Tuesday's Thoughts and Tips.

Today we’ll start with Tips and making the best of your writing experience. I don’t believe that to be a successful writer one must suffer. You really should enjoy writing, there has to be something to keep you pushing forward!

Be One With The Writer.

The writer within needs to be taken care of, inside and out…if you feel like shit, have been going through issues or are overwhelmed by anything it will have an effect on your writing. Take care of yourself by eating right, exercising and caring for your body. Then there’s the inner, get out in the world, read books and do things you enjoy. Taking care of yourself and being in tune to your needs and the needs of your inner creativity will help out more than you could imagine.

Do Not Be One.

Don’t be your only support group, trust me it’s not easy or fun to go about writing a novel alone. It’s not impossible…but it’s not nice either. Have a writer support group…these people don’t have to be writers either. Anyone that supports you and your writing can work. Someone that will listen to you whine about your latest plot hole, or fight you had with a character. If these people can offer insight and advice, all the better, but if not they are listening because they care and know you will work through it.

Motivation.

Why are you writing? Is this a hobby of yours or do you dream of your name on a shiny new cover on a bookshelf? Perhaps both but you need to know what you're aiming for.

Are you in it hoping to make some money? Finding the big bucks in the writing industry is hard…not impossible but *hard*…okay so it may be near impossible, this should not be your sole motivation for writing.

Inspiration.

This is the fun stuff. Did you have The Dream? Wake up and find yourself with an amazing novel, or you’re driving down the road and it hits you a potential #1 Hit! Or you could even do something like change a diaper and go…it’s an angel, and oh wow…here we go…And BAM! You’re off to write it in a frenzy with a diaper in one hand, a child in your lap and wondering how you got yourself into this…

You got yourself into this because you are a Writer and That’s How We Roll!

Favorite Quotes From My Favorite Books

Ok, so it's supposed to be my favorite quote of all time but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't narrow it down to just one. It was hard enough to keep from putting in every single one that popped into my head when I read a similar blog title on Practice of Maddness. Reading this put into mind all of the lines in my favorite books that I look forward to reading when I open those books for the millionth time. Some of them are funny, some of them will probably make no sense to you when you read them, but they all have one thing in common in that they are a part of the reason I go back to those books again and again.

This is by no means the entire list, just a few of the ones I thought should make it here today. So, without further ado, let's get to it.......

"As we stood smiling at each other, I told her that I have always known hers is a tattoo. This doesn't trouble me. The fact that she wanted so much to prove that we share a destiny only deepens my love for her." Odd Thomas - Odd Thomas


"No! I don't want to go over!" - Jack Sawyer - Black House - upon returning to the Territories

"You are God's fool, that's what you are. You who possessed the dark secret that soared above everything, rendered everything meaningless, and what did you do with it, in those months when you ruled alone from Magnus's tower, but try to live like a good man! A good man!" - Nicki - The Vampire Lestat

"No, little one, you're not dying. You're coming now into my protection and perhaps if the stars are with us, if they are kind to us, you'll never die at all." - Marius - The Vampire Armand

"Why didn't I just walk away? Oh right, because I'm an idiot." - Jacob - Breaking Dawn

....
That should be good for now. Of course if I feel others should have made it here that I didn't think of while writing this then I will be adding those as well. And for those of you smirking at me due to the last quote allow me to just say I am fully aware of all the flaws of this series that people out there like to point out but I would also like to say that I really could care less. I have loved the Twilight books since I read the first one and I make no secret about being a fan. :)

Feel free to comment and leave your own favorite quote as well. I would love to see what others have to say!



If you liked this post please check out these similar posts on the same subject:
Pretty Opinionated
Words in Sync

Revamps and Rewrites

Well, this is going to be short, sweet, and to the point.... which coming from me is quite a feat :)

Revamping both blogs, though admittedly I haven't even made it to the other one yet, to refresh the look a wee bit...not too much though because if I try changing too much I'll just end up changing everything and I won't like it as much as I do now. Anyway, also added another author to this one because when it comes to writing she is as we always say, the other half of my brain. We just work so well together, I figured why not? Plus I can think of no other person in the world that I would entrust to write on my baby. Admittedly it's not a very popular blog but I take a certain amount of pride in it for some reason. I'm strange that way though. :D Allow me to introduce Christine, sometimes referred to as Greeny ;), and say that I'm glad she agreed to post here and I know she will be a valuable contribution here at My Fantasy Life. Ok, enough of my cheesy moment...

