tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63197697466400524762024-03-19T08:45:22.472-04:00Aidan A. Harper's BlogA blog about writing as a craft and my journey to becoming an accomplished author.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-39900952219709787562014-07-03T11:36:00.000-04:002014-08-11T08:00:21.034-04:00Writing Exercises Help: Who'da thunk?<i>"<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes every morning at 9 o'clock sharp." ~ W. Somerset Maugham</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That quote irritates the crap out of me. I read it and think "</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, bravo and good for you, Dubs! Let me slow clap while you sashay your butt out of the room." (I realize that he passed in 1965, but you get the gist.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are told that as writers we must write every day, regardless. And I get it. You will never play the cello like Yo-Yo Ma or paint like Pablo Picasso, if you don't practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking of Picasso, I found an inspirational quote of his, that I feel is more helpful: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Inspiration does exist. But it must find you working.</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love it.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLTRxM_YN0O2Q2RYUU5QXMWGTkQlQNwBPaSR-e4IVC9s1AmevLg4d1J1YEJtuqq-Vlq9QUpM9vbdES9MeIZtbqRGjwPdu9evoqgqd3OqjCpmwvYTvkaYwYMV0Y-KrYkhXVy2UctJC62E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.06.04+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLTRxM_YN0O2Q2RYUU5QXMWGTkQlQNwBPaSR-e4IVC9s1AmevLg4d1J1YEJtuqq-Vlq9QUpM9vbdES9MeIZtbqRGjwPdu9evoqgqd3OqjCpmwvYTvkaYwYMV0Y-KrYkhXVy2UctJC62E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.06.04+AM.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">People who get writer's block are jerks*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*W. Somerset Maugham never said this ... probably</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have all had those moments, where we are writing and then BAM! Out of nowhere we find that stream of consciousness where we write, and write, and write, and 4 hours later we have thousands of beautiful words. Sometimes it's only 20 minutes and a few hundred words. They are gold nuggets just waiting to be polished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But you are not going to find any gold if you don't first break the ground. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know about you, but I need a coffee as soon as I get up. I require a caffeine kick in the pants to get me going for the day. Same goes with my writing. If I sit down and wrack my brain, trying to come up with something, and come up with nothing - I go looking for something to inspire me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's another awesome quote that applies here:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it. ~Jack London</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my last post, I mentioned that I had joined an online writer's group, and so far, I'm finding that it is helping me with my writing. We were given another writing exercise, in which we had to pick one of five possible opening lines, and then write a 500 word short story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At first I was hesitant. I don't write short stories - I write novels. Then the devil on my left shoulder retorted "Actually, you haven't finished anything. So ...". Hmmmm. Ok, fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't think that I had anything to say really, but, 30 minutes later I was trying to cut 800 words down to 500.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had some great feedback from the group. One of which was the group leader and published author who told me that she hopes I will flesh this out into a longer short story, she liked it that much. Yay me! :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For your reading pleasure, I give to you my short-short story! I have italicized and underlined what was given as the opening line prompt:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><u>They called it a near miss, but I called it</u></i> a warning. The universe fired one hell of a warning shot across my bough, that day.<br /><br />"A real man provides food, shelter, and stability for their family, son. That's how you show them you love them. Bust your ass." my father would say. My father was pragmatic, not "mushy" like my mother. He busted his ass at a job that gnarled his fingers and bent his back by the time he was 40.<br /><br />I had always wanted to be a musician. To stand on stage, shredding on an electric guitar, reverberating love to thousands of people. But that's not what a man does. After high school I got a job like my dad. And I hated every second of it.<br /><br />I missed music like a girlfriend who ripped out your heart. Eventually you start to hate that ex-girlfriend and you convince yourself of all the reasons why you are better off without her.<br /><br />That was to be my first day as supervisor. Every step I took closer to work, I felt like a dead man walking.<br /><br />I thought "What if I just turn around and go home?" And then the usual thoughts pervaded. "What will your wife say? What will people say when you quit your steady job? Do you know how hard it is being a musician?"<br /><br />As I stepped off the curb, I looked up, and the bus was barrelling towards me. I lurched back, falling on the sidewalk, throwing my thermos and lunch bag behind me, and I landed, hard.<br /><br />My heart was pounding out of my chest and up into my eyeballs. Some of my coworkers came running over, as did the bus driver once the bus was parked.