Life Update & Let's Talk About Muse, Baby

I took last week off - rather unexpectedly.  My mother went in for back surgery this past Wednesday and she's doing really well - which is a huge relief.

First, a writing update - ScriptFrenzy is coming to a close and sadly I did not reach my goal of 100 pages.  I started with one idea, got about 15 pages in, and realized it wasn't going to work for me.  I came up with a new plot, which I quite liked, and started working on it.  Unfortunately, real life has been getting in the way.  I'm going to continue work on it - I like where it's going.  I just have to figure out a way for time travel to work.

While I was sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, I picked up a short story that I'm working on for an anthology.  It's unsolicited - but a girl has to start somewhere.  My father asked me what I was working on and when I gave him a run down of what was happening, he gave me a suggestion - a small, little thing that will actually turn the story on its head.  And I'm grateful.  It's a fun idea for a dark story and I needed that kick in the pants. 

Thanks Dad!

So maybe we should talk about the finicky thing most of us call a muse.

You know some writers don't believe in such a thing? 

I'm not sure what they considered a muse but I think of it as any little thing that gets your creative juices flowing - an overheard conversation, a name, a misread sign.  Whatever it takes to spark a story idea.  Some people look at it differently, I'm sure, but that's what I consider a writer's muse.

The question then becomes where do you find your muse?

And the answer . . . . everywhere.

Sometimes the best thing to do is be around other people who are just going about their lives.  Why do you think there are so many writers in Starbucks?  I started a new chapter of a story I was working on at the time when I was out with my friends bowling.  You can't coop yourself up at home claiming "no distractions" because sometimes it those distractions that feed our soul and awake our muse.  

Go out into the world and be inspired.  Let any little thing spark your imagination and then get it down on paper before you forget!

Good luck!

Focus

This week, I want to talk about focus.

You know, that thing that sometimes evade you when you have something you want to do or know you should do, but just can't seem to get it together to do it. But there are different kinds of focus: there's the focus that gets your work done and there's focus in your story. Let's talk about the latter one first.

STORY FOCUS

No matter your POV (Point-of-View), the story needs to have a focus. I was recently thinking about my NANOWRIMO project from last November. In the second half of the novel, if I can be so brave to call it that, the focus shifts a bit. The story is told in third person, but mainly focuses on Clara - the main character. In the second half, there are many passages revolving around Clara's mother, Bethany.

The parts of the story that focus on Bethany have a purpose, of course, but I wonder if putting the focus on her will interrupt the flow of the story. I'm not sure I would take these passages out, even if it did. I would try to find a way to fix it internally. The parts of the story that focus on Bethany and her past, explains the family's past and the way that magic works in this universe.

All in all, I like, but I still worry about leaving it in or leaving it as is. It's something I will have to think on, especially when I pick the story back up on the beginning of May to edit it again.

GENERAL FOCUS

Right now, on the computer, I have three windows open: one for work (actual work, the one I get paid for), one window with my LiveJournal open on it, and this one - which has tabs for Blogger and Celtx.

I jump from window to window, tab to tab as needed.

How's a girl supposed to focus when there's so much to do?

Granted, I don't need to be on LiveJournal (or FaceBook, that was earlier). But it's a nice little distraction in between spurts of writing. It's much easier for me to use a computer for my writing (not always convenient, but easier). So the question remains, how to stay focused?

I don't actually have any advice for this except to power through it. Sometimes I write with music on, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have the television on, other times I need silence. Sometimes I just need to check FaceBook every five minutes and other times . . . well, other times I'd rather run away screaming then deal with it.



Whether the focus on your life is in your story or in your surroundings, remember to keep focuses. There are things that need to get done and if you don't do it, who will?

ScriptFrenzy Update & Self-Awareness

This week has been an interesting review of my mind as a writer.

I mentioned before that the idea for my screenplay is one that I've had for a while. I've been working on it all week – except yesterday. Yesterday, I spent the day thinking about what I was writing, my original idea, and what I was really trying to accomplish.

