How Kathy Writes a Book…Part 1: The Idea

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ideas, inspiration, let the ideas grow, thoughts, writing, Writing a book

Everyone writes differently. Everyone’s mind works in its own way. From plotting to pantsing…from an extensive series of notes to a scribbled mess on napkins…from writing scenes in order to jumping around the timeline…from writing a bare bones first draft to a more detailed version…writing is as individual as each individual.

I find the ways everyone writes fascinating and, at times, helpful when I am finding that my “way” isn’t working. I have ten manuscripts in various stages of draft-y drafts and so many short stories here and there, so I might know enough to share. Though I don’t know enough…

So here’s how I…Kathy The Weird and Creepy Free-Spirit…write a book. May it intrigue, give insight into the odd goings on in my head, and entertain.

Let’s start at the very beginning…

The idea.

Before there is a story, there is the first thought, the thing that drives the author to write.

This idea can come from an image, a name, a character, a sentence, a question. I wrote a story inspired by: a tree in my in-laws’ front yard, the thought that what if a door could access anywhere in the universe, the question of what if fate messed up, the name Ember, the sentence “who enters the trees never returns”, a character who turns into a faerie, a world dying and needs to be saved, a girl who wants friends, the question what happens to those who have faith in a faithless world…and so many more.

Seriously. Inspiration is everywhere, in the smallest of things, the strangest of moments, or the sparks of emotion.

Think of a huge snowy hill. Each time I have an idea for a book or short story, that tiny bit of information forms a snowball at the top. I keep the little frozen ball safe in my mind. Then I wait. I let my creative brain listen to it, think about it. I talk to the characters, if any have come forward. I dream of the world, if it has shown itself yet. I wonder about themes, about emotions that go with the characters and ideas.

Some of those snowballs roll down the hill, gathering mass. Some roll fast, others slow, and a few not at all.

Those that roll the fastest get my attention.

At some point that attention focuses and that idea turns into my work in progress.

To be continued…

 

Brainstorm-nado!

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brainstorming, CPs, friends, help, ideas, panic, reach out, thoughts, Twitter, writer's block, writing

I do not believe in writer’s block. It, a close cousin to fear, is something we authors create.

The words stop when we put too much pressure on ourselves to write, when we try to force the story instead of letting it flow, when we must have everything just so or it will be terrible!

In my last post, I wrote about how I had to write a story, but was having a bit of trouble. I had a few images in my mind, but nothing that fit together. I was trying to force a bajillion ideas into being a story. I thought about it all the time. I wanted to scream.

Now, stepping away, going for a walk, reading a book, doing anything BUT working on this story would have been a truly great idea except… I have a deadline! AND PANIC WAS SETTING IN! The absolute worst thing for writing.

So what to do? I took all the pages of notes (seriously I think there were five) and threw them away. With them went the rut that had ensnared my mind, all the ideas that lead back to the mess on those pieces of paper, the notes that weren’t helping.

AND BRAINSTORM! I love to get a notebook and my favorite pen and write all the things. I love the way this bit of dialogue and that strange image can suddenly link together. I love when all the blank spaces fill with fabulous with scenes and description that link all my initial thoughts together. I circle. I scribble. I draw arrows. I write sideways in the margins. And somehow it all makes sense.

I went back to the beginning. The story had to fit with a certain theme, out of my control. From that theme I latched onto the few images in my mind. I wrote them down… then stared at them.

Desperately resisting all the ideas that hadn’t worked the first few hundred times…

This usually works! Why isn’t this working!

And because Twitter is where you go when you need writing (and all other) support I tweeted…

And the fabulous Michelle Hoehn (@mah_hoehn go follow her, she’s fabulous!) tweeted back asking if maybe I needed a brainstorm buddy.

Rarely do I brainstorm with others. I have done it to help other people with their stories, but not so much for my own. However, this time I was stuck. And one thing I’ve learned form this crazy trip through the maze that is being a writer…

Writers should help each other and help is always good!

So YES! I said. YES! Let the DMing begin.

It is a miracle how explaining your idea to someone else, someone not locked in your brain, can shine a light on what the real story is. How a few questions you hadn’t thought to ask yourself set the ideas spinning.

And BEHOLD! I have a solid idea. One I don’t hate. One without glaring evidence of me forcing the plot. What I learned? That I was overthinking. (I know… shocker!) The pressure to make this story fabulous had me throwing too many ideas in the pot, when simple is better.

So, I have 1600 words of a story, I will finish the first draft today, then revise and send to CPs tomorrow. Maybe, this one will be pretty good. I have hope for it… if I can get everything woven together just right.

All writers everywhere… REMEMBER… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! So many of us are ready to help. Just reach out.

Reaching out, an idea to be applied to life.

Problems? ASK OUT FOR HELP!

Something not going right? TALK ABOUT IT!

We’re all in this thing called life together. And the world could use a bit more together, a bit more caring, a bit more understanding.

And the world definitely needs more stories.

Words… Words Will Keep Us Together

Tags

#nestpitch, characters, critiquing, ideas, jobs, non-writers, querying, Twitter, writing

As I am on this writing journey, odd thoughts and revelations strike.

While out to dinner with our neighbors, they asked how my writing was going, so I shared and she looked at me and said…

“Whoa, writing is a lot of work. It’s like a job.”

Ummm…

Once again, I am hit over the head with the fact that people who don’t write honestly have no idea what writers do.

