Write What You Feel (and more)

You know that old saying, "Write what you know?" If you're interested in writing, and the fact that you're reading this blog suggests that you are, then the answer is probably "yes."

You've probably also heard multiple remarks about the saying, some funny and others not so funny. If not, I'll give an example and let you decide if it's funny or not.

"Hey Scott. Why do you write these weird stories?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know, like this one about alien cat people who use their advanced technology to invade our timeline, starting the zombie war decades before it originally happened in 2032?"
"Oh. Well like they say, 'write what you know.'"

I know. You saw that coming a mile away. That's the advanced time technology at work.

Here's the thing. "Write what you know," doesn't mean only write what you're familiar with. Otherwise, we'd never have stories about a police box that's bigger on the inside, carrying an alien with two hearts across time and space. And you know what? That'd be a shame.

Write what you know means write what you feel.

Here's some examples. Do you know the elation you feel when you see your child for the first time? Can you recall a time when your heart was torn in two by the loss of a loved one? How about the bone chilling terror of someone sticking a gun in your face and demanding your money?

Write about that. AND HERE'S THE BEST PART! You don't have to write about a newborn child anymore than you have to write about a robbery or anything else from your life. You can, but you don't have to.

Take the joy of the newborn child and use those real emotions to describe the happiness of a long awaited reunion. Take that loss of a loved one, and draw on those feelings when your character looses her job. Take the terror of the mugging and show the fear of dangling over the edge of a cliff.

Write what you feel. Sometimes, even write about what made you feel that way.

I'll add this to it. Write what you feel like writing about. That'll carry you through 90% of your writing duties. Yes, I made that statistic up on the spot, but it feels right, doesn't it? Sometimes, you have to push through as a writer and finish projects (or start them. Or continue them.) However, most of the time, your passions can carry you through the work.

Another example. I wrote a long outline for a story last night. It's a good outline of a story that I've wanted to tell for a few months now, but couldn't figure out what really happened. Now I know. But guess what? It's still not ready. I could have started it, but I didn't want to. Something else was on my mind. That's okay. It'll wait.

Instead, I finished and submitted another story, which I'd also put aside temporarily. And, like my last blog entry, I made progress.

Take those feelings-- the grief, the triumph, the hope and the despair. Which one, or ones do you want to write about? Which idea has you jumping up and down inside? When possible, write about where those passions are. And always, write what you feel.

Slightly New Approach

Life has been, well, it's been too much like life lately. That's almost as great for a writer like me as it is terrible.

Life's woes create powerful emotions to draw from and pour into my craft. At the same time, those woes and emotions war with the will to write. That doesn't even allow for the hectic schedule I maintain.

I hear you thinking out there. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Life stinks. So does mine. So does everyone's at some point. Get over yourself." And you know what? You're correct. If that's all this post was about, then it could be a wasted post. We're making our way to the writing inspiration in just a moment.

And, I'm not saying that life is completely terrible. For instance, as of this morning I've lost 32 pounds from the heaviest I weighed myself. Since, at some point  I stopped weighing myself because it became too depressing, I suspect I've lost even more than those 32.

I'll tell you how I did it, partly because I like talking about it, but mostly because it's a nice transition to the new writing approach.

I made a lifestyle change. I'm not dieting. I'm not doing crazy fad workouts or starvation plans. The doctor said I had to change my lifestyle or take blood pressure medication, and I didn't want to go on medicine for that.

Two changes. That's it. I started eating right, and started exercising right. (It would have been just as accurate to leave off the second "right" in the previous sentence.)

Briefly, the eating changes include increasing my water intake; lowering my dairy intake; removing all wheat and most whole grains; sticking primarily to meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. I only drink water, almond milk, green tea and the occasional milk. I've increased my (good) fats and protein by a wide margin.

As far as the exercise go, I alternate days. The on days includes HIIT, heavy weights usually performed in a circuit and laps in the swimming pool. In the off days I only swim.

Beyond all the built in health benefits (which I've ghost-blogged about with some success over at Blogmutt.com) of these choices, there are two reasons they have worked for me.

Persistence and consistency. I don't miss a day exercising. Eventually I will, and that's okay, the body needs rest. But, you'll find me back at it the next day. Same goes for eating. I allow myself treats from time to time, but even then I try to choose healthier alternatives to my previous habits.

My muscle gains and fat loss were dramatically fast. At first. I continue to see the same changes, although it's more gradual.

Gradual is good.

Light-bulb.

I reached the point in writing where I was writing in spurts, or not at all. More often than not, it was "not at all."

But, as I posted earlier, writing is a lot like going to the gym. In this instance, steady progress that is consistent will lead to results. My new approach is simple. Work on writing every day. I used to hold myself to amounts of time, or a certain amount of words. That worked for me, but only when I could maintain the incredibly busy pace of my life.

Now, I'm not going to let a day go by without working at the craft. Sometimes the words are going to flow super quickly, like the first ten pounds or so that I lost. Sometimes they'll trickle, but the progress will be gradual.

If I make progress in a day, then it's a good day. Just before this blog, I nailed down a 500 word outline to a new story. I'm not usually much of an outliner, but this story required it. I have little in the way of actual prose (just a few lines of dialogue) but you know what I do have? Progress.

Oh, and I also have all those fantastically powerful emotions I started this blog with. They'll come in handy as I continue to write.

