Teagan Oliver's Blog, page 11
August 9, 2011
Hot and Heavy for another BIAW
I don't know where the time went, but it's once again time for BIAW (or Book in a Week) Challenge. I'm not sure why I thought that doing this 2 weeks before my daughter leaves for college was a good idea. But I knew that if I could persevere and get at least a few pages down I'd be all the better for it.
For those of you that aren't familiar with it you can read my last post. (Since I evidently haven't posted since last month. Shame on me.) But to put it in a nutshell... every month at http://book-in-a-week.com/ they host a writing challenge. For a nominal, one-time fee you sign up and post a challenge goal for the amount of pages you expect to accomplish from Monday through Sunday. Then, everyday you check in and post your totals for the day. It's all about accountability and competitiveness, even if it's only competitive with yourself. There is also the sense of support in that you see others taking on the challenge and struggling to meet your goals. It's worth it. Some writing chapters offer their own version of this kind of challenge. My own chapter has an ongoing program. But I found that I kind of like the chance to branch out and meet others that are struggling as well.
So, anyone out there up to the challenge? BIAW will be having another one next month and I can guarantee that I'll have just as many roadblocks in the way then. But I do know that I finally found a way to stay challenged when the only competition is myself!
Happy Writing everyone!
For those of you that aren't familiar with it you can read my last post. (Since I evidently haven't posted since last month. Shame on me.) But to put it in a nutshell... every month at http://book-in-a-week.com/ they host a writing challenge. For a nominal, one-time fee you sign up and post a challenge goal for the amount of pages you expect to accomplish from Monday through Sunday. Then, everyday you check in and post your totals for the day. It's all about accountability and competitiveness, even if it's only competitive with yourself. There is also the sense of support in that you see others taking on the challenge and struggling to meet your goals. It's worth it. Some writing chapters offer their own version of this kind of challenge. My own chapter has an ongoing program. But I found that I kind of like the chance to branch out and meet others that are struggling as well.
So, anyone out there up to the challenge? BIAW will be having another one next month and I can guarantee that I'll have just as many roadblocks in the way then. But I do know that I finally found a way to stay challenged when the only competition is myself!
Happy Writing everyone!
July 17, 2011
My Adventure: Week-in-a-Book
It was born completely out of my frustration at lack of writing. I'd love to say that I've been doing a ton of it, but frankly, that'd be lying. I did know going into this year it would be tough for me to get any writing done, but I truly thought I'd accomplish more than I have. And then, I happened across
Book-in-a-Week
.
The idea is simple. Sign up at least a week in advance (pay a small, one time fee of $3 via paypal) and give an estimated guess as to how many pages you can write from Monday to Sunday. It can be as little as 10 pages and as many as you think you're capable of writing. I lowballed my guess by saying 10 pages, but I really had wonderful intentions of blowing that guess out of the water.
On Monday, you start off with a bang and write to your hearts content. It's best to do a little pre-work, figure out where you want to go and then jump in with both feet. By Tuesday morning you need to post to BIAW's forum with your total for Monday... then Tuesday... then Wednesday... You get the picture. At the end of the week you total up and bask in your glory. Or your failure. Mine was somewhere in between. I started the week off strong, but my some medical issues had me flailing about like a fish out of water (please excuse the horrible, overused metaphor).
And just for accountability, here's my total for the week:
Monday: 4 pages
Tuesday: 3 pages
Wednesday: 4 pages
Thursday: 3 pages
Friday: Nada. Nothing. Zilch
Saturday: 1 page.
Sunday: 1 page
Total: 16 pages.
Nothing spectacular as a whole. If I can hold off the family and lock myself away I can do twice that in one day. I've done it before. But this week I just wanted to get the words on the page. And, overall, I'm happy with my 15 pages. I managed a very rough draft of my steampunk. That's pretty good. The downside, I'm struggling with the second chapter and that sucks. Usually, I don't struggle til the end of the third chapter.
