To plot, or not to plot

Funny how certain topics seem to be in the air. I’ve been thinking a lot about plotting the last few days and noticed several other blogs are chatting about it as well. Or maybe I’m just noticing it more since I have plot on the brain.

I’m a pantser. For my non-writing friends reading this – A pantser is someone who writes off the hip, no real planning involved. This does not surprise you about me, I know.  

In everything I do, I’m a pantser. I follow recipes half-heartily. I stroll down grocery aisles without a list. I wander around the gym, picking machines randomly. But I’m thinking about converting. I can hear the gasps now. And yes, I could do it. Probably. Well, maybe.

Okay, so to start acting more plottier (I know, not a real word) – I’ll make a list of the pros and cons:

Pros:

1.      It’ll make revision time shorter – I won’t write 10,000 words of backstory before realizing where the real story starts

2.      It’ll show my agent what the next manuscript is about – I can say, “See, I was worth the risk. Look at all these glorious ideas all neat and in order!!”

3.      Well, that’s all I have right now but I like things in threes so okay. Moving on.

Cons:

1.      Plotting is super scary to me – I have to actually know what’s going to happen before it happens. This seems like a no-brainer but that’s not how my brainer works. (I know, not a real word either)

2.      My characters are a mystery to me – and they like it that way.

3.      What’s the fun in knowing what’s gonna happen, anyway?

Well, that did nothing for me.

But I’m still going to try it. Hopefully, I can find a happy middle ground like hating broccoli but eating it covered in cheese because I know it’s good for me.

    

Brides, babies and all around cuteness!

I love pictures. And as you may notice a trend with this blog – I think a good visual aid is helpful in getting a point across.

I haven’t been a photographer for hire for the last several years. It was a hard decision to make, closing my photography business, but something had to give. Three kids, a very un-glamorous (I know, not a real word) day job of keeping books for hubby’s landscaping company and writing. I still take portraits of family and friends as a gift and that seems to satisfy that part of me.

And truthfully - taking pictures and writing are eerily similar pursuits. They both tell a story.

Now for visiual aid examples!

Love - My oldest (as in time, not age...she would kill me if I didn't clarify this!) friend that got married this past summer. 



They got married on this rock overlooking the Arkansas River. Awesome view!



New beginnings - My youngest on the day after he was born.

Look at those lips! Super kissable!

Mischief - These two are planning something. It's probably about how fast they can jump in that bayou before I catch them.



And they would do it, too.



A great writer creates stunning visuals in the reader’s head through words alone -weaving stories that grow into beautiful images. A story of love, or new beginnings or even creating a little mischief. This is my goal. What's yours?

Time Management

Summer was busy - all three kids at home with various activities: basketball camp, VBS, golf lessons… And yet, it was super productive for me in terms of writing. I finished the revisions on my manuscript, got my query just right and started the hunt to find an agent. When the offers started coming in, it was the week before school started. My house was full of kids (it seems they all have friends over when the really big things happen!) so I sat in my car to take calls from prospective agents. It was the only place where I could actually hear the other person on the phone.

And now everyone is back in school. Even my youngest goes to preschool every morning, staying until 2 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And my house is quiet. Really quiet. For many hours in a row.

I have tons of time to write. Uninterrupted time. And I’ve got several new stories percolating around – each one trying to flesh themself out. But what am I doing? Not writing. I’m cleaning out the 3 year olds closet and pulling out fall decorations to spruce up my mantle and organizing my pantry and… anything other than writing.

It’s too quiet. I need the noise. I need the time constraints – like only being able to write while the 3 year old naps and the older boys are away at some activity.

Don’t get me wrong, I am getting some writing done. But inevitably, when I sit down at the computer, I notice the clock and realize 3 year old has to be picked up in thirty minutes…   

250 words

It takes you weeks months years, but you finish your manuscript. You double and triple check all 70,000 - 80,000 words of it. You send it to critique partners and hold your breath while you read their comments. Okay, not so bad – just need to revise the whole thing! And you do one, maybe two revisions. You can recite the first chapter from memory. You dream about your characters at night. You’ve done everything you can do - it’s finally ready to go out in the world.

And then you start writing the Query Letter.

You’ve heard of this thing but how hard could it be. I mean, you’ve already written 70,000 words – what’s another 250?

