Stories. There are literally thousands upon thousands of stories out in the world today. So, let's say you have a great, new idea that pops into your head while you're eating breakfast. You have to get it written down right away so you don't miss one word of it. You put the idea in your box/basket/folder, or wherever you keep story ideas, and you continue what you're doing. A couple of days later you decide to pick up a new book to read. You start to read it and sure enough, right there in … [Read more...]
Day 50: The Narrative of Your Life
We all have a narrative we live by. Our morales. Our ethics. Our beliefs. Our likes and dislikes. Plus many others. All the things make us who we are. And through writing, we can find ourselves through the words we write. I know I do in my characters. They come alive in my head and I try transferring that to the best of my ability to paper. The narrative of my life has been anything but easy. The positive through all of this is I can use those experiences in my fiction. Maybe somehow, someway, … [Read more...]
Day 49: Tilting
When we write we put our heart and souls into our characters. They become a part of who we are. But are those character verbatim of who we are? Of course not. We "tilt" the character just so, so that he or she has something similar to who we are. There might only be a smidge of something about us but it's there. Tilting the characters makes them in their own right individual and unique. But if we don't put ourselves into our work it won't sound right. No, I won't be a thing like the … [Read more...]
Day 48: Community
When I think of a writing community I think of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). This little community of writers is so much more than writing. There is Novel Track. It's a place of accountability and support. You let the group know what your goal is at the beginning of each month. Then, as each day goes by you report in your numbers for that day. In return, you will receive positive reinforcement. Even on the days where you did nothing and tell the group you have a great big goose … [Read more...]
Day 47: The Writer’s Club
As a writer, we have all joined a special club that I'm happily a member of: The Writer's Club. It doesn't take much to join. Actually, it's relatively painless. Simply put, you just have to write. That's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I joined the writer's club while my daughter lay before me getting sicker over those 16 days. At the time, I didn't even know I had joined the club. I was accepted without question. And all I did at the time was relay information to family and friends about … [Read more...]
Day 46: Frou-Frou in Your Head
I love this quote from the book. "Remember this: there is nothing until there’s something on the page." We can all have a million and one thoughts and dreams rolling around in our head, but until they are written down they are all frou-frou in your head. If you have thoughts or ideas, no matter how silly or strange you may think they are, write them down. Nothing may ever come from them. But what if something does? What if one of those ideas happens to become the next great American novel. You … [Read more...]
Day 45: Stubborn and Stupid
I think at some point in our lives we are stubborn and can make some really stupid mistakes. Being stubborn is good in writing because if we were to stop writing after receiving our first rejection letter, there would only be a few books in the world today. I know I have made plenty of stupid mistakes throughout my lifetime. It is how I've learner to not make those same mistakes over and over again. As a writer we will make tons of mistakes. It's okay. How can you learn to be a better writer … [Read more...]
Day 44: Sad Flailing and Panic
Look at the following quote. "Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up." —STEPHEN KING I would have to agree with Mr. King. No, you will never ever see me reading one of his novels (talk about nightmares for days). However, finding out that even a writer as good as he is gets writer's block and he looks at writing the same way I do makes it so I can relate to him. We all have those time where we panic because … [Read more...]
Day 43: Nelson’s News
Perception. There can be ten people who read the same exact story and you will have ten differing opinions on whether the story is any good and what they liked and disliked about it. A great example for me is the "The Shack." Personally, I loved this book. It was recommended to me by a friend shortly after my daughter died. It took me a long time to finally sit down wand read it. I loved how the author was able to show God in such a way that the main character of the book could finally … [Read more...]
Day 42: Darling, What If You Tried…
Constructive criticism. With anything we do in our life we need someone who is willing to take the time and help us to get better. However, there are two very different ways to go about doing it. Let's say in your writing you head hop with your POV's (point of view). One critiquer says, "This is terrible. When you write you have to keep the same POV. How do you expect someone to follow the right character if you're constantly head hopping." Here is the other critiquer. "You have a strong … [Read more...]
