How are They Going to Get There?

Congratulations on your writing accomplishments!

Whether you have written a paragraph or five hundred pages so far this month, you’re doing great.

I once wrote 500 pages in one day.  Yep, the Ctrl+v got stuck on my keyboard.  When I returned from my walk I had five hundred pages of totally inconceivable gibberish.

I jest, but speaking of taking a walk…

Where are your characters going? Why are they going? How are they going to get there?

Feel free to use the photographs to get the creative juices flowing.

Write on!!

Don’t Quit (Misery Loves Company & Asshats)

NaNoWriMo has barley started and you’re giving up? If you quit at the starting line how the heck are you going to reach the finish line?

Okay. I understand the pressure and the frustration and the fear and the time crunch you have to contend with [really, I do] but don’t quit. Take a deep breath. Let your shoulders drop (it is okay if the world has to float on it’s own for a minute or two) and remind yourself why you took the challenge to begin with.

The above was my partial response to an aspiring author I sometimes guide (guide sounds less hoity-toity than mentor). She continually strives to improve her skill and decided to challenge herself this year with NaNoWriMo. I was so excited for her.

When she said she was throwing in the towel one week into the 30 day challenge my heart sank.

I had to remind myself of two things: #1 this is HER journey. #2 despondency is common among authors, young and old, aspiring and established alike.

The exchange ended with us both feeling more optimistic. For now.

Another handful of emails followed (not participants in WriMo) mostly venting about criticisms which they said too often feels like bullying.

I read some of the criticisms. Honestly, I considered most of the comments as constructive – a little blunt and crude but valid observations. Constructive criticism is valuable.

There were a few however that did have a malicious feel about them. Asshats!

It is not always easy doing what you love… what you feel driven to do… following your passion. Self-doubt is relentless and Asshats… don’t get me started?!!

Insecurity fluctuates; it lessens with experience as the skin thickens but don’t expect Asshats to turn into compassionate humanoids.  Why? Because misery loves company.

Misery loves company

I cannot count the number of times I have heard/felt, “I’m too old”, “I’m afraid”, “I am not good enough” or “I’ve been ridiculed/rejected”. Self-doubt

Nor can I count the times I have heard of/read/experienced pointless insults that serve no purpose other than to humiliate a person. Asshats

So it seems Asshats and uncertainty will always be a part of life; a thing we all have to contend with. “But how?” some ask. Don’t quit.

You can’t lie down and quit. I guess you could but then you would be in a coma. Being comatose is not the answer.

You can’t throat-punch or cuss everyone who hates on you. Well, you can but the fines start racking up and…

Before I confess digress I think I’ll just send you to a more inspiring, graceful article.

Oops, a quick tip: Embrace your feelings (pain, anger, fear, etc.) and use them in your writing. Assign your feelings of defeat and grief to a character and then show the character how to overcome. It can be very healing.

Write on!!

Now check out the post by Joan Hall over at Story Empire and be sure to read the comments.

If you are not already following Story Empire  you should.

Why?

Because they offer countless resources for writers (especially new writers) and they are a great group of people. They don’t allow Asshats and trolls to hang out there.

Let them be Mad

Mad as in angry, insane, enthusiastic or in a swift manner.

I was driving 90 mph down the highway with my camera beside me and I snapped…

Mad Dash (1024x590)

I was in a mad dash and mad in every sense of the word. (Some of that lunacy is revealed in the poetic memoir Getting Me Back.)

The above photo is not one I would usually keep in my collection; it is dark, out of focus and lopsided yet I like it. Why? Because it reminds me of the world as I saw it at that moment in time.

I will probably be the only one to ever appreciate this inferior blurred image but maybe it will spark something in a stubborn character you are trying to bring to life.

Maybe the character is hiding something from you; afraid to reveal their passion, their fury or the fact that they are bat-shit crazy.

Tell them it’s okay. Everyone… every living creature [even saints] have moments of madness at some point in their life. Heck, even Jesus got mad. Wasn’t he ticked-off/pissed/irate when he turned the tables over and cleared the temple? Damn right he was!

And what about the insanity so many of the great artists/creators in history suffered from? Think about that, eh?

Allow your characters the freedom of expression.  Let them be mad.

Grammar Humor (Be Drunk )

All little humor [especially for you NaNoWrimo-ers]

You all have probably heard the phrase, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Well now is the time to be drunk my friends. Write with abandon.

There will be plenty of time for editing when you sober up.

Don’t Forget to Set the Table (Writing Prompt)

What are your characters eating? Drinking?

Set the table and invite us into your story with tempting descriptions.

Is the food/drink new to the character or is it the usual?

What is the usual?

Is it wine? Is it red wine or white wine? Do they prefer Merlot or champagne?

Maybe one of them prefers liquor? Water? Soda?

Is it smooth, bitter, dry or sweet?

Add your own beef, chicken or lamb – heck serve it to a vegetarian. How did they respond?

Light a candle [or not] and cook up something imaginative from the elements in the photo.

Groovy huh? Write on!

