Are You A: SOTP, Plotster or Linear Planner?

**I love deadlines. I love the sound they make as they go whooshing by.**

Someone remind me who wrote that…

Photo Credit

I love deadlines. I work best under a deadline and am pushed to go farther and exceed expectations knowing I have a goal to meet. Because I am goal and reward oriented person, I find I push myself harder knowing I won’t like myself at the end of the day unless I get done what I need to get done. ;-)

Having this in mind, I stole my father’s desk calendar (yes, I asked his permission first) and plotted out my schedule for the rest of the year. Now all you seat- of- the- pants writers and plotsters, don’t hyperventilate, because I have a few suggestions for you as well.

Even though I am SOTP writer, I like to know where I am going, thus I coined the term “plotser”—alas, Stan Williams must have crawled into my head and stole the term from me…but that is another blog post for another time.

You need to evaluate who you are as a writer and as a planner. And your writing life and your planning life can be at complete opposites, like mine is. I am a very linear planner. I plan my haircuts two months in advance. ‘Nuff said. And to keep me working on my writing instead of off playing on Facebook and Twitter and Blogging…(I digress), I need a solid goal to aim for.

These goals have proven to keep me up past my normal writing time to get edits and word count in so I can celebrate with a fist pump when I reach that pivotal goal.

Do you like to sit down at the computer and discover what the day holds?

You are a seat-of-the-pants planner. This works for you. You realize what needs to get done, but you also like to discover and you like to see how much of that you accomplish.

Do you like to make out a check list for what you want to get done in the next few days, the week?

Then you are a plotster planner. You know where you are headed, but you discover it in little increments.

Do you like to plan out deadlines for months in advance? Look at your schedule and evaluate what you can get done and when, taking into consideration days that will come up that weren’t part of your schedule? And also taking into consideration that you can push yourself harder than you gave yourself credit for?

Then you are a planner. You like to know the road ahead and where you need to go.

Even if you are a SOTP planner, maybe you can try to be a plotster or linear planner. It might not *completely* work for you, but you might discover you need a tangible goal to reach for—you might find you maximize your writing in stronger ways.

So a few tips for you, things that have worked for me and hopefully will work for you.

Seat of the Pantsers:

Always keep in mind of the future and what you need to accomplish and when. Maybe write a date really quick on a white board or sticky note to keep in front of you. Just to keep that in the back of your mind.

Plotsters:

Same thing, only you probably jot down daily and weekly goals. Be realistic of those goals and push to meet them and go beyond, but realize life happens and sometimes goals have to be pushed to the side. Our writing life should never take center stage away from those we love.

Planners:

You can have the most fun! But realize as you lay out your calendars and sticky notes and generated reminders, that life happens. Sometimes we have to push our goals a bit farther back in order to preserve the sanity of those we love.  With that said, do not look at any change in the plans as an excuse to push those goals further away. Hold yourself to them. Find an accountability partner and make them keep you focused.

Remember, whoever you are in your planning, be cognizant of your deadlines, your goals and your daily to-do’s. So many times I think I know what I need to do for the day and realize I really need to check my calendar. It is smarter than I am. *wink*

There are pitfalls to being any kind of planer. But here is the beauty: most of us are not contracted yet, we have the opportunity to play around and see what we can do and when we can do it. We will realize early on how long it takes us to write a book and how long it takes to edit. Embrace this period of time, because we are learning in more ways than we could ever realize.

What plans work best for your writing life and how do you implement them and keep yourself “honest” to those goals?

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Casey Herringshaw is a homeschool graduate and has been writing since high school. She lives in rural Eastern Oregon in a town more densely populated with cows than people.

On Being Mentored: Fried Brains

I confess, I am not a NaNoWriMo participant this year. My confidence is not there--yet. I suppose I could blame my job, my house on the market and up-coming move, family, and a host of other excuses. The truth is, if I truly wanted to crank out a 50,000 word novel in 30 days I could--if I were ready. But I'm not.


Still, the idea of a magnanimous goal one month in the year is a fantastic idea. I thought--I can do that! So I joined a loop that let me set up my challenge. You can too!

So off we go-set our goal-writing every word which pops in our head to finish our book

Until a fried brain day arrives.

The first few days usually sail along. Then IT happens.


The words hit a snag, the brain is fried, unable to conjure even one more word. Hijacked, like a kite whisked into the one and only tree in a field by some random breeze.


What to do? The pressure to meet today's goal rises. Remnants of yesterday's missing goal had been shoved onto today. Can't do it again, but my brain is fried.


Who can save the day?


Here is an idea:  Loop Mentors.


