Inspirational luck

Everyone has good days and bad days. Some of us get a whole lot of bad days in a row… and that in itself isn’t too inspiring. I’m not saying I have had ‘bad’ days – In fact – they have all been great! I’m just saying that I have been so damn busy with my daughter that I haven’t had much of a chance to even look at my writing, let alone attending to my emails, blog, etc.

I thought that I was back on the band wagon with my writing… but it hasn’t happened. That’s okay though, because as my husband said to me when I was complaining to him about it – “You have a much more important job to do at the moment, so stop beating yourself up about it.” And he’s dead right. Every day Abby makes me laugh and smile a million times. Every day she pushes my boundaries. Every day she inspires me to be a better person. Every day I couldn’t imagine life without her.

I was talking to a good friend of mine last night, and was throwing some ideas around with her about writing a series of standalone thrillers using my main key characters from Tijuana Nights, and she said that she thought I could pull it off. I did talk about doing this many moons ago when I was originally planning this book, but I never went any further with the idea. But now… I think I might look into it.

I’m going to call it my ‘Night Series’ and set the locations of each book in a different spot. For example, the next book could potentially be called Parisian Nights or something along those lines. I know that it’s going to mean a crap load of planning and different character development/arcs etc… but just perhaps I might actually have what it takes to do this.

Now I just need to find the time, energy, and motivation to actually do it.

 

New ideas… new stories

Firstly, Happy New Year!

Since I am writing a new book very shortly, I thought that I would blog a little about my process, and how I work. Each writer’s process is completely different, and it’s up to the individuals to create their own process.

1. Dream up a situation:
   

   Kaz2 - Ghost Yacht. Click image for article

   - An example of this is of when I happen to be in Australia at the time, and I had been reading all sorts of articles about a ghost yacht off the Sunshine Coast of Australia. I then started forming new ideas, decided to write The Mediterranean Source, and I ended up keeping many of those articles, since they were the inspiration for the book.

   Does the book have a ghost yacht in it? Well… yes in a manner of speaking. But it’s a very short-lived ghost yacht. And it’s not the plot of the book by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a turning point for my characters.

   Everything else in the book evolved from this ghost yacht idea, including the plot, characters, location, and how it all fit together.

2. Characters and their profiles:
   - No matter what your story is about, it musthave some form of character in it. Or else… what’s the point?
   

   To see working character profiles - click this image

   I absolutely adore profiling my characters. This is something that I have been doing since the very first novel I ever wrote, (The Legacy). Those characters weren’t as robust as they could have been… in fact – I think that perhaps they were too perfect, and too good.

   Everyone needs a few flaws. After all, if you want to make your characters as human as possible, throw in a bunch of them. We all have our downfalls, but in the end, that’s what makes us stronger.

   When I dreamt up the Talent trilogy, I had to create multiple characters. (I think that’s the problem with writing fantasy – there are so many of them!) Naturally, to keep track of all these different characters, so I profiled every single one of them. I have at least 20 profiles of key characters, and more are developed when the storyline requires me to reuse or remember new characters.
   
   

3. Setting the Scene:
   

   Mexico - the country where Tijuana Nights starts in

   - You need to have your book set somewhere… so therefore you need some sort of location or number of locations depending on what the story requires.

   Whether they are mythical locations, or real ones, it still means that you have to design it in some form.
   Key question to ask yourself is ‘why there?’ What is it about that location that makes you want to set a book there? Is it crucial to the storyline?  Is it somewhere where you have been before, or is it somewhere where you wish you could go? Take note of your feelings and emotions towards this place, because it’s those feelings and emotions that will no doubt show through in your writing.

4. Research:
   - If your character does something as a profession that you know nothing about, then you need to research it. If you have set your book somewhere that you have never been before, or know very little about – it would be a good thing to research it. After all, while I know that that this stuff is probably fiction, you don’t want to just go making it up and making it completely unrealistic and so far outside the boundaries that it’s a ‘hard to comprehend’ read for your readers.

