The Writing Wall Or How Plotting Is Like Cleaning Tape Off Of A Whiteboard (part two)

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When I left you at the end of last week's post, I was downtrodden, bruised, beaten, and in the lurch. But I stand--ahem sit--before you today a changed--well, slightly less useless--individual.

How did I crawl up and over my Writing Wall? What the heck does cleaning tape off a whiteboard have to do with any of this? Why am I asking so many questions?

Why, for dramatic purposes, of course! ;)

First, I'll tell you The Writing Wall I hit was a good one. I was creatively stumped. I stewed for hours, then days, trying to make something happen. It didn't, of course. Not on its own. So, I ventured into my office (where I sometimes write) and started pulling out the tricks of the trade. Notebooks, pencils, post-its, index cards, markers, highlighters (all of the above in varying colors), poster board, dry erase markers, and a whiteboard.

For those of you quick on the uptake, THIS is where the whiteboard comes into play.

Standing there, above all my favorite toys (yes, I'm dead serious here, I love my office supplies) I notice that damn tape was still marring three quarters of my new, large and lovely whiteboard. I pushed it aside, determined to stick to a notebook and poster board. (By the way, I do have two other whiteboards, but they are currently occupied with other projects, thus, no erasing will happen until said projects land on the page.) I tried working through these issues, I tried walking away, ignoring the plotting problem, tried figuring it out in the shower or letting my dreams take over (both of which usually work). This time, nothing was working.

My plot was stuck and so was my brain.

After ambling around for a few more days, I decided cleaning off the whiteboard might be my best option. I had convinced myself that if I had a whiteboard, so much miracle-ing would happen.

Yes, I make up words. All the time. Judge me not, least ye be judged -Yoda. (though I'm about a thousand percent sure he never said that. Just roll with the punches here, people.)

Moving on . . .

While I grabbed a scraping tool from my garage and went to work, I was struck by how tenacious I was about getting that damn tape off. Little by little, it was all coming together. Tape was peeling off in tiny strips and chunks, and my mind was working, behind the scenes and above the cursing. I worked as hard as I could, fighting through some of the really sticky patches, and in less than an hour and a half (no lie), the board was free of tape!

I did my little Snoopy dance, spiked the ball of tape into the garbage, and started plotting.

The funny part, I only wrote two plot points on the board before switching to a notebook and writing page after page each day.

A few more days later I realized it hadn't been the whiteboard that I'd needed, it was working on something else for a while. Again, I didn't get anywhere sitting on the couch and waiting for some TV show to do it for me, instead I worked very hard, in silence, on another task, refusing to give up.

The in silence part turned out to be very important.

While I was scraping, my thoughts kept coming back to my characters and the difficult places (both emotionally and physically) where I had left them. How did they feel inside? What would they do to change things? What would they give up to move forward? So, by the time the tape was gone, my creative juices were a roaring river of Peach Iced Tea. Why Peach? Because it's awesome, that's why!

It's been a few weeks since The Whiteboard Incident of 2013. I have more of my plot down, and I've even started putting words to the page again. I may not be moving as fast as I'd like, but I'm starting to realize this book is going to take a lot of time.

So, there you have it. Stepping away, but still working hard helped me fight my way up and over that Writing Wall. Plus I got a brand new whiteboard. Though, and pay attention because this is the real punchline, after spending all that time and effort scraping away on my whiteboard, the tape left a tacky residue that I can write on, but NOT ERASE. Basically, I could have left the damn tape right where it was, around the inside corners of the board, because I wouldn't have been able to write on that part of the board anyway.

The ultimate headdesk? Yes, I do believe so, but that still doesn't change the fact that focusing on that medial task helped me out of The Pits of Writing Despair (cue ominous echo) and reminded me that there is no substitute for hard work.

This concludes today's program. Thanks for coming back. And please, feel free to laugh at my idiocy in the comments. My ego doesn't bruise too easily. :)

The In Between Projects Shuffle

Personally, I'm in a good place. I'm engaged and have never been happier. Professionally, I'm in an okay place.

It's great. Things are going so well. Only...I have the tendency to let my imagination wander. Even when I'm working on a book (not under deadline) I'm thinking about another. Right now I have too many options swimming around in my mind to truly focus on one thing. Of course all of that will change when my editorial letter comes, but right now, complete and total focus is evading me.

Having six projects in your head all at one time is one of those blessing/curse deals. Sure, I have several projects to pick from. The problem is, a few of them want to take the forefront when it isn't their turn. My mind is switching back and forth between notes for revisions on book two, options for book three, possible revisions for two past projects that I desperately want to revise and submit, one shiny new idea, and one slightly older idea that I was beyond passionate about a year ago that I never got the chance to finish.

With so many ideas bouncing around up there, how am I expected to focus on just one thing? Admittedly, I am about the least organized person you've ever met, do you think cleaning up my act, so-to-speak, will help with this dilemma? Writers: how do you do it? Readers: how do you choose what to read next when I know you have a huge TBR stack beside you? People with steady jobs: how do you not let the little things distract you? How do you keep from bouncing around all over the place like a Pomeranian on crack?

Seriously guys. Help!

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

Funny things happen when you take a chance and color outside the lines. You can find a lucky penny on the street, meet someone new, try a new food you may never have had before--and love it.

Saturday I stepped out of my comfort zone and took a chance. Saturdays are usually work and rest days, but when the bf showed up with tickets to a concert, I decided to give it a chance. Not only did I have a great time, but it helped with work, too. Standing there among so many other people listening to great music and relaxing, I got to thinking. And thinking and thinking. And in the middle of all this thinking, I solved a pretty prominent plot issue I'd been having. This solution just kind of came to me, and is a huge step up in action and tension in my latest WIP. It's really a game changer in almost every way, and it never would have happened had I not decided spur of the moment to go to a concert.


Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places or people. Of course putting your head down and working is super important, especially if you write, but sometimes, if you're stuck, you just have to break away from the norm and step away from your desk. It doesn't have to be anything as extreme as skydiving or staging your own role play of the zombie apocalypse (although that does sound pretty awesome). Sometimes just looking outside the window or stepping outside for a short walk will do the trick to unblock you. For me it wasn't that easy. No, I had to let go completely--not something I'm used to.

So, the next time your stuck on a paper for school or report for work, on an outline, or a novel, pull yourself away and try something new. You never know what could happen.

Here is where I'd love to hear from you. What helps inspire you? What things have helped you step outside your comfort zone?

My (scary) Admission

I've been pretty busy these last few weeks working on a WIP and spending several hours a day at the hospital with my uncle. While thinking about my writing and editing and my WIP, it occurred to me that most of the time, I have no idea what I'm doing.


Okay, now some of you may be laughing, and others may be freaking out.


"What do you mean you don't know what you're doing?!"


To clarify, I've been writing seriously for several years. I've read various books on craft, writing, editing, etc. I've taken writing/editing classes. I've read more books than I care to count, in and out of my genre. I've done just about everything most established writers, publishers, and agents recommend you do if you want to succeed in this business.


All of that reading, learning, and researching has helped me develop my style, voice, plotting, and blah blah blah.


The point I'm really trying to get to here is you can read every "The Craft of Writing" book out there, take every class you can afford, and read blogs until your eyes blur. But unless you try, unless you practice, you really aren't doing yourself any favors.


Information comes and goes. Trends spike then wither. Unless you are pushing yourself, confident in your writing or not, you will not get anywhere in this industry.


Back to me knowing nothing. It's true. I write what I would want to read. I make my characters ones I can relate to. I give them flaws because it's interesting. Before I decided to try my hand at writing, I was a reader first. And the reader in me loves tension and emotion and screwed up characters. Instead of writing the way someone with a PhD tells me to, I take my own path and see where it leads.

That's right, just winging it.

I had no idea how to edit when I printed out my first completed manuscript. And let me tell you, it was a disaster.


Now I have guidelines--I read the draft over from beginning to end, making only major notes, instead of bothering with minor grammer issues--but my process almost always changes with every single book.


When I start a new project, again I have no idea what I'm doing. And to tell the truth. I kinda like it that way.


Care to share a detail of your writing/editing/plotting process? I'd love to add a new tidbit to my next project.

The Dreaded Query Letter

You heard me right. It's that time again. QUERY LETTER TIME! *cue echoed voice and Halloween track music with scary noises and screams*. Damn. I should have wrote this post three days ago.

Yes, it's going to be THAT kind of post :)

Anywho...

All silliness aside (well, most silliness), the query letter is a huge deal for a writer. In this one page (that's right, 250 words or less, preferably less) you have to introduce  yourself, your story, and your voice to an agent (or editor or publisher). One page to describe all the blood, sweat, and tears you worked so hard on. That means it has to be good. No, not good, great. Really, it has to be your best.

Today I am working on a query letter for "GD". The manuscript is very close to being ready. Very, very close. So I'm taking the initiative and thought you might enjoy some helpful links to help you guys write your own queries.

Now, before we go into the super serious stuff, can we just enjoy some sexy half-naked Dean action?

*swoon*

Okay, serious face on. Here are some articles that are helping me out today.

Agent, Jill Corcoran has a list of great articles here.
Including, Formula For A Query Letter.
Queries and Synopis: How to Get an Agent Salivating to Read Your Manuscript.
And Query Letter Suicide (featuring a list of things NOT to write in a query letter). 

Now, a page with a few more links: here.
Including this not-be-missed three part series from author Jackie Kessler of the Deadline Dames.

And some of the best advice I've ever heard for query letters: Revise, revise, revise. Your query letter should go through extensive revisions the same way your manuscript does. 

Like this --->


I hope these links help you as much as they helped me. Now it's time to hear from you. Anyone else currently working on a query letter now? Have I missed any of your favorite articles or advice?

Wish me luck, guys!

Welcome and BAM!

So, my very, very, very generous friend Lesley (check out her fantastic writing blog here) put this new blog together for me (<3 her!) and isn't it beautiful? Note: anything lacking is entirely my fault, not hers.

That said, welcome! My previous Livejournal account will now direct you here. Because, if you couldn't tell by now, this is where I'll be blogging from now on. And I'm so excited!

I wanted to start this new blog off with a bang, and I've been racking my brain to come up with something awesome to do here to announce the move when BAM! an idea came to me. Too bad it had nothing to do with the blog post, or so I thought.
 
The Idea To End All Ideas came to me early this morning. I've been outlining a new WIP (which already has a title I'm crazy about--which NEVER happens) for weeks now. It's been going slowly because I've been missing a key piece of this puzzle. And today, while deep in research, an idea came. And it grew. It grew so perfectly, all these interesting, unexpected pieces fell into place. So while the outline isn't done, the holes in it have been filled and the ending has been plotted. Yay! Now all I have to do is fill in the middle. Which still makes for a huge task, but not as foreboding as an ending, at least to me. Because now that I know where I'm taking my MC (main character), all I have to do is throw a bunch of obstacles in her way to make her journey that much tougher--and her story that much more interesting.

One other awesome thing came out of this breakthrough: a new bad guy :)

Not bad for a little research gone awry.

Now for you, because I love my readers more than anything, do you have any tips, ideas, or topics you would like to see here on the blog? I'm open to suggestions, and will always give you credit for your ideas :)