IWSG - How do you learn?

Welcome to another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group!  This hop is spearheaded by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and there is a website where you can add your name to the list and join us!

I don't know about you, but I've noticed that when I'm writing, whatever book I'm reading at the time influences my writing style.  For example, I've been listening to Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series on audiobook while driving.  If you're not familiar with her work, she writes epic novels that are packed with evocative descriptions and great dialogue.  Because of this, I notice that when I sit down to write I pay more attention to description and character emotion, and I spend more time exploring those aspects of the story.  I'm not trying to copy Diana's style, but being immersed in her example makes me more aware of those parts of my own writing.  Does that make sense?

I've also been reading a lot of Jim Butcher's Dresden series as well, and it makes me think more about humor and how it can be effectively used in writing.  The story and characters have to be right for it, but it's definitely something I want to try to explore in my own work.

Are you aware of other authors influencing how you write?  Do you have a favorite author (or three) that you use as an example of how to do something well?  Please share in the comments--I'm always excited to find more inspirations!

What's in a name?

I've been pondering names for the last few days, trying to figure out what to call my new characters.  At some point, I should probably break down and buy a baby name book, but for now, I'm enjoying the name generator feature on Scrivener. I've also been reading EVERYTHING around me, looking for potential inspiration--street signs, package labels, news articles--you name it, I've been soaking it in.

I generally like to go with names that are more traditional rather than trendy. I think a traditional-sounding name fits well with the type of stories I write, and my characters seem to respond to them, which is always a good thing.

I also consider how the name 'sounds' to the reader.  I don't want my readers to have any trouble pronouncing my character's names.  I know it always throws me out of the story if I have to stop and sound the name out in my head every time I read it.  I think character names should help the story flow, rather than act as a distraction.

And then there are the names that I can't bring myself to use--those of my family and close friends.  It always rattles me a bit when I encounter a book that uses the name of my brother or my dad for the hero, and I have a hard time enjoying the story because I always picture my family instead of the character.  Just one of my strange quirks, I suppose. :)

What about you?  If you're a writer, how do you name your characters?  As a reader, are there certain names you enjoy and those you hate?  How do character names affect your enjoyment of a book?

NaNoWriMo 2013

It's almost time.  Are you ready?

Photo Friday - Pumpkin edition

My Mom is a member of a local charitable organization.  Their main fundraiser involves painting pumpkins, which are sold in early October. The proceeds from the sale are used to purchase Christmas gifts for pediatric cancer patients and their siblings.  It's a fun event, and getting the pumpkins ready to be sold takes a lot of work.  That's what the group is focused on now--painting and embellishing the pumpkins.  I've been helping out as my day job schedule allows, and as we were working the other day, it struck me how similar this process is to writing a story.

First, you're faced with a blank page.  This can be intimidating, but I prefer to think of it as inspiring.  All that blank canvas, just waiting for your story!  You can write anything you want--there are endless possibilities, any number of directions you could go. Sometimes it's hard to pick just one idea, but eventually you settle on a topic and begin to write.

In the early days, you're sketching out the story.  Who are the characters? What motivates them, what makes them tick?  What happens to them? Where are they?  Lots of details, and as you get to know the story, you can start filling them in to make a more complete picture.

Eventually, you have a first draft.  The bones of your story are there, and you have created a recognizable thing.  It's not yet ready for public consumption, but you're well on your way.  A little more detail here, some spit and polish there, and you'll have an actual book.

So you keep going.  You keep working at it, keep editing out the bad and inserting the good.  You send it out to beta readers, maybe you have an editor, and you use their feedback to make the story even better.  Finally, after all that effort, you have a finished book!  It's beautiful, and you can't wait to share it with the world.

You celebrate the accomplishment for a bit, then start the process all over again!

Pretty fun, huh? :o)

What's in a name?

