Musing Aloud

I have set out on a new course.  Or, I should say, not new, but resuming what I dropped the ball on.  From July 26, 2008 until March 15, 2010, I wrote every single day.  Yep.  596 days straight of at least 100 words a day.  In that time, I wrote about 240,000 words. 

But during the last month, I was getting really burned out and going through the motions by only writing 100 words per day.  So one thing led to another and I slowed and eventually came to a complete halt.  I had a spreadsheet tracking my progress, but I quit keeping track as my initiative slowed to a stop. 

So last week, when I decided it was high time I got back on that writing horse, I opened up my spreadsheet and started in again.  I'm not going to try to re-create my writing every single day.  I don't have a firm goal yet, as a matter of fact, but I'm toying with the idea of a monthly/weekly goal instead of daily.  Although, writing daily works for me, because it keeps me in the habit.

Nevertheless, I've spent this morning brushing the cobwebs off my spreadsheet.  And I realized all those blank lines from Jan. 2011 to present day weren't *really* blank, because I have continued to do the flash challenges at Liberty Hall.  So I went back today and entered all those stories in my spreadsheet.  Then I opened each story to get the word count.  And guess what I found?  There are lots of gems in those stories that I didn't think were worth finishing.  I haven't started a "new" story in probably a year -- or so I thought, until I reminded myself of those flash challenges.  See, we write using a prompt and a timer, for 90 minutes, and then turn in the "finished" flash story.  Except I'm famous for not finishing, because I have a hard time wriitng a flash story.  Every once in a while, I'll get on that can end in 1000 words, but often, it's the beginning of a longer story.  But I've never finished them because I never think they're worth finishing.  But maybe what I'm judging them on is how they compared to the other stories of the week, which is usually now great.  But today I realized that I need to judge them by what's started happening in the story, and I bet I can finish quite a few of them. 

Now I'm all jazzed that while I thought I had a dearth of stories to work from/with, I actually have a lot.  They can't all be rescued, of course, but there's a few gems in there.  I love discovering things like that.  So now I can go from not thinking I had a story to work on every day to realizing I have quite a few.

I love writing prompts.  At Liberty Hall, we have weekly and monthly fiction writing contests that use prompts.  My favorites are always the picture prompts.  I found out last year why I get more inspired by pictures than words.  I'm a visual learner -- I have to see something to understand it.  I don't learn by reading instructions--I learn by following the instructions and seeing the steps.  I think that's why I do love description in a story, because it helps me visualize the scene.

But anywho, if you also love visual/picture writing prompts, here's one for you: writingprompts.us/

It's been put together by Sean Markey.  Some of you may know him from his various gigs.  The site is well organized by keywords, and the pictures are truly awesome.  My favorite so far is the Steampunk hand.  If that won't make a story burst your brain, what will, I ask?

You can sign up to get emails with the new prompts if you like.  Spread the word, too!  It's an awesome site.

I was accepted into the Odyssey Online class, Narrative Structures in Fantastic Fiction, taught by Bruce Holland Rogers, and our first class was last night.  One concept, in particular, made me sit up and take notice.  It relates to a problem my stories often have, and that is that the reader sees the ending coming almost from the beginning, which makes for a rather flat read.  The lesson was about creating anticipation in the reader--how a reader's interest will be piqued by trying to guess the outcome of the story, i.e., worrying about what will happen.  And here's the explanation on how to do this:

How do I make a reader worry?

1.  The reader must be able to imagine two possible outcomes.
2.  The reader must care which outcome occurs.
3.  The undesirable outcome must look more likely.

#1 is the important thing to me.  I guess I've never considered this, not formally, anyway, and I've found that until I can visualize something, it just floats around my brain as a rather nebulous idea that I can't really grasp.  I've known that I should try to lead the reader astray from the end of the story, so the ending is a surprise, but I haven't really planned it, haven't chosen that second possible outcome and led the reader in that direction so that #3 comes into play, that the reader thinks the other outcome is the most likely one to happen.

Now to see if I can actually put this into practice with the next story I write!

I'm pleased to announce my story, "Fighter's Heart" is now available in Golden Visions Magazine -- the print version, Issue 13, Winter, 2011

It's available HERE -- scroll down the page for the print version, which is also available as a PDF for only $2.50!  Woohoo! 
Oh, and btw, I publish as Pam L. Wallace, not musingaloud!  Harhar!


Since I'm on the subject of me, I also saw a review of the October issue of Daily Science Fiction, which contained my story, "Memory Boxes".  The reviewer calls it a "nice piece", and also says that “Memory Boxes is heart-warming but thin”  To which I'll agree, as far as the "thin" goes, but it was written as a flash piece, so I was keeping the word count under 1k.  Anyway, should you care to read the review, you can find it HERE

I had the most ... interesting ... experience the other night.  I was really tired, and it was late, and I was trying to finish up my word count for the day.  I should have quit and gone to bed already, but I'm stubborn that way.  Three separate times I woke up to find I'd written sentences that had absolutely no meaning whatsoever.  I deleted them and wrote something that actually made sense (I hope!).  Then I'd doze off and wake up and find I'd done it all over again.  I realize now I should have left them for comic purposes anyway.  I've already forgotten what they were, dangit.  I probably could have had a good laugh at my own expense.  

So, I can now firmly state.  DO NOT WRITE WHILE TIRED!  Anyone else ever done anything silly like that?

Setback:  I'm sick.  I blame my hubby cause he got it first.  With him coughing his germs all over, it was inevitable that I'd get it. 

This is how it goes in our world.  He gets sick once in a blue moon and then he's sick for maybe a day, AND he keeps working.  Me?  I don't get sick all that often, really, but when I do, I'm down and on my back for days.  And there's no way I can work. 

I ache and my throat hurt.  I thought my head was going to explode this morning.  I *wished* it would explode, it hurt so bad.  I think it was sinuses, because it hurt in my forehead, but guess what, migraine medication works for the whatever-this-is.  I actually feel halfway okay right now.  I'm going to try to get my 100 words in now.  No telling what I'll feel like tomorrow.  maybe better, eh? 

I'm having trouble with a story.  It started out as a flash, and now I'm trying to expand it full length by adding another scene to the beginning.  I can't find the right words.  I try to make a sentence and end up with about 5 different tries -- all fragments.  Then I realize, it's not the words I'm having trouble with, it's the voice.  I haven't found the voice for the story yet.  I never realized that's what's so hard about openings, is finding the right voice for the story.  And so I decided that instead of trying to find the perfect sentence, I should concentrate just on getting some thoughts and words and ideas down and muscle along until I know enough of the story to find the voice--or let the voice find me. 

ETA:  And.... it's worked.  I kept stumbling along and writing down ideas and words, even if they were essentially repeats of what I'd just said, even if they were out of order, and lo and behold, the story found me.  Or the scene.  I have the whole end, I just need to add a new scene onto the beginning, and then do some expanding on the rest.  This is the feeling I've been looking for, for quite a while now.  That big excitement and joy in writing, the enthusiasm to finish the story, to discover that world.  I've been in a very blah mood about writing, and was beginning to fear I would never feel inspired again.  I'm so very glad I kept hammering away at it.

Now, may I direct you, if you haven't seen it yet, to Nathan Bransford's post HERE. Specifically the part about relationships.  It strikes me as very true, and something to keep in mind when crafting stories.   It's about creating tension for the reader by having the character's relationship being full of up's and down's.  One moment the boy feels the girl enjoys the heck out of him, the next moment, he feels she's ignoring him. 

I'm trying to revise a story.  What I usually do is revise a story using the track changes feature in Word.  Then I let it sit for a while, so I can come back and read with a *somewhat* clearer eye, so that hopefully I've forgotten enough of the story and the way it was worded to be able to tell if it still reads smoothly and gets the required information across.