Guest Post by C.C. Dowling: Everyone's a Critic

C.C. Dowling delighted me when she agreed to do another guest post for me. She's a fantastic writer, and she uses the word "amazeballs" a lot. Oh, and I'm probably outing her by saying this, but I've finally managed to turn her into a Doctor Who fan too. Thanks C.C. Sorry, I lost your paypal account. Again.

Everyone’s A Critic
by C.C. Dowling

@CCDowling

Ever realize how finding the right critique partner (A.K.A. CP) is kinda like dating?

No? Well, if you’re a writer, you should try it. Finding a CP, that is. I’ll leave the dating advice to another blog.

Finding a CP that is congruent with your style, personality, and craft level is crucial to being a successful writer. I don’t care who you are. Every single one of us has craft issues that we can’t see in our own writing. Why? Because we’re too close to it.

Sorta like how your partner can’t see that the last argument they had with you was completely their fault.

But I digress.

When you’re in a relationship like a writer is with their work, it’s difficult to take a step back and see it for what it really is. Whatever that “really is” may be. That’s where CPs come in. But where to find one?

When you’re dating, there are a TON of sites available to you, depending on what type of relationship you’re looking for. But where to find a CP is less clear.

Side note: Someone really should develop a website called CPMatch.Com. And hey, if this exists, or anything like it, please leave the website in the comments!

I can tell you what worked for me. That might work for you, and it might not. And, it might lead to an even better idea you come up with. If that happens, again, there’s a comment section for a reason. You can thank me there.

If you read the last guest post I wrote, you probably know what I’m going to say. If you haven’t read it, then you can find it here: Three Lessons To Keep Your Readers Up At Night.

Yeah, you guessed it. Twitter. I found almost all of my CPs through Twitter. The writing community on there is amazeballs. Aside from straight up hashtags like #critiquepartner, there are tons of contests. And when you enter them, and you stalk lurk keep up with the threads, you’ll see that people are offering to read your first 250 or your query, if you read theirs.

Heck, you can even offer it first. It’s your writing career. Grab it where it counts.

By doing it this way, you’ll get to:

A.) See what else is out there.  

B.) Test out someone’s material and critiquing style before making a major commitment.            

C.) Meet other writers.

This is the picture Jerry uses for
The Ubergroup. Don't worry. I
don't know what it is either.

The meeting other writers is important. In doing so, I met fellow author Jerry Quinn (@bewarethejabb) who runs a fantastic group on Scribophile (http://www.scribophile.com/) called Ubergroup, where I met the fabulous, and awesomesauce talent of Scott Hughey.

Side note: Scott, payments can be made via PayPal.

It’s also fair that I point out I met my very first CP, and just an all-around great writer, @ABSevan, through a Writer’s Digest first ten pages bootcamp. WD offers all kinds of online resources and classes where you can meet other writers in your genre, and at your level. Check them out (@WritersDigest  www.writersdigest.com.)

Okay, I think I’m done plugging everyone.

Bottom line is, as writers, we need someone who will tell it like it is, matches our talent, and provides useful feedback. Personally, I like my CPs to be straight up honest. Scratch through my crap with a red sharpie, and pat me on the back when I deserve it.

Everyone’s CP needs are different. Just like in a relationship, you want someone who pushes you to grow, meets you where you need them to, compliments your strengths and weaknesses, and wants to see you succeed.

How do you CP? Leave a comment to let us know.

---

C.C. Dowling lives in America’s finest city, San Diego, with her toddler (who plays in the yard with Faeries), her husband (the financial shaman), her Aussie (with mesmerizing blue eyes), and a pet dragon (who is the real reason the neighbor’s dog barks incessantly at night). 

When she’s not working in the field of neuroscience, she’s writing fantastical short stories and novels about blood-drinkers, shape-shifters, soul reapers, and demons hell-bent on redemption. You can find her on Twitter at @CCDowling.

Writing and the Gym

WARNING: The following post contains generalizations. It is also comprised of an observation that is so obvious, I'm convinced the comparison has been made several times before. If you wade through the stuff about exercise, you'll eventually get to the observation about writing. It's there. You just have to humor me for a bit longer than usual. Viewer discretion is advised.

---

I've been going to the gym, and believe me, the facilities have everything. You can take any number of classes, work with a personal trainer, lift free weights, swim laps in the pool, workout on the various machines, and so on.

The complex is massive, and it doesn't matter what time I go there. There's always multiple people there working out. It would be inspiring, if I didn't prefer working out alone. But, I digress.

Here's a typical workout for me. I'll warm up for 5-8 minutes on an elliptical machine, gradually increasing the resistance. For the last 3 minutes or so, I do intervals of high intensity and low intensity (HIIT for those of you in the know.)

From here, I move to weights. I'll create a circuit of different muscle groups and do as much weight as I can on them up to 12 reps. As soon as I finish one of these, I move immediately to the next. It keeps the heart rate up. Also, each station uses different muscle groups so I can continue to work hard. I'll complete this circuit of each station 3-5 times (depending on how many stations I've set up.)

After all this, I change and go to the pool for laps. According to an authority as knowledgeable as Google, swimming is an almost perfect exercise. It uses muscle fibers from the entire body, using continual resistance.  In fact, on days that I can't do the entire workout I've detailed here, I'll just swim.

The point of my workout is to get the maximum benefit from my time.  Not everybody feels this way. Here come the generalizations.

Every visit to the gym, I see people come in and do nothing. Well, that's not fair. They lounge. They talk and
socialize. This is common behavior in most gyms actually, though I've never understood it. I didn't even notice it at this gym, until I went to the pool.

