Tag Archives: James Scott Bell

To Write or Not to Write…


 

What kind of atmosphere inspires you to be at your best?
 

Do you work well under pressure, or does your creativity run in good measure?

Does your muse fancy daylight or does it prefer the first stroke of midnight?
 

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re all different. That means every single one of us is truly unique and extraordinary. Which is an amazing thing, right? Could you imagine living in a world where all of us were identical?
 

Life would truly be boring.
 

Because of our differences, something that works for one person, may not work for another. Yet, it helps to know that we all suffer from the same malady, even though this isn’t a one size fits all kind of gig, which in some ways might make us feel like we’re losing our minds.
 

So what’s the answer?
 

Keep writing, no matter what the mood or environment!
 

I think it’s in our nature to get side tracked from time to time. It happens to the best of us. We all have different obstacles thrown in our direction that divert our attention. But here’s what James Scott Bell says in his book “Plot and Structure”:
 

“If you want to break through with this thing called craft, you’ll need to be your own disciplinarian.”
 

Uh-oh. Does this mean I need to limit how much time I spend on Facebook and Twitter and Google+ and LinkedIn and Goodreads and WanaTribe? 🙂
 

Ah, what can I say? It’s an oldie but goodie, but it doesn’t matter how many times I peruse its pages, I’m reminded of something that inspires me. It just proves that no matter how long we’ve been writing, sometimes we just need to get back to the basics.
 
 

Here’s a few of Mr. Bell’s simple reminders that I love:
 

1- Get Motivated: “Today I resolve to take writing seriously, to keep going and never stop, to learn everything I can and make it as a writer.”

Yes!
 

2- Try Stuff: “I’m digesting the material as deeply as I possibly can. I want it to be a part of me. I want it there when I write my next novel.”

Okay, got it!
 

3- Stay loose: “Writing is never any good when it is done in the grip of anxiety. A tense brain freezes creativity.”

Aha! This would explain why I’ve been in such a deep freeze! But the good news is, I’m thawing out!
 

4- First get it written, then get it right: Ray Bradbury said, “Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.”

Dang that perfectionism!
 

5- Set a quota: “Most successful fiction writers make a word goal and stick to it. Sure you were at your writing desk for three hours, but what did you produce?”

Ouch!
 

6- Don’t give up: “The main difference between successful writers and unsuccessful writers is persistence. Keep writing.”

Nope, not giving up!
 

So what kind of atmosphere inspires me to be at my best?
 

Well, I find that I write at my best when I’ve had a good night’s sleep. Sleep and a good dose of protein and exercise stimulates my brainpower, along with a designated space to write with no interruptions! Is that really too much to ask? 🙂
 
 

Now what about you? Do you ever get discouraged or distracted? Is there a specific writer, mentor or teacher of craft that has inspired you? What are some of your suggestions and what inspires you to be at your best and to keep on writing?
 
 
Thank you so much for dropping by and for all your wonderful comments!
Karen

 
 

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming!

I’m still Kicking and Screaming guys!
 

Why I’m posting today? I have no idea. This has got to be one of my worst ROW80 check-ins. And that’s not saying much since I’ve only been participating with this goal setting venture for six weeks. Truly, one would hope there would be more progress by now. But sad to say, no.
 

Well, I plead insanity by means of family (invasion); if there even is such a thing. I should ask Diane Capri. She’s an attorney. She would know about this kind of thing.
 

Diane, can family cause insanity?
 

Because slowly as each family member arrived, chaos erupted. Every day over the last week someone new appeared at our front door. Now mind you, we don’t have a large place, so by mid week our home looked like a bomb had detonated. Clothes flung here and there; luggage, boxes, bags, beer bottles, wallets, phones, keys, sunglasses, and shoes were sprawled out everywhere. Blankets, sheets, towels and pillows strung along furniture and floor since there were more bodies than beds. If we had connected all the cords from everyone’s phone chargers, I think we could’ve wired the house. And the kitchen… Well, I should have just set up a cot. But I won’t bore you with anymore of the specifics, but let’s just say I was doing okay with my goals until we hit Wednesday and then things started to rapidly deteriorate.
 

I think I now need to find a detox program from an overdose of too much testosterone.
 

Oh wait. I know just the thing!
 

I’m going to hop on over to August McLaughlin’s “Beauty of a Woman” Blogfest post. I think that might work. And by the time I finish reading all those amazing estrogen infused posts I hope to feel cleansed, refreshed with my womanhood restored, and fully equipped to approach the upcoming new week. Whew!
 

So do we really have to do this?
 

Okay, ready or not, here we go…
 
 

The dreaded check-in
 
 

Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP five days a week.
 
