Percolating Feels Like Procrastination April 20, 2012

I don’t know about you, but when I get an idea for a new book I can’t just plunk myself in front of my keyboard and start writing. For me, the initial phase takes time: time to let the idea gain form or traction in my subconscious, time for me to start mentally building a story skeleton, and time for the characters to flesh themselves out in my mind.

During this time, pretty much NO WRITING happens.

Do you have any idea how agonizing it is to fill in my word count spreadsheet with day after day after day after day after day of zeros?

I know the pressure is entirely my own creation. I know the word count police aren’t going to storm my house and haul me off for failing to meet an entirely arbitrary daily goal. I know no one is shaking his/her head and muttering, “Tsk, tsk.”

But still.

There aren’t enough Slurpees on the planet to get me through these times.

Or peanut M&Ms, for that matter, either.

I know it will be worth it in the end. Once the percolating is done I’ll be able to power through my spreadsheet outline and my daily word counts will start rising again.

Plus, all this suffering means one totally fantastic thing: I have a new book idea!

And let me tell you, this one is seriously wicked awesome…

If you’d like to comment while I am sitting around and staring into space, I’d love to hear about your routines when it comes to starting a new novel. Am I alone in my percolations? Are you a person who gets an idea and just dives right in?

C.

Gallbladder Surgery Is NOT a Good Option for Gaining Writing Time January 29, 2012

Hi there everybody!

I wanted to post earlier this week, but as you may have inferred from the title of this post, I had my gallbladder removed and really, it’s not wise to blog while hopped up on painkillers.

I am feeling much better now. I think being able to shower and dress myself (except for socks, we’re not up to socks yet, but the day WILL come) has gone a long way in helping out in that department. No matter what else happens during the day, I find myself stopping and saying, “But at least I’m wearing pants!” or “That sucks, but no matter, my hair is clean.”

In my blissful ignorance of what my life post-surgery would be like, I assumed I’d be lounging about all day and using those work-free hours to basically put my NaNoWriMo output to shame.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

OMG, my incisions hurt from laughing so hard.

You see, I don’t know about you, but my brain totally does not function while under the influence of medications. If you’d said, “Hey, I think your next book would be awesome if you changed your main character from a teenage girl to a grumpy, sex-starved unicorn with carbuncles,” I would have been like, “Oh yeah, that sounds awesome. I should totally do that!”

And then where would I be?

More importantly, where would my manuscript be? *cue the sparkly fairies and magic mushrooms*

So, I spent last week lazing about in bed, wishing I could roll onto my side, and mostly not thinking about my book. Which, given the amazing failures in logic I demonstrated related to the simplest things, was probably a good thing. Now that I’m feeling better (well, not better better, but no longer under the cloud of meds better) I am looking forward to tackling the last of my outlining.

In the end, the writing time I will gain from being off work will likely only balance out what I would have accomplished during my week of medically-induced bliss, BUT I will also be able to eat roast beef and Yorkshire pudding again.

And that, folks, is what this surgery was all about.

C.

Non-Sequential Writing July 18, 2011

We all know I am a plotter. I revel in spreadsheets and outlines and character sketches and all that jazz. While it may be assumed, I feel it is also important for me to confess that I am very much a linear writer. Once I have an outline, I start at–well, the start–and I go until I get to “The End.”

You know this new novel I’m working on? The thriller (hee hee hee!)?

Well, I suppose I am writing it sequentially in a way, but not really. There is a collection of scenes that occur at various points throughout the novel, and I am writing all of them first. I am writing them in order – the first one first, the last one last – but I am not writing them at the point in the outline at which they slotted.

I really hope this novel turns out. It’s a bit of a departure for me (for one, it’s not sci-fi), and it’s far riskier in its structure than anything I’ve tried in the past. It may be that I am not experienced enough yet to pull it off, but I won’t know that unless I try. I do know, however, that I have to write this story down. There’s no way I can ignore the premise – it makes me feel all goofy inside just thinking about it.

I still find it hard to believe I’m highlighting sections of my outline that don’t follow one after the other. This is such a strange departure for me – I keep glancing at my printed out spreadsheet and shaking my head.

How many of you have to write from the first word to the last? Is there anyone who jumps around, writing the chapters that appeal in random order?

C.

