writing

Looking At It From A Different Angle

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

Have you ever thought that your hair looked pretty good until you viewed it in a three-way mirror and realized it didn’t look so great when you looked at it from a different angle?

Well, that’s kind of what it was like for me when, this morning, I received my manuscript for Runaways: The Long Journey Home in book format. Errors just popped out at me. It was like seeing my book from an entirely different angle—that of the potential reader.

If you are not yet a published author, or at least not to the point of seeing your book formatted, I’d like to share with you, over the course of my next few posts, some of the things that I noticed. Hopefully, they will help you avoid these mishaps.

As I scrolled through the pages, just for a visual reaction, I noticed right away that several of my chapters started almost identically. Sure, I had been careful to drop the reader into the middle of the action and I had identified the POV right away (good things I observed) but what stood out to me was the fact that the beginning sentence of quite a few chapters started with “Jake stared”, “Jake pounced”, “Jake stretched”… you get the picture.

This may not be wrong, but it is certainly bothersome to me—it lacks creativity and is lazy writing, in my opinion.

So, what will I do?  Rewrite, of course!

Although I often talk to myself about the curse of rewriting, in this case rewriting is my friend. It will save me from a huge embarrassment, even if I am the only one to notice it.

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have rewritten paragraphs, scenes, even entire chapters. Each time, things improve. This will be no different. I will look at it as a positive.

Will I ever be truly satisfied?  Probably not.

Will I ever click the “publish” button and give it the okay? I hope so.

There comes a point to where a writer just has to say that he or she has done all they can do.

A bad hair day doesn’t need to define us. We recomb, restyle, and respray. Then we have to be content and say, “That’s as good as it’s gonna get.”

Binging Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

A well-known personality has a commercial on television on the subject of binging. It is, indeed, a serious eating disorder. One not to be taken lightly.

I have found myself binging, lately. Oh, not on food, but on writing.

You see, things like doctors’ appointments, haircuts, and volunteer opportunities cut into my daily writing routine. This frustrates me—often putting me in a bad mood.

I’ve tried putting all of my appointments on the same day, but something always happens to mess up my plan.

So, lately, I’ve tried binging. If I see I have a couple of hours, I lock myself away and hammer something out. I make use of spare moments that, at one time, I might have squandered by reading a magazine or watching a T.V. show.

As I’ve gotten older, I have found it increasingly harder to go to sleep or at least sleep all through the night. I often wake up around 3:00 a.m.

By following my “new” binging approach to writing, I get up, grab a cup of coffee, and head for my office. I’ve found it to be a great time to write and as I work my way through my day’s appointments, I’m not nearly as frustrated. After all, I’ve already accomplished several hours of writing!

So, I guess binging isn’t always a bad thing. Lately, it has been a necessary thing.

However, in all sincerity, a steady schedule of writing is what I am striving to get back in my life. It is more predictable and makes it easier to work toward a goal or deadline.

Things get accomplished.

That book gets written.

And, who knows? There just may be another idea ready to hatch and, when it does, I don’t want to be in front of the refrigerator with a carton of Ben and Jerry’s in my hands.

The Value in S-T-R-E-T-C-H-I-N-G

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

If you are given to exercise, you know that the experts say we need to s-t-r-e-t-c-h our muscles before we begin. Lately, they have said that s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g after exercise is just as important. It helps us exercise more effectively and reduces exercise-related injuries.

I have found that sitting for hours in front of the computer writing, also requires that I get up and            s-t-r-e-t-c-h, periodically. If I don’t, my back, neck, and shoulders suffer.

I’ve also found it necessary to s-t-r-e-t-c-h while I write:

I strive to hone my writing skills by requiring more of myself each time I turn on my computer.

I s-t-r-e-t-c-h to become more creative.

I s-t-r-e-t-c-h to use more vivid descriptors. .

I s-t-r-e-t-c-h to write in more depth.

I s-t-r-e-t-c-h to achieve more excitement.

I strive to tighten it up…to build it up.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g  while we write helps us write more effectively…say what we want to say in the way we want to say it.

If we don’t, our writing suffers.  We continue to write as we always have and our writing doesn’t improve.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g may mean that we change our style, improve our word choice, or try different techniques we’ve learned in workshops. But, what ever we choose to focus on, it increases our skills.

It we commit to s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g, each sentence will be better than the last, each book will be an improvement, and we’ll be one step closer to writing that next best-seller.

Get Cranking!

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

So, you get your submission back from your critique group. They have a few “suggestions” for improvement.

Your manuscript is returned from your editor with hundreds of “red lines”. A major rewrite is in order.

Your Beta Readers are less than enthusiastic about the plot or characters in your latest book. You need to tear it apart and see where it went wrong.

