My Writing Process

Happy Monday! 

I was tagged by the lovely Laura Rueckert in the "My Writing Process" Blog Tour. What this means. You're going to get the low down on how my writing comes together. I know your psyched, right???

 I personally love this idea, because I enjoy reading how everyone else goes about their creative process.  Laura's (see above) is pretty great and you can read all about her writing process HERE.

As for me...

What am I working on?

I am working on a novel (title currently up in the air) about a girl who is dying to get out of her old farm town and away from her parents corn field. There is something magical about this field, but she could care less. Until she finds a boy wandering through it speckled with blood and out of his mind. Weird things happen when it comes to the corn, so she writes it off with ease. But the mass murder they discover the next day in the same field can't so easily be forgotten....

 

Yeah, I know it's sucky as far as pitch-worthy, but lucky for me, I'm not trying to pitch it at the moment, I'm just trying to get it out of my head.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I wish I could give some fabulous answer here. That I write like no other, but the truth is, there are a kabillion writers in this world and many of them are fabulous! I can only hope that I can write the kind of book that I love to read...a page turner that leaves you guessing until the end. One thing I am finding with my books, is that I always like to have a touch of crazy in there some where. What's that say about me? Hmmm....

Why do I write what I do?

Writing for me is cathartic. When I sit down at a keyboard I imagine I'm like a pianist sitting down to compose. I love the feeling of putting my heart and soul into something whether it be through a new world and characters, or if I'm just writing a letter that my kids can read in the future. I love to write. Period. That's why I do it. If I add the fact that people may read it and actually be transported into a world that I find so captivating myself, that they too may actually enjoy it, well, it's the ultimate high!

How does my writing process work?

Oh the elusive writing process. For me, I have to be inspired by something in the beginning. Be it a picture, an old house I drive by, or a person that catches my eye when I people watch. Yes, I love to watch people. You can learn so much about a person that way. Is that stalkerish? Whoops.

After the inspiration, I build on that, create an idea, build on that, and so on and so forth until I have a pretty firm story in my head. Marinating like this takes some time and while I'm doing that, I begin researching things, places, people, fantastical options and routes I might want to take. 

Next, I begin plotting. I love Blake Snyder's Save the Cat for screenwriting, but they have also adapted his idea for the novel writer as well. Another great plotting book is Martha Alderson's Plot Whisperer. She has a You Tube series on this that is fantastic!

Once I have beat that sucker out, I write the first draft. There are so many red squiggly lines and comments throughout the first draft that I can't imagine how a person could think I am an actual writer if they were to read it. My goal with the first draft is to just get it out of my head. I can pretty it up later. 

The second draft is spend beefing up and dealing with my comments and the read squiggly lines from draft one. 

The third is a kind of read through with a lot of repeating what I do in the second draft. 

If I feel good enough at the third go round, I send it off to beta readers to hack through and I repeat the above steps until I feel it's ready to send to my agent. 

It isn't a pretty process, but it's mine and I love it!
 

These fabulous ladies are up next on the tour! Check out their Writing Process next Monday.

 

 Emily R King

 

I love stories, eccentrics, gummy bears, and eccentric stories about gummy bears. I live on an island in the Pacific Northwest with my hubby and four minions.

 

Follow her blog HERE 

Follow her on Twitter HERE 

 

 

***

 

Stephanie Scott

 

Young Adult writer represented by Sarah LaPolla of Bradford Literary. I write contemporary YA and wrote a 1960s-set YA romance. Member of Windy City RWA and the YA-RWA chapter. Library Superfan, Award-winning TV-Binger, and your cat's new best friend. I love celebrating other writer's successes!

 

Follow her blog HERE

Follow her on Twitter HERE

***

Angela Cothran

 

I LOVE books of all kinds and in just the last few years I've discovered I also LOVE to write. I'm currently working on creating a compelling story: a little romance,a little betrayal, a well placed twist, and if a few people die-well it was bound to happen :)

 

Follow her blog HERE

***

What about you? If you're a writer, what's your writing process like?

Do you argue with your characters

I got into a fight with my protag the other day and after it was all said and done she won the battle...but I won the war!!

I realized the big tug-o-war match we were having was because I wanted her to react the way I would react.

I've been learning through a tedious process, that when we as writers really come out of our shell, one thing we will do, is let our characters go off into this big ole' world on their own and be who they were meant to be.

So yeah, I shed a few tears, but in the end, I think I grew a little more as a writer.

What about you, do you ever get into fist fights with your characters because you want them to do something they wouldn't really do?

***

Just a little update: I haven't forgotten about my agent spotlights. I will be starting them soon, so stay tuned!

The Middle of the Middle

I'm there. 44,523 words. I wanted to be farther by now, finishing my first draft by the end of August. Maybe I can bust out 2500 words a day but that's another post for another day.