   

   Click image to go directly to Wikipedia

   Wikipedia is always my first stop. I don’t know why – it just is. From there I can gain insight, and direction of what aspect I want to research next. Do not use Wikipedia as a one stop shop, because to be honest – it’s far too general, and most of the information is rather high-level. To gain depth of knowledge, you have to dig deeper.

   You would not believe the amount that I now know about diamonds, or diving, or about the island of Menorca. I have even had a friend who is based in Spain read through my book to double check authenticity. Of course she came back with amendments… as only a true Spaniard would know the intricate details of their country and the native quirks of the place. Research and feedback like this is absolutely golden.

   
   

   And these four points tie into something much, much bigger.

5. The Plot:
   – I could talk forever about plotting, cause and effect, and all that sort of jazz, but I’m not going to. To give you a brief summary, something must happen so that there are turning points and therefore character reactions in order to move the story forward.
   

   Exploding boat?

   Aka. SOMETHING NEEDS TO HAPPEN TO GET THE BALL (STORY) ROLLING. If nothing happens, then there is no justification for a storyline or even a book.

   Take what you will from this advice. But if nothing happens, then it’s going to make for a pretty damn boring story. But with the combination of the above four points, you should be able to pull at least something together.
   

6. Planning:
   

   - Some people are plotters, and some are pansters. I, myself, am a plotter. I plan everything – right from the very start of the story, through to the ending. Then, once you have finished doing that – read your plan from start to finish. If you think it will still make a spectacular story after you have finished, then you can go ahead to the next step.

   If you don’t think your plan cuts the cake in terms of storyline, you need to adjust the plan to make it a good story. Brain-storming helps! A big piece of paper and lots of colourful pens are the best tools to use for this particular activity. Then stick the paper on the wall in front of you, and dream up some new storyline or plotline that will make your plan even better.

   The most important thing to remember is that your plan is a ‘living’ document. Your plan should be continually updated and reviewed throughout the process of writing your book. That way, you have a good birds-eye-view of your story as a whole.…
   If you are not excited about your plan… or it starts to feel as though the story is a bit boring (happens to the best of us) then change it up.

And that is probably all I am going to actually say on the matter of developing new ideas and the plan of a new book. Everyone if different. Some people fly by the seat of their pants and can write a book organically – rolling and writing idea after idea. Some people like myself, need to plan everything out first. I personally like to have a bit of a roadmap. Both methods work. I find that as the years move on, I trust my gut a lot more now when I’m writing, and I’ll automatically up the stakes with my characters without actually planning for it. This is usually the time when I end up doing a bit of re-planning in order to walk the right pathway with my characters.

So… on that note – I guess I better get onto plotting out Tijuana Nights, and designing my characters. Oh, better throw in a little research while I’m at it. I’ve had this novel idea floating about in my brain for at least the past 18 months, and it’s about time that I extracted all this information and braindumped it all out on paper. This way – I might be able to sort it all out into something tangible.

Happy writing everyone!

 

Jot, file, and reflect

Today I am going to chatter about those writing distractions that we all seem to encounter. I’m talking about the inspiring ideas that the annoying and irritable Muse will throw at us, expecting us to suddenly pick up the pen and immediately start writing whatever they want us to write. Is it annoying? Damn right it is. Especially when you have so much more going on in your head, but you know that you don’t want to lose that idea.

Some people reading this will know that I use OneNote to get my ideas down. My Muse hates this. A lot. He’s all ‘powerful and mighty’ in his eyes, and I’m not bending to his will, but filing it all away for later. Sometimes, like recently, I have actually opened new documents – titled them, saved them, and then closed them, so that they are sitting there ready and waiting for me to pay them a little attention when I get a moment to myself. Like right now.

