The Rules

Hazel left a comment on my last blog post, mentioning she didn't know there were so many rules in writing. Quite frankly, when I began, I didn't think there were so many rules, either. But you reminded me of the most important rule of all, Hazel.

In writing, there are no rules. Other than, you have to actually write on occasion, preferably daily.  However, knowing the "rules" other people have set brings us a higher perception of our and others' work. We can decide to break the "rules", but we also know the risk we're taking: people may hate it. But there is a difference between knowledgeably breaking the rules, and ignorant mistakes. If you know what you're doing "wrong", you're more likely to weigh the pros and cons of such a choice.

At least, that's the commonly held opinion in the writing world. But sometimes being ignorant holds its own naive charm. Don't be afraid to make ignorant mistakes, even while you seek out knowledge. Keep writing despite your mistakes and you'll continue to grow in skill. Don't let the fear of failing freeze you from trying. This is something I struggle with regularly. I read a particularly piercing article about writing, and I wonder: "How can I ever manage to write something people will want to read, if these are the expectations?"

The biggest thing I have to remember (and it's difficult sometimes) is that making mistakes will make me a better writer. At least, they will if I am determined to learn from them.

Anyway, that's all for today's writing post! Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments, and especially to you, Hazel, for today's inspiration! Have a great day, everyone, and happy writing!

A Recommendation For You, And You, And You, And YOU!

Now, many people swear by writer, Larry Brook's technique in writing. I haven't read his renowned (and reviled) book, Story Engineering, but I am already a huge fan of his blog, storyfix.com. 

That being said, I found an article that may interest all of you:

“Writing away madly, he made this fatal little mistake.”

I make this mistake all the time! I'm sure a lot of you do, too. I hope you find his post as useful as I did, and that all of you have a great day! I'm sorry this is so short, just wanted to make a brief recommendation, tell you I'm still here, and jet. Life went crazy (again) and I don't have much time. I love you guys, and again, I'm sorry! 

Antagonists -- How Important ARE They?

I've found this great set of posts all about villains, antagonists, and the BBT (The Big Boss Troublemaker). Check them out here:

Antagonists: Part One

Antagonists: Part Two

Villains

Balancing Evil

Inner and Outer

Scene Antagonists

The Alpha and Omega

I love the way Kristen Lamb describes and handles the antagonist, even if I don't always agree with what she says. She's obviously learned a lot in her time as a writer online. I hope someday I'll be half as good as she is.

Her suggestion, and I find it intriguing to say the least, is to design your antagonist FIRST. Before your main character is but a starry glimmer in your eye, sit down and design the problem child who will come around and rain on their parade.

I don't know about you, but I'd like to try this idea out some time. Who knows? Maybe the results will be rather interesting.

What do you guys think? Do you think she puts too much emphasis on the role of the antagonist? Or do you think starting with the antagonist and working your way back to the protagonist is a great idea? I'd love to hear your opinions! So, please share with us all in the comments section.

Do you know the meaning of the antagonist? Many writers don't (I was one of them), and Kristen Lamb explains it spectacularly. Your antagonist isn't just a villain. A villain is a type of antagonist, but not the only kind. In a novel, anyone whose goal conflicts with the protagonist's is an antagonist. Read the blogs I linked to above if you wish to read more information on this subject. I certainly found it fascinating.

Have a great day, all, and happy writing!

To Be Continued

Continuity. Dictionary.com defines that word to mean a continuous or connected whole.

Why is that my subject for today's post? Several reasons. One, many writers today are writing series. It's become quite a popular pastime. After all, why write one book when you can write three (or six)?

Two, as you may know, I'm writing a series. It makes this a personal issue.

Continuity is key while writing a book that's in a series. You want all the books to come together in one, seamless whole, like you've sat down and read one, very long book. But you also want people to read each book individually and walk away satisfied enough with the events in that one book that they call it a story in its own right. It's a complicated balancing act. It means each book must be connected together in a giant matrix of plot, yet each story must have a beginning, a middle, and an end unto itself.

I read a lot of writers' blogs and books and articles online. And, yet, I've never heard this subject addressed. So, I thought I'd take a stab at it myself.

How do you ensure continuity in a series? There are a lot of obstacles to prevent this. Many series change characters, locations, and timing (past, present, future) as often as they do titles. How do you still bring such stories together into one, integrated whole?

