It seems nowadays you can't watch television, read a magazine or shop in a grocery store without seeing the words "organic" plastered in the typeface of ads. Personally, I like the organic products in my local store. Being able to pick up a package and recognize every ingredient is comforting in the age of fillers and preservatives. Simple, fresh and real tastes pretty damn good if you ask me. So, how do we apply this same back-to-basics approach to food to our writing? Glad you asked.
It might, at first, seem like a wide divide between the two topics, but not if you look at the growth of a story from that first kernel of an idea to its final product. We writers start with a few little seeds and sprinkle liberal amounts of love and concern. We talk to our characters to nurture growth. We weed out the bad parts. Apply fertilizer where appropriate. All this helps to let the story build naturally to its conclusion.
Pushed characters and situations never flourish. An editor or agent will look at the plot points and know on sight that the writer manipulated the prose to do what they wanted, not what the story demanded, or characters needed. We've all read books where we've come across a situation we consider unbelievable in the context of what we know about the character because of what's come before. That kind of red flag is a signpost that the writer didn't let the story grow naturally, that the actions of the characters were forced.
Writing organically is easy to do if you listen to the rhythm of the story, the natural progression of the characters' growth.
-Kate
About Us
We are the authors Sierra Wolfe, Tierney O'Malley, Wendy Ely, Alisha Paige, Mark Alders, Kate Davison, and Gracen Miller. Welcome to our blog. We hope to entertain and inform you. This is where we will share our writing journeys and life experiences, and maybe, share a bit of wisdom we pick up along the way. We hope you enjoy it!
About Gracen
Gracen is a hopeless daydreamer masquerading as a "normal" person in southern society. When not writing, she's a full-time basketball/football/guitar mom for her two sons and a devoted wife to her real-life hero-husband. She's addicted to writing, paranormal romance novels and movies, Alabama football and coffee…addictions are not necessarily in order of priority. She is convinced coffee is nectar from the gods and blending coffee and writing together generates the perfect creative merger. Many of her creative worlds are spawned from coffee highs. To learn more about Gracen or to leave her a comment, visit her website at www.gracenmiller.com.
Gracen's Books
About Kate
I like to read and write just about anything. But I am a sucker for a Happily-Ever-After. I need to know characters ride off into the sunset and all is right in their world. That's why I chose romance instead of another category. HEA's aren't always promised in other genres, though I do read them too.
Most of the time you'll find me at the keyboard, moving between the 5 projects I tackle at a time.
Most of the time you'll find me at the keyboard, moving between the 5 projects I tackle at a time.
About Alisha
I write paranormal, magic realism, fantasy, erotic and vintage romance. I live in a haunted house built in the 50s and love to drink red wine and eat dark chocolate while sitting in the swing out back. I love to watch my children play in the sandbox while my dogs wrestle on the grass. Does life get any better? It's the simple things in life I cherish.
Alisha's Books
About Wendy
Writing is an adventure I started at a young age but never took it serious until last year. My focus is on contemporary romance and have two books coming out later this year. Besides writing, I run a childcare, attend college, and am a single mom. Life isn't boring for me!
Wendy's Books
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Sunday, March 15, 2009
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About Tierney
Hi! My name is Tierney O'Malley, contemporary and paranormal romance author from the beautiful Pacific Northwest. My publishers are Cobblestone Press, Museitup Publishing, eXtasy Books, and Silver Publishing. I'm excited to join this blog and hope to share you fun and meaningful posts. :D Click here or go to my website http://tierneyomalley.com to learn more about my books or contact me. I would love to hear from you.
About Mark
My name is Mark Alders. I live in a house. This house has a street in front of it which is a good thing because if it didn't I wouldn't be able to drive down to the shop and purchase the chocolate I need on a daily basis *giggle* Seriously, I am a mild mannered post office worker by day and an erotic romance writer (mainly male/male) at night. Not much else to say other than, like everyone else, I have bills to pay, a mortgage and family that I love and drive me crazy all at the same time. Oh, and I have a dog, too! See? Average Joe...execpet when I get down and write...then I let my imagination go to places I never knew existed and my characters invade my mind.
About Sierra
I have an Associates Degree in Nursing and work as a traveling nurse. Although, I miss my family and friends back in Missouri, I enjoy meeting new people and love to travel. Of course, I wouldn’t go anywhere without my wonderful daughter and two rotten dogs. Writing has always been a part of my life, but for many years, I thought it was only a hobby. Finally learning that I couldn’t live without writing my beloved stories, I decided to see where it would take me. Who knows where my next adventure will be? Either in nursing or writing, I will continue to look for new and fun places to explore.
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- An Interview with King of the Orgulocks! Oooh-La-La!
- Why would you do that?
- Kernels That Go Pop!
- Fanfiction
- A shout out for what’s to come!
- My First Time
- Top Five
- Book Signings...the Good, The Bad and the UGLY!
- Finding the right fit.
- What Now?
- Interview with Gracen Miller
- Featured guest, Margay Justice on Nora's Soul
- Let's Talk About...
- Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
- 10 Reasons Why I’ll Always be a Writer
- Writing Organically
- TreSart L.Sioux...sexy, hot...wicked. Read on.
- Dull words per page keep the readers away.
- Hey there all,I’m so glad to be a part of the “Wic...
- Hounding the Pavement!
- Slang and Urban Speak...Gotta Love it!
- Star Struck in Blogland
- A Frantic State of Being
- Keta Diablo on Land of Falling Stars: What if two ...
- Interview with Tierney O'Malley
- Interview with Mark Alders
- Interview with Wendy Ely
- Interview with Alisha Paige
- Interview with Sierra Wolfe
- Interview with Kate Davison
- Welcome to Wicked Thorn and Roses!!!
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4 comments:
Great post, Kate. What a novel idea, organic writing. I've never thought about it, but it's true. You can tell when someone has forced the direction of a story.
Wow! This is such a great thought provoking post. Excellent, Kate :-)
organic writing, hey! Mine's organic all the time...full of s**t! lol...kidding...
*hugs*
Mark.
Mark! You are so freaking funny!LOL
Kate, your post is so awesome! You made me step back and think about my story. Are my characters growing naturally or are being manipulated. Man, your post is great.
Tierney
Thanks all. I'm always saying to CP's, mentees and contest entrants to let the plot progress naturally to let it unfold naturally. My first editor at Red Sage once told me "trust your plot." - though I heard it in my head as "trust the force, Luke." A year ago or so I started writing on judges sheets to think about the story organically, it was just one of those things you say on a judges form to get the point across. I liked it so much, I let it stick. Viola!
-Kat
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