My Beloved Husband tells me I yelled at one of my characters in my sleep last night, really hollered at the guy for being a two-faced SOB. I was relieved to find out it was one of the bad guys in my new book, not my protagonist. While I don’t remember the yelling dream, I do remember the dream in which every single person I met was an eighth grade English teacher.
Woke up very early this morning to water the garden because we’re going to have a disgustingly hot day. I’ve been using the rainwater we collected in four big barrels. Dragging pails of water all over the place is a sure-fire way to make your arms strong. We’re not connected to public water out here; all of the water we drink and use comes from a well. In the summertime, we try to conserve water whenever we can, hence the rain barrels.
I’m hoping for rain tonight or tomorrow.
A couple of people have written to me asking if they are allowed to link to my blog from their blog. Absolutely! The more, the merrier!
We’re now starting Week 2 of the WFMAD Challenge. Thank you for sharing your comments and updates. I’m really enjoying this.
As always: today’s goal: Write for 15 minutes (minimum).
Today’s mindset: fists clenched, ready to do battle.
Today’s prompt: conflict. In the last decade, I’ve critiqued a lot of manuscripts at writers’ conferences. They usually had lovely imagery and interesting characters, but many were lacking a solid core conflict. This is usually an issue in the early drafts of my books, too. My characters wander around the pages thinking deep thoughts, but not doing much. Once I get a clear sense of who they are, I have to throw them to the lions and see what they’re made of.
Today I’d like you to brainstorm five situations that pit one character against another. Freewrite about the one that makes your stomach tight. Keep the stakes high, but remember to let the characters’ actions convey a lot of meaning; don’t let them fill in the backstory in dialog. Hint: use strong verbs today – shy away from adverbs.
Scribblescribble…