Typing "The End"

I finished the novel yesterday. I had to turn down a game of Scrabble with my husband to do it, but hey, we all gotta make sacrifices (besides, hubby usually kicks my tush in that game).

But while I lay in bed last night, it hit me that there was something missing from the last 1/4 of the novel. This book is structured differently than anything I've ever done before, to the point that I've broken it into "part one" and "part two." Well, part one is solid - it's got the rising action, the major plot points, the black moment, and the resolution without resolving all the issues. Well, part two needs to resolve those issues - but it also needs to have its own black moment.

And it doesn't.

So I'm trying to figure out what to do.

I'm frustrated with myself for not seeing this sooner. I think I was so focused on "getting it done" that I ignored my writer's instinct. And now it's come back to haunt me. I couldn't get to sleep last night (not a good thing since today was the first day of school and I had to be up and at 'em!) because I kept running different scenarios through my mind on how to fix this.

This is what happens when you focus on deadlines and don't pay attention to the craft.

Lesson learned.

The writing journey is full of little bumps and detours that, in the end, make me a better writer. And really, that's ok. Life's lessons are not always pleasant, but that's how we learn and grow.

So I'm off to grow some more!

Have a great Monday...

Why Bad Writing Can Destroy a Good Story: Cliches

When I pick up a book, I want to be immersed in the story - not worried about the writing. If the story is really good, I'm usually willing to overlook bad writing. But it still sort of casts a pall over the whole experience.

If there's one thing I've learned in my journey as a writer - both professionally (a.k.a. the day job) and personally, writing is very subjective. What one person thinks is wonderful, lyrical prose, another might think is wordy and flowery. Some people like sparse and simplistic while others need detail - and lots of it.

But there are fundamental rules of the writing craft that need to be present for it to be considered "good writing." (Of course, it can be argued that rules were made to be broken). Character arcs, rising action, pacing, etc. are all intrinsic to a good story. But when I start tripping over the language itself, there's a problem.

One element in particular that you should avoid at all costs is this: clichés.

What are clichés?

Dictionary.com defines them as as: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse

It's not just the standard cliches we think of, like "sick as a dog" or "tough as nails." It pertains to phrases we've heard a thousand times before like, "when he touched her hand, a jolt of electricity went through her."

Why are they bad? Because there are so many different words in our language, so many differents ways to describe something, that when you use these cliches, you come across as being, well, a bit lazy. When I read a description of something that I've read innumerable times before, I tend to roll my eyes. Even worse, I am taken out of the story.

How do you avoid cliches when you write? Let's face it. It's a whole lot easier to use a cliche then it is to think of something original. But if you're a writer, you must think of something else. We're wordsmiths, and we have the opportunity to play with the language. We need to grab that opportunity and use it to our advantage.

Am I guilty of using cliches? You bet. But the key is to be aware of it - and then go back and change it during the editing process!

Getting Back on Track

When a major event happens in your life - like your husband being in the hospital for nearly three weeks and being unemployment for a possibilty of two months - you sort of get sidetracked from normal, everyday life. And in my case, I also got sidetracked from my novel.

I think I did a decent job of working on it while everything was going on around me, but I can definitely tell that my focus wasn't on it. And that's how it should be. I had more important things to worry about. My husband's health and taking care of my daughter came first.

But now that hubby is on the road to recovery and my daughter is thrilled to have him take care of her at home now, it's time for me to refocus and get back on track with my writing.

The edits aren't yet done for the novel, but I believe I can get them done within a reasonable amount of time. Since hubby can't lay around for very long, he's been doing light housework, which has definitely helped me out, and this will give me more time to write.

I'm not much of a goal maker because they generally tend to derail me more than help. Weird, I know, but if I give myself deadlines, I like to meet them. (There's probably not much difference between a goal and a deadline, but it works for me).

I'm giving myself until August 4th to have my novel completely finished - edits, rewrites, proofreading, etc. I think it's doable.

In fact, I just might download one of those nifty count down gizmos to help keep me on track.

Anyone else need motivated? Come join me!

Voice and Editing

I entered a short story in Glimmer Train's annual short story contest. No, I didn't win. But that's a good thing. Why? Because when I looked at the story again, I realized it could have been much better.

When my dad read it awhile ago, he said that he felt something was missing, but wasn't quite sure what that "something" was. I didn't, either. But when I opened the file last night, I wanted to find that "something" because this story needs to go out into the world.

After reading through it, I searched for the elusive "something." And then, it hit me. I had edited out my voice. What I read on the page wasn't me. It was my attempt to be literary and high-browed and, well, just not myself. I don't write like that. Of course, there's nothing wrong with writing that way, but my voice doesn't subscribe to it.

I began to see the story with fresh eyes and found several places where I could put my voice back "in." And it's making such a difference that I can't believe I didn't see it the first time around.

It's entirely possible to edit too much. And that's exactly what I did. It's a lesson well-learned, especially since I'm still editing my second novel. Voice is such an elusive thing that when you finally discover your own, you've got to make sure and keep it in there because that's what makes your writing yours.

Success!

As the esteemed Brain from Pinky and the Brain would say, "Yessss!" (In a "I'm-going-to-dominate-the-world type voice).

Remember the last part of my novel that a few friends of mine felt was "tacked on"? Last night I figured out how to fix it. And it works perfectly.

Sigh of pure, utter bliss.

Hubby also was in charge of the children last night, allowing me to work on my edits. More bliss.

Today is a rainy, cloudy, and cool day. Perfect for staying at home and writing, but unfortunately, there's that new toy sitting in my driveway that requires payments, so the day job has to come first.

Have a great Wednesday!

What to Do?

Two of my friends have read my novel, and while they really did like it (yay!), they both thought the ending was sort of "tacked on" and that it should have ended much earlier than it did. Here's the set up (though I will try not to give too much away in the event this novel is actually published some day!)

The end of the story (a WW2 novel) takes place after the hero and heroine get married. Since he is a German POW and she is an American, he goes back to Germany, and she follows. I wanted to show him finding his parents, since he had no idea if they were dead or alive, and also show the relationship between the hero and his father since his father was an ardent supporter of the Fatherland. I also wanted my heroine to find her "purpose" in life - this is an inspirational novel and God's purpose for our lives is one of the major themes - and that purpose is helping the people of Germany recover.

Now here's my problem. I love, love, LOVE this part of the book. I love showing the dynamics of how this woman deals with living in a country whose soldiers killed her first husband at Normandy; I love showing the relationship between the hero and his father and how his father reacts to his son's American wife; I love showing how the two deal with their growing faith in this broken country.

My two friends commented that this section felt "too rushed", anticlimatic, that it looked like I needed to up the word count, so I wrote more. But that's not it at all. In fact, I was worried I would go quite a bit over my 100K goal. Maybe I wrapped things up too quickly.

So what to do? I really feel this section is necessary and to be honest, they read my first draft and I've made some major changes in the story since then - weaved together some imperative plot lines and emotional entanglements, etc.

I guess this is what the editing stage is for.