Results of first writing session

So last night we had our first writing session. I am so pleased with the results.

Melly - goal: editing and writing 500 words. Result: 90%
R - goal: coming up with 3-5 scene ideas and write smthg up on each. Result: 100%
T - goal: finish reviewing my NaNo outline and to make the difficult changes I know are necessary. Result: 100%
L - goal: 500 words in new short story. Result: 100%.
M - goal: work on character development, further story building, read over/edit existing section. Result: 100%
S - goal: wiring a certain year of memoir. Result: 100%
Nienke - goal: work on outline. Result: 100%

We'll have another session tomorrow morning. That's Saturday at 10:00 a.m. ET if you want to join.

I will let you in on a secret, Nienke and I had two sessions prior to starting the group. I had written over 1,000 words in each! Yesterday I needed to edit what I had written so I set a smaller word-count goal. But I know that I can do about a 1,000 words an hour and that makes me absolutely ecstatic and I'm so thrilled with how this is going.

First Writing Session Tomorrow!

Well, response to my latest post has been quite positive. Nienke had posted on her blog too with similar response. Seems like we're all struggling with the same problem - discipline.

So I went ahead and started a public Google Group: Writing Session.
I think that means anyone can join, but let me know if you have difficulties.

Also, I scheduled the first session for tomorrow, Thursday October 26 at 8:30 Eastern.

If you're interested, go join the group and see more on your only responsibilities:
- Post goal
- Write for an hour
- Post achievement

I will try to aggregate the results after the session and publish them.

I hope you join and have fun.

Categories: writing, group, writing-session

Discipline, again and again, but Melly and Nienke have a suggestion

I have an idea.
Actually, I came by the idea due to a good friend whom most of you know. Nienke from The Writing Life told me the other day, "Let's do a writing war. Let's meet and write. This way we would simply have to," she said.
So we did. We met online, clocked the time, and after an hour we said - how did it go?
She made some serious advance in her outline; I had written 1,036 words!
We were ecstatic.

So I was thinking... Most writers often complain about lack of discipline. Why not try and inject some discipline into us?

Here's the idea:
Nienke or I will set up a group in, say, Google or Yahoo! or something.
We won't talk about writing in the group, but we'd write.

Here's how I think it might work:
- We'll "meet" twice a week at set times, let's say (this can all change). For example: Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET.
- Before 9, all participants will post their goal for the hour-long-session. Examples:

• - My goal is to write 500 words.
• - My goal is to finish chapter 4, or that complicated fighting scene
• - My goal is to work on the outline for chapters 11-20.
• - My goal is to find a market for my latest short story and submit.

You see, very specific goal.

- Then, at 9:00, I'll sound the bell and everybody would start working.
- The session will be an hour-long and at 10:00 I'll sound the closing bell. Of course, you can continue working.
- After the session has closed, all participants will send me a quantifiable success rate. 0%-100% of goal accomplished. No reasons, no excuses. Just goal and success rate.
- I'll compile the results and either post it here on our blogs, or in the group.

So what do you think?
Is that an idea that's already been done somewhere?
Is it completely retarded?

If you think it is a good idea, then tell us if you would like to participate and what would be good times for you.

If we get a move on it, we might be able to have it ready for NaNo.

Now it's up to you.

Categories: writing

Preparing for NaNo, or, How to write successfully

Uploaded on May 14, 2006
by josefuteimu

Lately, as NaNo approaches, I've been talking to friends and reading writers' blog posts about their own preparation for NaNo. I've noticed that many are trying to be plan ahead so that they wouldn't get stuck or something of the sort come November. Usually, this getting ready includes creating outlines, organize scenes, think thoroughly of their characters etc.

Talking to or reading about what other writers do in order to prepare for NaNo tends to almost always make me feel awful. See, I never do these things, I never prepare and when I read how many have their outlines ready or what not, it makes me feel guilty as I'm sure I should too. But it's not me. I sort of write from the hip -- if you'd allow me to tweak the expression -- seat-of-the-pants method, just let it flow, organically. (Maybe that's why I don't like books about writing, none of their methods ever worked for me).

