Top 10 things I’ve learned about writing this year

Since I started writing again, I've really learned a lot. I could easily write a top 100 list, but I've edited it down to just the most important things. (Thanks to number 9.)

1. Writing is surprisingly easy, but editing SO isn't.

2. Social networking is important and isn't as hard as it looks.

3. I eventually have to stop editing and rewriting. (Still a goal at this point.)

4. My constant daydreaming is actually common among writers, along with some of my other idiosyncrasies. (I’m not alone! I have found my people.)

5. I have to learn to write down my whole story. I always forget to put all of the details I just know. (Sharing everything with the eventual reader is important…)

6. I cannot write in present tense and shouldn't try, it messes everything up. There’s nothing wrong with past tense.

7. How to read as a writer. (And watch movies and TV.)

8. Just how important showing is for a story.

9. The importance of only including what is most important. (and to cut the rest.)

10. I truly enjoy writing. It makes me happier than anything else. (I wonder why I ever stopped? Stupid little voice in my head telling myself I wasn't good enough.)

I've done so much this year with my writing. I can’t wait to find out what next year brings.

What have you learned this year about writing and yourself?

Made Up Holidays, and Traditons

Merry Christmas (Or whatever holiday you celebrate) I don’t want to offend, I just prefer Merry Christmas over Happy Holidays.

Christmas, like most traditions, is strange when you break it down. We put living trees decorated in lights inside our homes and children wait for an old man wearing red to come down the chimney and put presents into stockings hanging by the fireplace.

I think that the same needs to be true of fictional holidays. They should have things that make no sense, but that everyone does without thinking about it. I like it when there’s a story behind things, so that the holiday has meaning beyond the traditional thankfulness and giving to others.

It can be hard to capture the nonsensical wonder that real holidays have, which is why authors simply rename our holidays. This makes them relatable and realistic without having to explain endless traditions. (Like Terry Pratchet’s Hogswatch, though like all his writing he takes it for a unique twist.)

Another thing to remember is the world's fictional religions would probably have an impact on holidays. Though perhaps like Christmas, some people (me) take the parts they like and forget the religious significance.

Do you have traditions in your fictional worlds? How about fictional Holidays?

My world has a religion, but it doesn't play a large part in my character’s everyday lives. Like a lot of things in my first book it didn't make it into the actual novel. It's surprising how short 100,000 words can be when I have all these things I want to put in. Same with holidays, I mention a Winterfest, but I didn't have the chance to explain it. I figure that's what sequels are for, those of us who can't tell a story in one book.

The strengths and weaknesses of writing in First Person Point of View.

Last week I posted a sample chapter of my story, (which is going to have to be changed from first person to third) and while discussing it, it came out that some people haven't written first person point of view. Since I finally understand it, I thought I’d share what I've learned while writing Woven Magic. (Only time I’ll mention it, I promise.)

The strength of first person is the readers are close to the characters, looking through their eyes and inside their heads. Every word of my story was chosen by my character, so it’s all their voice. I find it the most fun, because I write as though I am my characters.

One thing I wasn't sure how to do was when my character was thinking. It occurred to me that since it’s in first person, everything is my characters thoughts. So, there’s no reason for me to say ‘I thought’. Some people prefer to italic the internal thoughts, but I don’t think that’s necessary. I like writing direct thoughts in present tense, but that really isn't needed either.

First person is the only viewpoint where it’s okay to be wishy-washy, because the character telling the story can be unsure. Normally it’s frowned upon to use sayings like I think, I believe, or it seems in a novel, but it’s perfectly all right in first person. (Not referring to thoughts, but when the character’s guessing, ‘I think it was curse.’)

The interesting thing that can only be done with first person is your narrator can be wrong, which is probably why it’s popular in mystery novels. The character is telling the story as they see things, so if they are misinformed the readers can be deceived too.

The hard part is the character telling the story has to be in every scene. It can be particularly difficult to get the readers to feel like a part of things when the narrator is only a spectator to the action. I had a scene like this and I solved the problem by writing it from the character in the action’s point of view, so I could understand the scene better and then rewriting it from the narrator’s point of view.

Another difficulty, (Yes, there are a lot of them) is explaining things that my character knows, and probably wouldn't think about, but my readers need to know. My main character’s lived in this magical world all her life, so there are things she takes for granted that the readers wouldn't understand. I had to come up with reasons for her to explain things. The opposite is also true I can't include anything that my character doesn't know. This is good when explaining things to the character and the reader at the same time, not so good when they’re confused, then the readers are too. (Unless that’s what I was going for.)

One of the tricky bits about first person is describing the main character. She wouldn't say ‘My auburn hair brushed my pale cheek.’ or something equally cliché about herself. If she do say something like this, it gives her a very narcissistic feel. It may seem easy to have them look into a mirror, but I think it’s contrived. That’s not to say that all mirror descriptions are bad, I just avoid them personally. (Molly’s way of saying this is how I feel, but I don’t want anyone’s feelings to be hurt.) People are more likely to notice how they’re different from others, or to complain about something they don’t like about themselves. This is how I usually describe my characters.

My weakness and something that’s easy to do in first person novel getting carried away with ‘I’. I did this, I walked here, and I looked there. When editing I realized just how many I’s I used, the trick is not using I when I don’t have too. See what I mean? That sentence hurts.

As soon as I figure out how to write in third person, again I’ll have to do one of these for third and maybe one comparing the two.

Is there anything I missed? Which point of view do you favor? After all this I'm beginning to wonder why I like first person.

Sample Chapter of my new science fiction and fantasy novel

Now that I've had a chance to edit it, it’s ready to be shared. My biggest edit was removing redundancies. I hope I didn't form a new bad habit during NaNoWriMo. I really tried hard to write normally and not get rid of contractions or add in extra words.

I’m going to have to rewrite it into third person, because too many characters keep wanting their stories told. I wrote it in first person initially because I’d planned to flash back to the two main character’s pasts, without revealing which was which. I decided not to go for the gimmick though.

Instead of leaving everyone hanging like I did after the first chapter of Woven Magic, this first chapter is a short story by itself. I’m hoping people will want to keep reading to learn more about my characters.

Please let me know what you think. :) Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

Aliens, Sorcery, and Secrets (For a lack of something better to call this.) Just realized I'm going to have to rearrange that, it abbreviates badly...

Chapter 1

Jadan

Whoever said it all balances out, I’d like to buy him a drink and punch him. All we seem to have is bad luck and worse luck. After our last bounty, not only weren’t we paid, but we’re also out the money the job cost us.

“How much to transport our bikes back to Vista?” I asked.

“Eight.” The large gray-skinned man gestured with one massive limb.

“Five.” I said.

“You don’t even have that much.” He said looking me over.

“I will before the end of the week.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” He made the Wurl laughing noise, a sort of gurgle.

“If I can pay before the end of the week, five.” I figured it was worth a shot.

“Six and we have a deal.”

I ran back to the storage shed with a skip in my step. The walls were crooked and it had been painted white sometime in the last decade. I was glad we weren’t renting it for the building.

“Well?” Sharna asked. The petite blond was sitting on her bike fingering her discharged blaster.

“Six.” I held up a finger. “If I get it by the end of the week, if not eight.”

“That’s robbery.”

I shrugged.

“Charge or transport?” Sharna muttered after a while.

I raised an eyebrow. “Not that much of a choice is it? And we have to pay to store the bikes.”

She frowned. “Pay too much.”

I shrugged. “Not much choice there either. The engines are clogged with sand.”

Sharna kicked a rock. “Stupid Havaro Desert. Why are there metal fragments in the sand?”

“Legend says when our ancestors first came to this planet it was a paradise. They had advanced technological cities spanning the globe. Then something happened, what no one remembers, but the planet was left a desert. Only the five jewel cities were spared.”

“That was a rhetorical question…” She said. “Did you make that up?”

“No, I heard it in my childhood.” She frowned, because we don’t normally discuss the past. I went on. “It explains why anyone would choose to live on such a sorry excuse for a planet. I thought everything outside the five cities was desert.”

“Now you know the difference between dry unfertile ground and desert. You can survive in one, you enter the other, and you die." She sighed. “Guess we’d better get a bounty to pay to lug our bikes back to civilization.”

I wiped sweat off my forehead and Sharna smirked.

“What?”

She ran her hands over my dark hair. “Your curls have gone nuts.”

