HAPPILY EVER AFTER...

Yeah, I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I love it when, no matter what kind of strife they've endured, the hero and heroine join hands and stroll off into the sunset together. You close the book with a feeling of satisfaction. You gather your things and leave the theater. Being a writer, my only question is, then what?

What happens when the unlikely hero drops his socks beside the bed and leaves his smelly sneakers to perfume the air? What happens when the pert heroine smears on the exfoliating masque and touches up her roots? Dang that reality anyway!

Fortunately, as writers we don't have to turn that page. We don't have to wonder if the dashing hero will let his granite-hard six-pack abs slide into a paunch. We do not have to see the perky heroine's sky blue eyes develop laugh lines and then crow's feet. We just have to get them to a satisfactory ending where the reader can put down the book with a sigh, content that Rex and Sheila will indeed have a happily ever after.

What constitutes a happy ending? From my perspective it's when the conflicts have been overcome; when the main characters goals have been reached or have been exchanged for a shared goal; when evil has been punished and danger extinguished.

In life, we have to take our happiness on a moment-by-moment basis for life is too fleeting. We have to celebrate each victory and enjoy the small events that make life worth living. Please hug someone you love today and remember to cherish each moment. Don't look beyone the curtain. Just savor today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oN7QhLuJfo&feature=player_embedded

CRITIQUE 101

Participating in a critique group for the first time is like taking your clothes off in public. You feel exposed and vulnerable. I have been a part of the same group for many years and cherish the members. Receiving honest, insightful feedback on my writing is essential to the process. But not all criticism is equal or productive. Let me share some tips on critique partners or groups.

The goal of critique should always be the same: To politely offer feedback with the goal of improving the body of work under consideration; To offer praise for the aspects that deserve it, and point out areas that need work.

Above all, the critique group should fit you. First, decide if you need to meet face-to-face or online. Do you need a single critique partner or a group? Do you plan to meet weekly, bi-monthly? You need to find something you can commit to because the longer you critique together, the better you will become as critters.

Critique Group Etiquette:

1) Be kind

2) Do your homework: Take writing classes; Review online articles.

3) Be objective: Use writerly criteria.

4) Do not "defend" or explain your work. If the reader didn't "get it" perhaps you should re-writing it stronger. If you receive negative comments, say thank you.

5) Take turns. Listen politely while your work is being reviewed.

6) Listen politely while someone else's work is being read and make well thought out, constructive comments. Never make negative comments in an unkind manner.

7) Remember to comment on elements you like.

8) Make a commitment to show up for the agreed upon meetings whether or not you have pages to read. It's not fair to only appear if you have work to be read. This should inspire you to always have pages ready.

Don't Wait For Inspiration. . .Wake Up The Muse

Writing is a creative, active and developing process. Definitely not static. What do you do when The Muse is on strike?

Some writers say they're having a "dry spell" or "writer's block." I'm fortunate in that I've never experienced this state of inertia in my writing. Other areas of my life, yes...but I can always write my way out of it.

About a year ago, two of my friends and I were at a place where we needed fresh fuel for the creative furnace. We made a list of story prompts and gave it a couple of hours to gel. Then we got back together online to share our efforts. The amazing thing is that two of us chose the same prompt but came up with entirely different scenarios. My fellow writer, Carol DeVaney and I went on to develop our respective stories into full grown manuscripts. The important thing is that we were both open to the challenge and willing to be enthused. I call this my "Yes! Attitude". I am willing to be drawn in, to take on new challenges, to take risks. I'm willing to jump in the lagoon without knowing all the facts. Is the water too cold? Is it too deep? Who cares. Just get wet.

What inspires me is something I call the What If Factor. What if a small-town preacher's daughter became enamored of a bad-boy biker just riding through? Lots of conflict. Lots of tension. Lots of heartache. Okay, what if you took it a step farther and gave it a twist? What if the hero was the small-town preacher with a very predictable day-to-day life? What if the heroine was a down-on-her luck drifter; maybe she has a bike; maybe she has a Bible in her backpack, but maybe it's a bundle of incriminating documents that she stole from her last employer, a Russian mob boss, who is actively searching for her? Still with me? Now let's give them more to lose: What if he is a widower and he has a young child (much more at stake). What if she's got to get to the coast in a week so she can catch up with the person who is going to smuggle her out of the country to safety? But she's drawn to this man who wants to protect her and save her soul? And he can't explain why he's willing to risk everything to help this woman on the run? I mean, WHAT IF???

I know this was a pretty hilarious and far-fetched example, but my message is, just let yourself go. Let your brain take you to strange and beautiful/dark/dangerous places and explore every interesting crevice...and write about it.

Springing into Action

Spring in the Houston area is a fleeting experience. Don't blink! Summer will be upon us shortly and we'll wonder where these lovely spring days went. Of course, we have a pollen count in the zillions and everyone is sneezing their watery-eyed heads off. Fear not! The long hot summer will dry those eyes and everything else.

