Brainstom. Outline. Organize. Write.

I'm not going to lie.
I'm a bit scatterbrained.
I know, I know, I know.
What can I say? Stuff happens.
Heck, blame the bloodline.

Externally, I'm a pretty neat and tidy person. My living quarters stay clean. I don't like messy areas. I hate weird odors. I can't cook or bake in a disgusting kitchen. I like my hair and makeup a certain way. I just like a nice, sweet candle scented area that also happens to be immaculate. Can you blame me?

But on the inside...honey baby chiiilllddd, I am a stanky hot mess. Especially when my creative juices flow. I'm talking ideas crashing into one another. Light bulbs exploding here and there. Ah ha! Moments popping up like freaking grasshoppers. No lie, it's nuts.

During the brainstorming phase of producing ideas for my novel I jotted down notes on whatever was available--phone, laptop, napkin, whatever. Those notes consisted of major details about my characters, the premise, difficulties to overcome, plot twists, main events, and so on. This exercise typically occurred after my college classes at a local café I frequented. Yes, I worked on my novel instead of writing a paper or studying for an exam. Bad student, I know. After enough brainstorming I really tried to get an idea of the desires I had for my novel. The themes, genre, target audience, how events will affect my characters, what will the setting be, do I want to make a career out of this and so on.

Then came my outline phase. I did a bit of research and learned not all writers feel the need to create outlines before diving into the actual writing of the manuscript. Some writers prefer an outline simply to have a guide. Something that will keep them on track without limiting their novel's possibilities, of course. It's perfectly okay to make changes to the outline whilst writing. It's normal to get more or better ideas when you really get into your story.

Now organizing my outline was pretty simple....well, kind of. First I went into deep detail for each of my characters. Then I listed their names again and provided short sentences, no more than 15 words, for each along with a possible quote. I spent a lot of time on my characters because I know a great fiction book is character driven. Sucky Characters = Sucky Book. Honestly, have you heard of The Joker? Pure awesomeness. I then expanded on the premise, setting, stakes, plot, definitions for certain artifacts, terms, or special items.

And really, a novel outline is just like a long list of stuff needing an explanation. That's it. Not all writers must create an outline before the actual writing, but I do simply because I like to hurry up and get my ideas into a saved document. And at the time I was a beginner. And like I said before, it's not mean to limit your novel's possibilities or restrict your creativity, it's just a guide. Like an organized tool to help you along the way. You don't have to stick with it. There is nothing in the heavenly sent writer's rulebook that states you cannot make changes to your outline.

After all this I felt comfortable enough to start writing. And what's so beautiful is that I wrote my entire novel within months. I was so excited and gung-ho about the whole thing that I cranked out 160k words in less than one semester of college. If I wasn't working, in class, or doing homework my face was glued to the laptop screen with my fingers typing away. Now, I wasn't that excited when the revision stages began but hey, it is what it is.

So that's how the writing of my novel started. I brainstormed, outlined, organized my ideas, and got down to writing. It's okay to spend a lot of time on those first three stages but you have to start writing some time. Don't get too hooked on making your outline perfect, it's not that big of a deal. Like I said, it's just a tool to help you stay on track and keep your ideas from being forgotten.

Wednesday Revelation--Novel Confession #02

I'm late. I know. I'm so sorry. Ugh, #BloggerFail

Anyway, let's launch into the Novel Confession for this week...Unfortunately there's some backstory here. Sorry, I know how much us authors absolutely loathe the backstory dump! This post will be long. Can't say I didn't warn you.

Out of all four of my siblings I've always been the most eccentric one out the bunch. I've gone through so many fashion phases, makeup trends, tried out several different personalities (I was nuts, I know), faked accents for months at a time, and just had a straight up crazy, fun loving time getting lost and finding myself in the process.

Throughout my changes the one thing I've always remained true to is my deep fascination with the spiritual and supernatural elements in this world. Growing up my eyes always widened when I learned of the mind blowing miracles Jesus performed, the Angels and their messenger moments, the Rapture and days of Tribulation talk in the Book of Revelation, the tales of soothsayers and no good spiritists in the Bible, Satan trying to tempt Jesus (I know right? What the heck was that older than dirt idiot Lucifer smoking?!), and all the demon stuff.

