Writing After Life Kicks You in the Teeth

I always thought that writer's block wasn't a real thing. That you could just sit down and start writing, and eventually you would figure out what should happen next. I wrote for over seven years and hadn't ever experienced a block that I couldn't work free of in an hour. Free writing, brain maps, and character interviews are all useful for that sort of thing. I've even written ridiculously impossible scenes before and then edited them into coherency.

Then my life blew up.

It's not that I didn't have time to write. Everyone has time to write, if they make it a priority. (Or so I've been told.) But my life was falling apart, and I felt like I couldn't talk to anybody about it for over a year. And the emotional stress, or depression, or whatever you want to call it (neither of those terms seem quite right) whatever it was, it sucked the creativity out of me. I can't really explain it any other way. I had no desire to be creative or think about stories or even read. Which is kind of a big deal, for me. I didn't read a single book for a year.

Like I said, it's not that I didn't have the time. It's not that I didn't have ideas or something to be working on. (I've been in the middle of Lost Princesses for an embarrassingly long time.) I just didn't. Or couldn't. I'm not sure which.

During that time, I moved twice and took care of my kids, took a few college classes, and prepared to build my life back from the ground up. And I'm still in the middle of that process. But recently, I had a story idea.

Not just any idea. The first idea I've had in a very, very long time. The first inkling that I would ever be able to write again. (The guilt of not finishing my other books had been the only motivation I'd had during that time, and it wasn't enough motivation, obviously.)

I wrote down my idea, sketching out a short story from beginning to end. And I've been kinda excited about it.

And then today, I had an idea on six other related short stories that could become something very cool. Something I've never seen before in fiction. And I got so excited about it that I felt an almost panicky feeling. The feeling that I needed to write. Now.

So I did. I wrote a thousand words today.

I'm not sure what will happen with my writing. I don't know when the next book will come out. But what I can tell you is that I am writing. And it feels awesome.

Get a Good Story Idea. And make it better!

It's time for a round of helpful links! (I know, I know. It's about time.) Continuing with the 'Building and Creating Your Novel' theme from my last post, here's what I found:

Agent Sarah Davies (of Greenhouse Literary) wrote A Recipe for Writing the Breakout Novel on Ingrid Sundburg's blog. She gives tips for making your story stand out from everyone else's. It needs to be different. Original. Your characters need to be vivid, unique, but not obviously constructed.

Building a Better Novel Premise is doable. Martina at Adventures in Children's Publishing wrote her query first, using it as a guide to make sure her story was an attention-grabber from the beginning. She also goes into the difference between a "good premise" and a gimick.

Middle Grade Weremonkeys. Agent Holly Root explains why she loves off-the-wall crazy ideas.

Writing a Novel that's Better (and maybe easier)

Wrapping up this series of posts on Creating and Building a Better Novel, I wanted to first share with you what two authors learned for themselves while writing the novel that got them published. (Because what writer wouldn't kill to know that?)

Author Holly Cupala did a guest post on The Other Side of the Story (great blog, by the way) on what she learned about writing. She asked questions and did research on other authors, but this post on What She Learned while writing her book Tell Me A Secret has some real gems in it.

On the same blog, Janice Hardy writes about what she learned while writing her first published book The Shifter and how it differed from her previous books.

And a couple of little tidbits that I think I worth reading: How to Avoid Pantser Pitfalls (in case you're not much of a plotter) and How to Create a Template so you don't keep having to adjust your margins and font and paragraphing for each book.

Good Story Ideas: Where do they come from?

Helpful writing tips and links have been sparse lately, and I apologize for that. I'm trying to redirect this blog so it has a piece of me in it. I want this blog to be helpful for writers, but I also want it to be MY blog. I'm still trying to find that balance. (Any feedback is appreciated.)

So, getting back that helpful stuff, I thought I'd blog about getting good story ideas.

I haven't been published yet, but I've already been asked The #1 Question Writers Get: "Where do you get your ideas?"

Um... I don't know. They just come to me.

Okay, okay. I've given it some thought. The first decent answer I came up with was: my story ideas come to me just like any idea comes to any person.

Inventors come up with incredible gadgets. Usually, when they answer The Idea Question, they talk about a problem they were having. Then, they'll say,  "So I invented the doohicky-o-matic!"

