Practice Makes Perfect

Or at least, deliberate practice makes you pretty darn close. If you stick to it long enough.

That's the key to life, isn't it? Sticking to things. Making habits. Keeping habits. If you want to become something, do something, you have to stick to it long enough that you can actually accomplish something within it.

I suppose that's what school is supposed to be about. Teaching us daily so that we can learn things through incessant drills and annoying schedules. We grow to dread the stuff so much, we hate growing up and learning that we're going to have to do the same mindless stuff to make a living, too. And to learn things outside of work? More annoying schedules forcing us to do dreaded drills.

But if it gets me to my ultimate goal of becoming a world-renowned writer? I'd do just about anything.

In that vein, I'm designing a schedule for my writing, to improve myself. And I need some honest opinions to help me along. What would you say, from this blog, are my weakest points? What skills would it benefit me to study in repeated drills to become a better writer? What would you say I'm the worst at?

I really need honest opinions here. Criticism would be wonderful. I just want to know where to start on my journey to becoming a better writer!

Writing quote of the day/month/year: “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

Blog, Blog, Blog

I've just built my third blog, Keep It Short & Sweet, because third times a charm, right? Well, I thought about it as I built it, and, honestly, I miss my old blogs. I miss what they represented. I miss writing on them and looking at them and spending time upgrading them.

My new blog is where I'm going to be posting short stories I write. So, it won't really be like a blog kind of blog, you know? Kyla's Not Normal was always somewhat like a diary. I talked about whatever came to mind and used pictures to illustrate what I was thinking. It was fun and carefree. I miss that. I don't even know why I just gave it up, never to come back again.

Maybe it was because of what it represented in my mind? A big, whopping failure. Another thing I couldn't stick to in my life.

I don't react well to failure. Never have, never will.

And so Some Are Made was born. I built that blog to document a life change. I wanted to change everything about my life. I wanted to work on and improve who and what I was. I still want to do that. I don't understand why I shouldn't pick it back up, if that's what I want.

I think it comes down to a mental image I have in my head. I have these blogs mentally stamped with that failed sign you see above. I come back to these blogs, and it hurts me inside, because I didn't do what I set out to do. I didn't stick to these blogs the way I was supposed to.

Looking over them, the last few entries of both blogs became sickeningly similar. I began to apologize, over and over, for not being able to write enough in my blogs. For not being good enough. For not trying hard enough.

Pfft.

Forget that. I'm not apologizing anymore. I'm only human, and it's past time I accept that and try to work with the shortcomings that come with it.

As an update, for anyone out there still counting: I've finished the first draft of Dragon Marked and am well on my way to finishing the second. Soon, I'll be starting Never Trust A Pixie, and I'll be sure to keep you updated with my progress.

Can I promise I'll stick to this? Not on your life. Can I promise to try? Oh, yeah! And I do promise. I'm going to give it my all to stick with blogging this time. So, here's hoping that the third time really is the charm, right?

Writing quote of the day/month/year: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou

Some Are Made

The idea that some of us are born great, while others have to find their own way to achieving that has long fascinated me. Because it begs an interesting question: What could I do to become great?

Anyone out there who is reading this, you may remember me as that girl who used to blog. For a little while. Didn't quite make it, though. And, honestly, that seems to have been the story of my life. I'm the girl that started to do something great. And then stopped, never quite making it to actual greatness.

Well, I stopped blogging because I met a boy at work. And suddenly everything I had always centered my life around didn't seem to matter. All that seemed to matter was that boy. I fell in love with him, I obsessed over him, and I did everything I could think of to get him to return those feelings.

But he didn't.

Oh, he said things like he loved me, he just wasn't IN love with me. And that we'd always be good friends. And he was so thankful to have me in his life. And we would have been together, if he didn't have to move away and to go to college. He made a lot of promises even when he left. Promises like he wouldn't actually leave me, we'd see each other a lot, we'd talk on the phone, we'd stay in touch.

