My Writing Process

Okay, so here is a little revelation for today.  Are you ready for it?  It will blow your socks off.  Or it might even blow your mind, it's so illuminating.  You're ready, you think.  Well, all right then.  Here it is:  in order to have a writing process, you must write. 

Did you get that? 

In order to have a writing PROCESS...

You must WRITE.

And even more than that... you must complete every stage of the process MANY, MANY times before you know what you are doing.  Forget about transcending, or being good even... you must do that to be READABLE.

I am a writer who loves first drafts.  I have boxes and boxes of snippets and paragraphs and pages of opening lines dripping with promise.  I've written first drafts all of my life, and up until my time in college and at Nickelodeon I didn't think I needed to do much more than that. 

Oh, how wrong I was. 

At Nickelodeon I learned about a lovely little thing called notes.  Taking notes sounds like a simple endeavor.  You sit.  You listen.  You write down what the executive says.  You change your script.  Simple, right? 

No. 

For starters, no one ever has the answer for you.  They tend to do the most frustrating thing:  ask questions.  What is the inciting incident?  Where is the act break?  Can you punch it up?  And you are lucky if you get specific questions like that.  Often, it's a question disguised as criticism:  This doesn't work; this falls flat; dialogue too on-the-nose.  Then as a writer it's your job to figure out what the hidden question is.  All while keeping your cool and not taking anything personally. 

And it's easy to take the notes personally.  Unless you see them as what they are:  part of the PROCESS.

That is why I say I love notes.  I don't love the criticism or the confusion of trying to figure out exactly what question is hiding behind the criticism...  But I'm grateful for notes because they propel me toward the finish line. 

I've written about my process before, but I am finding that the more I write, the more process I have.  So I'm adding to it.  Here it is:

Discovery

Lump of Clay

Shaping

New Lump of Clay

Transcending

???

The question marks are for Publishing.  I haven't gotten there yet.  I don't even know if I've touched the finish line of New Lump of Clay... and Transcending is my ultimate goal. 

So, you see I still have a ways to go in this marathon.  But I'm here, putting one foot in front of the other, writing one word at a time.  Don't give up on me, you mysterious readers.  I haven't. 

Happy writing,
Rachel

On Being Brave

Today
I am being brave
Enough to search one agent
to click on one author's link
to read
Their
work

Meme (s) for the Day

So, these memes are appropriate for me this week for two reasons:  the first reason is I have been working hard to be in an adult lyrical recital dance.  Yes, adults do recital dances, too :) But not this adult, this year, apparently.  Because when I went to slide into the splits (like these beautiful dancers but on the floor) my hamstring went POP! and I am now doing six weeks of physical therapy for a ruptured hamstring instead of being in the dance.  The bright side?  Well, for a split second (pun intended) after my hamstring popped I was on the floor with one leg in front of me and the other stretched out behind me and I thought:  "Wow!  I'm so flexible!"  Not.

Why I Say I'm a Unicorn...

I often refer to myself as a unicorn, even though I do not write fantasy novels.  Why?  Well, let me tell you. 

A unicorn is me being myself, but better.  There is a quote I like.  It goes like this:  "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think." Author: Christopher Robin 

 

 

Another reason I call myself a unicorn is because unicorns can be alone without being lonely.  Look at this girl.  She is alone in a wasteland.  No one to talk to for miles.  But she has something zinging around in her brain that conjures up rainbows and lightning and fearsome skies and bright light all at the same time!  It's a story!  And it's happening while she is alone, but not lonely. 

 

 

 

 

 Unicorns have AMAZING friends.  And that is me.  I have the most kind, supportive, and real laughing-out-loud friends.  These are people who have something uniquely magical themselves.  And I am eternally grateful for these people in my life.   

And finally, unicorns dance.  Wherever they are.  But hopefully in a field of flowers. 

That, my friends, is why I am a unicorn.  I hope you can be a unicorn, too :)

Happy writing,
Rachel

Bullying is HIP and COOL, Right?

I could scream right now.

I recently overheard writers talking about BULLYING being a HOT TOPIC.  Like it is the HIP, COOL thing to write about.  Like maybe it was IN STYLE.  UGH!