The script started out well enough. But after a few scenes, the script veered wildly from the story I was originally trying to tell. The thing is, I really like my story and I want to tell it. I currently have 13 pages. (I'm supposed to have 25-28 pages by the end of the day.) I've decided to redirect the script to accommodate the original story and not the one I went with when on a writing tangent. So at this point, I'm keeping the first three scenes and then jump from there. I'm going to keep the other pages. (This is for ScriptFrenzy after all. They count towards the 100 pages goal.)

While thinking about it yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I subconsciously did it. (I've been known to do that.) I love my idea. I want to see the finished product (a completed script). But I'm also . . . wary of my story. The underlying love story in this script is not something I've done before. There are a lot of things to consider. And the further I get into the story, the closer I get to introducing the storyline.

It's almost like I have to get out of my own head to plow through and write what I really want to write.

I'm a bit of a self-saboteur, so we'll see where it goes.

Are you a self-saboteur? How do you get past it?

12 & 1/2 Hours and Counting to . . . ScriptFrenzy 2012!

Another Saturday, another post!

I'm getting better at this, at least.

Tomorrow is April 1st, which marks the start of ScriptFrenzy 2012. I'm also currently working on a short story (non-commissioned) for an anthology that is due in June. There are a couple of other anthologies I've found to write (also non-commissioned) that I was go to forgo ScriptFrenzy. I was thinking that it was too much to do with my regular job and my commitments.

But I've decided to muddle through. ScriptFrenzy will be the first priority, since the deadline is sooner, and the short story will be for when I need a break. With just over 12 hours left until this thing starts, I still lack a plot for my script. I'm going to spend the rest of my writing day coming up with a plot and reading articles/blog posts about script writing.

By my post, next Saturday, I should have 23 pages done. Ha! Let's see how it goes.

Good luck to everyone doing ScriptFrenzy this year. And for those of you who aren't, keep writing.

ScriptFrenzy Update & Freaking the Freak Out

ScriptFrenzy is inching ever closer. I do not, for all intents and purposes, have a complete plot. I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete. Reading is helpful. I read the script for the pilot episode of "How I Met Your Mother." I was pleased to see that the finished product was very close to what was written.

Now, I've read interviews and articles about different television shows about how they are still writing, rewriting, and rewriting again as they are filming the episode. I imagine that's true for movies as well.

It makes me wonder, though, how writer's view their scripts for television verses movies. To me, writing for television seems to be like writing a book - a chapter at a time - where everyone gets to see the chapter. So there's no way to overall edit the book, like you normally would. So, continuing with the metaphor, writing/filming a movie would be more like writing it all before anyone gets to see it.

I think writing for television would be interesting though. I feel as if you'd really get to delve in to the characters, and let the audience get to know them as well.

Also, it is my understanding, that are usally several writers on a television series. Ultimately, I think it would be easier, and possibly more fun, to write for television because you'd have people to bounce ideas off of.

****

I have an appointment next month to tour a nearby campus. They have a Movie Making Program. It's a small program, very limited, as far as the amount of people they'll take. One minute, I'm very excited about the whole process and the next I'm sick to my stomach. Going back to school would completely change every aspect of my life and I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I'll go to my meeting and go from there.

Wish me luck.

Untitled Writing Post - March 18, 2012

So, apparently, I already suck at this.

I am looking forward to ScriptFrenzy. It starts two weeks from today. I'm not set on a plot yet, and I still have some reading to do before I know for sure what I'm doing.

I've started using Celtx.

So far it's a great program. They make it very easy to write. Everything's there that you need. And when the program is downloaded (for free, might I add) they have programming for many different writing projects.

It makes me very happy.

While I'm learning what I'm doing, I've taken an idea that I've had for a while and trying my hand at scriptwriting. I always thought that it would make a great novel, but I've never tried to write it before so maybe this will work at better.

