The Weekly Wrap 1/14/13

Sorry this is a day late. There's a reason why (ahem, a book to blame), but here it is. Also, you'll notice the blog got another makeover because I am indecisive. 

Monday 1/14/13 - Today is gross and rainy which normally I would consider a perfect writing day: a moody atmosphere makes for good, moody writing which is basically my WIP in a nutshell, but I know that this gloominess is going to last for a couple of days. I'm not enthused. Thanks, graffiti, for summing it up:

I finally got my hair cut after six months though, so I guess that's an accomplishment.

Tuesday 1/15/13 -

"To be a writer is to be the very best of assassins. You do not sit down and write every day to force the Muse to show up. You get into the habit of writing every day so that when she shows up, you have the maximum chance of catching her, bashing her on the head, and squeezing every last drop out of that bitch." 

-Lili St. Crow 

Pretty much sums up my ideas on the world right now. In good news though, I hope to finish this revision by the end of January. I've passed the halfway point and if all goes according to plan, I should be done soon. These later chapters are tough though. They're the ones that need more work. You always start out so strong with a story; you've got the scene and the characters in mind. You've fallen in love and in obsession already of the way you want things to be that you even have a bit of the plot. For me, I'm aware of the ending, but I have to tease out the path there with my plot. This is where I get muddy and during revision, I have to clean up these spots.

Thankfully, my stories for my class aren't due until the end of February so I have plenty of time to finish this before starting something new. It's hard for me to split my attention between projects. Every thing I write ends up sounding the same. 

Wednesday 1/16/13 - Another bleak day! Although, they are calling for snow tomorrow night so there's that to look forward to.

This is Boo's "I'm adorable" face. She watches me and whines when I write sometimes. Unfortunately, I can't pet her ALL the time, but I do my best. 

Thursday 1/17/13 - North Carolina has SNOW FEVER! We're all running to the store to buy milk and bread for the coming snowpocalypse which will undoubtedly be half an inch of sleet and snow that will thaw out by noon. I'm hopeful though. Sometimes we get a nice dusting which always makes for some fun. It's a work day today, so I'm writing before running out the door and then driving back to see my parents for family dinner later tonight.

Friday 1/18/13 - This is what all that hoopla was about:

Terrifying, I know. 

A lackluster snowfall did give way to some awesome weather and I spent this afternoon and morning writing, writing, writing. I'm almost finished with Chapter 8. And you know what I've noticed? I'm falling back in love with my characters. I think this is why I've felt like I'm struggling. The beginning held me over because I (shamefully) loved the writing, but then the novelty of well-written prose falls away and I'm left with my plot and my characters. And they're starting to surprise me again. I thought I was done letting them say things I wasn't sure they would say, but they're growing right before my eyes. 

That's another piece of advice I can give to writers. You gotta learn to let up on the reins. Your characters are supposed to be real people, right? We're aiming for authenticity here. You have to give them the tools to move and room to breathe and really just sit back and let them do what they want to. Otherwise, you're forcing them into shoes that don't fit (or actions that aren't logical to their personalities) and your story ends up feeling contrived and awkward. 

Saturday 1/19/13

"Writing means not just staring ugliness in the face, but finding a way to embrace it."

-Veronica Roth 

And here is where I derailed for the weekend. I was doing so well, but then I cracked open a book and fell head over heels for it. 

Sunday 1/20/13 - Today I spent the whole day on my feet, slinging beers as Waitress Girl. I worked open (10:30 am) to close (11:00 pm) and make loads of money, but my tables had me run for it. It was insane, I don't want to do it again, and I'm happy it's over. After, I basically went home and collapsed. And, scene.

Muse Food For The Week 

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor 

This book ruined my weekend for me in the best and worst of ways. In the worst way, it destroyed my productivity because I couldn't tear myself away from it. In the best way, I came home from work each night and HAD to stay up reading it because I couldn't stand not knowing what was coming next. That, dear readers, is how to keep your audience invested. 

