Return to Reality

Although I keep returning to the NaNo site in the hopes that it will be reset for 2011, it is time to get back to work on the project that got tabled earlier.  This project I will get paid for, so I need to concentrate on it.  I already have a rough outline, but I will flesh that out some more today and do some more research.  I think this is going to be great.  I just hope I can move it along at a respectable clip.  I'm excited to see how it will shape up.

NaNoWriMo is Returning

On November 1, 2011, all the novelist hopefuls who have signed up for this awesome adventure will be hitting their laptops with abandon.  Many will be returning winners, like myself.  I have returned ever year for the past three years and now I'll be at it again.  Each year marks a return to a state of frantic creativity.  Trying to find that one great idea that is book material.  50,000 words is no easy task if you don't have the right premise.  I think I've got one that will fly.  I still have to work out some details in my mind.  I hate outlines.  Wish me luck.  Here's one of the goodies I got for "winning" last year.

Return to Solvency - I Hope

Well, it's September 3rd already!  I've been so caught up in my shrunken budget that I didn't realize I should "return" to my blog. Ha, Ha.

The most important return for this month, however, is the return of my most recent writing job.  It sort of fizzled out last month, along with the income it would have generated.  Now it's back, and I'm thrilled.  In fact, I should be working right now.  I'll return tomorrow and tell you how it's going.  :)  Thank's for reading and have a safe Labor Day weekend.

NaNoWriMo Time

Well, it's nanowrimo time again and I'm in a real pickle. I've gotten two really choice ghost writing jobs, but there is no way I'll be finished by November 1st. I haven't even had time to come up with a plot. I have a vague idea, but no time to outline. I also don't know if I'm going to be able to make the time to write while I'm supposed to be writing for my jobs. I may have to start late and really hump it to catch up. I just don't know. Anyway, I am determined to participate again this year and win if humanly possible. Wish me luck.

Freelance Finale II

Finally, I am finito! And the client seems pleased. That makes me happy. I always worry about that so much.

Now I can spend a little extra time editing my romance novel and outlining for NaNoWriMo. It's just around the corner. Yikes.

I need to hurry up and enter my Writer's Digest story before I miss that deadline. I am actually pretty excited about that. Of course my chances are pretty slim, but you just never know.

Plot Breakthrough

I just finished the first draft of my second book. I had some major plot holes and discrepancies, but I just had an epiphany. I know just how I'm going to make it work. All of the problems have just fallen into place like dominoes. Okay, there are still a few kinks to work out, but I have faith now that the major issue is resolved that I can smooth those out. The really cool thing is I get to add a whole new major scene to the book. That means more original writing. Yay! Time to go back up what I've already done. An extrememly important practice. I don't do it often enough as it is. When I wrote my first book, I'm sure I backed it up every day.

Publishers and Agents

Wow, this can be so confusing. I've been reading about them for some time this morning and I still don't really know that much. It does appear that most if not all of the major publishing houses won't accept a submission unless it's through an agent. There are alot of other publishers who will, but it's hard to know much about them, even if they have great websites. They certainly paint a bleak picture for first time authors.

And then there's that pesky Platform business popping up again. How does a fiction writer really get the kind of followers you need to qualify as a "platform"? I admit that I'm a bit lost when it comes to that whole concept. I mean, between freelancing and writing, I don't have a lot of time for playing around on the social networks. But I guess I'd better find it if I want to sell my book. The problem is, you can't print excerpts because some publishers don't go for that, so how do you get people interested in your book?

I was amazed at how much the agents took. They really take a bite out of whatever royalties you get, unless that percentage is just for the advance, but I doubt it. Yeouch!

Freelance Finale I

I finally finished the chapter I was working on! Now I've got to get to the other book pronto. That chapter is going to be even more challenging I think. But first, I do have some housekeeping matters on the first book to make it print - ready. Also, I've got another job I've been neglecting that I need to do today. Work, work, work. Happy problems.

I hope you liked my little tip. I will have some more as time goes by. One thing I am definitely learning is that you can and must get free publicity for your book and you can do it yourself, without the help of an agent or publisher. Think on that and I'll have more for you soon.

Freelance Folly, New Books and Point of View

Well as you all know, I've been working on these two ebook deals. Unfortunately, I think I may have queered them by bringing up the broker in the context of the second deal. See, I get my work through a broker, and that broker has a contract with everyone who uses them, employer or employee, that if you make your contact through the broker, you use the broker for further jobs as well. So anyway, I haven't heard from them since. I hate that, don't you? You try to do what's right and you get nailed for it. This isn't the first time either. So, now it's back to the drawing board, gotta get some jobs.

