Thursday, September 27, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Inspiration and Motivation
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London
What inspires you, motivates you to write?
I've been having trouble finding motivation to write. I have my story all plotted out and I know where it's supposed to go--that of course can change along the way, that's the fun of creating. I find I just can't get off the couch and away from the books I am reading long enough to write.
Winter is upon me...
This time of year always creeps up on me and takes so much out of me.
Thankfully, I am headed to a camp this weekend. I find I write better when I am near a body of water. I know it will be chilly, but let the juices flow!
What do you do to get your motivation up and running?
What inspires you, motivates you to write?
I've been having trouble finding motivation to write. I have my story all plotted out and I know where it's supposed to go--that of course can change along the way, that's the fun of creating. I find I just can't get off the couch and away from the books I am reading long enough to write.
Winter is upon me...
This time of year always creeps up on me and takes so much out of me.
Thankfully, I am headed to a camp this weekend. I find I write better when I am near a body of water. I know it will be chilly, but let the juices flow!
What do you do to get your motivation up and running?
Thursday, September 13, 2012
A Day with my Character
Yesterday, I spent the whole day with my character. We got up and exercised at 6AM, had coffee, went grocery shopping, had breakfast, talked books, went to the library, talked family, likes, dislikes, fears...
Yes, I actually did, really, spend time with a living breathing character from my new series.
It's hard to make all your characters sound different, especially when you are writing from first person POV.
I write YA, so I made up a list of character questions (likes, dislikes, favorites, what you you do situations...) and sent them to a handful of teenagers to fill out. They did. What a wealth of characters I now have in my arsenal!
So...for the series I'm working on now, I picked one of the girls that had filled out a survey. With her permission of course, I am using her as the model for my character--looks and all the answers from the survey.
It's been so much fun because I can call her up and go out with her, take notes, and actually get inside the head of my character. Of course my character on the page and my model are not exactly alike, but it is fun to listen to her talk and get ideas of what my character would say in that situation. It also comes in handy when I hit a wall. I call her and ask, "hey what would you do or say if..." I love the answers!
WWW: What is your main characters favorite food? Dessert? (Go ask her/him! :) )
Yes, I actually did, really, spend time with a living breathing character from my new series.
It's hard to make all your characters sound different, especially when you are writing from first person POV.
I write YA, so I made up a list of character questions (likes, dislikes, favorites, what you you do situations...) and sent them to a handful of teenagers to fill out. They did. What a wealth of characters I now have in my arsenal!
So...for the series I'm working on now, I picked one of the girls that had filled out a survey. With her permission of course, I am using her as the model for my character--looks and all the answers from the survey.
It's been so much fun because I can call her up and go out with her, take notes, and actually get inside the head of my character. Of course my character on the page and my model are not exactly alike, but it is fun to listen to her talk and get ideas of what my character would say in that situation. It also comes in handy when I hit a wall. I call her and ask, "hey what would you do or say if..." I love the answers!
WWW: What is your main characters favorite food? Dessert? (Go ask her/him! :) )
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Goals and Dreams
What is the difference between a goal and a dream? I admit I had to ask dictionary.com because to me they are one and the same...
Goal
1. The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
Goal
1. The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
Dream
1. An aspiration; goal; aim. A trip to Europe is his dream.
2. A wild or vain fancy.
- To make the New York Times Bestseller list
- To play Elizabeth Bennett on stage (perhaps
Chris Pine as Darcy… J
- To go to Greece and Ireland (stay for a month...)
- To become a Ninja
- To sing with The Band Perry or Dierks Bentley
- Be the a singer in a band
- To be a pro volleyball player
What are some dreams you have? Don't be afraid to dream BIG! :)
What are some goals you have?
What are your writing goals
for today?
What are your writing goals
for the week?
What are your writing goals
for the month?
What are your writing goals
for the year?
Give some serious thought
to these and then get writing!
WWW: a quote for today--and my goal for the day: "Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down." --John Steinbeck
Monday, August 27, 2012
3 X 5
Now I'm not talking trucks or boards here. I'm talking note cards...the little 3x5 cards that have lines on one side and are blank on the other. :)
This is one method I use when working a plot--just to keep everything organized. I take a stack of note cards, usually color coordinated--one color for each character. On the blank side I write the characters name and on the other side I write the happenings of a scene--can also add actions or facts given in the scene. You can add more detail later on, this is just a way to get the gist of the scenes you want to include.
Example: Janelle (can also add a brief description of what they are wearing in the scene)
volleyball practice--intro to the main guy
Facts given: she can play--she likes him...
