Tag: family histories

Monday Motivations for the Writer! #16

Why momentum is more important than quality. Blasphemy, right? Wrong. Momentum is more important, in this writer’s opinion, than quality.

The writer with momentum is an author who is MOVING FORWARD.  Writing every day, six or seven days a week, if only a page or two a day.

The writer who is so stuck on ‘quality’ that they have only written one book in their life time, and they are still writing it, is the writer who is not moving forward or growing.  If you only write one or two words a day, your manuscript is moving forward.

Many writers, who believe a,s I do, say that if you leave a project for a month, six months, a year, it is likely that you will never go back to it. And during that time the doubt creeps in: “who do I think I am?” “I’ll never be a great writer.”  “I’m no good at this.” “My mother was right, I’ll never amount to anything….” “how good could I possibly be?” “I should go get a day job.” “How dare I?”

Remember, Quality gets layered in, draft by draft. Some newbie writers think that the first draft should be perfect. Sorry, that’s simply not the case. You’ve heard me say over and over:  ‘that’s what rewrites are for.’
Quality is a multi-draft proposition. Momentum is the only thing that will get you a FIRST DRAFT!

“Write until it becomes as natural as breathing. Write until NOT writing makes you anxious.” Unknown

“The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” Anais Nin

“When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending.” Brene Brown
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY
March-Apr:   Joshua Hood, author of ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE TREADSTONE RENDITION, April:  H.W. ‘Buzz’ Bernard, WWII historian

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivations for the Writer! (#15)

When characters stroll into your story….LET THEM! A little while back, I completed an interview with FreshFiction.com and was relating to the interviewer that several characters had walked into my story (Song of the Yukon) quite unexpectedly.   I welcomed them in. It happens to me frequently.  They contribute interesting tributaries to my main story stream. Even though I had to stop and do some extra research, it was so WORTH IT!

Keep writing, my fellow writers!

‘This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are  thrown on the scrap heap.’~~George Bernard Shaw

‘An original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate.’ Francois Rene De Chateaubriand

‘I’m not the heroic type, really. I was beaten up by Quakers.’ ~Woody Allen
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY
March-Apr:   Joshua Hood, author of ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE TREADSTONE RENDITION, April:  H.W. ‘Buzz’ Bernard, writing for TOM CLANCY.  

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #12

                      How to Write Rich Characters.

After many years of writing, my characters just show up in my head, but it’s my job to ‘flesh them out, and’ breathe life into them. Many times I will meet or see a character in

 real life, and they inspire a character in my storytelling. If you’re a new writer, take the time to write it down. It’s not the same as a few random thoughts about your character. Some intangible thing happens when I put pen to paper and get to know who my character is.

Read through your story and write down EVERYTHING the other characters say about the character you are creating. These exercises do not have to show up in your book. They are merely ways to research and explore who your characters are. When I am editing and rewriting, I look for additional ways to bring my characters to life.

I keep asking myself about the character’s motivations, goals, and needs.

“One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time.

 Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. Something more will arise for later, something better.”
— Annie Dillard

“A director becomes a diplomatist, a financier, a pedagogue, a top sergeant, a wet nurse, and a martyr, the kind of martyr who used to be torn into pieces by wild horses galloping in all directions at once.” ~Margaret Webster, Stage Director (This quote SO applies to writers, I thought I would include it.)

(Watercolor portraits by Trisha Sugarek)
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To receive my weekly posts, sign up for my  On the home page, enter your email address. 

Watch for more interviews with authors.  December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY
March-Apr:   Joshua Hood, author of ROBERT LUDLUM’S THE TREADSTONE RENDITION 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #11

I had a friendly debate with another author when she responded to my Stephen King’s quote about ‘plot being the  last resort of bad writers.’  One of her comments to me was, “writers have to accept that their readers might not care as much about your characters as you do.”

My vehement answer was if my readers don’t care as much as I do, then I haven’t done my job.  I just finished reading a book by a new (to me) author, and I found her characters boring and unsympathetic.  She didn’t tell me enough about them through dialogue and description for me to care.  I suspect that since this was a series, she relied too heavily on her readers already knowing her characters from previous books.  Big mistake!  Even with a series, each book, and character, must be able to stand alone. #writing

Writers!  You have to know your characters in order for your readers to know and care about them.  With the most despicable villain, you must give your readers something to love about that character.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets, their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.”  Elisabeth Kabler-Ross

“When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time.  It is this absorption in what you are doing that frees your unconscious and releases your creative imagination.”  Rollo May
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #10

Okay, your first attempt at creative writing is finished.  In your journal or notebook or in a password-protected file on your laptop, your first completed story awaits you.  Now, what are you going to do with it?  You can’t possibly let anyone read it!  What if they laugh and it’s not a comedy?  What if it’s met with poorly hidden scorn? Or when they read the last page, what if they look up,  their eyes filled with pity…for you.

