NaNoWriMo – I need help!

Yesterday was the halfway point of the month and while I’m not halfway to my 50K goal yet I am so much closer to it than I was two weeks ago.  Currently I have almost 13K words.  I’m having all the usual issues with making time to write… there’s that life thing.  The “sick”  count for the month is son 2, husband 1, and I’m still waiting for the laundry and kitchen fairies to show up and take care of those chores.  And if someone could figure out how to lock my TV so it won’t turn on until my writing is done for the day, I’d pay good money for that gadget!

Then there’s the weather thing.  The November Nor’easter as they are calling it made a mess of everything last week, including a 15 hour power outage.  Ever since we rode out hurricane Isabel I have a very hard time focusing on much of anything except the trees on a windy day.  Usually I make a point of getting out of the house (the wind only bothers me at home) but the rain was so awful, my couple of forays out ended quickly.  The day job must be attended — fortunately it’s part-time.  The critiquing biz is going gang busters (and I’m loving it!).  And my writing buddy who provides an external check on my wandering and procrastinating by meeting up with me several times a week to write, has the audacity to leave town for part of this week.

So, with all that going on I’m in need of some concrete ideas for keeping myself focused on the task at hand (that would be writing 50K words this month). 

The best one, so far, is to arrange to write with someone else outside of my house.  I have a hard time dragging myself out when I don’t have anyone to meet, and then it’s waaay too easy to procrastinate or find other, easier things to do (like write a blog post!).  Other than that I’m at a loss.

Do you have any tips or tricks for keeping butt in chair and fingers on the keyboard?  I’d love to hear them!  I can use all the help I can get!

Laurin

It’s time for NaNoWriMo!

I’m participating in NaNoWriMo for the third time this year.  We kicked it off here in Williamsburg with a write-in at a local B&N cafe.  Eight of us were there and lots of writing was accomplished!

I meet regularly to write with a friend I met two years ago at my very first NaNo write in.  We both find the structure of making an appointment to meet and write keeps the procrastination demons at bay.  This is probably the single most important thing that has come out of NaNoWriMo for me.

I’ve yet to “win”.  50K words in the month of November is truly a challenge, not just because it requires a committment to write regularly, but because there is so much else that happens this month (including, this year, my son waking up with the flu this morning).  The past two years I’ve done well — 35K+ — but I didn’t really commit to the 50K.  This year, though, I’m committed, and my friends are helping me keep my eye on the prize.

What prize?  A completed first draft.

I hate first drafts.  I love revising.  So getting through a first draft is the hardest part of the entire process of creating a book for me.  This way I get to sprint through the hard part with lots of people all over the words pushing me to keep up my word count, pushing me to keep my fingers moving, pushing me to create without editing, without questioning.  It’s all about getting those 50K words on the page.

The real prize is that I’ll give myself December to catch up with all the things that fall by the wayside this month while I put my writing front and center. Then, come January, I get to tackle my very favorite part of writing a novel.  I get to take the SFD (**itty First Draft) and craft it into a compelling story.  What a way to start the new year!

If you haven’t joined the madness of NaNoWriMo, it’s not too late.  Check out nanowrimo.org and sign up for free.  Then plant your butt in the nearest chair and get to work.  Your first draft could be finished by November 30th!  What are you waiting for!

NOTE: The NaNo site is REALLY slow this first week or so of the challenge, so be patient.  If you can’t get signed up right now, start writing.  In a few days you can make it “official” on the site.

Now go write!

Laurin

Drum roll, please…

And the winners of the birthday presents are…

Scene and Structure, by Jack Bickham (my favorite writing book!) goes to Tina Glasneck!

The free 25 page critique goes to Anna G. — but I don’t have any contact info for Anna.  

Anna G., if you see this please contact me at Laurin @ Wittig.com (no spaces).  If you know Anna G — I think she might be a Washington Romance Writers member — please let her know she won. 

If I don’t hear from her by next Wednesday I’ll let the random number generator genie choose another winner, so stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left good wishes!

Laurin

P.S. (Friday AM)  Anna G has been located!

Kindle – The Future of Publishing?

