Tag: help!

general

the chicken or the plot?

abby mumford

i was in the middle of doing some mundane work at work when a thought struck me down. it’s a question that’s been asked repeatedly and over and over and repeatedly again, but this time, i sat there and really pondered it. and then i posted that thought on twitter. because that’s how i roll.

mumfusa: WRITERS — do you come up with plot or character first? if character, do you just start writing scenes? how do you figure out his/her story?

linda_grimes: @mumfusa Characters, definitely. Then I just wait and see what they do to entertain me.

PattyBlount: @mumfusa ooo, good question. Plot or character. Almost like chicken or the egg? May be a blog post in here somewhere.

when i first read linda’s comment, i thought, “LUCKY. i wish i worked like that.” and then i came across patty’s comment, and i thought, “yeah but, i only have one MSS. i’m no expert. i have no evidence to write about.”

but then i thought some more. about both ladies’ words. and a chord struck within me. i may be tone deaf, but i can tell when something important hums across my wrinkled brain. like now, when all of a sudden i’m thinking about how i wrote my current MSS. and, in fact, i did start with the character. and moved forward from there.

and oh what a bumpy ride. i tried to push her in one direction, but my grad school mentors and workshop partners (oh how i miss them all) told me to simplify. too much was afoot. too much was amuck. and so i did. and, actually, i can’t even believe i’m about to write this because i can’t tell you how many times i’ve objected to hearing these words from other authors, but you could say i turned into a writer when i stopped to listen to her story. to hear what she had to say.

i guess it’s my quasi type A personality (i don’t mind letting others lead as long as i can maintain control over what i do), i was trying to maintain control of this situation. of the characters. and i think i still am. i’m having a hard time listening to the characters because i think I know best. but really, how do i know what’s best for someone else? i don’t. and i most likely never will. which is why i should trust the process.

but, wait, hold on. i don’t understand how to “follow my characters” because i’m the one writing the words. how do you lead and follow simultaneously?

what do YOU do? do you hang out with your character(s) and get to know them first? OR do you plop your character(s) into a scene and let them work their way through it? out of it? around it? and then let them hold the flashlight as they guide the way out of your brain and onto the page? OR do you start with the plot and only include those characters that can handle the twists and turns?

what’s a newbie to do?

feelings

the fourth of july arrives early

abby mumford

as i close in on a finished first draft of my MSS, i am looking for ways to get critiques. i stumble upon a contest for first lines of a novel. i enter. i don’t make it past the first round.

burn.

but then the writing community does what it does so well, it takes defeat and turns it into a WIN. and so, those of us that didn’t reach round two got a second chance. we were able to enter the first five lines of our novel for constructive criticism, because clearly, we need it.

after my five lines went up, four comments were given. four whole comments. that means there are four people who’ve read fives lines of my work. this may not sound like a lot to you dear reader, but in my secluded world, it’s a minor miracle. {editor’s note from 6.30.10, two more comments went up for a grand total of SIX comments. *grin*} and the feedback they left is super helpful because i’ve reached a point where i’m almost over saturated by this story. i know each word backwards and forwards and and i don’t know what parts make sense and what parts are unclear because it ALL sounds like gobbledegook to me.

in fact, their comments sparked a little something in my brain. something i’ve been pondering for awhile. i need to start my story at chapter 2 and work chapter 1 in as flashbacks. it’s scary (to say the least) and difficult (somewhere in the middle) and daunting (to say the most), but honestly? my brain is feeling a bit like this:

which is to say my creative juices are EN FEUGO! and life is good.

feelings

fountain of inspiration?

abby mumford

i’ve reached a point where i think it’s time to address a long running fear of mine. i think we’re ready for that, oh dear blog reader. so, this fear of mine? it’s a fear of no new inspiration on what to write next.

my current WIP has a character that deals with things i understand explicitly. those things might be irrational, but she feels them and i feel them and as a result, writing this was a bit like therapy. the thought of starting a new piece with new characters completely unrelated to me is startling and confusing. i feel like i’ve been plopped down in a foreign country and i’m the only one who speaks English.

it seems like people are always talking about this dream they had that triggered that massive selling book, or even a mildly selling book. i have a lot of dreams, but none of them are publishing worthy. i wonder if it’s because i dream in the first person. i dream about situations i am in. and yet, so far, everything i’ve written has been in the third person. perhaps. just perhaps, i’ve been looking at my dreams from the wrong angle.

