National Novel Writing Month

I'm not doing it. I've done it for the last four years. Won three of those. And never did another thing with the stories. It's just too much work for me to feel like going back through those stories and editing them into something actually worth reading.

It wasn't a total loss. I learned a lot over time about plotting, about adding words regularly, about how I can push myself to work on my stories.

I'm going to be writing throughout November, anyway. Except, rather than the breakneck pace of 1,667 words per day that NaNoWriMo demands (for victory at least), I'm going to set my minimum word count for 500 words. Each and every day. I'm even going to start before November does. I'm not going to leave crappy scenes or misdirections in my text just for the sake of wordcount.

I really don't care for editing. I prefer to get the story pretty well the first time through. This often includes backing up, ripping whole chunks and chapters out of the story, and redoing the same section more than once (or twice.) It takes me longer to get there, but since editing to me often means ripping out chunks of story and going a completely different direction in this one scene and now the rest of the story is wrong and has to be ripped out too, it's not really worth writing to the 'end' or writing a large chunk if I'm not sure this one scene is right. (This strategy only works if you CAN make it to the end, rather than endlessly revising.)

I admire the people who find editing to be less daunting and can tear apart a finished story. I usually can't salvage much of a previous version. Some peices, but because scene A is changed, this exchanged in scene B doesn't make sense... and so on and so on.

I think NaNoWriMo can be a great learning tool for some people. Teaching them that they CAN *make* time to write, if they really want it, for example. And depending on the person, there are other lessons. But, after several years, I'm finding that it just doesn't accomplish what I'm looking for.

Good luck to any one participating in the frenzy of writing that is NaNoWriMo. May you learn much about yourself and your writing.

Indentification

Apparently, I'm the odd one out.

Again.

Apparently, most readers want to follow a character who they can identify with. One who shares flaws or fears with them. One who is like them in some ways.

I don't. When I read, I want to escape. If I wanted to be reminded of my own shit, I wouldn't be reading. I'd be pretending to deal with my own shit. The only trait I like to share with the characters is that of self-sufficiency or competence.

I read to escape. For a little voyeurism. To get into someone else's life, skin, and flaws. To get away from my own.

I've no interest in a story revolving around a teacher. I've watched some of those feel-good teacher-changes-the-world movies and they just leave me flat. I'm not likely to be changing the world. I will change individual lives and that's the best I hope for. I'll never get my motley crew of students to all ace the ACT (or Michigan Merit Exam) next go-round. Hell, I'm lucky if I can get them to read three whole novels in the course of a semester.

I don't want to read about failed relationships or people who only whine about their failed lives and poor choices. I want to read about action, adventure, mystery, and other people getting by in life. I prefer stories where people are doing at least okay in their lives, not fucking it up.

Now, either I just write it poorly, or what I write just doesn't go over with the average reader. I know that I'm not including these fatal flaws-- though Bo does have some pretty serious flaws-- but I also don't dump them out at the beginning of the book. It's not a massive bitch-fest about how horrible her life has been.

Like me, Bo has a tendency to focus on what she can and will deal with now. She doesn't spend much time lamenting what happened before. She focuses on the her work, current problems, and honestly, tries to avoid spending much time on things she can't deal with-- her past. Maybe this just doesn't (or hasn't) translated to the page well.

But I'm still getting feedback-- occasionally-- that deals with this issue. And I'm not sure how to reconcile it. Do I try to write is as people expect or do I hold fast to my vision of Bo. Do I write for readers or for myself. It's a tough choice. I'm still going to pretend I can do a little from column A and a little from column B.

And it may just mean it takes longer to get published. Good thing I have this cushy teaching job... oh, wait. There's nothing cushy about it. Damn.

Professional v. Profanity

I'm starting to fear that being professional is a lost art to some kids these days. And some grown ups. Particularly in the age of insta-communication-- emails and texts written without forethought or afterthought.

My students usually smile when I tell them during the first day song and dance that I understand that profanity becomes habit. They smile and nod to each other. Then they get all flummoxed when I tell them taht I can out-swear the best of them. And I could. I can string profanity and vulgarities together in a way to make even the most bad ass high school wigger stop and stare. But I also know when not to use it.

When I'm heavy into writing, I notice that my speech pattern is altered a bit. I use more big words, even in the classroom than otherwise. I'm also more prone to being vulgar and shocking. Though you'd think my Hubby would be used to the things that come out of my mouth... even writing the words makes those speech patterns seep into my speech.

