And you’d think (and you’d be wrong) that I would use that time to sit at home, curled up in bed, plotting literary masterpieces.

Instead, I went to work.

What’s up with that?

Well, everyone has the flu. Seriously, it made the rounds of the town in less than a week. It lasted about 24-36 hours, made you feel quoozy and then it went away. But, I still went to work.

So I have a wonderful work ethic. Nothing comes before work, no disease/surgery/knee dislocation is strong enough to keep me from my work.

Now, why can’t I apply that same work ethic to writing? Is it because I consider it to be a hobby? A part-time job?

Both, actually.

Which is too bad, because until I change my mindset about writing and how important it is, I won’t be pushing out 4-5 books a year. I won’t finish the 4 manuscripts I’ve got sitting on my hard drive.

So, slap me upside the head, and help me change my way of thinking.

writing. is. important.

there.

=)

carrie

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Usually spoken of quite derogatorily by authors who plot, pantsers write their stories with no outline, no idea of who the characters are or what’s going to happen in the story.

I personally love it.

Words just pop out onto the page, characters develop themselves, plot twists and turns magically appear. Usually.

In the MG I’m currently working on, it’s been 4 chapters of pantsing. And almost every single page has a twist or tweak I never saw coming. It’s been fun. And I haven’t gotten stuck yet.

One of the biggest problems with pantsing is writing yourself into a corner. How did I get here? How will I get out of this? What comes next?

I’ve discovered, with a little help =), that I do really well as a pantser, if I also write an outline covering the major parts of the story. I still surprise myself, and still enjoy the writing process without a black cloud lurking over my head – the one that says but Carrie, what’s going to come next? The outline looks nothing like the rest of the story, but I also rarely write myself into a corner anymore.

I haven’t outlined any of my MG as of yet, but I think that’s going to go on my to-do list this weekend. Just an hour of brainstorming will usually give me enough of a plot outline that I can zoom back in, fly off into the mist, and not have to worry about that darn plot corner.

And I can still have lots of fun finding out what Dwayne’s going to get into next.

=)

carrie

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Except…..it’s not that easy. I mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger in my first chapter. Do kids these days know who he is? What about Michael Jordan? Do they use the word dweeb? Geek? Does your average 12 year old have his own cellphone?

Now I’m going to have to research. Darnit. My kid is 24 (too old) grandkids are too young (4 and under).

If you’re in the restaurant one day with a twelve year old boy, and you see the waitress staring at you and writing copious notes?

Don’t panic, she’s not a stalker.

She’s a new YA writer.

=)

carrie

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So, in general, I drive my husband crazy. =)

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being an emotional reader however. There aren’t any twelve step programs for us out there, no meetings in church basements, nothing to be ashamed of. Unless I was reading on a Kindle while riding the subway with gang members (pretty slim chance of that in Iowa) and laughed at an inappropriate moment when Grandma Mazur wore one of her ridiculous outfits.

Oh, and no, I don’t actually have a Kindle either.

Writers love people like me. I should be able to hire myself out to any writer wondering if they’ve put enough emotion in their book, and let them watch me read it. If I’m reaching for the kleenex by the end, they know they’ve got a winner. If I set the book down and go do crossword puzzles when they think they’ve written the World’s Greatest Novel, well…then they’d just have to try harder on the rewrite eh?

I also loan a lot of my books to other people. I drive them nuts too. Quit turning over the page corners! Whatever, I say. Quit flattening them out! That’s the good part!

=)

There’s nothing wrong with being an emotional reader. If you’re one too, be proud of your skills. I bet it will make you a better writer too.

carrie

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