Do I have to write an outline!

Typically, I shun structure. Something about being forced to do things in a certain order/way makes me want to do it the complete opposite. Up until now I have been avoiding any form of outline and just writing as it comes to me. Well, I caved. It was so completely unintentional. I wrote my outline.

This is the first time in my writing career that I have ever been thrilled with an outline. I blame it all on my English teacher who had scripted our reports to a tee and all we were required to do was rewrite the outline into paragraphs. No wonder I oppose them.

Now my outline isn’t very detailed and would be complete mumbo jumbo to anyone that isn’t inside my head but it gives me a direction to follow and now I know where I am heading.

Yes

So last night I finally broke through my writers block. up until now I have been rewriting the same few paragraphs and not being able to get them right. Last night I just started typing and it was perfect. I got through pages of work and couldn't be happier. Hopefully tonight the kids will got to sleep early and I can pick up where I left off.

I also have made progress on researching agents. I figured since I couldn't write I would research. Now I have some ideas as to where to send my query letter. All that's left to do is finish the book!

Slacker

Well the last year has brought numerous changes, both to my book and my life. Moving was a big one, but I couldn't be happier. I love my four bedroom house, even if it is a bit old. The school is great and Madi loves it. Mario is excelling at a rate faster than I could imagine, walking and talking. My favorite thing he does is kisses, even though he hasn't quite mastered keeping his mouth closed and they can be quite slobbery.

As for the book, I have started it fresh and am 35 pages in. The research makes my head spin. I have so much wanting to get out but I haven't been too happy with it once it is on the page so there are bits and pieces floating through out my hard drive. I need to be more diligent and focused, more dedicated.

I haven't been writing nearly as often as I should. Lately, it seems if I spend more time staring at the computer hitting delete than anything else. I know I have a great novel waiting to get out but prying it out isn't easy.

Hopefully now that my life is more routine I can be more productive.

Back to work!

Boy, has it been a while. I took about 6 months off from writing to welcome my son, Mario Goku, into the world and to help my daughter adjust to the life of a kindergartener. Both are doing very well, but not how I expected. That is just what it is like to be a mom.

Now, my nose is to the grindstone and I have a lot of work to do and I mean a lot. While I wasn’t actually writing for 6 months, I was doing a lot of planning. I just didn’t like the direction things were taking and there were many things that I wanted to change. Namely, the first and largest change is the point of view. Originally, the story was written in first person, but I wanted to allow a deeper look at the other characters. So, I toyed with writing the chapters from different perspectives but I am now leaning towards an omnipresent viewpoint. I have about two pages done now and I am just not sure about them. I am such a perfectionist when it comes to my writing and if something seems off I dwell on it. I just can’t move past it. I don’t know if I am trying to force something that isn’t there or if I am on the right track. Only time will tell!

Good News

I can’t believe I have neglected my Blog for this long. Today I received some wonderful news. A few months back I wrote a flash fiction for a contest, The WOW Women on Writing Spring 2008 Flash Fiction Contest. It was my first attempt at flash fiction and I was quite nervous. My entry made it past the first round judging. I know that isn’t that big of an accomplishment but it is much better than receiving news that it didn’t. From here, literary agent Wendy Sherman will narrow down the entries to the top ten. My fingers are crossed, I don’t have too high of hopes, because I know that I made one typo, I used where instead of were. It was such a silly careless mistake and I should have caught it one of the numerous times I reread it and one of my friends should have caught it when they proof read it but it slipped through the cracks. Hey, even JK Rowling probably made a few little mistakes like that though, right?

Yesterday was my first day of no longer being a full time employee, that means I will have more time to devote to house hold managing, my family and of course my writing. I have been working on my novel in the form of research. I like to write out a back-story on my characters, even if the information in it never reaches the pages. Creating their own story allows me to step in their shoes better than if I am just creating them as I go. Lately, I have been tackling Tetsu Tokudaiji (originally, she was Tao Chan.) She probably requires the most research because she dates back to the Heian Period (794-1185ad) in Japan. Needless to say that is a lot of history to work around, but fortunately the more I read the more I realize the Tetsu’s role was already very much suited to what history and research would dictate she be like, even though I had no clue of that when I wrote her in.

Well I am going to hit the tub and relax.

Yay for Me!

I feel very confident over my efforts last night. I researched quite a few dark fantasy magazines and their submission guidelines and edited Dark Twisted Angel, as well as jotted down a rough outline of a new piece I am working on titled “Justine.”

So far, the five magazines I felt were worth saving in my favorites are Aeon, The Willows, Fantasy Magazine, Wicked Hollow, and Realms of Fantasy.

In addition, after much debate I submitted Dead Dreams for review on www.zoetrope.com and got two reviews back. I was so afraid they would eat me alive and chew my story up and spit it out. It was all right though. I experienced great responses and am rather proud of my first-born. There weren’t even that many grammar mistakes, and grammar is not my forte!

The Hook!

The past weeks my focus has been about chapter one, and when I had it finished, ha ha, I posted it on editred.com for some friendly critiquing. I like to get other author’s opinions especially ones that have progressed farther than me on this road and I learned that I have no hook. I had worked so hard on introducing my character that I had forgotten to introduce the plot. This is where you role your eyes back into your head and shake it in the same manner you would at a foolish child. I did have conflict, but chances are the reader would have put it down before they got to the end of the chapter. Ok I am a little hard on my work, they were not that mean about it, but I do not have to spare my own feelings, and the problem was easily enough fixed. I dwelled on it all night and came to a solution, add a prologue that will pull the reader in and make them curious enough to want to learn the things I am telling them. I am rather happy with this solution, I wrote an outline for the prologue before I fell asleep (well, I couldn’t fall asleep till I wrote it, my body doesn’t let me sleep when my mind is that awake and when I can see the scene in my head that means I am not sleeping.)


All that is left to do is find some quite time (a precious commodity indeed) so that I may work on wording it so that it paints the picture I see in my head. Considering my four-year-old daughter that is very hyperactive is bouncing off the walls pretending she is the next American Idol, the quiet time is not happening. Instead, I decided to use my time on a different venue. Creating my beautiful website, joining zoetrope and making this wonderful Blog, as well as requesting several books in the dark fantasy genre to read up on authors and familiarize myself with who publishes and edits books of a similar nature to mine. Supper is done cooking and Dora is over so I must be going.