“It’s all the static in this dry climate.”

“If only we could turn it into energy.” She sighed and I hid a grin. As tempting as it was I couldn’t risk tapping off a weapon now.

“See any good bounties?” I asked.

“One Human old lady worth sixteen.”

I whistled. “What’d she do?”

“Didn’t say.”

I frowned, not enough for her to be a murderer, but too much for a typical bounty.

“Sounds easy.” She raised an eyebrow giving me a significant look.

I sighed, “We need the money.”

“I already took it, we just need transportation.”

I smirk, “I think I’ve got that covered.”

Sharna

Jadan led me to an old unpainted wooden barn smelling of moldy hay.

“I thought you said transport.” He didn’t expect us to ride one of these beasts?

“This is all we can afford, take your pick. There are a few camels, even a horse, some novaks, and a pair of tims.”

I glared at him. “Is there something that will carry both of us?” Maybe I can afford a little charge…

“Not over the distance we have to go.” He said and I frowned.

I walked up the stalls, scrutinizing each animal.

“This one.” I nodded towards a stall.

Jadan walked up and burst out laughing. “A tim?”

I glared at him. “Choose what you want.”

“What do you know about tims?” He asked.

Honestly, nothing, but I didn’t say anything. I stared at the ugly animal, short and long with a slight hump in the middle, a round snout, and beady eyes. Something about the beast gave me a good feeling, and I’ve always been able to trust my feelings, they haven’t let me down yet.

He sighed overdramatically, “Well I can’t very well get anything else or the tim won’t be able to keep up. It’s not all bad, tims go forever and eat pretty much anything.”

“You sound knowledgeable.” I joked, surprised. He never mentioned knowing anything about animals.

“I’ve ridden before.” Was all he said, but more than I expected to get.

Most people would probably think it strange that we’ve known each other ten years and I don’t even know his real name. I just had a feeling, as I did with the animal, that I could trust him, which at times I have considered a bad choice. Jadan’s not one for the moral high ground.

Jadan saddled the beasts and we loaded up what we would need for the trip, leaving behind our weapons was the hardest part, but without a charge they would only serve as a club.

“At least she’s human since we don’t have a charge.” Jadan said.

“No bullets either.”

“No bullets?”

“Wasn’t it you who said you didn’t want to die with ammo left?” I reminded him.

He pretended to look embarrassed. We always carry blades, so it’s not as though we’re going unarmed, but I wish we could afford bullets.

We rode out of town, the tims large feet crunching over the hard ground. The metallic scent of the desert tickled my nose. My tim stopped, nosing the sparse greenery with his snout. It seemed to prove edible, for she munched down. I gently tapped her flank and she started moving her short legs again. Up one hill and down the next, they tromped on never tiring. Mine seemed to be easily distractible though.

“I feel like we’re back in the middle ages.” Jadan joked. “Riding pack animals and wielding swords.”

“You’d know what that was like.” I always tease him about being older than me, even though I don’t know how old he is. It doesn’t bother him, but nothing really does.

The ride was certainly slow, but I could fall asleep and she just kept plodding along in the last direction she was told. Jadan looked over at me and I woke up.

“Never understand how you sleep so light, I swear I think about you and you wake up.”

“Comes in handy.” I mumble getting out my water bottle.

He learned when we first met that I’m a light sleeper, when he tried to pick my pocket. It didn’t surprise me, because I’d already watched him relieve several owners of their belongings.

I nudged my tim to go faster on the dusty trail. Jadan rubbed at the metal band on his left wrist. I glanced over at him and he twitched his day shade over his arms. I’ve often wondered why he has metal welded around his wrists, but we don’t ask such questions.

“How much farther?” He whispered.

“We have a ways to go yet. She’s past the second town.”

He raised his voice. “Past the town? Who doesn’t live in a town?”

“Someone with a sixteen bounty on her head.” I grinned.

“A little old lady for sixteen…” He muttered again.

“It could go easy for once.” I said as he chuckled. We both knew how unlikely that would be.

My tim snorted, stopped, and began nibbling on a thorny bush.

“You don’t want to eat that. I’ll get you some nice hay when this is over.”

He reached over smacking the ugly animal on the rump, and she trotted up the trail.

“Stupid animals.” I grumbled.

“I rather like the tims.” He grinned, fixing his sword. Of course he did, I rolled my eyes.

Late in the day, we came to a smaller town, which had seen better days. The buildings were cobbled together from a hodge-podge of different items. The nicest house in the town had a crooked rusty metal roof. Everyone stared at us as we tromping through.

People call bounty hunters thieves, murderers, and other less savory names. Those who realized what we are pulled their children inside. I am not a thief and my partner is not a murderer, but they don’t know that.

“What?” I asked raising an eyebrow when I noticed Jadan staring at me.

“Nothing, just thinking how pretty you are.” He flashed me his winning smile.

I might be unique looking, but I know I’m not pretty. Other girls might fall for his charm, but not me. Though, I must admit that he is good looking tall, slim, and muscular. I shook my head, been away from a city for too long.

Others might assume we’re a couple, but I think I’m the only person, of any species or gender that my partner hasn't slept with. The first thing he did when we met was proposition me. Well, the first thing after he regained consciousness. The day we met, he was on fire in the middle of the street. I always assumed it was over a woman. His armor was ruined, but he’d been lucky. I put him out and carried him back to my hotel room. I smiled at the memory.

Jadan           

I do think she’s pretty, not that she’d ever believe me. I watched as her long strange blonde hair streamed behind her tim. No matter how much danger she’s in, she never ties it back, but then it seems to have a mind of its own and knows to stay out of the way. I never ask, too afraid she’ll have a question of her own for me.

I’ve long suspected that Sharna might be a partial, part human and part one of the other eight species who consider this planet their home. Apparently, there were originally over twelve minor species, but they were either smart and left, or died out. She might not resemble one of the known races, but I know there are species the mainstream doesn’t know about.

I studied her profile, the differences are subtle, but I’ve been around her long enough to notice. I’ve caught a glimpse of thicker strands of pastel colors in her hair that I can never see when staring at her directly and occasionally her eyes flash from blue to violet when she’s angry. I don’t mind, something about her draws me in, I knew the first time I saw her. Not that I’d ever admit it, but I’d rather an interesting face with character and a brain behind it.

Everyone stared at us as we rode through the dinky town. I suppose we make a strange pair, but oddly enough, it works. People are always suspicious of bounty hunters. I can’t really deny the thief thing, but we don’t kill people, intentionally at least. Sharna stared straight ahead ignoring everyone, not much gets to her. I can’t help but smile and wave at the people we pass. I even get a couple of smiles back.

“Last town for a while.” Sharna said.

“You been this way?”

She nodded.

“What was that town the old lady was spotted at?”

“She wasn’t spotted, she lives there.”

I raise an eyebrow. If the IHO, military police, know where she lives, why haven’t they brought her in? Four days out of town doesn’t seem like much for fifteen.

She shrugged. “I don’t like it either, but what can we do?”

Once we were a ways out of town Sharna stopped and took food out of her pack.

“I can’t eat with the constant jiggling, enough to make anyone sick.”

“You picked the tims.”

“The best of the worst.”

I adjusted a knife that had been hitting my knee.

“Did you bring every blade you own?” She scoffed.

“I don’t like the sound of this one.”

“I could tell, you’ve got dents.” She pointed to her forehead.

I took a deep breath relaxing my face and took a piece of meat out of her can, mushy.

“How can you eat this?”

“It was on sale.” She scowled. “You find anything better?”

I pulled out a block of hard cheese and broke off a piece. It took a bit of sucking to soften it, but it wasn’t as bad as the meat. She took a hunk of the cheese making faces as she attempted to chew it.

“Yeah, so much better.” She said.

The ride was slower than we’re used to, but neither of us complained. By day four, the dry heat was getting to me, but we made good time sleeping on the tims.

I’d thought the last town was shabby, but compared to this one it was the five cities. There wasn’t a scrap of metal in sight and some of the wood was practically cardboard. We were surrounded by children the moment we entered town, but we both knew what that meant, thieves. I brushed my way through, careful to keep their hands away from anything valuable.

“Anything?” Sharna asked.

“Nah,” They didn’t have anything worth taking.

“I got a knife.” She pulled out something that looked like it belonged in a mental hospital kitchen.