I don't have any real problem cleaning up my foul mouth for teaching (good thing!) though the occasional snarky line does sneak out. Luckily, each time it was with students that found it more amusing to hear such a thing from their teacher than offensive to hear it in school.

Nor do I have any problem writing polite, professional emails. In fact, I have a hard time being ME in email. I'm usually in something similar to "teacher-mode" that's nice, polite, and proofreads twenty-seven times to make sure that what I've written has a very high likelihood of coming across as intended.

I do, however, have trouble cleaning up my fiction for those markets that request things that way. I don't write clean by nature. To clean up, I usually go back in edits. And when I'm done, I always feel like the color has been bleached out of the story. Sometimes I think taht should I release a collection of Bo Fexler stories someday, that I'd go back and re-write the profanity and vulgarities back where they 'belong.'

Of course, the funniest part of all this, is I only swear at top strength around Hubby and a few other select people who I know don't find it offensive in anyway. I respect their right to not heard my creative use of bad words. But, man, they are missing out on some great lines...

Teasing

I know my own ethics... but it's been interesting exploring Bo's. What is she willing to do, how far is she willing to go-- both professionally (if one could call seducing people for profit 'professional') and personally.

Even when I set Bo off to seduce one or more men, like a story I'm currently working on, there's still the question of just what that seduction entails. Do clothes stay on? Is petting and kissing enough? Do clothes start to come off? Which clothes-- and whose?

There's also the issue of what would really happen. I get some women complaining that men don't just make out with a hot women. And it's true that many men won't-- though most men I've talked to about it admit that they might play for awhile, entertaining the idea (and themselves). Can't really blame anyone for that. Hell, if a hot woman tried seducing me, I might play along for a while, too... what?

Like any writer, I sometimes worry about disappointing my readers-- they expect more than Bo gives, maybe she stops before she's (or he's) done. But in the end, the story dictates. The story needs what it needs.

The current short I'm working on-- while trying to find my way back into the novel I had to temporarily abandon-- is giving me trouble. I know it's going to be sexy, but I'm not sure how low Bo's going to go. Or how to resolve the conflict-- after all, there's more to the story than just sex. There's a conflict, a reason for Bo to pull out her sex appeal, a case to be solved.

But I am SO glad that my mind is occupied with story lines and plot problems instead of all the things that previously took over. I miss writing and am glad to be back at it.

Writing Something Else

Sometimes I wish I didn't write the way I do. Maybe if I wrote sparkly vampires or happy characters or something I would have an easier time getting publisher (or agented.)

Sometimes, I also wish I was taller. At 5'6.75 inches, I'm a little shorter than I would like to be. And, technically, I'm not quite "tall" in women's clothing-- the magic number we're looking for is 5'7". Too short to be "tall," too tall to be average. (But we'll stay away from that bane of my existence: clothes shopping.)

Neither one is likely to change. For better or for worse.

Aside from the fact that I like writing Bo Fexler stories, I realize that I'm just not that talented of a writer. I can't change voices. I write first person for a character-- Bo-- who is akin to me and my thinking in many ways. Much of her thinking is mine, only exaggerated or bent or such. But she does get to say all the cool lines that I only think of ten minutes after the opportunity has passed. And she's sexy and confident. It's fun.

But I have enough trouble getting into the heads of my minor characters just to portray them well in opposition to Bo. I have to think long and hard about their motivation. Even writing a character who I know is lying to Bo is hard, because I have to keep reminding myself of the character's motivation even for lying.

Now, it's either my writing in general, my storytelling, or my character (who isn't as much fun in PG format), but I'm not cracking into the top, most prestigious mystery fiction markets. Sometimes, I'd like to know why-- when I'm insulating myself, I'll maintain that it's because of Bo's sexy and smart ass female character. But there's always that niggling doubt that I'm just a hack. Hell, I can't even break into the erotica market... which I thought might have been easy with one oft-rejected story.

I haven't given up on Bo. And someone'll be prying my cold dead hands off my keyboard before I stop writing in general. Someday, maybe I'll be a better writer and be able to write a character that's not Bo Fexler. So far, it hasn't happened. Even my attempts last NaNoWriMo to write a new character ended up still feeling like a version of Bo.

