writing challenge

Day 11: Recent Progress and a Chainsaw

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

Hello, all.

Although I’ve been absent from the blog for a few days, I’ve actually been getting a fair amount of writing done: 2,752 words, some new, some old.

I’m working on my teenage spy novel right now. It’s the closest to completion, and I’ve found some new inspiration for edits and rewrites. So, while I don’t want to share the actual story with you just yet, I thought I’d share some of my process.

Two weeks ago, the day before my hard drive died, you might recall that I printed fresh drafts of the main stories I’m working on. When I get to the editing phase, I find it really helpful to have paper copies to scribble on.

So I’d recently read through everything I’ve got on this story. I had half of a rewritten first chapter already and started pondering how to finish it out. One of my complaints from before was that the action and danger level drops a little fast in the first chapter. The crisis is too easily solved and we really don’t get to see the protagonists in action.

With that problem in mind, I spent a few hours in a car this weekend. I do some of my best thinking in the car. I think it’s the forced inactivity. At home there’s always something to do, and although I’ve been trying to cultivate the quiet and space I need to be creative, there’s nothing like a moving vehicle to get my brain moving.

In the flow of conversation with my family, the topic of chain sawing came up. This isn’t as odd as it sounds, my family has a wood burning stove and my dad has always cut wood for the winter. Recently he’s also taken up wood turning. But, what this sparked in my mind was how when you use power tools for an extended time your arms and hands get tired, and even after you’re done your muscles shake and sometimes your hands flex involuntarily.

This physical phenomenon was what I needed for the scene. I suddenly had an image in my mind of one character needing the other one to help her fingers release from a powerful and dangerous machine. Her hands and arms were exhausted by the vibrations.

 

Handily, I don’t usually get car sick from reading or writing, so I pulled out a piece of paper and started drafting. I couldn’t remember exactly where the draft left off, so I just picked a point and started, knowing I could make the bridge later. All I ended up with was the front and back of a piece of notebook paper, but it was enough to combine with what I already had and springboard into finishing the chapter.

 

The other helpful part about this process is that I’m retyping the entire story, so while I might have been tempted to simply copy and paste previous text, I’m being forced to edit on a sentence by sentence level. I’m not making huge changes, but it’s more than I would have done.

There are still some larger elements that need work in this chapter, but they won’t really come together until I figure out some of the larger story issues.

So, now that I have a lovely chapter one, I’m backing it up in the cloud. (And I’ll probably be printing it soon to add to my binder, as well.)

Day 10: Process vs. Product

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

I didn’t get a prompt posted this morning, but I wanted to share some thoughts anyway.

I’ve been reading a little disjointedly lately. Part of it is adjusting to the way my reading time is limited. Part of it is that I’ve been having trouble finding something that sucks me in. But, I recently started a book that I think is going to have a lot of gems of wisdom.

The Hero is You by Kendra Levin is a writing book that uses the mythical Hero’s Journey to help you discover your own writing process. I love that it focuses on process. In my experience, process matters more than product when it comes to a writing life.

Process is what gets you sitting down with words on a regular basis. Process is what grows you. Process is what creates the product.

I was struck by a section in the introduction of this book that I’d like to share with you:

When we ask the writers we admire about their writing schedules, or their processes, or what their favorite cereal is to eat and what time they like to eat it at, what we’re really asking is, How can I do what you do, the way you do it?

But here’s a more important question: How can I do what  I do in the way that will help me do my best work?

I’m interested to see how the rest of this book works through answering this question, because it is intensely personal. I’m hoping for some insights and prompts and questions that will help me to realize parts of my process that I haven’t been aware of yet. I feel like I’ve figured a few things out over the last 10 days of writing regularly, but I know there’s always more.

I think this applies to more than just writing process. While it is often helpful to hear about how other people accomplish things, simply applying other people’s methods isn’t usually successful. You have to understand your own tendencies, which will help you know what methods might be useful to you.

I’ll keep you posted on what I discover about my own process from this book. But as I discover my process, I’m looking forward to creating some excellent products along the way.

