Go Back To The Beginning

Fans of The Princess Bride will know Inigo Montoya's mantra. You know, the one where he introduces himself, accuses Count Rugen of homicide and recommends he accept a terrible fate.

But Inigo has another mantra, and that is, "When the job fails, go back to the beginning."

I love going back to the beginning. I try things, they don't work, I go back to the start and see if I can get it right.

When I was in the midst of plotting Ondine 4 The Spring Revolution, I hit a wall. Or, a hole. Yes. A big plot hole that said, "fill this in later". Well, it's later now, and I still don't know how to fill it. Even with the best intentions of following structure, I still can't fill a hole if I have nothing to fill it with.
So I went back to the beginning and read the first two Ondine books.
It gave me ideas.

This resulted in two things: I laughed at my own jokes AND I spotted lots of lovely little asides and moments I could call back to in book 4. In books 1 & 2, (Summer and Autumn) much is mentioned of Great-Aunt Col's disastrous debutante ball. The one where she cursed Hamish into his ferrety incarnation.

Well, Old Col never got to re-do her 'deb' so it's high time she got her second chance.

That would be lovely to put into book 4.

In book 2 (set during Autumn), it mentions the clocks going back in two stages. One hour in October, another hour in November, so everyone gets two sleep-ins. This is because the clocks go forward 2 hours in one night in Spring, to really get plenty of daylight in the evenings. (People get the following Monday off as a public holiday, to cope with the 'jet lag')

As book 4 is the spring book, I need to mention this.

In book 1 there's a passing mention that Ondine wanted to study media, but with a wedding to pay for, her family might not be able to afford the camcorder fees. It turns out they can, so in book 4, Ondine will have a camcorder in her hand. I'd completely forgotten about this, but it fits perfectly with the oncoming revolution.

Needless to say, each time I get an idea while reading the old books, I jot it onto a note and stick it on my structure sheet. The structure sheet is looking like a post-it monster sneezed all over it. It's a mess, but I can fix it.

The thing is, I've given myself more ideas, and now I have those ideas, more will follow.

~Ebony McKenna, author of the Ondine series.
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No time for dinner, I'm writing!

If you are anything like me, you struggle to find hours in your day to do important tasks that don't revolve around writing. Kids. Husband. Dinner. Laundry. Pets. Home improvements. And I could go on. It seems I'm forever trying to find more time to deal with all of these while still maintaining a somewhat regular writing schedule.

One thing that used to fall by the wayside, more often than not, was dinner. I would look up from my manuscript, and it would be dinner time. Yet dinner wasn't anywhere near finished and maybe not even considered. "Yes, do you think you could pick up pizza on your way home?"

For me, this whole "Let's order out" thing had to be thrown out the window due to some recently diagnosed allergies. So obviously that meant I was now cooking and not writing through the dinner hour... right? Ha! I just got creative with the carry-out ideas. But then our budget objected, and I had to find another way around the fact that I needed to write and not think about dinner while still providing dinner for the four other people who believed they needed to eat more than the characters of my novels.

Fine. I'll figure something out.

And I did. It's what is being referred to these days as Once a Month Cooking. I spend all day once a month planning, shopping, prepping, bagging, and freezing all my meals for the whole month. No really. THE WHOLE MONTH. Then, each morning after I stumble to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee, I put whatever I've defrosted (taken from the freezer the night before at dinner or earlier) in the crockpot and head back to my office. Sometimes the item doesn't need to be defrosted (love those) and sometimes it takes my third cup of coffee before I wrap my head around someone else's needs besides the characters of my book. Luckily, all the recipes I've been using have both high and low directions for those who commonly forget everything else all day long. Then, when I hear the footfalls of my husband coming through the door at just about dinner time, I don't have to panic anymore. I'm ready, and we can all sit together and discuss our day (and the plots roaming through my head).

Not only has this made dinner much tastier (you can't beat home cooked!), but it has made me much less stressed. I'm able to really focus on my projects for the day, knowing my family will be fed when the time comes (Forget lunch. You're on your own, kids.).

If this sounds like something you want to try, you can get more information on Once a Month Cooking at the Freezer Friendly Meals blog intro to OAMC. There are also a lot of great freezer friendly blogs and websites to get recipes from: Martha Stewart,Food Network, Food.com, Rachel Ray. Or just Google "Freezer Friendly Recipes", and you will get oodles. I will say most of your current family favorites are probably freezable, which means you can make them ahead, then defrost and throw them in the oven, crockpot, or in a skillet on the stove top.

