When I started to plan this blog post, I couldn’t believe how many things I wanted to share with you today. So beware, this could be a long post.
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How has your creativity in life evolved since you began writing?
The awesome co-hosts for the November 7 posting of the IWSG are Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor, Ann V. Friend, JQ Rose, and Elizabeth Seckman!
If anything creative has happened to me since beginning to write, it has been that I’m more aware of people and events around me. I talk less, listen and look more. I’m more inside my head than interacting or sharing what I know or think I know. And as I’m soaking up voices and images, I’m turning them into scenes. Of course, these scenes have no stories to complete them, but they’re stored away for sometime when they’re needed. A small example happened a few years ago. I was in an ice cream shop and three boys all about ten years old came roughhousing their way inside. They were noisy, but not rude, just having some boy fun. They bought their ice cream and sat at a table in front of me, so I could see and hear them.
“Lookit,” one of them said. “My mom’s picking me up at 3, so we got us some time. What do you guys want to do?”
A few years later when I was writing The Great Time Lock Disaster, here’s what happened.
“Lookit. . . Dr. Wraith,” Weasel said, “I don’t like time travel. I hate it.”
Then with Sign of the Green Dragon, Joey’s voice had a lot of this in it. “Let me see that.” Joey snatched the yellowed paper from Sam. “We got us just one small problem.”
I’m not sure this counts as creativity, but maybe it does. Since I began writing, I’m taking snippets from real life and using them in my stories.
My EMAIL CONNECT this month is called NETWORKING 101, and that’s because I just attended a book event at a local library where I picked up some interesting ideas, so I wanted to share those with my followers. If you’re not on my list and want to be you can link up HERE. I’m also featuring DENISE COVEY. She’s a great writer to know and she does some very interesting online networking.
I hate this picture. I look kind of ghoulish (October appropriate, but definitely not a good November look). However, it does show some of the authors I sat on the Fantasy/Sci-Fi panel with. L-R: Donald Craghead, Andrew J. Stillman, Ajax Minor, Brian Paona, Ned Huston moderator, R.L. King (not shown) and me.
Fantasy/Sci-Fi Panel at Monterey Library, October 2018
BIG NEWS:
If you’ve been off spelunking, you may have missed that WEP AND ISWG have partnered. Now for the newest BIG NEWS…you can enter a contest to choose the WEP February 2019 theme. Here’s all you have to do:
Submit your idea for a WEP February theme by November 12 to [email protected] Nothing too U.S. culturally bound because we are open to WEP entries from around the world.
If your theme is chosen, you’ll be featured in the December IWSG newsletter. Good publicity for writers! And, of course, the winning theme will be the official February WEP theme!
Deadline: November 12. The winner will be announced in the November newsletter on November 28.
I hope you made the deadline for the IWSG anthology. It should be another great one and to be included will be very exciting. If you missed that opportunity, please don’t miss the next Twitter Pitch Party.
WEP OCTOBER WINNERS!
Why Leap? You can read this at Kalpanaawrites.
Deja Vu by Jemi Fraiser at Jemi Writes
Deja Boo! Susan Swiderski
ON THE WRITING FRONT:
I’m sort of limping back into writing and have a draft of a new piece. I’ve broken one of my promises to myself in writing this one. I always said I wouldn’t write a YA fantasy, but I think I just did. Maybe it was my weakened state of mind, but whatever caused it, the characters are here, the plot’s in place, and I wrote The End. Now, as any here who write know, I need to get some readers to plow through it, churn it a bit and give me some yays and nays. Then it’s edit time. Oh, one thing I don’t have is a title. I’ve been writing it with only the MC’s name as my title, and I’m not sure that’s what I want.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “My Golden Rule for Networking is simple: Don’t keep score.” Harvey Mackay, author
It would be wonderful if we could actually record some dialogue snippets during eavesdropping… to capture accent/tone/mood… but I suppose that’s pushing it, hey? Could definitely land a person in hot water. 😊
I love Pete and Weasel, so just carry on doing what you’re doing!