The area boasts a 3 lane lap pool, a jacuzzi, a sauna, and a steam room. They're all used for socializing more than exercising.

At least one of them used it as an opportunity to pick up women. Women love this. Ladies, am I right? That's why the young woman in question left the area so quickly. She was playing hard to get.

It's possible that some of the people in there have completed workouts. Some of them look quite fit. Others... don't. But they play in the pool, soak in the jacuzzi, and hang out in the sauna. In fact, I've never seen the sauna with less than four people in it.

I've seen them do this for over an hour. They do nothing but relax from before I start my workouts until sometime after I'm done. These people are paying top dollar (I'm not, thanks to my nephew who got me a great deal on the membership) to come to a gym and hang out.

What's the point? Does it make them feel like they're getting fit, to simply be around the equipment?

Here's the comparison. Lot's of writers do the same thing. Heck, I've done the same thing.

I've spent plenty of time thinking about writing, talking about it, reading about it, and daydreaming about what life as a full time writer would be.

Writing is like exercise though. It is, in fact, a craft exercise. The more you do, the better you get at it.

Spending time at the gym relaxing is fine. After a workout, I've gone to the steam room and jacuzzi. The sauna is too crowded. But, and this is key, I've done this after the real work is completed. Otherwise, I wouldn't get the exercise needed to become fit.

Spending time socializing with writers, thinking & talking about the writing, and so on is fine. Doing it, and thinking that you're exercising your writing muscles is no better than spending hours at the gym doing nothing.

Character Development Game

Photo by shutterhacks

Have you played the "I never" game?" If not, here's how it's done.

You get in a group of 2 or more people. You take turns saying, "I've never..." and fill in the blank.

For instance, "I've never written a New York Times Bestselling Novel." If you find yourself in a group with Stephen King, Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson, this is a good statement to start out with.

Anyone is the group that has done the thing that you've never done, has to raise their hand. Or, if you're in college, they have to take a drink. You'll find several ways to figure out who wins the game.

Here's the point. If you're looking for creative ways to create characters, and to learn more about them, have them play this game. Make a list of what each character has and has not done. Better yet, write the scene out, and have them take a drink for each thing they've done. That way you learn their voices AND you know what they're like drunk.

As a bonus, to get you started, I've never...

• Gone backwards in time and killed my own grandfather
• Cut my tongue with a steak knife
• Bitten a vampire
• Enjoyed making small talk with barbers
• Jumped out of a tree to see if my latent super powers have activated yet
• Taken candy from a baby
• Accidentally electrocuted myself
• Purposefully electrocuted myself
• Seen a ghost. Wait. I meant a werewolf ghost.

Do's and Dont's

DO: Know exactly what your protagonist wants

DON'T: Let your protagonist have it right away.

DO: Eliminate all distractions before you write.

DON'T: Literally eliminate the distractions, especially if they are your loved ones.

DO: Read your story aloud to see if it sounds right.

DON'T: Read your story aloud while you eat to see if it sounds right. (It never will.)

DO: When you think you're not a good writer, imagine yourself as a good writer and just do what that person would do.

DON'T: When you think you're not a good writer, imagine yourself as a good writer and just write what that person already wrote.

DO: Remember that E.L. Doctorow said, "Writing is like driving at night in the fog."

DON'T: Forget that E.L. Doctorow was using this as a simile.

Finding Time to Write

Who has time to write?

By the look of my local Barnes and Noble, hundreds of people. No... thousands. What's their secret? Beats me. It's a secret.

I've found two things that work for me though.  The first is to set aside a time to write. But if I blogged about that today, this entry would already be over. What's the second method?

I blogged a few months back about Finding the Cracks. When you have spare time, use it to write. And I don't mean spare time, like when you have an unexpected three hours because the cable went out (even though that's an opportunity.) I mean ten minutes. Twenty. I'm talking about the cracks in your schedule.

The difficulty is in recognizing these opportunities.  That's where this list comes in. Here are times you might not otherwise think about as opportunities to write:

1. Do you have children? Do they play organized sports? Are they any good? If the answers to these questions are (Yes, Yes and No) then you have a built in time for writing. Take your notebook or laptop with you to the sidelines and get to work. If anyone gets upset at you for this, that just helps you create more believable conflict.
   
   
2. Work meetings. You've probably been in The Meeting That Would Not Die. Most of us have.  Here's a tip. Always take a writing pad with you. You should do this anyway, so you can take notes. And note taking is a built in excuse for plotting your next novel.  Oh, and here's another tip. Do you make weird faces when you're trying to write your characters' reactions? Then keep your facial expressions at a minimum during your manager's big presentation. I figured that one out the hard way.
   
   
3. Repetitive arguments are a fantastic time to get more writing in.  I'm talking about that disagreement, probably (but not necessarily with a significant other) that never goes anywhere. She says "You're always distracted." You say, "Always is an absolute statement. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say I'm sometimes distracted?" And she says, "What are you doing? Writing?" Hmm. Come to think of it, try to arrange for the argument to take place over the phone. Otherwise, you're more likely to lose.

See? Right there are three quick and easy ways to squeeze in more writing. As a bonus, if they leave single, with estranged children and no job, you'll have even MORE time to write!

My ideas are not only good. They're exponentially good. 

See? Even though this post was time consuming, it's totally worth it. You can thank me later.

