Monday, June 21, 2010

What happens when you move and lose internet access for three weeks?

You skip the blog.  Wow.  That also means I haven't written anything but a poem for my husband (which he loved).

Well, now I am back online and mostly unpacked.  I have about a month to send something out.  That's the story of my writing life, sometimes.  Writing always takes the back seat, and I have a nagging remorse that won't quit.

The good news is that I am not online or watching T.V. as much as usual, so I can kill some of that guilt.  That would be time well-spent on living and doing things that matter.  I have been reading in my time away from the keyboard.  Now, it's the Death Collector by Justin Richards.  It's not the greatest piece of literature, but it's teaching me what not to do.  Right now, not develop shallow characters with boring motives.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

The Long Road or Short Cut?

So,

I have been working on this monstrosity (well 37 page story with no end), and I am not sure if I should chop it down or write a novel.  In truth, I have fallen into this trap before.  One little story becomes a novella-sized piece, and at that point, I’m screwed because I either don’t end it or have something too long for anything but sharing with friends (Damn, that sounded dirty.). 

What we have here is a post-apocalyptic werewolf story where the father abandons his son (I know.  I don’t just write “serious” fiction.).  Yet, I kept going after the father abandons the boy.  My common-sense writer self tells me that I should end the story with the father leaving.  But, my imaginative-can’t-end-stories self wants to write about the aftermath of the boy looking for his dad.  But, now that I’m writing this stuff, I’m asking, “Should a writer answer all the questions and resolve all the character’s desires?”  Well, duh, no.

Well, I can’t tip on this issue because I don’t have it figured out.  In fact, this is my Achilles heel.  Some writers have a hard time cranking out material; once I get going, I crank out too much.  I also think that sometimes, I want to write a movie.  I don’t mean a screenplay; I want to write a movie, and that is not possible.  (Tip 12) The writing needs to be contained to fit its genre.  Besides, writing shouldn't just be about images and action.  Nube writers focus too much on the visual, when there are so many other senses and facets to explore.  

And with that, I’m going to explore the mess my husband is making in the kitchen.  He is entering a waffle adventure, while I take some time to get some words on paper.  

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What happened to the discipline?

Well, as much as I would like to blame the Netflix marathon I have been on and the constant baby care, the truth is that I haven’t been following the golden rule:  Write every day.  Even for just a little while.

If that is not happening then one day of not writing becomes ten days.  (Or in my case, way more.)  What is the solution?  A realistic schedule.  It used to be that I had some free time in the mornings, but now my mornings are filled with rigorous nursing phases and conversations with Drool Buckets, my son.  Mornings don’t work, but evenings are better (after the nightly baby bath and obligatory shower).  So, it’s time to try the evenings; that will also require me to stay away from Facebook, Netflix, and the enormous plasma in the living room.

On a happy self-discovery note, I have been reading The Guardians by Ana Castillo.  Sure, I have read books about the border and Chicano life, but this work really validated my work.  She writes about the desert and incorporates political analysis about race and class in a way that is not preachy.  The commentary is a reality of the characters’ lives.  Which brings me to (Tip 11), never preach your politics in the writing, especially if the preaching is forced.  I like this piece of work too because she weaves the tangents and multiple characters beautifully in the piece.  I tend to have a tapestry of stories within stories, but I think I overdo it.  

The other thing I like about the novel is that her characters are complex and have good and bad in them.  After all (Tip 12) the protagonist can’t be 100% good and the antagonist 100% bad.  Characters need both flaws and virtues or otherwise they are not credible or worth knowing, er reading. 

Now about the ultimate goal of this blog, motivation to send out my work.  By this August.  (No, I won’t be mailing it to myself or my friends.)  I have to do research on what journals might take it.  I know it’s harder to publish a short story than it was in the past.  And I am old school, so I prefer print.  I just don’t fancy reading a long work on the screen (except when I am out of paper).  I know that is environmentally cruel, but my eyes can’t take it.  So, sometime this week, possibly today since I am so energized, I am going to research journals.  (Tip 13)  Find journals (or your venue of choice) that might take your work.  I have done this in the past and come up with zero.  The perfect Chicana journal isn't out there, but there are good journals.  I just need to rediscover them.