And then we didn't.

It wasn't a complete abandonment. Not at first. At first, he talked to me quite well. We did the whole friendship from afar thing. But then he started to drift on me. Stopped talking about anything that mattered. Would only text me back if I asked questions about the weather or if I should visit a club that week or not.

I texted him one day, telling him how I needed to talk to him and I thought I might have broke my hand. I waited 2 days to hear back from him, and didn't get a single reply. Finally, I asked him if he even cared about me at all. I got this long-winded reply about how he was just too busy to give me anything but the bare minimum. I angrily replied that that wasn't the bare minimum; that was absolutely nothing. The bare minimum would have been a text message asking if I was okay.

I haven't heard from him since.

I've never felt heartbreak before. And it hit me in a big way. It was worse than I'd even imagined it to be. I sunk so deep into depression, the world seemed dark and bleak. My days were filled with thoughts of self-loathing. I bombarded myself with negative thoughts of how I obviously wasn't good enough. Because, if I had been good enough, he wouldn't have left me. He would have returned my feelings. It would have been different.

But that isn't how it works, is it? Sometimes people just don't return your feelings. Even if they say they do.

About a month after this, I woke up. I looked around me, at the life I was leading, and thought to myself: "No wonder he left you; who'd want to stay with someone like this?" I hated myself for what I'd become. I hated my life.

But I've always had a saying I'd say to other people if they asked my advice on things like this: if you really hate your life that much, get up and change it or stop complaining and learn to enjoy it. Throwing yourself a pity party and wasting your energy on negative thoughts gets you and the world no where.

That advice came to my mind all of the sudden. And the thought of that boy returning and seeing me sunk inside the dark, bleak hole that I had allowed my life to become galvanized me into action. I refused to let him ever see me like that.

Which brings me back to the quote at the top of this page.

I have finally come to a conclusion in my life. I want to be great. I obviously wasn't born that way. At least, not in the ways that I wanted to be. But I could MAKE myself be great.

And that has been my mission ever since. To change the parts of myself and my life that I don't like, and finally become the person I've dreamed of being since I was 5 years old. And now, over 2 months into the change, it isn't even about the boy anymore. It's about me. It's about the person I can become and the dreams I can achieve if I just set my mind to it. To look at my life now, it's shocking to think that only 2 short months ago I was depressed and miserable.

I never want to go back to that place.

So, I've created a new blog. I could have continued my old one here, but in the spirit of a fresh start, I thought it best to begin with a clean slate. Thus Some Are Made was born.

If any of you are still listening to this old, ratty blog, I'd love to see you again. Why don't you stop on by? Check it out here.

Just Keep Swimming

I keep trying to write and blog despite the fact I continuously fail at it so epically, so often. But, you know, I truly believe that if I keep trying, I'll succeed eventually.

It's an interesting belief. If you just hold on, if you just keep trying no matter how many times you fail, you'll get there eventually. Success will happen if you're tenacious enough. Or, as Dori says in Finding Nemo, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

So, just to let all you guys know, I'm still swimming. I'm writing my book, working on my blog, and I still plan to get published. It's just taking longer than I want it to.

Jobs and Writing: Can You Manage Them Both?

Writing is a wonderful job all by itself. But it's hard to pay the bills on a writing career, especially in the early stages. The common solution to this is getting a job in some sort of secular vocation.

I recently switched jobs from working from home, to working for Walmart. My days are filled with work, work, work, and my nights are filled with sleep, sleep, sleep in an attempt to recover. I haven't written a word since I got my job, and I'm forced to wonder: Will I be able to balance writing and secular work?

Reason says yes, I can and I will. Other people have done so, and if they could manage it, so can I. I'll just have to continue reminding myself of that in the hard days ahead.

Here's hoping I get back to my real work soon. And that my bills are paid a little better with my new job, than they were with the old. Have a great day, and happy writing!

