Random Thoughts: Setting Those New Year Goals

Are you setting those writing goals for next year?

I have turned into a list person. If I don't make a list I forget to do something and most of the time it is important so I find they help me but I have learned not to put one big goal on that list. It can seem insurmountable. I do it in small chunks. I recommend doing that with your writing goals.

Making the goal to make a million dollars off of the sale of one book is great idea but what about all the little goals that lead up to it? It's not like you're going to sit there and just expect it to happen.

Make your goals realistic for you. If you can write a book a month then do it. If that is more than you can handle then focus smaller. A chapter in a week, a scene in a day, whatever works for you.

What are my goals?

Finish editing Stolen Desire
Finish editing book 8
Come up with a title for book 8
Write book nine
finish the rough I started of book 10 - yes I'm writing them out of sequence but it's the way the muse is driving me
finish the rough draft I started to Melange Books
Post to my blog more - not going to commit how much more but will try to do better
promote, promote. promote

What are yours?

Random Thoughts: A Christmas Poem

Tis a month before Christmas

And John is in the attic

What is he doing?

Snarling and growling because I’m in a panic

There are trees to put up – I’ve now go three

And rooms to decorate

There’s shopping and cooking – will I ever be free?

There’s the writing and editing and blogging for sure

My brain is spinning

Is there a cure?

But somehow I do it

Year after year

How I don’t know

But I succeed – never fear

I take a deep breath and do what I must

I write, then I edit then work on my blog

I push and push until I could bust

Now the holiday is here

And everything is done

I’m happy for my family, friends and my fans who are dear

My crazy mind that comes up with the wild stories that I share

For my job and my passion to write

Sometime they make me pull out my hair

But I love each story

I wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Barbara Donlon Bradley

www.barbaradonlonbraldey.com

Random Thoughts: Sometimes a Glitch Can Work in Your Favor

I write everything on a computer. I find it easier than writing it out by hand then reentering it into a word document. Not all writers will agree with this but it's what works best for me right now. I try to make sure I save everything regularly, but I have to admit that I'm not that good at it.

I start writing and get into a grove and that is all I think of. I must finish the scene. If I'm editing my latest book I want to finish the chapter. Once I'm done I move onto the next thing. Unfortunately I don't always remember to save my document and I'm horrible about making copies of it for those just in case moments.

I have lost pages of work before. Back when I first started writing I lost whole chapters. I was working in WP and would hit two keys at the same time when I went to save so instead of saving what I had done was ask it to delete then gave the command yes at the same time. It was a horrible feeling because I wasn't the fastest typer. The only great thing was all I was doing was imputing scenes that had already been written.

Now when I make a mistake like that I want to cry. All that hard work down the drain. I have to rewrite everything. You know what I found? Sometimes the scene I had to rewrite was stronger.

I always recommend you save and save and save again. I save to my computer, to a thumbdrive, I send the document to myself in an e-mail - one of the accounts that doesn't download the e-mails into my computer and I upload to something like the cloud. My cable company offered that to members and I take advantage of it.

But...if it does happen you need to remember as you rant and rave at the horror of it but that sometimes it could be a blessing in disguise.

Writing Down the Bones: Different Points of View

I know I've talked about POV before, but as I have been going through my mother-in-laws collection of lectures and programs form different RWA meetings and I found another little gem.

The four different points of View:

First Person POV: This - to me - is a restrictive POV. Always the 'I' POV wavering from it can confuse the reader. You are the character as you read a novel in first person and no matter what is going on in the scene the only thoughts and deductions you learn is from that character you embody.

Third Person POV: I think of this as being a witness to a scene. It's like you're a voyeur watching everything. They can't see you, but you're there, learning what they learn. seeing that they see, smelling what they smell...you get the picture?

Objective POV: This is where the author (us) tells part of the story but doesn't delve into the character's thoughts or feelings. To me a lot of those descriptive scenes that were popular in the 80's fall into this category.

Omniscient POV: Someone once explained that this viewpoint was like being a god in your story. You (the author) gives away information that the characters can't. Describes things that the characters can't see. As a writer you're intruding into the story by relating info to the reader that they wouldn't get from the characters you've created.

Most romances are written in third person. In fact when I was learning my craft it was beaten into me that I had to write in third person, and now I'm not sure I could write in any other POV. It's the one I'm most comfortable doing.

Random Thoughts: Can I put my family in my books?

I went to visit relatives on my mother's side of the family last month. They're such wonderful people with rich, funny stories that I would love to use at times. Part of me wonders if that is a smart idea. It is my family after all and I don't want to insult them, but I would never write any funny story in a negative light. I know that.