Yeah...I was that weird kid. But I never got a Ouija Board, HECK NO! That's pushing it. I always told myself I'd never cross that thin line.

That all being unnecessarily said, whilst writing one of my later chapters my mother kept nit picking at me about my WIP. And I was ticked! She didn't really know anything about my novel. She had never read a page of it. She was already against the urban fantasy with biblical symbolism idea even though she just looovvveeddd Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings. And I just felt like I didn't need her input when she'd already kicked my novel to the side. Essentially, my mom had this random notion that my book was becoming too dark and twisted. That I was teetering on the edge of something unholy. This is how I viewed her...

But unlike that lady above my mom was actually right. Duh, she's ALWAYS right.

The chapter I wrote was borderline disturbing. It had a very dark and brutal undertone to it. Bottom line, it was demonic. And after writing it I didn't feel like myself. I had this odd idea to research demon hierarchies--something I never would have thought of doing. Bizarre, right? I'm all down for conducting research for novels but I'm not down for dabbling.

Now, I'm not going to lie. The chapter was darn good and I was totally digging it...but it wasn't representing God and it certainly wasn't what he requires of me and my gift. Instead it was glorifying evil. If another writer had written that chapter I would have thought, "woah, this chick is obviously dabbling in some daaarrk stuff." Although I knew this I refused to change it. Hardheaded, I know.

So one night after my mother had prayer she came to talk to me and said, "God told me you just wrote something evil and you need to delete it and start over. It's ungodly and it's too dark. Whatever it is, change it. Now." Did I listen to mom? Nope. I brushed her off like a pesky gnat. I was angry and in denial. I went to bed with a bitter taste in my mouth.

That night I dreamt of an Angel adorned in a white so brilliantly bright that my eyes strained to even look up at him. I just laid in my bed while this huge warrior like Angel took up my entire room and was saying something to me that I could not understand. His mouth kept moving in a language so foreign and a voice so thunderous that they had to have been divine. It was almost as if he was chastising me, but I just couldn't comprehend the scolding. Towards the end of this dream he pressed his heavy hand to my forehead and FINALLY spoke in English. He said, "don't look up demons."

And before I could speak to him I was awake with my eyes glued to where he'd just stood. I felt like I'd just been transported from dream world to the real world within the blink of an eye. And the message was so clear too. His last line continued to replay in my mind and I couldn't get what my mother said out of my head. So you know what I did next?

I deleted that chapter and wrote it over! Yah darn skippy I did! I was freaked out! Scared! Totally not trying to get on God's bad side. I also rid of those stupid ideas regarding demon research and never wrote anything else without asking God to write with me. Mom was so right and when I told her of this dream she simply smirked and said, "I told yah so!"

God really does have His Angels watching over His children....even the hardheaded ones like me.

My Absence is NOT Justified...However I will Attempt to Make it so!

Yeah, yeah, yeah I suck...I know. Forgive me!

My lovely readers (assuming I still have some), it has been an embarrassingly lengthy time since I posted anything on this here little humble blog of mine. One of my best friends had to give me a swift kick in the butt and with just a few encouraging words I was motivated to create a post! And Voila! Thanks, Dana!

But really, it’s perfectly okay if you want to refer to me as Judas or Brutus for a bit because I know that I have absolutely no legitimate excuse to justify my betrayal to you very beautiful lot! Jesus wasn’t down for Judas betraying Him and I’m sure Caesar didn’t take it too well from Brutus either. I’m just saying…I get it!  

