One of the things I’m working on for the revision phase is character development. My main character has an estranged relationship with her father and she finally has to deal with it in a intense scene.

During the writing of the scene, I felt some resistance. Thinking to myself, “I can’t really go there can I? What if readers think this is about my father?”

I guess this one of the things that happen to us as writers. When we write about difficult and dysfunctional relationships, one of the automatic assumptions may be that we are “writing we know.” Sometimes this could be true but most of the time we know was as writers that it’s usually not the case.

Fear of assumptions should not be the reason a writer doesn’t “go there” for a character. If a character has to deal with a difficult situation, you should explore it — even if it makes you feel uncomfortable. When we start to censor ourselves based on the possible assumption of what other people may think — this is where we get into trouble and our writing starts to falter.

We have no control over what people may think. We can only control what we put on the page.

So in the end, I ended up writing the scene, knowing that it isn’t my life but the life of my character.

Thanks to writer and blogger friend Laura Pauling, I came across a great craft book, Scene and Structure, by Jack Bickham.

One of the things that captured my attention in this book is what the author says about the following facts about what readers want in a story:

• They are fascinated and threatened by significant change.




• They want the story to start with such a change.




• They want to have a story questions to worry about.




• They want the story question answered in the story ending.




• They will quickly lose patience with everything but material that relates to the story question.

I know as a reader when opening up a book, I’m compelled by starting off with change and the story question — will the main character get what she wants? We don’t necessarily have to know this right away in the opening chapter, but as writers we should present that main desire to the reader soon — while also putting some obstacles to the thing that main character wants most.

As a reader, there are also other things that I want in a novel — for me, I love a complicated/flawed characters, fleshed out secondary characters, and a satisfying ending.

How about you? What do you want as a reader?

Most people who know me understand that I have a “crazy” magnet. I’m so not kidding.

If craziness is happening within a 10-mile radius, I will be at its epicenter.

So due to this trend of craziness, I’ve decided to create a funny off-topic series about real life craziness that I’ve witnessed.

Seriously, you just can’t make some of this stuff up.

Just this week, I experienced not one but two bouts of craziness.

Crazy #1

While in Target (or if you’re fancy “Tar-jay”) looking for new ear phones, I hear a heated argument in the next aisle.

Person 1: “You know, I’m really tired of your s*#t b($*tch!”
Person 2: “What you gonna do? You ain’t going to do nothing.”

This got my attention because this wasn’t a nice conversation to be having on a Sunday afternoon in the electronics department.

Next thing I know I hear all kinds of racket — like shelves rattling and merchandise falling. I go over to the next aisle to look and there are two female employees fighting. Like on the floor WWF style.

Other employees had to break them up. But they were kind of slow and watched for a few seconds.

Craziness.

Crazy #2

While at the dentist office getting my permanent crown, the receptionist comes with a worried look on her face and says to the dentist, “You need to come to the front.”

As I sit in the dentist chair and ponder the longevity of the “permanent glue” for my crown, I hear shouting.

“I’m not paying this damn bill! You’re not price gouging me! This is some total bulls^&t!”

Oh, okay.

The argument gets louder and next thing I know there is a scuffle and a plea to call “911!”

So happens there were other male patients who subdued the “agitated” man who attacked the dentist. Obviously he didn’t like the amount of his bill.

Hmm…craziness? Uh, yes.

Maybe if he had of flossed better, that man wouldn’t have needed to pay for expensive dental work. Just saying.

I’ll be sure to post periodically and share any craziness that I encounter. And believe me, there will be more craziness. Ha.

Have a great weekend everyone! Get some writing done.

Earlier this week I got my acceptance letter to attend the 2010 Rutgers One-on-One Plus Conference.

I was very excited because one of my goals this year was to get accepted to this conference. I went in 2006 and it was fabulous so I can’t wait to return.

And even better, a member of my critique group and another good writer friend also got accepted so it’ll be good to know some familiar faces. Of course being Southern and never meeting a stranger — wouldn’t have been too much of a problem for me anyway. Ha.

Just like I shared some tips on the application process, I wanted to share some things that I learned attending the 2006 conference:

Do your research. The council has posted a list of the 2010 Rutgers mentors participating in the conference. Find out which mentors on the list may be a good match for your project. This way you can make the best use of your time since you’ll have the opportunity to mingle and talk.

Get to the campus early. In 2006, when another member of my critique group and I went (my critique group ROCKS), we got there too late and didn’t get a chance to mingle. So get there before 9:30 just so you can mingle with other mentees but you’ll also have time to do this later.

Have your questions ready. One great part of the conference is the “Five-on-Five,” which is a round table discussion of topics related to writing and the industry. I didn’t have any questions ready and kicked myself later for it.

Bring other materials. The point of the conference is not to get a line edit of your submission. You’ll have about 45 minutes with your mentor. If you have a query letter and/or a synopsis, it may be a good idea to bring them to review. Also if you have a couple of chapters or another PB, it wouldn’t hurt to bring them just in case. But don’t bring a whole novel manuscript. Don’t miss an opportunity to get some valuable feedback.

Have fun. Most of all, have fun at the conference. Be sure to mingle with all of the mentors and other writers. Everyone is very friendly. Don’t think you can’t talk to any of the agents and editors. Be sure to have some cards that you can give to people to keep in touch.

I’m really excited about going to Rutgers this year. Are any of you attending? If so, please let me know. I would love to meet you!

Me and a writer friend were hanging out yesterday and we started talking about our writing journeys. We have both have hit a few road blocks and gotten lost but we’re still on the path.

Then she asked me a question: “When did it happen for you?”

I got confused. What was she talking about it? Then she clarified it for me: “When did you decide you were going to get serious about being a writer?”

A lot of us started writing at young age. I know I did. But there is a specific moment in time when I decided that I was going to take writing seriously. I don’t remember the exact day, but it was February 2006.

Before then, I was only dabbling in writing — not visiting my novel for weeks or several months at a time. I saw it more as a hobby than something that I could really do successfully.

But I remember thinking that maybe if I could just finish my MG novel that I could actually *gasp* submit it and see what happens.

This is when I put on the big girl pants and started to take writing seriously. I read more craft books. I dissected novels to figure out how they work. I didn’t take my writing time for granted. I joined writing groups and online communities. I sought out critique groups and partners. Most of all, I finished my MG novel.

It’s been a really wild ride so far — with lots of great moments and surprises with some setbacks and detours. But I can’t wait to see where the writing journey will lead me next.

How about you? Do you remember when it happened? When you decided that you would take writing seriously? When you decided that your writing is worth the time and effort?