Day 9: Fighting Your Demons

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

How to overcome the worry that what you’re writing isn’t worth reading.

 

As I’ve been thinking about this through the day, I realized that I haven’t really been terribly worried about it. I think it’s because I love the editing process. To me that’s where any piece of writing becomes something worth reading.

This is not to say that I don’t struggle with other doubts or barriers to writing. Sometimes it’s the thought that I don’t have anything to say, worthwhile or not. And that mostly comes from tiredness in my experience. When I’m tired, my defenses are down and it is so easy for me to believe that my creations (and therefore myself) don’t have value.

Sometimes, it’s simply the distraction of the Internet. I’ve found and pinned images of many celebrities captioned with something very similar to the Tom Hiddleston one above. I have dozens of articles saved about writing, and heaps of writing prompts. But that’s not actually writing. There’s a Neil Gaiman quote about writing:

This is how you do it: You sit at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve run across that quote and been hit in the face with it. But reading that, and going, Yeah, man, that’s so true, isn’t writing either.

Last week, it was the technology challenge.

I find it interesting that my computer should randomly decide to die midway through such a productive season. I hadn’t really been straining it with anything, just regular Internet browsing and word processing. It hadn’t been giving my any signals of distress or even requests to restart for updates. I just thought to myself, I can’t remember the last time I shut this machine down, maybe I should do that. Famous last words.

Whether you agree or not, I’m choosing to view this trial (there’s a lot of lost documents, pictures, and music, that I’m mourning) as a sign; as kind of a small moment of spiritual warfare. To me, this says that I was on to something good, that what I was  AM doing is important and has value and has impact. That this writing thing is something that the Darkness wanted to stop.

And that’s enough reason for me to forge ahead. There is more than enough Darkness in the world. Even if what I write doesn’t amount to much more than a porch light on a winter night, I’m going to keep letting some Light into the world. You can count on that.

Day 8: Technical Difficulties & Regular Difficulties

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

Hello all! I’m about 2 days behind right now. The other day I decided the shut down my computer at the end of the night, since it had been awhile since I’d actually shut down instead of just letting it sleep. The next day when I booted up, I got stuck in an endless “system restore” loop. My tech support is going to take a look at it this weekend, but right now it’s out of commission.

This isn’t really a valid excuse though, because I have access to several other computers. And I have a nearly endless supply of paper and writing utensils.

And really, the only one who seems to need an excuse for my absence is me. So instead of getting bogged down in the past, I’ll just say: I’ve missed a couple days. And now I am back.

***

There’s a group in Fargo called the Red River Valley Writing Project. Mostly it’s a way for teachers to connect and learn about the teaching of writing. But every year they host a Writing Pub Crawl. And tonight is the event.

(I gotta be honest though, I just stopped and picked up the prompts for this year without actually doing the crawl.)

This year’s prompts are quotes from famous authors with one trigger word pulled out. There are a couple that I’d like to do, but I’m feeling fuzzy-headed thanks to a bad night with the baby. I want to do these pieces well, so I’m adding them to my collection. (I also plan to come back to Day 7’s post, don’t worry.)

***

I’ve been calling myself a writer lately. When people ask what I do, I’m a mom and a writer. I still don’t know exactly what that means, but I’m not sure anyone really does. I don’t know how to get paid to do this, because I’m not exactly sure what this is.

I find it ironic that I’m trying to consistently blog, but I always strongly resist any article or post about “how to blog” or even “how to get paid to blog.” Like I don’t even click them. I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain this reaction, because it’s really intense. I don’t want to know the secret formula.

Maybe because everything I’ve ever learned about writing is that there is no formula. There is no magic way to succeed at this. The magic is, well, actually magic.

At the same time as I want to get paid to write, I also regularly undervalue my own worth. Maybe a little bit of introversion. Maybe some Midwest humility. Either way, I know that I’m selling myself short.

