Running With Quills: ELIZABETH IN SHADES OF GREEN

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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

ELIZABETH IN SHADES OF GREEN

Stella just finished writing a book.

I just started on one.

Envious, moi? Oh, yeah. And then some.

115,000 words ahead of me.

None in my rearview mirror.

*bites back anguished sound*

Well, there’s only one cure for an empty page. Typing. Lots and lots of it. Problem is, the result of all that typing has to make sense, be fast, occasionally sexy, often tense, sometimes funny, and ultimately a satisfying read.

Piece of cake, right?

*bites back another anguished sound*

The only thing worse than the scary, oh-my-god-what-now beginning of a book is the middle of it. The great, flabby, yawning, who-wants-to-read-this-stuff, why-did-I-ever-start-this-mess middle.

*bangs head against keyboard*

Suddenly, amid all the stars and headache, comes a vision of the two most beautiful words in the English language.

THE END

Smiling, I begin typing the first of thousands and thousands and thousands of words.

When you face a huge task, what tricks do you play on yourself to take the first step?

20 Comments:

Jay said...: I happened to visualise the anguished sounds and keyboard head-banging, and ended up with tea coming up my nose. Thanks! *g*

When faced with a big task, I have to organise. That's my procrastination - once I've got it all sorted in my head how it's going to work, then I'm pumped and into it, but until then, I'm an absolute champion at dithering.

PS: Good luck with the new book. :*; 7:07 PM
KathyK said...: I'm with Jay about organization. But I have to think about the subject at length, kind of let it stew subconsciously for a while before I'm ready to write. I used to make my DH shriek like a tea kettle at full boil when I was in graduate school because if a paper was due on Tuesday, I wouldn't start to put words on paper until Sunday PM. But once I had thought about it and knew the structure of what I wanted to say, it came out pretty easily. Of course, that's not near as creative as writing a whole world of people and places. I admire anyone who can do that convincingly.; 7:36 PM
Katrina said...: *Jumps up and down* You're starting a new book....
I know you may not be happy about the LONG journey ahead of, as a devoted fan...I am happy.

Anyways....Big tasks..*scratches head*
I tell myself that the term papers are due like a week before they really are and that makes me work harder and faster.
I am a huge fan of procrastination and as a devoute practioner of it, I have to say that it sucks...
I put my fake due date on all the calendars around the house, and in my room, even on my mirror, and on a teeny tiny pice of Post-it, I put the real date and shove it under my pillow...Sometimes my mattres.
What can I say desperate times call for drastic measures.
Good luck in writing the book and if you ever need a break feel free to say "Screw you world, I'm taking a break. Deal with it!"
I do it all the time....Granted I write term papers and you write books, but it's the same thing right???; 8:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Once I learned not to procrastinate I also learned to break every task up into pieces. Do a little bit every day, then before you know it you´re done. Sounds so normal it´s boring, but it has the great virtue of actually working.
Sirry.; 11:52 PM
Cbell said...: I'm with Jay... I laughed out loud here in my office reading your descriptions and had a few curious looks thrown my way. Thanks for helping me start the day on a bright note! (Though I hate it was at your creative expense! Ha!)

My trick depends largely on my mood. Is the task something I know I will enjoy? I may get a pedicure or a full body massage to begin the process. Is the task something that is going to wear me out? Chocolate and Starbucks will help me get the creative juices flowing. Am I in the midst of it and need a boost? I'll admit that I'll go back and pick up a book from one of the authors on this blog and just escape for a short time.

Having said that... I can hardly wait to enjoy your next endeavor!; 4:44 AM
ButterflyLane said...: Sometimes I trick myself into thinking that I can do 'just a little bit' of it- I'll even set the timer for 15 minutes and tell myself that when it goes off I can quit if I want to.
Course, like Jay and Kathyk, I have to have it all mentally mapped out before I start.; 5:24 AM
DFender said...: Huh. Writers actually worry. Go figure... and here I thought that those stories all went into the keyboard ready to go. Fascinating. Really. An "as you go" kinda thing.

Anyway, if I have a difficult task ahead of me and I'm able to do it in portions I always get the hardest parts done first. Takes some of the stress outta finishing the whole thing when I know the rest of the task is much easier than what I've already accomplished.

If there's a difficult task ahead that's in the "do it or don't do it" category, I perform that task before anything else because once it's outta the way, glory reigns in my little organized mind. Ha!

...and to all of our RWQ authors I hope you all know that we all "want-to-read-this-stuff" and that's why you "start-this-mess" each and every time and I, for one, am SO thankful :)

Deb; 8:33 AM
Ranurgis said...: Oh dear, Elizabeth, what "anguish" you must go through to bring us your wonderful books! Is there one coming out soon, one that you've already finished?

Moi? What do I do when I have something that has to get done and I'm scared to death that I won't? I hide my head in the sand, er...the bed.

Well, I try to. Now I don't ever have to write a book. Whew! What a relief.