Random quotes on writing

Here are some random quotes from people who have successfully walked the path of writing. I started to
categorize them, but then realized they would no longer be random.

• Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.
  (Ray Bradbury)
  
• You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club.
  (Jack London)
  
• If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster.
  (Issac Asimov)
  
• The writer’s job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them.
  (Vladimir Nabokov)
  
• If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
  (Stephen King)
  

• Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.”
  (Lloyd Alexander)
  
• You can fix anything but a blank page.”
  (Nora Roberts)
  
• A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.
  (E.B. White)
  
• "You can make anything by writing."
  (C.S. Lewis)
  
• I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.
  (Erica Jong)
  
• If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.-
  (Edgar Rice Burroughs)
  
• "Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards."
  (Robert Heinlein)
  
• There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.
  (Terry Pratchett))

The Danger of My Obsession

You know the one thing I love more than writing fiction? Well, truth be told, there's more than one. But do you know the particular thing I'm thinking about right now, that I love more than writing fiction?

No you don't. Otherwise, you'd probably be reading something else about now.

Even more than writing, I love thinking about writing. Like several writers with a day job, I imagine what it will be like to have writing be the only work, but that's not what I mean.

I love thinking about the craft.  You know, imagining the characters I want to create, the feelings I want to bring out, the types of stories I want to tell.

Used to be I'd by every Writer's Digest magazine when it came out, along with the occasional Writer Magazine based on the content. And I'd devour them, learning more and more along the way.

If there's one thing I'm good at, it's trivial geek references.  If there's two things I'm good at, you can add obsessing about interests to the list.  Somewhere on the list, if you add enough things that I'm good at, you get to writing.

I adore it. Which means I obsess about it. And there's the danger.

All the things listed that I enjoy doing, from reading the magazines to daydreaming about the craft, they're all good things. The catch is, when I'm thinking about writing, it feels like I'm actually going through the process.  But if all I'm doing is thinking, reading, or talking about it, then no new words actually make it to the page.

Every single day, I have to remind myself to sit down in the seat and do the real work.  This is true whether it's the day after writing 2000 words, or a week after writing 100.

Obsessing about the craft will ultimately benefit me, but only if I turn it into the right kind of action.  Otherwise it becomes a hindrance and a danger to the writing.

You live and learn. At any rate, you live.

(That last line was one of those geeky references I mentioned. Just so you know that I know that I didn't come up with the line.)

Counting Again

Remember my New Years goal? If not, I could make you go back and read it, but I'm nicer than that.  I'm also lazy enough not to go digging for the link, so this is a win-win for everybody.

6000 words a week.  Some marveled at the goal, others scoffed, and still others shrugged in indifference.  None of it mattered.  I had something measurable that held me accountable to the writing.  It was attainable, and challenging.

And I stopped counting.  A few things happened. Editing happened. Life did too.  I found myself surrounded by all these distractions.  Wonderful distractions.  Infuriating distractions.  One, in particular, spectacular distraction that I wouldn't trade for 60,000 words in a week.

What does a writer do though?  Among other things, a writer finds ways to write.  Allowing distractions to stop the work is for would-be writers.

Different writers use different techniques, routines and motivations to overcome the obstacles of life and time.  I count words.  If I'm shooting for 1000 words in a day, and I'm at 800, then I skip the Doctor Who episode and I write 200 more words.

(Side Note.  For years, I've tried to find a way to enjoy Doctor Who.  It's the kind of show I should love, but didn't. I finally figured out a way to like it.  It's called David Tennant. The best Doctor.)

This is what works for me.  So I'm counting again.

And no, this doesn't mean that I wasn't writing.  It means that, I'd work and feel like I was spinning my wheels. I let myself get bogged down too much in rewriting, and polishing the voice right out of my stories.  It means I'd be content with 100 words of variable quality, instead of 800 words of excellent quality.  (I write better when I write quickly.)

Started last night.  Got.. oh, somewhere before 400-500 words.  Call it 450.  I'm too lazy to fact check right now, and I haven't started the wordcount spreadsheet back up again anyway.  If I hadn't been counting, I probably wouldn't have cracked 100.

I'm back.

Hey, do blogs count?  If so, I have a good start on today's work.

5 Words On Writing (#5WordsOnWriting)

I can't believe it.  I created the hastag #5WordsOnWriting on Twitter yesterday and it's STILL not trending.

It's like everyone expects me to do all the work.  Fine.  But don't expect it to trend as quickly with me doing all the heavy lifting.

Does anybody else have writing tips or tidbits, in exactly 5 words?  If so, please share!  Here are the ones I tweeted yesterday:

• Give characters what they fear.
• Stop procrastinating and start writing.
• Love and embrace the craft.
• Conflict.  Then more conflict.  Repeat.
• Reserve time, relax, and write.
• Don't sacrifice story for prose.
• Make all your characters suffer.

Who has something else to share?

Does Writer's Block Exist?

No wait.  Will all the frustrated writers out there please put down the pitchforks and torches?  Don't lynch me just yet.

I'm not saying writer's block doesn't exist.  I'm asking a question, and thinking through the answer.  And then, maybe, I'm saying it.

Because I'm not convinced it does, even though I've struggled with it for about a week.  "Eh?" you say?

This past week, off and on mind you, I found it a struggle to work on the projects I wanted to work on.  In fact, the novel has been at a standstill for almost two weeks.  That's even after this excellent post where I described how writing out of sequence helped propel me forward.  It did for a few scenes, then... nothing.

