Welcome to 2013

*testing* *testing*

Is anyone still out there?

Sorry for disappearing - I didn't realise it had been a month since I posted. Ooops. Blame Facebook - I post photos on there and forget to put them on my blog.

So what's been happening? Did you all have a good Xmas and New Year?

We had a great couple of weeks up at Stuarts Pt - lovely weather so lots of the following:

Eagle-eyed friends may actually realise that yes, that is me on the ski biscuit! My words for the year are leap / risk / take a chance. It was meant to relate to my writing, but I've decided to relate it to the rest of my life as well!

Speaking of writing - while up at Stuarts Pt, I finished editing my novel so that it actually hung together properly, with decent pacing, emotion etc. And just in time, as last Sunday I got an email telling me that I had made it through to the 2nd round of the Emerald writing competition! Much squeeing and OMG!ing ensued! What that meant was that I had 5 days to send off the full manuscript for the next round of judging - 3 copies printed and posted. The top 3 will go in front of an editor from St Martins Press, so its a pretty big deal to get through.

I spent 3 intense days polishing and repolishing my manuscript until I was sick of the sight of it. When I couldn't bear to look at it a moment longer, I figured it was time to send it in. So it's gone, and I need to put it out of my mind for a few months. In the meantime, I've asked a writer friend who I trust to give me an honest opinion, to have a look at it and tell me if it's ready for submission. And now onto book 2.

We really haven't been anywhere much or done anything much since we got back. My thoughts are now turning to the new school year and getting back into routine.

RWA Writing competitions

The Romance Writers of Australia run a full-on competition season with contests for published and unpublished authors, in all styles of romance. 

Now that I've finished my novel, I've been busy editing it - it's as time-consuming as writing the thing in the first place!  I have a couple of wonderful critique partners who give me advice and feedback as I go, but competitions are a great way to get your work out there anonymously for feedback.

So far this year I've entered an American contest - the Emily (first 3,000 words), and the STALI (Single Title and Loving It) for the first 5,000 words.  I haven't had word back about the Emily yet - to be honest, I'm not expecting much because my story is quite Australian, but I thought I'd put it out there and see how it did.  A couple of days ago I got my results for the STALI and while I didn't come close to finalling, I got some great feedback - and a wonderful comment that I'll look back on whenever I doubt my writing!

I've just held my breath and sent off the first 10,000 words for the next contest - the Emerald.  If I'm lucky enough to get through to the 2nd round of it, I'd have to send my full manuscript in, so I'm now very busy head-down, tail-up trying to get the rest of it edited by mid-Jan.  Even if I don't get through to the 2nd round, having a deadline will make me get it edited anyway :)

Do you need a deadline to get things done?  Or are you an internally-motivated person?

Offline October

Offline October is over.  I'll be honest and say that some days I spent more than an hour online - particularly days when I was tired and didn't want to think.

What it has achieved though is being more mindful of the time that I've been online.  And also prioritising the time so that it's spent making real connections with people rather than mindlessly surfing and getting caught up in dramas about people I don't know.

I've (hopefully) been more responsive to personal emails. I've made steady progress on my editing, and gotten critiques back to my critique partners more quickly.  I was also able to read more books - which is definitely a good thing :)

I've spent more time in the garden, and kept up with the housework more.  I even managed to do some decluttering!

So all in all, it was a useful exercise and one I should repeat on a regular basis!!

Offline October - clarifications

I meant to add this to the post yesterday.  To clear up any confusion, you're allowed 1 hr each day on the internet. 

Excluded from that hour is anything work related - so for me, I'm excluding time spent on the internet for my web design work, survey sites (I do some online surveys for extra income), and ebay sales.  All of which produce some income for me.  I just have to make sure I don't cheat!

I'm still to clarify whether writing blog posts offline counts towards the time :)

Given that I can quite easily spend several hours each day on Facebook and forums I'm on, it's certainly going to be tough.  I'm already seeing which sites / threads I value most and which are just habit.  I know I can do it - I spend less time than one hour checking my email etc while I'm away because I'm paying for the data!  Some days I don't even check it while I'm on holidays. 

