Fingers fly across the keyboard much like a concert pianist.  No thought or sound seem to radiate from mind to fingers.

The words flowing softly, quickly like a babbling brook from the tiniest drip searching for the vast open waters. Gathering speed then slowing suddenly only to pick up again round the next bend.

The joy of knowing a world, a body, a mind is created.  The soul sings and flies from tree top to tree top, searching for nothing other than the joy of being.

Faster and fast the fingers fly; the indescribable joy bursting at the confinement; it presses harder and harder as a world of words and sounds spread throughout the body, flowing from the end of the fingers, on to the keyboard and out into the world.

Words and images scream into the air bursting in radiating light, breath taking to behold in all it’s pinks and oranges, and yellows.

Colors trickle from the air and a soft rainbow mist gather across the fields, waiting.

I have been very productive (a relative term, I know). I am at the very threshold of 35,000 words in my novel, and I work on it quite consistently. Sometimes I write a few paragraphs only to a hit wall, and I erase them and start over, but it’s always for the best. It’s easier when I know exactly where my book is headed. In fact, knowing where the book is headed has brought me to think more on where this one should end; and whether I need multiple books to tell my story.

One of the goals I posted for myself and my writing weeks and weeks ago was to decide whether my story could fit in one book, or whether I would need a sequel or even trilogy. I am leaning toward trilogy.

Book 1: Riaone from the start (at her home, Stillwater) and her journey with Tsa Sial, Jaim, and Garel all the way to the Academy in the kingdom of Chare. After a year or thereabouts at the Academy, Riaone is confirmed as a Legate and is told she must train in Higa. End of Book 1.

Book 2: Riaone commences studies in Higa and Tsa Sial, Jaim, and Garel continue their individual exploits, which were just beginning in Book 1, in this book. Book 2 follows their separate narratives and ends when these four, along with the other two Legates, meet up in the end and the Legates must fulfill their destinies. End of Book 2.

Book 3: I don’t want to give it away, but Book 3 is not about Riaone. None of my books are written in first person, but the first two books do focus on Riaone as the top main protagonist. Book 3 is written from a different top main protagonist, but one who has been nevertheless featured a lot on Books 1 (a little) and 2 (much more). It ends by changing the way the world works forever.

I imagine my story unfolding in three books because I just feel like I am writing so much; but my (many) characters need appropriate time for development, and I think that appropriate time is three books. I don’t care how long they get, but I don’t want it to go over three books and risk losing readers’ interest in the story or even their interest in choosing to start reading the series. I am no Robert Jordan, with his ten-plus novels.

Are there any drawbacks to telling a story in multiple books that anyone would like to share? Plus-sides? Warnings?

Congratulations to two of our writers. While I’ve been lacking in my commitment to my writing, my fellow writers have not been lacking in their commitment. Two of my fellow writers are nearing the completion of their first final draft.

Their goal: to have a complete final draft done by July and August respectively. If things go according to plan, I will be reviewing 2 draft novels amid a very tight business schedule. I can’t wait.

The problem: while critiquing is necessary and fun, it does make it hard to follow the plot and time line…sometimes. It’s kind of like looking at a grain of sand under a magnifying glass versus enjoying the beach. I look forward to reading the completed manuscript like any other reader from beginning to end.

While the little details are are easy to see in short 20-30 pages, the overall feel, flow, and tempo are sometimes missing. It will be quite an adventure to sit back and get to know the characters in a totally new and unique way. Will I see the characters the same way? Will I feel the same feelings for the good guys and the bad guys? Who knows, but I am looking forward to finding out.

Who knows maybe I’ll finally get inspired seeing a completed novel and start carving out daily time to finish my own novel.

Bring It On!

Wow! Can you believe it? March is almost over. I’m not sure where the time went!

I ‘ve been busy with niche writing for my client’s sites, designing sites, blog walking, and critiquing. I’ve been working diligently on my own novel, although it always seems to take a back seat. However, my clients over at CreativeAce are quite happy and I have a couple of new ones ready to go.

The great thing about blogging, creating sites for others, or creating niche articles for other sites is that I learn a lot and can take that knowledge and build better and more creative sites for my new clients. It’s much like critiquing another story. Some writers only want their story or poem critiqued, but have no interest in helping other writers. I find that this is a big flaw. Not only is it selfish, but they pass up a great learning opportunity.

My writing becomes stronger with every post, article, or critique that I do. The flaws I see in other writings are often things I do myself or have done. The great thing about niche writing or content writing is that your words need to flow, be precise, and get to the point quickly, then resolve the issue.

