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.

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

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.

False Starts

It’s January, the middle of winter.  We live at the edge of a wooded area.  There is a small area we call the swamp.  It stays filled with water most of the year.  One summer, when we had a drought,  we even ran a hose from a natural spring to flood it to keep thousands of tadpoles from dying.  Kermit would have been proud.  We helped save the frogs.  Prince Charles would have been proud.

Each spring, when the weather starts to warm up, the froggy goes a courtin’.  They sound like a flock of turkeys.  The next day, we have thousands of eggs in the swamp area. 

This is not the first time this has happened, but a couple of days ago, when the weather started to warm up, we heard turkeys.  Now we have thousands of eggs we know will freeze and be destroyed.  This happened a couple of years ago.  The frogs don’t give up.  After the freeze, they do their turkey calls again and then we have more eggs.

What does this have to do with writing, you may ask.  Well It made me think of false starts.  Like the frogs, sometimes I get started writing and for some reason, “freeze” and have to start over.

Just my thought for Monday.

What’s yours?

Grrrrr.

Okay, this color complements that color.  That color brings out the other color.  Those colors clash...

 Who would have thought this would be so difficult to get the colors working.  Now I see why they have ready made templates.  Guess I like to tweak and be different.

Do all these colors work?  I still have gray words in the Facebook feed thingy, but maybe I'll get it fixed sometime.

Check back tomorrow for the all new - Colors Of The Day!

Working on the site... Still

I'm getting there.  Working on the color layout.  I'm learning.

Starting over?

Okay, I am starting over on the blog stuff.  I was having problems posting on other blog sites using Word Press and Open ID, so I joined most of you and will be using Blogger from now on.

Speaking of starting over.  Have you done your weekly, or monthly or daily back-up yet?  I do a weekly back up.  One to my desk top, and one to a flash drive.  I have never really liked the idea of using one of those online sites.  Guess I’m old school.  I don’t want my writings sitting somewhere out in cyber space, not that I have anything someone would want to plagiarize.  I have considered leaving a copy of my flash drive at my sister’s house.  Just in case.

That’s what’s on my mind today.  What’s on yours.

Thanks for coming to my new site.  Hope all my old visitors make it here.

Talented and Gifted program

Yeah, I know it is not Monday.  So why am I posting on my blog?  Well for one reason, it is to use this new site.

The other is to brag about the students in my first Talented and Gifted class at WSCC.  Each year in Jan. and Feb., on Saturdays, I teach a songwriting basics class.  The T.A.G. program is for 5th through 8th grades from surrounding counties.  It still amazes me the talent and knowledge these children have at their age.  Songwriting is my normal class I have been teaching for the past three years.  Next week I will start the new class they asked me to teach, it's the one I blogged about a few days ago about stepping out of my comfort zone.  We will see how it goes.

Till Next time (Monday)  Have Fun!

Starting to use blogger

I have been having problems with Word Press, so I am going to start using this one.  Hope you all keep coming to blog with me!

My other blog is more active.

Hey come on over to my other blog, it's more active.


http://rickstarkey.wordpress.com/