Kindle 2

I’ve been thinking for a while now that e-publishing is about to really take off.  The Kindle, with Oprah’s help via endorsement on her show, has proven that people are willing to read this way.  Heck, I’ve gotten to where I prefer to read this way. 

Seriously. 

A friend lent me a book last week.  It’s big. It’s hardback size, but paper back.  It’s hard to read in bed, or to carry around.  I read enough to know that I’m interested in reading the whole thing, but then turned to a book waiting for me on my Kindle.  I returned the big honkin’ book to my friend and downloaded the free sample of it from Amazon.

Now, here’s the thing about the free samples… 

I’ve already read enough of the book to know I want to read more, but I use the free samples as a virtual TBR pile (that’s a To Be Read pile for those of you that aren’t book horders).  I’m in the midst of another book at the moment but I don’t want to forget to read the loaned book.  If I go ahead and buy the ebook it may get moved off my front page and I’ll forget if I’ve read it or not.  Really, I will.  I’m bad with titles.  But if it’s a sample, then I know that 1. I haven’t read it yet and 2. I was interested in it enough to put it in my Kindle.

When I get done with my current read, I’ll look through the four or five e-books in my virtual TBR pile (samples) and decide which one I’m ready to read.  I can choose to download it right from the last page of the sample and voila, another book has moved off the TBR pile and is getting read.

That’s why I, Laurin-the-reader, love my Kindle 2. 

But I’m also Laurin-the-writer and I’m really intrigued by the idea of publishing through Amazon/Kindle.  Author Joe Konrath shares his experience (meaning royalty statement info!!) with Kindle publishing as compared to traditional NYC paper publishing on his blog: Kindle Numbers: Traditional Publishing Vs. Self Publishing.

Now, compared to Mr. Konrath, my books are unknowns to most people, so I know that my numbers would be smaller. To date my publisher has only published one of my books in electronic format and it has typically sold a handful of copies per year for the last four or five years.  My last royalty statement shows 24 copies sold in the previous 6 months.  That would, theoretically at least, equate to 50 ebooks sold this year.  Wow.  It’s an old, mostly forgotten book, but it’s e-sales are rising without me doing any promotion.  And while I make a generous 15% on these e-sales, I could set my own price and reap a 35% royalty from self-publishing through Kindle/Amazon. 

Unfortunately I don’t have my rights to my books back yet, but when I get them (soon I’m hoping) I will definitely be experimenting with this new way form of publishing.

Laurin

Workshop for Virginia Romance Writers

I had a wonderful time yesterday in the company of my friends and colleagues at Virginia Romance Writers.  I presented my new craft workshop, Scene CPR: Breathing Life into an Ailing Scene, then had a great lunch where we got to talk writing to our hearts’ content.

Gotta say, I love hanging out with writers. 

I got to say hi to old friends and meet some new friends. I’m sending out a big thanks to everyone who turned out yesterday! 

Laurin

Top 5 Writing Books

Well, the youngest kid is back in school today, so I’m bidding a fond farewell to summer, and turning an excited eye towards fall.  I’ll admit it, I was one of those kids who yearned for school to start back.  I whiled away the hours reading in the summer, but lived for September.  

Let’s just say it, I was (and still am) a nerd. 

I love to learn. 

I particularly like to learn something new, then teach it to someone else.  If I were to teach a creative writing class this fall, the following would be the Top Five books on the reading list:

1.  Scene & Structure: How to Construct Fiction with Scene-by-Scene Flow, Logic and Readability by Jack Bickham.

This one is my bible.  I go back to it again and again.  Bickham’s points about scene goals and disasters, and sequels, help me plan my scenes before I write them, and help me revise them when the time comes.  They also help me make sure I’m being true to my characters’ goals instead of forcing them to move through the plot machinations I dream up, which in turn helps to make my characters more real.

I find myself passing on Bickham’s wisdom again and again to my critique partners and my critique clients, from the multi-published to the newly writing, and I’m amazed at how few people understand these simple but powerful writing tools.

