Whew, we made it through another week. I'm referring to it as a brownie week. Do you ever have days where you need a brownie every day of the week? (That's just me? Whoops!)
Every Friday we set one goal for the upcoming week. It can be related to work, home, family, or anything at all. This goal should be something that will enhance your life not make it harder. What one thing can you accomplish this week that will make you feel terrific?
Before we go further with goals, I want to congratulate Patrice for finalling in the 2010 Winter Rose contest with her romantic suspense Die Run Hide. Congratulations!!
I met last week's goal of finishing the second pass of revisions of my current book. It took a river of coffee, but I did it. How about you? Did you meet your goal?
Here's the list of last week's goals:
Lynn: Write two hours/day
CJ: Finish drawing and painting the dragon
Joanne: Immerse into a new writing project
Wendy: Buy a netbook (I know Wendy met this goal and I wish we lived closer so I could check it out!)
Kelly: Use first regularly scheduled kid-free time (Woo-hoo! Congrats on making this milestone!) to write
Janna: Keep editing
Diane: Read Bible daily
Keli: Walk at least twice and take a break from the computer
Julie J: Less procrastinating on the Internet
Georgiana: Finish first draft of WIP!!
Paul: Flesh out the idea for new project
Sallyo: Clean kitchen--and wait for happy new grandbaby news! (Hope you had a nice surprise!)
Erica: Edit/rewrite two chapters
Angie M: Read daily
Patti: Finish proposal and have fun at women's retreat (Have a great time!)
T. Anne: Cautiously enter 70K (Wow!!)
Melissa: Soak up the sun with daughter at the lake
Emily: Continue steady process of edits
Karen L: Spend time in the Word
Lisa and Laura: Have five perfect chapters written
Katie: Get back on track with schedule
Patrice: Keep editing with excitement
Susan M: Decide which project to work on next
Nancy: Be cheerful because it's a busy week
CMOM: Write each day
Tess: (Technically not your goal, but I'm adding it anyway--stealing the idea of hot cross buns!)
Ralene: Finish going through boxes
You all have lofty goals and reading through them gets me pumped up to meet my own.
I'm entering the final stages of revision for my book. My goal this week is to get down and dirty with the first ten chapters. I might not make this goal, but I want to aim high.
What's your goal?
Please leave your goal in the comment section. New to my blog? I'd love to hear your goal, but if you're not comfortable, feel free to lurk. Have a wonderful weekend!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Opening Lines
Aaarrrggghhh!!!
Opening lines make me want to tear my hair out. I can't tell you how many cups of coffee and bags of M&M's it takes for me to produce a good opening line.
Writing a great opening line may be an art form. Oh, most of us can come up with a clever string of words, but often the sentence doesn't truly fit our book. We may even try to change the book to match the line, because we love it so much. For this reason, it's important to avoid growing a distorted attachment to an opening line.
After being blessed with the opportunity to read many first lines by fellow unpublished authors, I'm going to share with you a little secret I've discovered.
Often, a writer's best line will not be the opening line or even be on the first page. It's usually buried in a paragraph somewhere on the first or second page. Why do I know this? Because the line jumps out at me. I instantly think, now this is the opener.
Why can't we see this for ourselves? I think it boils down to being too close to our story. We think we've found the perfect sentence, but we're wrong, oh, how wrong! An outside pair of eyes can be crucial to making sure the best line for our book shows up front and center.
The process of analyzing other writer's opening lines has made me adept at finding my own buried best line.
And while we're on the subject of first lines, I have to share my misguided idea of writing the opening line to my fifth book. My first four books were written in quick succession without the help of a single craft book. (Nothing to be proud of, my friends.) These beauties reside in my closet where they belong. But after I received my first, and might I add deserved, rejection, I realized for book five I needed to learn this pesky thing called the writing craft.
Did I get overzealous and try to cram too much in?
Yep. So book five needed a spectacular opener, one that would employ all of the splendid craft techniques I'd picked up over the year. When I finished,the line could definitely be described as memorable, after all, I'd thrown enough words in to create an entire paragraph. Lesson learned? Longer doesn't equal better.
Turns out, the shorter sentences I'd used pre-learning-the-craft proved a good judgment call!
What makes an opening line jump out at you? Do you have any opening line pet peeves?