“Where’d they get that?”

She shrugged, tossing it behind a wall.

I chuckled seeing several green splattered children running around.

“You really are childish.”

“You’d rather they stole our food?”

“They can have it.”

She knocked on a door, which wobbled on its hinges.

“Yes?” A woman peered around the crack.

“Looking for Anges.”

The woman’s eyes grew wide and she backed up sliding a cabinet in front of the door. I don’t know why she bothered, because a good wind and the house would fall over.

Sharna rolled her eyes trying the next house. We were cursed at and had doors slammed in our faces all over town.

“Nice getting out in the world, meeting new friendly faces.” She said.

“I’m getting a definite feeling about this Anges.”

“What gave you that idea?”

We asked a man running a shop selling what I seriously hoped was meat. He held out his hand expectantly.

I extracted a coin, showing it to him.

“Anges.”

He pointed north of town. “Only house up there, on the hill, can’t miss it.”

I started to hand him the coin and then pulled back. “Why does no one want to talk to us?”

“Everybody’s scared of old Anges.”

“And you aren’t.”

“I’m more afraid of starving to death.” He held out his hand again and I gave him the coin.

As we walked away, I frowned. “You’d think with all that he’d have more money.” I counted out the coins from his pouch.

Sharna rolled her eyes at me.

“Not even two.” I stuffed them into my pockets. “What? Like we aren’t poor?”

The shack north of town was little better than the rest. It could barely be considered a house. A chill went up my spine as we approached.

“I don’t like it.” I whispered. Sharna nodded gesturing with her head for me to take the back.

I tied the tim to the only thing available, an old bit of metal that was at one time might have been a car. What’s a car doing all the way out here?

I heard Sharna knock on the door. Why does she always feel the need to knock?

“Madam Wetherly?”

The air changed, feeling tighter and I heard a crackling. Oh, no! No metal, no metal at all in the town! I picked the lock on the back door and had it open the next minute.

“Shar-” Before I finished, the pent up power released, sizzling and crackling in the air. Dan, she had to be a Sorcerer. I unsheathed my sword and crept forward on tiptoe. The front of the shack was a gaping hole with the woman’s belongings strewn everywhere. The woman herself was a walking cliché, all skin and bones with frizzled hair. She spun the moment I got close, releasing a spell. I fell to the floor feeling her magic prickle at my skin as it rushed over me.

The shadows came alive with a cackling, dancing and beckoning. They stretched and twisted taking on inhuman shapes closing in on me.

“It’s not real. It’s an illusion, only an illusion.” I whispered to myself trying to break out of the spell.

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry. My brain knew they weren’t real, but my instincts screamed at me to run or lash out. I managed to get my eyes closed and when I opened them, the shadows were gone as was the woman.

Where’s Sharna? She has to be all right. The force of the blast must have missed her. I tried to convince myself as I rushed to the front of the house. She has to be okay. She should have heard my warning, or maybe she figured it out before I did. She’s smart.

As searched the rubble that had been the front of the house, I heard a moan and dropped my sword digging with my bare hands, moving pieces out of the way. I saw blond hair sticking out and I knew I was almost there. Carefully I removed the last sheet of metal. She’d taken a beating and had several bruises and cuts, but she was okay.

“Good timing.” She mumbled.

I flashed a smile. “Better than after the fact.”

My feet lifted off the ground and I sent flying into the side of the shack, sliding down until I lay on the ground, starbursts flashing in my vision.

I got to my feet unsteadily, weaving back and forth. She released another spell, and as the multicolored short, ugly creatures swarmed over me, I realized these weren’t just another illusion, but a summoning.

I pulled my other sword and a dagger and began to hack at the small hideous things that attempted to swamp me. One climbed on my head and I smacked it against the wall, kicking out to dislodge another from my leg. I swung my weapons like a madman, counting on striking one of them. I swung out again only to realize there weren’t any left.

I panted, my sword hanging in my limp hand. Where’s Sharna?

“Should be worrying about me Dearie.” The old woman in her ragged dress slowly walked closer to me.

She extended a hand smacking me against a wall again and I fell onto the floor. Is this it? I heard a crunching and looked past the woman. Sharna!

I tried to call out knowing the woman had another trick planned. She turned to look into Sharna’s crystalline eyes and froze. With all the things I’d seen coming out of her mind tonight, I wouldn’t have thought a little blond could scare her so much. I pulled out a rope and slipped it around her wrists. She gazed at me with bulging eyes, and then slumped, all the fight going out of her.

“A sorcerer, sixteen is not enough.” Sharna said.

“And you said I would never have a need for anything magic proof.” I grinned.

She examined the rope. “Sometimes fools do get lucky, you actually bought a real binding.” Her eyebrows were raised and I puffed out my chest.

“She expected us.” Sharna said her eyebrows almost meeting in the middle. “Those spells took preparation.”

“Feel better about my taking his money now?” I led the old woman out of the destruction of her home.

Sharna scowled. “He must have had some sort of deal with her.”

I shrugged not knowing a thing about spells and magic. I hadn’t known Sharna did.

I gaped at the devastation of the front of the house. Everything was rubble and dust. “You sure were lucky to survive that.” I shook my head.

Sharna scowled at me, I’d come dangerously close to asking a personal question.

I handed her the rope and went to find my tim. The stupid thing was trying to eat the rusted heap I’d tied him to.

“Don’t eat that.” I scolded untying him. “Good thing I didn’t tie you to a bush.”

Sharna whistled. “Tim.”

“What happened?”

“She got buried in the debris, or…”

“She’s over here,” I called. Down over the hill by the tree she’d been tied to, there was the tim, laying on her side.

“Dan, now how are we going to get back?”

“We can ride double.” I smirked.

Sharna

I had my doubts about riding the time in front of Jadan, but he was a perfect gentleman, for once.

The sorcerer complained about walking, but there wasn’t room for three on the tim and she smelled.

“You’d make an old woman walk.” She whined.

I scowled at her and she wisely shut up. She could walk just fine, when forced. I doubt she’s half as old as she looks, must have sacrificed her vitality in a spell gone wrong.

I don’t know how I survived being hit by the full force of her spell, and worse, Jadan noticed as much. At least he didn’t see her second spell hit me. It was obviously meant to kill me. The shock on her face when she saw I was still alive froze her in her tracks. I was surprised by Jadan’s rope, who’d have thought he’d get lucky for once.

My hand began to cramp and I handed the rope to Jadan. She fought twisting in the rope and trying to escape.

“Move it Witch.” He snapped at her.

“How dare you!” She stared at him in surprise.

“If the shoe fits.” Him and his ancient sayings. After that, he of course took to calling her witch.

She continued to fight him, so I was forced to take the rope back. It seems she’s only afraid of me.

We should get a good charge out of the money she’d bring, buy another tim, and drag our bikes back to Vista to get fixed. I mentally scolded myself for spending money we didn’t have.

It took us six days to return, practically dragging the woman along. I was glad once we delivered her to the IHO.

Jadan continued to argue with the man about the bounty. “The poster said sixteen.”

“All we can do here is fifteen. You’ll have to take her to a city for sixteen.” The man rubbed his mustache nervously.

“Can’t you write us a chit?”

“You’d accept a chit?”

“For the extra only.”

“Chit for it all or fifteen.” He debated for a while, and eventually managed to get fifteen and a charge on his weapons, though not mine.

“I feel naked.” Why couldn’t he have charged one of his and one of mine?

He raised an eyebrow and I realized what I’d said.

“You know what I mean.”

He handed me one of his weapons and I hefted it experimentally, heavier than it looked. It was better than nothing, but I’d prefer my own.

The long handle of the weapon was wrapped in leather. The top dispenses different kinds of poisons, mostly of the nonlethal sort. His other weapon, the charger, resembles a gun, and can send out three different kinds of energy pulses. Each species brought their own weapons with them when they came to this world and ironically enough, their own weapons only work on their own kind. Our chargers are a combination of a few species’ weapons.

A simple gun will work for most of the population, humans, which is good since our cobbled together weapons are useless on them, resilient race that they are. We generally carry guns of their sort, which are cheap enough to find, but of course, right now we’re out of ammo.

“Gods, how strong are you? This thing weighs a ton.” I pretended.

He flicked a switch and a blade swung out. When did he have that done?

“Nice.” I grinned testing it out.

