Reading While Writing... "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

Wow, what a fantastic book! I almost didn't finish it, knowing from past Jodi Picoult books that she doesn't always end the books the way I'd like them to live on in my mind. She's good for that life's a tragedy bit. However, I pushed on, hoping...praying...and phew! The book ended just as I would have it. I love a good book.

And long. 500 pages... My book started out being 100K like this one. Now I'm starting to think all my editing will benefit my readers as well as the tree population. (Although I'd love to have it printed only on recycled paper. But who knows if I'd have the option to make that choice in the end.) I'm starting to feel a clean cut, conscience story is the way to go. Because, although "House Rules" was 500 pages long, I didn't actually read all 500 pages. There was TONS of extraneous information that could have been deleted.

Take for instance all the back story. Jodi's good for it, but after reading all her work, you'd think she'd come up with a new system for disseminating it. It's always the same. A few paragraphs of the actual story then break - a few pages of back story, then break - a few pages of actual story, then break, a few paragraphs of back story, and so on and so on and so on and so on. It's so broken up - the actual story. But a little deviation from the norm would be nice. I'm just glad the book ended the way I wanted it to after investing so much time in reading it!

So, what did I learn from reading it?

To vary structure.

Jodi can get away with doing the same thing, writing in the same style, the same voice, over and over and over again. She's a bestseller. She's on the list. People know her name. We'll buy books just because we know she's a good story teller.

Yet...her structure. Pick up any three books of hers and they are all the same. Chapters in different character's POV's. Back story breaking up the action and the actual story ALL THE TIME. Yes, it's fun. Yes, it's genius. Yes, it's monotonous.

I've heard it a thousand times - vary, vary, vary. And I get it now. After flipping past pages and pages of bla bla bla that was starting to get on my nerves, I got it. Don't bore your reader. Change it up a little bit. So, you have your voice. Use it. But don't over do it.

Vary sentence structure.
Vary paragraph structure.
Vary chapter structure.
Vary story structure.

Don't get so bogged down in what works for you that you don't see that you're ALWAYS doing it the same way. Try something new. Never know when you might come up with a new winning system.

Vary, Vary, Vary!

Your readers will thank you.

:)

Back in the Swing of Things... Writing After a Break

Anyone else just now rising out of the ashes of this past holiday's chaotic-fun? All I have to say is, geeze laweeze (or however you spell it).... Every year I vow to not allow the holidays to derail me from my on going routine and goals. Yet, every year seems to still get away from me.

Now, I'm not altogether a total ba humbug. I'm not. (My husband says I am, but really, I'm not. Honest!) I do love all the added bliss, yummy food, good times, and great company. It's just, well, too much. And too long. Especially for the procrastinators....

Ah...there it is. Yes. I'm a fantastic procrastinator. Wait until the last minute and there's no way to keep your sanity or happiness about any changes in the regularly scheduled program. Hence, next year as part of my list of New Year Resolutions, I'm only going to do holiday planning, prep, and run around between the day after Thanksgiving and December 1st. If it's not done by December, it's not that important. That way I have a whole month of free days to, oh, cook some cookies for fun. Or put together a gingerbread house for fun. All decoration and letters and shopping will be done and out of the way.

My goal: to have fun without going nuts and getting stressed...

Which brings me to 'getting back into the swing of things'. The one major part of my everyday blissful life that gets put on the back burner during the holidays is my writing. Between work and kids and the house and everything else, too many to list, where does taking time for yourself come in? No where is what I've found. By the time you do find a moments rest, all you have energy for IS rest. And when you wake up, you feel like crap because you haven't done a darn thing for yourself in over a month. Yes, you've showered. Yes, you've brushed your teeth. However, those things aren't necessarily for you. You do have to venture into the outside world without making everyone around you run screaming from the horror.

What you haven't done is take time for you. To do what you want, like, need to do. Things that not only SAY you, but leave you feeling like, yes, I DO live inside my own skin! I DO have control over my life and what happens to me and how I feel about me and everything around me. For some people that might be any number of things. For me, that's writing.