I need to read the final book in the trilogy. Well I do have a month long holiday coming up soon. Now I just need to get my hands on the book…
You do not look ghoulish. I often record snippets of conversations overheard in my journal, and sometimes will come back to use them in writing or a sermon.
-Sage
I think it’s wise to listen to actual children to get a hook on dialogue. It’s always changing.
Cherie Reich says
Never say never. Yay for writing, even if it is YA fantasy. 🙂
Kelly says
Yes, from real life observations and experience we can bring out our creativity.
I turn everything into stories too. Sometimes I wonder if my whole world is a book! That’s wonderful you wrote in a different genre and hit the end. Good luck with the edits!
That’s awesome you have a draft of something new. I really need to work on my current WIP a lot more.
And I love that real-life conversations inspire moments in your books.
-Lauren
The panel looks like fun! Sounds like you had a YA fantasy in you- even if you weren’t expecting it. 🙂 How exciting!
Have a great week!
Definitely a busy time! You’re a creative person through and through and it’s no surprise that you’re always filing things away for future use. It’s what we do. Congrats on your new draft!
It is fun, isn’t it? The more we explore, the more we learn.
A friend of mine calls it being a conversational shoplifter. Glad you got some writing done, even if it broke a rule of yours.
I adore “conversational shoplifter.” That is absolutely perfect. Thank your friend for that one.
I’m pretty sure we can trust you to write a kick-butt YA fantasy. I’m glad it surprised you in a good way!
Hi Lynda! You have more faith in me than I have in myself, so thanks for that. Hope November is treating you well.
It’s great how some things we encounter in real life can inspire lines within our works.
I never knew you swore not to do YA Fantasy. Well, let’s hope that the little deviance will result in something grand!
There were so many people writing YA fantasy that I didn’t think I wanted to contribute. Of course, there were a ton of people writing contemporary, realistic YA, too, so who knows where that decision of “no YA FANTASY” came from.
You can learn a lot by listening how kids talk and interact with each other. It’s helped my writing, too.
Your blog alone shows how you listen to those kids! I love reading those posts. They are treasures.
Thanks, Lee!
Hey Lee I’m hoping for third time lucky here! I read your post last night on my regular trip from city to coast, but didn’t get time to comment. Just before I tried to comment, but I’ve worn out too many laptop keys, LOL, and I’m getting used to a wireless keyboard which is full of hot keys, so I keep hitting them by mistake and I go who knows where. So I’m being very careful here, as it’s hard to start again.
Now, after that entertaining story, I think you’ve nailed authentic dialogue. Nothing like eavesdropping is there. A great way to go.
Thanks for the shout out. You are sweet as well as cute as the Shady character LOL said.
Bless those wireless keyboards. They do offer up a challenge, don’t they? Glad you persisted. You’ve been a good person to work with and I like to support those who support others, which you do so much.
As to the “cute”… I’m a bit out of the cuteness age range, but it’s kind of you and Shady!
I’ve also found that I’m able to be more observant with the years. I think adding in snippets of real conversations and events you’ve heard lends credibility. They make the story more real.
As a fantasy writer for middle grade level, I say welcome to the club! 🙂
I do write MG fantasy, but this will be my first sortie into YA fantasy. It will be interesting to see what happens.
Hi, Lee,
Congrats on you new venture into YA fantasy! You’ve written YA before, so why not fantasy? I’m sure it will be AMAZING!
I listen to people talking all the time. Since much of my works contain lots of dialogue, especially the memoir I am working on now. Never dreamed I’d be writing someone else’s memoir in their POV. But there you have it. We, as writers, have situations thrust upon us whether it’s from others’ voices or our own inner voice to create something different. As soon as I finish my memoir, I’d like to revisit the 40’s noir novella I had started four or five years ago. Time does move so quickly and life so often gets in the way of our writing.