He was pleased to pay the man six to drag our bikes back. The large gray man was all arms. I hadn’t seen a Wurl since leaving the cities. They didn’t have any more tims, so we decided to ride double back to Vista.

We camped out a mile from the road. I threw a foil on some scrub I’d managed to gather and it crackled creating a small fire. I stuck some jerky in a pot with some water trying to get it chewable while Jadan set up the tent.

“Going to be a cold night.” He came out wearing a blanket.

I grunted.

I fell asleep hoping for a big bounty in Vista, a big easy bounty though I should know better than to wish for such a thing.

I shouldn't have tried to force my plot ~ NaNoWriMo sample chapter next week

Once I realized why I was having so much trouble with my plot, I was able to fix it. I was trying to force the plot to be something that it wasn't. I’d spent a lot of time on the characters back-stories, but then their pasts didn't impact the plot at all. So, it turns out what I thought was my plot was really just a subplot.

I hit my 50k on Wednesday, (Yay!) but I have a lot left to write before my story is finished. I know what is going to happen up to my climax now, but I still have to figure out how it’s going to end. Who’s going to be the real bad guy after all? At least I have plenty of options.

I’m glad that I attempted NaNo, because it’s taught me a lot about writing a plot.

To celebrate the end of November I’ll posting my first chapter here next week, after I've edited it a little. Sorry for the short post, I've been having a lovely Holiday weekend with my family.

How is your writing coming?

Plotting… I’m a writer it's what I (should probably) do

Panster vs plotter, I have no idea where these terms come from, but they describe the two methods of writing. A panster sits down and writes, (albeit with a clue of where things are going). A plotter plots out the story before starting, with pretty diagrams and summaries.

How does this whole plotting thing work? Since I've been a panster,  I don’t actually know, so I’m just going to link to some people who do. (Stupid autocorrect keeps making it punster… I do not make puns!)

Sometimes the directionally disabled need a map.

When I started my first novel, Woven Magic [insert book plug here], I had a pretty good idea of the plot and where I wanted it to go before I started. I didn't write a summary or anything, it just came together.

My nanowrimo novel on the other hand… is still a bunch of disjointed chapters. I've been reading online about plots and the key points there are supposed to be in a story. I don’t want to follow a blueprint, because I think that makes things far too predictable. My first book, sorry I won’t plug it again, actually had all the key points at around the right places, so that made me happy.

For my nano novel, I’m going to have to write out a summary, or at least have a better idea of where my characters are going. Even in a character driven novel like mine, there should be a plot. I suppose that’s the problem, I started writing without a clue as to the plot. Now I've gotten my characters in such a mess I don’t have a clue how to get them out of it.

This book's world is a mishmash of science fiction and fantasy. It’s set on another planet with alien species, advanced technology, and sorcery. My sorcery is key to one of my characters, but I think it will feel like too much of an add-on if it doesn't directly impact the plot. Okay, so how can magic get them out of this mess? I suppose I have to teach my character how to use magic first… Stop rambling Molly.

If this wasn't the blog you were looking for and you wanted to know how to outline a plot, here are some sites I've found useful when I was searching on how to get myself out of my mess.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/09/14/25-ways-to-plot-plan-and-prep-your-story/ (Funny writer, but warning he likes swear words.)

http://romanceuniversity.org/2013/09/23/a-matter-of-timing-positioning-your-major-plot-points-within-your-story-by-k-m-weiland/ (Explains the key plot point percents.)

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2012/02/secrets-of-story-structure-pt-1-why.html (A series of articles breaking it all down.)

The best advice I found was that the first 25%-ish of the story should be establishing the everyday world, showing the plot, and introducing the characters. At around 50%, something should go wrong, a big plot point to hit at what the climax is going to be, with another one at about 75%. (The second link goes more into this.)

In case you were wondering why this blog sounds different, I've been far too worried about sounding professional instead of just being myself. Since this isn't about writing, but my writing, it’s just me, casual like. I am the sort of person who gets stage fright from writing on my blog…, which is why I try so hard. I’ll be more professional next week, promise. ;)

How do you plan before you start writing?

Character Relationships ~ Fictional Friendship

Relationships between characters are important, because they show what kind of people they are and help them to feel like real people.

When meeting someone new you slowly get to know them, so I do the same thing when my characters meet. Whether it turns into a friendship or a romance, I allow them time to get to know each other. I like romance where it starts out as a friendship and then gradually becomes something more. I have nothing against love at first site, but I like my characters to have a connection beyond their initial attraction. Their feelings for each other slowly build over time.  

A character's friendship should also grow as they get to know each other. I wouldn't tell someone I just met everything about myself. The same is true when characters first meet, they should hold things back. Even after they've known each other for years, there are going to be things they still don’t know about each other. Everyone has secrets, and characters should too.

Secrets are a good way to add tension and conflict to the story, and can cause problems for a relationship. When one friend has been keeping something important from the other, it hurts and can change things between them, even more so if they were romantic. If they make up, this experience can bring them closer together, but for some things there is no forgiveness.

Characters are like people in the way that they betray one another, for various reasons. Even if a betrayal doesn't end a relationship, chances are it won't be the same, trust will undoubtedly have been lost.

Just because characters are fictional doesn't mean they should always get along. If a relationship is too perfect it seems unrealistic and can become dull. No matter how much we like someone, we fight with them sometimes. I find the opposite equally annoying, when characters constantly bicker even though they are supposed to like one another. All relationships have their ups and downs. It's how friends handle the downs that's important.

A true friend is there not only during good times, but stays during the bad times as well. When everything goes wrong for my character do their friends stand by them? These are the kinds of things that make characters who they are. As their friendships grows and they get to know one another, it makes it feel as though they are real friends.

What is your favorite fictional friendship?

I’m a fan of the way JK Rowling handled Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Writer’s block. What I do when my Muse is ignoring me.

http://mollymortensen.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/thinkingcreativity-raybradbury.jpg?w=462

Writers have lots of creative excuses for when inspiration fails, but no matter what you call it, it’s annoying, and if you’re like me where your mood is tied to your writing it’s depressing too.

So what do I do when my creativity faucet is clogged?

I have to remember that I am writing for fun, because I enjoy it. Even if it’s a job, it’s the one I’ve chosen. It shouldn’t be “You should be writing” but “You could be writing” because really, I’d rather write than do anything else. But, as much as I enjoy writing, there are times where I stare at the page and think, okay… now what?

Everyone has a different suggestion, because everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you. The trick is to find what inspires you, what gets your creative juices flowing.

I sit down and try to write. When I don’t know where the story is going I skip ahead and write another part, and if that shuts down I skip again. This creates some rather interesting bits and pieces of a story, but by the end, they usually all fit together.

If I can’t get anything down on the page, I pick up a book, because reading puts my head in a better place. Many people seem to favor music, but I’m not really a music person. Sometimes a certain song strikes a cord with me and gives me ideas, so just because something usually doesn’t work doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it a try. Recently I’ve found inspiration from looking at fantasy artwork online.

One of my biggest problems is focusing on just one idea, and not being sidetracked by all the other stories bouncing around in my head. For years I bounced around and wound up not finishing anything.

There are things that do the opposite, put me in a bad writing place. Playing randomly on the computer or watching certain dumb TV shows is bad for my writing juju and nothing kills my creativity faster than video games.

When I need to know know what needs to happen next in my story, taking a shower or vacuuming usually helps, or any monotonous tasks where my mind gets bored and starts creating stories. Going to bed always solves my problem, especially if my computer is off. I lay in bed and the ideas start to flow. I’m not one to put writing off, if ideas are flowing, I write. Forget sleep, food, and all the other important parts of life, the writing is working.

There is nothing better than a good writing day.

What do you do when you are having trouble writing? What kinds of things have given you a headache?

My first person point of view in my current novel has given me problems, especially when the main character isn’t the center of the action. I hate it when I get stuck, because I’ve gotten my characters into such a mess that I can’t see a way out. Crating the problems is fun, solving them can sometimes be tricky, because I like intelligent bad guys and I don’t want to make things too easy for them. It’s all the more rewarding when it suddenly clicks, the pieces come together, and I’ve conquered my character’s dilemma, even though I’m the one who put them into it.

via WordPress http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/2013/11/09/writers-block-my-muse-is-ignoring-me/

Writer’s block. What I do when my Muse is ignoring me.

