The Sure Fire (I Think) Way to Succeed (In Writing)

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Yep, it's been a while since I've put up a new post. I've been busy with all the papers for my MFA classes. Then I was sick with bronchitis, things with the 'rents and other issues. So, I'm still alive! Now with the holidays closing in, things will get even crazier. One thing I skipped this year was NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) because it would just be too much. The things I learned in NaNoWriMo, though, are helping me during my quest for my MFA:

    1.  Make it (school) a priority. Just like with trying to get the daily word count in for NaNo, getting the papers and schoolwork done has to come before exercising, socializing, and yes, sometimes even family. They don't need me to cook every meal, fix every little thing.

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    2. Don't wait till the last minute. I didn't start my daily NaNo writing at 8 p.m. when I was tired after a full day of family and home. Some assignments are posted early, so I start them as soon as I can. The rest are posted on Monday, by which time I've finished the other assignments. Basically, I'm a half week ahead. Life comes up and emergencies happen. By working ahead, I'm not caught off guard. 

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    3. Get supplies and resources ahead of time. Whether it's books or sticky notes or a daily calendar to keep word count, have everything at hand. That also means eating before you sit down and getting your water bottle filled. I have everything I need when I sit down to work. The only reasons I get up: bathroom, doorbell, and to stretch after sitting so long.

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    4. Do the prep work. For writing, that means the research so once you sit down, you can write without having to stop when you're in the midst of a scene. For my MFA, it means reading the resources ahead of schedule so when I start my assignments, I'm familiar with what I need to do and have an idea what I'm going to write.

    

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    5. Make a punch list or simple outline. When I write a novel, I always make a list of things that need to happen. This way, I always know where I'm going. With MFA papers, I have a guideline when I list the things I need to address in my papers. 

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So that's my secret for success. Feel free to copy my formula. I'll keep ya posted...

Char 

P.S. I've gotten all A's so far, so I really believe I can do this! 

Check Up Time!

 Yes, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Day, so go GET CHECKED! Get that mammogram! You may just save your life, and encouraging others may save theirs!

But what I was referring to was rather checking in on how it's going with my MFA. I've always wanted to get my Master's, as I may have previously said, but jobs, marriage, kids, and life got in the way. But I made the commitment. 

Honestly, I thought about dropping out after the first week. It has been decades since I was in school. I didn't doubt my intelligence (my mom says I'm smart), but I doubted my ability to handle the tech aspect. I had to learn how to navigate different software programs, and since this degree is online, everything is electronic, from discussions to book groups to chatting with your professors. Several times I had to reach out to younger classmates, my professor, and my advisor and admit my confusion. 

Well... I never expected the encouraging support I got. It really humbled me. All the times I'd spent encouraging other writers that they could finish their novel, that criticisms were meant to help them, that the journey may be arduous but worth it- I now received that encouragement back. I'm feeling more comfortable with my progress (I've gotten 3 A's!) even though at the beginning of each week (they're called modules), I have that momentary panic attack. I tell myself to sit down and write something- that it can be fixed later. After a day or so to mull over my draft (actually, I think about it all day and sometimes into the wee night hours), I know what I have to do. Strictly following the rubrics of what is expected in each assignment keeps me on track. Every Monday a new module begins, but I don't wait until then to start; some writing assignments are posted already because resources need to be read and analyzed. So, by Wednesday, I have half the work done for the following week. Staying ahead by a few days allows me to feel no guilt for biking/hiking/swimming, going out to dinner, etc. 

July 2023 is graduation, and early starter that I am, I'm already thinking about what to wear when I walk across the stage to get my diploma- and what my gift to myself should be. (I'm thinking a nifty little sports car....but in red.)

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Char

Things I Don't Understand...

 This world is a strange, beautiful, confusing, amazing, and weird place. And sometimes very annoying. This is what's bothering me today:

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1.  HOW MANY TIMES DOES MICHAEL MYERS HAVE TO BE KILLED BEFORE HE'S REALLY DEAD? What are we up to, like Halloween 6? Enough. There are so many great authors out there with fabulous scary stories. Make one of their books into a movie and move on from Michael, Jason, Freddy, the Blair Witch, etc. 

2. When you record a show, like, say the Buccaneers vs. Falcons game (Go Tom Brady!), or, a favorite TV show like Manifest, and it goes over a few minutes, the last few are cut off so I MISS THE ENDING!!!!!! I hate that. It made me say some bad words. Cut out a few commercials so it doesn't run past time! (At least I can watch it online... but still!)

