​I love reading. I love turning the pages of a book, or flicking the screen of my Kindle, and watching a story unfold. It's always about the journey, not the destination. It keeps me in the now and takes me away from my worries.

When I read, I find inspiration. Words, strung together in a magical way. Characters that behave contrary to the norm, who charm me, steal my breath with their aliveness.

Am I envious? I'll admit to wiping the drool occasionally.

Am I content to enjoy the work of others? Absolutely.

When I recently went through a bout of writer's block, all I could enjoy was take notes and read. Sometimes, reading was the only thing my brain seemed capable of doing.

And it makes me wonder, if you studied the habits of your favorite authors, if you'd find they are voracious readers?

I leave you with this. What are you reading? Has it helped you find inspiration?

I wish you all the best and..Happy reading!
Sue

Like this post? Want to keep in touch? Great! Please see the side bar to sign up and receive these posts via email.

 I enjoy writing in the first person. Sometimes I use present tense (for ya contemporary), and other times I use past tense (for my fantasy books). What ever the tense,  I'm a sucker for internal dialogue.

Oh, the joy of belching out that stream of consciousness, allowing the character to speak freely, the ability to drive the story deeper, delving into the inner most thoughts of a character's mind...It's just so fun!

I enjoy reading first person narratives too. And I've been discovering something lately...

Crafting  good internal dialogue is tougher than it looks.

And so I've compiled four things to watch for:

1. Info. Dumps.  (see my previous post for more). Internal dialogue is probably the most confusing place to dump information because, really, if the character knows so much why are they in that pickle? Nothing launches me quicker out of a story than when a character reveals information via an internal narration that they shouldn't know. Which leads me to the next point...

​2. When internal narration becomes just plain narration.  Ever read an internal dialogue and suddenly feel like its off somehow? When that happens to me, I go back and reexamine (which means I'm no longer in the story. Which is bad btw) and usually find the voice has changed somehow. I'm no longer in the character's head, but the narrator's head. 

3. Character dumps. This is similar to information dumps, but the information is specific only to the character. Let me explain.

When I write first drafts I allow the character to share with the readers all their deepest fears, their challenges, their struggle in long, drawn out internal dialogue blocks. I find this useful in getting to know the character better. The trouble comes when it's left intact and not edited, because in the strictest sense, this is telling, not showing!  Don't agree?

Well then, ask yourself:

How much stronger would a scene be if the character enacted or lived their deepest fear instead of telling the reader they had one?

4. Not enough internal dialogue. Does that seem possible? Probably not! But I've read some ya books lately that go a bit too far with culling and cutting back internal thoughts and dialogue. The action's great! But where's the reaction? Sometimes, it makes it harder for me, the reader-who-is-now-the-character understand or empathize with the character's plight.

What do you think? Love/hate internal dialogue? 
I'd be happy to hear from you!
cheers-
​Sue

Like this post? Want to keep in touch? Great! Please see the side bar to sign up and receive these posts via email.

Information dumps., aka large clumps of information designed to keep a reader on track with what the writer wants the reader to know. Why do fantasy writers in particular struggle with this issue?

Perhaps they're worried their readers won't be able to keep up and they think let's get all the world building done in one clump? Maybe fantasy writers are inherently worrisome? After all, most genres allow the story to unfold and trust their readers to figure it out as they read along. Who really knows?

It's easy to spot the obvious info dump--just look for pages of technical or world-building information that goes on and on... leaving the reader feeling, well, like they've just attended a lecture delivered by a bored, monotone profession on a Friday afternoon on the last day before school break...

Well, you get the idea. But if you don't, here are two examples:

"Gee, Jane, did you know the baddies are from Planet X, have three eyes, have ten stomachs and eat humans, live for two hundred years and can fly?"

"No, John, I didn't."

"Yup. The planet was destroyed in a civil war that lasted three hundred years. The Zargonots pledged to overthrow the vicious Scallawags and developed a cyber weapon that wiped out all electronic devices. After they won, the Zargonots tried to rebuild their infrastructure but without the Scallawags help, they couldn't. When they ran out of food, they sent a probe into space, hoping to find a new planet--one that they could take over. The probe veered off course and discovered our lovely blue orb, and now they're here!"

