Courting My Muse

Kindle 2.0 Impressions and Tips

2009-03-14T13:45:00.025-04:00

I received my Kindle 2.0 last night and have been playing with it for awhile. My main reason for getting it is to read my own and other author's unpublished manuscripts. Reading for long on a computer screen makes my eyes bleed, and the amount of paper and ink I use printing everything out, especially as I'm writing and revising on a daily basis, adds up quickly. Reading published novels on the Kindle is something I may do every now and then, but I love the feel of an actual book in my hands, so that use of the Kindle so far is just a gimmick to me.

Overall, I'm pleased with the Kindle, and I'm glad I got it. And hey, it's a new toy. What's not to like about that?

Let's Get Physical

I'm impressed with how thin and lightweight it is. It weighs about the same as an average size paperback novel, and it's thinner than a pencil.

Easy on the Eyes

Reading on a Kindle is very easy on the eyes. Since the screen is not backlit and the resolution is so high, it really is similar to reading text on a printed page. But you do need sufficient light to read by. You can easily read it out in the sun (unlike a computer screen). But in a low-light environment, you'll need a lamp. It's not quite as easy to read as printed material in low-light situations, but it's pretty close. For example, I have a lamp near my bed that I use to read by. The lamp is not right at the edge of my bed, so I don't get direct light because of the lampshade. With a printed book, it's plenty of light to read by. With the Kindle, it's barely passable. I had to scoot the lamp closer to the bed and get direct light for optimal results.

Don't Touch Me!

When you hand your Kindle to friends for the first time, they may be tempted to touch the screen, believing it to be a touchscreen. It's not. You may want to explain this first.

Brains...

The Kindle has a built-in dictionary, and can show you the definition for any word in the book you're currently reading. Neat stuff. I've read you can also browse Wikipedia, but I haven't tried that yet.

Where Am I?

An unfortunate feature of Kindle books is that there isn't any concept of a page number. In a way this makes sense, because you can adjust the font size of the text, and that would change the page numbering of a book. But it also makes it hard to know where you are in a book, other than the visual progress bar at the bottom of the screen. I'd like at least the option of preserving a book's original page numbering (even though it wouldn't correspond to actual Kindle pages), so I could refer to a specific page outside the context of the Kindle. This becomes especially important when critiquing or revising unpublished manuscripts.

Houston, We Have a Problem

I encountered some technical hiccups with my Kindle, and it turns out a lot of other people have, too. When I first connected it via the supplied USB cable to my computer, my computer didn't recognize the Kindle (as a USB drive). This was resolved by resetting the Kindle. Here are two ways you can do that:

Reset the Kindle through the menu system by pressing Home -> Menu -> Settings -> Menu -> Restart. (Yes, that's about as intuitive as an income tax form.)
Slide the power switch to the right and hold at least 15 seconds.

The Kindle will reset (reboot). Unfortunately, I've had to do this three times already, and I haven't even owned the thing for 24 hours. Not very comforting.

Another glitch I encountered was the Kindle getting stuck in Standby mode. I'd see a graphic on the screen telling me to leave standby mode by sliding the power switch to the right and letting go. But doing that didn't help. When connected to the computer, it never recognized I'd unplugged the USB cable. Since I couldn't navigate through the menus, I had to use the second option above to reset the unit.

I'm in Print!

Getting an unpublished manuscript on the Kindle is easy. You can email a Word document to your own Kindle email address. It actually goes to Amazon, they convert it to their own azw format, and send it wirelessly to your Kindle. And they charge you 10 cents every time you do this. Or you can send it to an email address that is your normal Kindle email address with this domain: @free.kindle.com, and Amazon converts it for you and emails you a link to the converted azw file, which you can then download to your desktop and upload to your Kindle via USB, for free.

You can also bypass Amazon altogether by converting the Word document yourself and uploading it via USB to your Kindle. I feel a little better about this, as sending my manuscript as an email attachment doesn't exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Here's what I do:

Format my Word document to be more suitable for reading on the Kindle. I write my manuscript using standard manuscript formatting for novels. This means I have double-line spacing, courier font, left-justification, two hyphens for em-dashes, underlines for italics, and so on. I'd much rather it look like a published book when reading it on the Kindle. I created a Word macro to do this for me at the click of a button. It also makes all my chapter headings use the Header 1 style, to allow me to easily create a table of contents later on. Of course I save this formatted document to a different file than my original document! Note that headers and footers will not be retained during this conversion process, so you'll lose any page numbers there.
I use the free MobiPocket Creator to convert my formatted Word document to the prc format (which the Kindle can read). I import the formatted Word document, edit the metadata so the book's title and author appear correctly, and add a table of contents (simply putting "h1" in the first tag field; this will make sense if you're looking at that part of the software).
I upload the prc file to my Kindle via USB. Ta da.

Taking Notes

Reading unpublished manuscripts on a Kindle won't be very productive if you can't take notes and have access to those notes back at your computer. I tried to make this work using the Kindle's built-in annotation feature, but ultimately it fell short. You can highlight any portion of the text you're reading, and you can add annotations to any location in the text. The Kindle's keyboard is tiny and a bit clunky. It's fine for brief notes, but you don't want to be typing in revised paragraphs or anything lengthy (beyond a few abbreviated words). And your annotations can be exported as a text file. Unfortunately the text file by itself isn't very helpful. Here's an example:

WIP (Me)
- Highlight Loc. 31-32 | Added on Friday, March 13, 2009, 10:46 PM

out.
==========
WIP (Me)
- Note Loc. 32 | Added on Friday, March 13, 2009, 10:47 PM

move earlier in sent
==========
WIP (Me)
- Highlight Loc. 47 | Added on Friday, March 13, 2009, 10:54 PM

then
==========
WIP (Me)
- Note Loc. 47 | Added on Friday, March 13, 2009, 10:54 PM

del

I had highlighted the word "out" and made a note to move it earlier in the sentence. I had highlighted the word "then" and made a note to delete it.

The only clue about where in my novel these notes were taken from are the "Loc." numbers. Whatever those are.

You could have your Kindle at the computer and go through all your annotations there, since they will appear within the manuscript as superscript references. But even that feels cumbersome to me.

I settled on getting a small digital voice recorder. That way I can read enough of the text out loud to identify where a change is, and describe the change or critique in much greater detail. It's a compromise, but so far it seems best for my needs.

Footnote

For anyone who's interested, here are the formatting steps I use on my manuscript in Word:

Page size: 6x9"
Margins: 0.5"
Single-spaced lines
Full justification
Pleasing font (Bookman Old Style 11 pt)
Two spaces to one space
Two hyphens to em dash
Tabs to first line indent 0.3" (tabs didn't convert for me using Amazon's service; not sure about MobiPocket)
Underline (both word & single line styles) to no underline and italic
Straight quotes to smart quotes
Remove headers/footers
Remove whitespace before title on title page
For section breaks, change # to centered *** with hard line breaks on each side (I use a single line with # to indicate section breaks in my manuscript; this change is to three asterisks with a blank line before and after)
CHAPTER to CHAPTER with Heading 1 style (all my chapters begin with CHAPTER; if I have a PROLOGUE, I do it for that as well); this enables an easy table of contents creation later on

It's fairly easy to record a Word macro as you do all this, so you can later click one button for the entire conversion.

A Hero's Epiphany

2009-03-12T20:24:00.011-04:00

No, this isn't an epiphany my protagonist had. It's an epiphany I had about my protagonist. Which, now that I think about it, might enable my protagonist to have her own epiphany.

I'm well over 20,000 words into my "new" (haha) first draft. (It's almost a total rewrite and re-plotting of a previous "first draft".) My protagonist up until now hasn't really had a clearly defined character arc. She's basically been an ordinary, nice person, thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Those intense, life-altering events bring out her inner character and show what she's really made of, and she perhaps is stronger because of it, but she doesn't really have a dramatic character arc of her own.

And that's not such a bad thing. Many fine novels have characters that don't change much. But I've always felt a good story can be made richer with a realistic, dramatic character arc. It's something you can't force. It has to grow organically out of the story. At least for me it does. I have to follow her around, writing down what she does, until I "get" her. Quirks and all.

Today, I "got" her. She's still basically a nice person from the start, but she's got some growing to do if she's to end up happy. Well, as happy as she can be after all the trouble I throw her way.

I've seen a discussion of character arc presented in many different forms, some more complicated than others, but my favorite is based on Michael Hauge's brilliant lecture from The Hero's 2 Journeys.

This is psychology 101, but the gist is that your hero has a wound. It can be a specific traumatic event in the past, or a period of time in their past that did some damage. They then build up armor to protect themselves from suffering that wound, either the past one or anew. Their armor is their outward personality they've built up to control and deal with the world. It's based on fear of suffering the wound again. And the armor generally works. It protects them. But it also prevents them from living in their essence, or who they are beneath all the armor. And it's difficult to love and be happy if you're not living your essence.

So, character growth is about someone learning to go beyond their armor and live in their essence. That's typically not a pleasant process, nor a process one undertakes voluntarily.

And speaking of epiphanies, you can't just throw in an "Aha!" moment and have your character change. You'll lose your audience. There must be a continual struggle, back and forth throughout the story, a glimpse of essence, falling back into armor, a greater glimpse, retreating back, and on it goes. Then the change, which may not be complete, will be much more believable.

If you want to get deeper into this, check out Michael Hauge's work. He's a master at the craft.

As I write this, I'm 24% into draft one.

24498 / 100000 words. 24% done!

I have a bit of work to do on my next draft to weave in my protagonist's character arc up to this point, but it's very exciting.

Ahead of Schedule in Spite of Twitter

2009-02-20T13:55:00.011-05:00

Writer and Muse Succumb to Laziness

After recently rousing myself from a bout of writer's lethargy (with the help of a motivating kick-start from c), I've been on my insane-and-probably-unrealistic writing schedule for a week now.

I'm actually a little ahead of schedule. Not bad, considering I'm outlining 10+ chapters a day. (I tend to write short chapters, so I'm estimating 50 chapters in a 100,000 word book.) The real test will come in less than a week when I have to churn out 5000 words a day (and work at a full-time job).

And all this just after I started tweeting on Twitter. Actually I'm far more a lurker than a tweeter. I'm following Felicia Day (season two of The Guild just ended; I'm hopelessly addicted), Wil Wheaton (now an author, blogger and geek), and a few friends. I had to remove Brent Spiner because he made me laugh too much throughout the day to get any serious work done.

I'll probably remove everyone except for friends soon, now that I see how people are using Twitter. It reminds me of the early Internet phenomenon where unknown people stuck webcams around their house and allowed you to subscribe and watch their lives. People actually paid to watch a young woman eat her meals, watch TV, and sleep. Day after day after day. With Twitter you can lurk into people's minds all over the planet. Of course there's more to it than that, but celebrity following seems that way for the most part.

It's far too easy to tune in to all the tweets out there and waste inordinate amounts of time. Kind of like YouTube's related video links.

So far I've found no compelling motivation to tweet often. Which is great for my writing.

Oh my, look at that. Right now Felicia Day is drinking a strawberry essence layered with donut-infused milk and topped with espresso.

Back to Work

2009-02-14T17:18:00.002-05:00

I'm back to work full steam ahead on my WIP, essentially starting fresh. I have a strict schedule, with progress indicated on the sidebar.

I imagine most of my posts will be extremely boring for awhile, for I am putting much less time into the blog so I can focus on writing.

My schedule covers the following phases: Outline, Draft 1, Draft 2, let my primary reader critique, Draft 3, let others critique, Draft 4, and that's it. This one's extremely accelerated since I already know the characters, their world, and most of the key plot ideas already.

Steve Renfroe

2008-12-07T16:25:00.007-05:00

Mom's book is finally available! I'm very proud of her accomplishment.

Steve Renfroe, the notorious sheriff turned outlaw, has long been a legend in Alabama. This novel is based on his life.

After the Civil War, during the bloody years of Reconstruction, the handsome Renfroe became a hero by rescuing Sumter County from carpetbagger rule.

With his election as sheriff, his downfall began. Driven by personal demons, and the fear of losing his wife, Renfroe committed crimes that turned him into a hunted outlaw.

No jail could hold him for long. His brilliant escapes added to his notoriety. As his crimes grew more daring, he became known as the Terror of Sumter County. Unable to turn back, Renfroe continued down a road that would end in tragedy.

This is his story, told as it might have been.

Advance Praise for Steve Renfroe:

“Stephen S. Renfroe's legacy is a source of unending fascination and speculation. By juxtaposing his family life with the public drama, [Kilgore] adds a tragic dimension to Renfroe's story. Students of Black Belt culture and folklore, as well as anyone interested in the continuing mystery of a remarkable man, will want to read this book.”
– PAUL M. PRUITT Jr., Special Collections Librarian, Law School, University of Alabama, Author of a new introduction to Alabama's Outlaw Sheriff, Stephen S. Renfroe

“Steve Renfroe was the handsomest [outlaw] in Alabama. This real-life rogue parlayed his charisma into a position of power and influence in the county seat of Livingston, Alabama before he became the most wanted man in the state. Recreating the turbulent Reconstruction days, Katherine Kilgore spins a tale based on the real Renfroe, but adds her own indelible touch to her novel of love and betrayal!”
– NAN GRAHAM, public radio commentator, author of Turn South at the Next Magnolia and In A Magnolia Minute

“An intimate view of history, a fascinating picture of how it may have been for this capable but flawed man and the woman who married him.”
– JOHN S. NEEL, former publisher, Sumter County Home-Record.
Author of A Lively Mind: The Story of Lynn Arthur Smith, A Gifted Teacher

“My wife and I both have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. [The] book provided many unique twists to a story that I have heard repeated often in Sumter County. People in this area will be anxious to obtain a copy.”
– RICHARD HOLLAND, Ph.D., President, University of West Alabama
President, Sumter County Historical Society

“I found Steve Renfroe to be a fascinating character and followed his story with great enthusiasm. This carefully researched book increased my insight into the Reconstruction Era in the South, of which I knew little. Part notorious criminal and part victim, Renfroe was caught up in the turmoil of a difficult time in history that often brought out the worst in men.”
– ELLEN REULAND, author of Leaf Burning: Poems of grief, hope, and moving on.

Now available on Amazon

I'm Not Dead Yet

2008-11-12T14:49:00.006-05:00

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Whew. The work project deadline has been met and I'm beginning to get life back to normal. I'm really excited about resuming work on my WIP, and there's a freshness to the entire book for me now.

My mom has received all of the cover blurbs for her novel, with a scheduled release date of December 4th. So she's very excited, too.

There's Pam!

2008-11-06T22:51:00.005-05:00

Jenna Fischer (Pam) & John Krasinski (Jim)

I've been catching up with episodes from The Office lately. Since I have no real free time because of my work project, I squeeze in an Office episode while I'm eating. Of course I'm a big Jim and Pam fan.

Working day and night and entering into delirium at two in the morning has its advantages. Last night, unable to sleep or work, I flipped through cable channels and stumbled upon Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Yep, that's Jenna Fischer there, co-starring with John C. Reilly.

Small world.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

2008-11-05T20:46:00.003-05:00

I really enjoyed Jacob's Ladder. Despite having the ending ruined for me by reading a review by Eleanor Ringle (in which she quotes its resemblance to a well-known short story I had read in high school with the same twist ending -- tsk tsk, you should know better, Eleanor), it's a fascinating film.

I especially liked Danny Aiello as Louis the chiropractor, who turns out to be the spiritual guide for our main character.

I never used to be into chiropractors, until I found a master in the field about a year ago. Now it's one of the high points in my week. He doesn't quite have me seeing angels, but it's not far off. :)

Presidential Flicks

2008-11-04T21:05:00.004-05:00

Today being the big election day over here in the US, I thought of all the president movies I've seen (where the president was a major character in the movie).

Although I enjoyed the two largest grossing president movies (Independence Day at #1 and Air Force One at #2), by far my favorite is The American President. It came in seventh.

Cheating Time & Peeking Ahead

2008-11-03T23:55:00.004-05:00

Ever wish you could go back in time and do something a little differently? Kind of like Jeff Winston in Replay?

I just cheated time by twelve hours with this post. Isn't technology wonderful?

So here we are on ~~Tuesday~~, er, I mean Monday, and I'm working day and night on my day-job project. I find myself thinking about writing at night when I'm in bed, but not about my WIP. I'm brainstorming on TW, my code name for the next project I want to work on. I'm still going to finish IA, my WIP, after this work project, but TW is very attractive for several reasons:

It's new.
It's more original.
It involves world creation on a much larger scale than anything I've ever done before.
It crosses genres in a good way, lending itself to (urban) fantasy and science fiction.

It's going to be interesting to use all the outlining craft I've been learning on a project from scratch next time around.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T12:01:00.002-04:00

All Souls Show

2008-10-30T22:29:00.003-04:00

Listen to The Beyond All Souls Show

Join the Fangs, Fur, and Fey team-- Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, and Mark Del Franco-as well as other NYT bestselling authors Jocelyn Drake, Vicki Pettersson, and Holly Black to talk about faeries, vampires, and all things paranormal with Eos Executive Editor, Diana Gill.

Replay

2008-10-29T22:42:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm reliving my younger years lately. Friends from the past are resurfacing. People I spent high school and college years with. It's an odd feeling, mixing the person I was back then with the one I am today. On the one hand, I feel like the same young kid who's gotten a lot older. And on the other hand, that person from long ago doesn't exist today.

Reminds me of the novel Replay, by Ken Grimwood. It's a fascinating story, based on a fantasy many of us would love to experience. What if you could live your life over, with all your memories intact?

I'll just have to settle for sharing stories of the old days over lunch, and catching up to discover who my friends from long ago have become today.

Chess

2008-10-28T23:55:00.000-04:00

My WIP is on temporary hold until I finish a huge project at work, with a deadline of November 11th.

Which just happens to be my late father's birthday. (Love you, Dad.)

Who just happened to have taught me how to play chess.

Which is what I'm going to be doing in November from the 21st through the 23rd, in the Georgia Class Championships.

Which reminds me of the first tournament I ever played in, the Southern Open, in Nashville Tennessee, long, long ago.

Where my very first tournament game was against a young girl. Nervous doesn't begin to describe how I felt. A girl? Why do I have to play against a girl? Hey, I was a kid. Give me some slack.

Hopeless Romantic

2008-10-27T22:27:00.004-04:00

Photo by Clara Natoli

All you need is love
-- John Lennon

I can't help it. I'm hopelessly drawn to good love stories. From Nickie and Terry to Sam and Joon to Clarence and Alabama to Harold and Maude, the magic takes me away every time.

Here's a great free article by Michael Hauge on how to write romantic comedies. I don't know if I'll ever write a romantic comedy, and I can pretty much tell you I'll never write a romance novel, but nearly every story I've written has a love story interwoven with the main plot.

And even if it isn't always romantic love, it's going to be some form of love. True love strips away the veil, connects us in a way that touches the core of our being. It's not enough to peel away the layers and find some literary universal suffering. Deeper still, and the prior, underlying wholeness awakens us to something greater than isolation.

When two lovers kiss, the "other" dissolves, and we come home. I can't think of a better way to describe the creative impulse. It's a longing. The longing. To transcend all the crap and share something real and wonderful.

Hey Little Sparta

2008-10-24T23:14:00.000-04:00

Engineer's Guide to Cats

2008-10-23T22:57:00.002-04:00

Two days of cat blogging this week. So we'll start with an educational video.

Returning to a Favorite

2008-10-22T23:50:00.002-04:00

Not much to report on the writing front. On the reading front, I'm returning to one of my favorite authors, Kim Harrison. The Good, The Bad, and The Undead is the second book in The Hollows series. I really enjoyed Dead Witch Walking, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

Under the Weather

2008-10-21T22:49:00.002-04:00

I don't exactly have the flu, but I've been under the weather lately. No doubt because of all the work I've been doing, and oh yes, my mom has a cold. Nothing a little rest and some writing shouldn't cure. :)

Daydreaming

2008-10-20T23:30:00.002-04:00

I'm so busy lately, all I have time for is daydreaming as I drift off to sleep.

Writer's Block

2008-10-17T18:28:00.003-04:00

Note to My Muse

2008-10-16T23:55:00.001-04:00

Early Years

2008-10-15T23:03:00.003-04:00

I feel I'm getting to know my protagonist more and more. She's extremely intelligent, and I stumbled upon this photo of her before she had learned to walk.

I added a good bit to chapter two, passing 4200 words. I'm still amazed at how much I'm changing things from the outline as I write. The basic structure's still there, but the scenes never go exactly like I'd envisioned them.

Can't Sleep, Clowns Will Eat Me

2008-10-14T19:15:00.002-04:00

I've enjoyed this phrase ever since I saw it years ago on a bumper sticker. Today I discovered it's a Bart Simpson quote.

Anyway, my brain's mush today. Not enough sleep and exhausted from work. I'm sure I'll throw out whatever I manage to write today.

Busy

2008-10-13T23:32:00.002-04:00

I'm incredibly busy lately, working on a big project for my day job. Not that I choose to be so busy, as Michael Caine suggests. I'm more like the duck who finds himself so busy in the middle of the lake.

I can't spend as much time as I'd like on writing, but I'm making every effort to write something every day. I rewrote most of chapter two and my word count slipped just over 3,000. Yes, I tend to write short chapters. However, I am considering compressing my planned third chapter and sticking it on the end of chapter two after a section break. No dawdling allowed.

Yo, Dog

2008-10-10T12:27:00.003-04:00

Writer in da house!

Outline? What outline?

2008-10-09T22:26:00.002-04:00

2863 / 100000 words. 3% done!

I managed to finish a little over half of chapter two today. Funny how a full-time job keeps getting in the way. I've already deviated from my outline in both chapters so far. These are just tiny deviations, so the outline is still a great help. But something happens when I start writing the actual text. Somehow the pieces start falling together and details I had overlooked during outlining now give me a clear picture of how the story should unfold.

