Unshackling the Bonds

I don't start a novel until I have lived with the story for awhile to the point of actually writing an outline and after a number of books I've learned that the more time I spend on the outline the easier the book is to write. And if I cheat on the outline I get in trouble with the book.
— John Grisham

I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.
—J.K. Rowling

Some writers are plotters… I, on the other hand, have the curse and rabid delight of being a pantser. I sit down at my computer every day praying for a lightning strike. Common symptoms include pacing, an abnormally clean house, frantic cups of joe, and middle-of-the-night writing breakdowns.
— Pierce Brown

Workshop number eight was Unshackling the Bonds, presented by Dennis Bock. Enough time has passed that it’s a little hard to remember what all we discussed, and I’ll apologize ahead of time if this post is a little scattered, but my notes were a little uncomprehensive. Hence, once again thinking ahead to the next Writersfest and the possibility of recording these workshops.

He began by weighing in on the “plotters vs. pantsers” debate.

The real magic of writing happens when you write with the idea to discover instead of planning each and every step. Get rid of the idea that you need to plan, or create a plot outline. Plot is for writers who want to know their story. Narrative is for writers who want to discover their story.

You don’t have to know what you’re going to write about. It’s perfectly fine to start with a character or an image and then just go from there. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it may take a couple of attempts, but that’s okay too. Give yourself permission to fail.

Show don’t tell is the worst advice for a new writer. It’s a cliché. Show and tell, but don’t explain. When the writer wants to be sure the reader “gets” what they mean, they’ll explain way too much, spoon feeding them what they want them to know. They’re not dramatizing the scene as it unfolds, allowing the reader to discover the story on their own, connecting to it in their own way. They’re bashing them over the head with facts.

Showing focuses on the character, articulating their emotions. Make your characters real without using cliches. Leave it to the character to discover and unveil what’s going on.

Go into the character and discover their key emotion and then explore it. Don’t just skim the surface, dig down deep. “I hope. I wish. I want.” Feel what the character is feeling.

Dialogue is showing. What does your character want? How is he going to achieve this? Want is a dynamic rolling of emotion. To show this, use a dynamic shift (significant internal change) in your character. This can be done by conversion of regular everyday emotions to extreme emotion.

Literary conversion is when a narrator lands on a moment so private that even though the rest of the world carries on, it must be commented on. It takes an otherwise invisible moment and raises it with extreme emotion.

Telling can deepen our characters. It can explain what they’re doing, what they’re feeling, and can articulate emotion that might not be obvious. You can tell by having the character interpret and be aware of their emotional landscape. But keep to a single point of view – you’re only allowed to head hop (jump from one point of view to another) if you’re aware of it and have a good reason to do so.

Your narrative does the heavy lifting. It’s like stage directions. It introduces the reader to the main character, the point of view, the setting, and the situation the character finds themselves in. You can tell by supplying information, a little more removed from the immediate experience, and you can show by employing the senses and the emotions.

Finally, we were given a prompt, to write a piece encompassing the following emotions:

Dread, fear, confusion, and optimism.

But we ran out of time to write anything.

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

WORDAGE REPORT

THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Another mixed bag last week, but though I didn’t get any more writing done than I’ve been doing lately, it was still a pretty good week. And you don’t get to hear me say that very often, so you’d better take note! LOL

First of all, I got all of my blog posts, with the exception of my serial installment, written and scheduled on the weekend. That has never happened to me before, and it was a good feeling, let me tell you.

This was offset by Monday, when I had a couple of appointments, including an opening at the dentist for my root canal. And you know you’re in for trouble when the dentist gives you a prescription to have filled on your way home.

To be honest, once the freezing wore off the pain wasn’t all that bad. The drug he prescribed, however, a combination antibiotic and pain killer, was a little hard on the system. So yeah, that kind of took the wind out of my sails.

I spent more time than I probably should have on stitchery stuff, which is probably why when I was on Amazon I succumbed to another stitchery book and a couple of kits. Meeting with the guild every week (one week a regular meeting, the opposing week at the library) keeps the interest high.

I also ordered myself a couple of new books, but believe it or not I didn’t have much time to read. Thursday I spent a good chunk of the day baking – cookies for a kids event on Saturday – and Friday was a P.A. day, which meant we had the pleasure of the granddaughter’s company.

So it was just as well I got all those posts done early, because they might not have got done otherwise.

NEW WORDS:
2401+800+348+792=4,341
UP 648 – words from last week

I don’t know where all those extra words came from, but don’t expect the same this week.

