Sara R. Turnquist's Blog, page 39

Do you have an “author crush”?

I am first an avid reader. I think that this is true of many writers. This is likely the first medium through which we learn to write – from other authors’ works. And through those pieces, we fall in love with the written word and the power it has to create worlds, make connections, drive stories, and stimulate imaginations. I wouldn’t say, however, that there have been hardly any authors that I have had an “author crush” on. This is a love relationship you have with an author’s works. You are so enamored with their work(s) that you have developed somewhat of a little crush on their writing (not them personally). And, after truly considering the works I have enjoyed over the last several years, think I have two:

Michelle Moran. She writes Historical Fiction. Good Historical Fiction. She has spent time on dig sites and visiting foreign lands and deep in research. She knows her stuff. And it shows. She proves to us that truth is weirder than fiction too. At the end of her books, in her author note, she talks about the details in her story based on fact. And, the stuff you were just sure was fiction, was, amazingly somehow, based on actual events. She weaves her stories together with these real events in such an entertaining and relatable way though that the seams of fiction and reality blend perfectly. Amazing.

Melanie Dickerson. Another Historical Fiction writer. But she specializes in taking fairy tales and placing them in a real time with characters that could have been real people. She takes out the mysticism and magic and anything that could not happen and what you are left with is a very believable story. Dickerson has a gift for pulling the reader into the story and into the plight of the characters that is truly unique I think. I have read three of her books in the last couple of weeks and cannot stop. I’m in love with her work.

And so, my friends, I hope you find time in the midst of the craziness that can become the Christmas season to slow down and relax, maybe take in a good book (I have a couple of authors to recommend). I wish you happy reading!

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I’m a NaNoWriMo Winner!!!

Whew! That was a challenge indeed. In the beginning, it seemed like it was going to be a fairly easy thing to do, but by the end, it became quite challenging with the convergence of Thanksgiving and the start of Christmas. My traveling thrown into the month made for an uneven writing schedule, too. But I did it!! Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

Would I do it again? Absolutely! It was a great way to push me to get those words out, to write “x” number of words each day and keep the novel growing. I found it to be a good challenge for myself and a very rewarding one at that.

How does it compare to the 10K-Day challenge? The 10K-Day challenge was a lot more intense. The stress of getting NaNoWriMo done was spread out, which is usually something I (don’t like, but) can handle better. That intense pressure is something that gets to me. But the 10K day was not overwhelming, so the stress didn’t really get to me. It’s like the NaNoWriMo challenge is like the stress of getting a term paper done. You have time, but in the end, you stress to get it polished and completed in those last 24 hours. I think the 10K-Day is more like waiting tables. I found, when I was a server in a restaurant, that the stress was more intense, more “this minute”, you are juggling several things and you have so many things to get done “right now” when you’re busy. That’s not the kind of stress I enjoy. And, I found that I couldn’t handle the stress of waiting tables. My hats off to those who do that for a living. That’s why I tip the way I do.

What’s your next challenge? No more writing challenges for now! I’m taking on another “write a passage from the Bible each day for the month of December” challenge to better immerse myself and focus my spirit on the meaning of Christmas. I found the passage a day for November to help do that for the Thanksgiving season. I will get back to work on the sequel for “The Lady Bornekova“. I’m a bit over halfway done with that one and I am so eager to get back into it!

So, I leave you with these thoughts…maybe I should change the word “challenge” to “goals”. I think goals are very important. I had a lot of goals for November and I feel very accomplished about what I got done, but only because I had goals. If I hadn’t had those goals, I probably would have gotten things done, but would I be able to mark their completion the same way? Probably not. So, I encourage you…even challenge you, to set yourself some goals for this month. Not hard-set-can’t-miss goals, but just some things to aim for. You’ll never know what you can accomplish until you try.

 

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Challenge….accepted!

Well, it’s been a little while since I posted (sorry!). I’ve been super busy with writing and life. But here I am! And I’m still going strong on my challenges for the month of November. Although I may have taken on a little too much. As the month draws to a close, I am so thankful that I have been able to keep up with everything and not fall apart

NaNoWriMo. We’re coming up on the end of NaNoWriMo. As of today, I have passed the 40K mark and I have 6 days to write a little less than 10K words? I’m believing I can totally do that! Are you with me? My story has taken a LOT of twists and turns that I wasn’t anticipating and I am eager to see what will become of those. Now, this novel will not actually be complete at 50K. For Historical Fiction, publishers/agents want authors/writers to hit more around the 80K mark. So, I’ll still have some work to do, but to be an official “NaNoWriMo Winner”, I just have to complete the 50K words in the month of November.