It really is just habit.  I need a break - I get on the computer.  It will be about finding other things to do instead of mindlessly jumping on here.  It will mean having a plan when I do get on, not mindlessly surfing.

Wish me luck :)

Offline October

I'm seriously considering joining in Offline October.  It's been started by 2 writer friends as a way of gaining back time wasted on the internet, a way to reclaim your creativity and time. 

It's not just for writers - "It’s for anyone who believes the internet is dominating too much of their time and they’d like to either have a break or get it under control."

I've been trying to cut down on the internet lately - and have been achieving a lot more - and have been 'in training' this week seeing how I'd go with only 1 hr internet / day.  It's tough.  It requires the breaking of a lot of habits. I tend to use the computer as a bit of a decompressor, a way to relax.

I really think I need to do this. Check it out and see if you'd also like to join in.

RWA 'Diamonds are Forever' Conference: Part 3

As most people were checking out of their hotel rooms on the Sunday morning, there was no official walking party to the beach.  So I went on my own and had a lovely time picking up shells, taking photos etc.

Sunday started bright and early with the announcement of the Group Grants award (our face-to-face writer's group was lucky enough to be awarded a grant to go towards paying for a workshop on self-publishing later in the year). 

We then heard from Harlequin Australia and had a lively panel session - 'Speed-dating with Aussie Publisher's where publishers and agents from Harper Collins/ Avon, Curtis Brown Australia, Momentum, Harlequin and Simon & Schuster tried to 'sell' themselves as to why they would be good to submit to. 

After morning tea, we broke into our first session of the day.  I had 'The Joys and Challenges of Romatic Attraction' by couples therapist Dr John Barletta.  It was quite an amusing talk, with lots of good information.

After lunch, I attended 'Why TV can be a writer's best friend' with Amanda Ashby and Sara Hantz.  Boy, these ladies watch some TV - I don't know how they ever find time to write!  (Actually I think it was Amanda who admitted she writes in the ad breaks!!)

• Television teaches us how to use action, emotion and characterisation.
• Show not tell to heighten emotion.  ie Let the reader see for themselves.  It's more believable than just telling people something.  It's why the news uses 'live coverage' even when there isn't anything to see.
• To make every action count, you need to follow it up with a reaction.  It improves both your character arc and your pacing.
• Take the time to highlight the emotional fallout.
• Look at what your characters are doing, not what they're saying.  Character is revealed through action.
• Backstory makes a character feel more real and where motivation for their actions comes from.

That was followed by 'The hidden strength of secondary characters' with Erin Grace.

• We should know our secondary character's life story and personal quirks, even though it doesn't all have to be revealed to the reader.
• Having a secondary character reveal facts, hints and secrets about the hero/ine can be more effective & credible than narrative.
• A secondary character adds layers to the main characters.  They may also act as a mirror to the mains.
• They can be used to cause conflict, deliver vital plot information
• A secondary character MUST move the story forward - otherwise drop them.
• Consider the length of your book - the more secondary characters, the longer it needs to be so that they're not cardboard cutouts.  Also the more secondaries, the more complex the plot may be.
• Secondary character doesn't need to have a character arc - it's not their story.

We finished up with another speed-dating session - this time with Alex Adsett, Random House and Penguin.

The next conference was launched in spectacular fashion - now everyone is looking forward to Fremantle in 2013!

So that was it.  An exhausting yet motivational and knowledge-filled 3 days.  3 days of lots and lots of chatting, hugging, the occasional squeal and eating!

See you all next year!

RWA 'Diamonds are Forever' Conference: Part 2

Saturday morning saw the official start of the conference. The approx 350 delegates gathered for the welcome, and the First Sales presentation.  This is where all of the delegates who have made their first sale since their last conference get presented with their blue First Sale ribbon.  This year we had over 30 new published authors - I'm so happy for them all, especially my friends who received theirs.  One day I'll be up there!!!

