The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

What kind of writer are you? Are you a write-by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer? Or are you a plan-every-single-detail kind of writer? In reality, most people sit somewhere in the middle. My personality is such that I am an organizer...much to my husband's chagrin sometimes. I'm getting better at not getting so uptight when the flow doesn't go according to plan, but I still find I need to schedule things or they don't happen. When it comes to my writing, however, I've found I have to let both aspects participate to get the best product possible. Because of the advantages and disadvantages of both "pantsing" and "planning," a combination of the two approaches works best for me. From bad experience, I have found that if I don't at least plan the major plot points along my storyline, my story is unfocused, which means it requires A LOT more work in revision. I don't have a clear character arc, which makes my character inconsistent; nor do

My critique/blogging group  has decided to focus on the various steps in the hero's journey. I'll be honest -- I know very little about the hero's journey. I'm not much of an epic fantasy writer/reader, though I've become more familiar with the classics over the years. And I'm more focused on writing a good story than following a specific formula. However, there is one step that sorta intrigues me. My take on it may not be exactly accurate, but perhaps it will be refreshing for you to see a different perspective. I'm talking about "The Belly of the Whale." Campbell, the Hero's Journey Oracle, defines this step as: The hero, instead of conquering or conciliating the power of the threshold, is swallowed into the unknown and would appear to have died...Instead of passing outward, beyond the confines of the visible world, the hero goes inward, to be born again. The disappearance corresponds to the passing of a worshipper into a temple—whe

Establishing when and/or where a story takes place is necessary to any story. Certain stories don't (or can't, i.e. flash fiction) need much space to describe the setting. But some amount is necessary in order for a reader to feel grounded in the story. It is impossible for your reader to "get" your story without at least a minimal sense of where they are. For most of us, that means taking a paragraph or two to describe the scene that our characters find themselves in. However, I learned a principle from Clint Johnson that I strive to follow. He terms it "triple-duty writing," and it basically means that every word you write illuminates something about your character, plot, and setting. It's extremely difficult to do all the time, but he has a great presentation with hands-on applications to help you get a feel for how to do it. His techniques combined with other things I've learned from conferences and craft books have changed how I look at

I've been intensively revising some stories the past month in order to submit them to various contest. I just finished (hopefully) the last one yesterday. It was interesting to me that the intensive, short-term focus on making things "better" actually taught me a lot about myself as a writer.   The best part is, now my future "first drafts" will be that much better. Below are some of the pitfalls (and advice) of writing in general, and my writing specifically, that I can now avoid. Value of Critique Groups -- My group's advice on both of my stories was invaluable. I wrote a flash fiction story (1000 wds or less), and it was my first attempt at such a thing. I was pretty happy with the story, and my first time meeting with my critique group gave me some pretty positive feedback. Of course there were things here and there that needed tweaking, but overall, it was mostly "done." One member of my group, who writes quite a bit of flash fictio

Depending on which theorist you listen to, there are only 6, 7, 10, or 20 basic plots for every story. But regardless of the number, the message is clear: there are a limited number of stories to tell. You don't believe me? Look at all the fairy tales. Basically they all follow this plot: a girl (usually a princess) gets in trouble, and a handsome young man (usually a prince) helps her out. But we still like to read the stories of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Mulan. So why do we keep reading (and writing) the same stories over and over? The characters. We want to get to know these people and how they act -- and react -- to the world around them. That is what makes a story unique and interesting. We wonder how Sleeping Beauty's curse will destroy, or save, the kingdom. We want to know what Snow White will do when she is told to run and hide rather than be killed. And how will Cinderella exact revenge on her wicked stepmother? Or Mulan save her family's ho

I'm one of those weird writers who doesn't have a bajillion ideas that I'm trying to narrow down to a single workable one. Instead I usually have one idea that I force into a workable one because I have nothing else to choose from, and then when I'm finished with that one, I don't know what else to do. But I'm getting better at hearing the suggestions of my Muse . Since I went to LTUE in February, I've been experimenting with a few things, and I've found my inspiration has come more readily since.  So here's what I've learned works for me and my Muse : Let your Muse know you are open for business. Contrary to popular belief, inspiration doesn't just "happen."  I've found I have to actively look for ideas, or at least be openly receptive to them, before they start to flow.   Acknowledge your Muse's advice.  Big and small ideas come to me fairly regularly now, but if I don't write them down, they leave just as ea

Today's blog post is a bit of a how-to guide. There are so many decisions to make in writing, and which point of view (POV) to choose is no exception. Rather than spend my time defining everything, check out this five-minute YouTube video , which is rather entertaining and quite informative if you don't know the basic concepts. Instead, I'm going to try and explore the effects each POV choice creates. These come from my research, various conferences from which I've gleaned info, and a lot of my own experience. First Person : This seems to be the POV of choice for a majority of YA fiction. I think the reason is because it makes your character more relatable. By seeing everything from one character's perspective, you really understand your character. Since YA has a strong focus on growth and development of the main character, this is a particularly effective technique. First person can be used anywhere, but it creates a more intimate tone, kind of like a "pri

I attended the LTUE (Life, the Universe, and Everything) Symposium for the first time this year. This is a three-day workshop focused around speculative fiction (fantasy, sci fi, horror, paranormal, etc.), but still has a lot of really good general writing information. I don't traditionally write spec fiction, but this conference inspired me to dabble in it a bit. Whenever you go to writing conferences, you get a lot of great advice, instruction, and information. LTUE was no exception. I'll share more of that info with you as the weeks progress. But perhaps the most helpful panel for me was the very first one I attended called Overcoming Adversity. As you all know, my life is busy, and finding or making time to write is very difficult. I am a part-time teacher (which, since it's teaching, that means nearly full-time), mom of a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old, Stampin' Up Demonstrator , wife, and homemaker. My kids are young enough they need fairly constant availability,

I have an exciting announcement! My critique group has finally made our group blog live.  It is called The Writers' Ramble .  Go check it out. You can read the description for yourself, but basically we will write a blog post on the same topic each month, then The Writers' Ramble gives a brief synopsis of each post with a link. So you can now check out all the wicked awesome people who are willing to put up with my crap and help me polish into gold...or at least bronze.

We've all heard the buzz about critique groups, alpha groups, beta groups, peer review groups, and any other term you can think of to describe such an organization. But sometimes we forget to stop and think about "why" we need such a group and instead just add it to our list of Things to Do in Order to Be Successful . So let's look at some of the whys. First of all, there is one crucial detail that all these titled groups have in common: other readers. Did you realize the answer was that simple? Other readers. That is what makes an effective writer.  We've all had the experience of somehow getting stuck in our own minds. We missed stupid, easy spelling or grammatical mistakes; the scene in our head didn't make it to our paper; instead of a riveting conversation, we produced daily, boring drivel. But of course, since it is our own writing, we don't see those flaws. It is, after all, our baby, our darling, our perfect little angel, and by the way, how da