Writing Quote of the Week: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

Be My Guest, Be My Guest, Be My Guest

 

Guest Posting is the smartest thing you can do for yourself, if you're a blogger. Have a guest poster on your blog, or guest post on someone else's blog, and your ratings will go up. That's because guest posting is advertising and good business in general. You're telling your readers that you're fascinating enough for someone else to want to write on your blog or to allow your content to appear on their blog.

It's also tons of fun. Plus, it forges friendships you might never have otherwise made. I, personally, got to guest post for Kathy on her blog, Bliss Habits, this week. It was tons of fun, and she is a delightful person to work with.

If you'd like to check out my posting about Creating Worlds, click HERE.

I suggest everyone check out Kathy's site, in fact. It's concept is fantastic, the layout is gorgeous, and Kathy herself is incredibly personable and friendly. The whole concept of Bliss Habits, in case you're wondering, is about cultivating bliss in Kathy's life. She uses 13 habits that she concentrates on each week to help her in cultivating that bliss in her life: joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, and surprise.


I also suggest you all grab a guest posting somewhere as soon as you can. And offer for other people to guest post on your blog, if you can.


Speaking of which, if anyone is at all interested in guest posting on Kyla's Not Normal, I'd be happy to look at any kind of postings you'd like to send me. Just contact me at my email address, kylarucci@gmail.com.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone who has guest posted in the past could share their experiences in the comments below. I was terrified of guest posting before Kathy talked me into it. I'm sure other people feel the same as I did, and hearing how the experience was for you may help them break into the unknown.


Hope you all are having a great week and that this post helps a few people break into the delightful world of guest posting. Have a great day, and happy writing!

Writing quote of the day: "An old racetrack joke reminds you that your program contains all the winners' names.  I stare at my typewriter keys with the same thought."  ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Forgive But Never Forget.

Self-forgiveness. The concept is one we all embrace: we're human and so we make mistakes that we must forgive ourselves for. Yet, in practice, many find the concept difficult to implement in their own minds.

How do you forgive yourself and move on when you fail to do what you've promised, not once, but over and over and over again? How do you forgive yourself when you fail to meet the goals you know you need to, in order to succeed? How do you forgive yourself for being what you are: human?

It's not an easy thing to do. Forgiving oneself for being imperfect is next to impossible. At least, it is for me. But I have to find a way to do it if I want to ever succeed in anything, because, the fact of the matter remains, I am imperfect. I do make mistakes. And I fail more often than I like to contemplate. If I never accept that, forgive myself, and move on, I'll never find success. I'll be stuck in a rut in the road. My wheels will keep turning, but I ain't getting anywhere, if you see what I mean.

I read one of the most inspiring posts about self-forgiveness today that I just have to share with all of you. It was written by Elizabeth Gilbert over at her very own website. In this posting, she shares with you how she views writing. She's a successful writer herself, with many published books, but she shares how she started out sending short stories to places like the New Yorker, and was rejected over and over again. But she views writing like a religious calling, and has dedicated her life to it. She never gave up and told herself it wasn't her job to write WELL, but to simply write.

I am saving that post to be re-read over and over again whenever I don't feel I'm good enough anymore. Whenever I've written a chapter I think isn't up to par or failed to meet a deadline or forgotten to post something on my blog (which I would never do *cough cough*).

Discipline is important to being a writer. But self-forgiveness isn't just important; it's a necessity if you mean to stay sane.

However, I don't want to be too lenient on myself. So, I'd like to make an addendum to Ms. Gilbert's post: It's important to forgive oneself for our mistakes, but we can never forget them. If we forget, we'll doom ourselves to repeated lessons in failure. We'll forgive every stupid mistake we make and never strive to do better.

Do you agree? Is this a skill you are great at, or do you struggle forgiving yourself for your failures? Are you, perhaps, too lenient on yourself and don't strive to learn from your mistakes?

I'd love to hear from all of you! If you'd like to hear more on the subject of self-forgiveness, head on over to Vikki Petterson's blog post on the subject. She tackles it so well, it makes a girl feel envious, I swear.

