Tag: novel

The world turns upside down…

~ Meg ~ 32 Comments

Tuesday is the first of November, the day the novel writing frenzy begins. I have the weekend to prepare, make sure I’m ready to forget everything else and just write. I know some people map it all out, have incremental goals, and so forth. But I don’t flourish as a task orientated writer. That’s not to say I’m not organized. I do have the story all plotted out, but I am not writing with an outline.

When I say plotted, I mean I’ve written down the list of events that need to take place from the beginning to the end. I have snippets of conversation jotted on my index cards. I have character biographies written and I have a blank timeline spreadsheet started to keep track of my events as I write them. This approach can make the pacing of a novel more difficult. That is, making sure all the action isn’t bunched together with lots of dead space in between. We’ll see how it goes. The point of the whole exercise is  to get the story written, after that the massive edit can begin.

I have an obstacle or two to write around as well. Work of course, can’t be set aside for an entire month obviously. But I also have something special planned for the first weekend in November: I have tickets to Hamilton on Broadway. And a visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I guarantee no writing will happen on the 5th and 6th of November. Totally worth it, though.

Listen, fool…

~ Meg ~ 32 Comments

“The first and most important requirement is an understanding of human nature. … A man learns nothing when he talks; he learns by listening. Which is why those who talk the most are, in the ordinary run of things, fools.” – Essay on Novels, The Marquis de Sade

More writing advice from the esteemed (alright, notorious and dubious) Marquis de Sade. He is onto something, however.

Writers need to be students. Students of all that life has to inform us. I am a firm believer in reading, observing, listening and contemplating (possibly to a fault – I do drift off sometimes into my own private world of wonder). How else can a writer put him or herself into the mind of a character –a character who does not share your own life’s experience, beliefs, opinions, motivations, desires or biases?

Ask the why and the what for? What motivates people to do the things they do? Is it a lust for power, wealth, fame? Or duty, honor and family obligation?  Or most nobly, for love?

Observe people talking to their partners across the table at a restaurant. What do you gather from their facial expressions? Is it a romantic evening or is tension in the air? What can you gather by listening to the person next to you on the train as they talk on the phone? Is it business, a family matter, personal? (I am not advocating stalking, FYI!)

Just like traveling to the location we wish to use as our setting so as not to get it wrong, the characters we write also need to be authentic. And thus as we listen and observe, we then become empaths, placing ourselves in the situations we wish to write about.

And in the spirit of the above advice, I will stop talking and let the marquis’ words stand on their own.

Image thanks to NPR

Picking up where the story left off…

~ Meg ~ 19 Comments

It’s been eight months since I looked at the fifth novel in my series. For those of you just joining me, my novel series is set in my home area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bucks County is situated in the southeast corner of the state, within shouting distance of Philadelphia. The books have followed a group of friends, each book concentrating on the story of one of them, or two as the case may be, as a couple gets together.

As the series progressed, I moved from the original six characters to write the story of some of the minor players. The fourth book has set up the plot for the fifth and after the fifth, I have one more book to write to finish the series. Six is a good number -a half dozen, a double trilogy.

It’s been hard to get my mind back into the world I’ve created there, however. I never gave it any thought, but my writing has drifted far away from that original style and genre. I hope I can still write a lighter, more humorous story. But to give you a taste, here’s the novel synopsis I entered for NaNoWriMo:

Even though Maya Kaminski is just getting by, her dream of opening a French bakery/cafe in her hometown has finally come true. Although she struggles financially, she is too proud to accept help from friends who have the means to ease her burdens. Its only when a ruthless competitor opens a rival enterprise right across the street, that Maya finds herself with little choice but to bring in a partner or go under. 

Not perfect, I know. The blurb is the hardest thing for me to write. This story will be part mystery, part comedy and –as expected–part romance. I will be posting updates and excerpts here during the month of November –that is if I manage to write something I’m particularly happy with.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It really means the world to me.