Some days, it would be nice to be able to write something that could hit the big time. Some days, I'd really like that sort of validation of my writing ability.

Until then, at least I enjoy what I do.

Why I Write Mysteries

I started writing mysteries because it was the first genre that I could plot. It made sense-- and it was easier, for me, to figure out the plot. Simply put-- there was a crime and the resolution was the solving of that crime.

Before that, I'd always struggled with coming up with conflict. Or at least with conflict that was important enough to make a story about. Or I'd have a conflict, but could never figure out how to solve it.

But mysteries came easy to me.

It was how I cut my teeth, gnawing on the edges of fairly simple investigations.

I still write mysteries, but I think I've also scooted over a bit to straddle the line with crime stories. Some of the stories don't have anything to do with the solving of a crime-- the conflict comes from something else. Lately, because of a sadistic trend in my writing, the conflict has involved sticking Bo in some difficult situation and trying for her to talk, fight, or, um, sex, her way out of it.

Maybe I'm getting better at this writing thing. Maybe someday I'll be able to write other genres successfully. Maybe it doesn't matter, because mysteries are where my heart is. There's something in the detection-- and, in many detective stores, the lack of personal involvement (I get tired of angst. ;-)-- that appeals to me.

But, it's still nice to think that I'm improving in this writing thing. Even if I "only" ever write mysteries and crime stories.

Where to Start

When starting a series of books, there are two ways to start. With, say, a detective, like Bo is, the series could start with Bo becoming a private investigator. First cases, that sort of thing. Or, the series could start after she's established.

On a related note, I've happened across what may be a trend in book series starting with some very personal change or event in the main character's life. This seems to be more common than something like "The Big Sleep" where the book is just another case, another day. No earth-shattering, life-changing event.

So, when I look at the first book for Bo's novel series, I have to decide to start in the beginning or not. Start with something personal or not. I'm thinking that something personal may be non-negotiable. Seems to me that readers tend to prefer something personal, some reason to root for the character, beyond just another day at work.

The idea of starting a story at the beginning is curious to me. I remember my first days at work, as much as I've tried to block them from my mind. First days, first weeks, hell, with some jobs, it's the first years, are not very good. I don't see anything enjoyable about writing or reading a character fumbling around, screwing up, and otherwise being a newbie on the job. I read to escape, not to be reminded of myself.

Not surprisingly, I started her series later. Past those awkward first days of being a private eye, past screwing up, getting evicted for non-payment of rent, and other problems. Part of Bo's character and appeal-- for me at least-- is her confidence. Confidence is sexy...

But how to reconcile this starting later point with the personal life-changing event thing?

Well, that worked itself out quite nicely, actually. When I first started writing Bo, I always wanted to put her in Michigan. I'm kind of fond my Mitten-shaped state. But Michigan law requires a private investigator to be 25. And have several years of experience. So I sent her to Ohio, which worked out because it is harder to trace a person across state lines. That means I can write Bo's return to Michigan as the life changing event. With some traumatic backstory and some hard decisions.

Only problem was that I didn't realize this trend/ tendency for personal stuff in the first novel until after I had written the first Bo Fexler novel... Luckily, I'm versatile if nothing else. I'll fix this problem.

(Actually, I was in the process of fixing it when my grad school course turned into a Time Sucking Black Hole. =/ Well, break's over. Back to homework.)

Name Game

There's nothing quite like coming up with a cast of characters for a piece of fiction. In writing shorter fiction, I learned to trim names and even characters to make things easier to keep track of.

In the novel, some of this has gone out the window. In the novel, it's a complete investigation-- and a complex one-- that leads Bo to do what investigators do best. Talk to people. And many of these people need names.

I usually grab a first name and run with it. I try not to make my first names too similar, and also try to limit the number of character's whose names start with the same first letter. This could be a little overly cautious, but I know how lazy I can be as a reader.

The amount of Star Wars novels I consumed during my late high school years certainly shaped my naming practices. One of the things that perpetually drove me nuts were letter combination that I couldn't pronounce or even come up with a reasonable pronunciation. So a character ends up being thought of as something else. Like "That C-guy." I'm sure that's what the authors were going for... but I have some choice words for the authors on this matter.

So, now, coming up with surnames for characters, I still recall those tongue twisters I read. And I don't do it. In fact, I'm heading into territory of really easy names. I try to throw in some ethnic names, but only if they're easy on the tongue.

