Take Off Your Pants!

As many of you know, I do NOT have the brain of a plotter! I've never started writing a story with more than a few scenes in mind. I generally know the ending, the beginning, the backstories of the 2 MCs and maybe another scene. Because I know I'm working toward a happy ending, I have the end goal in sight and off I go.

There are several BIG problems with working this way, but the biggest is that editing takes forever and I never have much an overall game plan to guide me. I need more.

Recently, someone pointed me to Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker.

As the title implies, it's a plotting books for people who don't plot. It's making sense (mostly) to my brain! YAY!

Some of it is a little too visual for a kinaesthetic learner like me (inverted triangles, I'm looking at you!), but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I've followed the book through for an older story I knew wasn't working It didn't take long for me to realize the big issue in the story and it's helping me work out a way to solve it while keeping true to the story itself (which I love).

For the first time, I have some hope that I may be able to tighten up the pacing in my stories without driving myself completely crazy.

How about you? What resources do you use for plotting & outlining? Or, do you?

Olympic Moments

The Olympics are over - until next time.

Two weeks of emotional highs and lows. I always want everyone to achieve personal bests and to fulfill their dreams. :)

I love the athletes who are thrilled and awed to be there despite knowing they have no realistic chance to medal.

I love the camaraderie among many of the athletes despite the fact they're competing against each other.

I love learning fascinating tidbits about sports I've loved for a long time and sports that are new to me.

For me, there were many highlights, but a few stood out:

• Watching the Men's Rugby 7s Team from Fiji listen to their national anthem after winning their country's first ever Olympic gold medal
• A young Brazilian man achieving a personal best and surprising the field by winning the Gold in pole vault
• Simone Biles
• Usain Bolt
• Our Canadian athletes - medaled and otherwise. So many amazing stories, so many incredible moments
• Our fabulous Canadian television coverage. Three stations worked together to ensure coverage of a bazillion events. At many times I could access 7 channels all showing different events. 7!!! And not all focused on Canadian athletes. Instead, we were able to see a huge range of sports showcasing many different countries. Fantastic!

The Olympics always give me hope that Humanity is taking steps to be better, to work together, and to take peace seriously. Let's hope that's true!

Are you an Olympic junkie? What was your favourite moment?

Change

2016 hasn't been an easy year, both in my personal corner and around the rest of the world.

It can be overwhelming and devastating.

We can't fix it.
We can't forget it.
We can't let it continue.

But, we often feel so powerless.

At school, we often have conversations about change. And that the only person's behaviour we have any control over, is our own.

We can change how we act.
How we react.
How we think.
How we help.
How we love.

Start small.
Change yourself for the better.
One small improvement leads to another.
One small example spreads.
One kind word or gesture can make a bigger difference than you'd ever expect.

Be kind.
Be thoughtful.
Be better.

Be the change you want to see in the world
~ Gandhi

IWSG & Star Trek & Floppy Disks

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

And we’re revving up IWSG Day to make it more fun and interactive! Every month, we'll announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG Day post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

AUGUST 03rd QUESTION: What was your very first piece of writing as an aspiring writer? Where is it now? Collecting dust or has it been published?

Okay, let's see..

I think this piece would count...

A long, long time ago, when the kids were still very young, I wrote a Star Trek TNG novel. For years, I'd been making Star Trek scripts in my head and I decided to type one out.

I actually don't remember much about it, except:

• Geordi was the main character of the main plot line
• The planet involved had no women's rights and some very barbaric customs
• Geordi got involved with Jaya, a woman from the planet
• Jaya was very tough, didn't trust easily, and was trying to change her world
• Jaya was killed at the end
• A sub-plot involved Deanna using her empathic senses to navigate through an underground prison
• Deanna and Worf's relationship was developing

That's about it. As far as I remember it was extremely melodramatic and a bit (or a lot!) cheesy. I think it's probably languishing on a floppy disk somewhere. If I find it, I'll have to find a computer with an A drive! 

When I got brave enough to check out a copy of Writer's Digest from the library, I discovered that only "agented submissions" were accepted by the Star Trek people. I had NO idea what that meant, but it sounded very Hollywood-esque. I assumed only famous people had agents.

End of journey.

I knew less than nothing (obviously), but that novel niggled in the back of my head (and my heart) for a lot of years. When I finally decided to actually give this writing thing a go, I already knew I was capable of completing a draft. And THAT is worth something!

How about you? Any fan fiction writers out there? Anyone know what an A drive is? Where's your very first draft?