Storytelling vs Writing a Story

Okay, I was in the middle of writing this workshop when we lost Internet last night. Here it is, updated and finished!

I had a student recently discover his inner writer. He's never done particularly well in English class and took Creative Writing only because he needed another English credit for graduation.

But then something clicked inside him when he started to write his character story (you can do the activity here). He got really into it and, on the day it was due, he came to me with a sheepish grin on his face and nothing in his hands. "I don't have it finished," he told me.

When I asked why not, he replied, "Well, you know how you said it had to be a thousand words? I'm at 1500 and I just finished the first chapter."

"Wow!" I told him, knowing that was short for a chapter, but actually thrilled that he was writing so much. "Turn in the chapter and I'll understand it's just a small piece of a much larger story."

He did, then went back to his netbook and continued writing (he's currently up to Chapter 3 and not done yet). I took his pages to my desk and found exactly what I expected: story telling instead of story showing.

In other words: a synopsis, not a written story.

What's the difference?

A synopsis tells the story quickly and without detail. It's often written in present tense and simply outlines the characters and action. For example:

Jerry and Lynn meet at the library when Jerry drops a stack of books on Lynn's toes. It's love at first sight and Lynn suggests Jerry can take her out for ice cream to make up for his klutziness. They have a good time and they end up back at Jerry's place for some hot sex.

See? Short, to-the-point, a simple telling of what happened.

As opposed to:

Jerry hefted the stack of books to be re-shelved  grumbling about the heavy work and little pay. 'Probably should've done this in two trips,' he thought to himself as the stack, the top book balanced against his nose, wobbled in his arms. But then, that would be double the work.

He took the corner too quickly and the pile started to teeter. Moving faster to counteract, he didn't notice the pretty girl sitting on the floor between the shelves until his foot connected with hers. The books toppled like a cascade of water, the pages fluttering like waterdrops around and on top of the head of the cute library patron.

And that only sets up the first sentence of the story telling version!

You see what I mean, then, about story telling versus story showing? When you write, give detail. Give dialogue and include metaphors and similes and all sorts of cool figurative language (which I'll deal with in a later workshop). Expand!

And what's cool about all this? Every one of you can take the three-sentence synopsis and write a different story from it.

I'm not kidding! My two-paragraph story-start is only one way Jerry could drop the stack of books on her toes...or head...or any part of her. There are lots of ways that could happen--and you're going to write your own version in this week's activity below.

Oh, and no, I didn't tell the kid his story was a storytelling rather than a full story. He's having too much fun discovering his new-found ability. The finessing can come later, when he's ready. Right now we're celebrating his inner-writer. :)

Activity

Using the synopsis above, write your own start to this story. Deal with just the first sentence (if the story clicks, feel free to continue into a full-length story. I claim no ownership over the idea!).

Feel free to post your starts in the comments section. Would be fun to see the differences. Just how many ways can we come up with for Jerry to drop those books?

As always, if you find these workshops helpful, please drop a coin in the box to the right or push the button below to make a donation.

Diana
edited to add: apparently the Donate button hasn't been working for a while. It is now! :)

Hip and a hurry

Am posting this quickly just to say there may or may not be a workshop posted tomorrow. As many of you know, I live in the Finger Lakes area of New York State and while I'm safe from the storm surges, we are experiencing very high winds and are expecting power outages. We've already lost Internet connection three  four times in the last half hour.

So rest assured we are fine here, but power may be an issue for a few days. Don't panic. The workshops will resume when the power does! :)

In the meantime, play safe!
Diana

Character "answers"

Congratulations! You just created a character.

I'm not kidding. Those of you familiar with role-playing games (D&D anyone?) know what it means to "roll a character"...well, that's what you just did.

Below you'll find the "answers" to the letters you chose. On your paper, next to the letter you chose for each number, write down the characteristic your person has. Ready?