What happens if there aren’t any?  Who knows?  Go out on a limb.  Or widen your scope.  At least that’s my plan.  There are journals in other countries.  Well, my Drool Buckets is wailing (in a funny baby scream I’m here way), so it’s time to give him unconditional love.  

Monday, April 12, 2010

Write from a Quiet Place

I know, it sounds cliché and terribly contradictory with a baby that loves to “talk.,” but today, I woke up with the thought that (Tip 10) sometimes, writing needs to come from a quiet place.  I don’t mean a bubble-wrapped, insulated room far away from loved ones.  I mean a quiet place from a dejunked mind.  Or as dejunked as possible.

That may mean unplugging the tech.  (I would know; I spent the last two days playing Wizard 101, like a bored third grader.)  Not that tech is bad, but if you are checking Facebook, watering your virtual crops, and sending emails on your snazzy cell phone, how are ideas going to emerge?  How are your fingers ever going to get to the keys?  Or the pen to the paper?

The same goes for dejunking your mind.  Don’t let the bastard win that says, “You can’t write.”  Or worse, “That is impossible.”  You know what I’m talking about.  The noise that prevents you from actually writing.  For me, the solution has been to believe what I do is not only the right thing for me, but I’m good at it.  That takes guts or like my dad puts it, cajones.   What is more, you probably love to write, just like I do.  Don’t let the noise get in the way.  It’s probably bullshit anyway.

Now, if you do need that bubble-wrapped room, go for it.  Realistically, I don’t have access to one, but right now, my son is fast asleep, on the Boppy, on my lap.  So, it’s like a bubble-wrapped moment, and my fingers are where they are supposed to be:  hard at work on my keyboard.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Can't Write? Read a Good Book (Or More)

No, I have not hit a writer's block, nor am I being lazy. Yesterday, I ran into the baby block: He wanted to be nursed almost all day. For a mother, that is the greatest honor. For a writer, it can be quite difficult to type with one hand. (And I like to type fast.)

Well, what do you do when you can't write, besides think about the story and re-imagine new worlds and characters? There is, of course, plenty to do. However, one of my favorite fall backs is reading a new author. In this case, The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer. (By the way, I have added a link to his site, since I don't have a thought-provoking image.)  It's a perfect mix of science fiction and coming of age literature. My point is that if you are not writing, you should be reading. (Tip 10) Read as much as possible and delve into different genres.

One of my greatest regrets now that I read zombie novels is that I don't know shit about guns. So, my characters end up killing creatures with anything but guns. At some level, that is realistic because most people aren't packing heat, but guns are a standard.

Anyway, the baby is crying, so that is all for today. Read on, read on.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Don't Forget to Write and Check All Versions

So,

I got so excited about the blog that I spent more time on the tips than actually writing.  Well, today, I put in a good hour.  Not bad, considering the diaper changes today.

However, as I was editing, I realized that I had a second version of the piece.  It was more compelling and began with a house break-in.  That set a darker tone, althought no one got hurt.  That brings me to the tip of today's brief post:  (Tip 9) Check all the versions of your stories, so you don't double your editing/revising work. 

That is all for today.  I leave you with an image of my son and his little friends.

(Antonio, with his milk-drunk friends.)

Monday, April 05, 2010

LIFE Immersion

(Tip 6) Immerse yourself in life.  Or as Victoria Moran put it in one of her great books (and this is not a direct quote), get outside the house and experience life.  Otherwise, what the hell are you going to write about?

I haven't posted because I have been busy with religious obligations and life experiences.  Friday, I went to an all day retreat.  And I took the baby.  Although I spent a good chunk of time nursing him, something happened that will appear in one of my pieces of fiction:  He shit on himself, me, and the floor.  It was one of the funniest things that's happened to me in a while.  It's real life and worthy of the written word.  Plus, it has conflict, struggle, and resolution.  Description that appeals to most of the senses. 

On Saturday, I spent most of the day in the beauty shop.  I had many flashbacks to my youth becuase I got a perm, something I hadn't done in forever.


(At center, my freaky perm!  And handsome spouse.)

That day, we also did something out of the ordinary. Because we were super early (I got the Holy Saturday Mass time wrong; we were an hour and a half ahead.), we took a complete stranger (who also got the Mass times wrong) out to eat with us. His name was Leo. Whats is more, Leo had never tasted sushi, so we took him out to a local place. He also had a compelling story to tell. His family is away in Mexico because his wife needs to get legalized. A father of three small children, Leo is having a hell of a time.  The process could take up to ten years, and the pain of separation is harsh, to say the least.

