The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

This seems to be a topic I blog about from time to time (see Tackling the New Year or Overcoming (Writing) Adversity  for more recent treatments), but I think that's because my methods are constantly changing. I think the way a writer gets himself/herself to write is a personal experience, and it is one that takes a lot of trial and error. For me in particular, it seems to be a constantly evolving process. I've been to the workshops that tell you that you MUST write regularly, consistently, and daily. In theory, I probably agree with them; in practice, that's impossible for me. My life is chaotic. I have a lot going on. Here's a brief sampling of my list of responsibilities: Wife Mother of 2 VERY active little boys Full-time English teacher (with all of the lesson planning, prep, and grading to go with it) Vegetable garden Active church member with its associated activities Stampin' Up (crafting) demonstrator Any other project that comes along Obvio...

Sometimes I've kind of wondered about the genre category of "speculative fiction" because it seems to be a collection of seemingly unrelated things. Basically, you can fit into spec fiction if your story can't be "real," but that leaves a broad range of styles. The four most common forms of spec fiction are: fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, and horror. I think most people are fairly familiar with the first three categories and what distinguishes them, so I'll spend most of my post today on the "horror" category. (If you already know the basics of the subcategories, don't bore yourself and skip down until "But...") Fantasy - Fantasy tends to be just that - things that are fake and often magic-based. Usually we think of magical creatures, like dragons, wizards, elves, etc. (think Lord of the Rings ). These types of stories tend to have a medieval setting (though not always). There are also stories of urban magical series tha...

We've invested a lot of time and energy into writing the perfect story, only to be faced with creating the perfect ending. We want our conflict wrapped up with a nice, neat bow, but we don't want to cheat our readers. My prime example of this faux pas is the Hunger Games series. I loved about 2 1/2 books of this series, and was furious at the last half of the 3rd book. Suzanne Collins broke every promise she had made to her reader, and she broke many of the beginning rules of writing. I'll try not to spoil the story for those of you who haven't read it yet, and if you haven't read the series, you should...at least as a case study. But basically, Collins wrote her character into a corner (which is good practice, by the way), and then gave up trying to find a logical, believable way to get that character out of the corner (which is NOT a good practice). Plus her main character did not actively solve the conflict driving the entire series, and the difficulties in th...

http://www.123rf.com/ Why do writers write?  It's certainly not for the money. The major success stories are all we hear about, but they are actually so rare as to be laughable.  So why do writers write? I think the answers are individual for each writer, but similar across many writers.  In honor of Valentine's Day, here are the top eight (8) reasons why I write: 1.      The creative process.   I love when I have a new idea in my head and I get excited about it.  I love to express those stories and put them on the paper for someone else to enjoy. The mental process of figuring out how to make a story work is fascinating and exciting. 2.      The escape.  When I write, I get to create the world and events.  It allows me to be in control of how good (or bad) things are.  It rejuvenates me to face my own reality again.  Writing is one of my outlets of stress relief; I can always make thin...

So many things about me that could use improvement. Some of those things I believe are just hopeless. But at least my writing is something I feel like I can constantly work on and see improvement. My goals this year for my writing are not so much about my writing specifically, as they are about my commitment to writing. I have a very busy and full schedule, and so finding time for my writing is exceptionally difficult. The past few months, it has been almost nonexistent because I returned to teaching full time. Add that to the list: young kids, husband, house, crafting, church involvement, AND now preparing, teaching, and grading full time. Hence...no writing. So here's my goal: write 500 words/30 minutes every day. I know. That doesn't sound like much of anything. And it's not, but at least it's something. That's more than I'm getting done right now. The past few months, I realized something - I've been sitting around waiting for a big chunk of time...

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...