Refilling the Well

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

Whether we write or have a day job or are busy raising a family, we all need to take step back once in a while and give ourselves the gift of doing nothing.

Before going any further with this, let me state that "doing nothing" isn't necessarily what it sounds like.  There's a whole range of possibilities and each of us should take the time, now and then, to explore some of them.

For the past six months, I feel like I've been going non-stop.  That could be because I have, in a way.  The grandkids, who had been staying at home with their dad who'd lost his job several months before, returned only two weeks after I'd set deadlines for two new books.  I'd become accustomed to not having them around, except to pick them up from school and take them to their home.  I'd forgotten how crazy life can be with them around.  My schedule and goals took a beating, and it's been crazy, but somehow I've managed to stay on course...or close, anyway.

The time of meeting deadlines will ease soon.  I'm wrapping up the last of what's needed on A NANNY FOR THE COWBOY, out in March next year, and hope to have the last chapter of DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY, June 2013, written well before the upcoming holiday weekend is over.  That will ease the pressure, and we all know how important that is.

While I admire those who are like the Energizer Bunny and never seem to run out of steam, I have a deep, dark suspicion that what we see isn't what's really happening. Why?  Because everyone needs some time to refill the well.

I'd never heard that term before, until I heard Kathie DeNosky use it back in the late 90's, when we were both struggling to sell our first books.  Kathie had been at the writing game a few years longer than I had, so she became my guide in everything writing related.  She taught me about the need to stop the insanity and refill the well that empties without us noticing when we have our nose to the grindstone.  (How's that for mixed metaphors?)  I do have to say that she didn't have to explain what "refilling the well" meant.  I got the meaning immediately.  It was the "how" that had me stumped.

Reading has always been an integral part of my life, but once I began writing, the reading time began to shrink, little by little.  Now just reading a handful of books a year is difficult.  There are those deadlines and all the other things in life that need attending to.  I envy writers who have the time to read the work of others, while moving forward with their own writing career.  I wish I could do the same.

Because I can't pick up a book every week or two and devote time to immersing myself in the worlds of other writers, I have to remind myself that it's important to take a break, no matter how short, and do some reading.  Time for that break is coming up very soon.  By next week at this time, I hope I'm in the midst of it and enjoying it.  It's time to refill the well.

As that special time grows closer, I've been thinking more about it lately, and I realize that there are other things to enjoy, in addition to reading.  So here's a list I've come up with to try, just for me.

10 Things to Do to Refill the Well

• Find a quiet spot to think or just "be"
• Spend time with friends, both writing and non-writing, especially ones I don't see often
• Sleep or take a nap without interruption
• Go outside and watch the clouds drift by
• Find a place away from the street lights--away from the city--to once again enjoy the beauty of the night sky
• Take a leisurely walk in the park, not for exercise or any reason other than the sheer joy of it
• Go to the park and swing
• Sit by the water and listen to the sounds it makes
• Find a new and unusual shop and explore
• Watch favorite movies for a full day

That's my list. What's yours?

The ultimate in refilling my well:

Well it's not far back to sanity, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me. ~ Christopher Cross, "Sailing" Lyrics

Patterning

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

Finding a title for this blog post took more time and thought than deciding on a topic.  The thing is, it's easy to talk (or blog) about something, but actually doing it and repeating it can sometimes prove to be difficult, if not impossible.

I pulled out my handy Synonym Finder (The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale) and looked up the word "habit," because what we're really trying to do is to motivate ourselves enough to make something--writing maybe--a habit.  Right?

Habit, routine, practice---none have the right ring to them to make me want to repeat the same thing over and over.  Oops!  Now that sounds really boring and not very positive.  Let me tell you, finding an image that had something to do with repeated action was much simpler.  When I saw the escalator, the light bulb went on over my head.  An escalator goes and goes, never stopping until, well, probably when the mall or store or whatever closes--if it does--and then it's started again the next day.  (Gee, sounds like my life!)  Making something a habit is much the same.

