AMAZINGLY

I want to be an amazing writer – Now one would think that this was always my goal.  It was not.  My goal was simply to write. It was my passion – it IS my passion. However, I have been giving up before I start, and I have been expecting less than mediocre from myself.  I haven’t required myself to be an amazing writer. I have just wanted to be a writer. That is not enough anymore. I want to be amazing. I want people to read my stories, and I want them to fall in love, over and over again.  There are several books that I have fallen in love with, several movies that I watch at the very least, once a year.  There are stories within me that keep me comforted, and others that keep me terrified. We all have a story, and it is important to tell it so that others can fall in love with our words, our situations, our characters.. and sometimes us.  That is what I want for myself, and my writing. The next few weeks will be full of rewriting.  Taking the work that I allowed just mediocre, and making it better.  Pouring myself into my words, and creating something that not only I love, but that others will love as well. It is no longer okay for me to just want to write – It is however, okay for me to want to write AMAZINGLY.    Kphilbrick.

Nano Day 13 - Virtual Writing Space

I am sorry that I haven't written in a few days. Unfortunately, my TMJ is having one of its episodes, and I have only been able to sit at my computer long enough to write on my story, and do my homework. I make sure to take the opportunity when I'm feeling well enough to write, thankfully I haven't missed a day, and the 30k mark has arrived.

Those of you who regularly read my blogs know that I use my Second Life character as my muse. She is also the source of most of my photo's for this blog, and is a great creative outlet. Someone very dear to me created a place where I can take my character to write. It is my very own virtual writing loft, and it is a very happy space. It is the kind of writing room that I hope to have someday. Therefore, I give my most sincere thanks and share with all of you a few pictures to show it off. (Notice the WRITE on the wall - Simply PERFECT).

I sat my character down, tabbed out, and typed over 4000 words tonight. It was exactly what I needed after a very long week! <3

Nano Day 9 - Kicking and Screaming

I love the fact that I can get lost while I write. The daily stress can quickly dissolve into the scene that I am writing, and for moments at a time, I can be the puppet-master of my own world.

Lately, two of my main characters have interrupted my peaceful writing. One of them, the youngest, feels that his age is too young. The other, well she can't decide on if she wants to be referred to in her full name, by her last name, or three different nicknames. It's exhausting! I will think that we have settled on an effective nickname, and then along the way it changes. 

The great thing about Nano, is they can kick and scream all they want, but I don't have to change anything right now. I don't have to worry if one character is acting way older than he should, or if another character has three different nicknames. I am confident that by the end of the story, he will know exactly how old he is, and she will have decided on her name. Until then, I will remain calm and peaceful, and continue to lose myself among the river of words. 

Do you find that your characters rebel mid-story? How do you handle it?

Nano Day 8

I am now at the part of my book where all five of my main characters are together in one scene for the entire weekend. I have been leading up to this part of the book for almost 20k pages, and now that I'm here, I feel a sense of fear. Whose perspective will I tell it from? How will I merge all of these personalities into one house for one weekend? Thankfully, it's only a few chapters, and things will go back to semi-normal. I would love to hear how your Nano books are coming? If you are not participating in Nano, then how is your writing going? Make sure you remind yourself why you started writing to begin with -- tap into that energy! 

Late Night Writing - Nano Day 5, 6 & 7

I am starting to notice a pattern with my writing for Nano. I am waiting until the very last part of the day to start. It's not that this hasn't worked for me --I've exceeded 15k and feel like I am at a good pace with my story. Only last night did I fear that I was revealing something too early in the story. I still haven't convinced myself that I didn't, but for now, it will remain where it is.


The problem with waiting until the end of the night is I risk not being able to get my word count in and possibly my creativity is not as keen as it would be if I were to do it earlier in the day. Frankly, by this time of night, my brain is fried from other things. My goal for the next 10K words is to produce them earlier in the day, and then if I want to write later in the night, it's perfectly acceptable. I'm not sure if my fear is that I will sit down and stare at a blank page, or if I am just afraid that I won't be as creative if my brain is fully functioning.

Even today, I sat down to start writing, and now I'm blogging.

What time of the day do you find is the best for your writing?

