My thesis class officially starts tomorrow. Yesterday I worked on getting ready by cleaning and redecorating my office/spare bedroom/writing room. A form of procrastinating for me. I tend to clean when I don’t want to do school work and Twin Theory is also my thesis project, so I view it as school work.
Tomorrow, I won’t be able to avoid it anymore. Either I work on Twin Theory and finish it, or I have no thesis project to turn in and don’t complete my MFA. It’s back to writing for me.
Between writing a final paper, participating in Armchair BEA, and a few other random things this past week, my manuscript for Twin Theory was sadly neglected.
Today is my day to renew my commitment to return to working on it a little bit each day. I refuse to leave this story unfinished.
I still have my goal of completing the story by November of this year and I know that date is approaching faster than I would like.
Today is the start of BEA week in New York. Since I am a poor student, I will not be attending this year. Okay I will, virtually not live, via Armchair BEA.
The book blogging world has been talking about BEA, getting ready to go, all the books they hope to gain.
So today, I am doing a little dreaming…dreaming of a future when I will my books will be at conferences, their covers calling out to all the folks. Maybe a few people will ask for me to sign and say that my story entertained them. That’s what I hope for, to entertain someone with my words.
Some people say if you are dreaming of being famous from publishing your book you are writing for the wrong reasons. I partially agree. I write because I have a story inside that I want to tell. I dream because it helps keep m e motivated. Do I think publishing will somehow change my life? No, not really, but it is fun to pretend.
And now I must get back to my manuscript. Elea and Doyle demand my attention.
Besides, the dreams will never come true if I never finish writing the story.
~ This post is part of the Fellow Writer’s Blog Hop. This month’s theme: Flash Me! ~
Night Scare
She stood in a darkened room. The only light a soft glow, from where she could not see. She felt a presence with her. Soft warmth of another, too close to where she stood. The faint sound of his breath along her ear caused her skin to prickle in protest. A brush against her arm and a scream ripped through her body.
She could not see to run; even if she could, her leaden legs would not budge from their spot. She closed her eyes tight and tried to forget the darkness that surrounded her.
The warmth receded. Her angry skin calmed and smoothed. She opened her eyes again. The monster must be gone. She did not see two eyes, but four stare back at her.
She thought there was only one. But no, there were two. Two others watched her, as if they waited. Waited for what she did not know. And then they reached to her. As if, they wanted something. A twisted smile crossed their lips.
Their fingers elongated as they came closer to her, their eyes narrowed. Petrified, she felt her heart crash into her ribcage as it tried to urge her to move. But she could not; she couldn’t even form another scream. She watched in terror as the two people melded into one–lunging forward to swallow her whole.
Every story needs it. It keeps the suspense going, the pages turning. A story without conflict is, well, boring.
Noah Lukeman in his book, The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life, lists 13 types of co
nflict a story can have.
But how much conflict is too much? Is there even such a thing?
As a writer, I wonder how impossible I should make things for my characters to overcome. If it’s too outlandish of an obstacle and I still allow my characters to get past it, will readers groan at the characters being able to achieve the truly impossible? But if I make things too easy, will those same readers stop reading my story after only a couple of pages and move on to read someone else’s more exciting story?
How does a writer find the right balance?
Clichés are dreaded among the writing community. It shows laziness on the part of the author to use them instead of finding a more interesting and unique way to express something. In my own experiences, I had a teacher who said that clichés are only acceptable in dialogue if it is a part of the character’s personality to use clichés.
Unfortunately, I am a person who rather likes clichés…saying them that is.
To me, in my non-writer world I say clichés a lot. I am like that person who quotes from movies all the time, only it’s those overused sayings. When writing fiction, I am more likely to write similar to the way I speak (not exactly though, that would be bad too) so I have to be extra careful not to let those pesky clichés slip in.
For me the struggle is in identifying clichéd images. A simple image considered cliché is that of an elderly couple walking down the sidewalk holding hands. Themes can also be cliché, like the teen who is self-destructive because they are lacking attention from their parents.
The best way to avoid clichés is to find a way to give the image, theme, or saying a new twist. Yes, it is more difficult to do, but as my father always told me, “if it were easy, everyone would do it.”
And you don’t want to be like everyone else.
There has been a lot of chatter lately about how people write. Are they plotters? Mapping out the events that are going to occur in their story and then following their map while they write. Or are they pantsers? You know, fly by the seat of their pants types who just sit at a blank page with the idea of characters in their head and just start writing what comes out.
