I’d been picking at the manuscript, fleshing out certain areas with description, when it dawned on me: who are the people populating my novel?

Descriptions have never been my strong point; I prefer just plowing along with plot and leaving the details up to the reader. Yes, I know, not nice. Also? Not popular with publishers.

Of course, I always hit a point where I have NO idea what to do next, and I begin mentally writhing around, kicking and flailing like toddler in full tantrum mode. Don’t worry, on the outside, I’m just mopey and irritable.

When I’ve reached that point, I realize I don’t have enough information about the characters to make a decent description of them, so I stop editing the manuscript and go with character sheets for each of them. I’ll make a list of physical attributes, flaws, strengths, idiosyncrasies, personality traits, and a bit of history.

The history is the most helpful, because it tells me why they do what they do. Does their race have innate abilities that make them stronger, faster, smarter? Do they have special talents that make them valuable to others, ie magical or healing powers?

What about their families? Even if their parents never show up in the manuscript, I’ve found that including them in the history helps round out a character. The same with siblings.

I’ve even gone so far as to describe a race in general, down to genetics (um, not detailed, just what happens when two races have offspring, what mixes, what doesn’t?). Perhaps it’s more detailed when it comes to special races in fantasy settings, after all, knowing how they work is important way to help keep continuity throughout the work.

Once I’ve pieced together all these people and beings, editing becomes a bit easier, because I can refer back to those sheets when I get stuck. I know some writers will create these sheets before they begin their work, but I find that doesn’t help me much. I need a place and a plot for these people.

Somewhere, in my stacks of files both online and on desk, I have actual fill-in-the-blank sheets that an editor handed out during a class. I found them useful, but there wasn’t enough room for the details I needed. Still, it was a jumping-off point and I find them quite handy. When I can actually…find them.

Oh, and if you happen to run into a character that you’ve written, do not stare. It makes them uncomfortable, and if they’re not writers, they won’t understand when you tell them, “Oh, you’re in my manuscript! You’re bad and no one likes you and you die in the end.” (no, I’ve never done that, but I have met some of my characters after I’ve written them, and it’s a very odd feeling. Very. Odd.)

How about you? When do you write your characters? Before, during, or after?

I’m in a state of shock. The story is done (at least for this volume of the series). Characters have been in peril (some still are) others are… done. There are just some things a body cannot recover from, and well…

Oh, there was drama, pain, heartache, and tears. LOTS of tears.

Um, that was me. There’s even more so in the story.

Anyway, my roommate and I are going to celebrate somehow, maybe splurge on dinner at a local vegetarian-friendly restaurant.

Because… IT’S DONE!

And now, we get to edit.

Oh, just kill me now, ok?

I really don’t like reading my own work. Am I alone in that thinking? Sometimes it’s so exhausting because I can see all the problems that need to be fixed and, well, there are so many…

So, what do you do when you’ve reached this stage? Do you let it sit for a while, or do you get right on that editing horse and race to the finish line?

So, there I was, writing away like some crazed, um, writer, and all of a sudden (which, by the way is a phrase that will kill most agents when they read it)… nothing.

Not. One. Thing.

I have written myself into a corner. It’s a pretty darn clever corner, word-wise, but it is STILL a corner and I don’t know how to get myself out of it.

Most of the action in my current piece is pretty, um, I refuse to say “dull” because it would be like calling my own child a name, but I’m working on the climactic ending, and… yeah.

It’s the “now what” phase of writing, I like to refer to as “give me a hammer, I need to fix my keyboard” stage.

Oh, I’ve got drama. My antagonists and protagonists are all in the same building (although no one knows it yet) and someone is going to die (and I’m the only one who knows who, how, and why), AND, I know how this particular story is going to end.

It’s just that difficult part of HIGH DRAMA/ACTION that really has me bamboozled. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a lot of high drama… wait, yes I do. Ok, I don’t have a lot of high ACTION where I must get myself out of the clutches of a whacko and save the love of my life from certain death, while the love of my life is trying to do the same thing.

That’s the part of a book that makes me the most uncomfortable to read. It starts that familiar “oh, this isn’t good” feeling in my gut and I find myself wanting to read ahead just to make sure my favorites don’t die. And I thought READING it was hard. Writing it?

Even harder.

