Insecure Writer's Support Group: I Thought I Was A Plotter

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh.


From his blog:

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic.

Now, my post this week is about the time-honored question: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Most writers, I think, consider themselves to either be in one camp or both. I used to consider myself a die-hard plotter, i.e. that writer who had the entire novel set out by Chapter 2 or 3.

But I'm participating in a writing challenge this month to hammer out 30k during June, and to be honest, I have no inclination to plot. At all. In fact, I'm having quite a lot of fun just writing on-the-fly, filling in the blanks as I go along.

A good part of my mind is shouting at me to plot. The other part is thrilled. Since it's been a long time since I really felt inspired to write anything novel-length (as I do now) I've decided to try pantsing my way through this novel. It will probably--in fact, I'm sure it will--be even more of a mess than if I plotted it. But it's a first draft, and there are always revisions. Right?

As for whether I'm a plotter or a pantser . . . well, I figure it doesn't matter so much so long as I'm actually writing something.

Have you ever questioned your plotter/pantser status? Which are you--or are you a mix?


-----The Golden Eagle

A-Z Challenge Reflections Post

Today's when the blogosphere once more turns to the A-Z Challenge, but this time, it isn't an alphabet-themed post. Instead participants and non-participants weigh in on what they thought of the Challenge. From the Challenge website:

Share your pleasures, your pains, your setbacks, your gains. Who did you meet along the way that you found to be especially helpful or inspiring? Did you have a favorite blog post? Or a favorite series? Which blogs did you discover during April that you will be returning to in the future?
   You can tell us what you thought were the highlights of your April Challenge, what you learned, what changes you might make next time, or what surprised you most. There are no limits as to what your Challenge experience might have been so tell us in your best way how you felt about the April A to Z Challenge of 2012.

Before I get to my reflections, I'd like to give a big, enthusiastic cheer for the hosts of the Challenge:

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)

Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Life is Good (Tina Downey)

Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)

Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)

The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)

The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)

Author Elizabeth Mueller(Elizabeth Mueller)

Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)

No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)

Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)
Coming Down The Mountain (Karen Jones Gowen)


. . . who are awesome and amazing people. Go follow them, if you don't already.

And now for drawing together an entire month into a single post. Well, let's start with the posts, since that's the main reason why I participated in the Challenge.

As you probably know my theme was science (unless you're a new visitor, in which case, Welcome to the blog! and yes, I'm that crazy), and my posts covered Astrophysics, Biotechnology, Cosmology, Dendrochronology, Exobiology, Fluid Dynamics, General Relativity, Helioseismology, Inorganic Chemistry, Jumping Genes, Kinematics, Lithology, Microbiology, Nanotechnology, Oceanography, Particle Physics, Quantum Physics, Robotics, Spectroscopy, Toxicology, Unified Theory, Volcanology, Wave-Particle Duality, X Chromosome, Y Chromosome, and Zoology.

I had a lot of fun doing all that research. Because I had a solid theme this year--unlike in 2011--I could plan ahead and had everything scheduled by the end of April 1. It took a big load off blogging for the rest of the month, since all I had to do was edit the posts the day before and comment. I wouldn't necessarily recommend scheduling ahead of time for everyone's style is different, but for relatively factual and static post subjects, I think it works. Scheduling has greatly caught on with me, actually, because I get the impulse to do it with all of my posts now.

All my A-Z posts/images together. If you want to, view my blog (or any other Blogger site) like this HERE.

And once the posts went up, it was great to read your responses and find out what you had to say over some of today's most interesting scientific fields and their respective discoveries and advances. The blogosphere has to be one of the sharpest audiences around, and sometimes it really was a challenge to reply to your comments and answer your questions!

Will I make any changes to how I performed during the A-Z Challenge when we reach April 2013? Maybe. I'll try to comment more--but though it wasn't the entire shebang, I'm relatively content with the 400 or so blogs I visited on the sign up list, plus visiting those who commented here and attempting to keep up with regular bloggers. I think if I'd tried visiting any more I would have completely burnt out a couple weeks after starting, and I figure moderation is better than Someone help me, I'm drowning in blogs . . . by the end of April. Not that I think so many people joining in on such an event is a bad thing; quite the opposite.


All in all, I thought the A-Z Challenge was a productive, worthwhile experience. I learned things I didn't know before, I met a bunch of new bloggers, I read some really cool posts, and for an entire month I published articles that I feel like I could actually hold up and say they have some quality.


