Do you want to read what I write for the exercises?
Is the current format working for you or have you lost interest in my journey through this? There’s no wrong answer to this and it won’t hurt my feelings if you have. I want to post things that will be of interest to you and I’m currently wondering if you would be more interested in what I write during the exercises rather than what I’m feeling afterward.
I don’t mind sharing everything. Having been on the internet this long, posting rough work and inner thoughts is something I’ve grown to be okay with. It’s a journey in my writing journey and it’s been fun to have people who’ve traveled with me.
I’ve been having this continuous feeling that the daily ‘feels’ update hasn’t been interesting and I could be posting something more people would want to read, so please let me know your thoughts! I’m perfectly okay posting my entire process during this boot camp on the blog, especially if that’s going to engage more interest.
The Five Things I’ve Learned About Writing Romance from TV
Lesson 2: Cut those romantic declarations you’ve been slaving over, the ones that sound long-winded and dorky no matter how hard you try. Go for the action; the telling gesture is infinitely more effective than telling dialogue.
Lesson 3: Use your metaphors; chances are they’re already in your book. What do your heroine and hero do for a living? What gifts do they give? What things do they prize? What objects or actions characterize their relationship with each other? Find those concrete things, figure out their deeper meaning, and enhance them in your final draft to add power and depth to your lovers’ relationship.
Lesson 4: Before you send that manuscript out, take out all the on-the-nose dialogue (and internal monologue) you can. Then look for places where your characters can briefly say what they don’t mean and mean what they don’t say.
Lesson 5: If your conflict is “they can’t have sex”, your story is too weak to play. Recast it so that when your lovers do connect, things get more complicated for them. You know, like in real life.
C280k Question:
Do you want to read what I write for the exercises?
Is the current format working for you or have you lost interest in my journey through this? There’s no wrong answer to this and it won’t hurt my feelings if you have. I want to post things that will be of interest to you and I’m currently wondering if you would be more interested in what I write during the exercises rather than what I’m feeling afterward.
I don’t mind sharing everything. Having been on the internet this long, posting rough work and inner thoughts is something I’ve grown to be okay with. It’s a journey in my writing journey and it’s been fun to have people who’ve traveled with me.
I’ve been having this continuous feeling that the daily ‘feels’ update hasn’t been interesting and I could be posting something more people would want to read, so please let me know your thoughts! I’m perfectly okay posting my entire process during this boot camp on the blog, especially if that’s going to engage more interest.
C280k Wk 4 Day 1
This week is all about ‘Elements of style’ and all I want to do is write a fanfic. Which would be okay, only no – I don’t want to write more of mine or more related to what I’ve written: I want to rewrite a short story I just read. Completely. Take the characters and the events and mess up the timeline and make it into something I almost wish it was.
That’s not!! helping me stay motivated to with this boot camp. Though I’m excited I have three weeks done and only five more to go and I’m happy that it’s starting to settle in my routine. Even though I haven’t had the same day off each week, the act of sitting down and writing is there. Today felt odd until I realized I didn’t write yesterday.
So I guess it’s working? Which is weird, but okay, let’s see how this goes.
Photo by Pascal Brändle on Unsplash.
It’s okay to read through your first draft and realize that 75% is terrible. That’s why we refine. That’s why we have second, third and fourth drafts. The trick is to not give up and just lay on the floor when you come to that realization.
It was a big shock when I found out that writing one (1) book actually requires writing several (so many) books.
I’m so glad that this message is spread around, because it’s such a reassurance for all the plotholes that occur when unplanned parts are being written
C280k Wk 3 Day 6
Memorable quote:
“You’re training yourself to accept that failure is part of the process.”
I’m grateful for today’s episode. It reminded me that I haven’t been happy the last few days because my writing has “failed” the last few days. I realized that I haven’t liked what I’ve written in a couple days and rather than acknowledging the hard truth, I distracted myself with other things like motivation.
It’s not a good feeling when you have to call yourself out, but man does it make moving on afterward so much easier. I need to remember this.
I’m starting to miss writing. I think it’s because I have all these ideas and no way to push them out, but I feel like that’s part of the purpose to this boot camp. I burned out writing so much during July and August. If I continue trying to push out more writing while doing this, I’ll end up the same. It’s really hard to break the sprinting habit I’ve had and tailor it toward a marathon, but I’m determined to do it.
Even when all my doubts surface and I’m practically convinced this blog is a waste.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash.
Little Things to Do with Your WIP
Sometimes you want to work on your WIP when you don’t have much time (during school, work, out on errands, etc) so here are quick, easy, and little things you can do with it when you can’t actually write/plan in-depth. I’ve also included websites and links as jumping off points.
- Create a playlist based on the WIP or a character/relationship
- Brainstorm possible titles/chapter names (my post about titling format examples and a deep dive into two-word titling)
- Write a journal entry/letter as one of the characters
- Research very specific things about the setting/history, lore, clothing, hobbies/vocations, etc of your story
- Deep dive into a category of worldbuilding (I have posts on WB here, here, and here)
- Create a mood board for the setting, a character, or entire story on Pinterest or Canva (Some examples for countryside, city at night, summer abroad, and the coast)
- Write down dialogue for a therapy session your MC might have
- Design a section of a character’s room/home using pictures, descriptions, or drawings
- Research names and meanings (The way I find OC names)
- Write down a dream/nightmare a character might have
- Take a personality test as your MC
- Write a fortune cookie for each MC/side character
- Research actors/models/etc if you’re still creating physical descriptions for characters (I recommend using IMDb)
- Research mannerisms, habits, and quirks to enrich characterization (I wrote some down here.)
Hopefully these things help you satisfy your itch to work when you can’t exactly work. Happy writing!
Quick tips for writing romance
- Consider what your characters like about each other
- Compliment their personalities. How can character A help with character B’s weaknesses?
- Create boundaries
- Make the characters notice each other’s quirks
- Have your characters get annoyed by some of their quirks
- Go slow on getting them together
- Build trust between characters
- Give them a life outside of their relationship
- Let your characters be vulnerable in front of each other
- Have scenes where they’re helping each other
- What makes your characters want to stay together?
- If your romance is a sub-plot, how much attention to they give the other character?
- What does character A notice about character B?
Visit my blog and follow for more posts like this.
C280k Wk 3 Day 5
No memorable quote for today, again.
I’m not sure if I’m losing interest or if this is just a busy week. Considering the holiday Thursday and trying to fit an entire week of work into two and a half days, I’m hoping it’s the latter. I’m also hoping that I’m just not feeling this week.
Today I was supposed to create a character completely different from myself and I did, but I don’t think I did the best I could. I’m just not satisfied with my work today, but I’m letting it be. I have to accept the bad with the good and let it all stand.
Aiming for tomorrow to be a better day.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash.
The fact is, I don’t know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn’t collapse when you beat your head against it.
Douglas Adams (via writeontheedge)
Nikki Bradley 