ROW80 – Page 4 – Linda Nelson

I know, I’ve been missing in action for several months this summer. In the past, I diligently posted at least once a month. Lately, I’ve been saving my writing well for the work in progress.

So, how’s it been coming?

It’s going great. I went through a period where I was wracking my brain trying to remember what it was that I had done to get Witch Book done in that record amount of time. It seemed all elusive; there was no way I was going to be able to create another story in that short amount of time, or so I thought.

I’ve been struggling with a piece I started a few months ago. I managed to write just three or four chapters and then nothing. I couldn’t think of anything that would spark even myself. The story seemed lame, but others did comment that they were intrigued by the idea the first chapter sparked. But still, I didn’t know how to carry on with the story.

What was so special with the way I wrote, Witch Book?

I plotted that book, and even made character and setting sketches.

So I broke down this past week and dug out a book on writing that I bought way back when I first began working on, Friends of Choice. Back then, I didn’t understand a word that book said. It talked about character sketches and motivations and goals and setting sketches. Then there was the part about consistency and POV.

Four years later, I know what all those terms mean, thanks to my local RWA chapter. They’ve done a great job at teaching me the ropes.

The book, From First Draft To Finished Novel: A Writer’s Guide To Cohesive Story Building, by Karen S Wiesner, is loaded with worksheets, both character and setting, along with plotting, goal and motivation.

Above, is the book I’ve revisited. I know the terms in the book now, it all makes sense. In fact, after doing only half of the worksheets recommended for a proper pre-write, I’m getting that super strong urge to start writing that next chapter. Maybe even finish the darn book.

But, I’m going to hold myself back. I’m going to continue with the worksheets and use all of them. Hopefully this effect will have a springboard effect.

Come the end of September, I will let you all know the results of this little writing experiment.

Giveaway on Goodreads.com

I can’t forget to let you know about the paperback edition of Along Came Neil that I’m giving away on Goodreads.com. Stop by and check it out and enter to win my first of many to come YA Romances.

Age-Old Questions

“Age is just a number,” says the well-worn adage. But is it a number you care about, or one you tend (or try) to ignore?

(This prompt was inspired by a suggestion from ripplesnreflectiontimes)

I remember when my kids were young. It doesn’t seem that long ago, when they were 4 and 6 years old. Both were and still are cute and adorable, (sometimes).

This coming month, August, they will be turning 25 and 27. How time flies?

Life didn’t turnout the way I had imagined for them, but it didn’t turnout the way I had imagined for myself either. Both are still trying to discover the direction they are heading in, my daughter with my granddaughter in toe.

It took me until I turned 45 to discover my own direction that was nagging at me over the years. That was to start writing. I had wanted to write stories way back when I was in High School, but I had no one to encourage me. Both my parents said, “Really?”, when I had announced to them that I wanted to be a writer after graduating high school. They didn’t understand how anyone would want to spend their time writing stories.

When I published my first book, Friends of Choice, my mom didn’t know what to say. My dad was no longer living in our world, he had deceased 10 years prior.

Now, 5 novels later, I have continued to grow my desire to write. I’m here for the long haul. At first it was all about just getting that next story written. Now, after learning about the craft of writing, it is all about how do I add excitement into my story lines, no matter whether it is Contemporary or Fantasy. The story now has to have an element of romance and that highly sought after happy ending.

The girls in my Romance chapter have taught me that life is full of disappointments. We’ve all seen enough for more than a lifetime. Everyday people have had their share of disappointments too. This is why it is so important to end the story on a happily ever after note.

Will I continue to write a series after finishing up my Orgarlan Saga?

I’m not too sure. It will all depend on the story line. But every character, good or bad/ good or evil, deserves a happy ending. Don’t you think so?

ROW80 Check In:

I’m back. It seems that I have snuck away from the keyboard for the past few months. Really, I’ve been here the whole time letting my writing well fill back up. There is a big story brewing, or two, maybe three if I save that one for NaNo.

When I come across a prompt of some sort, now I am taking the time to makeup some sort of blurb for it and saving it in a file for later use. That is how the one that I have been working on came to be.

I can’t tell you much about it, except it might not be out until next year sometime.

Oh, and I have begun working on the next Orgarlan book.

Just taking it slow and carefully carving out the story outline. I can’t really write by the pants anymore. I have to have some sort of timeline so I know the order of what is to come for my characters. They have to have definite goals in mind or the story won’t go anywhere. Which is why I’m having a little bit of trouble with Sleeping on the Beach. I will get that one figured out in the near future. It just needs a timeline with goals.

It is what I did for Witch Book, Road Salt, and Along Came Neil. Timelines help me write faster.

Oh – and my typing word count average is 1000 words per hour. Not too shabby – in my opinion.

How’s your stories going? What are you working on? Care to give yourself a shameless blurb about your future story?

Do you write by your pants or are you a plotter like me?

Have you noticed your typing skills increasing since you began writing?

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