Writers have lots of creative excuses for when inspiration fails, but no matter what you call it, it's annoying, and if you're like me where your mood is tied to your writing it's depressing too.

So what do I do when my creativity faucet is clogged?

I have to remember that I am writing for fun, because I enjoy it. Even if it's a job, it's the one I've chosen. It shouldn't be “You should be writing” but “You could be writing” because really, I’d rather write than do anything else. But, as much as I enjoy writing, there are times where I stare at the page and think, okay… now what?

Everyone has a different suggestion, because everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you. The trick is to find what inspires you, what gets your creative juices flowing.

I sit down and try to write. When I don’t know where the story is going I skip ahead and write another part, and if that shuts down I skip again. This creates some rather interesting bits and pieces of a story, but by the end, they usually all fit together.

If I can’t get anything down on the page, I pick up a book, because reading puts my head in a better place. Many people seem to favor music, but I'm not really a music person. Sometimes a certain song strikes a cord with me and gives me ideas, so just because something usually doesn't work doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a try. Recently I've found inspiration from looking at fantasy artwork online.

One of my biggest problems is focusing on just one idea, and not being sidetracked by all the other stories bouncing around in my head. For years I bounced around and wound up not finishing anything.

There are things that do the opposite, put me in a bad writing place. Playing randomly on the computer or watching certain dumb TV shows is bad for my writing juju and nothing kills my creativity faster than video games.

When I need to know know what needs to happen next in my story, taking a shower or vacuuming usually helps, or any monotonous tasks where my mind gets bored and starts creating stories. Going to bed always solves my problem, especially if my computer is off. I lay in bed and the ideas start to flow. I’m not one to put writing off, if ideas are flowing, I write. Forget sleep, food, and all the other important parts of life, the writing is working.

There is nothing better than a good writing day.

What do you do when you are having trouble writing? What kinds of things have given you a headache?

My first person point of view in my current novel has given me problems, especially when the main character isn't the center of the action. I hate it when I get stuck, because I've gotten my characters into such a mess that I can't see a way out. Crating the problems is fun, solving them can sometimes be tricky, because I like intelligent bad guys and I don't want to make things too easy for them. It's all the more rewarding when it suddenly clicks, the pieces come together, and I've conquered my character's dilemma, even though I'm the one who put them into it.

NaNoWriMo - Sounds strange, so what is it?

November is national novel writing month. The goal: Write 50,000 words in thirty days.

So, why join? It’s fun, meant to encourage good writing habits and you can make new writing friends and improve your writing together.

Is there a prize? Yes, you wrote a 50k story.

The magic number is 1667, meaning that’s how many words you have to write every day to make the goal. I’d say, write as much as you can, don’t think you’re there and stop. Plus, there are some days where the words just won’t come no matter how you force them. It happens to us all.

Writers are creative people, so we are great at excuses.

I can’t handle the stress. It’s nothing to stress about, you aren't out anything if you fail. November isn’t a good month, I know. I’m hoping to get a bit ahead of my word count for Thanksgiving.

I missed the first day. You can start at any time, even half way through November. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit behind, happens to me often. You can still take advantage of the event.

I don’t have a summary. You don’t need a summary. I don’t usually have a one anyway. Create a world, create characters, give them a problem, and let them go. My characters write the story I just record it.

Try to write everyday and before you know it, you will have a novel, or at least a novelette, as 50k doesn’t really make a novel anymore. (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about that long.)

Please add me as a buddy and we can help encourage one another.

http://nanowrimo.org/participants/mollymortensen

What do you think of the idea of NaNoWriMo?

My biggest problem with the idea is you aren’t supposed to edit, just write. I’m afraid I’m too OCD to leave something I don’t like or I know needs fixing.

There are special offers for free ebooks and discounts on software downloads for participants and winners. Check out this page to see them all. http://nanowrimo.org/sponsor-offers

Killing… Off Characters

http://mollymortensen.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/charactermaynotsurvivegeorgerrmartin.jpg?w=339

Everyone has a strong opinion about killing off characters, and I’m no exception. I think that if done right, killing of a character can increase the stakes and add to the realism of a story.

In a war or a struggle if no one ever dies I think that the risk is lost. If I know everyone is always going to be okay, than it isn’t nearly as exciting. I like when they die on stage, so to speak, when it is mentioned afterwards it doesn’t have the same impact.

A death has to fit the tone of the rest of the book. It can come as a surprise, but it should still fit the mood of the story. When someone dies it should be important to the plot and change things, so there’s a reason behind the death. The main character has to be affected, so that the death affects the readers. If the reader doesn’t care what happens to the characters than I’m doing my job.

Some people think that for it to be happily ever after no one can die, but I disagree, look at how many characters die in Disney movies.

Death can’t be undone, or shouldn’t be, unless it is a book about the undead, so be certain before deciding to kill a character. They have to die for a reason, which is true to the character and the rest of the story. Don’t kill for the sake of having a character die for shock value or to prove a point, like war is bad.

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Game of Thrones, lots of big name authors are killing off characters, but that doesn’t mean that we should follow suit. Every author is different and should do what they think is best for their story. That’s the great part about being the writer. We get to decide who lives and who dies.

What is you think about authors killing off their characters? Have you killed anyone? (In your writing, of course)

via WordPress http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/killing-off-characters/

Killing… Off Characters

Everyone has a strong opinion about killing off characters, and I’m no exception. I think that if done right, killing of a character can increase the stakes and add to the realism of a story.

In a war or a struggle if no one ever dies I think that the risk is lost. If I know everyone is always going to be okay, than it isn’t nearly as exciting. I like when they die on stage, so to speak, when it is mentioned afterwards it doesn’t have the same impact.

A death has to fit the tone of the rest of the book. It can come as a surprise, but it should still fit the mood of the story. When someone dies it should be important to the plot and change things, so there’s a reason behind the death. The main character has to be affected, so that the death affects the readers. If the reader doesn’t care what happens to the characters than I’m doing my job.

Some people think that for it to be happily ever after no one can die, but I disagree, look at how many characters die in Disney movies.

Death can’t be undone, or shouldn’t be, unless it is a book about the undead, so be certain before deciding to kill a character. They have to die for a reason, which is true to the character and the rest of the story. Don't kill for the sake of having a character die for shock value or to prove a point, like war is bad.

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Game of Thrones, lots of big name authors are killing off characters, but that doesn’t mean that we should follow suit. Every author is different and should do what they think is best for their story. That’s the great part about being the writer. We get to decide who lives and who dies.

What is you think about authors killing off their characters? Have you killed anyone? (In your writing, of course)

Chapter Two

http://mollymortensen.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/wm24.jpg?w=529

Chapter two is now available online. The password is the same as the first chapter: jyk Thanks for putting up with my paranoia. I’m just worried that if I submit my novel for publishing and it is widely available online it will hurt my chances.

http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/chapter-2/

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to post a comment or criticism.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago the shift occurred. For one day, the Earth merged with another world, and strange sword-wielding people were everywhere. Afterwards, everything went back to normal, except two million humans wound up on the other world. In this new world, technology fails, but magic is real.

Alyt is a human girl who has never been out of her tiny village. When she magically defends her home from barbarians, her friends, and neighbors kick her out. She thinks that learning to control her magic will solve all of her problems, but it is only the start of them.

Madj Jyk is a Kuth, a native of the world of magic. He has taken on the unwanted job of being a regional Madj. When city-states have problems involving magic, they call Jyk. Regional Madj usually don’t have apprentices due to the dangerous nature of their work, but Jyk has agreed to allow Alyt to become apprentice. Alyt tries to prove herself and in the process, reveals she has special skills even Jyk has never seen before.

Alyt will travel the world, visiting castles, jungles, and even a magical island. It is always an adventure, but nothing ever goes smoothly. The barbarians who attacked her village keep attacking the humans, because they believe the land is theirs. Jyk cannot help, because the Madj council prevents him from interfering unless magic is involved. Alyt has to master her magic, survive her adventures with Jyk, and save the humans from the barbarians.

via WordPress http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/chapter-two/

Chapter Two

Chapter two is now available online. The password is the same as the first chapter: jyk Thanks for putting up with my paranoia. I'm just worried that if I submit my novel for publishing and it is widely available online it will hurt my chances.

http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/chapter-2/

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to post a comment or criticism.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago the shift occurred. For one day, the Earth merged with another world, and strange sword-wielding people were everywhere. Afterwards, everything went back to normal, except two million humans wound up on the other world. In this new world, technology fails, but magic is real.