<br /><br />A near miss they said. No, not a near miss. A warning.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought that I had been suffering with writer's block or that perhaps my WIP was stupid. Now I think I just needed a creative kick in the butt to help me get going. Writing gurus say that creative exercises help. Who'da thunk that the experts actually know what they are talking about?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I would love if YOU - yes you - would take that first line and write your own short story and post it here in my comment section! Or, post it on your own blog and let me know. I would love to read it.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-80132084950350143542014-06-28T16:44:00.002-04:002014-08-11T07:18:33.621-04:00Recuperation, Procrastination, Frustration, and Determination.<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My last post was in February? I knew it was a long time since I had written a blog post, but, I didn't think that it was <i>that</i> long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I refuse to do any writing when I'm going through an ordeal. I may jot down ideas, I may even read, but I certainly won't write. When I have done so in the past, revisiting that piece to edit or polish, just brings up all of the bad memories associated with that time in my life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been going through some major stuff in my life and I haven't felt like doing much of anything, let alone writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I felt well enough to get back into the swing of things, I felt the dreaded writer's block.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought "Maybe I should study writing, do some research, read in/out of my genre". I.e. bike shedding. Doing everything BUT writing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8GayL00Ai-DcX1Jvj9vRjTDTUf65fxZirU_AKzYewHtTdiaXNjpVsZ1YTkMlEhTap7PcoJU7ib6zFf6UZ8olKHP42dugv6WG1-YahDbqFKmGv052Jx5jgF5EEaS_kwDgOTC-0OO81pc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.13.15+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW8GayL00Ai-DcX1Jvj9vRjTDTUf65fxZirU_AKzYewHtTdiaXNjpVsZ1YTkMlEhTap7PcoJU7ib6zFf6UZ8olKHP42dugv6WG1-YahDbqFKmGv052Jx5jgF5EEaS_kwDgOTC-0OO81pc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.13.15+AM.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"I'm too cool for school with my nifty bike shed."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(This isn't what bike shedding is meant when it comes to writing)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://rajeshecea.blogspot.ca/2009/11/bike-sheds.html" target="_blank">http://rajeshecea.blogspot.ca/2009/11/bike-sheds.html</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I thought "Ok, that's it me. We are going to sit down and we are going to write something. Anything. So ... there!".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I sat, and sat, looked at Twitter, checked Facebook, played Two Dots, looked for jobs, played Call of Duty, now it's supper time, better clean the cat litter, oh look it's angry o'clock.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nothing came to me. N.O.T.H.I.N.G. Day after day of nothing but irritation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing led to another, yada, yada, yada - I found an online writer's group and signed up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do I have to lose, right? I was determined to get over my page fright.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the first creative exercises in this group, was to write 250 words (I did 252 - what's it to ya?), in the first person point of view, as a colour. When you were done you read it out loud to yourself (part of identifying your "writer's voice") and then you posted it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more I wrote, the more excited I got, the more ideas came to me, the more I moved things around and came up with more and more until I was done. And it was a poem. A poem? Yes, a poem. I'm not a poetry person, per se, but yep, it was a poem.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then a funny thing happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I started to read it out loud, I began to feel myself getting emotional. My voice wavered, I began to tremble, and I started to cry. I stopped reading and I thought "Why am I crying?". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The answer came quickly "Because you have denied yourself this place of solace, wonder and excitement for too long." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I continued to read. And I continued to cry. And then I posted it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could probably make it longer, polish it up a bit, but I'm not going to do that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I felt open and raw while writing - and I'm leaving my poem open and raw on here.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>I am midnight</u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u><br /></u></span>
I am midnight.<br />
<br />
I am shade on a blistering summer afternoon. I am the space under your bed that hides the monsters.<br />
<br />
I am the scorched rubber on the road after a collision, or, near miss. I am the tire that swings from the mighty oak tree, whizzing you through adolescence, through the air into space. I am the storm clouds in November.<br />
<br />
I am what remains after light and fire, and burning. I am charcoal. I am the drawings on the cavern walls of ancient man. I am works of art. I add definition to photos, of times gone past. Half of a whole. I am the hateful stroke that slashes your writing.<br />