1. Gender
A. Male
B. Female

2. Skin color
A. Dark
B. Tan
C. Pale
D. Albino

3. Hair color
A. White
B. Brown
C. Black
D. Red-head

4. Hair Length
A. Waist-length
B. Crew cut
C. Shoulder length
D. Mid-back
E. Bald

5. Eye color
A. Brown
B. Blue
C. Green
D. Hazel
E. Black
F. Violet

6. Build
A. muscular
B. skinny
C. athletic
D. plump
E. pear-shaped

7. Personality
A. outgoing
B. aggressive
C. obnoxious
D. pleasant
E. shy

8. Height
A. below 4'
B. between 4'1" - 4'6"
C. between 4'7" - 5'
D. between 5'1" - 5'5"
E. between 5'6"-5'10"
F. between 5'11" - 6'
G. between 6'1 - 6'3"
H. between 6'4" - 6'6"
I. over 6'7"

9. Age
A. 13 years old
B. 18 years old
C. 35 years old
D. 45 years old
E. 55 years old
F. 65 years old
G. 25 years old
H. 30 years old
I. 40 years old
J. 50 years old
K. 60 years old
L. 70 years old
M. 80 years old
N. 90 years old
O. 100 years old

10. Dexterity
A. graceful
B. klutzy
C. can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time
D. average

11. Health
A. alive
B. dead

I'm betting you've created something strange and unique! LOL This is one of my favorite activities to do with a group of writers who are stuck in a rut or who just need a reminder that writing is meant to be fun. And you know what's coming next, don't you?

You got it! Put this character in a situation. Give him/her a problem. Where is he/she? Is she alone? If with others...who? What is he/she doing?

Go for it! Write a scene using this character as your protagonist and remember...have fun!

Characterization Playtime

Today's activity actually takes up two blog posts. Do the test below first, then go to the next post to get your "answers."

No, I'm not going to tell you what you're doing yet. Just grab a piece of paper and something to write with. Then number your paper from 1 to 11 (no, you don't need to skip lines!).

For each of the numbers below, choose one of the letters that is listed after it and record your choice on your paper.

1. A or B

2. A or B or C or D

3. A or B or C or D

4. A or B or C or D or E

5. A or B or C or D or E or F

6. A or B or C or D or E

7. A or B or C or D or E

8. A or B or C or D or E or F or G or H or I

9. A or B or C or D or E or F or G or H or I or J or K or L or M or N or O

10. A or B or C or D

11. A or B

Got it? You picked one letter for each number? Great! Go on to the next blog post!

Diana (who's grinning and having a lot of fun on this side of the computer!)

Point of view, in general

NOTE: This is a larger issue/technique than one post. Look for more on point of view in the weeks to come :)

The Problem:
The first story I wrote, when I started writing seriously, was told primarily from the point of view of the young protagonist in third person limited. As he found things out, we found things out. Simple, straightforward storytelling, right?

Not so much.

One of the hardest tasks of a writer is staying in one person's head. Only one person's. The characters we meet/create often have so much to say, so many comments to make on the action, they all want their chance at the microphone.

Yet, if you give each of them equal time, the story becomes muddied. Just whose story is this, anyway? Who am I supposed to care about more? Why him/her and not this other guy?

When you try to tell too many points of view, a phenomenon known as "head-hopping" occurs. This is where you bounce the reader's focus back and forth between two (or more!) characters without regard as to what's really important.

Take that first, and so far, unpublished, novel I wrote. The story's going along for nearly forty pages in the protagonist's point of view when, bam! There's a paragraph where you hear the inside thoughts and feelings of the person he's talking to and then, bam! Back to the protagonist's point of view for another three pages before, bam!

Classic early writer inabilility to turn to a character and say, "Stop it. Not your turn. Don't care what you think right now. Stop thinking so loudly."

Some solutions:
There are ways to give that other character the stage for a bit, but having them interrupt the main storyteller doesn't work.

Making a point of view shift at the chapter break is best. Consider alternating from one person to another as the story progresses. Romance novels do this all the time where you have two protagonists  one male, one female, and you need to hear from both sides in order for the reader to care about both of them. (edited to add: Didn't mean to be so stereotypical. That's what I get for writing early in the morning before my morning cup of hot cocoa! Of course the protagonists in a romance don't have to be one of each gender!)

Double spaces in the middle of a chapter also work to separate points of view, but be careful here. You can't double-space, write a paragraph from the other person's viewpoint and then double-space and bounce back. That's just head-hopping with spaces.

If you truly need to switch within a chapter, make the break clear and stick with it for a while. The stories I enjoy most are those who give equal pages to the separate points of view. Or close to equal. The hero has X number of pages, the villain has the same number of pages so we know him (or her!) just as well.

Activity

1. Go through your manuscript and look for the head-hopping. Create a secondary file for anyone other than your main storyteller and dump all those thoughts there. You might be surprised to discover you have a companion story developing.