Hope all this helps you guys and that you have a wonderful day! Happy writing!

Writing quote of the week: "If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad."  ~Lord Byron

Do You Like It Fast...or Slow?

Blogging, that is (had you going there for a minute, huh?). Are you a fast blogger, or a slow one?

I didn't know there was such a thing as fast or slow blogging, until I discovered a very interesting post on the subject over on Anne R. Allen's blog. She talks about how so many bloggers out there start off excited and thrilled to be blogging, blog every day for a month or two, then their interest begins to wane and they stop blogging so much, only popping onto their own blogs to apologize for their absences every once in a while. After enough apologizing, the blogger often times burns out and quits blogging altogether.

Does this sound familiar yet? I am probably the worst at this, myself. I've been on here since last June (closing in on a year now), but most of my posts are apologies for being gone so long. I am determined not to just be another blogger who quits and lets the blog die. This is MY blog, and I plan on making it last until and after I'm published, thank you very much.

So, fast blogging (blogging every day) has not been a hit for me. I'm just not regular enough, and inconsistency is the worst sin of them all in the blogosphere. But maybe slow blogging...

What is slow blogging? It's a blogging movement styled after the "slow food" movement (as opposed to McDonalds-style fast food). In this movement, you don't try to blog every day, but instead attempt to blog once a week or even once a month on a designated day. The idea is based on the concept that quality is superior to quantity, and if you blog less often, you'll probably spend more time and effort choosing your words and subject carefully.

I like the idea, myself. I think it might be just what the doctor ordered, in fact. How about you? Do you like it better when the blogs you read are done fast? Or does slow blogging seem easier to keep up with? Do you think it would help your blog develop slow and steady, or are you great at the fast and furious pace?

I'd love to hear your opinions. However, I have made the decision for myself. Henceforth, this blog shall be updated every Saturday on a weekly basis...

Here's hoping I can do it! Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope you all have a great day! Happy writing!

Writing quote of the week: "The ablest writer is only a gardener first, and then a cook:  his tasks are, carefully to select and cultivate his strongest and most nutritive thoughts; and when they are ripe, to dress them, wholesomely, and yet so that they may have a relish."  ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

That's Just Sick

Has anyone heard about this horrible stomach virus hat has shut down nursing homes and schools across the U.S.? Here's a link to an article about it, if you haven't: USA Today's 'Stomach flu' rips through he nation.

I can personally attest to this illness, as both me and my dad had it. I have no puked in over 12 years now...until the other night. This stupid virus kicked my butt and had me shaking and shuddering over the ever-so-pleasant household commode for hours Saturday night. If it were only that one night of unpleasantness, I'd be far more happy. But, no, I've managed to stay sick to my stomach for 3 weeks! That's almost an entire month!

I am so sick of being sick. My mother had pneumonia and stomach issues at the same time, so I had to take care of her while being sick myself. AND my dad had it and we were both retching over the toilets on separate ends of the house on the same night.

So, I'm very sorry I haven't been on lately, folks. And, yet, I'm also not sorry. I was very poor company while ill. You wouldn't have liked me if I had come on here. I was truly not my abnormal Kyla-self.

But I'm on the mend now. Hopefully we'll have a break from extreme troubles in my life for a while, and I can get some writing done. If wishes were fishes, we'd all have a fry.

Glad to see all of you again (if you're still reading; I wouldn't blame you if you'd given up on me)! Life has been crazy as usual. If any of you have ever lived on a farm, you know how vividly it paints life. On one end of a farm, you can have death and disease, while new life is born right under your eyes on the other side.

That's what happened here. Our calves got sick at the same time the humans did. We've lost two calves already this year, and the two remaining look ill now, too. We're hoping they'll survive, though. But, meanwhile, in the goat pen we had the miracle of life put in a truly grandiose appearance. Grandma, our oldest female, had twin babies last week, and cuter creatures you've never seen. I named the firstborn (a boy) Starburst as soon as he was born, for the huge star mark on his forehead. His sister, born a few minutes later, we named Lightning Bolt for the vivid white stripes across both her sides.