We've all watched small children shrink back in fear of stepping on an escalator.  I vaguely remember when I was a child that my mother kept telling me to just step on it and stop being afraid.  I was convinced my foot was going to get caught somehow and I'd be pulled down between those panels of steel to be cut into ribbons.  (BTW, the escalators at Macy's in Chicago went about 100 mph.  Or seemed to.)  As an adult, I rarely give it a thought.  Stepping on an elevator with barely a glance has become a habit for most of us.  Wouldn't it be nice to make a habit of writing regularly (or anything else!) the same way?

So I checked out a few more words, since habit, routine, and practice struck me as being on the not too nifty side of the list.  There had to be words that were more positive and would lure me into making something a habit.  A GOOD habit.

I came up with two.  Custom and pattern.  Of those, I chose pattern.  The reason I chose it is because the word patterning came to mind.  Here's what dictionary.com has to say:

patterning  pat·tern·ing (pāt'ər-nĭng)  n. 

 A method of physical therapy in which a rigid pattern of exercises is imposed to stimulate weak or paralyzed nerves and muscles to act on their own.

Oh, yeah. Uh huh.  Weak or paralyzed nerves and muscles?  What a wonderful description of what it's like to try to get back to writing (or playing the piano, exercising, painting, etc.) after not having done it for a while.

As for the word pattern, this definition pretty much says it.

 pattern pat·tern   noun

5. a combination of qualities, acts, tendencies, etc., forming a consistent or characteristic arrangement: the behavior patterns of teenagers.

Apparently I've been doing some patterning and didn't realize it.  I know it's important to write every day.  When I don't write for a while, I have a very hard time getting back into it.  The simple act of thinking up words, much less stringing them together to make a coherent sentence, can be almost physically painful after not doing it.  While I know I need to do these things, I don't.  I find something else to do.

Let's face it.  I understand goal setting and how breaking a large goal into smaller pieces is the key to reaching that goal.  Well, that and actually doing those daily goals. ☺ That's where my problem lies.  But I'm working on correcting that.  For the past two weeks, I've been writing steadily and reaching goals better than ever.  I've been stimulating those weak and even sometimes paralyzed writing nerves and muscles.  I'm within a chapter of having a book finished and shouldn't have a problem of making my deadline.  After that?  I plan to keep going.  Who knows what I can accomplish?  Who knows what we all can accomplish, if only we learn to use patterning?

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become... habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become." ~ Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady

My Way or the Highway

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

There are as many ways to write a book as there are writers.

If you think you didn't read that correctly, here it is again:

There are as many ways to write a book as there are writers.

Our paths to publication and beyond are a journey of learning and changing to discover what works best for each of us.  And even when we believe we've found that best, it's possible to be surprised by the something new that works even better.

While I've blogged many times about the benefits of plotting, it isn't an absolute necessity when writing a book.  Many writers are able to sit down and pen a wonderful story without plotting a single bit of it.  Oh, how I sometimes envy them!

But writing is a craft, and there are things in writing that are static because they're expected by readers.  It's best to learn the basics first, then add the frills and extras later.  Each of the following has some wiggle room, so do some studying and find out what works best for you.

A novel needs:

1. A beginning, middle, and end
2. Characters (more than one makes it more interesting)
3. Plot...as in what the story is about
4. Setting
5. Conflict

How a story is created and written is where we each go our different way.  Your "how" will be different than mine or Stephen King's or Nora Roberts' or Dan Brown's or the guy down the block or...  You get the picture. :)  But no matter "how" we do it---from beginning to end, end to beginning, from the middle out, or a scene here, then another there---in the end we have a story.  

Learning what way works best for each individual can be ongoing.  When I hit a snag or something isn't working as well as it once had (usually in the area of plotting or characterization), I often try something new and different that someone has suggested.  No matter how small or where it came from, it can make a difference.

When I first began writing (as an adult), I did it because I enjoyed creating a world and characters, especially characters I could manipulate!  Ah, the power of control!  But when the time came that I decided I just might want to try to have a book published, things changed.  I realized I couldn't just sit down and ramble, while my characters were off in one direction, then another.  I started researching the writing process.  While I realized that somehow I knew many of the basics, probably from inhaling so many books, there were--and still are--other things that need to be learned other than grammar, sentence structure, and even plot.

