WIP or RIP

 

Every single time I see, hear or write the acronym WIP, my naughty mind takes me into one of my stories.  Shame on me… LOL

What we are really talking about today is when should your work in progress live in the annals of history.

(I know; I just can’t help myself…)

When I converse with people and tell them I have written over thirty novels they just look at me with a blank stare.  Truth told I am not sure how many there are, more than thirty.  Much like my first painting, I cannot tell you how many I have created and where they all are.  I have sent many to people in countries who like what I do.

Like a painting, when a story is not working, what do you do?

I know many of you who will read this and disagree with me, but…let it age, or let it die.

Shitty First Draft or SFD

Folks, much like an underpainting, you have to get the SFD completed first.  The SFD is the bones or frame of your story. It is indeed the foundation, and without it, you are nowhere.  I hold myself out as a pantster.  I write stream of conscious.  Much like this blog today, I am not creating it from some whiteboard full of talking points; I am in fact having a one-way conversation with you, my loyal followers.

This conversation today was inspired by a lovely young woman who I met this weekend. She was discouraged by some toxic mean B!

I, as an unbiased sounding board, listened to her story idea and tried to figure out why some ‘mean B’ would shoot her down like that.

This person has been working on her story for fourteen years.

I worked on Under Roswell on and off for four years.  I did not, however, work on it with the alacrity that I work on my current projects.

Firstly my friends, never just shut someone down unless you know them very well, and know that they will accept your advice as heartfelt and not some attempt to boost your own ego.

Writers, I would not share your WIP for critique until your SFD is finished. The story, characters, and world are yours.  If you seek input from others, your story, is no longer just yours, is it?

This is a double-edged sword.  Many times you can get stuck, and it comes to this elaborate flow chart.  Through one end of the flow chart, you have a novel that goes off to the publisher, the other is the toilet. (keeping the SFD metaphor.)

What I am telling you is add a third option, that being a dark closet where it can take on a life of its own.  I find when I am not thinking about it, and doing something, usually art; the characters come out and want to play all of a sudden.

It has a lot to do with Theta waves and the way our brains work, but, here is the biggie.  Don’t stop writing while your characters are off copulating or chasing unicorns.  Let it rest and start another.

I currently have a half dozen wips… (lol, so naughty,)  and what am I doing?

Instead of pulling them out of the sandpit on some forsaken planet, I am offering sage advice to you!

If the wips don’t hit their intended target… (damn I am wicked) and they grow stale; they just might die a silent tragic death.

If you want to scare your characters into behaving, hit file save, close, and then new.

***

The path, overgrown with brambles tugged at my skirt as I passed by.  The wind blew the brightly colored leaves which reminded me that a storm over the horizon was not far off. The warm weather of summer was all but gone as the nettles once again snagged at my stockings.  I just bought those, and now they were surely ruined.

Steve deliberately brought me out here, thinking I would give in to his depraved ideas.  Mother didn’t raise me that way.

Crows called out overhead as small creatures scurried into the tall brush beside me.  I knew that the abandoned house was down this path, and Steve knew it too.  Forcing me to deal with the monsters that were fabled to live in the area, vs being his Friday night girl, left me stranded and in trouble.  The missing button on my blouse was a constant reminder that my brother would be pressed into service if I survived the night.  Jake loved his little sister, and I could always count on him.

The thought of Steve looking like the RCA dog with a large black spot over his chubby face made the night a little more bearable.

I would rather face the monsters I didn’t know than acquiesce to Steve’s evil idea of fun.

The wind blew my skirt in front of me, as more leaves chased each other down the path that I was destined to take.  Thunder in the distance echoed off the lake to my left, and from some distant object in front of me, as if to reply.

“Shit, what was I thinking?  Mother told me about him, and I hate the way she controls my life.  Now here I am out in the country with no cell service, an hour of daylight left, in high heels on a dirt road.” Will the others from the dance see that I was missing and know where to find me?

The sound of his Mustang in the distance roared past the place where I was standing.  I heard it make the curve, heading down the mountain road away from the lodge, the lake, and me.

The Halloween party to end all parties was back at the lodge up the mountain road.  Would I be missed?

 

Ok my lovelies, I just made this up in less than five minutes.  That is a prologue, hook, or tease, take your choice.

• Have you read my novels?
• Will this become a dead WIP or will it breed in the recesses of my mind as I think about what lies ahead on the path?
• Did you feel the cold air from the front approaching?
• Did you get a sense of her anxiety and shame?
• What do you think she looks like?
• Who is this Steve?
• Is he setting her up?
• Are there really monsters in that old house?
• What does Jake look like and what do we think he will do?

