Footsteps of a Writer - Cher Green

Finding Time to Write

2012-01-31T19:25:00.000-05:00

Finding Time to Write. It's an endless struggle most writers face, but is it really about the time. Or, is it commitment?

I struggle this year with this issue, but I'm slowly coming to the idea that it has nothing to do with how much time we have, rather it is how determined we are to reach our goal. Don't get me wrong, some have huge issues with time.

Tad has soccer practice, Judy has cheerleader practice, the cupboard is thinning on food, clothes need washing, and don't forget the job that pays for all this. You rush and rush, and there isn't time to think, much less write.

If you take a moment though, I bet this Mom, let's call her Sarah, could find thirty minutes a day to write, even if it's while waiting on the kids to finish practice. The question is: Do you want to spend that time writing? This is where it comes down to determination to reach your goal. You don't have to write, you can listen to the radio, read a book, or even crochet. So, do you WANT to write.

One big mistake I'm discovering is forming phrases in my head such as: I have to write or I need to write. Writing is more productive if you WANT to write. One important issue is you don't need a pen in your hand to write. Think over scenes throughout the day. This makes for a productive writing session when you do find that time to put pen to paper.

Try some affirmations to move you toward your goal.

I will write today.
I want to write today.
I am a writer because I enjoy writing.
Writing inspires me to create.
With each new thought, my story grows a little more.

Happy Writing!

eBook Giveaway - Seduced by Darkness

2012-01-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

Stop by Coffee Beans & Love Scenes for a chance to win a free copy of Seduced by Darkness. Contest ends at midnight EST February 1st.

Good luck!

Putting Life into Your Story

2012-01-24T13:29:00.001-05:00

Last week, we talked about Sucking the Life out of Your Story.

Now, how can you Put Life into Your Story?

By filling your story with your own emotions: love, hate, desire, lust, joy. Tap into your life, and inject it into your writing.

I'm not say write about your life, but to spice your story with it.

For Example: Your character gives birth and is surprised by twins.

Your character's reaction may not be your own type of reaction, so to really pump up the emotion, try thinking of something in your life that evokes the same emotion as your character in this situation.

Perhaps, your character doesn't want a child at all, much less two. Your character feels her life has been dragged from her in the form of two new beings.

Now think of your own life, and imagine feeling drained of life, disgusted by the turn of events, and/or unable to move forward. Does this provoke a memory of a past relationship? A job? A moment in time?

Now inject your emotions into your birth scene.

Sucking the Life out of Your Story

2012-01-17T07:36:00.012-05:00

The debate continues - to plot or not to plot. It is easy to see every writer will write in a different method. But how can you determine what's best for you?

Trial and error? Intuition? Forcing yourself to follow a proven method (proven by another writer)?

How to Write books are abundant and sometimes confusing for the new writer. How can one determine the climatic scene out of thin air? How can you determine who your character is without getting to know them? How can you write a story without knowing such things at all?

During my journey, I continue to try to discover the best method for my writing.

1) No Plot - Produced many short stories and two published novellas. All of these began with a glimmer of an idea and a rough draft from beginning to end. The revision/editing process polished the writing, discovered missing scenes, and built on a rough foundation.

2) Plot - Produced three novels - incomplete. First novel, complete with character sketches, a collection of scenes, and some written work, sits in a box. Second novel, produced during Nano, a collection of scene drafts, character interviews, plot outlines, and anything else you can think of, sits in a folder waiting for completion. Third novel, beginning and end sketched out, character sketches, tarot profiles, and more, has recently been put to sleep in a folder.

By plotting, I sucked the life out of these stories and made them boring and confusing to complete. The stories kept changing as I went, the characters didn't act like they were supposed to, and the ending was a far off sign post. Now, I'm aware plotting is adjustable, but I found by know all this information it stunted the growth of my novel.

