On the heels of my discovery post, it's interesting how thoroughly one small (in a manner of speaking) fact can significantly change/add to/recreate a story. I originally wasn't going to have my protagonist in my new book have children. But she insisted so I gave in. And within a day, that simple little decision had created a new subplot. It took a scene I already had in my head and turned it in a slightly different direction. With the same scene, it beefed up a conversation, added to characterization ....
Melissa Marr has talked quite a bit lately on her blog about extras to put on her site and such, and one of the things she was considering were alternates -- directions she opted not to go. Coming from fan fiction, I've seen firsthand how a little change can make a world of difference in a story. It can change how a character develops, who lives and who dies, whether someone spends his life an optimist or bitter at the world. We're well aware, I think, of the big differences -- i.e., what if Luke Skywalker had killed Vader at the end of Empire Strikes Back? But do we ignore the smaller differences? What if Han Solo hadn't been in that particular cantina? What if the Falcon had been caught by the Death Star a day later?
Even the smallest changes can make a huge differences. I know I, as I'm writing, don't give nearly enough thought to the directions I take. Maybe I need to start asking myself "What if..." a little more often.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Discovery
It's always interesting to see what you discover as you write a book. For instance, in starting my new novel I've learned that my protagonist has multiple children (exactly how many has yet to be determined, though I suspect there are two), has an aunt she isn't particularly fond of, and keeps a jar in her kitchen into which anyone who swears must put a nickel. I've also learned that her brother was older, she didn't do so hot in high school English, and she was relatively young when her father died.
I like her already.
I like her already.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The next book as inspiration
As I posted a couple weeks ago, I have some lovely new ideas that were just haunting my brain despite the fact that I was hard at work on my other book. I made a promise to myself not to write on them because I didn't want to distract myself from the work I was trying to finish the first draft of.
What I was, however, doing was using the idea as inspiration to get me through the other work. I wanted so badly to start writing it (and, I confess, I'd done some planning of it before I wrapped up the first Taggert Twins draft) that I was making myself focus harder on getting my current one done. And it worked. I wrote about 10,000 words a week the last couple weeks (and that's ignoring that 10k+ words in a single day on Monday). I was writing faster, spending more time at it, and writing more consistently. (Out of the last three weeks there have been three days I didn't write, and only one day when I wrote and didn't make my quota.) And I don't think the writing suffered with the pace.
Part of this is due, no doubt, to the fact that things had really started happening in the book -- the mystery had reached the point where the characters had real suspects and were searching for the evidence and a way to prove it. So I wasn't setting up the story anymore; it's was unfolding. And that was the fun part. It really was. Because when things get going it's so much easier for me to really get pulled into the book. My brain works faster; I type faster. I just get really drawn into the story and it's wonderful.
But the idea hanging over my head for the next book -- an adult mystery -- was definitely encouraging me to focus on the twins. And now that I'm done, I can write it, dammit. Go me!
What I was, however, doing was using the idea as inspiration to get me through the other work. I wanted so badly to start writing it (and, I confess, I'd done some planning of it before I wrapped up the first Taggert Twins draft) that I was making myself focus harder on getting my current one done. And it worked. I wrote about 10,000 words a week the last couple weeks (and that's ignoring that 10k+ words in a single day on Monday). I was writing faster, spending more time at it, and writing more consistently. (Out of the last three weeks there have been three days I didn't write, and only one day when I wrote and didn't make my quota.) And I don't think the writing suffered with the pace.
Part of this is due, no doubt, to the fact that things had really started happening in the book -- the mystery had reached the point where the characters had real suspects and were searching for the evidence and a way to prove it. So I wasn't setting up the story anymore; it's was unfolding. And that was the fun part. It really was. Because when things get going it's so much easier for me to really get pulled into the book. My brain works faster; I type faster. I just get really drawn into the story and it's wonderful.
But the idea hanging over my head for the next book -- an adult mystery -- was definitely encouraging me to focus on the twins. And now that I'm done, I can write it, dammit. Go me!
Visual DNA
EDIT: It is telling to note that I assumed that the drink I selected was a strawberry daquiri. However, it appears from the summary that it is a smoothie. Damn.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Goal: Attained
My goal number of words for this book started out at 50,000 words, went to 60,000, and then dropped back down to 55,000. When I completed it today it clocked in at approximately 53,000 words.
