Category: Creative Writing

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #11

I had a friendly debate with another author when she responded to my Stephen King’s quote about ‘plot being the  last resort of bad writers.’  One of her comments to me was, “writers have to accept that their readers might not care as much about your characters as you do.”

My vehement answer was if my readers don’t care as much as I do, then I haven’t done my job.  I just finished reading a book by a new (to me) author, and I found her characters boring and unsympathetic.  She didn’t tell me enough about them through dialogue and description for me to care.  I suspect that since this was a series, she relied too heavily on her readers already knowing her characters from previous books.  Big mistake!  Even with a series, each book, and character, must be able to stand alone. #writing

Writers!  You have to know your characters in order for your readers to know and care about them.  With the most despicable villain, you must give your readers something to love about that character.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”  Elisabeth Kabler-Ross

“When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time.  It is this absorption in what you are doing that frees your unconscious and releases your creative imagination.”  Rollo May
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #10

Okay, your first attempt at creative writing is finished.  In your journal or notebook or in a password-protected file on your laptop, your first completed story awaits you.  Now, what are you going to do with it?  You can’t possibly let anyone read it!  What if they laugh and it’s not a comedy?  What if it’s met with poorly hidden scorn? Or when they read the last page, what if they look up,  their eyes filled with pity…for you.

Sorry, but you’ve just entered the world of writing.  You must brave the experience of having someone actually read your work.  That is, if you intend to go any further.
Here’s the good news: pick people you trust who will give you constructive criticism. If you ask a family member, make certain that they aren’t threatened by your new passion for writing.  They might sense that if you pursue your writing, it will take you away from them (and it will).  Or, worse, they tell you it’s wonderful, perfect….which you and I both know it isn’t at this point.
Keep writing!  Don’t let anyone or anything stop you.  And I can keep this promise: if you keep writing, you will get better.

“Writing is a lonely business.  You pour your heart and guts into the written word, often exposing what you’ve experienced in your own life.  You nurture it, feed it, trim its toenails, wash its hair, dress it up, and send it out into traffic.” Trisha Sugarek

“Planning to write is not writing.  Outlining a book is not writing.  Researching is not writing.  Talking to people about what you’re doing is not writing.   None of that is writing. Writing is writing.”   ~~ E.L. Doctorow
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivations for the Writer! #9

Plot:  I am currently finishing my newest novel, and I have to tell you, the loosely built plot that I had envisioned when I began it quickly went by the wayside. Way, way off the road and into the forest, in fact.  About halfway through, the characters took me on a journey, making their own decisions, loving who they want to love, and building their lives their way.  When this happens to me, I welcome their storyline in…they know much better than I do at that point. My characters write a better story than I ever could.

“The last thing I want to do is spoil a book with plot. I think a plot is the last resort of bad writers. I’m a lot more interested in characters and situations, following where it goes. In Cujo, I was as surprised as my readers when the little kid died at the end.”  Stephen Kingwriting, create, write, blog, authors

“A poem begins with a lump in the throat; a homesickness or a love-sickness. It is a reaching out toward expression, an effort to find fulfillment. A complete poem is one where an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.”  Robert Frost

“Writing isn’t a calling; it’s a doing.”  T. Sugarek
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

So Long, Chester Wheeler by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Review)

5 out of 5 stars           Book Review

 

Spoiler Alert:  In order to write a formal review (which would include telling a little about this fascinating story), it would be riddled with “spoiler alert” warnings.  So I won’t.

Instead, I want to write about this author’s uncanny talent for concepts.  She writes about people, everyday people, about life, and how messy it is.  It may not be a conscious thought, but somewhere inside you, you are wondering, ‘How did she come up with this concept for a story?’ 

In my interview with Catherine, she addresses how she comes up with her stories:

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

CRH. When I have finished a novel and turned it over to my agent, I know I need a new idea. I open up to a new idea, and I meet a character. I generally see a glimpse of them, having some sort of life experience. Then I spend a few weeks in my head, with nothing down on paper yet, coaxing them to tell me more. (end quote)

That’s what I tell my writers (fans); to keep their eyes and ears open because you may get a mere glimpse of your next character. Just waiting there, in the shadows,  for you, so they can tell you their story. 

But I digress.  If you have never read another book, be certain to read So Long Chester Wheeler. It’s a distillation of everything that’s so wonderful and horrid about the humane species. Beautifully written. Like Catherine examines each word to make sure it’s worthy to be in her story before she lays it down.  And, as with most of her books, there are lots of surprises, plot twists and turns the reader never sees coming. 
This author is everything we mere mortal writers should aspire to be.  Sharpen your pencils!!  

Available now at your favorite book store!

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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #8

My interview with bestselling author Robyn Carr was so generous  it became a 3 parter. She said this in the context of the post. I couldn’t have said it better so I borrowed it! Thanks, Robyn!

“….you have to be willing to write crap.  You have to write all the time whether it’s any good or not.  You can always delete or revise or rewrite but if you wait until it feels perfect, you’ll never accomplish anything.  You have to fill up pages with words and keep moving forward…”

 

“Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.”  Kurt Vonnegut

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.”  Kahlil Gibran

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe

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               ‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Monday Motivations for the Writer! #7

You know a story has been rattling around in your brain.  TODAY is the day you will find time to sit down and write the first sentence, the first page. But you say, “I can’t get going. I can’t write it. Where do I start?”

Sit down and write an essay about yourself. Write down everything you’ve always wanted to say…but couldn’t or wouldn’t.  
Somewhere inside that essay are the bones (the outline) of your short story, your stage play, or your novel. It may not be even a whole sentence. It may be just a phrase. So look closely, as it may be hiding in plain view. 

Don’t worry about what will follow.  The story will lead you. If you are very lucky, your characters will take over and tell you their story.

