Writing Progress – Slowly Catching Up

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I intensely wrote on a book outside of my ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series; I have written about it on different occasions.

I was very enthusiastic about that book. The draft is completed… but, of course, when I write, I forget everything around me.

That means book 7 in ‘the Council of Twelve series is still waiting for me to complete the personal editing, book 8 was halfway typed into the computer, and book 9 is still waiting to be typed in.

Now, here I am, planning to do some catching up. And I started. (Sometimes I surprise myself).

In the meantime, Book #8 is typed into the computer and awaits the start of my personal editing. (Book 7 is still waiting for me to complete the editing, but it shouldn’t take much time anymore). And, I started typing in my new book.

Does that mean I’m slowly catching up? I’m not sure I am. I cannot be without writing, and I started to work on book #10 in the series. That doesn’t mean I will forget to type in. But I wrote so much, and I forgot that writing is the fun part. The real work starts after the first draft is completed.

I’m also behind my blog posts, which means I should consider writing a few of those and schedule them. It’s not easy to be a writer.

But at least, after everything got stuck and the drafts were piling up on my desk, I got the feeling that I was getting somewhere.

Keep your fingers crossed that I will keep on working on typing my drafts into the computer. It’s not the easiest or funniest part of my writing process.

I had someone telling me, why don’t you hire someone who is doing that for you? I’m telling you why:

1. I was told my handwriting isn’t very easy to read
2. This is only a first draft, which means, while typing it into the computer, I need to make adjustments and those are on me. Nobody can do that for me – and I don’t want anyone to try.
3. I have an editor and a copyright lawyer, and a book cover designer… they all are a GREAT part of how my books turn out to be. But I still want to be a big part of my books and investing my time and efforts into my stories is part of the job description.

My books mean a lot to me, and the writing process they go through has turned out to be right for me. I doubt I want to change that.

What is your experience with your process? Have you changed anything lately? Let us know in the comments.

Change Matters: How to Write Stories that Grip Readers & Don’t Let Go – Written By Kristen Lamb

Thank you so much, Kristen Lamb, for another educational blog post on how to write stories properly and keep the reader interested. We all appreciate your hard work!

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Change is one of those concepts that gets a mixed reaction. Depending on personality and/or age group, change could be welcomed…or greeted with a metaphorical shotgun at the metaphorical door. While change is necessary for all living things to grow and thrive, plants have proven far more open to this notion than people.

I’m betting it’s because plants don’t overthink everything…unless they’re orchids which are high-maintenance and die while writing bad haiku (if they had hands and pen and paper).

Existential plants have a far tougher time, unlike weeds. Weeds just roll with anything that comes their way, and that’s why we can pour concrete over them and it’s no big deal. They simply mumble to the nearby crabgrass, “Hold my beer and watch this!”

*makes crack in new driveway* I’M BAAAAAACK!

All kidding aside, many writers miss the point of a story. Stories are about change, and the more the protagonist (and, to be blunt, all members of the cast) change for good or bad, the better.

Change & Plot

I know what it’s like to have writer brain. We see the world VERY differently than ‘normal’ people. Some see a roll of old carpet at the curb? I’m counting if all family members are present. Just yesterday, I had some fun over on Facebook with this…

CONTINUE READING HERE

Don’t Let Your Plot Hijack Your Story – Written By Janice Hardy

Janice Hardy published an interesting blog post about plot and story not being alined in our book. Thanks a lot for that article, Janice.

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The plot illustrates the story, but sometimes, it has a mind of its own and takes your novel in the wrong direction.

It’s a common enough tale. You’re writing away, listening to your characters and letting them run the show. They’re diverting a little from your outline, but that’s okay because where they’re going is good stuff. Or maybe you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t have an outline, and you’re enjoying this unexpected path your characters have taken.

 

And they keep doing it.

And doing it.

And doing it.

You follow because the plot is moving and it seems like a good idea, and the words are coming fast and furious. You’re getting a huge amount of writing done. You’re feeling so productive!

Continue Reading Here

Moodboard Of My WIP

I’m currently drafting book 7 in ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series. It is quite some work. By a list of blog post ideas, I felt challenged to publish a mood board of my work in progress, using 9 pictures. It took me forever to decide what the most important parts of the plot are and how to express them. Then I had to pick the images and, of course, spend another few hours to choose the ones I think express best the feelings of the story.

Picture courtesy of: https://spark.adobe.com/make/mood-board-maker/

This is the mood board of book 7.

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I hope I could give you an impression of how the emotions will be within this book, caused by the story and the plot.

This is the first mood board I ever created. I’m curious to read in the comments what you think about it.

