Deadlines

Deadlines can cause lots of stress or in my case, actually get me to write! There's nothing like the countdown to get my fingers flying across the keys. It's always been that way. I'm a procrastinator, but I always get the job done. Something about waiting until the last minute, gives me the drive to go!

How about you? Do you enjoy deadlines?

Just Write!

"Take out another notebook, pick up another pen, and just write, just write, just write. In the middle of the world, make one positive step. In the center of chaos, make one definitive act. Just write. Say yes, stay alive, be awake. Just write. Just write. Just write."
--Natalie Goldberg

Someday's it's hard to know what to write...But as the quote above says, "Just write!"
It's so easy for me to talk about writing because I am passionate about it. When I'm passionate about something I love to talk about it and I don't shut up easily. 
But when it comes to being passionate about writing, you can't just talk you actually need to sit down and write. So, get out a piece of paper, open your laptop and JUST WRITE!

This is November--National November Writing Month--NaNoWrMo...I'm in for the challenge of writing 50,000 words this month, and I'm not just going to talk about it, I'm actually going to WRITE! How about you?

Book Talk

“I am a product [...of] endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass.” --CS LEWIS 

My dad got me hooked to books--reading to me most nights. I learned to read early--before I entered Kindergarten--and haven't stopped. I have read thousands of books. Some good, bad, ugly...some GREAT and life-changing. 

*I pray at the core of my books is the Bible--and that who I am today is ruled by that book.

In fiction:

• I love anything by Jane Austen--the quirky people and dialogue and actions have really influenced my fiction writing. I love snappy, quick, dialogue. Zinger!
•  Terry Brooks and the Shannara series (which is one of the first books I remember my dad reading to me), Chronicles of Narnia, and Lord of the Rings have influenced my love of fantasy.

So, which book or books are you a product of?

Apathy: Part 2

I'm laughing as I write this. I had intended to write part 2 the next day after writing part 1. I was determined to overcome Mr. Apathy with Ms. Motivation and Inspiration, but Mr. Apathy got a hold of me and wouldn't let go. But, I'm happy to report, as of today, Mr. Apathy has been conquered! Praying he stays hidden and I can write!

Being apathetic is a phase all writers go through. What do you do when Mr. Apathy tries to take over?
Do you have anything in place that you do to keep him away--prevention mechanisms?

Here's to a day of writing!

Apathy: Part 1

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?

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! :) )