(Anne McCaffery did that with her Pern series. The first three Dragonrider books are told from the point of view of the riders. The next three books, the Harper Hall of Pern books, retell many of the same events at the start, but from the harpers' points of view.)


Soon, writing this blog and telling stories will be my only job in life (yay!). Please consider donating if you find these workshops useful!

Diana

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update

I thank everyone for your patience. It's been a trying week. My father was diagnosed years ago with Crohn's Disease. Last Friday he had a flare-up that required surgery to fix. After three days in Intensive Care, he's now in a regular room but still very weak and in a lot of pain.

It's hard to have to be the grown up for your parents.

Last Sunday I blogged over at the Scribes about keeping the home fires burning while Lynn, Ruby, Tara and Cait are representing us at Romanticon, except I haven't done a very good job of it. Still, I know they're having fun...I'm pretty sure I saw Ruby as a hot pink penguin? :)

Give your loved ones a hug and kiss tonight and tell them you love them. It's not always easy to say the words, but they're always appreciated.

Play safe,
Diana

Sorry...

There is no workshop this week for regulars of the Writing Workshop series. My dad has been taken ill and is in the hospital and I'm afraid this blog has not even been in the top fifty things I have had to take care of.

The workshops will resume next week.

Thanks. In the meanwhile,

Play safe!
Diana

Blogging at the Scribes again :)

My turn this week. Love these ladies. Follow the link to see what's happening...

Play safe,
Diana

How many words?

Kristine Kathryn Rusch got me thinking about approaches to writing. Again. In her most recent post, she stated, almost as a throw-away, that she wrote a million words last year. A million. Words. In a year.

Which, of course, begs the question: How many did I write?

Compared to a professional writer (one who solely makes her living at the writing craft), how do I (one who has a day job that pays the bills and a writing career that, until I read that post, I classified as mid-list. Compared to her and Joe Konrath, however? I’m not even on the same roster) stack up?

I started tallying. For the sake of a full twelve months, I started with September 28, 2011 and counted this blog post (written on September 29, 2012) as my year. I included published stories, unpublished files that go with those stories (the “extra” scenes I cut out as well as my character descriptions), and blog posts, both here and at the Scribes’. I did NOT include anything that I wrote for my day job. The numbers that follow center only on my writing career.

Published stories                                 141,420

Un-pubbed “extras”                                2,459

Stories started but not yet finished         18, 362

Blog posts (here)                                   52,685

Blog posts (Scribes)                                3,655

                                                           218,581 words in a year’s time

Wow.

That number is SO much bigger than I expected. I knew I wasn’t near a million, but to discover I’m only a bit shy of a quarter of a million words?

Wow.

You know I’m a data junkie, yet this was one stat I never thought of keeping, so I don’t know how this past year lines up against previous ones. I suppose I could go figure it out, but the numbers would be approximate since I often start stories and then set them aside for months (sometimes years!) at a time. Besides which, it would take time away from writing, which is, after all, what I really should be doing.

I suspect there are others out there, part-time writers, who write even more words in a year’s time than me. I take my hat off to them. I’m not a nose-to-the-grindstone kind of gal and if I could accomplish this in a year, imagine what you could do if you really tried!

Activity

You guessed it! Go back and total up everything you’ve written since September 1, 2011. These workshops began that month, so anything you’ve written for them counts.

Published or not, you ARE a writer, and that’s worth celebrating. Post your totals in the comments. Come on, show me up!

Diana

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Reading round-up

In going through old blog posts for another purpose (read the upcoming post for Tuesday's workshop), I realized I hadn't recorded what I've been reading since June. And I have been reading. Lots.

I read several romance novels, but, alas, did not record the titles anywhere. I know there was one Nora Roberts and two Jude Devereux though.

I've re-read The Hobbit, several times in the past two months as I'm teaching it. This was the first Tolkien book I read way back in high school. All my friends had read it and they kept telling me how good it was. I remember reading it in the car on the way to a speech tournament (I competed in Dramatic Interpretation). I also remember not liking it at all. I didn't see what the fuss was.

Several months later I read The Lord of the Rings and loved it. He wrote The Hobbit in a very different style than he used for LOTR and I found I liked the adult style much more than the children's story. Re-reading it now, I find I still hold that opinion.