I'm writing a new book while I'm still editing my first one. Crazy huh? But it's been in my head for years and I just couldn't wait any more. I hope I get the draft done before NaNoWriMo(National Novel Writing Month) in November. I have to come up with another novel idea - in each sense of the word - to write my NaNo book. The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. That's really more like a Novella, but still. I did it last year, that's how I got my first novel and why I'm working so hard to edit it. I'm trying to expand it as well as make corrections etc. I want to add new scenes. I just don't know where to put them, the novel is pretty tight right now. However, there is some room at the end to do some work, so I can get in there and play.

Today I have an article for you on point of view. I hope it is of benefit. Enjoy!

Spare the Garlic
Billie Williams

Excerpt from Spice Up Your Writing: Write to Entice

Garlic

When you write, spare the garlic. You can separate the garlic bulb into cloves. Each clove has the potential to distance your reader as its strength does not diminish merely because its size does. Therefore keep in mind each word, sentence, paragraph, chapter needs to be written with the reader in mind. Your reader wants no garlic between him and the characters in your book. (Unless of course your main character is a vampire – but that’s another story.)

Writing from the heart allows you to put some of yourself into your writing. I’m not suggesting using yourself as a character, though every character you write probably does have some element of you in it. Think of your characters as your children, off spring, your cloves separated from the parent garlic to be planted alone to become more of what they once were. The seed of what you want them to be.

Most all writing courses and many books on writing cover point of view. In the analogy of garlic to reader, point of view is their reaction to the amount of garlic you use. Point of view according to James Frey just refers to where the narrator stands in relation to the other characters and to the events in the story, i.e., who is holding the camera and the microphone. Are you standing close enough so that your reader needs to focus where you want him/her to?

For instance first person, the “I” as in Susan Isaacs Shining Through viewpoint limits the author’s ability as to how he can impart story knowledge to the reader, but it pulls the reader in close to the character that is the “I”. The reader begins to feel a closeness, a friendship with the character whereas the first person objective narrator holds the reader at arms length. Elizabeth George in Write Away uses an example from Ernest Hemingway’s Indian Camp as a sample of this type of narrator. Or you may look at Stephen King’s The Dead Zone for how this is done.
Both authors know how to use the first person objective narrator creating an aura of intrigue about a character or situation. This view point offers the reader the least degree of intimacy.
The objective Viewpoint remains outside the character at all times. Writing journalistically, like a reporter, like a cop on the beat, “just the facts ma’am”—the writer/narrator gives only the facts in this view point. This viewpoint gives up a portion of control over the readers as well as all attempts to manipulate him. Objective viewpoint offers the reader the least degree of intimacy as we said before. Its purpose is to keep readers at a distance from the story, to make them critical observers of the events.

Omniscient View Point: narrator is the one who knows, sees, and hears all with rather god-like authority. This narrator knows the inner workings of all the characters. This viewpoint gives the writer the freedom to explore everything and anything that supports the novel’s theme, furthers the plot, or reveals characters. These are the decided advantages of this point of view.
The omniscient narrator sounds like a story teller. Able to impart a sense of history behind his/her characters and at the same time revealing something about them such as what’s in their hearts or minds and gives the narrator more control over the story. Alice Hoffman’s book Second Nature is but one example of this type of narrator/viewpoint.

Then we have multiple Character Viewpoints: That is deciding to tell the story through one or more characters who are taking an active part in the story. Evan Marshall’s The Marshall Plan For Novel Writing shows you how to use this method effectively. In this view point you limit yourself to revealing only what your chosen viewpoint character would see, know, think, or feel in each scene in which he/she is participating. You can change viewpoint character when you change a scene if you wish, or a paragraph, but use care here to avoid head hoping. This does however; give you freedom to know more, to impart more to your reader.

Compare the single or the multiple viewpoint first person. In the first person, the narrator stays with one narrator throughout the story which gives the reader the opportunity to identify strongly with the character. It creates a sense of intimacy and adds to the authenticity of the novel.

Using the third person single viewpoint character, the narrator sees through the eyes of one character as he/she and all events are filtered through this single character’s consciousness. You write about the character, other than capturing his/her tone you do not adopt his persona or walk in his skin. The advantage of this narrator is that it invites the reader to become intimate with one character whose motivation can be thoroughly explored. The challenge of this viewpoint is he/she needs to be present in every scene for you to present it to your reader. If this character isn’t in a scene, you can’t present it to your reader.