Go on YouTube.  Go.  Look at the hundreds of videos made by kids who are bullied.  Read their comments.  My little daughter has her own LPS channel.  Oh, and on a side note--Hasbro, bring back the old LPS!  Anyway, we like to watch other LPS channels' videos.  One video she was watching this morning was absolutely heart-breaking!  It's all about this girl who is being made fun of and thinks of hurting herself because of it.  And the comments written... just go.  Read them.  One girl talks about having a knife in her bed and cutting herself.  She says she is 10.  You can argue that these are fake accounts and not really kids but WHAT IF THEY ARE?  And I happen to think they are.  

Bullying is a behavior, but it's become a label.  And like all labels, it's lazy.  We use labels to keep us from having to THINK.  If you think bullying isn't a problem for the kid who is bullying as well as the kid who is being bullied, then I suggest you read my book, Tutu Tough.  

I feel passionately about this subject, because I feel passionately about kids.  Rachel Simmons, who wrote Odd Girl Out says, "Being a child isn't practice for life, it IS life."  Until we adults figure that out, we will never be able to help kids on both sides of the bullying coin.

The NEW Writing Process... Revise, Revise, Revise

Deep below the ground in Seattle, WA the biggest digging machine the world has ever seen lies motionless.  Big Bertha.  Big Bertha was supposed to dig a new tunnel to replace a stretch of freeway called the Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle.  Now two years behind schedule and 30 million dollars over-budget, she is broken and unable to finish the job in her current state.  As I type this, workers are rescuing this mammoth machine from the earth.  Many would call Big Bertha a failure.  I say she's in the middle of a process.

I, too, am in the middle of a process.  Friends remind me that Dr. Seuss was rejected 26 times before his first book was published.  Or that Einstein was considered mentally handicapped because he didn't speak until the age of 5.  Or that Thomas Edison famously said, "I have not failed.  I have found 10,000 ways that do not work."  Process, my friend.

If any of these people, and many more, had not finished the process the world would be quite different today.  Can you imagine learning to read without Dr. Seuss's Hop on Pop and nonsensical There's a Wocket in my Pocket?  I can't.  Or what science would be without Einstein's Law of Relativity.  Trust me, it's awesome.  And will give you lots of headaches in high school physics classes.  And lastly, do I even need to mention what the world would be like without electricity?  Forget not having internet or wifi and that means no Instagram and Facebook--what if you had to cook over a fire?  Or chop wood to stay warm at night?  Process made all of these wonderful things happen.  And more.  But you can look them up on Google... thanks to another list of people who suffered through the process to make it possible!

I will be the first one to admit I sometimes HATE going through the process.  Ah!  Why can't I be done already?  Why can't this story be finished?  It's giving me a headache!  And, worse, I feel like a failure because I haven't gotten "it" right yet... sometimes after many, many, MANY tries.  Failure?  No, it's part of the process.

Sometimes, though, going through the process is incredible, amazing, and beautiful.  I find myself in a spot I never would have imagined a hundred steps ago.  I am struck by the fact that had I not written that gobblydegook months ago and had I not been rejected and told what was wrong and had I not trusted those people who gave me the feedback and had I not WORKED... HARD... I would not have written those five words or that scene that just made everything in the world make sense!  At least for a moment.  Then, like a rubberband snapping, everything goes back to being confusing and trouble and a problem... Process.

So, guys, when your teacher asks you to do a brainstorming list, or a web, or a story map, or any other form of prewriting... maybe the dreaded outline???  Try not to hate it.  Or when you are asked to revise for sentence fluency or grammar or punctuation... Think... this is part of the process.  This draft, while it will never be read by my audience, is valuable and will help me get to the place I want to be... the LIGHT BULB!  Where everything comes together and makes sense and there is that AHA moment.

Revise, revise, revise.  That is my new process.  And I hope it can be yours, too!

Happy writing,
Rachel

Meme for the Day

Actually three memes b/c like donuts, I couldn't choose just one.

 

Meme (s) for the Day

In Tutu Tough, Mrs. C is always telling Brick to take care of his feet.  Here are some fun memes about feet in ballet.  Enjoy!

The Importance of Setting

Hi Guys!  I'm a visual learner, meaning I have to see it to fully "get" it, so I've put together some photos in a collage.  Since this blog is supposed to be about my writing process (and is occasionally a place for me to vent and just have fun!) I am sharing these pics.  This is all part of my pre-writing process, and it helps me with the WHERE of my story.  Describing the WHERE is kind of hard for me.  Is it for you, too?  If it is, let me know!  I would love some company. 

A Powerful Reaction

"Wow, I can't believe it."

"I hate her!"