Granted, this is a rough draft and God and le Muse only know what it will look like when complete. But I am quite pleased at having completed the draft. I'm happy with 53k, 208 manuscript pages at Times New Roman 12 pt font.
And . . . and . . . and it's completed 42 days ahead of schedule. 42!!! (Isn't that supposed to be the answer to the universe or something?)
My first original book has, in its roughest form, been completed. What a glorious day.
Now, if only I can make good on that whole "shove it in a drawer and not think about it for a month" thing.
Granted, this is a rough draft and God and le Muse only know what it will look like when complete. But I am quite pleased at having completed the draft. I'm happy with 53k, 208 manuscript pages at Times New Roman 12 pt font.
And . . . and . . . and it's completed 42 days ahead of schedule. 42!!! (Isn't that supposed to be the answer to the universe or something?)
My first original book has, in its roughest form, been completed. What a glorious day.
Now, if only I can make good on that whole "shove it in a drawer and not think about it for a month" thing.
Monday, April 23, 2007
The end is in sight
I have less than 3,000 words to go to hit my goal. Now, I realize that this goal is pretty arbitrary. (1) This is a rough draft and (2) The story will not necessarily end end at the 55,000 word goal that I've set for myself. It could end sooner; probably will. But it is a way of measuring my progress and I need that to keep myself going.
Just like at the gym. I track how many reps, how many sets, what weight I'm using. It keeps me motivated to see my progress, especially during those times when it doesn't feel like I'm actually getting anywhere.
Anyway, I'm 95% of the way to my goal and I wrote over 10,000 words just yesterday. (That, my friends, is a personal best which I may never manage to repeat.) I could have this draft finished in as little as a week. As little as a few days if I really work at it.
This is a huge deal for me because I've never really, really finished a work. I've technically got three long fanfics I've finished, at least one of which was longer than this book. But they were parts of series and I didn't wrap up the loose ends because there was another part yet to be written (that, incidentally, I haven't gotten to). Plus, they were just ... bad.
But this ... this is entirely my own work and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not to say that writing this has been some dark tunnel with no end in sight but ... you know what I mean.
Just like at the gym. I track how many reps, how many sets, what weight I'm using. It keeps me motivated to see my progress, especially during those times when it doesn't feel like I'm actually getting anywhere.
Anyway, I'm 95% of the way to my goal and I wrote over 10,000 words just yesterday. (That, my friends, is a personal best which I may never manage to repeat.) I could have this draft finished in as little as a week. As little as a few days if I really work at it.
This is a huge deal for me because I've never really, really finished a work. I've technically got three long fanfics I've finished, at least one of which was longer than this book. But they were parts of series and I didn't wrap up the loose ends because there was another part yet to be written (that, incidentally, I haven't gotten to). Plus, they were just ... bad.
But this ... this is entirely my own work and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not to say that writing this has been some dark tunnel with no end in sight but ... you know what I mean.
Books have minds of their own
Writers often talk about their characters taking over, telling the story the way they want it to be told, resisting when the author tries to make them do things that they don't want to do. But, for me at least, it's not just the characters that do that. It's the book as a whole.
I've got a lot of false starts -- as, I think, most writers do. One I simply wrote myself into a corner on. There wasn't enough going on with the main plot to carry the book and I didn't know how to fix it. But the rest ... they just wouldn't come. And with writing the one I've been working on for the last couple months, I've realized why.
It's all well and good to have great ideas, full of conflict and intrigue, but sometimes they just won't work. You can't force a book. If it's resisting, there's a reason and it's up to you as a writer to figure out why. Sometimes it takes a little while to plot things out, depending especially on the type of novel you're writing. But if it just won't come, maybe there's something wrong with what you're trying to make it do.
I've come to believe that the book is going to be your first critic. If what you're doing isn't working, it's going to tell you even when you're writing it. You just have to listen.
I've got a lot of false starts -- as, I think, most writers do. One I simply wrote myself into a corner on. There wasn't enough going on with the main plot to carry the book and I didn't know how to fix it. But the rest ... they just wouldn't come. And with writing the one I've been working on for the last couple months, I've realized why.