Yes, goals can be met with--drum roll please------super loop mentor heroes!


I love the word loop-so different from the word clique. Think about it: A loop invites--a clique rejects.


Tracie Peterson mentioned the benefits she enjoyed from loops in our October Montana ACFW meeting. She asked other loop members for odd details, reactions to situations, and etc. The purpose: fresh ideas and perspective.


I belong to several loops, all of which provide encouragement in many ways. Well, they aren't all officially called "loops" but they all act like one.


A loop provides opportunity to report and cheer members for editing, completing a WIP, plotting, successfully completing any word count goal for the month in addition to help with  brainstorming, provide needed information, and so much more anti fried brain helps!


How many members are required to have a loop? The minimum: one more than is needed to put in a light bulb. Max: whatever the group feels they can handle. Gotta love the open, warmth in a loop--almost open house in nature. Come and go as you need and can give.


Loops members provide much more than encouragement and accountability. They provide ideas, answers, unique perspective, expertise, jump starts, grammar tips, and etc.


For example: One loop member hit a snag with a dance scene. After explaining a bit of her setting she asked for conflict ideas for the couple. Several chimed in their ideas. The determined author whittled and directed the dialogue until the perfect answer came. "Eureka!"


On another loop, a writer told the members her MC broke her leg! She needed to know the hospital process, recovery, and healing time--and she needed to know it quick. No time to do all the research. The answer appeared in a short time.


My family members have served as a loop in a way. I interrupt them at all times of the day to ask "what if" questions and siphon their expertise in a given subject. Sometimes I hear pret-ty interesting ideas!


The fun of looping is not taking-but giving. When I read about someone's word snag my brain hops into proactive solve mode. This exercise often solves my own word snag and jolts my fried brain. Another benefit is writing encouraging comments and reading other loopers ideas.

When we bless others, we will be blessed, too.

Don't be a hermit

Fried brains taste nasty.

How have you benefitted from loops?
Do you have any loops to recommend?

P.S. When you take a break from productive writing and notice a million loop emails don't leave the loop! PRESS the delete key! Highlight the whole group and delete them. You have permission.  Then when your brain is fried and you need help from the loop, or you have extra time to help others, click on the emails and enjoy the blessings.
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Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This blog post by Mary Vee
Mary lives in Montana with her husband and loves to hear from her three college kids. She writes Christian young adult fiction, especially pirate tales, missionary and Bible adventure stories. 
Her tag: Stepping into Someone Else's World. 

To learn more about Mary, visit her blog http://www.mimaryvee.blogspot.com/

A Plethora of Writing Quotes

Did you know that even writers run out of things to blog about? Well, that is me....again...shhhh! So what's a girl to do when that happens and she has to have a post up in less than 8 hours?

She shares her favorite quotes out of her favorite writing books, that's what! An added plus is the link to where you can buy the book from which the quote is listed. That way you can highlight your own favorite quotes!

A word of warning: because writing and editing are two different skills, they require two different mind-sets. Don't try to do both at once. The time to edit is not when you're writing your first draft.  Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

Examples of dangling or unattached participles abound in today's newspapers and broadcast media and even in books from respected publishers. Once recognized, they should be instantly zapped by the laser beam of common sense. Between You and I, a little book of bad english by James Cochrane

I want to suggest that to write to your best abilities, it behooves you to construct your own toolbox and then build up enough muscle so you can carry it with you. Then, instead of looking at a hard job and getting discouraged, you will perhaps seize the correct tool and get immediately to work. Stephen King on Writing, by Stephen King

Before you can stretch anything, of course, you need the raw material. You don't fashion a a clay pot without clay. The clay for a novelist is trouble. The question you have to keep asking is this: What problem has the potential to lay some serious hurt on my character? Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell

You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, I have ever heard.  Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

The last paragraph or line of your scene has one purpose: to get the reader to read on. It gets the reader forward in some fashion.  Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell

Fiction weaves truth into slice-of-life depictions to which readers can relate. It provides a touchstone to common experiences of humanity and a way to examine those experiences. When Jesus sat on a grassy slope surrounded by the hurting, he painted word pictures--salt, lamps, bread, rusting treasure.   by Sharon Hinck in A Novel Idea, with contributions from best-selling authors.

I know I sound like some yogi from the land of easy answers, but I do have a point. You can either be defeated by your desperation, or you can use it. Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell

My dad always told me, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right." This is especially true for us writers. We must work hard and we must pray, believing that God is taking our writing to the place  where he alone can showcase it.  Wherever that place is, and however many people eventually read what we've written--we must always be hardworking and hopeful. by Karen Kingsbury in A Novel Idea, with contributions from best-selling authors.