Twin Theory, my current project, started out on a whim for a class in school. I had a very general idea of a what-if scenario in my head, not even a true, fully formed plot when I started writing. And I really liked that first chapter. So I stuck with it and plotted a little, then wrote a two more chapters, also for classes in school, and a third chapter. I had a whopping four chapters written.
WHAT?!? Yes, that’s right. I wrote the ending after writing only four chapters. It was in my head, what I wanted for my ending. I also thought it was important to give my characters a goal, that final scene, to reach so hopefully I won’t get lost trying to write the middle.
I don’t think so. Because now I am going back and plotting (yes, you read that right) the rest of my story–that middle part I skipped before.
Again, not really. At least not how I would define a plotter. Since I did not plot the entire story before I began writing, I don’t think I fall into this group either.
Now, I should admit, I am still learning the process that works best for me. Yet, as for now, it seems to me, I straddle both group.
And really, I’m okay with that. I have always been one to do things sorta weird. But hey, it mostly works for me. That is what’s most important, doing whatever process works.
Twin Theory, my urban fantasy work-in-progress, a story that I started writing as part of my MFA program, was recently set aside due to other classes in that same program that required me to focus on different things. Before I knew it, a few months had passed since I last worked on Twin Theory
Now it is time. I will be starting again.
I was already struggling a little with the section I was on when I took my break. I am nervous to pick it up again and find out that I don’t have any ideas. But at the same time, I have missed Elea and Doyle while I have been away from them and I am excited to visit them again. I hope they are ready to tell me what happens next.
I wonder if I am the only one that goes through this. Does anyone else have to take extended time off from a story then fear going back to it?
Welcome to the SheWrites.com Blogger Ball Re-Redux (a.k.a. Blogger Ball #3). We’ve again invited the gang from the general blogger group as well for a little get-to-know-you gathering for She Writers of all blogging persuasions. To participate:
1. Add a link to your blog through the linky below, listing the name of your blog in the “name” blank (with parenthetical two-word or less description).
2. Do a welcome post on your own blog. Highlight and copy the bookshelf icon to allow folks to get back to the blog list by clicking on it. (If you just “copy image” it won’t pick up the link; you have to highlight and copy/paste.)
3. Visit at least 5 other blogs on the list between now and Saturday – and leave comments!
Please avoid shameless self-promoting: be gentle with the capitalization thing, and comment with an eye toward the posts you are reading rather than the things you might like to promote.
About me: I am a full-time student completing a MFA in Creative Writing with a fiction concentration. Primarily a writer of science-fiction and urban fantasy. I enjoy toying with the question “What if…” Thank you for stopping by!
Yes, I am a spoiled American–I already knew that.
What I did learn is that…
I live in Raleigh. Over the weekend, tornadoes made an appearance during what otherwise would have been a typical spring thunderstorm. This was Saturday.
I was on the phone and my computer. Looking outside I saw the sky had turned black. It was still too early for nightfall, only 3:30 or 4:00 pm. And then the lights flickered. My lights have flickered before, so I did not think too much about it and continued my conversation. Then the lights went out and stayed out.
I’ve been through power outages before. I even go camping. So no lights wasn’t a big deal. Plus, once the storm passed the sun came back out so I was not in utter darkness. I did not even know a tornado had been through the area until Sunday. There had been no sirens sounding. And one of the tornadoes formed only a mile away. So at the time I figured the electricity would be back shortly, a few hours at most.
I was lucky. Compared to recent events in other countries (Japan comes to mind), VERY LUCKY. And I am thankful for the luck that I was blessed with on Saturday. Some people lost their homes, some their cars, and others–their lives. All I lost was electricity in my home for approximately 48 hours and a refrigerator full of food.
I learned I could survive a few days alone with no electricity. I only had my pets for company and the voices of loved ones on the other side of my cell phone. I learned I am resourceful. Heading to parts of town where the storm had not been as bad to use free wi-fi (thank you, Panera). Keeping my cell phone charged thanks to owning a car charger–for those who don’t have a car charger for their cell phone, go buy one now. It was comforting to still be able to use my phone.
Not having easy access to television and internet is freeing in a way. I had hours upon hours to read, go explore neighborhoods I hadn’t seen yet, and walk with my dog. Not to mention, I gained a lot of details while out driving through areas that were more heavily hit by the tornadoes that I can use in my future writings. It’s a reminder to go out and live life even though writing is usually a solitary pursuit.
Even something as destructive as a tornado can be used to create something worthwhile.
