Why is Tag Called Tag?

I’m not going to answer that question, I’m just wondering. Does it have something to do with tagging animals? Except it seems like the game is a lot older than tracking animals, so who knows.

Anyway, KD Sarge has tagged me on a writing meme, and so here we are. Rules of the game:  answer the questions, come up with eleven of my own, and tag more people to keep the game going.

1.) Of your characters, who would you most like to have as a real-life friend?

Hm. I think I’ll go with Sara from Bleachers. I tend to twist friendship themes into just about all my stories, but Sara can be depended on to make sacrifices for her friends, and to work tirelessly to make sure things are set right. She’s also able to be fairly open-minded to trying new solutions when her normal standbys fail.

2.) Which would you not want to be around anywhere but in the pages of a book?

Oh man, that’s easy. Paran, the Queen’s advisor, from the Trilogy. I’ve got some nasty characters, but Paran is the king. Here’s someone whose ideas and morals are so twisted that even when you see where he’s coming from, you still can’t remotely justify his actions. Plus he’s not above some truly terrible manipulations, and there is pretty much no limit to what he will do to get to the ends he desires.

3.) When a song bowls you over and you have to hear it again and again, what is probably the reason? (Great voice, real emotion, clever lyrics, et cetera)

It depends. It can be lyrics, or it can be beat, or it can be both. Sometimes a verse will hit just right, and all of a sudden entire scenes can appear. Beat’s probably stronger than lyrics, though, honestly. I like songs based off their beat, but when you get a perfect blending of meaning and musicality, it’s the best.

4.) Of everywhere you’ve been, where was your favorite place to be? (Home is a perfectly acceptable answer!)

I adored York. I’ve been a lot of places, but York has a tangible feel of ancientness. I know that’s not a word. But when you step inside the walled part of the city, something resonates.

I also really liked northern Austria, with the Alps towering overhead, and the deep, dark lakes and occasional forests. Completely different feel from an ancient city, like York, but powerful all the same.

5.) Where do you want most to go?

I want to see the Great Wall of China. Absolute top of my list.

6.) What is the meaning of life? (okay, okay–YOUR life.) What do you think your life is about?

42. Life is hard. I am not a terribly introspective person. But I think that life needs to be enjoyed and shared.

7.) What’s the best thing about what you do for a living?

Since I work from home, I get to set my own hours. And if it’s a slow day, it’s totally okay for me to go watch an episode of Merlin with lunch.

8.) What do you do when you need inspiration?

I listen to music, and I look at nature pictures on the internet. Nothing gets the ol’ juices flowing better.

9.) When you need some time for you, where do you go?

I go to my local coffee shop, grab a table by the window, drink some tea, and do whatever needs to be done.

10.) Plotter or pantser?

Combination. I tend to pants the beginning of a novel, and then, somewhere around halfway, I plot out the rest to make sure that all my subplots and strings are concluded successfully and logically. Short stories are outlined completely before I start, otherwise I can’t get going.

11.) To close with a (fairly) easy one–talk about a book. Any book.

I just finished The Island by Tim Lebbon. I’m not typically a fan of his – he’s too dark for my tastes most of the time – but he’s my husband’s favorite author and so, occasionally, I am talked into reading one of his novels so we can have an intelligent conversation about the book. However, I actually really enjoyed this one. Good characters, just the right amount of stuff going on, lovely description. I admit I called the ending from 50 pages out (I said to myself “There is only one logical way this can end”) but I can do that with most books, so.

Let’s see, I shall tag my lovely writing partner Sarah, my sister so she’s forced to update her blog, and the infamous and extremely devious Ian Dudley. You’re welcome to tag yourself as well, if you’d like. Just let me know you’ve done it!

Questions for you to answer:

1.) What was the first story you ever wrote? Spare no embarrassing details.

2.) What’s your favorite nonfiction topic to read about?

3.) How much research do you feel like you need to do before you start a new story?

