Critiques

Posted on September 19, 2011 by fairysockmother

We all like to feel we’ve written the perfect manuscript, but it’s always better to get a second opinion. When you are immersed in the creative process, it’s hard to spot inconsistencies in your own work. Readers will find the holes in your plots, the unanswered questions, and all those loose ends, you somehow never tied up. When it comes to constructive criticism, some is good but more is better. A critique group will not only support you emotionally, it will make you a better writer. You don’t have to take everyone’s suggestions but weigh each one carefully. The members of your critique group are a microcosm. If they have doubts about your work so may an editor. Don’t fall in love with your own words. There is nothing that can’t be improved; be humble enough to admit it.

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Cliffhangers

Posted on September 10, 2011 by fairysockmother

Cliffhangers keep your reader interested. A micro-cliffhanger at the end of each chapter makes your book hard to put down. It yanks the reader into the story and holds him there. When a chapter ends with urgency or uncertainty, it provides a springboard not closure. The reader desperately wants to know what will happen next. Cliffhangers turn a novel into a page-turner! It’s every writer’s dream to have someone rapidly tearing through his or her book to discover the dénouement!

A cliffhanger at the end of book, especially a book in a series, takes on an entirely different twist. Sometimes, it’s just plain mean! While you want your readers to be frantically preordering the next installment, you don’t want to make them angry. It’s hard to wait a year or longer to find out what happens in Book 2, especially if there’s a chance your favorite character is dead! Show your readers a little mercy. Make each book complete unto itself but leave some tantalizing bits unexplained. Leave the door open; give a foreshadowing of who is waiting on the threshold; but don’t leave the hero bleeding on the floor!

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And the Title is…

Posted on September 3, 2011 by fairysockmother

Great titles keep leaping out at me from the oddest places this week! I’ve stockpiled eight of them since Monday! They hint at new mysteries, fantasies, fairytales, and picture books. They are like a diving board into a pool of infinite possibilities. Characters and plots swirl around me, leading to uncharted depths. Oh, for a few more lifetimes to write!

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Which Comes First: Plot or Characters?

Posted on August 27, 2011 by fairysockmother

It is amazing how little it takes to spark the concept for a story or a novel. Sometimes a simple conversation or a news story makes me wonder, what if, and I’m off plotting some new project.  More often, it is a casual meeting with a stranger that ignites my creativity.  Without conscious effort, a new character begins to form in my imagination and I have to get him down on paper before that fleeting glimpse is gone. For it is characters that most often drive my stories. Once a character becomes real to me, he or she writes the story, often acting and reacting in ways I would never have imagined. I have never learned to write with the restraint of an outline. It is only after knowing my characters thoroughly that they entrust me with their fates, and allow me to tell their stories.

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Wordsmiths

Posted on August 20, 2011 by fairysockmother

I love the term “wordsmith.” It implies a level of expertise and creativity that we, as writers, crave. It means never settling for less than the right word in every sentence. There is more to it than selecting the correct word; it is about nuances of meaning and the sibilance of consonants and vowels coming together at just the proper time. Being a wordsmith exacts the highest quality of work, tweaking each sentence until it sings, or moans, or sobs for mercy. Just as silversmiths heated, and hammered, and bent their material into objects that were not only useful but beautiful, we are called to give nothing less than our best in everything we write. Remember, that even when we are required to make mutliple revisions of the same manuscript, we are not only perfecting our work but our craft.

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Technology and Writing

Posted on August 14, 2011 by fairysockmother

The first time I submitted a children’s book I had to ask my aunt to type the manuscipt for me. Thank heavens, I got a computer soon after that. I can’t even imagine writing a novel on a typewriter. I tweak my manuscripts constantly. I’m always playing with words and rearranging them. I would never be able to finish tweaking long enough to type the final draft. Now, everyone has the means to become a writer even if he or she  has to use a public access computer at the local library. Where will technology take us in the next 20 years? Maybe in the future we will only have to think and our words will appear on a computer screen! That’s scary. It would add a whole new aspect to “keeping your mind on your work.”

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Multitasking

Posted on August 13, 2011 by fairysockmother

I am working on three writing projects and reading two books
at the same time. My conversational ability has begun to suffer with my mind awash
in characters, plots, and settings. If you ask me a question, please excuse my
hesitation before answering.

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Writers and Ivory Towers

Posted on August 5, 2011 by fairysockmother

Sometimes writers crave isolation – peace and quiet to work undisturbed – but I often find my best insights come from interaction with lots of people and places. While I may secretly long for an ivory tower, it is only by constantly exposing myself to a variety of situations that new ideas flow freely. A movie, a church service, dinner with friends, a walk in the woods, shopping, or listening to music can suddenly help me to see my work from a completely different perspective. A day filled with lots of different activites sends me diving for my computer with my mind overflowing with new possibilities!

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The Writing Process

Posted on July 30, 2011 by fairysockmother
  • My stories first emerge on junk mail, paper napkins, the margins of bulletins from church or theater programs. To begin with they are isolated bits of dialogue, plots, description, or the name of a truly awesome character. Then, like puzzle pieces they start to mesh together, interlocking to form a cohesive whole and acquiring a life of their own. How cool is that???
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Summer Morning

Posted on July 27, 2011 by fairysockmother

It’s blissfully cool and quiet this morning. There are three pale yellow water lilies in the pond and a green frog, no bigger than a quarter, blinking in the water mint. Overhead, a small red squirrel stuffs his cheeks with mulberries! It’s hard to leave such beauty for an impersonal computer keyboard.

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