Is that writer's block?  A ten second viewing of Wikipedia's entry tells me writer's block is an author being unable to produce new work.  It also says that F. Scott Fitzgerald struggled with it.  Who am I to argue with Fitzgerald?

Here's the thing.  I couldn't figure out what wasn't working with the novel.  So I worked on a short story project.  I mean, I'm a writer, right?  Right?

I structured a story, grew excited about the new world, and started typing it out.  I made it through about 200 words of ugh.  Then I stared at the screen.  I backed up and tried again.  Nothing.  Took a break, came back and sat down at my keyboard.

By this time my head ached, my eyes drooped and the bed called to me.  But, I hadn't written anything worth keeping, and hadn't for a few days.  My weekly 6000 word goal openly mocked me, but that's nothing new this month.

I figured something out.  This particular story involved two characters.  I was writing it third person limited perspective from the wrong character.  It occurred to me that as the lines and prose flowed through my head, I was hearing them as 1st person POV from the other character's perspective.

Hmm.  That information helped, but it still felt like I was in the wrong gear.  So, I wrote a scene from the middle in the new POV.  Magic.  Just like that.

I learned for myself what I've read from other authors.  Sometimes approaching the story the wrong way can keep it from working.

Back to the novel.  This is hard to admit, because it's a fantastic story.  But, I've figured out it's probably not a novel.  It's a novella.  I'm somewhere in the 20-25K word range, and it's already at the climax.  Instead of bloating the story, I'm going to finish it and see where I am.  The story only needs to be as long as the story needs to be.

So, back to writer's block.  I'm still not convinced that it exists to the point that a writer can not write something.  Even when I struggled with both projects mentioned above, I'm certain I could have started another story.  That's what writers do, and that's what I am.

But to the degree that it means a writer can be blocked from writing what he or she wants to write?  Yeah.  Sometimes the story stops you.  Usually, you can break through it by pushing ahead, or pulling back and analyzing what's not working.

Back to the original question.  Does writer's block exist?  Sort of. Kind of.  But not the way most people think.  If you want to be a writer, you have to find a way past this mostly imaginary condition.  That's what you do. It's your job.

Okay.  You can pick up the pitchforks and torches again.

Starting at the End

Wow.  It's been a busy week or so.  My poor blog feels neglected.

The writing continues, if not as smoothly as before.  I may blog about the life difficulties, and how I'm overcoming them in terms of writing later.  Let's talk about the actual writing itself.

The novel smacked me in the brain so hard it left a mark.  I started with an outline.  Less than three chapters in, I couldn't even see the original story.  This one is much better, but it means I didn't know where to go.  I knew an upcoming scene, but couldn't figure out how to get there.

What to do?  Take advice from this very blog!  That's what!

Some of you may remember a guest blog by C.C. Dowling.  If you haven't read it, do so now.  Seriously.  I'll wait.  It's right here: Three Lessons.

Her third lesson?  Social Networking.  Stick with me here, this is important.
Here's how she put it.

There's an amazing community of writers/editors/agents/publishers all available in one hundred forty characters or less.  What I've learned is that almost everyone is supportive and wants to help you succeed.

Here's the good part.  I've already networked with C.C.  I got to use more than 140 characters!  And she's an amazing writer, who's being published soon too, so there.

We're in a critiquing group together, so I told her my novel's issues.  She suggested, if I knew where things were going, I write that and then fill in the details.

See, when you read, you read in sequence.  Unless you're one of those people who skips to the end first, and if you are I'm shunning you for the rest of this post.

Writers are not constrained by this.  They don't have to start at the beginning and move chronologically through the piece until the end.  Want to write the middle first?  Write it.  I've heard this advice before, but it scared me.  Writing out of sequence?  Isn't that how madness starts?  Or the zombie apocalypse?

The novel had stalled though, and the short stories I kept writing became distractions from the larger work.  So I took her advice.

And it's like the writing world doubled in size.  It worked marvelously.  I knew what had to happen.  Suddenly, I just had to connect the pieces.  AND THEY FIT!

I've recently done the same thing when another short story stalled.  And frankly, I may write like this from now on.

Oh.  And the novel?  It still feels like it stalls after most of the scenes.  That needs to be fixed, but the good news is, I have a new technique to help fix it when that happens.

Thanks C.C.

5 differences between amateurs and pros

I don't usually post links, but this needs sharing:

THE 5 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROFESSIONALS AND AMATEUR NOVELISTS

By Brian Klems
The Writer's Digest
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists

Excerpt:

"There’s no magical change you feel when your first book finally sells – the same doubts are still there, and definitely the same feeling that you’re a kind of crazy charlatan, trying to trade words out of your brain for money.

But for all that that’s true, the more writers I meet, the more I notice that there are some crucial differences between the professional ones and the ones who want to be professional. I hope that doesn’t sound condescending – every professional writer used to be an amateur writer, after all, and often the distinctions I
I’m talking about don’t have anything to do with talent as much as with attitude. These are the five that I’ve noticed."

To read the full blog, go here:
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-5-differences-between-professional-and-amateur-novelists

Guest Post by C.C. Dowling: Three Lessons to Keep Your Readers Up At Night

@CCDowling
www.ccdownlingauthor.com

My critique partner, Scott—who’s great, by the way (no, he didn’t pay me to say that, but he should)—asked me to write a guest post for his blog.