Verses Challenge. I don’t think I shared this before, but I took on another challenge…to write a passage (several verses) a day that pertains to thankfulness or thanksgiving. I’ve kept up with it. Some days I have to play catch up and do more than one passage, but I’ve stayed on top of it so far. This has been a good challenge to get me in the Bible and keep me in it daily. I hope this is building a habit that will continue.

Starbucks Challenge. Yes, this is a silly challenge. And yes, I needed extra coffee because of the NaNoWriMo…but (some of you may already know), Starbucks ran a challenge for their card-holding members to get a drink every day for 15 days straight for tons of bonus stars (these stars get turned into free drinks in certain quantities). This was an interesting challenge. It was fun. But it became challenging when I was in Florida some days because the closest Starbucks was a good 20-30 minutes away from where I was staying (what on earth, right?) and it was out of the way to get there a couple of days. But I met that challenge head on and completed it (yay!). I know, I’m a Starbucks freak. You can say it.

So, as you can see, this has been a challenging month for me (pun intended). And I’ll be taking on a new challenge for the next several months…a weight loss challenge. And, no, it has nothing to do with a New Year’s Resolution. It has everything to do with the fact that I want to be healthier. I’ve been making small changes over the last several months as far as my diet and caffeine intake (brutal, right?) and increasing water intake and all that…but after Thanksgiving, I plan to dive into a serious plan of action. With these challenges behind me, I think I can take it on!

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When your characters run away with your story…

I’ve heard it said that once you create your characters and set your story, there will be some amount of losing control of your story. Your characters will have to do things that are part of their character. You will lose the ability to make them do things that are outside of those parameters, no matter how much you may want to. You may have some ability to drive the events of the story, but your characters actions, reactions, and interactions with the setting and the events of the story will inevitably push your story forward and you have, once you have established their personalities, lost some control over them.

The joys of discovery. I actually find that I like this aspect of it. I come to my manuscript each day with only a vague idea of what will happen. But I know that I cannot be “married” to that idea, because, again, the way my characters interact with their surroundings and the events (which, as a historical fiction writer, many of those events are established for me by history) make the story. And they can certainly surprise me with the twists and turns that they take.

The frustrations of those twists and turns. I have recently begun working with Scrivner. And with my current work in progress (WIP) I have been jumping around a bit as the Scrivner software allows you to do a bit more easily. So, I may write a couple of scenes that take place at a pivotal moment in Chapter 8, for example, because I just am feeling inspired in that direction. But, I neglect to remember that my characters can (and do) take the story in a different direction when I go back to Chapter 5, for example. So, they wouldn’t emotionally be in the same place I had them at the start of the scenes I previously wrote in Chapter 8. Make sense? Makes for some frustrating rewrites.

What about when your character takes the story in a direction perhaps contrary to the story? I’m in this place right now with my WIP. My character has gone in a deep place that I am tentatively exploring, but I’m unsure how it actually fits in with the story overall. What do I do with that? Do I go back to the point where it “went off the track I though I was on” and try a rewrite? Or follow this track through to its conclusion and see where it goes? It is an intriguing trail, so I may continue to explore it for a while and see if it’s a rabbit trail or a gold mine?

All in all, I find this whole prospect to be rather intriguing. It’s certainly not something I was aware of when I was writing my first novel. But the more I write, the more I find I lose control over the story. And what a ride it is!

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A Writing Vacation

Doesn’t it sound like heaven? Well…what was supposed to be a get-away to work at my zoo job (which I love), do a little writing, and spend time with friends has turned into a writing vacation. Of the two programs I am supposed to teach this weekend, one of them ended up cancelled. And my friends have had things come up in their own lives (which, I totally get). So, I’m stuck with a lot of time to write. (Mind you, I’m not complaining.) I’ve actually been wanting to pull the trigger on this one for quite some time, but never quite got over the “I can’t be that selfish” hump. But, here I am, with a long weekend and all this time to write. And I’m going to take advantage of it!

