Just Keep Swimming

I have been busy. Really busy with college papers, work, kids, family...well, life. It happens to the worst of us, I am afraid. It's ok though. I really don't mind. Sure I have less time to write, but it is getting sorted. I am learning how to make the little time I have to do this count. My word counts are increasing and I am making pretty good progress on the WIP. What I am doing is something that I have read about from countless bloggers and writers whose advice I look up whenever I am standing in line somewhere doing something other than writing. I am learning how to turn something that I am just learning how to do in to an obsession. I do not yet live, breathe, eat and sleep plot twists and scenery descriptions, but I am learning how. It is hard. See, a while back I thought it would be a great idea to write a book. Then I realized, oh shit, I don't know how. Oh, and while we are at it, let's try to make a career out of it. In the meantime, I am learning how to turn this decision into an obsession. It is fun, I have to admit. It is addictive and I see how writers become word junkies friending after every spare syllable they can get their hands on. I am getting there. Coffee break is over, back on my head.

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One of These Days You Are Going to Pay for All Those Times You've Been Right

There are a great many blogs and forums and such that I belong to. The writers quote of the day, or the moment or the minute are the things which I, and I assume, so many others use to delude ourselves into thinking that we are writers. If that is the case, what do we write? I personally have written a couple of stories, nothing of novel length to date though. I made the decision about a year ago that I was going to be a writer. By Gods, I have a story. At least I think I do. I must....I mean I like stories and I am as creative as the next person, right? I want to tell that story. At least I would want to if I knew what the damned thing was about. You know, the one where the guy goes and does the thing against all odds that is an allegory for the terrible something that we all face? Yeah, that one. OK, so I don't know what the hell I am doing. But I do know that I want to be a writer when I grow up. I struggle with what to write. I have a thousand great ideas. I come up...

I am SO screwed!

I have joined a website that I hope very much will help me. I have no doubt, actually, that it can. I hope only that I will take the things to heart that I read there and not just give up. The website in question is Scribophile . It is designed to get peer review and editing of author's works. It is amazing! One of the things, however, that I have come to realize is that I have so very much to learn. I was reading a couple of chapters to do a critique of a fellow writer's novel, or 'work in progress' (WIP). I was really into it. There were some things that I would have done differently, but I really liked where they went with it, and the plot has amazing potential and endless possibilities. When I finished the two chapters, I came to the conclusion that I am WAY out of my league here. But, what the hell, I will offer a critique and correct some grammar and maybe offer a small amount of advice regarding a couple of word choices that I wasn't sure fit properly....

David Mamet's Master Class Memo to the Writers of The Unit | Movieline

I went searching and found a goldmine! I am reading Jim Butcher's livejournal. You can find it here . In it he sets out to basically teach N00bs like myself, for all intents and purposes, how to write. It is extremely insightful and well written, I highly recommend it. Anywho, in the comments, someone mentioned method acting in relation to a style of writing where the author claims not to be in the drivers seat, so to speak, and the characters tell them what to write. In the conversation contained within the comments, there was a link to some writing advice by the wiritng staff Executive Producer of a show that I really liked called "The Unit". David Mamet wrote a memo to the producers and some of the stuff in there was really thought provoking to me. I will probably write about this more later, but one thing stuck with me. He suggested a writing exercise where you pretend the characters couldn't speak and "write a silent movie." I will have to think abou...

Million Word Dues

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