In fact, I cheat. I took one of the old phone books and brought it up to my office. And when I'm in need of a name, I flip open the phone book and scan the page. If I don't find a good name there, I flip to a different section and letter and try again. Then I steal the name. Bwahahaha!

I do try to avoid picking a name where there's only one of them in the County. And I don't put them in the same city-- so if Sleazeball Character is in Brighton, I would not select a surname listed with a Brighton address.

The names I pick don't mean anything. While I occasionally have some connotation with names, it's very light. I worry more about upsetting someone by writing them as a nasty character than I do about my own connotation. Besides, connotation is so malleable. In fact, for me the name Bo is now completely inseparable from the kick ass female character Bo Fexler. So much so, that I forget at times that Bo is actually a male name.

Markets and Writing

Sometimes, I write a story with a particular market in mind. Not all the time. Some stories just write themselves.

Some writers recommend writing with a market in mind. Which, admittedly I did when I wrote "Bosom Buddies." Except, now I'm screwed. And not in the good way.

"Bosom Buddies" is one of those stories that really only fits in a small number of markets. Gratutitus sex and violence. Both which serve the plot, but certainly intended to be raw, titillating thrills.

Except the market it was "written for" is currently closed to subs. Looks like it's going to be that way for a while.

My second choice declined.

It's too violent for erotica. To erotic for, well, just about anyone else. And too long for many of the remaining sites. Or so's my conclusion at this point.

So, I'm going down the list. Hoping to make a few bucks off it, if possible. I'm at that point, I think, in my writing career where I'd like to see if I can't swim with the bigger fish. Maybe even make enough money to bother reporting it on my income taxes.

I like screwing myself as much as the next person, but I hate doing it with a perfectly good story. Paper cuts, you know...

Arbitrary Goals

I'm a goal setter. When I sit down to write a story, I have a target length in mind for it. For example when I attempt Patti's flash fiction challenges, I set the goal at 750 words (or whatever limit Patti has set.)

Sometimes the story idea itself is what I use to set the word count goal. Some stories are short ideas. Some are long. Usually it has to do with the complexity of the problem and also a rather arbitrary thing call "What I feel like." Sometimes, I pair the idea with a possible market, and the market determines the target word length.

But these lengths are not set in stone. I won't force a story into a smaller-- or larger-- box just because that's the goal I set. I may write a story too long for a 750 word goal, then attempt to pare down. Sometimes it works and I get a nice succinct story with no extraneous words. Sometimes, I get a half-assed, half-hacked story that I then restore to a more appropriate length.

I also set word counts for the novels. The current novel (which doesn't have a title *twitch*) has a target goal of 70,000 words. Short and full of action. Just how I want it... The first novel, which is walking the streets looking for an agent, originally came in about 72,000 words. A few revisions later and it's about 75,000 words. I hope the current novel will work out the same way.

For the novel, having a word count does two things. One, it gives me milestones. It's like crossing things off the to-do list. I like to have measurable progress. The other thing it does is it gives me a framework to hang my plot on. I know that about 20k the novel should be hip deep in shit. In the 40s, it should be knee deep and Bo should be solidly on the tail of the bad guy. In the 50s and 60s I have the climactic showdown between Bo Fexler and the bad guy. And in the late 60s, I'm wrapping up.

Nothing set in stone, ever, but it gives me something to measure with. Am I where I should be? Is the story moving too slow, to fast? Having a word count gives me a guage to measure the story against until the climax is written and the story (near) finished.

Sometimes I think I should just outline the damn things... but I dont' follow the outline. When I sit to write, the words come and I follow them like a gingerbread trail. Or maybe it's an Alphabits trail. I don't mind. It means writing a story is a little like reading it: I don't know what's going to happen until I get there.

Need for Creativity or Logic?

While starting a story takes creativity, I'm going to make the argument that continuing-- and finsihing-- a story takes more logic than creativity. The dominoes are all set up, creatively, and there is really only a small number of logical conclusions to the scenario. Especially in crime fiction, I think this holds true.

Crimes are solved more through deduction than imagination. Put together the motive, the opportunity, the means, and the answer comes out. Once a story is set up-- then it becomes a matter of figuring out, from the clues already there, what the most likely scenario is.