I introduce my protagonist in chapter two. In my outline, I had her meeting her romantic interest at the end of chapter three. In chapter two, I had her dealing with various issues in her "ordinary life," starting with her at work in an old bookstore with a lot of charm. But when I sat down to write chapter two, it suddenly hit me. She's still at work in the bookstore, and we're introduced to her ordinary life, but the first thing that happens is she sees her romantic interest in the cafe. Of course! And she reacts to seeing him, and it affects her entire day at the bookstore.

Craft teaches us much about how to properly structure stories, but in spite of all the theory (which is necessary in my opinion), the actual text of a novel must grab our attention and draw us into a world and the lives of our characters. Some of my favorite books, books I fell in love with and dreamed about, have noticeable flaws in conventional theory. I'm not talking about breaking the rules here. I'm talking about true weak points, that fixed would have genuinely made the story even stronger. Yet these books immersed me so deeply into a world by having a flowing narrative that drew me in. That's the heart of a good story. And it's either in the text or it isn't. For me at least, it's very difficult to capture this in an outline. So when I start actually writing, I have to let this dictate how closely I stick to the original outline.

Feels Great to Be Writing Again

2008-10-08T21:26:00.004-04:00

1760 / 100000 words. 2% done!

After an extensive period working on my outline (and learning how to outline), I'm finally writing my second draft. It's probably safer to call it a new first draft since so much has changed.

I'm really excited about the story.

(There seems to be a problem displaying my favorite word count meter from zokutou in a Blogger blog post. Sigh. So for now I'm using the NanoWriMo word meter here, and keeping the zokuto meter on the sidebar.)

Forget Everything

2008-10-07T22:34:00.003-04:00

"If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few."

From Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
By Shunryu Suzuki

Just a reminder,
After all the writing techniques
and knowledge of craft,
When you sit down to tell your story,
Forget everything you know.

Let the words flow,
Let your Muse play,
Enjoy the dance.

Tic Toc

2008-10-06T21:30:00.002-04:00

My self-imposed deadline for a draft two outline of IA is Wednesday, in two days.

This is my first effort at serious outlining (speaking as a reformed pantzer), and I must say it's been quite a struggle. I want to write as the bulk of the creative process, not outline. Much of what I've been figuring out is how detailed to make my outline.

I'll start writing the second draft on Wednesday, and I'm very excited. But I don't have a detailed scene-by-scene outline. I have detailed scenes for Act 1, detailed free-form paragraphs outlining Act 2, Part 1, and more general paragraphs outlining the last half of the story. I know all the major turning points and the ending.

For my major characters, I have a "character motivation matrix" for each major stage of the story. I found this to be extremely helpful. By organizing in one simple table my main characters' outer and inner motivations, and conflicts they encounter, I can ensure the plot is character-driven.

I've learned a lot about scene and overall story construction. And I've been reminded to forget all the rules and let my muse freely play.

I've realized I have a tendency to be a perfectionist, and how that can stall my writing.

So here we go. Did you hear that? Was that a deadline whooshing by?

Support Your Loved One's Passion For Writing

2008-10-03T22:39:00.002-04:00

The author of Vampire Catnip enacts a scene with his girlfriend.

Perfectionist

2008-10-02T22:26:00.004-04:00

Visit Inkygirl

I used to be a first draft perfectionist. Never finished a first draft. Finally, I took the advice of those with more experience, and turned off my inner-critic during the writing of a first draft. And I blazed through it.

Now I'm an outlining perfectionist (for my second draft). I'm finally realizing it's best to just go forward and finish the thing.

Then I suppose I'll be an Nth draft perfectionist, trying to get it ready for submission to an editor.

It's a good thing I have other ideas, itching to be written. Great motivation to complete a project and move on to the next one.

NaNo WriMo

2008-10-01T23:05:00.002-04:00

National Novel Writing Month is held every year during the month of November. People from all over the world agree to write a 50,000+ word novel in thirty days. Some people do it as a fun throwaway project, some do it to get a significant chunk of a first draft done, some just want to complete at least one novel, but everyone does it to have a lot of fun.

I've never participated, and I'm passing this year because of my WIP. It does look like crazy fun though, and I may join up some year soon.

Author Spotlight: Octavia Butler

2008-09-30T21:26:00.002-04:00

I first read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler years ago based on a recommendation by Orson Scott Card. I really don't want to give anything away, so let's just say it's a story about two very unusual beings whose chance meeting alters their lives forever. Card gave this book as an example of an effective first sentence of a novel:

Doro discovered the woman by accident when he went to see what was left of one of his seed villages.

Right away we're introduced to the two main characters and a number of significant and intriguing questions arise. This book, and its related books, were fascinating and entertaining to read.

Did you know:

Octavia has won both Hugo and Nebula Awards.
Octavia wrote Fledgling, a story about a vampire.
Octavia spoke at MIT, and the talk is called "Devil Girl From Mars": Why I Write Science Fiction.
You can see these videos of Octavia talking about writing and her views on life.

Self-Sacrifice

2008-09-29T23:24:00.003-04:00

To love someone so completely, you'd be willing to walk through hell to be with them, never fails to move me. The love story from What Dreams May Come gets me every time I see it. It consistently catapults me beyond my ordinary awareness, awakening the part of me that transcends any one born lifetime. All in the moment where Chris Nielsen gives up everything for his beloved.

Appreciate the Time You Have

2008-09-26T22:49:00.003-04:00

A survivor of Hurricane Ike takes refuge in a tree to escape the flooding waters.

For my friends and everyone else in the path of Hurricane Ike. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

True Love

2008-09-25T22:14:00.003-04:00

My current wallpaper

I can't help it. I'm getting all swept up in the Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer. I just finished New Moon, am about to start reading Eclipse. What is it about this series that has me so hooked? Yes, vampires are my favorite supernatural being, provided the universe allows them to "have a soul" and be good (well, at least as good as they can).

But there's something else in the series, I realized tonight, that draws me. Bella and Edward are soulmates. How many people entertain the idea of finding their soulmate when they are young, and eventually "grow out of it" after life sends them a bunch of duds, and "learn" to settle for compromise? Yes, the Twilight Saga is "young adult", and the soulmates here are teenagers (sort of), but their love is that special miracle that touches a deep chord in anyone that's ever been a hopeless romantic.

And that's worth writing about.

Eureka!

2008-09-24T23:58:00.000-04:00

Archimedes making his famous discovery

I've thought of the perfect new climax to IA (my WIP). It all flowed from the dilemma I added.

Inspiration From the Kitchen

2008-09-23T21:42:00.004-04:00

Yesterday my copy of Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting by Jeff Kitchen arrived. This looks like a real gem. But it's the kind of book that needs to be slowly savored.

Already, in Chapter One, he covers some ideas discussed by Aristotle almost twenty-five hundred years ago. Kitchen says:

Dilemma may be defined as "a situation with a choice to be made in which neither alternative is acceptable." Two equally unacceptable alternatives--two equally painful choices. The story of someone trapped in a challenging dilemma can be riveting.

...a solid dilemma of this sort can always improve the plot. ...a writer may come in with a well-plotted story, but creating a new dilemma or strengthening an existing one will inevitably improve the material.

So naturally the first thing I did was ask myself if my WIP had a dilemma (as defined above). Well, not really. I have a compelling hero with a visible goal facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But my hero isn't faced with two equally unacceptable alternatives.

So next I thought, how can I add dilemma in a way that will improve the story? The answer hit me. It fit right in with my existing idea, and enriched it. It fits in with the theme I had been discovering from my first draft. And it makes the story much more riveting.

All this from the first part of the first chapter in this book! This book has already paid for itself, and I'm eagerly looking to see what else is in store.

Movie Moments

2008-09-22T21:26:00.005-04:00

I'm a big fan of movies, and every now and then a movie will come along I can watch again and again. It will have at least one moment that breaks my heart open in love. I try to remember these moments, and write them down. If these moments in story-telling blow me away, how I can I incorporate that kind of feeling into my own stories?

Benny & Joon is one of my favorite movies. Besides the quirky charm and beautiful cinematography, it has one of those magical moments. It's the scene with Johnny Depp as Sam, as shown above. The love and dedication being expressed, the crescendo of the music, the rhythmical dance of the shot...it undoes me every time.

Your Writing Space, Your Sanctuary

2008-09-19T14:30:00.003-04:00

Reduce distractions by closing the door and drawing the blinds.

Two New Craft Books

2008-09-18T14:19:00.004-04:00

In my endless effort to check out every highly-recommended book on writing, I got these two books from Amazon yesterday:

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

This looks like a very solid book. After a quick skim, it seems to cover many of the same ideas that have inspired me by Michael Hauge, although with a bit more verbiage. But that's fine. It's still well written. He even seems to incorporate a method very similar to the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson. My first impression is that there's not much new for me, but considering how many bad writing books are out there, this one stands out pretty far above the rest.

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain

This one has some high recommendations, so I had to check it out. First, the bad news. This book made my eyes bleed. Originally published in 1965, the dated prose is frequently stilted and the author rambles on about his psychological theories of what makes good story-telling, with detailed loquacious systems of what makes good craft. Isn't it a bad sign when you're trying to learn how to write from someone whose writing style makes you cringe?

In spite of all this, there is some excellent writing advice sprinkled throughout the book. Yes, you'll have to hunt for it. Yes, you'll have to translate ridiculous terminology into practical instruction. But if you're up for it, it's there waiting for you in the pages of this book. Consider the opening sentence of the book:

You need to know only four things in order to write a solid story: how to group words into motivation-reaction units; how to group motivation-reaction units into scenes and sequels; how to group scenes and sequels into story pattern; how to create the kind of characters that give a story life.

Scary, isn't it? You can check out a streamlined explanation of motivation-reaction units (ouch!), scenes and sequels by Randy Ingermanson here for free. A final word of caution to anyone who dives into this stuff. As Swain and Ingermanson suggest, don't use this stuff to write by. Use it to analyze and revise. At least until it becomes second nature and flows naturally in a creative manner. And even then only if it helps you fix what isn't working for you.

Finding the Right Job

2008-09-17T10:07:00.004-04:00

I had originally given the protagonist of my WIP a part-time job as a massage therapist. I lazily gave her the job without a great deal of thought. After completing the first draft, I had her waiting tables at a nice restaurant, thinking she'd enjoy the extra income.

However, a week ago I realized the perfect part-time job for her. Working in a bookstore. And not one of the mega-bookstores, but an independent one with charm and character. You should have seen her smile. In spite of all the danger and horrors I'm throwing at her in the story, she's happy as a clam to be working there.

Author Spotlight: Stephenie Meyer

2008-09-16T17:14:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure why I put it off, but I finally read the mega-popular young-adult book that's been taking the world by storm.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, is about seventeen-year-old Isabella "Bella" Swan who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. Bella falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire, and her life is forever changed.

