Some Writing Advice from Tennessee Williams

I was browsing google for some writing advice, like always, and discovered this in an article. I think it can be very helpful for all of us. It speaks to me right now...

"I believe that the way to write a good play is to convince yourself that it is easy to do -- then go ahead and do it.
Don't maul, don't suffer, don't groan -- till the first draft is finished.
Then Calvary -- but not till then.
Doubt -- and be lost -- until the first draft is finished.
A Play is a Phoenix -- it dies a thousand deaths.
Usually at night -- In the morning it springs up again from the ashes and crows like a happy rooster.
It is never as bad as you think.
It is never as good as you think.
It is somewhere in between and success or failure depends on which end of your emotional gamut concerning its value it actually approaches more closely.
But it is much more likely to be good if you think it is wonderful while you are writing the first draft.
An artist must believe in himself -- Possibly not so passionately as [D.H.] Lawrence -- but passionately. Your belief is contagious. Others say -- He is vain -- but they are affected.
I have never had much of that faith -- I have been a little too honest with myself and people.
Let us make up some brilliant lies! -- No -- let's don't -- Let's fight it out the old way --
...
Today I have been writing well. I look in the mirror. My face is fresh and glowing. I look young again..."

I love how he turns a story into a Phoenix. It's beautiful.

Google Gets Me

So, this is just a random post. I was googling 'plotting advice' since that's what I'm trying to do right now and I discovered a quote from Flannery O'Conner on some other writer's blog:

"You would probably do just as well to get that plot business out of your head and start simply with a character or anything that you can make come alive," she wrote to Hester. "Wouldn't it be better for you to discover a meaning in what you write rather than to impose one? Nothing you write will lack meaning because the meaning is in you."

Which is interesting because recently, in my creative writing class, we read a story by her titled "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and I really thought it was something else (meaning good, in this case). Especially after my professor started explaining more and more about the type of writer that O'Conner was.

I've been trying to plot out my book still. And I think I've realized that I've spent more time trying to write a plot down than I have attempted to simply write it out. Maybe I'm just not a plotter...

What about y'all? Plotters or Pantsers?

Fail

I realize that I completely failed at least at one of my new year's resolutions. The one where I would post at least twice a week. Yeah... I guess I should've said once every other two months or something. But I have an excuse! You probably saw this coming, but I swear that it's a semi-valid excuse that will hopefully get me in the clear.

The past two months have been pretty crazy for me.

Sounds like an everyday doctor's note, right? But I'm serious. I've had work (which you already know about) and I started school on January 18, so that added to the time suckage of my life. Then when you add in a social life and a wildly active reading/writing life, you find out that all of the other little things you always wanted to do just don't seem as important as sleep at the end of the night. It's really been a crazy start to 2011.

But with that excuse out there, and a sincere apology to those who have probably already forgotten about this blog and will be confused when they suddenly get a notification that the rambling author's journey has just posted another entry about what she PLANS on doing, I hope that it will be enough to draw you back in.

If you follow my other blog though, Suspiciously Apt Book Reviews, you've probably seen several posts since I normally don't cut reading time out of my life. There are a few good book reviews from the past couple of months that might interest some of you. I just put one up that covers BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. It's one of the greatest books I've ever read, I'm not kidding you.

But back to what this blog is SUPPOSED to be about (this will be short for tonight):

I have finally made a decision on which idea to write a novel about (only took me what? a year? And that's only as far as any of you have been reading this). I can't tell you much about it yet since it's still a tentative development, but I know that it's definitely what I want to do. The real journey starts tonight. Who has time to wait for NaNoWriMo, right?

See y'all next week! (Double dog promise you!)

The Stylish Blogger Award

Well, I'm a bit surprised to say the least. I didn't know there were awards for stylish blogs being given out. But it's nice to be thought of as such! Thank you, Ryning Books for honoring me with this award.

So! I'm supposed to start off with 7 things you probably don't know about me... There's no snooze button here, so bear with me!