Eloisa James gave an emotional keynote address and I don't think there were many dry eyes in the house!  This was followed by a presentation by Joanne Grant from Harlequin, and a panel discussion 'Beyond the Big Six' discussing the smaller publishers and self-publishing.

After morning tea (the food was all very yummy!), we split up and headed off to our chosen breakout sessions.

First up I had "Relentless Conflict - You owe it to your characters" with Helene Young.  We discussed the GMC (goal, motivation and conflict) of the characters in Avatar.  I haven't actually seen the movie so was a bit lost at times but still got a lot out of it.

• Use what the character desires most and fears most to strengthen their conflict.  Put it into the GMC grid. Can you make the motivation more memorable? Can you realign them so that they conflict more with each other?
• Make sure your reader stays invested in your characters because they want that conflict resolved.

After lunch, I had "Engaging your reader" with Anne Gracie.  Notes from that session:

• Look at the 1st 5 pages of your 'keeper' books.  How does the writer make you engage with the character?
• First scene needs to show heroine is like - if she's witty, make the first scene witty etc
• You need to create reader engagement on an intellectual, psychological, emotional, structural and technical level.  Anne went through examples of each of these.

I then attended the "Love in the face of danger - Romantic Suspense Panel".  I don't write romantic suspense at this stage, but I do enjoy reading it.

• The stronger the villian, the stronger the hero/ine has to be to overcome them.  So if your villian is too weak, the hero doesn't look great overcoming them.
• Put as much work into the villian as the hero/ine.
• Every crime twist has to make it harder for the relationship.

After afternoon tea (more food!), we reconvened for a panel discussion "New York, New Directions" and had our Annual General Meeting.

Saturday night was the Awards Dinner.  The meal was delicious, everyone was glammed up, and we had a lovely night.  Congrats to everyone who received an award (once again, especially to my RWA friends!)

Some of our writer's group.

This was the 'other' dessert.

This was my dessert - very rich but very delicious!

RWA 'Diamonds are Forever' Conference: Part 1

The Romance Writer's of Australia annual conference (themed 'Diamonds are Forever') was held at the funky QT hotel in Surfers Paradise, Queensland.  The decor was funky, the staff uniforms were funky - the valet met me at the door wearing boardshorts and a stripy red jacket!!

On both Friday and Saturday mornings, a small but enthusiastic group met at 6:30am to start our day with a walk along the beach.  The weather was very kind to us, and the sunrises were spectacular.

Friday was a full day optional workshop with screenwriter and thriller writer Alexandra Sokoloff, Screenwriting Tips for Authors.  I had the 'honour' of being MC for the day (in front of 150 people!) which was quite nerve-wracking.  Apart from that though, the day was excellent. 

Alex talked about how movies follow a certain structure - eg in a 2hr movie, there is a climactic scene approx every 30 minutes - and how you can use that structure in novel writing.  As far as I know, her ebook and blog go through everything she did in the workshop. 

A movie can be divided into 8 sequences:

• Act I, Sequence 1
• Act I, Sequence2
• Act II: Part 1, Sequence 3
• Act II: Part 1, Sequence 4 (Midpoint)
• Act II: Part 2, Sequence 5
• Act II: Part 2, Sequence 6 (Black Moment)
• Act III, Sequence 7
• Act III, Sequence 8 (Final battle)

We discussed the structure of many movies in various genres (lots of chick flicks!) and analysed which were the important scenes and how they were done.

