- My horse tried to die on me - In hindsight, he didn't actually try to kick the bucket on me but he sure as heck gave me a gastric ulcer. He coliced (for my non-horse friends, its a gastrointestinal issue of gigantic proportions) and took three days to get his system back in order. He then abscessed at the injection site from a shot of pain reliever. This pretty much took up my ENTIRE life for more than a month. FYI, he's fine now... thankfully!
- My literary friend, Laura, moved to Missouri - Rather, her husband was transfer and she *had* to go with him. Poppycock, I say. It was a sad day for me, not just because she rips my stories a new one (as to make them better not to be mean) but she is a very dear friend. I misses her. :(
- Computer issues are a pain in the you-know-what - My lap top is at the "doctor's" getting fixed. Something about a bad hard drive, I think. With a few viruses throw in. Needless to say, it gave me the blue screen of death. BUT my most amazing friend, Kaitlin, is trying to fix him. Obviously, not having MY computer to type on will hinder my writing.
I'm not trying to use these as an excuse, I'm just giving you legit reasons why my word count has suffered. I have gotten to Chapter 8 in Book 2 of my trilogy AND, recently, started writing a Christian fiction novel on the side. I got stuck in my fantasy world and thought it would be good to write something that is constrained to the laws of reality. I think it may be working... we shall see.
With Laura gone, I had to find someone to bounce ideas off of--not that Laura isn't, like, a text, e-mail, or phone call away!--it helps to have someone close by to help. Enter friend Kaitlin. She doesn't tear my story apart and make me answer questions to the 10th degree, but she does tell me what works and what doesn't. She tells me if anything seems off about what I've written. Case in point, I had all characters in book 2 ANGRY at one specific character--she pointed it out and was thinking, "Why are they all so angry at him, he's not that bad?!" I agreed and had to go back and fix about 3 chapters worth of rage at this poor man. Anyway, she's writing a story too and its really cool to have so many writer friends! :)
Despite my lack of writing, I have, in fact, been reading quite a bit! All the research I've done to make my writing better and advise from well-known published authors/editors/agents was to READ, READ, READ. And when you're done with that keep on reading! If you write fantasy, read historical fiction. If you write mystery, read science fiction. If you write romance, read... I dunno, kid's fiction. If you write fiction, read non-fiction. So that is what I've been trying to do! I've noticed a few things...
- 1.) I pick up on bad writing RIGHT away - and I can't go on.
- 2.) It gives you a perspective you may have not had to begin with.
- 3.) All writing styles are different, and reading gives you many different preservatives which HELP enhance your writing. You learn what not to do. What to do. What is believable. What works and what doesn't.
- 4.) You pick up little things that you draft into your own style. I've taken to highlighting phrases that I think are amazing.
- 5.) You get to learn SO MANY WORDS! Write them down, look them up, and use them! I also highlight those as well.
So, just because I haven't really written much, doesn't mean I haven't been working on my creative muscles. I'm getting there! Goal for 2011: Finish book 2 AND my single Christian fiction book. ***Stay tuned, I'll be writing a few book reviews for you, too!***