This is the second in a series, the first being Daughter of Smoke and Bone, a lovely book about a girl who runs errands for the devil, Brimstone, a chimera. She collects teeth which he uses to make wishes. This girl, Karou, is amazing and she leaps off the page. Then, she meets and falls in love with the enemy, an angel named Akiva. In this second installment, Karou is dealing with her past life, which was revealed to her at the end of DAUGHTER, and Akiva is trying to thwart the war the seraphim are raging against the chimera. We've got lovely settings in Morocco, one of my favorite places, and Eretz, the world of angels and the chimera. I can't tell much more without spoiling it but if you want more on my take, my review can be found here. I finished it and now I can get back to work because goodness, I need time to recover. I loved this book! 

The Weekly Wrap 1/7/13

Monday 1/7/13 - Spent my work time today on Momentum. Chapter Five has needed some serious work, but I've found that I'm extending chapters as I rewrite. Looks like the second draft is going to be longer than the first.

"The first step - especially for young people with energy and drive and talent but no money - the first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art."

 - Chuck Palahniuk 

Tuesday 1/8/13 - Kicked ass today. Not gonna lie. I got a lot of revising done, adding about 2,000 words. That's a big writing day for me. Tonight I had my first class for this advanced Fiction Writing workshop I'm taking. It seems like it will be fun, but we've got a seriously limited word count. Under 4,000. Yikes! I know one of my first drafts of the stories I wrote last semester was almost double that and nearly all the revised drafts ended up being over 5K. I wanted to be challenged though and one of those challenges is learning to be brief. The short story is a much different game from novel writing. I have to adjust my brain to thinking in smaller, more sizable pieces. 

Wednesday 1/9/13 - I was doing double duty today, squeezing in some time for revision this morning before jetting off to work, leaving there to go to another job thing, and finally spending some time unwinding with friends.

It was a pretty day, if I do say so myself: 

Thursday 1/10/13 - Double duty again! Spent all morning working on a post at You Should, only to have it deleted right before I had to leave for work. Blogger can be good and it can be bad. It was definitely acting up today. Deleted an hour and a half of work. Bleh.

"Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way."

 -Ray Bradbury 

Ray helped me through it though. I went right back to it after I got off work and got the post figured out. You can check it out here, if you like. 

Friday - 1/11/13 - It is a perfectly awful day outside - raining and about forty degrees. This is what I like to call writing weather. 

Saturday 1/12/13 - Today was a lovely foggy morning. I finished two of the books I've been reading (We Have Always Lived in the Castle and On Writing) and did a lot of blog tinkering. I've gone blue! This is because my MC in the Work In Progress has synesthesia and loves the color blue. I wanted something bright and amorphous, therefore jellyfish. 

Sunday 1/13/13 - Another morning squeezed in before work all afternoon and night. Here's how I keep my routine. I nearly hit the halfway point in Momentum's revision today! Feeling good about it. This quote felt appropriate: 

 

"Nostalgia is inevitably a yearning for a past that never existed and when I'm writing, there are no bees to sting me out of my sentimentality. For me at least, fiction is the only way I can even begin to twist my lying memories into something true." 

-John Green 

This works in a lot of ways. The past really is subjective to your memory and how your mind twists it. My MC spends A LOT of time wrestling with his past, trying to decide how it informs his present and the future. 

Muse Food for the Week: 

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson 

This book is decidedly creepy. Mary Katherine Blackwood is part of the infamous Blackwood family. Her sister, Constance, was accused and acquitted of poisoning her family with arsenic, but the town isn't ready to forgive her yet. The family lives in seclusion and Constance cares for Uncle Julian, though his mind is somewhat addled by the poisoning. Mary Katherine spends her time burying precious things across their land and running with Jonas, her cat. Everything changes, however, when Cousin Charles appears on their front door. (You can check out a mini review of it on my 2013 Books page, which is sadly pretty empty right now)

And that's all for this week, folks! See ya on the flip side.