Example: I’ve been looking for a way to work part-time, and pay down some debts. But all I can think of to do is go back to the bookstore. And while working in a bookstore holds considerable appeal, deep down I know I could do more. I just have no idea what that is. What more I want to do. Whether I am qualified to do whatever it is I decide I’d like to try.

I wish I knew how to overcome this. That sounds counter-intuitive, I know. But sometimes you can know something, but still not succeed at it. Like in one of the Princess Diaries movies, the Queen says to Mia, “Can you try to grasp that concept?” And she says, “The concept is grasped. The execution is a little elusive.”

If I know how to overcome some of this negative self-talk and undervaluing, at least I’d have a leg up on accomplishing it.

In the meantime, you’ll find me here. Because I tend to discover new or hidden truths about myself when I just sit down and “type some stuff.”

Day 7: Battle Couples

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

Today I’ll write a scene using characters I’m really familiar with. They are actually part of the novel that’s closest to completion. I mostly need to work on some plot points and pacing, and maybe expand a bit.

This is an action story, but writing an actual battle has always been really challenging. I think because I usually write fiction with a lot of dialogue and it’s hard to do an action sequence that way.

What characteristics would you suggest for a battle couple?

Day 6: Worldbuilding Genre Mash-up

~ Patricia Schnase ~ 2 Comments

Good Monday Morning, friends! Here’s today’s prompt:

Pick two genres and mash them up.

I think there’s been a lot of this in recent years and it’s usually awesome. What two would you like to see combined? SciFi and Zombies? Apocalyptic Romance? Or what about Historical Apocalypse?

I’m using my Faerie/Steampunk novel for this one and working on some worldbuilding. This is a story I’ve already got a few chapters on, but I want to flesh out some of the genre/setting type stuff.

 

So this is a story set in a fictional late 19th century. Traditionally, steampunk has roots in Jules Verne and early science fiction, but it takes technology further than what was available. There are lots of unrealistic steam-powered devices and often lots of clockwork. It’s also generally a good way to empower female characters with freedoms not common in Victorian times.

I’ve also added the world of Faerie. This genre has been especially popular in YA literature lately, and often takes well-known characters like Oberon, Titania, Mab, and Puck for example and puts them into a different setting. I’ve chosen to make the Faerie world overlap the real world.

Blending faeries and steampunk is unique in this case because often iron (and symbolically, technology) are harmful to faeries. I liked the idea of allowing the magical creatures to interact with and enjoy the technology. And it gives me the bonus of augmenting any tricky technological aspect with a boost of magic.

Several steampunk stories I’ve read have included actual people as minor characters, often Queen Victoria, or in Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series, Nikola Tesla. So far, I’ve referenced Tesla and Edison, but I’m considering Arthur Conan Doyle. He’d be a particularly good fit because of the faerie aspect.

In the early 1900s, a series of photographs soon to be called the Cottingley Fairies began to circulate. These photos showed young girls surrounded by what appeared to be fairies of various types. Doyle was particularly enthusiastic about them and believed them to be true. As for how and when I’ll work him into the story, I haven’t decided yet, but it will be fun to allow him to be right in my world, rather than simply ridiculed as he was historically.

Another aspect of this story involves travel in an airship (very steampunk, although mine blends magic with the cogs and gears). I’ve had fun researching fairy stories from different European countries, so that my characters can encounter different types of faeries depending on where they are. I’m also considering an encounter with a Dracula-type vampire in Eastern Europe.

I actually have a fairly decent handle on the mythology of this world. The trouble has been blending it smoothly into the story, so that it’s not just huge chunks of background information. I have lots of places I’d like my characters to travel on their quest, but I’m still working on reasons for them to go from place to place. They’re trying to break a curse, but each destination needs to give them some kind of clue, either to solve the problem or lead them to the next location, or both. That’s the tricky part.

***

In related writing news, I’ve created a story binder; essentially printouts of the three stories I’d like to focus on. I’m working my way through the drafts as they stand and creating my lists, like I mentioned on Day 3. Creating nicely organized lists of what needs doing with enough information about the context and the problem will really help combat the issue I’d been having of wanting to work, but not knowing where to pick up the story. I’ll keep you updated as those lists progress, but I’m still undecided as to how much of the actual stories I’ll share here.