A third person narrator flits like an invisible bird says Orson Scott Card in Characters and Viewpoint. “This narrator is a story teller, plain and simple; we ignore her and listen to the tale.”
Closeness implies an examination of the workings of the character’s mind. Distance implies an observation of his actions.

Points to remember
:
First Person – must reveal the narrator’s character – it is distance in time—tells the story looking backward.

Third Person—is distance in space—never a person who is actually there—always an invisible observer.

The omniscient narrator can tell more story and reveal more character in less time that it takes the limited third person narrator. That’s the greatest advantage.

Limited third person can’t let readers see as many different things in a short period of time, but it gives readers more intimacy, more up close and personal time.

The overwhelming majority of fiction today uses the limited third person narrator. Most readers read for the sake of story. They want to immerse themselves in the lives of the character, and for that purpose, limited third person is best combining flexibility of omniscient with the intensity of the first person.

To read some more examples of these two narrative viewpoints see the following:

1st person – The Last Film of Emile Vico, by Thomas Gavin

Omniscient – Unicorn Mountain, by Michael Bishop

Which, according to Orson Scott Card in his book Character and Viewpoint are some of the very best examples around.

EXERCISES:
1. Write a paragraph using the first person – the “I” narrator.

2. Re-write that paragraph turning it into one done by the omniscient view point narrator.

3. Re-write a second time this time using the limited third person narrator.

Can you see and feel the difference? Which feels more natural to you? It is good to experiment with writing in various view points. If you are stuck and a scene or story isn’t working very often if you switch viewpoint characters you will be able to continue probably creating a better narrative at the same time.
~~
Now you can get all three of Billie's books – “Writing Wide: Exercises in Creative Writing,” “Spice Up Your Writing: Write to Entice,” and “Characters in Search of an Author” – as an instant download for a special discount. All the details are here: http://filbertpublishing.com/triple.html

Still Writing

I've been writing so much those little muscles under my shoulder blades are hurting. But I'm not complaining. That friend I was telling you about put in a good word for me with an independent publisher and now he's going to look at my book! I'm floored. I'm also working my fingers to the bone to complete the revisions.

Now I've got a new job writing an ebook. It should start about the time I'm ready to show my book to the publisher, so the timing couldn't be better. I can't believe I've been hired to write another book though. It's amazing really. I know I can do it, but it's still a bit daunting.

I've started a new blog - A Serial Story by ArtAmbrosia - where I write a story in chapters, one each week. I should finish it in ten. Come check it out. So far it's pretty good. :-)

I'm sorry I have to dispense with the teaser that I promised you, but I don't know how the editor would feel about that. Some don't like it, do I'm taking the high road.

©2009 T.S. Witt

Writing Again!

I've had two freelance jobs in the last week that have kept me hoppin' and writing! It's been great. The best part is I finally opened up that dusty file with my book in it and started editing again. I got so into it I forgot to eat and had to have cereal at like 10 PM. lol. Then I kept at it until I couldn't see the page any more. If I didn't have other work to do today, I'd be at it right now. I'd forgotten how much I love my characters, my people. They're so real to me. I hope that means they will be real to my readers too. I'm thinking of posting some teasers to see if anyone has anything to say about that. My friend and author of seven, soon to be eight novels, Jason Gehlert, used that method and it worked well for him. In fact, he posted one whole novel once - a chapter at a time as he wrote it. Isn't that cool? You can keep up with Jason and all his work at jasongehllert.blogspot.com. He's got a new novel just coming out called Europa: Rise of the Carnelians. You can find chapters and character bios on his website europa2045.blogspot.com. Jason was also insrumental in getting me through my writer's block. I don't think I put it in my 7 ways to beat writer's block, but talking with other writer's can really help to get you motivated in your own writing. Gotta go, lots of writing to do. Look for those teasers soon.

Writer's Block: A Test of My Creative Abilities

I've just been hired to write product reviews for a comparison shopping website. I've been asked to write articles about various products by discussing some of the benefits and unique features of the product. The problem is the products. Some of them are like, for example "a box of 250 Acco paperclips". Okay, that's not one of them, it's just an example. How do I write, creatively, 250-300 words about a paperclip? I mean, I could do it, but it would be fiction. So, needless to say, I'm struggling. I took this gig on a flat fee - big mistake. I have 10 articles to write and they're going to take way longer than I thought because so many of them deal with tech and I'll have to do research. Of course that helps with my word count. Talk about writer's block. A paperclip? Really.