Add in the normal facts that crime solvers use-- like how most crimes are committed by someone who knows the victim, and that murders are usually committed by a current or past lover, and it becomes easier to play out the scenarios. There's still some creativity, I suppose, in making up these situations for imaginary people, but stealing from real life doesn't take much creativity. (Watching Court Tru TV will help with this angle.)

A conflict has been presented-- what is the most likely conclusion? What has happened in real life? How can that fit with the story? What if? And what happens next?

Even "uncreative" people can solve mysteries when presented with the clues. So to can writers who've set up the conflict in their own writing.

Bias alert?-- Whenever I take those right/ left brain quizzes, I come up more left-brained. Except it's the right brain that is supposed to be the creative side. As in, writers tend to be more right brained than left. Except me. =) But I guess that just proves that writing CAN be a logical process so much as it is a creative process.

I've Been Here Before...

Every writer has their particular trouble spots. Some writers revise the beginning.

I tend to keep my beginnings. My pattern is to get to the climax without much trouble. Then, I tend to stop for a while, gathering my wits (ha!) and figuring out the best way to end the story. I'll write an ending. Then, let it stew for awhile. Depending on my gut feeling about the story as a whole, I may revise the beginning part, may even send the story off to my beta reader.

Sometimes, the end part stays. But, more off than not, I trash the ending and write a whole new version, from climax (or shortly thereafter) to final line. It's not so bad in a short story. But scrapping the end of a novel is rough. That's, like, nearly 20k words!

I'm hoping, now that I've just strutted past the 50k mark in the current Bo Fexler novel, that I won't do what I usually do. But, chances are pretty good that I will still be me. And I will probably end up writing the ending of the current novel twice. It's a little discouraging at this point.

I've tried plotting out the end, then writing it. I've tried waiting a few days to let the idea gestate before putting it down. But time and time again, it doesn't matter. I have to write the ending twice. At least.

Do you have any such writing quirks?

Half-Way Point

Some writers agonize over the beginning of a story. I don't start writing until a good starting line shows up. Until then, the idea will bounce around, maybe get jotted down for later, but it waits until it's ready to begin.

Some writers get in a slump about 20k words into a novel. You know, past the giddy euphoria of starting a new project, introducing the characters, and the point where you have to actually figure out what the hell you're writing about. Maybe it's the type of stories I write-- the Bo Fexler mysteries-- but I tend to push through these parts. I just send Bo talking to people and digging up dirt until something shows up. (Thank you, Brain!)

Some writers get stuck at the halfway point, unsure of how to get to the climax and then resolve all those delightful problems they set up for their characters. Okay, I'm one of those. Since my problems never resolve themselves without me doing something about it, I'll fret and think and muse over the ending until I find a suitable one. And then I keep going. These tend to be some of the hardest words in a story for me. But once over the hump, it's usually pretty easy. The end is in sight, I know how to get there, and it's just a matter of finishing.

Some writers have trouble finishing. They don't know how to let go of their project. They are afraid it won't be good enough. I used to deal with this a bit, once upon a time. Now, having successfully written a slew of stories that were publishable, I feel pretty confident in my ability to judge my work long before I get to the end. I have a little trouble with closing lines-- that last zinger that matches the tone of the story, maybe has a little Bo snark to it, but doesn't read like literary Limburger.

So, going back to my post title. I am at the halfway point of my current novel in progress. I set a target word count of 70k words and have recently passed the 40k mark. I'm in that ever important middle of the story where I need to set everything up for the climax and the climactic show down. Yeah, no pressure...

Some of the set-up scenes come easy, exciting as I get to find out what's happening next in the story. Some of the set-up scenes are tough because no longer can I use vagueries-- I have to KNOW who did what, when, and where. Bleh.

Still, I am enjoying myself with this novel. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. ;-)

What's your least favorite part of a story?

Tracking Submissions

Inevitably the joy and agony of writing a story comes to an end and something must be done with it. Seeking publication is almost a job in and of itself. Luckily I tend to read the same zines that I submit to, so that part of the research is done. (Though it does get awful hard to keep up with the turnover rate of zines!)

Usually, I have several stories in various states of completion (done, done and edited, and submission ready.) It is imperative to keep track of where these stories are submitted and when.

Surprisingly, I'm still old school on my short story submissions. I'm not sure why, but I just haven't moved to keeping track of them on the computer.

I created a table in Word with title of publication on the left, date submitted in the center column, and response on the right. There's room at the top for the title of the story and I usually write the word count on the bottom (for easy reference.)