All of my family has had goofy moments. And do are our friends. I think we're magnets for the goofy in the world. My sister and her friends had done some wild stuff that I want to put in a book I just need to have a plot or story that brings it all together - I've been thinking about using a funeral because it is the time when people reminisce. Then I can create the people I want.  A German aunt using the word yonder with a sturdy German accent. A cousin who lost a finger and bragged about it. Friends climbing into the wrong cars, walking into things. I fear after I write it my readers won't believe they were true stories, but as they say truth is stranger than fiction.

Writing Down the Bones: FUMBLERULES

I found this wonderful flyer that I received from my local RWA chapter years ago that talks about grammar and proper sentence structure. It's called Fumblerules a lighthearted guide to grammar and good usage by William Safire.

There are ten of them - now I don't know if I agree with all of them but a lot are things to avoid. Here's the list and my comments.

1. No sentence fragments - the english majors out there will say 'yes, yes. Must stick to that.' But I have learned in fiction you can break this rule - you just have to do it right. I use them from time to time but it always to make a point. I pick my moments carefully.

2. Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read - I do agree with this one - when I was in high school I was the queen of run-on sentences but learned to control it. Still every once in a while they creep back into my work. I'm so glad for my editor. She catches all those mistakes.

3. A writer must not shift your point of view - I love this one it is a perfect example of shifting from third person to first which can get totally confusing. If you are in third you need to stay there.

4. Do not put statements in the negative form - I do agree with this - double negatives are the worst. My sister had a boyfriend years ago who said this wonderful statement - 'I used to didn't be' - what? I know what he meant but what a way to say it.

5. Don't use contractions in formal writing - this is one I'm not sure of. When I was prepublished we were lucky enough to have an english teacher as part of our critique group. She said the exact opposite - at least when it came to dialog. Contractions are part of our speech and when you have your characters speaking without them it tends make the story read very formal and can pull your readers out of your story.

6. The adverb always follow the verb - no argument from me on this one.

7. Make an all out effort to hyphenate when necessary but not when un-necessary. This one is fun when you write SF or futuristic romances where sometimes you have to make up your own words. Then I have to remember if I hyphenated them from on book to another. To make my life easier I try not to use any hyphenated words.

8. Don't use Capital letters without good REASON.  Totally agree - I used to have a boss who used caps to show his anger - I saw them all the time in e-mails and hated it. He used them so much after a while they didn't mean anything. It was like watching someone yell through a closed window. Using too many caps can do the same thing.

9. It behooves us to avoid archaisms - What? Who talks like that anymore...which is the point. Don't use old archaic words unless you are writing a historical and even then you should keep your reader in mind when you use some of these words - same thing with cliches. It's like beating a dead horse.

10. Reserve the apostrophe for it's proper use and omit it when its not needed. I love this one and most of the time author's get it right. Every once in a while I'll catch someone who forgets when to use its and it's, but it's okay.  We all make mistakes.

Hope this helps - I always love going through these handouts.

Random Thoughts: When my writing is bleah

Have you ever had those days when you hate every word you put on paper? I have. In fact this is the third post I have started because the other two are just awful. I hope to fix them, but just not in the mood right now.

What do you do when you don't like your own writing? Well, you could cry and curl into a little ball, but that won't get the story written. You could get mad and throw the proverbial pen at the wall. Or could could take a deep breath and power through.

Sometimes what you think is the worst piece of drivel to glow on a computer screen isn't so bad when you go back and look at. With a little rewriting you can salvage it. Maybe make it shine.

Don't give up on your writing. Ever. Keep going, keep pushing. In the long run it will make you a stronger writer.

Writing Done the Bones: How Many Times Do You Edit the Book?

Now that is a question isn't it. Once you have it written you start the editing process. You clean it, and polish it over and over. But it just doesn't feel finished. You're tired of looking at it. You just want to send it off but...you don't feel good about doing that.

When is enough enough? I remember being at a program given by my local RWA chapter. The person running it said we're done when we're so tired of editing it we want to throw the book against the wall.

I think that's a good time to stop.

Each book is going to be different. Some of my books only needed a little editing, but the one I'm working on now needs a lot. I think I'm going for my fourth or fifth run through. I tried many ways to cut down the process but have found that writing that rough draft then fleshing it out works the best for me - it just some books need more flesh than others.

Shameless Promoting: New Release and a Few other Things...

Having two books come out within two months of each other has had me doing one promotion after another. The Blog visits are the best but my goodness I have been busy.

But my big exciting news is Forgotten Desire - Book 6 in the Vespian Way has now been released! Look at the cover! It's Beautiful and sexy!