Write What You would Love to Read

I was just thinking…

For NaNoWriMo writers to average 50,000 words in 30 days they will need to write 1666.666 words per day. I can already hear some character gasp, “Six, six, six. It must be the work of the devil!”

Bwahahaha. I suppose it could be if you are into that sort of thing.

Hey, write what you would love to read.

Ten words a day or ten thousand, focus first on your story. That is my 2¢ worth but what do I know? I’m just sitting over here in the cheering section, waving my pom-poms and goading the contestants.

I am not much into writing under pressure these days but I do like to mentor and I encourage others to take the NaNoWriMo challenge, especially new writers. Do it even if this is the first thing you have ever written.

Don’t worry about failing the challenge; there is not a NaNoWriMo jail. (Pst. You can be a NaNoWriMo-er without registering. 😉 It’s like exercising at home.) And remember I am over here cheering you on. I’ll even try to post a picture/prompt/ mental exercise throughout the month of November.

Sail on NaNoWriMo-ers!

What do you see?

That is not just a sailboat with a blimp above it. Describe. Describe. Describe. I.e. the color of the clouds/sky; the lake/ocean/water; the shape of the blimp; the shadows/silhouettes. What type of boat is it? Where is it going? Why? What data is the blimp collecting–who does it belong to?What is the spatial relation between the boat/the blimp/the land? What is just out of view in the treeline? How fast is the sailboat/blimp traveling? Describe… Readers want details and they are so fun to write.

Deleted Scenes

Just for fun I thought I’d share a few scenes that didn’t make the final draft(s).

Deleted Scenes

Between the Rage and Grace

“ER — this is Clara.” The anxious nurse spoke into the phone. After listening attentively to the switchboard operator, she giggled and replied, “Send him on back.”

“What have we got?” Maggie asked, without looking up from the tangled mess of yarn meant to be a sweater.

“Um… a sixty two year old male who says he took two Viagra five hours ago and he can’t… uh… he can’t get it down.”

“Well what goes up must come down.”  Maggie pretended not to notice Clara’s stammering or the red glow lighting her face. She shoved the knitting materials back into the bag and added, “That is the law of physics Clara Bell.”

“Have you ever seen priapism before?  How will we treat it?”

“Prepare the sheaths! Limber thy hips!” The older nurse announced, jumping to her feet with a fist in the air. “And let the games begin!”

**Editor yells “CUT!”**

Behind the Rage

“Mary Magdalene-” he whispered, “are you menstruating?”  She didn’t answer. Slowly he eased the blanket from her motionless body, hesitated briefly and returned the cover. She could see him floating toward the door.

“Wait!” she urged.

Without turning the priest murmured, “I can not. Your condition will make me unclean. I’m sorry.”

Frustrated that the opportunity for revenge was passing, that she would not get the item she needed to bind the perverted priest, she hissed, “Then squawk like a chicken.”

Bwaahk, bwak, bwak. The cleric pressed his hands to his mouth but was unable to silence the involuntary sounds.

**Snip snip snip and the sound of paper hitting the floor**

Unjustified Favor

“Oh, come on Maggie. Why do you have Mr. ‘Mean-ass I can’t stand nobody not even my hateful stinking self’ on my schedule?” Clara asked with an exaggerated frown.

“Because you’re low man on the totem pole.” Linda interjected, “I would go but you know I’m too fat to run from the mad dachshunds.”

“Right! And why do we even have to deal with those two dogs?”

“Want me to tell you how to handle them?” Linda asked.

“Yes, please.” Clara replied.

“Okay. Here’s what you do. Are you listening?” Clara nodded and moved closer. When Linda was certain her coworker was waiting with bated breath she continued, “Approach them slowly, and speak gently so they don’t feel threatened.”

“Okay.”

“It’s easier to contend with one of them at a time – I suggest you work with the slower one first.” Clara nodded again. “Sit down and offer them a treat, a dog biscuit dipped in peanut butter would be nice – keeps their little mouth busy and dogs like peanut butter.”

“Uh huh. I can do that.”

“As soon as one of them, remember the slow one first, as soon as he gets within easy reach grab him firmly by the neck.”

“Why?”

“Don’t interrupt; this is the most important part.”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

“As I was saying, grab him by the neck firmly. When you’ve got a sure hold on him squeeze with both hands as hard as you can.” Clara’s eyes widened and Linda watched as her jaw dropped exposing an open mouth. She wanted to draw out the details but it was getting harder to keep a straight face. “As soon as you see his eyes bulge, squeeze harder – give it all you’ve got. Do this until his tongue hangs out and his little body goes limp. When he’s not breathing you’ll be half way done with your dog problem. ”

**“CUT – CUT- CUT!!!”**

But editor what if PETA rushes in and throws Linda to the floor and she yells “Can’t you see I’m pregnant.”

**No! I said cut dammit!”**

Where to buy the books

Between the Rage & Grace, Behind the Rage & Unjustified Favor are combined in The Rage TrilogyUpdate; When the fourth book (Cloud Wrangler) was imagined in 2017 we couldn’t call the set a “trilogy” anymore so, the Clan Destiny series was born.

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