It was my worst nightmare coming true, my parents…

You finish the sentence and let us know in 100 words or less what the nightmare is.

Have fun.

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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Then along comes NaNo. Yeah. Whole new experience for a so-called organic writer. In essence, it’s a rather primal type of expression, but at the same time, you only have thirty days and you need a plot. Plain and simple. Yeah, a character is great, but a plot is what’s gonna get you through the thirty days of mindlessness. Plot…mindlessness. The two don’t seem to go hand in hand, but they do.

I’m a little behind on my goal as of this moment, but I’m about to catch up by doing what I always told myself I’d never do. I’m gonna pull a gun on my character. Something crazy and horrible happened in my hometown—just down the street from me—a couple nights ago, and it resulted in a death. Real life, meet NaNo book.

My character, Kyle, is just kind of dragging at this party. Of course things have happened and she’s just a big ole mess as far as people go, so there’s a story there. But, I was finding I had no clue where the story was going.
Well, since I’m not a plot/outline gal, I’ve decided to be a gun gal. 

Do y’all do things like that? Or is it a cliche that people suggest, yet no one really does? Like, if you’re having a problem with a character and s/he is going nowhere, not pushing the action along, kill him/her off. Make something crazy happen.
See, I’ve never made anything happen. But I’m about to. I’ll let you know how it goes, but I’m also interested in how you guys deal with situations like this. I also wonder if, by doing this writerly thing, am I growing as a writer? Am I learning what needs to be done to make things work? Or am I so desperate I’m becoming less of a writer? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not insecure or doubting this plan of mine. I just wonder….

Do you use writers’ tricks? If so, have they worked? Let me, and all of our readers, know. I’m in the mood to learn something and who better to learn from than fellow writers, right?!?

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Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

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I will come to you
In the still of the night
And I will crush you
With the burden of sight
And you will understand
The shadows in my heart
The fury of my conviction
Will cause your heart to quicken
And then, my dear
You will see you want me here
~~ Haunted — Jewel   ~~

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What would your character do (your current one, an old MC, or a brand new one you create today) if s/he knew a stalker was in the house?

I want to go dark for the end of the week. I’m in that kind of mood….

Try to keep it about half the length of Suzanne’s prompt from yesterday. We’ve had so much advice lately (which has been fabulous), but I’ve missed the writing part of this blog. So have at it!!

I’ll post mine in the comments, as well.

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Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

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You’ve all heard these words many times. Right? So today, we’re writing about space. Whether it’s looking out you window and imagining yourself there, or your characters live there, doesn’t matter, you write the story about space.

The first picture is self explanatory, the second is of our solar system, and the third is Cone Nebula, located in the H II region in the constellation of Monoceros.

I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with in this writing exercise.

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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I, for one, would love to see if this was a useful exercise. Not that I’m doubting it…I just adore seeing progress!
My first five changed drastically. The comments I received made me realize that my initial instinct was right and I had tried too hard to make my beginning what it ‘should’ be.
You’d think I would already know this, as my guest blog on here a while back was all about going with your gut. Hmmm… Maybe I should take my own advice.

Anyway, we’d love to see those revisions!
Just post them as a comment to your submission–don’t be afraid to own up to which one was yours. They were all great =)

Thanks to all who participated!

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Since winning her first writing competition at a young age, Eden Tyler, has only fallen more in love with the written word. She uses her English, Psychology, and Sociology backgrounds to create depth to her own stories and novels while contributing to and running websites about writing. This is what fulfills her, along with working as Co-Editor for Fuel Your Writing, but she also enjoys the freelance work that puts food on the table (and that ever-essential roof overhead) for her family.

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Three months ago I was having one of those days. You know the kind, when frustrations number more than the breaths you take. Well, sitting there in the coffeeshop, I started writing and a story emerged. I didn’t expect it, didn’t know where it would take me, but I kept writing.

First there was lightning. Okay, that’s cool. So what happened then? There was a girl, running, trying to get rid of something. She wanted to bury it. Interesting. What did she have? A necklace. But it wasn’t an ordinary necklace. I wasn’t sure why yet, but I went with it, eventually getting to the point where the girl is struck by lightning and the necklace was fused to her skin, becoming part of her.

