Category: writing

Train, writing

No more excuses…a scary thought

Elodie

I commute. Every day I spend more than 2 hours in public transportation. I mostly can not write in the train because it is way too crowded. However, this will change and I am facing a “no more excuses” wall.

Let me introduce you to “Commuting just became more productive” aka my new netbookIt´s scary but it´s exhilarating at the same time: I invested in my writing. I will also get monthly tickets a tad more expensive that my current ones but which should secure a seat.  I will at least have 4 more hours a week to actually work on my novel (I cannot totally give up on the reading time ;-)).

I have to admit that it makes me a bit anxious, what if I realize that this extra time does not help cos I just get stuck? But as with anything writing-related, I quiet the little worry voice in my head and just take the plunge!

writing

Required reading…

Elodie

Yeahhhh, it´s Wednesday again…my second post for YA Highway Road Trip Wednesday does not make me a pro yet but I´m getting there one week at a time 🙂 This week’s topic: In high school, teens are made to read the classics – Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens – but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curriculums, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?

My first thought was “Wow! So many books to choose from!” My eyes were shining and my fingers were itching to type away…until my second thought stopped me cold “Wow, so many books to choose from…”, my heart started beating faster, my fingers could not find their way to the keyboard…

This is indeed quite an important task. A reading list is not just about reading, it’s about learning, developing critical and social skills (yes I went as far as saying social skills) and to find out more about oneself.

I started to think about the novels on the curriculum in High School for me …more than 12 years ago and I found myself clearly remembering the one I disliked the most: Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (a clear hint for the poll on where I am from which you can find here :-))

I hated it, I hated the fact he was trying to find excuses for his mistakes (society was at fault). And then, it hit me. Yes I hated it but I had feelings towards it, I remember passionate discussions in class or with friends over a cup of coffee. It did fulfil its goals but it was more painful than with the ones I had true passion towards. This is what high school students should read: books they either love or hate but which get them talking and coming back for more.

So how about the reading list I would choose?  I wish students everywhere could discover the joys of classics which open up the mind so there would be some of those (including my favourites: Victor Hugo, Albert Camus, Shakespeare, Homer, Arthur Miller).

Now trying to limit myself to just a very few including some not conventional 🙂

Anne Frank Diary (this one is a must I think)

 Hate List – Jennifer Brown, Go AskAlice- Beatrice Sparks, Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson, Gone with the wind – , The Notebook – Nicholas Sparks

High school students should be encouraged to discover other worlds and themselves through literature, not only how the word itself is constructed…

What would be YOUR list?

writing

Can too much creativity kill…creativity?

Elodie

By the way, as you can see by my drawing, I should stick to writing 🙂

At first, this question may appear a tad silly. After all, don’t we, writers, want all the creativity we can get? Whatever the muse decides to throw our way?

  •  Yes.
  • Definitely.
  • Because we can rely on these little hints of plots, characters whenever we go through a dry spell (and they do happen, don’t they?)
  • Because it may become the next great story.
  • Because we just love those random ideas

However, I am finding myself being distracted by bursts of creativity which have nothing to do with my current WIP and I do not want to start working on something else. My aim is to finish this novel, to finally put the word “end” to a first draft…

I do write these other ideas down briefly to make sure I don’t lose them but it is a bit frustrating to see my inspiration not going the way I want it to be.

I find it more difficult to meet my daily writing goal.  I am going through one of these moments where I believe that everything I write will need to be tossed away once I go through the editing stage because none of the ideas or the scenes are as good as the ones I cannot currently write.

 Now my own little prep talk 🙂

 Luckily, nobody said it would be easy.  I’m up to the challenge because deep down I know that my WIP is worth it…Plus I know now that after this one is done, I will still have inspiration to go on to another project.

In the mean time if you have any advice, feel free to throw them my way…if you want to sympathize, please also feel free to leave a comment (I never say no to some cheering up)

writing

No “Kiss and tell”…but “Kiss and show”

Elodie

For the past two weeks, I have reached my goal of 300 words a day (or more).

The more I write, the more I start to ask myself “is what I am writing actually any good?” This question comes and goes…Here I am not talking about the plot but I am thinking about the intricate delicacy of the writing art.

