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15 04, 2013

Unpredictable Days

By judythemorgan|2013-04-15T06:16:50-05:00April 15th, 2013|Make Me Think Monday|2 Comments

Life happens. Plans get disrupted. Things we don’t expect (or we do expect) happen to sabotage our writing intentions.

Least that’s been my situation for the last month.

Everyone faces times where no matter how well we plan, we cannot stop unpredictable days from occurring.

You probably ran into at least a couple of days with unexpected roadblocks last week. I’m sure we’ll all have at least a couple of unpredictable days this week.

And every week for the rest of our lives. That’s how life works.

So how do you to stick to a daily plan when unpredictable things happen?

You can’t.

Unpredictable stuff can’t be avoided.

If bad stuff happens two days out of the week, it’s OK. Three off days isn’t a tragedy either. In fact, statistically, three unpredictable days out of seven is about normal for most of us.

What I’ve discovered is that I can usually count on having at least one extremely productive day a week. In one excellent day when life cooperates, I’m always surprised how much of my week’s work gets done.

Problem is I never know in advance which day will be excellent, and I can’t let that stop me from planning what I’d like to accomplish daily and weekly. If you missed my blog about how I plan, here’s the link: http://judythewriter.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/failure-to-plan-is-planning-to-fail-a-plan-for-success/

But I digress, we’re discussing unpredictable days.

Days when something goes wrong are always going to happen, however those rare days when everything does go well can make up for all the rest.

I find I can whip through my daily list at light speed when everything goes right, and that means I can check things off my weekly list.

In fact, I’ve learned if I have TWO or more great days in a week, I complete just about everything off my weekly list.

Impossible? No. And there’s a way you can test my theory.

Tryout this experiment from Randy Ingermanson’s The Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine.

For the rest of this week decide what you want to accomplish for the week then make daily lists. (Writers that means a writing goal for the week then daily ways you’ll reach that weekly goal.)
Keep the daily lists for five days and, at the end of each day—even the unpredictable days, count how many things you accomplished.
On the fifth day, check those daily lists against your weekly goals.

I’m predicting, even if you didn’t have a single “successful” day where you accomplished everything on your whole daily list, you’ll find you have at least one or two highly productive days in which you made huge progress toward your weekly goals.

You might discover that even if every day is “unsuccessful” the week as a whole is a SUCCESS just like I do.

“What,” you say, “how can five bad days add up to one good week?”

According to Randy, the reason is that we tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, but underestimate what we can do in a week.

Now test Randy’s theory and my results by doing the experiment yourself, and I think you’ll see Randy and I are correct.

28 01, 2013

The book’s finished so why am I sad?

By judythemorgan|2013-01-28T09:51:39-06:00January 28th, 2013|Monday Motivations|17 Comments

I finished Love in the Morning Calm, the prequel to The Pendant’s Promise and turned the manuscript over to the editor.

Now I’m sad.

I know I should be happy. IT’S FINISHED.

There is a sense of relief and exhaustion considering the amount of energy and focus required to “birth” this particular novel. I’ve been working on Lily and Alex’s love story for years.

My very wise book editor suggested I split the original manuscript into two books, which added a year to the writing process, but keeping the tale as one book would have made James A. Michener’s multi-generational works look like short stories.

Really, I am excited that I’m finished.

Except for this lonely feeling that keeps creeping in–sort of like postpartum blues.

Sigh.

I found comfort in knowing I had Lily and Alex’s romance to resume every morning and think about at night.

I already miss the arguments trying to persuade them to follow my outline. Then sometimes settling for something close to what I planned, but perhaps better and more interesting.

Other authors have shared that they experience the same sluggishness, a lack of motivation, and energy when they finish a book. I know my feelings will subside. Lily and Alex have, after all, found their happily ever after.

It’s time to do the next thing — start a new manuscript. I began that process this weekend.

I’m looking at two quotes as the new story’s theme. One fromTruth About Forever a Sarah Dessen novel: “There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment.”

The other from Lao Tzu: “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Once my new friends, Darcy and Andrew, and I have done that dance of the first 50 or 60 pages they’ll begin to talk to me then my real work will begin.