<br />
I am the apple of your eye, your pupil, out of which you use to see. I am the black eye, swollen, bruised shut. I am the eyeblack grease of the athlete, the markings of war paint on warriors.<br />
<br />
I am what makes zebras beautiful. Leopards different from tigers. I am the pitch of Poe's raven. I am the jet black cat to cross your path.<br />
<br />
I am the smooth onyx line around the eyes of Cleopatra. The dot above Marilyn Monroe's pouty lips. I am the soot in your chimney.<br />
<br />
I am the humility of monks and nuns. I am the angst and rebellion of teenagers. I am the finest sable of luxury and royalty.<br />
<br />
I am nothing, a void, a vacuum, a space, a hole, eternity.<br />
<br />
I am not one colour but all colours, swallowed, beautiful.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aaaaaaaaannnnnd, I'm crying again. Ha, ha.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously though, I would love for any and all that come across this blog post, to post your own work like this, in my comments. Or even put it on your blog and send me the link. I would love to read them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:)</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-6433153981558618572014-02-11T08:31:00.001-05:002014-08-11T07:28:52.143-04:00Speak Proper English Like What I Do<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My dad, Geoff, is pretty darn funny, and he says that line as often as he can. He has also had the opportunity to use this other gem a few times in his life and he is always pleased with himself: Of course the Queen's English, she was bloody born there, wasn't she? Zing!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My dad is from Yorkshire, England, and he emigrated here to Canada, roughly 40 years ago. Hence, the Queen reference.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He's a giant kid who happens to be in his sixties. He is a Harry Potter expert (for those of you who have seen an HP movie with him, you can attest to this, as he spends an hour telling you what was "wrong" with the movie afterwards), he can tell you what the outcome of an episode of Reboot (a shout-out to all my Canadian friends here) will be from the first few seconds he sees, and he owns every Pixar movie.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiFpswO2rF9iQ68CXp3_rRVhSUAflC_RjJLQkZY-AsqAD6K49uoopLPwhmQMLw1zx_ginpY0qM-4cF-Wu79rwDF2ImvDb2s1JfCaKOhstCT-g82_Vt5eZFkMAk3whq2TfcLNOR0KVv9A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.26.46+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguiFpswO2rF9iQ68CXp3_rRVhSUAflC_RjJLQkZY-AsqAD6K49uoopLPwhmQMLw1zx_ginpY0qM-4cF-Wu79rwDF2ImvDb2s1JfCaKOhstCT-g82_Vt5eZFkMAk3whq2TfcLNOR0KVv9A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.26.46+AM.png" height="320" width="250" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Not my actual Dad*</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://loldamn.com/never-grow-old.html" target="_blank">http://loldamn.com/never-grow-old.html</a></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A while ago a friend of his asked when he was going to grow up. To which he replied "Never. I will never grow old." And I believe it. He even refers to people younger than him as "old".</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My dad has been a major influence on my life: good and bad. I have unfortunately picked up a few of his bad habits including finding irritants everywhere. I'm not talking about itchy wool pants, either. I'm talking about small things. Like while watching the Creationist/Evolution debate, Ken Ham frequently made dry mouth smacking sounds during the pauses in his speech. "What I propose here *smack* is that *smack* secularists have *smack* hijacked the term ..." TAKE A DRINK OF WATER! Once I notice something like that, I can't turn it off.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Fortunately, the good habits outweigh the bad. Like an eternally youthful outlook on life, finding comedy in every situation, randomly making weird noises for a laugh, and following your passion.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My dad wanted to be a cabinet maker but his parents forced him to becoming a pattern maker. What's a pattern maker, you ask? Google it. But I can tell you that there are hardly any of them left and it is a trade that will die out. Literally.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">He's done some pretty amazing things as a pattern maker: such as working on the Canadian Space Arm. But he still regrets not being a cabinet maker. Can you imagine? In your sixties and still being regretful on a decision that was made for you over 45 years ago?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I don't want to be 60 years old and think "I wonder if my book would've been published. I wonder what that would've been like. I shoulda, woulda, coulda ..."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My dad has been very supportive of my brother, Liam and I, following our dreams and our passions. He says that he doesn't want us to blindly allow others to make decisions for us for our future.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you read my last post, and see how long ago it was, you would be correct in assuming that I fell into a slight "funk" when I hit a roadblock in my WIP.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But I needed time to fall back and regroup. While I was working on my book, I kept coming up with a ton of crazy ideas for a character and I thought "Hey! This would make an amazing second book!". So I kept jotting these ideas down and putting them to the side. But that character kept demanding attention. Poking me in the side while I was at work, smacking my forehead during the middle of the night to tell me about her trip across town, why her partner is driving her nuts etc.