Join me on Friday to set one goal!
Opening lines make me want to tear my hair out. I can't tell you how many cups of coffee and bags of M&M's it takes for me to produce a good opening line.
Writing a great opening line may be an art form. Oh, most of us can come up with a clever string of words, but often the sentence doesn't truly fit our book. We may even try to change the book to match the line, because we love it so much. For this reason, it's important to avoid growing a distorted attachment to an opening line.
After being blessed with the opportunity to read many first lines by fellow unpublished authors, I'm going to share with you a little secret I've discovered.
Often, a writer's best line will not be the opening line or even be on the first page. It's usually buried in a paragraph somewhere on the first or second page. Why do I know this? Because the line jumps out at me. I instantly think, now this is the opener.
Why can't we see this for ourselves? I think it boils down to being too close to our story. We think we've found the perfect sentence, but we're wrong, oh, how wrong! An outside pair of eyes can be crucial to making sure the best line for our book shows up front and center.
The process of analyzing other writer's opening lines has made me adept at finding my own buried best line.
And while we're on the subject of first lines, I have to share my misguided idea of writing the opening line to my fifth book. My first four books were written in quick succession without the help of a single craft book. (Nothing to be proud of, my friends.) These beauties reside in my closet where they belong. But after I received my first, and might I add deserved, rejection, I realized for book five I needed to learn this pesky thing called the writing craft.
Did I get overzealous and try to cram too much in?
Yep. So book five needed a spectacular opener, one that would employ all of the splendid craft techniques I'd picked up over the year. When I finished,the line could definitely be described as memorable, after all, I'd thrown enough words in to create an entire paragraph. Lesson learned? Longer doesn't equal better.
Turns out, the shorter sentences I'd used pre-learning-the-craft proved a good judgment call!
What makes an opening line jump out at you? Do you have any opening line pet peeves?
Join me on Friday to set one goal!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Book Beginnings: Hard or Easy?
For all of you fiction writers out there, I'd love to hear your opinion on this one. Do you consider writing the beginning easy or hard? Why?
I find them HARD. I know where the book should start and can see the scene in my head, but it's painful to find the perfect words to show it. I can't tell you how many times I revise it to get just the right wording. Also, my first draft often morphs into a deeper story or the characters surprise me and reveal themselves in a different way by the end. This means I need to match their motivations and personalities from the beginning with the end result.
So what should a good beginning do? The short answer?
Make the reader want to keep reading!
Simple, right?
Not so much.
I didn't put as much thought into the opening pages when I started writing, but I spend skads of time on them now. Here's a short list of things I consider.
- Does the opening match the tone of the genre book I'm writing? A suspense should convey a sense of urgency. A contemporary novel should match the tone I'm setting, whether it's light, funny, dark, heavy, or breezy. A historical novel should reflect the time period to immediately clue the reader as to where and when it takes place. A fantasy should alert the reader to the nuances of the book's world.
- Is there enough non-character information to ground the reader without boring the reader? Pertinent questions should be answered right away, including a hint or more of where the book takes place, the time period, the season, and so forth.
- Is the main character's primary external goal clearly stated? For example: Maybe the main character wants to open a coffee shop and, in pursuing this dream, meets her future husband along the way. The character's desire to open a coffee shop is the primary external goal and needs to be clear in the opening pages.
- Who is the main character and why should the reader care?
The last question proves the most important for me. I write romances, and readers need to connect with the main character to want to keep reading. Hint at the conflict--why the external goal might not come easily.
In addition to the external goal, give one big emotional reason the goal will be difficult to achieve, something inside her that's holding her back. Maybe her father told her women don't run businesses, or she helped run a coffee shop with her ex-fiance only to be left penniless when he swindled her out of her share. It's your book; go with it!
The main characters should brim with characteristics that will help the reader like them. Maybe it's as subtle as being friendly to a stranger, generous to a grandmother, petting a dog, or smiling at a small child.
I've been guilty of creating characters who are very hard to like in the beginning. Sure, these characters grow and become upstanding citizens, but readers will be turned off by someone they don't like. If the reader is turned off, they probably won't continue to read.
What do you think? Beginnings--easy or hard?
Join me on Wednesday when we'll discuss opening lines.
