This Year in the Life...

Hello, Hello all.  This is probably going to mark the beginning of a short hiatus from the web for me.  I’m getting married soon and will be off on wonderful adventures for a while.

So, quick end-o-the-year writing re-cap:

*Thirty two short story outlines were created.

*Sixteen Stories made it to the writing stage (no less than 2,000 words in the document at this time).

*Ten stories made it from beginning to end.  Six completed to my satisfaction.

*Six stories currently making submissions rounds-- 2 novelettes and 4 shorts.

*Seventeen submissions made, equaling no acceptances, 12 thus-far rejections, and one WotF Finalist. 

*And then tens of thousands of words spent on three stuttering novels...

Which all adds up to...

Me needing to get myself in check!  Those numbers are pathetic, man.  I’m doing this full time, do those look like full time accomplishments?

I know I’m incredibly slow when it comes to the editing stage-- fixing consistency errors, believability issues, etc.  I don’t re-write things, but I do a good deal of chopping and adding. I’m sure as time passes I’ll get quicker, and also not need to do as much fixing.  That all comes with writing maturity that I probably don’t have yet.

Though my daily writing goal (set only a few months ago) was 2,000 words, on average I made 1,000.  Not so bad, but I definitely need to force myself to meet the goal.  What’s the point of having a goal if I don’t have the gumption to make myself reach it?  So, that has to change.

Now, I also have a tendency to write 1,000 words one day, and get rid of them the next.  Sure, it’s practice, but it’s not product.

Also getting in the way was life, as I discussed a little previously.  I’m supposed to be writing every weekday, but some times I didn’t have the time to do more than a couple of sentences, which sucks (and I don’t count those as days I wrote).  But, that means I have to find the time no matter what, even when my day is full.  No excuses.

And, I have focus issues!  I am easily distracted.  Not cool.  I’ve been working on an entry for the Illustrators of the Future contest, and that’s eaten a little into my writing time.  It takes me way longer to get a finished illustration than it does a finished story, believe it or not.  I can do one in a month if that’s all I do.  So, if I miraculously win, quality won’t be sacrificed. 

So, come the new year I need to get it together.  That’s it. 

Have a great holiday season, guys!  See you next year!

~Marina

Emotions going "Whole-Sale"?

So, bear with me a moment, I’m going to talk a little tragedy, but it really does relate to writing, you’ll see.  (And forgive me if I go all train-o-thought on you.)

I’ve been a bit subdued on-line wise lately, and it’s because I’ve got two major stresses in my life taking up most of my time.

One: My grandparent’s illness.  My grandfather just passed away a couple of days ago from Alzheimer’s complications.  He is the second grand parent I’ve had pass away this year, and it’s been tough.  He’s survived by his wife, who also has dementia. 

Two: My wedding is just around the corner.  Getting plans finalized is a hassle.

My wedding has gone hand in hand with tragedy in the family since the beginning.  But, what I’ve realized is that instead of tainting the happiness of my marriage, the impending wedding has actually served to soften the blow of my loved one’s passing.

My great-grandmother died the day after I bought my wedding dress, but that doesn’t mean my excitement about it was short lived.  I am so thankful I was able to tell her about it before she passed away (she was far too sick to leave the house, of course).  I had flown back to Oregon to go wedding dress shopping with my mom and grandma, and my great-grandma lived just long enough that I was able to share it with her.

So, the writing point:  When death accompanies birth or marriage in books, it almost always signifies more impending tragedy, or some sort of emotional black-cloud that looms over the event. 

Having experienced what I have in the past year this theme is (for me, I realize other people react to tragedy differently) unrealistic. 

Instead of lamenting that my grandparents can’t come to my wedding, I’m eternally grateful that they got to meet my fiancé and be part of the preparations before they died.

Now, I can see the sentiment being “black cloud” if the deaths were unexpected or sudden.  Neither of the ones I’m talking about were.  My great grandmother was 97, my grandfather had been sick for years. 

So, perhaps that’s the difference.

What’s I’m trying to get at is emotional situations in writing should not be treated “whole-sale,” and they often are.

Not everyone grieves the same way.  Not everyone loves the same way.  There is no equation for feeling, no “this event = this emotion.”

As a writer, I need to get into a character’s head and know how they would specifically react to given situations.  As a reader, I often see sets of standard-reaction-cards being put in place of real emotions in stories.

Why is this?

I think it comes from the same place clichéd sayings come from.  We see it repeatedly, and it becomes an ingrained, knee-jerk description (like “knee-jerk,” for example).   It’s not the most effective way to get the point across, but it’s convenient.

In plots and prose, convenient is a dirty word.

So, how to overcome it?

When you’re in that moment, feeling those feelings, write it down.  When I was grieving for my great-grandmother, that’s what I did.  Just an hour after she died I knew I wanted to capture what I was going through in words (to be honest, more so for my personal sake than my writing’s, but it translates well).

On my wedding day, I plan to have a note-pad on stand by.

The key to this exercise is not to use any words that are standardly associated with the feeling.  If you can’t find a more specific way to write it, at least use little-used synonyms.  This will divorce your thinking from the whole-sale carbon copies.

I’ve found this to be a very good way to stay genuine and not have stereotypical pseudo-feelings creep into my work as much as they would other wise.

Have you ever done this before?  If not, maybe you’ll find it useful too.  Hope so!

~Marina

Rejections with the goal of 100: a measly 9