Not a lot of gaming to distract me last week, but a lot of other stuff. And I did spend a little more time in my office, not that it did me any good.

Despite all my good intentions to get my serial post done early, I found myself waiting until Thursday to write it. I started out in my office, thinking I’d do better without any distractions, but I didn’t really get anywhere.

Then I re-located to the living room and my recliner, and next thing I know I’m getting ‘er done. This despite the handicap of a sleeping cat draped across my arms, forcing me to type one-handed. Maybe Dinsdale is my muse (or maybe that should be mews).

Goals For Next Week:
Get all my blog posts done and maybe a few extra words besides.

EDITING:
0 hours
Believe it or not, I was so busy working on other things that I forgot I was supposed to use some of my time for editing. Duh!

Goal For Next Week:
Get back to work on An Elemental Spirit.

POETRY:
I admit I kind of cheated on my poetry form last week. I used the form we were assigned as the monthly “poemwork” for the poetry group. Once I got the hang of the Poiku, it was a fun little verse. I did five of them for the blog post, then added three more for the poetry meeting that night (because that’s what it took to fill the page LOL).

I still seem to be stuck in the mindset of doing the poetry posts and no more. I don’t know why that is – I get a line here and a line there flit through my mind at odd times, but never when I’m in a position to write them down. And of course when I do make it to a pen and paper they’re long gone.

Goal For Next Week:
Find another new poetry form to share. Expand on the poems I started during the Duende workshop.

CRAFTING:
I spent a fair chunk of Monday going through bins of stitchery in my craft room, organizing them a little better so I could take stock of what I have. Apparently I have a really good supply of everything. Except material that’s easy to embroider on. *sigh*

There was a piece of a cream coloured canvas that I thought would do for my zentangle sampler so I cut off a fair chunk of it and spent considerable time debating on what size to make my squares – I settled on 4 ½ inches. Then I decided that I’d stitch the outline of each one in black, which is where I realized that canvas wasn’t all that much fun to stitch on.

I had one square outlined when I went to the stitchery meeting and my fellow stitchers agreed it wasn’t the best material for a sampler, but it was perfect if I wanted to use it for one side of a tote bag to carry my stitchery stuff in.

The next day I did end up going to a Michael’s craft store, but it was for supplies for a craft the granddaughter and I were going to do on Friday, I didn’t even think to look for anything else. However, I did order myself a book on crewel embroidery, a set of stitchery kits, and some plastic beading canvas from Amazon. :-)

Goal For Next Week:
Decide which is the project I’m going to keep doing and stick to it.

WHAT I’M READING:
I’m still reading The Book of Magic, by Alice Hoffman. To be honest, I didn’t get all that much reading time in last week. But I did order a set of Eve Langlais books and I’m sure once I start reading them I’ll zip right through them.

Goal For Next Week:
Keep reading.

THE WEEK AHEAD:

I was a couple of days late, but I got a list made last week. And as soon as I had it started in my brand new list making notepad, I found my old one. Isn’t that the way it goes? *sigh* But rather than make a master list and then divide it into sublists, I just made one list to rule them all, crossing things off as I completed them and adding new things as they occur to me. Works for me.

And other than my stitch-in at the library on Tuesday morning, I don’t think I have any appointments until Saturday, when I get a temporary filling replaced with a permanent one. But the weather is supposed to be really crappy for the whole week, so I’m making no promises where my productivity is concerned.

The hour a day thing for editing hasn’t been working out so great, so now I’m wondering if I should try working on it a couple of different afternoons a week. I’m not sure if that’ll work any better, but it’s something to try. But I do think I should put TraxTime on the good laptop as an incentive to, you know, use it.

Ideally I’d to get my writing projects done during the day so I can craft in front of the TV in the evenings. Yesterday would have been the perfect day for The Witcher and some stitching because it was rainy and miserable, but I was working on this post instead and it was taking me far longer than it should have, mainly because I was working in the living room. It took me until late afternoon to smarten up and move to my office.

As well as my sampler-come-tote-bag, I’d like to use the flowers in the kits I bought as a guide to embellish a dress I bought the granddaughter for Easter. I may not get it done before she outgrows it, but maybe I can get it done for back to school. So lots of stitching to do in the evenings.

I’d still like to see myself spending a little more time in my office, but I have to admit that the desk and area around it are getting a little cluttered. It’s really just a matter of putting papers and junk where they belong, or finding a home for things in some cases, so it might be worth taking a couple of hours, or a whole afternoon, to just do it.

The track is getting closer, I just need a weed-whacker to clear the way.