ABCs of Writing

Niche Writing should be Accurate, Brief, and Clear. This means that extra words should be cut whenever possible. Why say “The man from the Geek Squad came to the house and helped us set up our Internet connection” when you could say “The Geek Squad helped set up our home Internet connection”.

The change makes for a tighter article. Prose writing is much the same thing. You may have 300 pages to enthrall your reader, however, if you use unneeded adverbs or 3 words when 1 or 2 will do then you will have a harder time convincing your reader that what they are reading is believable or lose them as they drift off.

Novel Writing

When writing a novel you have time to develop the plot. The author may not think that every word counts so she gets lazy and throws in more words than are needed to get to the point or setup the conflict. This is fine during a first draft, after all I find it easier to delete words or ideas than it is to create a new one and push it into the plot.

As we sat around the table last night for our biweekly writer’s meeting, it was obvious to some of us that the end a chapter we were critiquing  had 2 paragraphs too much. So I asked, what’s the point? Did it help setup the conflict, shed light on a resolution, or aid in defining the character’s inner turmoil?

The short answer was no. It didn’t lend to any of that, it over explained and took away the tension that the author had built. So in the end, 2 paragraphs of words were axed and the chapter was much tighter and didn’t break the tension.

I’ve heard that some authors go through their novels with a fine tooth comb and ruthlessly rip out every word that is unnecessary. I’m not a big believer in that, in fact, I wonder how long it takes to finish a novel if you’re pondering over every little word. I do believe in looking for places that you have stumbled. Is there a sentence or paragraph that you read and your mind drifts somewhere else or conjures an idea that is not part of the story? If so, then that is the section  you need to examine and improve. Is it too many words? Is it an unnecessary adverb? Or is it just simply a wrong word choice?

By critiquing other writers works or writing in a different genre you can learn how to improve your creative writing and how to streamline your words to give the most informative and creative experience for your reader.

Do you write in more than one genre? If so, do you find it helpful to write in more than one style or does it make it harder for you?

Good luck in your writing, in whatever genre that you choose

A few weeks ago I sent out a tweet asking for Guest Posts. Kellene was one of the first to respond. She has written about how she got into writing and the path that lead her there.

I don’t even remember what it looked like, but it ended my 18 year drawing career. During my senior year of high school I accidentally spied a fellow student’s drawing and immediately conceited mental defeat.

Several weeks past. Then I entered a senior announcement contest. One winner would get their saying/poem/anecdote printed and sent out to thousands of family members and friends.

I decided why not? 

But I made a mistake in mine – three lines were supposed to repeat, but for some reason I made only two match each other.

Then I flew to New York for a high school trip. I had six hours to kill so I thought I’d entertain myself and write. And write. And procrastinate. And write again.

The girls next to me wanted to see what I was doing. I obliged and let them read my story. They fell in love with it. Back in Reno, I was given a rare opportunity to read aloud what I wrote for my English class. Most listened including a very attentive Ben Hull.

 We were then given a free write class assignment – whatever we wanted to do, but we had to read it out loud. When I was done, Mrs. Anderson said, “I have always wanted to teach my students to write like that, but I never knew how.” I crafted sentences like ‘the coffee germ lighted up my soul….’ – images that had no connection whatsoever melded together by my brain and pen.

 Days later I got word I won the senior announcement contest despite my glaring mistake. The corrected final version was sent out to more than 13,000 people.

 A few years later Mrs. Anderson died of cancer.

During college, I focused on getting good grades than writing well. Until one day when I was in my media law class. I raised my hand to ask a question and the professor halted his entire lecture to loudly proclaim ‘Kellene Stockwell everyone. Best writer this school has ever produced. Your question….’ I was so stunned I sat silent.

I wanted to go to UCLA for film but it was too expensive, so I went into the second best marketable career – print journalism at the University of Nevada.  

I was excited since I’d be doing a lot of writing. Print was for me until I took my first class. The material was so hard I withdrew within three weeks and moved into broadcast. (One girl I grew up with passed the class and went onto to become a political newspaper writer in Reno. A second girl went on to win a shared Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Columbine massacre.)

Then during my junior year I made a near fatal mistake. I wore a black and white suit to class (for my theatre audition), but the teacher thought I was going for a NEWS job interview. I thought it was ok I finally reveal my innermost secret – no I don’t want to be a reporter or serious newsperson, I want to go into entertainment. I was looked down upon until my graduation. I was one of the first there to ‘mock’ what this serious journalism school offered. Twelve years later, many Nevada broadcast journalists aspire to be the next Entertainment Tonight star. And they have the ease now to do it thanks to my big mouth.

 After college I was hired at a local TV station and I learned the hard way to write scripts. My ‘trainer’ left after one week. So it was up to me to learn firsthand.

