A Memorial Day Late

May has been an extremely busy month for me, evidenced by the lack of posts here. Pretty obvious, huh?  Even the Memorial Day weekend was spent working, although my youngest and I did take advantage of a few sales on Saturday to kick off the weekend.  But working meant not focusing on the holiday, and for that I feel bad.  So here is my short tribute to family and friends who served our country in times of war and have passed on.

My uncle served in Korea.  The only time I heard him speak of his experience there was well after I was grown, while visiting him and my aunt when they lived near Branson, Mo.  His comment was that the wooded area nearby reminded him of being in Korea.  He didn't like it, but he did love living near Table Rock Lake and spent much of his time boating and fishing, when not traveling or working on wood projects.

Uncle Duane passed away just over a week ago on May 22.  He was 81 years old.

Pat McCullough gave his life in Vietnam in 1969.  He was one of those guys who loved life and lived it to the fullest.







 



Pat wasn't the only one who gave his life for our country in Vietnam.  Two other young men from my high school are also among the 58,267 names on The Wall in Washington, DC.

Visit the Virtual Wall

BEING A WRITER: Brainstorming

Brainstorming is nothing more than playing the What If game with someone in addition to yourself.

I love to brainstorm!  Whether it's brainstorming other writers' ideas and stories or my own, there's nothing quite like it to jazz up the desire to write. 

Finding the best fellow brainstormers is the key to success.  Not everyone is a good candidate.  It's like a critique partner.  Or marriage.  Sometimes people fit together well.  Sometimes they don't.

Friends or relatives might be the first ones that come to mind when looking for brainstorming partners, especially those who are voracious readers.  Problems can arise at times because even the most constant readers don't always understand that some themes aren't as acceptable as others.  This is especially true in category writing, when each line has it's own parameters and expectations or in historical writing, where small nuances of the period can make a big difference.  It takes someone who knows what's required to have a place high on the list of helpers, so be particular when choosing readers for your regular brainstorming buddies.  If you find the majority of suggestions offered won't work for what you write, keep the friend, but look for someone else for brainstorming.

Let's face it, in most instances, fellow writers make the best people for brainstorming.  The closer to your own targeted genre and sub-genre, the better.  If you're lucky enough to have a critique partner or are part of a critique group, you may have already done some brainstorming during critiquing. 

How many people do you need for brainstorming?  The number isn't set in stone.  Sometimes it's nice to have one or two fellow writers you can use as sounding boards.  A larger group can give the advantage of more ideas to choose from.  My local writers' group has begun scheduling two plotting/brainstorming get-togethers a year, in addition to doing some brainstorming during our annual retreat.  Both ways have their advantages, so try them on for size, if possible, and decide what works best for you.  Or do both!

A good brainstorming session doesn't always net you the perfect ideas and answers for your story, but a successful session can give you things to think about that will lead you in the right direction.  Take notes, if you need to.  When it's over, discard what you know won't work, keep what will, and remember that making small changes to suggestions will often help them fit your story.

The extra perk of brainstorming is that when you're helping someone else, you often discover things that will help with your own writing, too.  Whether it's sparking an idea for a new story or bringing understanding to a character whose had you struggling, everyone is a winner.

Brainstorming can be done in many ways.  In person, in small groups or large, via computer chats, and by telephone.  They can be done at any point in your writing, whether you need help with the overall theme of your story, if a specific character has begun giving you trouble later on, or you need suggestions for the black moment and resolution.  Brainstorming sessions can be scheduled in advance or done in a pinch.

Remember while brainstorming to keep your mind open.  Even when you think you haven't come away with exactly what you need, in time, you may find that a small nugget is the answer to the question you needed help with.

No matter how you do your brainstorming or who you do it with, enjoy it!  You'll always be a winner. 

Tribute to Mothers

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

A suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. ~Peter De Vries

Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever. ~Author Unknown

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

All mothers are working mothers. ~Author Unknown

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb

A mother understands what a child does not say. ~Author Unknown

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life. ~Abraham Lincoln

Most mothers are instinctive philosophers. ~Harriet Beecher Stowe

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving


All quotes from The Quote Garden

BEING A WRITER: Illuminating Those Ideas

Not every idea becomes a full-blown story.  I wish they did.  I'm not giving up on the ones that haven't.  I keep hoping that one day that idea will take shape and glow brighter and brighter.

I suspect every writer has her/his own way of making something of those original ideas.  That means that there's never a right or wrong way, just what works best for each.  That's great news!  Well, at least as long as the idea grows.

Let's make life (and creativity!) interesting and work on a list of ways to grow ideas.  I'll start with some of my own--yes, I have more than one--and go from there.

