Cutting and Pasting the Old-Fashioned Way

I have been sending out chapters to the five friends who offered to read for the last several weeks. Two people are ahead, and the other three haven't responded at all so I haven't sent them any this week. But now I've reached a point in my story where I need to do a little rearranging. Chapters 9-12 seem like they might be in the wrong order in places, or perhaps too repetitive.

I'm going to be doing a little cutting and pasting. But, since the section I'm working on is so large, I decided the best way to do that was to print it out and cut apart the scenes. That way I can physically lay them out, move them around, and see what should go where. I feel like I should take a picture of this to post. Maybe I will. Does anyone else do this?

Keeping Me Honest

I spent yesterday calculating how many weeks there were until the writer's conference I usually attend. About 16. I estimate needing 5-10 chapters to finish my book. I don't really know how to estimate that but I am aiming for that.

I decided to ask some friends to read my work in progress so I would have completed the rough draft, my first edits, and edits based on initial reader response before the conference. At least that's my goal.

After sending out the first two chapters to five people (or 9, depending on how many spouses also read), I received one response so far, but I can already tell it's going to keep me honest. Honest about how much I actually write and edit each day, that is. Of course I am further procrastinating by writing this, but thinking about writing is an important part of the process as well.

Or at least I made that up and it sounds good.

But now I have an audience, a small one, but one that I feel obligated to keep up my end of the bargain with. If I'm going to ask these people to take their time to read and provide feedback, I'd better keep writing this book. And I'd better incorporate their criticisms into my editing.

Sometimes I just need to hear someone else say "That part is unnecessary," before I'm willing to excise it. I may know it probably needs to go, but maybe I'm fond of it. Or maybe I left it in to remind myself, more than the reader, of where I've been. An editor might have told me to remove it, but somehow I'm more resistant to their comments at first. I have to live with them for awhile. Having my reading team repeat them, though, tells me it is time to cut.

So thank you, reading team. I'll try to surpass your expectations.

NaNoWriMo 2010

I'm participating in Nano this year. I'm not paying too much attention to where my word count should be, because I know I am so far behind now I will probably be lucky to hit the halfway mark. But at least I'm writing, which I really haven't done at all for maybe a year. Even last year while I was teaching a writing class I wasn't writing much myself. It feels good to be back with my characters and story, and I am excited about filling in some gaps I had. Even though Nano is supposed to be about a whole new idea, I am working on my 2008 Nano story and trying to finish it. I also started a sequel but I didn't want to get too far into that when I haven't finished the first one yet.

Write at Home

My writing students, I found a blog that you might benefit from as we study Fiction Writing this year. http://suzanne-hartmann2.blogspot.com/

Suzanne has a lot of helpful how-to articles and also offers critique services.

NaNo - Year two!

I am supposedly doing NaNo again this year, though I confess to having so far only put mental energy into it, and not actual writing. I did come up with a scene to fill in a gap in my story. I have lots of holes because I write later scenes as they occur to me, even if I haven't filled in everything before that one.
I need to get back to writing but I have found various excuses for the last couple of months. I hope NaNo will help restore my habit.

NaNo comes to a grinding halt

I'm definitely feeling the week two slow down with my NaNo novel. I was so excited to catch up and reach my goal earlier in the week, or rather, at the end of week one, but now I'm having trouble getting myself into it. I wrote a little today but really hadn't written much since my prolific Saturday. It's not that I'm even stuck on the plot - only mildly, nothing I can't fudge through for now - I just haven't felt excited about it. This is a good opportunity to practice what I tell my students and just write anyway. I did write a few paragraphs today at work and left it in a place with some momentum and fresh ideas to put in, so that's good. I'll get back to work on it this evening, but first I have to take care of the other area I'm disciplining myself in and exercise.

I thought once I got over the hump and reached the inciting force, it would be downhill from there, but sadly not. In fact I think this is when most novels are in greatest danger of never being finished, when you realize how much you've written and how far you still have to go.

Don't give up, fellow Wrimos! We can do this. Shoot for at least 25,000 at the end of this week. It's less than the actual count that should be complete, but you'll be halfway to your goal. (Okay, it's only 5 words shy of the 1667 times fifteen.)

NaNo! End of Week One

I am so proud of myself, that I can't help saying it. I have actually reached the one-week goal of 13, 336 words. The weird thing was that I actually paused to check my word count after finishing a sentence that brought me to EXACTLY 13, 336 words. Weird. Then I went on and wrote a few more. I'm in Panera now with my girls working on it further. I think all the noise in here is getting to me, though. It's hard to concentrate. I think maybe the Barnes and Noble would be quieter. Maybe we should think about going there instead.

NaNo has begun!

