Writing

Writers’ Retreat #2

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On Saturday, we held our second writers’ retreat.  One of the ladies from our PA chapter of ACFW held it at her house, but it wasn’t strictly for ACFW members and we had a nice turn out.  There were nine of us this time.  If I’m not mistaken, that’s two more than last time.

I led another creative exercise in the morning to get our creative juices flowing.  Then we had a brainstorming session to talk about our current work in progress or any other writing project we thought we could use some brainstorming.  At first, I didn’t think I had anything I needed help with.  I don’t have any short projects in the works right now and I don’t seem to be struggling for blog posts either.  However, Lisa, the hostess, asked me questions that got me to thinking, and I decided to ask a question and share a scene from my current novel.  I’m glad I did because even though it was hard to hear something negative about the scene, it ended up being a big help, and the fact that we had a free writing session immediately following the brainstorming session gave me an immediate opportunity to rewrite the scene, making it much better.

After lunch, we had a lesson that Donna led about self editing.  I don’t mind saying I did not enjoy this lesson.  It was very difficult.  I know that self editing is important, and I also know why she had us do the lesson she had us do, but I still didn’t like it.  She had us choose a long paragraph from our current work in progress and count the words in it.  Then she gave us five minutes to cut that word count in half.  After that, she had us count the words again to see how we had done.  Then she gave us another five minutes to cut that number in half.  This exercise was an epic fail for me.  You see, I don’t have very many long paragraphs in my work in progress.  I struggle with including enough description to properly set my scenes, but am talented at writing good dialogue and action to keep the story moving.  Therefore, I am not an overly wordy writer so it was extremely difficult to cut a paragraph without removing important information.  I do understand the need to do this, though.  I watched a friend struggle through having to make a lot of cuts to her first novel according to her agent’s guidelines to attempt to find publishers who might be interested in publishing that novel for her.  She is extremely happy with the final results but she struggled and worked extremely hard to get there.

That is not to say that I am not willing to struggle and work hard to put out a really good final product, but I don’t think I will go about it the way that Donna had us do.  I know I will start by looking for all of the “over used” words.  You know, words we use over and over again because we tend to write like we talk or think.  I know I will have to change, cut and find synonyms to correct this problem.  I’m sure there will be other things I will have to cut as well, but I’m not really ready for that stage just yet and I need guidelines to be able to determine what really needs to be cut and what doesn’t.

How about you?  What have you experienced with self editing?

Procrastination

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To procrastinate is to go against the old saying, “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”

The Merriam-Webster definition of procrastinate is “to put off intentionally and habitually”; “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done”.

I am constantly battling procrastination when it comes to my writing.  I make time to post here on my blog.  I make time for Facebook and Twitter.  Why do I keep procrastinating writing my novel?

I WANT to write my novel.  I LOVE the characters I have created for my novel.  I LOVE my plot line.  I LOOK FORWARD to having people read my novel.  I even have a plan that seems workable to create a schedule that would allow me to write 5 or 6 days a week.  So, what’s my problem?

I think I still have a mental block that I thought I had conquered.  When I was younger and braver and more confident in my writing I never procrastinated.  I finished every story I started back then.

It’s not that I’m not finishing stories now, but I’m taking much longer and it’s not just because I have other responsibilities.  However, I never received the encouragement I wanted or hoped for when I wrote without procrastination in my younger years.

Now, I have others who are encouraging me.  However, I wonder if I subconsciously take their helpful critiques as negative criticism, even though I seek their critiques.  Consciously I don’t feel like they are being negative or mean in any way.  I find their advice helpful for the most part, and I have learned when it is necessary to disregard advice that wouldn’t be helpful for improving my writing (I received good advice on how to tell the difference).

I really want to conquer this procrastination!

Have any of you struggled with this?  What have you found to be helpful to getting past your procrastination?  Please leave comments.  They will be greatly appreciated.

My Writing Life

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Okay, so I am working on an historical romance story that takes place in the old west.  I have ideas for at least two more books, possibly three, to create a series.

I’m part of several writing groups that offer critiques or are strictly critique groups.  Also, a couple of weeks ago I attended a writers’ conference where I had two appointments for one-on-one conferences with published authors to get input on part of my story.  Of course, I have things I need to work on and am very grateful for the two writers who were kind enough to give me advice.

