Writing Style Meme
I saw this writing style meme over on http://blog.jenwriter.com. Thought that it would be fun to share my writing style and get your feedback. Feel free to take it and share it on your own blog. Here we go …
What’s Your Writing Style?
1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”
Plotter. I usually know what is going to happen in each chapter before I sit down to write Chapter 1.
2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?
I like to do detailed character sketches of all my main characters … we need to be “good friends.” That doesn’t mean that I don’t learn something new about them as the story progresses; I always smile when I say to myself, “You never told me that,” or “I didn’t know that about you,” when I’m writing about a character. With minor characters to be “acquainted” with them is enough for me.
3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
Yes, for the main characters. And, sometimes for the minor characters, but it’s not important for me to know minor characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before I begin writing.
4. Books on plotting - useful or harmful?
Useful in that they give you another option in plotting. Harmful in that you can get locked into a model that isn’t true to you or your book.
5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
I’m 99 1/4% procrastinator. I think my greatest asset, curiosity, is also a great hindrance. When I do get started writing something I often go off in tangents researching, plotting, character sketching, setting research, surfing the internet …
6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
I can do both. Mornings when everyone in the house is still in bed or at night when they’ve all gone to bed and the house is quiet is when I can write for hours at a time. I also jot bits and pieces at stop lights, watching tv, while washing dishes … whenever an idea flashes across my mind. I always have paper and pen with me.
7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
I write whenever I get a free minute, even if I have to beg, borrow or steal it.
8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
I prefer it to be quiet. I can handle music, but people talking really drives me nuts. I can’t concentrate with people talking within ears-shot.
9. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
I can write with both. But, when I write longhand the words seem to flow freer and require less editing.
10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?
Most of the time I do. Sometimes it’s a surprise for me.
11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
No. I write what I like to read. And that changes frequently … that curiosity thing again.
12. Editing - love it or hate it?
I love editing. Through editing I can make my words shine. Problem is, I sometimes get stuck in trying to make my words perfect. Sometimes good enough, is good enough.
Until next time …
No day without a line!
“I’d Rather Be in the Studio!” An Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion
I was just on Cynthia Morris’ Original Impulse Blog this morning listening to her interview Alyson Stanfield, author of, “I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion.” I came away with some fresh insights that some writers might find hard to swallow. I know I did.
Ms. Stanfield said that as writers (and artists,) we need to get past the excuses. We must “want” to succeed as writers. To make a living as a writer you, must leave excuses behind. Otherwise, we will feel overwhelmed and won’t be able to complete our novels, plays, short stories or whatever projects we’re working on. It is the writing, not the money, that must motivate us.
A known artist coach, Ms. Stanfield shares encouraging insights that you can “do it,” and how to find the support you need to complete your project. You’ll also learn what to do when you get stuck in the creative process, as we all do at some time. Every writer, every artist needs to get a copy of this book.
Until next time …
No day without a line!
10 Web 2.0 Sites for Writers
Below is a list of 10 Social Media Sites specifically for writers. On these sites you can upload, share, bookmark and market your books (be sure to check out their policies before blatantly marketing your books. Follow proper netiquette). Social Media Sites are a hot book marketing tactic.
Social Media Marketing is getting big. Even large book publishers like Random House/Crown Publishing, Harper Perennial and Putnam are starting to use Web video and social media to market their books. Just take a look at this episode at The New Media Minute for more details.
Social Media Marketing brings higher rankings and more targeted traffic. Give it a try and let me know what you think in a comment. If I missed a Social Media Site that you think would be useful for writers, post it in a comment.
I’d also like to thank @MargHamp and @sduffyphotos for their suggestions.
Here they are in no particular order …
http://www.shelfari.com/Create a virtual shelf to show off your books. Connect with your friends. Discover exciting new titles. Voice your opinion. All for free. Read. Share. Explore.
http://wordsy.com/
Strongly inspired by Digg.com. You can vote on stuff, and if more people vote on something it’ll get promoted to the homepage. There are many places on the web to find stuff about books and reading - like reviews, previews, discussions, newspaper articles, blog posts, videos, podcasts. Wordsy is a place to put it all together. And let you be the judge…
http://www.scribophile.com/
Scribophile is a community of writers just like you. Publish your works and get valuable critiques and feedback from their writing community. Read the works of other authors and write helpful critiques. Interact and grow with a vibrant community of authors and poets. And, when you’ve put the finishing touches on your work, publish it as a PDF eBook.
http://ficlets.com/
A ficlet is a short story that enables you to collaborate with the world. Once you’ve written and shared your ficlet, any other user can pick up the narrative thread by adding a prequel or sequel. In this manner, you may know where the story begins, but you’ll never guess where (or even if!) it ends.
http://www.facebook.com
Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.