I print these sheets out a couple at a time, keeping spares on hand. They're in a folder with those little prongs in the middle. I jot the information in where appropriate. Some stories are accepted early and easy. Others take a couple rejections. I've had a couple that filled the whole page. Once the story is accepted, I wait until publication. Upon publication, I move the tracking sheet to "The Binder" (insert trumpet fanfare) and print the story off in hardcopy.

As for novel submissions, it's all electronic. I have an Excel spreadsheet with the agent name, agency, any notes on preference, how to query (I admit liking equeries. As much as anyone can like queries at all!) and expected wait time for responses, especially for those that say "No response in 6 weeks means no." Then, I enter the date queried. I use a different color for each batch because I'm a little odd that way. I've been querying in batches of 5 or 6. Then, I log the response. (22 rejections out of 25 queries so far.)

And, looking back through these recrods, I see that it was early 2006 that I really started writing and attempting to publish short stories. It seems so long ago, and yet so short.

(Today's Demotivators are brought to you by 101reasonstostopwriting. =)

Mundane Details v. Character Traits

What a character eats for breakfast says something about them. As does what they wear. I expect a character in tight leather pants to act differently than I do a character in a suit. And a character who eats leftover whatever for breakfast is different than one who has a carefully measured bowl of Extra Fiber-Os with organic orange juice.

But there's a line between showing character traits and just giving mundane details. If you've already introduced the character as being Queen of the Microwave, I don't need to know that on Monday she microwaved a Lean Cuisine Entree, on Tuesday it was a Stoufer's Entree, on Wednesday it one of those meal-in-a-bags and on Thursday it was Campbell's Soup (in the conveninent cook-eat-toss cup.) By Thrusday, I'm skimming the dinner passage thinking "blah blah dinner, what's next?" Esp. since by Thursday, we should be into the heart of the book were GOOD stuff is happening.

If the reader is diddling with me by stopping for dinner as way to prolong the story (and kidding everyone by calling it "character development") I'm going to start to get Cranky. By the middle of the book, the character is either developed, or the writer has flunked out of Noveling 201. So, leave out the dinner details and get back to the plot.

So, what do I propose the writer does for Thursday's dinner? Worst case, just breezily mention, "Character threw dinner in the microwave." Better-- skip past dinner-making. Skip past dinner and cut to the next scene.

Instead of...
"I scanned the shelves and finally selected a can of Campel''s Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup. I pulled the pop-top, poured it into a microwavable safe bowl, and put dinner in the microwave. While it was cooking, I gathered a drink, some potatoe chips, a spoon and a napking and set those things on the table. Just after I did so, the microwave chirped. As I sat down to eat, my phone rang. It was Officer Smith calling about the injured girl from earlier. She didn't make it."

That was hard to write. My inner-editor-- who is vulgar and vocal-- kept berating me for writing it even as I told her that it was just an example. She finally blew me a raspberry and shut up.

So, the better version.
"As I sat down to eat another microwaved dinner, my phone rang. It was Officer Smith calling about the injured girl from earlier. She didn't make it."

If I want to read about mundane details of people's lives, there's always facebook and twitter for that. Or certain blogs. If I'm reading a book, I'm there for the not-mundane. I'm there for the story. Develop the character in the early chapters with only the necessisties, then, dear author, get the hell out of the way and let the story play out. Please.

The same goes for describing the character's clothes every time they get dressed, descriptions of the character, the character's house, and backstory that has already been explained. The last must be done carefully because, in my opinion, little reminders are helpful for busy readers who may not remember everything from the beginning when the end arrives. Though, a sense of the character, I'll already have without another description of the character's car, purse, or predicament.

Not surprisingly, I'm very careful and sometimes sparse in my own storytelling and details. Write what you enjoy, they say.

How We Talk and What We Say

I love the versatility of words. I love playing with expected meanings and interpretations. Usually I play with them on paper because I don't think too quick on my feet in that regard. With the exception of making sexual innuendo, but I usually reserve that for my Hubby since not every appreciates good sexual innuendo.

One thing that is interesting to talk about is how I finished high school. There is great differences in connotation if I say that I dropped out versus if I say that I finished early. There's even a difference if I simple state that I finished early or if I say that I took my GED. The end results were the same-- I left a situation that bored the stuffing out of me and went on to be a successful college student and, if I may be so bold as to even say I'm a good teacher.