Some points I learned along the way:
Give yourself a map: Nothing huge, just an outline of where you are going with each chapter, scene, whatever. There is a suggestion on the BIAW site that you write a sentence for each chapter with a general direction. I would add that you want to put what you hope to accomplish in that chapter (introduce characters, black moments, etc.).Start a folder on your desktop and name a document for each day: Monday writing, Tuesday writing, etc. This will help you keep it separate and to be sure of how much you accomplish each day.If you finish with 4 pages and a few lines on the next page (read: 4.25 pages), then take the four and past the .25 into a new document for the next day. (see above comment). This will give your a jumping off point for the next day.Resist the urge to edit at all cost. This was the hard thing for me. After I finished the first day I wanted to go back and refine and define some of the points I'd made. The hardest point was to put it off until another day. It's about getting as much on the page as possible. And last... don't beat yourself up over not making a goal. It's easy to look at what others have accomplished and belittle your own experiences, but in the end, that's them and you are you. You are accountable to only you. No one else.
So, there's another BIAW in August. Will I be among those participating? Most definitely. Do I think I can do better? Always. But it's the actual act of writing that makes the difference, not trying to hold myself up to unrealistic expectations.
The idea is simple. Sign up at least a week in advance (pay a small, one time fee of $3 via paypal) and give an estimated guess as to how many pages you can write from Monday to Sunday. It can be as little as 10 pages and as many as you think you're capable of writing. I lowballed my guess by saying 10 pages, but I really had wonderful intentions of blowing that guess out of the water.
On Monday, you start off with a bang and write to your hearts content. It's best to do a little pre-work, figure out where you want to go and then jump in with both feet. By Tuesday morning you need to post to BIAW's forum with your total for Monday... then Tuesday... then Wednesday... You get the picture. At the end of the week you total up and bask in your glory. Or your failure. Mine was somewhere in between. I started the week off strong, but my some medical issues had me flailing about like a fish out of water (please excuse the horrible, overused metaphor).
And just for accountability, here's my total for the week:
Monday: 4 pages
Tuesday: 3 pages
Wednesday: 4 pages
Thursday: 3 pages
Friday: Nada. Nothing. Zilch
Saturday: 1 page.
Sunday: 1 page
Total: 16 pages.
Nothing spectacular as a whole. If I can hold off the family and lock myself away I can do twice that in one day. I've done it before. But this week I just wanted to get the words on the page. And, overall, I'm happy with my 15 pages. I managed a very rough draft of my steampunk. That's pretty good. The downside, I'm struggling with the second chapter and that sucks. Usually, I don't struggle til the end of the third chapter.
Some points I learned along the way:
Give yourself a map: Nothing huge, just an outline of where you are going with each chapter, scene, whatever. There is a suggestion on the BIAW site that you write a sentence for each chapter with a general direction. I would add that you want to put what you hope to accomplish in that chapter (introduce characters, black moments, etc.).Start a folder on your desktop and name a document for each day: Monday writing, Tuesday writing, etc. This will help you keep it separate and to be sure of how much you accomplish each day.If you finish with 4 pages and a few lines on the next page (read: 4.25 pages), then take the four and past the .25 into a new document for the next day. (see above comment). This will give your a jumping off point for the next day.Resist the urge to edit at all cost. This was the hard thing for me. After I finished the first day I wanted to go back and refine and define some of the points I'd made. The hardest point was to put it off until another day. It's about getting as much on the page as possible. And last... don't beat yourself up over not making a goal. It's easy to look at what others have accomplished and belittle your own experiences, but in the end, that's them and you are you. You are accountable to only you. No one else.
So, there's another BIAW in August. Will I be among those participating? Most definitely. Do I think I can do better? Always. But it's the actual act of writing that makes the difference, not trying to hold myself up to unrealistic expectations.
April 25, 2011
Multiculturalism for Steampunk: FF: Be Not Afraid of Color!
I've forwarded this along for viewing... If for no other reason then to view the wonderful works of art. But don't miss the wonderful talk about the use and SCIENCE behind the use of color in clothing. I learned a lot and it's a beautiful way to start of a Monday morning. Enjoy.
Multiculturalism for Steampunk: FF: Be Not Afraid of Color!: "Turkish caftan 19th century (Alain Turong) I know I'm due for a recipe or tutorial post, but I was feeling particularly clever tonight (..."
Multiculturalism for Steampunk: FF: Be Not Afraid of Color!: "Turkish caftan 19th century (Alain Turong) I know I'm due for a recipe or tutorial post, but I was feeling particularly clever tonight (..."