Even writing this now, I feel stiff. Like the words aren't flowing like they normally do when I give myself the opportunity to write every day. This post so far, IMO, sucks. I just don't see my voice here at all. Yet. But give it time, I always say (well, actually, that was the first time I've said it, but hey. Gotta start somewhere...) So, give it time. Eventually you will see yourself again. Feel yourself again. Be yourself again.

And I feel it coming back now, like a slow rising sun. It is inevitable. It will come back. It just takes a break for the night. That break from your writing, whether self or else induced, is only temporary. The only way to get back to writing is easy. We all know it. Say it with me now: just write! You write more if you write. It's the most simple solution, some people can miss it.

There will always be that group of emerging writers who want to become brilliant writers, yet are still asking how to do it. How do I write better? How do I do it? Answer? Write! Not many things in life are so nicely packaged into one wonderful word, so take it and run blissfully into the sunset with it. If you want to write, as I really want to get back to my writing, the answer is simple (even though I've spent two paragraphs explaining it...) Write. Just write. Sit down. Write. Done ;)

And don't beat yourself up over needing to stretch a bit when you are getting back into the swing of writing after a break. Don't touch your most important work, however, until you're really back back. Start slow, just as with any exercise routine. Stretch, walk, jog a bit. Then run. You don't want to make a disaster of what you had done before your break. Write a blog post. Scribble in your journal. Do it everyday. Everyday without excuse. 200 words minimum. Sounds like a tiny bit, but this is only a stretching exercise. After about a week, or less, you'll be back in the swing of things. And in no time, back to writing 2500 words, 5000 words a day.

How blissful is that?

; )

Lia Mack's 2010 NaNoMo Recap...

Well, it started off with a bang! And then fizzled into nothingness...

November is NOT a great month in which to attempt a 50K word start to a novel. Heck, it's not a great month to do anything extraordinary other than trying to quiet the nerves in preparation for December!

15K in two weeks. I think that's pretty incredible, personally ;). I would have had over 20K if I wasn't an editting freak while writing. I know, I know. The whole point of NaNoMo is to write, write, write and NEVER go back to edit and delete. Word count is all it's about. Only thing is, if I know in my hearts of hearts that the dialouge between my characters about someone's hair color isn't going to work/fit in the whole scheme of things, it's getting deleted. And fast!

But it was fun! I raced with a few writing buddies of mine to see who could write the most each day. One writing buddy surpassed her own goal of writing more than 100 words. I think she ended up with 18K! Woo hoo!

Now, back to editing my current novel. I have a deadline of my birthday, so I am off to the races! Then I'll work on Caught by the Sun when I'm done. Finish it up and start editing that so, for next NaNoMo I can start on my next novel...

Novel #3...a romance with paranormal aspects, but not exactly paranormal...more like psychological...and told from my main male charachter's POV! Should be fun. My two main charachters from that story idea are already tapping their toes, waiting for me to get them together.


;)

Do You NaNoWriMo?

If you're doing NaNoWriMo this year, how's it going? So far, so good here. This graphic above will track my progress for the National Novel Writing Month. 30 days, 50K words.

Will I make it...?

Who knows, probably at the very last second, but it's been fun so far. I hadn't even thought to start writing this novel for another couple months, so it's nice to get an early start. And, honestly, I'm liking where it's going.

Check out my synopsis and chapter 1. I'm writing this one with no written direction. No outline. Just what I've envisioned 'movie style' in my mind. Seems to be how I work best. Outlines for me are kind of constrictive. I've got my protagonist and she's got her problems. Now let's see if she can find her way to happiness.

Buddie me if you're NaNoMo'ing!

;)

Happy 'Green' Birthday - Green birthday party ideas

It's that time of year again: cake, presents, and goodie-bags...it's Birthday party time! Planning a child's birthday party can be fun and dreadful at the same time. A party is a wonderful way to celebrate the life of your wee little one. However, all the waste that it can create can drive a 'green' parent nuts!