I couldn't put the book down. Suddenly I was a teenager again, completely wrapped up in their lives, the tribulations of high school, with my whole life ahead of me. I was Edward, falling in love with Bella. I was Bella, falling in love with Edward. I was invisible, watching them fall in love with each other. I completely get why this book is so popular. But if you ask me to give an analysis, I'll come up short. Strong on characterization, with a fascinating premise and memorable scenes sprinkled throughout the book, there is a magic here that's hard to pin down.

The closest I can come is to say Stephenie's story-telling is so engaging because she completely believes in and utterly loves her characters. How can a writer go wrong there?

I haven't read the sequels to the series yet, but I just finished her followup book, The Host.

Wow. She did it again. I couldn't put this one down either. I haven't been this sucked into a book in quite awhile. There's magic here, and I sure wish I could bottle it.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Did you know:

Twilight the movie is coming to theaters November 21, 2008. (Yes, they've changed the release date from December.) The film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, and is directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
As told to MTV, Stephenie would like Matt Damon and Robert Redford to star in a movie version of The Host, and if she could snag a host body it would be Charlize Theron.
Time Magazine asks if Stephenie is a new J. K. Rowling.

Progress

2008-09-15T23:00:00.009-04:00

I'm doing fairly well with my self-imposed deadline for IA's 2nd draft outline. Made it through Act 1:

Stage I: Setup

Turning Point #1: Opportunity

Stage II: New Situation

Turning Point #2: Change of Plans

Now I have a week for the first half of Act 2:

Stage III: Progress

Turning Point #3: Point of No Return

Oddly enough, I'm mixing Michael Hauge's story structure (above) with parts of Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method. Even though I only snowflaked Act 1 through all the snowy steps (up to the spreadsheet), I did the first three steps for the entire story.

I found Michael's character motivation matrix (sorry, to get the scoop on this you'll need to purchase Writing Screenplays that Sell) very insightful. While the information isn't much different from Randy's step three, the organizing of the information in table form, along with Michael's guidelines, shed light on dynamics I had not seen before. And yet the more complete sentences and paragraphs Randy had me writing clarified aspects I hadn't seen in the matrix. I realize this may seem vague without an example. I suppose my point is the systems mix well.

I realized the other day that my quest to do a 2nd draft outline (after writing the 1st draft in pantzer mode) entailed far more education than I ever dreamed. I naively thought I could open Word, dash out an outline of the 1st draft, fix the outline and move on. Nothing could be further from the truth. Outlining well, at least for me, is anything but trivial. But I've learned a lot since mid-July, wandering blindly through this educational process. I'm very curious to see how it works out for me when I start from scratch on my next project.

Perspectives

2008-09-12T16:29:00.002-04:00

A writer looks at the world from a different perspective.

Fonts and Blood

2008-09-11T21:38:00.004-04:00

What's Your Favorite Font?

Also check out this interview of Alan Ball by Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

Let it Snow

2008-09-10T19:46:00.003-04:00

I just stumbled upon The Snowflake Method, a useful technique of building up your story progressively, from a single sentence to a detailed scene-by-scene outline, and more. Invented by Randy Ingermanson, it's free! Be sure to check out his sites (the two previous links) for additional goodies.

I've already integrated some of Randy's ideas into my current process. In particular, I'm mixing in ideas from Michael Hauge. The two systems play well together, and are helping me sharpen my focus as I work on my second draft outline deadline.

True Blood

2008-09-09T12:27:00.008-04:00

Sookie and Bill

True Blood premiered two days ago on HBO. Based on one of my favorite book series by Charlaine Harris, I'd been looking forward to this cable series for quite awhile.

True Blood is the latest creative project of Alan Ball, Emmy award-winning director/creator of Six Feet Under, and Academy award-winning screenwriter of American Beauty.

Academy award-winning actress Anna Paquin nails the character of Sookie Stackhouse, which is not an easy task. I also liked Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, Ryan Kwanten as Jason Stackhouse, and Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte (although I pictured Sam a little differently in the books).

Like any TV series, it usually takes a season for the characters to settle into their roles, the writers to settle into the story, and begin to shine. This is no exception, based on the pilot. Parts were good, parts were rough, but it has promise.

The only downside for me was that it felt like a good deal of content was being shoved in my face for purely shock value. The pilot opens with a scene of Sookie's best friend, Tara (played by Rutina Wesley), being a total jerk to her boss and a customer. Does she have good reason? Apparently not; that's just her personality. Sookie's co-workers (except for her boss, Sam) are all lewd and crude. Next, toss in some fairly graphic sex scenes with Sookie's brother, Jason. Now I'm not that much of a prude, but this unmotivated "Ooh, look at what we can do on HBO" was not in Charlaine's books, and the inclusion of it here only takes away the charm of her work.

If only they could have eased it into the series, it might have worked for me. Get me to empathize with Tara, even a tiny little bit, and I'd accept her blow-up at work. Introduce Sookie's coworkers as interesting, quirky people, and then I'll accept their crude humor while on the job (I should say that Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds was well done and an exception to my rant). Build up to a graphic sex scene after I know the characters better and it will seem like part of the story.

I'll keep watching the series, because I love Sookie Stackhouse and it's a thrill to see her on the screen, especially portrayed so well by Anna Paquin. I also have hopes that the series will find itself and begin to click. After all, Alan Ball won all those awards. It should get better, right?

Deadlines

2008-09-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

Douglas Adams in his first Monty Python appearance

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

- Douglas Adams

I don't have any writing deadlines. I don't have an editor breathing down my neck, demanding an outline or finished novel. I also don't have a finished 2nd draft outline for my WIP.

This time I really have untangled my plot issues. No really. I have.

So I'm setting a deadline for myself on this outline. It's pretty much a total rewrite. There are a few scenes I can keep from the 1st draft.

One month. There, I said it. The 2nd draft outline will be done in one month. By October 8th.

If I miss it, I'll ~~get fired~~, um, I'll ~~give up writing~~, er, I'll ~~edit this post and change the due date~~, well, let's just say I'm not going to miss it.

More Cat Writing Tips

2008-09-05T15:51:00.001-04:00

Dramatic Writing Tool #29: Treachery

Passion

2008-09-04T16:30:00.008-04:00

I got my copy of Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds yesterday. More great stuff from Michael Hauge.

One thing he talks about is the passion and inspiration you first felt that motivated you to spend months, and even years on a story. While he's talking about it in terms of how to get your screenplay or novel read by prospective agents (or editors, producers, etc.), I had to take a minute to recall what my initial passion and inspiration were for my WIP. Mine began with a "what if" question, based on a situation. It was pure setup, with no visible plot or characters yet. But my passion was also fueled by my love for good vampire fiction, and the qualities in that genre that appeal to me.

I then looked at my WIP plot, and realized it didn't focus on the "what if" question. In other words, I could remove the "what if" setup and my story wouldn't really change. And by doing that, I lessened the emphasis on those qualities I love about the genre.

How did this happen? Because I wrote the first draft in pure pantzer mode. My plot got increasingly complex, and I began noticing a couple of inconsistencies (as unbelievable coincidences) and unrealistic character motivations. These sneaky little problems aren't easy to detect (at least for my CP and me) because of the way the story moves and the separation of the elements that cause the problem, but once they're pointed out, it's one of those "Oh yeah, that doesn't add up" reactions.

Here's another thing about passion. If you don't really have it for your project, I can't imagine the nightmare it would be if your first book in a series sold, and suddenly you had to write a bunch more.

I don't think this means I have to start over from scratch. But it does mean I need to focus on and emphasize my passion about the project as I work on the second draft. Which may very well include significant redoing of the outline. That's fine with me. I'm willing to trash everything I've sweated over, if it's the right thing to do. After all, I'm not in this for the money (ha!) or public recognition. It's the passion of writing itself that moves me. The passion of bringing a world and characters to life, and creating a story I would love to read.

Sites

2008-09-03T18:30:00.002-04:00

...you may want to check out:

Double-Tongued Dictionary - Undocumented or under-documented words from the fringes of English, with a focus on slang, jargon, and new words.
Free Online Courses & Lectures from Great Universities - Get your research here!
Guide to Literary Agents - An editor helps you find the right agent.
Language is a Virus - All sorts of writing goodies.
The Book Deal - Famous writers give their advice.
Pub Rants - An agent speaks her mind.

Author Spotlight: Jim Butcher

2008-09-02T08:39:00.010-04:00

When I started asking for recommendations of who I should read to catch up in the Urban Fantasy genre, one name consistently came up.

Jim Butcher is the author of Storm Front, the first book in the Dresden Files series.

Harry Dresden--Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment.

Harry Dresden is the best at what he does. Well, technically, he's the only at what he does. So when the Chicago P.D. has a case that transcends mortal creativity or capability, they come to him for answers. For the "everyday" world is actually full of strange and magical things--and most of them don't play too well with humans. That's where Harry comes in. Takes a wizard to catch a--well, whatever.

There's just one problem. Business, to put it mildly, stinks. So when the police bring him in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with black magic, Harry's seeing dollar signs. But where there's magic, there's a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry's name. And that's when things start to get... interesting.

Magic. It can get a guy killed.

When I first heard the premise of this novel (and the series), I thought, "A P.I. wizard is just not my cup of tea. Ah well. Research for my genre." But I ended up enjoying Storm Front, and I plan on reading the rest of the series. Jim Butcher's style (as you'd expect from a gumshoe atmosphere) is humorously sarcastic with a quick pace. The story moves, moves, moves right along.

Another reason I had to check Jim's work out is that this genre is dominated by female authors. And most of the books have a female protagonist, written in first-person POV. Storm Front is written in first-person with a male protagonist's voice. It's nice to see there's good precedence for this with Jim's highly successful novels.

Did you know:

The Dresden Files was made into a TV series on the Sci Fi Channel.
The audio version of Storm Front was read by James Marsters, who played Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
You can take roleplaying to the ultimate degree, with costumes and props, and participate in Live Action Roleplay with Jim.

Word Painting

2008-09-01T13:32:00.006-04:00

I've recently dusted off a wonderful book on my shelf, Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan. I've always thought one area I needed work on in my writing is expanding my palette.

When I first started writing seriously, I saw there were many ordinary actions I had to repeatedly describe throughout a novel: walking, standing, sitting, etc. Not to mention all the emotional reactions of my characters: surprise, annoyance, interest, etc. I discovered two things:

I didn't have enough effective ways to describe many ordinary human actions and emotions.
Many descriptions I used lacked depth.

In short, my palette was too limited. It's not that I want to sound more poetic or have readers swoon over my prose. I'm a big fan of simple and direct writing. But writing must be truthful to what is being described. I want to find the correct simple and direct words to use in my descriptions.

As Rebecca McClanahan points out, you can't learn a bunch of tricks and spice up your writing to make it more descriptive. You can't toss in a bunch of adjectives, similes and metaphors and produce richer prose. There are specific craft techniques, and the author gives you plenty of them, but more importantly she teaches you how to awaken your own senses and translate them into words that are effective and appropriate for your writing.

My writing style will probably always be simple and direct. I favor Hemingway over Faulkner in terms of technique and style. And I realize I'll never be a great writer. But I want to realize my own potential and be as good as I can be.

Word Painting is helping me get there.