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting! July 12, 2011

Rather than spend my summer lazing about poolside, I am using my copious amounts of free time (ha, ha, ha – did I mention I have small children?) to start work on another project.

The textbook people are planning on getting in touch with me shortly, so my freedom is about to be cut perilously short. I must use the hours that remain to their maximum capacity because I don’t know how many (or how few) are left.

So,

Now I’m plotting.

You know what’s really cool? Having an agent to bounce ideas off, that’s what’s cool.

I wrote out these character sketches and a short pitch outlining a book I’d like to write and then I sent it to Brianne. I had some specific questions, but was mostly concerned with, “Should I write this, or is the idea so atrocious no one will ever want to pick it up?” And you know what was really awesome? She wrote back! (I was not surprised by this, as she is very good at communicating with me, but the whole novelty of having someone in the publishing field who will answer my newbie/weird questions still floors me sometimes.)

I would ask you to guess what her answer was, but I kind of spoiled it for you at the top of the post, so we’ll just move on as though we’re all squeeing together at the discovery that my agent likes my new idea. Ready? *SQUEE!*

Being me, I couldn’t just jump into writing (I am SOOOOO not a pantser) – no, I had to whip out a spreadsheet and map the whole thing out. And, ZOMG, I had so much fun! I would post a pic of my spreadsheet, but I don’t want to give away the surprise…

Aw, who am I kidding? Look what I made!

Plotting, Plotting, Plotting!

Don’t be too upset if you can’t decipher what’s written. For one, it’s all set-up and nothing exciting happens. Two, I just wanted to show off my pretty little columns and rows. This isn’t a full chapter-by-chapter outline, more like an event-to-event one. There are key elements that must happen in the story for it to play out the way I want, and I need to get them in order before I start writing.

I did something very similar with Nikko, but I used index cards (and then stupidly recycled them so I had nothing to refer to when I wanted to create this spreadsheet). Seeing as Nikko landed me an agent, I figure the system must not be too horribly flawed.

I still have a few boxes to fill in, but I should be able to do that this afternoon, which means… Da-da-daaaaa! Tonight I will be writing!

A new book!

Writing!

A brand new, shiny book!

*happy dance* (Well, happy dance until such time as the textbook people come calling…)

C.

Synopses Hell July 8, 2011

The hammock creaks as she uncrosses her legs and stretches. A week of lounging in the dappled shade of the cherry tree has rendered her immune to the raucous cries of the crows overhead and the children tussling on the emerald grass. She closes the book with a satisfying thump and sighs.

Her doting husband approaches with yet another thick tome and a tray bearing an assortment of iced drinks. She wriggles her perfectly manicured fingers as she ponders which delectable beverage to savour. Deciding upon the frosted glass with what appears to be green and blue smoke swirling around elephant-shaped ice cubes, she tilts the brim of her sun hat over her eyes and sighs in contentment.

Okay.

If you think the first week of my summer vacation resembles the above fantasy in any way (beyond no longer hearing the damn crows), you’re not from this planet. For one, the weather has been decidedly un-summery. The furnace is still coming on in the mornings, dammit! Another reason is I don’t own a hammock. Plus, my children don’t tussle, they shriek. My back yard is not an idyllic retreat, and honestly, no one would let me enjoy it even if it were.

To be fair though, my husband does pour a mean ice water.

In case you totally ignored the title of this post, I’ll mention that I have NOT been relaxing next to the pool (although I did sit on a plastic chair nearby when the kidlets took turns sticking their arms in the frigid water). No, I have been wrestling with one of the few things guaranteed to give most writers nightmares: the synopsis.

And not one synopsis, but two.

I spent two full nights writing garbage just so I could get my rambling thoughts on the page. I spent another two nights attempting to detrashify the previous evenings’ worth of slop.

If I could throw my synopses off a cliff, I would.

Some writers get to a point in their careers where they can sell a book by writing a few sample chapters and attaching a synopsis. I’m not there, and frankly, after this past week, I’m pretty sure I’d rather write the whole darned book than try to write an effective synopsis.

Because, man oh man, can I write crappy ones!

If you need senseless swill that may or may not capture the key elements of your story, and may or may not be laden with useless backstory that no one wants to know, let alone get excited about, well, I’m your go-to girl.

Seriously.

