Jill Kemerer

Monday, November 12, 2012

Fresh Plots: WSG 30

I'm writing the first draft of my eleventh book.

Yes, eleven!

It's pretty cool to look back at where I started so many years ago. I vividly remember the day I decided I would write a novel. In my bedroom, surrounded by tiny pink flowered wallpaper, Chante' Moore crooning on the radio, and a gentle, patient snow coming down outside, I sprawled on the floor and began filling a notebook with my book.

I vaguely recall it being set in Chicago and the "book" consisted of a series of dream dates--my idea of a perfect romance novel.

Within a few hours, I realized my error. If a man and woman only deal with dream dates, the book ends at page 22. This knowledge didn't stop me; it fueled my desire to get it right--to figure out how my favorite authors did it. How did they write such compelling books?

My engineering career and the early years with my babies led me on a detour from my writing, but I did finish my first book seven years later.

Now that I have ten completed books under my silver, square-linked belt, I know the danger of getting comfortable. I've only ever written one genre--romance. It's the only genre I want to write. Sure, I've dabbled in romantic suspense. I've written quite a few sweet romances for the mainstream audience. But my true love lies in my current genre: contemporary romance for the Christian market.

To keep my new book fresh, I tried a different plotting method, but by chapter three I found myself writing a scene and feeling that something wasn't quite right. After a long session of trying to determine the problem, I realized the plot progression felt familiar. I'd done something similar in a previous book.

Out came my new writing craft book, The Story Structure Architect, recommended to me by Jessica R. Patch. It's not a read-straight-through-book. It's more to help you make decisions about where your book should go. The "situations" section in the final half of the book really helps with this. I read through two situations and inspiration struck.

In some ways, writing a book is easier now that I have years of experience. The writing itself is better, and I trust my instincts. But in many ways it's a lot harder. I have to challenge myself to find new twists, to come up with more unique plots. And, I'm always learning. Always will be learning.

Have you found yourself copying yourself--or another author--with your current plot? How do you keep your plots fresh?

Have a terrific Monday!

Moldy Pumpkins

We have four pumpkins on our porch. It's November 9. That's 9 days past Halloween. Two of these pumpkins are moldy. Their creepy faces reveal black souls, which is fitting for Halloween decorations and all, but really--it's well into November. Why haven't I thrown these things out??

Here they are before Halloween, when they still looked sweet and happy.

All my fall decorations, including pumpkins and black cats, lurk around the house. I have not put them away. I will not put them away.

They will disappear into the basement when I chug, chug, chug the Christmas boxes upstairs and not one minute before. That's how I roll.

Moldy pumpkins.

Okay, who else is super lazy when it comes to this stuff? Let me know if you have moldy pumpkins on your porch still!

Have an amazing weekend!

Little Things and Contentment

Yesterday I had one of those rush, rush, rush days. The kind where you try to fit it all in--making a grocery list, buying the groceries, VOTING, finishing laundry, and, oh yeah, there's a ton of apples in the fridge and you should probably do something about them before they spoil.

Well, I did make the grocery list. I bought the groceries. I voted. I finished the laundry. I even peeled 25 apples and made applesauce out of them. When I finally sat down to write, it was 2:30 pm, and I knew I had a lasagna to make and library books to pick up. I didn't think I'd be able to meet my goal, but I fired up my laptop and figured any words were better than none.

I did meet my writing goal. It felt good. But what really brought a warm blanket of contentment over me were all the little things I'd accomplished throughout the day.

Sometimes the small tasks snowball and push a huge pile of anxiety on my chest. No, the world won't stop turning if I have to throw out a few apples, but it will bother me. I hate being wasteful. And, sure, I could leave the laundry for tomorrow, but I don't enjoy putting things off that I can get done now.

My heart is also smiling because I have a refrigerator full of healthy food. I don't have to fold clothes because they're all folded. And I'm that much further on my current work-in-progress.

What a blessing to have the little things. :)

What little things could you do today to bring contentment?

Have a terrific Wednesday!!