No Mission is Impossible

2008-08-29T17:04:00.006-04:00

If you want to write about breaking into the CIA, sometimes you just have to do the research yourself.

And Just When I Thought It Was Safe

2008-08-28T13:41:00.004-04:00

Rachel Vincent goes and posts about yet another shiny new writer software toy, Post-it Digital Notes.

You can color code your post-its, add links and photos, resize them, and much more.

Word

2008-08-27T18:53:00.006-04:00

Like many of you, I use Microsoft Word for writing my novel. Recently I've posted a lot about my search for a good outlining tool. The ones I'm most attracted to right now are SuperNotecard and PowerStructure. However, neither does everything I want.

Take a look at the outline tree structure I'm currently favoring:

Act 1
Chapter 1
Scene 1
Plot Point 1

I'm not asking for too much.

With SuperNotecard, I can use decks for acts, cards for scenes, and write plot points on the card. But no chapters.

With PowerStructure, I can use their Novel template and I have acts, chapters and plot points. But no scenes. I could rename chapters to scenes, but then I won't have chapters.

But look what I can do with Word:

This is easily accomplished with outline view and heading styles. It's simple. "Act 1" has the "Heading 1" style, each "Chapter" has the "Heading 2" style, each "Scene" has the "Heading 3 style, and I just used plain text for my plot points.

You can:

Expand and collapse each tree node where you see the "+" symbol.
View any level of your outline. For example, I could view just acts and chapters (hiding scenes and plot points), or acts, chapters and scenes (hiding plot points), or view everything, as in the above picture.
Drag tree branches around to reorder them.
Customize the various heading styles to your heart's content. Want the chapters to be in a different color, font or size? Piece of cake.

Pretty cool, don't you think?

It's not the final answer in outlining, and there are times when SuperNotecard and PowerStructure seem like a better tool. But if you're already using Word, you might want to play around with this feature.

Author Spotlight: Jocelynn Drake

2008-08-26T11:30:00.003-04:00

It's always wonderful when you find a new story and character(s) you fall in love with, especially when its an author's debut work. This happened for me when I read Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake.

For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.

I just loved this book. The atmosphere and Mira epitomize what has fascinated me about vampire fiction. I can't wait for further books in the series.

Vicki Pettersson said "...Drake has composed a love letter to the vampire genre," and I couldn't agree more.

Did you know:

Nightwalker is on the New York Times and USA Today Best Seller lists.
Rachel Vincent interviewed Jocelynn here and here.
Jocelynn has a blog where she shares her passion for writing, answers questions, and supplies me with regular Muppet fixes.
Jocelynn is a stock market analyst and editor for an investment research firm.

I'll Take the Red Pill Please

2008-08-25T09:20:00.001-04:00

What lasts for hours, will have you seeing things you haven't seen before, and literally expands your mind?

A Michael Hauge lecture. I only recently discovered Michael's work, when I watched The Hero's 2 Journeys, a 3 DVD set, where he lectures along with Christopher Vogler. Wow. Wow. Wow. This man is brilliant. I have never before enjoyed instruction on writing as I did when I watched Michael lecture. Almost every sentence that comes out of his mouth is something you want to write down and think about.

And I'm not the only one. Mel Francis drinks Michael Hauge Kool-Aid. Therese Walsh has a great three-part interview with Michael over at Writer Unboxed.

Note that even though his work seems aimed at screenplays, it's universal enough to apply to all forms of storytelling. He even gives specific tips relative to novel-writing at times.

If you're interested, check out his articles. Here's where further yumminess can be had:

The Hero's 2 Journeys is available as a separate 3 DVD set, but also is bundled for free with the pricey Power Structure program. While the videography leaves a lot to be desired, the material is fantastic. You can also get an audio version on CD or download.

Screenwriting for Hollywood is available on CD or download.

Writing Screenplays That Sell and Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read are both books.

Cat Blogging Delayed For Good Reason

2008-08-22T20:02:00.001-04:00

Sorry I'm late. Stormtroopers again.

How Do You Relate To Your Muse?

2008-08-21T16:29:00.004-04:00

Mugging the Muse, by Holly Lisle
It's free!

Not everyone courts their muse, as I do. How do you relate to your muse?

Power Structure

2008-08-20T15:55:00.000-04:00

Power Structure is the latest shiny new toy I've been playing with. Essentially, it's an outlining tool with some very nice features. It lets me organize my outlining thoughts the way I want to. It's not trying to write my story for me, or even help me come up with ideas. It allows me to structure my ideas in a better way.

One of my favorite features is that it allows me to rename all the key terms in an outline. If I don't like "plot points", I can rename that to "story event" or "scene". If I don't like "protagonist" I can rename that to "hero".

Their novel template uses acts, chapters, and plot points (but remember, you can rename those terms if you want!). You can move plot points to other chapters, and chapters to other acts, but this becomes a little cumbersome if you have a lot to move. You can put in as much detail to an act, chapter and plot point as you wish. You can view the plot points as index cards, and shuffle them around. You can track plot points by character(s) and your own custom categories. You can assign tension level to plot points, and view graphs of the tension over time (kinda neat, but I'm not sure I'll use this feature).

You can define "to do" items for an act or chapter, and check them off (very conveniently) as you create the plot point that will include that item.

You can define all your characters, provide as much detail as you want, categorize them, and associate them with your plot points (chapters and acts). You can define their "character arc" and track it throughout the story.

Gestalt View

You have a "gestalt" view, which is simply a view that displays acts, chapters and plot points all in one screen, with acts in the leftmost column, chapters in the next column, then plot points, and finally plot point details. Very handy for a more graphical layout of the entire structure. I have a large widescreen monitor, and I think this view may seem more cluttered on smaller conventional monitors.

Realistically, you won't be using all the features. But the unused features don't seem to get in the way.

At $129.95, it may be a little pricey for some. There's a free demo (limited by # of plot points and no thesaurus) you can try out. I'm having fun with it so far. Whether it will become a regular tool in my writing, I can't yet say.

Be forewarned, this program comes with copy protection, where you can register up to three machines for it to work on. You can unregister a machine. If your hard drive crashes or you forget to unregister a machine (and then lose access to that machine), call them up and they'll work something out with you. My concern is what happens when they go out of business. You can still use the software, but you'll have to enter your "key" every time you run the program. I realize software piracy is a problem, but I'm not a big fan of companies incoveniencing paying customers to try and circumvent it.

Here's some reviews by Thomas Kane, Top Ten Reviews, and Sandra Durham.

The company is hard at work on version 2 of this program.

Author Spotlight: Kelley Armstrong

2008-08-19T17:05:00.000-04:00

I picked up a copy of Bitten, by Kelley Armstrong, long before my interest in urban fantasy picked up again.

Bitten is about a young woman named Elena Michaels, the only female werewolf, who's trying to live a normal life in the world of humans. Then her former pack calls, and they need her to come home and help with a very dangerous situation.

For me, Bitten is classic urban fantasy, written at a time when it seemed like this sub-genre was just exploding onto the scene.

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series, sharing the same "world", but not always with the same narrator.

Did you know:

Kelley is writing a young adult series set in the Otherworld universe, called the Darkest Powers Trilogy.
Kelley wrote a crime novel called Exit Strategy.
There is an Otherworld Roleplaying Site.

Free Your Muse

2008-08-18T09:35:00.001-04:00

Free Your Muse
Barbara Stanwyck from The Miracle Woman

Holly Lisle has once again saved the day, but in a most unexpected way.

As the two or three of you who read my blog know, I've been struggling with my 2nd draft outline. I'm making progress, but I haven't completely untangled the mess my pantzer ways got me into.

I had recently purchased Holly Lisle's How to Beat Writer's Block audio course, not because I wanted the audio course, but because she's selling it as a bundle with a bunch of her "clinic" e-books, which I did want. I'm a sucker for writing craft books and software toys. They're fun to read, inspirational, and if I find one useful tip or technique, it's worth it. So I figured the audio course would probably never get listened to. I almost never have trouble coming up with ideas for writing. So why should I listen to an audio course on how to beat writer's block?

But in a way, I was having writer's block with this 2nd draft outline. Not in creating ideas, but in fixing ideas I had already written. So I thought I'd give Holly's course a try.

I don't want to divulge the contents of her course, so let me just say it led me to this very revealing question:

When did writing this novel stop being fun?

Through Holly's technique, the answer blurted out of my fingers onto the keyboard without giving my conscious mind time to construct an answer. I don't want to discuss specific details of my novel, so I'll phrase my answer this way: My novel stopped being fun when Event X happened. This was one of those answers that I already knew inside at some level, but I wasn't taking it seriously. I didn't appreciate the implications of what had happened.

Event X happened to my protagonist. I had planned Event X since I started writing the first draft. My protagonist took Event X in stride, took it very well, and went on with her life as best she could.

My line of questions went something like this:

When did writing this novel stop being fun? When Event X happened.

How do I fix this? The easy way is to take out Event X.

If I leave Event X in, why did it take the fun away?

And then it hit me. The answer to that final question: Because my protagonist didn't react the way I had written.

My Depressed Protagonist

My protagonist was angry. Angry at the person who did Event X to her, angry at life for Event X happening to her, and angry with me for writing her reaction without consulting her first. I didn't let her express any of this anger, and she became depressed. The life had gotten sucked out of my book.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I had abandoned my muse at that point. Writing the novel stopped being fun, and it suddenly became hard work.

My protagonist's reaction to a major event in her life was not truthful.

"Fiction is a lie, and good fiction is the truth inside the lie." -Stephen King

Stephen King has often emphasized telling the truth when writing. I failed to do so because I already had this plot idea in my head and I sailed through writing the passage without my muse by my side. So my muse walked away in a huff.

Thanks to Holly Lisle, I discovered my muse was missing and trapped, and I freed her, promising never to let this happen again.

(Footnote: In searching for photos for this post, I learned a valuable lesson. Google for "woman in cage" at your own risk.)

Watch How I Soar

2008-08-15T10:55:00.003-04:00

"Writing is flying in dreams. When you remember. When you can. When it works. It's that easy." - Neil Giaman

"Sometimes you just have to take a risk and jump. You can grow your wings on the way down and learn to fly back up." - Unknown

Don't Wait Up

2008-08-14T21:52:00.004-04:00

Juggling Universes

2008-08-13T16:59:00.004-04:00

So here I am, working to finish my second draft outline, when I get a great idea for a completely different novel. I'm doing my best to focus focus focus on finishing my first novel, but I can't help but brainstorm ideas for the second one. It's a definite juggling act not to lose momentum on novel one and get carried away on novel two.

I wonder what other authors do when they are working on more than one book at a time?

Author Spotlight: Patricia Briggs

2008-08-12T16:50:00.000-04:00

After discovering Kim Harrison, I decided to check out an author I'd been hearing about: Patricia Briggs.

Moon Called is the first book in a series about Mercy Thompson, an auto-mechanic and skinwalker. Skinwalkers turn into animals (in this case a wolf), but the transformation is quick and magical instead of slow and agonizing. Surrounded by werewolves, vampires and fae, Mercy has her hands full trying to unravel mysteries and stay alive.

