Undercover Writers

Do you know any undercover writers? I'm going to bet you do. You're probably one of them yourself. Someone who, like me, not only has a day job, but a day job that has very little to do with writing or the genres they love. People who write over their lunch or late at night, people guiltily scribbling away during meetings and never taking "notes."

Have you ever noticed that when you catch some one (or are caught yourself) just how many other people out themselves around you as someone who does the same?

It's funny, really.

And encouraging.

Inspiration from Abroad

I've been pretty much non-existent on this blog (and my other blog, too)--I've been out of town for the past six weeks. I've spent time in London, Paris, the Netherlands, Prague and Vienna...but my mind was never very far from my book.

I don't go on vacation specifically to get inspiration. But it tends to come where I least expect it. I found it hiding in the shadows in the catacombs beneath Paris. I found it walking next to the Seine and the Thames.

My main character sees things others can't. She can see ghosts. She can walk down a street in contemporary (well, contemporary to HER) London and suddenly be standing on a street in Roman London. When she crosses London Bridge on a clear spring day, she can smell the smoke from a bridge fire that killed 200 people, 200 years ago.

So as I walked through these haunted cities, I kept thinking of how she would see them. I thought of the ghosts that could still be floating just below the surface of these famous rivers--maybe they're rising from the shadows now, trying the light, and the only reason I can't see them myself is that I wasn't built to. I thought of the things she would see walking down a typical street in Paris. Or near Notre Dame.

One thing's for sure: she'd stay the heck away from the catacombs.

So now I'm waiting for revisions back from my first draft of the story--and I already have plenty of ideas for how to make it better. How do your travels inform your writing?

Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum

On topic with a post I wrote back in February, a trip to the bookstore a few weeks ago provided me with a myriad of new reading options playing off of the world, characters, and life of Jane Austen, up to and including a book where Jane is residing in modern times -- as a vampire. We'll see how that one turns out.

I am currently about half way through the madness and mayhem of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. And I'm enjoying the trip.

I picked it up after having enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

And Zombies??? You ask. Yes, and Zombies. And Ninjas, too.

I enjoyed it so much that when Quirk Books released Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, I figured, Heck, why not.

They aren't written by the same author, but both are irreverent takes on classic books, which, in my mind really only heightens the enjoyment. I love recognizing things you liked about the original story combined with something completely different.

Makes me wish I'd thought of it first.

53 Stitches at a Time

One of my (many) hobbies is knitting. Right now, it's the only one other than writing that I'm consistent about (with the possible exception of singing, although I don't think I can count "in the shower" or "with the radio" as practice, even if those are the only places I perform in these days). And that's because I can do it on my commute to my day job.

The project I'm working on right now, I'm getting in about 53 stitches at a time when I sit down. Which would be great, except that for what I'm working on each row is 103 stitches. And the pattern involves 7 repeats of 72 rows, two sets of 12 rows, and one set of 41 rows. Before placing it into this context, I thought that I was doing pretty good.

At this rate, I'll be lucky to have it done for Christmas, let alone Mother's Day (sorry, Mom!)....

I need a little more time and a few less hobbies (don't get me started about the list of "hobbies" I fuss with)... ;)

But really, it is the story of my life. In the last few years I've gotten a lot better about my writing my putting it into a "small, regular goals reap large, long-term rewards" format. But, it can be a little disheartening to see a couple hundred words, knowing that to get to a full novel you need to get near 50,000 words.

But, everyone needs to start somewhere. And every project needs to start somewhere. Who knows, I've picked up the pace writing before, maybe I'll get faster with the fine yarn and tiny needles.

I'm sure as heck not giving up yet. (This pattern is way too pretty to give up on!)

*Pattern is from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders.

Don't ask me. I'm new here...

When we first started this blog, I admit, I attempted to adopt a tone that was not my own, one advised by one of my compatriots. You may have noticed that when I do post of late, it's been something completely different. The reason being: I really don't have anything I can teach or preach about. I'm still too new at this. This doesn't mean that I don't write or that I don't work on perfecting the craft every day. I do.

But, I'm not a professional writer. And, right now, I'm not likely to be one.

I write because I enjoy it. Not because it's going to make me rich or famous.

I'm not particularly literary. In fact, I've had a teacher despair that I'm “too clinical” for fiction writing, while a professor of biology claimed I was “too emotional” for science.

So why am I here?

Good question, and one I've been asking myself often of late. I've been starting blogposts that I've never published. Why?

Because, I really don't know what to say.

See, unlike writing fiction or poetry, I blog because someone else thought it was a good idea to talk about what it is we were doing.

But for me, I'm afraid it sounds more like what the bard wrote: A tale told by an idiot. All sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Anecdotes, random stories. Thoughts on a book I've read. Really, that's all I've got. And that's not a voice of a teacher. That's the voice of a friend, talking to you about what she's got going on. And hopefully, it's enough. Because that's what I have for you. My unprofessional, random thoughts.