Here's the Blurb:

Available at Phaze:

http://www.phaze.com/author.php?author=21

Coming to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B0072OTZJE

Blurb:

Heather and Storm’s Story continues...

Storm is lost in time and without his memories and Heather has to go after him. As much as she wants to she can’t just bring him home she has to make him remember before they can return to their own timeline. So she has to find a way to jar his memory free. While she is back in time she finds out Ialog is there and has been slipping something to Storm to keep his memories form coming back.

This was one of my favorites to write!

I'm also doing a release party at TRS on Thursday! I hope this is the right link - http://trsparties.com/ Please come by and say Hi - I'll be raffling off an electronic copy of Dominated By Desire as a celebration for this latest release.

At the beginning of October I'm blogging at ARe. I'm blogging at after Dark again tomorrow 9/25/13. On Oct 3rd I'll be at Alisha Robinson's Blog again - I'll be talking about Humor. I'm also doing a program for the MFRW Pitch Camp through their forums at LRC.

There's probably more but my brain isn't working for me.

Barb:)

Writing Down the Bones: Character Goals

When you start your story you need to think of your plot. Is it strong enough? Is it believable? Do you have more than one plot in the story? Believe it or not every character in your book should have one. Your hero, heroine, the sidekick, the bad guy. The girl on the street. If they don't then why are they in the book?

Your main characters need goals. It gives them something to move toward in your story. An achievement they reach at the end of the book. And those goals can conflict. You have a bad guy who's goal is to kill and a good guy whose goal is to stop him. You have the beginnings of a strong plot. Your reader will continue to turn the page, wanting to know who will win. Especially if the goals are plausible.

 Then you need to ask if it's believable. If not what do you need to do to make it believable.

So lets try an example:

You have a hero who wants to open a book store - okay that's the first goal. A nice simple one. Now why does he want to open the book store? Because it would be fun? Not strong enough. Because he had tried to start a business before and failed miserably and needs to prove he's not a failure? Okay that makes the plot a little stronger.

Now why would writing a book about opening a book store be something to write about. It's a pretty boring topic. It needs something else. So what sort of spin are you going to put on this? Is it a murder mystery?

That could be good - he gets the building and finds a body in there and he is accused of the murder.

How about a romance? That's the way I'd go.

Every romance has a heroine. Someone for the hero to love. She could be a good twist to the plot. But how? Hmm, let's make her one of those people who sticks up for the little man, hates the big businesses who have the money to force small companies to close their doors.

So our heroine is an activist. She's heard of the corporation that wants to buy the same land our hero is interested in. It is a beautiful old building that has a great history. One of the oldest one in the town. She remembers what this same corporation did in her hometown and swore to stop them from doing it again. The building needs to be saved!

She going to fight for our hero, even though he might not want any help. Hmm, he doesn't want any help. His goal is to prove his family wrong, not fight for some old building. If this site doesn't work out he could try another one. He needs to prove to his brother, the big corporate man, that he doesn't need to be bailed out over and over again. He can do this on his own. An activist would just get in his way.

See how this is developing? What other twist can I had? How about the CEO of the corporation is his brother and he's not this big evil person the heroine has in her mind. The CEO  has wanted to help breathe life into the small towns he feels he can save. What he doesn't know is that the man in charge of these particular jobs is not doing what he's supposed to. He hasn't been saving the towns, just lining his pockets and covering his tracks.

So we have a man who wants to open a book store to prove he isn't a failure. A heroine who wants to save the building because she had failed at saving one in her own town and refuses to allow that to happen again. A brother who is blind to the wrongdoing that is undermining his goals.

I got it.  The hero wants to prove his worth to his brother and thinks opening the bookstore would be a good way to do that. The heroine hated that she couldn't save her local library from being knocked down to make way for a strip mall that failed. She champions the save the bookstore, pushing her theories unto our hero about the evil corporation. First he's angry that his brother is going for the same property and confronts him and finds that his brother believes he's been doing all this good. He knows his brother would never lie to him and researches the other towns. He learns the heroine is also telling the truth. Now he has to help his brother by ferreting out the man who is lining his pockets. He ends up proving to himself that he is worthy, which his brother knew all the time. The brother learns he doesn't have to coddle his sibling. The man can take care of himself. And our heroine learns that she didn't fail her town. It was destined to fail because of the weasel.

Now you have something to start with. As a pantser this gives me everything I need to write the story. The romance will be blended in as I go. I never put it into the blurb I use to base my book off of. And story might change a little as I go but I have my beginning and my end the rest will come.

Hope this helps.

Barb:)