A Bright Idea!

Bulb by George Hoden

Welcome to my blog!

Have you ever had a bright idea for a story that kept you up until all hours, but you still didn't get all the pieces put together? That's where I'm at right now. I've realized that my niche is definitely YA Fantasy and Science Fiction and have decided to gear my stories for that group.

That said, I'll go back to my crackling idea. It's like this tree up above. It starts out with bare branches going this way and that, and the leaves and blossoms begin to grow. With nurturing and watering (and a lot of research), those blossoms bud into fruit. But I have to be careful at this stage, because the fruit can be attacked by insects (bad ideas) and it will fall off the tree, dead. In other words, trying to merge bad ideas with the good ones and coming up with bland, sand-in-your-mouth ideas.

Over watering (too many ideas) can cause the fruit to rot and fall off also. That's why I need just the right amount of water and fertilizer to make the story come alive. I'm excited with all my ideas, so what I'm doing is making a list of all the ideas on 3x5 cards, so I can shuffle them around and decide which ones to keep.

So what's a good idea, as opposed to a rotten one? I suppose I'd have to say if it cracks with energy and sparkles with excitement, I'll keep it. But, some of those bad ideas have merit also. Not everything in life is hunky dory, 100% A-1 okay. There are those spooky, unsettled moments that are just as important in a story. By making a list of all my ideas I can weed out the extraneous material and work with the rest.

How do you set up a story? Is it part of your regular plan, or do you just get in there and write?

What's In Your Mirror?

With school starting up next week and a whole new focus beginning in my writing class, I got out my notes from last time and reviewed what I learned. Or at least what I wrote down in my notes. Whether I actually learned it all or not will soon become evident as I take the second semester of Imaginative Writing. As I begin this class, I am looking in the mirror and asking: What's changed in my writing?

I believe it's important to evaluate our growth occasionaly, to ensure that our writing doesn't stay static. If I'm not moving forward or at least stepping to the side on a different path, then I must question the effort I put in to create a better outcome. Has my writing improved? Have my stories become more alive with the characters and details that surround them?

One of the things that I know has changed is my level of courage. Or my dimishing fear. Like the lion in the mirror, I see myself beginning to roar back at my kitten meow of last year. Having the courage to explore different avenues available to me has opened up new possibilities for me. Besides self-publishing my books, I've had the courage to submit my manuscripts to a publisher of ebooks. Allowing my work to be critiqued has been the hardest growth for me. I'm learning how to develop a thick skin so I don't crumble when someone doesn't like my work. Now I can ask why? And how can I improve and sharpen my characters and plots.

I look forward to getting back to the grind. If I was thirty years younger I wouldn't be so hard on myself. But I feel the urgency of wanting to get the stories out that are inside, just like a painter would want to paint all the pictures that are in their mind's eye. And so I leave this post with these questions for you. Are you continuing to improve in your writing? Has your story become sharper and clearer as you write? Are you focused so each chapter reflects a mirror of what you want to say?

Write Like A Pro

I recently had a conversation with an extremely imaginative young man, who had his series of four books outlined and sub-outlined, with character assessments on his protagonist and antagonist. His descriptions of the plot and the sub-plots were fascinating and he read the first two chapters to me. It was engrossing. And then I asked him:

"Do you write every day?"

"No, if I did, I'd probably have at least the first book finished!"

His answer saddened me. Because his dream of finishing this series of books was waiting on the right mood, inspiration, or whatever else it takes to get a few pages beat out at the computer. It was the sign of an amateur. Not that we should all quit our day jobs and spend the day before the keyboard, but by creating that time to hone our craft, things start to happen. Stories get finished, where before they would sit and gather cyberdust.

If you want to write like a professional, you will tackle that manuscript head on every day (except for designated days off) and stick to that schedule no matter what. Personally, my goal is to write 1000 words a day. That doesn't mean you write schlock when you are stuck, it means that you can do the research writing, or write in your journal until you are unblocked. But whatever you do, make sure that it's writing.

There's something about writing that ensures you that you'll be able to write more. The creative process needs that consistent flow of words, or if you're an artist, the continual drawing. And, you'll discover as you write more and more, your craft becomes better and better. You develop your own style and are more sure of yourself. Your attitude towards your craft changes. All these things add up to professionalism.

Acting like a professional by sticking to a schedule is the first step to writing like a pro. I'll talk about other things you can do later. It's good to work on one task at a time. If you are already writing everyday, give yourself a pat on the back and then ask yourself: What else am I doing to write like a pro? And then share it with us so we can all learn for your experiences, okay?