Category Archives: inspiration

Writing Prompts

Posted on by
Reply

Aha! thought I was going to set up a writing prompt for you, didnja?

Well, no, sorry. I mean, maybe, at the end, for the comments ….we’ll see.

There are a lot of places you find writing prompts. Writing groups use them to stimulate writers at their meetings. Workshops often include them. Now I find that some of my social media ‘starts me off’ with an (unwelcome) writing prompt. I actually don’t use them much myself— not because I don’t think they have value; I just don’t have time to devote to them because I have so much in my tbw (to-be-written) pile.

Writing prompts are good for warm-ups’—flexing the fingers and the brain to put together words on the keyboard or notepad. They’re good for when you feel like writing but don’t have an urgent project and want to start something different. They can be good for working out problems with an wip (work-in-progress), but I don’t count that as working from a writing prompt. I call that writing.

I mostly use them in groups — note: I give them out, I don’t write from them; see above— when I’m working with people who know they want to write but don’t know what they want to write about or they don’t know how to start. It’s how I get them to open up and find where to begin. The goal there is to help them discover their own process and show them they can prime the pump. Which is the only way I use writing prompts myself. Here goes.

I use a simple formula with a minimum of props. It sort of depends on the writers I’m working with. If they are totally clueless about what to write, I get very specific.

I set up 3 criteria. I tell them: Pick a color. Pick an animal. Pick a place. The writers do the picking. They write down their answers in a list for reference.

Okay, next I say: Now I want you to write a paragraph of at least 10 sentences that starts a story with those 3 things in it. Yes, you may write a second paragraph if you need to. Then, after a somewhat lengthy but sketchy explanation of what a paragraph is, why do we need them, and how do I know when to start a new one, they start writing.

Then, I say, in tones that reminisce of a game show host offering up a ‘curve ball’: Oh, by the way, you have to include a monkey in your story. Or a fire, or the Eiffel Tower, or popcorn — you get the drift.

What we’ve done is to create — with their own involvement — a set of parameters in which they must write. Far from being restrictive, these parameters challenge the writer’s creativity in meeting them while at the same time giving them fodder to chew on and feed the creative process. Plus, eventually, it’s an exercise a person can do on their own.

Why would they?

That’s when I use it. Because you can take your problem-child story, the one you can’t get started on, and line up 3 choices (maybe more, once you are used to this process, but I’d stop at 6.)

If it’s a character that’s giving you problems, you can work with that character. Use their gender (biological or psychological), their age (ditto), and a food they hate (or anything else they might have feelings or thoughts about). Now, put them in a situation, eg, Character has just arrived at a crowded restaurant and waited 45 minutes for a table. She goes to order and learns they only serve fish and seafood, which she wouldn’t touch even if she were eating with the Pope—(okay, so she’s Catholic in this instance). How would she respond? A writer kind of can’t help playing What If? with that scenario, and bending their writing to meet the parameters results in consequences the writer has to include.

It also allows (forces?) them to explore their character in a dimension different than the storyline they will ultimately inhabit, which will give the writer more insight into them. It can be a great way to build your character’s backstory and discover things about them you never planned to write. Goal met.

I said I wasn’t going to do this, but here are the parameters…

  1. Choose a color, but not a primary color
  2. Choose 1 from Earth, Wind, Fire
  3. Choose an ice cream flavor — any one that you’ve heard of

Now, write a 7-sentence paragraph to introduce a new character in a scene.

Leave a copy in the comments; I’d love to see what you write.

Dedication, Determination, and Discipline

Posted on by
Reply

… one means to an end. (a variation of this post appears on my substack: “Do You Know Where YOUR Story Is?”)

Someone in a group commented on what they perceived as my persistence or dedication in writing. I generally have 3 to 4 manuscripts underway, sitting on various burners in my creative fire. The person’s comment got me to thinking about how I reached this point.

To be fair, I’ve spent a large part of my life not working outside the home. That time was mostly spent raising our children and volunteering as a writing coach in their schools. On the side I freelanced with reviews of computer software and cookbooks, as well as writing feature articles for various magazines and local papers. Having publications that were interested by my spec articles and thereby interested in paying me to write for them helped me learn to be more business-like about my writing.

As I grew into writing book-length fiction, I was also learning about self-publishing (a story for another day). The thing about book-length fiction, whether ultimately traditionally or self- published, is that it takes time, and time—for everyone—is at a premium.

I learned my best way around that when I participated in NaNaWriMo, the event where you promise to write 50,000 words in 1 month. Now, that can only be done one way: sit down and do it.