1. I'm 20 years old. For now.
2. My cat's unceremoniously pregnant. (Anyone want a kitten?)
3. I named my second Siberian Husky after one of my own characters. It was a werewolf character so it could easily have been a family name passed down.
4. My favorite movie is Rocky. Because I want to go the distance.
5. I have a separate blog for reviewing books. (Suspiciously Apt Book Reviews)
6. I am majoring in English at Northwest Vista College and hope to transfer in the fall to Texas State University.
7. I'm horrible at checking facebook, my blog, and messages on Goodreads. It's okay. I'll get better at it. Hopefully.

Alright so the last thing I'm supposed to do is reward 15 recently discovered bloggers! I don't think I know that many yet, but I'll list a few I do know.

1. To Review or Not Review
2. Lacey of the Lake
3. Ryning Books and thank you again for this award!
4. Babbling Flow
5. Carolina Valdez Miller

I love all of those blogs. They're awesome! I say we toast to having stylish blogs! Champagne for the lucky ones that are 21 and older annnnd... how about some good ol' hot chocolate for us minors? Yeah! *toast*

Farewell 2010

2010 was kind of a bad year for me. It was like a tail spin of unmade decisions and loss. Great loss. I went through a tough time finding a job, couldn't make up my mind about which book to write, couldn't return to college this past fall, and just this past month, my beautiful siberian husky, Luke, passed away...



You may remember him from my post "Why I Should Join IPCA" when I entered the PARANORMALCY ARC contest. He was 9 years old. I don't want to get into the details because it makes me cry every time, but he was beloved. I picked Luke out on Halloween night when I was ten years old at Pet City. It was this cute little pet shop in the mall where we lived in Boise, Idaho at the time. He was just so adorable and so breathtakingly beautiful (er, I mean handsome. Guys prefer handsome, correct?) I just couldn't walk out of there without calling him my own. My dad caved. He'd always loved huskies. And ever since then, Luke had been more than a friend or a companion. He'd been family. It's amazing that he lasted so long. He was known for getting his stomach pumped at the vet's office. He'd tried to eat chocolate covered raisinets, batteries, and fireworks. Yes, people... fireworks. That dog was a wanna-be curious cat. And I loved him so much...

I don't want to make this blog post too depressing, and I want to TRY to keep my eyes dry if at all possible, so... I will carefully segue into a farewell to the past year.

Goodbye to:

Uncertainty.

Indecision.

Inconsistency.

Hello 2011...

This is the year that I will walk forward with sure steps.

To Co-Write or Not to Co-Write... That IS the Question.

Hello, everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful holiday, and in case I forget to add this very joyous statement on at the end: Merry Christmas (and also in case I disappear again, Happy New Year!)!

So, NaNoWriMo was very interesting. I wrote. A lot. And read very little. But strangely enough, I have been writing even more in December. Why? Because I have taken on a new project. The adaption of a previous work that was written with a friend. We decided to adapt said project on November 26th, and since have written 129 pages of... awesomeness. That probably equates to anywhere between 60-80 pages on my part. It has been a whirlwind of words. I've found out about characters in more depth than I had ever thought possible-- all because I already had their basic personality down pat (including a few complexities already established in early stages of writing). I mean, it's even more exciting to write because I have someone on the other end that's both writing her own section of the book and pestering me to finish on my end. It's very motivating. How can it not be when you have someone that's just as enthusiastic and who is sharing the work?

The only drawback is... working on your individual book becomes what? That's right, ladies and gents. Almost nonexistent. I'm hoping I can get back on that gig soon, but I'm a little wrapped up in the adaption of this very exciting and very captivating book right now.

I'll check back in soon with an update or two.

Writing Until Your Fingers Fall Off

... is very interesting to say the least.

Technically, that's a lie though. Since all of my fingers are still intact. But still. It was a close call.