Springtime does bring about an appreciation for rebirth and renewal. I've put away winter clothing and done a spring cleaning (well, sort of). I'm eating more salads and I joined a gym where I can be found cycling my fanny off several times a week. All this activity may mean very little in the overall scheme of things, but in my little world, it means I'm getting lean, mean and green.

I'm also giving the same treatment to my novels. I'm slowly, one by one, revisiting the manuscripts in my store and revising them to their leanest, meanest and greenest version and I'm getting them out there.

The first one is Bad Habit. I spent a couple of months slashing and rebuilding it and now it's in the hands of my wonderful beta reader, Candace Fitzpatrick.

Another romantic suspense, Kill Shot, is getting a chapter by chapter makeover with my long-time, face-to-face critique group in our weekly meetings. I'm trying to clean up my act and get the novels polished to an acceptable state of vibrancy so they will be print worthy.

I've also been working on writing at least 100 new words daily. With my job, I was unable to do much writing, since I work 4-10 hour days and have a long drive to and from Houston. I tried writing on the 3 days off, but found that by Friday I couldn't really get a feel for the story. I made a public commitment to write at least 100 words daily, no matter how exhausted I might be. It's only about a half page. Thankfully, several hearty writers have joined me on FaceBook and I'm now over 200 days (and nights) with this challenge. Just this little effort has meant that I can stay in the story during the work week and by Friday, I am super productive. Join in if you want. Everyone is welcome.

I'm wondering what you are working on. Do you have a method for revision? Do you share it with others or keep it to yourself? Wishing you gleaming manuscripts worthy of readers everywhere.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

I got through NaNo this year by the skin of my already skinny teeth. In 2007 and 2008 I had zoomed through the National Novel Writing Month challenge of writing 50k words during the month of November without too much stress. This year, with a very complex and demanding job, I was less than confident that I would be able to meet the challenge.

As usual, I planned ahead and did so in a big way. I announced on FaceBook my own challenge and thus, I was committed. My FB challenge was to write a minimum of 100 words a day for 100 days. I started in September and planned this challenge to take me through the end of the year. I was pleasantly surprised when other writers joined me and when many others cheered us on.

I was a cheerleader for those who seriously got their NaNo words in high gear but lagged far behind. Some days, after working 1o hours and driving a considerable distance home, it was all I could do to squeeze out the 100 words. I posted this tiny progress each day and did write more during my 3-day weekend but doubted that I would make it across the NaNo finish line. Imagine my surprise when a friend poked me the day after Thanksgiving to inquire as to my word count and I discovered that I'd written 44k. I made an all out effort and finished November with just over 51k. Amazed myself.

The moral of this tale is that by adopting the habit of daily writing, one can become more productive overall. Join me at http://www.facebook.com/junefaver to jump in and commit to writing. Have a great holiday season.

Coping my way through NaNo 2009

Well, it's on. This NaNo is going a lot slower for me than in the past. I'm having doubts as to whether I can do it or not.

The day job requires that I work 4-10 hour days and I'm doing well after the long drive home to be able to write my 100 words per day. I hear you. Nobody likes a whiner and if I didn't have this job, I could go live under a nice cozy underpass...and then how would I keep the computer online under the bridge?

I think that finding a sugar daddy at this point in my life is a little far-fetched...although I could be VERY nice to a man who would pay my bills and allow me to write my fingers to the bone. ;-)

So the answer is, I must cope. Cope with the day job. Cope with the commute. Cope with my darling family and beloved friends who think I should spend time with them. Cope with the mechanic and the grocery clerk. And don't forget, cope with Minx (Micro-Beast) the 7.5 pound bundle of energy who thinks my only function is to throw balls, open cans of dog food and give belly-rubs. Easy to cope with Emily and Daisy, my guardian cats who keep me centered, purred over, massaged and comforted throughout.

Enough of this whining. I am focused and opening the manuscript. Writing words and not fretting over whether or not I can write a full 50k this month. The truth is, who cares? What I will do is write new words and maybe make the 50k mark again this year. I will continue to drive to the day job, and go to writer's organization meetings and my critique group, and visit my family and have dinner with friends...and prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner for my family and clean up afterwards...and still manage to write a few more words. If you're NaNoing, I wish you the best of luck and hope you can cope. *hugs*

100 Words for 100 Days-The Challenge

For over 500 days, I committed to writing every day. During that time, I cranked out 7 complete novels. Not perfect, by any means...but finished first drafts. Words flowed without end. And then I stopped writing daily. I changed direction when I began editing the first drafts. I stopped the flow and focused on a different process. Polishing the manuscripts took precedence over writing new words. On September 22nd, in an attempt to unstaunch the flow, I issued a challenge to all who would take it on. The challenge is simply to write 100 words a day for 100 straight days. That will end up about Christmas time and possibly go through the end of the year. If you want to revise your writing habits, jump on board. After all, Nora Roberts empowered all writers to write a crappy first draft. You can post on my FaceBook page to brag or whine. Wish you the very best. Write on!!!