Gathering and learning new information is exciting.  There are thousands of ways and places to find writing basics and beyond.  Many of those are online, and an abundance of them are free.  Each will view a topic in a different manner.  If the first one you read or try doesn't suit, move on to the next, and keep moving until you find an "aha" that you feel will fit you and what you need.

Those who have been writing for a while often share what they've learned.  That's what's nice about groups such as Romance Writers of America, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Mystery Writers of America...  Those are only the tip of the iceberg, and many of them have local chapters.  There are also local groups that are not associated with national or international groups.  Being a part of a group can be a huge benefit in a career that can be pretty lonely at times.  We've all been there at the beginning, and most people are more than happy to answer questions and help.

No one has a magic wand.  Nothing that's worth it is easy. Writing, like Life, is a constant learning adventure.    Enjoy the journey!  And do it your way.

"It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous." - Peter Benchley

A Time to Work, A Time to Play

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

The four sports depicted in the photos on the left share something in common.  They all involve a goal of some kind.  Of course the obvious goal is to win, but a team must make more goals, scoring than the other team to win.

I've blogged a lot here, especially on Mondays, about setting and working toward goals.  I've even mention that we should reward ourselves in some way when we reach each goal, no matter how big or small.  But while reading the latest blog post, Scheduling Success, at Left-Brained Business for Write-Brained People, I started thinking about how much we use setting goals for work, but many of us don't tend to set goals for play.

I'm probably the worst person about making time for fun or to just relax.  There are some days that I work twelve to sixteen hours.  While that isn't always fast-paced work, it's still work and doesn't leave a lot of time for play.  I'm beginning to notice that more and more.  It isn't just because of writing or Facebook/Twitter.  Long ago, when my daughters were young, I discovered I couldn't spend each evening in front of the television, so I pretty much stopped watching.  Don't get me wrong.  I find television entertaining, but to get things done, I had to give up the majority of shows I watched.  Amazingly, it didn't kill me!  Only in the last few years have I decided I could allow myself television time, and I've begun watching again.  Not so much this summer, of course, although HBO is kind enough to offer programs the grab and hold my attention.

So I've added some TV to my life again.  I've also added walking.

I understand that there are some people who might look at me as if I'd lost my mind when I say that walking is relaxing.  They're partly right.  It isn't relaxing in the true sense of the word, but it does help start my day on the positive side.  I listen to music on my Mp3 player, get some exercise and fresh air, and clear my brain.  I've also found that if I don't force it, major breakthroughs in my stories have resulted by just getting out there for thirty minutes or more each day and putting one foot in front of the other.  I also discovered that I missed my walks when the temps were so high that even mornings were miserable, forcing me to take a break for a few weeks.  My only fear is that by the time I get home again and do whatever needs to be done to get the rest of the morning going, I may forget.  (Note to self:  Check again on getting a small voice recorder.)

I've discovered that time spent with friends makes life better.

It doesn't happen often.  Although my writing group gets together for a meeting once a month, it's work related and doesn't count as a simple get-together with friends.  Yesterday, I met friends Patricia Davids, Penny Rader, and Deborah Eades, at the movie theater to see Hope Springs. We had a great time, just kicking back in a cool theater with popcorn and drinks, while watching the movie unfold.  (A super movie, especially for anyone over 40.)  Seeing a movie is something I do maybe twice a year.  This really should change.

I'm learning again that life isn't just doing the day to day things that must be done.  It's more than paying the bills and keeping the car running. It's more than writing and creating websites and getting grandkids to school.  And even though I've had to re-adjust my writing goals and am running on a tight schedule toward deadline, I'm definitely going to find a little more time to enjoy television, a few movies, walking, and friends.

Next time you start making goals, be sure to build in some play time.  It doesn't have to be a lot, it doesn't even have to be every day, but it should be often.

Sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold.  But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. ~ Douglas Pagels, These Are the Gifts I'd Like to Give to You

The Power of Turning Points

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

Recently I blogged about how to cure sagging middles (the writing kind!) by using main turning points.  From experience, I know that the words "turning points" can strike fear in the heart of many writers.  I've been there.  I overcame the fear.  And I'm going to share how anyone can, too.

The first thing to learning how to use a turning point is to understand what it is.  Simply put, a turning point is a place/point in a story (often an event) where the plot takes a new (sometimes unexpected) direction.  

Besides the main turning point that usually occurs in the middle of the story, there are others, and they are just as important in keeping the story moving along and interesting to the reader as the main turning point is.

Back in July, I blogged about Growing the Story.  That blog post included the 8 Plot Points of a story and the storyboard I use to keep me on track during pre-writing (plotting or just thinking ahead) and writing.  Let's take another look.

1. Opening
2. Inciting Incident
3. Turning Points (1 or 2)
4. Main Turning Point
5. Black Moment
6. Sacrifice
7. Resolution
8. HEA

In a romance, a turning point will be something that happens (external) that brings about a new emotional (internal) direction.  Sometimes it's something that will push the hero and heroine together, when one or neither wants it to happen.

FAMILY BY DESIGN

Christmas is looking bleak for Becca Tyler and her three young children. Money is tight for this single mom, and the house where they live has been sold to a new owner, meaning they must move. Throw in an encounter with the guy Becca heartlessly dumped in high school, and not only Christmas but life seems to be handing out lemons.

First Turning Point
 Nick, the new owner and the guy Becca dumped in high school, learns he's the cause of her predicament and offers her a job.

Why?  Nick's secretary quits, and although Nick might be able to ignore that Becca may not have a home to live in, her three children make the difference.  They'll be working together on a daily basis, not exactly what a man wants to do with the woman who spurned him in the past.


THE MAVERICK'S REWARD

It's been almost twenty years since Tucker O'Brien left the Rocking O Ranch at the age of fifteen, and the only reason he's returned, physically and emotionally scarred, is to get to know the son he never knew he had. But once Shawn graduates from high school, Tucker plans to leave...until he meets Paige Miles, Desperation's new doctor, who forces him to take an honest look at himself and makes him want to risk becoming the man he's always wanted to be.

First Turning Point
Tucker relents and tells Paige he'll do Physical Therapy, but only if she's his therapist.

Why?  Tucker recognizes that he doesn't have a choice about doing the PT, and there's no one close who can oversee it but Paige. They may be seeing each other often because of it, but he's sure she's as much against getting involved in any other way than she is.


Two of the best places to watch for turning points are TV shows and movies.  I can almost set my watch to Criminal Minds.  The main turning point--where information learned makes a big change in who the unsub (unknown subject) might be, and they're off in a new direction of finding him--comes at the half hour, just before the commercial.  There's another turning point near the 3/4 of an hour mark, when they know who the unsub is and they go after him.  They were in a rut during last season when quite often this TP is a rush to a house with their guns drawn and vests on, only to find that the house is empty.  A good reminder to vary your turning points!  Author Elizabeth Sinclair loves the movie The American President and uses it to help teach plotting.  One of these days, I'm going to watch it! ☺

Whether you use television, movies or books, try to watch for those moments when something happens that changes the direction of the story or even changes the way a character sees things in a different way (an AHA! moment).

Using turning points throughout your story will strengthen it, earn the attention of editors, and cause readers to never want to put down the book.

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. - E. L. Doctorow

Staying On Track

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

My favorite season is just around the corner.  In fact, if this morning's low temperature of 63 degrees is any indication, it just might be here in time for September.  I won't hold my breath on that, though.  This year has not been a model for seasons.

Fall (aka Autumn) has always been a symbol of new beginnings for me. While New Year's Eve/Day is the traditional time to make changes and set new goals, mine has always been that time when the new school year rolls around.  And while it's been (mumble, mumble) years since I've attended school, I haven't been able to shake that new and exciting feeling when Back-to-School time rolls around and the promise of a new start is in the cool, crisp air.

Back-to-School for me now means fewer small people in my home, and this year there'll be four of the five grandkids heading back on Wednesday.  Only one--3-year-old Payton--will be here.