BTW, I tried to sign into your newletter, and for some reason it’s not working. I put in my email and name, and it pops up capta and submit. But when I try to submit, it doesn’t go through.
I’m fascinated by your memoir WIP, Michael. That sounds so interesting. And anything from the 1940s is definitely on my TBR list. Noir novella? Lovely.
Thanks Lee. The memoir is really interesting. This woman did it ALL. Yes, I had started the noir novella several years ago as an entry in the Romantic writers group which is now the WEP. It’s a genre I had never written in before, but the since atmosphere is a favorite of mine to write, NOIR is a perfect venue for it.
Why would you not want to write a YA fantasy? I bet it’s a great market. And some of those stories are amazing.
You look great in the picture.
Hi Liz,
I don’t know why I didn’t want to do that. I was really caught up with realistic stories. I still prefer writing that, but this one just happened. Thanks for the comment and for the morale boost. Always great to see you here.
As a YA fantasy writer, I think it’s awesome that you wrote one. Good luck with the revisions. And I admire you for getting out there on the panel. I don’t think it’s a bad picture of you.
It feels good to be in your group of YA fantasy writers, Natalie.
That’s great that you could feed in the conversation from the kids into your writing! And no, I don’t think you look ‘ghoulish’ in the photo…looks like fun group.
I learned a long time ago never to say I’ll ‘never’ do something, but every time it will come back to haunt me 😉 Glad you found your muse again!
” I always said I wouldn’t write a YA fantasy, but I think I just did.” - Ha! Sometimes you can’t fight the story. A lot of my stories have been that way, especially one of the sequel ideas to my main WIP. I’ve got things going on in there that I swore would never happen.
It must have something to do with our runaway brains. No matter how much reining in we do, they’re having none of that stopping business. Glad you have so much happening, Sarah!
Taking the time to notice is grand indeed. Of course getting digs in here and there can’t be helped, I channel the cat haha Plenty going on is a win.
Cat channeling works. Dog don’t hold up well under stealth and deception-two eavesdropping skills.
Enjoyed getting a look inside your process. I think I do that kind of thing too.
Congratulations on getting back to writing. I am excited for you. Can’t wait to read.
Juneta
When the muse calls, the only option is to listen:)
I’m sure this YA will be awesome.
Hi Sandra! I guess I’ll soon find out about awesome factor. 🙂
Beverly McClure says
Sounds like creativity to me. Watching others, listening to them talk, seeing what they’re interested in is great information when writing a story. No one knows that we’re eavesdropping. And we change names and such and tell our stories, not theirs.
Yay. I’m chalking all of that up to creativity. Thanks, Beverly.
Hi Lee - good to see you … we’re all young and vibrant - and we can all climb the ladder to pour the cream to create our pond pudding!! I don’t write stories … but I certainly keep my eyes peeled as I wander around … and kids give us gems … ice-cream shops full of adults, youngsters and tourists - the best … as they have a different dialect … creativity - you’re good at it … love the titles of your books … cheers Hilary
Here’s to staying young and vibrant, Hilary! I think I one more pond pudding in me, maybe two. Glad you like my book titles. Now I’m inspired to find my next one. Thanks for the encouragement.
With a book like ‘Some very messy Medieval Magic’ - you seem to have it all organised! Let alone Green Dragons … with Alligators Overhead … you’re always on the run towards the next project something! The Gargoyle Serpent … breathing spells from aloft … good luck = cheers Hilary
Oh, I’m loving The Gargoyle Serpent.
Great … if you go that route … it’d be fun to write I think … but enough for now - I’ll see more anon … cheers H
I’ll never write…I think I just did-made me giggle. For me, I use to just see the geometry, textures, and colors around me (art major here), now I too listen in for phrases and dialog!
I’ll bet all of that art background has a large part in the way you pull a story together, H.R.
It does make me a describer of — everything, though I’ve been toning that down. 🙂
I never thought about how stealing parts of real life and imagining them as part of scene is using my creativity. I feel less like an eavesdropper now. YA Fantasy is great. Go for it.