‘It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.’ William Faulkner

“Writing is a Tryst with the imagination and a love affair with words.” Unknown

“The reader, the book lover, must meet his own needs without paying too much attention to what his neighbors say those needs should be.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt

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‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Motivations for the Writer! #6

Don’t worry about a story that you haven’t finished.  It’s okay to let it ‘rest’.  There have been times when I have had three books waiting for me to finish.  Just the other day I pulled up my GAN (great American novel) and realized that it had been ‘resting’ for over a year. Life and other stories had gotten in the way.

The good news is that it’s only about 50-75 pages from being a completed first draft.  And, I am looking at it with fresh eyes.  What a difference that makes. It’s almost like reading someone else’s work and I am revitalized and eager now to complete it and begin rewrites.

BTW, I am calling Song of the Yukon my great American novel, not out of ego but very much with tongue in cheek. Rather it is my largest effort today and took the most research, blood and sweat.  As of this writing it is finished (with countless rewrites and edits) and published.  

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“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, and thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.” Henry David Thoreau

“It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”  W. Somerset Maugham

“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.” Confucius

“Writing isn’t a calling, it’s a doing.”  T. Sugarek
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivations for a Writer! #5

One of my most challenging skills as a writer was understanding and implementing POV.  Point-of-view.  My editor pointed out a lot of ‘head hopping’ (the expression for telling your reader what everyone is thinking and feeling) when in each chapter, the writer should try to stick to one point of view.   But, even very successful, best-seller authors like Nora Roberts is guilty of this.

 Action, thoughts, & dialogue establishes the character’s POV.

I’ll be candid here….the jury is still out for me on strict POV writing. When I’m reading (and I do a lot of reading) and become aware of an author ‘head hopping’, it doesn’t distract or annoy me.  When I catch myself doing it, as I write, I don’t see where it detracts from my storytelling.  

 

‘The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.’ Dorothy Parker

‘The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.’ Charles Du Bos

‘I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.’  Michael J. Fox

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Marc Cameron ~~ Author Interview (conclusion)

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

MC. Not in my lifetime. Too many people I know, including me, love the feel of a physical book.

Q. What makes a writer great?

MC. I wish I knew… An ear for a good story? Insatiable curiosity? Persistence, for sure. I will say, though, that there are a lot of great stories out there that still haven’t seen the light of day for one reason or another.

Q. and the all-important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like for you?

MC. I start with a lot of plotting talks with my wife and adult kids, bouncing ideas and scenarios off hem. I do a lot of freewriting, exploring various plot ideas. Then I take that free writing and distill it into scenes. That goes onto a computer. Then I work through those scenes, usually in order. If I’m going fishing or camping, I’ll take pencils and paper and work on a few of the scenes while I’m away. I try to get 2,000 words a day but some days I do 1,000 and others I may do 4,000. I have a large whiteboard in my office that I use to get the big picture of the plot, POVs, and to make sure I’m writing about the correct time zone when I’m jumping from one locale to another halfway around the world—IE it can’t be morning in Boston and Beijing at the same time. I’m a detailed plotter, but I still deviate from my outline all the time. It’s a guide, not law. My wife reads everything when I’m done. I submit to my editor when I get the nod from her.

New Release Dec 6th

Q. How have your life experiences influenced your writing?

MC. I’ve been fortunate to do some interesting things, work with some stellar people, and have some incredible adventures. The nature of work with the Marshals Service might have me in New York City working a protection detail on a Supreme Court Justice or in deep in bush Alaska tracking a fugitive through the woods. Both my sons were in law enforcement for a time. One of them still is. My eldest son is a physician in the military. My daughter and my youngest son share my love of motorcycles. I’m able to pick their brains and benefit from their experiences as well as my own. The bad, even harrowing experiences like violent fights, evil people, and horrific crime scenes can’t help but inform my writing.

Q. What’s your downtime look like?

MC. There has been a lot less of that lately. I love motorcycles, boats, all things outdoors, and I love spending time with my grandkids. Teaching my grandkids about nature and tracking is one of my favorite ways to spend time. They’re inspiring and often end up in the books in one form or another.

Cook Islands

Q. Have you or do you want to write in another genre?

MC. As I mentioned, I spent a lot of times around horses and cowboys and a youngster, so when it came time to try and seriously write a novel, a Western vernacular came naturally to my pen. I wrote several while I was still with the Marshals Service. Some were ghostwritten for another author. TO HELL AND BEYOND, is a compendium of two of them are under my earlier pen name, Mark Henry.

Q. Note to Self: (a life lesson you’ve learned.)

MC. Noticing that I wasted a great deal of time being social when I had more important things to do, my freshman college theater professor took me aside and gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever heard. “Marc,” he said. “You will never amount to your full potential unless you learn to use those little fifteen-minute segments of time that most people waste.” I took him at his word—and have written a lot of books in airports, on planes, or in waiting rooms. One of the reasons, I think, why I like to write longhand.

Did you miss the Beginning?
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  October: Simon Gervais for ROBERT LUDLUM, November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivations…for writers! #4

Writers, talk to your grandparents about their life experiences.  If you are a relatively new writer, start by writing about something you know.  Maybe a family story. My mother and her 12 siblings have been an endless reservoir of stories for me.  The length doesn’t matter when you first begin to write.  Be a good storyteller.  If I hear an adult chuckle when reading my children’s books, I know I’ve done a good job. 

How about a story from your Christmas past or holiday season with family?

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a
good children’s story in the slightest.” ~C.S. Lewis

 “I dream my paintings, then I paint my dreams.” ~ Van Gogh 
Dream your story and then write it!

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~ e  e cummings

“Writing isn’t a calling…it’s a doing.” T. Sugarek

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