I've been thinking a lot about names lately, as I'm in the beginning phase of writing Book 3 (working title: DEADLY DECEPTIONS).  Characters pop up as I go, and they expect to have a name.  Funny how that works.

I tend to use more traditional names for my characters: Kelly and James are the heroine and hero in DEADLY CONTACT (out in November!) and Thomas and Claire are the couple at the heart of Book 2 (titled FATAL FALLOUT, for now).  In DEADLY DECEPTIONS, you'll meet Alex and Jillian.

Does it still smell sweet?

Naming characters is one of my favorite parts of writing.  I gravitate toward names that are fairly standard because I want the reader to be able to connect with the characters.  One of the things that bugs me as a reader is a name I can't figure out how to pronounce.  I stumble every time I read it, which takes me right out of the story.  I'm a little more forgiving if I'm reading a paranormal or sci-fi/fantasy novel, but I still find it distracting.

I generally don't consider the meaning of a name when I use it, as I'm more interested in how the sound of the name fits the character.  I do have a few quirks when it comes to naming characters though--I love comics and I love the books of Diana Gabaldon, so in every book I've written so far, one character has a name inspired by comic books, and one character has a name from the Outlander saga.  I'll leave it to you guys to find the references. :-)

What about you?  How do you name your characters?  And readers, do you prefer traditional or more creative character names?

Author Assistants

I know some authors out there have assistants to help with social media stuff, mailings, and other ancillary duties, freeing up time for writing.

My assistants are not nearly as helpful.

Meet Josh.  Josh is my alarm clock--he enjoys waking me in the middle of the night to let me know his food bowl is empty.  If I don't respond in a timely manner, he starts chewing on my books.  Sometimes, he likes to supervise my writing, and his contribution generally involves pawing at me or rubbing against the monitor.  Very inspiring.

You've met Toby  before.  He has decided that he needs to sleep right next to me on the couch, pinning me into one position and giving me a hurt look if I decide, for the sake of my circulation, to move.  Very thoughtful of him.

So those are my furry little helpers.  I get a kick out of them, even though they are high-maintenance goofballs.  Do you have any four-legged assistants?  How do they 'help' you write?

Everything in its time...

www.123rf.com

I've realized something about myself: if I don't have a lot of things to do, nothing gets done.

It's not that I like the drama of deadlines, or the pressure that comes from knowing I have a lot of tasks on my to-do list.  It's more the fact that I make it a point to organize my time when I am busy, and when I'm not, I don't.

It's so easy to push off doing something when my schedule is open.  "Oh, yeah.  I'll get to that later."  Except I don't, and I look back at the end of day with the sinking realization that I wasted time that could have been spent doing something productive.

Don't get me wrong--I know it's important to take breaks, and to spend a day or two relaxing and decompressing.  But do I really need to play Bejeweled all afternoon?  I think not.

My biggest fear is that I'll reach the end of my summer break with nothing to show for it, writing-wise.  That's why I'm making it a point to prioritize my writing every day, even it I only get a few sentences down.  I would dearly love to have a draft of book 3 complete by the time I go back to work, but I know it will only happen if I make it happen.  If that means tricking myself into being busy, so be it.

What about you?  Do you work better when you're already busy, or are you more disciplined than me? :-)

Tools of the Trade

This past weekend, I bought a new keyboard.

Nothing was wrong with my laptop keyboard, but I did notice that if I typed for any length of time, my hands would start to ache.  Nothing major, but since I type a lot at work and then come home to type even more, it was clear this whole 'aching hands and wrists' thing was a potentially serious problem.

I'd seen those ergonomic keyboards, the ones that are supposed to keep your hands and wrists in a more 'natural' position as you type.  I'd even used one a time or two, and while the experience was initially odd, I did enjoy it.

So when I found myself at the electronics store this weekend, buying my mother a new computer, I decided to get a little something for me, too.  I purchased this beauty:

Note the gently sloping wave design--aesthetic and practical!