When I did some copy-editing for a local writer of children's books, I'd hem and haw and then just say to myself, "I'll read it first and then get at the corrections." Of course, I couldn't pass that first mistake without correcting it and that would be it. I just went on from there.

The same when I had to correct school language tests: "Oh, I'll just have a quick glance and see how things went." And zap, I was in.

In other things, like cleaning out the unnecessary accumulations of junk, I first look for things that can go directly into the garbage, like old envelopes, torn papers, etc. Then I'll try to find or make a blank surface--and that's the hard part because my place is so small--and start sorting things onto that surface: financial, personal letters, book stuff, church stuff, health stuff, etc.

That brings me to another thought: Would it be possible for all of you to post the titles and release dates of your present and upcoming books in the side-bar? A lot of people with blogs do that and since I, and probably most other people like me, go to blogs by writers whose books we buy, or at least read, it would be great to see those books "advertised". That way, for example, I could also get the library to order your books. Most of them are ordered automatically but then I could put my name in for them sooner. By the time I find out a release date, there are already 40-50 names on the waiting list. I usually read the books in hardcover as they come out and then wait to buy them in paperback.

I sort of thought I'd seen some, but I don't know where they are.; 8:43 AM
Ranurgis said...: Well, I didn't have tea coming out of my nose since I still haven't had my breakfast.

As far as term papers went, I was definitely like kathyk. I'd think about the subject, read the books for it and then just let it percolate in my mind. Then 2 or 3 days before it was due, I'd start writing. But then, those were mainly facts I was dealing with, along with my logic or whatever about those facts.

I wish I could learn not to procrastinate--more power to you have--I think I'm definitely too old to change this life-long habit. I'll often go read a book to get my mind off the pressure (grin).; 8:55 AM
Ranurgis said...: Ok, sorry, I did find the latest releases. I also entered the contest but realized after I hit the "Enter" button, that the "fill-in" didn't fill in my province. Of course that means that my second attempt at entering with the full information didn't work. I thought it worked all right last time, but maybe I'm just so used to having it work like that normally. Sorry, but I have to use the automatic fill-in. After writing on a blog, my hand is ready to give out.; 9:04 AM
Cbell said...: I have a question for the authors... as you are beginning a new project, do you have an outline, a flowchart... what is your pre-writing organization like? How well developed are your characters as you begin?

Inquiring minds want to know.; 12:02 PM
Running With Quills said...: I always have the characters developed, the backdrop researched, and a general idea of the plot.

Other authors do it differently.

Elizabeth; 12:39 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm with butterflylane. I use the 15 minute trick all the time.

I also use a rewards system (ex: 3 hours of studying at starbucks = 1 latte)

Lastly I schedule a fun activity near finals week. If I'm not far enough along studing, I don't get to do it. It's actually a pretty good motivator. When I use this method I generally end up ahead of schedule.; 1:42 PM
Joyce said...: Still love your sense of humor.
I would definitely procrastinate.
I have been facing knee replacement surgery for a few years. Just today he was pushing for me to get the surgery. I said all I can think about is the PAIN afterwards. He said - think about the positive. All that I'll be able to do afterwards that I can't do now.; 5:59 PM
talpianna said...: Is this one going to be LAWE AND APRIL JOY MEET UTAH AND THE FIRE DANCER?

*evil mole grin*; 1:36 AM
Faith said...: I tell myself that I'll have to face cleaning my kitchen (again) or write. I always choose writing.; 12:44 PM
talpianna said...: Any day now, I'm going to stop procrastinating myself...; 6:23 PM
Steve C said...: For me, writing is like driving in a fog. That which is a few feet in front of me is only slightly fuzzy but as it stretches out in the headlights a chapter or three in front of me, it's all just so much mist.

Frustration often comes from squinting too much and forgetting the here and now. Why am I writing THIS? What's the purpose of THIS scene? Knowing what I know of my characters, what would they do next? If I honestly listen to these people, they'll tell me where to go.

That's not to say I don't have a general plan in the same way that I know I'd like to go through St. Louis and Salt Lake City when driving from DC to San Fran. But what if the characters want True Deep Dish Pizza? The detour to Chicago is a must.

An opening, a SWAG at what the ending might be like and a few milestones along the way. And I'm damned thankful for that. The cool thing about fog, though, is the experience. So much to discover...; 9:32 AM
Denise Misencik said...: Hmm, large tasks. Other than trying to finish my current WIP, I haven't many large tasks looming. However, starting a book is always daunting to me. I've discovered I'm a drama queen... at least in my mind. (Lord, I hope it's only in my mind.) So I usually scratch out a couple of heated scenes... either love scenes or verbal warfare scenes and get them to where I really like them. Then, my unstoppable curiosity says, "Get with it!!! How'd they get *there*?
What happens next? Don't leave me hanging!" And so it begins....

I really love this blog, ladies!; 4:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Don't you just miss that keyboardheadbanging icon? ;-)

Good luck with the new book...you've got lots of people cheering you on!

melrandall; 5:19 PM

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Tuesday, March 07, 2006

ELIZABETH IN SHADES OF GREEN

20 Comments: