My brain is farting out on me.  I need some different ways to describe someone smiling.  I’ve got grinned, corners tugged upward, you know, the basics, but I feel like I’m getting redundant and using a lot of cliches.  I’m on my first draft, so I’m not stressing about it right now, but I’d love to hear some ideas of how to describe a smiling person!

The Absolute Write November Blog Chain theme this month is to list your writers survival kit, of sorts.  Benjamin Solah passed it to me and so, here goes it!

Ok, let’s talk about the first thing: a computer.

Mine is dead and I haven’t had time to buy a new one, yet.  This has seriously hampered my writing, as you can imagine.  Mine meeting it’s beverage death couldn’t have come at a worse time, so I’m majorly behind in my NaNo manuscript.  I’ve been bringing my school lap top home when I can, but it is still different than having your own.  So…yeah.  A computer.

Second: time.

This one has also been tough for me.  I wear many hats (teacher, photographer, mom, writer, superstar), so time is limited.  I’ve tried to set aside the time after little man goes to sleep, but I get up every morning at 5:30 and have been falling asleep around 10:00 pm as a result.  That doesn’t really leave me much of a writing window.  I forced myself to stay up late last night and was finally able to make some good progress, so I think I’m going to have to just make myself sleep deprived for the rest of November if I want a prayer of winning.  We’ll see!

Now for the thing that I have a lot of: support.

I’m very lucky that my husband is supportive of my exploring this new venture.  He’s known I’ve enjoyed writing as long as we’ve been together and he’s pretty proud of what I’m creating.  I think everyone needs at least one cheerleader in their life if they are going to try their hand at this.  Thankfully, I have quite a few cheerleaders that keep me going when I feel like a giant dork and want to quit.  I think anyone reading this can relate to that moment where you tell yourself, “You suck, you need to quit.”  Having people in your corner to keep you going is pretty much essential.

Lastly: food.

I’m a snacker when I write.  I love having a plate of chips and dip, a bowl of popcorn, whatever beside me while I write.  Now, this may not be so great for the waistline, but whatever.  It keeps me happy!

Next up is: Angyl78

1. DavidZahir – http://zahirblue.blogspot.com/
2. shethinkstoomuch – http://shethinkstoomuch.wordpress.com
3. Lost Wanderer – http://lostwanderer5.blogspot.com/
4. aimeelaine – http://www.aimeelaine.com/
5. Ravencorinncarluk – http://raven.youareannoying.us/
6. Bsolah – http://www.benjaminsolah.com/blog/
7. Charlotte49ers – http://www.amandaplavich.com/
8. Angyl78 – http://jelyzabeth.wordpress.com/
9. truelyana – http://expressiveworld.com/
10. Claire Crossdale – http://theromanticqueryletter.blogspot.com/

I was having a hard time finding a song that I thought fit my story, but then I heard Owl City’s Fireflies.  It’s funny, because it actually fits both of my WsIP.  Score!  I’m trying to create playlists, but for now, my one song will have to do.

It won’t let me embed the real video (Which is really dumb, if you think about it – MTV rarely plays videos anymore so what better way to get your music out than blogs, etc.?  Another post for another day…), so you’ll just have to deal with listening only.

Secondly, I think I have OCD.  Not in the normal way, but in the, I can’t make myself move past the first chapter of my story because I am an insane editing freak, way.  My solution?  I signed up for NaNoWriMo.  

There is no real prize other than self satisfaction, but you are supposed to crank out 50K words in one month (November).  I am going to force myself to get that much in on Vintage, come hell or high water.  Anyone else signed up? I hope my husband forgives me for locking myself away at night and cranking this bad boy out.

The interesting part about working on my young adult novel is the rush of emotions and memories it brings back.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The story I’m working on is drawing from some experiences I had when I was in school.  I’ve felt my face flush, the anger rise, and the giggles start to escape.  It’s crazy how that works.

That is all. :)

I’m treating my writing a lot like I’ve treated my photography – pick a skill and work on it.  With my pictures, I found it completely overwhelming to try and teach myself everything all at once. 

So, for example, one day I went out and said, “Amanda – today, you are going to focus on capturing the best light for the eyes.”  No, not literally.  I’m not the crazy woman in the park that talks to herself, don’t worry.

If I’d tried to focus on improving all the components of lighting, composition, etc., I would have left the session a defeated mess!  Breaking things down into little pieces made it more manageable and I’ve been able to improve without completely frustrating myself.

So this is the piece of writing that I’m making my focus currently.  My favorite books do such a good job with it and it’s something I want to acheive with my own writing.  I think it’s the essential component of a good story because the reader is able to create the images in their head and mold them to fit their vision.  I like to be lead to see what the author wants me to see without being explicitly told.

I’m going back to my current projects and finding the spots where I explain stuff.  My goal for now is to change it so that these details and characteristics unfold naturally – through dialogue, setting, or whatever.

For example, in my original draft I had this statement:

There were few things about myself I was happy with.  It would surprise most of my friends to find out my self-confidence was this low. I hid it pretty well, mainly with carefully placed sarcasm.

I’ve completely taken this ‘tell’ statement out and am instead going to attempt to ‘show’ this through conversations with her friends that happen throughout the book.  If I’m good at what I do, I shouldn’t have to tell my reader this detail for them to understand it.

Someone suggested this book that addresses this subject, so I’ve added it to my Amazon ‘to-buy’ list: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers