So Many Good Books, So Little Time

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I have a pretty daunting "To Be Read" pile (OK, it's a bookcase ... see pic below). The other day I finally finished reading THE WEE FREE MEN by Terry Pratchett, which is an awesome and hilarious book by the way! (Also, I just saw that it might be made into a movie - squee!) Once I was finished, I had to pick a new book to read.

My eyes skimmed the titles that I acquired in January at the ALA Conference in San Diego, plus several others that I just hadn't gotten around to reading yet. Was I in the mood for another fantasy? Or should I choose a light romance? Or maybe historical fiction? I had so many choices, and it took me a while to finally make a decision. (Plus I keep buying books for some reason - I should probably stop doing that.)

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My choice was inspired by what I felt would help me most on my WiP. My novel has several elements: fantasy, romance, humor, a contemporary setting. I just introduced a love interest for my main character, so I figure reading a romance will help spark some ideas for making those first awkward moments feel genuine. I also really want the reader to feel what my character is feeling and, most importantly, stay interested.

The book I chose is ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by the super awesome Stephanie Perkins. I've only read the first two chapters but I am already getting a lot of ideas. I tend to write through a scene too quickly. Stephanie takes us through the scenes more slowly, and the reader learns so much during a simple scene about Anna's first morning at a boarding school in Paris. The actual scene may only be about 30 minutes in real time, but in that time we learn about the other characters, their relationships and the conflicts just by Anna's observations in the cafeteria. And we get those first few awkward moments - yay!

When I'm writing, it's like there's a movie playing in my head and I'm writing down what I see. Perhaps my scenes feel too quick because I just don't want to hit "rewind" and describe the scene in more detail. Maybe I'm just afraid the reader will get bored and want to get back to the action. Or maybe I just don't know how to describe the scene better to give the reader better insight into the story.

Another problem I've been having is how do you get from one main scene to the next? Do you write the scenes you know first and then go back to the filler scenes later? Or can you write straight through?

There's probably no real answer to this. You just write what comes out and/or try to plan with a detailed outline. That's why I read other books for inspiration. So far, I haven't figured out how to make the story flow naturally.

Any advice? What writing problems have you struggled and have you found ways to overcome them? What motivates you when choosing which book to read next?

Here is about HALF of my TBR pile (notice that it's two rows deep). Most of these I grabbed off the "Free ARCs" tables at the ALA Conference so I'm not sure they're my style, but a lot of them have awesome reviews and I'm excited to read them. Plus I just got a book in the mail today (A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford, who is doing my 10-page critique), and I will be buying one on Saturday when I go to Cindy Pon's FURY OF THE PHOENIX book signing. Eep!!

What's In A Name?

Lately, I've been putting my writing on hold (sort of) to do some research. Mostly about witchcraft because - spoiler alert! - my book is about a witch. Which (hehe) I'm super excited about writing! I've been researching various forms of witchcraft, and I actually found a spell that will change the color of my eyes. It sounds so easy, I might even try it!

Then I had a very unfortunate thing happen over the weekend. During this research phase, I decided I needed some inspiration by finding some books that are similar to mine. I went to the bookstore and was very excited to find a series that looked promising. I opened the cover to skim the first page and discovered - gasp! - the character had the SAME NAME as mine!

How could this have happened? I felt cheated. Horrified. Appalled. I couldn't keep that name and risk someone thinking I was a copycat. And this was a SERIES of books, the latest of which had just been released. It felt like I gave birth to this lovely character and now I'm forced to change my baby's identity. What could I call her that felt right? Sally? Emily? Angie? No. No. No. They all felt wrong. I scoured the web trying to find something that fit, that had a significant meaning. But, alas, nothing felt right. I finally picked a new name to try on for size. I like the new name a lot, but right now it feels like a pair of pants that's a bit snug and uncomfortable. Perhaps I just need to wear the pants for a while until they stretch and mold comfortably to my backside. Maybe pretty soon the old name will have lost its magic.

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever created something in a shiny, pretty bubble and then something comes along with a sharp point and pops it? How did you regain momentum?

This in no way ruins the story, or even her character, but it is a bit of a letdown. I'm sure I'll have MUCH bigger hurdles along the way.

And just for fun, here is Samantha from Bewitched! And no, I'm not naming my character Samantha :).

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!!