I find them HARD. I know where the book should start and can see the scene in my head, but it's painful to find the perfect words to show it. I can't tell you how many times I revise it to get just the right wording. Also, my first draft often morphs into a deeper story or the characters surprise me and reveal themselves in a different way by the end. This means I need to match their motivations and personalities from the beginning with the end result.
So what should a good beginning do? The short answer?
Make the reader want to keep reading!
Simple, right?
Not so much.
I didn't put as much thought into the opening pages when I started writing, but I spend skads of time on them now. Here's a short list of things I consider.
- Does the opening match the tone of the genre book I'm writing? A suspense should convey a sense of urgency. A contemporary novel should match the tone I'm setting, whether it's light, funny, dark, heavy, or breezy. A historical novel should reflect the time period to immediately clue the reader as to where and when it takes place. A fantasy should alert the reader to the nuances of the book's world.
- Is there enough non-character information to ground the reader without boring the reader? Pertinent questions should be answered right away, including a hint or more of where the book takes place, the time period, the season, and so forth.
- Is the main character's primary external goal clearly stated? For example: Maybe the main character wants to open a coffee shop and, in pursuing this dream, meets her future husband along the way. The character's desire to open a coffee shop is the primary external goal and needs to be clear in the opening pages.
- Who is the main character and why should the reader care?
The last question proves the most important for me. I write romances, and readers need to connect with the main character to want to keep reading. Hint at the conflict--why the external goal might not come easily.
In addition to the external goal, give one big emotional reason the goal will be difficult to achieve, something inside her that's holding her back. Maybe her father told her women don't run businesses, or she helped run a coffee shop with her ex-fiance only to be left penniless when he swindled her out of her share. It's your book; go with it!
The main characters should brim with characteristics that will help the reader like them. Maybe it's as subtle as being friendly to a stranger, generous to a grandmother, petting a dog, or smiling at a small child.
I've been guilty of creating characters who are very hard to like in the beginning. Sure, these characters grow and become upstanding citizens, but readers will be turned off by someone they don't like. If the reader is turned off, they probably won't continue to read.
What do you think? Beginnings--easy or hard?
Join me on Wednesday when we'll discuss opening lines.
Friday, April 9, 2010
April 9, 2010: One Goal Friday
Fridays. Yum! Fifty-two each year, and I love them all.
It's time to set one goal for the upcoming week, one goal that will bring you closer to your dream or will enhance your life. It can be related to work, family, fun, or anything at all.
My goal was to enjoy my family since we had a vacation from school and work. Easy! Of course I met it.
Here are your goals from last week:
Jessica: Finish reading WIP and print pictures
Terri: Write more
CJ: Make Hot Cross Buns and enjoy them with daughter home from college
Wendy: Laugh hard
Kelly: Enjoy Easter without blowing diet
Ralene: Finish going through boxes to donate
Joanne: Finish cooking for Easter (lasagna, yum...)
Julie J: Write 1000 words every day
Katie: Eat one healthy item each day
Lynn: Write a new scripture verse in prayer journal each day
Kristen T: Complete first three months of p90x!!
Maria M: Make memories with daughter who is home on spring break
Erica: Finish reading book for review
Danyelle: Finish entering edits into ms
Kara: Pack for trip and prepare clothes for consignment sale
Susan M: Catch up on sleep
Tamika: Write 500 words per day
Nancy: Enjoy birthday and daughter's birthday, which are shared (Happy Birthday!!)
Patti: Write two chapters of Reclaiming Lily and start proposal for Strung Out
Angie M: Write daily
Jaime: Reclaim morning exercise habit
Linda: Finish rewrites of chapters eight and nine
College Student: Study, study, study!
Jennifer S: Bake and cook for daughter's birthday party
Lisa and Laura: Prep first 20K words and create an outline
My new goal is to finish the second pass of revisions of my work in progress.
What one goal will make your life better this week?
Please leave your goal in the comment section. Welcome, any newcomers! I hope you participate, too, but if you'd rather not, that's okay!
It's time to set one goal for the upcoming week, one goal that will bring you closer to your dream or will enhance your life. It can be related to work, family, fun, or anything at all.
My goal was to enjoy my family since we had a vacation from school and work. Easy! Of course I met it.