But, here’s what happened. My priorities shifted and I needed to take a step back and figure out where my life was headed. I reexamined my spiritual and natural life, career and educational plans, visions for my future, and ultimately what actions I need to perform now in order to achieve what I desire to achieve. It may sound cliché but my hopes and dreams, five year plan, and daily routine has changed drastically. Me right now is totally not the Me from six months ago. You understand me? I guess I’m growing up. It’s all a part of life. And I hear that around my age, mid 20s, perspectives start to change. And I needed that air, yah know? I needed it without the many distractions cyber city brings. And that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

So yes…I had a bit of a “find me journey.”  I never thought I would embark on what I once considered such a trivial thing but hey…you learn a lot about yourself when you just take time to contemplate, breathe, and settle down. Now I didn’t do any hardcore contemplation on man’s existential dilemma, take a meditation class or some mess like that (not knocking it, just saying). I asked God to reveal to me my purpose and His plans for my life so I can do what He made me to do instead of wanting to do what I want to do. Also, I just needed to truly rediscover my likes and dislikes, beliefs and values, what I deserve/my worth in this world, strengthen my relationship with Christ, and be set free from circumstances holding me back spiritually, physically, and naturally. Okay, I'm done yapping.

So there you have it. I did some soul searching and I recommend you do the same. You know how you complete a detox or spend some time eating clean? Your soul and spirit demands the same attention. Spend some time in the library/bookstore. Take a vacation. Bask in scenery you’ve never experienced before. Cut some unnecessary people or activities out of your life. Start a journal/diary. Depict your life years from now and write about how you’re going to get there. Pray and open up to God about your concerns, wants, and needs. Take up new hobbies. Do something wild and crazy-something folks wouldn’t expect of you!

Now that we’re done playing ketchup, ;-), I’m going to jot down some more blog topics and I’ll meet you back here later on this week! Sound good? Good! See yah!

**Oh yeah! Check out the film adaptation preview to The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. CAN'T WAIT! One of my all time FAVORITE books! Up there with Harry Potter, I tell yah!**

Overcome Writer's Block: The Secret Place

Phase II: Find Your Secret Place

Phase I focused on giving your mind a break and stop thinking. For Phase II I want to discuss finding a place that comforts the soul of your writing, somewhere you can dwell that works your magic without you even realizing it. I call this the Secret Place.

Yes, it is biblical and has a virtually diverse meaning in that sense. However, as much as I apply the bible to enhance my spiritual walk and faith in Christ Jesus and simply guide/instruct my way of living…I have other usages for the bible as well. Considering books of the bible contain the greatest stories ever told,--honestly, have you read about the beasts and days of tribulation in Revelation? WOAH! –it’s a great text to delve into to get symbolism ideas…I’m so serious.

The Secret Place regarding writing and overcoming writer’s block focuses on establishing an area that you can call your own. Before my grandmother passed in July 2011, sitting in the lounging chair in her room alongside her bed was my own Secret Place. I pushed out some of my most effective and majestic writing in that chair in her room and in her presence. Now that she’s gone and I’m no longer at her house very often, I haven’t really found a Secret Place as good as that…somewhere I’m absolutely comfortable, a place full of light or good energy, a place where my gift of writing tends to go on overload. I honestly think I drew some of my writing energy from her. 

Your Secret Place can be your closet, in front of the fireplace, your back patio, a favorite beach, a corner in the public library, the cemetery, the church pew (not during service of course, haha), the bathtub or Jacuzzi, Panera, a local coffee shop, the rocks near a waterfall, under the bridge in a park, a lake-house or cabin in the deep woods, or wherever. Just find a place that promotes good energy, good concentration, and relaxation. Somewhere with not too much noise, you can leave your worries behind, and just get some awesome writing done!

Oh, and a tip! Your Secret Place may not want to surround noisy kids. Now, I’m just saying…I got 99 problems but a kid ain’t one!

Just kidding, Just Kidding, Just kidding…I love the kiddies! I work in Education for goodness sake! But honestly, it’s hard to hash out some awesome pages with my niece and nephew surrounding me…unless they’re napping of course! ;-)

Overcome Writer’s Block: Stop Thinking

Phase I: Stop Thinking

Not all creativity is art…and most of the time it’s our own fault. I learned this the hard way. For years I tried to force myself to conjure up creative premises, plotlines, unique characters, settings, themes, climaxes, and so on…but you can’t force beautiful creations. No artistic gift is stressfully pulled from someone. And you can’t goad provoking prose. It’s just not possible.

