Don't Let Plot Holes Get You Down

During the editing phase and BETA reading phase there are things that can materialize in your story; plot holes. They can happen to the best of us and usually do. This is why these phases are so vital to publishing your story.

Don’t let plot holes get you down, most of the time they are so minor they can easily be fixed in a few key sentences. I recently just had one myself and I thought it was the end of the world. I was so infuriated I couldn’t see straight. I was blaming myself and my editor for pointing it out. They are there for those reasons. If everyone was a perfect author, we wouldn’t have editors or BETA readers. Let me tell you this, I apologized and I’m still apologizing. I thought I had to spend another three months rewriting the entire book.

Thankfully, I was able to fix it in about three sentences. I was so concerned I was a failure because I couldn’t see the little errors in the story for a quick and easy fix. It’s easy enough, but we like to make things more difficult than what they really are. I cannot stress it enough. I have mentioned this in other blogs. Things are much simpler than what we think they are. I had to take a step back and really think about what my editor told me and where the inconsistencies are. I also had to ask myself, why did I write it that way?

Once I answered these questions it became so much easier for me to come up with a solution. It’s important not to lose sight of what your end goal is. Remember one thing; make sure you go through editing and BETA readers, no matter how much you might not want to.

Time Off

As some of you may have noticed, I took a little break from writing. I haven’t touched anything in the last three days. I have several projects that I’m working on but I decided that I needed to take some time off. It was nice to sit down and spend time with my family. We spent a lot of time outside under the sun.

                There was a lot of water involved. We went to a spray ground twice and for those that don’t know it’s a feature at a park that sprays or dumps water from various devices. We were at a little water park as well complete with two water slides. We also went to a small water park that had a little splash pool for our youngest and waterslides for our oldest. Fun was had by all.

                To end the time off, I went with my fiancé, brother, sister in law and my parents to my nephew’s improv and comedy skit. It was great ending the day on a happy note like that. Lots of laughter flowed through the little theatre. I even got up on stage and participated, making sound effects for their skit. It’s a great way to enjoy your evening. Check out Stensrud Playhouse in Missoula.

                It’s important to get away from your writing sometimes so you can take time to spend with your family. You’re not only writing for yourself, but also for your family. They are your biggest supporters in everything you do. It has been a great couple of days. I am now recharged and ready to get back into my projects, starting with this blog.

Motivation to Write

Some days it’s hard to get motivated to write. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write. It’s by far the most prominent talent I have. There are still days that I don’t want to do it though. Days like that are hard for me. I really want to write but can’t seem to bring myself to do it. It’s not writer’s block that’s keeping me from writing but motivation.

I use similar techniques for my writer’s block. There are differences for me though. I like to sit outside with a cup of coffee or a cold beer, depending on the time of day. I think about the scene I’m writing on currently. Most of the time, it motivates me enough to get to my computer and get typing. When thinking of my current scene doesn't help, sometimes, thinking of the next one or several ones further down gets me pumped. I want to make it to that scene and I am jacked, ready to go.

There are times where that doesn't help and I need to get away from everything. I’ll leave with my family and go somewhere. Maybe go for a walk or a hike in the mountains. I don’t need to do this often but when I do, it clears my head. I can feel the breeze on my face coming down from the canyons. The smell of the pine trees fills my nostrils with a fresh scent of nature. Leaves, from bushes, rustling all around me and the creeks rushing by with a roar so loud, nothing else can be heard. It’s peaceful.

Finally, there is one show that I watch on a regular basis that motivates me and makes me want to write. Most people are like, its Castle isn’t it? Yeah, I get kind of motivated by Castle. Seeing a writer on screen, sure, it’s motivating but it’s not Castle. Surprisingly enough, it’s Elementary. The romanticized aspect of doing what I want when I want creates a great motivator for me. To write full time is my aspiration. Hopefully one day I’ll be there.

These things will get me motivated when I don’t really want to. I just need to remember the difference between motivation and writer’s block. Comment below if you have suggestions or just want to say hi. 

The Editing Rant of a Mad Writer

The editing process is by far my least favorite part of writing. It seems like it takes forever. I don’t like to wait for things, I just want it done. I’m very impatient and yet I’m also a procrastinator. Therefore I’m in a big hurry to do nothing. It takes a lot of patience to go through edits.

They can become very worrisome when all you’re doing is correcting errors. It’s mostly little things as well. A comma here, a comma there. You’re typing too fast and you use to instead of too or two. Then you got they’re, there and their. Can’t we just agree to use theiyr’re? It would make life so much easier and we, as readers, could easily use context clues to figure out which there, the writer means. Let’s use there in a sentence real quick. They’re in their house over there. How many there’s does one truly need? By the way, wouldn’t it be brutal to use that sentence in a spelling bee for there? It would be funny as hell, but still brutal.

Enough about the silly little there’s. What about the other dumb spelling errors? You’re trying to spell one word and it comes out completely different and you don’t catch it in your initial edit. You then send it off to your editor and they must think you an idiot when they see off instead of the word of. Making it Jack off Hearts. It’s the little things that drive me crazy.

Missing words makes me want dive off a cliff. Funny thing is, I know what I just said back there and when I’m editing my own work it will be missed as well. Why is it that we do this? We know what we’re trying to say so we just add the missing word in where it’s needed without thinking about it as we’re reading. However, missing the wrong word or punctuation, can change the sentence entirely. Do I really need to remind you about Uncle Jack and his horse? I think you get my point.