If not, I'll try again - maybe use it for the idea for Camp NANOWRIMO in June.

I wanted to use my weekly writing blog post to talk about a certain aspect of whatever type of project that I'm currently working on. Unfortunately, I don't have anything picked out. It's been a crazy week and I have been work on a script.

I've been looking into a proper script writing class. I haven't been able to find anything close or exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not really interested in an online class. I would very much like an in person class, even if I had to travel an hour or two once a week. I'll keep looking, but until then, I'll keep researching and writing.

I'm very optimistic about everything at the moment. And that is . . . . nice.

ScriptFrenzy 2012: Step One - Accepting the Challenge

So, it has - rather belatedly, I might add - come to my attention that I need to be writing more - like nearly everyday. It's why I like NANOWRIMO so much. I have a goal - shared with others - to accomplish. I'm apparently not very good with personal goals. So, let's try it again:

Goal One: Participate in Scriptfrenzy. (We'll talk about that in a minute.)

Goal Two: Post something writing related on this blog at least once a week.

Every Saturday might work, too, now that I think about it. Goal Two set!

Now, back to this first goal. I've never written a "proper" script before. I don't count little skits in high school, although they probably should be. There were only ever a few of them and I remember they were pretty well received. They were always for a class project, too, and I can't remember getting a bad grade on any of the tiny skits I wrote during that time. So script writing shouldn't be too difficult. I sort of know what I'm doing.

Right?

Right?

Ha!

I've been doing a lot of reading over the last couple of days - mostly on formatting. I've never read a "proper" script before either. Lucky there's some on the internet that people can read. It's an interesting notion, to read the scripts from movies and television that I've probably watched a hundred times with thinking too much about it.

ScriptFrenzy wants participants to write 100 pages of script. I'm not sure about that, but I'm pretty sure I've just completely talked myself into this. I make no promises. We'll see where it goes.

Challenge Accepted!

Wish me luck.

The End of 2011 Post

So, another year is almost through. I have to say that it's bittersweet. This year hasn't been an awesome year, by any stretch of the imagination. But, still, I wrote, I read, and when it comes down to it, I can say that I'm happy.

I'm at work now (don't tell Bosslady that I'm blogging at work - although she'll probably just laugh), but when I get home I'm going to take a nap, get up and shower, before getting ready to go out tonight. My family and I are going to the bowling alley (my best friend, Poppet, might be going with us. She's not sure). We've been bowling a lot this year and I can tell you my game has significantly improved.

Though I'm pretty tired, so I'm not sure how well I'll do. Yesterday, after getting off work, I met up with Poppet and helped set up and serve at her friend's reception. That was exhausting. And I wasn't planning on having to stay. But, it happened. Everyone was very nice and the reception was decorated beautifully.

I found some prompts that inspired me while on a writing community on LiveJournal. It ran a little dark, but I can honestly say that I'm happy with what I wrote.

I'm still work on The Quill & The Mirror but I have a new story forming in my head that is fighting for attention. We'll see which one prevails.

I hope 2011 was kind to you. Here's hoping that 2012 is much better.

Happy Writing,

Megan

NANOWRIMO 2011: The End

NANOWRIMO is over and this year I can count myself among the "winners."

That seems a little weird to me, though, that with National Novel Writing Month there are winners and losers. The way I see it, if you fell short of the goal and wrote . . . erm, say, 40,000 words, then that is 40,000 words you wrote on a brand new story that you didn't have before. So, if you participated, congratulations on the start of your novel, whether you reached 50,000 words or not.

(Word of advice for those doing NANO: don't used Open Office. Overall, I like the program, but there will be a discrepancy in your work count, so be careful.)

But I won and I ordered the t-shirt. I've never reached the 50,000 word count goal before and I can honestly tell you I was shaking. I was also running sprints in the chat room I was in, so it was doubly nice to have people to celebrate with.