I can truly bid Lily and Ace farewell.

YOUR TURN: Do you get the postpartum blues when you finish a book? What do you do about it when you do?

22 11, 2012

Grateful for YOU

By judythemorgan|2012-11-22T08:33:37-06:00November 22nd, 2012|Uncategorized|3 Comments

I’m thankful that in this great big blog world we have connected.

If you’ve read my about page, you know I’m a writer and an antiques dealer/collector. Ephemeron fascinates me. That’s why I chose this particular greeting today.

Not familiar with the term?

Ephemera (the plural form) refers to something transitory or short-lived. Items like pamphlets, notices, tickets, postcards or greeting cards designed to be useful or important for only a short time. In this age of technology, we’re losing ephemera. Especially old postcards like these.

: Back reads “from Ray to the Baby 1913 H. R. M.”

“Wishing you a Peaceful Thanksgiving Day; With all of Earth’s fruit from the blossom of May.”

“North South East and West; Let’s all join hands So that we may truly rejoice on Thanksgiving Day” To Marguerite from Grandma, 1915.

Each card undoubtedly has a story. Who was Ray and why did he send a Thanksgiving card to Baby? Were Marguerite and Grandma feuding and needed to join hands? There’s definitely a story connect to that one.

The writers among us could probably plot some compelling stories based on these old postcards. I think that’s why I find ephemeron so intriguing.

But just for today, let’s forget about writing.

Instead, let’s

Sit around the table and visit with family and friends.

Cheer for our favorite football team. Or nap.

And most important, remember to take the giblets out of the turkey!

Thanks for showing up today to read my blog.

I’m going to enjoy my blessings today.I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving day with your family and friends.

See you here on the 26th.

22 10, 2012

Monday Motivations: Testing the Waters

By judythemorgan|2012-10-22T09:23:29-05:00October 22nd, 2012|Monday Motivations|2 Comments

A friend recently shared this video titled Neglected Ducks Get Their First Swim from Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary. Great music, btw.

My first thought after watching the ducks repeatedly turn away from the water was that we writers are sometimes like those hoarded ducks-afraid to test new waters with our writing.

When was the last time you tried to write

a different genre
a short story if you normally write novels
a novel if you normally write short stories
a blog instead of just reading blogs
a tweet – now that will test your skill
a 1st person POV if you usually write 3rd person POV
a 3rd person POV if you usually write 1st person POV

To me the pond in the video represents possibilities for our writer creativity. If we’d only venture forth and test the waters more, I think we’d see brave new worlds open up for our muse.

Did you notice how much fun those ducks were having once they took the plunge?

And who knows, we might find we like writing something new and different more than what we’re comfortable writing.

YOUR TURN: Have you ever written something out of your comfort zone? How’d it feel?

21 09, 2012

Miller Farm Friday – CHICKEN NUGGETS & Hatching Children

By judythemorgan|2012-09-21T11:20:57-05:00September 21st, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday, Uncategorized|6 Comments

No recipes or no recommendation for the best fast food restaurant serving chicken nuggets.

Although if you’re ever in South Fork, Colorado, I do highly recommend the chicken strips at Rockaway Cafe & Steakhouse.

Rockaway is a small family owned business with a casual atmosphere. Reminiscent of eating in someone’s home. John handpicks the fresh chicken breasts and carefully breads with his secret recipe.

You’ll love ‘em. We do.

But back to the Miller Farm.

Today our resident chicken wrangler is sharing some observations and a follow-up on last week’s acrobatic chicken.

The follow-up first – Butterscotch, the acrobatic chicken, seems to have recovered nicely. I had intended to clean her hurt foot every morning but I have yet to be able to catch her. Since she is moving faster than I am, I would say she is doing pretty well.

Observations on the concept of pecking order…
We have introduced new chickens into our flock on several occasions. Usually we have a group of birds that have gotten large enough to move outside but are still somewhat smaller than our mature hens, putting them on the bottom of the pecking order.

