10 Reasons I Don't Share Early Drafts

You know when you return to a manuscript that there will be language to tighten or heighten, but then there are the errors that make you wonder why you don't fall down more:

(in no particular order...)

Your main character's height changes.

Yes, this has happened to me. He started off very tall and lost about 6 inches somewhere in the last third of the story.

You intended to drop a small but vital clue early in the story.

Intended is the operative word in the previous sentence.

Inconsistent character names.

Yes, I know about 'Search and Replace'. I have no explanation.

Rooms varying locations.

When you're writing a mystery taking place in a large house this can happen. I drew a map after discovering the movable rooms.

A character having favourite phrases.

I thought it would be endearing. I discovered it was irritating. Too much, too much.

A wise character who never makes a mistake.

Dull, dull, dull.

The rhythm of characters' dialogue radically altering for a few pages.

Rather a large uh-oh.

The pace (usually somewhere in the middle) slows to the speed of a sloth on a slow day.

When writers curse about 'the saggy middle' they're not usually referring to their waistlines.

Scenes tipping over into melodrama.

Drama is good. Melodrama makes me roll my eyes. If I'm groaning, I shudder to think what someone else would do.

A scene which took ages to write and you adore.

Unfortunately, it does nothing for plot or character development. Agony ensues.

Starting Out

Last night I got together with a few of the actors who used to be in my theatre company because I've been asked to put on a murder mystery night at our local theatre. I had prepared outlines of everyone's character and described the setting. I went in knowing the basic plot.

Think of it as having a first draft.

After the meeting, it's like having a second or third draft.

Characters are deeper and thus have multiple motivations. Interpersonal relationships have become far more complex. Histories of characters have been expanded.

Oh, and the victim changed.

These murder mystery nights are always a group effort, but it was a nice reminder how fresh eyes see characters and events in different ways. It also reminded me not to think the plot is carved in stone at the beginning of the writing process. No evolution makes for a stalled and dull manuscript.

Remember to listen to all of your main characters. It's possible they're right and you're wrong. Being open to all possibilities can only improve your story.

And laughter makes everything better.

Fun Friday

Welcome to the first Fun Friday of the year. For your enjoyment, more funny signs with interesting translations. Take a small break from your busy day and have a giggle.

See you Monday!

Thirties Thursday

Here's a poster for one of this year's movies garnering high levels of Oscar buzz. I've seen it. It's tremendous. I urge everyone to see it; the acting, writing and production values are all of the highest calibre.

I thought I'd use this Thirties Thursday post to share a few facts about the real King George VI. To begin with, he didn't actually look much like this:

Although looking at Colin Firth is never a bad thing...

Here's a portrait of the real George VI.

• Born on December 14, 1895, Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George (known as Prince Albert) was the second son of George and Mary, then known as the Duke and Duchess of York. Unfortunately the baby was born on Mausoleum Day - the anniversary of the death of Prince Albert, (Queen Victoria's husband) and the Queen (who was still very much alive in 1895) insisted that her family always spend the day visiting Prince Albert's grave. No birthday celebrations allowed. This continued until Victoria's death which occurred just after little Prince Albert's 5th birthday.
• Although he was naturally left-handed, it was decided (as was the norm at this time) for the child to be taught to write with his right hand. Many believe this is when Prince Albert began to stutter.
• He never enjoyed good health; he was prone to many digestive disorders and when he was in the Navy spent a great deal of his time in Sick Bay.
• His elder brother, the Prince of Wales, had graduated second to the bottom from the Naval officer training school at Dartmouth, much to his father the King's displeasure. Prince Albert got his brother out of the dog house when he graduated last in his class.
• He and his brother were exceptionally close. They had been born 18 months apart and were each other's first choice for company as they were growing up. Prince Albert worshiped his blond, charismatic older brother and Prince Edward was very protective of his younger brother. This close relationship was irretrievably damaged during the Abdication crisis of 1936.
• When he was preparing to propose to his future wife (then known as Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon), Prince Albert was faced with a dilemma. It was unheard of for a royal Prince to propose without knowing he was going to be accepted; back then one did not say 'no' to a Prince. Following the accepted protocol of the time, Prince Albert sent his Private Secretary to Lady Elizabeth to ascertain what her answer would be to a marriage proposal. Lady Elizabeth sent word back through the poor Private Secretary that if Prince Albert wanted an answer, he would have to ask her himself. He did. She refused. Twice. She finally said 'yes' when the determined Prince asked for a third time.
• He was another member of the Royal family who had inherited the Hanoverian temper; he was prone to large fits of anger which would (luckily) be short-lived. After he became King, he would take out his frustrations on his bath sponge, twisting it into shreds. Royal bath sponges had a short life in those days.
• During the Abdication crisis, the thought was floated of Edward VIII's successor not being his next brother, but the younger brother, Prince George, Duke of Kent. The Duke had married a Greek Princess and his dark good looks and charm had made him a popular personality. Prince Albert (known as the Duke of York) was not well-known to the British public. His natural shyness and his speech problems meant he did not make many public appearances and even less public speeches.

