Thoughts on Writing

My Writing Process

/ kellyfbarr / 1 Comment

1) & 2)  What am I working on and how do I write what I write?

I currently have two works in progress (WIP).  I have been working on an outline and character questionnaires for a story and am still working on that.  However, that doesn’t seem to quench my need to be creative.  I guess I am just too used to writing “by the seat of my pants” (pantser), which is how I have written stories ever since I started writing way back when I was in junior high school, (what many places now call “middle school”).  I do not want to give up on the one that I am working on with an outline and character questionnaires, though, because I want to see what really does work better for me — “pantsing” or “planning”, or maybe I’ll be able to find something in between.  Any suggestions for something in between?

You may be wondering, “doesn’t pantsing require extra editing”?  All I can say is “not for me”.  You see, the way that I write, I simply sit down and begin writing and let the characters introduce themselves to me, and I let the characters tell the story.  I just type.  The next time I sit down to write, (which should be everyday, but, sadly, is not), I reread all that I have typed; and, yes, I do this each and every time I sit down to work on the story I am pantsing.  Isn’t that time consuming, you may ask.  Yes, it is.  However, it serves three wonderful purposes to me.  It refreshes my mind about the story, I change things and make edits on what I’ve written each and every time I sit down and reread, and it gets ideas flowing and awakens the characters, and they continue telling me the story.  That way, if I write a scene that I feel is lame or that doesn’t fit or advance the story, I can get rid of it the next day.  I just wrote such a scene last night, and the more I thought about it after walking away from my writing, the more I decided it does nothing to advance the plot.  Therefore, when I sit down to write again, be it today or tomorrow, I will get rid of that scene.  So, yes, I also spend time thinking about my stories and characters while I am not writing, which also helps my writing process for the next time I sit down to write.

3)  How does my book differ from others in its genre?

The only answer I have for this, is that it is written by me, in my voice, with characters I created in their own circumstances.  I hope that their circumstances and the plot is something fresh and new to the genre.  I hope that my characters are characters that you come to care about quickly and that you come to love and will not want to say goodbye to at the end of the story.  I hope there is an underlying Christian theme/message that will inspire you and touch your heart.

4)  Why do I write what I write?

Because I have to.  I have a need to get these stories on paper (or computer) because they will not let me rest if I do not.  I also write the kinds of stories that I love to read, and I may be writing more than one genre eventually because I have a story idea burning inside me that was born of helping my son with one of his writing assignments for his homeschool writers’ club.  It introduced me to a new genre that I never tried writing before and didn’t think I’d want to write, but I had so much fun helping him, that I just might give it a shot when I finish the two WsIP I am currently spending my time on.

5)  How does my writing process work?

I described my writing process near the top of this post, and when I did, I alluded to the answer to this question.  I haven’t reached a definite decision which writing process works best for me yet, but I do still enjoy writing as a pantser much more than as a planner.  However, because I haven’t yet had a story published, I can’t really say that my writing process definitely works, but I do believe that whatever writing process I (or you) are most comfortable with will be the one that will work in the end because if I am (or you are) using a process that I am (or you are) comfortable with, I believe I (or you) will be more productive and produce good, if not great, work.

What is your writing process?  Is it working well for you?  Leave a comment and let me and my readers know.

What’s Been Happening with my Writing?

/ kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

I have submitted two items over the past several months, one to a Kids/Family Devotional magazine, which I never heard anything from and was supposed to have heard something by the middle of this month.  The other to a publisher who is planning a book of inspirational stories, which I am hoping to hear from sometime within the next three weeks.

It’s hard not to get your hopes up and to not think about your submissions, and just keep plugging away.  It’s hardest when you don’t even received acknowledgement that they received your submission, which I am happy to say only happened with the one submission.  The other submission was kind enough to shoot me a quick email to let me know that they had received my submission.  My hope is that they will then email me to let me know either way, if they decide to publish my story or not because a rejection would be better than never knowing anything, at least that’s what I think.