My Muse is screaming at me to use his ideas, but I can’t right this instant, because I have a trilogy to finish writing first. That is my priority at the moment, not winging my way into creating a new world just to sate my Muse’s taste-buds. That’s the beauty about OneNote. You can jot the idea down, file it away, and then reflect upon it later when you feel you are ready to start something fresh. Knowing my luck, my Muse is going to be absolutely howling at me once I finish this trilogy, because then it will be editing time, and there still won’t be new worlds being built, or new characters coming alive.

Ah well, for the moment, he will just have to suck it up like a princess, and get over it.

 

Drink from the cup of mediocrity

I am sure that  like many Authors, and I hate drinking from the cup of mediocrity… but when is it really enough to stop with the reviewing, critiquing, and editing of your own work?!

I finished a manuscript years ago, chucked it out to my beta-readers, and revised, reviewed, revised, reviewed… on and on… a continuous cycle. So now I ask – when is it really ready to let go? After each re-edit, I think that it’s ready to go. So I’m happy with it for a while, chuck it in the mythical drawer, until I eventually re-open it – and see that it can have more plastic surgery done to it. Give it some more face-lifting… A nip here, a tuck there, and a little more Botox in ‘that’ spot… Then all over again, I am happy. Until I pick it up again. This is my own vicious cycle that I am trapped in. (Argh! I feel like the literary version of Joan Rivers!)

Maybe this is because I hate sipping from the cup of mediocrity, and deep down inside, I’m not prepared to release it to the professionals until I’m totally happy about it. A friend said to me the other night, “Leigh, you need a Critique Partner.” She thinks that a Crit Partner will kick my ass into gear. Maybe they will, maybe they wont… but I’ll never know unless I try. Now let me quickly clarify something… This MS is not ‘my baby’. I’m happy for the wolves to chew it up, and spit it out – as long as they give me some decent reasoning or feedback on how I can make it better.

I’m starting to wonder if using Critique Partners is the answer to my vicious cycle problem?

What do you think? Do you have Critique Partners? Do they give you the ‘critical’ feedback that your MS needs? Do they shove their foot up your rear end and tell you to stop editing? (Because unless my MS needs further work – this is what I need. A serious ass-kicking.)

To put it into the words of Stella Artois: I’d rather die of thirst than drink from the cup of mediocrity.

 

Plotting or Pantsing?

This seems to be a subject that I keep coming across at the moment. People have asked me if I am a ‘plotter’ or a ‘pantser’. What does this mean? The question is really, “Do you plot out your novels before you start writing? Or do you write organically?” (Flying by the seat of your pants.)

Plotting tool: Sticky notes

Technically, I am first a plotter, as I like to kind of know what pathway my writing is walking down. Great at character profiling before I even start writing a novel. But then I find that my characters start taking on a life of their own, and then I become a ‘pantser’.

I think that writing organically can take you places that you never would have plotted before. Once you start researching locations, careers of your characters, and all sorts of other symbology in relation to your work in progress, the story starts to evolve. So, to start me off, I’m definitely a plotter. It’s as if I need some sort of map or some form of direction to get me going.

When I first started writing, I used to plot out every stage. Each chapter had its own plotlines that I had to follow. Each character has their objectives that are carefully laid in order to eventually meet at the height of the book. But I found that having a set plot regime hindered my creativity a lot. I would get to the point where I already knew what was going to happen, and therefore I was no longer writing the piece of work for myself, but I was writing it down, just to get it down. But since I already knew everything in the storyline, it was no longer exciting me, or surprising me.

I can’t do that now. Instinctively, I know that I can have a very loose plot. And in that loose plot, I have to manoeuvre my characters to the peak of the plot. Sometimes I know how this is going to happen… other times I don’t. And this is all part of the fun.

I primarily write for myself. I write myself stories that I love, and I am my own audience. Granted, there are other people out there who read my work as well, but I know that as long as I am happy with the process and the finished product – then that’s the only thing that matters.

So here are two core questions I’m putting out there into the Interweb ether:

1. How do you do it? Plotting or Pantsing?
2. Who do you write for?

I think that these are questions we all need to eventually have an answer for.