Need to Rethink Some Things

We had a very exciting Saturday. It was pouring rain that morning, and in the afternoon there were periods of hail. Later that night, the rain turned to SNOW!! Yep, we had another snowy adventure but a much more AWESOME one. I live in a town that sees snow maybe once every couple of years, and usually it's just a bit of slush. The snow came down in fluffs and I kept running around in it, catching it on my tongue and taking a ton of pictures. Around 11pm, it started to turn the parking lot at my condo white! We ended up getting about an inch (maybe a bit more). Here are some pics. Yay, snow!!

After I finished geeking out about the snow, I took some time on Sunday (during the Oscars) to rework the beginning of my WIP based on the comments from my crit group. I attended my first critique group last week and it was a very informative and rewarding process. I was so excited to share my pages with new people. The feedback was very positive overall, and I was beyond thrilled with that!! I couldn't believe they liked my character, liked the story I introduced, and were eager to hear more. OMG, they liked it! I also learned A LOT about how to make my pages stronger. Here are some of the main critiques my group had:

1. Weave description into the action. Instead of saying "I was wearing this, this and this," say "I smoothed my sage green skirt" or "His clear blue eyes bore into mine."
   
2. Describe more what the main character is thinking. This was a great one because as I'm writing, I already know what Maggie is thinking because I'm in her head. But the reader doesn't. Plus, my scenes were really short and I was struggling with how to make it longer and more interesting. Adding what Maggie thinks about what's happening is important for the reader to understand her character.
   
3. Cut out action that slows down the movement of the story. Maggie is a florist. One of the first scenes is her setting up for a wedding. When I was writing, it felt weird to skip over her florist duties and skip to the more exciting part. But, as my crit group suggested, I can weave in more interesting details and what she's thinking into those more mundane actions to make it more interesting. Or, just cut them out all together. If it doesn't add to the story, take it out.
   
4. Add a bit more backstory to help introduce the character. One of the first things I read on blogs was "Don't fill your first chapter with backstory," so I tried to avoid as much backstory as possible. I guess I left out too much :).

After working with the pages for a couple of hours, I realized that the way I began the story might not work. I also have to figure out a bit more about how the story is going to progress, what motivates Maggie, and her background. I thought I had it set, but now I'm not so sure. My first step will probably be to pow-wow with my writing friends, and then write out an outline to help organize the ideas and find a solid storyline.

A couple of writers have told me that if there are scenes I know I want in the story, then I should write those first and come back to the other parts later. Does that process work for you? How do you work to fill plot holes? I don't want to rely too much on other people for ideas because it's my story, after all. Do you work through plot problems on your own or bounce ideas off your friends?

Thanks for reading!!

Shiny Ideas & Snowy Adventures

Last week, I met with the super awesome L.T. Host for a little pow-wow on my book. She read the 10 pages I had and after some feedback, some margaritas and an arsenal of "How to Write" books she loaned to me, I'm feeling really good about moving forward with this whole writing thing. I think I can do this!

Armed with my "I can do this"-ness, I went straight home and wrote two more pages. This time I introduced a new character, Maggie's best friend, who I can totally picture in my mind and had fun writing some dialogue with the two friends. YAY-NESS! Then it was the weekend and my hubby and I had a scary snowy adventure that involved driving through the mountains in heavy snowfall and me thinking "Please don't let us skid off the edge of this cliff", and then took Sunday to have a blissfully dull day of errands and house cleaning. That was much better than thinking we might plummet to our deaths (OK not exactly, but kind of - we Southern Californians are not used to snowy roads).

Then, last night I was minding my own business - showering of all things - and was hit smack in the forehead with a...

BRIGHT, SHINY IDEA!

This super awesome idea creates a new twist to Maggie's story and opens so many possibilities. It was so funny because earlier that day I read this post by Mia Hayson about what to do when you get a shiny new idea! Mentally following the flowchart, I decided to use the only writing utensil I had with me - my finger! I wrote some quick notes in the steam on the shower door so I wouldn't lose it. Then, I quickly finished rinsing, jumped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and ran for a pen and paper. I didn't have much time - the steam on the door was fading already! I made it back and wrote down everything on the door, and then some. The ends of a few words faded before I could write them, but I'm pretty sure I got everything.

Phew.

This was my first experience with a shiny new idea that hit me like a stampeding yak, so now I know what you guys are talking about and how thrilling it is. But, this shiny idea also complicates things A LOT. I may need to create one of Adam Heine's outlines to help sort through this overflow of ideas. Still, all of this makes me even more excited to continue this journey.

Also, I'm attending my very first critique group on Thursday. I'm very excited to get new eyes on my writing and to help tear it apart because frankly, I need that. So yay for ideas! Yay for critique partners! Yay for margaritas! And yay for snow (provided we don't die)!

BTW, here's a pic of the snowy adventure (before it got dark and scary)...

And here it is before we descended the mountain. See the road? Yeah, we drove on that. Yikes!

Let the Writing Begin ... And Happy Valentine's Day!

On Friday, we got a special delivery from Fedex ... our brand-new computer! Woot woot! Now we have two computers so I can write while my hubby plays his online games, and all will be peaceful :). Though I still need to figure out an appropriate work area. Balancing the keyboard on my knees with the computer on a side table while I sit on the office couch isn't the most comfortable.

Now on to my more exciting news ... I have started writing! After an unsuccessful first try a few weeks ago (I may be able to salvage some of it, but probably not), I came up a better idea for how to open the book and just started typing on Saturday night. Six pages later, I'm feeling pretty good about it. Though I definitely need to go back and make more edits, add more descriptions, etc. etc. I could very well end up with a different beginning, but this one works for now. I have also toyed with the idea of a preface with a scene from Maggie's childhood, so we'll see.

Here are the things I've learned so far:

1. It was easier to figure out how my character ticks once I started writing out her actions. See what fits, what feels natural. Once I get her personality set in my mind, she will tell me how she would handle a certain situation or what she does next.
2. Not to expect a scene to come out right the first run-through. For me, it's easier to make it feel right once I had a slightly wrong version down on the page.
3. Writing is a very cleansing process. The story has been bouncing around in my head for about a month and now I feel slightly less stressed. I was a bit intimidated with writing the beginning because I have to draw the reader in, introduce the character without a ton of backstory, start with a scene that gets the story in motion, etc. etc. A small fraction of the weight on my shoulders has been lifted.

Things I haven't figured out yet but need to soon:

1. How to move from one scene to the next. I'm sure I'll figure out more ways to do this as I go besides having my character go to sleep.
2. I need a main supporting character for Maggie so she's not so lonely. I want her to be a bit spunky, not a hermit with no friends or life. Maybe she has an assitant in her floral business? Or a best friend? Or a sibling? I'm still working on this one. I may need to brainstorm with my BFFs, who are awesome writers L.T. Host and Amanda Marie.
3. How to make my story less predictable - a few curve balls so the reader doesn't quite know how the story will end. This, again, will probably come as I write more. I have a bunch of ideas but need to piece them together in a timeline.
4. I'm still not 100% about Maggie's personality and character. I keep falling into the trap of making her act like me and I want her to be more interesting! Not that I'm totally boring (I hope) but if the reader is going to invest themselves in Maggie's story, she needs to be more exciting.

So that's my journey so far. Not quite a first chapter, but it's a start and I have some direction now. As always, I would love some guidance and advice from the more experienced writers out there.

Also, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY and thanks for reading!