Some notes I jotted down from the day:

• Often climaxes involve crowd scenes to make it seem more climactic
• A setpiece is a big climactic scene where you have to build a big set or a scene that isn't going to be cut because they're the 'money' scenes.  Also the scenes you see in the trailer.
• Every love scene - kiss, interrupted kiss, sex scene etc - must be a climax / set piece.
• Use index cards to brainstorm scenes.  Set up 40-60 index cards - write down the scenes you know.  Start arranging them to fit the structure.
• Opening image needs to set things up visually.  Where they are, genre, tone, world.  Themes / symbolism.
• The 'Plan' can and probably does change along the way.  The initial plan requires the least amount of effort for the hero/ine.  Plan changes at midpoint at act II climax because plan goes wrong.
• "The Dance" - we need to see the hero & heroine working together in some way to show they're perfect for each other.  Makes the reader want / hope for hero & heroine to get together.
• Hero/ine knows what they want, but not what they need.  The reader can see what they need.  After the black moment, the hero/ine realises what they need.  And that what they wanted isn't right for them.
• If there is a mentor in the story, the mentor has to disappear / die at the act II:Pt 2 climax so that the hero/ine can grow and become their own person.  (Dumbledore anyone?!)
• Act II: Part 1 is the genre fill-in / world-builing - eg Harry Potter - the classes, Quidditch matches etc; Mystery - police procedure; Caper - gathering the team, training

I've already bought a new corkboard and big post it notes so I can use Alex's methods to do a structural edit on my WIP!

Friday night was the Cocktail Party with a Diamonds are Forever / 1950s theme.  Lots of Marilyn Monroes, a couple of Elvises, lots of Pink Ladies and Sandies, and many glamorous frocks.  My personal favourite was Radar and Margaret from MASH.

I didn't get any photos on the night, but this was one of most of our face-to-face writer's group taken by fellow RWA member, Elle Fynllay. 

Stay tuned for the rest of the conference in Part 2 :)

It's done!

In June 2010, I put it out there that I wanted to write a book.


"I want to write a book.  While I'd love for it to be published, I know the chances are slim.  I don't know if I'm good enough or not.  But I still want to prove to myself that I can do it.

After years of saying "I'd love to write a book", I've given myself a deadline of my 40th b'day in October.  I have a children's book in mind (or maybe YA - will see how it turns out).  At least I have the vague story line and the setting, but I don't have enough of a plot in mind as yet."

I did a Creative Writing Course through the Sydney Writer's Centre which really helped me on my way.  In July, I joined the Romance Writer's of Australia. The children's book was put aside for a women's fiction in August.  My 40th birthday came and went.  (Who was I kidding?  Write a book in 4 months??!)

In April last year, I started writing a category romance, thinking that it was more 'completable' with the shorter word count.  I got to about 30,000 words and stopped.  At the conference in August, I had the epiphany that I really wanted to write women's fiction, not category romance, so I started playing around with the one I'd started in 2010. 

My 41st birthday came and went.  I was up to about 10,000 words.

Based on feedback from competition judges and critique partners, which pretty much said my story started in the wrong place, I started from scratch again in Dec 2011.

Since then, I've written fairly consistently (if not very quickly!) and yesterday, I finished my women's fiction at 70,000 words!!  Writing THE END was a very exciting moment!

It needs a heck of a lot of work, I know that - characters that appear and disappear, no description, boring sentences, scenes that go nowhere - but there's a beginning, a middle and an end, some conflict and character growth.

So now I'm going to put it aside until after conference so I can come to it fresh and inspired. Then the hard work of editing will start. 

But in the meantime, I'm going to bask in the knowledge that I've done something I always wanted to do!  (And before my 42nd b'day - close enough!)

50K in 30 days - day 29

Day 29 of RWA's 50K in 30 Days and I'm done!  And so close to finishing the first draft of my book that I can taste it!

I couldn't have done it without my fellow sprinting buddies, particularly the regulars.  Thanks guys!!  It's been fun!

50k in 30 days - day 20

Day 20 of RWA's 50K in 30 Days and I'm 62% complete - still mostly on track to get my 20,000 words written. According to my spreadsheet, I need to write 749 words each day for the next 10 days.

50K in 30 days - day 15

Half way through the month doing RWA's 50K in 30 Days and I'm 51% complete - on track to get my 20,000 words written.  I'm still loving the sprint sessions - I think all of my 10,000 words have been written in sprints so far this month!