Of course what I choose to say also reflects something on me. I admit that in settings where it's not expected, I do like the shock value of telling people that the reasonably articulate, published author beside them dropped out of high school. Heh.

This sort of thing plays out in writing, as well. Not only do I look at what the character did, including motivation, but how do they talk about it? Bo is the best for pure ambiguity. She doesn't reveal much of anything to anyone (except maybe Axel) and the things she does say can often be taken to mean something else.

But other characters are fun to explore too. I like taking on different personas (in a miniature form) as I write characters and pick their words. From the self-righteous woman who very openly condemns the choices of others to the metrosexual guy who finds away to talk about himself in every sentences.

Now, the only problem is that I spend a dreadful lot of time on fairly minor characters. These characters show up for a conversation, maybe a second round later, but they're only a passing part of the story as Bo conducts her investigation. But yet, I'll work out the most trivial details related to their personality and choices. Down to the coffee ordered... and I don't even DRINK coffee. I prefer my caffeine in the form of Diet Pepsi.

Wait for it...

I'm making great progress on a new Bo Fexler novel. Already 10k into it in seven days. Cool.

The plot is chugging along nicely, with the pieces falling into place faster than I can write them at the moment. This is much nicer than those stories where plotting comes slow, hard, and painful.

But there's a problem. Not a huge problem, per se. Part of it can be easily remedied in revisions. See, Bo's investigating this case, but she's not really THERE. As in, the snark is missing, as is her commentary. Easy to fix on revision, but it's a little bothersome to be writing a story where the star character isn't really engaged in the story. Though, to be fair, she's just had her apartment burned down, taking with it nearly everything she owned. She's a little rattled and understandably so.

The other part of the problem is a noticable lack of sex or violence. I'm 10k in and there's nary a boob in sight and no one's gotten punched, kicked, or shoved. It's kind of strange. I look back over what I've written and the way the story has played out so far, there's really not much I can to do add those two characteristics. Maybe a little bit, here or there, but not much. Not without distorting or destroying what I happen to think is a solid storyline.

Now, I have every intention of including sex and violence as the book progresses, but it just isn't showing up early.

I wonder how fans of Bo Fexler will feel about that. How long can I hold you in suspense, waiting for a blow of either type? I don't mean to tease... well, not really. Not this time. Will you forgive me the wait if I make sure it's good?

Translating Ideas into Prose

Like many writers, I have an abundance of ideas. New ones, old ones, good ones, dubious ones, elaborate ones, and one-liners that may or may not make sense. Some are collected in a little box. Yeah, that one there. Plus I have a hefty folder on my computer.

But those ideas are in one language. The language of a laughing muse, who sprinkles ideas like fairy dust then flees off into the mist. And that laugh no longer seems fun. Some of those ideas don't seem to translate into the language of narratives.

I've got more than a few stories that I've started writing only to find that every single attempt is clunky, awkward, silly, or dull. Even if I know what to do with that idea, how to spin the yarn out into a sweater (or a straight-jacket. Though, I admit, the idea of a knitted straight-jacket amuses me. Anyway.) Even if I know what to do with the idea, how to make it a story, it just doesn't work.

I don't know if it's me-- if my execution is where the idea fails-- or if it's just that the great idea isn't so great actually. I admit to abandoning many ideas because I don't know how to care for them and help them grow up into full-grown stories. They wait, like unhatched eggs, for me to come back. Every now and again, I dust one of those old ideas off and find that, with a complete make over and some trimming, cutting, reworking, and reimagining, that it can be story. But then, is it really the same idea? Does it matter?

Some days, it seems so silly that I can't turn a certain idea into a story. Or that I'm just not working hard enough at it. Other days, that same idea seems silly and hardly worth time, let alone a couple hundred (or couple thousand) words.

And other times I spend more time thinking about how I write than actually writing. Um. Yeah. Anyway, with the aforementioned story 'Bosom Buddies' complete, I'm in the process of shifting gears and WIPs. I've got two stories in progress, a third idea that is just begging me to figure out how to put it into prose, and a sudden increase in free time. I'm like a polygamist trying to decide between pleaseing the angry spouse, enjoying the happy spouse, and making a move on the new love interest.

