Nano Day 29ish

I snuck this one in. I thought I would blog about my progress and all that, but I was less into that this year. I was also a bit selfish. I didn't act as a cheerleader to other writers or engage in group chats as I have in the past. I even went several weeks without posting word count updates. I just wrote, and not just parts of a new novel. My energy and enthusiasm waxed and waned around multiple projects. This one's done, with a tinge of good riddance, though I know there's plenty to salvage. Happy to have completed it, happy to move on.

Another Man's Grammar

NaNoWriMo 2013

Working Title for
NaNoWriMo 2013 Project

This year will be my 5th NaNoWriMo, (National Novel Writing Month) a creative writing project which challenges you to write 50,000 words of a new novel in November.

There have been years I’ve not wanted to participate because, “No time, no new ideas, too busy,” or some other excuse. But then I dug in and began. Sometimes I’ve shed my concerns right away, sometimes they’ve crept back, but the competitive and supportive spirit always keeps me at it.

It’s important to regularly take on a project that stretches you. All in all, NaNoWriMo is a pretty safe one. Yes, there’s time pressure. If you slack off it’s hard, but not impossible to recover. I participate each year to exercise my writing chops and to reestablish the discipline of daily writing. I do a lot of nonfiction writing through the year. November helps me create new fiction content that can sustain me. Some of the work makes it to the bookshelves, like Three Blinks and a Sigh and He Loves It When She Smiles, and some of it languishes in my hard drive, waiting for my fresh eyes and a red pen.

Each year I try to take a different approach. I don’t have a particular story in mind yet - I don’t need one until November, so why rush? This year, I’m a bit peevish. I’ve been experiencing many frustrations in various areas of my life, writing included. I’ve been amazed at the number of people who have pooh-poohed particular writing styles and themes. “Vampires are out, Zombies are in, You can’t write about that profession, Such and such doesn’t sell”. Give me a break. One of the most creative mediums we have is our language. Do not let others dictate how you express yourself. It’s okay, even advisable to be open to feedback, because you might be wrong, misguided or acting stupid. Be open to that, always, but never allow your inner voice to be deterred during a creative pursuit.

This year, I’m writing a novel in the second person narrative. Although there are a few supporters, you would be amazed at how many others say, “You can’t do that.” This year’s pursuit is dedicated to them. They may be right, but I doubt it. This year’s motivation is writing something, who knows what, in that style with only eight fingers, because my two middle ones are going to be extended way up.

I’ll post my progress, emotions, failings and tribulations here and on my Facebook page KarlBimshasWrites I hope you’ll join me.

What's keeping you from writing?

What's keeping you from writing? 

You can create an exhaustive, compelling tear-jerker of an excuse, but when you strip that all away, it's probably fear. 

Don't be fearful. Be bold. 

The pen is your protection. 

Use it and the fear dissipates.

2nd Novel - He Loves It When She Smiles

I am thrilled to announce the release date of my second novel, He Loves It When She Smiles.

You may know that I've written several business and motivation books that have helped leaders, artists and entrepreneurs to find, set and get their great goals and discover the aha within themselves. My fiction writing supports this mission in a more subtle way.

What's it about?

He Loves It When She Smiles, is a bittersweet and humorous romance set in 1980s Boston.

Determined to escape suburbia and start with a clean slate, freshman Kyle Davis heads off to Klondike College. His academic studies quickly take a back seat to the slow blooming crush he's developed on a flirty co-ed with a captivating smile. His new friends provide a glut of unsolicited dating advice but can't prevent his continually floundering. Confused, discouraged and rejected he finally hears one voice he should have been listening to all along.

You'll be hooked by the immediately likable and intriguing characters. Roommate Adam has an obsessive attention to detail. The girls across the hall, Sandy and Casey, are offbeat, hip and blunt. Classmate Pete is always ready with a terse quip laced with logic. Pete's roommate, Donny Rifkin is the campus Romeo. And Laura Ripley, is a look-alike of Kyle's favorite singer, with a smile that mesmerizes him.

They all interact through vivid dialogue so real you'll think you're eavesdropping.

I would be delighted if you bought this novel from Amazon's Kindle Store this Saturday, 03-02-13 at 4pm EST. 

How can you help?

• Download a copy of He Loves It When She Smiles
• Write a review
• Forward this message to readers you know
• Follow me on Twitter, Like my Writer Fan Page
• Encourage your friends to do the same

As always, I am grateful for your support.

A Nerdy Way to Polish Your Writing

I geeked out and created a tool in excel to help me polish a piece of writing. I know with the mention of excel, I’ve lost half of you, while the other half has pitched forward in giddy excitement and I’m not sure which is more alarming.

Anyone who has read my work knows there’s no danger of me becoming a slave to grammar ... (so many rules, and so few who care). Nonetheless, as a writer, it’s imperative to continuously improve and hone the craft.

At some stage in my writing, generally toward the end, I begin to worry about the things English teachers and the well-educated tell me are important. I’ll call this the polish stage. Admittedly, the amount of polishing required sometimes turns into a major rewrite.