But, as Bilbo would say, The Hobbit is "just a bit of fun." :)

Mostly I've been reading through L.E. Modesett's Recluce series. My husband bought me 15 out of the 16 books in the series, you may recall. I started reading them in the order in which they were written only to discover he didn't write them in chronological order. His official website says they should be read as he wrote them, but I found myself so confused by the jumping around, I've ignored that directive and am reading them in time order as the events occur in the world.

I'm so much happier.

It's pretty obvious why Modesett wanted people to read them as he wrote them, however. His style as a writer grew and got MUCH better as he went along. He stopped writing in present tense and the stories are tighter. Still a little too much repetition for me, but that's probably my own hang-up.

Reading them in chronological order means I skip back and forth in his style. But I'd rather that than be confused as to the story lines. Currently I've read all the books through Natural Ordermage, which puts me at book ten of the sixteen (I don't have Arms Commander which comes in the first ten, so I have only five more to go). Mage-Guard of Hamor is sitting beside me as I type and I might start it later today.

And that brings me up to speed!
Play safe,
Diana

Point of view

How many points of view do you tell your stories in?

Okay, so the grammar police might want to get me on the construction of that question, so let me rephrase: when you write your stories, how many points of view do you use?

I was taught short stories could only reflect one person's point of view. That made sense to me. They're short. There isn't time enough in a story that short to have more than one point of view. As far as I'm concerned, that rule still stands.

But what about longer works? How many points of view are you allowed? Well, that depends. J.R.R. Tolkien has nearly 30 major characters in The Lord of the Rings and, at some point or another, almost all of them get a chance at telling at least a piece of the story. Romances are written from the points of view of both the male and female protagonists; modern murder-mysteries often have not only the detective's point of view, but the murder's as well.

The trick is balancing them all.

Some authors use the chapter break as a point of view shift. Some go so far as to put the character's name as the chapter heading and then further's the plot through only what that character sees at that particular moment. Still others will tell the same event twice, first from one point of view, then, in the next chapter, from the antagonist's side of the story.

Other authors will use spaces within a chapter to denote a change of point of view. I see this a lot in romances (and am guilty of the technique as well). The first half of the chapter will be presented through her eyes, the second half through his (or vice-versa). This works well only if you have two protagonists of equal strength. Favoring one over the other tends to lead to unbalanced storytelling.

What you want to avoid is the malady known as "head-hopping." This is where the point of view constantly changes between and among the characters in a scene. Worse than watching a ping-pong match* the continual back and forth, in and out of character's heads can be dizzying for readers trying to figure out what's going on.

The key with any point of view shift is to make is clear so the reader can follow. It should also move the plot forward, not simply rehash action the reader already knows (my personal pet peeve). Katherine Kurtz published an entire book of short stories culled from the "extras" in her Deryni series. Whenever she had to remove a section because it slowed down the plot, she saved it, then later wrote it as a companion piece to the main story. By the time she was finished with the series (some 12 books in all), she had enough of these cut scenes to make an entire book of short companion stories.

Write scenes from other's points of view, especially if it helps you figure out a plot point or character motivation. In fact, I encourage it. You can find out some really cool stuff about your stories, your style and your characters that way.

But don't become married to those scenes. They might, or might not, belong as part of the larger story you're telling. Be prepared to cut and slash if necessary.

But keep them. Off to the side. tucked in a folder. And later, after the big story is published, pull them out, dust them off and fix them up. Then release them as their own short stories, with links, of course, to the larger work. Companion pieces or enticements, they will not go to waste.

Activity

Keeping point of view as your focus, examine your current work in progress. What character's pov are you in? Are you consistently using that point of view throughout the story? Should you be? You decide then write a reflection in your journal justifying your choices (remember, taking time to reflect on what we do is a part of the craft of writing. It's how we get better!).

Choose one scene from that same work and write it from a different character's point of view. Could be a minor character or the antagonist. Again, your choice. Once you're done, what did you learn? Again, take time to reflect and record your observations.

Enjoy and leave a tip on the way out :)
Diana

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Doing more than seeing the scene

"It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with paneled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats--the hobbit was fond of visitors."

The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

Many artists over the years have found inspiration in those words. John Howe, Alan Lee, Ted Naismith, the Hildebrandt brothers (among others) all painted Bag End in their own unique styles, yet it was Tolkien's words that inspired their imaginations and gave birth to their artistic creations (click on the names to see their versions of Bilbo's home).