I hadn't planned to even open the document until my birthday, on the 16th of December, but when I got up this morning I couldn't not work on it. (Alert: Double Negative in play.) I have a lot of editing and writing to do before I can even let anyone else read it. The book is currently entitled "The Quill & The Mirror" and I have a feeling it'll stay that way. Yesterday, when I was daydreaming at the bowling alley - yeah, I know, whatever - I came up with an idea for another story using these characters. Will I write it? Maybe. I wasn't planning on working with these characters again, but it's hard to let go.

I've created this world that I've come to love and this is before I've done any editing. Well, I deleted the words I had marked for deletion and went over some spelling and grammar. So, there was a little bit of editing.

I have a lot of work to do, so I'm going to get to it.

Happy NANO, everyone!

Another NANOWRIMO

So, as it turns out, I am a terrible blogger.

Another NANOWRIMO is not only upon us, but almost over. As of this post, I'm at 43,798 words. That's quite a feat for me. I've never done it before. And as proud as I am of myself, I'm freaking out, too. Because at some point, people know will want to read what I've been ranting about for a month.

While I'm totally in my right to say no, I probably won't. But I'll make them wait until what I've written is more organized and together chronologically.

I'm registered on the site, if you would like to add me as a "buddy" over there. Here's the link: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/storywriter84

If you are also participating in NANOWRIMO, good luck. If you aren't, then you can ignore this post. Maybe once this beast is more presentable, I'll post something.

Until then (or the NEXT NANOWRIMO),

Megan

November is NANOWRIMO . . .

. . . and it's been kicking my ass.

I spent much of October plotting and taking notes, writing down ideas.

I did really well the first week. I've been pretty lucky because I have a job where I can write at work as long as there isn't something more pressing to do (i.e. - guest at the desk, ringing telephone, etc.)

Today, I forgot my flash drive. So I'm unable to work on the project. I have a backup document in my email but it's a few days old and won't do me much good. I wrote over 3,000 words yesterday. I'll try to write when I get home, to make up for today, but I'm afraid I won't hit the 50,000 word goal.

And that's okay.

Why?

Because the story is crap.

Let me rephrase. The plot is good. The story is crap. I've just been mindlessly writing whatever to up the word count. I've even used a NANOWRIMO plot device this year: The Traveling Shovel of Death.

It's an ingenious idea and I'm quite happy with it. The idea is this: someone dies by shovel. I don't know the origin of it, but it was quite fun to use. It's something I plan to put in next year too, if my story will allow it.

This project will be my longest draft to date, but it won't hit the 50,000 word count by the end of November 30; and like I said, that's okay. It's okay because when I'm done with this draft (whether you consider it draft 0 or draft 1) I'll get to take what I've done so far and . . . fix it.

I'll go back and add details, take out huge, disgusting paragraphs that I wrote when I was hopped up on caffeine and fretting under pressure.

It'll be a relief, quite frankly.

So why do I continue to put myself through this? Because it forces me to write. Sure, I come up with an idea and I work on it for a while, but the inevitable happens: I either get bored with the story or fed up with the characters. It happens every time. And yes, I've been known to go back and work on a story but it tends to get saved on a flashdrive, that I carry around, and there it will stay, collecting virtual dust.

So I've spent nearly the whole of last month putting words on the screen, most of them will be deleted and/or changed by the time I go through it again, after NANOWRIMO.

And that's okay.

Because I was writing.

Happy NANOWRIMO kiddos, let the insanity start all over again next year.

Demon: Summary and Snippet

It's not a very big or particularly well written summary, but honestly, I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to navigate this story. I have a pretty good idea of the ending, it everything up to that point that may be the problem. :)

WIP Summary and Snippet

Summary:

Bridgette goes home for her little sister's wedding and all hell breaks lose . . . literally. She must maneuver through her former life in Ohio, trying to handle relationships, friendships, and her empath best friend . . . not to mention her new Demon . . . fiance?

Snippet:

Someone was screaming.

I rolled off my bed and fell on the floor. My cousin, Aaron, and his wife Julie were standing in the hall when I opened the door.