My recent conclusion - plotting may be for professionals. The reason I say this is I can look back at my published work and see structure, but this wasn't accomplished on purpose. It just happened. I can see some missing structure in my unpublished short stories, but this can be fixed and built upon the rough form which is there.

I read recently (not sure the location) a writer who revealed she didn't plot in the beginning of her career, but after her first few novels she tried it and it worked. I've heard over and over again if you return to your how-to books later in your career they make more sense. So, wouldn't it make sense to say plotting is for the experienced writer. (Now I know some writers may be born plotters.)

So, my main point here is if you are a beginning writer and you struggle with your work, try just writing. If you've sketched out your characters, plotting out your scenes, and freeze when you start the first draft of your story, stick it away somewhere and start a story from scratch, working from beginning to end and see what you might discover.

(On a side note: A story bible is a helpful tool for most writers not plotting. Keep jots on what's happening, who your characters are, scenes you think of, and needed corrections discovered as you go.)

The main thing is to start with the first word and don't stop writing until you reach the end.

Caution: This has been my method for short stories and novellas. I'm about to begin a new novel using this method, but cannot conclude for sure if it is doable. My worry is the story will be too long to discover through this method. But after trying plotting with no results, what do I have to lose?

Good luck in your writing!

:) After writing up this post Monday Morning, I discovered later in the day, Roni Loren's blog touched upon the same subject - the writing process. For more on the topic visit her blog - Fiction Groupie.

Interview at One Writer's Journey

2012-01-16T08:26:00.000-05:00

Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz invited me over to One Writer's Journey for an interview. Come join us to find out how I write, advice for new writers, and some other tidbits. Be sure to comment for a chance to win a free copy of Seduced by Darkness.

Hope to see you there.

Your Muse

2012-01-10T07:30:00.002-05:00

I re-read an article by Stephen King today. He talks of his muse, and his description makes me laugh.

"It's a scruffy little thing with fleas and often smells of whatever nasty mess it's been rolling in."

What else would you expect from a man who has the heart of a boy?

"People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy... and I keep it in a jar on my desk."

When I think of my muse, I envision a fairy like creature. She has the face of an angel and beautiful pink and purple wings. Maybe I need to ask for a replacement. She may not be up for scaring my readers. :)

Do you have a muse? What does he/she look like? Do you have more than one, taking shifts?

I ran across this video of Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. She talks about her thoughts on the writer's muse. I thought you might enjoy.

Interview at Oye! Times

2012-01-09T18:00:00.001-05:00

Paul Collins invited me over to Oye! Times for an interview. He asked some wonderful questions. Stop by to find out more about Seduced by Darkness and the thought behind the story.

Hope to see you there.

Interview at Romance Author Hotspot

2012-01-09T13:07:00.001-05:00

Stop by the Romance Author Hotspot to find out what my characters think of me and more! Comment for a chance at a free copy of Seduced by Darkness.

Hope to see you there.

Muse Guidance - Tarot Cards

2012-01-03T07:48:00.000-05:00

I usually keep my tarot posts on my tarot blog to keep from offending anyone here on the writing side. But as more and more writers turn to the tarot for inspiration, I decided to share a few links here for the writers who might want to explore what I'm calling, MUSE GUIDANCE.

You can begin your journey by jumping over to my Tarot Guidance page for articles on reading the cards and some information on spreads for writers.

I do not own this book, but it seems a good place to start for the beginner. I may be putting it on my to buy list, just haven't decided yet. Tarot for Writers by Corrine Kenner. Here's an interesting quote from the beginning of the book. (Writers from John Steinbeck to Stephen King have used tarot cards for inspiration, and Italian novelist Italo Calvino went so far as to call the tarot “a machine for writing stories.")

I'm also going to send you to a writer's blog - Raelyn Barclay presents a few spreads and exercises, to use for your Muse Guidance activities, along with some great links outside her blog.

That should keep you busy for a little while. If you have any questions concerning using the tarot to guide your muse, feel free to ask in comments and/or through the contact page.

