Labotomy of a Writer

The vote was 7 (yes) to 3 (no) for the poll question "Would you like to see other writers as guest bloggers here?"

So -- I will begin the process of asking my fellow writers to be guests on my blog. It will be a few weeks before you begin to see other writers here, as I try to figure out the best way to put this all together.

Thank you to everyone that voted in this poll!


As the first step of this project, I'm making a call for authors. If you know anyone (or yourself) that would like to be a guest or guests you'd like to see, please leave a comment here with their name and contact information (email, blog, or website). You can also email me directly at harleydpalmer[at]gmail.com if you prefer.

Okay, I am normally not one to advertise conferences or contests or other activities as a blog post on my blog. I simply put them as a link somewhere in the side bar and leave it at that.

However, this conference deserves a post and more! This online conference has got to be the Best I have ever seen - no joke. I would make the words of this post glitter if I could, seriously. Or maybe decorate with neon or something!

The Muse Online Writers Conference

This conference has 38 - yes, I said THIRTY-EIGHT - publishers and agents on hand for pitch sessions! There are 52 week long workshops, 29 chat workshops, and over 20 mini-workshops and Q&A sessions! Workshop topics range from flash fiction, script writing, publishing, novels, writer's block, and every thing inbetween!!

Do you want to know the best part? The registration fee is only FIVE DOLLARS!!! Hello? Why are you still reading this blog? Get over to the website and register right now! Registration ends on September 10, 2010!

The conference is from October 11 to 17, 2010. I'm registered and ready to go and I hope to see you all there!!

You can get updates about the conference by joining their Yahoo! group and follow their blog for some great information also.

(Mia, if you reading this, I know I stole your whole changing font size in the middle of a sentence thing you do, but I felt it was perfect for this particular post. Don't worry, this will be the only time I do it - until next time. *smile*)

I was blog surfing today and Heather Howland blogged about this and so I had to spread the word - literally!

There are many words in the English language that we no longer use! It's sad! So, there is this wonderful site where you can go adopt these words that need so much of our love!

These are three words that I adopted!

magistricide
(n.) the killing of a teacher or master

snollygoster
(n.) a shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician

nubivagant
(adj.) moving throughout or among clouds

What words will you adopt? Go Save the Words!

One of the most important things that I have learned over the many years of writing, reading, researching, and reviewing is this – as a writer, you need to know why you write and what your goals are.

I can already hear people saying “I write because I love it”. Well yes, but why do you love it? Really dig deep and ask why you write. I feel that this is a very important question for all writers to ask themselves. It is the reason why we keep going when the critiques come in, when the rejection letters pile up, and when rewrite number seven still isn’t good enough.

I was asked this question a few months ago in a workshop I joined. As you can see, it ended up being a pretty long answer.

I write because it frees me. In the worlds that I create, I can be myself without being judged for my past or present. I can just be. That is why I choose to write in the fantasy genre, especially with my novels. I get to make all the rules. I can get lost in the worlds of my novels, away from the stresses of life. It’s my escape.

When I was young, writing poetry was a way to express myself. A way to say what I really felt inside. I was a painfully shy child and I had trouble talking to people easily. So I wrote my words down. That was before my battle with drug addiction and alcohol took hold. I did not stop writing entirely during those years, but anyone reading my work, could definitely tell the difference. Every thing started to take on a darker view, more twisted and scary almost. The few poems or stories I did write during that time all had a dark cloud in there somewhere, like the words themselves radiated anger and pain right off the page.

Now that I am clean and sober, I write as a means of soul-searching. I always put a piece of myself into the characters I create and during their journey in the story, it is as if I am also discovering a part of myself. Something connects with me and a light bulb goes off – that “ah-ha” moment – and suddenly everything makes sense. Often times my “writer’s block” is because the story has taken a turn that will force me to look at a side of myself that I might not want to. But once I get past it, and get the words out on paper, I feel so much better. The world looks brighter and it’s like I can breathe again. The last three years of sobriety have been one learning experience after another, as I learn to actually life again, instead of just existing.

So why am I a writer? Because that is where I find myself.

But what about you? Why do you write? The real, deep down, true reason. I challenge you to discover this about yourself. You might even want to write a blog post about it! At the very least, I recommend you type it up, print it out and hang it next to your writing area. Look at it whenever you get discouraged and remember why you chose this career. Mail it to yourself! Whatever it takes for you to remember why you write during the hard times.

