Well, I'm busy putzing around this morning on the blogosphere.
But I'm excited to announce that I got my mojo back! YAY!
Last week, I didn't know what to do with my writing self so I called my friend Cyndi. I wanted to get back into my second middle-grade novel, but was stuck. I needed brainstorming help. For my story, I wanted a human element of growth along with the fantasy adventure story. I wanted Rhee's antagonist (popular kid) to have a secret, a secret she would be embarrassed for her friends in the 'cool kid' group to find out. I thought about having her dad lose his job. I thought about him being an alcoholic. I thought about him hitting her--but I really didn't want to open that particular can of worms. Just talking it out with Cyndi helped me come up with the right answer for this story. And no, I'm not telling you what it was! Only Cyndi knows the concept. :-)
I love having someone to brainstorm with. I tried it once with my hubby, but he got upset when I didn't take his suggestion. Uh, the key to brainstorming is to offer all sorts of solutions--including the stupid ones--to get the writer's mind open to all sorts of possibilities. When I was writing Leprechaun I needed some way to kill a manticore (part man, part lion, part scorpion). I wanted a solution that would work for my story in the setting I had written. We did this brainstorming session in our goals chat room. Donna gave me a ton of suggestions: hit by car, steam roller, guillotine, etc. BUT just by suggesting ridiculous solutions, I came up with the one I was happy with. It pithed itself :-) but there was the excitement of the fight before that it tried to kill my hero when he sat on it's neck.
So, I'm back, and I'm off to reread what I've written on FF, deleting the part that I KNEW was wrong. Ugh, I don't want to even think about how many pages are going bye-bye!
I hope everyone is having a happy and productive Monday! And keep going NaNo friends. BTW: Dale from my goals group crossed the 50,000 word mark last night!! WheeWhoo! 50K in 15 days! FANTABULOUS!!
Write on!
Have fun writing! Glad your Mojo is back. I'll be writing today, too.
ReplyDeleteI have The Doors, Mojo Risin, going through my head all day!
ReplyDeleteGlad your mojo is back! Mine peeks round a corner, then runs away, laughing at me lately. Go Margaret and Edie!
ReplyDeleteToo funny, Mama Mary! Naughty little mojo!
ReplyDeleteGlad your MoJo is back! I know how good it feels when it comes roaring back. And brainstorming is so much fun! I love that. Get to work, Margaret and Write On! :P
ReplyDeleteIt's slow going, but I'm starting to get into my story again. YAY!
ReplyDeleteLet me know when you have a free day and we'll meet somewhere for lunch, Kira!
My mojo likes to come and go; it's been pretty steady during this recent project of mine. WHich is really coming out fabulously, BTW. It's a shame nobody else will ever read it, but I get satisfaction just from writing the words down and reading them myself, you know?
ReplyDeleteHey Margie, you would have been proud of me this weekend, I rode a mechanical bull and stayed ON the mother!!!!!
Awesome, Jody! Glad your muse is playing fair with you!
ReplyDelete*snort* about the bull--sweetie, I KNOW you have thighs of steel--uh, hm, that sounds soooo wrong. Let's try again. . . I know you could stay on due to all your years of riding 'em hard and putting 'em up wet. . . . Uh, no, that's not right either.
WooHoo, glad you stayed on the MECHANICAL BULL! :-)
Don't worry - I always word it that I can "crush a man with my thighs". You'd be amazed at how quickly that gets people's attention. :)
ReplyDeleteYanno, an image just flashed across my mind--it's a James Bond movie and I can't remember which Bond or the name of the movie, but a wealthy dude was squeezed to death by one of the Bad Ass Bad Chicks--uh, he died with a smile on his face...it was creepy.
ReplyDeleteDeath by thighs?
ReplyDeleteSilly girl! Ian Fleming has way cooler titles than that, but I likey--wonder if there's a story in there?
ReplyDelete