The image you see above is the back of the cards - Crystal Visions Tarot by Jennifer Galasso. I bought these near the end of the year and have assigned them the role of Guiding My Muse. In my opinion, a separate deck should be use for creative matters. This back cover screams creativity and the images are very interesting. Stop by Tarot Guidance Thursday, Jan. 5th, for a full review on this deck.

Best wishes,
Cher

A Blogger/Writer Review

2011-12-27T06:46:00.002-05:00

As I sit to write the last blog post of the year, I ponder over what to write. I think of what the new year means to me - new goals, new achievements, and new discoveries. So, what does the end of the year bring - a review over past accomplishments.

I began my blogging journey in August 2009 as a way to reach out to the writing world and to document my progress as an aspiring writer. Along my journey, I've gained special friends, shared writing thoughts, and moved from aspiring to published. It's been a wonderful journey and I owe you, 'the reader and friend,' for making it so.

I'd like to point out the top five blog posts over the journey of this blog.

1) Interview with Cindy Huefner Cromer - Part One
2) Interview with Terry W. Ervin II
3) Plotter or Pantster
4) How important is your email address?
5) Interview with Cindy Huefner Cromer - Part Two

In my writing journey of 2011, I've moved from published short stories to published novellas. I've took up freelance editing, which has taught me as much as the writing during the year. I also finish the year with two partial novels.

I've learned many things this year. Remember opinions vary amongst writers, so it's okay to disagree with my learning experience. We are each unique, if not, what kind of world would this be?

1) A short story is a different species than the novel. (This opinion may change as I stretch my skills toward novel writing. At this moment, novels are a heck of a lot harder to write than a short story.)

2) Writing is Rewriting (I've always believed this, but when I moved to longer works, I went from believing to knowing. While writing my two novellas, I learned to write fast and hard first. Then do the real work with the rewriting - fill in gaps, build characters, add flesh.)

3) For this writer, plotting is a no, no. (I've studied it and tried it this year. It squashes my chances of completion. I must dig the bones out by writing and then connect the joints. Maybe one day I will move to a plotter, but for know I'll stick with what works.)

4) Never give up. (This should be at the top of the list. One of my stories published this year was born many years ago. It went through a few revisions after multiple rejections, but for the most part it stayed the same story. The point is keep sending your story out, sometimes it just has to find the right home.)

5) Organization is an important part of a writer's life. (I've spent the last two weeks sorting through my mess of ideas and writing jots from years past. 2011 wasn't too bad. I kept good records and placed items in folders and such. But when going through my mess of before this year, I found stuff from 1998. To be honest, I'm not sure where I found the time to write anything that year, but there it was. I wanted to get this done quickly so I did my best not to read over anything, just get it in order and all in one location. Of course, I couldn't help myself from time to time and found some great ideas to work with for the new year. So, do yourself a favor and stay organized.)

This list could go on and on, but we'll stop with the top five lessons learned.

One final bit of advice - read, listen to music, explore paintings - surround yourself with creativity - feed your muse. I am guilty of not digesting enough during this year, but plan to fix this issue in 2012. To be creative you really must study creativity. I leave you this year with a quote from Ray Bradbury.

Best wishes to all. See you next year.

“If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed quickly, to trap them before they escape.”
—Ray Bradbury

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:22:00.000-05:00

Hope Everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Romance Junkies Winter Wonderland Contest

2011-12-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

The Romance Junkies Winter Wonderland Contest runs all the way to January 20th. Don't miss out on some great prizes.

To get started, click on the photo or this link: http://www.romancejunkies.com/winternewsletter/mainpage.htm

You'll find me on Main Street, and then click on the Big Red Bow, or follow this link: http://www.romancejunkies.com/winternewsletter/CherGreen.html

Hope to see you at the gathering!

Merry Christmas.

How important are the goals you set?

2011-12-20T22:32:00.001-05:00

As we prepare to finish up the year and step toward a new one, this is a great time to review and/or set goals. As an artist, it is important to set attainable goals. If you make goals too large, you may feel stressed and this can lead to not achieving those goals.