To finish my thoughts on WIP or RIP… don’t stop writing.  If the characters stop playing or you are stuck, put it aside and start again on something new.  I actually did that once with ‘One upon a time.’   I always wanted to do that, so I wrote a book about witches and Dragons.  Great book!

Hit follow, comment if you like, and tell your friends.  I love writers and authors, and I will do my best to assist where I can.

You know where my mind is, right?  What does that old house look like?  Are there monsters lurking in the woods, waiting for nighttime? Have vampires been done to death? What about shapeshifters or werewolves?

What is our girl’s name do you think?  Tiffany perhaps?

Should I write a chapter a week and publish it here on the blog?

Would you all like that?

Much Love -TW

 

 

 

 

Writers, feedback, and what you should do with it.

Hello fellow bloggers, I have been busy and remiss from my blogging activities through NaNoWriMo.

I was successful with my endeavors for those of you who follow me on Twitter, or who have e-mailed me regarding my project.

I finished my 32cnd complete novel, all during November. That includes editing, creating the cover art all while learning a new OS (MAC) and a new software (Vellum). I still take the time to market my novels.

Over the years I have not put much effort into obtaining an agent as the time to do it is too costly.  Four hours for each query letter is a huge commitment for the ROI.

As a writer, I started throwing things at the wall to see what stuck.  Yes, that is a metaphor for testing the waters, while learning my craft.

Critique groups are helpful if you can find them.  Failing that, feedback from your readers will have to do.

E-mails to my website, are invaluable as most will not take the time.

Giving stories away on Kindle Unlimited, or BookBub, is a gamble; and here is why.

If you value your work so little as to give it away, why should I take the time to read it?  Further, if you give it away, and I read it, why should I spend my time to tell you why I liked or did not like it?

I market to other authors and writers like many of you, who are reading this right now.  You understand how valuable feedback is, and maybe you will take the time to offer comment, at the very least on this blog posting.

Failing that, we write a “spiffy” novel, we design the cover art, and we do all of the things one must do to sell a book.  We are learning our craft.

Finding someone to read your novel, and offer sincere feedback is imperative to shortcut the path that I have chosen.

My path has been this:

• Discover what is selling.
• Who is the author?
• What is the genre?
• Are they known or indie?
• Buy their book and read it carefully.
• Disassemble their work as if it were a clock, which you have to put back together. (cannot lose the pieces.)
• Apply your style, and construct a novel that is in the genre that is selling most.
• Market your novel through social media, word of mouth and so forth.
• Ask for feedback and hope that you get some.

The saga of the Starduster has been my best seller to date.

“Why?”

With 32 novels out there, spanning the spectrum of naughty to nice, what is it about that book which garners the most sales.

My first feedback on that novel “on Amazon” was one star, with a horrible poison pen review.

Having written the novel and reading the review, it was apparent that the person never read it.  Someone who is most certainly an author in this genre took it upon himself or herself to flame the novel as a way to knock it out of the running.

If you read the novel, and then his or her review, anyone with any sense can see this is a crap review.

Investigating the pseudonym person who did this, looking at the other critiques, it is obvious they were on a mission to destroy the competition.  That is sad and unnecessary.

Authors, we are not competing with one another.  Your voice is different from mine.  The stories have all been told before; your unique voice is the difference between what you write and what I write.

Resisting the urge to confront said anonymous flamethrower, I pressed on, figuring even a bad review is better than no reviews.

The next person who reviewed it gave it five stars. They gave an abbreviated synopsis of what they liked about the story.  It was easy to see that this person read it.

It might appear that I had someone do that last review.  I promise you I did not.  I do not know either of those people.  My moral compass is such that I would never cheat, period, end of story.  I would also never post a poison pen review like the one this person did.

Bribing friends to read your work, always works, however, friends and family may not be objective as they like you, and do not want to hurt your feelings.

Recently I was assisting a fellow writer in this capacity and OMG!  I had nightmares about telling her how badly she needed to re-think the concept of what she was writing.

“I get it.”

Our novels are our babies.

I have three, which are my babies, which I am going to have to kill.

• Is the concept off?
• Is the writing terrible?
• Have I not marketed them properly?
• Why are they not selling?

Resist the urge to take on negative nellies.

When you are asking for critiques from people, make sure that they are the correct audience for your novel.

Do not ask a technical nerd to read your romance, and expect anything but “yuck!”

Do not ask a purveyor of Hallmark or Harlequin literature, to read your sci-fi and expect anything but a cure for insomnia for them.

When analyzing their “baby,” look for what they did well, before you pull out the red pen.  Human nature is to be brutal with another person’s writing, as we have this whole pride thing going on.

Objective critiquing skills are developed over time, and not just innate to anyone.  Those that read the most are probably best suited for giving you their gut first impression on your work.

