Fallen

I don't normally post on weekends, but every now and then I like to be a rebel! So, I just want to leave you guys with this little painting I did. It was my first attempt at painting. I do some drawing, but I'm not quite versed in the painting world.......yet. I've always wanted to try and I finally broke down and bought some supplies.

This is my first piece.

Relative Writing (En/Dis)couraging

You've searched long and hard for the right set of words to open your novel. After intense mental debate you conclude that your line "It was a dark and stormy night..." just screams PERFECT!

Days go by and you add line after line, word after word, metaphor after metaphor...

Things are moving along, then suddenly you read bit of advice in a seminar handout regarding dynamic-novel-writing. It lists the most common amateur writing mistakes and sure enough you find that your opening line "it was a dark and stormy night," was a HUGE mistake! OH NO! Then you find out, as you read the other common amateur moves, that you've been doing it all wrong.

You have a HUGE choice here. You can either scrap your manuscript, turn tail and head for the mountains in shame, or you can suck up your pride, learn from your mistakes, take the advice and make the appropriate changes.

Sometimes as writers, we are faced with opportunities to grow. Often it can make us second guess our viability as a writer, but it doesn't have to be like that. Each of us will make amateur mistakes, the question is, what will YOU do when you are shown one.

The Short & Sweet of it

I finished my latest reading last night. I had been reading Neil Gaiman's novel, Neverwhere. First of all, I have to say that as a story, this novel was well done and enjoyable to a great degree. There were a few unanswered questions, though in a story this rich in fantasy, there's bound to be a few. More than anything, I was impressed with Gaiman's use of language and mastery of words. I am hard pressed to name another modern author who could stand toe to toe with Gaiman in the craft of writing. I cannot begin to tell you how excellent his descriptions were and how the metaphors and allusions were utterly powerful and beautiful.

I'd rather not go into specifics of the story itself, to avoid spoiling it for anyone interested in reading, so I'll just leave you with this:

Check it out, buy it, rent it, borrow it, READ IT. As a writer, I was blown away with examples of how to better hone my skills. As a reader, I was taken on an incredible journey through a fantasy world nearly missing from my life since my childhood days of hiding from monsters in my closet.
For the record, I was so impressed by his writing, I've decided to begin another book by Gaiman called American Gods. That is very rare for me to do. I typically will not go looking for other books by an author just because I liked a single book written by them. Maybe this is a testament to how well received Neverwhere was with me.

Order of Events

So, you are driving along and suddenly you spot a dead penguin on the side of the road and it hits you

SHABAM!



The idea for an amazing novel comes bubbling into your brain like a cheap champagne. It seems like the strangest or smallest things excite ideas, to us literary folk, that get our creative juices churning. I'm curious though, when something strikes you as a good idea for a novel, what order of events do you begin playing out in your mind. Do you take the idea and try to form a solid opening with it, or do you jump right to how it should end? Maybe you're a plot, middle of the road, planner? So, tell me, what's the order of events for you when it comes time to plan a brand new story out?

We Survived the Cruise

Top Deck where we would party!



At the beach at Puerto Vallarta... the water was awesome!



Cruisin can be rough... gotta catch some zzzzz's sometime.

In the mid ship club called Club Fusion.

Bus Touring through Mazatlan

Overlooking Mazatlan

Chillaxin on the top-deck pool at the back of the ship

Me being silly

Coastal picture in Mazatlan

Me, dancing with a group of traditional Mexican dancers for Mardi Gras Style Dance

Puerto Vallarta

Us, overlooking "lover's point" in Mazatlan

Leave You With...

As I prepare to embark on my epic journey across the Mexican Rivierra, on the Sapphire Princess Cruise Ship, I leave you with these words.

"Write well, and well..... um, write!"

See ya when I get back.

Limitations

Does anyone else find that writing YA fiction in 1st person, limits the verb usage of their novel?

Omniscient 3rd person doesn't seem to have as much of an issue with this, but I know there are a lot of factors that would limit the possibilities.

Just curious if any of you YA authors are feeling dictionarilly (is that even a word LOL)suppressed.

I mean seriously, what teenager is going to say "The premature placative tonsuring of Elios' crown did not, in my eyes, warrant the extirpation of his bond servant, but who am I to stand up to the elders' judgement?"

Executions Are Messy

All that blood, the occasional bird droppings from perched hopefuls looking for a free meal, entrails etc...

HOLD THE PHONE

I meant execution as in putting a new idea(l) into motion, not putting someone to death...

When it comes to writing a novel, the telling of a story is simply not enough. There's a right way and a wrong way to execute it. I find myself in the category of a 'storyteller,' not so much a 'real author.' This is aparent when I read books like the current one I'm devouring called "Neverwhere," by Neil Gaiman. I'm faced with the reality that I have a long way to go. While my writing is impressive to some, it is also quite lacking to others. It, like most things, is all relative, as the saying goes.

So, here's the question.

What do YOU do as a writer, to help ensure you aren't just 'telling' a story?

Please, nobody quote the "show don't tell" thing... I'm looking for more than that from you all today.

Breaking Rank

I know I'm breaking rank here by diverging from my literary posting pulpit, but I had to share with you all my latest purchase. I play a little bit of a few instruments and love to learn anything new that I can. I have been using a mid-range Martin Acoustic guitar for a few years and wanted to try my hand at an electric guitar for a while. I finally purchased a new electric guitar and amp. These are what I purchased.

Ibanez ART 100 Artist Electric Guitar

Line 6 Spider IV amp

I must say, they sound amazing! I am having a blast learning some guitar riffs and trying to get a feel for the lighter touch of the electric.

Just wanted to share.

Living Characters

I've written on this subject before and I'm sure it won't be the last words I say about this topic, but ultimately I'm having trouble reigning in my character.

Meet "Girl X" The love interest of my MC for my current novel tentatively called "Watchers" aka "The Awakening."


(for the record, she doesn't look like this, but I liked the expression for image sake)

Girl X, was supposed to be someone completely different than she is now. She is supposed to be nigh untouchable. She is supposed to be pristine, glass-like in her fragility, equally submissive in attitude and ultimately come across as weak. What she really is, is irrelevant. The problem I'm having is, her personality is shaping out differently. Is it detrimental to the plot, not so much, but does it bother me that I can't seem to fit my character's complex into the character... YES.

I had a similar problem with a character in Trueborn. The MC and his brother were swapping personalities and making choices that I had intended for the other to make. It feels like I'm trying to write a story about living characters who don't want to be written different than they really are. It's like they are rebelling against my finger strokes and key clicks. It's like they are developing themselves.

What is your experience with character development before and during the novel writing process?