14.3.09

Writing...What Else?

Arrrrrrgh. I don't know how many times I've said this, but I am stuck.
With Miriam's Isle, I mean.

Maybe I'm not a real writer, because its not like it has overtaken my whole life. In fact, I've barely written a thing in weeks. But its like, "Hey, I'm a kid. I have school and hobbies and extra-curricular activities and..." But the fact is I procrastinate. And when I manage to seat my butt down and pull out my laptop and open up my "Miriam's Isle" folder, I have no idea what to do next.
I've read Laini Taylor's blog, Not For Robots, a bazillion times, but the fact is that not all of her methods work for me. I mean, I got lots of great advice, and things that really helped, and things that I want to try, but her style just doesn't work for me. I'm different. I have to develop my own novel-writing method...but where on earth do I begin?
Here's the thing: I've made outlines. I know, or I think I know, the vague skeleton of the story. I know the begining, I know what the problem is. I know the plot, the climax. But if I know all that, what do I have to put in the middle?
It ain't a book without a nice, fat middle for your reader to wade through. What I just thought of: Once, I made a post about parts of a novel...
Whoa, frick. Back it up. I took a break there, and I had an epiphany.
It's so obvious! Why didn't I see it before? Miriam's Isle has NO complications.
Complications are...well, here, I'll quote from the post I copied from a school info assignment:


What is done to solve the problem makes up the plot of the story. The plot, in its simplest form consists of:
the action that gets the story "off the ground" is called the motivating force or inciting incident.
After the story starts, difficulties are encountered. These are complications that make it more difficult to solve the problem.
when the greatest (and usually the final) difficulty appears, we say the story has reached its climax. It is usually the most exciting part of the book. The solution of the major problem usually occurs here.
after the climax, something usually happens before the very end that's not that exciting. This is the anticlimax. The author may tie up loose ends here.
The novel ends after the antimclimax with a conclusion.


SEE??? I have no "complications". My main character, Miria, basically has no difficulties. She just sails through easy as pie and faces up to her dad's wrath at the end.
How could I have missed that??? Good God!
Sorry to rant and rave like a nimrod dying in the desert on a Bugs Bunny cartoon, but no one in my house currently cares about the novel writing process, so I have no one to rant and rave to. I turned to my faithful "bloggy tribe," as Jehsyka calls it.
I have no clue what to put in for "complications."
Je suppose I will have to resort to brainstorming, whoopdee-frickin'-doo.
But, to be honest, even though I have a lot-- and I mean a lot-- of work ahead of me, I now feel somewhat better knowing I have blindly (blondly? No offense, Goldilocks) worked out this major snarl. I just realized how to really make my novel...well, a novel.
I'd like to describe "Miriam's Isle" to you all, but maybe I can get one of those PDF files instead. It sucks to read long chapters on a blog, unless it's a singular blog dedicated to it (ie--CLARABELLE.) But it mostly sucks to read long text stuff on blogs.
If anyone has previous experiences, advice, etc, on "complications," feel free to share. Thank you all for not groaning and rolling your eyes in annoyance and saying, "Good God, that chick should have been blonde. HOW could she NOT notice THAT?" Well, I guess, maybe you did, sitting there on your computer in Antarctica or wherever the rest of the Internet lives. Just don't tell me that.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just don't ever give up. I know sometimes you think you're not a real writer, I've been through that, but you eventually come to a point where your stories come smoothe and simply, where they're amazing without having to rack your brain a million times for the perfect description. Finally after years of suffering I've come to that piont and so will you very soon. After all, I'm not much older than you and you're incredibly talented and passionate about your work! So just you wait. Your writer-life changing epiphany is going to come to you soon.
JUST DON'T EVER GIVE UP! FORGET ANYTHING ANYONE HAS EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT WRITING AND LOOK TO YOURSELF! AND WRITE EVERY FREAKIN' DAY EVEN IF IT'S NOT YOUR NOVEL OR JUST ONE SENTENCE OF YOUR NOVEL!

PS I got the "bloggy tribe" thingy from Mizz Laini Taylor. :) She rocks, doesn't she? Oh! And isn't it awesome that her baby is a girl! Girl's rock!!! Yayya!

Lexi said...

woow, jehsyka!

um.. ditto what she said!

And good luck with Miriam's Isle! I'm excited for it! you sound like you'll be having a lot of fun writing it!

jaecy bells said...

Fun? Psh.
Anyways, thanks for all the inspiringness! I really gotta work on my novel...i really do love it. I thought I didn't for a while, but I do.

Dibsy said...

writers-we always have our moments reading back on our stories, pointing at something and screeching "oh snap what have i done??"