The last party we had for the kids ended in tears (from me, that is). Sure, some of the paper products were recycled in my clearly marked containers.. However most of our reusables ended up in the trash with unwanted cake and dinner tossed in with them. I attempted to dig them out, which was absolutely gross, however I was more frazzled by the thoughtlessness of some of my guests. Hadn't I, ever so nicely, instructed everyone to reuse and recycle properly? And we won't even mention the countless gifts and wrapping and money spent and...well, the list can go on and on.

Okay, so not everyone is 'green' savvy and even the best intentions can end up in a hit-or-miss situation. So what's a green parent to do? I'd like to share with you some, dare I say, fail proof ways to have a green birthday party!

First and foremost, I say make it a combination of a traditional and reinvented green birthday party. You can't expect everyone to jump on board and be amused by your ever-green ways. So let's compromise (or at least that is what it will look like on the surface :))

Invitations: There are tons of cool ways to do invites that will make you smile green. You can simply bi-pass paper all together and use an online invite service or email all of your guests individually. But what about those folks not online. Or worse, those who never read and/or respond to your emails?

Let's look at some paper options. Kids love to be involved in planning and helping out with their parties. So why not collect some paper from around the house and make your own invites out of handmade recycled paper. Paper making is fun and you can really jazz it up and make your invites unique. Another option would be to call everyone and leave a message, maybe telling them to check their email :).

Party Decorations: Streamers and balloons are so old school. Let's think with our green-caps.... For my son's upcoming birthday party, we are going to decorate some old sheets with fabric paints and use them as table cloths and napkins. We can reuse these for all birthday celebrations in the future too. Also, you can cut small streamers from the same fabric and use them as decorations, just simply hang them where they will dance in the breeze. This is a great idea to use in lieu of balloons. They just end up being swallowed by baby turtles. So sad. If you don't have any bed sheets you aren't using, I bet your local fabric store has some festive threads that you can get a yard or two of.


Presents: Oh, the presents. I have to say that this is the part I dread the most. Not only wondering what in the world to buy for someone else's kid and them not liking it, but what will everyone else buy my kids!? Plus, how much stuff do the kids really need? (I know, I'm a buzz kill.)

I don't know about you, but my kids have enough, and there are kids out there that don't. One option would be to host a party where instead of gifts for your kids, guests bring gently used or new toys to donate to a local shelter. Your child can pick which one and then help you make the delivery.

Another idea is to think local and register your child at a local toy store. And I don't mean the big-box corporate toy stores. Ask around, take a drive. We have such a store here and it's filled with special gifts and good quality games and toys you won't find at the big toy store.

You can even ask guests to get your child a book in lieu of a card and write a personal note in the book. What child doesn't love books! Also, you can send your guests home with a book in their goodie-bag. Everyone brings gently used books that they are done with for a new one. Sort of a book-swap party.

Another great idea is to instead ask for 'experience gifts' where someone can get your child a ticket to a show, a pass to a near by aquarium or museum. A camping trip anyone? These experiences will last a lifetime and won't break, make a disaster of the house, are more fun and can involve other members of the family too. Everyone wins :)

My favorite way to deffer gifts is to, instead of gifts, ask guests to bring their kids favorite dish for everyone to share. Not only do you get a great variety of foods, this also cuts down on your own party costs. This brings us to the best part of the party.

The food: Asking guests to bring food is great. If you are going to do it all yourself (for those supermoms and superdads out there) try to have all vegetarian foods so that all table scraps can be readily composted. Visit the farmer's market the week of for some fresh local produce.

If you do have to fire up the grill to satisfy the meat-eaters, buy local. Introduce your guests to some of the unknown local possibilities like local farmers and ranches. Not everyone knows about CSA's and local places where they can get fresh organic veggies and free-range meats.