It's all well and good to have great ideas, full of conflict and intrigue, but sometimes they just won't work. You can't force a book. If it's resisting, there's a reason and it's up to you as a writer to figure out why. Sometimes it takes a little while to plot things out, depending especially on the type of novel you're writing. But if it just won't come, maybe there's something wrong with what you're trying to make it do.
I've come to believe that the book is going to be your first critic. If what you're doing isn't working, it's going to tell you even when you're writing it. You just have to listen.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
"There are no good writers, just good re-writers."
I've noticed that as I've come to accept that my first draft is going to be lousy (this realization solidified by reading author blogs in which the author talks about the first draft being not right or, in some cases, just not good), my writing goes much quicker. I've taken the pressure off myself to get it right the first time and my ability to get the words out has benefited.
I think this is important to remember, especially in dealing with new characters. I'm hoping that most of what I write will be series/trilogies -- that's the way my current works are designed. But that first book may as well be a standalone for all the background you have with the characters.
At the beginning of the book I don't know my characters. I might "know" their backgrounds and identities -- age, gender, physical appearance, a few key characteristics, what high school and college they went to -- but I don't know who they are, their personalities, how they'll really react to something. (And, of course, even things as fundamental as gender can change ten pages in!) That comes with the writing. Maybe halfway through I'll have a better grasp; maybe it'll take until the end of the first draft. And that way, once I really know the people I'm writing about, I can go back and revise the book to include and reflect my newfound understanding.
There's also a problem I would run into when I wrote fanfiction. One of the hazards of posting something online as you go along is that you can realize halfway through that a particular plot line isn't working, or that you've written yourself into a corner, or that you simply can't figure out a realistic reason for something happening. I think this is inevitable, especially if you don't outline. (I can't outline very well because the events of the book are shaped by what I write. Even if I know where I want to go, I don't generally have a clue how I'm going to get there. And sometimes I don't actually know where I want to go.) Knowing that I'm going to revise takes off the pressure to make everything work the first time.
For instance, just last night I realized that I'm probably going to write out a character who's played a minor but still significant role in what I've written so far. And for the last few weeks I've been struggling with the fact that I have a whole subplot I'm not doing much with and how to work it in. But I'll figure all those things out in the revision stage. In the meantime I'm just going to write.
I think this is important to remember, especially in dealing with new characters. I'm hoping that most of what I write will be series/trilogies -- that's the way my current works are designed. But that first book may as well be a standalone for all the background you have with the characters.
At the beginning of the book I don't know my characters. I might "know" their backgrounds and identities -- age, gender, physical appearance, a few key characteristics, what high school and college they went to -- but I don't know who they are, their personalities, how they'll really react to something. (And, of course, even things as fundamental as gender can change ten pages in!) That comes with the writing. Maybe halfway through I'll have a better grasp; maybe it'll take until the end of the first draft. And that way, once I really know the people I'm writing about, I can go back and revise the book to include and reflect my newfound understanding.
There's also a problem I would run into when I wrote fanfiction. One of the hazards of posting something online as you go along is that you can realize halfway through that a particular plot line isn't working, or that you've written yourself into a corner, or that you simply can't figure out a realistic reason for something happening. I think this is inevitable, especially if you don't outline. (I can't outline very well because the events of the book are shaped by what I write. Even if I know where I want to go, I don't generally have a clue how I'm going to get there. And sometimes I don't actually know where I want to go.) Knowing that I'm going to revise takes off the pressure to make everything work the first time.
For instance, just last night I realized that I'm probably going to write out a character who's played a minor but still significant role in what I've written so far. And for the last few weeks I've been struggling with the fact that I have a whole subplot I'm not doing much with and how to work it in. But I'll figure all those things out in the revision stage. In the meantime I'm just going to write.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
New Englanders
You know you're a New Englander when...
Forget Rednecks ... here's what Jeff Foxworthy has to say on New Englanders:
If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping it will swim by, you might live in New England.
If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Mt. Washington is the coldest spot in the nation, and Boston gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you live in New
England.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in New England.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you live in New England.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you live in New England.
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in New England.
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in New England.
You know you're a new Englander when . . .
"Vacation" means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend.
You measure distance in hours.
You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
You have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day, and back again.
You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
You install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked.
You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them.
You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.
Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
"Down South" to you means Philadelphia.
Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.
Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."
filched from here
Forget Rednecks ... here's what Jeff Foxworthy has to say on New Englanders:
If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping it will swim by, you might live in New England.