Alyt is a human girl who has never been out of her tiny village. When she magically defends her home from barbarians, her friends, and neighbors kick her out. She thinks that learning to control her magic will solve all of her problems, but it is only the start of them.

Madj Jyk is a Kuth, a native of the world of magic. He has taken on the unwanted job of being a regional Madj. When city-states have problems involving magic, they call Jyk. Regional Madj usually don’t have apprentices due to the dangerous nature of their work, but Jyk has agreed to allow Alyt to become apprentice. Alyt tries to prove herself and in the process, reveals she has special skills even Jyk has never seen before.

Alyt will travel the world, visiting castles, jungles, and even a magical island. It is always an adventure, but nothing ever goes smoothly. The barbarians who attacked her village keep attacking the humans, because they believe the land is theirs. Jyk cannot help, because the Madj council prevents him from interfering unless magic is involved. Alyt has to master her magic, survive her adventures with Jyk, and save the humans from the barbarians.

Sample chapter

http://mollymortensen.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/wm23.jpg?w=529

I posted an updated version of the first chapter of my novel, Woven Magic. It’s password protected, so it doesn’t wind up in search engine caches. The password is: jyk

http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/sample-chapter/

Thank you for reading. I appreciate any comments and criticisms. The second chapter will be posted tomorrow, since this one is so short.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago the shift occurred. For one day, the Earth merged with another world, and strange sword-wielding people were everywhere. Afterwards, everything went back to normal, except two million humans wound up on the other world. In this new world, technology fails, but magic is real.

Alyt is a human girl who has never been out of her tiny village. When she magically defends her home from barbarians, her friends, and neighbors kick her out. She thinks that learning to control her magic will solve all of her problems, but it is only the start of them.

Madj Jyk is a Kuth, a native of the world of magic. He has taken on the unwanted job of being a regional Madj. When city-states have problems involving magic, they call Jyk. Regional Madj usually don’t have apprentices due to the dangerous nature of their work, but Jyk has agreed to allow Alyt to become apprentice. Alyt tries to prove herself and in the process, reveals she has special skills even Jyk has never seen before.

Alyt will travel the world, visiting castles, jungles, and even a magical island. It is always an adventure, but nothing ever goes smoothly. The barbarians who attacked her village keep attacking the humans, because they believe the land is theirs. Jyk cannot help, because the Madj council prevents him from interfering unless magic is involved. Alyt has to master her magic, survive her adventures with Jyk, and save the humans from the barbarians.

via WordPress http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/sample-chapter/

Sample Chapter Woven Magic

I posted an updated version of the first chapter of my novel, Woven Magic. It’s password protected, so it doesn't wind up in search engine caches. The password is: jyk

http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/sample-chapter/

Thank you for reading. I appreciate any comments and criticisms. The second chapter will be posted tomorrow, since this one is so short.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago the shift occurred. For one day, the Earth merged with another world, and strange sword-wielding people were everywhere. Afterwards, everything went back to normal, except two million humans wound up on the other world. In this new world, technology fails, but magic is real.

Alyt is a human girl who has never been out of her tiny village. When she magically defends her home from barbarians, her friends, and neighbors kick her out. She thinks that learning to control her magic will solve all of her problems, but it is only the start of them.

Madj Jyk is a Kuth, a native of the world of magic. He has taken on the unwanted job of being a regional Madj. When city-states have problems involving magic, they call Jyk. Regional Madj usually don’t have apprentices due to the dangerous nature of their work, but Jyk has agreed to allow Alyt to become apprentice. Alyt tries to prove herself and in the process, reveals she has special skills even Jyk has never seen before.

Alyt will travel the world, visiting castles, jungles, and even a magical island. It is always an adventure, but nothing ever goes smoothly. The barbarians who attacked her village keep attacking the humans, because they believe the land is theirs. Jyk cannot help, because the Madj council prevents him from interfering unless magic is involved. Alyt has to master her magic, survive her adventures with Jyk, and save the humans from the barbarians.

Sample chapter

I posted an updated version of the first chapter of my novel, Woven Magic. It's password protected, so it doesn't wind up in search engine caches. The password is: jyk

http://mollymortensen.wordpress.com/sample-chapter/

Thank you for reading. I appreciate any comments and criticisms. The second chapter will be posted tomorrow, since this one is so short.

Synopsis:

Ten years ago the shift occurred. For one day, the Earth merged with another world, and strange sword-wielding people were everywhere. Afterwards, everything went back to normal, except two million humans wound up on the other world. In this new world, technology fails, but magic is real.

Alyt is a human girl who has never been out of her tiny village. When she magically defends her home from barbarians, her friends, and neighbors kick her out. She thinks that learning to control her magic will solve all of her problems, but it is only the start of them.

Madj Jyk is a Kuth, a native of the world of magic. He has taken on the unwanted job of being a regional Madj. When city-states have problems involving magic, they call Jyk. Regional Madj usually don’t have apprentices due to the dangerous nature of their work, but Jyk has agreed to allow Alyt to become apprentice. Alyt tries to prove herself and in the process, reveals she has special skills even Jyk has never seen before.

Alyt will travel the world, visiting castles, jungles, and even a magical island. It is always an adventure, but nothing ever goes smoothly. The barbarians who attacked her village keep attacking the humans, because they believe the land is theirs. Jyk cannot help, because the Madj council prevents him from interfering unless magic is involved. Alyt has to master her magic, survive her adventures with Jyk, and save the humans from the barbarians.

Too much of anything is bad, including showing.

There are countless articles out there on the importance of showing instead of telling. I’m going to focus on the opposite, when to tell. 

What is showing and telling? Showing is conversations and getting inside the mind of the character, experiencing things as they do. Telling is shorter, because it is just stating what happened. 

When I’m reading if something isn't interesting, I find my eyes glazing over and I’m off in daydream world. I don’t want to do this to my readers, so when writing I ask myself, Is this important? Will my readers feel cheated if I leave this out? If the answer is no, I tell it instead of showing everything.

Skip to the action, and skip the pleasantries.

I tell about everyday interactions and anything a character does repeatedly whenever I can. The character can be bored, but that doesn't mean the reader has to be. I tell what a character sees, especially when they are passing through an unimportant town or stopping at a restaurant. This way I go straight to the interesting parts. If something important is going to happen during the everyday stuff, I start right before the action.

I show things to make my readers feel like they are a part of the story and to let them figure things out for themselves, but it’s important that I don’t bore them with stuff they don’t care about.

Which parts do think should be told instead of shown? 

 

 

The worst decisions can make the best stories

I don’t always make the right decisions. It’s probably closer to fifty-fifty. I know that if I had a chance to change my past, (without unraveling time or anything) I’d take it. I’m trying to give my characters some things that they’d want to go back and change. Evil, aren't I?

I never want to make the wrong choice, so it’s hard for me to make my characters choose poorly. Real life however, is full of nothing but bad decisions. Just because a writer has time to think about a decision doesn't mean the character does. It’s easy to make the right choice when you can see what is coming, but decisions made in the moment aren't always the right ones.

The hard part about creating a realistic character is they have to make bad choices sometimes, because people don’t always act wisely. We don’t always listen to reason and act logically. There is no such thing as a perfect person. We all make mistakes, so to have a character never error makes them less real, and flat. So, no matter how smart, clever, and talented my characters are, I still want them to mess up occasionally.

I’m far from perfect, so I tend to want my characters to be all that I’m not, but it’s fun to create a rash character for a change. Their recklessness can create all kinds of story enriching problems and a flawed character always has room to grow.

What is the worst thing you've done to one of your characters?

 

The importance of having others read your work

It is important to have someone else read your work, I cannot stress this enough. If I hadn't let my sister read my story I’d still have a magical horse named Klit, I didn't see a problem with his name, but my dirty-minded sister did. He's now named Kelet. 

I am not talking about catching grammar mistakes, though I did have a couple funny ones, sweetie was spelled sweaty and embrace was embarrass, my computer couldn't tell the difference.

I have read my story so many times now, it is hard for me to see some of the simple mistakes, like my bad habit of writing teeny tiny sentences and starting so many sentences with ‘I’.

It is important not only to know what I am doing wrong, but to learn what I am doing right, so I don’t edit out the good parts.