2.  Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder

This is a fairly new addition to my must have shelf.  I confess I’m transfixed by his “beat sheet” where you can test your plot against time honored story elements, but the guy has a way of making everything he talks about easily understood.  BTW, screenwriting books are great even if you don’t write screenplays.  Movies are short by comparison to books, but they are based on the same classic story structure.  I find it much easier to study that structure through movies.  If you are plot challenged, as I am, this makes for a great way to study lots of stories in a relatively short amount of time.

3.  The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You’re Not by John Vorhaus

Confession, I haven’t read this whole book, though what I have read has notes scrawled in the margins.  What I depend on for helping me develop both a story and a character is his chapter (#7) on “The Comic Throughline.”  This is a quick and dirty way to see if your character can carry the story.  I use it to help guide me in building a character, the steps acting as prompts for me to explore different aspects of my character and fine tune them.  I discovered Vorhaus’s (hilarious) writing book when a friend sent me a link to that chapter 7 (which Mr. Vorhaus kindly shares there).  You can find it here: The Comic Throughline.  I ended up buying the book because I thought he was brilliant and must have other gems to teach me.  He does.

4.  The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writersby Christopher Vogler

This one is a little denser than the previous three, but it breaks down the mythic structure of stories, originally identified by the great Joseph Campbell, into steps you can apply to your own stories.  I like to dip into this one when my plot is meandering, or when I’m trying to see the plot of a new book, and aways find nuggets of insight that steer me back in a productive direction.

5.  Myth and the Movies: Discovering the Mythic Structure of 50 Unforgettable Films by Stuart Voytilla

This is a fabulous companion volume to The Writer’s Journey.  It takes movies (remember, that’s how I prefer to study story structure & plot) and breaks them down into the same categories that The Writer’s Journey identifies.  It also has lovely visual aids in the form of The Hero’s Journey Model (a circle that shows each of the mythic steps for each movie analyzed!).  What can I say, pictures are worth a thousand words — at least as a quick reference.

 

So, there’s my Top Five writing books, but wait…there’s more.  I have one more to share.  In New Orleans, where I once lived, they call this lagniappe (pronounced roughly, lan-yap) — a little something extra.

 

6.  Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told by Blake Snyder

This does for Save the Cat! what Myth and the Movies does for The Writer’s Journey.  It takes the beat sheet that Snyder explains in Save the Cat! and applies it to movies in ten different genres.  Examples galore!!!  Examples are right up there with visual aides in my preferred learning tools.

 

So, it’s September. 

School is back in session. 

Teacher Laurin says pick up a new-to-you writing book and see if you can learn something new about your craft.  Then share that new knowledge with someone else!  Heck, come back here and share it with me.  I’m a nerd.  I love to learn.

Laurin

P.S.  If you have a favorite how-to writing book, please share in the comments!

BTL Critique client hits the big time!

I’m sending out a huge HUZZAH! to my dear friend, and Between the Lines Critiques client, Pamela Palmer. 

Her third Feral Warriors book, Passion Untamed, has hit the Top 10 on the Borders romance best sellers list.  If you love dark paranormal romance, I highly recommend you check out Pam’s awsome new series.

For the low down on the Feral Warriors and all her other amazing books visit Pam’s web site: PamelaPlamer.net

Don’t miss her bulletin board if you want to get in on great conversation and a don’t miss contest: Pamela’s Bulletin Board

Buy her books at:  Borders  OR Amazon

I’m so proud of Pam’s success I just had to share. ♥

Greetings from Downeast Maine

Vacation.  Ahhhh.  I’m refilling my creative well and resting up for a big push in August on both the critiquing front and the writing front.  Kayaking, card games, good food and good times with the extended family.   It’s the annual lobster-fest tonight for dinner.  Yum!

In the meantime, I’ll offer up a little literary inspiration from my childhood. 

Paul Bunyon in Bangor, Maine

This big fellow stands in downtown Bangor, Maine.  I’ve seen him many times over the years, but only from the highway passing by.  This year we took a very non-traditional trip into the big city to spend a morning playing the slots (I only lost $20) and Paul Bunyon stands right across the street so I finally got to see him up close.

I loved tall tales when I was a kid — probably influenced my love for genre fiction.

I hope your summer is relaxing and you are getting all the writing done you want to do!