I'm done stalling. And out of analogies. ;-)

Pushing On Anyway

I don't believe in writer's block. I've never suffered from writer's block. I have, however, anguished with indecision, gotten bored with what I was writing, and even gotten stuck because I was forcing characters or plots the wrong way. These I can fix-- writer's block is a nebulous idea with no real solution. (To fix the problem, treat the cause, not the symptoms.)

My solution to these writerly problems is to keep working on the story. Sometimes, I'm not sure what exactly the problem is with the story. But I press on regardless. I may plot, scratching out new ideas, new plot points on scrap paper or at the end of the document. I may keep writing, churning out words and scenes that, hopefully, will be right for the story. Often in this, as I explore the characters and situations, I get a flash of insight into where the story needs to go. But I keep at it.

Why?

Why not?

The story ain't gonna finish itself. There are no story fairies that'll come in the night. (No Dish Fairies either, dammit.) Some people swear by letting an idea ferment. Maybe that works for them... I rarely get ideas for how to fix/ finish a story UNLESS I'm thinking about it with some sort of regularity or intensity. Just waiting doesn't solve problems for me, be they in fiction or elsewhere.

And on this note, I am happy to say that finally, I wrote the end of 'Bosom Buddies.' Again. Fourteen scrapped versions. Today alone saw the deletion of more than 1200 words, written only last night. As soon as I stopped writing last night, I knew in my little writer heart that what I had written needed to be excicesd. That came this morning, replaced with a new idea and 830 new words.

This damned story has vexed me for the better part of a year. I wrote it, but didn't like the climax. It was forced and put Bo in a position that I didn't like her in. So, I poked at it, rewrote it, edited it, restarted it, added, deleted, put it away, took it out, swore at it, swore about, and kept at it. Never once did I even entertain the thought of not finishing this story. I hate unfinished projects more than I hate giggly, vapid girls.

I spent most of the afternoon utterly delirious with delight at finishing the story. There's still a nagging worry that I've not pulled it off, likely because I've spent so long being frustrated over this story, that has tainted my perception of it. As soon as I'm up to it, I'll reread the story, then begin the process of preparing and seeking publication for this piece of work.

Even though this story has been damned hard to write, I am so very glad I kept with it. It makes the success (of merely finishing) that much greater.

Now, onto the next project.

Fave Females

I've never really thought about who my favorite females are. I always just kind of knew, and never really thought about who all meets my definition for the preferred female form.

Until Travis Erwin asked about it in comments on Tuesday.

So, I started thinking. It's not much of a list, because, as I've previously complained, there seems to be a shortage. (Maybe I'm just not finding them-- but I do look into every female character offered my way for potential additions to The List)


So, here's my list.
1. Beatrix Kiddo from the Kill Bill movies. Determined, skilled, and just a bit of femininity. Not overdone, and I can accept her motivating forces, both for revenge and for her kid. She doesn't get too mushy, and still finishes the job even after meeting up with her former lover and her kid.

2. Kristen Van Dijk aka Baby Shark from the Baby Shark books by Robert Fate. Love this woman. She does some fine ass kicking in the books, doesn't let her femaleness (or relationships) get in the way, and the stories focus on the cases, not her love life. You know, like a book with a male protagonist would do.

3. Lara Croft. She can run, jump, climb, and shoot and looks damn good doing it. (Okay, so the boobs in the video game defy gravity, and, I'm sorry, that'd just be uncomfortable!) Didn't care for the former-lover problems in the movies, but I do like seeing a chick in action.

4. Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. "I'm not a bad girl, I'm just drawn that way." Sex appeal and dangerous. She's the femme fatale character, andI gotta admit I like the femme fatale.

5. Mary Embrey-- the woman in the movie Hancock (movie, not so good, but this woman was fun.) She was powerful and didn't take any shit.

6. Jane Rizzoli from Tess Gerritsen's books. (I've only read a few so far, but enjoyed both Jane and Maura Isles.) These are competent, professional women. I wish the books would stay fartehr away from lovers and past lovers, but that's only a personal preference. I know most women prefer to read about love and other mushy stuff. (I try to skim those parts. ;-)

7. Trinity from the Matrix-- another women who looks good kicking ass. I like the added depth in her faith in The One as well as her no bullshit attitude. She's cool under pressure and willing to fight for what she believes.

While these are my favorite characters, I wish more of them combined sex appeal with physical (and mental) ability. I'd especially love to see more sexy, young, successful female characters in the mystery genre.

I want to see the femme fatale play the role of the detective.