Oh, I know that we've been through this a million times before probably, and if you recall, I always say the same thing - each writer should do what's good for him/her. Writers should use the tools they feel make their writing better. These tools just happen to not work for me.

So, I'm sorry to bring this up again, but NaNo preparation made me do it.
By the way, don't get me wrong, I do prepare an outline, but usually after I've started writing and after I'm done a few chapters. I also write notes about my characters, but again, not before, only while I write; things I want to remember about my characters -- either things I've already mentioned, or things I want to later mention and so on.

I even remembered reading a post Tambo wrote from a few months ago because I agreed with it so very much. Tools, not rules, she calls them. Editors don't care how writers write and writers are the only ones who know what works for them. Hear, Hear!

Categories: writing, plot, characters, nano, outline, process

One of my turns coming on

Uploaded on Aug 30, 2006, by jzakariya

I feel,

Anyone not living in a place where they literally dread the winter, will probably not relate to this post, although it's not just about the weather. Or maybe it is.

Cold as a razor blade,

The weather is turning here. The degrees are plummeting.
This Thanksgiving long weekend, though, is supposed to be nice, and we're planning a trip up north to see the leaves turning, the autumn, fall colours. That's about the only nice thing that is happening now.

Tight as a tourniquet,

I've been working hard lately and I've been really tired too. This could be a lingering effect from the war, but it could also just be normal. I do feel as if I have less time though.
Hubby and I have been doing what most people in this weather do around this time of year, prepare the house for winter - isolation, I mean, insulation, furnace, windows, evestroughs etc... everything we need to do before turning in for winter hibernation. I dread the winter.

Dry as a funeral drum.

The first thing I notice, this time of year, is that my hair turns flat. The jump and curliness are gone. This weather sucks me dry. I hope the dryness remains on the surface; I hope it doesn't reach my brain. I hope I don't find myself in a month planted in front of the TV until summer returns.

So you better believe it. I sure know it.

One of my turns coming on

I don't know what kind it would be. I hope it's the creative kind, not the depressive kind. I hope it's an active kind, not a "blah" kind. Maybe NaNo will turn me around from whatever winter mood I know I'll be in, help me through the first month of winter and make it all more bearable. I hope.

[[I also hope I don't get sued by Pink Floyd for this... More importantly, actually, I hope I didn't offend any Pink Floyd fans, I can understand if you're mad, I might have been too if I was reading, not writing this.]]

Wishes vs. Goals

It's funny, but I never thought about it until today. It makes sense, obviously, but I just never thought about it before.

I have hopes and dreams, just like anyone else. Wishes. I have no disillusion that that's all they are.

Some of these hopes and dreams I do want come true though. I try to achieve this by establishing goals. Some wishes, I don't. They remain in the realm of hopes and dreamland.

It's especially relevant to my writing.

I actually never hoped to write a bestseller. I never even hoped -- and it might come as a surprise to the few who have known me a while -- to write a critically acclaimed novel.

I did, still do, however, hope to sustain myself from my writing. I didn't, don't write fiction for that purpose, I write it because I like writing, but I hope. That one day. Maybe.

Because I have hopes I believe might be achievable, I set goals. You can all imagine what they are as I'm sure most of you have similar ones. In short, these goals amount to 'write and publish.' And I did, do. Both. Not to the extent I had hoped, but that's just it, that was a hope.

The goals I set are accomplished. Then, perhaps it's time for a new set of goals. Perhaps it's time for a new set of dreams too. Shouldn't we always try to aim higher than what we intend?

Why did I start thinking about it? Because of the way I write my current WIP. Somehow, I'm much more relaxed about it. I think that's good, it helps. I don't stress myself too much if don't write. And when I write, I enjoy it so much. I even write in bed in a journal. It's the best think that could have happened to my writing, I think.