One evening I noticed that there was some “discussion” about who got to roost on a particular perch. Little Grey Hen come running out of the coop then she ran back in.

I heard all kinds of noise and saw that a smaller black bird was trying to roost on the end where Little Grey Hen usually sleeps. She would have none of that and before I (or the smaller hen) knew it, the black hen was on the ground and Little Grey Hen was back on her perch.

My first thought was “They all rolled over and one fell out.” (from the song Ten in the Bed).

Thoughts on hatching…
We have an assortment of fowl (chickens and quail) in the brooder in the garage. They hatched over a period of two days.

The last chicken to hatch seemed to have its shell stuck to its back side. We left it alone for a while, knowing that the struggle to get it off was making the bird stronger.

At a certain point, however, we could stand it no longer, and I held the bird while Rachel carefully cut away the shell which was hanging on by a thread.

We added the chicken sans the large chunk of hanging shell to the brooder where its feathers were able to dry and the last tiny bits of the shell came off.

I thought about parenting – sometimes we have to help kids get completely out of their shell so they can begin their own life.

The baby quail in the brooder nearly drove me nuts. They started sleeping on their sides with their feet stretched out making them look dead.

I guess I opened the cage and woke them up enough times that they decided if they wanted to get any sleep at all, they’d better sleep on their feet like fowl are supposed to do.

I’m definitely getting more sleep as well.

MY TURN:
Sara, the Chicken Wrangler, observed that a chicken’s process of hatching is like watching our children growing up. We need to help them out of their shells before they can begin their own life. Seems to me, that’s what writers do for their protagonists. We help them out of their shell. The literary term is character arc.

YOUR TURN: Do you see your child or your main character’s growth as hatching out of a shell?

17 09, 2012

Texas talk, colloquialisms, and weasel words – in my writing?

By judythemorgan|2012-09-17T10:53:11-05:00September 17th, 2012|Writing Craft|12 Comments

I wish I could say NO WAY!

Can’t.

When I shared a recent chapter with my critique partners, one of them questioned this sentence, “He found himself in deep water.”

Not understanding that my POV character’s internal thought meant he found himself in trouble, she thought I had put him in a swimming pool and forgot to put that detail on the page.

Frequently what’s playing in my head fails to come across on the page in early drafts. Thank heaven for CPs who call me when that happens.

Not this time, though. This time I was using Texas talk.

She’d never heard the expression “in deep water” used that way. Her stumbling over the phrase led to a discussion of colloquial language and how words, phrases, and even clichés vary from one geographical area to another.

In Texas, we have a whole slew of vocabulary that has folks scratching their heads. I just used one—slew, meaning a whole bunch. We’re always y’all-ing and gonna and fixin’ when we talk. Non-Texans do sometimes need an interpreter.

Some more phrases:

come hell or high water – proceeding, regardless of the problems, obstacles, etc.

conniptions – get upset and raise a ruckus

hissy fit – kin to a conniption a state of extreme agitation and not a pretty thing to see

hot as tin toilet seat – in Texas we know that’s HOT

screaming bloody murder or banshee scream – not a pleasant sound at all

bone tired – yep, been there

slow as molasses – visualize black syrup oozing out of the jar

keep your pants on – meaning not what you think, but to be patient!

When I’m being lazy with my writing or rushing, Texas terms and phrases naturally flow into my first drafts.

I also have favorite words that pop up. Words like: had, that, could, was, felt, knew, thought, saw, walked, come. Margie Lawson calls these “weasel words.”

I learned in Margie’s deep editing class, The EDITS System, to keep a WEASEL WORD CHART listing colloquial phrases, overused word, throw-away words, clichés, and opinion words.

Unfortunately, my chart populates too easily. I’m my own worst copy editor. that’s why I always pay a professional before my books are published. The words I overuse stand out like sore thumbs to others. (Sorry, Margie had to use a cliché to prove my point.)

During the revision stages, the chart helps eliminate such weasel words and phrases using my word processor’s search and replace function.

BUT characterization can need slang and colloquial regional dialogue. Texan talk has a function if the protagonist is a Texan or the setting is Texas.