Wow. I’d never even thought of it before, and yet an entire story opened before me. Three weeks later, I had written a 50,000-word book with plans for two more.

And it started one night when I was so frustrated I would have screamed had I not had a pen and some paper handy.

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Now, I want you to grab a pen and some paper or a notebook. (If you can write on a computer without going back to edit, that’s fine too.) Then start writing. Don’t think first. Just write.

Then, once you’ve got it all out of your system and the story ends or you have to stop to take a breath, I want you to come back here and tell us what happened.

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So this picture has inspired the rewrite to a WIP I’ve sat on for a while now. At least the beginning is changing. Does it do anything for you?

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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Here’s the video (not great) and the lyrics (awesome). Love the music. Love the words.

Let’s see how this inspires you.

Here are the lyrics:

I hate the way that my words come together at your expense
Wish that when I wrote I wouldn’t have to be so honest
Show some tact or show some class or maybe just some respect
I’ll respect you when you respect me, what can you expect?
I’m just being honest

I still fight the urge to call, I know there’s nothing to say
I still love you and I think about you every day
It’s not easy for me though I know I act like it is
Feel the pain that hurts so bad I guess I’ve gotta fake it
Just like I’ve gotta say this

That this song is the b-side to the truth
About how I really feel about you
And I know sometimes my words they burn like hell
But I still want you, if you can’t tell

It’s hard to see you I know that we’ve got to act like we’re friends
Force a smile, fake a hug and try not to act nervous
“How am I? I’m good, no great, no perfect, life’s just a treat”
Ask you question after question, I don’t want you to leave
I just want you to see

That this song is the b-side to the truth
About how I really feel about you
And I know sometimes my words they burn like hell
I still want you, if you can’t tell

I’ve got the keys if you wanna roll
I’ll take you anywhere that you wanna go
We’ll climb in the backseat like when we first met
I’ll lay on my back while you lay on my chest

I’ve got the keys if you wanna roll
I’ll take you anywhere that you wanna go
We’ll climb in the backseat like when we first met
I’ll lay on my back while you lay on my chest
While you lay on my chest

This song is the b-side to the truth

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Sarah is writer looking for an agent. She is currently working on novel # 4, editing novels 2 and 3, and querying novel # 1. For more insight to her work, visit: http://legendoftheprotectors.wordpress.com/ or http://legendoftheprotectors.blogspot.com/

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Here’s how it works… I will come up with three completely random topics, and you pick one and write a short story in the comments! You can write about anything you want to, and it can be any length.

There’s only one rule… no reading the comments before you write your story! So, without further a due, I give you the prompts:

The light was bright in my eyes and I felt a sudden drip on my forehead. I reached up to wipe the wetness from my brow and looked at my hand. I was shocked when I saw…

He seemed like an okay guy, what could it hurt? I climbed into the passenger seat of his car and we…

It was cold outside, which was unusual for this time of year. I bundled up in my oversized coat and stepped outside. Shocked, I…

Remember, be creative and have fun! No Peeking!

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Write a long detailed passage in continuous time that includes opening car doors and turning the key in the ignition and putting the car in gear, or maybe someone getting up in the morning or going to work or putting on his socks and shoes. Write in super-detail.

Lay this aside and come back at least an hour later. What part do you definitely want to cut away? Does some of the detail actually seem interesting and worth saving? Can you revise it in a way that shows what is happening inside the character so that the boring detail is the merest scaffolding for the real interest. You might make it funny, or perhaps as the character cleans his teeth he has a flashback.

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I scrolled down and read Gunnisac’s post. I tried to comment, but the comments keep disappearing. So, I’ll leave my comment in this post.

Hi,

You sound just like me. Sarah will tell you that I’ve been in despair the last week, have not done much writing. Yesterday I tried speed-writing and that helped (this is the only way for me to un-block myself). Sometimes the strangest things will set you off.

So maybe you can take Sarah’s writing-prompt in the last post and let yourself into a burst of speed-writing and see what comes out? I’m hoping it will work for you just as it does for me, like magic

Hope you go great guns again soon!

Best,

Damyanti

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