• Go to bed thinking of my idea...which sometimes leads to never getting to sleep.  Obviously not the best of the lot.
• Do mundane chores...cooking works well...to get thoughts away from the idea with the hope that some epiphany will occur.
• Interview characters.  This works if one or more character is involved in the original idea.  Characters have been born, just for this purpose.
• Take a shower or bath.  There's something about all that water...
• Meditation.  This is because while meditating, one should empty her/his mind.  This could also be labeled as reverse psychology and sometimes (rarely) works on small children.
• Cry
• Scream
• Sleep all day
• Decide it was a dumb idea, after all.

I'll be honest.  The thing that works best for me is to let the idea simmer in the back of my mind, while my subconcious works on it.  If that fails--and it has, many times--I call Kristi and Kathie, my brainstorming buddies and ask for help.  Plead for help.  Cry for help.  They've never failed me yet.

More on brainstorming next week.

BEING A WRITER: The Idea Place

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a special place where a writer (or anyone!) could go for ideas? Someplace quiet, like a library, with rows of shelves labeled with topics, conflicts, types of characters, and all the other things needed to create a story from start to finish. Everywhere you look you’d see Tortured Heroes, Moms on the Run, Sheiks, Firemen, Cops, Cowboys, Pregnant CEOs, Small Towns, Big Cities, Villains… The list would go on and on, with nothing left out, nothing forgotten. Getting an idea would require nothing more than walking down those long aisles and grabbing whatever caught your attention, then filling in with all the other required information for a blockbuster book.

Instead of an idea store, we have imaginations that provide us with all the things possible—and impossible—that make up a story. Having to work for it makes it more worthwhile. Frustrating sometimes, yes, but definitely worth it.

“Where do you get your ideas?” is probably the most asked question of writers. The answer is as varied as there are people who write. But whether your idea came from a news article that started the creative juices flowing or a character or setting wandering into your head, it’s only the beginning of what could be a story.

The first step of the journey has been taken with nothing more than a glimmer of an idea. Being a writer means taking that idea and building on it, and then putting it on paper to shape and twist, until the idea is complete.

Be a writer today. Visit your own Idea Place and start the journey.

The Organized Writer

I'd planned to blog about how being organized can make your writing life easier.  And then I looked at my desk.  It would be hypocritical of me to write about it, when, with a quick look at my own desk, it's obvious that organization isn't one of my better skills.  Right?  Well, maybe not, since experience, both good and bad, is the best teacher.  And my desk isn't really as bad as it might be.  The pic on the right is probably as bad as any desk could be.  Luckily I've never been there, but I sure have felt like that poor woman looks.

We've all seen the sign that reads, 'a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind', quickly rebutted with 'a cluttered desk is the sign of genius'.  Or even better:

If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, Of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?

-- Albert Einstein

But, really, the condition of the top of the desk shouldn't matter to anyone but the user of the desk. For some people, having anything out of place is the sign of needing an all-day cleaning.  Others work better surrounded by the things they need or at least within reaching distance.  For a few, it's a visual thing.  An 'I know it isn't lost if I can see it' thing.  However, if you begin to feel overwhelmed, can't find what you just put down five minutes ago,  and/or have to move your keyboard to your lap to be able to use it, you might want to think about doing a quick clearing.  Put it all in a box, basket, or whatever will hold the absolute non-essentials (computer, keyboard, mouse, phone, etc.), then schedule a time to sort it all and put it where it belongs, whether the trash, a file cabinet, a drawer or the bathroom medicine cabinet.  Just make sure you do go through it and put things away, otherwise you'll be adding more boxes/baskets and soon be overwhelmed by the amount of things that must be sorted and in need of a new home. 

For a quick read that doesn't require running out to buy a how-to book on organizing, check out About.com's take on organizing: What's Wrong with a Messy Desk?  It includes suggestions on how to make being less messy a little easier.

Where do you fit in when it comes to organizing?

• Your desk
• Your office
• Your home
• Your life

What do you think would make it easier?  As a disorganized organized person, I'm always open for suggestions!

Happy May Day!

No, you didn't take a wrong turn.  This is still Diary of a Mad Romance Writer, but there's been some remodeling.  I've thrown away some furniture and scrubbed everything until is shines, both here and at my website.  It may only be a transitional thing, but for now it's my blog home.

Along with the change in design, there'll be a few more new things going on.  I'll be adding a new author page on Facebook in the next few days and will be giving away some copies of The Maverick's Reward, which will be available in stores in June. 

I'll also be blogging about new things, including writing tips for new writers, the latest book news and discussion on books, life as a writer and other topics.  So check back often and don't be shy about saying hi or sharing your thoughts.

Until later, have a wonderful rest-of-the-day!