Desire. It's got to be a hunger inside you. You're going to have to sacrifice time and money and endure frustrations galore. If you don't have the desire, you won't last long out there on the battlefield.  The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell

Storytellers are different. Storytellers look not to publishers to make them successful, but to themselves. They wonder how to top themselves with each new novel. Their grumbles are not about getting toured but about getting more time to deliver. Story tellers take calculated risks with their fiction. Mostly they try to make their stories bigger. The Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass

I know people "write when they can," but if you are serious about wanting to finish something, create a writing time every day, and discipline yourself to sit down for say, thirty minutes, or an hour to write....You need to decide: Is writing for you Profession or Playtime? The answer will determine how you approach your time. From the Inside ...Out, by Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck

What is your favorite writing quote? Or what is your favorite go-to writing resource?
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This post is brought to you by
 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Perseverance with Melanie Dickerson

Thanks to Pepper Basham for inviting me today, that amazing writer/mom of 5/pastor’s wife/full-time teacher/soon-to-be Professor Dr. Pepper. (Sorry Pepper, I couldn’t resist!) Pepper is a fun person to be around, and I believe she must be really energetic to keep up with so many different things. She has talent in abundance, but aside from boundless energy and talent, I submit to you that the most valuable characteristic she has is perseverance.



Perseverance is perhaps the most necessary thing for a writer trying to get published, simply because one never knows how long it’s going to take. You can be the most talented writer in the world, but if you’re not willing to learn a few basic rules and principles about writing fiction, how to submit to publishers, and to keep submitting when the rejections come, you will never get published.


The publishing world is hard to break into. There are so many reasons a publisher might reject your work. Some reasons may seem obscure, and other may seem reasonable and understandable, but the reasons are legion, I’m afraid. More than I even have to go into in this blog post. This is something we as writers must accept and not get too caught up in. I’ve seen authors spend their time railing against the injustices of publishers and their seemingly random reasons for rejecting manuscripts, but let’s face it. That isn’t doing them any good.


A writer’s best friend is perseverance.


If at first you don’t succeed … I wrote a few short stories and articles for children when I first started writing, and the first short story never got published, but a couple of the others did. I kept sending them out until they sold. I learned so much from that experience. I learned that there are many, many reasons that a story may get rejected. A rejection doesn’t necessarily mean “Your writing stinks.”


When I started my first novel about six years ago, I was confident it would get published. But when I went to my first ACFW conference and found out that nobody wanted my missionary story, that publishers just weren’t publishing missionary stories, I realized I was probably going to have to write something else if I wanted to get published.

Did I try to find out what the publishers were looking for, the popular genres of the day? No, I wasn’t that smart. I started writing a book that had been haunting me for months. A Medieval fairy tale retelling romance for Young Adults. Well, at my next conference, I found out CBA publishers weren’t publishing a lot of YA’s, they didn’t publish romance for YA at all, they believed Medievals didn’t sell well, and there were absolutely no fairy tale retellings in all of CBA, as far as anyone knew. My book had absolutely nothing going for it.



Long story short, I didn’t give up on that book. I kept revising it, learning all I could about writing and editing. I sent query letters and proposals, per the guidelines on agents’ and publishers’ websites, and after two years, I finally found an agent brave enough to take on my Medieval YA fairy-tale-retelling romance. Meantime, I had written a second Medieval YA fairy-tale-retelling romance. My agent sent the first one out to nearly every CBA publisher in the business but one by one they all rejected it. Finally, when it seemed all hope was lost, I saw that the YA editor at Zondervan was open to historicals, so I asked my agent to send The Healer’s Apprentice to her. And the rest, as they say, is history. But it took three years and a lot of perseverance.



What causes a person to persevere against seemingly impossible odds? How can you get this thing called perseverance? I remember Dr. James Dobson talking about how he had been picked on a lot as a kid, and he believed his drive to succeed in life had a lot to do with his desire to show those other kids, the ones who’d picked on him, that he could be successful.



I did want to prove that I could be a successful writer. I may not have admitted it, even to myself, but I wanted validation. I wanted to show that all those people who had rejected me were wrong. I wanted to show my husband and family that all the sacrifices were not in vain. I felt a drive inside me to succeed.



But I have seen that kind of drive get people, me included, into trouble, cause them to fall into sin, like pride and jealousy and envy. It’s not wrong to want to succeed, but we must always let God guide us. We must humbly submit our drive to God and let Him tell us which direction to go, how to have balance in our lives, when to write and when to spend time with our family or friends. And we must always confess our pride, jealousy or envy to God and let Him take it from our hearts, because those emotions are so destructive. And yet they are almost inevitable in this business. We must constantly remind ourselves to “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” And we must ask God to help us not compare ourselves to other people, which always leads to either pride or jealousy.



