I Is For… Initiation

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When I attend prompt circles and other writerly groups, one question that keeps cropping up is, “How do I get started?”  It’s usually asked by someone that, to my eye, is quite ready to get onto the page, they just don’t know where the page is.  My answer is always the same:  open your journal and start writing.  Set a timer for ten minutes.  Write whatever’s in your mind.  If you totally can’t think of anything to write, then tell me how you got here, to this moment, today – start from the minute you woke up this morning.

That’s it.  Start with where you are.  Right here.

Now.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What’s the best advice you have for getting started (in anything, not just writing)?

H Is For… Holes – As in Plots (get that mind out of the gutter ~grin~)

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I tend to write without outlines, character sheets, or even much of a plan. Sometimes this approach fails utterly because the stories can go off on a tangent and then sputter out.  Or, as referenced in the name of this post, the plot ends up full of holes. That is at least fixable. Other times, however, something clicks for extremely satisfying results.
For the month of April, I’m endeavoring to rewrite a story that faltered back in November of 2013 during National Novel Writing Month. The Office of Letters and Light is hosting a similar challenge called Camp NaNo, so it’s full steam ahead once again.
Some new ideas have since cropped up for my contemporary gay romance tale, and that feels good. As of today (actually April fifth as I type this), the tale has not advanced far but I am hopeful. The whole idea came about with a silly opening line. Then I thought of an interesting name and just ran with it. We’ll see how it goes as the month progresses.
If you’re a writer, what tools work to help you create a cohesive story? Inquiring minds want to know. ~grin~ Happy writing!

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F Is For… Fiction!

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I adore fiction.  I always have.  I wrote my first story at the age of nine, and I devoured books upon books from the library, booksellers like B. Dalton and Waldenbooks, and when I discovered my first Barnes and Noble I thought they would have to drag me out of there kicking and screaming because I never wanted to leave.  ACRES of books.  I discovered the (sadly defunct) Brandeis Used Book Sale which was an annual event, SEVEN CIRCUS TENTS full of used books – paperbacks, hardbacks, rare books, sets, books, magazines, books, tapes, DVDs, and did I mention books?

I love the smell of books.  I love the feel of them.  I love the novel as an art form.  But above all, I love fiction because fiction allows you to tell Truth.

Which brings me to Professor Josip Novakovich.  If you are a writer, or want to be, I urge you to wander through his book Fiction Writer’s Workshop and add it to your personal library.  His pithy explanations of how to get to story will have you reaching for your pen.

But my favorite quote from the whole book, which is full of quote-worthy material, is this:

“You might want to become a non-fiction writer, and yet at every turn you distort things, exaggerate and embellish them, and even introduce characters, places and events that had nothing to do with the original material.  In that case, you are a born fiction writer, which is much nicer than saying you are a born liar.”

Hoo-rah, baby.  Yeah.

What about you, Dear Reader?
What’s your favorite medium?  Novel? Poem? Non-fiction essay? What?

E Is For… Event – Camp NaNo

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Besides posting some A to Z entries here and the entire alphabet for my Darla M. Sands blog, I am also endeavoring to meet another writing challenge. The Office of Letters and Light, hosts of November’s National Novel Writing Month, provide still more opportunities for writer’s to test themselves. Camp NaNo happens in both April and July, I believe (can’t stop to research details now!).
The rules are much less strict than for NaNoWriMo, and contestants can even set their own word count. I, however, decided to go for broke and attempt another fifty thousand during the month just as in November. Wish me luck.
What are you writing today?

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D is for…Distraction

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Case and point…I’m late posting today, because I was distracted.  Granted, I was distracted with family events and a bit of exhaustion.

Many days, when I’m writing I have to fight distraction.  A. Catherine Noon pointed out yesterday that she was distracted by the Internet.   The Internet is where I spend hours in the name of research, however I often end up in the weeds looking for some minuscule detail.

I’m writing a steam punk novel currently and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wandered off into costuming in the name of research.  I’m sure my search engine thinks I have some sort of Corset/Weaponry fetish. 🙂

Distraction may be a good thing too.   I imagine if we sat at our desks and weren’t occasionally distracted, we would suffer from some sort of burn-out.   If you can’t write because you’ve turned off the Internet and you spend thirty minutes staring at a blank screen, your lack of productivity may be a sign you need a distraction.

C Is For… Character

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So, I went to Google today to find a funny picture to use for today’s post.  So, I says, Google, give me funny character pictures.  And Google says,

Well, I’m not actually sure what this says.  Isn’t he creepy?  🙂

I totally lost my original train of thought.  It was going to be something magnificent, too.

So, Dear Reader.  
What has distracted you on the internet lately?