Of course, he did inherit the throne in December 1936 and was King during the second World War. He became known as George the Good and his unexpected death in 1952 (at the young age of 56) plunged the country into mourning.

Beginnings

We are taught to write beginnings like this...

But maybe your story needs a beginning like this...

Or this...

I try to remember

Sometimes you don't need all of this....

If what needs to be heard is this...

And people will ignore too much of this...

But will make an effort to listen to this...

Never be afraid to do this...

And if your writing is making you do this...

Be confident your readers will be doing this.

10 Things I've Learned About Writing

10. Writing a good beginning is hard.

9. When your writing is going well, time passes at warp speed.

8. When your writing is going not so well, time passes at the pace of a snoozing snail.

7. If you are writing a first draft, do not go back and read it from the beginning until you're done. If you do, your screams of frustration will be loud enough to be heard in distant galaxies and cause aliens to blink their three almond-shaped eyes in shock.

6. Favourite words crop up and become alarmingly frequent. These favourites are replaced every five pages or so by new favourites.

5. Writing a good middle is hard.

4. That quiet character who was supposed to stay in the background will at some point stand up and scream to be put centre stage.

3. Try not to swim too long in that familiar sea of self-criticism. Trust me, that sea has a nasty undertow.

2. Reward yourself for small accomplishments; reaching your word count goal, writing a nice dialogue interchange, a good paragraph. There are days when a single sentence is worthy of celebration.

1. Writing a good ending is hard.

New Year, New Determination

Yes, I'm back. Please hold your applause.

Although I haven't been posting this past week, I have cruised about the blogosphere and I send my endless admiration to those of you who continued posting through the holidays. This demonstrated discipline. Determination. These are qualities I sometimes lack. Well, maybe more than sometimes.

If any of you are feeling the urge to applaud now; squash the urge.

I'm not usually a resolution-maker, but this year (or this month) I'm trying on those coats of discipline and determination. I want to finish up old projects and start some new ones. So, here is my plan of attack:

1. Write each day for an alloted period of time.

2. Attack the shortest projects first.

3. Send my finished games to my editor.

4. Ignore my quaking knees and bats in my stomach and put my manuscript in front of fresh eyes. (this will be tricky)

One of my Christmas gifts was a calendar featuring pictures of chickens. I am determined that this present should not be seen as foreshadowing.

I'm happy to be back. Here's to 2011!

Applause now would be appropriate.

Or, money is always appreciated.

Good Wishes

Whether your weekend activities include eating turkey and unwrapping presents, or going to the movies and eating Chinese food - have a wonderful weekend.

From me and my family here in British Columbia to you and yours wherever you are in the world - peace, joy and (maybe) one small dragon.

I wish this was here - but we'll be having a green Christmas!

Thirties Thursday

This post was first published on April 21, 2010.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor have fascinated me for years. Was theirs a love story? A tragedy? Giving my thoughts on that would be a very long post in itself - and one I'm not sure too many of you would be interested in!

Regardless, the Duke showered his lady-love with jewels, starting when he was the Prince of Wales, continuing on when he was King Edward VIII, and then during their more than 30 year-long marriage as Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Feast your eyes on a few examples.

This diamond and emerald bracelet is circa 1935.

The Duchess's engagement ring with a 19.77 carat emerald. The band was engraved "We are now ours" and the date October 27, 1936 - the day of her divorce hearing. "WE" was their way of describing their union - taking the first letter from both their first names.

They were married in France on June 3, 1937. This pearl necklace and earrings set were a wedding present sent by the Duke's mother, Queen Mary. The Duchess and the Queen never met. The Duke bought the pearl pendant later, which the Duchess usually wore attached to the necklace.

In 1940, the Duke had Cartier create this flamingo brooch.

This 206.82 carat sapphire pendent is another Cartier creation requested by the Duke in 1951.

The Duke died in 1972, the Duchess in 1986. They are buried side by side at Frogmore, in the grounds of Windsor Castle. As stipulated in her will, all her jewelry was sold at auction with the proceeds going to a French hospital.

A Recipe for Writing (take 2)

There isn't a this...

when it comes to this...

But allow yourself some this...

and soon you'll discover a bowlful of this...

Add a bit of this...

and perhaps a dash of this...

Stir in a setting like this...

or this...

or even this...

(this is where I was for 2 days this summer)

and add some spice with this...

or even this...

When you feel like this...

Remember there's this...

Just follow your own this...

and before you know it, you'll be writing this.