So I can't really control my dreams, they're quite subjective. But I can control my goals. Maybe instead of aiming higher, I'll just stop aiming; have no more goals. Does that make sense?

Does everyone feel the disparity between their writing goals and their writing wishes? Does it affect the writing process?

Categories: writing, process

Meeting an Online Friend

Have any of you ever done that? Have you ever wondered how a person you've only met online would be like had you met that person?

Sometimes, I get the feeling that I know some of you so well that I can actually have a pretty good handle on what you are like in real life.

Well, the other day I got to test that theory of mine. I met a long time bloggy friend. It made so much sense, we both live in TO, we both like writing, we both seemed like reasonable sensible people, we both like the occasional drink ...

I can't lie. I had the normal fears and hesitations before the meeting took place. Will she turn out to be a total kook? Will she think I'm one? You know, all the regular stuff.

We met for 5 o'clock drinks. I love 5 o'clock drinks. And I'm glad to say I had the best time! It was so much fun. We got to know each other, even basic stuff such marital status and what not and we talked 'writing' and it was a blast.

I think that other than me staring at her amazing eyes occasionally and making her feel uncomfortable perhaps, it went well. To my defense, anyone would get lost in those eyes.

But hey, I had my first real blind "online friend" date and I think I came pretty close to what I thought she would be like.

Naturally, there were many surprises, and they were good. Besides, it would have been quite boring if there weren't any. I mean, who wants to know everything about another person within five minutes of meeting them, right? It will be fun to get to know her.

Categories: personal

Multi-dimensional Characters

I don't know about you, but my greatest fear is to write one-dimensional characters. Sure many a successful books had one-dimensional characters, but let's just not go there, I might get too frustrated.

You see, where can a writer draw his characters from? Real life, right?
So if I'm looking at a little sample of people I know very well and love, here are a few examples (from mild to extreme):

• An over-sensitive person to the point of a mental condition and medication, yet that person is also very smart, loving and financially calculated.
• A person obsessed about weight, putting the fear even into that person's children, yet this intelligent person is a loving parent in all other respects.
  
• An alcoholic who is self absorbed and extremely jealous, yet can also be the best friend any person could ask for without asking for anything in return.
• An extremely selfish, self-absorbed person who lives in his own little invented la-la land. That person conned people out of their money, truly believing he deserves that money. And yet, that person is a caring father and a funny guy.
• And the worst - an abusive person. Although I didn't know it at the time, that person turned to be cheating and abusive, while also being a friend. This person is still a friend, and if you'd seen him with his wife and child today, you wouldn't believe the possible monster hiding in him.

And these are just a few examples. I'm sure you know of many more.

So what am I saying? I'm saying people aren't one-dimensional. I'm saying that my greatest fear is to write a character that is all evil or all good or all something. Yes, one-dimensional characters can be funny (re The Simpsons :), but they're not real (and I don't know how to write funny anyways).

I think that when it comes to my main characters I'm okay, I manage multi-dimensions, but I think I'm having a bit more of a problem with the supporting characters. I believe I mentioned something about that before.

In any event, I don't understand one-dimensional even though I've been known to read several books like that. These were either bad, or had a lot to offer in other departments to offset the weak characterization. I just wonder if there's any time a one-dimensional character could be justified.

I know, this haven't been a very structured post with a well defined point to it. I just shared my thoughts. Can you tell I'm writing again? Yay!

Categories: writing, characters, process

Writing as a profession

I know several writers who manage to make a (good) living from their writing. Among them, some are novelist and some freelance writers. I've never seen bank accounts information, but I know they're well off.

I also know that those whose primary vocation is fiction writing, dabble occasionally in writing a freelance article, or something similar. Same holds true the other way around. The freelance writers try their hand at a short or eventually publish a novel as well.