So, after the revamp is finished (a new post is already in the works also) I am also going back to the two stories I left behind. The Occult Collection and Immortal are going to be pulled from their graves......thankfully. I say this because they are my two favorite stories I've ever had ideas for and written. Something about them appeals to me more than any other WIP has and I did not like that I had to let them die...at least for a little while. And since their voices have not only been living in my head this whole time, but recently screaming to be let out, I must do as they wish. Just as an aside, Immortal is being revised, not edited. After taking a look at about three chapters of it I realized that it wasn't coming across as well as I originally thought so we are going back to do it the way it wants to be done.

Off we go........................................

The First Final Stage

WOW! I have finally managed to do something that has been eluding me for the past year and a half…at least. Tonight I put the finishing touches on a story I have been working on for over two years now. Of course we're only talking first draft here, but still it's quite an accomplishment for me, especially lately. Unfortunately due to my life circumstances I have not been able to devote the amount of time I would like to my writing and I have stories that are suffering and being ignored because of it. Over the last couple of days however I have found it damn near irresistible. I just had to finish this story! I've had stories and characters screaming in my head before but this was like an absolute takeover of my mind. I slept even less than normal at night and I could barely concentrate on my studies. BUT the good thing is, it's done!

This particular story, Immortal, has been one of my favorites to write even though it's been a very long process for me. Generally when I start on a story I can pound it out within a few months. This one was not so easy to complete. Because of my now non-existent work schedule, school, and other personal issues I didn't have the time to sit and write this story the way I wanted to. I always carry my notebook around with me in my purse so I was at least able to jot down ideas and dialogue when they came to me. I was so excited when I finally got to sit down at my computer and type it all out into the file I had started so long ago. What really surprised me was that I remembered every detail of what I was thinking at the time I wrote each particular note. This never happens for me. Usually I write a note and have to add a lot of detail to it so that I make sure I get it right in the story, but with Immortal I didn't have to do that. I had a few notes in the book that were just one or two words here and there and I managed to remember exactly what I was thinking and why I wrote it down. So with all of this I was able to finish up the last few chapters of the book.

Now comes the hard part. Self-editing. Just the thought of it makes me cringe. As I've stated a million times before this is not something that I am very good at. I don't edit my writing; I butcher it and murder it until there's nothing left but the main concept of the story with a few good scenes or dialogue I can't bring myself to get rid of. I have vowed however that this time it will not happen the way it always has in the past. In the very little spare time I had while I was working I was able to do some research and get some tips on how to be a better self-editor. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one that struggles with this and the tips I did get were extremely helpful…so far at least. I started the editing process earlier this evening and think I'll be going back to it here shortly. I think the reason I'm trying so hard this time is that this particular story is one that I really, really want to get out there. This one I have more confidence in and am more comfortable sending it off to betas and my friends/editors for corrections, suggestions, and advice. Baby steps, right? The first time I subbed a story I about cried when I read the feedback for it. But it was good feedback, even if some of it was a little harsh, such is the nature of the writing beast. Once I went back and read the story with all of the suggestions given to me in mind I realized that for the most part they were right. The story wasn't good enough, not nearly good enough. But that was ok. I didn't expect it to be perfect anyway so I made the adjustments where I needed to. Unfortunately that story has gone nowhere since. But that's because that story is in the M/T/S genre and I'm more of a Fantasy girl so I wasn't really feeling it. Maybe there will come a time when I can go back to it, actually better than maybe since I already have the idea for a sequel in mind, but for now I'm just sticking to my Fantasy writing because that I know I can do better than M/T/S.

So anyway, Immortal is wrapped around the prophecy made about Makayla (my favorite witch ever!) centuries before she was born. Very powerful, destined to be the best, blah blah blah, you get the picture. Sounds like a million other Fantasy stories you've read huh? That's what I thought too when I started it, not that it really mattered to me. I get an idea in my head and I'm far too obsessive not to see it through to the end. The things that I love the most about the story are the twists and turns and little things here and there you are not expecting to happen. Like the types of friends that Makayla associates with, one of which is a very powerful demon that nevertheless assists Makayla every chance she gets. And the "villain" that she is "destined to destroy" is not who you expect him to be. That particular twist happens to be my favorite one, though it doesn't come until the very end of the story. Anywho, the problem she runs into throughout the story is trying to find out how to destroy this particular villain without also killing herself in the process. Without giving too much of the story away they have fought in the past and both have been injured severely, mentally and physically. With the help of her teacher/mentor/secret lover Samuel, Makayla finally finds a way to destroy the one being on earth that can kill her. Will she actually go through with it is the question…

WTF Is Goin On Around Here?!?!

