Thursday, March 3, 2011

20 Questions

Yesterday I received a tweet. For those of you not familiar with Twitter, that's what you call a little post someone makes. Anyhow, this tweet said, "I'll post something new if you will." That was my cousin Ken's way of saying, "We are bad bloggers. Get back at it, lady." Well, I think that's what it means. My cousin lives in Ottawa and I don't see much of him, but I figure that's the general gist of what he means. So here I am, blogging.

The other part of his tweet, well, that's the part I don't really want to write about. He asked, "Any progress with the writing?" Should I hold a poll to see what you all think the answer to that is? You got it. It's a big no.

"Vicki!", I bet you're wondering. "The last time you posted you were all ready to embrace the inspiration of the morning and write and write and write." And I did. I wrote about six pages, which is pretty good. But then I got on twitter, and created an account for Ches's, and tweeted for that, and then I had supper, and then I turned around and it's two or three weeks later and here I am with no blog, no new writing, and a derelict twitter feed for the family business. I suck.

To be honest, I should have inspiration to write all over the place. The hubby is supportive, the family is supportive, I even had that kick in the pants from a real romance writer. And still, I'm approaching another weekend with no idea what I can produce this weekend.

I've done all kinds of "sort of" work. I sent in my membership to the Romance Writers of America, a writer's organization for people like me. I almost booked a research trip to England, but then hubby realized he was too far behind in his work for us to go. I re-read a book about regency era fashions. I even read a couple of new romance novels including "A Lady Most Likely", which has two of my favourite authors together! But no writing. So I need your help. I gotta get my head back in the game. So I'm asking you to ask me a question, something for me to ponder about the story. Like "Is your main character allergic to grass?" or "Why is your main hunk a Duke?" You can ask it either in this blog, or on twitter, or on facebook, or to me directly. Maybe I'll blog some answers. And even better, maybe it'll get me thinking a little differently and get me past this hump I'm stuck on. I'd really appreciate the gentle prod.

Just so you know, it's not that I don't think about the story. Yesterday, for instance, I told a co-worker I was going to make a crotchety, curmudgeon character and model it after him. Sorry JMR. We made up after, and now he can be much more dashing. And I've also booked a week off work in April so I can disappear somewhere to really get some writing done. That works for me, the hiding away in the woods. So I'm going to do it again. And it would be great if I'm back in fighting form when I do it.

So please, friends. Help a struggling storyteller out. Ask me a question.

7 comments:

  1. Oh my neice, you really do need to get back at it. I'll ask a question is your character allergic to fish :)? Sorry, family business and such, and in that if we go to lunch and you show me the twitter stuff I could do that....I am an avid facebooker so you never know I could get the twitter bug too.

    If you think abbk to all the "characters" we have had flow through the family business I'm sure there are some you could use...another topic for lunch :)

    As for your week off, I know of a perfect place to gather thoughts...where an avid romance reader spent alot of time. If you would like to go there let me know.
    I know you will get yourself together and write a wonderful novel.

    my question...in true Kathy form...what kind of wine do your characters like to drinnk?

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  2. in true baby sister fashion, Does your character have siblings and if so do they visit often? LOL. I know you can do it. i am with kat, no place like da bay to give you dat kick in the arse

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  3. 1. What did the Duke do to make her so angry?
    2. How did the Duke discover the other guy needed financial help?
    3. What does she like most about her garden?
    4. Does the Duke visit the kitchen at night?
    5. What are the names of her cats?

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  4. A kick in the pants is what we all need at times...

    I've found in the past that a night school class sets deadlines and, to avoid embarassment, you come through with the goods in time for the next class. T'd recommend creative writing at MUN nightschool with Ed Kavanagh (parts 1 and 2). Both are 8 sessions and well worth the price.

    Also, a writer's group helps as well. Again, you set a date for the next meeting (in our case it's just once a month) and the members bring in a short fiction story or part of a longer project for feedback from the group. In our case the 'group' is only three at the moment.

    I've heard that it's just the act of writing something...anything...to get the ideas started.

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  5. Another great blog, sweetie!

    I'm going to tell you something that works for me, and take it however you like. I don't do background for my characters. I mean, I write a 5 page synopsis that tells the basic story, ie "John thinks he'll marry only because he's obligated to produce an heir. He never expected to fall in love -- with a seamstress." But that's it. And then I write. The characters flesh themselves out as need be.

    I guess what I'm saying is maybe don't spend so much time making a whole person. That takes a lot of work, and it's not writing a book. And you're writing a book. Plus, half the fun for me is discovering who the character is through writing him. If my synopsis is too detailed I feel like I've already written the book, and the magic part is gone. That makes writing even harder -- and it's hard enough as is.

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  6. When I read that the lady came to Nfld from England I wondered why the move and how does she handle the harshness of the new land. Did she live a life of privilege in England? Was there lost love or family misfortune that would affect her acceptance of a new life and a new love? I saw a CBC show about 6 years ago that told of 2 sisters who came to Canada in 1831 and how each adapted to the hardships in very different ways. Not a romantic story but very interesting. I believe it was based on Susanna Moodie and her sister's experiences.The book is "Roughing it in the Bush". Good Luck

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  7. I am very interested in this crotchety Duke. He sounds like a swell cove. Please tell me more about him.

    Was he at Waterloo?

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