Playing with Fear

I'm over on the OA today discussing fears. I was going through some old Blog Chain posts recently and came across one whose topic has been on my mind a lot lately.I'm currently in the process of rewriting the first novel I ever wrote. One thing I've needed to do is add a little more depth to my characters...make their hopes and fears more tangible, more a part of them and who they are, and above all, stay consistent to their inner selves.

It got me thinking about the subject of fear and how I bring that to my characters. Fears are funny, I think. When it comes right down to it, all fears are internal. You may have a very good reason to fear something, (like fearing fast moving vehicles after being in a car accident), but the fear you feel is still based in your head.

I had a nightmare once, when I was in my mid teens. I was in my room and a blinding white light was shining through my window - like someone had focused a spotlight on it. There was a man standing in my room, but he was made of shadow - black and sort of hazy. No features, just a black outline though it was solid. And red eyes.

I've slept with a nightlight ever since. To this day.Even though I KNOW it was just a dream and there is nothing to fear...especially twenty years later.

I also fear spiders, ghosts, enclosed spaces, heights and losing my loved ones. All of those fears are totally irrational, justified but unfixable, or unavoidable. I'm huge compared to a spider. I step on it and it dies. But I'll run if one is big enough. I generally stay out of my basement at night and never EVER watch or read ghost stories...esp at night (not even Ghostbusters - though one of my lovely crit partners writes very creepy stories so I've had to relax the ban a bit...I still only crit her stuff during the day though :D ). I avoid enclosed spaces and heights if at all possible and go to my happy place and breath deeply if I can't (no amount of exposing myself to such places has cured these fears). And I'm going to lose people I love. I already have. And I will again. Yet I fear it.

I put these same fears into my characters. Sure I give them a real monster to fight- that's always fun. :) But those internal fears...now those are intense battles. I like to watch my characters conquer their fears. Sometimes it takes more than one try, but there is nothing more rewarding than beating a fear...even if it's only temporary.


One of my fave quotes about fear is:Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment thatsomething else is more important than fear. 
~Ambrose Redmoon 

I actually first heard that quote while watching The Princess Diaries :) But it's so true. I may fear a lot of things - but I can be courageous, no matter how bad my boots are shaking, when I need to be :)

And I try to bring this to my characters. My current MC is terrified of losing control of her life. She goes to great lengths to be able to be queen of her world. So, when I need to amp up some conflict or torture her a bit, I play on those fears. I take away her control of the situation and watch what happens. Whenever I am writing with her, I try to keep her innermost fears in mind, because those are the things that ultimately drive her to do what she does.

What are you afraid of? Do you bring your experience of fear to your characters? What are characters most afraid of?

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Playing with Fear

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Blog Chain - Motivation-Suckers Beware!

This round's topic was chosen by the amazing Amanda, who wanted to know:


What do you do to keep yourself motivated when you feel like you're not making any progress in your writing career?

I actually posted about this topic a year or so ago - and when I went back over that post I realized that what I said then is as true now as it was when I wrote it.

Staying motivated is something I struggle with at times, as we all do, I'm sure. Writing is hard work. I enjoy it. But when Real Life or the little green monster in my head rears their sometimes ugly heads (and they always do), finding the time, energy, and motivation to write isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

So, here are a few things I do to help get me “in the mood.”


1. Find something to make me laugh.
When I am in a bad/sad/stressed mood, the last thing I want to do is write. I’m not sure why that is. I have a great time going over the stories in my head. But getting those stories from my head onto my computer sometimes takes more effort than I want to put in just then. But if I can lighten my mood, laugh a little, I start to relax, and suddenly writing seems like less of another “to do” item and more of a fun activity. I find something to
make me laugh and help me take myself a little less seriously. A good British comedy or standup routine are always good for a few laughs.


2. Take a short break and fix what is bugging me.
If I am not motivated to write, chances are, there is something else bothering me. Maybe I need to fold some laundry and I just can’t settle in to write because I can see the 15 loads of clean clothes from the corner of my eye. Maybe I promised my kids I’d have cookies waiting for them when they got home from school, or maybe I forgot to make my bed, or any one of a hundred other things. Now, I’ll admit I’m a little more…anal than some people :D But if I just go take care of whatever it is that is making me feel guilty for writing, then I can sit and write and enjoy myself instead of fixating on other things.


3. Get inspired.
I am inspired by so many things that this one is actually a really good way for me to get motivated. A few of my favorite inspirations are:
- Music. Some songs just really hit me hard and make me want to write. For one of the stories I am working on, I pretty much have James Blunt’s “Same Mistake” on repeat. A few other bands that always inspire me are Apocalyptica, Coldplay, Everlast, Evanescence….those haunting melodies are just great inspiration for the drama needed for some good fiction.
- Art. My walls are plastered with art. My husband teases me about it because there is not one blank wall in our house. I also troll the internet…photobucket.com is a great place for inspiration. I collect gorgeous nature shots and other pictures like this...