What's the secret to continuity (even when dealing with obstacles)? Plant seeds and clues in the very beginning of your series of what will happen in the future, and then tie them into the story in unexpected or interesting ways. That doesn't mean you should sledgehammer your audience with obvious statements of THIS IS IMPORTANT, but, rather, soft foreshadowing. Think of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker doesn't discover Darth Vader is his father until The Empire Strikes Back, and even then it's toward the end of the movie. Before we find out, there's foreshadowing: discussions about Luke's father's "death" at the hands of Darth, his uncle's dislike of his father, etc. 

Being surprising isn't all about jumping odd occurrences on a reader. It's not very believable, for one thing. You tend to believe something easier if your brain has followed clues that lead to the same conclusion as the story goes. Being surprising is about twisting what you've set up into something just a little off-beat, a little beyond what they thought would happen, but still fitting the clues you've planted for them to find.

For an example, try these two examples of the same short story (sorry if they suck, they're spur-of-the-moment work):

Lisa walked through the woods, her steps light. She sniffed the afternoon air into her lungs with an appreciative breath. The freshness brought a smile to her face. A nice walk in the open air had been just what she needed to calm her tension.

Suddenly, a pair of men in dark clothing jumped through the bushes. Before she could catch her breath to scream, one of them had grabbed Lisa and swung her over his shoulder. Lisa quickly recovered and she angrily beat onto her captor's back, and screamed for help. But no one heard. The men ran with her through the woods, not stopping until they reached a large cave.

Once inside the cave, Lisa blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness. When she could see better, she searched the insides for threat. She couldn't help but wonder why they had brought her here.

Lisa's eyes widened and she gasped when she saw her brother sitting nearby. He smiled at her, his eyes mocking, as he said, "Hello, Lisa. I hope your trip wasn't too harsh for you."

Compared to this:

She whipped around, frightened. Her heart thundered in her chest as she searched the wilderness wildly. Had she heard a footstep?

She waited tensely for another sound. When the woods remained silent, she slowly relaxed. Lisa brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes as she began to laugh at herself. Look at her! Jumping at the least noise. The paranoia was getting to her, that's for sure. She couldn't even take a nice walk in her own woods without worrying someone was hunting her now.

It was those stupid letters. Ever since her father had left his fortune to her, she'd been recieving these creepy notes. The first hadn't seemed that bad. Just a demand for her father's company to quit "stealing the hard-earned money of the poor" and "raping the environment". She hadn't taken them seriously. But then the second one came.

Lisa shivered. That letter had spoken of more rape and stealing, in fact. The anonymous writer had threatened to rob, rape, and murder Lisa if she didn't change the company immediately.

She'd taken the letter to the police that very day. But the letters hadn't quit coming. Instead, they only seemed to get worse. When her apartment in San Fransisco had been vandalized by the sick-o, Lisa had decided she'd had enough and moved up into her father's old estate. It was equipped with 24-hour security, even guards at the gate to keep out intruders.

Lisa shook her head at herself. She was perfectly safe in her new home. She needed to stop the paranoia before she became some kind of crazy shut-in, never leaving her house.

More noises from the woods around her jerked Lisa from her thoughts. She stared in the direction the noise was coming from, her expression glazed over like a startled deer's. Footsteps. This time, Lisa was sure. Without giving it more thought, she turned around toward the house and began to run. Her long legs surged across the ground, but the noises only seemed to get closer.

Suddenly, two men burst through the bushes ahead of Lisa. She backpedaled wildly, seeking to avoid the waiting men. But she couldn't stop, her own momentum driving her into their arms. The larger of the two grabbed her before she could react, swinging her over his beefy shoulder. She screamed beside his ear, and started fighting for her freedom. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

The man carried her through the woods, seeming unconcerned by her efforts to fight herself free. Huge tears slipped down Lisa's face as the words from the letters surged back to haunt her. Could those things really be about to happen to her?

The men took her to a cave. Lisa scanned it with wary eyes, but she couldn't see past the first few feet. It was pitch black inside. But the men were unconcerned, running into the gloom without hesitation. 

As she was carried into the dark, Lisa blinked rapidly to adjust her eyes. Slowly, her vision returned, and Lisa used the slight light of the one lamp inside to scan the interior. She wondered what they meant to do with her now that they had her here.

Her eyes widened and she gasped when she saw her brother sitting on a rock near the lamp. He smiled, his eyes mocking, as he said, "Hello, Lisa. I hope your trip wasn't too harsh on you."