So, I’m not going to write it tonight. Instead, I’m going to go make cookies. I will bake them, and eat them, and feel very sorry for myself for a few hours. Then, I will go to bed, regret every chocolatey chip bite I ate, and have bizarre dreams that will not help me in the least.

Tomorrow, I’ll try it all again, because I’m either a glutton for punishment, or I’m a writer.

How about you? What happens to you toward the end of your story?

-Karen-

Hi everybody, Selma here.

When Karen asked me if I would consider writing with her on her blog about writing I jumped at the chance. Literally. I actually went all girly for a moment and jumped and clapped at the same time. My housemaid’s knee has been playing up ever since.

I adore Karen. I first met her about 5 or 6 years ago on the Writers Weekly forum. I had never heard of writing forums or blogs or anything like that before Writers Weekly and when I came across Ms Karen and all the other amazing writers on that forum I was hooked.

Karen is a highly entertaining, imaginative, warm and engaging writer and although I have never physically met her in person I know her well enough from emails and blog posts and so on to know that she is exactly the same in person.

But don’t let my effusiveness fool you into thinking that my purpose here is just to sing the praises of Ms Karen. That is important, but what is just as important is talking about this business of writing. The pleasure, the pain, the chipped nailpolish from pounding on your computer keyboard, the dog eared thesaurus that you borrowed from your friend who no longer wants it back because she is worried about the brown stains on P.123 (they are coffee stains but she just wont’ believe me), the writer’s block, the verbal diarrhoea, the despair of rejection, the elation of acceptance. You name it, if it pertains to writing we’re going to be talking about it.

So who am I  anyway to be talking about writing?

In the words of one of my personal idols – Mr. Austin Danger Powers – allow myself to introduce myself.

Hi. I am Selma. I write a blog all the way from Sydney, Australia called Selma In The City. I am probably best categorised as a personal blogger, although I do write fiction.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Education and a Postgraduate Diploma in Editing and Professional Writing. I worked as a teacher for 15 years and currently work as an editor on a freelance basis. I have worked for newspapers, independent publishers, and for an ill-fated 6 months for a largish publisher. I have edited everything from bus timetables to novels, but my desire, my dream is to be a novelist.

Many people tell me that I can write, but sometimes I wonder. It can be very difficult to get anywhere even if you are an adequate writer. In my heart I know I can write, but my major problem is letting outside factors distract me from getting my novels done – things such as having to pay the rent or raise my son.

Many people also suggest I enrol in a creative writing course at university or college. It is true that such courses can often fast track a writer to publishing success but they are expensive and often churn out writers with very similar styles and perspectives.

I have the secret to becoming a better writer. I’m going to tell you what it is right now and you won’t even have to pay for it. The secret to becoming a better writer, to perhaps being a writer that gets published is  – *drumroll* – TO WRITE!!!

I know. It’s so obvious you’re sorry you didn’t think of it, aren’t you?

I have to tell you that this is a secret that actually works.

Almost two years ago I started my blog. Believe it or not it was on the recommendation of my therapist who felt it would help me get over a bout of depression. One of the reasons I was depressed was because I had been dropped by a big time publisher. I will fill you in on that tale of woe in a later post, but getting dropped really affected my confidence.

So I started to blog and write stories. And I found I had an audience. And I got involved in writing communities. And I even managed to get several short stories published. And even though I still couldn’t remember the difference between stationery and stationary, my confidence grew.

If you want to write fiction and you don’t know where to start, why not test the waters via blogging? There are lots and lots of wonderful people out there who will welcome you into their communities and give you feedback on your writing. More importantly, it will get you writing every day or at least several times a week. You will be surprised how quickly you improve and how many contacts you make.

I recommend it as a great place to start honing your craft.

No, seriously, only three pages? I’ve been writing for four hours, and all I have to show for it is three measly pages? That’s not even one page per hour, and it feels like I’ve plowed through fifteen at the very least.

This was one of those times when I wasn’t interrupted a thousand times by someone needing something. Well, except for the dogs who needed to be let in. Then out. Then back in again. Then scratched, patted, and given their evening treats.

But that didn’t take long.

The rest of the time, I was nose to the grindstone, or fingers to the keyboard, making lovely words flow from tapping keys.

All for three whole pages of words.

Three.

And my brain? It is fried, my friends, fried. 2,000 words turned my mind to soggy playdoh.

