Just Write....

Just Write. Two words -- such a simple concept. AND so utterly obvious. This has been an underlying theme in several of my blogs, very often the crux of many of the workshops I've taken, and advice given by published authors.  But if it's so easy and obvious, why doesn't everyone write? Why do those who do write ever get stuck or doubt themselves? Why isn't everyone published?

Because writing is flippin' hard, that's why. Even when you "just write". What do you write about? What is your theme? Is it different enough from everything else that's out there? Is it well written? Do you have a good grasp of Goal, Motivation and Character or Scene and Sequel? Who do you listen to when you get three or twelve conflicting opinions on your current WIP and which direction or structure it should follow?

These were some of the things we were discussing when my friend Kadee Sinclair and I visited Black Diamonds RWA for their weekend retreat in Castro Valley. We were in a beautiful villa and an intimate setting of several like-minded authors. As in we all wanted to better our craft, even though we were at various stages of our careers.

Virna  DePaul gave a very motivational presentation on the highs and lows of pursuing a career as a writer which included some insights into the different variables and whimsy of the publishing world. Her journey was impressive. Not in the sense that she caught a lucky break and was published right away or that she struggled for many, many years, but that she suffered some extreme highs and lows and stuck with it despite the disappointment.  But her basic message was...always write. No matter what else is going on, keep writing.

Hilary Sares was also on hand to walk us through the vagaries of the publishing process and gave us a few helpful hints on what not to do. It's always good to have a realistic idea of what you can and cannot expect, whether we like it or not.  But her pearl for the day --- believe in yourself and your writing and send out only your best work. Be professional at all times and don't give up if this is what you really want to do. (Are you sensing the theme yet?)

We heard from Lori Wilde, via Skype because she was "talk-blocked" by mother nature, and she talked about Scene and Sequel a little bit and a few other questions we tossed her way. One of the questions she answered dealt with knowing what advice to take and what advice to leave. She said as you develop your voice you will just instinctively know what is best for your writing.

As I thought about it, I realized I had already started honing this skill. Yay me! Hopefully, I'm doing it right and making wise choices so that my work is as tight as it can be. However, if I don't write anything in the first place, there is nothing to hone and refine. Nor is there any way to develop my voice. So again, the basic message is Just Write!

It's not an easy business, but if you love what you do, then do it, and with some perseverance, hard work, love and luck, at some point, it will all come together. So here's hoping that the muse finds you...just writing.

Slainte`

Donna
www.donna-obrien.com

P.S. Check out Virna's website www.virnadepaul.com for her debut release Chosen By Blood

Conflict

I went to SVRWA's meeting with my critique partner, Kadee Sinclair, this weekend and won a .pdf copy of the soon to be released "Love Writing: A Guide to Writing & Getting Published (Without Losing Your Passion or Sanity)" by Virna DePaul and Tawny Weber!! Very cool...and these lovely ladies were also the presenters of the "Conflict" topic at the meeting. Now, they also gave this same presentation at my local YRW chapter a couple of months ago, but I was unable to attend. However, conflict is something that is absolutely vital to any type of book. Without it..., well without it, there is no muchiness, to borrow a phrase from my blog a couple weeks past and the wonderful Alice in Underland. So important is muchiness to a novel, that I woke my very sleep-loving self up at 4 am to drive to Milpitas on a Saturday morning. Yeah....4 am in the MORNING...dark time. Really.

After some Starbucks run, and more coffee once we arrived at the lovely breakfast buffet put on by the SVRWA, I was wide awake and ready to be instilled with all the wisdom the two of them could impart. And boy did they impart! They gave a lot of GREAT information. It was a very "muchy" presentation, but clear and to the point. I very enjoyed it and had already decided to purchase their book coming out in June 2010. (You can find out more about it on their website www.lovewritingbook.com.) But now I don't have to...but I still might, just to have a hard copy. :)

Anyway, back to conflict...Kadee and I were able to apply some of what we learned to her current WIP on the drive back...well she actually I applied it. I acted as a sounding board and gauge...as a proper critique partner should. :) One of the things we learned was to layer your conflict. Hmmm....kind of like life. So simple, but not so easy to see sometimes when you are writing.

In life...there are tons of layers and complexity. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone say, "I need more conflict." (I've heard writers say this often. And, of course, they mean in their WIP...right?) But conflict drives us in life just as it drives a storyline. Without conflict, we would definitely react to situations differently. If we had all the time in the world to weigh options and figure out what we should do, no hasty or rash decisions would be made, resulting in consequences we should have foreseen.

But we are human, with instinct and emotion, and hopefully passion and purpose. Thus, conflict is a given. Maybe not to the degree we sometimes find ourselves, but some inner conflict will always exist. We do not have control of others or life around us, so external conflict will also come into play, making us deal with conflict on a daily basis. Whether big or small, these moments define us in some way.

So, as a writer, I will channel some of the conflict in my life into my writing. Yes, I can do that. Isn't that cool? That's one of the reasons I love to write. One of these days, maybe I will write about all of the conflict in my life, but for now I want to escape that conflict. To do that, I give my characters problems. And you know what? I can fix those problems!! Yay me!!

Okay, now I really need to get back to those characters and all of their conflict and apply Tawny and Virna's advice to my own WIP. Thanks again Ladies!

But my question to you is this. How will you handle your conflict? If possible slow down and try to envision the consequences. If you can't -- when the consequences come, accept them and move on. Because you know what? There's no going back. And to complain and use them as an excuse to act badly, well that's no good to anyone and not very muchy at all, now is it?

Treat all disasters as if they were trivialities, but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster. -- Quentin Crisp