Are you working on a Texas setting or character? Here’s a great resource: http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Texas/talk.html

Other times, overuse in novel narrative becomes a stumbling block, pulling readers from the story.

When that happens, the reader does what no writer wants a reader to do—QUITS reading!

If colloquialisms are your writer’s voice, I caution you to be sure your reader can understand what you’re saying. Always remember what I learned in a Susan Wiggs workshop.

In the battle of words, the story reigns.

Our word choices should always move the story forward.

In case you’re wondering what I did about my CP’s question, I decided the reader could discern the meaning from the rest of the scene and left the phrase “deep water” in the manuscript.

How about you…

Do colloquialisms, local slang and weasel words slip into your novels?

Are you guilty of using expressions you grew up with that might confuse a reader? Care to share some and explain their local meaning?

14 09, 2012

Acrobatic Chicken ends up in Miller “Chicken Infirmary”

By judythemorgan|2012-09-14T08:00:11-05:00September 14th, 2012|Friday on the Miller Farm, Miller Farm Friday|1 Comment

Anthropomorphism is a literary technique in which human characteristics (or characteristics assumed to belong only to humans) are assigned to other animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. (I’m quoting Wikipedia.)

The word has been around since the 1700s.

: In this depiction of Aesop’s fable, The North Wind and the Sun, North Wind tries to strip a traveler of his cloak. Picture source: Wikimedia Commons.

The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderlfand is another example.

Not being a literary writer, I don’t use the technique much, but I’ve often been accused of anthropomorphizing my dogs and other non-living things.

Doesn’t every one name their vehicle or their vaccum cleaner? Well, you should!

That’s why I understand completely when Chicken Wrangler Sara treats her chickens like they’re human, which is what happened when one of her hens named Butterscotch got herself into a bad situation.

Here’s the story from Chicken Wrangler Sara’s email. Additional comments not italicized are mine.

Our chicken feeder is suspended from the ceiling of the coop with a wire the size of a coat hanger. This morning, when I went to let the chickens out, one of them was hanging by one toe from the wire above the feeder.

The VILLIAN feeder.

One interesting thing about chickens is that if you hold them upside down by their feet, they get very calm. (Don’t ask how I know this.)

So the poor chicken, named Butterscotch, was incredibly calm. Now if I had been hanging upside down by my toe all night, I definitely would not be calm. This is just another difference between humans and chickens.

Anyway, I had to work hard to get her toe unstuck all the while explaining to her that chickens are not acrobats.

(Like the chicken was listening. More likely a little anthropomorphizing going on! LOL)

I ended up untwisting the wire which immediately freed Butterscotch’s foot. I carefully carried her out of the coop and set her by the water thinking she might be thirsty as are most of the chickens in the mornings.

So are the bees who share space at the Miller Farm with the chickens, making an interesting scene at the water cooler every morning.

(A bee blog for Miller Farm Friday is in the works. That’s really anthropomorphizing when you attribute human characteristics to things that can really, really hurt you!)

Butterscotch didn’t drink but hobbled to the front of the yard and sat down. I went on with the morning chicken chores, keeping an eye on her.

When I had finished, I picked her up to examine the injured toe. It had begun to bleed and was getting caked with dirt. I’m no vet, but I am a mom and I know that open sores and dirt are not a good combination.

Notice the toe at the top is missing its nail. but, thanks to human care, not the whole toe.

So I carried Butterscotch up to the garage where we keep the betadine and poured some on her foot.

Then I gently washed it off with the hose and decided she needed to go to the chicken infirmary for observation. So I hollered for Catherine (her oldest daughter) to bring me a rag towel and laid it down in a laundry basket. Then I gently lowered Butterscotch into the basket and put a small waterer in with her.

I went back in the house but soon realized that if she happened to get out of the basket, her toe would be the least of her problems. The dogs would love to “play” with her.

Especially Bella. Remember she’s the farm daschund who is always watching and waiting for a chicken to get free. And trust me she’s not thinking about anthropomorphizing that chicken.