However, I recently sent a query letter to a magazine for an article I want to write for them.  I was expecting to have to write it quickly if they wanted it because it was based on a theme their website said would be in their March or April issue.  I was pleasantly surprised a slightly disappointed when I received a nice email a couple of days later saying that they would like me to submit my article, but that it wouldn’t be considered for publication until 2016!  It seems they have made some changes in their magazine and have decide to publish only 6 times a year, which has quickly filled their article spots for 2015.  I was told that someone from the editorial staff will get back to me in 2-3 months about my submitting the article.  That’s the most positive response I’ve had so far!  So, I remain hopeful.

In the meantime, I continue to write here on my blog, an outline for a story I am planning and a story I am simply writing in my normal “pantsing” style.  I also continue to look for more places and opportunities to submit short pieces.

How about you?  What are you working on in your writing process?  Leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it.

Having Fun Experimenting

/ kellyfbarr / 4 Comments

I am still working on the story that I am still outlining.  I am also working on some nonfiction short pieces to submit to some magazines.  I have also simply been “pantsing” a story just to be consistently writing something.

For a while I struggled in trying to decide on what genre I would write.  Then a wonderful writer advised me to write what my passion is and to feel free to try several genres.  It has also been suggested to me that I could write more than one genre, as many other writers do.

So, what I have found is that every story I write seems to have some romance in it.  I have decided that is my passion; clean romance, of course.  I have also found that there is a need for good fiction for boys ages 10 – 12, as well as for Young adults.  Therefore, the story I am outlining is geared for young adult girls.  The story I am simply “pantsing” is for adult women, although I’m not sure what will become of it.

However, this week I was helping my ten-year-old son with a story he was assigned to write for the Writers’ club that he and seventeen-year-old brother participate in.  They were assigned to write an Historical Fiction story, and I have to say that helping him with an Historical Fiction story began some wheels to turning in my brain, and I now have ideas for three Historical Fiction stories — one for adult women; one for girls ages, 10 – 12; and one for boys, ages 10 – 12!  I’m so excited, but I really need to get writing!  With all of these ideas, I’ll be writing for a couple of years without having to worry about finding some ideas.

I never would have thought that I would enjoy writing Historical Fiction.  I never liked history when I was in school, though I enjoy it much more now that I am homeschooling my own children.  I never thought I’d want to do a lot of research before writing something either, but all that research entails is reading (which I love to do) and taking some notes for what I want to write.  I’m looking forward to trying this new genre.

How about you?  What genre do you have a passion for?  Do you write more than one genre or for more than one age group?  Leave a comment and let me know about it.

Muse or No Muse

/ kellyfbarr / 1 Comment

I have been an active part of the writing world for a little over a year now, and I follow websites/blogs of some Christian and some secular writers, and I have found that the secular writers talk a lot about their “muse”, but I’ve never heard that mentioned in the Christian writer circles.  So, I became curious because I didn’t know what a “muse” was, but it was always referred to as a help to the writer.

Therefore, I looked it up and found that in Greek and Roman mythology muses were each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.  (That would explain why Christians don’t consider a muse).  The other definition I found said:  a woman, or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.

I have been writing ever since I was a child and I never heard of a muse, even before I became a firm believer in Christ.  I do not get help from a “muse” to write my stories.  I have prayed for months over my writing before actually trying to write anything serious, seeking God’s guidance, and when the ideas began to flow, I knew they came from the Lord.  However, as I write, in addition to God’s help, my POV character also helps with the writing a lot. The better I know my POV character, the more that character helps me write the story by sometimes telling me what they want to happen and they’re ideas are usually quite good.

So, I have God and my POV but no muse and I like what I have. It works well for me. What about you? Do you have a muse? And, if so, tell me about it.