Dishes and such: I like to use cloth whenever I can. Why cut down a tree to wipe my hands one time and toss? It's insane. Here you can use your reusable birthday bash table cloths and napkins. The washing machine does all the work. It's no big deal, looks great, and feels great too. You'll save money and the trees :) As for dishes and utensils, if you are partying at home, use your own dishes. There are also some great reusable dish sets out there. If you are out and about at your local park for your birthday bash, there are some great compostable alternatives. Potato forks, corn spoons, PCW paper products. Check online or at your local green grocery store.

Goodie-Bags and Games: Last but not least, the goodie-bags. The little bags you give your guests on the way out the door. Filled with tiny junky plastic toys that are not only a chocking hazard, but are cheap, break, and probably have toxic lead paint! Not to mention the candy. Kids + candy...honestly. But you can't not have them. The kids love to have something to go home with. They're kids ;) So let's think outside the bag, shall we.

Kids love crafts. So why not have them make something that they in turn take home, and in a bag that they decorate themselves! Or, better yet, you and your child can decorate some brown paper bags before the party that you can use. For my son's upcoming party, we are going to make some bags and the kids will use them to bring home their handmade bird feeders. Send the kids off to find pine cones., add peanut butter, sprinkle bird seed, and presto! Other ideas could include: Treasure hunts, have them make tie dye t-shirts, set up a paint-a-picture station, show them how to make homemade play dough.

With a little imagination and ingenuity, the possibilities are endless. I hope you enjoy your next birthday party 'green' style. I'm off to get mine underway. Wish me luck!


REPRINT PERMISSION
(this is a reprint from my blog in 2007 as seen at www.livegreensd.com/blog) If you'd like to reprint this blog or any part of it, you must first get my permission. Email me and I'll give it to you! Thanks!)

What If?... Getting in the Mood for NaNoMo!

What if?.... The question gets me in the mood every time.

To write.

Have you ever had this happen to you? You're walking down the street or sitting in a crowded room, watching what's going on, involved in something or other. Just minding your own business. When, all of a sudden, you see or hear something and wonder for a split second...what if?

What if...? You ask yourself. And, in a split second, you mind swirls around this intriguing idea until - BAM! - you've thought of a story idea for a novel. Or that article you need to write. Poem. Whatever your medium.

If that's ever happened to you, or you've been waiting for inspiration, go out and search for it. Or just let it happen. For my first book - Waiting for Paint to Dry - I was in the airport, trying to hurry through security, and all of a sudden I had to ask myself...what if? What if I were a character in a novel and this very thing that is happening to me in real life happened to her? What would her story be? How would she react? What would have happened right before this? After? What if...? And that's how it happened :)

For my next book - Caught by the Sun - even though it's the sequel to Waiting for Paint to Dry, the idea that sparked the story for the second book came from a what if moment in my own life. I was stacking firewood with my husband, got a piece of wood in my eye, he had to get close to help get it out...once out, there were sparks - oh la la ;) - and I thought, hmmm...what if?... and then - BAM! - my next novel idea was born!

Next month is November and I've decided to do NaNoMo - National Novel Writing Month - this year! Yes, I'm still editing novel #1, but I've learned a VERY important lesson in doing so. Don't take too long writing the first draft because editing it to the point of it being perfect to send out to agents takes sooooo long. Writing a novel in a month sounds like the best plan to me. My goal is going to be 50K words. I've never done it before, but I'm excited!

And once November is over, I'm going to put novel #2 aside, and finish my edits for novel #1. When I'm done with that, I'll read through my atrocious first draft that I wrote during NaNoMo and go from there. All first drafts suck. Why not churn it out in a quick, fun way? If you've never NaNoMo'ed before, check it out. We can be writer buddies ;)

Oh, and check out the synopsis I wrote for Caught by the Sun. I'm super proud of it and super exited to get started!

Hope to see you there :)

A Poem... "Ask"

Ask
by Lia Mack

Can you love yourself, despite yourself
and echo in the night?

