Motivational Monday

The ideal view for daily writing, hour for hour, is the blank brick wall of a cold-storage warehouse. Failing this, a stretch of sky will do, cloudless if possible - Edna Ferber

Your Man Reminder

Now if that doesn't get you thinking about giving your breasts some TLC - nothing will!!

Motivational Monday

There is no idea so brilliant or original that a sufficiently-untalented writer can't screw it up.

~ Raymond Feist ~

Contests so far...

I've entered both the High 5 contest (the first five pages of any category manuscript) and the Selling Synopsis contest so far this year. I'll be very interested to see how these go, as I have put in two entries in both: a new story and an old one.

I think my newest story shows growth with my writing, so am curious to find out how they go with the judges to see if they agree with me. I'm also curious to see how my old story (which has been entered in these contests previously) fares with different judges.

Seemed like fairly logical reasoning at the time.

Motivational Monday

At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that the young man or the young woman must possess or teach himself, training himself, in infinite patience, which is to try and to try until it comes right. He must train himself in ruthless intolerance--that is to throw away anything that is false no matter how much he might love that page or that paragraph. The most important thing is insight, that is to be--curiosity--to wonder, to mull, and to muse why it is that man does what he does, and if you have that, then I don't think the talent makes much difference, whether you've got it or not.

~ William Faulkner ~

*guilt*

I love to write. But finding the time to write without the burden of guilt is really difficult. You see, at the moment it is hard to justify the time I want to spend writing - instead I should be spending time with the family, doing housework, working in a job that pays actual money.

But I want to write. So I see my goal of being published as a solution to that guilt. If it is a job, a paying job, I can justify spending my time writing.

What about you? Do you feel guilt? If not, let me in on your secret so I too can write guilt free!

Motivational Monday

Nothing, not love, not greed, not passion or hatred, is stronger than a writer's need to change another writer's copy - Arthur Evans

Nature or Nurture?

I've always thought it would be a combination of both and that was confirmed at a workwhop I attended recently. Dr John Barletta, clinical psychologist, presented the workshop which examined how both nature and nurture can influence the development of behaviour and personality.

I loved the following quote from Dr Barletta's presentation:

It doesn't matter where you plant a pumpkin seed, it will always grow into a pumpkin. But how big, hardy and tasty it will be depends upon...?  As our nature is a type of genetic endowment, nurture is the experience we have during our life time.

How does this relate to writing? I see it as being very strongly related to a character's behaviour and personality - and quite possibly the basis for the formulation of the internal conflict: It is a fallacy to believe that any behaviour that is genetically inherited cannot be modified over a lifetime...

So what has influenced your hero and heroine throughout their early years, combined with their genetic inheritance, will be what forms them as adults. And it is this behaviour they have to overcome to reach their Happy Ever After.

I can now see the possibilities for my heroes and heroines through consideration of the psychological aspect of their character development. Dr Barletta has a book coming out next year 'The Home Therapist' - a practical, self-help guide for everyday psychological problems. I think this is definitely a craft book I will have to buy.

Motivational Monday

Every novel should have a beginning, a middle, and an end - Peter De Vries