50K in 30 Days - day 8

Just over a quarter of the way through the month doing RWA's 50K in 30 Days and I'm on track to get my 20,000 words written.  The only way I've managed to get any words written is in the chat rooms at night, where I sprint with fellow 50Kin30Day-ers.  The motivation of trying to get as many words done as you can in 20 minutes, and then reporting back to your fellow sprinters, really makes the words flow.  A couple of days I'm convinced I wrote nothing but drivel, but hopefully there's some unpolished gems in there when I go back to edit :)

50K in 30 Days

Starting tomorrow, I'm joining in with RWA's 50K in 30 Days - like NanoWriMo but in June :)  And we get to set our own goals - we don't have to go for the full 50,000.  There'll be writing sprints, motivational quotes and the wonderful support of a group of others aiming to do the same thing.  (There's over 50 participants registered so far).

I'm aiming for 20,000 words.  666 per day.  Let's hope that number isn't an omen :)

Currently, I'm sitting at just under 50,000 words in my work in progress.  I haven't written in a week so I have some catching up to do to make the 80,000 by mid-July.

So if you see me too much on Facebook throughout June - you have my permission to slap me with the wet fish!

The last couple of weeks have been crazy.  I normally average about 5-6 hours paid work each week (as well as homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, taxi driving etc etc etc).  Last week I did 15 hours paid work.  This week I'm sitting at 7 with a couple of hours still to go.  It seems like every project I've had going has needed to be finished in these two weeks!  I've sent 2 new websites live, finished off working with a client on his Powerpoint presentation (to be presented by him tomorrow), worked on a heap of RWA stuff that has to launch tomorrow, done all the usual household stuff and dealt with a sick child.

Now I just want to rest - instead I'm signing up to write 600+ words / day.  Sometimes I think I'm insane :)

Finding my mojo

Thanks for the support on my last post - I wasn't all that down about it, more frustrated, but it was good to hear your lovely comments.  Especially those who said I inspired them - I'm honoured :)  (And no, I wasn't really denying myself chocolate - I'm not actually that much of a chocolate person.  Chips / crisps on the other hand - they're my downfall!!)

It did make me look at what I did achieve in a more positive light though. In that time (since mid-Jan), I've:

• added ~36,000 words to my WIP (work in progress), and
• exercised ~55 hrs

That's not bad at all :)  I do forget to stop and celebrate what I've achieved.

We had our writer's meeting today and yes, I did have to wear the 'hat of shame' :)   I was the only one this time - so well done to everyone else for meeting their goals!

I've set my goals for the next 2 months.  I'm aiming for approx 80,000 words in my novel, and am currently up to 47,500.  I'm going to aim to get it finished (as a first draft) by 21st July.  I really, really want to say I've completed it! 

I've drawn up a schedule - to add another 30,000 words, it's 500 words per day with a couple of days free where I know I have a full day out.  It's doable, but I need to focus and make the time.  And not leave it until the last thing in the day when I'm tired and it's all too hard.

Now to get motivated on the exercise again too!

111 and out

Anyone who is a cricket fan can tell you that 111 is an unlucky score.  (Just a disclaimer, I'm not a cricket fan - I am just married to one so knowledge comes to me by osmosis!)

Well, it proved unlucky to me.  111 days in a row of exercising AND writing.  Then came the weekend.  I didn't exercise at such - I soothed my guilt by saying that I was hard at work at the camp and walking lots etc etc.  I'm good at justifying...  I may have let myself get away with it too, except I didn't write either.  I tried the 'but I thought about the plot' justification, but I was feeling harsh and wouldn't let myself off the hook.

So the streak has been broken.

Unfortunately, since then I've found it hard to start again.  The streak is broken.  I don't have to prove anything.  I can take a couple of days off.  I deserve a break - just like I deserved that chocolate I just ate! (See, told you I was good at justifying..)