What I am dealing with now is trudging through the middle without boring the reader.

I have a couple of helpful...um...I guess you can call them helps, and today I wanted to share them with you!

I also want to ask what do you do about the middle of the middle to keep it interesting? If you have helpful places you go please do share!

Here are mine...

- The Plot Whisperer -  I've told you about her before HERE. This woman is terrific! I can't say enough good things about her as she has helped me immensely through her You Tube Plotting Series (this link will take you to the episode on plotting the middle). You have to check her out. And just a teaser for later down the line...she will be visiting my blog in the future! YAY:)

- Novel Writing Help - Harvey Chapman is pretty darn cool with his web site for novel writing. It is simple and to the point as he breaks the plotting up into three acts and act two is the middle. Check it out.

Until Next time...

Keep writing. Keep learning

9 Steps for Plotting Fiction

Does this happen to you...

Your in the car jammin' out to your favorite band and something, maybe it's a passerby or the lyrics in the song, but you're reminded, as you are every day, of an idea.  If given legs this idea could walk on water and soar all the way to number one on the best sellers list.

The problem is, when you try to plot the course of this spectacular novel your idea gets lost somewhere along the way.  You can't keep track of who, what, when, where or how and so you give up for another day.

If only you could figure out the main points, the beginning, middle and end of the book and how they all run along in a nice cohesive line until the end.

Verla Kay is an amazing author of many children's books and she has made it a mission of hers to pay it forward to blossoming new writers.  If you haven't checked out her site, you should! 

She also has a forum and on the board where I found a 9 step formula to plotting out your fiction.  This is also great for revising as well.

In a nut shell, the steps are:

Start with a piece of paper. It should be large enough to write on.
8.5 x 11 is perfect. Draw two parallel lines both vertically and
horizontally across the page, creating 9 comparable boxes, as if you
were starting a game of tic-tac-toe. These boxes represent chapters,
scenes, or sections, depending upon your book's intended length.

Number the boxes, starting from the upper left: 1, 2, 3.
Next row, starting from the left: 4, 5, 6.
Last row: 7, 8, 9.
Title each box…

1 Triggering event
First thing's first. What happens? Why have you bothered to write a
book, and more importantly, why should a reader invest time flipping
through its pages. Your triggering event is the answer to those
questions, so make it a good one. Also, don't make the reader wait
very long for it. First page, first paragraph, first sentence.
These are good spots for a triggering event.

2 Characterization
Generally, books succeed or fail on the strength of their characters
more so than on the strength of their plots. The second box is where
you explore what makes your protagonist tick. No, this isn't an
excuse for drawn out exposition, history, or back story. If your
triggering event is captivating, the reader will discover enough
about the protagonist in Box Two simply by reading how he or she
reacts to the event.

3 First major turning point
By now, your plot is picking up steam, and because of Box Two, the
reader is invested in the ride. Time to throw a curve ball. This
turning point can be either a positive event for your protagonist,
or a negative one, but it should lay the groundwork for the negative
turning point in the sixth square. There is a reason these boxes are
touching one another; they interrelate. For example, Box Three may
introduce the motivation of the antagonist, which then justifies the
events in the sixth square.

4 Exposition
You've earned some time to fill the reader in on important data.
Since this box touches the first square, here's where you shed some
light on that triggering event. Since it also touches Box Seven, you
get to foreshadow your pro-tagonist's darkest hour. Box Four often
reveals a relationship, character flaw, or personal history that
contributes to the dark times in ahead.

5 Connect the dots
Here is where many plots fall apart. Box Five represents the
trickiest part of fiction and since Box Five is the center of the
book it must connect to all the squares around it. Kind of like the
nucleus at the center of a bomb, Box Five should tick systematically
upon elements introduced in Box Two and Four. And like the calm
before the storm, the fifth square should give the false impression
of resolution before heading like a freight train to Box Six. Most
importantly, it needs to provide foreshadowing for the protagonist's
revelation in Box Eight. That's a lot for a little box to do, but
focus on efficient prose to get it right. Your plot depends upon it.

6 Negative turning point
Here's where that bomb explodes and all (word censored) breaks loose. Good
thing you laid the groundwork in Box Three. Good thing, too, that
Box Nine will deliver some just desserts.

7 Antagonist wins
The protagonist is defeated here, and the antagonist apparently
wins. How the protagonist deals with the darkest hour of defeat
depend upon the traits and/or story developed in Box Four, which
leads to his or her revelation in the next square.

8 Revelation
Of course! The protagonist's revelation turns the tide. Here is
where the protagonist connects the dots and overcomes the obstacles
of Boxes Six and Seven via the device introduced in Box Five.

9 Protagonist wins
The negative turning point in Box Six is rectified while the
character's resolve from Box Eight is brought into full bloom.
Congratulations! Another great tale told greatly.

Thanks Verla Kay!