Mapping it Out

Back when I first started writing the Fred Vickery series, I decided I needed to create a map so I could keep the town straight in my head. I didn't figure out that I needed the map at all until I'd written the whole first book and started on the second. Then, suddenly, I realized that I couldn't remember where the Frame-Up was in relation to the Bluebird Cafe, or how far Lacey's General Store was from the sheriff's office.

Getting myself on track took some doing, but within a couple of days I had a lovely hand-drawn (in pencil) map on a piece of grid paper. I kept it beside my computer and it served me well for six books -- although at one point around book #5, I lost the map for a little while (no, I never made a copy) and sent myself into a panic.

I learned my lesson from that experience, and now painstakingly (and slowly) create my maps in Excel at the beginning of a project so I can keep it current as I add new locations. It's not easy and it takes forever -- much longer than drawing a square and penciling in the name of a family or a store -- but it's also not quite so easy to lose.

Having the map is really important, especially when I'm working with a real location, which I'm doing in my current WIP. It has taken me all afternoon, but I finally have a map of about half the town of West Yellowstone, color-coded so I can see at a glance what's what. (And because color-coding things just makes me happy.)

Unfortunately, it's only half the town, and I realized late this afternoon that I must add a gazillion columns on the left-hand side of my in order to fit in the rest of the town on the map -- but hey! That's okay. Tomorrow is another day.

Beginnings

I’ve probably blogged about this before, but it’s been a while. I’m in the beginning stages of a new book in a new mystery series, and once again I’m reminded how much I envy writers who say they love starting new books. The first few chapters fly onto the page because they’re so excited about the new ideas, the new characters, and the new situation. There are times when I wish that would be true for me, but in my world, it’s just the opposite.

In the early stages of any new book, the words are hard to find and painful to excavate. No matter how much pre-writing work I do, I don’t know the characters yet so putting them in new situations and getting them to the other side is a long, agonizing process. Every thought, action, and reaction requires a lot of thought on my part as I try to feel my way into the character’s heart, soul, and mind.

Add to that the pressure to make the book’s opening interesting and filled with action. And the fact that I wrote the first three chapters months ago and have slept since then, which means that I’ve lost my connection with the characters and have to find it again.

I don’t really start feeling comfortable with the book until I’ve written at least 100 pages, and usually more. By page 125-150, I’m usually hitting my stride and feeling comfortable enough with the character to write whole scenes in one sitting. Before then, I’m lucky to write 2 or 3 pages in a day.

Getting back into a book for which I’ve written a proposal and submitted two or three chapters is equally painful. All that work to find the characters and then they sit on the shelf in my head while my editor is deciding whether or not to make an offer on the book. The good news is that I’ve done this 30 or so times over the course of my career, so I know that I’ll eventually find the connection again. But that still doesn’t make the process easy. 

All this to say that when I tallied my pages yesterday and realized that I’d somehow, inadvertently, unintentionally, and without noticing what I was doing, written 8 pages, I was ecstatic! Crossing fingers that I can repeat that when I get back to the book on Monday.

Celebrating!

A few hours ago, I hit "send" on an e-mail that's been a long time coming. My latest mystery proposal is now in my editor's in-box, and I'm thrilled. The book is tentatively called DEAD ON ARRIVAL, and it centers around Katie Scarlett O'Banyon, a cop in West Yellowstone, Montana.

As difficult as the waiting period is, I'm ready to let the work do what it was created to do. Whether she loves it or hates it, offers to buy it or rejects it, I know that I did my best and now is the time for me to stand still and let the work speak for itself. 

Meanwhile, I'm ready to really dig into that romantic suspense I've been moodling on forever -- a grittier book set along Florida's Emerald Coast. This book is still in its very early stages, so stay tuned for more details!

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Copyright © 2009 Sherry Lewis

Sunday Progress

I wrote another 1290 words today, and I'm happy. I also have revisions on another book due in a little over a week, so I need to stop now and switch gears. More tomorrow!

Sweating with Sven - Day .... Whatever

I managed another 1301 words yesterday, which is good. Not where I want to be, by any means, but progress. It's one of those times when I have too many things going on, and I can't turn away from any of them. There are times when you can pick and choose what you let invade your writing time, and times when everything is extremely urgent and equally important. That's where I am right now. I can't say "no" to anything, which makes life very busy, interesting ... and frustrating! Ah, well, that's life. No time for whining :) Gotta get my nose back to the grindstone.

Whew! Between computer issues, family issues, and getting ready for the RWA board meeting in San Francisco next week, I've been struggling to wedge work in here and there -- which isn't all that great when you're behind and fighting just to keep your head above water. Anyway, I'm thrilled to report that I wrote 1601 new words today! I feel so accomplished!

70 Days of Sweat with Sven -- Day 3

I didn't write a word yesterday. Managed to revise four chapters, but didn't add much to my total page count. Still, it's progress!

The 70 Days Begins - Day 1

Okay, so it's Monday the 15th and it's time to start the 70 Days of Sweat with Sven challenge! I've committed to writing somewhere between 750 to 1500 words every day for 70 days between now and January 15th. That's roughly 3 to 6 pages, which doesn't sound like much, really. In fact, it isn't much when the work's going well. But that's the key, isn't it? When the work's going well ... I've been having some trouble connecting with the heroine of my current work in progress. I know the hero, Michael, really well. My trouble is in finding just the right woman for him to tall in love with. Up until now, every incarnation of her has been kind of wimpy and uninteresting. She's starting to take shape in my head now, and I'm digging deeper and deeper into her psyche, trying to find that place where she and I connect so I can really feel her as I write her character. Maybe today I'll try writing her scenes in first person instead of third. That sometimes helps me connect with the people I'm writing about. I really hope it does because this book is due really soon and I have revisions waiting on another book that are due in mid-November.