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I thought ... why not give her centre stage? Why not write that story? I can always come back to Frankie to see what she is doing, but for right now, let's go along with H.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let me explain the "H". I thought of her as a heroine and during my sketches to save time I simply wrote "H" for Heroine. She, unfortunately, still doesn't have a name.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have enough for an entire book just for H, and I'm going to go ahead with that. I've decided that my first step is to research names as this will make her a full person, to whom I can tell to leave me alone if I'm busy, using her full name.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm on the G's, and so far, I have written down a few options but only one is standing out: Bevin. Bevin means fair lady or singer in Celtic. But still, it's not quite right.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I will keep at it, and will follow my passion, as my dad says I should do.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-64306260767106453312014-02-03T07:41:00.002-05:002014-08-11T07:32:02.822-04:00Up to My Eyeballs in Crap<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been metaphorically and almost literally, up to my eyeballs in crap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The house in which my mother and mother-in-law live, had a backed up sewer pipe, which, caused sewage to back up into the laundry tub, and over on the floor. A few times. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We hired a plumber who was trying to save us some money by attempting several ways to clean out the pipe before determining that it had actually collapsed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">While he was playing at Bill Nye The Plumbing Guy, we had to keep bailing out the laundry tub into empty paint drums and Rubbermaid storage containers. At one point, my fiancé, drilled a hole into the laundry tub so it would self-bail into another tub. Is this how an episode of Hoarders starts?</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZj1e3SxhkGZ0LyBqwhd2yuBcHXN8CKNIT7GH-2jCjupVpc47610DfptwYo7UJR6rYB3Y-Al03L_ERc_rUQD8iJhks7TLMkKQXG9uuI-2t28e_xP-tv_WHjiLCFwJpb04zCY5kpFvAH8E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.30.11+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZj1e3SxhkGZ0LyBqwhd2yuBcHXN8CKNIT7GH-2jCjupVpc47610DfptwYo7UJR6rYB3Y-Al03L_ERc_rUQD8iJhks7TLMkKQXG9uuI-2t28e_xP-tv_WHjiLCFwJpb04zCY5kpFvAH8E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.30.11+AM.png" height="320" width="263" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Imagine this ... but with sewage.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-10/joke-plumber-cartoon.htm" target="_blank">http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/05-10/joke-plumber-cartoon.htm</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well two weeks, a four man excavating team, severed internet/tv cables, and a destroyed drive way later - we have a brand spanking new sewer pipe and water line! Hurray! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My mom texted me once it was completed proclaiming "I'm so excited I could poop ... and actually flush!" That's word-for-word.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Despite all of this, I did manage to keep up with my Get Started Write Challenge with Robert Lee Brewer over at <a href="http://www.writersmarket.com/" target="_blank">Writer's Market</a>. And by keep up I mean I only skipped three out of he thirty-one challenges. And yes, all three had to do with submitting work. What's it to ya?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I just don't feel like I have enough behind me to submit yet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Speaking of which: while I was conducting research into my novel, I found out that museum docents are volunteers. Since it is not a paid occupation I have some rewriting to do. Talk about crappy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm just glad that I discovered that little gem now rather than after I finished.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My fiancé the eternal optimist, or as I like to call him, "Pollyanna", said to me that this provides me with an opportunity to make it that much more interesting. And me being the eternal realist, or as he likes to call me, "Polly Pessimist", I was upset. For a while. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But then I thought, ok self, if museum docents have to go through all of this training (which is more than you think), and they are expected to do all of this work for free (a ridiculous amount of work actually), what kinds of conflicts could this cause and what sort of tension could be found? It got my wheels-a-turnin', my friends.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am pretty sure that I can make it work, but, now I have to find my character a day job. So if you will excuse me, I need to go spend some quality time with my character to find out where she works and what she does.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-77708944320084849512014-01-28T08:04:00.001-05:002014-08-11T07:33:29.845-04:00The Novel's Protagonist: Frankie<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In my previous post, I gave you my first stab at a book jacket description of my novel. Today I thought that I would give you a bit of insight into one of my characters: Frankie.