For those who participated, how was your A-Z Challenge experience? Are you planning to do it again next year? If so, have any theme ideas hit you already, if you use themes*?

For those who didn't participate in the Challenge, are you glad that May has finally arrived and you will no longer be seeing posts with the same letter in your blog reader? Would you consider participating next year?

*(In 2011 I had grand plans for 2012 . . . I'm drawing blanks for 2013 now, but hey, there's still another ten months until crunch time rolls around again. :P)


-----The Golden Eagle

Second Campaigner Challenge Of The Fourth Campaign

The Platform-Building Campaign was started by Rachael Harrie from Rach Writes...

I highly recommend checking out her blog; and if you don't know what the Campaign is all about, in very short form it's to bring bloggers/writers together. Learn more HERE.

About this Second Campaigner Challenge:

***If you know this stuff already, you can cut to the chase by scrolling to the line of asterisks.***

Prompt 1:

Two people are sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. Their backs are against a rusted bridge support. One person’s leg is cut. The other person has wet hair.

Prompt 2:

(Source)

Prompt 3

(Source)

Prompt 4

(Source)

Prompt 5

(Source)

Second Campaigner Challenge

Do one or more of the following:

1. Write a pitch/logline for a book based on the prompts (less than 100 words)
2. Write a short story/flash fiction piece of less than 200 words based on the prompts
3. Write a poem with a twist using the prompts as inspiration (in less than 200 words)
4. Write a story/poem in five sentences, each sentence based on one of the prompts
5. Write a poem/flash fiction piece (in less than 200 words) about the water pear *without* using the words “pear”, “spoon”, or “droplet”.

For added difficulty/challenge:

• Complete at least three of the above activities and tie them all together with a common theme (feel free to either state the theme in your post or leave us to guess what it might be)
• Write in a genre that is not your own
• Ask Challenge entrants to critique your writing. After the Challenge closes, you may wish to re-post your revised piece(s), and I’ll include a Linky List at the bottom of this post for those wishing more feedback on their revisions (note: revised entries will not be judged, so please label clearly your original post and your revisions. Please do not offer critique unless someone asks for it, as per the usual blogging conventions. If you do ask for critique, make sure you ask for it clearly so people know you want it, and please be prepared to receive feedback that may not be 100% glowing. If you are a critiquer, please be tactful and courteous, and remember to provide positives as well as negatives.)

********************

“That didn’t blow up easily, did it?”

   I laughed, though it was mostly out of nervous tension instead of amusement.

   Noticing a small trickle of blood oozing across the ground toward my leg, I asked, “You okay with that cut?”

   Xayne shrugged. “It’ll heal. You sure you ain’t gonna catch a cold, being all wet like that?”

   “Yeah.”

   He leaned back against one of the few remaining supports, and I saw a few pieces of rust fall into his hair as he hit the corrugated surface.

   Someone squealed.

   “Stupid kids,” Xayne muttered, closing his eyes.

   I craned upwards to see a group of children already exploring the scraps of bridge left behind from the blast. I felt like shouting a warning as a particularly brazen one walked too close to the edge, but an older boy hauled him away.

   Xayne said a moment later, “Think he’ll get the message?”

   “If an exploding bridge ain’t enough, then he’s even more insane than the Leader thinks he is. Which would mean we’re in pretty deep.”

   “Thought that was already established.”

   “True. Sending a lethal, acidic pear simulacrum to the hospital disguised as a food donation was damned low.”

Stats:

Used Prompt 1, Prompt 2, Prompt 3, and Prompt 4 

Flash fiction under 200 words (196)

And now, to choose an "added difficulty/challenge", I'm going to ask you to critique my entry. I probably won't post the revised one, but it would great to know what you think. Don't spare my feelings, either--rip away. :)

I'm #81 on the Linky List.


-----The Golden Eagle

Third Campaigner Challenge: Show Not Tell

A long, trembling scream made me sit up and open my eyes. I’d been lying there, arms spread out, trying in vain to find something to occupy my mind.

   Cool, soft air blew a piece of hair across my face, and I looked around, eyes traveling from the gray and distant mountains to the water sliding and rushing along the black sand in front of me.

   A delicate tinge of yellow and orange showed above the mountain ridge, and I sighed, the exhalation sharp and hard enough to startle a nearby bird. It emitted another scream and launched itself into the air, wings beating in a rhythmic whump, whump, whump.