It doesn’t matter that I’m one of those writers who enjoys planning. Planning a novel is nothing at all like writing a synopsis. When I plan a novel, I picture the assorted scenes – I can hear the dialogue and see the action. I don’t get to write dialogue in my synopses. I’m not supposed to describe how the subtle lift of the MC’s chin marks his decision to cross a line of no return - that he’s so numb with rage he no longer cares who, or how many, he takes with him.

I can see that.

What I struggle to see is how to condense 70,000-words (living, breathing, character-driven moments of agony and ecstasy) into roughly 750 words that highlight the plot AND give away the ending in such a way that even though the reader knows exactly what is going to happen, they still want me to write the darned thing.

At times like this I remind myself that I chose to write. Not only did I willingly choose to step foot upon this journey, but I vowed to enjoy each step along the way. (Boy, do I wish I could go back in time and slap myself for that one.)

Synopses are just one step.

One teensy tiny footfall.

A fruit fly on the salad bar of writing.

(I refuse to take that metaphor further as I do not wish to contemplate the fly laying eggs and then dying somewhere among the arugula.)

I know I’ll get past these synopses and I’ll no longer have to fight the urge to bash my head against the keyboard until one of us surrenders, but until then I am doing the next best thing. I am taking the night off.

I think I might write a short story. No one asks for synopses for short stories.

Right now, an angsty vignette sounds like the perfect summer fling. Writing with no strings attached. I’ll go back to my novels and their baggage (damn synopses) tomorrow, but for tonight, I’m stepping out with a fic I may not want to call again in the morning.

C.

April Update April 22, 2011

I realised I haven’t been very forthcoming with my writing progress over the past several months. I’d love to say it was because I was working on some top secret project that I could only now reveal. Alas, it was simply because I was so focused on the writing I never considered telling you about it.

That, my dear readers, is about to change. Brace yourselves for a no-holds-barred update on where my writing career is at.

At the end of March the textbook people told me to hold off writing the teacher’s guide until they could get me the revisions for the student workbook. I was a little frustrated by this (I’d wondered about the wisdom of writing the teacher’s guide before the student book was set, but the contact only gave me two weeks between the two deadlines and I didn’t want to miss it). I’d hoped this contract would be fulfilled by late March so I could go back to writing fiction.

Given my forced waiting with the math stuff, I decided to finish my NaNoWriMo novel. I promised my cheerleader a sequel to The Firestorm Conspiracy, and I got 55,000 words into it during November, but December led to agents requesting Nikko and eventually the excitement around signing with Brianne Mulligan at Movable Type, so I never finished it.

Oooh, I also had to do several edits and proofs for Firestorm in order to get it ready for publication, and those took a tonne of time. Thankfully, I wasn’t also textbooking.

Life is funny sometimes. I was all excited about my ‘free’ time – I was going to finish my sequel and make my cheerleader ecstatic (or insane, depending on her reaction to the grand finale planned for the book), and then my agent sent me an email. She wanted to let me know she felt the sooner we got Nikko out the better – before all the publishers filled their YA dystopian quotas for the year.

I broke the news to my long-suffering cheerleader and set to work on revising Nikko with my eleven pages of editorial notes as a guideline. My goal was to increase the book’s length by about 20,000 words and change the ending, leaving the story more open to a romantic sequel (I’d left it open for further book[s], but I hadn’t planned on carrying a love triangle through, so that had to change).

I’ve been working steadily on Nikko for three weeks now, and I’ve added close to 13,000 words and four entirely new chapters. I’ve fleshed out one minor character into something of an antagonist, and I’ve gone far deeper into both my main characters’ pasts as well as the world building.

I’ll be honest, it’s hard. My brain does mental gymnastics every time I sit down and tackle a new element. I’m always saying, “Let’s see, how can I…” and then I’m gone – lost in a universe of my own creating. I love it. I love, love, love it. I wanted to get the revisions done by the end of the month, but as I’m only half way through the original version I think I’ll need more than the week remaining.

During a moment of procrastination I decided to submit a short story to a couple of magazines. I’m not expecting a reply for at least four more weeks, but I will let you know as soon as I hear anything.

I am expecting the revision request from the textbook people to arrive sometime next week. As this is something I am under contract for (and they’ve paid me a third of the agreed upon amount), I will have to set Nikko aside to work on them. Hopefully they won’t be too time-consuming and I’ll be able to get back to Nikko shortly thereafter.