Right now, my brain focuses on THE question: am I doing enough “showing” or am I way too much “telling”?

I am especially asking myself as part of my WIP is a diary and it requires extra strength to make sure that this part of the novel is not only telling but it also showing.

So for those of you out there who are going through the same as me, here are some of the best articles I have read so far on the subject:

Happy to read your tricks, don´t hesitate to share 🙂

 

Observations, writing

Week 43: Reading, reading, reading…

Elodie

“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of the past centuries.”

Descartes

Commuting means that I have time to read; even if I am standing up I usually have a book in my hand… I have an eclectic taste: I read thrillers, historical novels or biographies (currently devouring everything related to 16th and 17th century France), classics, romantic novels, war novels, YA…I am thinking of writing reviews once a month on this blog on top of my regular posts.

My husband is getting desperate (is there a show called Desperate Husbands? Could be a nice spin-off…note to self: need to stop my mind from wandering while I type)

I usually go through at least 3 books a week. My sister did let him know that I always loved reading. I did immerse myself in Victor Hugo when I was about 7 or 8. As a teenager, I could happily just lay in bed on a rainy afternoon with a novel in front of me (ok sometimes even when it was not raining…I am such a dork)…My husband, on the other hand, mainly reads technical books or biographies and he does not have much time to turn the pages so he does not understand why I buy myself so many books. I am starting to hear regularly “Where are you going to put them?” “Do not dare moving my helicopter!” and does use threats such as “if you don’t (insert verb), I will throw all your books away…”

I thought about buying a kindle but am not ready to give up the feeling of pages turning via my fingers, the weight of the book next to me when I fall asleep dreaming about what I have just read.

I love when I cannot put a book down because I just want to know what happens. As an aspiring writer, this is what I would like for my readership, to be able to take them away for a few hours to a different place, a different time…I even get that funny feeling when I fall in love with a book, one that I know I will re-read in the future because the words have touched me in more ways than one.

Some day, one day…maybe somebody will ponder about my stories…

Happy reading to all!

writing

30000 words and shoes…

Elodie

Second happy post in a row but hey sometimes it´s just a good week or a good day.

I had set myself several happy goals for today:

  • Sit down and write for an hour this morning
  • Pamper myself a bit
  • Spend some quality time with my dear husband
  • Find a pair of black boots (I wore the last ones until its sole had no secrets for me) and maybe a pair of dark brown ankle boots
  • And reach the 30000 words mark on my paranormal YA WIP during the week-end

I am so pleased that I managed all of them: the most difficult one was to find that pair of black boots 😉 My other half may need a medal for coming with me. He did mention though that this was worse than a dentist´s visit…

Reaching 30000 words makes me proud because that means my dedication has paid off even if some days I cannot write for more than 20 minutes a day.  I am one step closer to finishing this novel. My story is unfolding, the mystery is thickening and my MC has a lot coming to her and I cannot wait to put it on paper.

As Scarlett O´Hara said: “Tomorrow is another day” (and I do have to finish writing our wedding thank-you cards…) but for now I am going to cuddle on the couch with a nice cup of tea and indulge in watching some old Friends episodes.

Oh and for those of you who may be interested in shoes, here are pictures of my lucky finds:

writing

Week 41: Happy dance….for others

Elodie

While looking for ways of writing query letters and landing agents (I am still far from that stage but curiosity won over), I stumbled upon success stories in different blogs and forums.

Why did a smile appear on my face when I read what others achieved?

It gave me hope. It is those stories of people who landed an agent, who published their first novels which make me believe that I can do the same.

As my story continues to unravel at my fingertips, there are moments where I doubt that anybody except my unwilling husband, one my best friends and maybe my mom will actually read my work.  Not a lot of people actually know that I write so it limits the possible immediate audience. I am not ashamed of it, I am a bit shy and it is a tad difficult to discuss my YA paranormal novel in a meeting…

Sometimes, it reassures me. After all, who is not afraid of failures? But at other times, I wish that others could learn to know Laura and her story as much as I, that some may enjoy travelling back in time to witch hunts in France and in New England and feel her uncertainties, her desires…

I do not know the people I came across, I do not know their work but I still did the happy dance for them.

http://www.meganshepherd.com/news/?currentPage=3

http://lisachickos.blogspot.com/2011/10/movable-type-management-my-other-new.html

http://peggyeddleman.blogspot.com/2011/10/quotes-and-cookies-agent-announcement.html

http://christinenorris.livejournal.com/284455.html

There are more out there…Not all will become the next JK Rowling but they have made it, they finished their novel, they landed an agent…

I know it is not the end of the work, not for them and not for me. However, it is a step towards the realization of a dream and this makes me happy.