Obviously I did not work on my WIP again last week. Who could have time for that with the explosion that went off (homeland invasion)? I did squeeze in a little reading with James Scott Bell’s, “Plot and Structure”. And even though my eyes may have been at half-mast, I think I was able to retain a little something from what I read in order to move forward with my novel.
 
 

2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
I did not have time to get in touch with Donna last week. She probably thinks that I died and fell off the the face of the planet or something. But I want to thank her for tweeting about my post last week. That was encouraging.
 
 

3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
If you have the opportunity to take any of Bob’s classes, this is the class to take. It will help give you the mind set on how to become a successful writer. Last week’s lesson dealt with “Courage” and we were asked what our greatest attribute is. I don’t know if I have the courage to turn in my answer. LOL. No, I will get to this on Monday. Monday is when I am planning on getting my life back. And well, let’s just say I can’t wait until Monday. 🙂
 
 

4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Yep, posted on Wednesday. Did a little revealing about myself in that post. Something different that I don’t think people were really expecting. Then again, who knows from week to week what I might be writing about. I just hope that everyone had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. And I have another interesting post lined up for this coming week. So stay tuned.
 
 

5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
This is the first time I didn’t do this. Well, that’s not really true. I did visit several blogs until Wednesday. After that I fell apart. Again, because of the family invasion.
 
 

6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Okay, this didn’t happen either after Wednesday arrived. I must say that in my defense, it was a case of insanity in which I am checking with Diane on this. I think I have a verifiable case. Though I would like to take this time to thank these awesome people for all their Twitter love!

@LynetteMBurrows, @LisaHallWilson, @Angela_Peart, @DebraKristi, @DianeCapri, @KourHei, @SharlaWrites, @AugustMcLaughlin, @colin_falconer, @SJDriscoll, @DonnaNewtonUK, @SusieLindau, @GingerCalem, @SerenaDracis, @ColeenPatrick, @Allanmhhuj, @NatalieHarford, @ LenaCorazon, @_FabioBueno_, @ @LynNerdKelly, @traci_bell, @JenMariePowell, @CCMackenzie1, @KESaxonAuthor, @BethanyLopes2, @Shahw1, @AlleWells, @ReneeMJ, @JuliaIndigo, @barrycrowther, @stacygreen26, @BMcDowellOH.
 
I think I’ve got them all. I do apologize if I missed anyone. If you are not following these people, you should be. They really take the lead in supporting one another!
 
Thanks guys! I’m sending you all a big Hug!!!!
 
 

7- Exercise on my elliptical twice a week.
 
I’m thinking about taking this off my list of goals, but I’m going to give this one more week because of my insane family invasion. I did get one walk in with the brother-in-law if that counts for anything.
 
 

For all my family subscribers, just so you don’t disown me, I really do love you and thought we had a great time. I was kidding, okay? LOL! 🙂
 
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Whew, okay I did it. I got through another week and it was awful okay, though I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime.

See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I know I wasn’t able to meet all my goals, but I can still count on your support, right? Or you have my permission to come give me a swift kick in the butt! LOL!
 
 
Thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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ROW80: Kicking and Screaming

Well I am Kicking and Screaming in a good way this week!
 

First of all, can you believe it’s February already? What I want to know is, what happened to January? Is it just me or am I losing it? Okay, don’t answer that question.
 

Well, I’m happy to report that last week rocked! It was a busy week but I think I’m finally regaining my sanity and falling into a schedule. I didn’t have anyone in the hospital last week which made a huge difference, although for those of you who have been inquiring, Hubby did have a follow-up appointment with the surgeon and he is still in a lot of pain. Apparently, his recovery is going to take some time. So we’re in this for the long haul, but at least we know what to expect. Thank you all for your kindness and concern.
 

So ready or not, here we go…
 

The dreaded check-in
 

Let’s take a look at how I did last week, shall we?…
 
 

Goals for Round 1:
 
 
1- Work on my current WIP five days a week.
 
Although I did not work on my WIP again last week, I have been reading James Scott Bell’s, “Plot and Structure” book which as most of you know is amazing. In it, he suggests a daily ten minute exercise of writing sprints. So I have implemented this into my schedule and have been enjoying myself immensely. I think of it as greasing the wheels of my imagination. And while reading his book, I’ve gained confidence in the fact that I might just know what I’ve been doing in regards to how I’ve structured my novel. Who knew? It was an “Aha” moment for me and has given me a renewed determination to press forward and finish the editing on one of my WIPs.
 
 

2- Check in with Donna Newton at WWBC once a week.
 
I did connect with Donna this week. Can I just say that she is a doll! She is always there when you need her and is willing to do just about anything to help. I think after talking last week I’m slowly getting it into my head what needs to be done with my next novel. I cannot thank Donna enough for her support.
 
 

3- Participate in my online class to help authors balance writing and business with Bob Mayer.
 
