Ever been writing along, pretty as you please on a book, everything sounds good and works well, and the book is kicking some major ass....then you reach a certain page or scene and well...it goes limp on you?
Yeah, I think that just happened to me. On all my books. Not just one, but every last freakin' one I'm working on lately. It's pretty damn sucky, too.
Most of the time, I just slog through all the mediocrity to get to the end. I know this is only a rough draft, so I'm not too worried about it in terms of overall product, but it's still a bit disheartening. The more "scaffolding" you put up as you write, the more you have to fill in later. I like to get my rough sounding pretty much like a finished project by the time I'm at the end. I'm one of those people who like to birth entire novels with very few fixes the first time out. Anything less and I become very frustrated. I know. Unrealistic. I just can't seem to help myself sometimes. Maybe it's because the story that's in my head is sometimes not the exact one that comes out on the page.
Especially when I'm going through a case of the pantsers.
Sometimes it happens. I'll know basically what I want to happen, but I don't outline. On novels this almost never happens to me. I'm a complusive outliner when it comes to novels. Not so much novellas. So when a novel starts to wander down its own path, or I'm writing so fast that there isn't time to outline, I get into scary, often weed-infested areas where I have a hard time recognizing the daisies from the dandilions. Or the Tin Man will suddenly look at me and say, "You don't suppose there are any wild animals here." And the Scarecrow will answer, "Only lions, and tigers, and bears."
It's a scary place to be.
So, enough of this. What do you do to get yourself unstuck from the weeds? I'm going to have a cup of tea, eat a peanut butter granola bar and hope for the best.
Happy Writing
-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.
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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!
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Sunday, February 21, 2010
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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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2 comments:
Kate,
I've been in numerous situations where I had to go back to my first chapter thinking that it would help me get unstuck in the middle or where ever it was I got stuck. I think it worked twice. The best solutions I found are: to start with a new story ( I have a story idea folder), walk to the library and borrow books from my fave historical romance authors. (Yes, I write contemp, but I read historical romances) OR watch a movie.
No to granola bar. Tea, yes. Mark would probably say, "Eat chocolates!" Or Alisha would say, "open a bottle of red wine." Hehehehh
Writing is a tough business, huh? Hey, congrats on your new release.
Tierney
*nods*
That's all I'll say!
*hugs*
Mark
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