April 23, 2011
Writing Gothic Romance: 70's Romance to Current Trend
The first romances I was allowed to buy were a series of Gothic romances by Katherine Kimbrough. Their covers all featured the heroine staring up at a castle with one light lit and all with suitably suspenseful. Ironically, they were all centered around the forbidden romance, but they were not shelved with romance in my hometown store. This didn't make any sense to me, but it eased my mother's mind since she really didn't want her 12-year-old reading romance. They certainly read like romance and contained all the trademarks of the romances that the late 70's (maybe minus the sex). Romances authors like Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney were doing so well with their ominous tales of plucky, virginal heroines who found themselves stranded on the moor in front of a castle. And, somehow, the plucky heroine always persevered to overcome her fears and face not only the ghostly figure that followed her, but gain the love of the stoic master of the house who was so haunted by his troubles that he could only find solace in the heroine's arms. For quite some time the "Gothic" genre languished along with the bell bottoms, Holly Hobbit t-shirts and Bonney Bell lip gloss. "It's dead," everyone said. But with the success of such books as Twilight there is a whole new generation of a readers who are eating up dark, paranormal heroines with a good amount of pluckiness (and sometimes a good amount of denial) who are out there fighting the ghosts, vampires, werewolves, etc. etc. etc. and doing quite well in the market. I had a discussion on a Steampunk loop as to the huge appeal of that genre in the YA section, much more than the concentration in the adult market. I think the same can be said for Gothic.
When I read Twilight I loved the story to a point, but it took me awhile to figure out that what bothered me the most was the "I'll-follow-you-anywhere-despite-anything" attitude. I had very frank discussions about whether my daughter understood that giving up yourself completely for someone else was truly not in the best interest of anyone. But then, I remembered my love of the Kathryn Kimbrough novels. I'd lived through it. Though it probably didn't do much for choice of dating material. Still, it had instilled in me that love of a heroine willing to overcome her own adversity in order to save the world. I'm willing to bet that there are plenty of others with musty, old Gothics crowding the back of reader's shelves. And I willing to work at bringing one of my own to the front.
So, for the sake of argument or interest... here is a list that I borrowed from The Otherworld Diner on 13 Typical Ingredients of a Gothic Romance. Check it out and let me know what you think could or couldn't work in today's market.
1. The story unfolds in an eerie atmosphere, full of peril.
2. The setting is forbidding or haunted. Typical sites: A manor in the moors, an isolated ruin or a haunted castle.
3. Often, the writer's voice is melancholy and in a minor key.
4. The writer and you as a reader expect bad things to happen to the heroine.
5. The story is shrouded in mystery, a past secret that the readers and the heroine must figure out.
6. The heroine enters the story as a victim, someone in the wrong place at the wrong time.
7. Even though the heroine is a victim, she has the potential to unearth the past secrets.
8. The heroine is resourceful and -- even if she doubts it -- she possesses an inner strength equal to the threatening situation she's thrown into.
9. The hero, usually the master of the menacing dwelling, appears to be sinister, at least at the story's start.
10. The hero almost always knows about the unfortunate past.
11. As the heroine uncovers the mystery, she enters into a relationship with the hero.
12. If there are two love interests in the story, one will turn out to be the villain.
13. Often the heroine is a virgin. Usually the main characters are so busy solving the mystery and surviving they have little time for intimacy.
April 13, 2011
In honor of the past.
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, an event that signaled the start of the Civil War. It took 4 years and countless lives by the end and created a new nation that was entrenched in recovering and moving forward from the chaos and turmoil of an event that has never been eclipsed on American soil, thank goodness. Most paranormal investigator have a love and respect for the past that goes hand-in-hand with our respect for the people that lived that past. You cannot go unaffected by the sheer number of casualties or the determination to continue in conflict. May we never forget our past... Lest we are doomed to repeat it.
FACT: in 1862, at the battle of Antietam, the 7th Maine Regiment went into the battle with over 170 men. After an hour there were less than in their ranks.
FACT: in 1862, at the battle of Antietam, the 7th Maine Regiment went into the battle with over 170 men. After an hour there were less than in their ranks.
