The Puzzle With Plots

As a kid, I remember playing with sliding puzzles, the ones where you slide one piece into place, but you have to move a bunch of others out of the way in the process. When you move one piece it shifts everything else, and they were so tricky, I think I just gave up on them as some kind of a that-would-be-nice-to-see-what-it-looks-like-finished-but-I-doubt-I’ll-see-it-in-my-lifetime puzzle.

Well, this same thing occurs in writing, and I like to call it the plot puzzle. For me this happens not so much in the outline, but when I’ve written the first draft and am combing it through it, trying to turn it into a masterpiece. (Because sometimes I can overlook plot holes or weaknesses that could be changed to make it better.)

Unfortunately, this can lead to a rearranging of sorts—kind of like those sliding puzzles—because when I move or change even one thing, everything else in the story shifts with it.

This is how it works in my mind: How can I make the meat of the story more juicy? I can add yada-yada. But if I do that, then I’ll need to add something to chapter one to include this yada-yadaness, and maybe something else in chapter three to tie it in. Oh, but if I do that, then this means that this major part will need to be revamped. Hmmm. What else can I do to make it better?

Sometimes I just let things go. Other times, revamping is necessary. But I find that writing a detailed outline from start to finish helps to keep my thoughts on track. Often as I do this, ideas will come, and others I’ll scratch. But in any case, I find that creating an outline helps me to solve the plot puzzle to make a good story even better.

Storm Clouds? Big Whoopdy Doo!

For Christmas my wife gave me a gift certificate to attend the Storymakers Writing Conference in Provo. I had been looking forward to it for quite a while and my plans were made...but then they changed. A couple of months ago the church scheduled the date for the Kansas City Temple Dedication and guess what, it was on the same weekend. Hmmmm. What to do? I've been looking forward to the Temple dedication far longer than the writing conference but I still found myself a bit disappointed that I couldn't do both. My children started practicing in February to be a part of the cultural celebration on the Saturday prior to the dedication and I knew I couldn't miss that either so I decided to cancel my plans for the conference. The celebration was fantastic and the kids had a great time, but still I felt a twinge of disappointment that I couldn't go to the conference. Sunday, as my family and I drove to the Kansas City temple for the dedication, the skies opened up and POUNDED us with rain. We wondered how wet we would get and how uncomfortable we might be in the temple sitting in wet clothing. I found myself feeling a twinge of disappointment that the weather wasn't clear and sunny. As it turns out, the rain stopped at the most opportune times and we didn't get a drop on us, but as soon as we started driving home, the pounding rain started again. It was at this moment that I realized what a shame it is to let events or circumstances in our lives distract us from the things that are most important. Would I have liked to go to the conference, sure. But going to the cultural celebration and dedication was more important for me. Would I have preferred sunshine instead of blinding rain. Yeah, of course, but I shouldn't allow a small thing like rain dampen my enthusiasm for the amazing experience I had. This also made me think of the writing, publishing and reviewing process we go thru as writers. We struggle and work to write our manuscript. We shop it around and finally get an acceptance from a publisher and we eagerly await the release of our book. We anticipate the release with such high hopes but sometimes we allow a rain cloud or two dampen our enthusiasm and pull us out of the joy and excitement we should be basking in. The specific rain clouds I'm thinking of are bad reviews. The release of a book is a thrilling experience after months or even years of effort and struggle, so why should we let one dingdong ruin that euphoria for us by merely saying or writing something critical? Would we like every reader to praise our book as the most intelligent, well written, humorous, touching work they've ever read. Yeah, sure. But it's not realistic. So a reader didn't like it. Big whoopdy doo! They're just stupid heads. (wait- I digress) We WILL get bad reviews but a review on goodreads, Amazon, blogs etc should not make or break our enthusiasm. In some cases we may be able to learn from the review, in some cases we simply need to ignore them because we cannot get caught up in the hype, either positive or negative, about our work. Just say, "darn!" and then move on. So that was a rambling way of saying, focus on the positive, ignore the negative and focus on what really brings you happiness and fulfillment. Don't let the rain clouds of bad reviews dampen your enthusiasm for writing.

What legacy will YOU leave?