I gotta admit, I was excited. No one’s ever asked me to write a guest post before. And then, the panic set in. Crap! People are going to expect that I have something to say.

As any good writer would, I spent hours (seriously, only ten minutes) searching for just the right quote by other writers that could epitomize my experience thus far. You know what I learned? No, no, besides that fact that people say a lot of crap.

Yeah, I learned that finding the right quote is harder than you might think. That, or I’m just not an efficient search engine guru.

What I am good at is creating stuff out of thin air—or the voices inside my head that won’t leave me alone until I write them down. I should be able to come up with something clever. Except, I haven’t.

That’s the thing about writing. It’s a process. Kinda like life. Sometimes things pop in, and they’re amazing. Other times, you struggle to find the right words. But everything, whether it’s easy or labored, takes hard work, dedication, and that special spark called passion.

When I was a kid I knew, with absolute certainty, two things:

1. I would be a singer, and make enough money to change the world
2. I would be a writer

I find it funny—and depressing—how, even at seven years old, I knew money was somehow not attached to writing.

Here’s the thing you need to know about both of those aspirations…they’re a craft. Yeah, I paid good money to my writing coach (worth every penny, by the way) to learn that one.

So, for this article, I’ll impart to you three hard learned lessons I’ve discovered while on the path to becoming, what I hope, is an amazing author who inspires people, changes the world, and pays her bills on time.

Lesson #1: Writing is a Craft.

Photo by Walt Stoneburner (License)

Have you ever picked up a book and started reading it a few hours before bedtime, only to find yourself up at 2:00 AM on a work night just to finish? Or the other thing happens, where you get one chapter in (if that far) only to discover you couldn’t be less interested? Both have happened to me, and just about everything in between.

Ever wonder what makes them so amazing, or suck-tastic? I didn’t either until I tried to become a writer. You want the answer?

That’ll be $100. No, seriously. And that’s a discount compared to what I paid to tell you what I’m about to for free.

The super long complicated answer is that it’s a lot of things. That’s when I’d go into telling you about voice, characterization, story structure, grammar, passive vs active, showing vs telling, etc…. And then you know what? Two years will have gone by and you’d still be reading this article and it wouldn’t make any sense. Okay, maybe a little sense. But not much. At least, that’s how it happened for me.

I spent a good two years playing with, and learning, these concepts in order to get a feel for them. It wasn’t something I could simply read about and understand. I had to try and fail—miserably, I might add—in order to get it. Just to be fair to you readers, I still have tons to learn. It’s exciting to know I’ll keep getting better. You should feel that way too. You don’t have to, but it helps.

The short answer to why you can’t sleep at night when reading a good book is craft.

Writing is a skill that must be honed. I’ll give you a few ways to do that. Keep in mind this is, by no means, a comprehensive list. Scott’s only giving me so many words for this article, and there’s other stuff I want to tell you, so…

1. Read what you want to write. There is no way around this. Reading what you want to write gives you a sense of language, structure, themes, and pacing for your genre. Plus, when you write your dreaded query letter, you need to have amazing comparison titles for your work. If you haven’t read in your genre, how will you know where your book fits on the shelf?
2.  Butt in chair. This is my writing coach’s motto. Even if you’re writing crap, or not working on your main manuscript, you should be writing something. Athletes practice. Musicians practice. Authors practice.
   
3. The hardest and most important thing in your manuscript is the opening. That’s what people will read first—aside from the jacket cover and customer reviews. This is how you’re introducing your story. If you want to know how to do it well, grab 5-6 best sellers in your genre and study them. Read, re-read, and re-read again the first paragraph, page, chapter. Outline it. What works? What doesn’t? What hooked you? What kind of language did they use? How was the setting described, or character emotions? Did you want to read more? Why? Now, go and do the same thing for your story.

Lesson #2: Writing is Rejection

As I mentioned before, when I was a kid I wanted to be a singer. The cool thing was that I came from a musical family who nurtured that side of me. So, from the age of two all the way until I took a vacation from school when I was twenty-one, I pursued a music career. (Yes, I went back. Yes, I got a degree. No, it isn’t in English or Writing.)

I gotta tell you, music is all about rejection. When you take the stage, you’re putting your talent on the line for everyone in the audience to judge. It’s rough when they don’t like you. It hurts. It’s personal…at least, it was for me. But I was good at it—good enough to make it into a prestigious music university. I loved it. And music gave me something that no amount of rejection could take away. It gave me a voice.

So, when it comes to writing, I should be a seasoned pro at rejection, right? Right?

Yeah, no. Dead wrong. In fact, getting rejected for my writing was like 1 x 10⁶ times worse than getting rejected on stage, or at an audition.

There was a point in time when I was “in the trenches,” so to speak, where I was actually depressed from doing what I was most passionate about. I was depressed because I wanted so desperately to be good at writing, but I knew I wasn’t. The story I told myself is that I should feel sad, and angry, and hurt, and desperate about my writing. That everyone struggles. After all, isn’t that what makes me a good writer?

Stick with me. I’m getting to the point and to the tasty, crunchy bits at the bottom of the box.

So here’s the answer you may or may not like. Yes. And no.

Being hungry and passionate and aware that I need improvement makes me better at what I do, every day I do it. The depression and endless pit of despair doesn’t.

Every time I got a critique back that basically told me my writing sucked, I’d get despondent, dejected, withdrawn. I’d question if I was good enough to do this. Maybe I should just quit? A lot of people do. That’s why less than 1% of stuff written gets published. [Fact check: I just made up that statistic. The actual percent is probably less.]