What's In Your Writer Survival Kit? WSG 29

Writer's Survival Guide 29: What's in Your Survival Kit?

As a writer, I have a lot of tricks to keep me writing. My laptop, chocolate, cute pens, my idea journal, my ginormous thesaurus--and coffee! So naturally, I'm curious about your tricks.

Tell me, what are the essentials in YOUR writer's survival kit?

Have an awesome Monday!

Exercise Plans with Jill Kemerer Vlog

Now that November has arrived, I pretty much wear my winter uniform of sweaters and jeans. This can lull a midwestern gal into thinking she can hide any bulges. (I'm going to let you in on a secret: she can't.)

Unfortunately, Halloween just hit our house and I'm a candy freak. With Christmas right around the corner, I know I'll be shimmying into cute holiday clothes soon. That's why I'm being proactive this year. I'm getting my exercise plans together.

Here are my exercise plans to stay in shape before the holiday season!

Is this time of year a danger zone for you to drop exercising and overindulge? What are you doing to stay in shape? I'd love to hear your tips!

Have a terrific weekend!

Candy Day!

Guess what? It's candy day!

The princesses, pirates, superheroes, and zombies run door to door, holding their bags open for sugary loot. And I love it! Why? Well, for one, I like kids and it makes me smile to see their excitement.

But the main reason? I love candy!

I've been snacking on Fun-Size candy bars all month long, but tonight, after trick-or-treating, the candy explosion begins. Yes, I will beg my kids to share. They get the good stuff. No, I won't sneak their Kit Kats or Twix--they love them too much--but I'm all in for their Peanut M&M's, Tootsie Rolls, Snickers, and any other candy they decide is share-worthy.

Come on, chant it with me: Candy! Candy! Candy!

Hooray!

What is your favorite type of candy?

Happy Reformation Day! (Bet you forgot about that one, didn't you?) *wink*

Improve, Stagnate, or Decline: WSG 28

Writer's Survival Guide 28: Improve, Stagnate, or Decline

My favorite NFL team is the Detroit Lions. For the last two decades, the Lions struggled. They rotated through coaches, players, and they could not find a way to win. Every season ended with frustration. Fans wondered why? Why can't this team get it together and win?

Coach Jim Schwartz took over four years ago. He brought a fresh enthusiasm to the role, and, with a first round, first pick quarterback--Matthew Stafford--fans waited in hopeful anticipation that the Lions would turn around.

They did.

It took time, patience in the face of injuries, more smart draft picks, but last season, the Lions actually made it to the playoffs. It looked as if the rough years were finally behind them. Surely, they would continue to improve, to advance, and maybe even make it to the Superbowl at some point?

This season the Lions are struggling. They're plagued by penalties and they don't look like a cohesive unit. Many experts say the team lacks discipline at the coaching level. Off the field, there have been arrests and poor behavior. Needless to say, if a team can't win games, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to make it to the playoffs this year.

Football is a tough sport. Many factors go into what makes a winning team. And nothing guarantees they keep their spot at or near the top.

Writers face the same challenges. Whether we, like the Lions, struggle for years before finding success, or we find success quickly, we have to mentally outfit ourselves to write strong.

One writing myth is that at some point we won't have to work as hard. We'll "write that perfect first draft" or, since readers loved our last book, they'll automatically love our subsequent books. This is dangerous thinking. We, like football teams, have to continuously work hard to make our books shine. We have to be disciplined, humble yet confident, and we can't take anything for granted or we risk stagnating and declining.

Writers have to push themselves to continue advancing in their career.

We can never get complacent with our writing. Writing shouldn't be easy. Each book should challenge us--force us to examine exactly why we're writing it.

I'm not saying writing isn't fun, rewarding, or any other wonderful things. It is. But if we stop examining our work for good plot structure, conflict, pace, grammar, and characterization because we think the work we did in the past was good enough, well, we're on our way to stagnating and declining.

Every book gives us a chance to improve our writing.

What do you think? Is there ever a time we can stop examining our books and still be assured they're good?

Have a terrific day!