-E

Routines Suck, But Are Necessary

I've been inspired recently reading Stephen King's On Writing (check out my gushing review here), particularly by the writing regime King "prescribes."

He spends the morning working on the current composition, writing with "the door closed" until he's reached his arbitrary goal of 2,000 words. He saves naps and correspondence for the afternoon, and spends the evening enjoying his family, reading, and working on whatever revision he cannot ignore.

Sounds like heaven, right?

That's four to six hours a day focusing on writing, in some way, shape, or form. I admire his perseverance (2,000 words a day is like EXTREME NaNoWriMo writing) and envy the freedom he has to do what he wants.

Learning to write well takes practice. You must fail on a daily basis. That means writing all the time. Every day. Though the 21 day rule might not be true*, it does appear that habit forming activities have a sort Pavlovian response. Creating those behaviors is key to molding the habit, refining it, and keeping it. This is why as writers, we need to write every day.

Unfortunately, parts of my days are eaten up with this pesky little thing I call my job, so I take my writing time where I can get it. Here is my writing routine:

1. I write early in the morning, which is something I've heard in writing classes and read in advice books again and again. Not all of us are morning people (thankfully, I am - my eyelids start drooping at about 11 PM and I naturally wake up around 7:30 AM), but the morning is a great writing time. Nothing's happened in your world yet - no nagging obligations or pressing responsibilities. Your mind is clear, your imagination piqued (waking up from a strange dream can be a huge motivator for me). Use your morning time wisely.

2. I created fun associations with writing to help ease me into the mood. Instead of at my desk, I write at the kitchen table where I can spread out my papers. Before I start writing, I brew a pot of coffee. If I feel like it, I erase the previous day's quote from the chalkboard wall, spend a moment browsing writing quotes, select the one which most reflects my writing mood that morning, and write it on the wall. That's where you see those pictures in my Weekly Wrap posts. It all feels very silly, but I enjoy it. I roll right out of bed, put on the coffee, take Boo out, feed her, and sit down still in my PJs. There's nothing fancy about it.

3. The only thing I don't necessarily agree with in Mr. King's prescription is sticking to a solid word count, especially 2,000 words. That's a mammoth feat to conquer each and every morning**. I just aim to write something, anything. It can be a blog post, a new story, a writing exercise, new material to add to the manuscript, something. I sit down and make myself do it and I don't get up until I do.

That's it. It's very simple, but I have found in the short time I have kept this routine that I'm naturally chipping away at my revision, I'm writing more than ever, and it has started to become a habit. I feel guilty on the days I don't have MORE time to write. If I have the time after work or class at night or in the afternoon, I utilize those precious hours as much as humanely possible. If I'm working the lunch shift at the bar, I get up earlier to create time.

At first, I felt rushed and like I was setting myself up to fail each morning, but instead, it's done the exact opposite. My brain now wakes up ready to drink that first cup of coffee and get going.

Try it! I believe every writer should find what works for them, but I do believe that committing to the craft on a daily basis is crucial. You can't wait for the lightning strikes of inspiration***. They're pretty, but rare and you'll spend more of your time waiting for them than actually getting to the task at hand. You have to write when you aren't inspired, when you don't feel like it, when you didn't sleep the night before.

It's all part of the process and if you do, I think you'll find you improve every day. Happy writing days, y'all!

-E

So, writers, what's your secret? Do you have some quirky routine that you follow or ways to get the words flowing? Share below! 

*Looks like it takes us more than 21 days to form a habit - about 66 instead. Hang in there, folks!
**In college with my first manuscript, I somehow cranked out between 2,000 to 4,000 words a day. Momentum was a much different monster though and the writing was slow.
***But if you get one of those strikes, don't you dare waste it! They are precious, but few and far between.