I want to talk today about Crit Partners. Every writer should have at least one. I'm lucky enough to have found two!

Now, it took me a long time to find the two that I have. There were certain standards I was looking for in a partner and sadly, not everyone measured up.

First thing, I need a person that would not blow smoke up my butt. That is very important to me. Yes, getting those reviews that don't have any red marks and say "This is great!" do make me feel good. But, I'd rather have a review riddled with red marks. Why? So I can improve. I don't want to become stagnant as a writer - ever. My crit partner needed to be brutally honest with me in order for me to keep moving forward.

Second, I also needed a person that while brutal, would not be down right cruel. There is a fine line here and I hate to say that I have had some people not know this. I told them to be brutal and they were cruel instead. I simply can't work with people like that. While I am still friends with a few of these people, I don't ask them to read my work anymore.

Last, I had to have a partner who was on the same level as I am. Not in skill, but at the same point in their career. Sure, I would learn a lot from an already published author. At this point in my life however, I wanted a crit partner who was struggling with the same things I was. This way we could be encouraging to each other.

These things were important to me, but for you to find a crit partner, you have to figure out what you need or want. My two crit authors do not write the same genre that I do, but I think that works out to my benefit. You might want someone who writes the same genre as you. That's fine. Just figure out what you want in a partner then search for someone.

My two partners are different from each other but give me everything I need. C.J. Ellisson (author of Vampire Vacation) catches the nitty gritty stuff that I forget or don't pay attention to. She is really great at catching those paragraphs that are telly or sentences where the wording is confusing to the actual meaning.

J.D. Brown (author of Dark Heirloom) is great at finding those plot holes and suggesting new ways to present certain information. J.D. knows my characters almost as well as I do, so she also catches those instances where a character might do or say something they normally wouldn't. She provides me with a lot of inspiration how to show my characters' personalities the right way.

Both these wonderful people give me the perfect insights I need to polish my WIP! The three of us work well together I think. You need to find these same qualities in a crit partner. Do you get along? Can you understand each other clearly? Can you still be friends after the red marks start showing up? That last one is KEY to any crit relationship. Friendship is important to a crit partners relationship I think. Some might say that to have a crit partner, you can't be friends. I can agree with that as it is difficult to be friends AND crit partners with C.J. and J.D. But for me, it works. I love being able to hash out scenes with them and have them not be afraid to tell me I've got an idea that simply won't work. I guess I'm lucky that I found two people that I can still be friends with after the crits. Do what you think is best for you.

Find what works for you and your crit partner. Whichever way you decide, just remember that your partner is there to help you. You don't have to agree on everything. They are merely giving their own ideas and suggestions. In the end, it's your work and you don't have to change anything unless you want to. I can tell you from experience that I don't disagree with anything my crit partners say, athought it might take me a second to realize they're right.

(or Discovering your Characters' Unique Voice)

An idea for a novel comes to me when a character shows up and says "Anastasia, I have a story to tell you." More often than not, the characters come first and then the plot. I know other writers are the opposite, they have a plot and create the characters to fit into the setting. Regardless of how you come up with a new story, it is very important to know your characters inside and out to convey their personalities on the page.

There are different techniques writers use to achieve this, but today, we'll talk about how I get to know my characters.

Like I said, my characters show up, unannounced, in my head and proceed to annoy me endlessly until I tell their story. They talk to me on a daily basis just as my husband talks to me when we are watching television. I'm reminded of a quote that says "Writing is an acceptable form of Schizophrenia" Thank the Gods! Otherwise, I'd be committed. Some would argue I should be anyway, but I digress.

Instead of filling out Q&A character sheets myself, I let my characters do it. How would they answer the questions? I can be hard to do as I do have characters that have ideas that I don't agree with. I don't agree with everything my husband or friends say, but I still love them! The point is to let them fill in the answers, not you.

I tend to talk to my characters like they were sitting next to me. They're are some of my best friends! Like right then, I heard a chorus of "Awww really?" inside my head. It's rather odd sometimes, but I've gotten used to it.

Freaked out yet?

Seriously though, the point here is to know your characters like you know your best friend or your spouse. I know my characters well enough that I can take them out of their story and interact with characters from other stories and still maintain their voice. During those chat sessions, I learn more yet. It puts them in a new situation outside of the story plot and I learn more about who they are.

Example for you. Drache, the hero in Burden of Propecy was chatting with Etharas, Chakor and 3 guy vampires from J.D. Brown's Dark Heirloom (J.D. was there too with her characters of course). I never thought Drache was the violent type, seeing more as a Beta rather than an Alpha type of guy. However, during the little get together, someone (ahem, Etharas) said some not so nice things about Drache's wife. Lo and behold, Etharas was put into his place with a well smacked hand! I was shocked but when I thought about it, it fit. Drache is fiercly loyal and protectice of his wife and won't tolerate anyone putting her down. I was missing his strength of passion in the novel - but I promise you, it's there now!

However you discover your characters inner feelings, thoughts, and voice, just make sure it's their voice and not yours. Yes, authors have their own voice that comes through their writing, but that's a different topic.

***If you'd like to read the entire confrontation with Drache and the rest of the guys, visit The Life and Times of Imaginary People on Aug 28 to read the Poker Party.***

I've made a few posts on this blog in the past about passive verbs and weak sentences. There are sure more to come in the future too.

When it comes to grammar, while passive sentences can be correct, the point is they take away from the story and the action. Active sentences suck the reader into the scene so they can see and hear and feel what's going on too.

With that in mind, I learned a new trick to help me find those pesky passive verbs a lot easier in my huge MS.

Create a Macro! Now, for those that are not computer savvy, don't worry. This is the easiest thing to create - seriously. I'll take you through it step by step!

1. I did a bit of research and wrote down four seperate lists:

Passive Verbs (is, am, was, were, be, being, been, has, have, had, are, -ing)
Weak Verbs (saw, felt, heard, walked, ran, thought, realized, seemed, sat, stood, sounded, took)
Weak Words (that, just, even, so)
Adverbs (always, every, never, very, often, several, most, really, sometimes, -ly)

You can create your own lists based on whatever you like. You can even join all four of my lists together into one list. Whatever way works for you.

2. I opened my MS and had my list handy.

3. Click on "Tools". Holding your mouse over "Macros" will show a side pop down menu. Click on "Record New Macro".

4. In the little window that pops up, create a name for the Macro (like Passive Verbs). In the description area, you can explain what the Macro does. Mine says "Yellow highlight of Passive Verbs". You can also use this window to set a keyboard shortcut.

5. Click "Ok" A tiny window will pop up with a "Stop" and "Pause" button. You are now recording and any changes you make to the MS, the Macro will record.

6. Go to "Edit" then click on "Find". (You can type Ctrl+F if you prefer). Click on the "Replace" tab in the new window. In the "Find What" area type in one of the words from your list. For my Passive List, I typed in was. Then in the "Replace With" are, type in was again.

7. At the bottom of the window is a button that says "More". Clicking on that will expand the window to show more options. I recommend selecting the "Find whole words only" option. (Make sure the cursor is in the "Find What" window during this step.) This prevents your MS highlighting any time the pattern is (like in the word this) and only hightlights the word is. When you add 'ing' or 'ly' to your lists, uncheck this option.

Now, here you can do a few different things. Clicking on the "Format" button at the bottom will bring up a menu where you can select different formats. (Make sure the cursor is in the "Replace With" window during this step.) What I do is select "Highlight". But you can change font color or even bold the word if you prefer. Experiment with the things on this list to find what works best for you.

8. Click "Replace All". You will see highlights appear all over your document.

9. Repeat steps 5 to 9 until all the words on your list are highlighted. (Tip: Once you have your format settings, all you need to do is change the words you wish to highlight. You don't need to close the window or reset any of the formatting for each word - unless you want to change it).

10. Click on the "Stop" button on the tiny Macro recording window. Clear all the formatting in your MS (Click on Ctrl+Z will undo the last change you made.) To test your Macro, go to "Tools" then"Macro" then "Macros...". Here you can see the list of all Macros you have made. Select the Macro you want to run and click on "Run". As you can see, all the highlighting you did previously is done in one easy step! (Depending on how long your MS is, this could take a few minutes for it all to show up.)

Tip: If you have more than one Macro and want to change the highlight color for each list, simply change the "highlighter" color then run the next Macro. If you selected different font colors while recording, you do not need to do this extra step when running more than one Macro.

It takes a while to create the Macro the first time around, but trust me, the time it saves you later, is priceless. Taking a few hours now to set up this feature will help you with ANY novel you ever write again. (If you get a new computer, you have to set up the Macros all over again, just so you know.) I open my MS now and get straight to editing rather than doing "Find and Replace" for each word, every time.

**This is for Microsoft Word on a Windows operating system. I know Pages on a Mac has something similar to this feature.**