How do you do that? You have to choose whatever method works best for you. For me it was a perpetual glass of iced tea, music or low TV in the background, a sign that warned “Do Not Disturb Unless There’s Blood” and either paper and pen or computer in front of me. (Despite being a computer geek of sorts, I also like writing notes/outlines/troublesome scenes in pen.)

It was through NaNoWriMo that I discovered Scrivener from Literature and Latte, a program which allows you to make different kinds of notes, organize them, or simply write and compile your manuscript. An automatic feature keeps track of word count for each session and the entire project. (Trust me, there’s a lot more to it than that, but check out the link for a better idea of its features.)

Some NaNoWriMo participants like to meet together at a library for a couple hours of writing–a “write-in”. Others prefer absolute solitude. As a mom, well, neither of those were likely scenarios, but I managed many late-night sessions working in the reflected light of the computer.

The bigger point of all this was I learned to take my writing seriously. Instead of having to answer to an external editor or deadline, I had to answer to myself. I had to organize my work sessions in such a way that I could meet the word count goal while turning out a reasonable, or at least manageable, draft.

And the way I did this goes back to Scrivener’s organizational medium. See, Scrivener sets up your components under one umbrella. You can think of it like a box; it contains your writing materials, your notes, your character sketches, your setting descriptions, your research, your outline–if you use one, and your actual manuscript. Each of those things has a place in the box, and the result of their combined functions will culminate in your manuscript. The box would be labeled “Project”.

“Project” is how Scrivener labels the whole of the parts involved in you creating your manuscript. And “Project” is how you should think of it. “Project” is a formal word, often used in business or at many kinds of work or school. A project has deadlines. It has purpose, goals. A project carries its own importance–projects must always be completed.

That is the psychological trick you can play on yourself to give your unfinished work validation and the importance it needs to stay on your radar and be completed. Your work commands respect simply because you are doing it; you are trying to create something out of whole cloth. If you are passionate about the story or novel you are trying to write, then the question of completion is a non-issue. The trick is in figuring out how to do it, how to find your own story.

Getting to publication is still part of the noveling process. Writing it is certainly the bulk of it, but if our goal really is publication, we owe it to ourselves–and to our stories–to be business-like about the entire process.

I don’t necessarily mean creating a 9-to-5 work schedule, although that will work for some. At-home parents recognize that a stern schedule is pretty much out of the question, but you can reserve hours of your day—or a certain number of hours (or minutes) per day to aim for. It’s taking it seriously that matters.

Also, keep records of writing-related activities: how many hours did you spend writing last week? How much time did you devote to research or finding new markets for your work? You can keep track of your time to gauge either productivity or dedication. How many stories have you submitted to a publisher, be it magazine or book or online site? You should be tracking what is going on with every story you write once it is complete and ready to fly on its own. That is to say, you should know where each story is in its process. Make sure it gets out of the nest and stays in the air until it lands on a perch that says ‘sold’. Yup, that means keeping track of every rejection, too. Oh come on, the greatest publishing stories begin with a massive number of rejections before the longed-for acceptance notice. You want to celebrate it right, don’t you? Keep track of the numbers.

And don’t forget to keep track of the materials and equipment you use in writing—for taxes. Even as a small-time journalist, I was able to deduct mileage used in getting to and from interviews. And while you need to be cautious, you might be able to deduct other expenses. Self-publishers need to track sales, because at a certain point, you will need to pay taxes on the income they generate, and if you are selling in person, you will have inventory numbers to keep track of. I’m digressing into a rabbit hole, but you get my point.

All of this began with my undertaking not simply ‘trying to write a novel’ but a Project, something I was building, something I was going to complete. So much of the process is about attitude. If you are writing for publication, then you are a creative entrepreneur, and you need to take it seriously and be business-like about it. Even if you don’t like the entrepreneurial side of things.

The published professional has learned how important it is to do things right. If you want to join the ranks of published authors, it’s it is time to include some professional business tasks in your process. Balance out the creative process with taking care of business as well. By making the whole effort into a project, you’ll have channeled that dedication and discipline into a completed work. And isn’t that what the noveling process is about?

Time Sure Flies When You’re Having Fun…

Posted on by
Reply
…or when you’re supposed to be writing!
4–6 minutes

When I started this blog, my intent was to share knowledge about the noveling process with my readers. I work on multiple projects at a time, so progress in any one can seem to plod. The pandemic slowed me down, particularly as I had to devote much of my personal bandwidth to my part-time job. Towards the end of the pandemic, I was also preparing to leave said job, and I wanted to leave the office in good shape.

