  Noticing Newbies
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** Image ID #1005026 Unavailable **
Our warm, sunny Summer is in the process of handing the baton over to Fall (at least for residents in my neck of the woods! Then Fall will race to Winter, who in turn, will take its own sweet time meeting up with Spring. The cycle never ends, obviously. And this leads me to talk about something my hubby always does, year after year, which is starting to frustrate me! I love him with all my heart, but every Summer he is so eager to camp, hike, bike, kayak, etc. as much as possible because Summer will be over before you know it and then the cold weather hits. Okay, so I'm outdoors almost everday in the summertime except when I'm sleeping or at the library working. I won't complain too much, as I enjoy it, too; just not quite as obsessively as him. Next, Fall arrives in its glory and suddenly I have tons of energy (probably due to not being as physical!). And though my hubby loves Fall, he repeated brings it up that soon Winter will be here and we'll have to deal with the cold weather and snow for several months (I look at Winter like a nice indoors break when I can catch up on all the stuff I'm too busy for in the warmer months). The days finally begin to get longer, and we start looking forward to Spring... buds growing on branches, new growth peeking out from the ground, rototilling the garden in March to plant the early crops such as potatoes and onions and peas. We order more white pine trees at this time of year also, which we plant in April every year. So Spring is good; sometimes rainy and muddy, but definitely an exciting time after a long Winter. Okay, now comes Summer again, and... the cycle begins (the one with my hubby, I mean!).
Then there is the school cycle. Summer goes way too fast; school begins when it's almost over, leading students and parents into a busy September schedule of homework and sports. Before you know it, Christmas is approaching which much of the time follows school musical programs, lots of preparation for celebration. After New Year's Day, Chrstmas break is over with and the excitement-thing is behind us. The long haul is in tow, at least for people like my sweet and wonderful hubby.  I remember when I was a student and later worked for the schools;I would pray for Snow Days! As an employee, I was shocked the first year I worked in the school system, how many teachers and other staff members looked forward to the same thing the students did.  . Finally Spring arrives, which also includes Spring Break... Yahoo! Everyone loves Spring Break, right? Well, unless you are a parent who works and has a hard time finding a daycare provider for one week. Summer vacation arrives at last. Kids go swimming, play baseball, and sometimes go to a camp, along with whatever else comes up. It goes by way too fast, because suddenly it's time to go shopping for school clothes, school supplies, and meet the teacher.
Do any of you have a writing cycle? I don't, but I'm also not a very structured person. Wouldn't it be nice to go Back to Writing in the Fall with lots of new ideas and excitement, settle in for the wintertime with tons of time to work on your writing, then in the springtime, tidy up whatever you'd been writing about and send it in for possible publication? And Summer could be used to journey out and collect new ideas while you enjoy the nice weather. This is just an example of course, as some of you do not experience the four seasons as others do. But wouldn't it be nice to have a writing cycle? Perhaps if we did, we'd finish out each year with at least one publication, a graduation of completion of sorts, and ready to move on to a new writing project next.
Well, this may sound all silly to some of you, but it's something I just wanted to share.
Happy Writing!
Love, Cubby ") |
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~~~And Now... For Our Featured Newbie Presentation!~~~
Excerpt: So far things were going great. The guards inside the White House didn't seem disturbed, but I kept my eyes on the roof just in case a sniper got to us before Sigma team dealt with them.
"We're in the yard." I announced over the radio, then I turned to the rest of the team.
"Ready to run guys?" I laughed inspite of myself, and took off for the north doors of the mansion, keeping to the trees' shadows the entire way. I wondered how everyone else was doing, but didn't stop to ask. I was sure everything was going as planned.
Excerpt: Scarlet Road is a special place. The sun always seems to shine a little bit brighter there, and the people are wonderful. One can stay there for hours walking down the street, watching children play while sipping their coffee and looking for the perfect bench on which to read their book, being finally free of the kids and the dog and having time to do such frivolous things. Yes, the grass is always greener on Scarlet Road, but that is not why I come. No, I come for a far different reason.
