Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Thangs 'n Suches

Thanks for all the wise words and well-wishes regarding my irrational fear of returning to my neglected novel!

I got back on the horse, and we galloped around the countryside--no bucking and just a hair of braying.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to make my end-of-March deadline, but I'm okay with it, considering I lost two weeks. March has turned out to be hella stressful since adding the house-hunting business to the mix, though I'm hoping that will be resolved soon (please god).

In random news...


  • My sister-from-another-mister Hannah Kincade has joined the dark Twitter ranks! Follower her @WriterHKincade (and prepare yourself for any drawn-out, inappropriate [to some] conversations between us [and sometimes with friends]) 
  • The author who visited my university last week said that he thinks all characters need a secret. I'm not sure I agree with him, but he's the one with four books published, not me. 
  • She'll probably kill me for mentioning this, but my uber-friend and writing partner L-O-L-A Lola SHARP's birthday is Friday. That's right, April Fool's Day! So show her some big bloggy love, because she deserves it!! 

Class dismissed!

23 comments:

Samantha Sotto said...

Hoping your April is less stressful :)

I'm not sure that each character should literally have a secret, but I do think that it's interesting to peel away the layers of their motivations bit by bit.

Linda G. said...

Glad you didn't get bucked off that writing horse! :)

And thanks for the heads-up on Lola's birthday.

Christine Danek said...

Good for you getting back on the horse. Hope April is less stressful. Thanks for the info.
Good luck!

Catherine Denton said...

You always make me smile, either with your honesty or your humor. Thanks teach!
My Blog

Hannah said...

The Man came over last night and wanted to check out the new iPhone. I pointed to it on the charger and the first thing he sees is Twitter. Lol! "What's this about a sex scene?!" I had to esplain a bit.

Sarah Ahiers said...

yeah hannah joining twitter pushes me one step closer to joining as well. I probably would if my work didn't block it

B. WHITTINGTON said...

It's been a while since I read your blog. It caught my eye when I saw you were getting back on the horse of novel writing.
I've been working on a novel and when I put off writing for a few weeks it's rough getting back on.
I'm trying to figure out right now how to stay connected when I'm off for a bit.
If you figure out a simple way to get back please let me know.
I'm back in the saddle this week and it sure feels good to be productive and once again I feel the work so far is worth all the struggles.
Best of luck to you.
It's been a tough winter here in OH.
Blessings, Barb
www.barbwhitti.blogspot.com
Writing: the ups and downs

Sommer Leigh said...

I like the idea of all characters having secrets. They don't have to have anything to do with the story and may never come up, but we all have secrets right? That one day in 9th grade when we glanced over our neighbor's shoulder for test answers during an Algebra quiz. That we secretly pined after our best friend's boyfriend during college. Or actually kissed him. That we still love New Kids on the Block even though they stopped being cool 20 years ago. That after every college paper we stress eat an entire box of glazed donuts. I don't think such secrets have to be life changing, but everyone has them, so why shouldn't our characters?

I think I'm going to try giving my characters something secret. Something just for them.

Matthew MacNish said...

Great to have you back, and yes, Hannah rules!

Anonymous said...

All characters need a secret ~ I thought this was kind of an interesting thing to say. Although I think a character that does have a secret and it gets revealed in the story is sometimes a great way to more the plot along, I don't think it has to be in EVERY book. Interesting...

Old Kitty said...

Twitter is so the dark side!!

I like the concept of characters having secrets!! Makes for some great inner and outer conflict!!

Oh wow - thanks for the heads up on gorgeous Lola!!!!!

Yay for your wip progress!!!! Recess time!! :-) Take care
x

Meredith said...

I like giving all of my characters a secret, or at least some past event or some feeling that they don't share widely. It helps me understand their motivations.

Kate said...

Oh, Twitter. I have a love-hate relationship with it. It's not my thing, but I still like snooping around ppl's convos. lol But...I'm still an obsessive Goodreads-er and will probably stay that way. :)

Jessica Ann Hill said...

Yay for getting back on the horse! It has sounded like March has been crazy busy/stressful for you. I hope April is less so!

Lola Sharp said...

First, I think you have done a LOT of writing considering all you have going on right now. And I'm proud how fast you bounced back after some setbacks. *hugs*

Second, it's FUN having Hannah on twitter! (now we need to get Sarah on there!)

I've heard that 'secret' thing before. I'm not sure I get it either. O_0

And, I'm NOT going to kill you. Slowly. I'll make it quick. Also, I sincerely love you. I hope you know it. I mean, REALLY, try, intrinsically KNOW it.

Love,
Lola

Unknown said...

Wishing you a better April and that you'll find your house soon!

alexia said...

Good luck househunting! And I will be joining you in the not-meeting-WIP-deadline club, so you have company :)

Unknown said...

Getting back to a draft after a spell away is hard -- but one writing session is usually all it takes to dive back in. Good luck with it!

Hope the house-hunting is going well. Miss you!

M Pax said...

I've heard more about the secret stuff lately, too. Not sure about that myself.

Will have to go wish Lola a Happy. Thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

My character's secret is he likes to sleep with a stuffed bunny. It's never mentioned in the novel, and it's not important to any of the plot or character issues, but it's a secret. Think that counts...?

(One-size-fits-all advice makes me cranky. Well, crankiER.)

Regina said...

I think it is great that you are back to your novel. :)

ali cross said...

Yee-haw! Ride 'em cowgirl!

And I had to laugh at your randoms. Very cute. :)

Guinevere said...

I'm following Hannah on Twitter now too. :)

So, I don't know about every character having a secret, but I guess it is a good reminder that our characters should be deeper than the surface, kwim? All the characters in my current WIP have secrets, but, well, it's a mystery. I wouldn't have a story without secrets. I'll have to think about this as applied to other tales.