So I read through the story and approved all the changes.  And then I get to the end.  My protagonist kills the dreaded creature that's attacked them.  Boom it dies and it's over.  A little too quick, there.  Then more stuff happens, and boom, the story ends.  It's ok. It's not great.

I have notes at the end suggesting a different ending.  Adding in another element earlier on, where my hero was going to leave as soon as they returned.  Now end the story when she's killed the creature, with some begging for her to not go, they've accepted her now, and her deciding if she should stay or go (they've been mean to her).  This way, we'll have some self-discovery of some sort (still undecided what that should be!) and it will probably be a better ending.  

But geez, I'm heartily sick of working on this story.  This is when I usually trunk the story for months on end, because I don't want to do it.  It's really not that much work to change it.  Why am I so reluctant?  This revising stuff sucks sometimes.

But I am determined to get through all my story drafts and get them finished.  Some have languished for way too long, and I like the stories.  I just gave up on working on them.  And I'm not going to let that happen. 

Finally saw the WotF blog yesterday (where was I for those two days?  I *thought* I was here, but apparently I was not) and my story for whatever quarter that was, 4th I guess, was an Honorable Mention.  That was nice, as that story submission has a story behind it, which I am not going to divulge, so there!  Wonder your little hearts away!  (I must be feeling devilish this morning)

Also received an email this morning from Warrior Wisewoman which made me go, "Ah, CRAP!" because usually when I see an email in my inbox from a submission, it's a rejection, and I knew my sub was in the date range to be among the next read.  Well, it was a pleasant surprise, my story made it past the first read.  Usually hold notices for me are a prolonged wait for a rejection.  I've never survived one yet.  I probably just jinxed myself by stating that out loud. 

I've been a horrible slug lately and haven't accomplished much in my own writing folders.  Last night after slugging my way through multiple games of Spider Solitaire, I finally got busy and read through a story that has been languishing away, just waiting for a final read-through/spiffing so it can be subbed.  I think I've decided on all the changes.  I've saved a copy, written up the cover letter.  I just want to wait until maybe tomorrow to read the final copy just one last time and then out it goes.  I've decided that since inspiration is so low for new writing, that each and every day for the next week, I will be working on that spiffing process.  I need to get all those orphaned stories kicked out the door, even if they are screaming and crying and holding onto the doorframe with their sticky little fingers.  No sympathy.  Out you all go!

Now I need to get busy and get to the gym and then we Master Gardeners are having a Winter Gardening Festival -- all free, where we give advice on rose pruning and all manner of landscape plants.  My table will be on shade gardens and shrubs.  Thank goodness it's not raining and no fog today either (so far, anyway.)

Over and out.

We're at the coast for a week.  Yay for vacation!  Except today we washed windows and mini blinds, so that didn't feel very vacation-y.  I haven't been posting much, I was busy trying to do the 50k in a month thing, and then I think I was burned out and just needed to chill for a while.  But I'm getting back into the groove, although just a tad overwhelmed with various crit responsibilities which I am far behind in.

We went for a long walk on the beach this morning.  It was low tide, and fairly early enough that not a lot of people had been walking yet in the wet sand.  I found myself following someone's footprints and becoming intrigued with the idea of tracking.  Someone was barefoot, and I noticed that the big toe, which was elongated and thinner at the tip, didn't press into the sand as deep as the smaller toes.  Which was contrary to what I would have thought.  I know nothing about tracking, but I imagine someone that was good at it could tell all sorts of things by following footprints.  Probably the size of the person, if they were running or walking, if they had a limp, how tall they were by the length between steps.  Plus I was surprised at how distinctive the prints were from each other.  I'd like to know more -- I don't know why, but it seems an interesting story idea, someone who hires out to be a tracker, someone who's an expert at it.