If you're proud that your region makes the national news 96 nights each year because Mt. Washington is the coldest spot in the nation, and Boston gets more snow than any other major city in the US, you live in New
England.
If your local Dairy Queen is closed from September through May, you live in New England.
If you instinctively walk like a penguin for six months out of the year, you live in New England.
If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance, and they don't work there, you live in New England.
If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you live in New England.
If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you live in New England.
You know you're a new Englander when . . .
"Vacation" means going anywhere south of New York City for the weekend.
You measure distance in hours.
You know several people who have hit a deer more than once.
You have switched from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day, and back again.
You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching.
You install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked.
You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend/wife knows how to use them.
You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction.
Your idea of creative landscaping is a statue of a deer next to your blue spruce.
"Down South" to you means Philadelphia.
Your neighbor throws a party to celebrate his new shed.
Your 4th of July picnic was moved indoors due to frost.
You have more miles on your snow blower than your car.
You find 10 degrees "a little chilly."
filched from here
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The online community
I didn't know anyone at Virginia Tech. I haven't lost anyone close to me. But by virtue of being a part of the online community, I'm affected by it more than I would otherwise have been.
I'm sure by now most people have heard that Jamie Bishop, the son of author Mike Bishop, was among those killed in the shootings. I have no connection to the family but people in publishing, people's whose blogs I read, etc. do and as such I feel it a little more deeply, having a name and an identity to go along with the news headlines.
I've heard friends I've never met in real life, people who live hundreds of miles from me, talk about having close friends or family they couldn't get in touch with in the minutes or hours after the shooting started. People on message boards and livejournal who I've never met, maybe never spoken to, talk about their reactions and their friends and family and I feel far more connected to it than I otherwise would.
Does anyone else feel a stronger connection to events just by being part of this online community we all share, through blogs and LJ and message boards?
I'm sure by now most people have heard that Jamie Bishop, the son of author Mike Bishop, was among those killed in the shootings. I have no connection to the family but people in publishing, people's whose blogs I read, etc. do and as such I feel it a little more deeply, having a name and an identity to go along with the news headlines.
I've heard friends I've never met in real life, people who live hundreds of miles from me, talk about having close friends or family they couldn't get in touch with in the minutes or hours after the shooting started. People on message boards and livejournal who I've never met, maybe never spoken to, talk about their reactions and their friends and family and I feel far more connected to it than I otherwise would.
Does anyone else feel a stronger connection to events just by being part of this online community we all share, through blogs and LJ and message boards?
Friday, April 13, 2007
Public Service Message
I feel a need to say this. You may ignore at your leisure.
Not all accountants do taxes.
I know, you're shocked.
But it's true.
I'm an accountant. I detest taxes. I don't even want to think about them. They nearly give me anxiety attacks just thinking about them. My job does not involve me doing taxes. Thank God, or I would need anti-psychotic meds.
Yes, I'm doing my taxes right now. And give me credit, I have four days left. After today. Last year I did them the day before. I'm ahead of the game. Go me.
Taxes suck. Take it from an accountant.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Not all accountants do taxes.
I know, you're shocked.
But it's true.
I'm an accountant. I detest taxes. I don't even want to think about them. They nearly give me anxiety attacks just thinking about them. My job does not involve me doing taxes. Thank God, or I would need anti-psychotic meds.
Yes, I'm doing my taxes right now. And give me credit, I have four days left. After today. Last year I did them the day before. I'm ahead of the game. Go me.
Taxes suck. Take it from an accountant.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Don't let me do it!
With two books currently in progress, I just got another idea. Another young adult, this time suspense. I think. It's sketching itself out in my brain and slowly ... taking ... hold.
I absolutely cannot start writing it right now. I have to finish the ones I have. Have to. So, my friends, if I mention that I started anything else, you are to please beat me over the head with the manuscript to my current works. I will supply said manuscripts. (No, planning doesn't count because I have no control over when lovely ideas hit me. So there. :-P )
As Ally Carter said in a blog entry a while ago, if it's truly a good idea it'll still be with me when I reach the point when I can actually write it.
