Unwanted Visitors...In the Shower!

I’m entrenched in writing a middle grade novel steeped in love, friendship, jealousy, bravery, cowardice, insecurities and loss.  If I try to read, instead my mind is doing character development. When I try to write a letter, my characters sit on the paper like a cat does on your keyboard.

I do my best thinking in the shower and I needed one, so I decided in order to straighten out my thoughts, I’d just go ahead and take one. So, was it slumber parties and body insecurities that show up in the shower? No. It was super villains! From the young adult fantasy series that I’m shopping right now.

I was like, “What? Who invited you?”

They smirked. Then, being villains they had to remark on how I’ve gained weight since they’ve last seen me.

To which I replied, “Shut up!” You can be mean to villains, they don’t care.

They were really obnoxious, talking about how I should rename the first book and designate a clear series title. And then they told me how I could loop back around to that theme in the second book, which I’ve written about ¼ of, but frankly, writing a second book in a series that hasn’t sold is kinda depressing to me. I’m SO not J.K. Rowling.

They wouldn’t let up! They were telling me about mood, and specific conflicts and plot twists and…you know…what am I gonna do? Ignore them? Um, no! I can see it now, “Come back when I have time for you!” They probably would’ve stolen all of my clothes.

So, needless to say, the document I opened when I got out of the shower wasn’t my middle grade WIP.

Villains!

Comments

  1. Susan Kaye QuinnMarch 28, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    Villains! LOL Might as well jot that stuff down...I always forget it if I don't! :)

    Good luck with your YA!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kai Strand, AuthorMarch 28, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    Very detailed note file for that second book. Like you, I'd never remember how clever those villains are, if I didn't right down everything they told me.

    Thanks Susan.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kelly HashwayMarch 29, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    LOL. My characters interrupt my showers all the time, so I know exactly how you feel.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kai Strand, AuthorMarch 29, 2011 at 11:41 AM

    We writers are never truly alone, are we?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Susan Kaye Quinn, Author of Open Minds, Presents:

Image
Finding Time to Write the Sequel by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) Even before I decided to self-publish my new paranormal/SF novel Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) , I knew it would be a trilogy. But once I had made the decision to publish, the need to get busy on the sequel(s) kicked into high gear. Except that I was also publishing a book. Most writers find it difficult to balance writing with all the other demands in life. Even people who are lucky enough to write full time (which I am, since I write while my kids are at school), there’s still a tug between writing time and all the other things that need to be done. Once you’re published, this all changes, and not for the better. Now, not only do you need to write and get the kids to school and get the laundry done, but you also need to market your book, which can mean everything from actually getting it published (edits, covers, websites, blogs)...
Read more

Robot Writing - What It Is & How to Avoid It

Image
Many beginner writers fall into the habit of what I like to refer to as “robot writing.” It’s when you basically write your scenes like a grocery list. Ex: Marcy stood and walked across the room. Then she picked up the candle stick to inspect it. She blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Marcy dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. I call it robot writing because when I'm reading it I tend to fall into a robotic pattern and start to sound like the robot from the old Lost In Space series. "Danger. Danger. Will Robinson." You may as well put numbers in front of each sentence: First Marcy stood and walked across the room. Second she picked up the candlestick to inspect it. Third she blinked when she noticed the spot of dried blood. Fourth she dropped the candlestick and ran from the room. Don’t get me wrong, robot writing is absolutely acceptable in your first draft, no matter your writing experience. Your first p...
Read more

Don't Be Closed Minded. Read a Banned Book. #Giveaway

Image
On this list , compiled by the ALA, of the top 100 challenged books of the decades 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, I've read: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Adventure of Huckleberry Finn The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Blubber Crank The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time The Dead Zone The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things Fat Kid Rules the World The Giver Harry Potter (series) The Hunger Games (series) The Kite Runner The Lovely Bones Olive's Ocean Speak Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes That Was Then, This Is Now Thirteen Reasons Why Twilight (series) A Wrinkle In Time I would recommend any of them, but especially the titles I've linked. The thing with me and banned books is that I don't get it. The banning thing. Why would you ever feel the right to keep a book out of the hands of other readers? Why would you feel you have the authority to say what some can and cannot read? Do you have the right to voice your o...
Read more