Another birthday has come and gone and I remain ever hopeful that THIS WILL BE THE YEAR!!
This will be the year I get a novel finished and published.
I hope, I hope, I hope…
Another Year Older and Another Year Wiser?
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Tag Archives: novelist
12 Step Program for Writer’s
(Borrowed and tweaked from A.A. 12 step program)
Writing is a constant process, not one that you finish after the 12th step.
Step 1 – Admit you are powerless over your need to write and that your life will become unmanageable if you do not write.
Step 2 – Come to believe that a power greater than yourself drives you to write.
Step 3 – Make a decision to turn your will over to the desire to write.
Step 4 – Make a searching and fearless inventory of what keeps you from writing.
Step 5 – Admitted to yourselves that you are a writer therefore, you must write.
Step 6 – Accept your good and bad traits of being a writer.
Step 7 – Accept your shortcomings as a writer and strive to improve in those areas.
Step 8 – Make a list of all people you have annoyed with all our talk of writing.
Step 9 – Apologize to those people you have annoyed, especially the friends and family members that support you in your writing.
Step 10 – Continue to watch your writing habits and patterns and continue to strive to be a better writer.
Step 11 – Continue to strive towards your goals as a writer.
Step 12 – Whether you write once a day or once a month, remember you are a writer, heart and soul.
The writer’s 12 step program has helped many writers face their annoying writing habits and have helped them to “shut up already” and write.
I’ve read it, read it, not read it, read it…
It is a sad state of affairs when you go to the book store, walk over to the “how to write a book” reference section and discover you have read most of the books in the section.
Can you guess one of my favorite forms of procrastination?
If Only I Had…
If only I had a pen with good smooth movement, I would write my novel faster.
If only I had a fancy notebook, I would create more novel ideas and scenes.
If only I have a one of those tiny laptops, I would carry it in my bag and work on my novel when ever the mood struck me.
If only I had a writing area, a creative space all my own , I would be inspired and the novel would just flow out with ease.
If only I had enough money to get rid of my day job, I would work on my novel non-stop and finish it at last.
If only I won the lottery…
Until then… I have a hotel pen, a half used notebook my kids didn’t need, a laptop that crashes, a kitchen table with sticky spots and a few minutes to write after the work day is done and the kids are in bed.
“If I only I had…”
But the truth is I already have everything I need, including the relentless drive to write.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll buy a lottery ticket…just for good measure.
Moving at the Speed of Snail
Writing is easy once I get going. I can sit down and spit out five pages of a rough draft scene in nothing flat…super sonic speed even…
And then it happens…I slam smack into the editing wall of death.
Tweak a little here, tweak a little there, fix a description here, correct a character flaw there. How much can you spend editing a scene or chapter? Hours, days, lifetimes….it’s never finished. NEVER!
Happily Ever After
Romance Novel Outline – Attempt #1
Let me see, it should go something like this…
-Girl is looking for love
-Girls is walking down the street one sunny day, trips and accidentally falls into the arms of a tall, dark and handsome stranger on the street
-She thinks he is a totally hottie and thinks this must be love at first sight
-They go on a few dates and she thinks he is perfect… despite his extensive criminal record
-Time passes and they live happily ever after
-Until… one day she dies in a freak lawn mower accident and he tells police, he has no idea what happened.
Hmmm…maybe I should back to my other novel.
Habit Forming
According to books on creating a habit (I believe “7 habits of highly effective people” is one of the them), a habit is created in 21 days, if done every day.
So to create a writing habit I should write every day, whether it’s 1,000 words added to my novel, morning pages (as mentioned in the book-“The Artist’s Way”) or a blog post and if I do it every day it will become a habit.
It should be easy, right? (hahaha…ok… hahahah… wait…hahahaha)
I mean it’s not like trying to develop a habit of exercising or eating healthy after all!
Writing is something I love to do, it should be super easy, right?
It’s All About Me
So many of the “How to write a novel” books contain a warning label, “as an inexperienced and newby novelist, what ever you do…NEVER EVER EVER write a novel in first person. Then the books drone on and on describing the insurmountable difficulties that will come with this viewpoint.
With this wisdom, every novel attempt of mine has been in third person. Writing the life and experiences of this complete stranger, trying to care how she takes her coffee or how she is insecure because her dog doesn’t love her.