I see some of these places and want to write a scene that takes place there, or I’ll see a picture like this…




and I want to write a scene where my characters feel the way the people in the picture look like they feel.
- Movies. Certain movies just really hit home and tweak emotions that are hard to contain. My current favorite is P.S. I Love You. I’ve watched it I don’t know how many times, because it makes me laugh and cry and drool (Gerard Butler…ummm gorgeous!). It makes me want to write something that will make people feel the way I feel when I watch it.


4. Read.
I read. A lot. And I mean A LOT. If you are going to be a good writer, I think it’s a necessary part of the process to read. I call it research. It gets me an eye roll from my non-reader husband, but it really is research. Most of the time I get lost in the story, but now, as a writer, I can never really shut off the edit mode. Sometimes I’ll come across a passage or a really good (or bad) dialogue sequence and think “wow, I love how she did this,” or “ooo, I never would have worded this like this, it just doesn’t work.” Reading other’s work makes it easier to spot both the good and the bad things in my own work.
And, like the movies and the music, sometimes I’ll read a book that just inspires me to write, inspires me to create something that will invoke the emotions that I felt while reading.


5. Almost last, and anything but least, I go to my patient and saintly friends.
They put up with a lot from me. A have a few very good friends who get a copy of just about every email, passage, chapter, query letter, and synopsis I have ever written. They deal with my insecurities about everything I do. They love me enough to tell me when I suck and are genuinely ecstatic for me when I succeed. They encourage me to write when I’m in a slump and they support me when I need to slow down a bit.

They make the whole process easier. If you don’t have any writing friends yet, I highly suggest finding some, because this is a tough business and it is more wonderful than I can express to have people to go to who understand what I’m going through.

6. And the real kicker – I try very hard not to compare my journey to anyone else’s.
I am unique and so is my work, so why on earth would anything about what is going on in my world be remotely the same as what goes on in someone else’s? If I start comparing my journey with others out there, yeah, it can be a real motivation-sucker. So I try very, very hard not to do that. And when I have a hard time keeping my blinders on, I shut myself off from everything but my own little story world – I stay away from blogs and Facebook and posts and everything else that distracts me from what is truly important….MY OWN JOURNEY.

These are just a few things that I do get myself motivated and in the writing mood. Everyone is going to be different, so these things may not work as well for you as they do for me. All you really need is the right mindset, a little inspiration, and the support of a few good people, and the motivation takes care of itself.

Be sure to stop by Laura's awesome post if you haven't heard how she handles motivation problems, and head to Shaun's blog tomorrow to see what works for him!

How about you out there? What kills the motivation for you? How do you get it back?

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Blog Chain - Motivation-Suckers Beware!

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https://shortemohaircuts2011.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-chain-motivation-suckers-beware.html

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Blog Chain: Who Do You Write For?

*first, a tiny confession: I HATE April Fool's Day. Having been the butt of many jokes, a whole day devoted to pranks, lies and practical jokes just isn't my idea of fun* 

*and this ISN'T an April Fool's thing....I hate it* 

*Really :D*

Okay, enough of that - let's get to our blog topic! This time I get to pick the topic and it was really kind of hard for me. Not because I couldn't think of anything, but because I thought of too many things LOL I had a few ideas percolating, and ended up going with one that my awesome agent bud and total BFF Christine shared with me. It's actually something I've been doing a lot of thinking about lately and I'm curious as to how others writers feel. So, here it is. I want to know:


Do you write for the market or for yourself? Why? Are there times you do both? Or times when you've written something specifically because it was "hot" at the moment? If so, how did it turn out?

I'm really curious about this. I've certainly heard trends and thought, "Ooo it would be fun to write something like that and I've got a great idea with a hopefully new twist!"
And followed through on it, writing a book specifically for that particular trend (my last book, for instance).

I've had ideas that I loved, really wanted to write, that also happened to be a hot market item, though that wasn't my motivation (like my current WIP).

And I've had story ideas that have nothing whatsoever to do with any trend or market hot topic (like my first book, or my other current WIP - which was hard for me to start, by the way, because it really is kind of different and I don't think anyone will ever want to see it - but I can't get it out of my head so *shrugs* what's a writer to do?) :)

So how about you? Who or what do you write for? And why?

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Blog Chain: Who Do You Write For?

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Funny Motivation Poster - Change

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Funny Motivation Poster - Change

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