So I put another laundry basket on top and behold a “chicken infirmary.”

Butterscotch rested comfortably all morning and after a consultation with the resident chicken vet, Rachel, Butterscotch returned to the chicken yard.

She immediately started pecking at the ground for food then ran to where all the other chickens were pecking to see if they had found something more appetizing.

At last sighting, she was limping slightly but seemed to be glad to be “home.” I made her promise not to do any more acrobatics, and Chicken Vet Rachel decided to wash her foot every morning to prevent infection.

Butterscotch strutting her stuff.

YOUR TURN: Are you guilty of anthropomorphizing either your pets or using the technique in your writing?

13 08, 2012

Wit and Wisdom from Writers to Jump Start your week

By judythemorgan|2023-08-19T14:55:48-05:00August 13th, 2012|Uncategorized|4 Comments

This month’s guest speaker at my local RWA chapter was Adrienne deWolfe.

Being in on vacation, I wasn’t able to hear her program, but I did check out her website and found a wealth of helpful resources. You might want to do some checking yourself.

I also discovered this delightful video Ms deWolfe created which inspired me to get my butt in the chair and WRITE. I’m sharing so you can start your week with Wit and Wisdom from writers, too.

Okay, so did the author inspire you to write?

16 07, 2012

What my high school reunion taught me about writing BACKSTORY

By judythemorgan|2021-06-19T06:45:26-05:00July 16th, 2012|Uncategorized|15 Comments

Sitting at a table at my high school reunion recently, this thought struck me: “This is how backstory should work.”

Huh, you say. Let me explain.

I’ve known most of the people at my high school reunion for more than half my life. I didn’t have to ask mundane questions to get to know them. When I looked in their faces, I saw not the wrinkles but teenagers I remembered from our school days.

We were (are) a close-knit group, attending English class or studying for Algebra, or cheering our Austin High School Maroon football team. We laughed about our Red Jacket (the drill team) adventures, relived football losses, groaned over teachers, and relived our glory days on the yearbook and newspaper staff as we reminisced.

I knew their past.

But what dawned on me was that what I remembered from those good ole days is only a small portion of their story. As we shared over the three-day reunion, I learned of their triumphs, their heartaches, their success since we’d last been together.

Did I learn everything at once? No. Piece by piece they shared stories. Backstory came to light that had shaped who they were today.

Like all my high school friends, I know my characters. After all, I am creating them.

And like my friends who told their stories over the time we were together, that’s how I must reveal my character’s background–slowly as it relates to the story and character development.

This is where new writers often err in their opening scenes, revealing anything and everything that’s happened up to the time of the inciting incident.

There are times when a bit of backstory is necessary for the reader to grasp what’s going on and why it’s important. But, editors and agents agree a newly submitted manuscript with backstory dump in the beginning scenes is the biggest kiss of death for the work.

Writers, whether new or seasoned, must tread carefully when considering how much backstory to include. We should trust the reader’s intelligence to “get” what’s going on without providing lengthy backstory.

Think about it. Is it really necessary for the reader to know Mary has been married three times, each relationship ending badly, to “understand” why she’s looking for a good relationship? Usually, that kind of backstory, while indeed important, should be doled out later in the story and bit by bit.

A general rule is keep backstory either absent from the opening or only include as much as is absolutely necessary to set the scene for the inciting incident.

To quote Donald Maass, “no backstory in the first fifty pages.” And then, only to do one or more of these things:

1. Raise the stakes
2. Reveal motivations
3. Express innermost fears
4. Reveal obstacles

Easier said than done for most writers, including me.

I think of backstory as “BS.” Literally. I ask myself does the reader really need to know this in order to relate to my character? The answer is usually no!

Another way to think of backstory is as carefully placed clues to the mystery of the character and why they are the way they are. Hints to keep the reader turning the page.

Just as I discovered my old friends’ stories gradually, we writers need to let readers find backstory clues throughout the book until they’re brought all together to explain how and why the character changed or clarify whatever the character did.

What do you think about backstory dumps in the opening pages? Do you close the book or keep on reading?

27 04, 2012