I guess, what I was wondering is what is important. And you're all probably going to say that this is a stupid question -- what's important is what makes you happy in life. Nevertheless, I was wondering what is important to each writer. Is it the ability to make a living off one's writing? Or is it the actual writing itself -- writing only what one likes? (Of course, if one can combine the two - that would be sweet).

Also, for all you fiction writers out there. Some of you are holding a day job that isn't particularly relevant to writing. Some of you are holding a day job that involves writing of some kind (technical writing, manuals, what not). Some of you are freelance writers, meaning you have a day job, but maybe you work from home, etc. Yet in heart, what you would have wanted to do was to write fiction. So, how much does it matter that you're an architect during the day and a writer at night? Is one of your goals being able to support yourself from your writing? Any writing? Would you rather have a writing related job?

I hope I'm explaining myself properly. Last thing I want for anyone to think I think any less of any writing or job of any kind.

I'll tell you what's important to me. Being able to sustain myself in a job (a job that doesn't make me hate life) and that matches my life's goal and way of life, while continuing to plow away with my fiction writing. One short story at a time. One chapter at a time. And if one day I didn't need to hold a job to do that, meaning fiction writing could sustain me, well then, so be it. I wouldn't say no :)

Categories: writing, work, business, fiction, freelance, non-fiction

Writing a novel

I'm back, and I'm getting right back into it without any small talk - writing a novel.

What's your biggest obstacle in writing a novel? When writing a novel?
Mine has almost always been word count. That is, getting to the 100,000 or so words. Finishing the darn thing. I've done it, but it always was the biggest struggle.

Why am I mentioning this? Why now? Because I've just realized that I've actually written a novel length amount of words in the past three months. Three months! But it wasn't a novel.

Never mind. I wrote five days a week, a few hours a day and managed to produce around 100,000 words. Ha! All because I had to. Because I had deadlines. Because it's been my freaking job!

So what's the trick? How can I apply that to my fiction writing? Well, that's an easy answer, isn't it? It is something we all know the answer to even if we pretend we don't. Discipline. Treating writing as work. Making oneself write.

I have a good writer friend that might disagree with me, and I used to think the same way, but now I think I've changed my mind again.

In any event, I'll tell you in three months if I managed to apply this lesson to my fiction writing. Meanwhile, I was wondering, is that really the most common obstacle among novel writers?


Now, if I feel like it, I might tell you what I was up to the past couple of weeks. Might even include a picture or two! Depending on how quiet my weekend is and how much time I have left after cleaning the house. Plus, I really miss you all and desperately want to visit you :)

Categories: writing, novel, fiction, process, work

Mathematical Comic Relief

This one I actually thought was ingenious:


And if anyone has to ask me what's so funny about these... ummm... don't! :)

Categories: fun

Apologies and contests

Sorry.
I'm having a really difficult time getting back into the groove.
It's not like I'm not doing anything. I've lowered the new links in my bloglines feed from over 7,000 to ~2,500. I've trimmed the vine and hacked a path in the backyard. I've cooked!

And yet, ze blog suffers. There are a few reasons. One - I don't write. Still. Two - what used to be my anonymous personal space where I could rant about my writing woes is no longer that. Three - up until two days ago I just kept sleeping. Four - I'm a bit apathetic to stuff in general.

And yet, in my few excursions around the blogosphere (I'm trying to get to everyone as far as I can), I already found out about three fun contests:

• Today is the last day of the Lonely Moon contest over at Jason's The Clarity of Night.


• Writer Unboxed writers Kathleen and Therese have a wicked prize in their Writer Unboxed contest.


• And finally, more of a giveaway than a contest - Nienke over at The Writing Life asks "what aspect of writing sex scenes do you find hardest to write, and why?"

So this is it for now. Hope to get back in the saddle soon.

Categories: writing, contest, personal

From Reality to Fiction (back to regular writing posts)

Many of you, my writer friends that is, mentioned it would be interesting to see how my latest experience would affect my writing.

I was thinking a lot about it and I guess that even out-of-the-ordinary events (such as living in a war-zone) don't automatically turn into stories, just like "normal" or regular life doesn't.