But in the end, I feel nothing for this flat uninteresting character.
Ok, so there, I admit it…I am a narcissist!
I’m self absorbed and only care about my point of view! So with this, I will attempt the unthinkable first person and then maybe just maybe my writing will go from suckish to “hey that’s not completely awful.”
And maybe when I’m done, I’ll switch it to third person to protect the innocent.
No One Writes Love Letters Anymore
Carolyn See’s fabulous book “Making a Literary Life”, discusses the joy of writing a letter to someone you admire. I like the idea of this and I picture myself sitting in an old style writing desk picking up a pen to share my praise.
Ummm….huh…let’s see here. There have been so many books I have enjoyed and so many writers I like. Which one should I write to first? As I hold the pen in ready position, my hand begins to cramp. Maybe email would be better. I pull out my laptop and turn it on….waiting…waiting. Ok, ready I open a new email and stare at the empty page.
Well I need to do some research to find someone to write to. I begin an intensive search looking for a author who is worthy of the time it will take to write this letter. Oh, this author has a nice website.
I should start my own author website for when I become a published writer. I wonder what I should include in it. I pull out of piece of paper and start mapping out what my website would look like and what I would include. I start searching for website templates, formats and hosting options.
My husband sticks his head around the corner, how is your author letter coming along? I look at the web page up on my computer “How to build a website” and sigh.
I click back to the email page that stands there empty and alone. I begin my search again for an author and pause as I try to think of the name of that writer that wrote that book about that “thing” and that “place”, what was it called again. In attempt to figure out the name of the book I end up on a website discussing the history of Indiana. I start thinking of a new novel idea using a character from Indiana.
I stop myself half way through the plotting of a whole new novel, shake my head and go back to the empty email. I stare at it. My mind is as blank as the page. It was then I realized procrastination as abducted me once again!
I close the empty email page and open up my novel. With a heavy sigh, I begin writing the next scene.
Family Disfunctions, oops I mean Family Functions
Are you Dragging your feet about going to the next dreaded family function? Not me, I am a huge fan of family functions. The only problem I have is that I can’t sit with an open notebook and take notes the whole time.
Family functions are a great resource in discovering new and exciting characters, endless character traits and mannerisms. Next time you have to go a wedding, family reunion or yet another summer barbeque, just grab yourself a lemonade and start taking mental notes. All you have to do is open your eyes and it’s like a writer’s Wonderland!!!
– The moody cousin who never leaves the corner and you can never get more than a one word answer out of when trying to have a conversation with , will become the beaten down tiny dog that the villain carries around all day under his arm
– The uncle that drank too much…AGAIN and insists on being a close talker, will become the annoying boss that your character has to work around to get anything done
– The grandma that insists on reliving all of your embarrassing moments from your childhood, drop a decade or two and you have a nagging best friend that knows your character inside and out and doesn’t let them get away with anything
– The older aunt that insists on kissing you on the lips every chance she gets , will be a creepy co-worker that insists on cornering your character on numerous occasions but never seems to get the message “Sorry you’re not my type”
And mannerisms….oh boy….if you open your eyes and really look, I mean really look…
It’s amazing what you will discover about your relatives. The pot smoking cousin that constantly licks her lips, the aunt that hum’s when she eats, the second cousin that laughs after everything he says, the taller uncle that lurches forward when he walks and always has a joke to tell or the aunt that has undisciplined kids and a permanent look of disgust that never leaves her face. Endless writing possibilities I tell you, I get giddy just thinking about my next family function.
But you worry that your family will find out. They will recognize themselves and they will be furious and never forgive you. But let me ask you this;
1. Do you really think your cousin is going to say, “Hey that really horrible drug addict character in your book is that me?”
2. And as much as you think your family loves you, do you really they will read your book? Even if some of your family members say “Oh I can’t wait to read your book.” It soon becomes, “Oh, sorry I haven’t gotten a chance, but I’m going to I promise.”
So when your mom and maybe some of your closest friends read your novel or short story, and if they recognize a character, I’m sure they will laugh and say, yeah Aunt Joan does have a habit of sticking her finger in her ear and then smelling it.
I myself love using family members as characters. I love putting those “made up” characters in all sorts of horrible, challenging and awkward situations.
You know what I call that? I call it THERAPY.
The Failing Novelist 