Gasps. "You're kidding. Tell me more!"

Okay, so this may be obtuse, and perhaps you're chuckling (you should be, btw), but I've actually read this form of dialogue in published books. When an author conveys info via dialogue, it can come off as stilted and unbelievable. Who wants to be lectured? Just ask my teen, it's annoying!

Another form of info dump comes from the protagonist in an internal dialogue. 

Jane grasped the gun in her hand, aiming low to hit the slobbering beast stalking her. This was the first time she'd seen a space alien and she'd never imagined anything quite so disgusting. Planet X grew fierce some creatures with an appetite for humans. Their three hundred year war had decimated their food population and now they had set their sights on Earth...

​Did you catch it? The dump?

Also hidden within this last example is something I like to call a narrator tell. Really, how would Jane know so much about Planet X if she's never been there? Who told her about the war? The narrator may know it, but how would Jane? (more on this in an upcoming post).

But don't get me wrong. Info dumps have their place. Yes! In first drafts! Those dumps are often full of plot points and character development. Once you have a draft, go back and pull that information apart. Keep some, inserting it judiciously throughout the story (with it being revealed by multiple characters.) The rest, save in a separate file, and never let it see the light of day.

Just remember, even though you may love all this detail, your reader may not. And it's never wise to bore your reader.

I wish you happy writing!
Sue

I'll admit it, I've been in a slump lately. I was banging on those keyboards, creating, editing, writing whatever my brain damned well pleased and then I hit a wall. I'd submitted a ya fantasy to an acquisition editor, who loved it, but offered pages of suggestions to make it viable... all of which amounted to a complete rewrite.

This is where my newbie status reared its ugly head.

I thought I knew how to edit, when really I knew how to figgle with a story (figgle= trying to improve the quality of the entire arc by picking away at the small stuff.)

It was hard, hitting that wall. I still feel bruised. I remember thinking when I read that wonderful email... just how am I supposed to do this? How?

After that, everything I wrote seemed like garbage. I questioned every word, every thought...so afraid no matter what I wrote, no matter how well crafted it would end up like before. NEEDING TO BE REWRITTEN WHICH I DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DO!

I couldn't write. It wasn't productive to keep trying, so, I took a break and did only what felt doable. Like spending time imagining the story at a deeper level, and filling a notebook with pages and pages of ideas, thoughts, questions, tearing the character and plot apart, only to rebuild it.

I didn't write in full sentences. I couldn't.

You may have noticed some large gaps in my blog posts. They coincide with this period. Was I full of self-doubt and tormented at the thought of that editor, patiently (???) waiting for me to do a complete rewrite? You betcha. Could I do anything about it?

Nope. I couldn't even write a stinking post.

Then a funny thing happened just last week. I was pulling out my hair, trying to get the damned story to focus, when I realized I was beginning to hate it. Not too strong a word. Trust me. I HATED IT.

So, I put it aside, which just about killed me, and panicked at the image of that editor, calmly moving on.

I was miserable one day, sitting at my computer made me more miserable, and then I remembered I'd loaded one of my other stories onto an email and decided to give a poke on my phone. Did I pray to the Muse Gods that it would spark my confidence?

You betcha.

And wow. What a blast. I couldn't believe how much I'd written, and how good it was! It felt like a curtain pulled back, revealing the real me! I was a writer, damn it, and a good one, or at least good enough to face this challenge.

After a week of working on that story (another 10,000 words closer to completion, thank you very much), my mind unlocked, and suddenly I was pulled back to the original ya fantasy. And now, as I finish chapter 4 (all full sentences), and write this post, I feel my confidence returning.

What I've taken from this experience? Managing expectations.

I didn't want to, I was forced to honor my creative spirit and value the times when it's screaming for a break. I may have expected to have this story crafted and back in the hands of that waiting editor pronto, but it couldn't happen at the pace I set. It'll get done. And the story will be stronger.

Because I am stronger now.

I wish you all happy writing, in whatever form it takes.

Sue