IWSG June 2017--Legends

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time. Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!  Our Twitter hashtag is #IWSG

My life consists of work, driving in the car, and meetings these days. This morning I was listening to my favorite morning show (Bobby Bones) and they debuted Kelsea Ballerini’s new song Legends. I loved how nervous she was to have everyone hear it, and how Bobby talked about her after she left. He said he enjoys seeing these people who do big things every day still get nervous and excited because it means something to them.

The song itself made me a little nostalgic as well. Kelsea said it had multiple levels of meaning. She gave a few examples, but when I listened I thought of a completely different one. It probably came about because I was dropping my son off at his summer program and then driving to work. This is still a new phase of my life and I found I really missed the good old days when I was a stay at home mom full time. I was always there for my kids, my friends, neighbors, whatever.

The song also made me think of six to seven years ago when the blogging world was different for me. It was at least half of my universe. It was my place of education for all things writing and publishing. I made friends that I genuinely loved and looked forward to seeing what was going on in their lives.

I felt like we were legends and like the song says, “We didn’t do it for the fame and fortune.” That time in my life I did what I wanted because that’s what I enjoyed.

Have a listen!




IWSG June Question: Did you ever say “I quit”? If so, what happened to make you come back to writing?

Heavens! I've quit a hundred times...at least. I keep coming back because I have to write. I'm not a nice person when I don't get my creative writing time. It's a part of me and always will be. There are times when I have to "quit" whether I want to or not, but I'll always come back.

Insecure Writer's Support Group March 2013 and Birth of a Novel

Since I'm not going to blog this month, I'm combining my IWSG and Birth of a Novel posts this week. After this, I'll just be putting up pre-scheduled guest slots. You'll see why below.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer.

Thank you Alex Cavanaugh for keeping this great community going!

This month I want to get back to work. February was a lot of fun, but if I don't get writing it'll never happen again. The plan is to not blog this month and use that time to do one of two things.

1. Prepare all my posts for the April A to Z Challenge
2. Finish the 1st draft of my sequel

So far things are going okay. I've written drafts of the posts through G. I've done a bit of writing as well, however it wasn't on book 2. It was on book 4!

The second to the last scene in Talia's story was really shouting at me over the weekend. In fact, every time a certain song came on the radio I just bawled. Many of you know I'm a professed cry baby, but this song just hit me. I've heard it many times and remained unmoved. But the words sunk in and I visualized Talia feeling them to her very core. 

I had to sit and write the scene. The setting wasn't really there, and I wasn't sure how they got to this point in the story, but the dialogue was solid and real in my head. And that's what I jotted down. Over 600 words of this painfully beautiful conversation between two people I've grown to love. Now I have to fill in all the blank spaces in between the end of The Magic Wakes and Here There Be Dragons. My hope is that now I've listened to my characters and saved the inspiration, they'll let me get back to writing The Search For Knowledge, which is currently sitting at 39,200 comfortable words.

However, I keep opening the doc, looking at it, and then closing it. Most of those words are in 1st person and need to be re-written into 3rd to match TMW. But I keep thinking I should finish the story line first and worry about rewriting later. Or maybe I'll rewrite first to get back into the story. *sigh*

Here's where the insecurity comes in. Well, it's more like frustration.

I've suffered bouts of depression off and on for years. Even though my head tells me to go seek medical help, I'm stubborn. I always think I can fix it myself. It isn't as bad as some people experience, and it's mostly in the gray gloominess of winter, but it stinks.

I WANT to sit and write.

My body wants to lie in bed and sleep.

When I'm sleeping I can dream all these wonderful stories. I can live them. I can feel all these emotions. But when I'm awake I'm empty. The only thing I really feel is guilt.

Why?

Because I have a wonderful life. There's nothing wrong with it. I have a great husband who works hard to provide for me and our children. My kids are smart, healthy and independent. And funny! I have friends who love me and support me. I'm healthy. So what's wrong with me?

I think I wrote more of myself into Talia than I realized. I need the sun shining on me, renewing me and energizing me in order to feel whole. It's not even spring and I miss my North Carolina back yard. Where am I going to sit and write? I've got a postage stamp surrounded by a big wooden fence. No trees. (See how much I'm like Talia? I NEED trees!)

How am I going to make myself write when I don't want to do anything? (I'm writing this post Tuesday at 1 pm and I'm still in my pjs--I'll change in time to walk to the bus stop.) My head knows and understands what's wrong and what I should do to feel better.

• Exercise
• Shower
• Accomplish something

So why is it so hard to make myself do what I know I should?

New favorite song?

What a great week this has been! Lots of great blogfests celebrating romance, kisses, and all that jazz. Thanks for all the comments. They gave me lots to think about. I've also been reading Sendek on my Kindle. Wow, there are a lot of typos that I missed! And pronouns that didn't get switched in the POV change. Not having my computer to fix all of those is killing me right now. I tried to open my wip on hubby's computer and it didn't recognize the rtf file. That's how lame (read OLD) it is.

