The Creative Process

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

The Key to Inspiration

A few days ago, I received an email from a reader via the contact form on my website.  She was reading my very first book, a Silhouette Romance titled RACHEL'S RESCUER.  No way was I not smiling when I read that she liked the book, although she hadn't finished it yet.  I hope the end doesn't disappoint her.  It's one of those endings that made me smile as I wrote it.

It's been almost thirteen years since I sold that first book, even longer since I first idea of it creaped into my mind.  It also doesn't seem like it was that long ago.  Not only has Silhouette Romance been a thing of the past, but I've added a few years to my age.  Even so, writing a book is always a new and exciting process.

After some thought and missing several Mondays and Wednesdays here, I decided that instead of my usual days and topics, I'd change things around a little and share what I've learned about writing in the past 15+ years on Thursdays.  When the mood strikes, I might stop in on a Monday, Wednesday, or maybe a Friday or weekend to share something different, but I'm hoping Thursdays won't find me as Mondays--and Wednesdays--have lately, wondering how I managed to forget what day it was and have allowed the it to pass without blogging. For those who stop by more frequently, I apologize and hope the change will help.

So here we go!

From Idea to Book

The question most asked of writers is, "Where do you get your ideas?"

I haven't discovered a single writer who has been able to answer that question in less than ten words.  Unless the answer is, "Everywhere," that is, and that's an honest answer.  Ideas spring from TV, movies, songs, books, overheard conversations, photos, the evening news, and much, much more.

A lack of ideas isn't usually a problem.  It's what to do with them.  Many a writer has had an inspiring idea for a story, only to discover, once begun, that it lacked something vital and eventually found its way to the bottom desk drawer.  Some ideas work.  Others don't work, no matter how long or hard we work on them or how badly we want them to.

An idea is only the beginning.  That sliver of inspiration goes through a long, arduous process to become a full story.  It involves characters, back stories, settings, goals, dialogue, and conflict, just to name a few.  The process can involve hours spent in front of a blank screen and even more hours, days, months and sometimes years putting letters and words together that become the story on that screen.

Example

RACHEL'S RESCUER was far from the first book I wrote and obviously not my first idea, nor the first book I wrote.  But it was a viable idea and it began as a silent reply to yet another rejection.  That reply was, "They want babies, brides and cowboys?  I'll give them babies, brides and cowboys."

Yes, my inspiration was a rejection.

It didn't take long to create the characters.  The "cowboy" was a rancher in Montana.  The "bride" was a mother, and the "baby" was her six-year-old son.

Then came the questions.

• What is one thing all mothers fear?  Answer: The loss of a child. After thinking of all the ways a child could be lost, I finally found the answer.  Aha!  Ex-in-laws (mother was a widow) were trying to take the child because...?  They had made an assumption about her and considered her (unfairly) to be a bad mother.  Conflict and Motivation for the mother.  She was on the run from them.
• What is the rancher/hero's conflict?  Answer: He didn't believe in love and marriage and didn't want a family.  Simple, right?  But why did he feel that way?  What was his Motivation?  He'd been in a bad marriage, and his wife (an absolute opposite of the rancher) had miscarried their baby.  One important thing.  He loved kids, but didn't know or accept it.
• Where to set the story?  Answer:  Montana.  It was a long way from where the heroine and her in-laws lived.
• How do the H/H meet? Answer: The heroine arrives at the hero's ranch with a sheriff following.  She thinks her ex-in-laws have found her. (They haven't.) Thinking the drive leading to the ranch is a road, she dead-ends at the ranch...with a flat tire.
• How to increase the conflict and keep the heroine there?  Answer:  A snowstorm.

That was how the story was born.

The tagline on the back cover reads: A sheriff, a snowstorm and suspicious ex-in-laws were hot on Rachel's heels...  I wish I could say I wrote that, but I didn't. ☺

 Of course more conflict arose, and the H/H could only fall in love.  It is a romance, after all. :)   But that's for another day.

Rachel's Rescuer
working title was
The Rancher and the Runaway Mom

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. - Steve Jobs

Survival of the Fittest

WRITING WEDNESDAYS THURSDAY

Not only are Thanksgiving and Black Friday over for the year, but the 2012 edition of NaNoWriMo will end tomorrow.  In my mind, I see writers at their desks with their heads down as they race to the finish line to see how close they can each get to that 50,000 word goal.

Fifty thousand words written in a month.  Amazing.  Wonderful.  Exhausting.

I joke, but this is really serious stuff.  Anyone who even gave it a try this year is a winner.  Setting a goal and working toward it is something to be proud of, even if the goal isn't quite reached, participating in something like NaNo is an achievement that shouldn't be passed of as nothing.  It's something.   Just the act of trying is courageous.  But isn't a lot of life the same?

The old proverb, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," [1840 T. H. Palmer Teacher's Manual 223] holds true for everything in life.  Well, the good stuff, anyway.  We don't want to keep trying to be evil and mean and blackhearted.  What we do want is to be successful in the things we do, from being a good person, a good parent, and at least have a modicum of success in the things we choose to do.  While it's true that we can't always be highly successful in everything, sometimes we don't know our true worth until we reach for that brass ring.  Missing it isn't failing, because trying, itself, is positive forward motion.  Don't throw in the towel too soon.

