Sunday, December 9, 2007

Where in the world should I start???

Where do I begin when I write? Well, I begin at the beginning and work my way to the end. I also start with an outline. It looks like this:

I. Imogene is in the park working off her probation.
II. She finds a medallion and it takes her to another world.
III. A guard finds her blah, blah, blah.

It's really basic, super duper basic. Then I move to making it more detailed, then I start writing. It's very telly, no metaphores, no details, sounds more like a story one would tell around a campfire or a bedtime story. Then I go back and fill in the details and add more spice to the story. Works for me. :)

I really admire the writer who just sits down and writes straight through to the end. How do they do that???? How do you create characters by straight writing through ????? Doesn't make sense to my little noggin' but my little noggin' is different from others. Then there are those who can write one page, go back, fix it and move on. ARGGG!!! I'd shoot myself before trying that writing scheme, but it works for others. Strange how that happens, huh?

But I guess the most important piece of Advice is to the christian writer. Write what God tells you to write, not what others want you to write, capise???

Peace!!!

kim

Sunday, December 2, 2007

What if . . . .

I got to thinking about characters and how we make them. I love to play the What if . . . game. It's where you ask the What if question which can lead to interesting stories. I'm watching The Santa Clause and I was wondering. What if instead of Tim Allen's character being a workaholic divorced father he was instead Jack Bower of '24'? What if the guy who put on the outfit was a member of the CTU unit? Now that would be a story, don't ya think? Here's Jack Bower trying to hunt down the bad guys while Bernard is telling him he needs to check "The List". The Chinese finally get Jack/Santa only to be rescued by E.L.F. S. who use Candy Cane bullets to shoot at the bad guys and stuff cookies in their mouths. And don't forget their magic Tinsel, not just for Christmas trees anymore. Jack no longer yells "Cloe, I need that data now!" into his nifty phone. Nope, now he's screaming, "Cloe, I need those coordinates to that kid's house now! Comet's getting restless." Jack kills the bad guys, then jumps into his sleigh. He's got presents to deliver, not to mention there's a terrorist out there who has a bomb. Jack suddenly realizes that there is a kind and good side to him and it peeks out each Christmas Eve. Now Jack has a reason to go on, he has to deliver gifts each year to deserving kids. Cute, huh? Yeah, I know, I need help.

That's what I do, I mix stories, trying to find an interesting twist to any tale. Learn to do this, if you want to be a writer. I think folks are scared of the What if . . . game. It can be scary mixing up a story especially if you fear others will laugh at you. But that's the price you pay, exposing your ideas to a world that's totally technical and more interested in Survivor than War and Peace. Deal with it. Now, back to my game.

What if . . . .


Be happy!

Kim

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Coming out of my cave.

Well, I did it, I started my very first blog. I've come out of my electronic cave and squinted at the bright sunlight like the day I bought my very first DVD player. I was so proud, bringing in the large box, opening it up and pulling out the electronic masterpiece. After hooking it up, I dropped in my first DVD, Lord of the Rings, my favorite movie. And there was Orlando Blooming running across my screen, his blond hair flying in the wind. I was so proud that day. Now again, I stand on the mountain and roar.

Ok, so it is a bit dramatic, but hey, I'm a writer or at least I'm making my way down the road of writing. I wrote a book, no one wanted it, so I'm on the next one. It's ready to go to a publisher, but my procrastination keeps standing in my way. It punches me in the stomach and whispers cruel words in my ears about failure and even success. But I've socked my foe in the belly and finished my query letter and synopsis, the two evils of writing. Now all I need is the marketing proposal, which I will do today, I think. Anyway, I want this blog to be about my first, well, actually, second love - writing. Jesus is my first love. (Yeah, I'm one of those.) So maybe a combination of my first and second loves? We'll see. But isn't it wonderful the way these words appear on the screen? Words that invoke anger, hatred, love, romance, longing, every emotion we humans poses. Words reach down inside of us and pull out those feelings. With them, we either lavish or trash another human and it all came from the words printed on the screen. Cool, huh?

Anyway, this is my journey with Jesus and writing, mixed. So much is running through my head like little mice scurrying through a desert house. People I've met in my journey whom I miss with my heart, others I'm glad are gone. Anyway, I'm learning so much from others that I need a place to organize my thoughts. So this is it. I want to put down lessons I've learned from others and stuff I've just picked up along the way. This will help, a lot. So as I learn things, I want to document them so I at least can remember them. It seems that the older I get, the less room there is in the old brain. :))

Well with that said, I guess I need to get back to my fire, it seems to be going out and the cave is getting chilled, not to mention there's a bear on the ridge. He looks hungry.