See the difference? There was foreshadowing in the second, an actual reason for the events that followed instead of a sudden explosion of unexplained scenes. That's continuity in its simplest form. Of course, stretching that over a series is a much more complicated procedure. You also might have noticed the second telling of the story took much longer. Foreshadowing is a lengthy procedure, something that takes time and effort. In fact, I'd call this a speedy version of foreshadowing. Normally, I would wait for several pages or even chapters before I let this particular plot point bear fruit from that seed I planted.

Foreshadowing and continuity are happy bedfellows. The good news: you can have an excellent story if you use them in your writing. The bad news? It takes time and effort to develop them, for one. For another, you have to actually plan what you're going to write in the future so that you can foreshadow the future plot points in the beginning of your book, series, or whatever else you're writing.

Anyway, I've been thinking about that a lot lately as I'm writing my series. I even figured out three places where I went wrong. I had already identified that something was wrong there, but I didn't know what the problem was. My instincts were telling me they didn't fit with the overall story, of course, but my mind didn't process that it was specifically a lack of foreshadowing and integrating formerly introduced story elements into the scenes that was the problem. Once I figured that out, it was no time at all before I figured out how to fix them. Now I'm happily moving on with my writing.

Hope this little suggestion helps someone else who's stuck out there. Happy writing and have a great day!

Writing quote: "There are two kinds of writer: those that make you think, and those that make you wonder." -- Brian Aldiss

Getting Started

I want to discuss getting started today.

I DON'T want to talk about starting a project, a first draft, or an edit. I want to talk about starting something that should be simple: the writing work for the day.

I don't know if everyone else feels this way, but I have the hardest time simply starting my writing at the beginning of each session. I can sit my butt in the chair, I can pull up my WIP (Work In Progress), I can even read over what I've done yesterday, and suddenly, I'll be hit by such dread of starting to write again that I'm locked in place, unable to move the cursor.

It shocks me every time this happens. It doesn't matter that the writing the day before made me feel euphoric and accomplished (which it always does), it doesn't matter if I stopped at an exciting, perfectly pre-planned part of the story, it doesn't even matter if I've been waiting all day to do this. Dread fills me and I freeze in place, not wanting to start again.

Worse, my brain says: "Hey, why don't we go check out twitter real fast first? Or maybe read one blog post ABOUT writing? That will get us ready to come back and get to work, motivated and trained to do it right." Only that never happens. I switch over to my browser, check twitter and some writing blog posts and suddenly, I'm surfing the net, finding more and more to distract me from getting down to the business at hand.

It's frustrating, and it reoccurs every time I take a break from writing. I'm broken from the flow of the words, and ripped back into the real world. From there, I have to force myself back into the swing of things.

It's hard work. Not only am I transporting myself back from the real world into the imaginary scene I was building, but I have to re-frame my mind again, in such a way that I can translate that imaginary scene of images, sounds, and thoughts into real words that other human beings can actually understand and relate with. If I really do it right, they may even be able to see some kind of approximation of what I see.

It's kind of like my brain is a computer. Every time I walk away from the story, even for a few minutes to walk my dog, it's like I shut the computer down. And once I come back, I have to wait for it to load the operating system, software, and current project back up. Only instead of waiting, I decide to play on my already-switched-on Wii instead.

Anyway, any suggestions from anyone on how to make the new beginning process easier? Other than taking as few breaks from writing during my day as possible, of course. I'm going to be integrating that into my writing schedule immediately. But does anyone else struggle with this problem, or do you have something completely different dogging your writing footsteps?

Okay, now it's time to...

Writing Quote: "If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it." --Anais Nin

Thanks for reading, and happy writing everybody! Hope you're enjoying your time off from work/school!

Doing the Math

So I sat down today and did some equations. So much math, it made my head spin. And now I'm excited and hyped up to get my writing done.

Now, you may be asking yourself: What would math have to do with writing? It really depends on the math. As a fun project, I decided I'd figure up a projected amount of time until I complete my current writing projects. Of course, I had to make certain assumptions in order to come up with a figure.

Supposing I write every single day, without breaks; that it takes me 2-3 days to complete each 10-15 page chapter; and that there are 20-30 chapters per book, it should take anywhere from 40-90 days for each 1st draft.

I wrote in 1.5 months for each first draft (roughly 45 days), plus an extra month to work on any details needed to prepare for the next book and/or any excess chapters I may need to write. Then I put in a 3 month break from writing, where I spend my time planning and preparing for other projects and allow my 1st drafts to percolate before going back over to edit. In editing, I give the same 2.5 months as I did for the 1st draft. Then, as a final figure, I put in 1/2 of a month for publication readiness process (researching publishers, preparing letters for publishers, going to writers' conferences, etc.).

