I lack in many areas of writing, but where I lack the most, I believe, is in settings. In my rough drafts (which is all I have so far) I don’t describe what my characters are wearing, where they are standing, or anything about their surroundings. What’s more, I don’t even see these things in my mind. Some of it, maybe, if I step back and think about it. But most of the time, nothing.

You may remember I blogged not long ago about finally embracing plotting. My tool of choice is the storyboard. Imagine my surprise and delight in realizing I can use this same storyboard to create my settings. I’d like to say I came to this conclusion on my own. But no, it came from a witty and knowledgeable source. Ms. Anne Lamott.

I’m currently reading Bird By Bird by Ms. Lamott (aren’t you proud of me, Janga?) and am loving it. Can’t recommend this book highly enough. I found this nugget of wisdom in the SET DESIGN chapter.

“Imagine yourself as the set designer for a play or for the movie version of the story you are working on. It may help you to know what the room (or the ship or the office or the meadow) looks like where the action will be taking place. You want to know how its feel, its temperature, its colors.” (p 74)

Ms. Lamott goes on to recommend asking anyone you can to help describe settings you may not be familiar with. In one of her books, she wanted to design an extravagant garden. She, like me, has no skills with plant life, so she sought out experts for help. By the time the book was published, she’d done so well, readers approached her wanting to talk gardening.

I realize this is common sense and somewhere deep down I knew it. But I wasn’t sure how to go about it. Then I got an idea. I could add this information to the storyboard. Marn has often raved about using spreadsheets for storyboarding, but I’ve fought the idea tooth and nail. I use spreadsheets all day at the day job and couldn’t imagine using them for something creative like writing.

But I’ve changed my mind.

I could easily add a smaller box under every scene box with some description. Where the scene takes place. If it’s cold, wet, dark, loud. And an added bonus with spreadsheets, my cat can’t eat them. (Shredded it, he did. The little turd.)

I haven’t actually applied this idea, I just had it about 48 hours ago. But I will and I promise to report back.

How about you? How do you create your settings? Do you think about them ahead of time? Do you skip them in the rough draft and add them later? Or are you of the expert class who has figured out how to use setting to reveal character? Do you stick with places you’re familiar with first hand or are you brave enough to choose places you’ve never been?

I have a new fascination. And though I’m sure after seeing the lovely men of this blog, you’re going to think you know why I am so fascinated. But you’d be wrong. Well, mostly wrong.

I watched another rugby game this weekend. Last week, I watched France beat Ireland. Who’d a thunk there were large, hunky Frenchmen? Really, I never guessed. But these guys were burly. This weekend, I watched Ireland bounce back to beat England. It was close, but Ireland totally outplayed them.

So, anyone find a new fascination lately? Fell in love with those Norwegian Curling pants maybe?

*A TRY in rugby is the same as a touchdown in American football. Only it’s worth less points. And is much tougher to get.

If you’ve seen anything about the Olympics, the men in this blog should look quite familiar. Cute as they may be, the fact they’re sporting some fancy new bling doesn’t hurt matters at all.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am thoroughly engrossed in the Olympics. Every day there’s another athlete to admire. Another amazing triumph. And unfortunately, in these games, there has also been tragedy.

All of this means there is no shortage of stories and inspiration. From the pairs skaters who have been a couple for more than five years, yet compete against each other, to the speed skater who less than six months ago nearly ended his career at the Olympic trials when his own skate sliced his left thigh open.

There’s the Japanese figure skater who had to defect TO Russia to pursue her Olympic dream. Though many of her countrymen consider her a traitor, she poured her heart onto the ice and fulfilled her dream, proving she made the right choice. Maybe the only choice. And we can’t forget the Georgian Olympians, making the difficult decision to go forward and compete, while mourning the loss of one of their own.

The writing material is endless. Love on the ice. Love on the slopes. Love across borders or even in the stands. How could you not find an abundance of HEAs in a place where dreams are coming true every day?

But there’s more than writing material to be found. Many of these athletes know they will not be leaving Vancouver with a medal. For these athletes, it’s not about accumulating gold, silver or bronze. It’s about competing. It’s about saying “I was there.” It’s about doing something they love at the highest level, and making the memories that will last a lifetime.

When I think about getting published, I never think of best seller lists or even awards. I know I’m not in contention for any of these things. But I do want to be able to say “I was there.” I will know I wrote a book, made it the best I could, and someone thought enough of it to publish it. Or not, I was still there.

Olympic athletes can teach us a great deal about work, dedication, and dreaming. Everyone who competes is a winner. And all of us who write are winners too. So you never see your name on the NYT list. Or maybe you don’t even see your name on a book cover. It doesn’t matter. You’re writing a book, telling a story, and chasing your dreams.

You’ll always be able to say, “I was there.”

Anyone else watching the games? Any stories brewing that involve flying downhill on a set of skis, straight into the waiting arms of their soul mate? Or maybe a reunion story in which two athletes fell in love four years ago and haven’t seen each other since? Let’s throw around some ideas.

PS: I believe KD Lang’s version of Hallelujah plays on a loop at the Pearly Gates. Absolutely amazing.

I’m sure we all know what today is. Whether you’re buried under snow, curled up with your Valentine, or cursing this sorry excuse of a holiday meant to extract copious amounts of money from poor, unsuspecting slobs under the guise of making their significant others happy by slipping them into a chocolate coma, this blog’s for you.

Forget the arrows, just give me cupid.

And since today is also the kick off of racing season, thought I’d pay tribute and provide a treat for Q all in one pic.

Here’s hoping winter takes a hike soon.

I want to start this blog with a  disclaimer. There will be no writing revelations, awesome tips, or new tricks revealed in the following post. In fact, there are going to be a lot more questions than answers. So prepare yourself.