Character Questionnaires

/ kellyfbarr / 2 Comments

As I mentioned before, I am not participating in NaNoWriMo this year.  However, I am working on a story.  Well, actually I am working on the pre-writing of a story.  I have learned the value of an outline and the “Character Questionnaire”.  Since characters are what attract your readers and keep them reading, along with a good plot line, it is important to create rich, memorable characters, and the best way to do that is by knowing your characters inside and out.  That is the purpose of a “Character Questionnaire”.

A Character Questionnaire asks questions about your character(s).  I intend to fill out a Character Questionnaire for each of my protagonist, my antagonist, and a few other characters that I feel I need to know well because they will be doing quite a bit of interacting with the protagonist.

You can find lots of character questionnaires online, simply by googling “Character Questionnaire”.  There is even a NaNoWriMo character questionnaire at http://blog.nanowrimo.org/post/61118193819/nano-prep-the-official-nanowrimo-character.  There are 46 questions on this character questionnaire.

The character questionnaire that I am using comes from an E-book that I got free from K.M. Weiland at http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/?s=crafting+unforgettable+characters.  It’s very in-depth and it’s really helping me to flesh out my character, to the point where she is becoming real to me, so I know I’ll be able to write her well.  Not only do I have to know what she looks like physically, I have to know what her idiosyncrasies are, what cheers her up or annoys her, what are her hopes and dreams, does she have a secret, where and when was she born, and so much more.  (I used “her” and “she” because the character I am working on is a female.

I am enjoying creating my character with the help of a character questionnaire.

How about you?  Do you use a Character Questionnaire to help you create your characters?

NaNoWriMo

/ kellyfbarr / 6 Comments

I read the word “NaNoWriMo” for the first time last year as I was becoming a part of the writing world online.  I read more about it and was amazed that so many people would subject themselves to such a challenge, although a part of me thought it might be fun to try.  No, I did not try it last year, nor will I try it this year.  I’m just not ready.  I have just really begun to write again after taking a year to really study the craft and make connections both online and in person.  Maybe I’ll try NaNoWriMo in another year or two.

For me, at this point in time, trying to write 1, 667 words a day (that’s 50,000 words in 30 days, which is the goal of NaNoWriMo) seems overwhelming and stressful.    I do hope to give it my best shot sometime.

By the way, if you don’t know about NaNoWriMo, you can find out more about it by simply googling it.  There is also a NaNoWriMo Twitter page and there are several pages and groups for NaNoWriMo on Facebook.

How about you?  Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

What About Happy Endings?

/ kellyfbarr / Leave a comment

  Does everything you write have a happy ending?  Do you think everything should have a happy ending?

A couple of years ago, I wanted to teach a class based on the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, and a couple of moms said, “Do you know how that story ends?  It doesn’t have a happy ending?” 

Before I could respond, one of the co-op leaders responded, “Life doesn’t always have a happy ending, and that book is about a time in history that didn’t really have a happy ending.”  (And they let me teach the class.)

That is one example of why some writing just can’t have a happy ending.  If it’s based on something historical and that historical event didn’t have a happy ending, you simply can’t have a happy ending.  Does that mean that what you write isn’t good or worth reading?  Absolutely not.  I found The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to be very well-written, and it was moving and thought-provoking.

It’s okay to write something sad.  What we write should be realistic and believable, even if it’s fiction, and since life is not always happy and doesn’t always have a happy ending, not all of our writing should or can have happy endings either.  We simply have to accept the fact that, when we write something that doesn’t have a happy ending, it won’t appeal to people who prefer to read only those writings with happy endings, but then, nothing any of us write will appeal to everyone anyway, but everything we write will most likely appeal to someone, and, if we are blessed, it will appeal to lots of someones.

So, if you are contemplating writing something that will not have a happy ending, and have been hesitating, stop hesitating and start writing.  Someone out there may just need to read whatever it is you’re contemplating.  There are plenty of people in the world going through difficulties, struggles, sad times, and it can make them feel better and less alone to know that someone else out there feels the same way, or can, at least, relate to them.