Day 5: Blindfolded, Again

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

So, I don’t really have a prompt for today. I’m just going to jump into the post.

We’ve got a busy weekend ahead of us, and since the baby slept in this morning, I decided to just pick up the Blindfolded piece and see where it took me. I don’t have a clear picture of what this story will be or even really where it takes place, I’m just playing with different scenes and perspectives at this point.

I know that this is a modern story, set in a Genovia-like country (Princess Diaries, if you didn’t catch the reference). I think it will be an island nation that I’ll place somewhere in actual Europe.

This morning I continued from where the earlier scene left off, but from Jared’s perspective. Rose falls asleep and I thought it would be a decent chance to peek at his background and character. He’s some kind of former Special Forces operative, I’ll have to do a little research on which branch. He’s American, which I’m excited to contrast with Rose’s European perspective.

Both characters will probably be late 20s or early 30s. I’d like to keep them roughly the same age. I think it will allow their differences in experience and upbringing really shine.

Anyway, enough ruminating. Here’s a brief scene. There’s never enough time to write as much as I want, so I’m aware that this is quite a short teaser.

***

As she slowly warmed, her body relaxed in my arms, energy and tension draining out of her. Before she slipped and cracked her head on a rock (which would be totally failing as a bodyguard), I lifted her and resettled her between my knees against my chest.

Within minutes, she was asleep, looking for all the world like my four year old niece. Awake, the Princess had a very classy, poised expression. Asleep, she looked vulnerable. Nothing like a damsel in distress to spur the protective instincts.

I propped my head against the wall of the cave, glad that I’d taken this job. Civilian life in America hadn’t suited me well; too calm, not enough structure. Although evading kidnappers before the end of my first week was a little more excitement than I needed, I also knew that none of the other bodyguards on the Princess’s detail would’ve been able to keep her alive. Not that they weren’t capable, but they were too relaxed. Apparently nothing dangerous ever happened in this small island nation.

That and the kidnappers were well trained. Special Forces background, that much was certain, though they were probably mercenaries. They were clearly expecting to deal with one of Rose’s usual bodyguards. Which all added up to a picture of an inside job; she wasn’t going to like that.

I hadn’t been here long enough to get a read on the political situation, and I hadn’t really expected I’d need to. When she woke up, we’d need to discuss who could benefit from killing her. A kidnapping for ransom could be an outside job, but assassination wasn’t likely to be.

I rolled my shoulders and relaxed. Enough thinking, time to rest. The job is simple at the moment, keep her safe. And don’t think about the fact that she’s practically naked in my arms.

Day 4: Back to School

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

“If I could write a letter to me…” -Brad Paisley, Letter to Me

Since it’s back to school season, pick a year and write a message to yourself on the first day of school.

* I’ve never been very sentimental about high school, but I’ve chosen one of those years to write about.

Dear Me at the beginning of Freshman Year (2001),

This is going to be a big year. There will be tragedy and heartbreak, and lots of joy and growth. This year will change you, and you’ll come out better and stronger on the other side.

You’ve probably already figured this out, but your school is remodeling this year. Be flexible, but be careful. And be thankful that although you’ll have three different lockers this year, the combination only changes once.

Nothing I can say will prepare you for the tragedy that will unfold in September. But as you witness history, consider the words of Mister Rogers and “look for the helpers.” Great unity and strength come out of darkness.

Sixteen years later and I still feel unprepared to tell you about first love. Maybe it’s better if I don’t tell you much more than be brave and be you. He’ll like you for who you are. Let the butterflies flutter.

And yet, this first love won’t be your greatest. When the heartbreak comes, draw close to those around you. Take solace in your friends.

Take risks. Tryout for the play. Speak up. Work hard. Be you. As your world gets bigger and you meet more people, you’ll find more who share your interests. You’re not as weird as you think you are. (Well, maybe you are, but there are others who share that weirdness.)