I need kickstarting again.

The fact that I have 10 days left before my next writer's meeting and 7,906 words to write in that time to meet my goal isn't even enough to work yet.  I can see me wearing the hat of shame at the next meeting...

Butt-kicking welcome :)

March writers group meeting

I love my writers group.  We meet once a month for several hours - and then usually carry on with lunch at the cafe next door, where we have the owner very well trained to put up with us! 

Today we went through our goals - those that didn't meet their goals for the month got to wear the 'hat of shame', those of us who met our goals got to choose a small pressie.  (I got a notebook and pen this month - gorgeous!)

We set our goals for next month, helping everyone set SMART goals (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely).  Erin ran a writing exercise - discussing 'wandering body parts' and tightening up a wordy paragraph. We 'interviewed' Mary's heroine, digging deep into her motivation and brainstorming possible plot twists. 

We discussed and compared what sessions we're doing at conference, had a discussion about websites vs blogs and set our agenda for next month. 

Thanks ladies for a great meeting!

Quick 'me' update

I'll do a more in-depth homeschooling one soon (hopefully over the weekend) but just a quick one about me.  Since it *is* my blog and all :)

February was a very busy month - I had commitments with RWA, I was doing an online writing course that was very full-on, homeschooling and cub activities, defendo, work, family stuff (oh and hubby was away for a week and a bit during that time).

So I am particularly proud of myself that my 'progress' calendar looks like this -

Each day I put a sticker on the square if I write on my work-in-progress (it can be as little as 100 words, but I have to make genuine forward progress), and I write the exercise that I've done in the top of the square.  Look closely - every single day has been marked off!!  That now makes about 45 consecutive days that I have written and exercised!  (I have some cute 'teacher reward' stickers that I bought somewhere, so it gives me a lift to give myself a 'Great Work' or 'Super' sticker lol).

It's really working for me - if I feel like skipping a day, I think of how sad that empty spot will look and dig deep to find the energy to do it!  Even if it is 11pm!

My exercise has ranged from walking, running (I'm still making slow progress on my running goal), trampoline (I bought myself a mini-tramp or rebounder), defendo, yoga, pushups (I've started the Hundred Pushups Training challenge) or light weights work, wii fit, pilates and cardio workouts on YouTube.  Most are 20-30 minutes, up to 1.5 hrs for my defendo class.

I just wanted to share one of the lovely spots I walk on the days I drop Billy at drama - there are ducks and swans in this wetlands and its so nice to walk past!

My writing is also going well - I'm up to 27,000 words on my work-in-progress.  Unfortunately I couldn't keep up the pace in the online writing course I was doing, and got a bit left behind - I still have the lecture notes to read through though, so I'll still get value out of it.

I was just about to hit post when a fellow Defendo person posted a photo on Facebook of a seminar I went to on Wednesday night - on knife, gun, stick and hand defence with expert Hock Hochheim.  Hopefully I'll never need to use the knowledge, but it was very interesting.

Still writing

I haven't posted about writing since the conference but I am still slowly working away at it.

I set up my netbook in the spare room, and for a few weeks got into a lovely habit of writing every morning, averaging around 500 words / day.  Then something happened.  I can't remember what, but I had a really busy week so the routine was broken.  I tried to start again, then we had a few weeks of really cold weather - and it was really cold in the spare room - so I stopped again.

So at the moment, I'm not writing every day, but instead grab a couple of hours each week to lock myself away and do some writing or editing.

I'm now up to 9,600 words on my women's fiction (working title "Sisters").

At our last face-to-face writer's group meeting, we brainstormed some possible plot paths for Sisters, and some fantastic ideas came out of it.  Now I have all these ideas swirling around in my head, and I'm not sure which way to go.  I've signed up to an online Plotting course for October - hopefully that will help me work out what to do!

I also now have 2 critique partners - one is a friend of mine in our face-to-face writer's group, and the other found me through the critique partner matching scheme run by RWA.  So far so good - even though we all write in different sub-genres, they've both had some valuable input into my wip, and hopefully I've managed to add some useful comments to theirs.