Being a visual learner, one of the writers, my friend, Mike Dellosso, gave me some great advice that he worded in a way that created a picture in my mind, which I know I will not forget and will be able to apply to my writing.  You see, I am struggling with setting the scenes because I’ve been told not to write too much description.  Therefore I had swung to the opposite extreme and wasn’t writing enough description.  Mike told me to put myself in my character’s shoes and use my five senses and describe what my character is seeing, hearing, smelling, etc. as he walks down the street in that old, dusty western town.  He also gave me some examples which made this advice come alive for me.

A few days after that, I shared a piece of this same story with the critique group I recently joined.  I was extremely nervous and afraid of what might happen in this group.  I was pleasantly surprised that there were many positive things said (One lady really likes my main character) and they also offered some great advice.

Therefore, on Thursday night when I met with my weekly writers’ group, I was feeling overwhelmed about how to go about sorting through all of the advice and applying the needed changes to my story.  I just didn’t know where to begin.  My friend, Laura, who just finished edits on her first novel had great words to help me.  She suggested that I get rid of any advice that I didn’t believe was helpful, which I had already done.  Then she said to go through the ones who offered the least amount of changes and work toward the one who offered the greatest amount of changes.  She said that by the time I get to the one with the greatest amount of changes, I probably will be surprised to find that I’ve already taken care of many of those changes from things the others suggested.  Ahh, thank you, Laura, you gave me a workable plan that I can handle.

I am so thankful to have met and made connections with writers who have gone before me who are willing to help me on my journey.  As writers, we spend a lot of time alone working on our craft, but we need each other.  We need the help and encouragement of others and then we need to pass that on to those who come behind us.

How about you?  Who’s been helping you on your writing journey?

 

Flash Fiction Friday: Becoming Forgotten

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She sat with the open scrapbook in her lap.  The edges of its pages were yellowed and a bit tattered.

It wasn’t her youth she missed.  It was her loved ones.  Many had already passed on, but her children and grandchildren.  She rarely saw them.  They were too busy with their lives to take the time to visit an old woman.  They had placed her here so that she would be cared for.

Didn’t they realize she was lonely?

She looked at her hands.  Their skin was thin.  Blue veins and bones more visible than ever.  Brown age spots.  She wondered if counting her age spots were like counting the rings in the trunk of a tree cut down.

Oh, how she missed their smiles, laughter and hugs!  She still loved them so deeply.

A tear trickled down her cheek.  She didn’t feel loved.

If anyone asked her, she would say the worst part of growing old was becoming forgotten.

Acrostic Poem

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Well, today is my final poetry post for National Poetry Month.  I hope you have enjoyed the poetry I created to share with you this month.  This doesn’t mean that I won’t ever post more poetry.  It just won’t be two or three times a week.

Reading in the apple tree.
Exploring long mountain paths.
Missing those who have passed in and out of my life.
Interpreting the broken English of my Asian friends to others.
Nice was the word others often used to describe me.
I loved studying the works of William Shakespeare.
Singing to the posters of movie, t.v. and music stars on my walls, hairbrush in hand.
Caring for the little ones in the neighborhood.
Experiencing the heartbreak of unrequited teenage crushes.

 

What do you think about when you reminisce?

Did you have a favorite poem that I wrote for this month?

Headline Poetry

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My boys have participated in a writers’ club during the school year, and their final assignment was to write/create three poems, one of which was to be a headline poem.  This was so much fun that I got in on the activity, and it took us about two hours to complete these fun poems.  I have decided to share both of my boys’ poems as well as my own.

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This first one was created by my youngest son.  As you can see, the idea was to go through magazines and cut out words to create a poem.  He did not give this poem a title.  I know some of the words are small and difficult to read, so this is what it says:

God created creatures, skies,

flowers, birds, humans,

the sun, the moon and stars.

God’s creation is worth exploring,

Even in your own backyard!

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My older son entitled his “Champions”.  This is what it says:

Every day give it your all

Never quit, never stall

Stay focused, play hard

Train your body, raise the bar.

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I believe mine is pretty readable, but to be sure, here is what it says:

The best family fun

is found in real moments

in our favorite things.

We like to find fun

in the freedom

to explore places we love,

to travel on the road;

to play, love and smile

in every mile.

Have you ever tried to create a Headline Poem?  I hope you enjoy these.  We certainly enjoyed helping each other find the words to cut out to create them.

Checking In

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Wow, I can not believe I didn’t get a single post done last week.  That’s quite frustrating and disappointing to me.  I enjoy blogging and I like to keep all of my readers reading!  Unfortunately, sometimes life gets in the way and other things take precedence.

