Renee is Writing

In two days National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo as it is affectionately called) will begin. The objective is to write 50,000 words of your novel's first draft in thirty days! Now that's what I call a challenge. I've attempted this before and chickened out at the last minute for a variety of reasons but this year I intend to stick to it and "win" by getting those 50,000 words written. So how does that happen? Here's where a brief discussion of plot comes in. There are two major categories of novelists--those who meticulously outline every scene and character (outliners) and those who begin with a vague idea and then just write by the seat of their pants (pantsers.) Of course there are a hundred variations and combinations of the two and each writer must decide for herself which system works best. I have always been a pantser--just taking an idea from the universal ether and running with it. While this works for many writers, and has worked for...

I do admit that writing and preparing poems and short stories for a collection was hard work. It involves writing enough of each to actually make up a whole book. Then it involves revising each until it's as perfect as I can get it, which doesn't necessarily mean perfect-perfect. Then I needed to submit poems and short stories to journals because having a few already published heightens the attractiveness of a collection for editors. I liked writing short pieces and I lowered my standards, constantly telling myself that with a full time job I didn't have time or energy to write a whole novel, let alone revise it enough times to make it palatable to editors or agents, or even to myself or members of my critique group. So I gave up the idea. But now I have come back to it. My dream, ambition, goal is to be a published novelist and so the hard work begins. I cannot use time or lack of energy as an excuse anymore. I have to knuckle down and do the work. Over the past ...

So I haven't posted in several days but that's because I've head four and five day weekends and have been diving deep into my novel. Finally I have focus. I have stored away art books and supplies, cleaned up my writing desk and computer desk and put poetry aside for the time being. Looking forward to National Novel Writing Month in November as well as my critique group's twice yearly retreat, I am pumped to get this first draft finished. I will do it this time, no matter what obstacles get in my way. Because they aren't true obstacles to writing a novel, just challenges to writing that test my commitment. I have 43 pages so far and most of my important scenes sketched out. I have my characters down including images I found online that give me visuals. And not just character visuals but pictures of their homes too. I know my main character's goals and obstacles and the subplots of other characters. This is very exciting. Writing a novel is a journey I'm ...

I lie in bed as the dawn's silver light slips under the window blinds. I am between sleep and waking, that treasured cocoon that seems to give birth to myriad story ideas and character creations. Dragging myself out of bed I head to my writing desk and open my spiral notebook to a fresh page. That's when the voices begin to hum; "you can't write a novel" "you don't know what you're doing" "you'll never get published, go back to sleep, don't waste your time" "look at that subplot, it sucks" Then new voices slip in between; "come on you can do it" "just keep your butt in the chair and the pen moving and you'll get it done" "don't quit" "four pages a day and you'll be done with a first draft in no time" Then; "who do you think you are calling yourself a writer" I tell you it never ends. One minute on top of the world and the n...

Meghan stared at her twin sister's pale and lifeless body through a haze of tears. Beneath the white hospital blanket Meredith's slim body was still, so unlike her usual exuberant and hyperactive personality. Had it only been six hours ago that Meghan had left left her sister alone on their sixteenth birthday? Had it only been this same evening that Meghan had chosen her friends over her family? What if she had stayed around? Would Meredith still be gone, or would Meghan have averted this successful attempt at suicide? Meghan reached beneath the blanket and removed the silver ring from Meredith's hand. She slipped it onto her own ring finger along with her own matching ring. Meghan's parents had given her and Meredith identical rings, two slim silver bands twined together, for a sixteenth birthday present and to honor how alike the girls were. I failed you, Meghan whispered to herself. I can't bring you back, but somehow I promise I will find a way to redeem my ...

Wow! Here is is two weeks after I posted "Day One" and I haven't blogged since then. But I must tell you I am making progress on the novel. I gathered together what I have so far and done some revision. I brought a new chapter one to my critique group, "Tapestries" and incorporated some of their fantastic suggestions. I am now revising the prologue, to deepen it, and make it fit with this new draft. I must say I am getting lots of help and motivation in writing this novel from Martha Alderson's book "The Plot Whisperer Book of Writing Prompts." The book assists in writing a novel by providing a daily dose of motivation, a hint about plot development and a specific plot prompt that gets your novel's draft moving along. Though most of my story is written and the ending is in my head, I find these prompts help me write my novel by keeping me on a daily writing regimen that helps me get to know my characters better, build backstory that I need to...

Despite the fact that I began this novel in 2009 and have already written partial drafts of three different versions, I am beginning anew today. Writing a novel takes hard work, inspiration, time, a good plot, engaging characters and lots of surprises and twists. Without those ingredients in your novel writing stew it won't work. So taking what I have from the latest iteration of this novel--which is 43 pages-- called "Safe Places" I am basically starting from scratch. And if writing a novel is like preparing a stew then before you cut up and blend the ingredients you have to get the ingredients. I am following these steps in the first stage of writing this novel. read the first chapter that was already written and revised it to make it stronger and have it make better sense went online and found images of people to represent the characters in the book and added them to the character section of my novel writing workbook created a new story blueprint to solidify t...