Tag Archives: writing

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.

Outlining versus Free Writing

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When it comes to short stories and novels, I’ve always had trouble with the question of free writing versus outlining.  In my first two novels, I outlined them to death.  One of the reasons I have problems with them is that over-outlining lead to less of a realistic flow.  A good flow comes building a good base to your story and building realistic characters.  Then you set them free.  The magic happens when you let them do what they would normally do.  You no longer control them.  They are their own person.

However, such free writing is often difficult.  If you don’t set up “checkpoints” for how far the story has to go in a certain amount of time, it will lead nowhere.  I think I have found a good in-between with my new novel.  In no way am I outlining the piece to death.  At the same time, I am putting together the right amount of checkpoints.  I know that these checkpoints cannot be the end-all.  Everything must be flexible.  Otherwise you are trying to stuff a story into a box that it should not fit in.

I’ll try to have a poem or flash fiction piece for you tomorrow.  And yes, I did reach my 2,000 word goal for today.  I also extended the outline toward the finish line.  The end is within reach.  I can almost taste it.

Writer’s Block in the form of a Head Cold

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Today is the first day since I started writing my new novel that I haven’t written.  I felt sick most the day.  Then I spent three and a half hours on my dream-job application.  After trying to rest, I went to see a movie with my friends.  Suddenly it’s eleven at night.  The day just ran away from me.  Luckily I am at a change of pace in the novel.  This rest might be exactly what I need to clear my mind and start anew.

I have a lot of free time tomorrow. My plan is to write at least 2,000 words tomorrow to make up for today.  Today wasn’t a total waste.  The second half of the novel is complicated enough that I’ve spent several hours trying to work out specifics.When I sit down and write tomorrow, I hope to knock out some of the final kinks.  I am so tired.  It’s time for me to go pass out.

Until tomorrow.

36,000 Words in 22 Days

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Things have settled down considerably in my life.  I am getting used to a house with only two roommates.  There are only a couple weeks left in the semester for them.  I have about a month of possible subbing until the district is out.  I can feel summer hiding around the corner.  And it sounds like we are going to be able to start it off with a kick-ass party.  I feel like I can let out a sigh of relief after hold my breath for far too long.

One of the reasons I like writing quickly is that the tone of a story unintentionally changes when your life changes considerably.  So, as my life changes, I find myself grateful.  I am at the exact middle of my novel.  I knew I wanted this to be the point in the story that everything shifts gears.  Today, I completed the first part of the story.  I wrote a miniature outline for the second half.  It’s going to be a different style and probably more difficult and technical to write.  I almost feel lucky that this is coinciding with a major change in my life.

In honor of my favorite genre, I present you with two influences from the realm of dystopian novels.

The Hunger Game Series by Suzanne Collins
I first read this book in the Fall of 2011.  I heard a few people say it was amazing and realized it was going to be turned into a movie.  I ended up picking it for a new book club.  I didn’t even realize it was dystopian until I started reading it.  I was utterly blown away.  Collins created a beautiful character in Katniss and found a way to end a series that even the like of J.K. Rowling couldn’t achieve.

The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld
Another young adult title, but incredible nonetheless. So many dystopain novels are built on the idea that our current world will fail, but the people of the future will still have access to our technology.  The mixture is frightening yet incredible to read.  No one does this better than Scott Westerfeld.  The world he creates (read all four) is unlike anything I have every encountered.

Writing Without Wisdom (Teeth)

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I went into the dentist today to deal with a few cavities.  They ended up telling me that it would be safer to remove my wisdom teeth than to put fillings in them.  A few minutes later, my first wisdom tooth was being extracted with pliers. Fun stuff.  It’s more than six hours later and the last of the numbness is finally fading from my face.  I can finally eat and taste things again!