Rational for which words to eliminate or use sparingly to make your work stronger can be found tucked inside scores of writing guides. I try to keep them in mind, but if I dwell on them too early, my creative flow suffers. That’s why I wait until the near end of a project before I scrub it clean of grammatical maladies.

I look for particular words or phrases that fall into seven buckets. It isn’t all exclusive, but it’s a good start.

• Eliminate Clutter
• Omit and Explain
• Define Indefinites
• Reduce Redundancy
• Minimize Telling Words
• Passivity
• Prepositions

I run a word search for each of the words to see where I have a disproportional amount of ... fluff.

I populate a spreadsheet and turn each category into a percentage based on my total word count for the project. Then, I use the 80/20 rule with a quick glance to see where I’ve gone overboard. It doesn’t mean I’ll eliminate every, this, that was and like, but I do go back and reduce the population.

A caveat: I typically leave my dialogue alone. The last thing I want to do is make character dialogue grammatically correct.

If you want a copy of the excel spreadsheet, you can get it here. CLICK HERE FOR FILE There are two worksheets; The sample with formulas, and a blank one. Mess with them as you see fit. 

Let me know your thoughts and what you’d add.

How to Put Your Hero in Peril

When writing fiction, it’s sometimes difficult to create what feels like enough conflict for the hero to overcome. We often root for the protagonist as we’re creating them and probably subconsciously protect them from too many of the evils in the world. Like our children, we want them to grow and show their mettle, but we’re also ever vigilant and try to mitigate hardships they may encounter. Good for a parent, less good for a writer.

A devious idea struck me. I’m a big fan of The Haddon Matrix, which helps design interventions to reduce injury to people. It’s an excellent system for problem solving. Invert it and the writer now has a template on how to put the story’s protagonist in ever increasing peril.

Use negative events as inspiration to increase the factors of peril your main character has to endure. Then plot how they’ll respond to the mounting adversity. This eliminates the protective shield you may be inclined to put around your hero, and that will make for a better story to write and to read.

Nobody Wants to Wait 10 Years for Your Story

Everyone has projects they would like to get to, but life seems to get in the way. Sometimes that takes the form of procrastination. On the rare occasion, it's because you truly have been too busy. (Too busy is often code for, poor time management, or prioritization based on the needs of other people.)

Most often a project lays dormant because of fear, uncertainty or doubt. Can it be finished? What will it look like? Will you like it enough? What if no one else likes it? These are all reasonable fears, but they hold you hostage, and that is unreasonable. If you're going to feel those emotions anyway, doesn't it make sense to get them over with?

I know, sometimes it takes time to erect a statue or build a new park. Somethings can’t be rushed. Ideas need to ferment, and the Muses need to sing in perfect harmony, but for how long ... really?

I have no shortage of half-baked prose sucking up disk space and file cabinets, but I'm talking about the projects you’re actively working on. There are countless tales about authors who have worked on their novel for years, sometimes they finish it on their deathbed and sometimes death beats them to their final period.

When I hear those stories I often wonder, what the hell took them so long? What got in the way? Sometimes a war, often depression. Believe me, I get it. Debilitating things in life can keep you from working what you tell everyone you want to be working on, but let's be brutally honest, nobody wants to wait ten years for your book. You're supposed be a storyteller, not a tease.

If you write, write the damn thing. If you're an artist, paint the damn thing. If you’ve got a passion project, finish it. Otherwise, what good is it to the rest of the world? You undoubtedly had plans for it to begin with, what happened?

It's now generally accepted that productivity helps to create happiness. So, it stands to reason that those who wallow over the lack of progress in their project, primarily due to their unproductive behavior, won’t be particularly happy. To me, this is one of life’s tragedies. You’ve got enough of a gift, skill, passion, or maybe all three, to have gotten something started. Now finish it. Stop with your excuses (see 10 Best Excuses Worksheet) Keep your commitments to yourself and move on.

61 More Thought Starters to get you in the Write Frame of Mind

You can CLICK HERE and get 61 More Thought Starters in an convenient pdf ... or just keep reading.