Writing is hard work, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Even if the plot is right there, begging to be let out onto the page, that doesn’t mean it comes out clean. Like any birth, there is a lot of pain, sweat, and mess that needs cleaning up in order to be recognizable as something worth editing later.

I will admit that my first drafts tend to be rather clean, mainly because I found that if I don’t make my point clear early on, it will get lost by the time I’m ready for the first edit. That means fewer pages at a time, but in the end, a little less editing.

…Sometimes…

So, what’s your page limit? When you’re deep in the throes of pounding out plot, are the pages piling up at your feet (or on your hard drive), or does it only seem that way? Do you look at what you’ve done and chortled with glee at your double-digit progress, or did you groan in disbelief at the single-digit count?

Or… are you happy with whatever you get written, because writing, despite being hard work, is what drives us?

-Karen-

It is my great pleasure to announce that Ms. Karen’s Novel Place is going to be joined by the wonderful Selma, of Selma In The City.

Selma is an amazing writer with a sparkling imagination and great wit. She is extremely talented and I consider myself to be very fortunate to have her join me here.

Now, I’m going to try to figure out how to make the necessary changes (plus, I think we’ll need a new name)so we can bring you some excellent posts on the passions and pains of writing.

-Karen-

I’ve been thinking about a comment Selma made about blocks and baggage and how I deal with them. My answer? Badly. I usually fret, worry, gripe, whine, and play a LOT of solitaire on my computer. Those blocks are usually caused by too much stress and I’ve yet to find a solution to overcoming that particular steamer trunk of writer’s block.

However, sometimes a block is just too many words or ideas that have pressed themselves to the door and can no longer figure out how to get through. I won’t say this is an easy one to overcome, because I honestly don’t think ANY writer’s block is easy to break, but there is a way to get things moving again.

My favorite (lately, anyways) is to romanticize my surroundings. I made a post on my other blog about where I write, and while I didn’t exaggerate, I did omit: the mess around my desk? Gone. The cats? Skedaddled. The piles of stuff being stored in there? Invisible. Teetering stacks of books on a variety of subjects? Ignored. It’s a bit chaotic in my space, yet if I allow myself to only look at what inspires me, I can see the beauty of where I write.

Sound lame? Maybe, but sometimes if you look at where you are with different eyes, say the ones a real estate agent or copywriter would use to describe it.

Is the room small? Then call it cozy, or better yet, intimate. Is there is just enough room for you and your ideas? The walls embrace you. Do you share the space with holiday decorations? Give those decorations and the memories associated with them a thorough going-over: “Flecks of glitter wink from their confines, whispering memories of Yules past and hopes for those to come.”

Are the walls white? They could be blank slates for mental images, or don’t look at the color, look at any shadows that may fall on them. “Leaves cast hand-print shadows that wave a gentle ‘hello’ in the passing breeze.”

What’s your light source? Windows? Do they open? Are there curtains? What is the view? For instance, in the summertime, I cannot see much out my office windows because there are lots of trees close to the house. So, my view could be limited to… green. But, I can see branches and the little birds who flit among them. There are bugs (hence the birds), and if you really let go of conventional thinking; pathways for the fey folk.

No windows in your writing space? Then you probably have a lamp of some kind. What kind of glow does it produce? Soft? What color? Yellow? Green? Delicate pink? If it’s harsh, does it illuminate everything, or does it leave dark shadows that harbor mysteries?

Is the floor carpeted or bare? Wood or concrete, or even tile? Does it freeze your feet in winter, but keep them deliciously cool in summer? What sounds do your footfalls make as you walk across it? Soft or sharp, padded or staccato?

What sounds do you hear? Birds? Are they announcing their presence, or the hatching of their young? Proud? Alarmed? Or are they just vocally marking their territory with a merry song? Is there traffic of any kind, either foot or vehicle? Where are they going? Can you hear their voices or their stereos? Is it busy and constant, or infrequent and noteworthy when it happens?

Is your space in the middle of everything? What happens around you when you write? When I used to sit at the kitchen table, I could count on at least one interruption every minute or two, unless I was writing late at night, then the frequency declined somewhat. How does your environment color your writing? Does it allow you to slip into your story, or does it remind you of everything you “should” be doing instead of writing?