I was worried that the dreariness of the antithetic would stop me from doing my thousand words today.  As the numbness started to fade, however, I decided to go to my coffee house anyway.  That was two hours ago and I just finished pumping out 1,700 words.  I’ve never been this dedicated to writing.  Off days don’t stop me.  Full days don’t stop me.  Surgery doesn’t stop me.  This is my 18th day of writing and I just passed the 30,000 word mark.  Only 40,000-50,000 words to go!

Today, I present a couple more movies that inspire me.

American Beauty
This is probably the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen about the internal plight of every human being.  What I especially like about this movie is that it means something different to me each time I watch it.  No matter the message, it is always profound.  I want to be able to produce something this subtle and beautiful.  A story without at least a hint of the human condition isn’t worth it to me.

Remember Me
This movie is on my list for several reasons.  For one, I love the characters.  The character that Robert Pattinson plays is absolutely incredible.  The other aspect I like is the hidden storyline.  I am a junkie for twist endings.  However, I know they cannot come out of nowhere.  Remember Me is genius in it’s placement of subtle clues.  Even if you do realize what the twist is before the end, the tension will make it impossible to look away.  I need to learn how to do this.

Writing on an Off Day

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I am having a bit of an off day.  I know I should have accepted a substitute position today, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  My mind is throbbing with anxiety and fear.  I waited all morning for a call about a loved one’s surgery.  Finally I got it and felt relieved.  Now, I am without a schedule and wish nothing more than to be at work rightnow.  Instead, I am at my coffee shop–working on this and that.

Luckily, the knowledge that the rest of my week is scheduled puts me at some ease that today is open.  I spent my morning updating this and that.  I read a bit as well.  With all these petty assignments down, I can focus on the main attraction.  I need to pound out at least 1,000 words on my novel.  I guess I might as well get started.  Here is a poem for all my readers.

At the Base of the Waterfall
One of my favorite hikes is to a place called Horsetooth Falls.  The trail winds through a few valleys and ends in this beautiful little pond.  I rested at the waterfall for a while during my most recent hike and wrote this.  I am practicing being concise and reading my work out-loud.  I hope it works.

1,000 Word Minimum

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Today was the first warm day in awhile.  I spent the first part of my day hiking in the mountains.  I wrote a piece of poetry up by the waterfall that I hope to upload in the next few days.  I love the feeling of completely exerting my body.  Afterwards, I came to my coffee shop to write.  The coffee never tasted so great.

Today is my 16th day of writing my new novel.  Take a look at my daily word totals:

8 April 2012: 600 Words
9 April 2012: 2,700 Words
10 April 2012: 4,300 Words
11 April 2012: 4,800 Words
12 April 2012: 8,700 Words
13 April 2012: 9,900 Words
14 April 2012: 10,700 Words
15 April 2012: 11,600 Words
16 April 2012: 13,800 Words
17 April 2012: 15,900 Words
18 April 2012: 17,500 Words
19 April 2012: 20,000 Words
20 April 2012: 21,100 Words
21 April 2012: 22,100 Words
22 April 2012: 25,300 Words
23 April 2012: 26,200 Words

I am now squarely in the second third of the novel.  At this point, I will not let myself stop until I finish.  I have decided to implement a 1,000-word minimum rule.  Even if my day is packed, I will schedule time to write and pump out 1,000 words.  I am so thoroughly enjoying where I am in the novel that the past few days have had a few 2,000-word writing binges.  Whatever it takes.

Today’s update includes musical influences.  I always listen to music while I am writing stories (not poetry).  I listen to music mainly for it’s lyrical content, but I won’t deny that it needs to sound good.  Some music, although not much, I listen to remind myself of certain ideals and to rejuvenate my mind.

Flobots
This band is probably the most influential band I have ever listened to.  Their music is political and angry in nature.  I have been to two of their concerts and was completely blown away by their talent and passion.  Nothing moved be more than when thousands of people screamed as one the lyric, “We the people did not want war.”

Air
I first came across Air while listening to the soundtrack to my favorite movie: Lost in Translation.  I borrowed one of their CD’s from the local library and was in awe of their originality.  For my most recent novel, their Talkie Walkie CD is almost always on in the background.  They are well worth a listen.