I just hope you don't mind hanging around and letting me know a little about you and your random-and-professional-or-unprofessional thoughts. Talk with us. Genn and Jenny and I would be more than happy to hear from you.

When You Fall Off the Horse

In our writing group, we're pretty militant about our goals. We all finished our first drafts of novels more or less together, each working toward the same date. Then we set a goal to be finished with our first round of edits on our novels by February 14th. Two of us made it. One didn't--mainly due to a promotion at work. While this is good news, it was bad news for her writing--she was stuck with more responsibility and found herself working late at the office instead of working late at home, in what I like to encourage her to think of as her "real career" of writing.

So she still has a ways to go on her editing. This kind of problem might have, once upon a time, caused me to get really frustrated with my progress and give up altogether, convinced I was a failure without the drive to make it as a "real writer." But my friend is pushing on. Here are a few things that I see helping her--and that can help you get back on the horse when you miss a writing goal.

If you miss your goal, just set a new one. You can't make every goal you set. Some are too ambitious. And life does get in the way. If you can't turn in your first draft by February 14, it's not the end of the world if you move the deadline to March 14. But make sure you're only doing it as a last resort--not because you just want to. If you're not at least a little strict about your deadlines, you'll always be moving them back and you'll impede your own progress.

Perfectionism isn't going to help you. Don't let high expectations for yourself hold you back. Yes, they hold you back--in making you hold yourself to an impossible standard and then give up when you can't achieve it. You're setting yourself up for failure.

Do one small thing every day to move yourself forward. So you can't edit a whole chapter today. So what? Edit 500 words. If that's too tall an order, do a paragraph. If you can't do that, just open the document and read a paragraph. It'll probably get you inspired to do a little editing--and even if it doesn't, it will get you back in the world of your story if only for a few minutes. Maybe you'll come up with some good ideas.

Don't quit. Changing your goals is fine. Doing small things every day is fine. Quitting isn't fine. Don't stop. Don't take a break. Even a small break can get you out of the writing mode and make your goals seem impossibly far away. Just adjust your goals, your expectations and your daily commitment to something smaller or easier than you think you can do, and plod on ahead. We all have times when we have to adjust.

What do you do when you fall off the horse?

My Not an E-book post

I can’t honestly write about e-books, readers or the new technology without feeling both hesitant and excited. We are living in an age where anything is very likely to become possible. What was once science fiction is quickly becoming science fact (ok, the jury is still out on the little green men—but you get the idea). Sometimes its seems as we are producing things just because we can—with very little thought to whether we should or we need them.

Take the Kindle for example. My mom proudly told me that she will be getting one as a birthday present. I was more than a little floored as my mom is a die-hard bookstore gal. She loves to go to Borders, check out the shelves, grab a coffee in the café and just relax. It’s her routine and it makes her happy. She’s not an Amazon gal. She rarely buys anything online—instead she prefers the experience of buying something in a shop. So, why the sudden urge for a Kindle?

Two words: peer pressure. My brother, uncle and aunt all convinced her that she needed this device. That this will make her life easier, more complete, fulfilled in a way that going to a bookstore just can’t. Frankly, this is just rubbish. Kindles and Amazon are wonderful—for a certain audience/person. I have to say, the idea of never owning a physical book terrifies me. As a writer—one of the goals of writing is to one day see your work bound up in book format. The thought that one day all that might be left is a digital file on a hand held device seems awful. But, that argument is purely nostalgic—and I am going to refrain from nostalgia. Instead, let’s go back to the case study of my mom.

So, my mom is going to be getting a Kindle. When we had a more honest discussion she’s admitted she doesn’t really want a Kindle. That she doesn’t need one, but felt pressured to get one. She said that she’ll still be going to Borders to check out what’s new, but might use the Kindle just to read her book club books (as usually she doesn’t keep them).

My prediction is that my mom will never figure out how to work her Kindle. Instead, she’ll have it for a year or two before she actually understands how it works and then she’ll be ready for an iPad.

With so much new technology now on the market why would anyone tie themselves down to a Kindle or early adopter iPad. People, wait….see what’s out there first before we jump onto the e-reader bandwagon? Everything is still being refined. If e-readers are the way forward (shudder) then at least make sure you do your research and maybe wait a little while before you spend your hard earned cash on a technology that is still evolving. How many of you bought Creative MP3 players? I did. I now own an iPod. Whatever happened to Creative?

But most importantly, don’t let anyone convince you that you ‘need’ something. If you are happy with your routine of popping to the bookstore and picking up your new titles—then do it. For some people, that joy of leaving their worries outside while they step into a bookstore for a half hour (or more) is a palpable and necessary break from the real world. I know that bookstores are my happy place—whenever I feel low I visit one and just browsing the shelves makes me feel better (something I picked up from my mom). I’m not sure I could get the same joy or sense of leaving my worries behind just downloading a file from Amazon.