With those figures in place, I project it will be at least 1 year and 8 months before Dragon Marked will be ready for publication. If I am able to stick with this rigorous regiment, I could finish my currently planned projects in 29 years and 9 months. That would be completing 43 novels and 25 scripts (I have a lot of ideas) in less than 30 years...if I could stick to schedule.

While it would take a long time to see any sort of reward for this sort of schedule (almost 2 years before the first book could be ready for publication!), the end result would be extraordinarily profitable and prolific.

What do you think? Total waste of time? I kind of like it. It makes me feel excited and brings out an itch to write. I think this will help me keep my dedication going.

Writing quote: "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. "
Benjamin Franklin

Anyway, great hearing from all of you, and I hope you like my latest odd writing tactic. Happy writing!

Gardening With Skill

I don't have as much skill with words as some people. In many ways, my words simply don't sing off the page.

I'm good, don't get me wrong. But I read some articles, books, and stories and think, Wow. I wish I could do that. And then I remind myself that someday, maybe, I just might be able to. All I have to do is continue working at it.

But it takes so long. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some kind of magic cure? Take a potion and poof! You're a literary genius. Of course, if it were that easy, everyone would do it. So, how can you become as good as the other guys?

There's no real guarantee you ever will. I've always thought that building skills was kind of like gardening. You can create a garden if you try, as long as you have some seeds (a specific skill set) soil (a mind), some water (work), and a little time. However, what your garden yields depends a lot on the quality of those products. How much watering you do really effects how much food you will get from your garden. And what type of skill you develop depends on what seeds you plant. Not to mention the fact that the soil must be healthy and fertile for development.

The soil, or mind, is where talent comes into play. Many people don't believe that talent has anything to do with becoming an expert at any given skill-set. I disagree. While it is true you can make a garden with almost any soil, with enough determination, it's also true that it's almost impossible to grow roses in a desert. You need rich talent to develop rich skills, just as you need rich soil to develop rich fruits and vegetables in your garden.

The water, or work, you give your skill garden, influences how well your skills develop. If you want your skill to grow, irregular work will not yield as richly as regular work would. You need to water your skill every day, without missing days. The more days you miss, the more your skill garden will suffer.

That's my view of skill building. Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day!

Writing Blues

Oh, the writing blues. How do you get your writing done when life turns crazy?

Mom made it through her surgery fine. She had either a stroke or a TIA right after, but she's doing better now. I'm so glad. We still don't have the answers we went in for, but she's alright and that's all that matters.

Life is still churned-up crazy, and my writing has definitely sat on the back burner far too long. I'm already filling the itch to set fingers to keyboard and write, write, WRITE! I'm almost desperate to work on my story, after so much drama and extreme stress. Maybe I should bury myself in my writing instead of my books.

Thanks go to everyone for being so supportive while my mom was in the hospital. I really appreciate your kindness and support. Have a great day everyone. I got a date with a dragon, and I simply cannot miss it. ;)

Hospital Jitters

My mom just went in for a cerebral angiogram and I'm sitting here nervous. This is an invasive surgery where the doctor will go up into her femoral artery (in her leg), stick a tube up through her veins to her neck, then inject a dye into the veins of her brain, so that they may make sharp, clear images of her brain. She's scared to death, but she has a wonderful doctor working on her, and it's far better than a brain biopsy, her only other option at the moment.

Shockingly enough, Mom would prefer not to have her brain cut into, if she can avoid it.

So, I'm sitting her waiting to find out how it goes. Please let the doctor come out with good news. Please?

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, you may have noticed my horribly conspicuous absence the last long while. I've said several times that my life is crazy. Well, I should explain some of that craziness.

My mother has vasculitis, a terminal illness, and I have to take care of her most all of the time right now. I am job-hunting in the extreme, as my family needs more money to not lose our house, I have farm chores to keep up, I've been sick myself, my aunt moved in and brought with her a hurricane of chaos, and my dad takes out all of his stress on me. Don't even get me started on my romantic life.

Suffice it to say, I haven't had time to do anything towards writing or working on a blog. I hate that my life turned crazy right when I was planning on keeping up a blog, finishing my novels, and making my dreams come true. I suppose I'll consider this a postponement of my dreams, but I will definitely pursue them whenever I have a spare moment of time.