I’m here to tell you that you’ll live a life you can only imagine right now. I’m here to tell you that life goes on after junior high. I’m here to tell you keep writing in that journal.

With love from me to me.

P.S. You are pretty and you don’t need a boy to tell you so.

Day 3: Finishing

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

This is my mental struggle today. Check back later for my thoughts on pushing through to the finish.

And because I know I won’t have THE ANSWER, I’d really love to hear your thoughts about this.

As I was working yesterday on the Blindfolded piece, I felt drawn to those characters. I’m curious what exactly is going on here, who’s kidnapped them and tried to kill the princess? Where exactly is this taking place? Is this going to be a love story? (I think it might be.)

But I’m afraid to let myself start exploring this story/world. I’m afraid to add another unfinished novel to my collection. At the same time, that seems a pretty foolish reason to force myself to resist this story.

The heart of this issue might actually be time. I ran across a quote by Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus (which I LOVE!), the other day. She calls herself a binge writer, since she first started during NaNoWriMo. Although I’ve not ever been successful at something that structured, looking back I notice that my best work has been done when I’ve focused on a single piece consistently over a period of time. My first draft of my first novel came together my junior year of high school.

Maybe that will be the best thing to come out of this 30 day challenge: the habit of sitting at the keyboard daily. It’s honestly unrealistic to expect to just jump back into a story when I haven’t touched it for months. And I think that’s been the cause of a lot of my frustrations lately with writing. I finally give myself an hour and open up a document that already has anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 words and then I expect the words to start flowing.

I’m pretty good at unrealistic expectations.

So the question here is, how to build a better routine? And the other question will be, once that routine is built, what story gets my attention?

I know that three days is not proof of concept yet, but I’ve been enjoying the challenge so far of posting something everyday. The outer accountability helps, but so does the variety of tasks I’ve set for myself. When I start working on a novel, I’m unlikely to be posting pieces of it daily to my blog. (Although, that is an option I could consider. It would be like the old-school serial magazine stories. But I’d want to have edited and polished pieces if that is the plan.)

So, I’ll need some form of accountability. And also the willingness to let some other tasks slide in favor of writing. Or let my need for sleep be shortened in favor of writing. Figuring out how to consistently make writing a priority has been a challenge for awhile now.

As far as what story gets my attention, would it really be that bad to just follow my instincts? At this moment, I’ve got three stories in various stages of development that I’d like to work on. The characters and their challenges have got their claws in me and I’ve got to figure out what happens. I wonder how much structure I’ll need.

Perhaps rather than simply opening the current draft and trying to pick up where I’ve left off, a better method might be creating lists of questions, stuck points, and scene ideas, and using those like the list of prompts I’m working from for this challenge. Sit down everyday and look at my lists. Decide which world, which characters are drawing my attention that day, and work on one piece. It might be pretty disjointed and take some intense editing, but I do really like the editing process anyway.

I spent most of today really struggling with this problem, and in the last 600+ words, I think I’ve hit upon a solution. Funny how putting your fingers on the keys can do that. Sit down and “type some stuff.”

Day 2, Bonus: Blindfolded

~ Patricia Schnase ~ Leave a comment

As I was working on the pirate ship prompt, I couldn’t get this other story out of my head. I started this piece a while ago, so even though there’s way more than 500 words, they didn’t all come out today. I’m pretty pleased with it and if I had any idea what kind of plot was going on, I’d keep at it. Maybe someday

writing prompt 1

“Have you still got your blindfold on?” His voice came from where he was tied up behind me.

“Yes.”

“Promise me you won’t take it off.”

“Okay?” My voice shook and I hated it. A mental breakdown would definitely not help us now.

“You’ll be safer if they don’t think you’re resisting them.”

The engine rumbled and the tires kicked up bits of gravel that hit the sides of the vehicle with a metallic ping.

