Or sorely disappointed.
Hi all,
Another writer buddy of mine was having a discussion on her blog about the ‘gun on the wall’ idea and that, if you show something early on in a story, you’d better eventually wind up using it. I always like to make my character take the gun out of the desk drawer before they use it but I digress…..
Mostly though, I do agree with her in that if you have a set-up for a story, you should carry it out. Like the majority of writers, I have been on both ‘sides’ of the counter so to speak, being both a reader and a writer. Nothing and I mean, nothing is more frustrating to a reader, well at least to me, if a writer has a great set up (background) and doesn’t move the plot forward in the manner that the reader thinks it will go. Yeah, I’m one of those people who have thrown books across the room. And why? Because I became so frustrated with the story, I felt cheated in a way. Almost like having the proverbial rug pulled out from under one. And that doesn’t feel good at all.
Now, I know sometimes one does have to include a ‘surprise’ ending or put in things to make the reader jump (akin to walking through a haunted house and jumping back when the ghoulies run out shrieking at you). Yeah, that is ‘fair’ and is part of the writing craft. No, I’m not speaking of those writing tricks. I’m talking about the reader feeling ‘cheated’, that is, the story not going in the direction that they’ve expected it to. And for some stories, the setup to carry out the plot is great, Many times I’ve gotten half way through a book and thought, “Gee, the writer had a great beginning. I wonder why X didn’t happen.” Depending on how emotionally invested I am in the story, my language may be harsher than just using the words “Gee” but I think you get the idea.
In any case, when you as a writer, deviate from a plot line as you’re writing, you should think about why you’re going off on the tangent and how far ‘off’ you are moving from that original setup. Because while a few readers may applaud your idea to move off in a fresh, new direction, it has been my experience, both as a writer and as a reader, that the average reader will not take so kindly to this too far into the tale. Particularly, if you, the writer has just set up a great path for the plot to follow. Because the reader will wonder (and often, not too forgivingly) why you wrote path Y when they thought the character was going down path X. And depending on their mood that night while reading your book, it just might be thrown against the wall. Or on the floor. And if you want to build a readership with writing a series, um, yeah, this isn’t the best way to do it.
So, I guess my advice for today’s post is to be a good salesman. Your ‘product’ is your book and therefore, you should deliver what you promise. In other words, don’t cheat the customer. Much like in any other transactions that occur in life, it’s bad for business.
Take care all,
Chris
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Writing Hardware............
Hi all,
First, let me start out by asking you all an important question. Where do you do the dirty deed? No, not that one, LOL. Of course, I’m talking about writing. Where then, do you write? Or actually, what do you write on?
I think it was Stephen King (want to step back and highly rec his book “On Writing”, best book about writing mechanics I’ve ever read), who said that he not only has kept a special desk to write on but it’s also where he writes that’s important. Again, if I can recall his musings on this, King said that he writes near a window, under an overhang (eave).
I’m sort of like King in a way since everything I’ve written has been accomplished in either one of two places. At my kitchen table. Or at my desk in my bedroom. Both pieces of furniture have been with me a long, long time. The kitchen set was bought when I was about 7 and about 20% of the time, I write on that with my laptop. Yeah, laptops are great. If you’re a writer and do not yet have one, I do very much rec them. Why? Well, because it’s nice not to have that ‘tied down’ feeling that one can have at their PC. Sometimes when I have writer’s block, a change of surroundings can often work for me. This is usually accomplished by me writing at my kitchen table with my laptop. And carrying my writing ‘junk’ around with me (yes, I still have a paper dictionary and a thesaurus). The change of scenery usually helps stimulate my creativity and allows me to be able to better focus and write.
So where do I do about 80% of my writing? Well, that occurs in my bedroom, on my PC. Some people like to live in large rooms and get claustrophobia in small ones. I’m sort of the opposite. I enjoy tiny spaces. Feels comfortable and cozy to write in. For many, many years, I had the smallest room in my house, writing under two medium-sized windows that looked out onto my (and the neighbor’s) backyard. It was a quiet neighborhood so there were few distractions (except in the summer with the neighbor’s kids and pool) and the surrounding trees provided a nice writing environment.