I'm giving Sisters one final edit and then entering it in the RWA STALI (Single Title and Loving It) competition this week.  Hopefully I'll get some valuable feedback - and even more hopefully it will do well in the scoring :)

RWA Conference 2011 - craft

I'm not sure if these notes will make any sense to anyone other than me, but its helped me to revisit them.

Bob Mayer - Write it Forward (formerly Warrior Writer Workshop)

Bob's workshop wasn't craft oriented as such, rather about getting to know ourselves as an author and setting goals for our career.

His "Warrior Writer" steps (very briefly):

What do you want to achieve with your writing?  Why?  Where will sustained change occur?

Understand your own character.  What is change and how do you accomplish it?  How do you build the courage to change?

Communicate your change to the world.  Take command of your change.  Complete the Circle of Success and change.

A few points I jotted down that stood out to me.

* Ask yourself - "I'll do anything to achieve my writing goal, except don't ask me to do...?"
* Focus on what makes you angry or inspired in your workshop - its probably something you need to work on or address
* Record the one thing that motivates you most as a writer
* Can you communicate the "Shiver"?
* Idea is not story.  The idea can't change in what you're writing, but the story can.
* Every scene needs conflict - character vs character.  No scene - no conflict. External & internal conflict.
* How your organise your daily life is how you will organise your book.
* SOP - Defined tasks, written.  Stops you reinventing the wheel.
* Use daily, weekly, monthly checklists to keep you on track.
* A body language course is useful
* Conflict is rooted in different POV
* Change = Moment of Enlightenment -> Make a decision -> Implement -> Sustained Action
* The stages of change (same as grief) - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance
* The bottom line on 'feeling like a fraud' is to internalize more of your accomplishments.  List them.  You are real.
* Expand your comfort zone by venturing into your courage zone.  (I love this!)

Susan Wiggs - Plotting from the Inside Out

Susan's workshop was about creating a plot without really plotting.

* Character-driven plot - intertwined character / plot
* Take a walk.  Minimise distractions.  Walking rhythm sparks creativity.
* Where is your "white space"?  Your space where you can be alone to think.
* Makes a to-do list before yoga / walking and before bed to help empty her mind.
* Think of an emotion.  Feel it.  Focus on the emotions you are feeling, then combine that with an image.
* Be patient.  Stories come in their own time.
* Create a music playlist for your book.  Have variety.  Different characters will have different songs.
* Make a collage with magazine pictures.  Don't analyse what you are selecting - just feel.  Don't rush it - this is part of building your structure.
* Create a sociogram - write characters name in the middle of your page with spokes out to all the people in their life.
* Create a chart with all of your character names in the book to make sure you don't have character names beginning with the same letter.
* Create a vision of "her world" in words and/or pictures.  Time of year, era, environment.  The more vivid you make the world, the more engaged readers will be.
* Process can take 2-4 weeks.  Be careful it doesn't cross into procrastination though!!!
* Use movie credits, newspapers, articles etc to find names
* Take the character to a point of decision in her life.
* Do freewriting.  1st person, present tense.  Let your character talk to you.  What's on her mind?  What problems does she have?  External & internal.  Keep it to less than 500 words.
* Read self-help books to find an arc of growth for the character.
* Give a reward at the end - the epilogue - the warm fuzzy at the end.
* Can be effective to mirror the opening in the ending.
* When writing a series, create charts / spreadsheets etc to keep track of details about characters - year of birth, births, deaths, marriage, physical characteristics etc
* Susan writes longhand, uses Dragon voice recognition to transcribe.  She keeps her manuscript in the freezer when she leaves the house in case it burns down :)
* Use "Hero with a thousand faces" to describe the hero's journey  12 steps - create events for each step.  Gives you a plot outline.

