sounded like a good idea, but I knew there was now way I could plunk down 1666 words a day. Since I was doomed to fail from the start, I wasn’t going to do NaNo.

Now I’m in the thick of it.

Honestly, there is not enough time in the day. My wife still insists on normal things getting done. She hasn’t approved a 30-day hiatus from obligations. We’re used to three meals a day, so eight hours of it is spent at work. How you people with children in the home can add that extra load is beyond me. (Ann Dee Ellis had some words about managing all that her blog this week. http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/swimming/ )

My word count is low, terribly low. The NaNo site has a great personal word tracker. I’m averaging 474 words a day and my count on the bar graph falls far below the upward moving goal line. At this rate they project February 2013 is when I’ll reach 50,000. I guess that makes it NoNoWr4Mo. I need to pump out 2155 words a day to make it by December. Have you ever tried to write that many words a day? Last evening, I sat down to reach at least 1666. I wrote until midnight and I only got 667, exactly a thousand short. See? I knew I wouldn’t be able to “win.”

Yet, I still think I’m winning. I’m getting a new story cranked out. I’ve had this one in mind for a while and other commitments have kept it on the back burner. I wish I had planned it last month so I could write it this. I took one day off (couldn’t stop watching the election results) and that threw my momentum off. Then on Wednesday my story went sour and it took Thursday’s writing minutes to sketch a few things out. The only way to repair it was to re-write the first several chapters. But that’s revision and NaNo is pure rough writing. Too bad. That’s what it needed and now I’m back on track. My track, mind you. I’m not one of the Kenyans at the front of the marathon. I’m bringing up the rear. But I’m winning. For now.

Character questions

So I’ve been living with these people for two years now, but do I really know my characters?

I believe I should know them, but I’m not sure I do. Are they real? Are they kid-like? Do they stay true to themselves? Are they complex enough?

Kathleen Duey has a few ideas about characters. She taught at WIFYR a couple of years ago. I debated joining her workshop but didn’t. I was totally pleased to be with Claudia Mills. I did attend one of Kathleen’s afternoon sessions. Then I went to a second one. She’s an amazing writer and so willing to share her expertise of the craft.

Kathleen’s suggests interviewing your characters, to ask them questions.

Back then, I had just found my characters and her questions helped me locate them. As I put the finishing touches on the revision, I recently revisited those questions and am asking them again. It is interesting to see how my characters have grown. So it is a good exercise to do no matter what stage your project is in.

Kathleen says to ask your MC things like what do they want most in life and what is in the way of them getting it? You can ask questions in general or you can ask the characters directly. For example, why do you want to be in my book? Can my story live without you?

On her Throwing Up Words blog, Carol Lynch Williams also had some questions that you could ask your characters. Why are you the main character of my story? What if I were to make one of the other ones the main character and you a minor character? Carol lists some questions you can ask yourself about them: Are their actions coming naturally out of the story or are you making things happen the way you think they should because you thought you had an end in mind and the book has changed directions? (That last one is a thinker.) Why does your character say what she says? Is this her? Or is this you? Carol says to make her real, not an older person. This is especially true if you’re writing children’s fiction. Other questions to ask: What made your character do what she just did? Was that natural to the story or are you forcing things around?

Dr. Suzanna Henshon suggests asking how the main character’s personality impacts the plot. How do the plot and the main characters conjoin?

Hopefully the main people in my story improve, as does the story itself.

Ain't it wonderful?

Technology has come a long way and writers are among the many who have benefited. Gone are the days a writer scribbled her words on paper, replaced by the typewriter. Then to have an electric one, with self-correcting tape was heaven. With a keystroke or two I can spell check, use a thesaurus to find a better word, and easily pick up text and rearrange in a more suitable spot. Of course, future generations will not find our tattered hand-written manuscripts hidden away in some attic, a small price to pay for progress.

Should we need to check accuracy on details in a story, a quick Google search can provide the facts as well as a distraction from the writing at hand. Wikipedia can tell you anything from aardvarks to zebras.

But the real advantage is in the form of social media. There are forums, blogs, and videos for every human endeavor imaginable: quilting, sports, gardening, gaming, and of course, writing. There are how to instructions for drafting, composing, editing, or for writing a query letter or synopsis. You can go online and discover which houses most likely would be interested in your work.

And there are plain old blogs. The Utah Children’s Writers blog is one that comes to mind. Perhaps you’ve read it? Go there and you can find a list of 30 or more other blogs. Most blogs have a link where you can subscribe, which gives you an email and link when a new post goes up.

There are others. You can enjoy the thoughts of local writing goddess, Carol Williams. She is accompanied by and Ann Dee Ellis and Kyra at http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/ . Sometimes it is the only way.

Another I subscribe to is From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors. These talented writers, including Utah’s own Elissa Cruz, focus primarily works for upper elementary children. Yet they have so much more, including book lists and special pages for children, teachers and librarians, and other writers. The URL is http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/

Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents blog features timely information when you’re ready to publish. In addition to various articles, several times a week, he mentions new agents and lists the kind of writing they are interested in. You can view it at http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents

There are others, too numerous to mention. I like Mary Kole’s http://kidlit.com/ and the Children’s Book Insider http://cbiclubhouse.com/ although the latter is a for profit site. The http://www.wifyr.com/blog/ can keep you abreast of news about WIFYR. The list goes on and on.