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm still shopping around for her last name, but essentially, I have everything I need. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">(FYI: I was able to complete a full character bio using Sarah Domet's <a href="http://www.writersdigestshop.com/90-days-to-your-novel-paperback" target="_blank">"90 Days To Your Novel"</a>)</span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZypfmmWgP4-aiq_s-nYlv4BlnZhbCCRxpoZnIEO2XBOMIu0ITrRAH9XNViB-LCa5pKylOjBhtqNiUractGJI9RnnCHexySlMXiAnuVzAA2GCGweBMnHdC99gYFovnFVJ2uTObnyuAErI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.32.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZypfmmWgP4-aiq_s-nYlv4BlnZhbCCRxpoZnIEO2XBOMIu0ITrRAH9XNViB-LCa5pKylOjBhtqNiUractGJI9RnnCHexySlMXiAnuVzAA2GCGweBMnHdC99gYFovnFVJ2uTObnyuAErI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.32.35+AM.png" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Frankie is 26 year old museum docent whose family moved to Toronto after Frankie's younger sister died. She loves romance and happy endings, hates anything scary and thinks that scifi/fantasy is stupid.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She is 5 foot 4, black straight hair, and blue eyes. She considers herself to be only a 5/10 and addicted to Chinese Food take-out.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">She's good at her job but because she is a people pleaser, she has a hard time being assertive, which costs her opportunities.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That is just a basic run-down of my protagonist, Frankie. I had to leave some things out as it would create plot spoilers before you even read it. You know you want to ... right?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After reading a basic description of Frankie I hope that the jacket cover description has you even more intrigued. If she loves happy endings and hates anything scary - what will happen when she is feels that it is her fault her friend Carol is dead?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The police reassure her that it was a break-in gone bad. But was it? She loves happy endings and this definitely was not a happy ending.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I may not be able to post too much on the characters as some of them have things to hide and I don't want to give anything away. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Later this week: A sample of my writing! Yikes!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-27384746725305602062014-01-20T07:44:00.000-05:002014-08-11T07:37:41.047-04:00Aidan's Main Project: The Novel<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"The Novel" is what I have been working on for roughly six years, in some may call, a sprint-like fashion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The main idea came to me in a dream and I began to write. Many things halted the writing process: work, relationships, life, writer's block, an affair with Hugh Jackman. Just kidding on the last one.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGIL4IeUR-AYB2HipQ-SAx4iYQrWI-uEzTrv0wMz7UHWn4uzCXzFYJkL7GgD15usu_XDf4X9FUUySd_2WGlgoIMfuqD8YtZlyDLAsqkJSB0eC8jU66iY4NLdc2zZEOfQM5ZAXubKi9Rk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.36.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGIL4IeUR-AYB2HipQ-SAx4iYQrWI-uEzTrv0wMz7UHWn4uzCXzFYJkL7GgD15usu_XDf4X9FUUySd_2WGlgoIMfuqD8YtZlyDLAsqkJSB0eC8jU66iY4NLdc2zZEOfQM5ZAXubKi9Rk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.36.19+AM.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-wolverine-wins-weekend-box-office-2013-7" target="_blank">http://www.businessinsider.com/the-wolverine-wins-weekend-box-office-2013-7</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As I mentioned in a previous post I was stuck until </span><span style="font-size: large;">I started reading Writer's Digest articles, almost religiously, and borrowed books from the library that were suggested by their site. Then BOOM! Major progress: character bios, which led to more story ideas, which led to overcoming the points in the plot where I was stuck, which led to huge </span><span style="font-size: large;">editing including taking out a character and an entire section of the book. By the way, one of the best books I read was <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Write-Damn-Thriller-Step-Step/dp/0312575076" target="_blank">James N. Frey's "How to Write a Damn Good Thriller"</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I promised in my last post that I would start blogging about my novel and so far I haven't yet, eh? My main fear is that another novelist out there will take my idea and whip out a novel in a few months before I can finish mine. Hence, my hesitancy. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And because I'm a bit of a coward </span><span style="font-size: large;">here is my jacket cover description:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Frankie is trying to move on with her life after her friend Carol's death, for which she feels responsible, when she gets a note from her with a warning: They will be coming for you. Despite the warning Frankie begins to investigate Carol's life and soon realizes she wasn't the woman she thought she was. After someone trashes her apartment, she realizes she is being followed, and the people around her start to act strange. She uncovers an international plot that goes back hundreds of years and somehow she is the key. Can Frankie find out who Carol really was and how she was involved with a centuries' old plot? Or will she become another victim? Find out in "The Novel's Really Cool and Awesome Title".