I'm still jotting notes and some scenes for Faerie Wings and Eleena of the Stars in notebooks. Not a lot, but just enough to keep the excitement from dying while I wait for the computer part to come in the mail.

This week signified bonus time for my family. I went wild and bought two new CDs. Yep, I'm a high roller. One of the songs hit me as the perfect end credit song for Faerie Wings if it were ever turned into a major motion picture. I can't tell you all the reasons, but let's just say the line about colors appearing and fading together sealed the deal.

I give you Fade Into Me by David Cook.

And this one would be perfect for the end credits of Eleena of the Stars.
Take Me As I Am also by David Cook.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you next week!

Birth of a Novel Blog Chain Week 1

Today is our first Birth of a Novel blog chain. Thanks to Elizabeth Poole for coming up with the idea. As you can see, I'm doing the Nano version (need not play to take part in this blog chain, BTW, so sign up if you want to join. Email me and I'll put you on the list.)

For my first entry, I'll be filling you in on my goals for Nanowrimo, and telling you a bit more about my chosen project for the month.

My goal for Nano is to get the complete draft of that summer  novel I never wrote on paper. That will be at least 50K. I'm aiming for about 75K for the finished project. This will be my first YA Urban Fantasy, so wish me luck! The idea has been stewing for a year now.

How about my back jacket blurb?

Everything you've ever heard about faeries is a lie.
Lies they told to keep us from learning the truth.
The truth? They live among us, sentenced to watch over and nurture their greatest mistake.
Us.
Ryanne never believed in faerie tales, and yet all the eyes of the Fae are watching her.
And they hope she will be the one to set them free.

And some of the images I chose as inspiration?

 

And there will be Celtic flavors throughout. Imagine a garden laid out in the Five-fold design.

What We Can Learn About Voice from Music

Remember that "Let's talk about you" post from a while back? I think I've answered all the questions (if I missed one, poke me with a stick), but Holly Ruggiero just wanted a post on writing craft. This one's for her and I hope if fits the bill.

Holly blogs over at A Southpaw's POV. She writes fantasy and urban fantasy, and I believe she was one of my first followers. Holly, thanks for sticking around with me through all my mood swings.

Voice

Sunday night I drove to a meeting half an hour away. I listened to the following song four times in a row. As I listened, this post formed in my head. I hope it makes sense.

First, I suggest you plug in some earphones and listen to the song. Let it fill you, expand your spirit, and make all the stress in your life disappear. (Feel free to listen to it over and over.)

I don't have a clue what the words mean. I'm sure I could look up a translation, but I won't. Everything I need to know and understand in order for the song to touch me is in the voice.

The violin, so clear and piercing in its sincerity. Full of longing, climbing and falling, taking its time and rushing. Melancholy and exultant. Reaching, ever reaching. For me, it sounds like the core of life itself.

And then Josh Groban sings. Effortless, compelling, drawing you into the emotion even further. You can't help but feel something.

Now, we've all heard that we need to find our own voice in our writing. I finally got it listening to this song. We each have a unique voice, and when used correctly, we can pull the reader in. Make them feel something. 

So, lets take a look at our physical voice.

The sound of each individual's voice is entirely unique not only because of the actual shape and size of an individual's vocal cords but also due to the size and shape of the rest of that person's body, especially the vocal tract, and the manner in which the speech sounds are habitually formed and articulated. Wikipedia

Voice can be describe by its pitch, volume and timbre. (Indulge me, I think this is fascinating and wonder how I can apply it to describing my MCs voices. I'll try to keep it brief.)

Pitch is how we order sound based on the frequency of vibrations of the vocal cords. High or low.
Volume is simply how loud or soft the sound is.
Timbre/Tone is where things get fun.

"In simplest terms, timbre is what makes a particular sound unique from another sound. For instance, it is the difference between a guitar and a piano playing the same note at the same volume." Wikipedia

Now, let's compare it to our writer's voice.

No one can write a story exactly like you because of your unique life experiences, the depth of emotion you have experienced, your sense of humor, fairness, justice, etc. Your habits also effect your writing skill.  --Me, I just set it off to mirror the above. :)

Pitch is how we hook our readers or agents. I'm lumping cover blurbs in this. The 'frequency' of times we share our books with others strengthens our pitching muscles.
Volume could relate to how strong or subtle our voice is. Do you have a snarky sense of humor that is impossible to miss, or one that is more of an intellectual puzzle? Is your romance cute or steamy? You could also relate volume to the sheer number of works you finish and send out into the world. The more books you publish the 'louder' your voice in the writing world.
Tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, satirical, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective.

What does your writer's voice sound like? Do you know? 
Tip: find one of your favorite sentences or paragraphs and that's probably your voice. I'm going to go look for mine now. ;)  
When you find yours, come back and post a snippet in the comments and I'll do the same.