1. If you know every characters’ internal and external motivation before you start writing, you’ll be less surprised by their actions. 
2. Give your protagonist a nervous tick or habit that reveals their character. Make them fold a napkin, slurp a straw, twirl their hair or check their phone incessantly.
3. To find fictional names, open up a magazine and scan the masthead of editors and contributors, then combine the first or last name with a noun. 
4. Often the best villains are the ones that practically mirror the main character except in one or two areas.
5. If your antagonist showed up in an art gallery what pieces would they gravitate to and how long would they stay?  
6. How would you feel if you were in a cafe and you learned another writer was looking at you, getting inspiration for their villain? 
7. What trait do you personally have that would serve your antagonist well?
8. What would happen if you changed the gender of every character in your story and started over? Would your characters be the same if you changed their race, or age? If not, you might not have enough life in them yet. If you change those identities, your characters should change. If they don't, you’ve got some more work to do. 
9. What would your story's antagonist blog about?
10. Put your characters in conflict. Make them uncomfortable and write them out of a predicament.
11. What would happen if one of the characters you created tweeted you?
12. Pick up on a random conversation at a cafe and then imagine the backstory or create a new one.
13. Characters that have at least one thing that others admire about them, and one thing that makes them an ass, gives them realism.  
14. Run your characters through something like a Facebook 20 questions and see what they would answer. 
15. Sit your characters in front of Google. What would they do?
16. Would you like to have dinner with your character, or are you worried that they may think you're too boring? Would they pick up the tab? 
17. What’s an interesting and potentially awkward dinner topic to have with the characters you create?
18. Be careful of developing crushes on your characters, they don't love you nearly as much. What if they did?
19. Interview your fictional character. 
20. Open Cosmo or whatever magazine they would read and have them take one of the quizzes.
21. Do you know if your characters are left or right handed or are you just assuming? 
22. Insult your characters and pick a fight with them. See what they do.
23. Your characters will tell you when the words don't feel right. Until then, let them talk. 
24. Give your villains something to love and your heros something to hate.
25. When you can't write, plot. When you can't plot, write.  
26. Google as your character for 5 minutes then look at your search history. TaDa! Their personality is revealed.
27. Sometimes you have to silence your pen to hear your character speak.
28. Make your character arc match your character ache.
29. Write on index cards, then shuffle them until a story emerges, then write to bridge each card. If stuck, skip around.
30. Never neglect the middle of your story. Why? As in life, your middle makes an impression to those who you've enticed to look.
31. It doesn't matter where you start. It only matters that you start, and then finish. It won't be complete otherwise.
32. Typos are the cowlicks of a writer's life. Tidy up, but don't be fussy.
33. The beginning is a great place to start, but anywhere will do.
34. Make villains do three things expected and two things unexpected.
35. Pay attention to your villains. Know their internal / external motivations & conflicts as well as any other character.
36. The 'villain' can be a clash within the Hero's value system.
37. The villain is the personification of an obstacle to the Hero. It’s fun when an obstacle can't be easily assigned to a person.
38. It's killer when the Hero & Nemesis see themselves in each other's eyes and are disgusted by the view.
39. Make your nemesis & hero have 80% - 90% in common with each other then highlight what's different.
40. One person's hero is another person's nemesis.
41. Inspiration is the spark that starts you on your path. Discipline is the fuel that keeps you following it.
42. Voice is your wardrobe & comportment. You can change it, but generally you don't. You stay in a range that fits the occasion.
43. Find your voice by looking at your body of work. Voice is bigger. It's there all along. Change it if you want to.
44. Books have been published about discarded shopping lists. Ignore people who say, "No one will read ..." They lack imagination.
45. Don't beat yourself up as a writer. Pay professional editors to do that for you. Struggle with editing. Don't struggle with writing. If you’re creating a story you get to make things up.
46. Desire is easy. Commitment takes work.
47. The writer is responsible for building a relationship with a reader. This is accomplished through writing.
48. Hope is a vital ingredient, not the meal. A day with only hope is destined to disappoint. A day with no hope is destined to fail.
49. Pacing ebbs and flows like a tide. It's predictable, but sometimes a storm wrecks havoc. The storms are your plot points.
50. Try to write while standing up. You're voice will have more authority and less entitlement and whining.
51. Plot your life as you would your stories. Fill them with interesting characters to face predicaments in a setting you enjoy.
52. Read something important. Learn something important. Write something important. Do something important. Not for yourself, for others.
53. Want to write? Schedule the time in your calendar and keep your appointment. When it's time to write - write.
54. Writers pluck inspiration from air and color them with ink. Those who are successful get readers, who begin to think.
55. The written word can been consumed in many places. 
56. If you feel "stuck" in a first draft, you're not understanding the concept of a "first draft."
57. Answer the question "What happened?" in an intriguing way sprinkled with grace, humor and urgency.  
58. Sometimes the piece you're working on is like unrequited love. You may be lavishing it with unwelcome attention.  
59. Decision by indecision is the plague of progress. Errors can be fixed, but change can never occur unless one acts.
60. The greatest obstacle for a writer is perfection. Their fear of it, or their belief that they have obtained it. 
61. Craft trumps inspiration, but without inspiration, craft is crap.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE PDF

FOLLOW MY WRITING ON FACEBOOK

The Sense of Words

Words pursuade. It doesn't mater if you're writing fiction or non-fiction, you want to convey your thoughts to another.

The problem some leaders run into is they sometimes believe everyone thinks like they do. They don't. People are reached in different ways. The same is true for readers.

So, if you want to pursuade your audinece, it best to know them and which style they prefer to communicate. If you don't know, or if you have a wide array of personalities, then you may need to say they same thing in several differnent ways for maximum exposure.

With a hat tip to NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and other methods that encourage you to use different senses to comunicate, I've created four sets of words to kickstart your next communication.

For Visual Learners

Give your writing some vision with words you can see.

For Audio Learners

Listern to your writing with words you can hear.

For Kinesthetic Learners

Get active with your writing with words that move you.

For Sensual Learners

Add flavor to your writing with words you can taste.

(Why is this one so long? They way to the heart is through the stomach)

These are just a sampling of words, there are many more in the wild you can choose from. Choose wisely, and keep writing.