Can you take a trip and capture it
and keep it 'till first light?

Will you know no fear and sing it clear,
a rumination to last?

Or wither still, coward filled
and sink away, pass?

Can you love, love, love - sweet love - knowing
there's permanence in the past?

And hallowed be - the future's might,
and walk on toward star last?

Reading While Writing...The Time Traveler's Wife

When I read, I read for enjoyment and the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I list and discuss the lessons I feel each book contained for me. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

I never thought I'd say this...but I think I'd rather watch the movie than finish reading the book. I suffered past page 209 and I'm bored. I just can't stomach it anymore.

Writing craft lesson learned?
Too much of a 'new' thing is a bad thing.

At first, the new, interesting writing style of The Time Traveler's Wife was just that, interesting. Fresh. Something that I thought was well used for the first chapter. The jumbled dialogue being case in point. The fine, minute details running past like a stock market ticker, a second. But chapter after chapter after chapter. I just wanted it to streamline out into a more normal flow of character interaction and action.

And the minutia? Oh, dear lord. I might be the only person who feels this way, but that's okay with me. I'd rather watch the movie - which probably edits out about 60% of what's in the book - so I can just see the story and enjoy it. The book, to me, is not very enjoyable. Yes, it's a new, innovative idea. But that's about where I draw the line.

Lesson to take away?
If you want to dabble in something new - a new form of dialouge or flow or what have you - do it. Pave the way! But don't over do it. Don't fill every living page with it. Give a reader a break! Shed over to something familiar once in a while. Do it for movement, for action. Please don't do it on every page. It's not new and exciting anymore if you do it like that. It gets boring. Fast.

I'm bored. I'm done. I'm not at all interested in finishing it. How sad is that. Thankfully it's a library book.

TGIF!! ... What's in your cold/flu season arsenal?

It's Friday!!! Yeah!!! And I have the flu....yeah...ah, not so much.

My eyeballs hurt.

Actually, that's pretty funny seeing it written like that.

So, it's that time of year again. When we get to see if our wonderful immune systems can fend off the 100+ kinds of flu flying around. I would have gotten the flu vax if I thought it'd work. It only protects you against 3 of those 100+ strands.

Three.

To me, that doesn't seem worth the risk. And honestly, it's just the flu.

But it does bring up an item for discussion that I had thought I was going to timely bring up in October - what do you do for cold/flu season? Little did I know I was about a month too late for that conversation! ha

So, tell one, tell all - what do you do to help beat the odds during cold/flu season?

I typically chow down on chicken soup at the slightest provocation of illness and wash hands like it's nobody's business. That, and vit C, Kefir, Kombucha, and staying away from sick people!

But I forgot one. Moms know this scenario well: make sure the kids are all stocked up and clean and healthy, but forget about themselves. Yep, guilty and sick as charged...

It's just the start of the season. Just like having to pull out the winter clothes, it's time to start pulling out our defenses!

Join in with all your wise woman ideas, tips, and suggestions ;)

Leave your hints, tips, recipes, avoidance measures - everything you do to keep you and your family healthy during the upcoming seasons - in the comments below.

OR, on facebook ;)

And stay healthy!

PLEASE NOTE - this is not a blog/forum/comment box location for debates about vaccines. I understand not everyone agrees with my take on the flu vax as stated above. I get that. If you want to debate, please do so elsewhere. Thanks!!

Reading While Writing... Prodigal Summer

When I read, I read for the craft of writing. In my "Reading While Writing" blog posts, I like to talk about what each book and author taught me about the craft. Feel free to follow along and add your own lessons learned :)

My Aunt offered up her copy of Prodigal Summer to someone in the family. After reading the first few pages, this person passed it back. Said it wasn't her thing. Not being the snoopy sort, but seeing books being passed around, I jumped into the conversation and said I was in need of a read. I wanted to try it out. Please, can I have the book. Please, please, please....! ;)

Moth Love. Old Chestnuts. Predators...
I'm so glad I butted in and begged for the book ;) Reading it was like taking a life long walk in the woods... And I've been hankering for a leaf shaded hike. Now I just want to live in the woods and track my passions...