This is the writer's goal: to write descriptions so lush and detailed that artists can picture the scene inside their heads and then draw or paint so that you, the writer, could look at their work and say, "Yes! That's exactly what I had in mind!" Then you'd know your writing was successful.

Take a look at the types of words Tolkien used in those two sentences. Adjectives describe some the things of the scene (shiny yellow brass knob, comfortable tunnel, paneled walls, polished chairs), while verbs are used to describe other items (floors tiled and carpeted). He even throws in two similes to help with the image (like a porthole, a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel). The closing image, that of the many pegs for hats and coats, leads to a statement about character: Bilbo likes company.

(Sidenote: notice he also throws an adverb in there (a perfectly round door), a part of speech many writers eschew and for good reason. Still, the judicious use gives a simplicity to the style that fits with the personality of hobbits.).

Note the description does more than just allow us to see the setting, however. It also gives us character clues. In only two sentences (the fourth and fifth of the entire novel) we discover that Bilbo's home is comfortable, neat, clean, smoke-free and has room for company -- a traits that are later reinforced by Bilbo's words and actions. Tolkien sets us up right from the start so his reactions to Gandalf's proposal are not a surprise. We know Bilbo from his home and we understand why he would not want to leave it for "an adventure."

This is what we want to accomplish in our own writing. Descriptions that are clear, yet do more than simply describe the room, the building, the field. Remember, a complete scene has several parts: setting, characters, rising action (what happens later as a result of this scene?) How can you write your settings so that they do double duty and bolster character or plot?

How? By focusing on the specific items that reflect on either. Tolkien chose to describe the door, the hall, the chairs and the coat rack, each of which comes in to play later. He's given us character clues about Bilbo, but also already set the scene for the entrance of both Gandalf and later, the dwarves. That way he's free to simply mention "a tremendous ring on the front door-bell" and we fill in the rest from his previous description.

Activity

You can use either a scene you've already created or write fresh. In either case, you're looking to create a description that either 1) gives us character clues or 2) sets up a later plot point. You're going beyond just describing what's there and giving specific pieces meaning.

A caveat: be careful not to over describe. It is possible to get so lost in the description and in layering in meaning after meaning, that you forget to tell the story. I love Taylor Caldwell's book, but will admit that I often skipped over her very lengthy descriptions because that's all they were: descriptions of setting. I found they bogged down the story and made it lag because nothing was there that moved the story forward. In fact, it was as if the story stopped so there could be description and then, once it was given, the story could move on again.

As you write (or rewrite), be aware that you're always moving forward. You might slow the pace some, invite the reader to linger in a particularly pleasant spot, but you're still planting little gems that will come in handy later. A character point there, a piece of foreshadowing there...all add up to create a beautiful scene that will inspire artists for years to come.

Go write! And leave a tip if you find this useful :)
Diana

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I'm on Itunes!

Did you know you can get my books through Itunes? You can. Just purchase through the Itunes store and download to the device of your choice.

To make it easy, I've included direct links to the books on the Purchasing Info page of this blog (use the tab at the top of the page). Just click on the link and purchase!

Diana

PS. With all the 50 Shades wannabees...maybe people should check out Stress Relief. Talk about being dominated!

Rememberance

Today marks the anniversary of an event we are still trying to understand. Eleven years ago, four planes were taken down on American soil in an act meant to bring us to our knees.

For those who died and for those who still grapple with what happened that day, my thoughts and prayers are with you. May you find the peace you deserve.

For others, this video is one worth watching. It's about the boatlift that occurred eleven years ago today, acts of courage and fortitude that got lost in the many other events of that day.

If you can, take time today and write down where you were, what you experienced eleven years ago today. Where you were, who you were with, what you felt. Record it for yourself and for your family.

God bless,
Diana

Identifying theme

My apologies. My intent was to post this last night, but I fell asleep early. :( With no further ado...this week's writing workshop!

I've done workshops on plot, character (here, here, and here) and setting. But up until now I haven't talked much about theme.

Briefly put, theme is the main idea behind your novel. In the romances I write, it's often that love will conquer all obstacles.

Long works often have more than one theme. While readers expect the hero and heroine to get together at the end of the story (genre rules come into play there), they also expect a deeper story when reading a novel, another layer to keep them interested. Since the Dominant/submissive dynamic is one that fascinates me, the themes surrounding that relationship often show up in my works. How can a woman be a feminist and a submissive at the same time? Where is the line between abuse and BDSM? What does 'total power exchange' mean, anyway? I start with the question and then find the answers as I write. These questions become the backbone of the book's secondary theme.

