Monthly Archives: January 2012

POV Problems

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

My current work-in-progress is faltering and I can blame it on POV. Point of view. This is not my first book with alternating first person point of view between two characters. Actually, it’s my fifth…the fourth in this series. It isn’t even my first attempt to write from the point of view of a male character…it’s my third. So, what’s the problem?

The problem is this particular character. He’s been a part of five previous books, but this is the first time he’s been given a voice. He has a very distinctive voice and sometimes I wish he’d shut up. And, I think that’s the problem—when I allow him to speak through me, it becomes overwhelming. I’ve tried to create a buffer between us, but if I keep my distance and stifle his voice, it makes it kind of hard to write a chapter.

I breathe a sigh of relief each time I complete a chapter from his POV, relishing the easy breezy task of writing a ‘girl’ chapter once again. Each time I finish a ‘girl’ chapter, I dread having to switch back to the ‘man’ voice. So, what do I do?

I could skip ahead and write all the ‘girl’ chapters first, saving the ‘guy’ chapters for last. Or, not. I don’t have a problem skipping around, but since I don’t write from an outline, I have no idea what will happen from one chapter to the next. If I plan it out ahead of time, it ruins the surprise. That’s no fun!

I could kill off my problem character, thus quieting his voice once and for all. But, that would be like killing a part of myself. Besides, he’s not supposed to die. He has a role to play in the story. He is the story.

So, what do I do?

I’ll do the only thing I can—what I should have done all along. I’ll give in to the voice and let my character carry me along. Instead of trying to fight him, I’ll let him take over…for a while. Until the story is finished, I’ll share my mind with him and allow him to speak through me. I’ll stay up late, lose sleep, drink lots of coffee, and drift through life with one foot in reality and the other in fantasy-land.

After all, who needs reality when fantasy is so much nicer? Reality is for edits. Fantasy is for story-telling. So, farewell reality. I have a story to tell.

Categories: author, fiction, imaginary friends, paranormal, pov, rules, tricia drammeh, writer, writing, writing tips, young adult | 6 Comments

Paranormal Romance Support Group

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

Hi. I’m Tricia and I love paranormal romance.

There. I said it. I love reading paranormal romance. I like writing it, too, but I definitely have more experience as a reader than as a writer.

Paranormal romance gets a bad rap. Pseudo-intellectuals love to make fun of the people (mostly women) who read it. Wanna-be writers enjoy mocking those who write paranormal romance. They love to hate Stephenie Meyer, gazillionaire author of the Twilight Series. They criticize her for lack of plot, purple prose, and bad writing in general. It seems Stephenie broke all the rules of writing.

You know the rules I’m talking about, or maybe you don’t. If you’re not an aspiring writer, you may not be aware of all the rules other aspiring writers and would-be critics have invented. Some of these rules are good: don’t create five-hundred word sentences lacking in punctuation, don’t write a two-hundred-thousand word novel entirely in cryptic text-message language, and don’t rely on Microsoft Word for all your editing needs. Some rules are crappy and are too numerous (and sometimes confusing) to list.

Yeah, Stephenie broke the “rules,” and she made a gazillion dollars doing it. For those of us who haven’t landed the multi-million dollar, three book contract and a movie deal, we have only our “rules” to console us. Stephenie  has a gazillion dollars. I wonder who is happier? Something tells me Stephenie doesn’t care about our rules.

Say what you want about paranormal romance, but it’s popular. Millions of women buy it, read it, love it. Here are my own made-up statistics: for every person who laughs at the cover of a novel featuring a shape-shifting, magically gifted vampire/werewolf hybrid, there are ten people who are picking up said novel and saying, “Hmm, this looks interesting.”

So, this is a call to all you men and women who love paranormal romance: stand up, put your hands in the air, and shout: “Hi. My name is _____ and I love paranormal romance.”

Categories: author, blogger, books, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, paranormal, romance, stephenie meyer, tricia drammeh, triciadrammeh, twilight, writer, writing | 2 Comments

The Blame Game

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

There are tons of articles and blogs about the business of writing—the queries, the edits, the marketing, etc. I think I’ve even covered a few of those points in an earlier blog of my very own. Today, I read an article written by a soon-to-be-published friend who discussed that very topic. She brought up an interesting point I’d never considered: When the word-flow tapers to a trickle (or stops altogether) it might not be writers block. Sometimes it’s just life.

Life happens. Sometimes life’s happenings get in the way of writing.

I’ve struggled with my writing over the past two or three months. I’ve blamed writers block…always writers block. I sit and stare at the computer, but the words won’t come out. I can’t get my brain to focus for more than a minute or two. In an attempt to get back on track, I gave myself a strict per-day word count to achieve and started tracking my progress on a spreadsheet.

Thanks to my shamefully nerdy spreadsheet, I noticed something…well a couple of things:

On the days I have writers block, I suffer from a lack of concentration in general. In other words, my writing isn’t the only thing that suffers; I can’t focus on reading, or any other task.

I do not have this problem on the weekends.

So what is happening during the week that prevents me from making progress with my writing? The answer: Life. Or, more specifically: My Dreaded Day Job.

That’s right; I’m blaming my day job. And why shouldn’t I? I blame my job for everything else. If I’m tired? Blame the day job. Stressed? Day job. Cranky? Well, you get the idea.

