Little Fingers in My Coffee: The Story Continues

Gnomes are after my Iced Coffee again. A Loud Slurp “Ahhhh” I took another sip of the delicious flavor of Iced coffee, Mocha.  I placed a mark on the glass in permanent marker.  “Those Gnomes will not get the best of me.  I will catch them at it, if it’s the last thing I do.” 

A Delicate sip. “Yes. I love you.” My new habit each morning, I’m savoring each taste.  I place another marker on the glass as the liquid level goes down. 

I’ll get those gnomes.  If they try to drink my coffee I will find out and pulverize them.  Oh look at it.  It’s a thing of beauty. Mine.  I can’t take it any more.  “Ahhhh” another sip.  And another.  “Yum.”  I mark the glass again.

Okay I’m going to test them now. Bathroom break, I grab a book for a bit of light reading, well at least one page.  Leaving the beverage by my computer, I make my leave.  When I come back, Hah, the mark is still where the last level of liquid was.  My brows bunch in confusion. 

Oh darn those gnomes are wise to me just as I am wise to them.  They found out that I found out about them.  They’re hiding, maybe even went to another office.  Wait have I heard any scampering of small feet around my desk, or the whispered cackle of their laughter today?  They are playing me?  I’m sure of it, but if I know them, when I least expect it, they will be back to drink my scrumptious iced frappuccino.   I can’t allow that.  Not ever. 

“What,” Oh the disappointment.  My bottom lip protrudes out in a pout.  I drank the last of the sweet flavor.  I want more, must have more.  Let’s see during lunch I will quick drive and pick up another, or maybe at break it will be sooner.  Wait do I have any money?  

Until Next Time. 

Rule Number One.

Boom, crack, wack, “OUCH.”  I said as my chair flew back and I fell on my ARSE hitting my head.  Wow, I didn’t see that coming.  Of course all this hitting banging and thumping was only figurative not literally.  But it was still a big DUH.  

“I am a writer.”  I tell people when they ask what I do, smiling large. 

“Really what do you write?  Are you published?”  Is their response.  Not that this isn’t good its just hard to explain. To be published takes a lot.  So I give the usual trying to promote myself and my little bit of writing.  “I Blog and …” I excitedly explain my work in progress and tell them to visit my blog.  But if you look closely NO READERS.   (Why is that I ask myself. I don’t know I answer myself.) 

So how did I bump my head so hard and get my ARSE kicked so badly?

“Man that is the most boring blog post.” I thought.  I was going over some of the writing from my critiquing group.  “I founded a critiquing group to help not only with my writing but with other peoples writing.”  Then I though, “What can I say to help this person have a better blog post?”  Gears grinding in my head at a steady pace.  Nothing came to me right away.   “Okay what is the post about?”  I asked myself, what was the piece trying to do.  

(Thinking hard here.) Well let’s see, something happened and the person got to thinking about it and wanted to share.  They wrote the post as a ‘what happened’, but it wasn’t well thought out or had enough emotions that allowed the reader, in this case me, to feel what they, the writer, was feeling.  (During the class we had a long discussion about it but we couldn’t find a conclusion.)  

The grinding gears hit a snag and ground to a halt, like the fine needle of a record player flung across the record distorting the sound.  The sound being extremely loud and jarring.    

Hitting head with palm here.  “The better way to write the post would be in a short story format” 

DUH, Duh, Duh, duh, duh, Duh.  (Each ‘Duh’ is written in a different font.)  I see it. I get it.  If I want someone to understand, I need to write it in a setting where the reader can see more parts than the one. Short enough to not interfere with time, entertaining enough for the reader to want to continue reading, yet powerful enough to get the point across. 

Frankly I’ve had this light bulb moment before but with me I have to be hit more than once.   (Hence the falling on the arse thing.)   

Starting today I’m going to write rules down. Rule number one.  When writing blogs make it into a short story format.  (Gees, I saw a book about writing great short stories.  Now I have to buy it and add to my collection.) 

Until next time. 

My Critiquing Group.

I founded The Diligent Writers Critiquing Group.  This month we had it last weekend. 

What an exciting group of writers we have. There was some new people and some returning writers.  Everyone was able to read something and receive valuable feedback. 

The first thing I want to say is we have some talented writers in the group that are writing really interesting manuscripts.  One writer is a blogger, I had a short story that I wanted feedback on and one person started a new manuscript and wanted feedback on his ideas.  We also had several who are working on manuscripts. 

As each of us read over the period of the two hours we got into big discussions of different things and the best way to write it.  One thing most of us realize is that when we read not everything can be told within those words, and a lot of times things aren’t always thought through.  So when we read our work out loud, other can see things we can’t or don’t see things we need too. 

