“How are you able to write so
easily?”
This is a question I’m asked
frequently and by many people. The simple answer is: I’m not. I run up against
all the same problems every writer encounters. The difference lies in the way I
respond to issues that pop up in writing.
First, I begin with the end in mind.
No, that’s not my saying. I stole it from my daughter’s elementary school’s
Leader in Me program. However, it works for more than leadership purposes. By
keeping in mind where I want to end up with a story, I’m able to develop the
plot and character in keeping with my overall vision. That’s not to say my
overall vision is never derailed—it is—but in general, it keeps me on track.
With Dragon Kisses, I kept in mind that I wanted to show how two disparate cultures
could learn to live together, and it kept my characters working toward that
goal.
Second, I plan out my plot and
character development. I learned this from Missy Martine. For every book, I
plan out, chapter by chapter, what needs to happen to move the plot forward and
the ways in which my characters need to act/react in order to develop them or
their relationships with one another. This outline can be as detailed as I
want, but I’ve learned to strive for a happy medium. Too much and I’m confined
by what’s supposed to happen, and too little leaves me wondering what the heck
I was thinking as I read my notes. There’s latitude with this as well. Some
characters follow directions and develop exactly as planned. Other characters
are more like my oldest daughter—they follow their own path no matter what
anybody else wants.
I have to admire those kinds of
personalities because they have courage for which I’m still searching. In
Dragon Kisses 3, Evelyn definitely does not follow along with what I’d planned,
and the last scene with her surprised me as much as it did my beta readers.
Sometimes an author just needs to let a character write their own story. Other
times you’ll need to rein them in because they’ll derail your story or bring it
to a screeching halt.
Third, I’m not afraid to delete. I
recently revised a story whose rights will revert to me in July 2015, and I
found myself almost completely rewriting it. Deleting over 45K from a 70K novel
was daunting. When I began, I didn’t know how much had to go, but to
accommodate the changes, pretty much only the setting and the character’s names
made the cut. Okay, not all the characters made the cut. I deleted two
characters and expanded the role of someone mentioned in passing. To deal with
it emotionally, I made a fresh document and pasted all the material I cut. I’ll
never use it again, but that was a necessary compromise so that I could move
the story forward. And it’s so much better than the original.
Lastly, when people see me writing,
it’s because I’ve planned it all out ahead of time. I plan when I’m doing the
dishes, showering, driving, pretending to listen at a staff meeting, or any
other menial task for which I don’t have to be mentally present. By the time I
sit down to write, my fingers fly across the keyboard because I’ve done all the
prewriting before sitting down. Never sit in front of a screen unless you have
a plan. Otherwise you’ll find yourself staring at a blank screen. And then you
check Facebook or Twitter. And then the time you allotted to writing is gone
and you’ve accomplished nothing. Yep, I’ve been there and done that.
So, how am I able to write so
easily? I’m organized, focused, and driven. Find the method that works for you
and nurture it. Play with it, tinker with it, and have fun exploring your
process.
I’m Michele
Zurlo, author of over 20 romance novels. During the day, I teach English, and
in the evenings, romantic tales flow from my fingertips.
I’m not half as
interesting as my characters. My childhood dreams tended to stretch no further
than the next book in my to-be-read pile, and I aspired to be a librarian so I
could read all day. I’m pretty impulsive when it comes to big decisions,
especially when it’s something I’ve never done before. Writing is just one in a
long line of impulsive decisions that turned out to showcase my great
instincts. Find out more at www.michelezurloauthor.com or @MZurloAuthor.
Links:
Blog:
http://www.michelezurloauthor.com/
Website:
https://michelezurloauthor.wordpress.com/
FB:
https://www.facebook.com/authormichelezurlo
Twitter:
@MZurloAuthor
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6 Comments
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteFood issues- is there any culture clashes involved with the plot line? Example- forbidden meats or plants.
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, There are huge culture clashes involved in the plot line. The dragons consider humans a lower life form, and many problems arise from that. From the moment the humans arrive on Zmaj, there are issues with their status, what they are allowed/not allowed to do. The food is completely different as well. By book 3, the human population there takes some huge steps toward integrating the cultures, but other dragon clans definitely put a damper on their efforts.
DeleteThanks for having me today!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your guest post
ReplyDeleteThank you for the guest post! It was interesting!
ReplyDeleteI love to hear from you. So feel free to comment, but keep in mind the basics of blog etiquette — no spam, no profanity, no slander, etc.
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