If you have the opportunity to take any of Bob’s classes, this is the class to take. It will help give you the mind set on how to become a successful writer. Last week’s lesson dealt with “Change” and what we need to do to make the necessary changes in our thinking and decision making in order to succeed. For some of us this might not be an enjoyable task, but I love this kind of stuff.
 
 

4- Blog at least once a week.
 
Yep, posted on Wednesday and it was my very first interview and I was a wreck! Can I just say thank you for all your responses! You were unbelievably supportive to both myself and especially to Diane Capri for her launch of “Don’t Know Jack!” All the blog love, your comments, tweets and re-tweets on Twitter were amazing. Diane and I were both taken back at the response, but we shouldn’t have been. Because after all, it’s the WANA spirit that made the launch of her book a success! You guys are an awesome team! Someone asked me if I was working undercover for “The Today Show”. That was hilarious and a very nice compliment, but I don’t think so. I think for now I’ll stick with novel writing and my blog thank you.:)
 
 
5- Visit and support 5 bloggers per day.
 
Check. I’m seeing some awesome blog posts out there! Last week I told you all that I’m following Fabio Bueno’s advice and it’s working quite well. I’ve made it through half of my WANA1011 classmate’s blogs and it made me appreciate how much blog love I’ve received from all of you. For that I’m very grateful. But I was saddened to see that some are not blogging or have never started. I think we’re all realizing that it takes time to write these blogs and set them up on our sites, tweet, post on Facebook and more importantly, write our novels. And I know that sometimes we all might feel like giving up. I hope that won’t be the case because I see a lot of fantastic writing out there. So keep it up! Eventually I plan to make it by to see all of you!
 
 

6- Tweet at least once per day.
 
Check. No problem this week. Did that at least twice, if not three times per day. It doesn’t take long—five to ten minutes at a time. I like to skim through the columns to find those sweet tweets to RT. Again, it is my intention is to support others!
 
 

7- Exercise on my elliptical twice a week.
 
Well, uh…I got on that thing last Monday and it felt great. Then the week fell apart again. I decided this week that I’m blaming it on Diane Capri since she’s not here. Uh oh, whoops, hi Diane! LOL!! Oh well, baby steps. 🙂
 
 

So now I’m looking forward to a fresh new start to this week.
 
 

Oh, and before I go I must thank Prudence McLeod for the Kreativ blogger Award! Really, I can’t believe all this blog love people. Thank you so very much!
 
 
Whew, okay I did it. I got through another week and it really wasn’t so bad. And I’m not alone. There are others that are right beside me to help me along the way. So that I don’t irritate my wonderful supportive subscribers, feel free to delete my ROW80 posts if they start to irritate you. They probably won’t be all that interesting, unless…
 

Unless I can temp you all to join us over at the party at ROW80! Feel free to jump in anytime. See you there! 🙂
 
 

So what do you think? How did I do? I know I wasn’t able to meet all my goals, but I can still count on your support, right?
 
 
Awe, thanks guys! I knew I could count on you!
Karen.

 
 
 

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Guest Post by Tim L. O’Brien


 I am honored that Tim O’Brien has agreed to be my guest today because I admire his writing and thought you’d like to know a little more about the man whose been causing all that “Static in the Airwaves” in the blogosphere recently.
 

Now he’s not to be confused with THE Tim O’Brien, the award-winning multi-published author and the Grammy award-winning bluegrass musician that goes by the very same name—although I hear he likes to sing in the shower.
 

Please don’t sing for us today, okay Tim? Thank you.
 
 

What he does admit to being is a Jack-of-all-trades and master of none…
 

Hmm maybe. Maybe not.
 

So what are a few things that make Tim O’Brien the man that he truly is?
 

Though Tim was born and raised in Houston, Texas he now resides near his Alma Mater, the University of Oklahoma. Go Sooners! There he received his degree in Journalism and is currently in pursuit of his Masters in Professional writing, that is when he’s not working, writing on his novels, or playing Mr. Mom to his ten year old son and his nine year old daughter.
 

He is also the proud father of two grown daughters, one married, both in college, while he himself just got married within the last couple of years. So all together there are three boys and three girls which makes them, as Tim put it, the real life Brady bunch, minus Alice.
 

Whew, did I get that right Tim? You are one busy man!
 

Yet besides his family and his strong desire to write, the closest thing to Tim’s heart is an isolated stretch of land along the Rio Grande called El Indio. There is where he feels most at peace and in isolation. And there is where Tim spent a week of vacation with his wife and children on his family’s full working cattle ranch, which sounds just about perfect.
 

Uh-oh, I hear more Static in the Airwaves. It must be Tim. Oh, hi Tim!
 
 

Hi Karen.
 
 

Take it away Tim!
 
 

Thank you Karen.
 
 

Hello everybody!
 
 

Ever since Karen asked me to write a post for her blog several weeks ago, she and I have sent messages back and forth about what I should write.
 