3. How come we don't see more women like Halle Berry, Angelica Houston, Bette Midler, and other greats? These women are fabulous, yet... we see all roles played by 20-30 somethings. 

4. Why are most people ignorant when it comes to using apostrophes? "...more record's will be..." NONONONONONONO. NO APOSTROPHE! If it's plural, just add an s. If you're showing possession, like "Mikey's car" then yes, apostrophe and s. For all that's (contraction of that and is so yes, an apostrophe!) holy, LEARN THIS! 

5. WHY do my cats just nibble their food, then walk away, only to sneak back to eat from the other's bowl? IT'S THE SAME FOOD. EVERY. DAY.

There are a lot of things that annoy me and I don't understand, but I'll stop here. Next post, only positive things, to balance the energies.

Till then,

PEACE!

Char

Ready....Well, Almost

  Before I start diving into academic reading, writing, and angsting, there are a few things I need to do first. 

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1. Clear the calendar. I've resigned as a trustee from my church, left the critique group I started years ago. I've declined volunteering opportunities. I've alerted people that I need as much time for schoolwork as possible. 

2. Clean out. The office, old files, and junk on my computer have all been tackled. I don't want to wade through stuff I don't need or use.

3. Buy it now! As soon as I know what books and supplies I need, I'll get them that day. It will give me time to not only make sure I get everything I need, but look over things and start reading and assignments early.

4. Plan for the unexpected. Homework and quizzes are due on 11:59 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. I have handbell practice on Tuesday (I had to keep one social activity), so I need to make sure that I don't wait to the last minute in case something comes up. 

5. Believe and breathe. I know I can do this, but I have to keep believing, especially when things get tough. When things get tough, and they will, I have to breathe through the panic and push ahead. 

I think I'm ready.

Char   

Round 2: Don't Do This To Me...

 Ok, I've finished the book I was reading/critiquing. I'm happy to say that it did improve. BUT... still a few things to rant and whine about:

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1. During a love scene, too many authors have their female characters make a 'mewling' noise. What the hell is that? Does she have cat DNA? There are groans, moans, grunts, gasps, whimpers, whines, murmurs, sighs, pants, gulps, and breaths. The Oxford American Thesaurus doesn't even list 'mewling' and Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language lists 'mewl' as: "verb, the sound of a crying child." Soooo not what should be used in an adult love scene. Please authors, stop using it, it sounds wrong on multiple levels.

2. I understand there are regional and cultural trends for some words, like y'all for all of you, and some authors don't use swear words (after all, your mom or kids could be reading your work), BUT... don't use stupid words: freakadilly, freakadilly circus (really, you had to go there twice?) crapple, and Christmas on a cracker. And if your alpha male character uses them? I'm liking him a little less. If you can't use the milder 'damn' or 'hell' then be nebulous- "He swore" and save us the cringe. 

3. If a character, male or female, constantly lectures, I'm out of there. No one likes a nag. And to have a strong male character sit still for two or more pages of being lectured and nagged means he isn't so alpha. And, honestly, I think he's a twit. Who would stand for that? I love my parents, but I didn't listen to that much nagging. Ok, the character needs some tough love and brutal, honest words, but after a while, I wanted to tell the lecturer to shut up and look at her own life. She was sounding like a mother, not a lover. And life always comes down to learning the hard way; few of us learned our lessons by being lectured into a coma.

4. Even after a thorough lecture, what character or person has instant understanding of their psychological or emotional issues? If it were that easy, every person with an issue could go to someone to lecture them extensively and fix the problem. Self-realization. Takes. Time. 

5. This one issue irritates me not only because the author used it, but because she should know better: misused clichés. The saying is NOT "eat on me." It is "eat at me." Again, there may be regional or cultural differences, or even current slang that change a saying, but this one is just WRONG. 

I finished that book and went on to the next one. Here are two more things that irk me:

1. When I submitted a romance story, I had two editors tell me that the romance/attraction had to be immediate. 

No.

1- Many readers and authors, even other editors and agents, hate the 'insta love' aspect- falling in love immediately. I can see attraction, but I refuse to do it in the first chapter because I need to show readers who the main characters are; a little background, a little trouble in their life, etc. I refuse to have two characters meet in a dumb way- like the overused 'spills his coffee on her' trope. I need at least 2 chapters to set the scene. A great number of books don't get to the romance/meet/attraction for several chapters and that feels more 'organic' to use a cliché. Heck, even Cinderella and Snow White didn't meet their true loves for at least two or more chapters. 