The driver took a corner too fast and the momentum pitched me across the bed of the truck. I landed against him and he groaned. Blindfolded and with my wrists and ankles bound, I shuffled awkwardly off of him to lean against the side.

“You’re hurt,” I said.

“Yes. Not bleeding, but they beat the shit out of me.” His voice was laced with pain.

“Why?”

“Because I got between them and you.”

“You shouldn’t have.”

“It’s my job, highness.” A smile crept into his voice.

He was new to my security detail, with more qualifications than the others. I wracked my panicked brains until his name came to me. Jared. Clearly the situation was more dangerous than I’d been lead to believe by my advisors.

“And now my job is to stick to you like glue. I’ve got a GPS chip implanted; they’ll find us.”

The truck stopped and I could hear the ocean. Hands grabbed me and yanked me roughly out of the truck. I could hear someone else pulling Jared out too. I stumbled on the rocky ground as I was pulled along.

“Say hello to the fishes, Princess.”

Suddenly I was falling. Instinctively I curled into a ball, hoping not to hit one of the rocks that dotted the coastline. The water was icy. I struggled upward, straining for air. My head broke the surface and I gulped down the salty air. Still bound, the best I could manage was a back float on the waves. I heard a splash and prayed that he’d survived the fall as well.

“Jared!” My voice shook and squeaked. I forced my body to stay relaxed and floating, but I fear coursed through me, chilling me as much as the water. The blindfold was soaked and pressed heavily against my eyes. Suddenly there was a second splash not far to my right. I screamed. Who was throwing who into the water now?

“Princess?” Jared’s voice carried over the waves.

“Here!” I shouted.

“Coming. Hold on.”

A third splash and soon arms came around me. He slid the blindfold off and I blinked the saltwater out of my eyes. The night was black and the lights of the city were too far away to be seen from here.

Jared held me with one arm and sliced the rope around my wrists with a knife.

“What happened up there?”

“Fought them off.”

“Tied up?”

“Don’t underestimate me, princess.”

I shook my head, teeth chattering, as he reached down to cut the ropes off my ankles.

“Can you swim?” He asked.

“Yes. Let’s go.” Fear of hypothermia had me anxious to get to land. Then I remembered that this stretch of coastline was a rocky cliff. We’d have a long way to swim before we could actually get out of the water. I stopped, treading water, and turned to face Jared. “Which way? I can’t climb a cliff.”

“We’ll just find a place to get out of the water. There’s got to be a shelf or even a cave if we’re lucky. We just have to wait for them to track my signal.”

***

I curled tighter wrapping my arms around myself fighting the shivers coursing through me. Beside me Jared cursed and pulled me closer under the Mylar emergency blanket from one of his cargo pockets, trying to share his body heat despite not having any to spare. Swimming and climbing up the rocky shore had warmed me slightly, but now, huddled in the dark sea cave, the adrenaline had worn off leaving me frozen.

We’d taken stock of our supplies earlier: the blanket, our soaking clothes, and the knife Jared had taken from our captors. No way to build a fire, and even if there was, I’m not sure we’d have been willing to risk drawing attention to ourselves.

“There’s nothing else to do, Princess. We’ll be warmer without these wet clothes.”

I nodded. Anything was better than freezing to death awaiting rescue. Shoving out from under the blanket into the cold night air, I quickly shucked off my sodden jeans, socks, and long sleeve shirt. In the process, I realized I only had one shoe. When I turned back, Jared had stripped off his wet things and was waiting, holding up one edge of the crinkly blanket.

He already felt warmer to my touch, and if I’d had any blood to spare, I’m sure I would’ve blushed at the way I plastered myself against him. Survival instincts leave no room for embarrassment.

After a minute, I heard his voice rumble through my ear against his chest, “Any better, highness?”

“I think so.” My teeth had stopped chattering long enough to reply. “Call me Rose. We’ve been kidnapped, nearly drowned, and now we’re wrapped in the same blanket in our underwear. I think that puts us on a first name basis.”

He chuckled and shifted his arms more comfortably around me.

“As you wish, Rose.”