16,676 / 70,000 (23.8%)

I'll check back in later to report my progress! Later .... I have play tickets tonight, so I have to be finished for the day. Lots of phone calls for RWA things ate up some of my writing time, but I did make some progress. Better than the word count is the fact that I felt myself connecting to my heroine ... finally.

17,128 / 70,000 (24.5%)

Sweating with Sven

I'm not sure if I'm doing a smart thing or a dumb thing, but I've signed up to participate in the 70 Days of Sweat with Sven Challenge beginning on Monday, October 15. I have two deadlines coming up, and lately I've been needing a swift kick in the seat of the pants to get me started every day, so I'm hoping that this will do the trick. I'll be posting here as the challenge continues, talking about my progress or lamenting my lack thereof. One of the reasons I think this challenge will work for me is that it takes place from October 15 to January 15 -- a total of 93 days. The challenge takes place over 70 days, which means I can take 23 days off to meet my own schedule over the holidays. Since I have to travel twice in that time period, once to Chicago for training, and once in November for a Board meeting, having time built in for days off will keep me from feeling as if I've "blown" it if I can't write every day. If you're a writer looking for a swift kick in the seat of the pants, check out the Challenge!

Plodding along

I spent a few hours this week working through plot points—didn’t get much written, but I have a much better idea where the rest of the story is going to go now!

See more progress on: Meet my next deadline

Finding the Story

There are writers who sit down to a new project filled with joy and excitement. They write quickly through the first few chapters, reveling in the thrill of discovering new characters and creating the setting in which they live. I envy those writers. I am not one of them. For me, the hardest part of any book is the beginning. Every page of the first 100 or so is utter agony as I deliberate over every little gesture, weigh the far-reaching consequences of every decision, and try to find the character I'm writing about. For every action in a book, the character has a choice of numerous reactions, and every one of those will tell the reader a different thing about his/her character. Since I know very little about the characters when I begin writing, everything she encounters from page one--from dirty laundry on the bedroom floor to the guy who just totaled her new Mercedes--is going to tell me something about her I don't already know. Sometimes I wish I could just relax and let the character pour out of me, but I don't seem to be wired that way. I've done character profiles, character interviews, character journals, letters from the character, letters to the character. I've role-played, so that I've become the character, and still I agonize over every decision from whether she's wearing jogging shoes or boots, short pants or long, how she feels about dresses, makeup, and hair. And let's not even get started on the internal conflict that makes up her family dynamic! I'm at that stage right now with my current hero and heroine. I know their story. I know what's happened so far, and I know what's going to happen next (sort of.) At least, I know where they need to get by the end of the book, even if I don't know every step along the way that's going to get them there. But I don't know them. Until I do, every word I write is drudgery. On the positive side, once I get past 100-120, the writing becomes a little easier. Not easy, mind you, but easy-er. By that time, the characters have become familiar to me. I better understand how they're going to react to the events life places in front of them. The one downside to this is that frequently this means that they refuse to react to something the way I thought they'd react, and because they don't react the way they're "supposed" to, I have to rethink plot points and argue through the logic again in my head until it feels right. That's why, if you knock at my front door and find me sitting on the love seat, my feet on the footstool, my notebook computer open on my lap, my head back and eyes closed, don't make the mistake of thinking that I'm flaking off. Some of a writer's best (and hardest) work is done while the rest of the world thinks you're slacking off.

Gearing Up to Get Started

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

Monday morning, I start to work finishing my next Superromance, WHAT WOMEN WANT. My goal is to write 10 pages a day, 5 days a week. I've written the first three chapters already, but it's been a while since I worked on it, so it will take a little work to get back into the characters' emotions.

The site that created the chart I was using to track my progress a few months ago is now defunct, so I spent way too long online today tracking down a new one. This one isn't as pretty, but it's functional. So here's where we begin :)

What Women Want

Party at My House!

I'm deliriously happy today since I just turned in a book to one of my editors. It's not just any book, either. It's the first book I've finished since . . . well, since the last book I finished. Which may sound like I'm stating the obvious, but it's actually not The last book I finished was a nightmare of revisions, edits, polishing, and rewriting. I tackled it at the same time I decided to hit the wall after dealing with several difficult family issues. Thankfully, I had a dream editor to help me through the process, but after I finished that book, I wasn't exactly eager to get started on the next one. In fact, it took me a long, l-o-n-g time to get back in the writing saddle, so finishing this manuscript and turning in a book I'm actually happy with is a huge step. Thus, the little dancing guy :) Now I finally get to finish my next Superromance, tentatively titled What Women Want, and I'm deliriously happy about that too. But first, after a 72-hour marathon writing session with just 6 hours of sleep, I'm going to bed. So go ahead. Party without me. I'll be back soon :)

Celebration!!!!!

Mood: Exuberant Pages Written Today: Revised 71 Currently Reading: THE DEAD CAT BOUNCE by Sarah Graves

The proposal is done! The proposal is done! I just sent it off to my editor, who should get a prize for being the most patient woman in the history of the world. It may not seem like much, but I've gotta tell you, this was a major accomplishment. After long, dark, scary months during which I was afraid I would never write another book, I'm finally working again. I can't even begin to tell you how good this feels.

Haagen Dazs for everyone!!!