   I rubbed water off my face with the back of my hand, salt and dirt hitting my tongue. Then I started to stand, the breeze growing stronger—and suddenly my throat constricted, lungs refusing to take in any more air. I fell back and gagged, wondering what on this planet could smell so awful.

   I reached out and drew a finger through the sand. The pattern I left glowed for just second, leaving a pale afterimage when I closed my eyes.

   The smell receded, thanks to the charm, and I breathed again. I turned, and saw a brown lump on the ground a few meters away.

   It looked like a synbatec egg.

   I knew this was their home planet, and I knew they bred on the sand. But I’d only heard of them in hidden files my mentor didn’t know I could access, watched one hatching in a vid—the dark creature inside had been ugly and fascinating.

   “Tacise!”

   I turned, and saw my mentor storming toward me.

   “Did you touch it?”

   “No, why—“

   He grabs my arm. “Because synbatecs kill the nearest living thing when they hatch.”

(299 words)

**********

About this challenge:

Write a blog post in 300 words or less, excluding the title. The post can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should show:

• that it’s morning (check)
• that a man or a woman (or both) is at the beach (check)
• that the MC (main character) is bored (check)
• that something stinks behind where he/she is sitting (check)
• that something surprising happens (check)

Just for fun, see if you can involve all five senses AND include these random words: "synbatec," "wastopaneer," and "tacise." (NB. these words are completely made up and are not intended to have any meaning other than the one you give them).

I didn't use "wastopaneer" . . . I couldn't really think of a way to get it in there and still sound natural.

**********

What do you think? How'd I do on the "show not tell"?


And if you enjoyed my entry, you can vote for it HERE: I'm #95 in the Linky List, under The Eagle's Aerial Perspective. Just click the "like" button below my link.

-----The Golden Eagle

The Imago Has Finally Been Found—Or Not (Second Campaigner Challenge)

Jing strolled along the skyway, three hundred feet above the stifling masses. The city was an unending cacophony of sound, a ceaseless barrage of sights—and the smells, from the miasma of the poorest neighborhoods to the perfumed compounds of the rich, were enough to make your head spin.

   Coming from a backwater where time seemed to oscitate and nothing changed, Jing felt he had more of a right to be bowled over by the city than anyone else, to find it overwhelming. Yet the more he explored its corners, watched the city-goers—even spoke to them—he felt there was a lacuna.

   In his hometown you knew everything there was to know, both present and past, and it oppressed him; here, all you passed were strangers and unknowns.

   Jing stopped and leaned against the side rail, pressing his head to the clear glass. He stared at the city below.

   The synchronicity of the aerocars, buses, pedestrians—it all felt orchestrated by some grand designer who’d decided spontaneity was evil.

   The city had energy, but no soul, and nothing it did mirrored his own mind.

   He straightened.

   So.

   Off it was to yet another city, in another galaxy, for another try.

**********

About this challenge:

Write a blog post in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, whether flash fiction, non-fiction, humorous blog musings, poem, etc. The blog post should:

• include the word "imago" in the title
• include the following 4 random words: "miasma," "lacuna," "oscitate," "synchronicity,"

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional and included in the word count), make reference to a mirror in your post.

For those who want an even greater challenge (optional), make your post 200 words EXACTLY!

My piece is exactly 200 words, includes all four random words, has "imago" in the title, and I referenced a mirror. Also, the character's name--Jing--means mirror in Mandarin Chinese.

What do you think? If you enjoyed this piece, I would greatly appreciate it if you went over to THIS POST and clicked "like" for my entry, #137 in the linky list.

-----The Golden Eagle

The First Campaigner Challenge: 200 Word Flash Fiction

The First Challenge in Rachael Harrie's Third Platform-Building Campaign has arrived!

Well, okay, it arrived on Monday, but entries can be submitted until today, Friday. I just didn't have space for it this earlier in the week.

So, what is the challenge?

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. Begin the story with the words, “The door swung open” These four words will be included in the word count.

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), use the same beginning words and end with the words: "the door swung shut." (also included in the word count)

For those who want an even greater challenge, make your story 200 words EXACTLY!

I love challenges. And yes, mine is EXACTLY 200 words!

Mission: Alpha

The door swung open and Jim tumbled out.

   Head over heels! Heels over head! Keep turning and don’t stop to look, he told himself—

   —or Captain’ll whip you one and you’ll be shamed in front of all your mates—

   Got to focus.

