Thursday, June 12, 2014

Just Write

Today I'm off to write something new and post it online before midnight. Everyone inclined to do the same is invited to join me.



For more details on Just Write Thursdays, click here to go to the original post.

My Link: Managed, Part 3 (you can read Part 2 here and Part 1 here)

Image credit: Subbotina Anna/Bigstock.com

23 comments:

  1. Looking forward to today's offerings. My is now up at my website, the next installment in "A Gremlin Kind of Night":

    http://www.daleivansmith.com/thursday-fiction-a-gremlin-kind-of-night-3/

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    1. I'm beginning to see the value of gremlins as antagonist material, Dale -- with them on board you're got the potential for almost any calamity. :)

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    2. Lynn, I've come to realize that Gremlins are the Swiss army knives of the supernatural :-)

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    3. Ha. I am so stealing this line, Dale.

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  2. Hi Lynn where can we find this week's offering?

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    1. Just finished the story and posted the link, Fran, but here it is again -- https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzylBQC3SyqoTkJ2QjhkLVYxcDQ/edit?usp=sharing

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  3. I'll freely ask for feedback on this. I've been struggling with fear on this story scared I'll screw it up. I will say I think Cecil exploded onto the page and I'm looking forward to writing him more. It is a twist on Cinderella where the "evil stepmom" and sister are her real mother and sister with traumatic brain injuries. So you have the dynamic of a young woman trying to take care of her mother and sister, who aren't the people she knows. But she still loves them very much. It is a romance, with lots of twists - I hope. I hate fear, it locks me up so scared I fail that I can't write. SO - I decided to write the start of climax to this story to see if it would get me going.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5nGSTmp7msYQzNycDdtMEVETUE/edit?usp=sharing

    Shred freely, I can't get better if I don't try.

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5nGSTmp7msYQzNycDdtMEVETUE/edit?usp=sharing

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    1. I think it's written with a lot of energy and love for the story, Melisa, which is what any writer wants to see in a first draft. The twist on Cinderella you described in your comment is interesting, although my one big reservation is that I think it's a bit of a stretch to have two family members with the exact same type of brain injury (although if you have already thought of a way to make it believable then disregard.)

      Technically speaking you have some punctuation and grammar blips to clean up, and it might help your pacing to shorten or divide some of the sentences that ramble or run on.

      I know the fear of having a great story idea and being afraid to write it. That's why I give myself carte blanche to do whatever I want with the first draft, and (if I don't like the results) permission to trash it and write it over from scratch. :)

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    2. How do you deal with revisions? I hate them. Even though they turn out better I can't seem to get past the mental block of - I should have written it better.

      Car accident - father was driving drunk. One has a brain injury that created a major personality change, the other lost 6 years of her life. So she is a 12 year old in a 18 year old's body trying to deal with the hormones, and information she can't remember learning. So I think I'm good there. We all know life can be cruel.

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    3. I never liked editing or revising much in the beginning, and I think it was because I was so in love with the wonder of creating a story that I didn't want anything to change once I'd written it. In a way it's like going on an amazing first date and then going back and trying to make it better. Why bother, right?

      I never had any formal education or training as a writer, but I was a voracious reader, and I think it was other authors' books that guided me to become more critical of my own work and expected more from myself. I kept noticing things they did that I wanted to be able to do but couldn't seem to nail in my first (and only) drafts. Initially I began tinkering with certain aspects of a story (description, setting, dialogue) to improve them, and I felt a bit of a thrill when I did edit and rewrite something and it turned out better. Over time that tinkering here and there expanded and multiplied until I found myself naturally working on revising and polishing the entire story, not just pieces of it.

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    4. Thanks, that helps. I like how it improves, but still haven't gotten into the flow of enjoying process. Though me learning the mistakes I make and stopping them AS I write is making it easier. That and learning about pacing and flow is helping too.

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    5. You'll find your way, Melisa, and I think it's good to let your process grow and evolve naturally, too. Whatever you develop will be custom-fitted to your way of writing (versus being taught someone else's methods that might not work as well.)

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  4. And by the way LOVING your story. Reminds me of your Stardoc stuff, dark yet bright at the same time. That was what made me fall in love with your writing.

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    1. Thanks. It's a bit of a mess right now, but once I've done the final edit and rewrite I think it will improve quite a bit.

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  5. I did it! Lynn, thank you so much, this was such a great idea. I've been revising/editing my novel for the past month now, and my brain is ready to melt out through my ears. This was a nice break, and an exercise I will most definitely continue. Thanks again, Lynn.

    Check it out here: http://busywritingnothing.blogspot.ca/2014/06/this-next-post-was-inspired-by-lynn.html

    And don't be too flattered by the link name...hahaha...I hit publish out of excitement before I had a chance to give the blog a title! Hope you enjoy :)

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    1. It's nice to take a break, isn't it? You got some terrific new story going, too; I would definitely run with it if there's more. That line about the dragon being unable to hit the wagon especially cracked me up.

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    2. Anonymous3:36 PM

      Yeah it sure is nice to take a break. And thank you for the compliment, Lynn! I re-read it this morning and found a few irritating typos, but I suppose that's the fun part about this. Slap er down on paper and hope for the best!

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    3. My pleasure -- and that's why I'm posting my first drafts without corrections; I just want to have some fun with the ideas and get the words down. Maybe inspire others not to worry about buffing and polishing everything right out of the gate, too. Maybe we should call it Just Write Warts and All Thursday. :)

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  6. Going to miss posting this week, dammit. Thursday won't work; I'll have to write on another day & post it at the right time. :/
    Will definitely be back for the next. But had to come & read everybody's good stuff. :)

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    1. Oh, you people who insist on working day jobs. :) Seriously, it's all good. I think writing when you can and posting it on Thursday works just as well.

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  7. Steph becomes like Yet and...this isn't the twisted ending is it?

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    1. It's definitely one of the twists, but I'm really not sure if I'm finished with the story (this was really a rough idea I wanted to play with and see what I could get on the page so I didn't do a lot of planning.) I'm going to look at it again over the weekend and decide.

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