Here are your goals from last week:
Jessica: Finish reading WIP and print pictures
Terri: Write more
CJ: Make Hot Cross Buns and enjoy them with daughter home from college
Wendy: Laugh hard
Kelly: Enjoy Easter without blowing diet
Ralene: Finish going through boxes to donate
Joanne: Finish cooking for Easter (lasagna, yum...)
Julie J: Write 1000 words every day
Katie: Eat one healthy item each day
Lynn: Write a new scripture verse in prayer journal each day
Kristen T: Complete first three months of p90x!!
Maria M: Make memories with daughter who is home on spring break
Erica: Finish reading book for review
Danyelle: Finish entering edits into ms
Kara: Pack for trip and prepare clothes for consignment sale
Susan M: Catch up on sleep
Tamika: Write 500 words per day
Nancy: Enjoy birthday and daughter's birthday, which are shared (Happy Birthday!!)
Patti: Write two chapters of Reclaiming Lily and start proposal for Strung Out
Angie M: Write daily
Jaime: Reclaim morning exercise habit
Linda: Finish rewrites of chapters eight and nine
College Student: Study, study, study!
Jennifer S: Bake and cook for daughter's birthday party
Lisa and Laura: Prep first 20K words and create an outline
My new goal is to finish the second pass of revisions of my work in progress.
What one goal will make your life better this week?
Please leave your goal in the comment section. Welcome, any newcomers! I hope you participate, too, but if you'd rather not, that's okay!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Nothing New Under the Sun
I'll bet you're familiar with the saying there's nothing new under the sun? It's true, of course, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of things new to me. I constantly come across something I haven't seen before.
Have you ever rearranged your furniture, stood back, and felt a wave of shock? The old furniture you wanted to burn suddenly appeals to you and seems new and exciting. We don't have to throw out our entire life when the doldrums hit; we need to move our day around to avoid the pitfalls of familiarity.
We're blessed that in many aspects of our lives we can claim a sense of wonder and awe even in tasks we've been doing for years. The secret is in our approach. Routines help speed up our process, but sometimes we need to turn them upside down, shake them a few times, and be willing to lose some of our precision, or they'll feel routine.
Take cleaning, my least favorite duty. I don't mind dishes or laundry, but sweeping and mopping? Uggh. A few years ago, I decided to experiment to make the process nicer. I tried sweeping and mopping at different times of the day. Morning clearly worked best. Then, I experimented with the environment. When I popped in a soundtrack of a foreign movie, preferably upbeat and French, I danced while I cleaned. Since I adore dancing, the task flew by quickly.
I have a point, I promise. By approaching my least favorite chore in a new way, I was able to determine that I perform best when I sweep and mop in the morning to festive music. The old task felt new.
What tasks do you loathe doing? Can you think of a way you could approach them differently to make them less loathsome?
Join me on Friday to check in on your goals!
I will be in and out the rest of this week. I love reading your comments, so please leave one!
Have you ever rearranged your furniture, stood back, and felt a wave of shock? The old furniture you wanted to burn suddenly appeals to you and seems new and exciting. We don't have to throw out our entire life when the doldrums hit; we need to move our day around to avoid the pitfalls of familiarity.
We're blessed that in many aspects of our lives we can claim a sense of wonder and awe even in tasks we've been doing for years. The secret is in our approach. Routines help speed up our process, but sometimes we need to turn them upside down, shake them a few times, and be willing to lose some of our precision, or they'll feel routine.
Take cleaning, my least favorite duty. I don't mind dishes or laundry, but sweeping and mopping? Uggh. A few years ago, I decided to experiment to make the process nicer. I tried sweeping and mopping at different times of the day. Morning clearly worked best. Then, I experimented with the environment. When I popped in a soundtrack of a foreign movie, preferably upbeat and French, I danced while I cleaned. Since I adore dancing, the task flew by quickly.
I have a point, I promise. By approaching my least favorite chore in a new way, I was able to determine that I perform best when I sweep and mop in the morning to festive music. The old task felt new.
What tasks do you loathe doing? Can you think of a way you could approach them differently to make them less loathsome?
Join me on Friday to check in on your goals!
I will be in and out the rest of this week. I love reading your comments, so please leave one!