"I LOVE her."

These are the types of reactions I want my readers to have.  I want them to read and reread a passage because they can't believe it!  I want them to pause to let it all sink in.  I want the readers to feel satisfaction at the finale.  And to feel better than they did before they started reading my book.  I want my readers to feel SOMETHING.

I'm a volunteer reading tutor at my children's elementary school.  It's a small way for me to connect with my teacher-self.  It's the highlight of my day when a student stops reading and says, "I wonder why..."  or has another type of connection with what they are reading.  One of my reading buddies loves to think aloud as she reads.  The other burns through text without hesitation.  Two very different readers.  How do I, as an author, connect with both of them?

That is the question I always have in the back of my mind.  I hope to do that through heartfelt humor, and beautifully drawn and complex but relatable characters.  And of course with a story that hooks the reader from the start to the finish.  All of this with the final goal in mind of giving the reader that POWERFUL REACTION.  Goosebumps.  Tears.  Belly laughs.  Anger.  Relief. 

Those are the types of reactions I want my readers to have.  So, I'd better get to work!

Happy writing,
Rachel

Dare for the Day

After everything you say add "Whoa... I'm good!"

Meme for the Day

For the editors and associate editors who have the joy of wading through the slush pile, which I am a member of.  Here's to hoping this is not your reaction to my MS! 

Writing to Find Emotional Truths vs. Behavioral Truths

Robert McKee is a brilliant teacher.  If you ever have an opportunity to attend one of his workshops, I'm telling you--do it!  Even if it means selling your vintage collection of Barbie dolls, or flipping flea market furniture (I just wanted to say that for the alliteration!) It will be well worth the $$$. 

Or, if you are cheap like me, you could buy his book!  It's titled STORY:  Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting.  But, his teaching can be extended to novelists as well... and I would argue FIRST because Hollywood writers don't write treatments anymore, they depend almost exclusively on novelists for good stories.  IMHO.  I said ALMOST, so don't get all testy out there, screenwriters.

Anyway, Robert McKee writes about creating a scene from the inside out by finding your way to the center of the character and experiencing it from his/her point of view.  Ah, POV.  So, very, very important for us authors to master.  He argues that you can either write as an anthropologist RECORDING behavior, which would be Behavioral Truth.  Or, you can crawl inside a character's head by asking, "If I were the character in this situation, what would I do?"  That is Emotional Truth. 

Linda Urban spoke at a conference I attended once.  She taught us about Personal Third Person POV.  I think Linda and Robert are speaking of the same thing here... For my reader to experience anger, fear, joy, suspicion, disappointment, excitement my character must experience those emotions.  And if my character must then I must!  I used to do improvisational theater.  I love it.  It's child's play for grown ups.  And writing is another form of improvisation.  I think what stops me from getting into a Personal Third POV is my mean inner-editor.  She is a composite of every single person who has ever told me I'm terrible.  Am I the only lucky person in the world to have one of these?  In not so many words, she says, "Don't tell the truth.  Because once you've told the truth you have nothing left to tell... and what if it sucks?"  So, I try to stay in the safe lane, which leaves my writing feeling flat.  No more, I say!!  Inner Editor, you're fired!  Oh, and hey there's a job that has just opened up.  Outside-my-head editors wanted. :)

So, in previous posts when I said I'm writing TRUTH, I meant my character's emotional truth.  And the only way to do that is to be inside the head of my characters.  That is what I aim for!

Happy writing,
Rachel

Funny... With Heart, Not Put-Downs

Be funny, not mean.  Please.  Here are some ways to do that in your stories (from The Comic Toolbox by John Vorhaus:)

1.  Center and Eccentrics--Everyman (standing in for you or I) surrounded by eccentric characters
2.  Fish-Out-of-Water--A normal character in a comic world or a comic character in a normal world
3.  Character Comedy--Direct emotional war between strong comic opposites
4.  Powers--A comic story built around magical powers, the powers themselves being the comedic premise.
5.  Ensemble Comedy--A group of characters at odds with themselves and their world
6.  Slapstick--Denial of self-doubt results in physical comedy; the target of abuse gets exactly what he/she deserves and no one gets hurt
7.  Satire or Parody--Attacking social or cultural icons or phenomenon

There you have it!  Comedy in a box.  Sort of.  Just don't be cruel about it!  Or I might have to punch you in the face.  Haha.  See?  That's funny. 

Happy Writing,
Rachel