“You don’t want them to edit your grammar; you want their first impression!”

I truly do look for ways to pay it forward when I am writing and working with other authors both locally and through social media, and email.

Time is valuable to me, writing this blog is one way that I am giving of myself to those of you who take the time to consider what I have to say on the matter.

When you are critiquing for someone, make notes as you go. When you are talking to them about it, start with a positive.

“What did you like first?”

If you start with a positive, they will be receptive to what you have to say to them.  Once you start with “Holy shit, what were you on when you wrote this!”  You have just wasted their time, as they stopped listening to you, and you squandered your time, and you might even damage a friendship in the process.

If they are doing so for you, and they start with WTF!  Take a deep breath, and practice being humble.

Humility is my personal foible. There are many reasons why, and I know this about me. When this occurs, I must swallow the negative, and try to take what they are saying with self-effacement. I can choose to ignore them, which is human nature, or I can use this as a growing experience for me as a person.

In my Nudists novels, I write about Enlightenment as a subplot.  Yes, they are tawdry novels but there is meat in them for those of you who like steamy stories, but also want to think and maybe improve yourself.

It is my genuine desire that you derive something of value from my tweets, and blog postings, as they do take time, and are not just tossed together for clicks.

The same is true of my novels.  Even the naughtiest story has a purpose.  My latest book “Tiffany Discovers Reform School” Conjures up all kinds of wicked thoughts about girls in reform school.  That is by design and is indeed a subplot in the book.

Those of you who read it will discover that the novel is much more than that.  This novel will be the beginning of the Tiffany series as I plan to create a female sleuth, who ends up working mysteries with the FBI.

Yes, there is steamy stuff in them as I am working to capture an audience that likes to think while they read.  Arcing the story and the characters while practicing my craft is what I enjoy doing.

If you have ever pondered the meaning of life and not the Monty Python version, you will undoubtedly glean something from this blog post.

It is my genuine belief that we are here for more than procreating and pooping. While that conversation is well out of the scope of this blog post, you can glean some of my philosophy from my “Hole in Time Series.” I will be taking them off the market shortly.  I want to concatenate them all into one novel after I polish them a little.

“Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Make smelling the roses one of your tasks.”

Much Love -TW

Hello from the Lair of TW

That is a rather strange title for a blog, isn’t it?  Sometimes I feel like it is a lair.  When I am locked away from the phones, the craziness of the outside world and my muse or mews, the creative juices flow, or they don’t.

As 2017 wraps up I think back on the year.  What have I learned from 2017 that I can apply towards making myself healthier and better prepared for 2018?

Through this blog, I have made many new friends, and I thank for you trusting me with your time to visit my blog and peruse my thoughts for that day or week or event.

Many books were written in 2017 by yours truly, and many are selling nicely around the globe.  That is an excellent compliment which I honor considerably and do not take lightly.  Number 26 is so close to a complete first draft that I am getting excited.  I want to see how it turns out!

When we read a novel or watch a movie, we get instant gratification even if it means we lose an hour of sleep to turn those last few pages.  When we write, we must have patience.  Rushing the process can damage the work intrinsically, changing the dynamics of the story which might diminish it.

We will serve no wine before its time. Writers should not release or rush a story until it is ready to “climax” and then conclude with the satisfying grace it disserves. I know, a tiny bit naughty, I apologize, a little…

When a writer wants to make a point we often embellish the words a little and then the idea hits home when we do.  We want you to remember us!  When the next story is ready to unfold before you, we want you eager to embrace what may “come.”  “That was a hard one to resist.”

While I love writing Sci-Fi, I have a flair for being naughty at times, and it shows.  I am unabashedly unrepentant for my foray into the human psyche and all of its juicy bits of naughtiness which makes us who we are as a people.  Spending years of my life to understand humanity, I now use that knowledge and talent to titillate, excite, entertain and yes even educate in a delightful way.

You who follow my blog thanks so much for doing so.  In 2018 would you do me the honor of letting your friends discover me through whatever mechanisms are at your disposal?  I am also interested in the kinds of things you might like to read.  Would you like more science fiction?  Do you want the cerebral types of reads or the not so cerebral and more human interaction either on the mischievous side or perhaps a murder mystery?  Possibly you desire something that is a little of both.

I ask you as I truly value who you are, and what might get you to click on “purchase now…”

The saga of the Starduster is my number one best seller to date.  It has both subjects in it.  Is that the ticket?

With 2018 right around the corner be safe out there.  Please don’t party and drive and you know what I mean by “party.”  I look forward to hearing from each of you, and I want you to know that if I follow you, I visit your blogs.  Some I will actually take the time to comment on, so watch for that.

Much Love and Happy New Year!  TW