Though I’ve yet to finish a full novel rough draft, I did spend more than two years with my first story, and have spent nearly six months with my second. When I first started, it was all a mystery to me. How could you know how long a book would be until you wrote it? How do you find enough interesting material to fill four hundred pages? How much rum does it take to forget I’m a hack?

Okay, forget the last one.

I’m happy to report, I’ve found the answers to the first two. Or think I have and that’s good enough for now.

But one of the toughest questions I’ve yet to answer is how do I get into the minds of my characters? How do I know what they’ll do in any given situation? (That’s two questions, so sue me.)

In general, I know the answer to their reactions is in their motivations and partially in their back story. Unfortunately, “in general” has never gotten me very far. So, I kept going, hoping I’d find more answers.

Here’s the problem with finding answers, they often lead to more questions. Last night while writing, something happened in my scene I didn’t see coming. It moved the romance plot line forward big time, fit the story perfectly, and I hate to say, wasn’t my idea in the least.

It was Nate’s. That would be Nate Campbell, the hero of Playing For Keeps.

This same thing happened in my last WIP. I needed a way to throw my H/H together. In the middle of a scene in my hero’s POV, he pops out with the perfect answer. I didn’t see it coming and was amazed at how perfectly it would work.

The connection between these incidents is the source. The only characters I seem to channel are the heroes. Which leads to more questions. Why is it always the hero and what in the world does this say about me?

Since my heroines are often just like me, I can follow the trail to some obvious implications. But I don’t wanna. So I’m putting the questions to you. Any and all input welcome.

Hal posted an awesome blog yesterday which I highly recommend checking out if you missed it. Due to some technical difficulties (meaning due to us never updating the software that runs our blog in two years of having it), she got off to a late start.

Everything Hal said was spot on and will go a long way to making that final draft more powerful. Unfortunately, it’s the exact kind of information that has tied me in knots for more than a week.

You see, I know I must vomit out this first draft. I have to spit the words onto the page, get the story out and not worry about finding the perfect words or the deepest POV. But this week, I forgot.

I think of it as getting off track. My writing train pulled into a station and took the wrong track out. How did this happen? Good question. And if I had an answer I’d write that book and make a fortune.

Deep POV is what hung me out to dry. Which is funny because it could have been a host of other things. All my action takes place in empty rooms. All my characters hang out pretty much naked. My hero is a eunuch. (That last one is a real problem and Nate (the hero in question) is NOT happy about it.)

Can you put parenthesis inside parenthesis? Is there a plural for parenthesis? Word suggests parentheses so maybe that’s right, who knows.

See how easily I’m sidetracked?

Back to the story. So I googled deep POV and found this great ten part series on everything you needed to know about the topic. Ironically, around about part nine, the author says something like “by the way, don’t try any of this in your first draft.”

Duh.

FOCUS is what I need right now and I need to focus on vomiting this story out. Since I’m the only person here who doesn’t have at least one MS under her belt (bed?), what I want to know is, does the vomiting come easier the more you write? Do you have the confidence that you can fix anything in revisions or do you get tangled up thinking you needed to do better the first time so revisions are less painful?

PS: I wonder if people would be offended if we gave out little black barf bags with the skull-n-crossbones as decoration? Wouldn’t that be a great reminder? We could sprinkle them with glitter.

Due to technical difficulties, today’s blog has been delayed. Though I’m sure you figured that out by now.

We will have a new blog up as soon as possible. Thanks!

I started this little writing journey back in December of 2006. Back then it was “I guess I could write something just for my own enjoyment.” By the summer of 2007 it turned into “I may try to get this published, but it’s no big deal if I don’t.” By the summer of 2008, it turned into “I *will* become a published author.”

Unfortunately, in all this time, production did not keep up with intention. So as 2010 starts, I still have no finished product to pitch. In fact, I don’t even have half a product. But that’s about to change.

I have completely and totally embraced plotting. I’m aware this is no surprise to everyone else. If one more person says, “Of course you’re a plotter, duh,” I’m going to throw the undead monkey at them.

It seems the last couple months were full of “AHA!” moments for me, not the least of which is the joy of storyboarding. I’ve been reading everything Jenny Crusie writes/wrote about the craft of writing and put that together with Hellie’s info on storyboarding. I now have a beginning, middle, and end with action that escalates all the way through. There are turning points, a clear mid-point where the story kicks up a notch, and two black moments. And we can’t forget the HEA.

I can add, move, or remove any post-it, and it’s a miracle for a visual person like me to see my entire book in one poster board sized picture. It’s like I can *see* the story. Now, this doesn’t mean getting the actual words on the page will be any easier. But, I have a clear direction and feel more confident about what I’m trying to do.

So, this is about “AHA!” moments. My favorite one from these last couple months was Hellie’s advice to write larger than life. One of my major weaknesses is that I rarely think outside the box. So now when I get stuck, I ask myself what could I put here that would be exaggerated? And it works! Nothing too big, but nothing run-of-the-mill either.

What was your latest “AHA!” moment and what is the best one you’ve experienced since starting this crazy writing rollercoaster? What tip or tips have you used more than anything else? And if you want to give credit to those who share the best advice, feel free to share here. I’m sure we’d all appreciate it.

For more than two years we’ve been sailing this ship from one end of the publishing world to the other. We’ve made new friends, picked up some amazing new crew members, and been fortunate to have some of the best writers in the business grace our decks.

We cannot thank you enough for your support, enthusiasm, and encouragement. And putting up with our silly games, unpredictable tangents, and occasional cranky asses.

Here’s to 2010 being the best year ever. May the words fly from our fingertips, the characters come to life on the page, and the joy of writing never go away.

Live, Laugh, and Love. And never lose touch with your inner pirate.