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Day 2 of my 100 Days

Well after my slow dawning epiphany I'd hoped that my foray back into the world of writing wouldn't be a lost cause.  After putting writing on hold for almost 7 months sitting at the computer with a blank page in front of me had the appeal of a firing squad.  But I toughed it out. And despite the slow creeping sentences and mind numbing writer's block I felt my passion for the art flare to life again.  Albeit slowly, but that flicker was more than I've felt about most things in my life for the past few months and it let me know that I've made the right decision.

I've also come up with a new way to break through my blocks and let the characters write the story.  I thought I'd share in the off chance that it might help someone else.

First I map the setting.
Not in any traditional way but I write down all of the senses.
sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell
I close my eyes and pretend that I'm the character and on a notepad I scribble down everything I see around me using as much description as possible. Then when I can see no more I move on to the next sense. Hearing or taste. Then start over again.  Not worrying about putting it in prose format or beautiful sentences helps me create an image from the character's point of view and gives me leeway to reflect these things in description, action or speech.

Then I concentrate on the dialogue. Any one that knows me or that's read my writing knows that THAT'S one of my biggest weaknesses. I can describe something to death with evoking imagery and all that jazz but natural speech between characters can leave me stumped. So free writing for 10 minutes straight I just write as much of the speaking parts as I can without stopping or adding words in between. Kind of like I'm overhearing a conversation.  It really takes the pressure off when it's time to put everything together.

Lastly I write down actions.
What are the people in the scene doing? Big action that I need to remember down to little ones like someone's fidgeting with a sugar packet. Because I've discovered that these also set the mood.

Armed with this in front of me I try to combine it into something that resembles the scene in my head.  Sometimes it works and sometimes the characters take me in entirely new exciting directions.

What do all of you do to bring your scenes or pictures to life? Let me know your strategies. I can use all of the help I can get!

First Draft will be completed in 100 days! Check out my progress in the Projects section


Day Two words written: 2,082
Daily word goal: 1,000
Novel Written to date: 2,482

Challenge: My novel will be written one day at a time. Each day I will attempt to complete 1,000 words. After 100 days I will have a working copy of my first draft. Wish me luck!

Favorite line from Day Two writing:

"I had to wait until an . . . opportunity presented itself," Kaia explained trying hard to keep the guilt out of her voice.

     "An opportunity?" Micah sounded wide awake now, and she winced at his tone. "Kaia what did you do?"

     "You're always so suspicious. I'm taking care of it like you wanted."

     "Those words are going to haunt me aren't they?"


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The Ashes Series:
The Ashes series is a set of novels that I have been trying to create since undergrad. If you love fantasy or the paranormal then this series will be for you.  

A Single Spark The first installment follows my two main characters Kaia and Aiden on a treacherous quest of lost love and forgotten magic as they seek to be reunited. The starcrossed pair are the inspiration for my journal theme.

Back Cover Synopsis