   Jim felt the g-force as he fell, the sky and earth spinning light and dark, air resistance dragging on his body.

   Timer almost to zero—

   Deploy glider! Press the button, Jim!

   HISS!

   Jim gripped handlebars that snapped in front of him, soared up, up, up.

   Heard shouting through the com: “Got a grip, Jimmy?”

   “I got it, man.”

   “Good!  ‘Cause we’re in for a doozy.”

   Isn’t it always that way?

   Jim wouldn’t take an alternative. Nothing beat the plunge from hovercraft to ground on missions. Missions that were—technically—top-secret operations headed by the lead negotiator, the woman trying to keep humanity alive.

   Since aliens wanted it eliminated.

   “Ready, Jimmy? We’re goin’ down in three . . .”

   Jim readied his glider’s engines.

   “. . . two . . . one!”

   Above, the hovercraft rose as its operatives disappeared into the mountains. The pilot realized he’d left it open—Captain’d be mad—and the door swung shut.

(SOURCE)

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What do you think? If you really like it, and feel it's worth mention, I'd love it if you went over to the Linky List and clicked "like" below my entry. I'm under the name Golden Eagle, number 367.


And if you have posted your entry, please mention it! I want to read yours.


-----The Golden Eagle

A Final Wrap-Up Post Before The Madness Begins

As for the madness . . . I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The A-Z April Blogging Challenge begins tomorrow--the day 865 (or so) people post starting with the letter "A".

865. If you divide that by 30, you get 28.8333333. So to keep up with just 865 and comment once on each, you'd have to visit 28+ blogs a day.

My plan is to get to around 30 blogs per day, keep up with as many bloggers that I already know as I can, (I probably won't get around to everyone--if you don't see me, no, I haven't forgotten about you!), and finish scheduling posts. I had wanted to have all 26 done by today, but instead I have something like 17. Now my goal is to finish them by the end of first week. Thankfully, I have Sunday to type like crazy.

And now, wrap-up time!:

• The Powerful Woman Writer award

. . . from Tyrean Martinson. Thank you so much for this award, Tyrean!

*****

• OpenOffice.org.

Coolness. It's free (free, everyone!) software from Oracle, with Writer, (MS equivalent: Word) Base, (Access) Calc, (Calculator) Draw, (Publisher) Math, (Equation Editor) and Impress (PowerPoint), and available for Linux, Mac OS, Windows, Solaris, and some others. My mom wanted to download Base for database management, and the whole pack came with it. Basically, OpenOffice has fewer options, looks like an old version of Microsoft--but it works. Hurray!

*****

• Death by PowerPoint. I couldn't help posting this. It's just too funny (and kind of disturbing).

Apparently, Death by PowerPoint can also be called "PowerPoint Poisoning" and "PowerPoint Hell". Retired Marine Colonel Thomas X Hammes called it "hypnotizing chickens" when the program is used to make presentations that are overly-complicated and tedious, such as during press briefings. (Guess he doesn't enjoy the press.)

The Wikipedia article also says there is even such a thing as a "PowerPoint Ranger"; i.e. "a military member who relies heavily on presentation software to the point of excess". In addition, a Colonel was fired for criticizing the dependence on the "presentation method". One Russian said "If we ever had a war, while you are working on your Power Point, we would be killing you."


Yeah . . . is there something fishy there, or is it just me?

*****

For those participating in the Challenge, I hope you all have fun, and I look forward to reading your posts!

For those not participating in the Challenge, (hey, you can still sign up, if you haven't been terrified by that huge number of blogs) I also look forward to reading your posts, which I will do my best to keep up with while I tackle the aforementioned list!

See you in April, everyone!

-----The Golden Eagle

Crusader Challenge

The goldfish bowl teetered.
   The wolves howled in the distance and the raptor shrieked overhead. The wind blew softly and the grass swished in its wake.
   The goldfish bowl slid closer to the edge.
   The river splashed across the rocks. The fish swam among the ripples, flashing bright in the night's darkness. The trees creaked, their branches dipping low and swinging high.
   The goldfish bowl began to fall.
   The wolves began to run, heading for their destination. The raptor spiraled upward, then dived toward a target only it could see.
   The goldfish bowl shattered.
   All was quiet.

*****

To find out more about this Crusader Challenge, or if you want to visit the others also participating, go HERE.


-----The Golden Eagle