To Do List:

Remove progress bars from blog ...... check
Rip up and burn every word written on both idle (former current) WIP's so as to remove all evidence of such horrid writing......... check
Take slow, deep breaths
Remind self that giving up is not an option
Repeat following lines until you have convinced yourself: I can be a writer, I can be a writer, I can be a writer, I can be a writer

...
Um yeah, sorry about that but I had to do it. It's been a weird couple of months to be sure. I haven't had a whole lot of time for writing and it's become very frustrating. There are multiple reasons for this, but the main one would be that even when I do get the chance to write, it's nothing but junk. Oh and I really mean uberjunk!! Like a grade school child is trying to write a novel, that's what it ends up like. That's even worse than normal for me. I can generally make it seem like I am mildly intelligent with good ideas, someone who needs help here and there with their writing, but still has potential. Not so much lately though. I spent some time today editing the little bit of work that I have been able to do on my Fantasy WIP, a big mistake as anyone who knows me will tell you (I don't self edit, I murder my work. If I don't pass it along to someone else to do that job, it all goes in the trash.) So when I started I was expecting the usual battle of whether or not to trash every single word I've written, save a few witty remarks here and there, but there was no battle this time. I hung my head in defeat and said goodbye to possibly the worst writing I have ever done in my life.

When I first started on that particular story I was writing between 2k and 7k a day. Over the past few months I haven't even written 3k. Freaking ridiculous! I love the story idea and I have lots of scenes in my head, but they are just not coming together properly when I try and put them down on paper. And yes, that is exactly what I do. First draft is always longhand. I just write better that way... well, normally I write better that way. In this case I have even tried doing the first draft on my trusty laptop, but to no avail. The biggest problem is that I don't really get to devote the amount of time I want to the story. A few minutes here and there just isn't going to cut it for me. Thank goodness for my notebook cus I'd be in a big ole mess without it. There I can jot down the ideas when I can't get them into the story and go back to them later. Sort of anyway.

I'm also experiencing the issue of not only that story idea floating around in my head, but yet another one that's screaming to be let out. Of course it's another Fantasy one, but it's a bit different than what I would normally do. Generally I keep my character list light, but for this one I'm thinking it should involve a whole group of people. Not really sure on the number yet because every time I think I've completed the circle so to speak, another one pops up that fits right in. Oh and usually I have female MC's, but not this time. I am seriously infatuated with one particular guy in my head right now. I'd love to get him down on paper and see how he turns out because for me they never turn out the way I originally intend them to. I don't know how many times I've said it, but the story goes where it wants and all I do is follow along like I know what's going on. I'm ok with that though. As far as I'm concerned that's the way it should be. Let it do what it will and never mind what you think or want. 'Cus it's not about you. It's about these people, or just person, that you're letting come through you. I've never had control over any of my stories and nor would I want to. I tried to force a story into a different direction than what it seemed to be going one time. That didn't turn out well at all. Suffice it to say that one was never even see by anyone else, that's how badly I jacked it up. But I learned my lesson long ago not to mess with a good thing.

And this story in my head seems like such a good thing. It seems so wasteful to me to just let it roam around up there, or rather scream around because that's what it's doing, and not let it out at least a little at a time. I'm only afraid that if I do it a little at a time I'll lose something of the story that makes it so special. I have a thing about writing when I get the chance to do it. I want to do it nonstop. I want to sit in a comfortable spot and write until my hand is cramped and then write even more. I want to be able to spend all night long just whipping out words on what these people are about to go through and how they come out of it in the end. I want to...but I can't. School alone can keep me busy enough on most days that by the time I sit down to write I feel like my brain is nothing but a pile of mush sloppin around in my skull. I mean, I know that right at this moment while I'm typing this I could instead be writing my story, but I'm not in the right frame of mind at the moment. Everything is too jumbled and chaotic at this hour of the night and I know what kind of things I write when that's the case. *shudders* No, I'll save it for when I put a coherent thought or two down without being sidetracked five seconds later by another one that's equally interesting to me. Sometimes I'm just too easily distracted, that's all there is to it. :)

So, ok, now that I've rambled and vented a bit it's time to see what I can make of this group of chosen few on earth who possess these strange and unknown powers. ;-)


P.S.
*kicks self for going so long without even writing so much as a blog post*