Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)




Wed, Mar 10 2010

Late nights, early mornings and slow brains

We had a rather late night last night. We drove to meet a great friend for tasty food and conversation and a movie. Then this morning we had to jump out of bed at the usual time. I can feel the physical effects of a severaly altered schedule today as I work. In spite of all those anti-hero writers you read about who lived life on the edge and then wrote tales of intrigue, getting even a bit off-schedule can make a mess of your writing habits and your ability to think. Consider this before you attend a party with the notion that you'll produce brilliant copy the next day. It sounds romantic and exciting. The reality is that it will slow down your ability to concentrate and to create. We writers shouldn't be hermits, but we need to pace ourselves and probably lead a bit more dull life than the average rock star.

posted at: 15:30 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Tue, Mar 09 2010

Can't slow down?

The recent news covered the story of the Prius in Southern California that accelerated to the point where the driver dialed 911 for help and was finally able to stop the car with the help of a CHP officer. The incident had me thinking about what happens in a fictional story if it takes off in a hurry and we can't seem to slow it down. I've worked on scenes in which I got so caught up in the writing that I went on and on until I ended up having a hard time knowing when to back off the speed and how to do that without losing the momentum of the story as a whole. We're often cautioned to write first and edit later. But is there such a thing as being too abandoned to the point of no return? Do we need that inner police officer to help us get our bearings again?

posted at: 13:38 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Mon, Mar 08 2010

It's Monday again (and again and again)

Mondays should be available for fresh words and the ability to write with energy and clarity. Instead, Mondays often seem to start out like that old saying, "a day late and a dollar short". I'm learning not to have high hopes for a high word count on Mondays. It's more of a day to make certain there are writing supplies and to get other tasks out of the way so that Tuesday I can begin with as little clutter in the mental queue as possible. I do make a few notes if I can, but I don't begin the great American novel on Monday, ever. Depending on your circumstances, you may have Mondays on Thursdays or on Sundays. Wherever your proverbial Monday comes in your week, I would suggest that you recognize it, face it and use it for the things that will get you ready to write with a vengeance the next few days.

posted at: 17:27 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Thu, Mar 04 2010

The writer equivalent of the dog eating my homework

I was a bit under the weather yesterday and missed posting. And today was a blur of tasks. That sounds like the beginning of a string of excuses not to write. That's bad. Isn't it? Do you allow yourself excuses not to write? Do they have to be really big things like deaths in the family or can they be little things like an uncomfortable sunburn? My reasons were between those two extremes. But I know how easy it can be to let one day turrn into another with no work at words. It's a slippery slope. We may not hit our regular stride of a word count on off days, but we owe it to ourselves to try not to let our reasons for not writing become too frequent or too trite.

posted at: 22:30 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Tue, Mar 02 2010

When is your best writing time?

Lately I often forget to do blog entries until the dark evening hours when my mind is not at its best. This was such a day. This is a also problem for me when it comes to writing fiction. I'm probably not going to get my best work done at night. I've learned this after several false starts. I tried shifting other writing tasks to evening hours, but the truth is that I'm just not alert enough at night on a consistent basis to count on quality work during that time. I do occasionally make a few notes or jot down some lines of poetry in the evening.

You may find yourself having little time to write during the part of the day when you feel you do your best work. If this is a serious problem for you I'd suggest doing everything you can to shift your schedule so that you have your best hours for your writing, particularly if you intend to make writing your main work in life. If you can't do that right now you can think about moving that direction and still try to make them most of what time you do get to write. And keep some sort of electronic device or pen and paper handy in case inspiration strikes at any time, day or night. Writing can be an adjective, a verb or a noun. For best results we should also think of it as a state of mind, a state of being.

posted at: 23:01 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Mon, Mar 01 2010

Are you better off than Al Gore?

I'm repeating a link I used on Twitter tonight. It goes to a picture of Al Gore's desk. I'm terrible about having too much paper and too many stacks and files and books and notes. He's worse.

Is it important to be organized and neat if you're a writer? I don't know. I was going to go look up some famous novelists and see what I could find out about their writing habits, but then thought better of it. If you can't be an individual at what you do and how you do it, what's the point? If you can only write when things are tidy and in their place, do so. And if you can't write unless you are surrounded by tomes of research and stacks of dog-eared notes, do so. But do write.

posted at: 20:14 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



Fri, Feb 26 2010

Wrapped up in a storm of a story

It was a little hazy early this morning. It didn't take long for that haze to thicken into layers of rolled up clouds until I needed to turn lights on in the house. By early afternoon it started to rain and that light rain got heavier until it was a steady downpour. It has slacked off now, but there was no ignoring the storm when it was going full-force. It was loud and the air was heavy and the sky was so dark that it could have been dusk at 2pm in the afternoon. I thought of how this reminded me of the pacing of fictional stories, particularly novel-length ones. Getting caught up in reading a story means that time passes quickly and a reader can even ignore what's going on in the real world while concentrating on the story. The next time this happens to me I intend to try to make a note of what has been happening in the story and of who wrote it. I'd like to be able to capture the attention of a reader with that sort of compelling writing, wouldn't you?

posted at: 17:28 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry



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You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.
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