“ 's' matter,” I asked, clutching the door frame tiredly.

More screaming.

Suddenly out of my stupor, I ran down the hall and stopped in front of a door. I had heard voices before from this room – Simone and Mary. Light shone from under the door.

I flung the door open as Mary started screaming again.

I blinked twice to make sure I wasn't imagining the whole thing.

A portal was opened in the floor, inside a circle of candles. Simone sat in the corner crying while Mary was crying and screaming being held in the air by her arm. She must have been standing too close. “Put her down,” I said, Aaron coming in behind him wielding a bat. I raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

“Look, I'm tired and I'm pretty sure that I'm still drunk,” I said to the room at large, “put Mary down and everyone can go back to bed or I won't make it til tomorrow afternoon.”

“I am not leaving without my compensation,” the tall man shaped demon standing beside the portal told me, holding Mary up higher.

“Hey,” Aaron said, pointing his bat.

“Step back, Julie,” I whispered. I heard her step back into the hall. “Take Derek Jeter here with you.” I took the bat from him and waited until I heard the door shut behind me. “Now listen here, I am so not in the mood for this crap. Knock it off.” Too bad he was a demon, he was kinda cute.

“I will not leave without . . .”

“Yeah, yeah, you want compensation,” I interrupted him. “Can this wait until tomorrow night? What do you want anyway?”

“The summoning spell required my obtaining a bride,” the demon told me steadily.

I glanced at the bride in the corner before turning back to glare at the demon. “Which one,” I asked him. One of them had to initiate the spell, meaning that one was responsible for payment.

“Mary invoked the circle,” Simone spoke up.

“I didn't know,” the twelve year old squeaked. I sighed.

“Put her down,” I told the demon.

The door opened behind me. “Sweetie, what's going on,” Mom asked. I closed my eyes and counted to five. My Mom is irritating on the best of days but with this wedding she has been driving me crazy.

“I don't know,” I told her honestly. I've had more then my fair share of dealing with demons. I was so not wanting to have to deal with one know. “Is Dad home yet?”

“He won't be back until morning,” Mom told me. The demon looked at me questioningly, trying to figure out what I was doing. Well, good luck to him, because I sure as hell didn't know.

Bad choice of words.

I had a feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

Simone sat huddled in the corner. I had a feeling she was the one behind all of this. She usually was. I glanced at Mary, looking frightened and ready to piss herself.

“What about a trade,” I asked.

I then promptly told myself to shut up, but as per usual, I didn't listen.

“A trade,” the demon asked, tilting his head to the side and looking me up and down. I made a face. “You,” he asked, nodding in my direction.

“Would that be okay,” I asked, crossing my arms. Was he really going to be this picky? What was wrong with me anyway? Alright, so I'm not twelve like Mary or super skinny and super bitchy like Simone, but . . . wait, was I really going to get upset if he didn't want me.

Apparently.

I should have had more to drink.

He ran his forked tongue across his lower lip. I suppressed a shudder. I sighed in relief when he released Mary, who ran at full speed and launched herself at me. “No, don't go, Bridgette. Don't do it.”

I shushed her, pulling her arms from my waist and passing her back to my mother. “Well?”

He glanced at Simone and then at me. “Alright. Let's go.”

“Now,” Simone asked, jumping up. She skirted around the portal and to the door. “I'm getting married! She's Blake's Best Person. She has to be there.”

“You have a date,” he asked.

I scoffed at him. “No,” I said.

“Now you do,” he said. I groaned. “And afterword, we'll go home.”

“Home,” my mother squawked, gripping my shoulder.

I'll admit it, at the moment, going to Hell sounded like a blessing. And I was tired. And I was still buzzing from the alcohol. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Can we figure the rest of this crap out later,” I asked the Demon. “Do you accept or not?”

He nodded. “I accept. Till the morrow, then.” He had the nerve to tip an imaginary hat to us. “Ladies,” he said before disappearing. I sighed when the portal dimmed and then closed.