2. Covers. I have heard many times that the cover should accurately reflect some aspect of the novel. Don't show me a cover with a guy/gal on the cover who doesn't look anything like the character described- wrong hair/skin color, or a setting that doesn't appear in the book, wrong dress for the era, etc. I feel like the publisher cheated; offered me something and pulled a switcheroo. 

Okay, I think I'm done with my criticisms, rants, whines, and desk poundings. 

Wishing you all sunshine, unicorns, world peace, and great hair days-

Char

Don't Do This To Me...

 I'm doing some fun reading before I delve into required reading for school. 

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I'm annoyed.

I understand authors have different styles from mine, but there are certain habits that just irritate me to no end. It doesn't matter if the author is a newbie or a world famous figure. The book I'm currently reading boasts that the author is a NY Times bestseller, and the category is contemporary romance. To set the scene, it's 'alpha male, self-made rich CEO type.' Here are my Yes - Def No notes:

YES - alpha male, muscular, tough, worldly cowboy. 

NO - I just met the character and I KNOW he would NOT use a word like "freakadilly." That silly word is more suited to the effervescent, optimistic female main character. If the reader can pick this up, why didn't the agent/editor/copyeditor?

YES - Describe the scene, the mood, the thoughts, the kiss, etc.

NO - Don't stay stuck in the 3 -3 pattern: 3 lines of 3 adjectives. That's a total of 9 descriptive adjectives (especially when you repeat them....). Overkill and tedious.

YES - Show the kiss.

NO - Diminish the tension because we're so in her head that there was no kiss back action from her. this gorgeous guy is giving her a lethal kiss and she's.... contemplating. 

YES - Tell us he left town ten years ago; we get a picture of a strained homecoming, tense relationships.

NO - Don't keep repeating it, we remember.

YES - Close eyes during a kiss.

NO - Don't give me 2 pages of thought and action before she closes her eyes. Is she staring at him the whole time? 

YES - There are always doubts about a budding relationship.

NO - Please don't make the 26-year-old female character sound like a high school teenager: yes he likes me, no he doesn't, yes, no, yes, no constantly. 

Also,  the punctuation and sentence structure didn't always jive; too many times the sentences were choppy and there were too many unnecessary exclamation points. It made the text read as juvenile. 

Purple prose. Too many times the prose got out of hand and I found myself skipping ahead a few lines.

Crepuscular? Who uses that word? As Beatrix Potter (Tales of Peter Rabbit) said, "the shorter and the plainer, the better."

I get irked when a love scene is so dragged out with too much thinking; the character is stopping in the middle of physical action to give us a treatise on life, love, and the future. 

I'm barely halfway through the book. I don't think the second half will be much different, but I'll finish it with the hope that it will improve. I'll let you know how it goes.

Char 

The End of Summer Vacation

 The end of August brings a few last hurrahs; swimming on the more rare hot days, planning the last summer BBQ/party for Labor Day, enjoying the final theatrical production of crickets and fireflies. Soon to come, if not already, there are chilly nights, back-to-school and work routines, and gearing down to indoor living. 

Those changes are happening in our house. Two sons return to college in the next few days, we're planning when to close the pool, and fall cleaning will soon commence. The biggest change for me will be that I will work for one year and nine months on one novel. No #NaNoWriMo this year. That one novel will be the project for my MFA- my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (emphasis on speculative writing- Science Fiction and Fantasy- with a minor emphasis on Romance). It's long been a dream of mine to get my Master's and with the chaos, uncertainty, and upheaval in the publishing sector (like many other sectors), I feel this is the time. My boys are pretty much independent and my husband retired, so this is 'me' time. I'll still be doing my blog, although I can't promise a better regularity. It may even get worse... I've cleaned out my office and files, set up new files for coursework, and have resigned from several groups, one being my critique group. It feels strange to pull back from them, but I know the demands of school will make me glad I did withdraw. 

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I will make one final book event appearance, at the beloved Collingswood Book Festival on October 2, 2021 (info https://www.collingswoodbookfestival.com/ ). It will be great to see old friends, make some new ones, talk writing, sign books, and generally have fun. I hope to see you there.

So, wish me luck, and I wish you all luck in your upcoming endeavors, and don't be afraid to send chocolate for those hard days to come.

Char