Because writing is one of the arts, it takes time to hone the craft.  In honing, we often learn from our mistakes.  One of the things we can count on 99% of the time is that we our work will be rejected at least once. Please note that the WE is crossed out.  I did that for a reason, because while our work may be rejected, we as persons are not.  Granted, it hurts.  Yes, it can feel personal.  But the key to keep in mind is that a rejection is not just what some call "an invitation to resubmit" but a chance to learn something.  It can be the catalyst to dig a little deeper or try again for that spark that makes a story cry out in a sea of other stories.

Rejections aren't only for those trying to break into publishing, but for those who have a backlist.  Yes, published authors get rejections, too.  And they try again.  The proof is in the pudding.  My pudding.  In June last year (2011), I submitted two proposals for two new stories set in Desperation, OK.  They were rejected in July, with an invitation to revise and resubmit.  I revised, resubmitted (August) and was rejected (September) again.  Definitely a time to reconsider.  I decided to keep the heroine in one story, because she's been a minor character in the series, but to give her a new hero and story, then write a completely new story for the second, with a completely new hero & heroine.  I submitted those at the end of October.  They were rejected mid-December.

To say I was disappointed and questioning my ability to write anything beyond my name would be an understatement.  But I wasn't completely down quite yet.  I took a deep breath and wondered what to do.  I had two more story ideas with brother heroes that were left over from my Silhouette Romance days, so I quickly worked up proposals on them and sent them to my agent and editor in mid-January.  When they both were accepted, I breathed a big sigh of relief, patted myself on the back and immediately set to work writing them.  If I'd given up after those three rejections, A NANNY FOR THE COWBOY (March 2013) and DESIGNS ON THE COWBOY (June 2013) would be nothing but old story notes.

There are so many things to think about when writing a book, and it sometimes seems that the more we know, the harder the writing can be.  Unfettered writing, such as that done during NaNo, can sometimes unearth some of our best work, only because we're not questioning each word written.

Whether you're wrapping up NaNoWriMo for this year, or you're fearing another rejection, or even if you've recently stuck your toe in the dark but sparkling waters of writing, stay strong.  Work hard, grow that thick skin so your psyche and muse don't become too bruised by the journey, and be fit enough to survive.  To quote Spock, "Live long and prosper."

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. - Jimmy Dean, Actor, Singer and Businessman

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

Don't Get Mad. Get Busy!

 

MOTIVATION MONDAYS

Tomorrow is the 12th anniversary of the sale of my first book, Rachel's Rescuer.  To say I was surprised when my agent called to say that Silhouette Romance was interested in publishing it would be a colossal  understatement.  I never really believed it would ever happen, but I kept trying anyway.  Sounds a bit crazy, doesn't it?  I owe a ton of thanks to three wonderful women who, at the time, were my critique partners.  Because of Kathie DeNosky, Janet Barton, and Belinda Barnes, I never threw in the towel all those times I wanted to so badly.

Rejection is a terrible thing to endure, and even more so when something you've created from your heart is turned down.  It happens to the best of writers...nearly always more than once and---believe it or not---to writers who have written and sold many, many books.  Even last year I experienced it twice, until I finally hit the mark with two different books.

When things got rocky over the past seventeen years, I could have quit.  I've had plenty of rejections of all kinds.  But I didn't throw in the towel.  Whether it was friends who kept me going or sheer stubbornness to prove that I could do it, I kept trying.  So far, being stubborn has paid off, even though there have been times I was convinced it wouldn't.

So what was my motivation?  I fiercely believed that if I quit, I'd miss my chance and never prove to myself or anyone else that I really could do it.

That long and winding road the Beatles sang about just kept leading me back to the door of writing.  And that road had plenty of bumps.  Before I sat down to write what would later become Rachel's Rescuer, I'd experienced several rejections on other stories.  By that time I'd learned that it didn't do any good to mope around the house because an editor didn't care for my story.  Or my writing.  Or whatever it was that prompted the rejection.  I'd come to the point where I'd have a short pity party for myself that lasted less than a couple of hours, then I'd force myself to move on.  After the first couple of times, doing that became fairly easy.  I can still remember sitting at the drafting table that served as my desk at the time, while I announced, "They want cowboys, brides, and babies?  I'll give them babies, brides, and cowboys!"  And although heroine Rachel Harris's son Cody was a few years past being a baby, and hero Lucas Callahan was a rancher in Montana, not a rodeo cowboy, there was a wedding---although not a real one.  I finished it, titled it, and then wondered what to do.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and entered The Rancher and the Runaway Mom in the Maggie Contest.  Of course I knew it was crazy, but what the heck.  At least it was a chance to get some helpful feedback.   The feedback really was helpful...and so was winning first place, along with receiving a request for the full manuscript from the senior editor of Silhouette Romance.  I was so excited, I called an agent on the spur of the moment, and she graciously offered to represent me.  I polished the manuscript, sent it to an editor I was working with at Silhouette, and was promptly rejected.  On the same day the rejection arrived, so did a rejection from an agent I'd queried months before.  Things on the publishing front weren't looking so good, after all.  Because the editor who rejected me was leaving immediately, and with an okay from my agent, I decided to submit to a different editor.  It took a while, but I finally struck gold on April 3, 2000.