The Weekly Wrap 12/31

Monday 12/31 - Spent most of today driving down to Charleston to visit some friends and celebrate NYE. However, after I had gotten ready and was waiting on everyone else, my guilty conscience drove me to start what I hope will turn out to be a two part blog post eventually.

Had some crazy apocalypse-looking weather on the way down. 

Photographic representation of the rest of my night. 

Tuesday 1/1/13 - It's so strange to write 2013. Time flies. To celebrate, I spent the day curled in the fetal position on the couch.

Wednesday 1/2/13 - Today was the dreaded ride back, physically and mentally, to the real world. Coming back after the holidays is like a giant reality slap to the face and I'm never prepared for it. Still broke, still struggling, basically in the same position I was in before I left. No amount of presents or celebrating changes that, but I can pride myself on the fact that I got a legitimate amount of work done. I arrived home and had a near panic attack, so I cleaned out the apartment from top to bottom to alleviate the anxiety.

Thursday 1/3/13 - Now I'm back to work, feeling totally guilty and terrible for those two days I didn't write anything. Some of my Christmas presents are watching me with their judgmental eyes:

Jerks.

"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the dont's. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the wont's. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be." 

-Shel Silverstein 

Trying to capture that moment of unadulterated bliss I felt driving down to SC, the whole road open before me, feeling like I could take myself anywhere with my writing. Calm down, breathe. You will make do. It's going to be okay. 

Now get back to work. 

Friday 1/4/13 - Chugging along this morning. Starting to feel that beginning of the year blues where you realize there's nothing really worth celebrating until the summer. 

Saturday 1/5/13 - Had to take Sara to the airport today, made for a sad day. Always reminds me of the quote in Code Name Verity: 

"It's like being in love, discovering your best friend." 

Chapter 4 has really been running me around. I feel like the timeline is all kinds of wonky so I'm having to rewrite a lot of this chapter. 

Sunday 1/6/13 - A foggy, disgusting Sunday morning, perfectly tailored for the moody type of writing I need to do today. I'm really feeling it today, like no matter how much I type, I'm slogging my words through mud and sand and they just keep dragging farther and farther away from what I actually want to say. 

"Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with a painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand." 

-George Orwell

George, you said it today. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining because I hate doing this. I love it when the writing comes easily. It's like giving my mind a complicated puzzle to solve, to see how the final picture turns out, but when it doesn't come easy...Well, any writer can tell you about those dark days. 

I did break through Chapter 4 today so that is one small victory. Chapter 5 is a lengthy sucker, but it's a less introspective chapter. There's more action and I'm excited to finesse it. 

See you next week! 

-E 

The Weekly Wrap 12/24

Monday 12/24 - At my makeshift office at my parents' house. Had some trouble focusing this morning, but got through some of chapter 2. Keep being interrupted by family, but it is what it is. At least they can see I'm working and not just talking about it!

A good pic of Boo, finally! She really is a pretty dog, I swear. 

Headphones to get me in the right mindset (and block out people talking). 

Tuesday 12/25 - It's Christmas, y'all! There's so much build up but on Christmas Day, once the presents are opened, there's plenty of time so I squeezed in some revision. 

Books off my Christmas List!

-On Writing By Stephen King - a really good book on writing that I've only read essays from before. It has some great anecdotes and really solid writing advice. 

-The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I hope this book lives up to the hype. 

-Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor - I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone and can't wait to start this. It's the kind of book I'd stay up all night reading just to see what happens next. 

-Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool - Sounds wonderful and it won the Newberry Award in 2011. 

Merry Christmas! 

Wednesday 12/26 - Happy birthday Mom! Chugging along through Chapter 2. 