Then one night during my shift I learned Ben Hull was killed by deputies during a mistaken identity case. I couldn’t believe it.

As time wore on my news scripts got leaner and faster to read. I took a lot of care in that. But I also learned there isn’t much creative wiggle room allowed in writing. Besides the basic who, what, when, where, why and how that’s it. I needed a creative writing outlet.

I decided to fulfill my screenwriting dream and attend UCLA. But the money and residency still held me back. And then I found a certificate program that’s completely based online. I didn’t have to move or get out of my pajamas to attend class. I was in heaven. I’m actually graduating in a few weeks.

I decided it was important to educate myself on the proper way to write a screenplay. Yes, I could read books or start writing blindly, but in the end my resulting education would be the key factor.

For my 2010 New Year’s Resolution I decided to focus on my writing. I want to leave behind a nice legacy of work, so I started querying magazines and online sites including this one. With all the knowledge I’ve gained, I think it’s just as important to give back and help others.

I’m also re-starting my novel again. It’s time. I plan to dedicate it to Mrs. Anderson and Ben Hull.

So how did you get into writing? Drop us a line and let us know, who knows, maybe you’ll turn it into a post.

You can find more of Kellene Stockwell’s writing at her blog Diva Diaries.

Good morning!

And it is, indeed, a good morning. I don’t know about you, but I am feeling pretty satisfied with my progress so far. In the beginning of the year, I established goals for myself, and I consider myself on my way to achieving them; if I haven’t been able to resolve each one yet, I am still comfortable knowing that I am moving forward.

Here is an update on how I am achieving my goals.

• Figure out if my book will need to become two, or even three books. Oh, I still don’t know that one. I probably have to be at least to the part where Riaone is living in Higa to be able to know this.
• Write at least every other day–try for ten pages a week at first. My last two submissions were 15 and 18 pages each, at 1.5-line spacing. I am happy with that.
• Blog about my progress (even regress–then the group can help). Today’s post accomplishes this! I have been more wrapped up in capturing my ideas in type as they pop up, so I am still thinking ahead.
• Don’t stop and revise so much, so often. I have been doing well with this. When I do go back, it is to correct a fact or to reroute important dialog.
• Don’t get shy and avoid explaining my book when I’m asked about it. I am an editor for another author, and we were having a meeting recently and he asked what I am writing. I got very shy and brushed it off. After establishing these writing goals, I explained myself and sent him a synopsis. His reaction was actually very inspiring! He told me to believe in my own writing and not to let others dictate my genre/what I write.
• Decide my target audience and keep them in mind. I have decided that this will be a mature fantasy grounded as much as possible in realism. Whoever wants to read it, will!
• Read more fantasy fiction (I’m on that one already–Karen Miller’s Godspeaker trilogy). I just finished this trilogy on Saturday. It is amazing. Pretty mythical and fantastical, but with a great religious structure that keeps you thinking.
• Don’t guilt myself so hard for not getting it perfect the first time–just write my way there. I think I am doing great with this, very at peace hearing and implementing others’ critiques. I accept that I am not writing my final draft… I need my first draft FIRST!
• Decide on a new title. Not there yet.
• Create an outline–this will help move the plot and avoid fluff that doesn’t advance it. Writing the synopsis has been great. I also have a map that I created as a kid when I first conceived this novel. I am also keeping a running (day-t0-day) outline to keep me on track.

So there you go! I am happily producing, and probably could be producing more, but I am realizing that this first part of the book will be the hardest. This is where the foundation is laid–the world’s history, in barest terms; the character-building; and just, in general, getting my characters into action so that they can hop the border and the real fun begins!

Good luck to all you writers reading this! Just remember to write out your goals (short and long term), interact with a writing community, and give the support that you want to receive.

I wish I could say I have a writing schedule. I dream of having a block of time where my life is quiet enough– and I have enough inspiration– to just write. For now, I write as I make copies at work, or when I’m supposed to be preparing pleadings. I write as I stir the macaroni and cheese and burn the biscuits. I’ve even written while I wait for the shower to warm up– and end up running out of hot water. 

These little snippets result in a paragraph here and a drabble there.  Somehow, through the years, I’ve managed to scrap together a novel. I love my characters, I love my plot. I just wish I could spend more time with them.

Procrastination.  That’s what  I do best. So in an effort to change my ways this year, I decided to enlist some help. The first step was to start with some one that I think of as a highly organized and deadline oriented writer. Even after the interview I’m still not sure how she does it.

Amy Laurel is a screenwriter in the Chicago area with a screenplay The Haan Blade in development. You can check out her progress at www.amylaurel.com.