Monday, April 5, 2010
April: A New Beginning
With the warmer weather, I watch the variety of birds return home. New buds perch on the ends of the tree branches, waiting for the proper time to unfurl. The dead, yellow grass gets pushed up by green blades. People walk with a bounce in their step instead of stooping in protection from the bitter cold. Spring is a welcome beginning to another season of outdoor life after being cooped up for months.
When I brainstormed possible topics for this month’s blog, the obvious correlation between spring and beginnings occurred, but the term “new beginning” seemed an oxymoron. Aren’t all beginnings new?
Well, no. Some don't feel new. It’s easy to slip into routines and habits and let the freshness of life become stale. Some beginnings simply feel as if we’ve been there, done that. They may introduce heavy layers of responsibilities. When aspects of our life feel repetitive and boring, we can approach them in a new way.
Join me all month as we discuss a variety of methods to bring the "new" back to our beginnings, whether in our novels or our routine daily tasks. Let's view each day as a new beginning—the start of a fulfilled life.
I’m celebrating this new beginning—the return of spring--with a vase of flowers.
How will you celebrate the beginning of April?
When I brainstormed possible topics for this month’s blog, the obvious correlation between spring and beginnings occurred, but the term “new beginning” seemed an oxymoron. Aren’t all beginnings new?
Well, no. Some don't feel new. It’s easy to slip into routines and habits and let the freshness of life become stale. Some beginnings simply feel as if we’ve been there, done that. They may introduce heavy layers of responsibilities. When aspects of our life feel repetitive and boring, we can approach them in a new way.
Join me all month as we discuss a variety of methods to bring the "new" back to our beginnings, whether in our novels or our routine daily tasks. Let's view each day as a new beginning—the start of a fulfilled life.
I’m celebrating this new beginning—the return of spring--with a vase of flowers.
How will you celebrate the beginning of April?
Friday, April 2, 2010
One Goal Friday: April 2, 2010
Today we celebrate Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. On Sunday, we'll celebrate his victory over death. Easter makes me smile. It signifies so many things to me--God's gracious love, the beginning of spring, pretty pastel colors, bunnies, and of course, chocolate.
But since it is Friday, it's time to list one goal. One goal that will bring you closer to your dream or will enhance your life. It can be related to work, family, fun, or anything at all.
Last week, my goal was to organize the huge pile of clothes in my closet and drop them off at the donation center. Guess who put it off until this morning? That would be me. On a side note, I made fantastic progress on my revisions! Yay!
How did you do this week?
Jennifer S.: Plan daughter's birthday party
Lynn: Write one story and edit two others
Susan D.M.: Plan kids' summer activities
Emily B: Find a new Bible Study to attend with sister
Kelly: Help son with alphabet book project
Angie: Write daily
Susan J.R.: Finish this revising task
Tess: Get back in groove with manuscript
Lisa and Laura: Write two chapters each
Common Household Mom: Survive in-law's visit with humor and grace
Since my family is on vacation this week, my goal is to relax and enjoy them.
What one goal can you set this week?
Any newcomers, please feel free to list a goal in the comments. Feel free to lurk if you're not comfortable with commenting. Thanks for joining us!
Have a blessed Good Friday and Easter!
But since it is Friday, it's time to list one goal. One goal that will bring you closer to your dream or will enhance your life. It can be related to work, family, fun, or anything at all.
Last week, my goal was to organize the huge pile of clothes in my closet and drop them off at the donation center. Guess who put it off until this morning? That would be me. On a side note, I made fantastic progress on my revisions! Yay!
How did you do this week?
Jennifer S.: Plan daughter's birthday party
Lynn: Write one story and edit two others
Susan D.M.: Plan kids' summer activities
Emily B: Find a new Bible Study to attend with sister
Kelly: Help son with alphabet book project
Angie: Write daily
Susan J.R.: Finish this revising task
Tess: Get back in groove with manuscript
Lisa and Laura: Write two chapters each
Common Household Mom: Survive in-law's visit with humor and grace
Since my family is on vacation this week, my goal is to relax and enjoy them.
What one goal can you set this week?
Any newcomers, please feel free to list a goal in the comments. Feel free to lurk if you're not comfortable with commenting. Thanks for joining us!
Have a blessed Good Friday and Easter!
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