Projects, projects, out the wha-zoo! I have plenty to do, for goodness sakes. NaNoWriMo is kicking my butt! I’m staying above the line (those of you who know NaNoWriMo know the dreaded line I’m talking about), but some days just barely. Most days it’s because of my sweet kiddos and the housework, and the research getting in my way. Well, I don’t have the kids here nor the housework. Excuses = gone. So, there’s one project I need to roll my sleeves up and dive into. I’m also still researching on the NaNoWriMo project and on the sequel to “The Lady Bornekova”. I think I have most of the research I need for NaNoWriMo, but I’m just scratching the surface for the Bornekova sequel.

There’s more to be done. I still want to keep in touch with social media. Gotta keep up with my peeps! And my blog. I just love this outlet and my readers I’ve also taken on an online course through the ACFW on Research. So, I have lessons to complete each week. And some of those are due this weekend. So, there are still distractions from my writing.

Then there’s the important stuff. Not to say my writing is not important. But I don’t want to neglect what time I can get with my friends. Nor do I want to forget to take time to breathe, relax, enjoy an hour reading a good book. I am, after all, an avid reader too. These things are important to me.

So, here’s to my spontaneous only somewhat planned writing vacation!

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Don’t quit your day job

Let’s face it…this is the last thing any artist or dreamer wants to hear. “Don’t quit your day job!” Because it implies that they need a viable source of income because whatever they’re doing, be it painting, or writing, or acting…is obviously not going to cut it. But I’m going to tell you that I hope I never quit my “day job”…no matter how successful I may or may not be at my craft. I hope I always enjoy the simple things.

Why you should consider quitting your day job: There is something to be said for giving your art all that you’ve got. That’s your time and effort. It’s hard to make a book happen when you’ve got only an hour or two a day or a week to give it. And even those hours are the last, burned out hours of your day/week. That’s not going to make anything happen for you. You have to be willing to dedicate time and worthwhile effort to your craft. For some that may mean making the scary jump to doing it full time. If you spend anytime watching Shark Tank, you know those guys (and gals) think anyone who is serious about being an entrepreneur (and an author is a kind of entrepreneur) need to devote 24/7 to it.

Why you perhaps shouldn’t quit the day job: Not only does it keep you in touch with life (thus giving you ideas and inspiration about the world), many of us (hopefully) are doing something that we enjoy or enjoyed at some point. I know I am blessed to be doing so. Most of the time, my “day job” is being a stay-at-home-mom (yeah, one of those jobs I can’t really quit) and part of the time, I’m a zoological educator. I LOVE what I do. Teaching people about animals…interacting with exotic species…sharing messages that, even if only 10% of the people I talk to take me seriously, allow me to make a difference for wildlife and wildplaces.

In the end, the decision is up to you. What is your path? It all depends on your goals. On your life. On what makes up your day, your week. And it depends on your personality. I’m the kind that needs to go, go, go. Never a dull moment for a writer/stay-at-home-mom/zoo educator on the side/crazy lady. But it’s fun. And I’m doing it.

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Why am I not overwhelmed? I’ll tell you…

I have every reason to feel overwhelmed. I’ve taken on a lot this month. But in the midst of everything going on these last couple of weeks and leading into this month, I have been able to juggle a lot of balls while keeping my stress at a manageable level.

What’s on my plate: NaNoWriMo is upon us! I wasn’t going to participate, but this is the first year I’ve been serious about my writing (enough to know that such a thing as NaNoWriMo existed). And I have had this idea for a novel knocking around in my head for a while, so everything seemed to be aligning for me to have a go at it. So, I’m taking on the challenge of NaNoWriMo. This means I have the daily challenge of getting my word counts in. And I need to maintain my social media presence. I’m still deep in research for the sequel to “The Lady Bornekova“. And, in fact, taking an online ACFW class on researching for novels. On top of these things, I have the daily grind of life – my kids’ schedules and the housework (meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc). Plus various appointments and groups I’m a part of that meet on a routine basis. I’m taking two out-of-town trips this month. All in all, it’s a loaded plate.

So, what keeps me from feeling overwhelmed?

