Tag Archives: literature

A Day to Write

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Yesterday was great.  There were eleven of us at the poetry critique this month.  I got a lot of great feedback. Every time I go to one of these things, I figure out what I need to work on.  Coming away from this one, I found two things that I need to work on: Metaphor and Line Breaks.  I was actually quite surprised at the power of line breaks within poetry.  When I reworked my poem today, that was my main focus.  As I write more in the future, I need to work on creating metaphors.  I’m so used to writing stories straight out that I’ve never developed that aspect of my writing.

Wednesdays are a good day to write for me.  I get my normal writing in during the day.  I’ve already reworked a poem and I’m preparing to write more on my novel.  The thing is, my roommates hold a gaming night on Wednesday Nights.  It’s usually reason enough not to be around the house for a couple hours.  That means I’ll have another writing session later today.  My goal for today is to reach 60,000 words.  I am racing towards the end.  I can’t wait to have this rough draft done.  Then I have to make a decision on whether to edit on the computer or on paper.

Fell free to read The Wailing Wall again.  I think the changes made it significantly better.

The Wailing Wall
I wrote this poem following a bad breakup.  I tend to allow my mind to wander…and that usually leads to worst-case scenario thoughts.  The combination led to this poem.  It sat in a folder for more than a month.  I rewrote it twice and finally like it.

With Love,
Richard

Poetry Critique

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Along with my friend–Jordan–I attend a monthly poetry critique.  I’m a bit nervous.  This is our second month and the first time that I will be sharing a piece.  I decided to use “The Wailing Wall” for my piece–partly because it’s short and partly because the others are extremely personal.  I hope to gain a better grasp on how to develop my poetry through these work sessions.  I’ve already done pretty good by writing more often.  Getting the input of other poets will be priceless.

I wrote 1,300 words today.  I ended up combining two chapters into one.  Now I’m getting a little worried that by word count will fall short of 70,000.  Although this isn’t entirely a bad thing, I would really prefer it to be in the golden range of 70,000-80,000.  I do have a short list of extra scenes I could include if I need the content.  I might have to end up using it.  None of them are fluff–I just wasn’t sure how to include them initially.  The editing of this book will be complicated anyway.  I might as well make it even more complicated…right?

With Love,
Richard

Closing Action

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I have about 15,000 words left to write.  Considering I am hitting the final climax over the next two chapters, my closing actions will be about 10,000 words.  I’ve never really thought about this before.  How much closing action is too much?  How much is too little?  In my first two novels, I didn’t think about this much because they were part of a trilogy.  With my third novel, everything was quick so I did the same with the end.

I hate making things back and white.  I know that the outline I have is perfect to conclude this story.  But, as I look at the numbers, I wish the concluding action wasn’t 1/8th of the novel.  I won’t honestly worry about it until I get there.  Too often do I think about the numbers then I realize that certain chapters will be twice as long as others.  I’m just thinking about too much, I guess.  I just need to write, write, write, and wrap this thing up.

Much Love,
Richard

Finishing in Style

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Most writers have a certain scene stuck in their head when they write.  I know I do.  I feel compelled to write because I can see certain parts of my story so clearly.  I know exactly what needs to happen before I can write the scene that I’ve thought about for weeks.  Sometimes it is the beginning of the story.  Sometimes it’s a random part.  Sometimes it is the climax.

I had four of those scenes stuck in my head when I started this project.  Now that I am in my final two weeks of writing, I have written out three of those four scenes.  Nothing is more satisfying that being able to write out a scene in such a way that gives it justice.  It’s a surprisingly hard thing to accomplish.  Sometimes these scenes have been in my mind for years.  When you finally write it out, you don’t want to get a detail wrong.

Damn.  Writing with passion complicates everything.  Hmmm…sounds about right.

With Love,
Richard

50,000 Words in 33 Days

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I have hit 50,000 words in what will be my fourth novel.  Of late, I have done some research and determined that it will fall under the “Commercial Fiction” section (although that section is rather broad).  With 20,000-30,000 words left to work with, I can feel the end of the story building up.  All the characters are in the right spots.  The storyline has progressed beautifully.  I don’t think I’ve even been so happy with my own story before.

Considering I did not have an extensive outline as I wrote this book, I know the edit job will be a bit of a a hassle.  I am already making note of a few of the problems that I have created.  Some of them will be annoying.  Others will be easy.  I’m just glad that it doesn’t bother me all that much yet.  When I was younger, I used to not be able to move on until I took care of every problem in the story.  It’s the main reason why I never finished anything when I was younger.  It’s fascinating how much progress you make in your own writing style with each and every piece you produce.

