 |
| Maybe No, Maybe Yes |
Maybe No, Maybe Yes
How do you write? Fast? Edit as you go along? Plotting? Plunging? Find out below.... but first a word from our "sponsors", that would be me.
~~~~
Melanie Inganforde, a petite beauty, is determined to climb the womanless ranks of a Kansas City investment firm. Tight underwear and shapeless business suits disguise her curves. Her irritating nemesis, the firm's "star player" and Romeo, Sloan Raventhrall enjoys rattling her while he scoops up the choice clients.
When Sloan is "off his game" with the flu and his visiting niece, "Mel" seizes her chance. In return for her help, Sloan trades his best client, Itty Bitty. Then, with a raging fever, Sloan discovers a sweet sexy nymph in his apartment and falls in old-fashioned love. As the nymph, Melanie discovers a sweet, disarming and romantic Sloan.
Recovered, back in his game, Sloan unwraps Mel's “bratwurst-body” disguise and finds his sexy nymph. He’s angry and determined to make Mel pay--and marry her. A Today Woman, a competitive list-maker to Sloan's free-wheeling style, Melanie has other plans and terms of her own, like equal footing in their fast-moving romance.
The love game is on: Melanie and Sloan, each playing for keeps in Maybe No, Maybe Yes.
~~~
Writing Fast or Slow or What?
Writers all write at different speeds. I'm a fairly fast, regimented writer. I believe it is important to keep that story warm and flowing; however much writing/words it takes daily. But I have no daily goal. It pretty much averages out.
However, some advise writing as fast as you can. Pushing yourself and your story, producing as many works as you can within any given time. Here's how some writers work, because we all create and work differently.
- The Plotter: This person take time to develop an outline or a synopsis, taking care of the midpoint, the 3-act play, etc. Answering all questions in the beginning--or not, if it is a series with an ARC. That's not Advanced Reading Copy. :) Mystery writers probably do this more, I don't know. There are tons of ways to plot, no one way is right as we are all different players. Plotters. nudge and develop, before starting the work. AND THEN; They write fast; they know the path they are to follow. In Maybe No, Maybe Yes, heroine Melanie Inganforde would probably be a Plotter.
- The Plunger: If good, and/or an experienced writer with scars :), Plungers have a pretty sturdy idea of where they are going and take right off. I see this as the Inner Organized Writer as the Plotter is the Outer Organized Writer. In Maybe No, Maybe Yes, hero Sloan Raventhrall would probably leap on instincts.
- The Plotter/Plunger Hybrid: That would be me. Since beginnings are difficult for me, I usually have an idea where I'm going and take off. After I get the "feel" of the characters--I write character driven stories--I'll back up, clean out, and dig into plotting. If you haven't yet, read some of my articles on plotting, listed in the sidebar. (I intend to use these in a How to Write Book one day.) In the Plunger stage, I pretty much try to lay down a lot of copy that I know will take editing, i.e. Chapter 2 is where the story really begins and I can filter in the rest.
- The Regimented Writer: That would be me, also. I'm pretty much at the keyboard putting in my creative story time, trying to lock into the pulse of the story that will carry me through.
- The Editing as You Go Writer: That would be half-me. Sometimes I can't resist.
- The Don't Edit As You Go Writer: This is part of a Write-Fast Movement. Just let that story flow out of you. You can write really fast that way, and you can write really easily in the wrong direction, costing time. I was just sick when I wrote really fast--natural to me--but I went off course for 30 pages and just into another story line, which didn't fit the WIP.
- The Perfectionist Writer: As writers we don't want to cut the WIP's umbilical cord; we don't want to let go of our baby. Snip. You have to do it sometime. If you are a Perfectionist, you are not likely to be a Write As Fast As You Can writer, but probably a pretty thoughtful one.
What is your writing style? Tortoise, Hare or You?
4 comments:
I like your writing tips ~ they are very helpful. I wish you would write a book on how to write! Maybe you could even give a half day workshop on writing. How do you organize your ideas and develop your plots? What is your system? Do you have a designated place where you can write free of distractions? How do you keep your writing fresh?
I used to let the words spew out, but that hasn't worked well for me because when I do that I don't have a firm story plan in mind. I bought Scrivener last year, and that is helping me plot and fill in spaces that would have otherwise thrown in a stumbling block. Unfortunately, I am not very disciplined and don't write every day. I let distractions pull me away.
Hi, Liz: Thank you so much for the encouragement. Now all I have to do is to find time to put all my tips into book order--have tons of articles, etc. I have given seminars. But I'm writing heavily now. Sometimes I do individually help people, because writing can be a hand-me-down craft, and if they have stories sometimes they just need a little tweak-help to get them going.
I don't seem to have a problem with motivation, which I've heard some do. In fact, I may be over motivated. :) I always have stories and they seem to roll out of me. But when I started, I really had to work on plotting. I have some articles on the sidebar now, but Plotting is something that everyone does in a different and a correct way for them. But my characters usually like to show up on my desktop with a full size keyboard. :)
I have Scrivener, but not that adept at it as I am just coming to Mac from PC. I am always distracted. :), but if you sit down at a regular time, at a regular place (some use coffee shops--I can't), it will come. One tip is to always leave the last writing with notes on what comes next. The main thing is to get in there and keep that story warm in you, moving along. Action/Reaction, drop that dead body all help move the story. Hope that helps, Liz.
Thanks, Cait. That's very helpful information. I agree about trying to keep the story warm. The longer I'm away from a story, the harder it is to jump back in. Ironically, I come up with some of my best ideas when I'm driving around running errands. I keep a notebook in the car so I can scribble notes when I'm waiting at stop lights.
Post a Comment