Day one of the Gearing up to Get an Agent Blogfest is here. Today is the meet and greet, complete with questionnaire. For more information and to sign up, check out Deana Barnhart’s blog.
I’m afraid I won’t be part of the whole thing, because my manuscript is not ready for pitching yet, but I’m looking forward to the critique partner match up later on this week and to watching and learning from the contests. Below are my answers to the questions.
Where do you write?
Anywhere—ah the magic of the laptop—but, really, I most frequently write at my kitchen table, or on the couch, or in the bedroom depending on where the cat is not lounging and waiting to walk all over the keyboard. I prefer a coffee shop where there’s just enough noise but no conversation is so loud as to overwhelm the general chatter, but I can’t do that every day.
Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?
Some coupons to Jo-Ann Fabrics. One of them is still good.
Favorite time to write?
I don’t have one, though I’m sure I should. I would probably be much more productive if I consistently wrote at a time I knew was best for me.
Drink of choice while writing?
Cappucino, though I don’t have it often. Too expensive and too much caffeine for me.
When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?
As you can see from the first question, I like a little background sound. Instrumental music is great for that.
What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?
Well, this isn’t really the inspiration for the whole concept, but it is an interesting little real life detail I recently swiped for my novel. There’s an ice cream truck that comes through my neighborhood. It always plays Christmas carols, even though it operates in the middle of summer. I’ve never seen any children run up to the truck to get ice cream, but still the truck comes every day. Every afternoon around five, the peaceful quiet is broken by a mangled “Silent Night” or “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” It’s the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen that I’m still convinced is a perfectly legit business.
What’s your most valuable writing tip?
Outline. It doesn’t have to be a particularly detailed outline. It doesn’t have to be a neat and tidy outline. You can scribble it on the back of a crumpled receipt if you want, but do it. You may think you’re not an outline person, that you prefer to write by the seat of your pants, and maybe that’s fun for the first draft. But you’ll come back to that draft and nine times out of ten you’ll have to rewrite nearly the whole thing. Some people can write sans outline—and if it’s worked for you in the past that’s wonderful—but most of us need some sort of guide, however vague it may be. Outlining may not be fun, but it’s a lot less unpleasant than having to redo all your hard work.
About me:
I’m an academic writing tutor and I’m working on a major rewrite of my first novel, a middle grade fantasy. (I speak from experience when I say “Outline, outline, outline!”) As if that wasn’t enough, I’m working hard on my Spanish, which is why many of my posts here are at least partially bilingual, and I’m also taking some graduate education classes this semester.
Thanks for visiting! Blogfest participants, I look forward to seeing your responses.
Yeah, having an outline is really important, even if it isn’t fun. =)
Hello! *waves* So nice to meet you!
Outlines don’t work for me. After point two my characters take off, burning the paper the outline was on and laughing. (As if I could tell them what to do.
)
But I do tend to write my first drafts SUPER fast (anywhere from 10 days to three weeks) so I think its not as critical. Not saying there’s never been any plot issues. There have been… haha
I admire anyone who can write from an outline. I always wing my writing. Whatever works, right?
Good luck finding critique partners. I couldn’t get anywhere without mine.
I like your advice. Outlining is very useful. It gives me a vision of where to take my story, even if my outline is simply bullet points. And writing to instrumental music is great too!
Just stopping by again. I really like the name of your blog. =) ~Aidyl
Thanks.
nice to meet you!
Outlining , even if a little, is something I do with every draft.
Nice to *meet* you! Your comment about the one Jo-Ann’s coupon that was still good made me chuckle.
Are you sure that’s a legit business? I don’t know… sometimes I wonder about those shops that stay open no matter what, even when I’ve never seen anyone go inside, and this sounds even more suspect!
It does look pretty weird, but I live in an apartment complex that’s very kid-friendly and pretty safe. Since this truck has been allowed to drive right into the property for at least two years now, I imagine someone has checked it out.
That does sound creepy *Christmas music, shudders*
I don’t outline. I tried once. I kept to it for five pages then a giant scorpion appeared out of nowhere and impaled my secondary character. It was all out war from there.
Good luck with GUTGAA. Stop by and say hello if you get the chance. http://anjeasandro.blogspot.com/
So sorry I’m late in commenting! That ice cream truck story is awesomely creepy. I am torn on the outline thing – part of me knows I should outline, but another part of me thinks if I spend too much time dwelling on the outline, I’ll never actually WRITE. I did write my query first for my last novel and that worked pretty well though
Thanks everybody for commenting!
Indeed, there are folks who can construct a great plot without a smidgen of an outline, but most folks could use a guide, however loose. Of course, if you start writing and come up with something even better than what you’ve outlined, why not run with it? There’s no rules saying outlines can’t be changed. You could even make a new outline based on your changes.
P.S.: It’s been great meeting you all!
Great writing tip. I used to not outline at all, but it really helps and I plan on doing it from here on out. And the ice cream truck story made me smile.
See? Nice to meet you. Check out my blog if you find the time.
jadziabrandli.blogspot.com
Hey, I used to drive an ice cream truck! It was the summer of 1986, when I was in medical school and in need of money any way it could come! Funny memories! So nice to meet you on GUTGAA, and good luck! Muaaah!
Dr Margaret Aranda
http://www.girlpowerinamm.blogspot.com
Wow- that might be one of the creepiest things I’ve read about in a while. And, ‘mangled’ is the perfect word to describe it- at least, the sound seems very vivid to me because of it
I’m a little late coming to this party, but it’s nice to meet you. My cat likes to walk across the keys too. I think he’s trying to edit my novel.