It’s reassuring to believe I don’t suffer from real writers block. Reassuring and relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that I might be able to get a little writing done tonight before I go to sleep. But, I’m not worried because if I don’t get any writing done, I know what to do: I’ll just blame the day job.

Categories: author, blog, blogger, blogging, tricia drammeh, triciadrammeh, writers block, writing | 4 Comments

On the Right Track

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

I’m home from work today to tend to a sick child, so I’ve been spending some quality time with my imaginary friends. I haven’t done anything as ambitious as editing, but I’ve been able to get some writing done. Being at home is awesome!

Don’t get me wrong: sometimes amazing ideas strike while I’m on my way to work. That’s what happened yesterday…I had an awesome idea during my morning commute. It was an idea that would really make a huge difference in the direction of the story line. Or, at least I think so. The awesome, amazing idea flew out of my head the moment I pulled into parking lot at work, never to be seen or thought again.

So, today, it’s me, my sick kid, and my imaginary friends. Together, we shall create something spectacular. Some call me crazy. Or, weird. But, that’s okay. I was born this way.
Categories: author, blog, blogging, imaginary friends, tricia drammeh, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Stuck in the Middle

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

It’s the worst spot imaginable. The place where I always falter. I’m stuck.

In the middle.

I wouldn’t call this writer’s block. Maybe writer’s apprehensionis a better term. I’m at a pivotal point and I’m standing on the precipice wondering if I should jump in, or take a step back. What I do here will make or break the storyline. It’s no wonder I’m treading with caution, right?

Where do I go now? Do I continue to waste my time playing with my website or checking Facebook? Or, do I put my fingers to the keyboard and forge ahead? What’s the worst that can happen if my storyline goes awry? I can always revise, rewrite, and revamp. I’ve done it before; I can do it again.

It might take a lot of work. It might take a lot out of me. That’s okay. I’ll survive it.

Anything is better than being stuck in the middle.

Categories: author, books, the middle, tricia drammeh, triciadrammeh, writers block, writing | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Technology

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

Over the past several days, I’ve spent a great deal of time grappling with technology. Specifically, I’ve been struggling to set up my websites. For some people, this process might have been simple, but for me, it was laborious and exhausting.

So, it is with a great sense of personal satisfaction that I can say, “I’m almost finished.”

Almost, because I’m still working on a few details on the book site. And almost because I don’t know if I’ll ever be completely satisfied with the layout, order of pages, background color, etc.

Nevertheless, I feel like I’ve accomplished something. I fought technology and I won. I might bear a few scrapes and bruises, but I emerged victorious from battle.

Go me!

Categories: Uncategorized | 4 Comments

I Can’t Help Falling in Love…

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh
Before I began writing, I sometimes flinched when authors spoke about their writing, using phrases such as “my main character has a story that must be told.” It always amazed me that they could talk about their characters as if they were real people. Sure, I’ve spoken about characters in the Harry Potter books as if they were real, but that’s okay. I mean, it’s Harry Potter! Besides, it’s the reader’s job to get sucked into a good story. As a reader, I’m supposed to blur the line between reality and fantasy. It’s the author’s job to write a story I can get lost in.
 
But, what if the author is lost? Isn’t the author supposed to have a pretty firm grasp on reality? After all, the author wrote the story; they should be fully aware that their characters are fictional. Right? A story is supposed to be crafted, well thought-out, and carefully plotted.
 
Too bad I don’t do any of those things. My rough drafts are purely self-indulgent. I write what I want to write the way I want to write it. If I haven’t blurred the line between fantasy and reality, you can rest assured that I’ve written total crap. Any attempt to adhere to the “rules of writing” has left my story dry, boring, and passionless.
 
The truth is…I love my characters. In my mind, they are as real as I am, at least while I’m in the throes of manic story telling. I love all my characters—even the villains. I love the characters my readers love to hate. I love their dilemmas, their lapses in judgment, and their shortcomings.
 
And, guess what? My characters have stories which must be told. Will the world end if Idon’t finish the series? No. Will mankind suffer? Probably not. But, I have to see how the story plays out. I need to know what happens. And, since I’m living it as I’m writing it, I have no clear idea of how it will end. It doesn’t matter if anyone reads my novels, or if they ever hit the bookstore shelves. I have to keep going. I can’t help it…I’m in love.
Categories: author, the claiming words, tricia drammeh, triciadrammeh, writing | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Killing Words

Posted on January 7, 2012 by Tricia Drammeh

To overcome writer’s block, I’ve embraced a new motto: When the words won’t come, kill someone.


I don’t kill real people, or main characters (usually), but a timely death can really jump start a faltering story line. I won’t say who I kill, attempt to kill, or who I might consider killing in the future. But, trust me: people die.


Killing makes the words flow forth,but killing isn’t easy. You have to decide who to kill, who does the killing, how and where the killing takes place, and how much blood will soak into the carpet. Killing requires choreography. It requires courage, especially if you kill one of the good guys, because you know someone, somewhere will be upset that you killed off their favorite character.


As I embark upon writing the next chapter of my newest book, I am excited about what comes next. The plot is unfolding, twisting and turning. I no longer fear the evil curse of Writer’sBlock because I know how to defeat it. If I get stuck again, I’ll just kill someone.

Categories: tricia drammeh, triciadrammeh, writing | Tags: , | Leave a comment

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