Creativity is Creativity. It’s new, original, imaginative, fresh, inspired, visionary, unmarked, and a whole list of synonyms you can look up for yourself. Oftentimes it comes to you when you aren’t even thinking about it. The most awesome and impossible for anyone to foresee twist will pop up in your head at the most random locations and at the most random time. I’m talking in the shower, in your nightmares, stuck in a traffic jam, at a boring meeting, droning out an annoying friend. Yah, I learned creativity has a sense of humor. It pops up when it pleases.

Honestly it’s a beautiful thing, being creative I mean. It’s not a learned skill, something you can practice; a habit you can just pick up and keep for life…it’s a valued piece of who you are. And the more you endeavor to force it, aggravate, provoke, or pull it out of wherever it is buried in your head…it just can’t happen captain! Creativity is a natural born characteristic God instilled in you and not many people are blessed to have it. And because it’s natural, it flows best naturally. You get me?

Yeah, it’s hard when your imaginary friends stop speaking to you and those friendly voices full of great ideas stop filling up your head, but give them time. Sometimes your ideas require time to gestate or your mind needs to pick up more life experiences to work off of. Now, how do you give those guys space to do their own thing?

Get out and enjoy life. Capture and store those new experiences I mentioned for your mind to chew off of. Of course, writing is essentially the best thing ever!! But hey, there’re loads of other activities you can enjoy to get your mind stimulating, or in other words, make those little imaginary jerks in your head keeping all the good secrets let you in on some of the action! It’s perfectly normal to take time off from writing or stop thinking of how you're going to write an action or kiss scene, begin or finish a book, which twists will come first or last. Know that although you adore writing, it can feel like a stressful job when you do too much of it. I’m sure Gabby Douglas loves gymnastics, but heck, she needs a break from all that flipping too!

Stop thinking about it for now. If you rush creativity it won't become the art you envisioned. Your beloved mojo will come flooding back when you least expect it. Trust me! Would I ever lie to you? Nope! Nevaaa!

Phase II Coming Soon! ;-)

The Dreaded Log-line/Elevator Pitch

“Your dad is always going on and on about your novel! So…what’s it about?” –My dad’s best friend.

“Well, it’s Urban Fantasy…and there’s this girl named Aleera…there’s biblical elements….and uh, this man’s like descendants are like hellish creatures….it’s pretty cool, my sister and friends like it….and uh yeah…I’m doing a major rewrite right now though…this agent like told me to…so, that’s about it.” –Me…with the face of a tomato because I just sounded like a huge uneducated basket case who knows crap about the 100,000 word novel I wrote.

So I exaggerated a bit…I didn't sound that wonky. But it took me a minute to explain my novel. 

In situations like above, it would have been awesome if I had a short pitch that summarized my story while leaving him interested in reading my novel. But unfortunately, I didn't. And that’s where a well structured log-line can save you from such humiliation!

Now exactly what is a log-line???

A log-line is the very brief summary of a story in 1 sentence or 2, no more than 50 to 70 words…and 70 words is a stretch. And try not to go crazy with the run-ons. In most cases, it’s used as a selling instrument to sway a literary agent or editor to read a manuscript. An effective log-line must include the key premise, the protagonist, the antagonist, the objective, and the stakes involved if said goal isn't achieved. We basically need to know the whole nine…in a nutshell.

Fairly simple, right? Nuh uh, Not…At…ALL!

There are several forms out there that make it easier for writers to formulate a good log-line. These are the ones I referred to, I definitely did not make them up, but I can’t remember where I got them from! Some blog, website, "online" friend…God, my memory sucks. :-/ *Cringe* They’ve been saved in a word document since forever.

Descriptive Protagonist…Verb…Antagonist…Goal…Stakes

Main Character -> Provoking Event -> Antagonistic Force/Clash -> Objective -> Repercussions

However, even after using the form much revising ensues. Believe me, I know. It took weeks to write a pretty good log-line even after including all the necessary details. It either wasn't understandable, was way too long, didn't hook the reader, was confusing, the antagonist didn't appear insurmountable, the stakes weren't high, and there was unnecessary filler, and blah blah blah. So, there’s still a lot of tweaking happening even after you fill in that form. You never get them right on the first, second, or even the third try.

