A Tiny, Eensy-Weensy Little Vacation

I've seriously neglected this blog. It's gotten bad, I know.  If there were DCYF for blogs, I'd be a serious offender.

To make it even more serious, I've decided to take a tiny, eensy-weensy vacation to focus on my writing. It'll be short, I promise. Then, I'll do my best to write plenty more posts to keep the flow going.

This vacation will be brief. It's just going to be a short time for me to catch up on writing and write a bunch of great posts worth publishing.

For now, here is a favorite quote of mine by Ernest Hemingway. I've been channeling this lately. I don't know, but I've been a huge fan of this at present. I think of it every time I go to write.

 

Even though we may not use typewriters anymore (most of us anyway), this quote can easily be applied. All we have to do is let the words pour out of us. 

Pantsing vs Plotting: Part 1-Pantsing

For a long time, there has been a lengthy debate in the writing world. Pants or plot? For this post, I'm, going to focus on Pantsing.

The Definition: This simply means "by the seat of your pants". This form of writing is when you jump right into writing without an endpoint in mind or any plan whatsoever.

Some Input: No outline to hold you down means you have the complete freedom to write whatever. You don't have to feel tied down or forced to write according to an outline. From personal experience, this can be good and bad. When I was writing, I kinda just let things flow. But at some parts, it was easy to get stuck. Panting is great if you don't even have a concept and just want to write, but it can be deadly if you have a great concept and get stuck with it because you have no idea what you want to happen. When this happens, the project gets put on a shelf and gathers dust.

My Story: A couple of years ago, I decided I was going to sit down and finally write a book (I had always written short stories). I snuggled up next to the fire (It was winter here in New England and frigid as always) and just wrote. It was strange. All I had were the words "there I was". I wrote whatever came to me, but it took days just to get a page written. It felt like I moving through sludge. Since I had no ending in sight and no basic concept, I felt doomed. I only wrote about 4 pages of that story (mind you it was 11 pt font, single-spaced-but still...) Since then, I have at least made sure that I had a general, original idea with at least a teensy-weensy little idea of how I want it to go.

Now, I'm not saying that pantsing is the worst thing in the world. A lot of people prefer it to traditional plotting. And if it works for you, go for it!

With my current project, I've spent a little bit more time planning than usual, but it can't really be considered plotting or pantsing (more on that next week).  My next post will be on plotting.

What do you think about pantsing?

MS Walk Boston

Recently, my oldest sister was diagnosed with MS, or multiple sclerosis. As a family, we are participating in the MS Walk in Boston in April. My sister is one of my best friends. We may fight, but I can always count on her. In my family, I am commonly referenced to as her "mini-me. I've even had teachers call me by her name do to our uncanny resemblance. Because my sister is very into in fitness and health, this walk is the perfect way to support her. Any help is appreciated. If you'd like to donate, I will post the link below.

This is a picture of us from a really long time ago...

What is multiple sclerosis?

About MS
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million worldwide. (source: National MS Society)

All the money raised goes to the National MS Society to provide resources for people with the disease. Here is the link if you would like to donate: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MAMWalkEvents?px=13829383&pg=personal&fr_id=25444

The answer to all writing...

Happy Wednesday! My goal for the new year is to post more often. I think that this quote embodies the whole idea of writing. You have to love writing, otherwise it will become a chore. 

How the movie Frozen is just like writing a book...

The movie Frozen took the world by storm in 2014 ;). In so many ways, the movie Frozen is just like writing a book.

1. You can't fear words and the power they give you

2. It's good to have a partner (like a critique partner) or just a really supportive friend

3. Don't become desperate and don't settle (when it comes to revising/editing. A bad first draft is OK)

4.  Reward yourself when you reach your goals (or defeat an evil prince set on destroying you)

5. Never give up on your dreams

What do you think? Did you like the Frozen craze?

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