Now if I could just find a time shortcut for all the laundry... minions? House elves? Any ideas?
Do you struggle with managing your time for writing and all your "chores"? What are some of your tips or tricks that have shaved minutes off your to-do list and added them to your write time?

~Eisley Jacobs

Eisley Jacobs lives in Shingle Springs, California with her three children and husband.
Eisley actively writes the characters that stroll through her head. The first YA Novel she completed was in high school, but somehow got lost in the shuffle into real life. While studying at college, stories began to plague her mind and she tried her best to keep them at bay while she did more important things like... like... Who are we kidding? Her grades suffered because the voices wouldn't stop. So instead of going insane, she wrote.
In 2010, a blue dragon named Deglan interfered in her attempts to finish the final book in the YA series and thus the series starter for DRAGONS FOREVER, BORN TO BE A DRAGON, was hatched and has found a home in the hearts of many children.
Eisley's first YA Sci-Fantasy, PIECES OF ME, is due out early spring 2013. To learn more about Eisley and her novels click here.

Apps for Creative Types Part 2: Writing

I’m a bit of a hodgepodge when it comes to technology. I love gadgets, software, and apps, and I use multiple devices. I have a PC for gaming, a MacBook Pro for writing, photo-manipulation and recording music, an Android phone because I prefer its slide-out keyboard, and an iPad for additional portability and entertainment value – with full Bluetooth keyboard / case.

                                

I don’t buy into the, one operating system can do it all, mantra - just as a single plotting method won’t work for every single writer. Sometimes you need to utilize several methods to generate the best product possible.  As a creative person, I don’t limit myself to just writing fiction. I dabble in photography, tend to sketch, I sing and write music – I play. 

The iPad is my latest adventure and I’m having a blast figuring the thing out. Unfortunately, a do-it-all program, like Word, isn’t available for the iPad, but there are many writing and productivity apps that fill the gap. Here are a few I’m obsessed with – note – they may not be free, but they’re worth every cent:

Pages: (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8) If you’re a Mac user, chances are you’re familiar with Pages and its features, from slick templates for newsletters, postcards, fliers, and layout flexibility. You’ll be pleased to know the iPad app is quite similar and even sports some unique templates guaranteed to impress. Documents can be saved as PDF or Word format and easily exported or emailed. This is the app I consistently return to when writing on my iPad.

Daedalus Touch: (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/daedalus-touch/id406964546?mt=8) I confess this app confounded me a bit as I’m still not quick with the gesturing on my iPad – do I pinch, do I drag…it’s a guessing game at times. However, this app has a highly interactive element that can be addicting. General word processing at your fingertips.

Notably: (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/notably/id364905747?mt=8) Another text editor, but this one has a bit of style. Multiple fonts and backgrounds to choose from make writing a visual dream. Not too many bells and whistles, but this app certainly does the job.

These are just a few of the productivity apps I’ve experimented with, but if you’re new to iPads at least this will give you an idea of what’s available.

NOTE: for those seriously into screenwriting, there’s one app I recommend, although it’s costly at 49.99, and that’s Final Draft Writer (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/final-draft-writer/id526135686?mt=8) for the iPad. Templates, index cards, character development tools, this baby has it all.

~+~+++~+~  Judith Graves 

 ...YA fiction to die for... 
http://www.judithgraves.com
http://www.strangewaysnovels.com

2013, The Year of Structure

(Plotting the next novel using The Hero's Journey and the 3 act model.
Note the missing scenes so far. I'll fill them in later.)

I'm a big fan of structure and format (as opposed to formulaic, more of that later). We've been telling stories for centuries. These formats have stood the test of time.

I write first to please myself, but nothing pleases me more than knowing what I'm doing and where I'm going. I find The Hero's Journey structure to be really useful in laying the foundations of where a story is going.

BUT - my stories don't always 'conform' to this structure, now there's a 'new' archetype structure that author Kim Hudson has eloquently set out. It's called The Virgin's Promise, (link: http://thevirginspromise.com) and it fits the 'Coming of Age' archetype perfectly.

I'm going to be studying this (and probably nodding my head a great deal) as I recognise this structure in novels I've written and the ones I'm plotting out now.

Subconsciously, many writers use structure all the time. A beginning, a middle, an end. A problem that needs solving. Something in the way (whether it's 'the baddie' or it's a character fault that a heroine hasn't acknowledged and needs to overcome etc). A reward at the end. Or, in the case of a 'downer ending', the character staring into the abyss.