Negative comments are inevitable, but we cannot let them devastate us as writers. When you get them, first “consider the source”. Then, if the source is credible and the person is someone you respect, spend as little time as possible wallowing in despair.

I say: “get cranking.” Learn what you need to learn; do what you need to do. Use all of that pent up frustration in the direction of making improvements.

Oh, to be sure, we love those positive comments that make us feel successful, but it’s those negatives that can really light the fire under us. They have the power to propel us to greatness if we turn them around and view them as positives.

We can even learn to be thankful for them, because they are the ones that stretch us as  writers and spur us on to learn and grow in our craft!

If we allow ourselves to be devastated by negatives, we will soon find ourselves deep in a black hole of gigantic proportions, stagnated and unable to ever face the computer keyboard again.

When riders are thrown from a horse, the best advice they receive is to get back in the saddle as soon as possible. As writers, that “horse” may look like a harmless chair on rollers. But, here’s the point:

Don’t let negatives define you.

Use them to your advantage and

Get Cranking!

Pseudonyms

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

What’s in a Name?  I asked myself this question not too long ago, reasoning that the name Brenda Poulos might not be so memorable. Maybe I’d need something shorter, flashier, similar to some other well-known person… I’d piggy-back off of their fame…

Some writers use pen names. I was curious to find out why, so I decided to do a little research. Here’s what I found out:

1)   Most well-known authors write in a certain genre. They become known as a Suspense Writer, for example. Then, perhaps they want to add another genre to their writing repertoire. Publishers may not like this for several reasons. Same with their fans. So, they write in the “new” genre under a pen name.

2)  Some writers, I found out, start writing under a pen name when they are looking to switch publishers.  (The internet article cautioned against doing this. I can see all kinds of legal reasons why this wouldn’t be a good idea.)

3)  Writers, whose earlier work(s) may have bombed, might want to use a pen name when they publish something “new.”

4)  Pseudonyms are often used by authors who have names similar to someone else. (Hum, opposite of my earlier idea…)

5)  If a writer thinks his/her name doesn’t suit the genre, he might want to choose a pen name. This happened when Pearl Gray changed his name to Zane Gray to appear more like a western author.

6)  Women who write in a genre that is usually written in by men, often use their first initials and last name.  (For example, in westerns).

7)   Sometimes several authors write books together. They choose a fictitious  name, making their audience think the books are written by one person, when they actually are not.

8)   Sometimes writers want to protect their identity if they are writing in a genre in conflict with their main profession. For example, a surgeon who writes a murder mystery about a killer who dissects his victims. Yikes!

9)   Some of us are shy and just don’t want publicity. It’s possible to conceal one’s true identity by using a pseudonym.

10) Finally, if you want your name to be catchy and memorable, start making your list of possible pen names.

There you have it. Ten reasons to use a pseudonym—or not.

Do you currently use a pen name? I’d be interested in learning why you do so and if it has worked out well for you.

Brenda

I”ve Gained Weight on a Steady Diet of Writing

Posted on by Brenda Poulos

I have come to the conclusion that writing and dieting definitely do not mix.  If you have been writing for any length of time, you may have found this to also be true in your own life. If you have an answer for this problem, please let me know—seriously.

First of all, I find that when I am heavy into writing—especially when writing something that is very exciting—I find it difficult to get adequate sleep. I’ve tried 1) staying up late so that I am very, very tired when I lay down  2) stopping writing at least an hour before I go to bed so that I don’t have my story on my mind.

Both of those help…sometimes.

I also find that I wake up in the middle of the night, thinking about my characters, and cannot get back to sleep. I give it a half hour. If I don’t fall asleep, I just go ahead and get up. What’s the use in tossing and turning for the rest of the night?

What does sleep have to do with weight control? The latest research says that getting a good night’s rest helps with weight loss. The reverse is also true. Not enough sleep results in weight gain.

Secondly, writing—again, this is especially true of writing something exciting—causes me to snack. The faster I type, the faster I shovel it in. The more suspenseful the writing, the more I am likely to go for something small and easy to pop into my mouth. My favorites are popcorn and nuts.

Finally, writing is a sedentary activity. We writers need to get up and move around every hour or so to clear our brains, stretch our muscles, and burn a few calories (especially if we have a snacking problem to counteract).

I belong to an exercise group which meets, daily. I feel successful if I get myself there twice a week. Because it meets at the beginning of the day, I often find myself skipping it and going directly to my writing, thinking that it is wasting precious time, when I know, in fact, that it is good for both my body and brain.

I guess I will never write a cookbook. I can just imagine what might happen to my weight if I focused on yummy recipes all day long!

Brenda