Thursday 12/27 - Chapter 2 completed! Obviously this one was a bit longer than Chapter 1 (or needed more work). Only like 10 or 12 more to go. Wee! I've been using a voice recorder app on my phone to record myself reading what I've written so I can play back the tricky parts and hear what sticks out like a sore thumb. It's pretty cool. You never sound like you think you do so it's like having another person read my story and I'm able to get lost in it in a way that I never have before. I highly recommend it if you are writing. 

I also put together a recap of my life in 2012 for You Should.

I've been banished to the dining room, probably from all the eye rolling and heavy sighs every time I'm interrupted by a family member. 

Friday 12/28 - A full day open to me! I wrote up a little something fun, took my doggie for a morning run, and got some revising finished.

Here's a little something my friend Sara got me:

It's fun to get writing related stuff that isn't another Moleskin or stationary. 

Saturday 12/29 - It's a rainy Saturday morning, perfect for coffee, working, and reading. Ahh, such a life. I am LOVING On Writing by Stephen King. I blew through 200 pages of it yesterday, sad it's so short. I loved the section about his life because I'm a dweeb and want to know, but his writing advice is solid. Gotta practice, gotta dedicate yourself, gotta work. It definitely isn't a walk in the park. 

Sunday 12/30 - My, my. It's been a busy morning running around, trying to get organized before I have to go into work. I did a little something something on You Should, bought ink, and printed out the rest of the chapters I need to work on. So here it is, Momentum:

I've done the blue paper clips. Still need to do the red (and yes, I color coordinate my chapters depending on whether or not they've been revised). 

And now I'm off for NYE. Have a Happy New Year, y'all! 

10 Odd Bookish Habits

Reading can be an obsession, and as with any obsession, we all do it a little differently. I thought I'd share some not-so-normal bookish habits that I have.

1. I read more than one book at once. I know this doesn't sound too strange, but for most people, they tend to stick to one book at a time before moving on to others. Unless it's a novel I read in one session, I typically have three to four books that I'm reading at one time. For example, right now I'm reading Stephen King's On Writing and Different Seasons as well as Life of Pi by Yann Martel and a couple other stragglers where I started them and somehow lost interest.

2. I read while I'm blow drying my hair. No joke. It's totally weird but blow drying your hair is such a boring monotonous task and I try to squeeze in reading time whenever possible. I've also managed to put on makeup and do my hair while reading. Skillz.

3. I have a system for how I dog ear pages (and I'm not a purist where I never fold a page, sorry, not sorry). Typically, you see people dog ear pages at the top right, but I fold in the bottom corner of passages where I loved the writing and I fold down the top right one to mark where I am in the book. I rarely use bookmarks - I have a tendency to lose them - and I hardly ever keep a book jacket on the book, unless I'm using the front flap to put in between pages.

4. I can listen to music while I read. Sometimes, I prefer it. I'm fortunate that I don't get motion sickness so on long car rides, I fire up my iPod and get some reading done. It's like the book has a soundtrack. I love it.

5. I almost never reread books. Unless it's a beloved childhood favorite or one where I need to reflect, I typically finish a book and that's the last time I see it. It's hard for me to recreate the magic of reading something for the first time and I don't want to be disappointed if the book doesn't have the same effect it had as the first time. I will go back and look at parts that I really loved (see #3).

6. When I buy a book, I read the first sentence and the last sentence first. To me, it's important to end with something meaningful, just as it is to start. I've had people tell me that ruins the book. 1) Authors almost never give away the entire book with the last sentence. That sounds like terrible writing. The book should evolve naturally. 2) By the time I reach the end, I've forgotten what the last sentence was. It's like rediscovering those words and after having spent a considerable amount of time with the book's characters, the ending and last line feel that much more satisfactory. 3) As a writer, you want to see how others do it - how they pull the reader in and how they put the bow on top at the end. It's basically research.

