MY CREATIVE PROCESS--WHY I MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES

When I started to write my first novel, I hadn't a clue about what goes into writing a novel. I had this idea about this hero named Jared who was this macho type loner cop. He'd been hurt in the past, so he kept himself a safe distance from relationships. He had lost his son to SIDS and about the only thing that gave him any purpose in life was the adrenaline rush he got from his job. He has this female friend named Ryan who has no family, was abused as a teenager, and basically, through the course of his "job" he became Ryan's protector. He helped her get a job, get into college, get a good start in life when she probably wouldn't have had a chance. This is what Jared does. He takes care of people. Kind hearted man. I kind of fell in love with Jared when I was developing his character.

Anyway, I thought, "what if Ryan was in danger? what if someone was stalking her? might rape and kill her?" I thought that was an interesting idea. What would Jared do? He had saved her from being raped when she was 16, but couldn't save her mother. He felt responsible for her. Hell, Jared would do anything to protect Ryan. Then I thought, well, what the hell does Ryan want? Hmmm.... I know, she wants Jared. Now that Jared is moving (literally, that idea just popped into my head, the ticking clock, sort of) she figures she will seduce him. A one night stand. That's all she wants. Nothing more, nothing less. Except, of course, she's in love with the man. Now she's being stalked. Oh no. What she doesn't want is Jared to get all protective of her. Come to her rescue. That actually drives her nuts. She's a big girl and can take care of herself. She doesn't need or want him to be like that with her--she wants him to see her as a woman, not some kid he saved from her evil step-father.

That's where IN TWO WEEKS came from, which is available now from The Wild Rose Press. It's honestly the first book I ever wrote. Of course, I had to revise, rewrite, revise, rewrite and revise and rewrite some more before I got the story write. I wrote a few other novels in between all this revising and rewriting. I took a few writing workshops and learned how to hone in on my creative process by figuring out what works for me.

Right now I'm working on a book titled TIRED OF CRYING. It's been a month of front loading my work, something I learned from Bob Mayer and his teachings through his Writer's Workshops and Warrior Writer. Check out Kristen Lamb's blog regarding Warrior Writer. Great stuff there. Anyway, one the things I learned through having to rewrite my books over and over again, is that if I get a solid foundation, a solid lock on protags goals and motivation, antag's goals and motivation and a solid lock on their conflict, writing are really great novel will be, well, I won't say easier, but the foundation won't crumble on me.

So, what do I do. I've learned that being a plotter is both good and bad. I need to know certain things up front. That's good. What I can't do is become "married" to those ideas. Some of them will be bad. Some of them will be merely place cards for my subconscious seeds for something deeper and more important to character or plot. I need to understand what my characters needs and goals are before I write chapter one. But at the same time, I have to grow with my characters. Where I think I might be taking them, might not be where the lead me and I have to open to that.

I was really struggling with this idea. Fumbling around in the dark without a flashlight. I went back to the things I've learned from Bob Mayer over the years. One of things I remember him telling me was that I tend to get lost in the antagonist plan. That my ideas start to negative, which in turn leads me to hook into the antagonist. Sure, you need a good antagonist, but you have to have a strong protagonist that readers are going to want to spend 100k with.

I can do a damn good antagonist. So, this time, on the advice of Bob Mayer, I dug deep into my protagonist. Asked myself Who is she? What does she want? Why does she want it?

In doing this I think I was able for formulate what my book was about based on my protagonist instead of my antagonist. With the last three books I wrote, I focused so much on the antagonist goals, that I might as have been telling the story from his POV. Now, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, however, as a writer, it's not what is in my heart. It's not where I, as a writer, want to goal. This made think about what my goals were, which made me think of the bottom line of the book. What is the pay off to the reader. What do I want them to get out of the reading process. That's when it hit me. I kept making the same mistake because I was unwilling to look at what wasn't working and fix it. I wasn't willing to change.

One of the big things with characterization is change. A character starts off one way, and then changes. The character has to change, or he/she won't be able to beat the antagonist and win. Achieve their goals. Get what they want.