Activity

Identifying your genre's theme(s) comes first. I mentioned one of the more traditional romance themes above. For a murder-mystery it would be that the criminal must always be caught and justice served. Horror novels center around a particular fear, coming-of-age novels deal with emotional growth, fantasies with what it means to be a hero.

Determine the genre of your story and identify the theme as dictated by the genre. That's step one.

Step two is looking at the particular theme for YOUR story. "Main idea" is, to me, too generic a descriptor for theme, so I tend to phrase my theme as a question that is then answered throughout the book. Identify your central question and you've found the specific theme of your story.

And step three is reading through your book to 1) make sure you've answered the question for the reader through the character's actions and/or through the events of the plot and 2) check your story arcs. Where is the theme introduced? explored? answered? Double-check scenes in the story that don't deal with your theme. Are they really needed? How would the story read if they were removed?

In a short story, you only have time to deal with one theme, so you want the writing to be spare and specific. Longer works often have several themes interweaving at the same time, so when you're doing your re-read for theme, keep that in mind. If you're a pantser like me, you might find you wrote in a whole 'nother theme without realizing it.

Getting an outside view also helps. Beta readers or a critique group will look at the story with fresh eyes and may see things you, the author, didn't. That's a good thing. Use their comments to sharpen the story's theme and bring it into focus for a more general audience.

Theme doesn't get as much press as character and plot, but it serves as the backbone of your story. Don't sell it short.

As always, if you find these useful, use the link below to tip!
Diana

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today's workshop will be delayed

My apologies. Over the holiday weekend I got busy and didn't get the workshop finalized. Will do and post tonight.

:( Diana

We've broken a record!

Long-time readers of my blog know I'm a data junkie. Looking at hard numbers appeals to the left-brained, logical side of me (I do have one, you know!). Every month I record my sales numbers for each book and where they sold the best, then I make charts comparing this year's sales to all the years previous. I know what books have done well (Secret Submission) and what hasn't moved (Timeless Love).

A while back, Blogger started offering stats for the blog. I'd already put a counter from StatCounter on the site, but Blogger's data provides a better overview. I still use StatCounter when I want to drill down and find out things like how long people tend to visit (25% stay five minutes or longer) or what words people typed in to get to me ("diana hunter" is the most popular, although recently two people typed in "nude teachers" and got to my site. Don't ask me how, I've no idea!).

Blogger started collecting hit information in July of 2009 and, in that year, I had an average of 263 hits per month. In 2010, that went up to an average of 320 hits/month. Not great in the world of blogging, but I had a steady stream of dedicated readers and the occasional fly-by, so I was happy. In 2011 the stats went up again, although not by a lot, to 353 hits/month. Steady on!

However, in September 2011, I started the writing workshops and, while they took a bit to get going, they soon started having an impact on my blog hits. Every Tuesday I'd see a spike as people came to try out the new activity, raising the number of hits per month to 477/month for the first part of this year. Three times the blog registered over 500 hits in a months' time and I was thrilled.

Then, early this month, I switched the dianahunter.net address to point to this blog. I never had a good idea if that site was ever getting hits as my webmistress never gave me that info, even when requested. For me, the static website was always a shot in the dark. And the data junkie in me cringed.

Well, now I have an idea of just how many people were hitting that website because August has broken all my previous records, shattering them for all time. In the three weeks both addresses have pointed to this page, there have well over 1500 hits. Yep, that's FOUR digits, folks! I'm doing the happy dance on this side of the computer (be glad there is no video!).

Of course, the big question becomes: does the higher number of hits mean a higher number of sales? That, unfortunately, I do not yet know. The data is still too young. I'm not seeing a huge uptick in my self-published sales, but I won't know EC sales until October's statement. I'm hoping those who are sticking around the site long enough to read the posts are also visiting the Publishing Info tab at the top of the page (it does have the highest number of hits of all the tabs. I told you I'm a data junkie!).

So I'll keep watching the stats (and keep writing the workshops -- they're definitely popular! Although look for some guest posters to the workshops in the coming months) and I'll keep writing the stories, if you keep reading the posts and buying the books!

Oh! And I'll be getting a newsletter out before Labor Day that will have a juicy little surprise in it. Tied to Home is done and if you want a sneak at an excerpt, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter (use the link in the upper right corner of this blog).

