Oh how pretty someone said,
until they bit them with a thought,
then said person turned to say,
oh thank you thank you,
you made my day.
Walk away walk away
with maliceful smile,
hugging and shaking hands
all the while,
inside you are scratching,
your mind springs forth spite,
ready to leap at a chance for a fight.
But in the end waves of coolness set in,
bringing you down a notch,
to comfort within.
Blog Feed
In the Mood
So, you sit down to your computer to do some writing and find you lost focus. Maybe you didn’t have it when you sat down but thought you did. AHHHH. What can you do to regain it? Spoiler alert, that happened to me just now when I sat down to write. Hence the topic for this post (Laughing at myself). Alas, I regained my focus. After all, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be typing his article. What did I do to rectify the situation and get ‘in the mood’, so to speak? There was a piece of information I needed to obtain from my previous novel, so I could use it for my current novel I’m writing. So, I opened my previous novel, The Triunix of Time, and found what I was looking for. I read the few pages needed. Yes, doing this settled my mind down, and I was off and typing. There are some other things one can do to focus and settle your brain down other than what I did. A list is given below.
- Meditation— Close your eyes, breath deep, and clear your mind. Then allow your writing to enter your brain and take up residence.
- Soft Music— Put on some soft music. It can be instrumental, or maybe your prefer love songs. Choose what you like best. Then zero your mind in on your writing.
- Sounds of Nature— I absolutely LOVE the sound of the ocean. I don’t live on the coast, but I can bring it close by going to YouTube and playing sounds of the ocean. Talk about relaxing.
- Go for a Walk— I usually do this when I am having trouble dreaming up what’s to come next in the book I’m currently writing. The fresh air helps. That, and most importantly, I use that time to talk to Jesus and tell him what’s on my mind. I bounce ideas for my story off Him. It gives me peace.
Maybe there are other things you do or others do that aren’t listed here. It’s up to you to use whatever method works best for you.
There’s Always that One
How many times have you been part of a group or team where there is at least one person who has to be a stickler for keeping things on track? They correct you if they feel you’re wrong, and/or make sure everything is done right. I think it’s a rule of life that every group has to have someone like this in their life in order to keep everyone on track whether it’s their job or not (I’m laughing here, because I know people like this). These people can (but not always) cause tension in your story. So if you want to spice things up a bit, included one of these types of characters within your story.
A Thorn in the Midst
Life can be happy. Well, for the most part until someone comes along and either does or says something nasty and/or out of turn. You can be in a group of people at a party having fun or even on the job working on a team and someone has to kill the fun. I call them thorns. You know, those individuals that strike when you least expected it. Much like when you’re trimming a barberry bush. You wear gardening gloves and handle those branches with care. Then you let your guard down and BAMB! You get stuck with one of the pickers. Mean people and pickers equals no fun at all.
There is a silver lining though. Sooth yourself with deep breath and move on. They are only one unhappy soul out there. Smile, be a light in someone else’s day, and let the sunshine in.
Waltzing Heart by L. M. Montes
Dancing just, you and me, long ago, but no more,
in your arms, twirling so, spinning such, love for you,
music grows, sweetly now, slow it down, swish about,
lights dim to, darkness so, shadows float, soundless with,
eerie moon, beams so low, I’m alone,
fade you did, from this house, all that’s left,
is your ghost, haunting me, ne’er to rest.
Software for Novel Writing
Here is a list of the top software of 2022 for writing a novel:
- Livingwriter
http://livingwriter.com - Scrivener
http://literatureandlatte.com - Storyist
http://storyist - Final Draft
http://finaldraft.com
The one I use is Scrivener, but any of these are good. The following link talks about each of the above four all in one place. That way, if you need one of them, you can better make that decision about which to use.
The Tarnish
Draft one of your story is like tarnish on your good silverware or your jewelry. There are parts of it that are discolored, or in the case of your story, make no sense, or is in need of more information. Your grammar and spelling may need to be cleaned up as well. That’s what the first draft is: a mess that needs to be fixed. But, hey, you have it down on paper (in an electronic document) right? Right. That’s what counts.
Once you get that first draft done, that’s when it’s time to clean the “tarnish” off and polish it up. So, you go back to the beginning of your story and start reading through it, all the while making notations of changes you might want to make. When that’s done, go back to the beginning once more and make those changes you noted.
Keep going over and over your story like that until it’s the way you want it. Make sure everything makes sense. Lastly, you want to check grammar and spelling and word redundancies. When that’s done, you will have a finely polished story that will shine its brightest.
Our First Rose of the Season
Dare to Dream by L. M. Montes
Dare to look ahead,
remember the past of things done,
evolve to what might come,
avert a storm arising,
moving forward, now knowing.
An Author’s Journey Pictorial (Fun with Pictures)
IDEA
JOT DOWN IDEAS FOR YOUR STORY
CREATE CHARACTERS
OUTLINE YOUR STORY (IF YOU ARE A PLANNER) AND WRITE IT
YOUR FINISHED BOOK
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 