Amy moved from a 9-5 job in sales and writing 3 pages a day to working full-time as a writer. After becoming the leisurely writer that she is today (meaning no day job pressures) she found that her writing increased from 3 pages a day to 15, and manages on average 30-50 pages.  In the beginning Amy found that an online class helped her get comfortable in the “I’m a writer” mentality. It was the first time that she had shown her written work to anyone other that her family “who had liked her work because they had to.”

The writing class gave her honest, no strings attached feedback. I think she was surprised that most people liked her work. But with that and the support of her family, she has successfully moved from her day job to writing full-time.

Despite the fact that Amy writes for a living, organization is still key and like those of us still slogging away at jobs-to-pay-the-bills, she has to remain as focused as the rest of us.

Organization

For those of us in the JTPTBs arena, she recommends carving out a set time EVERY DAY to write. Once the time is identified then set a realistic goal for that time. For example, while she was still doing that 9-5 job she would come home from work, change, then before doing anything else she would sit and write 3 pages.  There were no exceptions to the rule. Ok, sure life happens once in a while, but with the no exceptions rule, writing occurred more often than not.

So maybe you can’t write between work and dinner. Try setting aside an hour after the kids go to bed or prior to the kids getting up. Write on your lunch break. Set a realistic page goal. What ever the goal or the time, have one and stick to it.

Don’t worry about what comes out on the paper. Maybe you keep all 3 pages, maybe you only keep one sentence, but whatever comes out you’ll know that you won’t forget where you are going and the motivation to write more will inspire you for the next day.

Amy managed to write 3 pages a day (about 1 hour a day) for 2 years and finished 3 novellas with this structure.

Not sure where she found the patience, but then I didn’t ask that question.

Structure

Like everything in life, whether you’re writing around a day job or doing it full time, you must create a schedule. Just like being back in high school, define what you do hour by hour. You know, like 8-9 Breakfast. 9-11 Work on novel. 11-11:15 take a break. 11:15-1 do research for the novel. 1-2 lunch.

Well, you get the jist. Just set your times and go to work. There are days that will flow and other days that won’t. The trick is not to let yourself get sidetracked because of one bad day.

Story board your work. Now I thought this was a good idea if you’re a screenwriter, but she informed me that she does this with all her writing, to include novels. It helps her layout the time-line and see where possible problems will occur in the flow of things.

Walls use them to put things on: storyboards, character lists, white board with ideas, music play lists for a particular character, anything that will help you walk into your office, see your novel and get motivated.  Put it on the wall, that’s what they’re there for. If you know that your wall is a mint green, you shouldn’t. It should be white boards, sticky notes, and white paper with notes.

Writing Groups

I agree with Amy when she says: “Find a writing group.” Every writer should have a group. If nothing else, to know that you are not alone in how you feel or your struggles to become a successful writer.

Look for a group that meets your needs, has a solid structure, holds you accountable, and provides valid and helpful feedback in a consistent manner.

Amy and I each have our own writing groups. Hers works a little different than mine, as her group has writers in more than one location and focuses mainly on screenwriting. Mine is a locally based group where we meet face to face and focuses mainly on novels with some poetry thrown in.

PS: Can’t find a group, create one, that’s what I did.

Recommended References

There were several things that Amy recommended for motivational as well as industry related news.

She highly recommends 101 Habits of a Successful Screenwriter by Karl Iglesias.While this sounds like a screenwriters oriented book, she says, “Excellent writing habits for novelists and really, any kind of writer.”

Kathie Fong Yoneda helped me with my novella’s and I think it works for all writers from all walks. “She is Amazing!” Pitch & Presentation: Everything You Need to Know to Sell Your Script

Noah Lukeman of Lukeman Literary – “I am a huge fan of Noah Lukeman. He is very detailed about why things do and don’t work and is just brilliant. IMHO. ” She recommends his book The First Five Pages *A Writers Guide To Staying Out Of The Rejection Pile. This book is specifically for writers who are editing as a stalling/fear based form of not moving on. (Hint: In my writers group you know who you are.)

Noah also has a wonderful website where writers get to ask an industry leader/professional (and as a bonus a Lit Agent) where you can download several FREE e-books, each related to querying an agent etc. etc.

Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown is the other side of the coin. While Noah has been doing this a while, Nathan is “rather new.” So between the two agents you get a good perspective on the industry. He is very active on his blog and has a valuable list of resources to choose from.

Tips

Don’t edit as you go. Write, write, write, Get it on paper. It doesn’t have to be perfect out of the gate, but once you have a draft done most of the hard work is over. Edit only when needed and wait until you have the draft done, otherwise you’ll always be editing and will never get it done.