That's all for now. Keep visiting and play safe!
Diana

back to school...

The lucky of us never stop learning. The whole world is our school and we revel in learning something new every day. I have a friend who kept a learning journal and, every night before she went to bed, she wrote down what she'd learned that day. What a marvelous way to reinforce your own experiences!

I've spoken before about being a reflective writer. About taking the time to look back on what you've accomplished/learned/experienced and then writing about it. Today is one of those days.

Yes, there is a danger in looking back too often. Living in the past is no way to move forward into the future.

Yet that's not really what I want you to do today. Today (or sometime this week), take a look only at what you've written in the past year. If you've been doing each of these exercises (there are just under a year's worth of them!), pull out what you wrote for each one and read it over again, then do the following:

1. Where do you see growth as a writer? What have you learned to do (or not do?)? Take 10-15 minutes and write down your observations.

2. What is your favorite piece from the year? Why? What did you like about it (be as specific as you can)?

3. Which is your worst piece? Why do you think it is? If you were to give it to someone else to read, would they agree with you?

4. Start looking ahead. What are some new skills/techniques you hope to learn in the coming year?

Enjoy the introspection and leave a tip in the jar on the way out...

Diana

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Finished!

Yipee! Yesterday I finished the first draft of ...my Sweet Spot story. Drat! I still don't have a title for the darn thing, since my current one just isn't working. I have two alternate titles in mind and, if YOU have a preference, let me know in the comments section. They are (in no particular order):

Tied to Home
Homebound

To better help you make a decision, I'm including a little blurb:

After eight years away, Matt Carter doesn't want to go home. Broke, down on his luck and with a troubled past, however, he has no where else to go. What was it Robert Frost said? "Home is the place where, if you have to go there, they have to take you in." So he's back in Port Clef, having no choice but to suffer through a boring summer, working for his cousin and paying off his debts. 

Wisteria Penny Lane has life exactly where she wants it. Her store is in the black, the tourist season is about to start, and she has a best friend willing to get her out of the (literally) tight situations Wiste can tie herself into, even if she can't explain that self-bondage helps her relax, that the lack of movement is actually freeing.

What Wiste doesn't need is for the first boy she'd ever loved to come home again and mess up her ordered life...

I've had a lot of fun writing this novella (who am I kidding? I have fun writing them all!). If I can get this puppy a title, it's scheduled for release on November 1st.  Leave me a comment or send me an email if you have a preference...and feel free to suggest a different one.

Play safe!
Diana

and even more prompts...

Pretty much every one of us has had schooling of some sort. For many, that meant attending a public school each year for a set number of years. We've had all sorts of experiences and went through every emotion possible in those "hallowed halls."

So, in keeping with the start of another school year, today's prompts center in on that setting. Use your own experiences or those of people you know and let the following prompts lure readers back to those school days they've forgotten...

Remember, this is practice and practice is something we should do often. To that end:

1. Choose one prompt as a 5-10 minute warm-up write. Use this time to relax and get your head in the writing game, so to speak.

2. Choose a second prompt for a longer writing, 30-45 minutes. Tie the prompt to a work in progress or start fresh. Be cognitive of the choices you're making as you're writing. Note the techniques you use, the sentence structure, the arrangement of words.

3. Reflect. This is the step we most often ignore and yet it's the step where the learning takes place. After you've done both writings, take another 10 minutes and, in writing, record what you did, how you did it, what you learned, what you need to change either in your process or your writing. Don't skip this step!

Prompts

• Your son or daughter waits for the bus on the first day of school - ever. Determine the age of both the child and the parent and write the dialogue the two have as they wait.

• Your protagonist witnesses a fight at school (but does not become involved). Write a scene where he/she is describing what happened to an authority figure.

• The substitute teacher (whom your protagonist has never had before, nor ever heard of) enters the classroom and begins teaching the wrong subject, or giving incorrect information. How does your character react? How do others in the room react?

• Your protagonist witnesses a bully intimidating another classmate. Your protagonist doesn't like either person involved in the incident. Show the incident through your protagonist's eyes. Be sure to include his/her actions regarding the incident.

• It's time for public speaking! Your protagonist has written and practiced a beautiful speech to deliver before the class. Except he/she has forgotten the written speech at home. It is his/her turn next. What happens?

Enjoy the prompts and leave a tip!

Diana

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