So if some of my readers also have happy news, don´t hesitate to share 🙂

Photography, writing

Because a picture can be worth a thousand words…

Elodie

By what do you get inspired? It is almost like asking: why are you writing?

Sometimes, it is difficult to grasp where the writing scenes come from…

Sometimes one can recognize in the MC´s habits, way of talking some small characters of a loved one, an acquaintance, of somebody from the past or even of oneself.

Tonight, as I was outside looking at the moon reflecting on the water, I wondered what my main character would feel on an evening like this with everything she has been going through…

Is she thinking of Aleksi, the one who not only gives her butterflies but is no longer as mysterious as she first thought?

Is she pondering the words of Ben? Is she wondering what he meant when he said Aleksi was dangerous? How does he even know him? The guy just arrived…

Or maybe she is actually tired of the stupid drama and just wants to figure out why this entity is coming after her and her loved ones, why she has flashbacks from another time and what the heck happened to Marie and Elijah, those girls who are linked to her over the centuries?

As I type this and look at the moon, I know a scene is unfolding, I feel the pain of my character and I just want to tell her “Sorry you have to go through all of this but remember, you have it in your power to make the right decision…this time around”

And if she did hear me, her reply would be “Can´t you be a tad more specific? I mean come on people…I just cannot guess what you think, you need to spell it out for me. I am tired of this!” and she would storm out.

She does have a little temper of her own…(my husband would say I am projecting :-))

writing

Week 40: Finding the time to write….

Elodie

This is not a new topic. After using my friend “Google”, I found several websites/blogs talking about the topic, here are a few below:

http://absolutewrite.com/novels/finding_time_to_write.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Time-to-Write-when-You’re-a-Busy-Mom

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2010/10/how-to-find-time-to-write-.html

http://self-publishingresources.com/2011/01/28/time-management-how-to-find-time-to-write-your-book/

http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/startingtowrite/tp/TimetoWrite.htm

Commuting does not necessarily making it easier to write…sometimes I am not seating, sometimes I am self-conscious about the person sitting next to me and sometimes I am too squeezed between people to actually write.

I agree that it is not always easy to find time for oneself even for something one loves to do and I would dare to say that all writers love to write. They get the urge in their fingers to tell a story.

Yes writing can be difficult, yes sometimes we want to throw our computers across the rooms and sometimes we want to ask our main characters “why are you doing this to me?” but we still love it.

For me (the commuting girl without any children but a long day at work and a long commute and a dear husband I want to spend more time with…and the family/friends I want to keep in touch
with…and….and….and….) the best advices I should pay attention to are the following:

  1. Always carry a notebook with you, you never know when you may  have the time to just put down some ideas (waiting at the doctor’s office, having coffee, having lunch…)
  2. Schedule time to write (but make it realistic). If you need a least a few hours of sleep every night do not schedule it so early in the  morning that you cannot do it. Why not use your lunch break twice a week to actually go out and eat a sandwich while typing or stay at your desk  with a notepad?
  3. Set yourself a realistic goal on how many pages you want to write per week
  4. Take a look at what you can cut: do you spend some time watching a show when you could be writing?
  5. Important: keep writing fun even with when it becomes cumbersome; do not beat yourself up if you do not reach your goal (see 3).
  6. Turn to writing communities: you are not alone with this! I joined Absolutewrite not too long ago and just reading that others are going through the same thing as I am is helpful.
  7. Be thankful for what you achieve and for the small things

I know I am very lucky because of the support I receive at home:

A dear, wonderful husband who understands my passion for writing, who lets me write while he sometimes cooks on week-ends and who pushes me a bit (sometimes I think he pushes me too much but I recognize it is because he wants the best for me….pshhhh don’t tell him otherwise he will think he is perfect)…