So... you got your idea from a problem? Didn't the idea come AFTER you had the problem?

Seriously, I think that's how our brains work. We see a problem, and we try to come up with a solution. Some of us are better at it than others. (But is it possible that it just takes practice?)

When I want a story idea, I have to define my problem, with specifics. And no, the problem isn't just 'I need a story idea'. My problem is: I need a character that lacks something, in an interesting setting, with the potential for a lot of problems to happen around him/her while he/she struggles with her own problems. And it needs to be entertaining.

But how can your brain work with garbage like that?

Be more specific!

I want a 70,000-word YA novel with a spunky female protagonist who doesn't know what's good for her, who finds herself in a situation with a fantasy element in it.

Usually, the more specific I am, the faster the ideas come to me. I analyze each idea until I find one I'm excited to work on. (Because, let's be honest, sometimes my ideas aren't all that good.)

Of course, there are other ways I get ideas. I got my idea for Ivy Thorn because friends challenged me to approach writing from a different angle. I wasn't looking for a story idea then.

And I got my idea for my zombie book from the voices in my head a dream I had while I was awake. I wasn't looking for a story idea then, either.

So my Top 4 pieces of advice for coming up with good story ideas are:
1) Be specific with what you want
2) Read a lot
3) Try new things with your writing
4) When an idea does come, pick it apart to see if it has "great idea" potential. If it doesn't, keep trying.

More on story ideas to come...

Getting A New Novel Idea ... Zombies

One night during conference weekend, I was trying to fall asleep, when I heard one of those voices in my head. A new character. A new story. I heard the opening to a book I never thought I'd write. A zombie book.

Not being one to take lightning for granted, I wrote down the 150 words or so. Lightning struck twice. Three times. More and more. (I didn't sleep much that night.)

Over the rest of the weekend, even more until I had layer upon layer of conflicty goodness.

Since I was at the conference with a master of zombie writing, Jonathan Maberry, I talked to him about it. He said the idea was really good, and to his knowledge, hasn't been done before. (Wow)

I'm building it, all while working on getting Ivy ready for submission. I'm enjoying working on both. They're in such different stages, I don't feel like I'm spread too thin. The books are so different, they don't blend together.

So there you have it. Be on the lookout for my new zombie book. I'm pouring everything I've got into it.

All About You: How Do You Do It?

I thought today's post could be all about you. If you write, what does your schedule look like? Do you write every day, or whenever you find a moment to yourself?
What time of day do you prefer to write?
What gets in the way of your writing time more than anything else?
Do you reward yourself if you reach a certain goal? What's the goal and what's the reward?

Please comment. I can't wait to see how you guys do it!

Why Reading is Important for Writers

Thursday's post is a little early this week.

Hundreds of successful authors have told us that reading is the most important thing a writer can do. Stephen King has some pretty great quotes. This is video one of my favorites.

I read on and off, in spurts and right now I'm on a hot streak. I'm on my fourth book this year, which is pretty amazing for a slow reader like me. But I came across something in this latest book that really struck me.

I won't mention which book it is, but basically, the character goes through a change in her life. Simple right? But the delivery of it, or her specific circumstances pricked at something in my brain. Something that would make my book richer.

I don't plan on ripping off the book, it's a pretty simple concept. It just made me realize that my main character isn't really struggling with anything new at the beginning of my book. I saw something similar when I read Twilight. Bella moves to a new place, so it only seems natural that she should notice details about her surroundings. It's natural to describe things. But if you start in the middle of a character's normal life, why should the character describe something that she sees every day?

Yes, it's miniscule (and I'm having a hard time describing exactly why this made such a difference for me), but trust me, reading just made my book better.

Speaking of reading, I found a contest that is giving away the entire Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs, which has been on my wishlist for some time. Just thought I'd mention it... ;)

Getting Ideas for Your Novel

I'm not sure how many of you are looking to start a new book. (If you're like me, you have more revising to do than you care to admit.) But I found two articles on getting started.

First, you need an idea. Thank you Murderati. Once again, you've hit the nail on the head.

Second, I know I've posted this before, but I've seen the advice in this article violated and I was disappointed as a reader. I think it warrants a second go-around. Show Some Character's Jason Black writes on How to Make Ordinary Characters Inspiring (and how to make extraordinary characters relatable.)