B Is For… Book Review – What Dreams May Come

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I’ve just finished reading a YA book by author Beth M. Honeycutt. I’m so glad my friend Rochelle Bradley introduced me because the story What Dreams May Come is very, very sweet. And Ms. Honeycutt is a professional editor, which makes this a very polished read.
Ellie Cross, our young protagonist, has a frequent dream companion named Gabe. He visits her regularly, appearing as if on cue to commiserate over deep sorrows or share surprising joys. And she can spill her heart to him utterly since there’s no reason for regret or hesitation simply because Gabe isn’t real.
After all, her mother even paid a therapist to help convince Ellie. So the shy, overlooked girl makes the best of the situation, enjoying this long-lasting companionship as a private sanctuary. If she must keep Gabe’s continued appearance secret from her mother, then so be it. At least someone accepts her without judgment or disappointment.
I feel that Ellie, however bullied at school, could have easily come across as terribly unappreciative of the good in her life. I mean, things could be so much worse as the young lady herself comes to learn. However, Ms. Honeycutt does a lovely job of balancing over-reactive teenage angst with deep human pain.
As for escapism, who wouldn’t want their own private guardian angel? And maybe, just maybe, they can take real human form. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
You can find various retailers with some very reasonable prices here:
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A Is For… The Artist’s Way

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By now, our regular readers have heard us talk about The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron.  If this is your first time, Dear Reader, hello, and welcome.  I’m A. Catherine Noon, one of your hosts here at the Writer’s Retreat, and I thought I’d kick off the A-Z Blog Challenge by talking about one of my favorite tools.

I first encountered The Artist’s Way in 1995 while living on a sabbatical in Mount Shasta, California.  I had left my urban, corporate life behind in search of becoming a writer.  A client for whom I was doing some office work had the book and recommended I borrow it.

I still have that original copy, well-loved and falling apart, filled with notes of two decades’ worth of experience.

While there are many amazing things about The Artist’s Way, the part that most deeply changed my life, or at least the part I’m most aware of today, is that I’ve been journaling almost daily since I started.  I’d been a diarist before then, off and on, but never took it seriously.  Quite by accident, I’ve become a serious diarist who is never without a journal in which to think, relax, play, work, rest, rage, and write.

Above all, write.

I have learned that one does not become a writer, one is born one.  Sometimes, whether by childhood trauma, societal prohibition, or simple lack of awareness, one has to remember oneself and recover one’s creativity.  But we are, all of us, creative.

What about you, Dear Reader?  What tool has helped you on your path to where you are today?

Writer Wednesday – With Guest Leela Lou Dahlin!

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Noony, here! I’m tickled pink to introduce my buddy from the Nice Girls Writing Naughty group, Leela Lou Dahlin. She’s our special guest for this week’s Writer Wednesday. Please make her feel welcome!

Take it away, Leela!

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Being a writer… it’s something that I’ve always done but it wasn’t until recently that I became serious about being a published author.

Someone recently I was on a site that asked how people came up with their stories and I thought it was fascinatingly funny reading about how all of these different people come up with stories. I’ve almost never heard of any one person doing it the exact same way and on that site it was no exception. One thing it showed me is there is no right or wrong way… you make it work out the way it’s best for you. Some people start with the characters, some with the troupe or storyline (unrequited love, brother’s best friend, friends to lovers, etc…), some start at the beginning and others at the end.

My story always starts with a scene. Sometimes it’s a love scene or maybe it’s an argument but it’s a passionate moment that tells me a lot about the people who are within it. I may think about this scene for a few minutes, a few days or a few weeks until more and more of the character’s personality traits are revealed (Unfortunately this usually takes place when I’m writing someone else’s story – sometimes the characters wait quietly and other times they demand to at least be written down).

After I get through the scene where I’m introduced to these people, then I have to figure out how and why they got to this point. Usually one of the characters will let something out in the conversation that will clue me in to their history. This sounds very complicated, I know, but it really isn’t. I plot out the how, when and why before figuring out what is going to break them up and what will bring them back together.

My first published book was released April 15, 2014 so I’m coming up on my Author-versary (side note – I’m the queen of making up words) for my book titled A Haught Date. It was released as an e-book almost a year ago and earlier this year they released it to the world in print form. Bwah-hahahahaha *attempting evil laugh*

So there you have it…that’s how I do it.

What about you…how do you start your masterpiece?

Feel free to come say hello on any or all my social media hang outs.

or email LeelaLouDahlin AT gmail DOT com.

Planting the Seeds – Darla’s Creative Garden

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March is not yet half over, but spring seems nearly here in my little corner of the world. Today I saw a crocus blooming in my garden. More exciting is the fact our migrating vultures have returned in droves, filling (!) a neighborhood tree. All the same, May’s vegetable planting season remains far off. So I have made plans for April, enough to keep me busy before I can seriously dig in the dirt.
One activity is the A to Z blog challenge. Thinking of alphabetical subjects is already interesting. An additional undertaking is Camp Nano. I enjoyed National Novel Writing Month so much last fall that this additional event held by The Office of Letters and Light beckoned, too. I would have forgotten without a friend inviting me to join her virtual cabin.
(Thanks, Rochelle Bradley!)
We “campers” can set our own goal for Camp. It doesn’t have to entail the full fifty thousand word craziness of NaNoWriMo. Yet the way I figured it, why not go big? 50,000 it is. So, I plan to rewrite my November 2013 novel, Jimmying the Locke. Maybe this time I will think of an ending because that’s one tale that meandered off track.

Whatever the season in your area, what are your plans? I hope you enjoy some creativity, indoors or out.

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