What doesn't always work for me is trying to shoehorn scenes into a structural format.
I look at the structure of The Hero's Journey and wondering where something fits in. Does a scene where characters enter a song contest qualify as "allies and enemies" or is it "begin passing trials?"
Where I have huge gaps (such as "time out, mask is revealed") what do I put there? Do I write a scene with this purposefully in mind?

This is where stories can get formulaic. A writer (i.e., ME) knows something has to go 'in this place marker' and so I force something in there. It doesn't feel organic or intuitive, it feels like the characters are serving the plot instead of driving it.

I'll be blogging about formula, structure and formats as the personal epiphanies keep coming. Luckily for us Aussies, Kim Hudson is bringing her Virgin's Promise to Australia for our RWA conference in Fremantle in August. I can't wait.

Over to you. Do you follow structure or do you write intuitively? Is structure too demanding or overwhelming, or is it your roadmap to stop you getting lost? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

~Ebony McKenna author of the Ondine series. The Ondine books are a sparkling combination of romance and magic – perfect for teen girls. Written with genuine humour and unique eccentricity, the series is an obvious choice for fans of The Princess Bride and Ella Enchanted.

Resolving To Break The Pattern

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a writerly pattern forming.

It starts in the fall, when after a summer of binge writing at my family cabin, I’ve got various projects in various states of completion. I declare October “finish them!” month, whereby I try to ignore the voices that whisper in my head of new ideas. Sometimes I succeed.

Then comes November, where I sell my writing soul to NaNoWriMo, promising myself I will complete 50,000 words, that I will write every day, that I will allow myself to write crap if it means getting those pages done. True to pattern, I start out strong, and burn out just over the halfway mark.

But it’s the Christmas season and so this post isn’t to beat myself up over never meeting the NaNo goal. The object is to write. I did that, all of November.

Except, here’s where the pattern really gets noticeable.

December 1 – Lament over not completing NaNo goal and eat ice cream. (Well, I always eat ice cream, but on December 1, I eat more ice cream.)

December 2 – Reread NaNo project and determine it worthy of completion. Celebrate with a glass of wine.

December 3 – 5 – Give myself a break. Because hey, I wrote all of November. Catch up on TV shows I missed in November. (My guilty pleasure this year? Sons of Anarchy…hello Jax Teller!)

December 6 – 10 – Write! Attempt to regain NaNo momentum, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and there are so many shiny things…



December 11 – 15 – Begin planning writing schedule that will happen over the holidays. Determine that somehow magically the NaNo project, plus two other projects must be finished. Print off these documents and stuff them in my bag so they’re “handy” if I have some time between shopping/attending Christmas functions to do a quick “edit” in preparation of the binge writing I hope to squeeze in between unwrapping gifts and cooking, or even Boxing Day shopping with my MIL.

December 16 – 17 – Read Stephen King’s memoir On Writing.

December 18 – Realize that for the month of December I have done NO actual writing and according to Stephen King, that pretty much makes me a failure. Because, you know, he writes TEN pages a day, even on his birthday.

December 19 – Resolve to break the pattern.

And that’s where we’re at, friends. The resolutions. The promises that I will write 10 pages every day in 2013. I’ll read 100 books. I’ll lose 50 pounds. I’ll submit at least one short story a month. Blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

While each of those resolutions is admirable (or stupid), they aren’t realistic. At least not all at once. Sure, Stephen King writes 10 pages a day…but that’s his job. And yeah, 100 books might be feasible if I allowed picture books to count. The 50 pounds? We’ll see.

The point is, my resolutions are always big.

HUGE.

So this year – *deep breath* – I am resolving to change the pattern. And instead of focusing on tangible numbers that loom over me like a black cloud of failure, I’m going to aim for daily targets. In other words, I’m going to set myself up for success. (Novel concept, right?)

In 2013, I resolve:

- to eat healthy and drink more water (and less Diet Coke)
- to write every day, except on my birthday, and maybe Christmas. Oh, and Easter.
- to read every day, even on my birthday. (Can you think of a better way to spend your birthday?)

But more importantly, I resolve to strive for a less stressful, more calming work/life balance.

Unless, of course, the world ends on Friday.

So, how about you? What are your resolutions this year – and do you keep them?

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas and a productive 2013.

- Dawn

Dawn has a short story in the Spirited anthology published by Leap Books.

Filling The Well

While I’m over here today, my author-friend Brenda Pandos is at my blog as part of her tour for the release of her first audiobook. Brenda and I had the immense pleasure of getting together last week for some writerly hooligans. She came to Florida all the way from California and, along with my publisher, we made the drive to Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

Originally, this was supposed to be a writers’ retreat where we would spend lots of quiet-time writing and break-time talking about writing. Brenda did write a little, but since I’m doing NaNoWriMo this year, I’m in the planning stages and was only able to write one page of notes. So, uh, no, we weren’t overly productive. At least…not on the surface.