all i know is that i had a dream, a horrifying dream, last night that involved lava and cages and me and children i was responsible for and no way out. is this the sign of the apocalypse? or that i’ve spent too much time following Eyjafjallajokul on Twitter? or could this be a scene from my next novel? or could this be, plain and simple, just a dream?

dream or not. first person or not. you see, i have a hard time getting to know my characters. it seems unfair to pluck one character trait out of my imagination and force it onto someone. yet, that’s kind of what (i feel like) i have to do because (so far) i’ve never been one who “has the characters speak to me”. it’s never like i’m “channeling the story that the character had to tell”. i have to think and process and plot every sentence that i write, whether it’s dialogue, narrative, or something in between.

maybe it’s a sign i need more work as a writer. maybe it’s a sign i’m a one and done-r. maybe it’s a sign my fountain of inspiration is drying up. or, it might be that my map leading me to the next well is outdated and the path has grown over with weeds. since i’m dehydrated and without a weed wacker, it makes sense i’d feel a bit timid.

(ok, terrified.)

how come words can flow out of one person, while numbers can inspire another? how come i seem to be nowhere on that bell curve, that graph, that chart? how can i claw my way there? better yet, how can i find a new muse?

feelings

read me

abby mumford

in a fit of procrastination, i turn to the interwebs. and boy, oh boy did it respond. i’ve had no less than 3 “holy cow you MUST read this NOW” moments. between me, myself, my blog, and twitter.

this post articulates a fear i refused to acknowledge because as soon as i would hear it whispering, i’d shhhh it right quick. because it was too soon. because it was too silly. a fear, any fear doesn’t have to be rational, but it should be acknowledged and discussed because otherwise how would you move past it? fear as motivation. that doesn’t sound scary, does it?

this post sounds familiar. except add 4 years. subtract one PhD program. minus the cooking abilities. and remove the scientific brain.

(michael buble’s “i just haven’t met you yet” came on pandora just now. yes, yes, i know. patience is a virtue. on many levels.)

this post hit me over the head, knocked me down, and then kicked me. in a good way. i am, by nature, a private person. it’s deceiving because i will truthfully and completely answer any question asked of me, but when answering, i’m in control of what i say. and usually what i leave out is what i’m writing about. i keep it close because i’m a perfectionist and i don’t want anyone reading it until it’s perfect. and added to that,  i am superstitious (ish) so i won’t talk it until it’s ready to be read. vicious cycle, no?

i have made a few concessions, but that’s only been to people within the industry because they “know”. they “understand”. hannah makes the point that it’s the people who aren’t in the know that are most valuable because they will champion YOU instead of each contract point or print run quantity or release date or how fast you signed with an agent or if your book went to auction. which is true. oh so true. thanks for walloping me with that truth.

general

manic monday indeed

abby mumford

i’ve had many adventures on my bike. i had another one yesterday. the day shone bright, clear, and cool. i was running a little late, so i decided to bike to work. i slung on my backpack, clicked my helmet into place and walked down a flight of stairs to my waiting bike. i picked up my bike with a morning energy that was somehow surging through my veins. (this is not normal.) i walked down 5 steps.

i fell down the rest.

yes, i was holding my bike. yes, my elbows were drumming down every step. yes, my butt was colliding hard with every step as well. the only reason i stopped falling was that there were no more steps.

self check: i’m not seriously damaged (well, physically anyways.) just bruises and scrapes. the shock wore off. my bike appeared to be in tact, except the chain had slipped off the gear. i spent the next 15 minutes trying to put it back on but the only successful thing i did was get grease all over my hands. i know putting the chain on is supposed to be easy, but easy and i don’t often walk hand in hand. i gave up and trudged back up the stairs. i went to put my backpack on the chair but it fell to the ground due to a broken strap. what IS IT with today?

i washed the majority of the grease off my hands, but failed in fixing the strap to my backpack with safety pins. i switched bags and went for one more try with the bike chain because well, i was late in the first place which is why i decided to ride my bike and now i’m really late, so the same reason still applies. SUCCESS. bike chain on. i think. i hope.

i got to work 6 minutes late. (ok, fine, so my “i’m running late” is different than the average person’s). i realized that despite all my bumps and bruises or maybe because of them, i’ve pushed past the stereotype of a manic monday. and it has become a normal work day. you know, the one where i’m in charge of the entire department because my boss and my only direct coworker are out on vacation.

what stereotype will you break through today?