Question: My biggest problem is that I question and criticize every sentence I write, sometimes before I write it! And therefore have a hard time just getting the first draft written. Every author has a different method for getting those words on the page. Some spend hours musing, walking, agonizing over those first words. Others spill it out on the page regardless how messy it is, and then spend month writing and re-writing. I know how it feels to not get a scene right. I wrote one entire book (In Sheep’s Clothing) seven times! And for an upcoming book (Finding Stefanie), I wrote six different first chapters before I found the one I liked (ironically, my first draft!) I am a “spitter” as a writer – I like to sit […]
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Prescriptions: Breaking through writer’s block week 2
Last week I talked how to blitz your way out of writer’s block. Most writer’s blocks, and problems with story have to do with motivation, lack of greatest fears and greatest dreams of the main character. Breaking free from a writer’s block involves going back to those elements, and asking: What could rock my hero/heroine’s world right now? I showed you how, when I was writing Tying the Knot, I used this question with my heroine — a woman traumatized by her past, who learns to trust again. Now, let’s turn to the hero, and see what he can do to break us free. My hero is a Native American who’s always been judged by his outward appearance, but inside he’s a total hero. When he meets Anne, he feels […]
Read the RestSelf-Therapy: Being a storyteller
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about being a storyteller. Think of the books you’ve loved over the years. It’s because you were gripped by the story. Readers forgive and overlook plot inconsistancies, weak dialog or average writing if the author pulls them into a good old fashioned story. So, what does it take to tell a good story? Here are some elements I think we need. Vivid characters. They have personality, spunk, motivation, drive, purpose. Think of the Uncle Remus stories. I haven’t read one in decades, but I can still hear Br’er Rabbit saying, “Don’t throw me in that der briar patch.” Act out your characters if you can’t hear their voice. I am always dialoging with my “people,” acting out different roles and scenes. Create a journey. […]
Read the RestDoctor’s Notes: Breaking Free of the Thought Blanket
Mom? Mom! MOM, CAN YOU HEAR ME? Sadly, I’m not standing across the room. I’m sitting at the dinner table, supposedly in conversation with my family. But they’ve said something, a snippet of dialogue or an event, a question – something that has jolted me out of conversation, and caused what my children call my Thought Blanket to sneak up and grab me. It pulls me under, and pretty soon I’m caught in a story. I feel like there should be a Calvin and Hobbes comic about a Blanket that sneaks up on Calvin and grabs him, pulls him under, because that’s what it’s like, isn’t it? One second you’re perfectly well engaged in the world, the next you’re caught in a scene, wondering if you’ve given your child permission […]
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