Add to that time spent worrying over family and working on our home, and I discovered that not only was I not making much progress on writing my novels, but I was also ignoring that facet of my blog. While I’ve kept up with sharing advice and good ideas, and I’ve continued to work in INKAS, advice specifically geared towards novel-writing has been missing. What has especially been missing are posts about finding my story.

This is partly due to a reluctance on my part to share too much of the book’s content publicly, but I think it is time to do a little of that. After all, I’ve been working on this novel for nearly 15 years!

To dive right in, let me show you the ‘cover’ I created for the work-in-progress. This is not a suggestion for the real cover, but a piece of inspiration and a cover for any hardcopy draft I might maintain.

I sometimes make up book covers as inspiration to keep me writing. When I am planning on self-publishing a book, the ‘inspiration piece’ contributes to the final cover design. Since in this case I am aiming for traditional publishing, this cover won’t make it to the bookstore, but it does keep me working.

When I write, I often have a title first. It may last, it may not; it depends on how they came about. For my MackenzieWilder/ClassicBoat mysteries, I’ve tended towards titles that have a rhythmic pattern and are reminiscent of existing songs. Something no knows is that Where the Bodies Lie Buried came to me in sing-song fashion, patterned after “Home on the Range”.

C’mon, sing it to yourself, just once….
“Where the Bodies Lie Buried all day”…..

I’ll let you figure out where Sweet Corn, Fields, Forever came from; Flying Purple People Seater is obvious.

Finding Shelley’s Shoes began life as “Who’s Gonna Die?”, a reference to a group exercise Shelley uses to block out the mysteries she writes. While a recurring scene, this title didn’t have a lot to do with the overall story. As my writing progressed, the subject of where Shelley leaves her shoes becomes a sort of running theme, symbolic of the problems she faces. So the story became “Finding *insert name here*’s Shoes”. My problem was that I couldn’t decide on her name! For reasons of the story, I was locked in on certain styles of names. I made list after list of qualifying candidates before I hit on Shelley. Hedy was one, and Vivian–although I called her Vivvie. There were several others.

All of these things may feel like window dressing, and to an extent, they are. However, titles and character names should be thought out carefully, just as carefully as baby names. A lot can be conveyed by the sound of a person’s name. You want to plant the right image in your reader’s mind so that–regardless of differences in our imagining of physical characteristics–they have a feel for the character you created. Names can affect that. While a Francis might resemble a Seymour, or a John might pinch hit for a Jim, you would likely never equate a Larry with a Benedict.

By the same token, War and Peace is not the equivalent of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, nor is it The Hunger Games. [ I’ll be posting a more focused column on creating titles in “Do You Know Where YOUR Story Is?” Please stop by and check it out.]

Writing Finding Shelley’s Shoes was well underway when I attended a workshop that featured Larry Brooks, author of Story Engineering (Writer’s Digest Books, 2011). One of the items he brought up in his presentation that day was: “What is your book’s premise?”

I was flummoxed. I needed a premise? I thought I just had to write the danged thing!

Larry explained how the premise targets what the book is about in a succinct sentence or two. Its purpose is to help you pitch and discuss your manuscript in a meaningful way with other writers and publishing professionals. It also keeps your writing focused.

I devised a tentative premise and with great trepidation shared it with the group. So, here’s my first Sally Fields moment–Brooks liked it; he really liked it! Furthermore, it really worked to serve both the purposes mentioned above.

Premise for “Finding Shelley’s Shoes“

Five sisters set out on what may be their last road trip; one of them shares that she may have a serious disease, and the resultant furor unleashes a lifetime of secrets and emotion that could upend their relationships.

As my story and my characters evolved, I’ve had to struggle with keeping it all under control. Even five fictional sisters can be hard to handle at times. My critique group has caught me out at being over-descriptive, over-enthusiastic about sharing backstories, and completely confused over the proper use of en-dashes, em-dashes, and the occasional hyphen. Like everyone else, I’m learning.

At this juncture, Finding Shelley’s Shoes has been done once, then undone, and is now being redone. I have finally solved my biggest plot problem and am incorporating new scenes into the old and handling the repercussions. There is now a deadline for completion.

In future posts, I will deal with individual problems I encountered while writing this novel, and how I handled them. I’ll also post about the grant I received and how it enabled me to recreate the road trip the sisters took. The trip was an eye-opener, and it greatly affected the writing of Finding Shelley’s Shoes.