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If I'm feeling braver for my next post I will have more details.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-90297402836127050002014-01-14T08:15:00.000-05:002014-08-11T07:47:58.053-04:00Your book is your soul<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">An idea came to you while driving, dreaming, brushing your teeth, or sitting at your desk at work while watching that weird guy across the aisle from accounting making a weird face and doing that irritating non-sensical humming again. You think "A-ha! By Jove this will be the best story in the history of the world!" And you begin to jot down ideas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The more you work on it the better it is. The lead character is Slade, former S.A.S. who bottle feeds kittens, his love interest Tippy Stardust, the hooker with the heart of gold ... the more you type the more you feel that the muses are urging you, no, insisting that you write this epic.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcsdWJ2pvQb424D6eYVJEYHwc8hjDtS3opObho2x47hhcuUomt-OCkPPyhQCZSxGt84jpMEM6hLoAhIJ3SI-srY-4sN8Mugud3JL5zhm0ZGZbFE7IQ9vJUEXed59dKxQlqEEZpSuXDkc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.41.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcsdWJ2pvQb424D6eYVJEYHwc8hjDtS3opObho2x47hhcuUomt-OCkPPyhQCZSxGt84jpMEM6hLoAhIJ3SI-srY-4sN8Mugud3JL5zhm0ZGZbFE7IQ9vJUEXed59dKxQlqEEZpSuXDkc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.41.07+AM.png" height="227" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>He wants justice. Sexy, sexy, justice.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=357183" target="_blank">http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=357183</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But then ...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The inevitable question that, as writers, cannot be avoided is asked: So, what's your book about?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's like that scene in the end of the movie Die Hard. Bruce Willis dangles the villain out of the sky scraper window, only to release the villain in an iconic slow motion fall to his death. Great scene. But that's how it feels as you watch the person's face as you deliver your "elevator pitch". Are they interested? Are they amazed and can't wait for it to be done? Are they confused? Do they hate it? Do they think it's stupid? Do they want to punch you in the face for being so stupid? They are Bruce Willis dangling you out of that window. If they hate it you will metaphorically fall to your death. It can be heartbreaking.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDTBAIrB_Xan-ZZxGa0BXnHNdiDcYgbLWEiV5EcWMTAE-4DhJkQW40GvGRBSQ76ofaFKkfZZZgvtUCv8xzLd8yWknlBpZSObhX10SudJ8q2LjG988e0INoAs5aVCOMC4fNcQ6oiizc_4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.45.13+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDTBAIrB_Xan-ZZxGa0BXnHNdiDcYgbLWEiV5EcWMTAE-4DhJkQW40GvGRBSQ76ofaFKkfZZZgvtUCv8xzLd8yWknlBpZSObhX10SudJ8q2LjG988e0INoAs5aVCOMC4fNcQ6oiizc_4/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.45.13+AM.png" height="163" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"Don't walk away! I haven't gotten to the part about the Vampire King!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://author337.wordpress.com/tag/die-hard-end/" target="_blank">http://author337.wordpress.com/tag/die-hard-end/</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Or it could be exhilarating. As you describe Slade and Tippy making their way through the jungle in search of the Emerald of Shikaka which could save or destroy the world, the listeners face lights up with wonder and glee. You describe some of the plot twist ideas you have in store and they are so excited they practically pee on the spot. Which is a wonderful feeling. The admiration is a wonderful feeling. Not peeing on the spot. Not that I've ever done that, I'm just assuming that it would be, um, well.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But we have to realize, that although we pour our heart and souls into these ideas, not everyone will like them. We've all read books that we didn't like and we've all seen movies that we hated. Except for Die Hard. Everyone loves Die Hard.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">If someone you meet, or know, doesn't really like your idea - that's ok. But don't ignore constructive feedback. Especially if they are confused by your elevator pitch. It could be that your pitch, just isn't that great. And wouldn't it be a shame if you used the same pitch on an agent or publisher and they are confused? You could miss your opportunity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My next blog posts will be about my book that I've been working on for a while and I would like to hear some constructive feedback in the comments. I hope that I will delight you with my idea and not make you want to dangle me out of a window.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-28854239009825337082014-01-09T07:57:00.004-05:002014-08-11T07:51:02.963-04:00Reality kicks in ...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I participated in my very first Twitter chat, hurray! For some people this is pretty commonplace, considering, that Twitter has been around for years. But for me, it was a first, and, was fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<a href="http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Robert E. Brewer</a> of <a href="http://www.writersmarket.com/" target="_blank">Writer's Market</a> has created the "2014 Get Started Write Challenge". For each day this year, he plans to post a writing challenge and it's your mission to accept or not. So far, I have completed 8/8 challenges, and I'm actually enjoying each one. One of the things that I am finding quite helpful, and motivating, is that he is posting his attempts at each challenge. It may sound a bit sappy, but, I feel like it is more of a group challenge, than a solitary venture.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
