Is that a schedule I see....

Whoa, yes I know schedule and sticking to it? Who would have thunk?

Currently moving and packing for two trips. The main part of the move is going well but I am down to the all of the little pieces that don't seem to go anywhere (because they are too small to have their own box) but I can't live without them. Like my box of super strong mint tea--> aka what keeps the candle burning at both ends. Duct Tape, because it's like the Force...enough said. Chap stick, when all else fails apply a layer it will make you feel better...or at least make your lips feel moisturized.

Anyway this all comes back to writing, when you are getting near the end. Of course you're wrapping up the big stuff, also known as plot but what about the little stuff? That stuff can be some of the most important things to a novel, especially a series. Mostly I believe the small things set the ground work for where you're going.

Fleshing out all of the small things and putting them into your plot or at least partially I think can take your book from okay to super fabulous.

I'm not totally there yet but as I keep getting closer to writing that highest point of action I can't help but get caught up on the small things. Where are characters going, what's running through their minds about other things like school, or friends, you know the stuff that really shouldn't be occupying their time when they are fighting for their lives. But what am I supposed to tell them?

Shut up? Tried that, it didn't work.

They seem important to me and I feel like my character can't live without them, but they don't fit in a box. So I guess that's what they mean by re-write, write it all down and then go back and see where there's space.

Pieces of Me....

So while furiously writing to meet a deadline that is fast approaching I had some very strange realizations. This might take a little bit of explication so bear with me until this post gets to its hook.

One of three main characters is a boy, entitled, he pretty much thinks the world would not spin if he did not give his opinion, and I am pretty sure he's never heard the word feminism. As I list out these descriptions, I really can't believe I came up with this character, I mean damn. I don't know how to relate to him. Frankly, I sort of hate him. Like complete and total LOATHING. Writing his voice some days are like pulling finger nails slowly.

Enter epiphanous moment.

Currently, I'm writing in big chunks, just sitting in a character's mind and running wild. Then it hits me, how I understand and write Cade. His journey/road through the story is to come to terms with and hopefully--though some days I am doubtful--not want to kill his former best friend. Possibly, and I am not holding my breath, actually become acquaintances with his former friend.

I have had this exact feeling. Last year, I had a huge falling out with a friend, and since I've been trying very hard to move on. Because a) I feel like I still need her in my life and b) I'm not ready to give up on our friendship. While chunking out Cade's parts it hit me like a load of bricks (such a bad cliche but my writing brilliance is sort of on a burn out), we share the SAME story.

I believe I should put a little of myself in every character. This can create problems I mean hello, I am one person who is creating three. They can't all the same, but at the same time I need to relate to them. So little bits of Gretchen go into each one, so that we have some common ground on which I can talk to them about. Tessa has my zest for life and Jax has a similar lens at looking at the world as I do, but Cade I was at a loss of what we shared.

Thus my books are littered with little pieces of me.... :D

Write on....

So I am sure if you are a writer you've heard of all the conferences you can attend. Well this weekend I attended my first one, no it wasn't at some fancy hotel and no I didn't even have to step outside of my bedroom door. That's right, I went to writeoncon.

After a girl from my writing class gave me the website I really couldn't help myself but jump into this crazy thing. Now, the cool thing about this conference is that you can still sort of attend. All of the talks are online and you can still go to the website and view them. I'm not sure about the forums but the nuts and bolts of the thing is still there out in cyberspace.

What did I learn from my first conference?

1)How about the difference between Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Paranormal. To me these all seem like they should be the same thing. I mean it's all fantasy....really it is. Now we have so many sub-genres it's impossible to keep them all straight.

2)I posted some work and got some feed back.

3) I found that there are so many people out there who are like me. They live, they write, and they hope to see their books on the shelves.

There's so much more, and I think you should check it out: writeoncon.com.
Go, explore, create!

Music and Reading

I know it's Wednesday and the schedule says something new....breaking it.

Like I haven't already done that?

Anyway last night I had my weekly writing class and we discussed the Hunger Games (which if you haven't read I highly suggest you close your computer and hurry off to the nearest book store/library and pick up a copy). While I could totally divulge into the merits of the book and how Katniss is totally bad ass. I won't because this is about my reading experience.

I know that the "big" thing in writing these days is to write to music. How many times do you flip to the back of the book and see the "author's playlist" for the novel? I see it all the time. Mostly I've never heard of the stuff and I make my own playlist--which is actually more like one song than a list.

Like I will always associate Fields of Gold with The Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult

and Frou Frou's Let Go will always be Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

My brain refuses to read in silence. It absolutely cannot stand it and refuses to read with nothing in the air. So I pick one song and put it on repeat for the entirety of the book. I have to be careful because once a song is locked with a book I can't use it to write. Or it takes extreme effort to disassociate the song with the book. So I am extremely careful. Typically I use songs that I enjoy but could never see myself writing to. They are the songs that I would sing along to in the car or listen to to make me feel better.

My pick for the Hunger Games? Well is started out as Pony (It's Okay) by Erin McCarley, who I LOVE LOVE LOVE, but it wasn't working. The song still great, the book to die for, but together it was one hot mess.

This may account for my distaste of the first fifty pages of the book. Then I switched. To the most random song ever. Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri. And it clicked. Like everything made sense and I flew through the book on the wings of a mocking jay.......

Anyway.....

Now for those of you who have read the book, no it was not for the long distance love triangle in the making. But the more I go back and listen to this song the more I realize I don't associate it with Katniss and Peeta or Katniss and Gale. Well at sometimes I do, like I can't take one more step towards you, cause all that's waiting is regret Totally a K/P line. But I have grown too strong to ever fall back in your arms for some reason, and no I have not read the second one, this says K/G.

But the bulk of the song, has nothing to do with those pesky little things called boys.

I associate this song with Katniss and the Capital.

Totally weird but it totally works.

"I've learned to live half a live

and now you want me one more time"

Every time, I hear these words I think of Katniss and her will to survive. We discussed in class how Katniss is in survival mode. She's shut down the part of her that dreams or thinks beyond her next meal. Thus the half alive part and then the State which has up to this point left her alone wants something more from her.

I won't reveal what, but it forces Katniss's hand. And it is fabulous, so when I tell you to get your hands on the book, do it.

The point I think I am getting at is how does your reading experience affect your take on a book. I'm curious to go back and read the first part of the book to Jar of Hearts and see if I enjoy it more. Are there books where your reading experience has marred the book?

Getting stuck....

There are tons of ways I have found over the years to get unstuck. To banish the writer's block and bring on the words. The best one however is critique. And I don't mean the "oh I love it, it was soooooo original. Give me more!" Those are great and I could probably live on a steady diet of those. It wouldn't be good for me but it would certainly make me happy....

So I am currently investing sometime taking some classes at a local Literary Center. I took this class specifically because I was looking for critiques. The kind that sucker punch you right in the gut, that force you to see the flaws in your writing. Because I've read this stuff so long, and have imagined it so deeply I'm not sure what is making it onto the page.

Over all the critique was great. There was just enough, we like this and this and oh I love that to balance out the I think this isn't working and I'm not sure I understand that.

So what's the problem? I'm on a deadline and have spent the weekend perfecting my intro. That's the problem. How many days until Sept 6th??

35.

and my middle is still lost and in no way connecting to the end! How am I going to slog through this? The critique lit my fire to write but on my beginning not my MIDDLE! Problem.

Hmmmm.... I must find another person to help me with the middle. Or I could simply stop procrastinating and you know write. But that wouldn't make any sense.

Stop that. Stop looking at me like that. Okay fine. Off to write, ta-ta!