Tag Archives: Writing

Mar20

When the Muse Finds You…

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When the Muse finds you, she hits hard.

Not with the words, but with the emotions evoked by the story that must be told.
And so it begins.

Images swirl through your mind.  The mist dissipates and a world is revealed.  It draws you in.  This is where you live.  This is your home now.

And within this world, characters emerge.  Their faces become ever clearer as their hopes, their dreams, their pain, and their sufferings are forever burned into your brain.  They know your name.  They know where you sleep and they demand to be heard.

The all-consuming need to write seeps into your pores.  Its grip, relentless.  Its power, unforgiving.

Must find the words…

The fever takes hold.  Your life is no longer your own.

You belong to the story…until “The End.”

Apr21

Writer’s Envy

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Last week in our writing group, several of us (if not all of us) were admiring another fellow writer’s talent for metaphors and similes.  Her writing borders on the magical at times.  The words she chooses are beautiful, gentle, calming and she weaves them into images that draw us into the scene, making us experience the moment in every pore of our being.   We are drawn into her world and, for that moment, we are there.  She has a gift and we want it.  We wish we could use the words as she does, to conjure up not just the visual, but the tactile experience.  Oh, if we could only write like her.

 

I want to be that girl.

 

There are many amazing writers out there whom I admire.  I wish I could write a story like Jane Austen, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Janet Evanovich, J.K. Rowling, and J.R.R. Tolkien.  I think, “If only I could write like that, I would be more confident.  My stories would sound better.  Be better.  Perhaps even be awe inspiring.”  And then I could reach the pinnacle of writerstardom.  I could be on the New York Times Best Seller List.

 

Or do I?

 

But, the more I thought about this, the more I realized that her style of writing, her voice, is uniquely hers as is all of our writing styles.  My fellow writers are talented in their own right.  They express themselves differently, uniquely, but clearly in their own voice.  They offer up a little bit of themselves with each piece they write.  All with a new perspective on whatever the topic may be.  Through their own eyes, filtered through their own experiences, and written in their own words.  They all have a gift.  Each and every one of them.

 

Share your gift.

 

Write your story.

 

 

“We are each gifted in a unique and important way.  It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.”

– Evelyn Mary Dunbar

Apr15

#mywritingprocess

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Blog Tour (#mywritingprocess)

I’m going to be honest with you…I’m totally freaking out about this Blog Tour thing.  When Middle-Age Butch asked our writing group if anyone wanted to participate in a blog tour,  I thought, “Yeah!  That sounds like fun!”   Yet as the week approached for me to write my post, I got cold feet (or fingers).  I convinced myself to just start laying down some words.  It went much better than I expected and I actually enjoyed writing the post.  So without further ado…

 

What I’m Working On?

I have several projects going at once…a cozy mystery, a sci-fi space adventure, and a medieval romance adventure with a dash of magic.  I like working on several projects because it allows me to bop between worlds so I’m never bored.  If I hit a wall with one story, I just switch to one of the others.

 

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My cozy mystery has flavors of Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum   series and a hint of Jane Austen, but is uniquely me.  The sci-fi space adventure was inspired by the original “Star Wars” movie with the humor of “The Princess Bride” but as the story continues to progress, it resembles neither now.  The medieval romance is still in the early stages and it differs from other medieval romances in that it is a story features three couples.  There is a main plot line that flows through the book, but the book is divided into three parts.  Each part highlights one of the three couples and then, in the end, they all join forces to defeat the villain.  Huzzah!

 

Why do I write what I do?

I love romance, adventure and mystery…and romance.   These are the elements I enjoy in the stories I read, so it only makes sense that I would want to incorporate them into my own stories.  I write what I enjoy and I enjoy what I write.

 

How does my writing process work?

My story ideas are sparked from books, movies or events in real life.  I get inspired by certain tropes, characters, or situations.  After the spark, comes a hint of a plot line.  The essence of a character.  A wisp of a new world.  As these illusive aspects become more formed and concrete, I  either jot down the ideas in a notebook or, if I have a more fully developed premise, I start a new project in Scrivener.  I’ll then work on character descriptions, backstories and explore the world in which the story takes place.  If I have scenes in my head, I write them done as well.  Nothing fancy.  Just a brain dump.  I’ll then develop an outline of proposed scenes and start typing away.  The most difficult thing for me is to let my story just be what it wants to be.  I usually have a preconceived idea of how I want to the story to go, but as I come to know the characters better, the story sometimes goes off in a new direction as it did with my space adventure.  I need to learn to let go and be ok with the story as it unfolds.

 

Up next on the #mywritingprocess tour:

Patty Kline-Capaldo is my good friend and fearless leader and founder of our weekly writing group,  Just Write where she brings writers together for mutual encouragement and inspiration.   Patty loves to meet other writers and hear their stories and is currently teaching a writing class called “Jump Start Your Novel”.  She enjoys writing short stories, memoir, and the occasional poem, but most of her writing energy is focused on finishing her first novel, Leaving Home.

J. Miles Wagner – Jon writes novels about people that control their own destiny.  It is a power inside everyone, not just for those in fantasy and sci-fi stories.  His first book, Undo! The True Legend of Eugene the Misconceived, is a farcical fantasy that follows Gene Gryzkewski as he attempts to undo the mess he made after acquiring godlike powers on his forty-fifth birthday.