Much Love,
Richard

Dilemma: Writing & Working

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A couple weeks ago, I watched “Girl, Interrupted.”  In the movie, they ask the protagonist what she wants to do with her life.  Her response: Write.  The reaction is one that many writers know well.  There are blank stares and then the inevitable question.  “What’s your backup plan?”  Few non-writers understand the mindset of a writer.  We writers may do something else to make money.  That is not who we are.  We are writers first.

I have built a life that allows me to focus on my writing.  It is something I hope to maintain for years to come.  With my Bachelor’s Degree, I am able to substitute teach whenever I want for decent money.  With cheap rent and a cheaper lifestyle, I honestly don’t work very often.  I do, however, write at least three hours a day.  It’s difficult to build a lifestyle that allows you to be a writer first.  If you are able to accomplish it, it is well worth it.  I encourage all writers out their to honestly sit down and think about their priories.  If you can put writing first, you should.

I’m about to hit another major milestone in my novel.  More tomorrow.

Much Love,
Richard

Final Chapter Outline

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I finished the second climax of the novel today.  It puts me past 45,000 words.  When I finished, I realized how barren my outline was for the rest of the novel.  Just a few points here and there. I spent a great deal of time finding historical references to make the final 25,000-35,000 words realistic and fascinating.  I think I spent more time outlining than writing today.  But I am in luck.  The final outline is complete.

With this novel, i have accomplished several goals that I have aimed for.  One: I am writing something I would love to read.  Two: I have a stroyline is not linear throughout.  Three: Love is not the central theme.  Four: Only a single character contains characteristic similar to me (and he actually isn’t involved in the story itself).  All in all, I feel like this novel is my most successful one yet.  And I haven’t even finished it.  I still predict that I will be done before the end of May.

Writing through Thick and Thin

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It’s been an up-and-down couple of days.  I spent the entirety of yesterday in Denver, thoroughly trying to enjoy myself.  Unfortunately, sheer tiredness and memories made it almost impossible to enjoy myself.  Luckily, I was able to channel that negative energy into writing and a bit of reading.  I’m gearing up for writing again today.  I hope to channel it once again.

I finished reading “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” yesterday.  I am taking a quick detour with “Looking For Alaska” by John Green before finishing off the series later this month.  The writing style in The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo was incredible.  I loved the storyline even though I don’t care much for mysteries.  I guess when you can write, it barely matters what genre you write in.  One day I hope to be able to do that.  It would be incredible to build up such a craft that I could bring any genre to life.

Some day…

Peace Corps & Poetry

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Within the next 24 hours, I will send in my medical review for full entry into the Peace Corps.  It’s been a long journey already–simply filling out the paperwork.  After tomorrow, however, it is all in the hands of the government.  In the months ahead, I’ll learn where I am going and when I leave.  It is going to be a 27 month endeavor.  I can’t wait to get started.

I hope to finish as much as possible before I leave.  I will finish this novel before the end of May.  I hope to also edit all four of my novels until they are ready for publication.  If I get to that point, I will let everybody know and present a link to get a severely discounted copy.  I should be able to get all of them done so long as I don’t get called into early duty (which I wouldn’t mind).

While in the Peace Corps, I hope to still have electricity.  If I do, I will continue to update this website with writing.  If I don’t, I will only be able to update periodically when I get access to a computer.  Either way, I will be writing a lot while serving.  Who knows what will come of this adventure.

A poetry update today…

Young Darling
While substituting in an Art Class, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two third graders.  The conversation was so fascinating, that I needed to write about it somehow.  This is a lighthearted poem.  It is also my first attempt at rhyming poetry.

Multiple Climaxes?

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With the end of today’s writing, i have entered the core climax of my novel.  With a minor outline through the end, I find that my story will have three climaxes.  A small one at 35,000 words.  The major climax at 50,000 words.  A medium-sized climax around 65,000 words.  I am writing this story under the idea of “write what you would read.”  None of my favorite novels have a storyline shaped like a bell curve.

So, I can’t help but ask: how many climaxes?  Is there a certain formula that works for most stories.  Or does each story need to be taken on a case-by-case basis?  I know certain things don’t work.  I don’t like books that don’t have a true climax or only have one real climax.  Is there a limit to how many?  If so, what is the range?  I’m going to be thinking about this one in the months ahead as I continue to read random books.  Anyone have any ideas?

For the first time in a while, some actual writing.  Here is a poem:

The Wailing Wall
I wrote this poem following a bad breakup.  I tend to allow my mind to wander…and that usually leads to worst-case scenario thoughts.  The combination led to this poem.  It sat in a folder for more than a month.  I rewrote it today and finally like it.