Were there ever times that I wanted to quit? Oh yes. I asked God to let me quit and do something else, to give me a job that would bring in actual money and would make me feel productive and give me some validation. But always, and in different ways, God told me to keep writing. And He still tells me that.



Because let me tell you, the need for perseverance doesn’t go away when you get published. There have been many times when I asked God, Why am I doing this? A few months after The Healer’s Apprentice was released, my publisher did a week-long promotion giving away my book as a free download. Already my book was getting some really negative reviews from people who didn’t realize it was a Christian book. Being a fairy tale retelling, the title and the cover, all appealed to people in the mainstream. Amazon was flooded with negative reviews, people speculating about me, insinuating things about me that weren’t true, attacking not only my story and my writing but also me as a person.


I was devastated. But eventually, perseverance kicked in. I realized so many things, not the least of which is that it’s not about me. It’s about God and what he wants to do. And I know God won’t let me quit.


So perseverance is vitally important. If you don’t have any, get some! Prayer is the key to that. The three P’s I like to stress are Perseverance, Priority, and Prayer. But that is fodder for another blog post.

May God bless your writing!

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Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer's Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of The National Reader's Choice Award for Best First Book. She earned her bachelor's degree in special education from The University of Alabama. She has taught children with special needs in Georgia and Tennessee, and English to adults in Germany and Ukraine. Now she spends her time writing and taking care of her husband and two daughters near Huntsville, Alabama. Visit her on the web at www.melaniedickerson.com.

What's Up The Street For Next Week?

Good Saturday Morning to you!!


How is NaNoWriMo month going?


Are you fully set and prepared to vomit--er write those 50,000 words come holiday or high water? There is nothing a writer cannot conquer and if you can do this in one month...you can write anything, at anytime.


So get a good word count in this weekend and we'll see you right back here at the blog on Monday with some great posts to keep you movited and pushing forward. :-)


Coming up...


 Pepper has guest author/ blogger Melanie Dickerson visiting on Monday. Will you continue to persevere when the writing life gets tough?


Sherrinda is your Alley hostess on Tuesday.

Alright Na-No-er's this post is for you from Mary on Wednesday: On Being Mentored: Fried Brains

Are you a long-term plotter or a short-term pantser for your writing goals? Casey has tips for both on Thursday.

Krista is all about Hooking Your Audience: "Castle Style" on your next Friday.


Sidewalk Talk...


Take a few minutes and watch this video that ACFW did during their annual conference in September. And you just might see a familiar Alley face. ;-)






This second one is another promo video ACFW did. Truly an organization that has a heart for writers of every level.





Not so random news...

Thomas Nelson publishers bought by HarperCollins

Review fiction and non fiction from Waterbrook Multnomah

Want a chance to win a $15 Amazon gift card? Visit this link to Casey's blog for details.

November releases at ACFW Fiction Finder

What is Your Novel Missing? Deep POV

The first time I read a critique telling me to write in a deeper POV, I wasn't quite sure where to start or even exactly what that meant. How did I get even deeper when I already felt like the reader could really relate to my character?

So I studied up over the years, and though I still get that critique here and there, I've discovered ways to take that POV deeper and a process that will help me do so.

What is Deep POV?

Deep POV is intimate third person. It's showing readers instead of telling them. It's helping the reader create a bond with the character - much like first person - and it can also mean have a stronger voice.

And how do we write in deep POV?

Show Don't Tell

Do you ever get those critiques that say, SHOW me that the character is happy/sad/angry/etc., don't TELL me!

What they're saying is, write in a deeper POV. Don't tell the reader the emotion, show them.

For example:

Instead of writing, Veronica was happy.

Try instead, Veronica's smile stretched wide across her face.

You're giving the reader the idea that Veronica is very happy without ever having to identify the emotion.

Also, try taking out all those telling words like saw, watched, heard.

For example:

Becca walked to the window and heard the dog barking in the back yard.

Instead, try Becca walked to the window, the dog's piercing barks reaching her through two panes of glass.

Reaction, then Action

Showing not telling is a great start, and another tactic I've tried is following a process of reaction. Give the character a reaction and an action (not necessarily physical). Sometimes it will be as simple as one or two lines, and sometimes it will be three or four (reaction, internal action like a thought, and then another action--usually physical).

Let's say Veronica's best friend Louise just yelled at her for missing Louise's birthday party.

This is how we might initially write Veronica's reaction in limited third person.

