Let Your Words Flow

Let Your Words Flow
Let Your Words Flow

Monday, February 27, 2012

Plot or Character?


Plot or character?  Do you like plot driven or character driven stories? 

Saturday, February 25, 2012

My First Blog Award

I recently received my first blog award.  (Some have commented about the “Pretty Colors” of this blog award, though not my favorite, I proudly accept and display the award.)  The Kreativ Blogger Award from Katrina over at http://katrinadelallo.blogspot.com/

According to the rules, I must thank the giver.
Thank you, Katrina!
I must link to his/her blog. Okay I’m doing that.  http://katrinadelallo.blogspot.com/

 Next, I have to list 10 things about myself, and pass the award along to six other deserving bloggers.

1.)  I love seafood.

2.) I live at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg TN.

3.) I love classic rock, but can’t listen to it over and over on my mp3 player.  It gets too boreing.

4.) I like old scary movies.  Anything with Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, or weird monsters.  I love Creature from the Black Lagoon.

5.) My wife and I own and run a magic shop in the Arts and Crafts community.

6.) My wife and I carve bears with a chainsaw.

7.) I teach a songwriting course for the Talented and Gifted program at Walter’s State Community College in Morristown TN, on weekends in Jan. and Feb.  It's fun and the extra money comes in handy.

8.)  Last summer I got to go to Key West and visit the house of Ernest Hemingway.  (I’ve never read any of his books.)

9.) I play guitar.

10.) I just finished the Writing for Children and Teenagers ICL course! 

I'd like to pass the Kreativ Blogger Award along to:  I will fill it in as I go.

Ellen at  http://ellenwrin.blogspot.com/
 Allyn at http://allynstotz.blogspot.com/
Katie at  http://katielclark.webs.com/apps/blog/
Corey at  http://coreyschwartz.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Double digit redundant day.

It's a double digit day of the month, so why not make a double copy of your work.

Don't forget make a backup!

One word Wednesday

One word Wednesday.  It’s sort of a brainstorming game, but you have to reply with a single word, or series of single words, that relate to your WIP.  If it doesn’t relate – stretch our imagination.

If you are writing about  a farm and the word is Black, you could answer: Angus, sheep, coal, dirt. Whatever relates the word to your work.

Today's word is: Song.  


Monday, February 20, 2012

Tagged.

Ellen Wrin tagged me to answer some questions here, then come up with questions for other bloggers to answer. Here are my answers -  Like some others, I'm using the same questions.
The Tag rules:
1. You must post the rules!
2. Answer the questions and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged.
3. Tag eleven people and link to them.
4. Let them know you’ve tagged them.

1. If you could live in a fictional world, where would that be?
It's a toss up between Middle Earth and Pandora (isn't that the world in Avatar?)
2. Do you read in noisy or quiet places?
- Either, if I'm into something noise doesn't bother me.
3. What was the first book you ever read?
- Planet of Death by Robert Silverburg.

4. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- Hoot.

5. Favorite author?
- Carl Hiaasen

6. Do reviews influence your choice of reads?
- Nope.

7. Fiction or Nonfiction?
-Fiction now. When I was younger, I only wanted nonfiction. Mostly electronic, music, or computer stuff.

8. Have you ever met your favorite author?
- No.

9. Audio books or Paperbacks?
- Both. I'm reading 3 print books, and 1 audio. One of my day jobs is a chainsaw carver, I listen to audio while I carve. Most carvers listen to music, it's too boring though I love music.

10. Classic or Modern Novels?
- Modern.
11. Book Groups or Solitary Reading?
- Solitary. I guess my book group would be my wife and I, we try to listen to the same audio book at the same time. She carves too, when we are not doing magic.

I copied and pasted into the reply and changed inserted my answers.

Okay now it's your turn.  I don't think I have enough people to tag 11 more, so I will tag the folks I have on my list that hasn't been tagfd.  If I tag you and you have already done this, you can play again if you want.

Monday, February 13, 2012

The journey: from first word to last.


It’s a long journey from the first word of your novel to the last.  Through the first draft you will often have real life events you may think back on when you are finished.  In the middle of chapter six, you may remember that you wrote it around Halloween time.  Or while in the middle of writing chapter twelve, your car broke down.  It’s funny how looking back at the writing process it can feel like the story we have written is “the real world” and our memories are like some far off place.

The journey from first to last word may just be fifty or sixty thousand words, but we live a lot of life in the process. 

One word at a time we get closer to the end.

Keep writing.  Just a thought.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

One word Wednesday


Something new.  One word Wednesday.  It’s sort of a brainstorming game, but you have to reply with a single word, or series of single words, that relate to your WIP.  If it doesn’t relate – stretch our imagination.

If the word is Black:  You could answer: Magic, rose, power, diamond.

Or on the other hand: Black – Angus, sheep, coal, dirt.

Just a thought.  Quick and fun.

Today’s word: Fresh

Monday, February 6, 2012

Characters

Okay, relax.  Remove both hands from the keyboard, or mouse and let them rest comfortably beside you, or in your lap.  Now, just read.  Now think about one of your characters.  You may have done a detailed character sketch, but how well do you really know that person.  Some may say: as well as I know the back of my hand.  Okay here’s the point of this.  Still without looking, do you really remember all the subtle lines and marks on any one of your hands?  How many scars?  How many spots?

How well did you do?  I didn’t do too well.

Sometimes, even in the middle of our story, it wouldn’t hurt to look back at our characters.  We might find something we forgot.  Or we may need to update the character sheets if we have found something new about them.

Just a thought.