I particularly enjoyed a brief section of the book when Mercy meets with some vampires, and the ending was very exciting. There are three books in this series, and I've heard they get better and better.

Did you know:

Patricia has written several other series, including Alpha and Omega, the Raven Series, and the Hurog Series.
Silver bullets are known for stopping werewolves. However, they are very difficult to make. Patricia set out on a lengthy quest to make silver bullets.
You can read some interviews with Patricia here and here.

Inspired by Nightwalker

2008-08-11T19:20:00.005-04:00

Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake

I think I've finally freed myself from my second draft outline quicksand. I had a number of questionable motivations that triggered key plot events, but I finally (I think!) untangled the mess and am ready to move on.

I give credit to Jocelynn Drake and her recently released debut novel, Nightwalker. I don't want to talk too much about this book, as I'll be discussing it soon in an "Author Spotlight" post. Except this: I loved it. The atmosphere she creates is why I love vampires in fiction. It definitely awoke my vampire muse and helped me get moving again.

More Cat Writing Tips

2008-08-08T11:28:00.000-04:00

Learn to capture your audience's attention

Consider a retreat where others share your passion

Nods to Jocelynn Drake and Chandira for the video links.

SuperNotecard and yWriter

2008-08-07T13:14:00.007-04:00

SuperNotecard
(Click on image for larger version)

I've been having a blast with SuperNotecard. I could do the same thing with real index cards, but the software makes it easier, in addition to providing extra features. I can drag cards around in any order to play with ideas. I can view all scenes with a specific character in them, or all scenes told from a specific character's POV. I can organize cards (scenes) within decks (which can contain other decks). I can create my own categories, assign them to cards, and filter by category.

So far, I've created a deck for each act in my novel. I've started creating cards for Act I, where each card is a scene expressed by a single sentence (based on Holly Lisle's technique). Just this much has already been revealing.

Identifying a scene in a single sentence is not always easy. And that may be because that scene needs work. For example, I have a scene named "Jill meets Jack." (I've changed the names. I don't really have a novel with two main characters named Jack and Jill.) Yes, this meeting is significant in the plot, but the title of my scene leaves a lot to be desired. It sound borrrring. Do scene names like "Jill eats lunch" and "Jack watches TV" sound exciting to you? So with SuperNotecard I "flagged" that card. A tiny red flag actually appears on the card indicating the scene requires further attention. Notes on the flag remind me what needs fixing (the title of the scene). I think it's important to nail down the title of a scene. It ensures the scene is worthy of being a scene. I may have to "fix" the scene by sharpening its focus.

For me, a good scene moves the story forward, and shows a change in value of something that's important to a character, usually achieved through conflict. My definition is a mix of ideas from Holly Lisle and Robert McKee (author of the excellent book Story).

So Jill and Jack meet. What does that mean for Jill? How has her life changed as a result of this meeting? If I can't answer these questions, then I need to ask myself, "Why is this scene in my novel?"

yWriter
(Click on image for larger version)

I've also played around with the free Windows app, yWriter. This is a really neat little program. Unfortunately, there's one feature that's killing it for me. It forces you to first create chapters, and then create scenes within chapters. The whole point of plot cards is that you're not tying scenes to chapters. I suppose I could treat a chapter as a deck (act), or some other large-scale grouping. I'll play with it some more and see if it suits my needs. The Storyboard feature is a good idea, allowing you to reorganize scenes across chapters, but at the moment it's rather flimsy in its interface for my tastes. SuperNotecard is a lot more aesthetically pleasing for that type of work.

Plot Cards

2008-08-06T13:58:00.014-04:00

I could be working on the outline of my second draft of IA today, but like WeiRDgrrl, I've discovered a shiny new toy to play with. Plot Cards. The ever-generous Pride member Driftsmoke was kind enough to tell me about Holly Lisle's plot card technique (and some of the software that follows). Holly offers a free overview of plot cards, along with her Create a Plot Clinic eBook (which includes plot cards and much more).

I've been struggling with restructuring my outline, and plot cards feel like a tool that will help me juggle the complex threads and scenes more easily.

These people have something to say about plot cards: Marilynn Byerly writes about Using Index Cards to Plot a Novel, and Lolaness at Associated Content writes about How to Plot a Novel Visually: The Index Card System.

Being a programmer, the first thing I thought of after reading about plot cards was a way to write software to use virtual plot cards. Turns out I'm not the only one. Supernotecard looks promising. I've downloaded the free limited version and will give it a try.

I'm going to explore some other software as well.

Liquid Story Binder is a Windows app (apparently the one to get for Mac users is Scrivener) that is one of these all-in-one environments for writers: word processor, document organizer, plotting tools, and much more. I'm not sure I want such a tool. I've heard it can take a great deal of time to learn how to use all the features, and many of the features sound like overkill to me. But hey, it's shiny! Best of all, the free trial is fully functional (but time-limited).

yWriter is a free Windows app that uses scenes as its basic organizational unit. It's much simpler than the above programs, and has a very good review from PC Magazine.

And there's Chapter by Chapter, a free MS Word tool that lets you maintain your novel chapters as separate documents (MS Word is notorious for corrupting your files when you try to use the built-in document merge feature). Not sure this idea appeals to me, as there are many advantages to having your novel in one document (search and replace, word count, etc.).

Anyway, I think I'll start with Supernotecard and follow Holly Lisle's suggestions. Wish me luck!

Author Spotlight - Kim Harrison

2008-08-05T11:40:00.002-04:00

After reading Rachel Vincent's werecat books, the next author I discovered was Kim Harrison.

Dead Witch Walking introduces us to Rachel Morgan, a bounty hunter witch looking for a career change. Teaming up with a vampire and a pixie, Rachel soon finds her life is in grave danger. It's not often I read a book and am blown away immediately by the depth of immersion and unique style of writing I could only ever dream of emulating, but this is such a book.

I immediately ordered the remaining books in the Hollows series, and it's only because I'm forcing myself to read a wide sample of urban fantasy (research in the genre I'm writing for) that I haven't jumped on these books immediately.

The humor, the richly developed characters, and the living, breathing world are simply amazing.

Did you know:

Dead Witch Walking won the Romantic Times Best Fantasy Novel 2004 and P.E.A.R.L's (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) Best Science Fiction novel of 2004. PEARL also awarded Kim the Best New Author award in 2004.

Kim's muse is her music.
Kim makes a killer maple candy.

Zen Writing

2008-08-04T16:14:00.006-04:00

Zen Rocks

I'm taking a Zen approach to my second draft outline. I realized much of what excites me about writing is not knowing exactly what will happen in the story. There are many possibilities out there, and everything seems fresh and alive.

I've been somewhat stuck on my second draft, because I knew the outline needed some work. There's a very strong tendency to dictate a second draft outline by scenes you really want to keep from the first draft. But I owe it to the work to start fresh. This doesn't mean I'm throwing the first draft away. But I'm starting from the beginning of the story and "recreating" it, making sure it really wants to go in the directions of the first draft (which was not based on an outline). This requires a kind of "forgetting" about what I've already written.

It's exciting again, which can only be good. I feel like the first draft allowed me to get to know my characters and the story I wanted to tell. But now I have to tell the story with much richer characters, and see where they take it.

Writing Colonies

2008-08-01T08:35:00.000-04:00

Writing Colonies - Share your passion with others.

Fangs, Fur & Fey

2008-07-31T08:05:00.000-04:00

Fangs, Fur & Fey is a community of Urban, Paranormal & Contemporary Fantasy writers and readers. They recently had their first "con within a con" at the Conestoga Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention in Oklahoma. Hopefully this marks a trend in conventions for writers and fans of this sub-genre to enjoy panels and other events together.

I wonder if they'll make an appearance in my neck of the woods at Dragon Con?

Twilight

2008-07-30T08:17:00.008-04:00

I just stumbled upon this one (the book series by Stephenie Meyer), and noticed the movie coming out in ~~December~~ November 2008.

Author Spotlight: Rachel Vincent

2008-07-29T08:02:00.026-04:00

After immersing myself in worlds created by Charlaine Harris, I discovered the novel Stray by Rachel Vincent.

Faythe Sanders is a young college grad student with a secret. She's a werecat. Well, that's enough right there to get me to buy the book. I'm interested in urban fantasy (this blog is about my effort to write in that genre), and I love cats, so books about shapeshifters who turn into cats are made for me.

Stray is about Faythe having to go home to her father, brothers and fellow pride members, because a stray werecat is endangering the lives of the precious female werecat population. At some point while reading the book, I fell in love with Faythe. She has some growing up to do, and she's made her fair share of mistakes, but her faults are all believable and I can empathize with her situation. The last half of the book is absolutely gripping, one of the few books I had trouble putting down until the end.

Rogue, the sequel (and well worth reading), is also available. Pride, the third book in the series, is due out in February 2009.

Besides her writing, Rachel Vincent is remarkable in her willingness to share her love of writing and the process an aspiring author goes through in getting published. She reaches out to her fans and spends time regularly on her discussion forum and her blog. Her enthusiasm is infectious, and it's easy to come away from her site feeling that you, too, can find your muse and enter into the process of writing as a labor of love.

Did you know:

Rachel is working on a young adult series, possibly to be released in Fall 2009.

Lux Blog has a great interview with Rachel.

Rachel wrote a short story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.

Rachel is a werecat! See for yourself at 3:50.

Music and Writing

2008-07-28T08:20:00.001-04:00

Many authors today are outspoken about music's role in their writing process.

I first noticed this when reading the Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn. She includes a playlist of songs and artists she listened to while writing the book. I began seeing other author playlists in random books in the bookstore.

Rachel Vincent, author of the Werecat series, lists bands she likes to listen to on her web site biography.

Kelley Armstrong offers a soundtrack to her Women of the Otherworld series, listing songs and artists, along with an explanation of how each song fits in with the series.

Kim Harrison provides an extensive list of songs and artists for The Hollows series. She says:

"My muse exists in music. Logic maps the story, but music gives it its soul and sends my characters in directions that surprise even me."

I'm starting to look for specific music that I can associate with my characters, their relationships, various scenes and themes within my story. I need silence to write by, but music can be invaluable for inspiration, either to establish a mood, or when I'm stuck.

I played guitar professionally for many years, so who knows. I may even start writing songs for my characters. Right now I don't have time for that, so I'll let the songs already out there inspire me.

Kidneythieves music nails one of my characters to a T.

What songs and artists inspire you (for writing, or anything you like to do)?

The Reclusive Writer

2008-07-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Sofie, the Reclusive Writer

Slow Progress

2008-07-24T13:44:00.018-04:00

Visit Inkygirl

Slow going on my draft two outline revision. My full-time job is demanding most of my time. But I'm spending some time every day on my book, even if I don't accomplish a lot for that day.

I've been playing around with this word meter:

It really doesn't mean much at this point since I'm still working on the outline, but it's kind of nice to have a visual indicator of progress. Especially for times like these where it seems to be stuck. Gives me an extra push to make more time for writing. Someone said, "Writers don't find time to write, they make time to write."