Thanks so much for reading my blog. I promise to get back on here whenever I get a moment of time to talk about life, writing, and what happens when the two collide. Talk to you later, have a great day, and happy writing!

Best Friend's Boyfriend

Okay. So last post I announced I was still alive (YAY!), but very sick. I'm glad to be able to tell you that I am getting better, finally, and that life has been semi-calm for the last few days. I'm very excited about this fact, as my life has been more crazy in the last month and a half than it had been in over a year before that. Love triangles, depression, loss of some close friends, stressful family issues, sickness, etc.

But I felt bad the entire time. I knew that Kathy S had an issue, one that I dearly wished to address. I'm so sorry I haven't done so before now. Just so you know, Kathy, I was in a very similar situation once. My best friend and I had a crush on the same boy in high school. He decided to date her, and seduce me. He would hold her in his arms and stare at me for hours. He even asked me what I would do if he kissed me. I told him the truth: I'd run crying to my best friend, explaining what happened.

He was pissed over that, and didn't try anything then. But it was a bad situation. It resolved itself, eventually, with a very bad scene in the end. Fortunately, I walked away relatively unscathed, though I had to get a new best friend, love interest, and school. Oh, well. It worked out for the best.

So, Kathy, I do understand a lot of what you're going through. It's very difficult to do, but starting over with new (preferably more loyal) friends is usually better for you in the long run.

Here's a video for you to enjoy. I dedicated it to my best friend's boyfriend all those years ago already, but you can dedicate it to your own villain-of-choice. ;)

I hope you enjoyed that! Have a great day everyone, and I promise to get back on here and discuss writing soon.

Return from the Dead

I'm not dead, everyone. Just really, really sick. Let me tell you, this year's flu stinks. I feel disgustingly ill.

Anyway, I know I've been gone since August. And I know I was supposed to help poor Kathy S. With her horrible friends issue. In case you haven't dealt with that yet, my advice to you, Kathy S, is to find new friends. Ones that will believe you when you say a guy hit on you. No matter who the guy is. I'm sure your friends (if they're real friends) will come around eventually (if they haven't already), but in the meantime, I'd look for some more loyal friends.

I can't stay on long. I feel too ill to chat much. Just wanted to tell everyone I'm still alive.

Have a nice day! And happy writing!

Yikes! August is Over...

I can't believe August is ending today. Where did the time go?

So, what is everyone else up to? I've cried on your shoulders (a lot) lately, now it's your turn. What projects are you working on? What writing problems have you run into? And, if you're not a writer, what's life doing to you right now? 

My personal life has been difficult lately. I'd love to hear about your problems, it'll make my problems sound less difficult.

Anyway, sorry I haven't been around much this month. Writing has been taking a backseat to my personal life. I'm always apologizing for that, but I wanted to get on here and tell you I'M NOT DEAD, I swear. Just hibernating, or licking my wounds, if you like.

Thanks so much for all those who take the time to read this, and holler at me with any news you may have on YOUR problems, I'd love to do an article with some ideas on how to fix 'em.

Writing quote of the day:

"Most things good for writing are bad for life. “May your life be not very good material” is a blessing I offer students." —Lorrie Moore

Have a great day and happy writing!

Out of Balance -- Life and Writing

My life tends to be either very calm and boring, or very exciting and chaotic. Rarely do I make it to a nice, even middle.

When is it, do you think, that I do the most writing? Of course, it's when life is calm and boring. Whenever life gets chaotic, I don't have the time or health to write. Am I alone in that horrible trait: allowing your writing to fall to the wayside?

I believe that the truly successful writers are those who don't allow their writing to ever fall by the wayside. If only I could be one of them. Somehow, I have to find a way to make do with what I was given. This time, I'm determined to finish this book and get it published. But...my writing WILL fall away into unimportance when life gets hectic again.

I'd like to take this time to thank all those who took the time to encourage me to continue writing (I still shudder when I think of that Twilight/Harry Potter crossover fan-fiction) and to tell you I have gotten some writing done. Just not as much as I would wish. But progress is progress, right?

However, I have another plea. Am I the only one who finds the act of writing easy, but the work of writing hard? Once I sit down and write, the words flow like magic. It's the sitting down and writing that I have such trouble with. Sometimes, I am not mentally able to handle the work of it. Other times, I'm not physically able to sit in the chair for long hours. More often than not, I'm distracted by other problems. Does anyone know of a way to get work done every day, no matter what? To force myself to work?