Watching them run and play never fails to put a smile on my face. I wish you could see it. I'll have to get some pictures to share on here.

This is NOT them. But it's close. Aren't they cute?

Hope all of your weeks have been equally incredible, but perhaps less sickly. Have a great day everyone, and happy writing!

Triberr - A Blog's Best Friend?

So I just joined the new (at least to me) Triberr, a social networking site all about blogs! Bloggers create a free account and connect with other bloggers who write about similar things that you do on your blog. It's all about creating a "tribe" (and joining other tribes) where each member contributes and advertises for the other. It's really interesting and looks like it could really benefit every blogger out there.

I find it very interesting. What do you think? Is it worth the time it costs to work with? Or do you think connecting with other bloggers who will help grow your blog isn't worth the time you invest in it?

Love to hear your comments and anything you've heard on the grapevine about this interesting new tool for us bloggers! Have a great day, everyone, thanks so much for all your support, and happy writing!

--Blog post and Triberr membership inspired by Social Media Mash by Word*itches. Check it out if you want to hear more about this and other Social Networking tools people can use (especially writers).

P.S. Click HERE if you wish to check out Triberr (or even join) for yourself!

Emotional Baggage

I've been gone a while again. But with the added benefit that I now understand a lot more about myself. Whenever I'm too stressed, I can't write. You can tell me I need to. I know I need to. But I can't. Stress weighs me down better than a rock in a cloth bag, sinking in the stream. I can only swim when the rock is removed, or at least shrunk a bit.

Some of my former readers may remember my aunt who moved in with my mom and I last summer. For the rest of you, my aunt is a mentally disturbed individual with a lot of problems in her past. We were letting her stay with us because she was virtually homeless and in a really bad position. We cleaned her up and let her rest with us for six whole months. And do you know what she did to repay us?

She married the guy who lived with his parents across the street from us, stole a truck and hunting gun from someone who lives in our town, and robbed a bank right down the road from our house. Then, she took the money, gun, truck, and then fiance back to her parent's house where she was then discovered and arrested. Her new husband was the one who actually walked in the bank with a bandanna over his face and the gun in his hand and robbed the bank of its money. He even shot the gun two times in the bank, over the heads of the patrons there!

I have never been so horrified in my life! How could she do this? How could HE do this? I mean, she's an absolute nutcase, we knew that, but what's his excuse? Oh, and they were caught with drugs (enough to get intent to sell instead of just possession) and drug paraphernalia. They have like four felonies, and two or three misdemeanors.

It's all so unbelievable. We're embarrassed and sad and angry and a whole host of other emotions that I don't want to even get into. But because of the stress from this whole mess, I haven't been able to write for weeks! I couldn't even think about it. My creative juices were at nil, and my desire to work was even lower.

Finally, though, I'm getting over it. But it made me think about my lulls in writing in the past. They only occur when there is a major upheaval in my life and the stress becomes overwhelming. My emotions control my writing ability so much, it's a little frightening.

How do other people do it? How do you get over the major stress and write anyway? Is it a matter of discipline? Do I not have enough? Or do I just have more stressful events (by the way people talk about my life, lots of people seem to think so)?

I mourn the stressful events of my life, and the loss of writing that I've accrued because of it. BUT, when I think about it, I also have to be a bit glad for what I've experienced. My exciting, terrifying, horrifying, sad life has given me a lot of inspiration for stories and a lot of insight into how my heroes and heroines might feel. I have no doubt it has made me a better writer.

What do you think? Do you stop writing when something major in your life happens? How many major things have occurred in your life, and do you think those things made you a better writer?

Thanks so much for reading, and I'm sorry I've been gone so long. It seems to be a constant trouble with me. But at least I come back with some exciting stories to tell! ;) Have a great day everyone, and happy writing!

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?