Duck and Cover

2008-07-23T07:55:00.001-04:00

No, this post isn't about the government's ideas on how to protect yourself during a nuclear blast, nor is it about Carrie Vaughn's brush with lightning. It's only about what I've been up to lately.

The Cover
Yesterday I did the final touch-ups on my mother's dust jacket cover design, and she's sending it off today to the publisher. We're really looking forward to seeing the final product.

The Duck
I've been feeling a little like Howard the Duck recently. While Howard was "trapped in a world he never made," I'm trapped in a world I did make. I'm trying to finish up my outline for the second draft. My first draft had no formal outline, as I forged ahead in pure pantzer style. But now I'm paying the price. I think I've finally settled on the right approach, but there's still quite a few details to work out. There's a strong temptation to try and keep scenes and subplots I've already written in the first draft (many of which "worked"). I must be strong and only keep what's best for the story.

Author Spotlight: Charlaine Harris

2008-07-22T08:36:00.000-04:00

Charlaine Harris is the next author I discovered after Carrie Vaughn.

I picked up a copy of Dead Until Dark and was introduced to Sookie Stackhouse. All urban fantasy I've read so far has been written in first person, and I must say that Sookie is one of the most original characters I've read in this voice. Sookie is a barmaid in a small town in Louisiana who finally gets to meet a vampire. Charlaine does a wonderful job showing us the unique way Sookie thinks about everything. Sookie is hilarious, interesting and charming, and it's easy to fall in love with her. I found myself utterly fascinated by Sookie's quirky personality.

It looks like they're trying to change the name of the series from "Southern Vampire Mystery" to "Sookie Stackhouse" (as you can see by the image above; my copy says "A Southern Vampire Mystery"), but I rushed out and bought them all. For me, this is a perfect example of how the main character keeps me attached to the series, above plot, fantasy elements, etc.

Did you know:

HBO is making a series based on the Sookie Stackhouse books called True Blood. Academy Award winning actress Anna Paquin stars as Sookie. It is scheduled to debut September 7, 2008.
Charlaine Harris is also working on another series about a woman named Harper Connelly who can "locate dead bodies and determine how the victims died."
Previous to the Sookie series, Charlaine wrote two series in the more traditional mystery genre: Aurora Teagarden and Lily Bard (Shakespeare).

White House Briefing On Vampires

2008-07-21T09:32:00.004-04:00

Find out more here

Cat Writing Tips

2008-07-18T09:40:00.001-04:00

Yes, it's Friday again, cat blogging day.

Step 1: Get your hero up a tree

Have plenty of action

Find a mentor

Try new things

Pirates are fashionable

So is espionage

Pile obstacles on your hero

Have a happy ending

Take a well-deserved nap

Challenges of a Series

2008-07-17T11:05:00.000-04:00

Battlestar Galactica - My kind of sequel series?

I've just started watching season three of Battlestar Galactica, and I started thinking of the challenges of writing a book series. My current book is the first I've ever written that is part of a planned series. Some of the terms and ideas that follow are taken from a collection of posts by Kaye Dacus.

Types of Series

Serial Novels can be read completely independent of one another, and you don't miss anything. Each book is a standalone novel. You place the same main character(s) in different situations. Serial novels can go on forever without any real planning. The Spenser series by Robert B. Parker (sound warning) is a good example.
Spinoff Series are even more independent than serial novels. A minor character from one book becomes the main character in a spinoff book. A situation, environment or theme continues in the next book. There's enough continuity to call it a series, but each book stands on its own. Many times, a group of books (as a serial or sequel series) is a spinoff of a different group of books (also a serial or sequel series). The Hardy Boys (spinoff from Nancy Drew) is a good example.
Sequel Series contain an overall story arc that progresses through each book in the series. It's usually best (and sometimes necessary) to read them in order. This type of series is the hardest to pull off successfully, especially for an unpublished author (since it requires a bigger investment from an editor). The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien is a good example.

So of course I'm writing a sequel series, since I apparently like to do things the hard way.

Looking at TV series, I've noticed that some of my favorites are sequel series:

24 - This is pure sequel. Within a season you have to watch them in order.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - This is primarily serial, as most episodes stand on their own. However, some episodes are sequels of previous episodes. And of course the entire series is a spinoff of Star Trek.

Babylon 5 - This alternates between serial and sequel. As I recall they'd have an episode that's standalone followed by an episode fitting in with a story arc that spans the entire season, and even the entire series. Seasons build upon the previous, resulting in a dramatic climax at the end of the fourth season.

Battlestar Galactica - Another mix, this seems to be primarily sequel with some standalone serial episodes thrown in. And the seasons build on each other.

The challenges I'm noticing in writing a sequel series are:

Story Arc - I stick to the classical form of story-telling when I write. Grab their interest from the beginning, introduce the inciting incident early on but not until the moment is ripe, and have progressive complications throughout the story until a dramatic climax near the end. Each book in a series should have all these elements. But the series as a whole must also have them. The books in a series must build upon each other to reach a dramatic climax at the end. Without consciously planning it, I realized my first book not only contains its own entire story arc, but the inciting incident for the series occurs about two thirds of the way through (which is much too late to place the inciting incident for that book).

Character Arc - My favorite stories are the ones with character growth. In a standalone book, the main character usually undergoes a dramatic change. In a series, you have to stretch that growth out over the series. You still want significant and satisfying growth in each book, but like the story arc, you want the biggest growth at the end of the series. For me, an example of "too much too soon" was the character of Neo in The Matrix. He reached his full potential in the first movie, and the sequels lost much of their impact because of it.

Endings - The ending of each book must be satisfying, even though unresolved threads make you want to read on in the series.

Backstory - I haven't encountered the problem of how to artfully weave in enough backstory from previous books in a series, since I'm still working on the first book. But my intuition tells me I should treat it just like I treat backstory in one book. Fit the backstory into scenes that move the present story forward. Nothing bores me more than reading pages and pages containing nothing more than backstory. Too bad we can't borrow from TV series and spend the first few moments with "Last week on..."

Reading Order - Unfortunately, there's no way around the fact that reading a sequel series out of order is going to lessen the overall story arc and ruin many surprises. However, I'd like the reader to still enjoy reading books out of order. There should be enough suspense and conflict to make each book stand on its own.

Open-Ended - While serials are open-ended, a sequel series really should have a planned length, so that the overall story arc works. Most times I suspect it's best to end that series on a high note, rather than dragging it out until it dies on its own. But you can begin a new multi-book story arc if you really want to continue. You can also create a spinoff series, perhaps focusing on secondary (or new) characters as the main characters.

In conclusion, I'm working on a sequel series where each book can hopefully be enjoyed on its own. You'll really need to read the entire series (preferably in order, but if not, no big deal) to enjoy the overall story arc and character growth, but there's enough in each individual book to feel satisfied.

Sing-Along With Dr. Horrible

2008-07-16T06:15:00.001-04:00

I've been too busy with work (my full-time day job) to come up with an original post, so I'm borrowing another idea from Jodiferous and promoting the latest project from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly: Joss Whedon.

Go ahead, don't be shy...sing along with Dr. Horrible

Way to go, Felicia Day from The Guild!

Author Spotlight: Carrie Vaughn

2008-07-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

Carrie Vaughn gets credit for immersing me back into urban fantasy after my long break from the Anita Blake series. I wandered around a Borders bookstore while two friends played chess in the cafe.

Kitty and the Midnight Hour caught my eye. Intrigued by the humorous premise of a late-night radio talk-show, hosted by a werewolf who councils the supernaturally challenged, I bought the book expecting some light entertainment. I soon bought the remaining books in the series and eagerly read them. Four books in the series are out as I write this, with two more coming in 2009.

While the stories are entertaining and exciting, I think what attracts me to a series more than anything is feeling a genuine bond to the main character(s). Kitty Norville feels like family to me, and I enjoy simply hanging out with her, on whatever adventure she happens to be on. I'm also a big cat-person, and the name "Kitty" has special meaning for me in other ways. The other thing I really appreciate about the series is how close Kitty is to her family.

While reading this series, I was inspired to take up writing again, and for the first time seriously consider writing a series.

Did you know:

The Kitty Norville series has become popular with romance readers even though it was published as fantasy. Kitty and the Midnight Hour won Best First Mystery in 2005 at Romantic Times. In a Denver Post interview, Carrie said:
"I emerged from the world of science fiction and fantasy, but I'm being promoted as a romance writer. It's kind of like Jerry Lewis becoming popular in France, I guess."
Carrie's mother gave her a copy of Heinlein's Red Planet when she was eight, and soon after her father got her to watch 2001. How cool is that!

Carrie has published many short stories. Check some of them out here.

Second Draft Underway

2008-07-14T08:20:00.000-04:00

Photo from NASA

Yesterday was my official "launch draft two" day.

I went through and created an outline of draft one. It's a simple outline, based on chapters and sections within chapters. Since I wrote the first draft in pantzer style, I have some structural cleanup to do. I'm going through each chapter and section and asking myself, "Is the section motivated and believable? Is this section necessary to the story?"

I'm also addressing the necessity of the major themes in the story. My original inspiration for the story was a simple "what if" question. I thought it was enough for a short story. Now it's grown to a series of novels. But I soon discovered that my original "what if" question represented a central theme to the story, and now I'm questioning whether that theme should remain. I realize this may be difficult to follow without any specifics. Let's just say the story took off on its own. I'm trying to salvage that original theme, but if it doesn't end up working I won't hesitate to throw it out.

So here's my plan for Draft Two:

Decide on the central theme.

Rewrite the outline for the second draft, making sure each chapter and section follows the central theme.

Make an "enrichment" pass. This is where I tweak any descriptions and phrasing that needs adjustment. On the first draft I'm hurrying through and telling the story. I'll skimp on descriptions if they don't come to me right away, and I won't always choose the best way to say something. I'll sometimes use passive voice and weak verbs. This pass is about fine-tuning all that.

Make a "tightening" pass. This is a read-through where I look to cut any word, phrase, sentence, paragraph that doesn't need to be there. It's amazing how many extra words creep in. I feel like an entire pass devoted only to tightening can be beneficial.

My second draft is really my first real cut at the story. The first draft contains much of the story, but alot of it is exploration, trying things, going in various directions to see what happens. The second draft is something I'm ready to show people other than my critique partner. However, I still plan on a third draft, after a longer (than two weeks) break, where I read the story fresh and see if it works like I thought it did in draft two. After that, it's time to look for an agent!

Ideal Critique Partners

2008-07-11T10:12:00.002-04:00

Critique Partners Taking a Well-Deserved Break

Friday cat blogging. Yay!

Smile, Glow and Laugh

2008-07-10T13:25:00.002-04:00

I could work today...or I could watch this over and over. Makes me smile, glow and laugh.

Visit Where the Hell is Matt? for more of Matt, his dancing, a nice high quality version of this video, and more.

A gracious nod to Jodi for reminding me of this wonderful series of videos. If you want more smiling, glowing and laughter, check out Jodiferous, my favorite new discovery.

Pantzers, Plotters and Me

2008-07-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

I was perusing Rachel Vincent's old blog posts the other day, and I came across an interesting post about pantzers vs. plotters. (You really should check out her blog. It's a goldmine for aspiring writers.)