                                                                       Trina Boice
                                                                   www.trinaboice.com


Maurice Sendak, widely considered the most important children’s book artist of the 20th century, who wrenched the picture book out of the safe, sanitized world of the nursery and plunged it into the dark, terrifying and hauntingly beautiful recesses of the human psyche, died on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn. He was 83 and lived in Ridgefield, Conn. The cause was complications from a recent stroke, said Michael di Capua, his longtime editor.

When the book first came out, parents and reviewers criticized the scary images.  Now they are a beloved addition to many family's libraries.  A movie was made about the book a few years ago, although it did not achieve great recognition.

If you're an author, what one book will you most be remembered for?  What is it you'd like to be remembered the most for?  My father-in-law's funeral was this past weekend, so I'm especially feeling introspective lately.  Our time on this earth isn't very long, and of course, none of us knows how much time we have left.   What things are most important to you in life?  Family? Relationships? Career? Legacy? Stuff?

After we attended the funeral of my husband's sweet father, the family went to the Huntington Library to take pictures and see beautiful artwork and gardens to bring peace to our hearts.  The Huntingtons left a wonderful legacy of artwork to share with the world.  

Most of us would readily say that we'd love to leave the world a better place by having been in it.  The question is "How?"  Find what you're passionate about and bring about good in that realm.  Share.  Give.  Serve.


The books I love to read the most are the ones that aren't purely for entertainment, but ones that leave me truly feeling enriched, inspired, and motivated to do and be better myself.   I try to write those kinds of books too.


What can you do today to leave your stamp on the world and make it a better place?

Storymaker's Conference

Where shall I start? Wow!! Those who organized and presented the conference did a remarkable job. The classes were well presented. The food was great. And though there was construction going on, and we had to walk around it, it seemed to part of the adventure . . . and a way of walking off all that good food.

The Keynote speaker was Kevin J. Anderson. He is an author of more than a hundred novels, 47 of which have appeared on national or international bestseller lists. He has over 20 million books in print in 30 languages. He has won or been nominated for numerous prestigious awards, including the Nebula Award, Bram Stoker Award, the SFX Reader's Choice Award, the American Physics Society's Forum Award, and New York Times Notable Book.

This man writes 6-10 books a year. In addition to his own fiction, he has written numerous bestselling comics and graphic novels and several collaborative projects, including novels in the Dune Universe with Frank Herbert's son and a bestseller with Dean Koontz. He writes 7 days a week, 6-8 hours a day. That thought makes my head spin, but that's why he is so successful.

One important point he made  is that writing is like a full-time job. You have to put in the hours to become successful.  Oh, I think these words made an impression on everyone there. We can't all write 7 days a week or even 6-8 hours a day, but we can organize our time just as if we were going to a job every morning and putting in the time necessary to be a success.

Other commitments have taken up a lot of my time this past year. I think, however, all should be back to normal, now, and I can devote much of my time to writing and painting, again. Oh, how I'm looking forward to settling back into my routine. I certainly won't be writing 6-8 books a year because I have other commitments like spending 6 hours a week on Genealogy. 4 hours a week on Indexing. 6 hours a week working in the temple, etc., but I think I'll type up a schedule that will keep me on task so that I can spend the time I need to be a good writer . . . no, not just a good writer, but an excellent writer as well as an accomplished artist. I only have to prove it to myself . . . and that's the plan.

Have a great day.