As I have said, my greatest weakness is knowing my world and my story too well. I can picture it exactly in my head, but I forget to inform the reader. Having a fresh perspective provides questions about things that didn't tell them, that need to be answered.

I don’t take all of the advice that comes my way, some things I like the way they were, but I always listen and think about what is suggested. If multiple people make the same suggestion, I look closer and I usually rework things.

Once I was happy that the reader had a question, because that’s what I wanted. I wanted the reader to be wondering, as my character was. I wanted the one character's actions to seem weird.

Do you use an online beta reader or friends and family? Both?

Here's some of the advice I got from my online forum friends for my first chapter: (MC is writer speak for main character)

This should be a new paragraph. And nothing was explained earlier to indicate the MC was not daydreaming. Show what the MC is marveling at instead.

Good point. I'll have her playing around during the lesson. That's more fun anyway.  

Take a look at your sentence structure in this part. 

Yikes! I see what you mean. I have a bad habit of starting my sentences similarly. 

This feels like too calm a thought given the situation

Yeah, bad Molly. I'll get rid of it. I can explain this later.

The author is interfering with the story telling.

Oops. I wouldn't want to get in the way. 

This paragraph is awkward starting with the third sentence

Yeah, defiantly needs reworked.

Needs a comma.

There was one at one point, stupid word. Good catch.

Interesting premise. From the sound of it, she was conceived after the shift. So she’s ten years old. Is she the only child born at that time? If not do any of the others (younger) show magic abilities? She’s kind of a clean slate still. It seems like she would be lonely if she doesn't have any playmates her age.

I'll have work on getting to know her better before the attack, I want people to care about what happens to her.

I like this, showing the relationship between mother and daughter.

Thanks.

A Writer's Bad Habits

There are so many out there, I am only going to talk about a few of mine today. The good news is, after you realize what your bad habits are you can learn to correct them as you write.

I forget to tell the reader something I know. I imagine it so clearly in my head, but I forget to inform the reader. This is usually a description or an animal, a person, or a place.

I love adding in unnecessary words. Many adverbs are completely unnecessary. If I erase the word and the sentence still makes sense, giving the same amount of information, the word goes. Some of my favorites are: just, actually, finally, very, started, then, like, that. Before, I spoke of copying my story into Wordle and using it to check how often I’ve reused words. It was surprising that first time to see a huge just in the center.

This also goes for wishy-washy words that don’t really add anything. I have a lot of these: a lot (oh the irony), a bit, a while, sort of, kind of, about, around, almost, think, believe, looks, seems, feels, begin, start, continue. I write in first person, so I can get away with a few seems and thinks, because these are my main character’s impressions.

I am fond of adjectives because, they’re easier. “He was tall.” Doesn’t say much, if someone is four foot tall, five feet would be tall. “He was 6.4 and 180 pounds” Specific, but boring. Why would I need to know exact details? “His head brushed the ceiling.” Shows he is tall, not exactly, but it gives the reader a good idea. In a romance novel, characters are described differently, but in a fantasy, no one needs to know how his muscles ripple, or her clothes flow around her curves.

Scene changes are difficult for me. I tend to use meal times to show time has passed. At least I’ve gotten past the little kid way of saying, “And then” or “Finally.” I’ve been paying attention to how authors I read handle this. The most common way is to show a scene change or going to the next chapter, jumping right into the action. They make sure to let the reader know anything that has changed, like time, or if someone left, but they don’t usually come out and say “A few hours later” like I am prone to do.  

Warning my reader, by giving a hint that something exciting is going to happen before it does. Suddenly is the biggest one, but sometimes I’ll say things like “I thought it would go this way” which tells the reader that it isn’t going to happen.

Telling instead of showing, this is a big one. “She was angry.” I am telling my readers about her anger, but it has less impact than, “She ground her teeth and clenched her fists. “ I read some good advice today; tell what the character sees, but show everything else, to let your readers figure it out themselves. Show the important stuff and tell the unimportant.

What are some of the bad things you are prone to doing in your writing?

The crazy things writers do

What normal people see as eccentricity is really dedication and passion.

Basically the job of a writer is to have conversations with ourselves, so it shouldn't seem crazy when I'm always talking to myself. Besides, unless I read my writing aloud how can I make sure it flows well and sounds right?

Don’t look at our Google history, just don’t. It will be filled with the strangest searches you could never even imagine. I’m not even a murder mystery writer and mine are fairly frightening. It would be easy to frame a writer for something. Especially, if it looked like I was casing a place, because I probably was, but I didn't really want to break it, honest. I just wanted to write a break in.

How many of us haven’t done something a little strange in the name of research? When I was twelve I wrote about an alien species who ate flowers, so I tried a flower petal. Unfortunately, I chose an iris, yuck. Not to mention a little poisonous. Now I read a bit before eating strange things, but not much else has changed. I go around with a fake sword in my hand trying to choreograph a battle scene. Sometimes I enlist the help of my friends or family. "Here, you stand here, you pretend to punch her." Earlier this week I was making faces in the mirror to help me better describe emotions. (I found a photo from that old show Lie To Me and that actually helped quite a bit.)

The ideas never stop, ever. So, that glazed over look I have in my eyes? I’m not ignoring you on purpose, I just had an idea, or got distracted by something, it happens. My job is to daydream, you can’t blame me for doing it at the wrong moment. I can’t control where and when I’ll get an idea. I often find I’m staring into space instead of doing what I am supposed to do, like driving, which is why I don’t drive much.

I never know when inspiration may strike, so I always carry a notepad and pencil with me. I must look a bit odd scribbling away in the grocery store. I hate it when I’m all snuggled in bed when I have a really good idea, and have to get up, and turn my on computer again, so I don’t lose it. The worst thing could happen to me and I’ll be happy. This is great material for my novel.

Yes, I’m staring at you, no I’m not checking you out. I’m imagining you as a character. I am always fascinated to hear people’s stories, everyone has one. I like looking at people and making up their stories. I generally never talk to these people, on the strange occasion I do, like when they are checking me out (not as in romantically interested, as in a cashier) I sometimes even find I was accurate in my assessment of them.

So, after reading this post I've probably convinced you that writers are in fact crazy. (At least this one) Okay, maybe a little bit, but there’s nothing wrong with that. If we were normal and boring, no one would want to read what we write.

What are some of the unusual things you've done in the name of writing?

Memorable Side Characters

There are the good guys, the bad guys, the hero and the villain, but what about all of the other characters. The hero's friends and family. Their supporters and their enemies. All the people they meet along the way.

If there are many side characters it helps to make them more memorable by giving them something that sets them apart from the rest of the characters. They could be really tall, have a large nose, or have a strange habit, something to get people to remember them. Make sure that everyone in the book doesn't talk in the same fashion. Having an accent or speaking differently is another way to set off a character.

In real life there are people you don't like, but they aren't necessarily villains. In a story these characters serve the purpose of making things more difficult for the hero. There's nothing wrong with a character that is neither a particularly good or bad guy. In real life there are plenty of people who fall into this category. Most people aren't as good a person as the hero in a novel or as bad a person as the villain.

The trick to making characters seem real is to make sure they act consistently. They aren't a steadfast supporter of the main character one minute and act against them the next. Everyone does things for a reason, explain their actions and motivations.

Some of the best books have great side characters. What are some of your favorite side characters?

New Experiences enrich my life and my writing

I've spent most of my life being afraid. I decided that though I can't do anything about my fears, I don't have to let them stop me.

I've always wanted to be a writer, but if I never wrote down all the stories I came up with. I realized that if I didn't try, I could never succeed. Sounds logical right? Surprising how many years it took me to realize this. I was so afraid of failing.

Writing was hard at first and I struggled. Whenever I sat at my computer my mind went as blank as my screen. I kept at it, gradually writing a bit at a time. As I went it eventually got easier and now I'm writing like a mad woman.

Another fear I have is flying. I've let it stop me from ever seeing the ocean, one of the things I always wanted to do. I decided it was time to do something about that as well. I didn't fly alone and I held my Mommy’s hand at every bump, but I made it. We flew to South Carolina to see my sister and I saw the ocean.