One way to avoid this is to make two goal lists.

The first is a list of what you wish to achieve in a long period of time, like by the end of the year. Be as specific with your list as you can and make the goal personally achievable.

Bad goal - Publish a novel. (This depends too much on someone else, unless you plan to self-publish.)
Good goal - Write a novel. (The writing is up to you, not another.)

The second list would be the tasks which need to be achieved to reach the larger goal(s).

A break down of the goal - write a novel. Depending on your process - plotter or pantser - this goal needs to be broke down into smaller tasks.

A plotter's list may look like: plot beginning, plot middle, plot end, character charts, etc. The smaller you can break down the tasks, the easier it will be to stick to your goals.

A panster, moving straight into the writing, may go with something like: write 500 words per day, or write 2000 words per week. As you move forward the goals will change, like: edit/revise chapter one, chapter two, etc.

These goals need to be adapted to your life, or your life will need to be adapted to your goal settings.

Focus is important when setting your goals. Prioritizing is also important. If you have more than one goal for the year, such as a different interest you wish to explore, be sure to itemize these goals according to importance. If you scatter yourself too much, you may find the goals unattainable.

I wish you all good luck with setting and achieving your goals.

eTreasures Twelve Day Blog Tour Contest

2011-12-17T18:13:00.000-05:00

Come join us for the eTreasures Twelve Day Blog Tour to hear thoughts about Christmas from some of eTreasures' Authors and your chance to win free eBooks. There are multiple ways to win. Go to the opening post for details.

The tour began on December 14th with words from Pembroke Sinclair and a chance to win Bride and Dark Secrets Anthology, which includes my Seduced by Darkness novella.

On December December 15th, we put a little scare in your holiday with Christopher Hivner and a chance to win The Spaces Between Your Screams.

Yesterday, the tour continued with some words from me and a chance to win Sweet Hearts In Bloom Anthology, which includes Escape to Love.

I'm sure there are more authors and some great prizes ahead of us in this twelve day tour. Come join us in the fun and grab your chance for freebies. Visit main blog for latest postings.

Exercising Your 'Writing' Muscles

2011-12-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

How important is it to exercise your 'writing' muscles?

Feeling a little out of sync lately, I'm wondering if I've fallen out of shape. I haven't been writing everyday. I've discovered a few idea germs, but haven't found the right spark.

So, first, I ask you, what do you do when you are in-between projects, or taking a break from an ongoing project? Do you take a complete break? Busy yourself with playtime writing and exercises? Blog or write to a friend?

One exercise I do frequently, but not as much as I should, is the ten minute writing section. You write whatever comes to mind, not stopping until the end of the full ten minutes is up. To be honest, this is where most of my ideas germinate, but not all sessions produce a spark. The 'left behind' are always great for later motivation, and occasionally you'll find that spark the second or third time around.

There are many different kinds of exercises out in cyberspace and in how-to books. Some target your emotions and life, others work on character building and world building, and still others throw your character into situations to see how they react. I've tried a few, but felt I was wasting precious writing time.

I'm here to say, I'm rethinking the issue. You may end up writing words never destined to be published, but then again you may discover a missing scene you hadn't come up with yet. Besides, if you are stuck and feeling out of sync - not writing at all - what's the harm in doing some exercises?

I'd love to hear from some of you writers out there. Do you exercise when not working on a project? Do you consider your project your exercise? What exercises have you used? What exercises do you recommend?

Notice to all writers (or readers): If you are interesting in guest blogging/interviewing to help promote your work or to simply entertain/inform, email me (chergreen@chergreen.com) and we'll set something up.

Have a great week all!

Technical Difficulties

2011-12-06T22:30:00.001-05:00

Yes, once again, I'm having technical difficulties here at Footsteps of a Writer, and of course at my other blog.

Warning - Never, ever, paste an image onto your blogger blog.