Heck, when I began writing, I had NO IDEA what I was getting into. I will sit here on my couch and write words and then…

Over the years I have learned SO MUCH! Sure, I sit on my couch and write my words. Stories. Novels. All the strange things that lurk in my brain.

But also… blogs and book reviews.

I found critique partners and discovered yet another element of the job, reading other people’s words, making comments on what works and what doesn’t, finding little mistakes that the author missed, because we can’t see our own story for the words (or something crazy like that). And even though critiquing was scary at first and I had nothing helpful to add, it has now become one of my favorite things!

Reading! Reading books is part of the job. I know, that’s a rough one. Please, please don’t make me read that really awesome looking book…

What non-writers really don’t understand is the voices. The non-stop talking that occurs 24-7 in our heads. Ideas for new stories strike in the strangest of places. New characters pop up to say hi! Old characters like to yell that we aren’t writing their story correctly or like to change their minds halfway through a manuscript (or even after the whole darn thing is written) and decide that they want something else. Fights do happen.

It’s not just the characters, we have to listen to the stories, waiting to be told what needs to happen. Which sounds easy until they stop speaking.

Writers are always working, always writing. It’s not something we can turn off, and, let’s be honest, we don’t want to turn it off. It is a part of who we are.

But non-writers don’t understand and most of us are surrounded by non-writers on a day to day basis. And even though we like these people, there are times we need to be with other writers. The idea rings true with everyone, the desire to be with people who like what you like, who speak your language.

Since I began this adventure alone, on my couch, never speaking of what I did… I have learned that I can’t live in a cave.

I joined a writers’ group and WHOA! these people GET ME! I need those meetings. And a friend from there recommended that we all get on Twitter… to get our name out into the world, to make friends and connections. So I did.

And OH MY GOLLY GOSH! The writing family on Twitter amazes me. WE NEED EACH OTHER!

We understand the struggles.

From this…

to this.

From this…

to this.

We can celebrate all the victories, whether writing two words on a day where it was hard to get out of bed, to finishing a ms, to getting an agent, to being published!

We help each other spread the word about our books. We read words for everyone, adding our thoughts hoping to help make the ms better. We enter contests and console each other when we aren’t chosen or cheer for those who win.

And speaking of… #nestpitch has announced teams. The lucky few have been chosen. I did not enter. I am a slushie, charged with helping a mentor choose mss based on the first 300 words and a 35 word pitch. Out of about 160 entries, I picked my top 20 and threw them in the ring. Not everyone on my team loved the same ones. And we, #TeamEggsellent, ended up with a well rounded group of five, a couple of which had been on my list! After the final picks and after #Pitchslam announced their lists (which took some out of the #nestpitch running) I went through my original top 20 and stared at the eight that had intrigued me, but hadn’t been chosen. I will be e-mailing those people. I want to let them know that I liked their words, their ideas.

Not that little ole me and my opinions make a big difference, but all I wanted when I entered those contests was a word from someone, anyone.

If you are reading this and are one of the #nestpitchers that wasn’t chosen, I would love to send e-mails to EVERYONE, but realistically, I just can’t. If you don’t get an e-mail from me, remember…

I have my own likes, I have certain things that interest me, such as YA, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, anything odd.

So many of these pitches were fine, just not my cup of tea. Not that I drink tea… ew.

Keep in mind that because it didn’t grab me, doesn’t mean it didn’t raise the brow of another slushie or mentor.

As we move on with all our emotions, turn to your writer friends. They understand! Swap mss with others. But first and foremost, keep writing. Keep querying. I never made it to the final round of any contest I entered, but a query got me a publisher.

So writers everywhere…

UNITE!

Yes! Like the AVENGERS we can save the world!

Together we are strong. Together we can do anything. I am SO GLAD I came out of my cave and into the light of friends.

 

The Silence of Inspiration

Tags

ideas, inspiration, life paths, limbo, thoughts, writing

I stand at the edge of a cliff… staring out at space.

See all those points of light? That’s what’s happening in my head. All the possibilities of what I can do next… story ideas, new manuscripts, old manuscripts… not one screaming any louder than the rest. What do I do? Where do I go?

I wish a path would appear before me… calm, inviting, one that fits just right…

I don’t have to be able to see the end, but somewhere solid to place my feet. Or heck…

Even a tougher climb, but a clear way to go. (And I have in real life made this hike… to the top of Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park, Utah, if you haven’t been there… GO! You don’t have to climb this, but it’s gorgeous there. And yes you hike along that ridge.)

Imma just hangin out in limbo… waiting for a few rejections… in the aftermath of pitchwars…

I have a goal to post a story on wattpad… going to do that. But first I must peruse all my semi-complete stories. I’ll do a bit of CPing, because I love it.

There’s a MG fantasy, a NA horror, NA fantasy, possible revisions for my YA fantasy Doors, and a sequel to Doors swirling in my head. A complete YA magical realism manuscript waits for revisions… a (very old) YA fantasy in rough draft stage lurks in my computer.

I am having mucho fun writing horror lately.

I will start to research a few things and see if I can’t spark interest in my brain, which is strangely calm considering. Japanese myths and demons tug at my brain for that horror idea. The land of No Where for my MG sounds interesting too. Maybe I can get those gray-cells going, create a path out of the nothing. I do love creating. Waiting for inspiration to speak up might push me into panic. How long can I putter around before, well…

Or hubs finally tells me to GET A REAL JOB!

Anyone else out there floating about in limbo? Why is inspiration so quiet?

*feeds inspiration chocolate*