Note: When you sign up for Facebook, send me a friend request. I enjoy connecting with writers.
http://beta.booklamp.org/
BookLamp.org is a system for matching readers to books through an analysis of writing styles. Similar to the way that Pandora.com matches music lovers to new music. Do you like Stephen King’s It, but thought it was too long? The technology behind BookLamp allows you to find books that are written with a similar tone, tense, perspective, action level, description level, and dialog level, while at the same time allowing you to specify details like… half the length.
http://issuu.com/
Issuu is the place for online publications: Magazines, catalogs, documents, and stuff you’d normally find on print. It’s the place where YOU become the publisher: Upload a document, it’s fast, easy, and totally FREE. Find and comment on thousands of great publications. Join a living library, where anyone finds publications about anything and share them with friends.
http://www.22books.com/
22books is dedicated to the creating, sharing, and viewing of book lists. Start out by browsing some of the featured lists to the left and then open a free account and start creating lists of your own.
http://www.booktagger.com/
Tired of cruising bookstores trying to judge a book by its cover? Now you can ask those who’ve read it before. Booktagger is an online bookshelf application to list the books you’ve read and to share them with others.
http://www.mixbook.com/
Mixbook was started with the idea that friends should be able to create books together. Though Mixbook software makes book creation easy and fun, it also allows groups of people to build books together. Now friends finally have a way to share their memories online!
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Until next time …
No day without a line!
3 Tools for Increasing Your Productivity
With my goals for 2008 set and put into writing, my thoughts have turned to “how do I keep moving forward on all of these outrageous goals for 2008?”
I must confess up front that I’m a good starter of things but not a good finisher. I have great ideas, but poor follow through. Overcoming this character flaw is also a goal of mine. I hereby solemnly swear to follow through to completion on all of the projects that I start. I’ll post frequent updates on how this is working out, so stay tuned.
Anyway, looking around my home office I re-discovered a few tools that, if I would use them to their fullest extent, would help me accomplish the goals that I set for myself. Here are the tools…
Tool Number - 1: 43 Folders
These are actually 43 hanging folders in the top drawer of my filing cabinet, not the website 43folders.com. They are numbered 1-31 and January-December. The numbered folders are for the days of the month and they are filed behind the folder of the current month, in this case January.
When some task comes across my desk or onto my monitor, I quickly review it. And, using one of “Getting Things Done,” author David Allen’s rules, “If it takes less than 2 minutes do it now,” I handle it. If it is something that requires more than 2 minutes, I decide when it has to be completed, open the corresponding folder, insert either a memo or the actual papers and forget about it. When that day arrives, I pull that folder out and do whatever is in it.
Today’s folder, the 15th, has only 4 items in it — a book marketing resource that I want to review, an affiliate program that I’m thinking about promoting, software that needs to be updated and a letter that needs answered. I also received a notice in the mail that one of my domains is due to expire in April, so I’ll file it in March, I don’t want to take any chances of it expiring.
Then I prioritize the items according to my written goals and do them. Nothing gets lost or forgotten. As a folder is emptied it is moved to the next month.
Tool Number - 2: My Journal
I’ve kept notes of some sort for as long as I can remember. Most often on scraps of paper, and even an occasional napkin, all thrown into boxes. Where, as you can imagine, I can never find what I’m looking for.
Several years ago I learned how to keep a journal from one of my mentors, Jim Rohn. My current journal is a red, 8 ¼” x 5 ¼”, hardcovered book with lined pages. In it I record any useful information that I come across during the day. It may be the lyrics from a song, quotes from a book or a blog that I am reading or even my own observations and flashes of “genius.”
To get the most out of your journal you have to do more than just write in it. You need to read and review it. That way, what you’ve recorded becomes part of you and you can put it to use in your day-to-day decisions.
When should you review your journal? That’s a good question. Mr. Rohn advises, and I agree, that you should review each day’s entries at the end of the day. Review each week’s entries at the end of the week. Review each month’s entries at the end of the month. And, you guessed it, each year’s entries at the end of the year. All of this reviewing does take some time, but I think you will find the time invested will return dividends beyond your expectations.
One more thing, I record the date, time and place I’m at with each entry. This helps give the entry meaning when I do my reviews.
Tool Number - 3: Kitchen Timer
My final tool, believe it or not, is a simple digital kitchen timer. I use it to set deadlines on tasks I am performing.
For example, I might give myself 30 minutes to check email, research an idea, read some blog posts or whatever. At the beginning of the task I set the timer and dig in. When the timer goes off, I stop. Without the looming deadline I often get sidetracked and forget about the other things I need to accomplish that day. The next thing I know, it’s time to call it a day. And there are still 4 more things I wanted to accomplish. These self-imposed deadlines are a powerful tool that helps to keep me focused on the task at hand. In a comment on Problogger.net, Millionaire Mommy Next Door agrees that her “favorite productivity tool is a digital kitchen timer … The timer keeps me focused, motivated and targeted on the individual task at hand.” Even self-made millionaires use kitchen timers;-).
Why do I use a digital timer? You can’t believe how loud and distracting the tick-tock, tick-tock of a mechanical timer can be when you are trying to concentrate. Believe me when I say that it can stop you in your tracks.
Well, these are three of the tools I plan on using more throughout the remainder of this year to keep me focused and on track as I work to complete the challenging goals that I have set for myself. If you have a favorite tool, please share it in a comment.
Technorati Tags: Goals | Productivity | Time Management | Writing Tips |
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