He enjoyed our little Antonio, and we enjoyed his company.  That my friends is a classic example of the stranger coming into town that moves plots, and boy did it enrich our day and my perspective on things.

(Below, my son with his grandpa and great granma.)
Sunday we took a road trip and visited the grandparents.  Visiting a new place (in this case a new church) always gives me ideas for a new setting.  Plus, other people's crazy stories inspire mine.  Case in point, my cousin decided to glue a small horse's ass right above his parents; bed--the place where they rest their heads, to be exact.  It's something I would never do, let alone think about.  (Now, he can't get it off, and his mom is pissed.  Conflict and struggle, but no resolution.)


Well. that is all for today.  One final tip. from a good friend and super-published writer Jack Hirschman, if you are having trouble writing, (Tip 8) "Put the pencil to the paper."  That's all it takes.  Or in your case, the fingers to the keyboard.  Just go and pour the alphabet into the white space. 

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Finally Ended the Piece, Now to Chop It Up and Revise

Well,

I ended the piece.  Oddly enough, the ending is a layering of the beginning paragraph that deals with having no audience.  The conflicts still need to be inserted.  But, I really love that last line.  Hopefully, I won't screw up the piece: (Tip 5) If you really love a line or section, cut it out.  Chances are it's junk. 

(Now, not all of these tips are in order.  I'm just writing them as I need them and remember them.)  I think it was author/mentor Alex Kuo that tried to teach me to get divorced from the lines and sections I loved best.  However, for now, I love the ending and can't part with it. 

Actually, that love of what I write is part of the reason I have such a fuck of a time revising my work, oftentimes.  But, this piece is in major need of revision. 

(Below, the inspiring orchid that's next to my make-shift desk, a Huggies diaper wipe box.) 


Husband, if you are reading this blog, where did we put my small portable white desk?  I could use it now.  My old shoulder gets sore.

Conflict, Struggle, Resolution

Today, I found an old exercise on my lap top.  I called it the "duck exercise."  I have no idea what the duck exercise is, but what I found was a really great short story I had started a couple of years ago titled, "Ducks will do What They Must."  The title is stupid.  But the story itself is pretty good.

In it, I tried to write about what I know.  However, I failed to incorporate what a good story needs:  (Tip 1) A journey must take place or a stranger come into town.  I didn't make that one up.  That one came from other writing teachers/experts.  But, if you think about it, most great stories have one of these factors.  My story is about a loser who has decided to follow her writing dream.  (I know, I know.)  There are strangers, but they come in too late and don't add anything to the plot.  So, (Tip 2, my tip) Not any old stranger will do.  They must move plots and possibly mountains.

The other thing the story lacks is (Tip 3) conflict, struggle, and resolution.  No, I didn't make that one up either.  Neelson Peery did (author of Black Fire and Black Radical).  All great works of literature have this dynamic or else they would be boring.  Example.  Little Steven needs to get milk from the corner store.  If all Steven does is get milk from the store, big deal.  If on the way, seven year old Steven runs into a pitbull and runs away safely, only to be robbed of his five dollars, then, we have conflict and struggle.

(To the right, my large screen that will help with the writing.  He he.)

Resolution?  Maybe he will beg for money or else his mom will beat the living daylights out of him because she's a mean drunk.  Much better than little Steve getting the milk and The End.

My story needs conflict, struggle, and resolution that escalates.  Or else, it's a just a bunch of words with witty dialogue and poorly developed characters.  And, that is my main writing goal for today and the tip that I will follow.

Well, my infant is staring at the screen, and since I don't want his I.Q. to drop, I'm off to change his diaper and think.  (Tip 4:  Don't let your busy schedule orphan your writerly work.  Think about it.)

On a totally random note, I was going to call this blog Barrio Blues, but that was already taken.  However, Border-ed was not.  I might buy the domain, if I get serious.  Is it worth it?  Oh, and shit, I finally posted my first post!  On my first blog!  Hot damn.  (Husband, if you're reading this, can I read you my story tonight?)

(Below, my assistant editors.  Almost four months old.)