My NaNo month got off to a good start today. Work was relatively slow, so I kept my laptop nearby and pounded out my first chapter in several hours. Two new characters came to life, that I hadn't planned (but figured I would need to create as background characters), and one ended up having this whole important role in heralding the major conflict of the story which I hadn't had any idea of before. How dare he take on a life of his own like that! It really makes me think these are actually real people who live in my head and are screaming to get out.

I also met with my girls, as I think of them, for a NaNo write-in. It's so much fun to spend time with other writers, especially young ones, with their fresh, amazing ideas, enthusiasm, and because they are my audience so I get to pick their brains for feedback. I hope they all got some helpful input as well.

Sometimes it's hard to keep a balance as I try to help all of my students. I want to give them equal time, but I don't always know if that's happened. I hope they all know that I care about each of them and want to teach them all how to be better writers and improve their work. This is a shameless message aimed at them since I am probably going to give them this blog address to read during NaNo. *grin* Love you guys! Er, girls.

I think we may have difficulty, though, in making our write-ins actual write-ins, haha. Being girls, we tended to talk and get off on tangents. But those are fun too, and help provide inspiration as well, I think. I'm looking forward to doing it again next Saturday, but we won't have to wait that long since Tuesday's class will be a write-in as well.

I'm so impressed with my girls' ideas. They're going to be better writers than I am. And no, that's not said just for their benefit, even if they are going to read this. I really mean it.

NaNo!

NaNoWriMo starts in a little over 24 hours and I'm participating! Expect some updates this month on my progress.

The entry title is a link to the website for NaNo.

I'm taking a risk and trying to write a vampire novel. Never thought I'd be doing that, let me tell you.

The Writer's Journey

I received my copy of The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler yesterday. I am excited about it. But as I started to read it today, I noted that the teeny tiny print is not confined to the introductions, but to the entire book. It has to be size 8 font. I'm not an old granny but still. It's going to be tough to read. And it's a dense book. I'm hoping I can kind of skim some parts I know and just figure out where I am in my own story and pick up there.

I'm also itching to start working on a new idea I have. Something with vampires, that takes them in a direction I've never seen before. But I feel I need to stick with what I started and finish my dragon novel first.

What do you think?

I hope you like the new look of my blog. Although I thought the old somewhat matched my fantasy topics, I felt it was time to freshen things up. Let me know what you think.

I am still working on the content for this blog. I have had some interest in seeing my novel here again, so I may repost it as I make edits. I also want to use this space to provide my writing students with some exercises or ideas, but since I do have a website for my classes elsewhere, it's probably best if this site is devoted to my personal writing career.

This weekend I have been attending an annual writers' conference hosted at my alma mater, so I hope to have some ideas to add here soon.

Say goodbye... and then hello!

The posts in this blog will soon be going bye-bye. I am revamping this blog to use as a teaching aid for Fictional Writing, a class I will be teaching this fall for homeschoolers. I'll be removing posts with chapters from my novel, but may retain some that are more general. Please return in a few weeks for the new, improved Fantasy and Reality.

Types of blog posts planned:
Inspiration for Writing - thoughts on writing or something that inspired me
Writing Exercises you can do at home
Lessons on common writing problems
Updates on the process of writing my novel (without posting of chapters, I'm afraid)

Story: Reflections of our souls' desires

In one sense, all fictional stories are fantasy in that they did not occur in reality, so I am not digressing from my genre this week as I discuss the broader concept of Story and its impact on our lives.

Story is very useful as a medium to impart truth. As I mentioned in a previous post, Jesus used Story in the form of parables, to teach spiritual truths. The prodigal son, the lost sheep, the rich man and Lazarus. Much of the Bible is in narrative or Story form (albeit, true stories).

Why is it that God utilized narrative form so often in His message to us? I believe as humans we have an innate interest in anything that is a Story. God, as the author of the ultimate Story, His plan for the universe, created in us a desire to know the true Story and we seek bits of that in every story we read, consciously or not.

I would argue that even in books we read "purely for entertainment" we are seeking pieces of that one true Story. We are looking for a feeling of escape from the present world, or a satisfying conclusion to the conflicts presented in the book. This reflects a perhaps unexpressed desire for God to right our world, to experience life free from conflict and enjoy all the blessings He has in store for those that love Him. Even those who don't believe in a God still have a sense that life is not as it should be, that there is a better society to strive for. I believe this reflects the image of God in them, that each of us have, which cries out for God to make His creation the way it's supposed to be.

As we wait for that day, God uses both the true stories of Scripture, and its parables to enlighten us about the true Story and its ending - whether lived "happily ever after" or not depends on our response to Him. The stories written by others also contain either complementary pieces of the true Story, or a twisted, incorrect view based on this fallen, imperfect world and the author of lies, who wishes us not to recognize the true Story when we see it. Do you know which story you are reading? Do you know which story you are writing?

Something to think about.

Fantasy Goes Mainstream?

I do apologize for missing last week's posting. I couldn't think of anything to write about, as sometimes happens to us writers. I do thank Sonja for reading and commenting, however! My first commenter, though hopefully not my only reader.

The other night I was watching the movie Ella Enchanted on television. I rather like this as a film, taking into account its intended audience of pre-teen and young teen girls, who had already loved Anne Hathaway in The Princess Diaries. It's not a particularly faithful adaptation of the novel, which disappoints me, but it has its own charm with its use of old pop songs and modern twists on fairytale conventions.

I also stumbled across a world of "fanfiction," or fictional stories written by fans of various movies, books, TV shows, etc., that spin further tales of favorite characters. There was an abundance of Harry Potter, Anime, popular sci fi shows, etc. Even some really obscure shows and movies that are decades old.

The internet will also lead you to a variety of role-playing games in the fantasy genre. The Realm is a personal favorite of mine, but there is also Ultima Online and others.

So what do these three sources of entertainment and much wasted time have to do with each other? Well, first let me add a fourth item.

I taught my first classes of the school year on Tuesday. After finishing a tad (okay, a half hour, but the classes are 1.5 hours) early, my quad of lively Sophomore girls quickly turned the scholarly atmosphere towards entertainment. (With my tacit permission.) The girls seemed communally interested in -- besides handsome male actors, or perhaps because of -- several fantasy movies and books, such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean (I would consider it a fairytale of sorts), The Chronicles of Narnia, and the ever-present Lord of the Rings.

What connected all of these for me is the growing popularity of the fantasy genre. Fantasy or fairytale movies almost always do well at the box office, especially if based off of well-written fantasy novels, and unbelievable numbers of people of all ages are so enthralled by the movies or books that they begin writing in the genre. (If you don't believe me, follow the link to fanfiction.net, click on books, and then Harry Potter, to see an example of how many thousands of spin-off stories one character has generated.)

Fantasy was once perceived to be the genre of nerdy high school boys sitting at home on Friday nights playing the dubious Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, or grown-up nerdy computer programmers, likewise home alone on date night, reading Lord of the Rings and naming their pet goldfish Gandalf.

Slowly over the decades, but now with increasing frequency, fantasy is being embraced by all types of people, as well as the economic market. Companies are realizing that fantasy sells, and we see more and more of it out there. Who out there hasn't at least heard of The Lord of the Rings, thanks to Peter Jackson's enormously successful film trilogy? Then Narnia followed suit, though its success remains to be seen as we await the next film. On The Realm, for another example, I have met other players from 14-year-old, modern-day Dungeons and Dragons fanatics, to 50-some year old grandparents. The embracing of fantasy brings a community of like-minded people together.

Fantasy seems to have gone mainstream. I believe this is because of the inherent creative element of the genre. We are made by an imaginative Creator, who also gave us the ability to create, and take pleasure in what we make. Fantasy is a place with unlimited potential to invent new worlds. In this, I also see an inherent desire that all of us have for a world different from the one we inhabit. We know in our souls this world is not how it was meant to be, and we long for the new world God will create someday. In fantasy, we reach out to grasp an idea of what that world can be.

Approaching Fantasy

I've been contemplating my rationale and approach to teaching fantasy. I will be using several fantasy novels in my classes, starting in two weeks, and I wonder what I would say if any parents raise questions about my particular choices. Sometimes people seem to view fantasy as unique among fiction, and it obviously is its own genre for a reason. But in a way, the "rules" I've come up with for approaching a fantasy work equally apply to the other genres of fiction.

• Recognize that fantasy is just that: a created world, not the real world. Even if it takes place in a setting meant to resemble our universe, it is still a made-up place, and the author can create whatever rules and truths he wants for that universe.
• Fantasy can be a useful medium for spiritual truth. Jesus often used fantasy - think of the parables He told. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Abraham's bosom? Scholars debate whether this story really occurred, but if it didn't, it's a superb example of a fantasy in the Bible. (Thanks to Bryan Davis for pointing that out.)
• The reader's job is to discern differences between the fantasy world and the real world, and to choose how to respond to them. A reader should never approach a book written by a fallible human being and unthinkingly accept the message presented in it. He should always be prepared to evaluate the author's intent (for every author has one) and to respond to it from a Biblical perspective (if he is a Christian).

I hope I can teach my students to remember these principles so they won't have to fear fantasy. Anything (aside from Scripture) we take in has potential to harm us or confuse us spiritually, so we must always be alert and thinking as we read, and careful as we write.

Learning from Others

As part of my inspiration for writing my own fantasy novel, I've been reading Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis. Reading the work of others is a great way for beginning (and experienced!) writers like myself to learn. It also helps me to see that an idea can be explored in many ways without wearing out. Davis explores the concepts of humans turning into dragons, dragons being viewed as evil, the existence of dragon slayers -- all ideas that I explore in my current project or others on the back burner. We use these ideas in very different ways, however -- one of the reasons fantasy can tread the same ground and still be unique.