The challenge for January 8th, was to join in a conversation on Twitter, using the hashtag of "gswc". During the chat, one of the participants asked for each of us to post a link to our blogs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
That's when reality kicked in for me. My immediate reaction was "Oh God, no." I said that. Out loud. Complete with a literal gasp.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FVu6jqOgEN3VsR0BhG3Kt5izQ_uaZAs_utyH6uEuMVkeLhhVuqCQ11IWT12M93Ruin-CmG8y-egc0K-GiC47dcTu9g0doOJV4ebYnI3lY4Bw5C73zt0GCw76XwKvx03vMuqnuGiL0lc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.49.15+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2FVu6jqOgEN3VsR0BhG3Kt5izQ_uaZAs_utyH6uEuMVkeLhhVuqCQ11IWT12M93Ruin-CmG8y-egc0K-GiC47dcTu9g0doOJV4ebYnI3lY4Bw5C73zt0GCw76XwKvx03vMuqnuGiL0lc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.49.15+AM.png" height="275" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://comiczombie.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/6-terrible-superman-movies-that-you-wont-believe-almost-happened/" target="_blank">http://comiczombie.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/6-terrible-superman-movies-that-you-wont-believe-almost-happened/</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You mean now that I have a blog, and I'm putting myself out there as a writer ... I have to ... tell people?! No one said anything about actually asking people to read what I wrote and then ... talk about it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Ok, maybe that sounds a little melodramatic. And, of course, I know that I will have to allow people to read what I wrote. But it definitely made me pause before posting it. I sighed then said "Here we go", and clicked post.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
It's not that I'm afraid of the criticism, per se. I think it is more the anticipation of what could be said.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
To help illustrate my point I will quote my brother. "It's like saying to someone 'Hey, I have a honking tumour on my [expletive deleted]! Wanna see it?!'" He was talking about telling people about his learning disability, but, I think I can apply it here as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
When you allow someone to read what you have created, it does feel a bit like asking someone to look, um, "down there". Especially if it is someone close to you. You would think that it would be the opposite. That it would be less painful for a loved one to read it than a complete stranger. But it's not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
But, during yesterday's Twitter chat, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from other writers that they too, experience similar emotions and set backs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
We are not alone in our insecurities, procrastinations, and self doubt. Let THAT little morsel of reality kick in.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-48688375932187906582014-01-07T08:28:00.001-05:002014-08-11T07:52:55.683-04:00Being a Writer Ain't Easy<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have read a lot of articles on writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And I mean a LOT. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you create the perfect villain? How do you write the perfect ending? How do you describe scenery so the reader doesn't want to rip their eyebrows off and run around their house screaming? Ok, one of those isn't a real title. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFVvD4w45IQ3V_hK56Nh_i_9Y7kLXNHLc4BKXZsm0HigfaUjzUG7cI6nhuONOex_KfoHfkTrEv-89icz4mvyANY_WOvtwjwM3vzuxQySSV_Zy0gL9U9_2pHmykYM9QaF5bFjKRb6Vk24/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.51.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFVvD4w45IQ3V_hK56Nh_i_9Y7kLXNHLc4BKXZsm0HigfaUjzUG7cI6nhuONOex_KfoHfkTrEv-89icz4mvyANY_WOvtwjwM3vzuxQySSV_Zy0gL9U9_2pHmykYM9QaF5bFjKRb6Vk24/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.51.40+AM.png" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138678/Edvard-Munch-The-Scream-painting-fetches-119m-Sothebys-auction.html" target="_blank">http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138678/Edvard-Munch-The-Scream-painting-fetches-119m-Sothebys-auction.html</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Writers talk about how difficult their job is and that it isn't at all what most people assume it to be. People dream sitting down in a leather chair at a rich mahogany desk, sipping brandy and smoking cigars as they effortlessly type up an award winning manuscript in just weeks. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dean Koontz and Stephen King are two of my favourite authors. They can write a first draft in 90 days. I haven't been able to do that but that doesn't mean that I will just give up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In reality, most writers are staying up late, getting up early, trying to fit in moments of writing during the "normal business day", researching, reading endlessly, etc. But none of that sounds bad to me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love the entire writing process. From the germination of the idea (the "what-if" moment), to research, to character profiles, to scene mapping (I'm a outliner-pantser ... and yes I can be both, dang it), to even the murdering of my little darlings (i.e. editing).