I've only been using it for 2 days, but wow!  What a difference!  Both nights, I've written for two hours straight, only stopping because it's the wee small hours of the morning and I have to work the next day.  My hands and wrists don't hurt, and my productivity in terms of words written has really jumped.

I don't think this sudden spurt of progress is totally due to the wonders of a magical keyboard, but I do think that having the right tools helps to unlock creativity, and allows us to reach our potential.  Have you had a similar experience?  What tools or tricks do you use to boost your writing?

Celebrate the Small Things - Baby steps edition

It's time to celebrate!  This is a fabulous blog hop, hosted by the great VikLit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author--be sure to stop by and sign up to join us!

This week, I'm celebrating the fact that I'm making progress on my edits for book 2.  My agent had some great suggestions, and I feel that the changes I'm incorporating are making the story a lot stronger.  I hope to have the edits finished by the end of the month, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

What are you all celebrating this week?

Photo Friday - Revisions

Image credit

I'm headed back into the revision cave to polish Thomas and Claire's story.  Wish me luck!

His or Hers?

Flickr Creative Commons

Here's a question for you all: generally speaking, do you prefer the hero or the heroine's point of view?

I find that I'm drawn to books that are more hero-centric.  I really enjoy being in the hero's head, and finding out what makes him tick.  This is not to say that I don't also like reading about the heroine, but I guess I'm just more fascinated by the hero.  I find men interesting, probably because they don't always react in ways that make sense to me :)

Paradoxically enough, it's often easier for me to write in the hero's point of view.  I think that's because I'm constantly questioning the character's motivations and actions.  I don't subject my heroine to that much scrutiny, since on a fundamental level I already 'get' her.

What about you?  Do you prefer to read the hero or the heroine's thoughts?  If you're a writer, which point of view is easier for you to write in?

Sacrifices

www.123rf.com

My editor emailed me today and said it was time to start working on the book cover (insert a 'this is really happening <squee> here).  She said the art department would contact me shortly, and there was a character description form for me to fill out, so they could start to formulate the 'look' for my characters.  She also told me to send over a file of images, depicting style and appearance for the main characters.

This means I have been given permission, nay, ordered to trawl the internet for pictures of handsome men wearing suits. <sigh>

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. :)

Early Bird or Night Owl?

There are a lot of books out there, full of advice and tips on how to fit writing into your daily routine.  One of the most popular suggestions is to get up extra early and write a little bit before you start your day.  On the face of it, this is good advice: first thing in the morning is a fresh slate, before the distractions of the day conspire to steal away your time.

Except... I am not a morning person.  I am the exact polar opposite of a morning person.  Even if I am forced to get up early, I will still stay up late at night because that's just how my circadian rhythm works.

I'm told I come by this naturally.  My mother assures me that even when I was in utero, I would stay up late and sleep in, so it's no surprise I still do. Weekends are my favorite part of the week, not because I'm off work, but because I can follow my preferred sleep schedule.  For me, the best writing time is at night, after I'm done with my day.  It's almost like a reward for getting through the other stuff that pulls at my time.  Plus, I spend the whole day mulling over the story, picking out words and phrases and getting them in order for when I sit down to commit them to paper.

My brain doesn't work very well in the morning, so I think if I were to try to write at that time, I'd wind up frustrated and exhausted.  I envy the people who can jump out of bed early and flip on that creative switch.

In the end, I think it's all about figuring out which time works best for you, and sticking with it.  So that's my question for you, dear readers. Are you a night owl like me, or do you work best in the early morning?

images from www.123rf.com

Photo Friday - Supervision

Whoever said writing is a solo endeavor clearly didn't have pets.  You met kitty #1 on Monday, now meet his brother, kitty #2.  They usually content themselves with sleeping next to me on the couch, but every so often, one or the other will have to get more involved in my writing process.

How about you?  Does anyone 'help' you write?

