Time for Fun

Today’s blog will be short. It’s a beautiful day and I want to go outside and enjoy.

On the subject of having fun, there’s a game I’ve been wanting to share with you. It’s the Reader’s Digest Word Power Game. Before a writing session I often use it as a warm up device. It’s an enjoyable pastime and also a tool to improve vocabulary. There are four parts. The first section is multiple choice questions. They give you one word and you have to select the best definition out of four options. The next portion involves unscrambling words. It’s sort of like playing hangman only they provide a definition. There's a nerve wracking timer ticking in the background. I don't seem to hear the timer while doing the other sections, but I always do during the unscrambling component of the game. It’s the most challenging part. Next comes a matching exercise. They give you four words and four definitions and have you determine which belong together. The final part gives you six words, three pairs of synonyms. You have to put the corresponding words together. They give you a score at the end. Try it sometime. The link is: http://www.rd.com/international/asen/wordpower/WordPower.swf

A second thing I want to tell you about is a writing book I’ve been reading. It’s Novelist’s Boot Camp 101 Ways to Take Your Book From Boring to Bestseller by Todd A. Stone. The book relates the process of writing a novel to military strategizing. The analogy works well as a structure to organize the book and also makes dry subject matter entertaining. Stone starts with the initial creative process and takes you all the way through to final editing. I checked him out on line and found he offers Novelist’s Boot Camp Workshops. If he does one in Denver I plan to attend.

"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." George Bernard Shaw

Are we there yet?

I’m impatient. I want to be done. I felt almost finished with my manuscript until late March when I decided to make dialogue documents for each of my characters. The dialogue documents are a single list of all remarks one character makes throughout the book. I compiled these lists as a double check to ensure each character’s comments are true to his or her personality. Some statements for each of them popped out as too bland and not fitting their character type. At the time I thought it would be easy to go in, make the necessary corrections and be done in a snap. I was wrong. It’s been weeks and I’m still making dialogue changes. The problem is conversations involve multiple people. When I change one person’s comment I often have to alter another person’s response. This means I’m going back and forth from one character to the next in multiple scenes making numerous adjustments. In addition, the dialogue document for Travis established that he needs further development.

Travis is a gregarious prankster, the kind of kid who talks a lot. It makes no sense for him to have a shorter dialogue document than the other two supporting characters, but he does. I think I tended to omit remarks from him because his personality gets in the way of the task at hand. I was preoccupied with protagonist Jenna as she tried to solve her various problems including the mystery. Now I realize Travis offers an opportunity to add more tension to Jenna’s situation. His fun-loving personality can hamper her progress in solving the mystery. This will put a strain on their relationship adding interest to the story.

Improving Travis’ character will make a better manuscript, but the realization that I’ve got more work than anticipated has impacted my morale. I procrastinated all last week, doing just about anything I could to avoid getting back to my novel. I was like a kid on a road trip, making her family stop at a rest area, not to use the facilities, but rather as an excuse to get out of the car. I was so frustrated by how much I had left to accomplish I shut down production.

This week I’m trying to recharge and be positive. Even if I’m behind in my self-imposed schedule some things are going well. Several of my characters are well developed and ready. Even though I’m disappointed the answer to the question, “Are we there yet?” is no, I’m happy I’ve got a clear plan mapped out and the destination is in sight. With an improved attitude I believe I can make better progress this week.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bestselling author Ellen Hopkins

Bestselling young adult author Ellen Hopkins inspires me. During her speech at the SCBWI Seattle regional conference last May she showed a picture of a beautiful sunrise taken from her Nevada window. She said she stopped writing to take the picture at four-thirty in the morning. I remember being astonished at her commitment, up in the middle of the night writing. Then last week when I heard her speak again, this time in Denver, she said she answers about three hundred readers’ emails each day. I wonder where she finds the time to write her best-selling novels, travel for speaking engagements and answer hundreds of readers’ emails.

I think her relentless energy comes from a realization that her voice is needed. She feels a personal calling to speak to young adults, all of them, but especially those experiencing difficulties. She’s determined to reach her readers. Her message is so strong she loses track of time, she doesn’t tire. She’s doing something she loves and something that gives meaning to her life.

I’m impressed by her ability to give so much of herself in her writing. I can’t believe she’s got teenagers with tattoos and multiple piercings voluntarily reading poetry. She’s practically a miracle worker in my book, but she’s modest. She sat with a group of about thirty of us novice writers in Denver and said something like “My book, Crank, came out only five years ago, six years ago I was like you.” I don’t know about that, but I do know she’s a fantastic speaker. If you ever have the opportunity I recommend seeing her.

Weather Influences My Writing

My mother-in-law was born and raised in Iowa. Every time she sends us a letter the first paragraph typically depicts the local weather. I’ve always attributed her preoccupation with weather to her small farming town’s dependence on agriculture. I never felt I was affected much by weather until today, when I realized the weather holds symbolism for me and my writing.

It was dark, rainy and windy this morning in Denver. I was in a bad mood. I felt overwhelmed by all I had to accomplish. Maybe I should query an agent today I mused. Thunder clapped over my head. I jumped. Nah, I thought, I might get a rejection and it will feel just like that thunder. I looked at the dark clouds dropping rain on my patio and thought about the solitude of being a writer, no team meetings, little collaboration, it’s a lonely job. I muddled through the tasks on my list for a few hours. The rain and clouds passed. I took a break and went outside with the dog. I held the dog’s leash in one hand, and my hood in the other. The sun may have come out, but the wind was as strong as it had been earlier and I was walking against it. My sunglasses provided as much protection from blowing debris as they did from the sun. The wind reminded me of all the other commitments going on in life that push me away from my writing. Other responsibilities like laundry, dishes, and bills to pay compete for my writing time.

I thought about the sun, too. For me it represents inspiration. The wealth of ideas and possibilities available to me as a writer. It also stands for the freedom to be my own boss, to be in charge of what I want to write.

My mother-in-law has an obvious excuse for her fascination with the weather. I can’t explain why I’m prone to weather analogies, but obviously I am. Did I mention my first book is titled, The Family Secret - A Rainy Day?

"Pray don't talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me so nervous."

- Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 1