While I would love to say that I'll be looking into that fresh start this week, I can't honestly do that.  I'm in the middle of a deadline and halfway through finishing the book.  It's been a wild ride this year.  One would think that as the g-kids grow older, the watching-over of them would be easier.  No, it's more like the older they grow, the bigger they get, taking up more space that the year before.  It's getting crowded in here!  Writing during the day used to be doable.  Now it's become impossible.  That means less gets done, and that leads to getting behind on goals.  When I get behind on goals, I'm more easily distracted.  That's cause for trouble.

I have a long list of things I want to do--office rearranging, bedroom fixing up, movies to watch, a new season on TV--but I have to tell myself to be patient.  I can meet that deadline if I stay on track.  It's only a month away.  All those things can wait for a little while.  Come Wednesday, my schedule will change and I'll be making adjustments, but I'm looking forward to it.  There may be a switch in the track, but I'm staying on.  After all, there's a promise of a new start in the early morning air.

Are you setting new goals or are you working on current ones?  If neither, why not?

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living. ~ Gail Sheehy

Buried in the To-Do List

Yes, that's how I feel at the moment and the reason this week's blogs are started but not finished.  There are other things taking precedence, including looming deadlines and the last few days of insanity before school starts.

I'll be back next Monday with motivation tips and again on Wednesday with a new writing tip, this time about Turning Points.  What are turning points?  Stop in next week and find out!

One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the other. ~ Chinese Proverb

Tightening That Sagging Middle

WRITING WEDNESDAYS

I'm late, but I have an excuse.  I've spent today working on my own middle.  The middle of the book, that is.  Work on my physical middle has fallen to the wayside, thanks to the hot weather.  Once it cools off, the walking will resume.

Frankly, I'd much rather blog about the middle in the picture on the left.  Who wouldn't?  But lusting over a hunk isn't going to get a book written and, except for being a reminder of tightening those sagging flesh and blood middles, it's only going to make it warmer in here.  Another 105 today was hot enough, thank you.

I'm one of the lucky ones who hasn't had a rejection because of a sagging middle.  (And I'm knocking on wood.  It can strike at any time.)  Believe me, I've had plenty of rejections, but they've been for a variety of other things.  Still, it seems sagging middles are one of the top reasons for rejection.

If you're coming up on the halfway point in your story and your Hero and Heroine are getting along so well that it's almost scary, it may be that you've forgotten about the conflict between that H and H.  It's conflict, not rosy moments, that keeps them from reaching their happily ever after too soon.  This is where a little plotting can go a long way.

A good story that keeps a reader reading will build from that first introduction to the conflict to the end when that conflict--and often new and different ones--are solved.  This is true for all fiction, not only romance.  While it's nice to have interludes where the characters aren't at odds and everything is going fairly smoothly, if it goes too smoothly for too long, readers can easily lose interest.  And so can editors.

To counteract a lull, it helps to focus on what can happen that will increase the conflict between the H/H.  This conflict should be emotional, and therefore internal, but can be brought about by something external.  A kiss...or more...in a romance will increase the stakes of the characters and bring about more intense emotions and...  You guess it.  CONFLICT.  This could happen while discovering something new about the other character that means a re-thinking of the relationship.  Or maybe a romance that's been kept a secret suddenly suffers a leak that could destroy the couple.  Do this mid-way, and you've discovered the main turning point of your story and solved quite a lot of the sagging middle problem.  Keep it connected to the main conflict, and you'll discover that you won't be going off in directions that lead nowhere.

It doesn't take heavy, thorough or even complicated plotting to do this.  Simply knowing, either before you begin writing the story or discovering it as you're writing it, that this moment is going to happen will keep you on course and keep the story interesting.

The main turning point isn't the only thing to keep readers hooked, but it is one of the most important ones.  Don't cheat your readers.  Give them a strong shift in the story, then take them to a heart-wrenching black moment, before leaving them with happy sighs over the HEA.

Torturing your characters is fun and much better than torturing your readers. ;)

The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict, conflict. ~ James Frey