I guess that what I mean is something we so often mention about plots - there needs to be more than a story. Beginning, middle and end, characters, action, climax and all the rest of the good stuff that makes turns a story into a plot.

For me, when I think of my experience, it seems dry. There was no hot romance, no spectacular bravery acts. Just simple people continuing their simple lives. While each person may indeed be brave, the plodding along is actually boring.

It's been over a week now that I'm thinking about it. A good sign of returning to normal and regular life. But I'm still not completely back in the groove yet. And I'm still not sure where I'm going with this post except to say that if you ever tried to write about how you fell in-love with your spouse, then you probably understand what I mean. There's a need for more than just telling the accounts of events. Maybe that's why autobiographies have their own categories?

Did any of this make any sense?

Good to back talking about this kind of stuff. Thank you all :)

Categories: writing, personal, plot

Last 'War Post', I Hope - Ever

As the war ended and the ceasefire held, I was going to have a few posts:

One about my trip to Nahariya, where I'd just meant to go to the beach, but ended up seeing, without even wanting to, just like that on my way to the beach, eight sites where rockets exploded. A sudden devastation amidst what seems like a normal city. Charred ground, burnt trees, crashed fences, crushed walls, wholes, dust. I couldn't even bring myself to take pictures. It felt like invading a privacy, like taking a picture of someone dead...

And I wanted to tally up the war for all those who like numbers and tell you how out of the 3,970 known rockets and missiles that fell in northern Israel (many others were never found and therefore not accounted fo), about a quarter fell on Kiryat Shmona. About 125-150 fell within a five miles radius from my parents' place. 750,000 trees were burnt, thousands of buildings are damaged, about a 150 people died, ten times as much are wounded, and an x amount of limbs are lost.

I wanted to tell you about the nice things - the good people who volunteered to feed abandoned pets, put out fires, supply food to shelters. The good people who opened their homes to families from the north, or the ones who donated money.
I wanted to tell you about the bad things too...

But ever since the ceasefire I try to just have fun, trying hard to ignore everything else. I've stopped watching the news, stopped reading, listening or anything that remotely reminds me of news. Right now I choose to put my head in the sand and ignore the voices. Because right now every bit of news that does manage to filter through and reach me is bad - from N.Korea trying out nukes to crazy terrorist plots to culture wars and to the imminent world war III. I feel like the ground under my feet can, at any moment, disappear. It isn't a post traumatic thing, it's simply the way things are.

I've never been a pessimist, and I'm still not. I'm going to fight this. I'm going to continue to reach out to people on the basis of peace and understanding. On the basis that most of us want the same thing out of life.

So that's all folks. I'm wrapping up my own little war blog but hope to still see the new visitors around occasionally.
I do, however, hope to never do this again.
Peace.
Out.

Day of ceasefire - semi normalcy

Early in the morning we had the last siren before the ceasefire and then it took effect.

Homefront Command issued new guidelines for my area, allowing us to leave the house but recommending to stay near them. Still no gatherings are allowed.

I took advantage of today to go shopping with dad, then for a few visits and then a walk with mom. Everybody's still pretty jumpy and I imagined on at least twenty different occasions hearing the beginning of a warning siren; each time my stomach clenched.

The atmosphere is still pretty tense and not many people are outside. Not many cars either. I don't know if that's because half the residents are away or because most are still afraid to leave their homes.

I was supposed to return to Canada today. I've delayed the flight so that I could spend some normal time with my family, not just wacky, nutty days. Still, I might go Katyusha touring tomorrow. See some of the sites. Today I "only" saw a road crater. There's normal for you!

(And if I don't seem overly happy about my often wished ceasefire, it's because I'm too mad at our "leaders" and too distraught by the pessimistic voices "promising" another war in six months to two years from now. How can we prevent that?)

