Think about this . . . when you buy a book, what inspires you to finish the story? Lately, this question has plagued my brain because more often than not, I dive into a book, ready to invest my whole mind sorting through the plot, but usually, I only make it halfway to the end. I lose interest and put it down. Recently, only a select few stories have compelled me to continue to the finish line. So I'm wondering, is it me or the books?
Maybe I've become too picky. Once upon a time, I read with a reader's mindset, but somewhere along the way, I shifted into a writer's mindset. Now when I read, my brain edits everything, and it drives me INSANE! I have NO control over it! Gone is my patience for overwriting and clunky dialog. If the story doesn't MOVE, I toss it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an arrogant writer. I don't approach other writer's works thinking I could do better. That's not the issue. In fact, I constantly beat myself up over my imperfections, but for whatever reason, when I read ANYTHING, it's like my brain adopts every word, as if I wrote them myself, and then, it attacks or it settles into the story.
It has become nearly impossible for me to fully lose myself in a book because my mind skims the surface, chipping away at unnecessary words or switching around sentences to accommodate my taste. This is great for my own writing, but not so fun when I want to read for pleasure.
I want to know how to SHUT OFF the writerly half of my brain. Does any of this sound familiar to you guys? How do you make the switch from writer to reader? Maybe there isn't a solution, but I thought I could at least gather your thoughts on the subject.
Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
Today is an exciting day! Jeff LaFerney, over at The Red Pen
revealed the cover for his upcoming novel, Jumper. If this awesome image isn't enough to rev you up, Jeff's blurb is sure to have you counting down the days until Jumper's release on April 30th! Don't believe me? Scroll down, and I'll make you a believer!
After spending three years in jail and others completely
alone, twenty-four-year-old Cole Flint discovers an amazing ability—he can
time-travel and teleport. He’s a jumper. So what should the motorcycle-riding,
cage-fighting tough guy do? He should protect an innocent eighteen-year-old
girl who happens to be in possession of the Staff of Moses. Following the
direction of a trio of angels who are determined to shake things up in the
Middle East, Cole pairs up with Hannah Carpenter and her pet grizzly while he
also tries to change his past and learn the mystery of his birth. Curiously,
the King of Jordan knows all about Hannah, and he’s determined to gain
possession of the staff. He’ll do anything to possess its power, but is it
possible that he’s no more than a pawn, manipulated in time along with Cole and
Hannah? Jumper is a mysterious roller coaster of
action and a time-traveling adventure that will keep readers guessing right to
the very last page.
I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy and wishing Jeff loads of success!
Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
I haven't been away for long, but it seems like a gabillion years since my last post. Just in case any of you wonder where I've been, (probably not because you've all turned into A to Z zombies) I'm jumping-over-the-stars-happy to report I finished my first round of edits! Can I get a whoop-whoop?!?!
For a few months, I psyched myself into a crazed state of dread, wondering what kind of editor my publisher would pick for Sebastian Falls. Seriously, I had a twitching eye and everything! As it turns out, I did a ton of worrying for nothing because my editor is beyond super duper brilliant! She didn't miss anything.
Due to her great skills, I've decided she should wear a Wonder woman suit while she edits and plays "This Girl is on Fire" over and over. Not that she needs any help, but can you imagine the adrenaline this combination would produce?!?
Heck, even without the tights, cape, and powerful lyrics, my girl, Rebecca educated me on grammar, style, plus teen lingo. Did you guys know the word "stellar" expired, and no cool teen would dare speak those two syllables in today's society? It's true. Rebecca said so. (sort of) While I wait for round two, a few thoughts needle my brain, but mostly, I'm curious if "epic" is a suitable replacement or if she'll boot it out and make me stalk a group of teens to record their conversations for research purposes. I wonder how long it would take them to report me? Maybe it won't come down to that, but if Rebecca told me to, I'd do it. That's how much I trust her, and I know her suggestions make Sebastian Falls a better story.
Thanks to Rebecca, images of misplaced commas won't haunt my dreams, and my protagonist will eat sausage for breakfast. She'll eat it because that's what her grandma fried in the pan. Not bacon. There never was any bacon, but somehow, Meadow Parker's sausage magically morphed into bacon, and my eyes were blind to the mistake until my editor pointed it out.
Even though Rebecca will probably never read this post, (she doesn't even have a Facebook account, gasp!) I wanted to take a minute to share tidbits of my great experience with her and express my gratitude for the time she's put in on Sebastian Falls.
Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
Well, crew, looks like we're here again. It's the first Wednesday of a new month, so it's time to confess our struggles, triumphs, and/or fears that come with writing.
A big shout out to our Ninja Captain, Alex Cavanaugh, for bringing us together. To see more posts from other insecure writers, click on this link: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
In a few days, I'll have my first round of edits, which is exciting. Nothing about this part of my journey shakes me, but something farther ahead does. More than anything, writing book two in this series, terrifies me. I have lots of ideas, and I know my writing has improved, so where's my confidence? I ask myself that question over and over. Truthfully, I wonder if I can write a sequel that measures up to the first story?
Maybe I should put my current WIP aside and quit avoiding the sequel--stop making excuses and write the dang story! When I do, I think it'll be an even greater accomplishment than book one, because this time around, I'm not naive about the work ahead. I know the joyous agony!
Sorry for the short post, but I like to make speedy confessions. Tell me, did any of you go through book two terror?
Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
Today, I felt like discussing beliefs. Hold up. Before you exit my blog, I'm not about to preach a sermon. Mostly, I'm digging around to see how much our personal views (political, spiritual, and social) effect our writing. I mean, they have to, right? After all, our beliefs make us who we are.
Now, if it were up to me, we'd all step away from our picket signs and snatch each other up for a universal group hug. As crowded as that might be, I think it would do wonders for the world. I'm not saying we have to agree about anything, except the fact that we're all human--people caught in the trenches of an ever darkening planet.
Nobody can argue, our population is divided. One side is ready to abolish guns while the other would lay down their lives before surrendering their weapons. Voices rage about marriage. Violent tongues saturate the airways with hatred. They burn to the core in the name of God--the God who tells them to win people over with love.
How, in this mix of madness, can we be silent? For me, it's hard to contain my emotions. I get angry, but not at people who disagree with me. I'm more disgusted with some of those sharing my values. No matter how much I'd love for people to embrace Christianity, I'll never judge them for their unbelief. I'm not fit for such a job. So when I see these radical groups crashing funerals and spiting out condemnation, I'd like to caution them, one day, they'll be judged by the same measure they judge with. Oh, and I'd love for them to zip their traps, and stop pouring mud on the face of Christianity.
When I see the state of our world, I try not to let the craziness consume me or let the sadness steal my joy. But I do want people to know the truth. God is alive, and even if you don't believe He exists, He still loves you. I won't pretend my words are strong enough to change a heart. No human has the power to open a closed up soul, but in my writing, I try to at least make people wonder about The Guy who came to save us all.
I know not all who read this post are believers of my beliefs, but I'd like to know if your passions seep into your writing. Are you bold? Or do you whisper your thoughts across your pages? Don't tell me you say nothing because that can't be true. Whether a lot or a little, it's impossible for who we are not to touch our characters in some way.
I'm not out of thoughts on this subject, but I'll stop here because I'm anxious for comments.
Until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
I stopped by my buddy, Mark Mean's blog,
Left and Write, and was surprised to find he passed this award on to me. Not to brag, but this is the reason he listed for giving me this nifty badge: "Always upbeat and positive and a real pleasure to read." Wow, I'll take that! Thanks, Mark! I guess it would be rude for me to spend this whole post congratulating myself, so I suppose I'll follow the directions that came with this award. Now I'll answer some questions and pass this high honor onto three other bloggers, who'll then do what I'm doing now. Get it? Got it? Good. Here goes...
1. If you could change on thing, what would it be? Every kid in the world would live in a loving home. 2. If you could repeat an age, what would it be? None of them, I don't want to slow down my progress to where I'm going. 3. What one thing really scares you? SPIDERS!!! EEK! I can't tell you how many times I've almost crashed my car because a little spider decided to drop in and say, "Hi!" while I was driving down the road.
Well, that was easy breezy. The hard part was choosing three bloggers to keep it going, but I'm confident I made the right choice. I think you'll all agree.
For her honesty, excitement, and kindness, I'm passing the award to Rena, better known as, Doctor Faerie Godmother, And to a woman, who should start her own comedy tour, Cathy Olliffe, over at life on the muskoka river
Last but not least, I'm passing this award to a brilliant guy, who I'd totally love to trade brains with,
Oh, yeah!!! Break out the popcorn, and ignore the experts while they scream, "Step away from the soda! It'll kill you!" Because it's time for Alex's, Top Ten Movie Countdown Blogfest!!!!! To see who else joined in the fun and their lists, click on this link: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/
Since I'm a movie-lush, I'm jumping around like a rabid Chihuahua over this rocktastic event!