I love the big discussions we have.  I encourage everyone to put their ideas o the table.  How will we be better writers if we can’t handle a little feedback? For every time we gather for the group I learn a lot, I can’t speak for others but I am hopeful that the group learns from the feedback and each other. 

We have such a good time being together and learning and discussing that some don’t leave until one and a half hours later.  This is exciting to me.  I started the group with the intention of getting feedback for my work.  (I couldn’t find a group like that so I started one.)  Now that the group is together it is so much more.  It is very rewarding. 

I also have started several classes.  One is a smaller critiquing group for writers who have a manuscript done and are working on the revisions.  This class requires commitment until the project is finished. 

I also started another class for a foundation of fiction writing.  This is a 10 month commitment with over 100 exercises. 

As all of us work toward our goals and work on our projects these simple classes and groups setting can make a difference in each writer’s lives.  It gives me great pleasure in being a catalyst for growth within the group. 

Until next time.  

Picture by picture.com pictures.com

Little Fingers in My Coffee

One of the things I like to do in the morning is drink a Frappuccino by Starbucks.   Most stores carry it in their beverage section so I don’t have to hit the Starbucks store to get it.  But I love the flavor of iced coffee, well it’s mostly milked down coffee but I like it, especially the Mocha.  I’ll drink the Vanilla or any other flavor if the Mocha is out.   If I see there is only one Mocha left and someone is near I will run and grab it as fast as my feet will fly and my grasp can hold.

Even thought I buy the large one, the thing doesn’t last as long as I want it to.  I think there is a gnome or some kind of Imp in the office taking sips when I leave my desk.  I take two sips and the Frappuccino is half gone.  I take another and then its way too low.  I swear I’m going to mark the glass every time I take a sip to make sure those iced coffee loving gnomes don’t get any of my stuff.  (Eyes darting back and forth quickly, looking for any kind of hiding place they could be.)

I’m keeping a watchful eye out for these gnomes.  They better stay away from my Frappucino, and if I see one I’m gonna…

Ha Ha.  I’m just kidding.  Even a normal girl can have a moment of, wait did I just see a shadow of a gnome?  It was there a moment ago.

Until next time.

Working On My Latest Work In Progress

I’m in the mist of reading some fabulous books and wish with all my heart I could write like that.  I have read in the authors own words, she wished she could write like her very own favorite author.  So I feel like I’m in good company. The author is J. R. Ward and the series of books is called The Black Dagger Brotherhood.  (She is one of my favorites.  I have others which I will write about another time.) 

As much as I am enjoying reading about the brothers in the series.  My own characters in my head are wondering what is happening with them. Why haven’t I written their stories?  (If only it could be that easy.)  

So I’m taking time each week to work with my current work in progress  But my characters are patient, which that might not be such a good thing.  It they were screaming bloody murder to get their stories out maybe I wouldn’t spend so much time reading other authors.  (It’s like Duh.)

On my journey to write I am learning techniques.  Right now I am working on my second manuscript in my own series.  Even thought this is the second manuscript it is really the first story in the series.  The one that starts it all.  I feel there is much to do and a lot to still work out.  When I read a novel it seems so easy to just read and have things revealed to me as we progress.  As the author and the designer of the world and all its occupants it is with concern that I make decisions I am unsure of.  (You see things are revealed to me much as they would be for any reader reading a novel, which is quite interesting.)    

There is also my fear that the story will not be good enough.  J. R. Ward said the same thing when she started writing The Black Dagger Brotherhood.  She was terrified, even thought she was published she was so scared that she could keep up the level of writing up.  (This is my fear, can I even write one good novel.)  J. R. Ward says not to worry about that and to do the best you can at what ever level you are at the moment.  (Are you kidding me? “Okay heart palpitations here”. Must gain control. )  After a few deep breaths I gain some kind of control, but not much.  Any way back to my journey. 

Getting over fear is to face it right on.  As one of my characters tell me.  When I wrote the manuscript I’m working on now. I wrote what was in my head at the time. Now that I’m doing revisions I’m trying to figure out what I was thinking when I first wrote it.  (Weird I know) Sometimes I need to take a few days to let the paragraphs stir in my brain until I figure out what was going down. Then it just happens. A neuron fires in my brain and I’m off.  Most of the time it happens when I’m in the middle of reading someone elses' book and the thought about my story comes out.  The extremely strange thing of all is that what comes out about my story is completely different that what I was just reading.  (Weeeiiiirrrrd.)  

So my mantra over the next weeks will be Facing My Fears.  Facing My Fears, Facing My Fears, Facing My Fears, Facing My Fears, Facing My Fears, Facing My Fears.  Well you get the idea. 

Until next time.