I thought I might be stretching for how I was creative, but maybe integrating bits of our experience into our stories is an art form. I’m hoping this fantasy works out.
Hi, Cheryl-Lee!
It’s great to see you again, dear friend, and I mean that literally because I admire the picture you posted of yourself posing with other authors. I’m afraid you and I are about to have our first major disagreement because I don’t think you look “kind of ghoulish.” I think you look kind of cute. 🙂
I would say that I find it easier to think of an interesting title than to create interesting content. Our brains are constantly evaluating and interpreting stimuli and storing it in our memory. A gifted writer like you has the ability to sift through your mental files and retrieve bits and pieces of information that help flesh out characters and advance story lines.
Happy November to you, dear friend Cheryl-Lee!
Hi Shady!
How great to find your comment. Yes, I’m here once a month and hope to keep it up because I know I’d miss friends like you. I haven’t been called cute in a few hundred years, so thanks for that! 🙂
As soon as that title comes to me, I’ll run it by everyone. I’d love some input. See you again. Always enjoy my visit to your place.
Raimey Gallant says
I’m totally on the lookout for parts of my friends lives that I can steal. Is that wrong? 😉 I love that picture! Happy IWSG Day! http://www.raimeygallant.com
Our friends are in such jeopardy. I wonder if they know?
I think noticing the world around us and seeing it through new, more appreciative eyes definitely counts as creativity.
Love the way you used the overheard dialogue in your writing!
I’m called the dialog thief! 🙂
Raimey Gallant says
lol
Titles are almost always the LAST thing I come up with - titles are hard!!!
Glad you’re writing again 🙂 - love taking those mini-moments from real life and using them in stories too - so much fun!
Thanks for the mention!!
Let’s hope this title comes to mind pretty soon.
I think it was very creative and love watching kids doing most things. They are so free and have no idea how lucky they are. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I know what you mean about their sense of freedom. Oh, to have that again!
I am really, really glad to learn that you are writing again. And stretching your boundaries.
And intrigued that the snippets of conversation you overheard have been the seed for conversations in your books. Creative recycling…
Thank you. I’m rather surprised that this story ever happened. I wrote it in hospital waiting rooms, pharmacies, and my car. I think it was my therapy.
I have to chuckle. I do the same thing. Even watching television, I might hear something that strikes a chord, and I want to add it to my story.
Congrats on pushing ahead with you new story.
PS. you look fabulous!!
I can see how people like us are in danger of plagiarism. We just love the words and want them to be ours. 🙂 As to the story…I’m glad to have something to work on. Thanks for the morale boost. I thought tired was the best operative word when I saw that picture, but ghoulish was nicely seasonal.
Good luck with editing your new story! Sometimes we end up writing things we never thought we’d be interested in or want to attempt, because they were meant to be after all.
Well, let’s hope this one was meant to be. Thanks, Carrie-Anne.
You look beautiful. Such a good picture.
Silence is not golden to me, I guess because when others aren’t talking, I interject. So the question is am I listening enough? I definitely watch people enough.
What are you talking about? You look young and vibrant.
From those little boys you got Pete and Weasel, which is neat.
I need to hang out at ice cream shops more often. 🙂
I like that networking quote - great advice! Congrats on your YA fantasy. Sometimes, things just have to be written, even when we don’t plan it.
You’re probably right, and that’s kind of surprising sometimes.
Jennifer Lee Hawes says
I’m always listening and watching and recording things in my brain for future use! Looks like you had a little fun this past month:)
Good strategy, Jennifer. There’s so much out there if our radar’s on.
Unless you’re the guy sitting down, you don’t look goulish.
I guess that story had something else in mind. Congratulations, you just wrote in a different genre.
Ha! I won’t tell him you said that. And yes I did tackle something new. Now I need to find out if I wrestled it into an acceptable shape.