Last year, my father passed away and I had to sell my home. I now reside in a small condo. When I was buying the condo, I remember walking into each of the two bedrooms and thinking, which one would be good for writing. The first one of the two, the smaller one, reminded me of the bedroom that I had left. It had large windows, looking out onto trees (screening the parking lot beyond) and ‘felt’ sort of like my old room. Now, I didn’t buy the condo because I liked the ‘feel’ of the room but the fact that my new writing room looks and ‘feels’ like my old one has helped me with the transition. Immediately, after setting up my desk and my very numerous bookshelves, I sat down to write and went “Yeah, this feels nice.” I’ve been writing there (here) now for a year and the fact that it still reminds me of my other room helps my creativity to flow.
What do write on? Well, I write on the same desk that I’ve had since I was about 12 or so. When I was going to school back then called ‘junior high school’, I told my mother I needed something to fit my word processor, not computer (remember those?LOL) on. We went out to Sears (where we used to buy all our stuff in the old days) and she bought me a small, white desk. It’s the same desk I’m writing this on now. Yeah, lots of years and writing contained on (in) it. But you know, though I can afford to go out and ‘update’ my desk, I’m keeping it for sentimental reasons. I really enjoy the fact that I can remember writing all my college papers on there as well as my novel/short stories. So, in my life, the computers have changed but my white desk has remained a constant. Lately, it’s getting a little less sturdy but I’m keeping it til the very end. I hope it lasts for a good while longer:)
Take care all,
Chris
First, let me start out by asking you all an important question. Where do you do the dirty deed? No, not that one, LOL. Of course, I’m talking about writing. Where then, do you write? Or actually, what do you write on?
I think it was Stephen King (want to step back and highly rec his book “On Writing”, best book about writing mechanics I’ve ever read), who said that he not only has kept a special desk to write on but it’s also where he writes that’s important. Again, if I can recall his musings on this, King said that he writes near a window, under an overhang (eave).
I’m sort of like King in a way since everything I’ve written has been accomplished in either one of two places. At my kitchen table. Or at my desk in my bedroom. Both pieces of furniture have been with me a long, long time. The kitchen set was bought when I was about 7 and about 20% of the time, I write on that with my laptop. Yeah, laptops are great. If you’re a writer and do not yet have one, I do very much rec them. Why? Well, because it’s nice not to have that ‘tied down’ feeling that one can have at their PC. Sometimes when I have writer’s block, a change of surroundings can often work for me. This is usually accomplished by me writing at my kitchen table with my laptop. And carrying my writing ‘junk’ around with me (yes, I still have a paper dictionary and a thesaurus). The change of scenery usually helps stimulate my creativity and allows me to be able to better focus and write.
So where do I do about 80% of my writing? Well, that occurs in my bedroom, on my PC. Some people like to live in large rooms and get claustrophobia in small ones. I’m sort of the opposite. I enjoy tiny spaces. Feels comfortable and cozy to write in. For many, many years, I had the smallest room in my house, writing under two medium-sized windows that looked out onto my (and the neighbor’s) backyard. It was a quiet neighborhood so there were few distractions (except in the summer with the neighbor’s kids and pool) and the surrounding trees provided a nice writing environment.
Last year, my father passed away and I had to sell my home. I now reside in a small condo. When I was buying the condo, I remember walking into each of the two bedrooms and thinking, which one would be good for writing. The first one of the two, the smaller one, reminded me of the bedroom that I had left. It had large windows, looking out onto trees (screening the parking lot beyond) and ‘felt’ sort of like my old room. Now, I didn’t buy the condo because I liked the ‘feel’ of the room but the fact that my new writing room looks and ‘feels’ like my old one has helped me with the transition. Immediately, after setting up my desk and my very numerous bookshelves, I sat down to write and went “Yeah, this feels nice.” I’ve been writing there (here) now for a year and the fact that it still reminds me of my other room helps my creativity to flow.
What do write on? Well, I write on the same desk that I’ve had since I was about 12 or so. When I was going to school back then called ‘junior high school’, I told my mother I needed something to fit my word processor, not computer (remember those?LOL) on. We went out to Sears (where we used to buy all our stuff in the old days) and she bought me a small, white desk. It’s the same desk I’m writing this on now. Yeah, lots of years and writing contained on (in) it. But you know, though I can afford to go out and ‘update’ my desk, I’m keeping it for sentimental reasons. I really enjoy the fact that I can remember writing all my college papers on there as well as my novel/short stories. So, in my life, the computers have changed but my white desk has remained a constant. Lately, it’s getting a little less sturdy but I’m keeping it til the very end. I hope it lasts for a good while longer:)
Take care all,
Chris
Friday, August 17, 2007
Two quick thoughts.........