If stuck, press on. If you can’t figure out what comes next try: “…” (notice the highlight). Come back later and fill in the highlights, don’t let a stalled moment stop you from moving forward. You may not know what comes next, that’s ok, you will later.

Don’t let life side track you. If you want to write find a way. Despite several health issues over the last few months, including a botched wrist surgery that lead to nerve damage and painful shots to block the pain she found other ways to keep writing. When the keyboard became too painful she used the voice recorder on her phone and she tried several voice to text options (some even spoke Dragon). The point is, she could have simply waited for her hand to heal, but she didn’t. If you want to write, you can find the time and a way despite life’s little obstacles.

Motivation

I intentionally left this last, even though it probably would have flowed better earlier in the post. I wanted to leave you with, well, Motivation. Finish reading this so your blood’s pumping and the ideas flowing!

Amy Says: Goals, set some. Post them wherever you will see them A LOT. Looking at your goals on a daily basis will keep it fresh in your mind where you want to go and what you want to accomplish.

Treat Yourself

When you make your goal, whatever it may be, take time and treat yourself. Go get those new shoes or a huge sundae that you never have except when it’s 90 degrees outside. Pat yourself on the back, you did a good job, you met your goal for the day, the week, the month!

Get people involved with your writing, be it friends, family or a writing group or all the above. When you stall you will find a little push from a supportive member may be all you need. It’s the little applauses from others that will keep you going.

Now go open that Word doc and let it flow!

Drop us a comment and let us know how you keep motivated and/or organized.

Yup, I’ll be the first to admit it. I failed. Less a month into the new year, I have failed to meet my goals.

Two weeks ago, we had our first meeting of 2010. We went around the table and took turns at what we wanted to accomplish for the year with our writing. Some of our goals are ambitious, but all are obtainable.  Mine probably more so than some. 

So you may ask what my goals were for 2010. Well, that’s simple. I just wanted to finish a first draft done by the end of June. I figure to accomplish this I needed to write at least 3-5 pages a day.  

I could lie and say that I ‘m on track to meet my overall goal, but I can’t. I really have no excuse. I have made a schedule for my days, every morning as an attempt to see all my tasks for the day. Writing is on there, always at the end of the day. 

Well, truth be told, writing is on the schedule for most of the day. I mean, I do try to blog every day. I have lots of drafts for several blogs I own or ghost for. Somehow, with the research involved and the mental energy it takes to put together a well informed post always takes longer than you would expect. 

If I’m not drafting a post, I’m tweaking the back-end to bring traffic to our blogs. Amazingly there are pages upon pages about what works, what doesn’t, what to do, and what to put on the blog. I read other blogs and make comments and before I know it I’m lost in the blogosphere on one tangent after another. 

So why did I fail? I failed because I’m easily distracted, because I am not sticking to my schedule that I outlined every morning, because I’m not focused on my goals. 

To this end, I did manage to complete one major task today. I interviewed a fellow writer for this blog to be posted in the next couple of days. 

We discussed organization, motivation, and goals. I can’t wait to put the post together. While I saw a lot of similarities in our writing styles and our respective writing groups, I learned a lot about motivation and sticking with your goals, no matter what. 

With any inner gumption on my part, my next post will be, I DID NOT Fail! Oh, wait, that’ll be the post after next, I got the interview to put together first. 

Do you have problems writing or meeting your goals?  If so, how do you combat that? What works for you to get back into the groove?

Hello — I’m sooo glad that you could find us.  I hope the travel over here wasn’t too traumatic.  Moving sites can be difficult and I hope that we made it a smooth transition for you.

Well, how do you like our new look?  Pretty slick huh?  Feel free to leave a comment and let us know what you think. Go on, take a moment and if you don’t like it, don’t worry, we’re writers and are used to criticisms.  Who knows, you give us a good suggestion and we might just take you up on it.

Check back often as we plan on expanding this site.

Improvements so Far
Book recommendations - we added this page so that you can see not only what we are reading, but why. We promise to always give you an honest opinion about the book.

HRWG Bookstore – we created this store so that you can easily and quickly link from a recommendation to Amazon. Go ahead, buy a book today. Then come back and let us know what you think about the book.

Events – we added an events calendar so that you can see what writer events are going on in Virginia. If you know of any and want to see it on the list, let us know and we’ll add it.  NOTE: The calendar only show 99 days into the future. So if you send us an event and don’t see it listed immediately, this is probably why.

Author Sites
Coming soon! We are currently setting up individual author sites so that you may see not only our current writing, but also find out more details about the books we are creating.