The first thing that struck me was the smell. It was better than I'd imagined it, fresh and salty. It surprised me how much it looked like Lake Michigan, the only other large body of water I'd seen. Though there were plenty more waves and it was more blue than green they both appeared endless. It was a wonderful experience, even if I discovered I am extremely prone to sea sickness. (I got sick on a floaty raft. Apparently, I even turned green.)

I also had another interesting first. I got stung by a jellyfish. My sister commented on how it was impossible to describe how a jellyfish sting feels. I, of course, took that as a challenge.

"I was bobbing in the waves, attempting not to get sea sick, when I felt a jab at my leg. My first thought was that I had been pinched by a crab. It dawned on me as the pain changed, not too different from the feeling right after I’m stung by a bee, that it must have been a jellyfish. As I hobbled to shore the pain radiating up my leg changed again to a sharp burning."

My sister the scientist informed me that it is a unique experience. "The first time you are stung it is the worst, because your body doesn't know how to react." I don't think my body needed to know this, though it wasn't nearly as bad as I make it sound.

I have been striving to live life to the fullest and have new experiences. They haven't all been good experiences, but they still enriched my life. Besides, even bad experiences can provide me with writing ideas.

What scares you? 

The Importance of a Good Opening line

If someone opens my book I want my first sentence to whisper, "you want to know more." I want the reader to know just what kind of book this is. How my story is told, not necessarily a setup for the entire novel.

I'm not going for something beautiful or awe inspiring, that wouldn't match the rest of my book either. Witty would be nice, but for me funny scenes write themselves, if I try to be funny it just doesn't work.

I struggled forever with my opening line. Then I chose to move the first two paragraphs of my book. I found this part a bit dry, more suited to where they are now than the opening.

Now I need a new hook. "I sat on the dusty ground with my back against the cool rock wall." Doesn't capture a reader quite like "Right next to the earth there is another world which we cannot see or interact with, for this magical world isn't in the same space we are."

So why don't I just rewrite the beginning a bit and use that line? Because it is completely different voice from the rest of the book. That was what was wrong with my opening paragraphs. They weren't told by my main character, but by a stodgy old history professor or a scientist trying to factual things out. I actually put them in a book my main character reads and have her comment on how dull and dry they are. You have to laugh at your mistakes, right?

After spending the past month agonizing over my opening chapter I now have new opener. "Ten years ago a portion of the human population wound up on a world of magic." It's a bit like my first one, but in the voice of my character. I'm not sure I'm happy with it yet.

What do you think?

A memerable Opening line

If someone opens my book I want my first sentence to whisper, "you want to know more." I want the reader to know just what kind of book this is. How my story is told, not necessarily a setup for the entire novel.

I'm not going for something beautiful or awe inspiring, that wouldn't match the rest of my book either. Witty would be nice, but for me funny scenes write themselves, if I try to be funny it just doesn't work.

I struggled forever with my opening line. Then I chose to move the first two paragraphs of my book. I found this part a bit dry, more suited to where they are now than the opening.

Now I need a new hook. "I sat on the dusty ground with my back against the cool rock wall." Doesn't capture a reader quite like "Right next to the earth there is another world which we cannot see or interact with, for this magical world isn't in the same space we are."

So why don't I just rewrite the beginning a bit and use that line? Because it is completely different voice from the rest of the book. That was what was wrong with my opening paragraphs. They weren't told by my main character, but by a stodgy old history professor or a scientist trying to factual things out. I actually put them in a book my main character reads and have her comment on how dull and dry they are. You have to laugh at your mistakes, right?

After spending the past month agonizing over my opening chapter I now have new opener. "Ten years ago a portion of the human population wound up on a world of magic." It's a bit like my first one, but in the voice of my character. I'm not sure I'm happy with it yet.

What do you think?

Traveling Scenes

My Achilles heel is either naming things (my pet rabbit is named Bunny) or traveling scenes. Today I'm focusing on the sometimes dreaded traveling scene.

In a medieval type world it takes a lot of time to travel anywhere. Most fantasy novels are chocked full of such scenes. When I'm reading I tend to stare into space during these segments so, I try to make mine as short as they can be.

A traveling scene doesn’t have to be boring or an endless description of everything the characters pass. It is also a good opportunity to advance the plot. The characters would naturally bond spending so much time alone with one another. They’d probably learn some new facts about each other in the process. For instance in Woven Magic I have Alyt spend some of the traveling time learning more about her magic. Some authors like to cause problems for their characters along the way. The trick is to spice it up and not have endless battles which are all the same. As I know from my own travels, plenty of things can go wrong of the ordinary sort as well. It doesn’t have to be a grand battle for a little conflict.

It's a difficult balancing act. I want to get a character from point A to point B, while immersing the reader in my world, but without losing them in the details. My characters spend most of their time traveling, but I generally summarize these parts as much as I can. My problem is getting enough details in so the reader can feel like they are there, but keeping it short.

My character is young. It is her first time going any of these places, so naturally she'll be excited at seeing so many new things. I try to keep my descriptions to the important things, while still capturing her wonder of the world around her.

Which is worse too many details or too few?

How to write

Mr. King got it exactly right. When I begin a story there are no charts or maps, I haven't plotted out a summary, I just sit down and start writing. I like to write my story from beginning to end, but sometimes I get a good idea for a chapter, so stop everything else and write it down.

This is why it is hard to tell someone how to write. There are as many ways to write as there are people. Everyone has their own method. The trick is to figure out what works for you.

So, here's my advice. Step One: Read a lot of books. Step Two: Write.

Anything you read about how to write starts with writing. If you are self conscious don't save it, though this may be good for a laugh later. Just write.

The reason why when I find a good author I can't find any others like them is because, there aren't any. They are one of a kind with their own unique voice. This is what I hope to one day achieve.

How do you write best? Isolated and quiet or in a noisy room, the music blaring away or in a park outside? To me it doesn't matter, I go into myself, tuning out the rest of the world (Sometimes to the annoyance of those around me) and write.

What makes a character a person?

It isn't knowing their entire history or being able to picture exactly what they look like. It is feeling as though you know the character. Something happens and you know how that character would react, how they would feel, what they would think. As a writer I have to know my characters this well, but it would be boring if I wrote out all the ins and outs of my characters. 

So how does a writer get across enough of a character's personality? By showing them in different settings, showing the kind of person they are, and hearing the thoughts inside their heads. Their personality needs to be consistent, though they can grow as a person as all people do.

A character cannot be unfailable, they cannot be perfect. They cannot be pure evil or pure good, for people don't come that way. They have goals and dreams, fears and weaknesses. Sometimes it is a characters quirks that make them the most likable.

A pet peeve of mine is cookie-cutter characters that are a walking stereotype. In fantasy this is the solider, the thief, and the wizard. One can write these characters, but there has to be more to them than what they are. I think what makes a good writer a great writer is having realistic side characters as well as main characters.

What do you think makes for the best characters?

An Original Idea

One of the biggest problems nowadays is having an original plot. I wonder if the ancient Greeks thought that all the stories had been told. People often say that today, though I don't believe it is true. There may be fewer ideas left out there, but they can't ever be all used up.

I used to think I could only write a story if it was completely original. This became a problem. I'd get a good idea, but then I'd read or watch something and find them too similar, so I'd scrap my story. I realized that if I continued to do this I would never write anything. As much as I want to write a totally original story I had to understand that no matter how original I think my story is, there is going to be something out there that is somewhat similar.

Everyone is influenced by what they have seen and what they have read. No two stories can be the same, being told by two different individuals.

Writing a good Plot

A plot is probably the most important part of a story. It is the actual story. Good characters can only redeem a poor plot so much.

A plot all begins with an idea. Where these ideas come from I'm not sure. Maybe we all have our personal muse looking out for us. Mine sure has a strange sense of humor.

I find it hard to explain how an idea turns into a plot. I organize my story in my head so I know what is coming or just start writing and see where it goes. Some people write everything out before they start the actual story.

This site shows how to create a plot outline.http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/plot-outline.html

When I write a story I make sure that the character and therefore the reader sees hints of what is coming. As the tension develops in the story, so does the plot. When I write I don't really concentrate on all of the parts that make up a plot. I go back through before I'm finished making sure my plot makes sense.

A conclusion has to wrap things up satisfactorily. It doesn't matter as much how many pages it takes as long as the story seems over. There is a delicate balance between leaving the reader wanting more and leaving them feeling cheated.

How do you develop a plot? Do you write out a whole summary or do you only know the basics before you start a story?