Organize and Prioritize.  This is key. Having my “to do” list each week, divided up across the week, has been vital. And routines have been a lifesaver. It’s been important, as well, with my “to do” list to prioritize those things on the list each day and make sure the top things get done. As far as the others – it’s great if they get done, if not, they can slide to another day that may have more time.

Deciding what is “in” and what is “out”. Jen Hatmaker’s book “For the Love” does a great job talking about this subject. She describes it as being on a gymnast’s balance beam. You get to decide what is on the beam and what is not. What you have time for and what you do not (what you need to delegate or eliminate). Writing this new novel for NaNoWriMo, on the beam. Doing the dishes, off the beam (delegated to hubby). Class on researching novels, on the beam. Keeping up with the latest movies in the theaters, off the beam (but believe you me, I’ll be there for Mockingjay Part 2 and for Star Wars. I’m just not there every week for whatever has just come out. Going to the movie theater or even watching full length movies at home has become a treat, not a norm.)

Realizing the truth. I happen to live by the words in the Bible. I believe it is relevant and insightful. The Bible teaches us not to worry about tomorrow, but to focus on the day we are in. If we are able to practice this, it can really cut down on our stress level. To hone in on what’s happening today, my to do list today, my priorities today, and letting the rest of the junk go. That’s freedom.

So, I encourage you, if you are finding yourself overwhelmed, to try some of these tricks. Organize, prioritize, pull some of the things that are non-essentials out of your day/week/life and/or delegate them to someone else. And learn to let the extras slide and don’t stress about them or about the tomorrows. They will come and you will tackle them as they do.

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Critique Groups, Beta Readers, Editors… oh my!

It is my humble opinion that every writer needs at least someone critiquing their work. It is only to your benefit that someone else (who is not a sycophant, someone who will tell you they love it no matter what) looking over your work and giving you constructive feedback. It can only make your work stronger in the end. The more constructive eyes you have on your work to a certain point, all the better.

Critique Groups. I’ve written before about my critique group. I have so enjoyed them! And I do believe “iron sharpening iron” is an adequate description of what we’re all about. But I am fortunate to have found a good critique group in which the members really care about each other’s successes. This, I understand, is not always the case. Sometimes, I’m told, critique groups can be a place that tear down the most talented writers in the group. Just be wary as you seek out a crit group. If you can’t find one (or a good one) that meets in your area, you can look online for one. And maybe the group isn’t for you, but you like the feedback you get from one or two of the individuals. E-mail or PM (personal message) them and ask them if they would be willing to be critique partners outside of the group.

Beta Readers. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my beta readers. They are fabulous people from a little bit varying skill sets that do me a world of good. Beta Readers should be a part of your process once you have your novel complete. Some writers send the manuscript to their beta readers before it goes through editing, some after. But that feedback from your crew is sooo important. You’ll hear of authors who have over 10 beta readers, but you’ll hear some authors who preach that more than three opinions is too many. For my personal preference, three seems to be the right number for me. But my three give me pretty deep, comprehensive feedback. One of my beta readers has history background (I write Historical Fiction) so her feedback really helps in this area. She also has a good mind about word choice and flow that I find quite valuable. Another of my beta readers has a background in English and Literature. As you can imagine, her feedback on story structure and flow is priceless. And my third beta reader is a proofreader/copyeditor as well. Her input is irreplaceable. I really think I have a solid team, though it may be small, these three ladies pack quite a punch.

Editors. Again, as I’ve mentioned before, there are several types of editors your book will go through. Content Editor, Line Editor, Proofing Editor…and their focus is on different things. But I’m not writing about their different jobs today, I’m writing as the editor’s position as far as offering feedback on your manuscript. Yes, it can be painful. All of these sources of feedback can be. You have got to swallow the fact that you (and your manuscript) are not perfect. Nor will it be at the end of this process. I guarantee you that someone (a reviewer perhaps) will find an error (or several) and feel the need to point it out. Just accept the fact that you, your crit group, beta readers, and editors are all a team trying to get your manuscript to the point where it is at the most perfect it can be before publication. Keep reminding yourself throughout the editing/critiquing/feedback process – these people are trying to help me, this is only making my work stronger.

In the end, however, please hear me say that this is YOUR work. YOUR name is the one that’s going to be on it. So the decisions you make about what feedback to take or to pass on is yours and yours alone. And it’s okay if you don’t take every single bit of feedback you get. Even from an experienced editor. I would make sure you have a good reason for sticking to your guns, so to speak. But a good editor, crit partner, or beta reader will respect that you are the artist and this is your masterpiece.

