Rule of Six Update

The Rule of Six (see last post) totally worked. It did become the Rule of Eight, but it worked.

I wrote down six obvious possibilities to get my heroine out of her scrape, but wasn't ready to stop there. I numbered ahead, and by eight, I had a winner.

Remembering that in first person it's sometimes easier to play with perceptions than in third, I had her think something was happening, but had it turn out to be something completely different. i.e. she thinks hero is the thing stalking her, but it turns out to be a different creature. Then, hero gets to be viscious when he attacks that creature (not attacking the heroine, thank God!) so we're not cheated out of that reality. Win-win.

Now that's all settled, I'm gunning for at least a ten to fifteen page day. Over on the Jenny Crusie/Bob Mayer blog http://crusiemayer.com/blog/ there is a great reminder to have your opening scene foreshadow and echo your closing one. I'm keeping that in mind as I head toward my WIP's end.

Happy Writing!

The Rule of Six

In a "No Plotters Allowed" workshop at RWA Nationals, authors Patti Berg and Allison Brennan introduced the audience to the Rule of Six.

Apparently, if you get stuck in a scene or with your plot in general, you write down six possibilities, the sixth being the one that you should probably go with.

In my WIP, I know what happens *after* the next scene -- but I'm writing something that could go many directions. It's a paranormal... there's going to be chase... the heroine uses her wits to escape but can't hurt the pursuer because she loves him (when he's in his human form). Major problems!

My DH suggested the hero give her something that protects her... but what? Ahem... cue the Rule of Six.

You wanna know the really hard part? Settling down to write the six possibilities. I mean, what if I can't come up with the first five? What if number three is the best idea?

I'm sitting down to try the Rule. I'll report back.

Retro Friday

I had a serious Retro Friday -- I jump roped with kids all day at school. Yes, my legs are sore, how can you even ask?

Back in the day at my elem school, we actually had a jump rope team. We'd make up routines to popular songs (um... by like Kool and the Gang... yikes!) and perform them at assemblies. I think we even had little t-shirt and shorts uniforms.

I, of course, looked like a huge dork because back then, my grandma's hairdresser did my and my sisters' hair. The look was "flying saucer" hair -- curly on the edges, flat on top -- must have been a morphing of the whole Dorothy Hamil style. Again, yikes. Never been a big fan of anyone calling themselves a "hairdresser" since then. :)

Anyway, it was great to channel that kid talent I once had. I even did a double-under! I've still got it...

On the writing front, I'm doing amazing! Figured out I've done more than 150 good pages in the last month. I'm writing like crazy this week, and it seems to go so much faster as you near the end of a book. I love that part because it means that revisions are next, and that's where I can really shine.

Hope you're getting to all your goals this week!

Weekend Stuff

Can't believe it's Tuesday already. Where did time go? Golden Globes, MLK day, and football in Seattle. It was a busy weekend.

I did get major cleaning done (yay, me!) and managed to write. I'm nearly done with my WIP -- about 20k to go -- so I've been making excellent progress. Funny how when you're writing something you love, it just goes faster. Sorta like when you're driving home from somewhere you've never been it goes faster than consulting the map and driving in circles trying to find the house on the way there. I know where I'm going. I see the finish line just in front of me.

Of course, this means my heavy scenes are coming up. I've still got the major crisis to write, and the final conflict. Very intense and emotional, oh, and I've got that shapeshifting description to craft. Yikes!

I am looking forward to it. I'm also tracking my goals with page and word counts in my little notebook every day. That's a great motivator, although I felt sheepish writing in, "Day off for cleaning and Golden Globes." I didn't do any pages that day -- didn't even think about my WIP except for feeling guilty for not working on it. But you've gotta live, you've gotta clean, and you've gotta watch the Globes.

How amazing did George Clooney look? Way amazing. And Charlize Theron's dress? Gorgeous. I love the movies, and I love movie award shows. I draw the line at Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet though. Ugh. It's bad enough I have to see him on American Idol. Oh, well, you can't have it all.

Happy Writing!

Leaps of Fate

It's been raining in the Northwest for 24 days in a row. We're talking big fat raindrops -- not sprinkles -- which have cause mudslides, road closures, rivers swelling to flood stage. Ugh. Everything is wet.

In our neck of the woods, we've witnessed the reemergence of Lake DH. All around the cabin we're building, a moat is forming. Luckily, the cabin is built up high and the water hasn't reached it. Boone the Lab, of course, thinks the lake is fab --he's wading, playing, and now leaping after toys in the water.

We're taking our own leaps, too. The DH and I have decided that we're done working in Alaska every summer. We're retiring from the summer vagabond life of lodges and resorts. It was a hard decision to make, but we're thinking that it's time to stay home. I'm putting it out there to the universe for something good to come and fill the summer hole Alaska will leave.

In the meantime, I'm pressing on with my WIP -- a paranormal YA. Now, with more than half the book completed, I'm feeling like it was a good leap to take. Not a leap of faith alone, but a leap of fate. It was a leap that was well worth it -- a leap from a comfortable genre, to something different, something incredibly fun.

What leaps are you taking in your life this week?

Resolutions vs. Goals

I hate resolutions, so you'd think my DH wouldn't ask me what my resolution is. Of course, he didn't. He's a resolution kind of guy.

So I just answered, "My resolution is to drink more water."

He didn't seem to think this was a very good resolution, but I'm about goals, not resolutions.

Goals are like dreams with a plan. Who said that? No clue, maybe it was Dr. Phil. But it's so true. My goal for 2006 is to write the best damn books I can.

To support the goal, I've started a "goal journal". In it, I'm going to write down what steps I took to accomplish the goal that day. I'm tracking page counts, word counts, planning time, brainstorming, workshops, books read, research done, and any other activity that contributes to making the goal a reality. And I imagine that on a day when I have nothing to write, the guilt will be a killer.

But more than guilt, I think a record of how hard I'm trying to improve my craft is going to be very motivational. Writing is a craft that is honed by practice, by action.

What are you doing to reach your goals this year?