Here’s what you should keep in mind:

WRITING IS HARD! If it wasn’t, everyone would do it, right? You know what, scratch that. Just about everyone does write. Let’s rephrase.

BEING A SUCCESSFUL WRITER IS HARD! There, that seems more accurate.

It’s okay to struggle to get better. It isn’t okay to lock yourself in a dark room and cry for three weeks straight with nothing more than a roll of toilet paper and a tub of ice cream.

Now, here’s the nugget that flipped my frown upside down.

If you look at every critique and rejection as an opportunity to get better, to learn something, to collect your “NOs” as a friend of mine would say, suddenly, everything gets exciting.

That’s it. It’s that simple. A shift in perspective makes everything better. And that goes for life, not just writing. If writing is your life, then you’re ahead of the game.

I’m not saying you won’t feel disappointment. You will. I’m saying it’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning.

Lesson #3: Social Networking

I know. I rolled my eyes too, for about a year. I was one of those hold-outs when it came to Twitter. I felt like Twitter was the Borg and I was resisting assimilation. I’ll admit, I’ve made fun of the word “Tweet” and enjoyed Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon’s Hashtag parody.

Follow CC here: @CCDowling

But here’s a secret, in case you didn’t know. There’s an amazing community of writers/editors/agents/publishers all available in one hundred forty character or less. What I’ve learned is that almost everyone is supportive and wants to help you succeed. Every critique group I’ve participated in has come from contacts I’ve made on Twitter. I’ve learned about contests, agent, publishers, and all kinds of stuff I probably would have never found on my own if it wasn’t for this social media tool.

It’s a tool. Use it!

And guys, Twitter is just one option. One! There are so many more avenues I haven’t explored. Explore them. Then come back and do a guest post for Scott so I can learn about them.

So, there you have it. Three things I’ve learned on my writing journey that have made me better at my craft and propelled me forward in doing what I love.

What are some of yours?

---

C.C. Dowling lives in America’s finest city, San Diego, with her toddler (who plays in the yard with Faeries), her husband (the financial shaman), her Aussie (with mesmerizing blue eyes), and a pet dragon (who is the real reason the neighbor’s dog barks incessantly at night).

When she’s not working in the field of neuroscience, she’s writing fantastical short stories and novels about blood-drinkers, shape-shifters, soul reapers, and demons hell-bent on redemption. You can find her on Twitter at @CCDowling, on Facebook, and on the web at www.ccdowlingauthor.com.

For more information about her amazing writing coach (who is responsible for the information in lesson #1) please visit http://www.mcallistercoaching.com

Frasier, Humor and Conflict

So help me, I thought I blogged about the Frasier television show a month ago.  Turns out I didn't.

I'm tempted to try and make a tossed salad and scrambled eggs pun here, but I'll spare you.

Here's the thing.  I decided several months ago to watch every episode on Netflix.  The decision had nothing to do with writing, this was for pure entertainment.


The show grew better every season.  Almost every episode.  I didn't think to ask why, after all I hadn't started writing in earnest again yet.  But, when the time came to craft stories again, I wondered two things.

1) Why are the shows so good?
2) Why are they so funny?

Several answers exist to these questions.  The excellent cast is one obvious answer.  But, from a writing standpoint, what were they doing so well?

I decided conflict, and specifically escalating conflict, answered both questions.  Stories with no struggles or obstacles are not stories.

Every Frasier episode has at least one problem.  The problem gets worse.  Triumphs turn into setbacks in the blink of an eye.  There may be resolution by the end of the show, but you can bet that things will get worse before they get better.

No matter what genre, style or medium you want to write, you could do far worse than turning to this old sitcom as a case study in rising conflict.

The same goes for humor.  There are several types of comedy, so don't think this is intended to cover all of it.  It's a good rule of thumb though: to create humor, have your characters act as if they are in a drama.  It is trivial when Frasier has to walk the dog for his father, rather than see the entirety of the throat singing concert.  However, he makes it seem like the end of the world, because to him it is.  Hilarity follows.

This really hit home during the the Season 6 Episode, Three Valentines.  It opens with Niles setting up for a date in Frasier's apartment.  Everything is perfect.  But wait!  His pants are not perfectly pressed.  No matter, he has time.  He has time to iron them.  In doing so, he finds a loose thread.  While fixing that he cuts himself.  The blood makes him pass out.  The situation continues to escalate, setting up the climax perfectly. By the time Niles sets the couch on fire, it's the only possible outcome to the series of events.

And even then, the conflict hasn't finished growing.  It gets even worse.

Oh, by the way.  Spoiler alert.


Conflict.  You can learn it from this show.  And don't tell me how it ends please.  I'm only on Season 9.

You're Probably Not a Writer

It started with a question on Brian Michael Bendis' tumblr:

The question?  "What advice do you have for someone who has had writer's block for the past 6 or 7 years?"

Think about that for a minute.  Seriously.  Assuming you're not Douglas Adams (and it's safe to assume you're not) then is it possible to be a writer and have writer's block for that long?

Bendis didn't think so.  He said, "this will sound harsh but you're probably not a writer.  writers write every day.  it's ok, not everyone is."  He went on to tell the poster that if he considered himself a writer, he needed to "get back to work!!"  He told him to write.  Fantastic advice.

It's just that easy.  And just that hard.

And tumblr blew up.