I wear many hats.  I am wife, mother, taxi driver, homeschool mom and writer, and currently contest judge.  We will be finishing our homeschool year at the end of this week!  Then I have to prepare for our end of the year evaluations, which will take place on May 11th.  Next will be my middle son’s homeschool high school graduation — there are three activities planned for this on three different days.  We will have a private graduation ceremony at our church on May 29th with family and friends, and my son will be a graduating class of one.

I am planning on decluttering my house during our homeschool break as well as making some items to put in the freezer to make dinner on busy evenings easier and some of our other favorite items that I don’t have time to make more regularly.  I also plan to create a schedule that will include a schedule for all of my writing and writing related things that I hope to put into place and into use before the new school year begins.  I hope to have become disciplined and successful at it so that when the new school year begins, I will be able to keep it flowing.  I will only have one student in my homeschool this year, our youngest son, which should make having the time for writing easier as well.

I have made some wonderful writing contacts/friends over the past three years as I have been writing, some online and some in real life and I appreciate each and every one of them/you.  I completed a novel in November, but am not happy with it and have no intention of publishing it.  However, I will not throw it away because I have learned that a writer should never throw away or delete any writing, no matter how bad they think it to be because you can always go back and fix it, change it or use part of it in another writing project.

I began a new novel in January 2016.  I am still working on this one and am very excited about it.  I have enough ideas to write at least two more books following it that will create a trilogy or series.  I have completed five chapters and recently had the first chapter and part of the second chapter read by some people whose opinions are important to me, and I need to take some time to go back and edit these five chapters before writing more, so that is my new goal on my novel.  In addition to that, I hope to be posting regularly here on my blog again, and looking for some shorter writing projects that I can do in hopes of bringing some earnings into my writing life.

How about you?  Do you find life getting in the way of your blogging at times?  What are your current goals?

Flash Fiction Friday: Trials and Blessings

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She walked through the empty room, teddy bear clutched to her chest.  She read the verse upon the wall:  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  Matthew 19:14 NIV

Silent tears slid down her cheeks to think that before her little boy could come home to this room decorated with Noah’s ark, he had gone back to his heavenly home.  Her heart was empty.  Her arms were empty.  This room was empty.

He slid silently into the room, wrapped his loving arms around her.

She leaned against him, closing her eyes, absorbing his warmth, comfort and strength.  She silently praised the Lord for this man who helped her be brave and strong through this trial.  It was no mistake that she had married him.

Loving Sun

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The sky begins to grow light,
casting beautiful colors as it grows bright
at sunrise.

I love to watch it shoot through the clouds
as my heart warms and I cheer aloud
for sunbeams.

Through the window I glance
while dust particles dance
on sunlight.

Shades of pink, orange and red
fill the world above my head
during sunset.

 

This is a compound word poem, taking a word from the title, writing about it and ending each stanza with a compound word using that word.  I hope you enjoy it!

Flash Fiction Friday: Loyal Protector

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Gentry stood with his nose in the air.  A strange scent wafted through the window.  His muscles tensed.  The hair on his back stood at attention.  He sensed danger approaching.  He whined and pushed at his mistress.

“What is it Gentry?”

He barked. His mistress’s eyes grew bigger.  He was normally very quiet.  He sensed her fear.  He pushed her with his nose again.  She grabbed her little boy, went to the basement where she listened and waited.

Gentry returned to the main floor against his mistress’s protests.

Bang!  The front door burst open.  Gentry bared his teeth, growling.  Two large humans approached.  Gentry sensed something strange about them, something almost inhuman.  He barked a warning, but the humans didn’t stop.

Gentry lunged at the biggest one biting him in the arm.  The man yelled, slammed Gentry along side the head with his free hand.  Gentry yelped, let go and moved around behind the man.  He took a quick bite of the guy’s leg, moved toward the other guy who was backing toward the door.

“Nice doggie, n, n, nice doggie.”

Gentry again bared his teeth, growling.  The man backed out the door, then turned and ran.  The large man, cradling his arm, limped toward the door.

“This isn’t over!  I’ll be back.  I’ll kill this dog.  Then I’ll find you,” he yelled loudly, his voice echoing throughout the house.

He kicked Gentry into the air.  Gentry came down with a thud and a yelp.  The guy left.

Gentry lay quietly trying to regain his breath.

Finally he rose and walked to the basement where his mistress and her son wrapped their arms around him weeping.