4.) Writing challenges (ala Nanowrimo) – useful, or merely stress-inducing?

5.) Why do you write your main genre?

6.) What genre/author/book do you secretly love but would never admit to in polite conversation?

7.) What’s your favorite movie-adaptation of a book?

8.) What is your favorite type of cephalopod?

9.) What is your writing tool of choice?

10.) What are your feelings about the proper usage of whom?

11.) What are you doing to bring yourself closer to your writing goals?

Nanowrimo Prep and Avoiding Plot Death

Nano looms ever closer, my friends.  (Also, it’s my birthday!)  I talked last year about Nano Zen and Plot Death — this cheats Nano Zen a bit, but I do think it’s important.  It’s hard to experience Plot Death if you have no plot.

A quick rundown for those too lazy to click the above link: Nano Zen involves not actively working on your Nano story in October to allow your brain to work on it subconsciously and to avoid Plot Death.  Plot Death is where you overplan your story to the point that you no longer want to write it.

“Kit,” I can hear you say (or perhaps it’s just the Landsquid, who wants some of my hot chocolate), “How can you write a post about Nano prep when you practice — and are the founder — of Nano Zen?”

As much as I advertise Nano Zen, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do any planning for Nano.  In fact, I ardently believe that there are some things you should have going into November, and if you don’t, you should try to get some before Nano starts.

A main character (or two).  The main conflict (what does the MC want?).  A starting point.

What gets you in trouble is the overplanning, and what counts as overplanning varies from person to person.

So how can you tell if you’re planning to the point where you are approaching Plot Death?

Well, first things first.  Make sure you’re registered at nanowrimo.org (the 2011 site is up now) and have chosen a home region (this is the region that gets to count your words).  See if your region has any write-ins near you and, if not, suggest some.  The social aspect is a major part of Nano and I highly recommend you participate in it.

…sorry, I totally got distracted by the Nano site.

If you’ve done Nano (or written a novel) before, you probably have a good idea of what you need and how much you can do before you experience Plot Death.  For you newbies, find the above (characters, plot, beginning).

How are you feeling?  Are you excited or panicky?  If you’re excited, good job.  You’re probably good to go.  Go make yourself a book cover.  If you’re panicky, you probably need more.  I recommend fleshing out your characters a bit, finding a villain, and doing a basic outline of your plot.

Repeat the above until you find a place where you’re excited to write.  Then stop planning.

See, the problem with Nano and Plot Death is that you can’t start writing until November 1st.  So people reach that excited state, and then, since they can’t write, they just keep planning and planning and planning and then…Plot Death.

It’s hard, I know.  And by all means, write down anything important as you think of it, but after you reach the excitement phase, that’s when Nano Zen is essential.

Ever experienced Plot Death, Squiders?  Where’s your happy middle between panicking and overplanning?

Writing Serially

I belong to a prompt community.  I joined, oh, four years ago or so with the idea that I’d be able to use the prompts to stir the creative juices.  It hasn’t really worked out.  Oh, it’s not the community’s fault.  They are awesome, talented writers and the prompts are usually very interesting.  Something about the medium just doesn’t work for me.

Oh, sure, sometimes a prompt jolts something out of the creative centers of my brain.  When I joined originally, you had to post once every three months to stay a member, and I could usually manage something in that time frame.  But a few years ago they changed the requirement to once a month, and I knew the likelihood of ye olde brain coming up with something purely prompt based that often was pushing it.

(This is not to say that I have problems with ideas.  If anything, there are too many ideas floating around.  They just tend to be novel-shaped.)

So I decided to work on a serial novel, with a new part going up every month (or more often if I got around to it).  I’d already completed Hidden Worlds serially, so I knew it was something that I could do.

Two years later, I’m still working on that story.  I use the prompts to direct the next part, and feedback has generally been very good.

I outline very vaguely so this works well for me.

