I Didn't Die

I've just been taking a break.

My focus was off because of things in my life... mostly good things, but they still interfered.  Life does tend to get in the way of writing; but sometimes what I've written gets in the way of writing...

I reached a part that was giving me fits!  I didn't like the flow.  I wasn't happy with the story line... it seemed to lag a bit.  I want the important parts of these chapters to be more compact.  The voice didn't match the rest of my ms.  I was spending way too much time fixing little things, when I really needed to start over with that whole part.

I've been spending less time reading blogs, but still daily follow  Susan's blog, A Walk In My Shoes.  She has become a friend, offering me priceless advice.  ...reluctantly, I might add.  Not reluctant to share and to help, but reluctant to call it advice.  Rather, she modestly says it's just her opinion.  Susan supports my opinion to start over with this section.  She's been in a similar spot, wasting precious time on a part that just wasn't working.

It's so wonderful to have other writers to share with, and to glean from.  If you're a new writer, I encourage you to follow not only the blogs of agents and publishers (though much priceless information is freely given there) but to also follow blogs of other writers...  people that have been where you are, that can offer opinions to steer you around the roadblocks that can sometimes cause a new writer to give up too easily.  And don't just limit it to writers in your own genre.  All writers have common problems and solutions.

Hopefully, when you've found a few blogs to follow that you can relate to and learn from, you will be able to ask questions and get good sound answers.  Just because the current problem you're dealing with is not a current topic in Blogville, doesn't mean you can't ask it in a comment form, or even e-mail it to the blogger.  The people I've met through blogs are eager to help ,and to develop friendships.  Even though there are infinite great books that talk about specific topics concerning the craft, feedback from other writers is priceless.

It's hard for me to think about tossing such a huge section of my WIP; but if it's not working, what good is it?  So any day now, I'm going to go back to the outline process for this section, and add more structured detail to keep me on track.  I know what needs to be in there.  That's all that needs to be in there.  Once I establish my direction, my words should again flow as they did in the beginning.

As I get further along with my book, I do plan to join local writers' groups for the face-to-face support they offer.  But, in the meantime, I'll meet up with the talent right here in Blogville.  And Susan... thank you for everything!

helpful sites and my tips for organizing

I hate to break a promise, but I didn't really promise, did I? I did say that I would occasionally update my sidebar links with the new sites I found to be helpful, but I didn't promise... I started following a half-dozen new sites today! I can see my sidebar running off the screen and across the keyboard. (I'm a bit under-the-weather and I haven't been able to focus on my writing, so I'm using the time to surf Blogville. However, I'm getting better so I might not hook up with any new ones for a while.) As soon as I get a chance, I will edit my list to the ones I find most helpful for the beginner. Yeah, like me.



Just now I added a blog that talked about hiring a tax guy and how to handle your earnings. I took notes from another on book signings. Well, if you're like me, you've got a ways to go before worrying about that. I plan to have the links on my sidebar focus on the blogs that pertain to writing, editing, querying, and things like that. One step at a time. If you are beyond that point in your journey, chances are you've already discovered helpful blogs for your circumstances.

On another note, I thought I'd share my thoughts on Microsoft Office One Note. I know a couple of people that have the program (it came installed on their PC) but have never used it. I was that person for a long while. One day I checked it out... wish I'd have done that a long time ago. It's the best for being organized with outlines, etc. It has books, tabs, sub-tabs, pages... and the best part? The search. You can search your entire One Note, or just a tab or book.


For example: My One Note is broken up into many books, such as recipes, author (bet you know what goes in that one), and one for Hubby's stuff I'm responsible for remembering. Within the 'author' book are section tabs: publisher, free-lance, agent, tips, promotion, after the check (the tax guy stuff), and a section for each book/series I am developing. Under the section for agent, I copy info on querying, choosing an agent; anything dealing with that step of the way.


The section for my current ms contains tabs for outline, locations and New York City. (Read the book - you'll understand.) Under outline, I have many pages: chapter outline, characters, time-line, Liz, Nick, Bill & Natalie, story layout, and of course, misc. I always need a miscellaneous spot! On each page, I group notes for that particular. Bill & Natalie's page is for notes about their relationship. Things I need to remember for later chapters. (When & where did he see her?) The time-line page is a must for me! If someone has a kid at fifteen, they must age at the same rate. In other words, she can't be thirty with a ten-year-old running around.

In the early stages of writing this ms, I found that I had given Liz one child, but later talked about her getting pregnant again. Oops. Don't worry... I found a way to make it work even better! Since I've discovered One Note, that will not happen again. If she has a kid, it goes in there! Most importantly, I make sure to use short notes; just enough info to refresh my memory. My time-line is a chart for easy reference. Don't overwhelm yourself with writing notes with a word count bigger than your ms! BTW... word count is in there.

Now for that search feature... You know all those lengthy e-mails that list a gazillion helpful hints that you'd like to remember when you needed them? Copy and paste it into your One Note. Dog gets skunked? I go to my Lily book (my e-junk drawer) and search skunk. Lipstick on carpet? Carpet. Vinegar, WD40, whatever... If there's a tip for it, I can find it lots quicker than you can Google!

I think I've praised this MS program enough. There may be similar programs out there that work just as well. My point is, FIND ONE AND USE IT! Having organized notes will not only speed up the writing process, but hopefully shorten the editing time.

There! Does your brain hurt?