Early to Write

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I woke up early on a Sunday so that I could get to my coffee shop by nine in the morning.  Now it is ten in the morning and I have already written 1,000 words.  I used to call myself a nighttime writer.  I know I enjoy writing overnight, but that is far to limiting.  If I can control my schedule so that I write every single day, i shouldn’t matter whether it is dawn, dusk, noon, or midnight.  I just need to write.  I finally teaching myself this lesson.

I hope to get past 25,000 words today.  With a goal of 70,000-80,000 words, that brings me to about a third.  The novel is on pace to fall within that range.  I have several spots in my mind where this story could end.  Once I’m within the range, I’ll have to pick on of those points and go with it.  In all my years of watching movies and reading books, I’ve come to find that that best stories don’t really have an end.  The best stories are snapshots of a people’s lived during interesting times–while acknowledging that there was plenty that came before and plenty still to come.  I intend on incorporation that idea in my novel.

Time for some viral videos…

There is a moment when near future technology suddenly become present-day technology.  That moment, when you realize what you world is capable of, is one that I will always try to capture in my work.  That moment of complete awe and envy is a strange emotion that we all feel all too often now.  It’ll only get more and more intense over the decades.

If you haven’t caught the theme yet–I am addicted to near-future technology.  This video depicts the sunny side of the near future…but I still can’t look away.  Having a fully interactive world is something that I can’t entirely wrap my head around.

Write Every Single Day

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Today was full of events.  We went up to the mountains as a family to celebrate my niece’s birthday.  Still, I found the time to write.  Even if it was only 1,000 words, I have found just how important it is to write every single day.  I am now at 22,000 words and am loving where the novel is heading.  When my schedule opens back up (likely tomorrow), I suspect that I will write a huge amount.  Nothing is better than seeing a novel take on a life all its own.  This is why I write.

I went to a poetry slam that got canceled last night.  I spent some time with the organizer and realized I really need to try slam poetry.  I may look into a way to record myself and upload the poetry onto this site. More on that later.  In the meantime, some more “Influences.”  This time, in the form of books.

Feed by M. T. Anderson
Near future literature is unbeatable.  Feed is the untilmate warning to the future of technology.  Almost weekly, I stumble across a news article that reminds me of something from this book.  Anderson did his research.  The future of our world will be incredible, but impossible moral questions are waiting to jump up just around the corner.  I want to be able to form a story the way Anderson is able to.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy
I have never finished this book.  Both times that I tried to read it were interrupted by school work.  I plan on reading it later this year.  Nevertheless, it has already influenced me greatly.  McCarthy is the author who made me realize you need to find your own style of writing.  While exploring that, I realized that stream of consciousness is how I need to write.  Following the norm is almost never the way to go.

20,000 Words

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I should hit 20,000 words today.  That’s 12 days to write more than 1/4 of the novel.  Yet again, I am only getting faster.  The beginnings of the story are entirely set up and I am hitting the stride of the plot.  I hope to write at least 3,000 words today (1,000 are already done and I still have an hour before I have to report for work).  Considering I am not doing much other than writing this story, I am going to use these days to build the “Influences” section of my website.  Today I will start with two movies.

Lost In Translation
This movie has long been one of my favorites.  I saw it with my father when I was a teenager.  It stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson (before she was famous).  This movie holds a beautiful balance between plot and character-building scenes.  The development of romance is impeccable.  I hope to be able to write like this some day–holding onto tension to build romance and allowing for the plot to flow freely.

Children of Men
Another one of my favorite films–but for vastly different reasons.  I love near-future fiction.  If you have never visited FurtureTimeline,com, it is well worth the visit.  Anyway, the important thing to remember in near future fiction is that you can only account for certain details.  Certain inventions, disasters, or events cannot be predicted.  Children of Men not only takes this into account, but makes it a central theme–creating a semi-dystopian society in the process.