books to read

I've decided that there are some books that I either haven't read or haven't read in a very long time.  My goal is to read these books in the next year.  I'll update this list as I go along.  

1. Wizard of Oz

2. Alice in Wonderland

3. Chronicles of Narnia

4. 

Francesca Corbette

This is just some thoughts on a new character.  Francesca is late 20's and prefers to be called Frankie. I imagine her story in the late 1880's, perhaps in Missouri or Colorado.  She's pretty, but not beautiful, more cute.  She has dark red hair that she keeps pulled back.  She is average height and weight.  She wears small, wire-rimmed glasses.  She always dresses conservatively, and she likes to keep absolute control over herself at every moment.

Despite, her deep need for control, she has a quirky sense of humor and a love of life.  She has been deeply hurt by the men in her life, so she rarely trusts men.  She keeps her fear veiled behind a shy facade.

She has had a falling out with the aunt and uncle who raised her and hasn't seen them in several years.  She also has a sister, Cordelia (called Cora or Cory).  Cordelia married young to her first husband.  He died early in their marriage, and she remarried to Curtis Landon, now with a young daughter (Maddie).  With Curtis, Cordelia has three children, James, Georgie, and an as-yet unnamed baby daughter.

I'll give more later.

random writing

I often tell my creative writing students that when they get writer's block, they should just write. They shouldn't think about the words or the setting or where they're going with it. They just need to write. I've realized that I just need to take my own advice sometimes.

I've felt kind of stifled recently...not able to move forward with Lizzie's story. I really want to finish it, but the words won't come. It's pretty frustrating. So, last night, I decided to get away from the computer and pick up a pen and pad of paper. That's pretty old school for me. I used to handwrite everything, but that managed to completely screw up my penmanship. For those of you unable to read anything I've handwritten, blame it on the stories. But last night, I decided to de-clutter my thoughts and start fresh. Just write.

I actually managed to write a page and a half in about 15 minutes. Pretty good, huh? It's a random story that I may not finish...it was inspired by my earlier genre post so it's set in the old west.

Really, though, wasn't to start another book that probably won't get past a chapter or two. It was to jump start the creative juices and remember how good it feels to create something from nothing.

Genre Discussion

There are so many genres out there that sometimes it's difficult to decide which one to write in.  I love to read historical (western not ancient or classical), suspense and thrillers (but not scary or political), contemporary romance but not gooey, mushy, romantic romance.  

I have imaginings of writing a suspenseful, romance set in the old west, but really, I don't know that it will ever come to be.  I think I write better in the contemporary.  

There are so many things to consider when writing in any genre, but I can't imagine the study and research that must go into the historical in order for it to seem real and accurate.  I love history; I'm just not sure I want to go into the deep research needed for a good story.  

living life numb

It's easy sometimes to just go along with life.  To stuff emotion.  To get used to the everyday and stop seeing the spectacular in every moment.  To consistently feed myself a diet of inactivity that spurs a sort of conscious-unconsciousness.  I stop feeling the moment and just go along.  

I realize that sometimes I easily numb myself to life.  I get tired, stressed, overwhelmed or just the opposite, bored.  Instead of stepping it up and living life, I become content to float along without really touching life, or letting it touch me.  I need to wake myself out of these moments with a splash of cold reality.  This is life.  This is my life.  Every moment of every day, and it's all I get.  So, what do I do to be consistently awake and aware?  Just live, I guess.  One moment at a time.

Tips for writing

A Few Writer's Tips from a Wannabe

1. Write.

2. Read. A lot.  Especially stories that have a similar tone/feel as what you want to write.

3. Write some more.

4. Find a friend who is honest to read what you've written.  

5. Take said friend's advice and cut the fat off the story.  

6. Keep writing.  

7. Find the passion in the story.  Don't fall into the doldrums but put your heart into it.

8. WRITE!!!

Goals

I've decided that I need to start setting some goals for myself with concern to my writing.  I don't write nearly enough, which means when I do, I feel kind of rusty.  This, in turn, leads to writer's block.  So...I need to think about what I want my goal to be this year.  

I know it's no longer January 1st, which is the prerequisite for resolutions, but I find I'm more likely to keep them if they aren't flash in the pan, it's a new year so I might as well decisions.  

So, what is my resolution?  I haven't decided that yet.  A good start would be if I just spent 15 minutes every day writing.  Does that mean it has to be fiction?  Could this blog count?  I'm not sure yet.  Of course, if it did, today would already be accounted for.  :-)  

Big.Brick.Wall.

That's what I've hit.  I decided to erase a character from W.t.W.W.Y.N., and that was going okay.  But I've come to this place in the story that I'm just stuck on.  There's this whole extraneous scene that I don't know what to do with.  I guess I just need to keep at it.  Something will present itself.  Soon, I hope.

creative me

I think deep in the heart of everyone is this intense desire to create.  Something.  Anything. Music.  Stories. Food. Art.  I always desire to create something.  But I find that often I have a difficult time settling down long enough to create anything.  My mind wonders and gets distracted.  I'm little a butterfly alighting on one flower only to notice the brightness of another.  I have a difficult time sticking to it. 

Tonight I created an apple pie for the mystery dinner I prepared for some girls at work.  I enjoy baking.  Maybe it's because I'm creating from scratch.  I swear it really is one of the nicest looking apple pies I've ever made.  I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

This idea of creating makes me think of God.  I think we must want to create to feel closer to him.  He is, afterall, the great creator.  He made us beings with this creative spirit inside.  I think he must be pleased when we create beautiful things for others to enjoy.  It makes me want to create more often.

finished another mystery

I finally got off the fence and finished up the murder mystery I was writing for the girls at school.  Good thing, too, since tonight is the night.  It should be a total blast.  

I really got into the last round this time.  I was very descriptive and really into it.  Then it occurred to me that that was probably because I haven't written much lately.  The creative part of my brain is dying of thirst!  I need to feed the writer within.  

old times

I was talking to some students today about the stories I wrote when I was in school, and I remembered my favorite.  For the life of me, I can't remember the title or even the main character's name, but it wasn't too bad for a 7th grader.  The main character (a girl I remember who had perfect hair, but a terrible judgment when it cam to her boyfriend) whose boyfriend suffered from multiple personalities.  Oh, and did I mention that he was a psycho killer?  Well, he was!  He'd managed to kill off his wife and three children and then terrorize our main character.  She managed to get away and lived happily ever after (I can't say the same for the poor murdered family...I remember that the children were Tamera and Tara and something else that started with a "t").  I need to find that story and just read it.  It's certainly nothing that I want to re-write, but it is fun to see where I've come from in my writing.

Unfortunately, I can say that I've barely thought about my writing recently.  Too many things on my mind and in my life.  I know that I have to make it a priority if I want it to pan out, but I don't know how right now.  I guess I just need to start budgeting my time better.  I need to go find that story now...memory lane beckons.