The Log-Line: Can You Pitch Your ENTIRE Story in ONE Sentence? – Written By Kristen Lamb

 

Today we’re going to chat about log-lines. Some of you might be wondering if I was trying to give you a heart attack with my title. Maybe you think this feat is impossible. AN ENTIRE NOVEL IN ONLY ONE SENTENCE?

Maybe something simple, plebeian and commercially formulaic *flips hair* but ART cannot be forced into a box.

Yes. Yes it can.

I know, I know. Your novel is over four-hundred pages with made up technology and wizards and folding space using enchanted Thigh Masters….

I hear you. Calm down.

 

Continue reading the entire blog post here:

https://authorkristenlamb.com/2018/09/log-line/

Writing Is Easy And It Is Hard

Picture courtesy of: http://www.google.com

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Neil Gaiman is right. Writing is easy – and it’s hard.

We writers have a story in our head, and we want it written. That’s what we love doing; the book is what we want to accomplish.

But there is so much more. The characters, the plot, the genre, the word count, the editing, the cover, the formatting, the copyright, the beta reading, the hope and the fears.

Many of us, I figure, have the same fears that I have: Is the story as good as I hope it will be? Could I have done better? What does the reader want? What do the readers say? How are the reviews going to be? Is the book the way I wanted it to be? Are my characters the way I imagined them? There are so many more questions my fear, right now, won’t release.

In many ways, our passion is easy: just a keyboard (or a piece of paper and a pen), and we’re on it. But still, it is hard work. Do we think about everything we learned? Is the story the way we had it in our head?

And the writing is only one part. The ones of us who planned to go the self-publishing way, our work only start started with the publishing date. The networking, the marketing, getting the word and the book out there.

I think I’m not the only one who would love to write, just write and write and write… but then, I want my stories to be read too. And when it comes to that, I need to get all this work done.

That’s the hard part for me. (Apart of all fears and nightmares, of course).

So, yes. Neil Gaiman is right. Writing is easy – and it’s hard.

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Picture courtesy of: Wikipedia.com

Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman, (born Neil Richard Gaiman 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and films.

His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals.

He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, The Graveyard Book (2008). In 2013, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards. (Source: Wikipedia)

Back to School – New W.A.N.A. Classes for September! – written by Kristen Lamb

Kristen Lamb has posted the new upcoming W.A.N.A. classes for September 2017! Thank you Kristen!

 

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It’s back to school for everyone – not just kids. Vacation’s over. Fun’s over…or maybe the fun is just beginning.

This fall, W.A.N.A. is back with new classes, new instructors, and lots of exciting announcements coming up. Bookmark W.A.N.A. and make sure to subscribe to my blog to stay up-to-date with all the news!

Don’t forget to hop on over to the W.A.N.A. Tribe to join in our daily writing sprints in the chat room! The Tribe is a thriving community, and we are planning on some awesome upgrades to the entire Tribe experience this fall.

NEW CLASSES FOR SEPTEMBER 2017 – (click the link for the classes)

 

http://authorkristenlamb.com/2017/08/new-september-classes/

Conflict is More Important than Character

This is an eye opening article, written by Steven Capps. It is quite controversy to what many think. But I guarantee, read the post, and it will make you think. thank you Steven.

Bard & Books

I know that this is an unpopular opinion. Truthfully, there are countless people who are smarter and more successful than I am, who believe the exact opposite. Up until a few days ago, I believed that of all the elements of a story the concept of character was, by far, the most integral element of a narrative. I am not saying that it is unimportant, but rather the idea of conflict has more power in creating a compelling narrative. It drives tension, creates depth, and is pervasive in every element of skilled storytelling. To kick off this discussion, I want to present my view of character.

Character: The Lens of the Reader

Characters are representations of people who have a role in a story. I argue that in order to qualify as a character, the person depicted actually has to engage in some sort of activity relevant to the Point of View…

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How to Create Dimensional Characters—Beyond the Wound & Into the Blind Spot

Kristen Lamb, excellent writer and teacher has created a blog post which is not only entertaining, but teaching a very interesting and important lesson about the creation of characters.

Kristen Lamb's Blog

Today, we’re going to explore an extension of the WOUND. The BLIND SPOT. There are no perfect personalities. All great character traits possess a blind spot. The loyal person is a wonderful friend, but can be naive and taken advantage of.

The take-charge Alpha leader can make a team successful, but also inadvertently tromp over feelings or even fail to realize that others have great ideas, too. Maybe even BETTER ideas.

A super caring, nurturing personality can be an enabler or maybe even ignore close relationships to take care of strangers. Someone who is great with money can end up a miser. A person with a fantastic work ethic can become a workaholic.

Y’all get the gist.

Often the antagonist (Big Boss Troublemaker) is a mirror of the protagonist, especially in the beginning of the story.

To use an example from a movie we have likely all seen. In Top…

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