Tension and Contests

I might not have posted since October, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. In February I entered a flash fiction writing contest. It’s the first contest I’ve ever entered and I’m nervously/excitedly waiting for feedback from the judges. Women on Writing (wow-womenonwriting.com) hosts quarterly contests, the entry fee is only $10 to cover their costs and prizes. You can also buy a critique of the story which is another $10. So, for a grand total of $20 I’ll get feedback on my story and it’s entered in a contest.

In other writing news, I put my rough draft fantasy novel on the shelf and I am expanding the flash fiction story into something longer. I’m not sure how that’s going to change the story but it has psychological thriller tension that I’m cautiously outlining. I’m nervous about getting too hopeful because I’ve had issues with tension throughout an entire story before. It seems to be going well so here’s hoping.

When you write tension how do you track it?  I’m working with outlines but I’ve heard about people using spreadsheets and sticky notes. What works for you?

Friday Morning Ramble

When you read do you see a video playing in front of you? For better or for worse, I do.  I also fall asleep telling myself stories and watching these scenes.  Somewhere between awake and asleep is often where I fix troubled parts of my story, once the scene is clear in my mind I can write it.

How about writing, when you write what do you see then?  It’s more difficult to craft these scenes (some days I’d rather just read a great scene!)  Layer by layer a moment in a scene is built: the visuals, the sound, the texture, voices, smells, even taste can become important elements.  Some of this has been written in the first draft and some was left out.

When I’m in need of texture I walk around my apartment touching walls, wood, and other items.  I think about them, feel them, and then I write the object I need in my scene (sometimes nothing like the item I studied, but studying a single item helps my mind begin working through texture).

Happy Friday Everyone!

Paper, Paper Everywhere

My walls are covered in that sticky backed white paper – you know the kind that works like a post-it note except in a larger scale and in white, not yellow.  I’ve turned these sheets into calendars, brainstorming pages and outlines sticking them all to my walls.  Every time I hit a snag in my story I rip off another sheet and fill it with ideas.  There’s a great satisfaction to that sound – the long shzzzzup of paper as it’s pulled off.  Today?  My character Rin was the focus, a 13 year old boy first discovered by my heroine near the beginning of the story.  Who is he?  How is he important?  Why do my readers care about him?  What does he contribute to overall plot?  These are all question I thought about and worked on answering.  He’s a favorite of mine and plays off of other characters well but this is no reason for him to be in the story.  He might be cut out completely if I can’t answer these questions.  So, building him well, building him right, and ensuring he is central to the story is a focus of my time.

(And, yes, I’m watching Downton Abbey!)