Hi all,
Just wanted to mention two things that I was thinking about:
1. Anyone who's ever been in a job interview can tell you that there's one question that is almost invariably asked: So where do you see yourself in 5/10 years? And, as a writer just starting out I also thought about this question in relation to what I see myself writing about 5/10 years later. As you all probably know from reading my blog, my main love is reading and writing in the vampire fiction genre. There are two ways to think about this then, I could either write a series inside one universe or I could write a series of say a series of vampire romance books all within different universes. Right now at least, I have to say, the more I write my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, the more I’m enjoying my characters. I really love to write about the four ‘main’ characters (Erik, Christine, Dracula and Mina) but I’ve also created an entire group of original characters as well (Lucy, Dracula’s adopted daughter in my present day universe, you‘ll all ‘meet‘ her later in my series) and do enjoy exploring them more in detail with each new story that I write.
Therefore, I guess I just wanted to say that I think I’d love to continue to write in my one universe, extending it up and through the present day (covers almost 100 years). I’m also a huge romance fan and do enjoy reading in this genre. However, right now, I don’t see myself as writing novels/stories of different couples in different ‘universes’. I have so much I’d love to explore in my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, that I do think I can be writing about this for some time to come. So yeah, just thought you’d like to know which direction I’m headed in. Hope you all come along for the ride:)
2. In addition to being a huge Dracula/vampires fan, I’ve also been a Springsteen fan for over 20 years. So, one day, I sat down and thought. Are my passions related in any way, if at all? After some thinking, I decided that I like Springsteen (and his music, think he’s a genius when it comes to lyric writing) because he often writes songs from a male POV about what it’s like to look at a beautiful woman and want to be her lover but not, for some reason, be able to speak with her, become her lover. And that’s interesting because it sort of ties into my interest in the Phantom (Erik) character. Because listening to several of Springsteen songs, I thought, yeah, the narrator of the song could be him (the Phantom). And I guess that’s how my music and writing interests are connected:)
Take care all,
Chris
Just wanted to mention two things that I was thinking about:
1. Anyone who's ever been in a job interview can tell you that there's one question that is almost invariably asked: So where do you see yourself in 5/10 years? And, as a writer just starting out I also thought about this question in relation to what I see myself writing about 5/10 years later. As you all probably know from reading my blog, my main love is reading and writing in the vampire fiction genre. There are two ways to think about this then, I could either write a series inside one universe or I could write a series of say a series of vampire romance books all within different universes. Right now at least, I have to say, the more I write my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, the more I’m enjoying my characters. I really love to write about the four ‘main’ characters (Erik, Christine, Dracula and Mina) but I’ve also created an entire group of original characters as well (Lucy, Dracula’s adopted daughter in my present day universe, you‘ll all ‘meet‘ her later in my series) and do enjoy exploring them more in detail with each new story that I write.
Therefore, I guess I just wanted to say that I think I’d love to continue to write in my one universe, extending it up and through the present day (covers almost 100 years). I’m also a huge romance fan and do enjoy reading in this genre. However, right now, I don’t see myself as writing novels/stories of different couples in different ‘universes’. I have so much I’d love to explore in my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, that I do think I can be writing about this for some time to come. So yeah, just thought you’d like to know which direction I’m headed in. Hope you all come along for the ride:)
2. In addition to being a huge Dracula/vampires fan, I’ve also been a Springsteen fan for over 20 years. So, one day, I sat down and thought. Are my passions related in any way, if at all? After some thinking, I decided that I like Springsteen (and his music, think he’s a genius when it comes to lyric writing) because he often writes songs from a male POV about what it’s like to look at a beautiful woman and want to be her lover but not, for some reason, be able to speak with her, become her lover. And that’s interesting because it sort of ties into my interest in the Phantom (Erik) character. Because listening to several of Springsteen songs, I thought, yeah, the narrator of the song could be him (the Phantom). And I guess that’s how my music and writing interests are connected:)
Take care all,
Chris
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