Dimming the lights...shushing the chatterboxes...okay, let the countdown begin....
#1 While this movie is the most disturbing, gut wrenching, rip-my-heart-out-of-my-chest-performance, I've ever witnessed, I have to keep going back to it. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll forget who I am, or more importantly, who He is. No matter what your beliefs, I recommend The Passion of the Christ, to everybody.
#2 Call me sadistic, but I love this flick, and obviously, I'm
not alone because it was nominated for 8 academy awards. While I usually don't agree with the critics, the simple darkness of this movie, won me over. Mind you, I'm not a terribly devious person, (only if you consider my favorite part of the movie,which is the final scene) but there's something beyond captivating about watching Daniel Day-Lewis plunge deeper and deeper into the depths of greed, madness, and revenge. If you haven't seen it, watch There Will Be Blood.
#3 Every time I see this, I get kind of sad because it reminds me of how fleeting life really is. James Dean was at the top of his career when he starred in Giant. Who knew he'd die at age 24, just 8 days after filming wrapped? There's a ton of creepy facts documented about Jame's beloved Porsche Spyder and the lives it claimed after his own, but I'd rather swoon over this movie clip than think about that stuff.
#4 What's a movie countdown without a dash of obnoxious humor? No matter how many times I watch this flick, it never loses it's hilarity factor, and I end up snort-laughing all the way through. It's one of those movies that is so wrong in so many ways, but gosh, I can't help it, I dig it! So, if you're not easily offended, you must see Bad Teacher.
#5 For a zillion reasons, this movie is AWESOME!!! After it's release, the stellar dialog had people quoting lines all over the net. Marvel (Disney) did a smashup job with The Avengers, and if you haven't watched it, yet, go take the walk of shame to the Redbox, RIGHT NOW!!! I say, "shame" because you should already have this in your video library.
#6 It was a few months back, after watching Wuthering Heights, that I decided crooked teeth are, well, they're hot, on Tom Hardy, they are anyway. If you have Netflix, you gotta watch PBS's, 2009 Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic novel. Oh, this clip!!!! Can you hear my heart shattering???
#7 I watched this one in the theater, and when it was over, I felt invincible. A few times during The Book of Eli, a large portion of the audience started shouting for Denzel. I may or may not have joined in. Without spoiling a huge secret, the one that's revealed at the end, I gotta say, I was totally clueless and gripped. I'm not sure how it stacked up at the box office, but I loved Eli's grit and determination to carry out his mission.
#8 Gah, why do I love this movie??? Maybe I'm strange, (okay, I'm really strange!) but I could watch Muriel's Wedding, over-and-over-and-over.... If any of you have ever seen it, I bet you're either throwing your hands in the air, or shaking your head. But before you unsubscribe to my blog or unfollow me on Twitter, let me explain. I know...the movie is cheap, the actors are dorky, and the plot is crap. I get it. I really do. Still, I'm enchanted by pudgy Muriel Heslop and her gawky ways. Hey, you gotta give her some credit. Admittedly, I hate the dumb stunt she pulls at the end, but in a way, I kind of admire her. It takes guts to walk away from our heart's desires, which is exactly what she does when she discovers the prize isn't what she really needs. If nothing else, you should all watch this movie, so you'll have more reasons to make fun of me.
#9 By this point, the pressure is mounting,so I'll drop a sweet
tale of young boy with a wayward mother. When the kid becomes too much
of a burden, she dumps him on his uncles for a summer of wild tales and
adventures. Though the boy starts out begging his mom not to leave him,
he quickly finds peace and stability with the old guys in their
ramshackle house and an affection for their strange ways. Second Hand Lions is a film fit for any kind of movie watcher.
#10 Wow, I can't believe I still have popcorn in my bowl! Maybe Alex should've done a top 20 movie countdown! Oh well, there's always next time. For now, I'll leave you with a movie I'm sure most of you have watched. It's been awhile since I've seen The Color Purple, but I can still quote a ton of the famous scenes. Like every time somebody gets married, I never fail to picture Shug (Margaret Avery) waving and yelling to her father, "I's married now!" And usually, I'll blurt out her line. Then I get a bunch of strange stares from people who'd probably like to bound me up in a straight jacket. Whoa, did I just say too much? Yeah, I guess I did, so I'll just scoot on out, now, to avoid more over sharing.
Thank you, Alex, for this super, duper excellent blogfest! As always, I've had a blast. And to everybody else, until next time, happy writing or whatever makes you smile. :)
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