Veronica stared at her friend in surprise (here we're naming the emotion). She hadn't missed the party on purpose and now she wanted to yell that right back at Louise (more telling here).

Now let's try deep POV.

Veronica's mouth dropped open (showing surprise instead of telling, a reaction). It wasn't my fault, I told you I had to work! (internal action, getting closer to the character) She folded her arms against her chest and faced Louise, taking a deep breath (physical action).

"I'm sorry I missed your party but I didn't have a choice."

Now we're not telling the reader Veronica's surprised and indignant but we're showing through a series of reactions and actions.

Reveal Your Character

In the example above, we're not only showing we're also giving the reader a sense of Veronica's personality, which is what deep POV is all about. Veronica is coming through. It helps to put the reader directly in the scene instead of making them feel like they're watching from afar.

Other ways to keep the reader in closer proximity to the scene.

Make sure you know your character. Give them a unique personality and then SHOW the story through their eyes, not yours. That means directing the scene as your character would see it in every way possible - especially through their senses, as well as their thoughts and actions.

Show their thoughts. This doesn't mean you have to write every thing your character thinks or even put all those thoughts in italics. It does mean giving the reader a deeper look at what's inside, like the example above. Your character is going to react to things in their own unique way and if you can convey that through a thought or their reaction, it will give the reader a greater insight into who your character is.

Have any of you ever struggled with deep POV in the past? What tricks do you use to write deep POV and make your reader feel like they're right there in the scene?

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This post brought to you by Cindy R. Wilson

Cindy is a Colorado native, living near the mountains with her husband and three beautiful daughters. She writes contemporary Christian romance, seeking to enrich lives with her stories of faith, love, and a touch of humor.

To learn more about Cindy, visit her at her personal blog, www.cindyrwilson.blogspot.com

When Joy Spills Over - Celebrating Your Friend's Success

Hi everyone. Pepper here and I'm filling in for Wendy whose family is dealing with the first snowstorm of the season (which means no power) AND her family can't even go home yet. So I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers as they transition and wait.

Yesterday Melanie Dickerson sent me a sweet thank you note for celebrating her upcoming release, The Merchant's Daughter, and posting about it on FB. (Isn't that a fabulous cover!!) Her gratitude warmed my heart and reminded me about why it's so important to celebrate our writing friends's sucesses because eventually the joy spills over on us.

We live in a dog eat dog world – or so I’m told. Gone are the days of ‘good will toward men’ or a random act of kindness. Some say true gentlemen are extinct and the majority rule is ‘look out for number 1’.


Besides the fact that if I only looked out for ‘number 1’ there would be a whole lot more car accidents, greater job openings (because loads of people would be fired), more homeless children, a higher divorce rate, and hospitals full of patients who have nobody to care for them, the world would be a emotionally parched place.

We’re surrounded by other people. Unless we’re hermits in the Himalayas, people are going to be a part of our lives whether we like it or not. Even in the Himalayas there might be an occasional ‘lost hiker’ :-)

And as writers in an increasingly competitive profession, it’s pretty easy to become stingy with our congratulations and celebrating. Envy, jealousy, or hurt feelings can pull us from our focus and send us spiraling into a pouting place.

But as Christians we have a few secret weapons in this battle. God has given us His spirit of generosity and He also helps us to cultivate a thankful heart. Left up to us, we’d be pretty helpless and doing this, but because God knows we’re woefully unprepared, His Spirit gives us the strength to do what we can’t on our own.

So – how do we celebrate with others? How do we allow their joy to spill over on us?

1. Remind yourself of God’s great love for you – Hebrew 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

2. Remind yourself of the calling He’s put on your life (not just the call to love others, but the call to write. Ephesians 1:18 -19 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,  and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

3. Remind yourself of God’s perfect plan in His perfect time – Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose

4. Remind yourself to be thankful – Colossians 2:6 -7 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness

5. Remember to pray for others, because in doing so you are opening up God’s joy to spill out on your heart through prayer. We’re getting our minds off of ourselves.

Life is more wonderful when we fill it with good things – and that especially includes our thoughts.

What an honor to celebrate with our friends? To find the joy in the moment with them.

Even if we still have to fight the ‘green eyed monster’ from my last post, we have to weapons to fight it. Weapons straight from the Joy-Author himself.

Next time you're tempted, let the joy spill over on you. Celebrate with those writers. Dance with them. Shout with them.

And some day – in God’s good timing, they can celebrate with us.

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This blog post by
Pepper D. Basham

 
 
Photos courtesy of:
http://thisisnotabout.me/
 
http://www.hydratedliving.com/