Excerpt: Suddenly I saw her eyes dart momentarily to her husband at the opposite end of the table. As she did so, I thought that the same slightly tense, alert look that I had seen before returned to her face, but only for an instant. Before I could be certain of what I saw she was again so intently engrossed in her conversation with her neighbour that I wondered if her eyes had ever left him at all. I turned to her husband, my host, but saw nothing to draw her attention. He was merely chatting with Lady Dinsmore, a loquacious elderly woman who could not possibly arouse jealousy in a woman like Anne, and sipping his prized red wine.
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Last week's question(s): After accomplishing a grand beginning to a story, how do you go about the middle?
Is the middle the most difficult for you, or is it the ending?
Black Willow 
Hey Cubby! I've just read this newsletter and I had to comment because the same thing happens to me all the time- having read a book that gives you ideas to your own writing; only sometimes I read romance and it gives me an idea for drama 
Anyway, congratulations on the new idea, I hope it'll develop well!
BlackWillow.
Thanks, BlackWillow. I can't believe I'm still working steady at that same story! I guess whatever works, works, right?
alexnuma
Dear Cubby,
Thank you for sharing enthusiasm of which you make me jealous
Yet you cannot "be back" since you never left: you merely paused. Without that pause you would probably not have started your new project, which means that the pause is part of your writing.
Sorry to have to remind you that silence is part of music.
Alec Numa
Ooooo, I like that, Alec! What a great way to look at it! I'll have to remember that 'silence is part of the music'. Thanks so much for sharing that.
essence of thought
Thanks for sharing this with us. It is really surprising how we are motivated to write sometimes. We hope your work will soon be in your portfolio. For me, I sometimes think of the conclusion even before the beginning, it is the middle that needs work and is mostly the reason for my left unfinished works. Thanks for your always enjoyed newsletters.
I wish I could think of the conclusion first... WHAAAA!  That's the hardest part for me. Isn't it funny how we all have our little quirks? I can see why some books are written by two authors.
karabu
I've always heard the advice to read your favorite writers to help get out of a dry writing spell - looks like you can read something you hate too, and be inspired to do better!
Yeah, what a discovery!
tspresley
After accomplishing a grand beginning to a story, how do you go about the middle?
Is the middle the most difficult for you, or is it the ending?
The middle seems to be hardest part for some stories that I write. Then again at times its the beginning I have issues with and the middle and ending are just fine.
At least you seem to complete a story. That in itself is quite an accomplishment! Thanks for sharing!
dizzyduck
I'm so bad at beginnings, I'd be lucky to have a "grand" one.  Those are certainly the hardest for me. But once I get the beginning, I can usually keep rolling. Middles aren't usually difficult, but endings are. I have trouble finding closure. Perhaps that's why I've only ever finished a few works in my time! 
Great NL, as always, Cubby. Have fun on your next camping trip!
dizzy
Oh, I agree with you! Finding closure is so difficult. I wonder if it has to do with our own personalities? Oh, hey, I'm headed out on another camping trip in about four hours! Thanks... I will definitely have fun!
newykr
Cubby:
Thank you very much for sharing. Yes, I have not written in quite a long time but I have been reading quite a bit. I think this is a phase that all go thru, I think I am about to come out of my dry spell as well. Thanks for the encouragement.
And thank you for sharing. It's always nice to know that others have gone through the same thing. Hope your dry spell passes soon!
misterkel
muddling through middles.
My first novel, I had the biggest problem forcing my characters to quit getting bushwhacked and get to the climax.
Writing the middle was fun! I dictate my first drafts into a dictation device which transfers files later via USB, a huge difference. I can say anything I want, no matter how dumb, and later I can just not write it down. I get loads of ideas, and can then expand them into scenes.
That is the grunt work, but with a lot of material, I am cutting back, which makes it much easier.
You have to sit down, and write a scene. The next day you have to finish it, then write another. No way around it.
Also, an action character is good for middles. Have them start doing something, then make it hard for them to get it done. Throw obstacles at them, and don't let them solve the obstacles easily. Stack the obstacles, make it hard. Plot in a nutshell.
check out my short story, the Nobody "The nobody - funny, fast cyberspace romp"
Wow. Can you throw me some of your energy? Sounds like you know what you're doing! Thank you for sharing.
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Quote: Stories have a beginning, a midlle and an end. But not necessarily in that order.
~ Robert Silverberg
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Noticing Newbies: September 06, 2006 Issue [#1244]
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