So, I figured it was time for a NaNo update of some sort. It IS, after all, my first year actually attempting all of this. Let's talk about what I've learned so far from this particular grueling month of novel writing:

1. Updating your word count every 50 or so words is NOT necessary, but it IS completely and totally fun.

2. Pep Talks from the staff of NaNoWriMo and/or amazingly accomplished authors can either be very helpful or very riddle-like.

3. I now know why they say to start from scratch on your novel.

4. When participating in a massive, national self challenge like this, you'll find very little time to read (I'm very serious on this one. I finished a book in 10 days. Normally I would've finished three times as many).

5. When adding writing buddies and being shown each of their word count status thingies, you can become very competitive.

6. Week Two is cursed.

7. You will question yourself and your novel various times through-out the process. Supposedly this is normal.

8. John Green says that you are probably just writing a big folly, but that that's okay because follies can be turned into pretty darn good novels. Of course not in one month. More like three years. But still. <-- Helpful AND riddling!

9. The evil blinking cursor on word needs to lower it's expectations. Seriously.

10. And lastly, when you are behind on your word count it becomes difficult to complete any other task without thinking "I should probably be writing instead of this". Blog posting shouldn't count, right? Technically I AM writing. It just won't be added to that meticulous word count widget. Darn the world!

There you have it. Ten things so far that I have learned from NaNoWriMo-ing. It's really not all that different from trying to write a book every other month out of the year, except for the fact that you have a set deadline and if you win you get street cred. And a PDF winner's certificate. I was mistaken about the shirt. I thought I could win a shirt. *sad face*

What I like the most about it?
-It allows you to suck. Horribly. AND it forces you to write.

What I like least about it?
-The competitiveness. You either feel awesome because you're way ahead or totally low because all of your friends are ahead of YOU now. Go them! Boo you!

Now... Back to writing... orrr maybe imagining thyself inserted into the computer screen on Word and snapping that evil cursor in half. Eh... Probably both.

November is Approaching...

I apologize to everyone!

I know I've been out pretty much for the whole month annnd I'm sorry. I've had a lot on my plate lately with work and playing ping pong with my storylines and my cats being so darn adorable and entertaining. But all of this is no excuse really! Back to work and on probation, they say...

So the point is I have finally (with the help of immense chocolate candy bars and verbal slapping of a best friend) chosen which idea (path in some blog posts) to go with! Hooray! It's a miracle!

*clears throat*

And with this decision, comes sacrifice...

Has anyone ever tried NaNoWriMo? I've known about it since my junior year when I first took a creative writing class, but I've never entered... until this year. And already I'm starting off on a bad note. You see, the project I chose to do has already been started and I'm 40,000 words into this WIP (Work In Progress). One of the rules to doing NaNoWriMo and winning that famous purple badge that tells everyone you were committed for 30 days and ended up with 50,000 fabulous words is... you have to start from scratch. Blank page. Clean slate. No emotional attachments and slippery expectations, so to speak (or so I've been told). And I refuse!

You see, this would be awesome. It would be completely and totally cool to just say "Pah! Goodbye sticky story hanging over my head! Onto something new!"... BUT I've already done that. About 50,000 times (one for every word in this cool 30 day challenge). One thing I've learned is that it leaves me with... nothing, really. No finished novel. No feeling of accomplishment. Just another excuse to throw in the towel when the next shiny new idea comes prancing across my WIP, leaving it's muddy tracks on the reasons that I SHOULD stick with what I started. I really don't need any MORE reasons and/or temptation to ditch another novel after I've already come so far! After trying to explain/get feeback in the NaNoWriMo forums about this subject, I was told that my only other option was to join the Nano Rebels. My first time doing this and I'm already a rebel... Of course.

Anyway, if any of y'all writers are out there reading this, what are YOUR thoughts on NaNoWriMo? Are you starting with a clean slate? Are you a rebel like me? I'd love to hear your November plans!

Pssst! November's also my birthday month! Yay! Just a random fact...