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How does that saying go? Things worth having are worth fighting for? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't had anything handed to me in my life. Not that I have had a particularly rough life, by any means. But I've had to work hard for everything that I have achieved. I studied and worked hard to finish my education I worked many hours at jobs that I did not like so I could buy a house with my fiancé. And at my current job (which I do like) I do my best every single day to not only improve the member experience but to improve the association as a whole. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So ... I don't expect writing to be easy. And it's not. I have unfinished projects that I am having difficulty with right now. Just as an example, I have put my heroine in danger and I'm trying to get her out of this predicament and I can't think of a smart way of doing it. I don't want her to be rescued by another person, or have the villain slip up because they are too egotistical, or that they remembered that episode of MacGyver where he combined chewing gum, a shoe lace and turpentine to create a flamethrower ... I hate cop outs and I just won't do it. Hence, being stuck. But that's ok. Once I figure it out, and it will be good, I want the reader to say "Ooooohhhhhhh, I never thought of that!". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is writing easy for me? No. But I'm willing to put in all the hard work that it will take to finish something that I can be proud of enough to try and get published. If you find yourself nodding along with this article, trust me, you are not alone.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6319769746640052476.post-61498894818634823222014-01-03T20:58:00.000-05:002014-08-11T07:57:12.190-04:00I just started a blog. What?!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yep. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What have I published? Well, I've started a few projects but I haven't exactly ... um ... finished ... any. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So why start a blog? And more importantly, why start a blog about writing if I haven't actually published anything?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read an article over on the Writer's Digest <a href="http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/at-what-point-can-you-call-yourself-a-writer" target="_blank">site</a> called "At What Point Can You Call Yourself a Writer?" by guest columnist Susan Henderson. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She says:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #443f38; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">... it’s not the published book that makes you a writer. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #443f38; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">You’re a writer because of the things you notice in the world ... you can imagine something in such detail that it comes to life ... because </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #443f38; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">you’re weird in the ways you want to continue being weird.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtVorMlTVXVA7_GxptJR1BKiXU0nUsbgZW-PQg_NmrbG58mp9ZxMilBKfyX8Q3aLWzecx_Ipbchjl_Ej-rpeoYJ39xzU6Ffa1jY1ewHwntzp9RWqHwZ9fniRae8oVkbuQVk3XQgEuzII/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.55.28+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtVorMlTVXVA7_GxptJR1BKiXU0nUsbgZW-PQg_NmrbG58mp9ZxMilBKfyX8Q3aLWzecx_Ipbchjl_Ej-rpeoYJ39xzU6Ffa1jY1ewHwntzp9RWqHwZ9fniRae8oVkbuQVk3XQgEuzII/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-08-11+at+7.55.28+AM.png" height="284" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Just ask this guy.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Picture courtesy of <a href="http://www.weirdal.com/07tour11.htm" target="_blank">http://www.weirdal.com/07tour11.htm</a></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought, that's it. If I want to be a writer then I'm going to call myself a writer and act like it! I get up every day, 5 days a week, 7 hours a day for my "day job", so I need to put that amount of effort into my passion: writing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I started diligently researching authors, reading blogs and countless articles - anything that would help me to hone my craft and get me on the right track. I read books by authors I love, books that I thought that I would hate, and books picked up randomly at the library. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">One piece of advice kept resurfacing: Don't wait for inspiration - just write. I understand the premise but I have my own take on this. I've been doing something every day that involves my writing, and if not, at least reading. Reading something. Anything.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I write a page, 10 pages, a character bio, describe a scene, or ask myself a series of questions to resolve a plot hole - then that's good. Great job, me! But if I sit down and I just don't have it? That's ok, too. I will research something for my novel/project, read a novel I have picked up, or a blog etc. As long as it has something to do with improving myself as a writer - then I'm good.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br />So this blog is going to be all about writing as a craft and my journey on becoming an accomplished author. Cocky? No. Committed? Yep.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15603886452881256269noreply@blogger.com0