7. I love big chain book stores, particularly Barnes and Noble. I know! I'm learning to patronize smaller, local brick and mortar shops, but Barnes and Noble has a special place in my heart. It's where I learned to love to read, where I spent a lot of time writing (I'm a walking cliche), and where I finished my first manuscript when I was 20. When I was a kid, toys and candy were privileges, but my parents never told us no when it came to books. I distinctly remember coming out of Barnes and Noble, my arms cradling my newest haul, with a coffee (this is probably where my caffeine obsession came from). Going into the bookstore makes me happy (new stories!), exhilarated (one day, my book will hopefully be here), intimidated (omg, one day my book will be here), and angry (really, Snooki published another novel).

8. I confuse characters and plot lines constantly. I have a voracious appetite for reading, but a terrible time keeping everything straight because I read everything too fast. I never finished Harry Potter because after I read the 5th book on a two-day bender, I couldn't remember what happened the next year when the 6th one came out. So I gave up.

9. Some books I simply cannot read in public because I will sob. Mostly, anything written by John Green, the end of a beloved series, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, anything about the Holocaust, etc.

10. As of right now, I do not have a library card. Instead, I prefer to spend obnoxious amounts of money buying books, when I have neither the funds nor the space. Books are kind of sacred to me, so it's hard for me to part with one after I've read it even if I'm not going to read it again (#5). I know, it's absolutely insane and completely cost ineffective. Now, I can say it's because I want to support the author, since I'll hopefully be in the same boat one day, but honestly, I just love having a lot of books.

Here's some research for my Future Unsuspecting Significant Other:

You give me a library, I'll marry you on the spot.

-E

Anybody else have any strange book quirks? Tell me I'm not alone! 

The Weekly Wrap 12/17

Monday 12/17 - Some wise (funny) words from Mr. King today:

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs." 

True story though. Adverbs can be the death of you when you're still learning. If I feel the need to use one, I normally stop and think, is this really necessary? I mean, just try saying "unceremoniously" out loud. If you stumble saying it, you can be sure as hell your reader will.

Spent the morning working through Momentum before Christmas shopping forced me out.

Tuesday 12/18 - No words of wisdom today. At my other office, also known as the bar I work at while on my break between shifts. Go through a chapter and half of Momentum. Getting close to finishing this slow read.

Wednesday 12/19 - A day of freedom!  Started out with some funny biz from J.D. Salinger:

"What really knocks me out about a book is that, when you're all done reading it, you wish that the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though." 

Yeah, most of my favorite authors I want to sit down and have a cup of coffee with. On a different note, I got through the climax of the story and I have to say, I think it's pretty good! Intense. I was surprised that my characters can still bring out that kind of emotion in me. I think it's a good thing.

Thursday 12/20 - Today's quote dealt with something I encounter a lot:

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy of creativity is self doubt." - Sylvia Plath

Today I finished up marking and thinking about where I want to edit. It's the first full read-through I've done since finishing writing it so it was interesting to go back over those places. Thoughts: it's good but needs some work in places.

I found in my workshops that when I revise, retyping what I've written is a pain in the ass, but necessary. It helps me get back in the flow of how I felt when I was writing it for the first time, and keeping the issues I have with the piece in mind, I'm able to smooth out the writing and expand. So I cleared off the chalkboard wall, made a giant list of the things I wanted to accomplish in the first chapter and got to work retyping. It sounds tedious, but really it's a good way to get my rhythm.

Friday 12/21 - Oh hey! The world didn't end. I celebrated by not doing anything writing related. In other unrelated, non-procrastination news (ha!), I got an iPhone. Bliss!

Saturday 12/22 - Today I was on the move, packing up my belongings to go and stay at my parents' house for the next couple days before Christmas. Their fridge actually has food in it. Unfortunately, that took up most of my morning, but I got together my materials so I can do some work at home.

Of course my printer crapped out after three chapters so I'll need to buy more ink before printing the rest of it.

Sunday 12/23 - Ah, home at last. I've got a sleepy dog, coffee, and a fire going. Time to get some work done. The first chapter sounds about finished. I'm pretty happy with it.