Wishy Washy

That is exactly what I am.

I can NEVER. EVER. NEVER EVER make up my mind.

For the past four years I have been jumping between two story ideas. One includes my personal therapy, and yet extensive religious research. The second one was a spontaneous reaction to what one of my "supposed" side characters would do in a certain unwanted situation. And I find that once I choose one, I constantly think about the other. It is a vicious conspiracy that works against me to make sure that I NEVER finish a single book. And I hate that it's working.

I suppose the smart choice would be to continue on with my second story idea, which so far has about eighty five pages done, and work on researching/outlining the first idea at the same time. Since neither will shut up for the other. But will this really work?

I guess we'll find out.

*insert dramatic closing sequence here*
To be continued...

New Directions

Every plot seems to find them. New directions that is. It's annoying, it's confusing, and sometimes just plain sloppy. But that's the way of writing it would seem. Annoying, confusing, and sloppy.

I have finally been able to write, with the help of my plotline that I wrote out not two to three months ago. Unforunately, when there is one change, there seems to be ten other details to add in. And I have had more than one change. It makes weaving a new idea and/or chapter into one's book very hard. When I try to steer one of my character's fates in a different direction, then suddenly it's very hard to get them back on the same track. But I guess that's just the way it goes sometimes. There's a million possibilities and yet you have to choose only one. Sounds a little bit like life and not just writing a book.

As it is, I am not much of a fan of outlining. It's not easy and it's definitely not a short process. Hopefully, these new ideas, or what I like to call diseases, won't spread through-out the entire length of the plot.

Hectic Schedules and Brainstorming

So! Last week I went on a long rant about age and experience and titles. Yeah, even the calm ones get fired up sometimes. But as for this week, I've been brainstorming about what to do next in the writing field. Well, in my novel's writing field at least. It's a considerably smaller arena and one that I like to fence myself into a lot. However, it's complex enough that I can talk about it over and over and over again. So, here goes.

I got a new job. No, seriously, I really did get an actual job in the real world so I can save up for college next semester. I really needed one, and I've been hunting non stop for the past six months, and now finally, I have one! But I've been thinking about how this is going to effect my schedule, and honestly... I might not have all the time in the world to write anymore. That means I'm going to have to be more diligent about fitting it in and making deadlines- not the easiest thing for me. You see, I pride myself on my spurs. Otherwise known as my spur of the moment nonsense code that I live by. Even term papers were part of this conventional style of mine. However, since I'm not very good at getting my books finished (I just got to 64 pages and it's been two years since I first came up with this idea), I know that I'm going to actually have to push myself to write.

You see, there's always something that seems to get in the way for writers. Unless you're amazing like Kiersten White and can finish your book in 3 weeks, or Abra Ebner and jot down every word in eleven freaking days (so jealous), then you're going to HAVE to push yourself to write. And it's a grueling process. Luckily, I'm not like White where I have two kids to look after. You see, she really IS Superwoman. But I am going to be working a LOT to save money for school and then in January I plan on being back in school while still working this job (if everything goes right). Sooo, I'm going to have even less time. And my whole goal (while crazy) is to finish the first draft of my novel by January so that I can work on editing in-between my homework and everything else that interrupts without knocking.

Man, life really is stressful.

All in all, life is short. There's always something or other to deal with, but if you love writing and you have a dream- make time for it.

I would like to say thank you to Lacey, one of my best friends, for giving me a planner. I didn't know it then, but I'm sure gonna have a use for it!

Happy scheduling folks!

Dead Ends and Wrong Turns

This is a sign. For a dead end. But since we all know I'm not talking about the road, why don't I just get right into it.

A month or two ago, I wrote a post about choosing a path to write about (That was the one with the pretty black and white picture with the two streets/paths separated by the fancy fence). Now, I'm right back at that fork, trying to choose another path. It's not easy. In fact, it's just down right mean sometimes. It's almost as if there were signs lined up all along the way, telling me exactly where I was headed, and yet... I was unable to heed them.

