Building characters through living life

Relationships aren't always easy. Feelings get hurt, harsh words are spoken, and emotional wounds are opened and then closed again as time passes. With this in mind, how else does an author learn to build believable characters that readers can relate to? She must live through heartache, stick her foot in her mouth a few hundred times, and admit when she is wrong. She must bask in her accomplishments, smile at simple pleasures, and genuinely be happy with those individuals that she has deemed important. All of those emotions are then relayed into her writing. A great author gives it all she has even if it pains her to do so. In the end, a reader will hear the author's life experiences through her character's words and actions, and they will both call it a success.

It's my turn...

My last few posts have pretty much been morale boosters to get me back in the habit of writing. Well, today, folks, I'm going to make that happen. Two of my three kids are back in school, which means I'll have hours to myself. Hours! I'm so excited to have time to do what I want. The past six weeks my time has been theirs. We've had fun, don't get me wrong, but I'm certainly looking forward to having more control over my daily activities. For starters, I need to get organized. I need to decide what it is I want to complete first. Finish book #3 comes immediately to mind. Giving book #3 a title is second. I guess my list is done. Now for the hard part: actually doing the work. Maybe I want my kids home after all :-)

I'm up...let's do this!

It's early. I'm out of bed. The only sound I hear is the coffee percolating. Perfect conditions for writing. But where do I start? Do I continue to plan how to fix book #3 using my little black book? Do I fix the grammar and editing mistakes my reviewers pointed out? Do I start on page one of the manuscript and just jump right in? Ah, the dilemma! Okay, I think the best approach is to continue with my little black book so that I have a big picture of what needs to happen. Here are some of the requests I've received:

• More Kody
• More Minnesota
• More about the creepy guy
• Less visual imagery from Kody's brother
• Bigger surprise at the end

The above items are all doable, but the ending is a tad bit more difficult. I have a good idea of how to ramp it up, but I must be very careful not to change too much so that the entire story isn't altered. There's no need to rewrite the entire thing! I'll report back my progress...

Getting back into the groove

I'm struggling...to find my mojo. With the kids home for the summer and not much time to think about my writing, I'm finding it harder and harder to get back into the swing of things. We're staying up too late, which makes me not want to drag my butt out of bed for the best part of the day. I love the mornings when everyone is still sleeping and I can think clearly and creatively. It just isn't happening lately. My husband went back to work this morning so that should help out somewhat. I'm also meeting with my last reviewer on Thursday morning to discuss her thoughts on book #3. I'll have no other excuses to keep me from continuing my rewrites. Okay, just writing this brings me a slight glimmer of hope that I'll pick up where I left off before summer began. Please glimmer, shine brighter!

Vacation was all play and no work

My family and I recently returned from a trip to Florida. Yes, we drove. Yes, it was barely tolerable by the end. We played in the sand, ocean, and pool, and spent one glorious day at Disney World. I can't dismiss our half day at Gatorland where my youngest son "wrestled" an alligator. I had coffee in my bathing suit and watched the lizards climb on the cement pavers. We scoured the roadside for a dead armadillo so my kids could actually see that incredibly odd creature. I received pictures from my husband and sons of the shark they caught on their fishing excursion. I wandered through gift shop after gift shop while my daughter searched for the perfect souvenir. We did everything we couldn't do here in good ol' Minnesota. It was delightful. I didn't even feel guilty for not opening the bag of edited manuscripts from my beloved readers. Nope, I didn't do a bit of writing. It doesn't look like I'll get much done this week either being that July 4th is just days away and the weather is actually decent. I'll get back to work soon. I promise!