Plotters outline everything first. They know most of the major plot points before they write a word. Pantzers write by the seat of their pants (or pantz). They typically establish characters (although not necessarily well developed at this point) and situation, and discover what happens as they write.

I'd never heard these terms used in this way, and I'd privately wondered if I should be outlining more. It was refreshing to discover that this topic is well-known in writing circles, with arguments in favor of both sides.

Since, like Faulkner (ha! I've just compared myself to Faulkner), I like to follow my characters around and write down what they do, that would seem to put me in the pantzer camp. I must say I don't like the term pantzer. It sounds insulting and amateurish, doesn't it? It sounds like the chess term patzer, meaning an amateur of no real talent. (On an amusing side note, when I first scanned Rachel's post about pantzers, it was late at night. The next day, for some reason I remembered the term as panzer, and figured it must indicate that the writer forges ahead like a panzer tank without regard to outline.) To me, pantzer sounds like something a prudish plotter would come up with to describe their wishy-washy counterpart. It does nothing to capture the creative, organic process that actually takes place.

"King" of the Pantzers?

In his wonderful book, On Writing, Stephen King says he "distrusts" plotting and does it "as infrequently as possible." You really need to read his book to get his full take on the matter, but I find it comforting someone so successful recommends this organic approach.

So I may be a pantzer at heart; however, before I start writing, I've typically thought through a great deal about the world my characters live in. I've got a handful of great moments I'd like to see in the story. I have a good idea of what the major story threads will be, and where much of the conflict will come from. I may even know how it will end. My plots tend to be fairly complex, and I've thought through a good bit of it, even though I write down very little (as an outline). I also plot as I write (and as I drive to work, wait in line, and lie in bed at night). I think of major events that will happen down the road and foreshadow as I'm writing, or I'll just go back and weave the threads in afterward.

I'm not sure I could come up with the same ideas if I had to outline the whole thing in advance. Some of the best discoveries happen when you're writing. So if I decide to outline more, or one day have to (an obligation I would welcome because it means a publisher is actually interested in my work), I imagine my outlines will only tell part of the story.

Yet in spite of all this, I've been sufficiently motivated by Rachel's post to give outlining a serious shot. Done correctly, it can save you a lot of time, and you don't have to let it remove all the spontaneity from the writing process. It looks like maybe you can outline and follow your characters around and write down what they do. That's the theory anyway. I'll let you know how it works out for me.

Author Spotlight: Laurell K. Hamilton

2008-07-08T10:10:00.000-04:00

Laurell K. Hamilton was my first real exposure to urban fantasy.

I picked up Guilty Pleasures years ago by chance while browsing in the bookstore. Before I knew it, I was buying every book in the series to find out what exciting new adventure Anita Blake would get herself into. This hard-edged, stuffed-penguin-loving necromancer kept me coming back for more.

This was my first real investment in a series (as opposed to a book and its sequels). I think I made it through to Cerulean Sins, although I do see the next novel in the series, Incubus Dreams, on my bookshelf. It's been a long time since I read her books, but now that I've rediscovered urban fantasy, I wonder if I should revisit them. I almost feel like I have to start over with book one if I'm going to continue onward. So many books, so little time :)

Did you know:

Anita Blake has made it into Marvel Comics.

Laurell K. Hamilton wrote an authorized Star Trek The Next Generation novel titled Nightshade.

Writing Withdrawal

2008-07-07T09:41:00.001-04:00

I decided to abstain from writing about a week ago. I'd just finished the first draft of my novel, so why not take a couple weeks off, rest the brain, and get some other things done. Sounds good, doesn't it?

I felt like Hunter S. Thompson in rehab. I was lost in bat country. The bats had taken my darlings. Alone and bereft, and growing weary of the Thompson metaphor, I forced myself to get out and reclaim my former life.

I dusted off my old copy of Richard Hittleman's Yoga book. I've practiced various forms of Hatha Yoga, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan over the years, and this book has remained one of my favorites. Simple and effective--kind of what I strive for in my writing.

I went out to an actual honest-to-goodness real movie theater and saw The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. It was well made, and will definitely appeal to fans of the books. The scary part was that it cost me $40 for two people ($10 per ticket at a 4:10pm show, and $20 total for minimal food and drink). It's been awhile since I've been out to see a movie--is this normal now? It's so much cheaper to buy the DVD and see it on the home theater.

I finished the dust jacket for my ideal reader's new book! Yay. I'll post it when the book comes out.

But in spite of all the good intentions this week, I have a confession to make. I've already started streamlining my book. I haven't looked at the manuscript yet, but there were certain high-level things I knew without a doubt had to be done. So I'm just working on that. With the dust jacket work completed, I'll have time to work on my book again. I think the high-level work will keep me busy at least until my self-imposed two-week abstention from reading the manuscript is over. Yes, I've rescued my darlings from bat country.

Yoda

2008-07-04T10:34:00.010-04:00

Yoda, working on the little-known "sleep draft" of his manuscript

Friday is official Cat Blogging Day. If I could impact the urban fantasy blogosphere in only one way, it would be to spread this wonderful phenomenon. Maybe step one should be getting someone in the urban fantasy blogosphere to actually read my blog. ;-)

Hey, even CBS News is doing it!

How to Write Good & Avoid Rejections

2008-07-03T11:03:00.010-04:00

Visit Inkygirl

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Employ the vernacular.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
Remember to never split an infinitive.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Be more or less specific.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Do not put statements in the negative form.
Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing.
A writer must not shift your point of view.
Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; They're old hat; seek viable alternatives.

Ernie and Bill

2008-07-02T10:16:00.025-04:00

Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner

Two of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, represented two distinct styles of writing. They were rivals, as shown by this quote from Faulkner (about Hemingway):

...he has no courage, has never climbed out on a limb...has never used a word where the reader might check his usage by a dictionary.

And Hemingway had this to say:

Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use.

Philip S. Rader describes their stylistic differences in an essay:

Ernest Hemingway brings us to the moment with speed. He does it as quickly as the plunge of the dirk that drops a wounded bull that can no longer fight. In contrast Faulkner gently leads, involves and seduces, and then overwhelms.

In the essential resource for all writers, The Elements of Style, by William Strunk and E.B. White, they offer a comparison of the two styles as the famous authors both write about languor:

He did not still feel weak, he was merely luxuriating in that supremely gutful lassitude of convalescence in which time, hurry, doing, did not exist, the accumulating seconds and minutes and hours to which in its well state the body is slave both waking and sleeping, now reversed and time now the lip-server and mendicant to the body's pleasure instead of the body thrall to time's headlong course.

Manuel drank his brandy. He felt sleepy himself. It was too hot to go out into the town. Besides there was nothing to do. He wanted to see Zurito. He would go to sleep while he waited.

Not hard to tell who wrote which passage, is it? For me, they are simply two different styles of writing. My own personal preference is simple and direct.

Despite their differences and rivalry, both of these famous authors offered advice on writing that I have found extremely helpful.

In one of my favorite books about writing, On Writing, by Stephen King, King gives advice you'll find (in one form or another) from a variety of sources:

...the road to hell is paved with adverbs...

Both Strunk and Hemingway also warn against the overuse of adverbs (and adjectives), and it makes a lot of sense to me. It's easy to get sloppy and dress up weak nouns and verbs with excessive modifiers. Usually I find there's a better way to say something without the extra clutter.

The other inspiring influence from Hemingway is his famous quote:

The first draft of anything is shit.

Before I heard this piece of advice (via King's book), I tried to work on every page until it was perfect, until it was in final draft form. And of course I never progressed very far. There's a tremendous freedom in writing a first draft and giving yourself permission to move forward with an unpolished work. I recently listened to an interview with urban fantasy author Rachel Vincent, in which she echoes this sentiment. Without the pressure of making a first draft perfect, writing is so much fun again!

From his novel The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner was once asked how he possibly could have written the passages about a young girl named Caddy. He replied (I'm paraphrasing from memory):

I followed her around and wrote down what she did.

I can't tell you how much this inspired me. Brilliant! I'm not even sure I want to try and analyze exactly what this means, but it captures the joy of writing in so many ways. It's a wonderful experience for a writer when you sit down to write, and one or more of your characters refuses to do or say what you had planned. In the first draft of my current novel, several times I'd start writing a scene without any clue of what a character would say, and they'd surprise me. Their words and feelings rolled off my fingers onto the keyboard, and one time even brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.

Cover Design

2008-07-01T10:44:00.012-04:00

Winner of the AAR 2002 Best Historical Cover
To Kiss a Spy
by Jane Feather

Newly published authors are at the mercy of their publishers for determining the cover art of their new book. Most people I've come into contact with have been happy with their covers. When your publisher is willing to spend the money, you get covers like the above contest winner.

I'll be spending the rest of the week working on the dust jacket cover artwork for my mother's upcoming historical novel--which I'll shamelessly plug when it's in print :)

Her novel is based on the real-life story of a famous outlaw sheriff in Livingston, Alabama shortly after the Civil War ended. Having retired from writing after previously selling two historical romances through Dell Paperbacks and HarperCollins, she is thrilled to see this novel go to print.

We did a lot of research into commissioning artists for the cover art. I cobbled together some concept designs using stock images, with the intention of providing them to a cover artist as a basis to work from. But as I put them together I realized one cover looked promising. My mother loved the cover, so that's what she's going with.

I'm trying to talk her out of retirement (can a writer ever really retire?), but she is resisting. She had a lot of fun (I think) doing rewrites based on my suggestions. Now if I can talk her into getting that mystery novel ready for submission... :)

Author Spotlight: Anne Rice

2008-06-30T10:13:00.014-04:00

Anne Rice hardly needs an introduction. If you're at all interested in vampire fiction, you've most likely already read her books. And if you haven't read them, go get them now :) Her books got me started in this fascinating genre.

Interview With the Vampire began the famous Vampire Chronicles series, and introduced us to Lestat de Lioncourt, one of the most delicious anti-heroes of all time.

The many faces of Lestat: Tom Cruise (Interview With the Vampire), Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned), and Hugh Panaro (Lestat the Broadway Musical)

Like Anne Rice, I was pleasantly surprised at how well Tom Cruise pulled off the role of Lestat (after initially thinking the casting choice would ruin the movie). I may be in the minority here, but I thought Stuart Townsend did a decent job, and I enjoyed the movie version of Queen of the Damned. The concert scene on a widescreen TV with the surround sound cranked up rocks :) I've never seen Lestat the Broadway Musical (and I'm not sure I want to).

Did you know:

Johnny Depp turned down the role of Lestat in Interview With the Vampire.
Anne Rice's inspiration for Lestat was her husband, Stan Rice (poet and artist). "Lestat" is a misspelling of "Lestan."
Rumors are that United Artists is trying to purchase the movie rights for Tale of the Body Thief, the fourth novel in the Vampire Chronicles series, and possibly have Tom Cruise reprise his role as Lestat.
A few weeks ago, I got a used autographed copy of Tale of the Body Thief for two dollars!