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NaNoWriMo is upon us!

NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge to get writers writing. It is a collective commitment among writers to get that novel done. There are other writing challenges out there, and I’ve recently become a fan of setting such huge goals and pushing yourself to achieve them.

NaNoWriMo…what is it? Well, for new writers and non-writers, I will tell you what I know. It stands for “National Novel Writing Month”. The goal is to start and complete at least a 50,000 word novel between November 1st and November 30th. Get that novel out of you and onto paper (or electronic) form. You can find more information, sign up, and even look at merchandise (why not?) here.

10K day write-a-thon. This is a challenge that I just took on (and completed – yay!). Basically in a 24 hour period, you will write 10,000 words. This can be quite intense. There are some great resources to give you advice about prep work for your 10K day and some thoughts about as your write (don’t edit, don’t worry about structure, formatting, grammar, etc….just get those words out). You can find that info here.

Writing Prompts. This is another form of writing challenge. There are a variety of places where you can find writing prompts (just google “writing prompts” or “writing challenges”). This is basically a thought, statement, idea, etc that gives you something to write about. These are great to get the creative juices flowing. Especially if you are feeling blocked. The critique group I’m a part of does a writing prompt as part of our meeting each week. It can be challenging sometimes, but always creatively stimulating.

Why take on a challenge like these? On the face of it, it simply gets you writing. And that helps, again, get that idea, that spark, that story out of you and into a form that can be molded and worked with and (hopefully) published for others to enjoy. The 10K challenge definitely took me from a stagnant place where I had been having trouble finding time to write and had become complacent with my work in progress. Pouring that much time and effort into it reminded me why I had the idea in the first place. I remembered my passion for the story. And why I need to write it. Now I make it more of a priority. And I can’t wait to sit down and see it grow and develop.

So, I encourage you, if you are in any way creatively inclined toward writing, or painting, or crafting…take a day for yourself (like the 10K day forces you to for writing) and just pour yourself into your craft. It is a very rewarding experience!

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Believing in Yourself and Your Art

The world of writing and publishing and actually making money at it is…a slow moving machine (as I’m coming to find out). I have had high hopes for my debut novel. And, while it certainly has been a crash course, a serious learning process, I have frankly gained more in knowledge than anything else. But I don’t count that a loss. Knowledge is much more valuable than all that other stuff. Knowledge, as they say, is power. Knowledge can help me better plot the course for my next book, and the ones after that. Knowledge can help me as I write successive books. What is this newfound knowledge you ask?

Increased knowledge of the publishing world. I have a better handle on what the publishing world looks like. Am I an expert? No. But I am more informed. I am making more informed decisions.

Increased knowledge of the market. There isn’t always going to be an automatic audience for you. This was a mistake I made. How do you go about getting people to buy your book? Because I strongly believe that people who enjoy clean, meaningful romances in a historical setting will enjoy “The Lady Bornekova“. But how do they find my book among the masses? The market, as I’ve come to discover, is saturated with books with the rise of the indie publisher and self-published author. It’s not so easy for people to discover your book and make that decision to buy it. There are just so many choices out there.

Increased knowledge of the craft. This is perhaps the most valuable knowledge of all…this will help my writing, which will help me write better books, which will make them more appealing, which can only help in the end. It’s not as if I was ignorant of the things of the craft of writing before, but I have definitely grown in my understanding of the nuances of deep point of view, show-don’t-tell, dark moment story, plotting and outlining, among so many other things.

But what happens when you get dealt a bit of discouragement? Like a piece of rejection? A pitch that didn’t go so well? A bad review? The number one thing in this business that I’ve found is that you have to believe in yourself. You cannot make it very far with thin skin and a lack of confidence in your art. Surround yourself with people who support you, encourage you, and believe in you, too. I have an amazingly supportive husband, a mentor, a critique group, my beta readers, as well as a whole host of friends and family who are at the ready to offer a kind word of encouragement when I seem to need it the most. But I know that this is not the case for everyone. So, examine your work, examine yourself…do you believe in your own work? Your own ability to do this? If you do, I do. Because you can.

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