Nano Day 4 - Don't Forget Your Imagination!

 

When I was a little girl, I would create elaborate stories in my head, and sometimes I would be so convincing that I would actually believe they were true. Some would call this compulsive lying, but I like to think of it as an overactive imagination. I always felt like I knew something that others did not. Reading would eventually allow for me to realize that I was not the only one with an imagination, and although I am still growing up (I don't think we should ever fully grow up) I realize that my imagination has caused many different emotions in my life. Here are just a few- jealousy, fear, anger, anxiety, as you can see a lot of irrational emotions pop up.

The power that we as writers have is the ability to channel that imagination, and use it the way it is meant to be used. It is a power that we can unleash onto the pages of our manuscripts, and we can be as irrational or rational as we wish. 

Every once in awhile I have to tap into that imagination, and remind myself that it's okay to let go. It's okay to let my characters feel a certain way... It's okay to be me!

I love my imagination - it is who I am, and it's what makes me the kind of writer that I have always wanted to be. So jump on that hot air balloon, fly through the sky, over the ocean, reach for that sunset, and don't forget the most important thing -- your imagination! 

Unexpected visit from my muse - Nano Day 3

Meet my MUSE! 

Today was an interesting day. I knew that I was already well ahead of my word count, and a sort of cocky feeling spread over me. "I got this," I said out loud while doing other things, and going about my day. I glanced at my characters for a while, and at one point felt like they might be hiding on me. Perhaps I had overworked them. It wasn't until I started up Second Life, and walked around my virtual world -- that I became inspired. I have been part of Second Life for four years now, and it has always been a source of distraction from the real world, but also an inspiration for my writing. I have gotten so many creative ideas from this world, that I truly believe I wouldn't be where I am, if I hadn't played. 

Here I have been worrying that my Muse wasn't going to visit me at the beginning of my book, and then I realized it was right in front of me (the above picture). I sat my Avi down in the virtual world at her computer, and let her start typing, while I put down the browser and pounded out over 2000 words to bring me to the 10,000 mark. WOOOOT!

Has your muse visited lately?

How To Quiet Your Characters At Work

I wish that my writing career allowed for me to spend my time at home preparing my characters for November 1st,  but the reality of it is – it doesn’t! I have to work, and take care of my two kids, a home, a dog, and all while finishing my degree full time. 

Last night I spent a few hours doing character interviews, and this morning, they were still asserting themselves. I was unable to focus at work, and with only days left, I knew I needed to come up with a strategy to quiet them. Here is what I have done in past situations like this.

1.      1. Jot down notes – I carry a notebook with me, specifically for Nano, but I recently read an interview where the writer did all of her notes on napkins. 

2.       2. Send yourself a text or email – Give your characters a job, and have them send the email for you!

3.       3. Leave yourself a voicemail – I have done this before when driving. 

        4. Let your characters interact within your workspace - This is what I chose to do this morning. Instead of   fighting them off, I invited them to sit with me. Only a few showed up, but I could visualize how they would interact with the patients. It brought me closer to them, and it seemed to quiet my mind. Thankfully, my six-year-old character is a quiet one, and played by himself in the corner, while his mother chatted with everyone who walked through the door. 

         What is your strategy? 

Unleash Your Inner Muse!

My Muse visited me this morning with a completely new plan. She wanted me to write a short story as a different challenge for myself since finishing the first draft of my novel. I spent the morning going against her and telling her “no way!” After much debating back and forth, I am pretty sure she swore at me—can a Muse do that?

I decided it was in my best interest to listen to her, so I sat down and wrote my very first short story. I finished within an hour, and it is sitting on my lap as I type this. Is it the best short story ever written? No, and it needs a lot of well-deserved attention, which it will get. However, this short story is a symbol of my getting past the limitations that I have set upon myself somewhere along the way. Statements like “I am horrible at short stories!” or “I could never write a short story!” crushed my ability as a writer to listen to my Muse, and create work that captures the essence of who I am as a person. 

I am sharing this, because I know that I am not alone with this type of negative self-talk. So stop it! Start believing in your writing abilities. Try something that you have been telling yourself you would never be able to do. You might actually find out that you are capable of a whole lot more than you have ever imagined!