It’s the 250 words that will sum up the essence of your carefully crafted baby. It will be informative but not boring. It will be fresh! And exciting! It will entice an agent to request the full immediately!

It will be the hardest 250 words you ever write.    

There are entire websites dedicated to helping you get it right. (Great posts here, here and here) You read every Query Shark post and make a pact with yourself that you won’t make those mistakes. Or wind up here. You scour agent’s websites looking for their pet peeves and hope to find a fun fact to throw in that shows you really did your research.

But there comes a time when you just have to go with your gut. The query letter that got the attention of my agent broke a few of the hard and fast rules. I wrote it from my protagonist’s point-of-view. My query gave the protagonist’s backstory leading up to where the manuscript starts but doesn’t mention what happens next. Two big no-no’s.

But it worked. My query did its job. Sarah requested a partial, then a week later asked for the full. The offer for representation came a day later. Within a few days, I had four offers! (If you really want to know what that feels like, check out this)

My best advice - query widely. An awesome query is not awesome to every agent. Make a list of agents you love. Do your research. Send out a personalized, well-crafted email per the guidelines of each individual agent. 

And then get ready for the fun part...The Wait! (and you thought writing the query was hard!)   

Boy vs Girl

Anytime a new idea pops in my head, I always think, “Should this story be from a girl’s point of view or a boy’s?” Obviously, a girl’s perspective comes naturally. I was once a teenage girl myself. On the flip side, I’m surrounded by hubby and three sons so everything around me screams BOY! My oldest son is eleven and you would think after all these years I would have some insight as to what goes through a boy’s mind.

And then this happens:

They’re covered in mud, if you're wondering what's all over them. That is oldest son, middle son and a cousin. It’s incredible how often my boys show up at the back door looking just like this. And no amount of time spent with them makes me understand why this happens. Or why they love doing it so much.

So I end up sticking with what I know. Which is writing about girls who don’t always understand why boys do what they do.

The Unexpected

When we go on vacation, I always have a plan for family pictures. I spend a ridiculous amount of time picking out our clothes, making sure we’re not too matchy-matchy and generally making everyone in my family crazy. We leave for the beach and among the sunscreen and sand buckets is a bag of perfectly thought out clothing and all my camera gear. I get everyone dressed and plead for them to cooperate with promises of candy and ice cream. Anything to make sure everyone gets to the beach without a mysterious stain appearing on their shirt. Chaos ensues even though my bribes now include new video games and trips to Disney World. I get a few shots, telling myself they’ll look better when I get them on the computer, and we head back to the condo. Exhausted. But when I get home and look at all the images on the SD card, I’m surprised. I have an incredible image of my boys. It’s perfect! (to me at least which is all that really matters) Here it is:

But wait, you say. “Where are the cute outfits?”

Exactly. This shot was taken as we were walking to the beach. To play. The boys were ahead of me and I asked them to turn around. They stopped. I clicked. No primping, no fussing about the shirt being itchy, the shorts looking dorky. And it’s my favorite picture.

And this is how it usually works out with my writing. I can clean my desk so everything is neat and in its place. I can make elaborate outlines and think for hours on the perfect name for my main character. But it’s when I just sit and write when things really start to work. When I’m writing just for me.  

Whole New World

When you get to be (cough, cough) years old, you’re bound to experience a few changes in your life. I got married. I gave birth to not one, not two but three baby boys. (Thankfully not at the same time!) I took a terrifying step early in my married life, leaving a safe nine to five job to open a small photography studio specializing in brides and babies.

And now, I’m a writer.

Well, I’ve always been a writer, just never said it out loud. Goofy little short stories and poems in high school and several novels started in college that for one reason or another never made it past chapter two. I’ve spent a ridiculous number of hours hunched over my keyboard, late at night and in the spare moments that my boys were otherwise occupied, but it was something I kept to myself.

I was the silent stalker on every writer’s blog looking for advice and then every agent’s website and twitter page searching for some sign that they wanted what I’d written. 

I’m one of the few people left in the world that’s not on Facebook. Or Twitter. Or any other social media. 

But this week something changed. I got an agent. And a pretty fantastic one at that. I signed with Sarah Davies with Greenhouse Literary and I could not be more excited.

And so now *deep breath*, I’m ready to enter this wonderful, scary, exciting, new world.

Now, let the fun begin…