(But, oh, it's such a lovely idea... just sitting there... waiting)
I absolutely cannot start writing it right now. I have to finish the ones I have. Have to. So, my friends, if I mention that I started anything else, you are to please beat me over the head with the manuscript to my current works. I will supply said manuscripts. (No, planning doesn't count because I have no control over when lovely ideas hit me. So there. :-P )
As Ally Carter said in a blog entry a while ago, if it's truly a good idea it'll still be with me when I reach the point when I can actually write it.
(But, oh, it's such a lovely idea... just sitting there... waiting)
Friday, April 06, 2007
FYI
Just an FYI for anyone interested, my Web site now includes summaries and excerpts from both my current works. And I've officially run out of things to put on it so if anyone has any suggestions/things they'd like to see, either drop me a line or comment :)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Woohoo!
My domain is working now. The OfficeLive instructions neglected to mention a couple steps. *mutters*
Anyway, HeatherJanes.com is officially open for business!
That is all.
Anyway, HeatherJanes.com is officially open for business!
That is all.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Barnes & Noble on Young Adult fiction
Kristin Nelson posted today on hearing from an editor that BN will not be expanding their shelf space devoted to young adult fiction, despite the continued growth in the category.
This is depressing. Not just because I'm writing YA, which I am, but in general.
My ambitions of selling YA fiction aside, I think it's depressing to see how little shelf space there actually is for YA books. Don't we WANT kids reading? There is, in my opinion, a disproportionate amount of shelf space for adult fiction. Most nonfiction is geared toward adults as well. Young adult, when I've walked into BN and Borders, has a restricted amount of shelf space and little attention paid to it by the booksellers.
If they're worried about shelf space, maybe they should look at shrinking down their music and movie sections. We have stores for those products and they're usually cheaper elsewhere too.
This is depressing. Not just because I'm writing YA, which I am, but in general.
My ambitions of selling YA fiction aside, I think it's depressing to see how little shelf space there actually is for YA books. Don't we WANT kids reading? There is, in my opinion, a disproportionate amount of shelf space for adult fiction. Most nonfiction is geared toward adults as well. Young adult, when I've walked into BN and Borders, has a restricted amount of shelf space and little attention paid to it by the booksellers.
If they're worried about shelf space, maybe they should look at shrinking down their music and movie sections. We have stores for those products and they're usually cheaper elsewhere too.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
When in doubt, cause trouble
Donald Maass's book Writing the Breakout Novel, talks a ton about increasing conflict. Specifically, he tells his readers to find scenes and ask themselves what's the worst that can happen. It truly makes things more interesting.
I mean, really, what's more interesting to you as a reader? A kid's birthday party or a kid finding out that his father is breaking his promise to be at his birthday party? A woman finding her dream guy or finding out that her dream guy is SO not what he seems? A man who finds out that his wife is going to have a baby or a man finding out that his high school sweetheart, who is NOT his wife, HAS a baby--and it's his?
Also, from a writing perspective, writing comes a lot easier to me when I'm causing trouble with my characters. Their thoughts, reactions, the reactions of those around them, etc. SO fun.
I mean, really, what's more interesting to you as a reader? A kid's birthday party or a kid finding out that his father is breaking his promise to be at his birthday party? A woman finding her dream guy or finding out that her dream guy is SO not what he seems? A man who finds out that his wife is going to have a baby or a man finding out that his high school sweetheart, who is NOT his wife, HAS a baby--and it's his?
Also, from a writing perspective, writing comes a lot easier to me when I'm causing trouble with my characters. Their thoughts, reactions, the reactions of those around them, etc. SO fun.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Switching between first and third
I've never really written from first person POV before; I almost always use third, except for a couple vignettes. But I've really come to enjoy writing from first person. Much more space for character exploration -- of the MC at least -- and it's interesting to have the reader only see every other character, every situation through one person's eyes. A lot of opportunity to skew something and (maybe) catch the reader off-guard a little later. Keep them interested, keep them wondering.
But I'm working on two stories right now. One is first person and the other is third. And damn is it hard to switch between the two. I thought that keeping track of which character I was writing from was hard enough but trying to remember that, no, I'm not actually inside Jace Taggert's mind is even harder.
But I'm working on two stories right now. One is first person and the other is third. And damn is it hard to switch between the two. I thought that keeping track of which character I was writing from was hard enough but trying to remember that, no, I'm not actually inside Jace Taggert's mind is even harder.
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