Losing Control

Sometimes, I have it in my head what I want to write.  The idea is there.  The characters are fleshed out.  I sit down to start it and I can't seem to focus.  Can't seem to go anywhere with it.  Instead of my creative juices flowing, another idea will take over.  This idea just won't go away no matter how hard I try to push it back into the far corners of my brain to save for another day.  It basically means I have no control over my ideas.  They control me.

This just happened to me this week.  I've finished my current WIP and was ready to start another.  Prevailing wisdom is to start something completely different.  A separate stand alone story in case the other doesn't take off.  Problem is, a sequel is desperately trying to be told.  No matter how much I worked to focus on the other, completely different idea, I couldn't do it.  A character named, Ellie, needs to be heard.  Granted she is a fiery, feisty redhead but I didn't think I was ready to tell Ellie's story.

What could I do?  Force myself into the other characters?  I tried that.  I used my favorite music.  I started in the middle of the story, which I sometimes do to help me get started.  I tried all manner of things, but none of them worked.  So, I've pushed aside the other story and I'm writing a sequel-Ellie's story.  I'll do my best to make it stand alone as well and hope I can pitch it at a later date if need be.

Just goes to show you.  We are not in control of anything in life, not even our own ideas;-)  Moral of the story, just go with it.  No point fighting the inevitable.

Writing Show and Tell: Not As Easy As It Sounds!

Showing vs telling.  I've talked about this before.  Probably a LOT!  Mainly because I'm still working on getting it right.  As I'm editing my finished product, I'm feverishly pouring over passages to see if I got it.  Probably the most frustrating thing about writing and editing, at least for me.  Through my blog, I follow a few other blogs out there.  Writer's Digest, Janice Hardy, Romance University, a few agent blogs and now The Bookshelf Muse.  Why now The Bookshelf Muse you ask?  Upon looking through the blog entries from these other sites, I stumbled across a guest blog from Angela Ackerman of The Bookshelf Muse regarding this very topic.  Read it here (hope the link works as I'm still new to this;-0).

I thought she did a fabulous job of describing the differences of the two as well as a couple of other pitfalls including making good use of showing but then adding a tell sentence to hit it home and overdoing showing bordering on purple prose and melodrama.

I'd been wondering about these last two points.  I definitely, when I get the showing right that is, have a tendency to add in the tell sentence to be sure the reader gets what I'm saying.  I don't have to do this and Angela made good points as to why.  Trust my writing.  That's hard.

This very reason is why I'm beginning to love blogging.  Reading other people's wonderful blog entries out there giving great advice and passing along words of wisdom is what I think it's all about.  We need to help each other.  I realize you can do this on Twitter and Facebook too but blogs enable people to elaborate and go further.  Just my opinion!

Check out Angela and her blog partner Becca's sage advice.  You'll also be fabulously startled to see they've come out with The Emotion Thesaurus.  I'm so excited!  The rest of you have problem known this already but I love it when I make such discoveries!  Thanks, Angela and Becca!

Now, back to pouring through those passages and hoping I'm close to getting it right.

Submission Time

Hi again!  Sorry it took me so long.  I've been on vacation with no WiFi-imagine my horror;-o.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand-submission.  As I'm typing the word, I'm reminded of its other meaning.  That's exactly what it feels like sometimes-lying down like a dog and taking whatever comes your way.  Just kidding!  Sort of.  I've still got a lot to work on before I'm completely ready.  At the moment, I have my manuscript out to some beta readers, my most trustworthy of which is also taking classes this summer and will work it into her busy schedule.  Damn it, Amy!  How dare you attempt higher education while I'm trying to be a published writer;-)

I have to polish the dreaded query.  I've started it five times at least but keep changing it.  For me, I usually know when it feels right.  My hubby is also a big help.  He reads them and lets me know what he thinks, even though he can't be made to read my entire manuscript.  I still often wonder how two such opposites were brought together in a blissfully happy marriage;-)  I actually married a man who hates to read for fun.  Hey, but it works for us!

Next, I'll write the synopsis.  Not all agents require these but most do.  I hate the synopsis but I've said that already here before. This will show them I have a good beginning, middle and end.

Finally, I'll go through my top twenty agents and see if they are currently taking submissions and jot down notes about the requirements for submissions.

Then, I'll be ready.  A tiny thrill travels through me just thinking about it.  Back to work!  I'll update soon.

I wanted also to mention a good book I've read this summer.  We need to promote great authors.  I thoroughly enjoyed Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand.

How Realistic Does Your Writing Have To Be?

I pose this question because I ask it of myself a lot.  I'm a nobody in the writing world.  I'm a wife and mother with a challenging day job who really, really enjoys writing.  Thus, I don't have a lot of contacts to help me with research.  I have Google and that's about it;-)

Unlike the commercial that says they can't lie on the internet, I know what I read is only as good as the source.  I try to use reputable sites and have to take them at face value.  I don't have a good friend who's a detective, or FBI agent, or Navy SEAL, or etc.  You get my point.

In saying all this, how realistic should fiction be?  I researched this very question and came across a blog entry tackling the topic.  This person, a published author, had a good point.  You don't want the person reading your book to stop and go, "Hey, wait a second.  It doesn't snow in Texas in July."  This is a gross exaggeration but you can see what I mean.  If I'm writing about Louisville and I make something up any Louisvillian would know is not true, then they won't be able to enjoy my work.  They'll be distracted by the inconsistencies.

Still, that doesn't really answer my question completely.  Let's say I want my protagonist to fall in love with a Navy SEAL.  How accurate do I need to be with what challenges a Navy SEAL might face?  I'm sure the more accurate the better, but Google can only tell me so much, especially regarding these secretive warriors.  Nobody without a certain security clearance or a direct relationship with a SEAL knows exactly what they do on a daily basis.

I ponder this as I start my next work.  I want to be accurate yet I want it to be escapism romantic fiction.  What's important to me is the story.  The dynamic between the two characters.  The passion and conflict.  This is what I get lost in, not what weapon he carries or where his next mission might be.  Maybe I'm wrong but it's only my opinion;-)