Premeditating Writer

It is Chapter 22, 250 pages into the book, and I am stuck. Stuck, as in...how am I going to orchestrate a good fight and kill someone I happened to like? So, I brought in a another character who is just as likable. But I will not have a hard time killing.



It's really the timing. Do I have the bad guys talk to Lizzie first, who is locked in her own truck, before her rescuer tries to save her?


I don't even have all the right questions at this point. I'll leave it at that and go back to my story.



Wish me luck.

In between writing, I garden. Pulling weeds could be tedious. I know. But this mindless task frees my imagination. Being in nature reminds me of beauty and helps in the  process of finishing my novel.

The following is an excerpt from my first, unpublished novel.

Jamie felt a slight jerk and then the sound of the electric motor when they began to roll. She could sense Zoe tightening every muscle in her body, as if bracing for the imminent collapse of the wall upon them. The powerful beam of her cap light shone into Zoe’s eyes.


“It will be fine,” Jamie said.

“How do you know when the roof will cave in?” Zoe said.

“You listen to noises,” Kenevitz said.

                                                                 “What if there’s an explosion or a fire?”

                                                                 Jamie could hear the smile in Kenevitz’s voice. “Believe me; you'll know when to run when the time comes.”


...And this is why pulling weeds could be helpful.

I can't believe I'm writing a thriller. I don't read 'em...don't watch 'em. But here I am writing one. It just happened. I had an idea of a story, was sure it would turn out to be Literary Fiction just like my first book.


At the outset my protagonist only reacts to events; at some point, however, she embarks on an attempt to take charge and overcome circumstances.

The way it turned out to be, the growth of the protagonist is from ignorance to knowledge, accomplished through a series of progressively more intense and important conflicts. These lead to a climactic conflict and the resolution of the story.



I’m almost 200 pages into the story. Yay me.

The polite rejection letters continue to arrive. Can't say it’s not affecting me. It is. But I try to keep an upbeat outlook. Mainly, I continue to write everyday while splitting my loyalty between two books: the one rejected, and the one in progress.

Angela Ackerman inspired me to write this blog in her posting: Blogging Platform: Creating the Breakout Blog. In her blog, she mentions Donald Maass' WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. I confess I haven't read all the self help books on writing in a while. So I am do.

Let me give you a list of the ones I've bought and helped me grow a ton:
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers - how to edit yourself into print, by Renni Browne & Dave King is priceless. Having this book is as close as coming to having a professional editor under your finger tips.

Stein on Writing by Sol Stein. This book helped me tap into my writerly creative side.

The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass (also good to have around). This book delves into "passion, purpose, and techniques to make your novel great."

I have more books stacked in neat little piles. But I will tell you about them another time.

What do you read to help you with your writing?

The title is not my creation. I read it in another blog (don't remember whose). I thought it was very clever. The idea behind it is to write without the intent, rather to just allow the flow of words continue.