Writing

Blog posts about writing — the craft, my efforts, quotes, tools, reviews, resources, and more

Big Surprise: Writing Flaws = Personal Quirks

by Cindy Rae

I’ve received feedback on my writing from the amazing folks over on Absolute Write.  I’ve submitted the first scene from Sfia and Peter and two thousand words of Out of the Blue 2.0 (see the Science Fiction section), as well as asking for feedback on Zeddy and Bubba as a concept.

Several people touched on the same things in their comments, and those things turn out to be related to what I’m working on in my personal life.  Why am I surprised?

  1. Over-explain.  I explain in too much depth and width.  Anyone who knows me well knows that!  And it clearly shows up in my writing
  2. Emotional Distance.  The readers don’t feel close to my characters.  Since I struggle to clearly identify and express my emotions to others, it’s not surprising this showed up in my writing.
  3. Timing.  My sense of timing, of when to go in greater depth with the settings versus the moment of tension, needs work.  Ha!  If you know me, you know my tendency to blurt, or to say the last thing first, etc.
  4. Lack of clarity.  Sometimes the readers are left wondering “Why?” too much, especially in regard to what the character’s motivations.

The comments were by no means all negative.  I’m just focusing on what’s wrong to make it better.  Stay tuned!

Developing Writing Skills

by Cindy Rae

Spend a chunk of your time as a writer developing your writing skills.

An author gave that advice in one of the writing podcasts I listened to recently.  I’ve taken this advice to heart, allocating time and researching how to hone my skills (thank you, Writer’s Digest).

So, this month, I’m going to spend some time on word choice, sentence structure, and setting.  As usual, I’ll continue writing in the journal, writing for social media, and fitting in some work on completing some works in progress.

Novel’s First Four Chapters Ready for Beta-Read

by Cindy Rae

When I say “ready,” I don’t mean I actually think my chapters are ready.  I like to keep going over and over the same scenes, tweaking them and making them better.  But, one does finally reach a point of diminishing returns.  One does reach a point when one shows one’s baby to the world.

So, I’m ready for an avid reader or two to read the first four chapters of Sifa and Peter and tell me what he or she thinks.  Researching beta-reading and identifying readers will occupy much of my administrative overhead this month.

Continue reading →

Writing News: Zeddy and Bubba

by Cindy Rae

I finished a draft of a Zeddy and Bubba story!

My concept for the Zeddy and Bubba series is becoming more robust.  It will consist of travel adventure stories, introducing the reader (or the listener) to a wide range of experiences and locations in this world.

The next thing?  Besides revising the draft?  Deciding how much conflict needs to be in each story.  Right now, the stories are without much conflict, if that makes sense — almost like a travel report.

Writing Status: S&P Progress

by Cindy Rae

The first part, of three parts, of my novel about Sifa and Peter, is shaping up nicely.  I feel like the section now builds the characters and builds up tensions for the upcoming conflicts in a decent way.  I’m still struggling a bit with Laura’s story — how much to reveal about her personal tragedy in the first part.  How much allusion versus specific detail should be included?  How much should I unravel, or unveil, about her problems?  After all, her story is not as prominent as Sifa’s, or Peter’s.

I may have finally found someone to review Peter’s work scene, someone who knows of the profession Peter has in the book.  We’ll see!