Voltaire was right

I'm trying to squeeze in some writing time while here with the family in chilly Nashville.  We've had a bit of snow, but nothing is sticking (yay!).  Between the Harry Potter marathons and gorging myself on French onion dip, I think I managed almost 700 words yesterday, which I consider a win.

As I work on my edits, I find myself getting a bit overwhelmed at times.  It's so easy to sink under and flail about unproductively, all because I'm focusing on the trees instead of the forest.  I keep telling myself to step back and look at the bigger picture--how do I need to update this scene to move the plot forward and to accommodate the changes in the story?

I also have to keep reminding myself that, as our old friend Voltaire first said, the perfect is the enemy of the good.  In fact, I should probably print this quote out and plaster it everywhere.  My book will not be perfect, and I'm only paralyzing myself if I think I can make it so.  That is not to say that I want to do a crappy job with my edits, but it's important to keep in mind that any words are better than no words, and I'm not chiseling these things into stone--they can be modified or erased at the click of a button.

Fellow authors, how are you faring during the holidays?  Making any progress?  How do you approach edits?

Stay safe! :)

In media res...

Received wisdom tells us to begin a story in the middle--the middle of the action, that is.  We're told to 'hook' the reader on page one, from the first sentence if possible.  Keep things moving, keep the action going, keep the reader on the edge of their seat.  It's a lot to expect from the beginning of the story, and woe to the author who doesn't do this.  There are plenty of books out there, and readers have an ever-shrinking attention span--they won't hesitate to drop your book and pick up another, one that presumably holds their interest.

Except...

What about those books that don't start right in the middle?  What about the books that take you on a journey, building your relationship with the characters before plopping them into the middle of the action?  I'm not saying I want to read the entire biography of a character before they do something, but as a reader, I don't mind a little build-up to the action.

One of my favorite books is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  If you haven't read it, go get a copy.  I'll wait. <g>

By today's standards, Outlander starts off pretty slowly.  It takes at least 50 pages for Claire to travel back in time and meet Jamie.  My guess is that an agent or editor today would want to trim that introduction, have the book begin right as Claire makes her trip.  But all of the stuff that happens before she goes back tells the reader who she is, makes the reader care about her so that we want to know what happens to her.  The details and back story also serve to make Claire a more fully realized character, one who comes alive off the page.

Maybe I'm being naive, but rather than worrying about opening with an explosion or car chase, I try to open with something that makes the reader want to turn the page.  That doesn't have to be a big, showy event, and in fact, I usually have several pages of character introduction and scene setting before getting things off the ground.

Fellow authors, how do you approach beginnings?  Do you like to set the scene, or do you start things off with a bang?  Readers, what about you?  How much time are you willing to spend on a book that doesn't get to the point right away?

A picture is worth a thousand words...

I'm about half-way done with Thomas and Claire's story, and part of me is all:

But at the same time, I've reached that dreaded middle section.  You know what I'm talking about--the story isn't flowing as quickly as it was in those heady early days, I'm floundering a bit and feeling a little lost...

And then I heard it: the seductive whisper of a shiny new idea. 

What to do?  It would be so easy to abandon put off working on the current WIP in favor of taking up with the awesome new story--after all, the new characters are talking freely, being all cooperative and stuff, while my current characters are... not.

But I know that if I start working on this new idea, Thomas and Claire's story will likely not get finished.  So, I've told the new idea:

Last time, Thomas and Claire were being very demanding, but I put them off to finish James and Kelly's story.  Now, it's the characters from the third book clamoring for attention.

Don't get me wrong--this is a great problem to have.  Multiple plots, characters, and ideas floating around?  I just wish I had the time to work on them all.  

But I will wait.  After all, patience is a virtue, right?

So now I have a question for you, fellow authors.  When you get that shiny new idea, what do you do?  Drop everything and start working on it, or stay the course with your current WIP and come back to the new idea later?  What's your process like?  Does it involve as many kitties as mine? <g>

All images courtesy of http://icanhascheezburger.com/