On top of all this, I am also planning a launch party for The Firestorm Conspiracy. I can’t believe it will be available to the general public in just over three weeks. My first novel. Published. People other than my husband and mother buying something I made.

*SQUEE*

Phew, I told you this would be quite the update. You may relax now, it’s pretty much over. At the risk of becoming boring or tedious, I will endeavour to update you more often.

C.

Interesting Discovery December 9, 2010

I discovered something about myself last night.

While it was fun to zip ahead and write a scene that I’d been dying to write, I can’t keep doing it. I am too linear. Last night I sat down to write more of an out-of-order scene and couldn’t do it.

I think it also has to do with how I view my characters. I really like to get into their heads and use events to inform how they will react in future scenes. If I’m jumping ahead I have no ‘real’ idea how they will react because I don’t know how previous events shaped them.

So tonight I will go back to where I left off and slog through the plot. I probably shouldn’t say, “slog” because I’m looking forward to getting back into the meat of the story. I thought I could wander off and play with the characters in isolation, but it turns out I’m good for a scene or so, and that’s about it.

I’ll be curious to see how well (or awkwardly) the out-of-order scenes fit once I get to the point in the novel where they belong. I enjoyed writing them so it won’t be a hardship to have to tweak (or re-write) them, but it will be interesting to see how much editing they will need in order to seemlessly fit into the story.

C.

Edits and Ideas November 28, 2010

I received my latest round of edits from my editor for The Firestorm Conspiracy. I’m pleased to report they are mostly minor – punctuation and formatting to make it easier on the eyes on an e-reader. There are a couple of passages that need a re-work, but two or three paragraphs out of 278 pages is pretty darn light in my book.

I can’t believe my book launch is just over six months away! *SQUEE*

On another note, I’ve come up with an idea for a new book. I haven’t done anything with regards to pitching Nikko since October (mind you, I do have the excuse that I am waiting to hear from the agents with fulls before doing much more), nor have I finished my NaNoWriMo 2010 draft, plus I’m pretty sure Toni and Matthias are still making out in an elevator – where I left them six or so months ago…

But this new idea is new! And shiny!

::wails::

C.

Day Eighteen 2010 November 18, 2010

1410 words last night.

I am on the road to recovery. Honestly, the scene that didn’t work threw me so out of whack it wasn’t funny. I spent last night re-writing the scene from scratch (although I was able to save a few lines) and finished feeling much more pleased with the product. I know it’s right now because I already know what the first sentence in the next chapter will be.

I find that I cannot move onto the next scene or chapter if I haven’t been true to the characters in the previous section. Sometimes it comes from leaving out something that should be put in, and sometimes it’s like that evil scene I wrote two nights ago – it’s so unfair to the characters that it doesn’t deserve to see the light of day.

I shared the new scene with my cheerleader, and while she never said the other one sucked, she did agree that this one was way better. Which, during NaNoWriMo, is saying a lot about the craptastic nature of the original version.

Now I am all set to write this evening – it’s time to up the stakes for the characters!

C.

Day Seventeen 2010 November 17, 2010

Well, yesterday was abysmal.

Seriously.

I went to bed berating myself for not writing, but no matter how hard I tried, I could NOT get anything onto the screen. Was this the infamous writer’s block? I suppose so in a way. Except, as I wandered off to bed I hit upon the precise reason for the blockage: the most recent scene I’d written was totally out of character.

I’m not going to say it wasn’t a good scene, but I KNOW it was not the scene that should have happened. Even my cheerleader knew it (she never said so out loud, and I didn’t force her to violate her cheerleaderly duties and say anything that might be contrued as criticis). And, as I discovered last night, my brain would not let me base future scenes on something that just wasn’t right.

As I lay in bed angry, confused, and disappointed in myself, I decided to force my thoughts in a more productive direction: fixing the problem. It goes against everything NaNoWriMo stands for to delete what’s written – even if it is god awful. So what’s a girl to do? A girl uses the cut and paste functions of Word and moves the offending scene to the end of the document, that’s what. This way the words still count (and they should count because they were written with good intentions) but no longer impact the actual story line.

As soon as I made the decision, the block disappeared and I knew exactly what I should have written. I wrote while my students were nanoing this afternoon, and oh my goodness, it was like I’d discovered the joy of writing all over again! I can hardly wait for my writing time this evening – it feels so good to be on the right track.

C.