It took me a good while to figure out what was causing my problem, but finally found the issue. On Thanksgiving, I pasted rather than uploaded the images on the blog(s). This caused the html coding to be extremely long, which caused my feed to be to big, which made bother feed burner and twitter to quit using the feed. Leave it to me to cause such a problem, right?

The worse part is I made many changes elsewhere before I discovered the true problem. So, now the feed to my blog is not the same. Anyone subscribed will have to re-subscribe - I believe. Now, I may be totally wrong in this, but if you continue to not receive updates and such, you will need to re-subscribe. I am so sorry for any inconvenience this may cause for anyone.

Thank you all for your support.

After posting this, I discovered another problem which may be of interest to anyone using Feedburner.com. Google bought them out, seems like a while back, but now I can't get to my account. So, I believe anyone signed up with continue to get their email updates.

I would appreciate it if you would delete that subscription and sign up through the new link on the blog. This gives me the ability to control the output on this end. Again, I do apologize for all the inconvenience.

Finding Motivation

2011-11-29T18:40:00.004-05:00

With the holidays in high gear at the post office, and carriers leaving the work crew, I'm finding it very difficult to find time to write.

As I write this post, I've just completed another nine hour work day.

How someone working these types of hours ever accomplishes his/her dream is beyond me. So how does one find motivation to write, and the energy to think about the story?

Here's a quote from Stephen King, "Read four hours a day and write four hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can't expect to become a good writer."

You all know how much I look up to this man, but I can't say I totally agree with this statement, nor can I say I disagree. Take out the 'four hours a day' and you have something. All writers must read and write. The more you do these two things the better you will become.

With that said, how can you motivate yourself to continue when you are not able to fit one or either into your daily routine?

The answer - you fit it into your daily routine. The motivation comes from just how determined you really are to succeed. No whining, just do it. (Okay, you can see I'm trying to motivate myself, right?)

But seriously, you can Google all you want on how to find the time, and get advice from whoever, but it is 'You' in the end who has to make it happen.

I wish you all the best in your writing careers. Let's take it one sentence at a time. See you at the finish line. I'll be the one crawling the last few yards. :)

Interviews and First Review

2011-11-23T20:39:00.006-05:00

Two interviews and a first review of Seduced by Darkness.

Aubrie Dionne invited me over to Flutey Words.

Pembroke Sinclair opened the doors at her blog for an interview.

Please stop by, ask questions, enjoy a cup of coffee. Hope to see you there.

Cherie Reich of Surrounded by Books Reviews gives Seduced by Darkness a glowing review.

Cher Green's Seduced by Darkness delights in a seductive tale of the power of love and loss. Read more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-22T13:36:00.003-05:00

I'd like to take a moment and share with my readers what I am thankful for this year. Feel free to add your list in the comments.

I'm thankful for:

Family and Friends (far and near, online and offline).

My home, my job, and my determination to succeed.

My spirit guides and guardian angel.

Life and all its wonderful (and not so wonderful) experiences.

Thank you, Lord, for bestowing upon me my gifts and allowing me to learn lessons at each turn in my life.

Seduced by Darkness featured on Promo Mondays

2011-11-21T20:14:00.002-05:00

My latest novella, Seduced by Darkness, has been featured on Cherie Reich's Promo Mondays.

A new release is almost as exciting as the creating. It seems to be just as much work also - promotions and such.

Guess if there's to be a follow up, I better get busy writing on the next work in progress.

Do you ever feel as if the more you publish the less time there is to write? Course the holidays have got the post office hopping, which has a lot to do with down time on writing.

Best wishes,
Cher

Seduced by Darkness released

2011-11-19T07:05:00.004-05:00

Seduced by Darkness is now available at eTreasures Publishing.

Blurb:

Geneva Chilton, warned against human contact, betrays her family in order to be close to the world she longs to join. Intrigued by an artist’s work and his ability to capture life on canvas, Geneva steps too close to the boundaries and discovers love, but what price will she have to pay?

