Lucky Seven Meme

Hey guys!

The wonderful and talented Kristin Lynn Thetford tagged me for an awesome Lucky Seven Meme (or Lucky Number Slevin Meme for you Josh Hartnett fans). She tagged me LAST WEEK, so I apologize for the delay. I had a rough writing week last week and got through it with perseverance lots of procrastination which gave me inspiration for a forthcoming blog post.

Kristin tasked me with posting 7 lines from my MS. Like her, I’ve never posted an excerpt from my novel on my blog, but 2012 is all about the end of the world getting my stuff out there.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next seven lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

I will be giving you 7 paragraphs. Luckily, I write very short paragraphs :)

----------------------- 

        When I get home, I find an email from Mr. Towne waiting for me, tapping its foot in my inbox.

            I need a progress report. Let’s chat.

  

I roll my eyes at the email. Is he my dad asking how my homework is coming along? None of my clients have required a progress report. They have faith in me that I’ll get the job done.

“Things are taking a little bit longer,” I tell him on video chat. “But I am making progress.”

His baby blue eyes stare coldly into the screen. He leans back and rests his arms on his gut. “It’s been almost two months since we last spoke. You can’t give me radio silence like that.”

Trust the process, I want to tell him. Couples weren’t destroyed in a day. Still, I nod in agreement. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep you updated.”

--------------------------------

And now I shall tag 7 lucky writers:

1. Michael Offutt

2. Alledged Author

3. Sarah Pearson

4. Angela Brown

5. Alicia Gregiore

6. Jenna Cooper

7. Nancy Thompson

I totally understand if you can't participate right now, though L is for Lucky Seven Meme has a nice ring to it...Either way, these are great blogs to check out!

Go Team 9k!

I did it!!! I, along with Sarah at Empty White Pages, wrote 9000 words over one weekend. 9063 to be exact. Sarah put me to shame. She cranked out 9784 words by 5pm on Sunday. How awesome is that?? We took on my 9k Writing Challenge and won. I feel a great sense of accomplishment - I followed through on a goal and worked on my WIP. Those things don't happen as often as I like.

My favorite part of this exercise, though, was what I learned about my story, my writing, and myself. It had been a long while since I focused so intensely on a WIP. No work or other responsibilities to distract me. I was locked in my apartment with my WIP, and we did some major bonding. So I bring you 9 things I learned about this weekend:

1. I work better at night. I wrote 5,889 words past 9:30pm, and 3,853 words past 11:30p. It felt like college, burning the midnight oil. I want to change myself to write early in the morning, though. I can't stay up until 2am writing when I have to be at the office seven hours later. 
2. I don't know my characters well enough. Half of the reason for any writer's block I faced came because I didn't know how my characters would react or how they truly felt or what they wanted. I didn't know the minor details about them that fill the gaps between major events. I love to plot, and I realized that my characters are being driven by plot, not vice versa. At the same time, this challenge helped me get to know them better. But I still have work to do on this front.
3. I stopped worrying about finding the best word. If I was stumped looking for the right word for a sentence, I didn't waste time thesauring or googling or smacking my forehead. I picked a lesser word and moved on. When I edit, then I'll obsess over one word. But right now, it's not worth it. 
4. I need to work on my procrastination. On Friday night, I didn't begin writing until 10:30pm. On Sunday, I didn't sit down until 9:30pm. I could've finished by noon, but I procrastinated. Maybe I don't love writing at night so much as I am addicted to procrastinating. This has to stop.
5. I think I use the same words over and over. The same expressions. How many times can someone burst out laughing, or shoot someone a nasty look? Maybe this is my writerly doubt kicking in. Do you ever feel like you use the same words over and over? Again, this is a problem for the editing stage, not first draft stage. What will combat this is to keep reading, expand my horizons, and learn from other writers.
6. I have to push myself. Writers write. When I sat down to write on Saturday morning, I eeked out 700 words in two hours. It was slow going and painful. But I pushed on. I couldn't wait for inspiration to strike me. And soon enough, the words came faster. So if I'm feeling blocked, I won't stop. I will keep going.
7. I wrote 9000 words in about twelve hours. That equals 750 words/hour. Not too bad. If I can write for 1.5-2 hours per day, then I can keep making progress on my WIP.
8. I obsess too much over word count. I checked my word count repeatedly this weekend. I found myself doing a little cheating - writing wordy sentences, not using contractions. Unlike many writers, I worry that my book will be too short. But I need to stop overwriting to hit certain word goals. If my book comes up short, then that's a story problem. I need to write enough to complete the scene and then move on.
9. I can't do it alone. I was so happy that Sarah agreed to this challenge with me. We emailed our progress back and forth, and knowing I had someone else in it with me kept me going. Tweeting my progress and receiving positive responses showed me I have support. I may have spent much of the weekend by myself, but I was not alone.

Overall, a great experience. I'll let you know if I do this again. Maybe next time, I'll try for 10k.

Campaign Challenge #1

It's that time, folks. Campaign challenge numero uno. As stated on Rach Writes...

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

 I've never done flash fiction or writing prompts like this, but I enjoyed myself, and I enjoyed reading others. These challenges strengthen my editing skills. I'm amazed by how much I can cut and still have my story make sense. I love that four little words can inspire writers to go in a million different directions. I actually wrote a different flash fiction story for this exercise, but right before I posted, I abandoned it and wrote something else from scratch.


Without further adieu (and at exactly 200 words long)


I Am Woman. Hear Me Pee.

