What a Mess!

I was getting ready to write a blog post on finding your character's voice and I happened to notice a post that I forgot to publish. Oops. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to read if you find yourself unorganized in the middle of writer's block.

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I have a private Google website I use for all my novel planning.  R.J. and I also have one for Bloodleggers.  In the past, these websites have been more than helpful in recording ideas, tracking characters, plotting, outlining, etc.  Well, I stopped maintaining them far too long ago, and what an outdated mess they've become!  Thanks to The Artist's Way tough, I've been in cleaning mode for a couple of weeks now. 

I've been working my way very slowly through the sections, taking the time to read each chapter twice and complete all the exercises, so at times I find my progress is a little ahead of where I'm reading in the book.  Like when I read this after hitting my office like a Ms. Clean tornado a couple Wednesdays ago.

One of the clearest signals that something healthy is afoot is the impulse to weed out, sort through, and discard old clothes, papers, and belongings...  By tossing out the old and unworkable, we make way for the new and suitable...  When the search-and-discard impulse seizes you, two cross currents are at work:  the old you is leaving and grieving, while the new you celebrates and grows strong.

So this is where I am at the moment, working through my writer's funk.  Only now the cleaning has moved to the computer.  One thing that came out of cleaning up the office was a pile of hand written story ideas and edits I need to incorporate into the novels.  Looking at the pile, it occurred to me I may have brought on some of the writers block by being so unorganized and scattered.  Time to clean it all up and get on with the writing.

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You'll be happy to know I officially exited the clean up mode a couple weeks ago. The office is immaculate and the website back in use, including a nearly complete outline for book 3 of The Courier.

Top 10 Lessons Learned Day 1 of 3-Day

As a first time writer in the 3-Day Novel contest, I had a few challenges today I thought I'd share with you all.  Here are the top 10 lessons I've learned on my first day:

1.  Make the brownies the day before even though you're sure you can stay disciplined and eat right.  I ended up making them half way through the day anyways.

2.  Name as many of your characters as you can ahead of time or set aside various names you can use.  I left out a bunch of minor characters' names and spent a half hour naming seven of them this afternoon.

3.  Writing a second novel in a series is time consuming when you start it because you have to write in reminders from the previous book so that the new storyline makes sense to the reader.  I thought this would be easy.  I was wrong.

4.  Don't worry about naming your chapters.  I gave up naming them three chapters in because it was more than I wanted to think about.

5.  Make sure you're not using an old manuscript template.  If you're a perfectionist like me, messing with paragraph tags is just another distraction you don't need.

6.  Don't ask your 16 year old to step in and make pizza for dinner.   I spent half the time it would have taken me to make the pies providing him with directions.  And, LOL, he still forgot to put the sauce on before the other ingredients. All turned out well and everyone loved the pizza.  However *sigh* later he complained that he cooked, so I should clean the kitchen.  The other 2 men in the house couldn't help either because they were watching college football.

7.  Don't invite family to stay with you for the weekend.  Michael's uncle and cousin from Grand Junction are staying with us this weekend.  I absolutely love when they visit, but wanting to socialize is too tempting.

8.  Expect your dogs to behave badly.  I had to get the bitter spray out today because the baying beagles were out of control.  Any other time they'd be sleeping the day away after their six mile morning walk. 

9.  Forget about keeping a clean house.  Although emptying and loading two dishwasher loads did give me a chance to work through a couple scenes in my head.  The cat puke all over the couch cover did nothing for my creativity...ARGH!

10.  Figure out which tense you're going to write in ahead of time and stick to it.  The first Courier novel is written in the awkward first person present.  I got a bright idea to write book 2 in first person past.  Only problem is my brain still wants to let Barry tell the story as it progresses.  So that perfectionist in me went back over 14 pages of mixed tense and fixed it.  Another 30 minutes of lost writing time.

Weekly Whine: Contradictory Feedback

We're on day 4 with no sun here in Denver and I feel like all my energy has been sucked out of me. The good thing...I'm wearing a sweater in June. Hate the heat. It's supposed to clear up today, and I can see the mountains, so at least no walking beagles in the rain today.

Anyways, I'm lacking motivation to write today, so I put in Drag me to Hell right before I sat down to write this. Get the heart pumping; wake me up. I know nothing about this movie other than a vague memory of the commercials last year. It just started and I'm not impressed with the gross gypsy woman and her curse on the pitiful Christine. Great timing with the storyline, considering the banking industry. Wrong target though. Can we please drag a few upper executives of the major banks to Hell...please.

I'm pretty excited that Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner is running a series this week in her blog on contradictory feedback. This has been my greatest challenge as I make my way through the feedback from my critique group. Best piece of advice she provides this morning.

It's important for you to go with your gut and stick with your vision. Don't allow anyone to take away your voice or an important part of your message. However, if you're a newer writer and you're not sure you've found your voice yet, you can allow those critics to help you refine your voice or find your vision. It's a delicate and tricky balance - figuring out which changes feel like you're improving the work, and which feel like compromise. Only you can decide.

I do go with my gut, but I've reached a point in my group where I have my favorite critique members. And recently I've gone against my gut and experimented with a few suggestions that turned out helping the story flow better. Interesting lesson and more contradictions.

Drag me to Hell is over. My rating, 3 out of 5 stars. They set it up, so it was very obvious how it was going to end. All in all, the movie reminded me of a cutsie long and predictable Tales from the Crypt episode.

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme, hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey Through a World of Books where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Currently Reading: Road Trip of the Living Dead by Mark Henry & God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert

Listening to: Blood Trail by C. J. Box

Just Finished: Moonshine by Alaya Johnson & Small Favor by Jim Butcher (LOVED IT!!)

Next up: Dance on Fire by James Garcia Jr.

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A Quote about Insanity

“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”

-Edgar Allan Poe

I hate to admit I often wonder if I'm losing my mind, which is why this quote jumped out at me.
Thanks Mr. Poe!