Julia Hunter - Body Language

* www.julia-hunter.com
* 99% of how we communicate is body language
* How to read body language
  - Read in clusters - some gestures are normal for people, not indicative of anything
  - Does the body language agree with what's being said?
  - Read gestures in context
* Self-touching - nerves
* Body slumping - defeated
* "Steepling" with hands - I'm the boss
* Arms crossed - women - closed off, protecting herself; men - in control, arrogant
* People don't like being pointed at when lecturing
* Palms down - taking authority
* Palms open - believable, trust me
* Mirroring - builds rapport, makes you feel accepted.  We don't subconsciously mirror people we don't like or don't know.
* Move into people's space to force them to open their body language
* pauleckman.com - micro facial expressions


Raymond Floro - Staging a Fight Scene

* Think unconventionally for improvised weapons - pens, sock filled with coins, magazine with coins along edge rolled up
* Killing is power / control
* Rape is not sexual but power
* 21ft rule (Tueller's Rule) - the average person with a knife can get to and cut a person before they have time to pull and fire a gun
* Weapons are a great equaliser for size difference
* Pressure points don't work if the person is drugged or heavily intoxicated
* If a major artery is severed (femoral, carotid), lose 1/L of blood/minute.  Loss of 1L - unconscious, 3 L death
* Go for knees / shins to put people down, not chest or head
* Knockout points - anything on bottom half of face (ie nose down) eg jaw, chin etc

Joan Kilby - Writing the Emotional Rollercoaster

* Go deep
eg Level 1 - external conflict.  Heroine loves old buildings and wants the heritage of the old church maintained.  Hero wants to develop it.
Level 2 - Personal investment for character with family connection to church.
Level 3 - Deep internal conflict.  Church is a symbol of the heroine's marriage and love for her dead husband - all women in her family married there.  Its a symbol of their marriage - she can't move on in life.

* Flipside of happiness is fear and vulnerability.  What makes your character happy / what does he want?  Flip it around - what is he afraid of?
* Watch Dr Brene Brown on ted.com - lecture on vulnerability
* Show hero's vulnerability but also show his determination to overcome (otherwise he looks like a wimp).  He must be proactive.
* Give your characters a life - use personal objects significant to them to evoke emotion (eg a stuffed toy that the hero gave the heroine as teenagers that she's kept all these years)
* Emotional plotting
  - What are your characters thinking & feeling going into a scene
  - How will this change by the end of the scene?
  - What issues arise that will affect their emotions?
  - Start positive, end negative and vice versa
  - Move the story forward emotionally

* Motivation - Reaction Units
   - Motivation - "I'm pregnant and you're the father."
   - Reaction
       - Feeling - Rafe reeled.
       - Action - He stumbled into the credenza, toppling a pot plant and spilling the dirt.
       - Speech - "You're... what?"
* Beginning a story with a highly-charged emotional scene rarely works because until we get to know the characters, we don't care what happens to them.
* Strong characters push each other's buttons, forcing them to grow.
* Deep down though, they must be soul mates - what need do they fulfil in each other?
* Start slow and build the emotion.
* Don't shy away from strong emotion.
* Margie Lawson - backloading

Lisa Heidke - Sense & Sanity: Living with the First Draft

* I AM A WRITER!
* Plan your day.
* Watch movies & TV shows that are similar to your genre to recharge / freshen your imagination
* Don't strive for perfection - even if you can only write for fiften minutes, or 500 words, its better than nothing
* Focus on your ultimate goal - the sense of achievement when you've finished your first draft.  A lot of people talk about writing a book.  Few do.  You can be one who actually does.
* Have a writing space to call your own
* Have a set writing time each day / week.
* BALANCE everything in your life - including your writing.  What would my "ideal" day look like?  How would I feel?
* Lightbulb moment - I need ME time as well as writing time.  They shouldn't be the same - I need the me time to recharge / read without guilt
* Set small goals so you don't get overwhelmed
* Hold yourself accountable.
* Stephen King's "On writing" is very motivational when in a slump