In the pages of Prodigal Summer speaks a deep admiration, understanding and love for all things natural, including the natural cycle of life - sex, creation, life, death - it's how everything comes around and goes around on this wonderful green lovin' Earth ;)

So I loved the book. Wish it didn't end. Want to remain friends with the characters forever...

But what did I learn of the craft while reading it? That a non-formulaic story line can be entertaining and successful and a breath of fresh air! Good writing, good characters, great story, unparalleled in so many respects...

You'll have to read it (if you haven't already) and tell me what you think!

Best Quote of the Day...

"If you’re going to be a writer you have to write and the excuses have to go." ~ Carolyn R. Parsons, author of The Secrets of Rare Moon Tickle

Writing and Dogs...

Ah, two hours.

I've been given a gift - two hours of free, to myself writing time. Oh, the pages I will edit, the query letter I will perfect! Two hours where no child, no husband, no phone call, no electrical outage will keep me from my task....

Two hours...

And two dogs...

Two dogs that beg my attention - and snacks - every two minutes.

Two dogs with two sad eyes each that plead sorrowfully to go out on a walk, to have the ball tossed to them, to be allowed to sit on my lap and be pet.

Two dogs that play on my bleeding heart to waste my two hours of solitary writing time to make them the happiest two dogs in the world...

Two dogs...two dogs...

Oh, boy...

Critique Groups...When to Say Good-Bye

I'm free!

I just quit my critique group and I feel so free and alive and able to write and think and be creative again! I started feeling smothered about 6 months ago, but I trekked on, thinking I'd be a quitter if I left. Other people love critique groups, so I should stay, right? I'm learning a lot about good and bad writing, enjoying getting together with other writers, so I should stay, right?

But after the last round of critiques, I knew I had to cut the rope. I no longer heard my characters in my head. I couldn't think of one new story idea, when before I'd usually come up with one or two a day, just out of no where. My creativity was dying. For the past 3 months, I haven't been able to think of anything. No new ideas, no new characters, nothing!

So I decided to just do it. FOR ME. I knew it was the right thing for ME to do and for MY writing. I just felt like my writing style and voice were being distracted, changed... Although I learned how to edit thoroughly and how to just get to the point, say what I wanted to say in my writing, I no longer heard/felt my writing. I knew I'd miss the writing friendships I made, but I also knew it was time to move on.

Do I regret quitting?

The moment I drove away from my final meeting, a new story idea popped into my head. And I felt I could breathe again, write for myself again. I felt free.

I don't want to step on anyone's toes, of course. I know some people live by their critique groups. And I applaud every writer for doing for themselves and for their writing what works for them. I do. I did learn some great lessons while in the group - what good and bad writing looks like and how to read for the craft better. 

But I also had to do for myself what works for me. I need to only hear my own voice in my head (and that of my characters). Otherwise I can't do it. I can't take my story where I want it to go. 

Every writer is different. And everyone writes differently.

Taking my time, waiting my turn to be critiqued, waiting to edit based on others input... it all started to feel like 'a hobby', casually going through the motions, taking my sweet ol'time... Personally, I know I'll never get anything done that way. 

I can't go slow. 

That isn't my speed. And I found that when I went slow everything stopped. Internally, externally. I couldn't write anymore. The way I finished my first draft was to write, every day, like a job, taking no breaks, no turns, no excuses.

Yet, every path is part of the process. I tried it out, liked it for a while, then found it wasn't working for me anymore. So, even though I walked away, said good-bye, I know I'm not a quitter. I chose to take charge and get back to treating my writing like a career. To get back to writing for me. Writing every day. Write, write, write.

So, time to get back to work. No more hiatus.

!