Lewis Hunt, intrigued by Geneva’s beauty and determined to capture it on canvas, discovers he needs more. Lewis needs the real woman behind the beauty. His course leads him to her, but also to danger. How hard is he willing to fight for a woman of darkness, a vampire?

The Romance Reviews Year End Splash Party

2011-11-17T19:52:00.004-05:00

The party is going into its third week. Don't miss out on the chance to win some wonderful prizes.

A copy of Escape to Love and Seduced by Darkness are among the prizes.

Visit the Party to find out all the prizes and to participate.

The Dreaded Middle

2011-11-15T23:49:00.005-05:00

The middle of a story is dreaded for many reasons. Whatever your reason may be, you can never have too much advice on how to deal with it, right?

I've found two interesting posts on the subject:

Planning Your Novel's Middle by Janice Hardy
Testing the Middle:Subplots by Editortorrent

Now, I can't take credit for finding these two wonderful blogs. All credits go to Roni Loren of Fiction Groupie. Every Friday, she offers up some great links in her Fill Me In Friday: Best Links of the Week posts.

Happy Writing,
Cher

Genre confused?

2011-11-08T06:24:00.003-05:00

The idea of narrowing your story down to one genre can sometimes cause major confusion. The likely reason for this is you're crossing genres.

As writers explore their story worlds, elements may present themselves which is outside the main genre they planned for their story. Cross-genres are fine. But, it's important to realize what you are doing to avoid confusion and feeling defeat.

Over the years, I've heard write what you read, and read what you write. In my opinion, this suggestion isn't always great advise.

For one, I love medical thrillers. Could I write one? Not without extensive research. I know nothing about the medical field. But then you may wonder, what if the story is about a doctor's personal life rather than his occupation. Wouldn't it still be a medical thriller? This would depend on the subject matter and story question. I'd say it's possible to produce such a book and still hit the medical thriller genre, but it would still need a splash of medical element.

The main reason for this topic this week is a revelation I had. I have two incomplete novels waiting for completion and a third in progress. I'm thinking the reasons for the incomplete novels may have a lot to do with not knowing what genre I was writing.

Those who know me are aware of my genre dilemma over the years. Those who've read my work can see the broad range of genres I write. Only recently have I truly come to understand how genre can effect what we write and how we write it.

When writing Escape to Love, I knew from the word 'go' I was writing a paranormal romance novella. There was no question of the basic plot - boy meets girl, forces separate their joining, boy gets girl. Those of you who have read this, or even the blurb, know that this story turned into a historical paranormal romance. So, even though I had an idea of the genre, I still crossed over to another genre.

In most cases, this will work. In some cases, the story will need some rewriting because of the crossing.

If you start out with a dead body in Chapter One, and then by Chapter Thirteen you have an alien, who you didn't expect, I'd say you have some rewriting to do. Something in the beginning needs to give the reader a clue as to this new genre element or you will jar the reader. Chances are your book is about to be thrown across the room. Now, I'm not saying you need a spaceship or something to that extreme, but some hints. Maybe the dead body has a glowing mark on it's chest, this would give a science fiction element - preparing the reader.

Say you start a romance novel, boy meets girl, nothing unusual. Then, at the half way mark, we learn the heroine is a ghost, with no indication of such in the first section of the book. You'll need to do some inserting along the way to prepare the reader.

Sixth Sense, the 1999 movie starting Bruce Willis, is a great example of planting hints along the way to keep from jarring the reader (or viewer) out of the story.

So, do you know what genre your story is? How many genres are you crossing?

Technical Difficulties

2011-11-05T17:02:00.001-04:00

It seems I've managed to mess up both my blogs. The images are gone, replaced by icky black boxes. I guess when I moved ownership over to different email addresses and deleted the old account, I managed to do away with whatever links Picasa Web Albums to the blogs.

Have patience, this may take quite a while, but I will get it all back in order.

Thanks,

Cher