Which brings me to the next topic I’d like to discuss: Writer’s guilt.

Until next time.

-Karen-

Don’t you just love it when a story starts to really come together? You’ve poked and prodded, written and erased, put them all through hell (and they’ve often returned the favor), and all of a sudden

everythingtakesoffanddemandstobewrittenNOW!

Characters start drumming their fingernails on the tabletop, clearing their throats, or tapping impatient toes. It’s not so bad when the character is sane and relatively normal (at least as normal as any character that is the spawn of my brain), but when said character is a little, shall we say, unbalanced, they tend to do a lot of taking over.

They take over my thoughts, and my conversations. My roommate is getting tired of listening to me tell her what the next step is for these characters. She insists she’d rather read it than listen to me talk about it (although I think the word she used wasn’t “talk”; it was more like “prattle” or “ramble”).

But the characters make it all worth while, and when one of them makes an unexpected, yet logical and perfectly timed entrance, then there isn’t much left to do but write it.

And so I must.

What about you? What drives your writing? Is it interesting characters, or a plot that soars?

-Karen-

One of the most difficult things I deal with in my own writing is the end of the story. There are times when I simply have no idea how the whole thing will draw to a close, which makes for some awkward moments in editing.
“What point were you making here?”
“Um, the point is I ran out of ideas on what those characters were going to do.”
“We don’t care what happens after the story. Happily ever after works, but only if you just leave it to our imaginations. We don’t want to read the idyllic life, ok?”

My roommate can be a harsh critic, but that is one thing I appreciate about having her read my work. She’s not afraid to tell me something stinks.

Endings, however, have never been my strong suit, although I have started some stories with the last line in my head, so I’ve had to create an entire plot and manipulate it so it ends the way my brain imagined it ending. Sometimes that works. Most of the time, I’m not so lucky.

However, the novel I’m currently writing, while definitely one of my favorites so far, has taunted me by fading out before the final curtain. There was no logical conclusion coming to my head, and it was starting to cause a panic. Especially since I had ideas that would carry these particular characters through a few more novels before being forced into retirement.

“End it with drama. Kill off a favorite character.”
“Uh, no, I need that character for the next book.”
“So, just make it look like he or she dies. Leave your reader wanting to know, wanting more.”

That conversation jarred something loose in my brain and the next thing I knew, ideas began pouring out. Not only that, but odd plot moments finally knitted together to bring forth a logical, cliff-hanging close to this story. It was a breakthrough, a crumbling of a block that had threatened to derail a beloved story.

A load was lifted, and soon more information came tumbling across the horizon of my mental book, lining themselves up for entrance on the blank pages of my computer. Now that I know where and how this work can end, it’s only a matter of how to get everyone into their proper places for the final act.

What helped me finally get to that point was simple. I talked it out with a reader. Talking with writers is excellent, but when you listen to a reader, you get a slightly different perspective, one that can shine a lot of light on a dim ending.

Karen

Have you ever looked through your unfinished projects files, or those little scraps of paper with ideas scribbled on them, and thought, “What the hell? When will I EVER have time to get all these ideas written?”

What do you do with your “spare parts?” Do you save them for later when you just might have the time and energy to get that new piece started (and finished)? Do you attempt to incorporate them into a current work in progress? Or, do you abandon everything else and bang out a short story and hope that puts the idea to rest and allows you some peace while you finish your full-length novel?

I made the mistake of pulling up my ideas file on the computer and nearly fainted. There are so many projects at various stages of development, it almost breaks my heart to see them just sitting there gathering dust. But it was while I was mulling over several of these same ideas that I realized they hadn’t been finished mainly because as they stood, they weren’t the greatest ideas in the first place.

However, upon closer inspection, I realized many of them could be combined to form a solid novel with plenty of characters, story lines, and plot points and twists to keep it rolling from page one to the back cover. Once I was done combining that pile of starts-n-stalls, I had gone from approximately 20 separate items, to eight solid plots.

Not only did it save my ideas from becoming wasted space on my hard drive, by blending them, new life was breathed into stories I had given up for dead but hadn’t the heart to give them a proper burial. Now I’m very glad I didn’t hit the delete key.

How about you? Is your idea file too cumbersome to manage? Can you tie a few of them together to make something bigger and better? Can you breathe new life into old ideas and run with them?

-Karen-