Laurin

Where do you write?

Everyone has a preferred place to write.  Sometimes it’s a bit of the kitchen table, on the deck with the laptop, at the library, Starbucks, or in “A Room of Ones Own.”

I have a beautiful (if cluttered) office in my home.  It has an antique rosewood spinnet that has been converted into a computer desk, a 1920s library table as my everything-else desk, and a comfy but unremarkable desk chair.

There’s a cozy, sized-perfectly-for-me reading chair next to a sunny window.

With Robin Hood looking on!

I have inspirational pictures and posters, purposely chosen tchotchkes, and soothing forest green walls.

Perfect…

Maybe.

For the last several years I have found this perfect office to be darn near impossible to write in.  So where do I write?  It changes on a regular basis.

Sometimes I write on my living room couch or in my husband’s ugly but muy comfortable recliner, but that requires the family to be out of the house.  That doesn’t happen often this time of year, especially now that my daughter gets out of school the end of April.  Sometimes I write at the breakfast counter… again, only good when the fam isn’t home.

Lately, though, I’ve been writing here:

I’ve been meeting up once or twice a week with my friend Phyllis Haislip and enjoying the hubbub and hospitality of Tasha and her crew at the recently re-opened Coffee Beanery Cafe as we work on our books.  For some reason the quiet busyness of the place, accompanied by good coffee (iced, please!), a writing friend who is way better than I am at staying focused, and the fact that it is bad form to roam a restaurant when I should be writing, combines to make me very, very productive.  In an hour or an hour and a half there I can get written what would take me several hours at home in my perfect office.  Of course, the other plus about writing outside of the house is that all the chores and easy procrastination enablers (can you say TV?) aren’t available.

Focus is the rule of the day… or the hour, anyway.

So where do you prefer to write?

Happy writing!

Laurin

The Idea Fairy

Probably the number one question writers get is: Where do you get your ideas from?

Some writers have great quippy answers:  the idea fairy dropped it on my keyboard, 1-800-ideas4U, the idea store down at the mall, I call my mom, www.ideafactory.com.  You get the idea. 

But the number one answer is:  I dunno.

The truth is, ideas are everywhere.  Anything can inspire a story.  Anything can trigger a writer to ask: What if?  And sometimes a writer will be able to tell you exactly what inspired a story idea.  Mine frequently come from movies.  It’s not that I copy a movie, it’s the characters that get my muses rockin’ and rollin’. 

My first book, The Devil of Kilmartin, was inspired by the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast.  Yep, I wrote a dark brooding Scottish historical romance with a mystical healer because Beauty and the Beast inspired me.  Really.  That time it was the Beast that I loved, and Gaston.  A wounded hero who everyone fears and a bully for a villain.  It got my creative juices flowing.

My second book, Charming the Shrew, was inspired by the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.  The main character, Kat, charmed me.  She’s a difficult girl who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, and yet, she has a good heart.  I always wish I had the guts to tell it like it is, but alas, I’m much too polite (my southern grandmother taught me well!).  Anyway, my heroine, Catriona, was my starting point.  I wanted a shrew who could be softened by love.  And since I hate the idea of “taming” a woman, I put a twist on it and had a Prince Charming hero, thus, Charming the Shrew.  

My latest idea came while I was sleeping.  Not a dream… at least I don’t think it was a dream.  I just woke up in the middle of the night with the word doppleganger clanging in my head.  I woke up this morning thinking about that word and ideas for a story have been crowding my head ever since.  Once I get a basic idea of the main character I’ll go in search of a movies that use a similar type of character.  Hopefully I’ll find one that resonates with the story forming in my head and I’ll be able to use it as inspiration when the going gets tough.  See, it works both ways — ispired by a movie, or inspiration supported by a movie – at least it works both ways for me. 

Now here’s the greatest thing about using movies for inspiration: when you are slogging through the middle of the first draft and you are asking yourself why in heck you ever thought this story was a good idea you can take a break and watch the movie again.  You can touch that inspiration again.  This is what my BFF Pamela Palmer calls a “touch stone”. 

So where do your ideas come from?  Have you ever had a touch stone to re-inspire you?

Laurin