Day before the ceasefire

As expected, rockets, Katyusha and missile firing is heavy today.
I've been to the bomb shelter countless times by now and I also lost count of the number of explosions. There are wounded (seriously hurt) in and around my area. More casualties (fatal) in other northern parts.

Will it really be over in 14 hours?

And then what?

Since I think it's quite obvious what I think of Hezbollah and the useless, cry-babies Lebanese leaders, let me also tell you what I think of Israeli leaders (and by far I'm not the only one who thinks so): an impotent, indecisive, good-for-nothing bunch!

(In fact, I've said far worse things, but let's just leave it at that).

Why I'm Here

Many people have asked me, and still do, why I left Canada and came to Israel at this time. Many people also asked me why my family (and I with them) chooses to stay in the dangerous and bombed north. I'm going to try to explain even though some of it might not be completely rational.

The first part of the question is easier. Anyone living away from their immediate family can understand that. Few things are more important than being with your family in times of crisis. To give and gain support and comfort for and from the ones you love most. I don't think I need to give examples, it's probably self explanatory.

The second part is a bit trickier. Why we choose to stay.

Try and imagine this: The country you live in is under attack. The city you live in is being bombed.
You have a choice - give up and leave the home you know and love, or stay and fight for your one and only home. You have no other after all. You can't just go to another country, and if you do, you'd be a refugee. You can't take all your family with you either as some cannot leave because of things not under their control. Would you leave family members behind? Would you leave your home?

And then there are the soldiers. They fight. For you. They give their lives daily. For you. They don't have to. They can choose not to (might spend a month in jail, but that's it). But they go in and fight. The least you can do is support them by being strong. They need that.

Am I making any sense?

While I personally may have another home, my family doesn't. I guess the way most people here look at it - if you don't fight for your home, no one will.

Surrealism

My aunt and I started the beautiful drive further north for a consolation visit. We put on Radio Haifa to hear the sirens, and were soon in the scenic Galilee.

The village is located hill top, with amazing valleys and mountains all around. The view was peaceful. Rather, it should have been.

Family and friends sat together outside the house, on the lawn. White plastic chairs. The kind used around a backyard table.

I couldn't bear look at the parents. I sat on one of the chairs, looked at the grass instead, and listened. Artillery booms. Someone crying. A chopper. A sob. People hugging. The siren begins.

I looked up for a moment. No one moved. I continued to sit outside, on the lawn, fighting not-fighting the urge to go to the nearby bomb shelter. Katyusha exploding. One, two, three. (I don't know yet, but a young mother and her five year old die in that barrage). A weep. More artillery. The siren winds down. People grieving. Artillery.

The jumble of sounds, the beauty of the place, the people, the pain. The pain. The pain. All so surreal.

We drove home and stopped at a red light just when the welcoming siren hit us. What to do? Leave the car? Luckily the light turned green so we drove to the side of the road and ran hunched to seek shelter under the nearest building.

Half a day in northern Israel.

And so it happened...

I'm back north, already "visited" the bomb shelter today and now about to take a road to another northern village to console a family whose son was killed yesterday.

It's a dangerous trip to take these days and I'm not taking it light heartedly.

But the reason is even worse. An awful feeling. It takes all I've got to stop the tears right now. The sadness overcomes the fear.

I will post more when I return.

Thank you all for your constant and relentless support. Who are we and what are we to demand such a thing as a peaceful life?

Can't think clearly

I actually prepared a comic relief post but just as I was about to post it, the news that 15 Israeli soldiers died today came out.

Rumors have been flying all day long, but I wished it not true. It didn't wish hard enough. I'm going to bed now with a heavy heart.

So instead, here are pictures a friend sent me from the rocket that fell in the beginning of the week near my parents' place, the barrage that made me need a breather.

By some bizarre crazy lucky coincidence, the rocket exploded in the ground, not when it hit the ground.

Anyways, going back north tomorrow. Will post more then, when I have nothing else to do except becoming a sitting duck again...

Gosh, I wish this to stop. I miss my husband and I want to feel normal again.