Until she asked me to write about this…
 
 
 

Hunting…For a Novel Idea
 
 

The first golden rays of the sunrise wouldn’t appear for another hour or so. We sat in muted silence, slightly shivering, and waited. We leaned against each other for comfort and added warmth, fighting the urge to close our eyes and grab an additional hour of sleep while waiting for the morning sun to illuminate our surroundings.
 

Sitting on the frost-covered ground nestled amongst mesquite trees and thorny brush gives your mind plenty of time to think and second-guess your decisions. Why in the world am I getting up at 5:30 in the morning while on vacation? At this precise moment in time that warm bed sounds much better than trying to remain completely still and quiet in the darkness.
 

The sacrifices we make to pursue our dreams and hobbies.
 

On this particular morning, I was sitting with my ten-year-old son not far from the banks of the Rio Grande River. We had spotted a big, mature whitetail buck several days ago and we were in hot pursuit.
 

Waiting for the sunrise gives your mind plenty of time to wander. I thought about ideas for my blog. I thought about the novel I’m working on and played out the next scene in my mind. I wanted to shut my mind off work and enjoy the moment with my son, and appreciate the great outdoors when I realized that hunting and writing are very similar in approach.
 

I’ve always felt that one of the most overlooked aspects of good writing is the writer’s power of observation and ability to pay attention to everything that surrounds us. The smallest of details can make the biggest of impacts.
 

Those details give the writer a time and place—a setting. Some writers like James Lee Burke are so talented at setting that it becomes a character in the book. Burke is so adept at description you can almost smell the salt-water air and feel the rain as you read about the world surrounding his fictional character Dave Robicheaux amongst the swamps and bayous in Louisiana.
 

Michael Connelly is another extremely talented writer who uses his setting—in the case of the novels featuring detective Harry Bosch—Los Angeles as a major character in his story. You can feel the smog drip off every page.
 

To be a successful hunter it is imperative that you pay attention to the same details. We had been following this buck’s track in the sandy soil and searched the brush for ‘rubs’ or ‘scrapes’ which a buck will do to mark his territory. Not unlike your pet dog and a fire hydrant. We needed to be aware of wind direction, time of sunrise and sunset, temperatures, and even the moon conditions from the previous night. We examined food plots and sources of water.
 

Slowly, we were able to determine the roaming radius of this buck and his likely pattern of travel. Using all of our clues we determined that the densely covered brush area, where we sat that early morning, could possibly place us in proximity to our goal. Let’s call this the research before beginning the novel.
 

Before any novel begins we must have some vague idea of the plot, a starting point—a plan.
 

The following quote if from James Scott Bell’s book Plot & Structure. “A plot is about a Lead character who has an objective, something crucial to his well-being. The major portion of plot is the confrontation with the opposition, a series of battles over the objective. This is resolved in a knockout ending, an outcome that satisfies the story questions and the readers.”
 

As the sun began to rise and our surroundings became more visible we began to detect an increase in activity. We could hear movement in the brush. Time for a little call and response. I picked up our rattling horns and began to simulate two bucks fighting over a doe. The thrashing of the antlers broke the morning silence. In less than a minute we had a buck come charging into our sights, his nose dripping and mouth frothing. His intention was to steal the doe while the two bucks continued to fight. Unfortunately, he was not the buck we were in search of.
 

We continued our call and response and I began to think back on one of my favorite books on writing by Jack M. Bickham, titled Scene and Structure. His chapter and explanation on stimulus and response is the best I have ever read.
 

We continued to rattle the horns (stimulus) and several more bucks came charging in towards us (response), but these were younger bucks and not the monster we were in search of.
 

Undeterred we moved spots, but again no luck. Time was running out on our vacation and hunting opportunities. The following morning we were scheduled to make the ten-hour drive back home.
 

That final evening we set out on foot, changing our tactics slightly, and moved into another area. The rut was on and our trophy buck was chasing does, making his behavioral patterns more erratic. This was our last chance. Make or break time, and time was running short.
 

And like any good novel our trip concluded on a happy note. The protagonist overcame several obstacles and setbacks for an outcome that satisfied both father and son.
 

I wish you all the best as you hunt for your novel ideas!

Tim
 

Thank you for having me here today Karen!
 
 

No, thank you Tim!
 

That was an awesome example and we wish you the best of success with your novel writing!
 
 

So what do you think? What methods do you take to capture an idea for your novels? What kind of hours do you keep? Do your ideas keep you up late at night, or are you awakened before dawn’s light with thoughts and dreams from your wildest imagination? If they do, then you deserve a trophy from all of your fine efforts!
 

If you enjoyed this, I encourage you to follow by email for future posts!
 

Thank you for your many thoughts and fine comments everyone!

Karen
 
 
 
 

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