Roadblock!

We all have road blocks from time to time- for Tansy, they’re bad guys and bad hairdos. For me, it's computer issues or laziness. Regardless, though, we need to take a page from Tansy's book and forge on. How, otherwise, will we find out (for those of us writing mysteries) whodunit? How will we find out what wonderfully romantic twist will blow our MC's socks off?


Most days, I can come up with at least a million excuses as to why I'm NOT working on writing- the floor needs vacuuming, I need to organize my closet, the dog barfed- throw a dart and call it- whatever it lands on, I'll have no problem coming up with double that many excuses. Most days, I can do a bit of something, and then get down to writing. It's my agreement with myself. I give in to my drag your feet lazy nature, and then reward myself by writing for at least half that time, or if I'm adventurous- the same or even, gasp, more time.

But, you say, what am I to do? I argue and plead and thrash around (yes, temper tantrums are NOT above this author) and I just cannot seem to make myself make time. Well, here's the challenge. The next time you find yourself organizing anything by some ridiculous system (i.e.- pantry by color and country of food origin) you sit yourself down and write your character doing this same thing. It could be they are working on solving a mystery, and sorting makes them think straight (we all know that's EXACTLY what you told yourself) or maybe they have someone they cannot stand who is completely crazy anal-retentive and they try to have a conversation with this person. Whatever you come up with - USE the procrastination 'job' as a tool for your writing. It doesn't have to 'fit' with your current WIP, it can just be an exercise, but - it did it's 'job'- it got you writing.

A Very Sad Day Indeed....

Well, it's official... I am not all great and powerful and the world does NOT beckon to my every whim. Okay, in my head it still works that way, but in the real world- hell no! My baby is in the hospital. Yup, hardrive going down- had to take her in to see if they can bring her back from the 'mostly dead'. Where is Miracle Max when you need him? Oy, so, today's lesson is- new computer does not instantly = better computer. In April- after I'd completed my book and my husband had gotten a bonus- he took me out and bought me a bright shiny new laptop. We poured over which to buy, and in the end, settled on almost the exact same model that he'd bought me six years prior. I'd never had a problem with my laptop, and in fact, except for a small 'cold' that took her out of commission for a week or so, she had been the ultimate computer best friend. (As a matter of fact, I'm writing on her as we, er, speak.)

So, now for the 'Yes, Virginia, Kathy is not the brightest' moment. Can we say, backup your work? Everybody, repeat after me - 'Even though you have a NEW computer and you've NEVER had a computer issue before- BACK UP YOUR WORK!'

Yes, as the Geek Squad leader (who maintains five external hard drives at his home for all of his precious electronic 'stuff') told me- you MUST backup. So, moral of the story- don't think that NEW is BETTER- because sometimes, it just ain't the truth! Now, everyone say a little prayer for Tansy's recovery- because, even though most of it's in my head- it just won't be the same if I don't get it back in one piece.

Terrible Awnry No Good Rotten Words...

Writing is hard.

Don't get me wrong- I love it. Without writing, there would be less of 'me'. It is an escape, a daydream of sorts, and I love getting lost in my stories. But the act of writing those stories down- in a mainly coherent mannor- is taxing. It takes effort to get all of the nuances and details absolutely correct. Actually, for me it is an insane amount of effort when my perspective on characters can change suddenly and sometimes deliberately.

Take Tansy's mom, June. In my first book, she is introduced as somewhat of a free spirit or hippie. Tansy needed a way to connect with Callie, and they found a commonality in their mothers. Now, Tansy is back in her home town, and low and behold, her mom is not a hippie. In fact, she is more of the June Cleaver type. So, how to marry this stubborn character with what I'd already planned for her, is the task at hand. Fortunately, this is fiction, and I have the liberty to make crazy things happen. Unfortunately, it is not in my own nature to just change people. So, you can imagine, I'm busy creating a whole backstory as to why Tansy's mom was once a hippie and now has morphed into a conservative June Cleaver, polyester pants, pearls and all.

To all you writers out there- keep up the hard work, and don't let these stubborn characters get you down!