What we did accomplish, however, was filling our creative wells. Every creative-type needs to do this, and it’s especially important after the completion of a big project (like releasing a novel), when our wells are likely depleted. Filling the well involves exploration of new things, reading, watching TV, movies and live performances, listening to music, and just plain living life.

These experiences inspire new ideas, create new connections in our brains, provide fresh perspectives and give us fodder to make our stories and characters come alive with details we wouldn’t be able to capture otherwise. So when writers look like they’re being lazy couch-potatoes or gallivanting about when they should be holed-up writing, we really are working. Yes, that’s what I tell The Man, The Boys, The Publisher and the IRS. Because it’s true.

Brenda and I saw an octopus in the water off the beach, tried new foods and drinks, talked writing and plotting and characters and books, laughed a lot, watched the sun set on the water, visited a marine park and swam with dolphins. We had a blast! And I’ve returned back to the writing cave with a fresh mind and soul, ready to take on a new project. My well is overflowing, and I can’t wait to get started.

Breaks are important for everyone, regardless of what work you do. We all need them just to give one part of our brains a rest. For writers and other creatives, they also refill our wells that we draw on while creating. Low and empty wells show in our work. To be at our best, we have to play on a regular basis. Once again, I have to say, “It’s great to be a writer.”

 ~Kristie Cook, author of the Soul Saver series.

Crossing The Finish Line

I’m about 10,000 words shy of completing the first novel in a series that’s been a work in progress for about two years. 10,000 words. That’s it. On a good writing day, I can push out 2,500 words. I’m not great at math, but even I can figure this out – four good days and this book could be finished. Done.Finito.

But the truth is, I’ve been sitting at “10,000 words from completion” for about two weeks.

It’s not that I’m blocked. In the past few weeks, I’ve revisited an old project, started a new one (gulp), outlined the second book in this series AND another series, finished the first draft of a screenplay, and binge watched several TV series under the guise of inspiration. I’ve been productive.

And it’s not like I don’t have incentive to finish this book. My agent, my publisher, my critique partners, and my friends are all waiting for those last 10,000 words. Frankly, there’s a lot riding on it.

The feedback on the first half of the book has been positive – overwhelmingly positive. I have no good reason for writerly doubt to rear its nasty head.

But like a Cyclops there it is, staring me down with a smug one-eyed glare, and despite all of my monster-slayer training, this demon is a ridiculously feisty little creature.

It’s almost as though I’m afraid to type “The End” because of course, that’s when stuff gets real. The gig’s up. I’m no longer writing “my best work” – it’s written, and yeah, I know not going to measure up. How could it? In my mind, this draft is brilliant. Award-winning worthy. The great North American novel…

Ah, the stuff we tell ourselves to push through all of that…other stuff.

When I write, I slip into Genius Mode, this magical, mystical place where every word I write is perfect. The characters are three-dimensional, life like, sympathetic and a mesmerizing balance of good and flawed. I’ve chosen the most powerful verbs, ramped up the conflict, ended each chapter with a page-turning cliffhanger. There are no plot holes – every loose end is tied up with a neat little bow. The extra words are omitted. It really is a brilliant piece of work.

Genius Mode is a wonderful place to be, right?

But the gig’s almost up, and true to form, Idiot Mode has kicked in early. Instead of powering through those last 10,000 words, I’m hanging on to the “genius” –nervous about the flaws in the story, the character quirks that need fixing, the clichés that need to be axed. I’ve hit Idiot Mode too early – and that, my friends, is one nasty beast to slay.

So, I’ve taken the last two days to gather my arsenal. I’ve joined the gym because hey, if I’m going to beat myself up over writing, I definitely need to get my physical health in order. I finished Season 3 of Breaking Bad (talk about genius), and made my husband hide Season 4 as a REWARD for finishing those last 10,000 words. I’ve cleared my Mac of anything not related to this book and put it on a USB drive that is locked away in my desk drawer – and only my husband has the key. I’ve stocked up on Diet Coke and gummy bears, updated my playlist, and – gulp – deprogrammed half of the shows scheduled to tape on my PVR.

Drastic, right? Perhaps – but I know me, and THIS is the only way I’m going to cross the finish line on this book.

So – am I alone in my psychosis? Be honest, it’s okay. If not, what drastic measures have you had to employ to finish a project? And what tools of the trade am I missing in my monster-slaying arsenal?

- Dawn
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