Ah-ha! In order to get what I want (a great book) I have to change. I have come to believe this is an ongoing process, one that shouldn't never stop. People are always talking about reinventing themselves. I think that is just a fancy word for coming to the conclusion that in order to move forward, one must change.

And there you have. My creative process today. Tomorrow, this will change, I'm sure.

THE SWEET SPOT FOR THE RIGHT IDEA

This past month I have been chasing my tail. I started by pulling an old manuscript from my desk and dusted it off to find it sucked, though was an interesting idea - if I looked deep into the idea, which I was not doing. I was stuck on vampires. Then demons. Then vampires and demons. Then werewolves started showing up. Shape-shifters. A few more demons and before I knew it, I was completely and utterly confused.

So, I emailed a friend who helped me get back on track in a weird sort of way. One thing I'm not afraid of (and believe me, I have many phobias) is learning and listening to those who are smarter than me. Anyway, I did a lot of reading and watching movies this month. I watched Gone Baby Gone, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Nobodys Fool, My Sisters Keeper, Rose Mary's Baby, The Exorcist, Pretty Woman, Steel Magnolias, Scarface, Casino, Demon Hunter, Constantine, The Devil's Advocate, Rain Man and then last night watched Gone Baby Gone again.

This morning, I pulled out my original idea and tried to figure out from that one sentence how I had ventured off in so many different directions. While doing that, my protagonist became very clear through the emotions I was feeling. The key to writing good characters is to make them real. Feel their hopes and dreams. Their fears. Their pain. Same goes with all your characters.

With every direction there was on underlying theme or idea - Katie (the protagonist) has to find her birth mother before the antagonist does - this criminal in Vegas who did a very bad thing a very long time ago. What never changed was the idea my protagonist was not only searching for her mother, but herself. What I hadn't done was cry with my protagonist. I hadn't made her real. She was simply fiction - instead of a real character with a real problem that had to be solved or she would fail. That is what makes good fiction great - the realness.

Anyway, by watching and reading, I came to understand my character. Who she is. What she wants. Without the movies or books, I'm not sure I'd have a creative process. You have to find your sweet spot through finding your blind spot. My blind spot with this book had been holding back on a subject that will force me to open a major vein and bleed out, completely. To cry real tears on paper.

READING AND WATCHING MOVIES THE RIGHT WAY

Last night I was in my office watching a movie on my computer (DVD in office is broken). So, there I was, on the floor, remote in one hand, pen and paper in the other. One of my kids walked in and said "Um, Mom, what are you doing?" I replied. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm watching a movie." Child then said, "It looks more like you are in class taking notes." I laughed. So true.

No one likes to watch movies with me. I always want to stop, rewind, play it again. I'm always stopping the movie to take notes, jot down ideas. Or, if the movie is bad, I'm always yelling at the TV.

Movies and Books are my classroom. It's where I learn about how to craft a good story. It's where I find out how to create memorable characters. Write good dialogue. Figure out the details. Understand when my characters are too stupid to live.

I spent a fair amount of time bugging a friend with my latest idea. After a few emails it hit how huge my idea had become. Plot is great. Need good plot. But just as important, if not more important, you need memorable characters. So, what am I doing this morning? I'm going to watch a movie dealing with the topic I want to write about and study how that story is told. Then, I'm going to read a book recommended by a friend. While it is not about the topic, it's about a character that is similar to what I want my character to be --- flawed, very flawed.

I've never understood writers who say they do not have time to read or watch movies. Yeah, we are all busy. I've got a husband, three kids, a house, part-time job.... welcome to life. However, salesman have time to learn about their craft. Golfers take lessons (even Tiger Woods). If you want to get better, you need to study your craft.

I taught dance for over 20 years. I took classes from other teachers to learn new moves and keep up with the latest in dance. The same must be applied to writing. Where do you learn? From other story tellers. From books. From movies. From TV shows.

Some people look at the time I spend reading and watching movies as a waste of time. They actually think I don't take my writing seriously. That I'm all whimsical, artsy fartsy... in a nutshell they think I'm just weird. Maybe I am. Who knows. I just know that if I want to master my craft, I need to study it. Take notes on it. Figure out what, how and why authors did what they did in their stories that made them so great. Only way I'm going to write a better book.