My life is out of balance. Whenever my writing is doing well, my life sucks. Whenever my life is doing well, my writing sucks. Is there ever a way to make the see-saw level out?

Thanks for listening, and for any advice you may care to offer. Here's our beautiful writing quote of the day:

"Capture your reader, let him not depart, from dull beginnings that refuse to start." -- Horace

Happy writing!

Past Due

So, as many of you know, I had a tentative writing goal of finishing my first draft by July 31.

I did not succeed.

My next goal is for September 15, 2011. At that time, I desperately want that first draft complete. While it is true I have a third goal, a goal that absolutely MUST be met, set for December 31 of this year, it would be nice if I could make it by September 15.

Only problem? That's a little more than a month away and I am not even half-way through the first draft. I know I can do it, if I set my mind to it, but it won't be easy. Because of that fear of failure and the difficulty I am facing, I have a request of all of you who are kind enough to be reading this.

Can you give me your support?

I need you to needle me a bit, push me to get this work done. Even now, the current chapter I'm working on (oh, the depressing facts; it's Chapter 4) lies open on my computer. I just haven't written anything in it today. Or yesterday. Or the day before that. If I have any hope of meeting my next deadline, I'm going to need all the help I can get.

 

Writing quote of the day:

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." William James

Happy writing all and thanks for all your help!

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire! (Blog on Fire Award)

I have wonderful news! The beautiful, talented, and wonderfully kind artist's charm awarded me with the Blog on Fire award shortly before my recent short sabbatical from blogging. Thank you so much, Anna! I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to say anything, but life has been seriously crazy.

Plus, I went to the library. In fact, you'll find that many of my unscheduled sabbaticals from blogging stem from having visited the library. I truly love books that much.

Anyway, I have seven things about me to tell you again:

1.) I hate the smell and taste of alcohol. Even though I'm old enough to drink, legally, I haven't found many drinks that I like. Plenty I can tolerate, but none that I may enjoy.

2.) I love to sing and dance and act.

3.) I have a quite beautiful and powerful singing voice. Unfortunately, it fails me quite often on stage or in public. I have issues with being on stage as myself.

4.) I have acted parts in 2 plays, both musicals, and done spectacularly. My stage fright vanishes when I pretend to be a different person on stage.

5.) I dance okay. Not good or well, but okay. At least, my dancing isn't an embarrassment.

6.) I am allergic to the smell of cigarettes. They make my childhood asthma act up, and I feel as though I can't breathe whenever I'm around the smoke.

7.) I am a MAJOR procrastinator. I can procrastinate with the best of 'em, let me tell you.

And, as for the 5 people I'm passing it on to:

1.) Alice at Alice's Bucket List

2.) J. M. Dow at Obscurity and Competence

3.) Hazel at Pablo's Angel

4.) Stephanie at To Write a Better Story

5.) 3red at Everyday Adventures

Now, time for our writing quote:

"And all writing is creating or spinning dreams for other people so they won't have to bother doing it themselves." Beth Henley

 

Have a great day, and happy writing! Tune in next time for more of an update on my writing life.

Extra Scenes, Take One

So, I've been thinking about my book a lot of late. In particular, I've been considering many of the scenes I want to write that I don't believe will make it to the final draft. Somewhere inside of me, there's a place that requires those scenes to be written in order to finish the book at all. But I also know that they'll kill some of the surprise and intrigue if I allow them in the final draft.

The problem is: I think those scenes might be some of the best in the whole, flipping book.

Of course, I haven't written the whole, flipping book yet, so I can't say for sure. But that's the way I feel it will be. I know I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I'm wondering if I should include those extra scenes in whatever packet I eventually send to an editor. You know, so they can judge whether some should be included while others be excluded.

At this point, it really doesn't impact anything I'm doing. I just find myself thinking about it an awful lot. Regardless of my decision, I'm going to write those scenes in the first draft, and then revise the book in such a way so that you discover those things through another avenue. It doesn't matter what I decide, that will be how I write it, and I'll take those scenes and place them in a folder labeled Extra Scenes.

But what would you do? Would you write them, delete them, and think the story was better without the baggage, even if they were some of the most exciting moments in the story? Or would you keep some of the best of them in? Or would you take them all out, and share them with someone else, to get their opinion?

Writing quote of the day:

"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential." Jessamyn West

Thanks for your time, everyone, and for all the reading and commenting you've done of late. I truly appreciate it. Happy writing!