Then, when I have all the scenes on note cards, I can either hang them on a clothesline or pin them to a large sheet...this way you can rearrange the order of your scenes--or combine some of the scenes if they work better as one.
Just a great visual that helps me see the whole map of my story!
WWW: What is your favorite quote when it comes to writing?
This is one method I use when working a plot--just to keep everything organized. I take a stack of note cards, usually color coordinated--one color for each character. On the blank side I write the characters name and on the other side I write the happenings of a scene--can also add actions or facts given in the scene. You can add more detail later on, this is just a way to get the gist of the scenes you want to include.
Example: Janelle (can also add a brief description of what they are wearing in the scene)
volleyball practice--intro to the main guy
Facts given: she can play--she likes him...
Then, when I have all the scenes on note cards, I can either hang them on a clothesline or pin them to a large sheet...this way you can rearrange the order of your scenes--or combine some of the scenes if they work better as one.
Just a great visual that helps me see the whole map of my story!
WWW: What is your favorite quote when it comes to writing?
Friday, August 24, 2012
Blaming Jo!
I was asking myself today--for the hundredth time--"Self, why can't you be a morning person/writer?"
Self replied: "Blame it on Jo March!"
Ah...I get it.
In my early writing years, I loved watching the movie Little Women (still enjoy watching it!). And in the movie, Jo March wrote at night by candlelight. I always thought this was so cool...so began my nightly writing habit. I would wait all day for the sun to go down (still do) so I could be alone with my pen and paper. The later the better! There were even a bunch of times that I did get out my oil lamp and write with nothing but that flickering.
But now that I have children, I can't really stay up writing by candlelight and expect to get up at 6AM to make breakfast...Guess I need to find a new movie/book where the writer gets up early and writes!
So...does anyone else have a literary character to blame for their writing habits? :)
(Anne Shirley also has an effect on my writing and reading...but that's for another day.)
WWW: Writers WRITE!!
Self replied: "Blame it on Jo March!"
Ah...I get it.
In my early writing years, I loved watching the movie Little Women (still enjoy watching it!). And in the movie, Jo March wrote at night by candlelight. I always thought this was so cool...so began my nightly writing habit. I would wait all day for the sun to go down (still do) so I could be alone with my pen and paper. The later the better! There were even a bunch of times that I did get out my oil lamp and write with nothing but that flickering.
But now that I have children, I can't really stay up writing by candlelight and expect to get up at 6AM to make breakfast...Guess I need to find a new movie/book where the writer gets up early and writes!
So...does anyone else have a literary character to blame for their writing habits? :)
(Anne Shirley also has an effect on my writing and reading...but that's for another day.)
WWW: Writers WRITE!!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Website...Twitter....Facebook...OH MY!
Wow...feeling a little overwhelmed today.
I'm reading the book Platform, by Michael Hyatt. It talks all about the whats, the hows, and the ins and outs of getting your name out there as a writer. Of branding yourself (ouch! hot!) as a writer, and building your platform.
There are so many ways made available to us today to become visible in the "small" writing world. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Blog...not to mention checking yahoo and gmail accounts...Where does one person find the time to take care of and maintain all of these? It's a lot of work and can take up most of your day...but it is worth it. I'm finding that if I spend 30 minutes to an hour every morning taking care of business, I can then move on to writing!
Some thoughts I've been working on: What makes me different from everyone else? What will catch the eye of readers and keep them coming back for more? (Any thoughts :) )
So, this is me asking you...please help me build my platform and like my author page on Facebook!
Janelle Leonard, Author.
Thanks a million!
WWW: Picking brains: what would you use to decorate a website of a YA author? :)
I'm reading the book Platform, by Michael Hyatt. It talks all about the whats, the hows, and the ins and outs of getting your name out there as a writer. Of branding yourself (ouch! hot!) as a writer, and building your platform.
There are so many ways made available to us today to become visible in the "small" writing world. Website. Twitter. Facebook. Blog...not to mention checking yahoo and gmail accounts...Where does one person find the time to take care of and maintain all of these? It's a lot of work and can take up most of your day...but it is worth it. I'm finding that if I spend 30 minutes to an hour every morning taking care of business, I can then move on to writing!
Some thoughts I've been working on: What makes me different from everyone else? What will catch the eye of readers and keep them coming back for more? (Any thoughts :) )
So, this is me asking you...please help me build my platform and like my author page on Facebook!
Janelle Leonard, Author.
Thanks a million!
WWW: Picking brains: what would you use to decorate a website of a YA author? :)
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