What does writing serially do for you?  I use it as a side project which helps me get through harder sections of my main projects.  It also allows you to work on something a relaxed pace and gain readers over time.

Things you should note about serial writing:

1.  Do it consistently.
I put up a new section every month.  This means my readers can expect a new section on a regular basis, that I know when it’s due so I’m thinking about/working on it when I should be, and that it doesn’t get eaten by other projects/life.

2.  Outline, at least a little.
The thing with writing serially is that you need to have an idea where the story is going to go, what kind of story it is, what promises you want to make to your readers.  What do you do if you get 25K in and realize you’ve written yourself in to a corner?  Alternately, if you make it three-fourths of the way into the story and do a genre change out of right field, people will not be happy.

3.  Reread the last few sections before picking back up.
This helps you remember where you are, what you named your characters, and what you were thinking when you left off.

Some publications are taking serial stories on now.  If you’d like to try for one of those, you need to have the entire story at least outlined before submitting.  They will not be as lenient as my prompt community if something goes off-kilter.

What about you, Squiders?  Ever write something serially?  What have your experiences been?

100th Post Celebration

Tada!  100 posts!  Not too shabby for me and the Landsquid.  In celebration, I give you the top 5 posts thus far:

Collaborative Writing – Characters
Outlining
Writing with a Partner – Collaborative Editing
What Would You Put on a List of the 100 Best Scifi/Fantasy Books?
Of Sleep Deprivation and Haiku

Give me some feedback, Squiders.  Would you like me to post more often?  Less often?  (Currently I’m on a MWF schedule.)  Topics you’d like me to cover?  Topics you’d like me not to cover?  How do you like the drawings?

 

 

 

 

Outlining

As with almost everything, outlining is a process that tends to be individual to each writer, if they do it at all.  In the seven years that I’ve been writing seriously, I’ve gone from a complete pantser (i.e. someone who writes by the seat of their pants) to outlining at least part of every story.

What’s interesting about outlining is that it seems to be not only individual to the writer, but individual to the story.  I have stories that I outline completely before I write a word.  I have stories that I will get 30-60% through before I start outlining.  Some stories are planned with more details than others.

I always use a form of phase outlining, however.  With phase outlines, you list a series of sentences or phrases in chronological order that help you remember what you want to do with that.   I like to use bullet points just because I like bullet points.

My basic outlining more or less follows this process:

1. Write down all major characters.  I always do this at the top of any planning document.  I list the characters’ names, their ages usually, anything that is important to the story (for example, I have one story that lists each characters’ elemental affiliation.  Another lists their occupations), and usually important background.  I find this helps me get the characters in my head so I can picture scenes more clearly.

2. Freewrite the overall plot.  I admit that sometimes I start a story with very little planning.  The only thing I may have is a premise and a few characters.  But I always ALWAYS write down what I know, and I add onto it as I develop the plot more or work on writing the story.  I will also make note of things that might be integrated into the plot or that are neat and may work in the story.

3. Start writing.  (optional)  Most of the time I will start writing at this point.  Especially with novels, it’s hard for me to get a feel of what the story is going to be without just starting.  The only exceptions are if I’m doing complete rewrites of stories and short stories, which I tend to outline completely before starting.

4. Phase Outlining  At some point, I will feel like I have figured out the story and will outline the rest of it.  Normally I will summarize what has happened thus far and then go into my bullet points.  Each bullet point is normally a complete scene.  Sometimes they are complete chapters, depending on the book and how well I know what’s going to happen.  I tend to be vague in my points to allow myself creative wandering, but if there’s something specific that needs to be included at a certain point, I make sure to add it in.

5. Finish the draft, updating outline as needed.  I will then finish the draft, using the outline as my guide.  Sometimes I will figure out plot holes or a better way to do something while I’m going, and I will update the outline as necessary.

What are you, a pantser or a planner?  How much planning do you like to do, and how do you like to do it?