The door swung open, and Lacey entered a brave new world: the men’s room. For years, she watched men file in and out while she suffered on line for the ladies’ room. She finally had it.

She crept past the lineup of synchronized pissers at the urinals. The lights flickered; intermission was ending. She spotted a row of stalls; her bladder rumbled with excitement. Even the seat was down - a sign from above!

“You can’t be in here!” An old man said, cane pointing. Other men craned their heads, but kept peeing.

“This is the men’s room,” a guy wearing a pink scarf said.

“I…” Lacey’s face reddened. “I’m sorry.”

“Get out!” The old man yelled.

She glanced at the toilet. Her heart ached for the women outside who couldn’t enjoy this embarrassment of riches. Centuries of injustices endured by previous generations flooded her mind.

“No!”  She could feel the spirits of Gloria Steinem, Billie Jean King, and Susan B. Anthony surrounding her. “I am going to the bathroom, and if you have a problem with that, then you get out!”

With that, Lacey lifted her head high, marched into that stall, and smiled as the door swung shut.

I'm a Platform-Building Campaigner!

Like so many awesome bloggers I follow, I have decided to join the Platform-Building Campaign hosted by Rachael Harrie at Rach Writes... which focuses on building my online presence. After reading agent and writer blogs for the past 2+ years, I decided to jump into the madness three months ago with A Time to Phil. No longer on the sidelines, I'm getting used to balancing my time between blogging and actual writing as well as keeping my blog updated (it's like feeding the beast!), but I love it! I'm still very new to the blogging world, and I'm excited to meet and learn from my fellow bloggers. The writers I've interacted with thus far have been awesome, and I can't wait to meet more.

 

I'm in two groups: MG/YA (3) and Contemporary/Mainstream Fiction (1). I'm the guy without a head in his pictures because I chose auto-crop.

I look forward to campaigning!

Sparkfest! aka Thank You Amy, Lois, Caroline, Cecily, James, and Kody

I am participating in Sparkfest 2011, brought to you by The Writer Coaster. I couldn't participate in the Star Trek blogfest also happening since I have never watched the show. But I have seen Galaxy Quest. Does that count??

For this blogfest, Christine Tyler @ Writer Coaster asked us the following:

What book made you realize you were doomed to be a writer? 

What author set off that spark of inspiration for your current Work in Progress?

Or, Is there a book or author that changed your world view?

 

I thought about this for a while. I wish there was one moment, one writer that provided the spark for me to write. I've wanted to write ever since I was a kid, unlike every other author in the universe... :) It was a steady stream of movies, TV shows, and books that gave me the enthusiasm to pursue writing.  

Amy Heckerling - Clueless

I've watched tons of movies and am known as somewhat of a movie buff. Clueless, however, will always be my favorite movie. Even though it is loved the world over, I still feel that it's underrated. The screenplay is one of the best in modern movie times. It's true! If any aspiring screenwriters are reading this, Clueless is a paragon of voiceover usage, and its dialogue is flawless - revealing, true to character, doesn't try to be cutesy (cough *Juno* cough), and darn funny. I've watched this movie around 13242 times, and I can probably quote it start to finish for you, if you'd like. The spirit of Clueless hangs over everything I write, and I aspire to write something 1/26th as good as Heckerling's movie.

Caroline B. Cooney - The Face on the Milk Carton

Lois Duncan - Killing Mr. Griffin, I Know What You Did Last Summer

My comments section blew up when I posted about I Know What You Did Last Summer the book. For good reason. I was a couch potato in middle school, but when I did read for fun, I read Cooney's and Duncan's books. Their hooks drew me in - what if you received mysterious letters taunting you about a deadly secret, what if you saw your face on a missing child poster, what if some students plotted to kill their nasty English teacher. They made reading fun for me, and their twisty, suspenseful novels provided the spark for many of my early short stories. Even today, these books still hold up. 

Cecily von Ziegesar - Gossip Girl

On a 2004 flight from London to New York, I needed a book to read to pass the time. I had heard about this hot new young adult series and decided to give it a shot. It would be a fun read for the flight. And I was hooked. I read five books in this addictive series about spoiled New York teens. (I stopped when the plots got too ridiculous and repetitive) This series inspired me to write YA. I read it and thought, "Hey I can totally write something like this." It was sharp, snarky, risque, fresh -- a notable difference from the YA of my childhood. Gossip Girl seems passe now, its references to the Hilton sisters and brand-name labels a quaint reminder of Bush-era excess. But YA had grown up, and I wanted to ride the wave. 

James Frey - A Million Little Pieces

Say what you will about the veracity of the story, but this is a compelling, well-written book. I read A Million Little Pieces post-scandal, when I suddenly found myself unemployed and didn't know when I'd get back on my feet. It was fall 2007, and I was trying to make a career writing in television with no luck. The book gave me hope and reassured me that no matter what happens, it will be ok. I reexamined the type of writing I wanted to pursue after reading it, and a few weeks later, I began my first attempt at writing a novel.

Kody Keplinger - The DUFF
I'm just not that into paranormal romance. I have full respect for writers and readers of those books, but I am simply not one of them. My genre of choice is regular contemporary. It can difficult for me to find the kind of books out there that I want to write. The Duff restored my faith in the genre. I count is as my "I wish I wrote that" novel. It gave me hope that these issue-with-a-lowercase-i books can get published and find an audience - in TV terms, a Dawson Leery can survive in a world of Edward Cullens.

All of these authors inspire me in some way, their influence molding together to give me a swift kick in the butt with my writing. Who inspires you?

***p.s. Follow me on Twitter --> @FillupSeagull ***