Looking back, it took motivation, fueled by perseverance, the help of friends, and an added dash of simply stubborn.  It still amazes me that someone liked my creation enough to publish it.

Be amazed.  Find the best motivation for you, and then use it with perseverance to reach your dream.

 "There is no failure except in no longer trying." - Elbert Hubbard 

The Uphill Climb

The goals are set, the gathering is done, and the time to get words to paper has not only arrived, it's moving along swiftly.  Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the writing.  Words still aren't on paper, and this is Day #3.

It's my fault.  Or half of this is my fault, the other half was not being pre-prepared.  Yes, that's a new word.  It means that when you know something could happen that will cause need for preparation before starting, some preparation planning (pre-preparing) is called for.  I didn't pre-prepare.  It comes from never having enough faith in myself and thinking the worst.  One more very bad habit I am working hard to change.

I am getting words written, just not on the writing project with solid deadlines.  And while the knowledge that deadlines are met one step at a time is carved into my psyche, life has had a way of playing games with that psyche this week.

For instance, Monday was a day spent gathering.  The things that are part of preparation to write needed to be done, and I hadn't even considered doing them.  A string of rejections was the basis, but the cause was my inability to take action.  I was stymied.

Yesterday afternoon (late) had been targeted for getting caught up.  That meant not only making Day #2 word /page count, but Day #1's, also.  Certainly doable.  But thanks to my car breaking down, leading to a 1 mile walk home from the school with three grandkids, followed by worry of how to get along without car until fixed, I couldn't wrap my mind around anything that resembled the story that needed those words written.  So, okay, that could be remedied on Day #3.

That brings us to today.  Parts of it have been spent on moving said car from breakdown spot to my daughter's driveway, where my son-in-law can take a look at it.  Then there were several calls to the dealership to see if parts were available.  Uh, no, of course not.  It's an older car and part needed was discontinued.  As it turns out, this means there's a major problem, which someone (I hope) is now in charge of.  Someone besides me, that is.

I've now gone from a 4-5 page goal to an 8-10 page goal, and I'm now looking at a 12-15 page goal for today, just to catch up and be on track.  Let's face it, it happens to each and every one of us at one time or another.  I tell myself it's only 15 pages, and I've done that much before without a problem.  And then I tell myself again.  If I keep repeating it enough, as I sit and look at a blank screen, magic could happen.

But waiting for magic could take more time than I have to waste, so it looks like I'll just have to do this one word at a time.  The good that will come out of this is that once a few words are written, others follow more easily.  In time, there will be moments--long ones, even--when they actually flow without pain.

And that's what the uphill climb is all about.  From zero to tens of thousands is definitely a reach, but it's not impossible.  Am I ready for this?  You bet!  Are you ready to work on your goal today?  I hope so.  Let's get started!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." - Lao-tzu (corrected translation of the popular "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.")

No Fish Story

There are things that happen that we'd rather not share, oftentimes because it might put us in a bad light.  Maybe it's a little embarrassing and not something we're not proud to tell others.

So why a picture of Flounder today?  Because floundering was what I was doing for a few days last week.  I'll be honest and not be embarrassed.  On Thursday I received a double rejection from my editor at Harlequin American.  After seven books for HAR, I fell in the hole.

It's been that kind of year.  I should have seen it coming, but I was holding out hope.  I've been trying since June to hit on the right story.  Apparently my aim was bad.

It took me less than two days to get over it. Okay, those two days were BAD, but by late Friday I'd moved beyond and dragged out a couple of stories from under the bed.  No, not really from under the bed, just not something I'd looked at closely in the past few years.  A phone convo with one of my brainstorming buddies helped me make that final few steps to get over the Hill of Despair.  (I think I own a house there.)  I've already begun working on them and hope to have them ready by the first of January.

So where does the floundering come in?  It happens when revisions are requested and when submissions/proposals are rejected.  It happens to everyone at some time, not just writers.  It's that time--no matter how short or long--when a person doesn't know what direction to take.  Should I do this this?  Or should I do that?  And more than likely, nothing is done.

Rejections, passes, Rs, whatever anyone wants to call them, happen in the writing business.  A lot.  They hurt.  They hurt even when we tell ourselves it isn't personal.  But because our creations, our books, our stories, are pieces of our selves, it feels personal and can be painful.  Many people give up when they don't make the progress they'd envisioned.  It takes a thick skin to keep writing or creating when no one seems to care but us.

And, yes, rejections happen to everyone, at one time or another.  The key is learning how to handle them and how quickly to put an end to the floundering, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and return to forward movement, having learned something--again--the hard way.

Is it worth it?  I think so. :)

Every rejection is incremental payment on your dues that in some way will be translated back into your work.  -  James Lee Burke