Now, even though I think I polished my log-line up pretty well. I’m not ready to post it here. I'm a punk, I know. I’m going to send it to my lovely critique partner (Ames!) first, and when she approves along with my siblings, and my cousin, then I'll share it with the internet world. ;-)

And in case you're wondering, I'm spiffing it up now because......
1. I'm tired of looking like an idiot when folks ask me about my book.
2. There's a contest coming up this fall that I want to enter....which I will discuss later.
3. Working on writing this brief log-line will sharpen my skills on being concise because honestly...I'm a bit long-winded. All you have to do is look at my blog posts to see that! ;-)

Two Fingaz -- Deuces!

My Very Long-Winded Return

Hey, hey...it's been a while. *cringe*

So a very lovely friend of mine pointed out that I haven’t updated my blog since…well since I started it! So I figured, if I ever want to break into this whole blogging thingamajig and gain some followers sooner or later, then I should probably update it…frequently. And, she’s right….. DUUUHHHH!!!

So what’s the latest with me? Not a darn thing, ;-).

 Just kidding! I’m working on the, hopefully, final revision of my novel. Character development, perfecting the YA voice, cutting unnecessary filler, and breaking away from my classical writing style have always been my main problems. And I’ve had plenty of literary agents, critique partners, and family/friends spout out those four issues to me repetitively.

“Way too complex, dumb your writing down.”

“I’m not connecting with the main character…I want her hard exterior to crack faster than it is…”

“This reads like a classical novel, I’m unsure your target audience (YA) will connect with this…”

“Cut about 60k and send me your revisions…”

“I’m so very close to loving this, but I’m not there yet...dig deeper and get to know Logan better. He’s missing something. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m sure you can. He is your character, after all.”

That’s the real deal above and I got tired of receiving criticism that surrounded the areas I’d been working on forever and just couldn’t completely refine. Yes, it was awe-inspiring, extremely helpful, and very much valued feedback but I didn’t want that kind of feedback anymore. I wanted to fix the freaking issues and get this show on the road…my novel, I mean. ;-)

This past spring I got incredibly frustrated while working through my novel and attempting to sort out the kinks, so I simply started over from scratch about a month ago. I saved my last revision of course, but I wanted a new start--a fresh document, clean slate, and blank page to allow my beloved mojo to do its thing. And my story is all in my head. I don’t need to access an outline, notes, my old document, or whatever …it’s all up here, friends *taps noggin.* With that in mind, I just wrote and wrote and wrote…or typed, and typed, and typed.

And…it totally worked this time.

Because I started anew, fresh ideas to strengthen my plot and characters have ricocheted off my mind and onto my word document like “nobody’s bizness but mine and my babayyyy!” –And yes, my novel is my baby.

I’m partially satisfied with the progress I’ve made and I believe I’ll be ready to start my querying process late November. However, I need to research the best time to contact these agents I have in mind because that’s the holiday season and I’m not talking to any work associated folks during the holidays. Yep, all of November and December is me time. I take two months vacation…not that stinky three day for Thanksgiving and two week winter break for Christmas. Let me stop before I get fired or something….Oh wait! My real name isn’t tied to this blog! Muaaahahahaha! *Gives self dap*

So, if you’re struggling with revisions and trying your hardest to conquer those issues that folks continue to point out to you…then maybe you should start fresh--on a blank document and without referring back to your old document constantly. I mean…it’s crap anyway, right? LOL! Stop looking at that thing and go back to square one. Remember how you shot out that first draft so freaking fast?! Remember how short of an amount of time you did that? It was because you were motivated, eager to finish your novel, there were a billion awesome ideas in your head that you needed to put on paper quick, fast, and in a hurry, and had one or two hundred blank pages to fill up.

 As writers, it’s important for us to return to that place that caused us to capture such a deep passion for our novel. Return to that location (beach, library, café, park, basement, granny’s attic, cemetery, hotel, deck, fireplace, mall food court, classroom, etc.) where you produced your best work and get a move on! Set a goal to write at least 500-1000 words a day and watch and see how soon you will eventually surpass that set goal.

Go to your secret place and get it done already! Something will flow…and this time, it’ll flow so smoothly.

**God Be With You Always**