Editing is my least favorite part about writing. However, editing is just as, if not more, important than the actual story itself. Editing can make or break any story. If you have bad editing, you will have a bad story. It’s easy to just edit it yourself and move on to publishing, but what does that really do for you? Next to nothing. Editing needs to be done. Don’t expect Microsoft Word to find all of your mistakes for you. Your story could be spectacular, but most readers won’t read something littered with more errors than my three year old writing about her day at the park.  Get an editor. I have the luxury of having two editors to help me out. Both are willing to do the work pro-bono. I couldn’t do this without them. Chances are you have a friend or two that can help you with this. If you don’t have this luxury, there are always pay services. Book Fuel has an editor service, and so does Create Space. Find something and use it.  

I appreciate you reading my rant about editing. Tell me what your least favorite part of writing is in the comments below.  

Current Projects Part 1

Currently, I'm working on several different projects. My main project that consumes the majority of my writing sessions is my first book, Books of Azric: The Beginning. I will be starting the next part of the Books of Azric once I am done editing Volume I.

 Obviously, my blog is another side project I am using to get my name out into the world of writing. I may release snippets of my debut book, maybe the prologue or a chapter here and there. I haven’t decided yet but keep an eye out, I may surprise you.

 I have also decided to take Azric: Future Unleashed and turn that into a book slowly but surely. It will be released on my blog one chapter at a time until it's been completed. Once this happens it will be released to everyone else not following my blog. If you want to read a book before it’s completely finished. Follow my blog and you will have inside access. I may even ask for a vote on a major plot decision. This project may take a year or two to complete because there is no rush for it. Stay tuned for the next installment of Azric: Future Unleashed coming soon. 

Please comment below. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to know or for me to write/talk about. 

About Me

Check out my About Me page under my new header All About Me. This will be updated randomly throughout my time with updates of my life whenever I see fit, or if someone asks nicely.

How to Conquer Writer's Block.

Like most writers, I sometimes find myself in a spot where the words won't come to you when they need to. Writer's block is a serious concern for all writers. Your brain locks up, your fingers don't move and you're stuck staring at the screen for what seems to be several hours. Time races by while you rack your brain trying to think of what to write next. 

It’s never something simple like a fight scene or anything along those lines. That would be way too easy to break. The block comes when you are building up to those types of scenes. Everyone knows what their scenes will look like; how they will catch and hold the reader’s attention. It’s getting to those scenes that prove difficult at times.

The other form of writer’s block that I run into is spending time writing a forced scene. The writing is choppy and unfocused. Most of the time it doesn't even make any sense at all. You look at it like, what was I thinking writing this.

You know that once you start writing something concrete the words will flow nonstop for the rest of your writing session. The question is: how do you get to that point? There are ways to get around writers block that I have found work well. Each one doesn't work every time, so I had to come up with a couple different strategies.

1.     Stare out a window. Unless it’s dark out, staring out the window allows you to observe life. We create life in our stories and what better way to get rid of writer’s block than to write a small scene in your story about something mundane. You don’t need to keep it in your story but writing a small, simple scene about life will help loosen your brain and fingers letting my creative side free.

2.     Get up and move around. When I get really stuck, sometimes I just need to get up and walk around my writing space. For me I have a large living room that I write in so it allows ample space to do whatever movement I require. I will do jumping jacks, jog in place, play with the dog, work on my honey do list or just pace in a circle. Whatever it is I do, it gets my motor running and my brain working. Next thing I know I will stop in the middle of my tracks and run back to the computer with words flowing like never before.

3.     Work on something else. There are times where I get stuck on a story and nothing that I try gets me writing again. When this happens I will work on another project for awhile. Work on a short story, work out a thought or a summary for another book, and now I can add blogging on my list of things that I can do too. If you’re like me, your brain never stops working on your main story. Even as I type this, I am thinking about the next part to my short story (which may turn into a book one day) Azric: Future Unleashed and the second book to Books of Azric: The Beginning that I haven’t even begun yet.  Either way, when I sit down to write I need to make sure my time is productive in some way.

4.     Talk it out. Sometimes I just have to talk it out. I will talk through my writing block with my Fiancé and use her as a sounding board. I won’t give up any important or central information to the main plot but it helps me move through the scene. Sometimes we, as writers, make it more difficult than it should be but it’s what we do. She will give the simplest solution or as we’re talking I’ll just go, OMG! I just figured it out! (Yes, I’ll actually say O.M.G.) Then I’ll be back at my computer clacking away on the keys.

These are some of the ways I remove the block in front of my creativity. They may work for you and other writer’s. Feel free to share your tips as well, new suggestions are always welcome.  

The Beginning

This is the beginning of my writing adventure. I am currently in the editing process of my first book, Books of Azric: The Beginning. I have been working on my creation for many months now but it started long before that with a simple thought, a bounty hunter in the fantasy land of Azric.
I will post updates as it moves on step by step. Maybe this will help other aspiring writers create their masterpiece as well. Who knows what this book will do for me. I can say this much though, writing a book is not as easy as everyone thinks it is.
It takes a lot of TIME. My fiance will attest to this as well. I have spent many hours in front of my computer staring at the words on my monitor. Even when the last word was completed my work was just beginning. There were a lot of questions that I had. Where do I go from here? Where can I self publish? How do I market this?
 I use a nice website called book fuel that helps make sure I don't forget a step in the process. This website is designed to help self publishing authors, like myself, not miss the little details that can make or break the book.  They are a free service for outlining what you need to do. They offer paid services for those of us that have the money to do so, like editing, marketing, cover design, even writing the quick blurb on the back of your book. I have not hired any of their paid services thus far but if I do I will be sure to let you know how it goes.
This is where I am leaving you for now. Please check out my short stories that I will be posting periodically before my book is available.