See for yourself:
http://brianmichaelbendis.tumblr.com/post/70724241561/what-advice-do-you-have-for-someone-that-has-had

I've been searching for the response that caught my attention and squeezed all the juice out of it.  I finally found a copy of the post at
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/12/23/writer-says-you-have-to-write-to-be-a-writer-tumblr-gets-upset

I wish I could attribute the writer, but I can't find the comment.  It's scary:

"Haven’t written in a year because I work 12s (during which I brainstorm) for 14 days shifts, and have two kids. But I can’t keep a schedule of writing up, and my brain is literally too exhausted to think at the end of my work day, and I’m chasing two kids during my two weeks off, have a house to maintain, and am trying to recover from my schedule.

But make no mistake. I don’t write it on paper or in a word processor every day, but I have whole finished stories written in my head."

Wow.  It's like looking into a cracked mirror where my head points inward on itself.  So many would be writers think like this.  I know that I used to, before I decided to take responsibility for my own success.

Like this response, I had so many great and wonderful stories in my head.  You know where they weren't?  On bookshelves.  Or on the computer.  Or an paper.  Because I wasn't writing, the stories didn't really exist.  And when I finally, FINALLY took the time to write stories, I discovered something.  First, I discovered how difficult it is to take something from the murky depths of a mind and have it resemble the same idea once it's on paper.

Because writing is craft.  I wish I'd asked a similar question and gotten an answer like this years ago.  Maybe I'd have realized, it's ridiculous to claim to be a writer when I don't write.

A few years ago I could have used Bendis' advice.  Or even, Ellis' harsher advice at http://warrenellis.tumblr.com/post/70741678830/what-advice-do-you-have-for-someone-that-has-had

If I could give my former self advice

This (paraphrased) question was asked in an online writing community:  If you could go back in time and write a note to yourself on the first day you took up writing, what advice would you give yourself?

Here's my answer, which is a combination of my own thoughts along with the advice from some professional writers that finally got through to me:

Stop looking for shortcuts.  Stop thinking that you are a good writer because of how much you have read.

Write.  Finish what you write.  Word on the things you struggle with.  If you can't figure out how to finish the story, then figure out the next line.  You'll get there.  

You learn to write by writing.  So write.  You learn to finish stories by finishing them.  So finish them.

You can write 250 words in 15 minutes.  To be safe call it 30 minutes.  So if you write for only 30 minutes a day, that's over 90,000 words in a year.  That's a good sized novel.  In some genre's that's a novel and a half.  So if you will write for 30 minutes a day instead of quitting you'd have written 10-15 novels by now.  

According to the law of averages, some of them would have even been good.

So write you fool.  

Work Ethic

There's something to be said for a work ethic when it comes to writing.  And that something is this, "You need one."

I'm tempted to season this post with tons of quotes from famous authors.  It's late though, and I'm about 150 words shy of my daily word count quota.

(Hmm.  What does it say that I'm blogging about work ethic at midnight, when I haven't finished my work yet?  Nothing I hope.  After all, I'm on a break.)

Sometimes I'm convinced that I'm breaking through the walls of creativity and good storytelling, that I'm arriving.  Other times I'm certain that I'm a hack with no future in writing beyond these self delusions.  Both of these attitudes overcome me several times daily.

The attitude I most need to confront is the first.  And I've found the cure for it is to write.  It's been a lousy weekend for writing.  No excuses here, I simply haven't written as much as I needed to.  When that happens, the negative feelings prevail.

So tonight I finally had a chance to get to work.  The temptation to watch something on Netflix, or read, or even sleep nearly won.  But I'd barely written anything today, and most of that was- never mind what most of it was actually.

So I wrote.  It felt good.  It felt right.  I became convinced that I had broken through the walls.. blah.. blah.. blah.

You get better by writing.  Are my short stories and novels getting better?  I hope so.  I think so.  But they never will if I don't have the work ethic.

So keep writing.

Blank sheets are the writer's friend

Ideally, I'd write 100% on the computer.  It's quicker.  There's no need to transfer from paper.  And there's the internet fairies to keep me company if I get lonely.  Okay, maybe not that last part.

Alas, if I limited my writing time to when I can use a computer, that time would diminish.  Hence the notebooks I've been carrying around with me.  Get a spare 15 minutes?  That's 15 more minutes of writing.  I've wondered if the time saved is a wash or not, since I have to use the computer time later to type out.

But then something wonderful happened.

I read a book.

It's one of those "you have a book inside you and here's how you get it out books."  (I would be devastated to learn I have a book inside me.  I bet that would hurt.  And I plan to write way more than one.)

Here's some advice that I took from the book that's been revolutionary:

Write on large, blank, unlined pieces of paper.  I use a 9x12 sketchbook although the book suggests larger.
The extra space along with the blank canvas has helped me write faster.  And (dare I say it?) better.

There's a few ideas behind this, and I'm glossing over them.  The nuts and bolts of it are you relax and allow the right side of your brain to flow as you write.  I understand the idea behind writing quickly, though I was skeptical about using unlined paper.  Didn't want to.  It seemed a silly thing.  Not take a bath in jello silly, but silly nonetheless.

It works.  I've been doing it for four days now and I'm amazed.  I'm considering doing 90% or more of all my first drafts this way.

The book, by the way, is "The Call of the Writer's Craft" by Tom Bird.  I'm not ready to review it just yet.  Frankly, I'm not sure what I think of it.

But writing on blank sheets?  That's my new best friend