“What did I say about magic in the house,” my mother asked Mary.

“It was Simone,” I said, quietly.

“And now look what you've done,” my mother continued on.

I moved my head around, trying to relieve some of the built up pressure in my neck. “It was Simone,” I said, louder this time, making sure I didn't look at my little sister. In fact, I had my back to all of them, looking out the window into the night. “Simone set the circle up. She probably talked Mary into invoking the circle though. And, of course, Mary took her up on it, wanting the experience.” I turn around and walked past them. “I'm going to bed.”

I locked the door behind me for good measure when I got into my room. I grabbed my cell phone off my nightstand and made a phone call.

*******

If you take the time to read this, please let me know what you think. So far it's one of my favorite scenes, except for maybe the scene I wrote earlier today. Anyway, some feedback would be great.

Thanks,

~M~

Reality Bites: Distractions & New Adventures

Reality Bites: Distractions & New Adventures

Today is the last day of August. On the 21^st I made myself some goals. Let's see how I did.

Goal One was make my overall word count 5000. At the point, I'm at 5,024. Goal accomplished.

Goal Two was post a summary and a snippet of current WIP. That will be a separate post. I just need to decide on a snippet. Goal accomplished.

Goal Three was a Playlist and a Pandora channel to write by. I have several Pandora channels, so I consider that a success. I do have a writing playlist though that I did last week. I bought several CDs of new music, so the list will be changing again soon. Either way – Goal accomplished.

So there's an update on my goals from the last post. I'll try to post a new set of goals soon.

I've been distracted from my writing though. Baking and cake decorating has been a hobby of mine for over a year now. I've been inspired by Food Network's Challenge and Ace of Cakes. Anyway, I've signed up for the Wilton Basic Cake Decorating class. A friend of mine, Lisa, whom I also work with, has signed up with me. We're very excited.

If all goes well, I'll also be able to sell beautiful cakes out of my home. I'm excited about this. So I'm sure to get distracted as I start going to classes and spend time practicing my newly learned techniques. I just have to focus and I know that I can do this and keep my monthly goals.

Keep an eye out for the summary and snippet and I'll try to have the new goals posted by the end of the week.

Keep writing!

~M~

Salutations & Objectives

OR

Introduction & Goals

My name is Megan. I go by storywriter84 on most places on the web. I write so, by definition, I am a writer. ;) Feel free to follow me on Twitter. If you decide to, please drop me a little note and introduce yourself.

There's a little snippet along the side of this blog, if you want to know some specifics. For some reason, I am ecstatic that I was able to put in the line about drinking Coke. Most people in the area that I live tend to drink Pepsi. Yuck. Although Mountain Dew is okay.

I have every intention that this blog will be all about my writing and writing in general. I have a feeling that will fall apart rather quickly.

Starting in September, I want to make a post about my goals for the month. Since we're already past the halfway mark for August, I'm going to wait until the end of the month or the very beginning of next.

To start us off, though, I'm going to set one goal. Ready? Here we go!

GOAL:

My current WIP is 4,789 words long.

My goal, to be completed

by the end of August is to make

the word count 5,000.

Should be easy right? We'll see. I'll post a summary and a snipped soon. Hopefully be the end of the month. Is that another goal? Seems like it to me. So:

GOAL 2:

Post a summary and snippet

of current WIP

(currently titled DEMON)

by the end of the month.

It's been rough going the last couple of weeks with this story, but I'm planning on powering through. I think I stop to the grocery store for some candy is in order. I also need to get some new music to write to. I'm currently using all my music from Glee, but I don't think it's doing the trick.

So, my next goal will be:

GOAL 3:

Compile a playlist from iTunes

to listen to while writing.

(AND create Pandora channel)

I think three goals are enough for right now. I'll post stuff as I go along. If I start slacking, feel free to send me a message to kick my butt along.

~Megan~