I Need A Hammock

The last couple of days I’ve intended to spend a significant period of time writing. I even took Monday off work so I could sit at home and concentrate on the story I’m writing. Guess how much I accomplished on Monday. That’s right. You’re so smart. I accomplished ZILCH. So Tuesday I decided to buckle down and get something done. Guess how much I accomplished on Tuesday. Yeah, depressing isn’t it. Zilch…again. Pathetic. It brings me to my question for the day; what conditions do you require to be successful in your writing? As I’ve thought about the last couple of days I have identified a couple of hurdles I did not clear. 1- Exhaustion- Many times I want to write but I. Just. Can’t. Prop. My. Eyelids. Open. Sometimes I’m simply too tired to concentrate and put forth any real mental effort. As interesting and exciting as writing can be, it is still work. It requires energy and if I I’m grumpy and snarly from fatigue my writing (if I do happen to manage a little) is weak and uninspired. 2- Spring Fever- I got a LOT of work done around the house Monday, but no writing. Many things, like finishing the tilling of my final garden plot, were good and maybe even more important for me to work on that day. There is a time and a season and frankly, Spring is a great and exciting season to be outside instead of stuck behind a desk like I am every day at work. By the time I was finished with my manual labor outside I found myself too exhausted to challenge my mental muscles. 3- Stress- Some days, like Tuesday, there were simply too many competing concerns that got in the way of my writing. I need to concentrate when I write and if I’m irritated or overwhelmed with other To Do’s or worries I simply cannot focus on my story. I need a certain level of peace. Not a lot, but some. Again, maybe Tuesday just wasn’t the right time for me to write. Or maybe I’m making excuses. The bottom line is this; we all have obstacles to overcome as we seek to meet our writing goals. I want to write. I look forward to it but sometimes I need to put my writing on the back burner and focus on other aspects of life that are just as, or more important than writing my story. So, I’m curious. Do you face the same obstacles as me, or are your obstacles different? What kinds of conditions are most conducive to your successful writing? Do you require a pile of chocolate to snack on? Soft jazz playing in the background? Or maybe someone rubbing your shoulders and popping grapes into your mouth? I’d love to hear from you. My solution to the three problems I currently face is to reduce these three trouble areas as much as possible and my ultimate solution is found in the picture above. What solutions do you find?

At Season's End by Eric Hendershot

Last week I read "At Season's End" . . . No . . . let me rephrase that. Saturday I read "At Season's End." Because once I started,  I couldn't put it down. It took me on an amazing journey with Paw and Maw, Sal and Tim, during the years of the great depression.

This is a story of a family who have to walk away from almost everything they own--because the depression has taken it from them. What little they have left, they load into their old Buick, making the car their home as they travel from state to state, living the lives of migrant workers--or cherry pickers--depending on which state they are in, at the time. They have little money. In fact, there are times when they have no money, at all. But they always seem to make it through each day.

Paw is a steady, creative, intelligent, man, who leads his family with solid faith. He teaches his son and daughter, by his own example, the value of work and family, which proves to be a great blessing in both of their lives.

I could go on and on but I don't want to say too much because it's a story that tells itself without any help from me. It's a story that wraps itself around the reader and keeps them warm until the last page.

The novel, "At Season's End," written by Eric Hendershot, will be out on May 8th.

Potpourri for 500

This past month, my life has been going a dozen different directions, and as a result I am a bit scatter-brained at the moment. So for your reading pleasure, I give you a blog post full of interesting yet unrelated subjects.

1. LDStorymakers 2012 is coming! Soon! Like in just over two weeks.
   
   I've been very fortunate to work behind the scenes this year on the committee, coordinating registration. I dug into skills I learned some twenty-odd years ago and set up a database for organizing this year's attendees. That was a great experience.
   
   I also have thoroughly enjoyed seeing how many of my friends will be there this year. Of course, since it's my fifth(!) conference, it's really only the new people that aren't my friends. Yet.
   
   And I reverted to that childish practice of choosing my workshops based on where my buddies were going. Yeah, we're all so mature...
   



2. And even more exciting, I'm presenting a workshop of my own this year - on both days. It's called Culture, Motivation, Flaws, and a Cat: Four things every great character needs.
   
   It's been a lot of fun to work on this presentation, and things are finally coming together.
   
   
3. I got to do some fun writing research as I went on yet another camp out with my daughter and her Venture Crew. We backpacked in and out, and this time nobody froze. In fact, it was so warm I slept on top of my sleeping bag the whole time.
   
   One of the girls did a presentation on edible vs poisonous flora and fauna. She practiced what she preached by cutting the tail off of a scorpion and eating it. Yes, it tasted like chicken.
   



4. I got to do some not-so-fun writing research when the woman renting a room from us relapsed into a fairly destructive bout of mental illness. The shop vac got many great workouts, both in wet and dry mode.
   
   We also learned the distinction between civil and criminal law, and that the police can offer little more than sympathy when it comes to civil issues. Fortunately, with the support of prayers and legal advice, we were able to resolve the situation before there were any personal injuries.

So as you can see, this has been a very hectic month. But it's been a great month, and I look forward to seeing everyone next month at LDStorymakers!