Small Steps

It's the end of week one of my new, disciplined writing lifestyle and I must admit I had a bit of a pity party yesterday. I was feeling like I hadn't accomplished anything. Then I looked closer at my storyboard (pictured to the left). A week ago it was covered in pink post-its. I use pink where I have a question or am lacking some needed information. The questions posted on the board now are new. Even though I don't feel like I've moved forward with my project, my storyboard proves to me that I have propelled myself and Charlie further into the story.

I started my storyboard in the hopes that it would help me see the critical parts of my story. I've also used it to post visual aids like the pictures on the right side of the photo. First I divided the board into three categories: Main plot and two sub-plots. Each plot has a color of post-it assigned to it. That way I can keep track of ideas even when they cross into other areas of the story. This method of structuring helped at first. Now I'm starting to see that I'm getting more and more detailed within my post-its and having a hard time seeing the timeline of events.

I've decided to restructure the board. I want to design it like an intricate timeline so that I can follow Charlie across the board and see where she's going. I continue to have many ideas and need to use the board as a method of getting them out of my head without committing to the ideas. Being overly committed to an idea has also been part of my failures with my previous projects. I would get stuck on the thought of something specific happening a certain way. When that idea didn't fit with any other part of the story or it didn't flow forward I would just give up. The storyboard allows me to put ideas down and look at them all to see how they fit together.

This week part of my work will be dedicated to setting out a timeline of events on my storyboard. Although I'm technically starting over with the board I see it as a success. I've done all I can now with this layer of my story and am ready to move onto the next layer. (Layers being the development of the story through multiple steps).

In addition to my storyboard, I wrote out a detailed biography of characters and scenery. It's a flexible biography, but it was another method for me to get thoughts out of my head so I can allow myself to think of what is next.

I also did one of the exercises from The Writer's Toolbox by Jamie Cat Callan. It's literally a box full of objects used for writing exercises. I used the stir sticks, which proved to be a fun and a useful tool for me. There are three kinds of sticks and each one offers a step in writing a dynamic story. I used all three kinds for my exercise.

First step was the First Sentence stick which read "Charlotte ate green peppers all day long." There are many First Sentence sticks and this was the one I arbitrarily picked up. I wrote for 6 minutes about what might be happening. It's a strange sentence, but it's meant to get a story going with no telling where it might lead.

Second step, the Non-Sequitor that gets the story moving in a new direction. My stick said "He was skating on thin ice - that's all I can say." Putting this sentence with the first sentence seemed a smooth transition even though they don't appear to have any sort of connection.

The third step was the Last Straw stick that puts conflict and emotion into the story. I drew "The time he invited his mother to dinner." Again, it seems that they could never go together, but the entire exercise helps distract the left, analytical, side of the brain so that the right, creative, side of the brain can do its magic.

I don't want to bore you with the story that the exercise helped me write, but I can say that the scene I created might land a spot in my story.

My goals for this week are:
1. Continue writing at least 6 days for a 1/2 an hour each day.

2. Do some research

3. Continue work on Charlie's Road Map / Biography

4. Re-structure the story board

Each step and every new realization I have is a success towards reaching my goal. Only my own self-doubt will keep me from finishing.

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. ~ Sir Winston Churchill

Off and Running...with scissors

Six weeks ago I would have laughed at the thought of me starting a blog. Now, I'm anxious and thrilled at the prospects of this page. I've just finished an intensive creative writing course at the local literary center and find myself more motivated and able to finish my first novel. I've loved writing my entire life, but it wasn't until two years ago (my first writing course) that I began taking my writing seriously. Sure, I was able to spin out a persuasive, factual essay on American government during college without breaking a sweat, but now my writing has transformed from the world of academia to the vivid creations of my imagination.

I started and quit several projects in the last few years because I didn't have the tools to shape my ideas beyond the first few chapters. I was constantly creating dynamic characters and in essence "killing" them off because I couldn't lead them to the end of their story. I was attacking the keyboard of my computer with great anticipation that my ideas and the story would just somehow magically come to me. Now I have seen the errors of my ways, but by no means have I mastered my craft. On the contrary, I have opened my eyes to the reality of my writing and am now more willing to take on every aspect of the grueling work of writing a novel.

I have taken on the "Act as if..." philosophy. If I am serious about writing I need to be serious about all that being a writer includes. I was asked once what would I do differently if I were successful at writing and my answer was I would write more. With that I realized that I didn't have to wait (nor should I wait) for some magical spark of lightning to create my first great piece. If I want to be successful then I have to write more now. Since that great epiphany, I have created a storyboard for my current project, started a thorough layout of the story, began research for the story, completed a creative writing course, and started this blog.

For me, being a successful writer right now means finishing my first novel. I'd love to some day be published, but I have to be realistic. I love to write. I love to create characters and see their lives unfold on a blank piece of paper. I may never be published but at heart I am a writer and I don't expect that will ever change. Success can be measured so many different ways, but for me success is finishing what I've started. I can't say I've been successful at many things in my life, but I know if I put my mind to something I can finish any task big or small. My novel cannot be contained in my head so I must finish it.

I've set out to use the tools I gained to do what I have to do to get the characters out of my head and onto paper without "killing" them before their story ends. Tonight my exercise was to schedule my goals for the week so that I can stay on track.

Outlook for this week:
1. My "stretch" for this week is to write 6 days for at least 1/2 an hour. Life is pretty slow this week so I should be able to do this, but it's a stretch because something seems to always come up.

2. This week I dread running out of steam. This is my first week not having my writing class. I'm afraid that I'll be like the kid returning home after summer camp full of excitement to continue with lessons learned at camp only to have that excitement fizzle after a few days or weeks.

3. This week I will drop watching television in order to get my writing in each day. This shouldn't be too difficult for me, but for some reason I have a hard time turning the TV off and turning the computer on to write. I'll give myself one hour a day to watch TV if there's something that I've been waiting to see. I know I have to take some down time too otherwise I could come to dread writing which would be a negative outcome for my ultimate goal.

4. This week I will add doing more research to my list of things to do on my project. I need to do a lot of research to make sure I use factual events and realistic imagery in my story. Although I'm writing fiction I don't want my 18th century characters to be written as if they were living in the 19th century.

My Goals Between now and one year from now (April 2009) are:
1. To finish at least one draft of Charlie (my current project - Charlie is my protagonist).
2. Do thorough research on the Young Adult (YA) market, agents, publishers, etc.
3. Attend one seminar
4. Take one class at the local literary center

To achieve my goals I must:
1. WRITE!!! WRITE!!! WRITE!!!
2. Use this page as a tool to develop my craft
3. Do at least one writing exercise a week in order to keep learning
4. Study authors / other writers / READ!!!
5. Expand on the skeleton of Charlie, the road map of her story, and the storyboard.

It's going to be a lot of work, but it will be well worth it. So, here I go.