But why not just choose a path, right? Why NOT just turn around when I hit that dead end? If I can't choose a path, why not walk down both and find the right choice at the end of each?

And in this dilemma there lies my answer. Walk down both. Do the work. Make a choice.

To be continued...

Outline

I don't know about you- but I like my sleep. I just happen to like coffee too though. Why can't ANYTHING be simple? :)

There are so many different ways to write a book. One of the questions I asked you about, oh I don't know SEVERAL weeks ago, was whether or not you were a plotter, or one of those fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of writers. I do believe that there is a type of writer that can be both though. I'm probably one of them, though not a very good one when it comes to choosing the ladder.

During the last week of June, I finished outlining my novel. "Finished" is a very fragile word though and I don't like using it, because truly, when is a writer's outline every TRULY finished? Never.

I used the afore-mentioned handbook that I purchased from Amazon "The Author's Outline..." by Abra Ebner. It helped me IMMENSELY! You have no idea. I'm the kind of writer that's not used to planning every step of my book out. Hence, why I have not been able to actually finish a book perhaps? I believe so. But the truth is, you can outline, write three chapters, fifty pages, have a whole WORLD full of ideas inside that pretty little head of yours and STILL not be able to get it out on paper...

Writer's block is a b*tch.

I think, since we've discussed "doubts" in the previous post and all that THAT entails, you can understand where I'm coming from and why my words are NOT. Pesky little issues that writing deals with, I tell you. But I am trying. And I will keep trying. I think one must set their own deadline in order to truly get it over with. I have so many dreams concerning the literary world with my book in it, and I need to get them realized.

Excuses can be a problem as well. You see, for the past ten days I have had my best friend visit me all the way from Boise, Idaho. Now THAT is a very viable excuse for my lack of writing in all areas (*cough* blog included *cough*) and therefore, I think that I can get away with June's lack of a fourth post :)

I love writing. And I dream of a completed book. Soon hopefully. I give myself one year to have at LEAST one fully written, possibly un-edited manuscript!

And with that goal being written, I will continue discussing outlines. I get so easily steered off course with these posts...

Outlines. Outlining. It is no easy task. I forced myself to finish outlining my novel, because let's face it, it is LONG overdue. So, the steps that I took (using my nifty little handbook- thank you, Abra) were first characters and their descriptions (including their goals in the story), THEN the setting/stage for the story (whether it was real or imaginary- plot that all out), and of course the plot (including whether or not one had several points of view or just the main character's). Inside the plot section there came to be a planning of chapters. This takes the longest (or at least it did for me). It was weird when I was finished outlining. I have this whole skeleton of a story laid out before me and I have to liven it up with all that words can spice? It was more daunting than relieving. Maybe, I just scare easily, but... at least part one of the journey is complete! Now it is writing :) Back to it then!

Blah Blah Blog?

Some of you were probably wondering why in the world I decided to write a blog. To this I had to answer...

I had no idea.

However! I have finally made up my mind for what this blog will be about:

An author's journey to getting published.

That's right! I am going to document my experience as a beginning author from first outline until the day that I receive news of my publication acceptance! And no, I am not sure that any of those phrases are politically correct in the literary world, but no nevermind about that now. Here is my plan for this blog...

First, I plan on posting once a week about a writing experience. This will start with the research of my book and it's elements.

Secondly, I most likely will not post my entire novel on this blog, but rather my thoughts and concerns on the process.

Thirdly, anyone who finds a random interest in these posts are more than welcome to leave comments or even lend advice! Advice would be most welcome! (I apologize for any formal comments in this post. I am currently watching Romeo and Juliet and therefore am hearing and reiterating proper speech. *gasp* I know...)

When shall I begin this said process of an author's journey to the published masterpiece? This week! If I do not post by Sunday morning then feel free to throw a tomato at the screen and leave comments that curse me...

Let the journey begin!