Sorry, but you’ve just entered the world of writing.  You must brave the experience of having someone actually read your work.  That is, if you intend to go any further.
Here’s the good news: pick people you trust who will give you constructive criticism. If you ask a family member, make certain that they aren’t threatened by your new passion for writing.  They might sense that if you pursue your writing, it will take you away from them (and it will).  Or, worse, they tell you it’s wonderful, perfect….which you and I both know it isn’t at this point.
Keep writing!  Don’t let anyone or anything stop you.  And I can keep this promise: if you keep writing, you will get better.

“Writing is a lonely business.  You pour your heart and guts into the written word, often exposing what you’ve experienced in your own life.  You nurture it, feed it, trim its toenails, wash its hair, dress it up, and send it out into traffic.” Trisha Sugarek

“Planning to write is not writing.  Outlining a book is not writing.  Researching is not writing.  Talking to people about what you’re doing is not writing.   None of that is writing. Writing is writing.”   ~~ E.L. Doctorow
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Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

So Long, Chester Wheeler by Catherine Ryan Hyde (Review)

5 out of 5 stars           Book Review

 

Spoiler Alert:  In order to write a formal review (which would include telling a little about this fascinating story), it would be riddled with “spoiler alert” warnings.  So I won’t.

Instead, I want to write about this author’s uncanny talent for concepts.  She writes about people, everyday people, about life, and how messy it is.  It may not be a conscious thought, but somewhere inside you, you are wondering, ‘How did she come up with this concept for a story?’ 

In my interview with Catherine, she addresses how she comes up with her stories:

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

CRH. When I have finished a novel and turned it over to my agent, I know I need a new idea. I open up to a new idea, and I meet a character. I generally see a glimpse of them, having some sort of life experience. Then I spend a few weeks in my head, with nothing down on paper yet, coaxing them to tell me more. (end quote)

That’s what I tell my writers (fans); to keep their eyes and ears open because you may get a mere glimpse of your next character. Just waiting there, in the shadows,  for you, so they can tell you their story. 

But I digress.  If you have never read another book, be certain to read So Long Chester Wheeler. It’s a distillation of everything that’s so wonderful and horrid about the humane species. Beautifully written. Like Catherine examines each word to make sure it’s worthy to be in her story before she lays it down.  And, as with most of her books, there are lots of surprises, plot twists and turns the reader never sees coming. 
This author is everything we mere mortal writers should aspire to be.  Sharpen your pencils!!  

Available now at your favorite book store!

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To receive my weekly posts, sign up for my  On the home page, enter your email address. 

Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivation for the Writer! #8

My interview with bestselling author Robyn Carr was so generous  it became a 3 parter. She said this in the context of the post. I couldn’t have said it better so I borrowed it! Thanks, Robyn!

“….you have to be willing to write crap.  You have to write all the time whether it’s any good or not.  You can always delete or revise or rewrite but if you wait until it feels perfect, you’ll never accomplish anything.  You have to fill up pages with words and keep moving forward…”

 

“Any reviewer who expresses rage and loathing for a novel is preposterous. He or she is like a person who has put on full armor and attacked a hot fudge sundae.”  Kurt Vonnegut

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to do.”  Kahlil Gibran

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” Edgar Allan Poe

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               ‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Monday Motivations for the Writer! #7

You know a story has been rattling around in your brain.  TODAY is the day you will find time to sit down and write the first sentence, the first page. But you say, “I can’t get going. I can’t write it. Where do I start?”

Sit down and write an essay about yourself. Write down everything you’ve always wanted to say…but couldn’t or wouldn’t.  
Somewhere inside that essay are the bones (the outline) of your short story, your stage play, or your novel. It may not be even a whole sentence. It may be just a phrase. So look closely, as it may be hiding in plain view. 

Don’t worry about what will follow.  The story will lead you. If you are very lucky, your characters will take over and tell you their story.

‘It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.’ William Faulkner

“Writing is a Tryst with the imagination and a love affair with words.” Unknown

“The reader, the book lover, must meet his own needs without paying too much attention to what his neighbors say those needs should be.” ~ Teddy Roosevelt

Sign up for my blog and receive  my posts weekly! Simple: type your email address in the box on my Home page (top/right). Click on ‘subscribe’.writer

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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To receive my weekly posts, sign up for my  On the home page, enter your email address. 

Watch for more interviews with authors.  November:  Horror writer, Kevin J. Kennedy, December: Marc Cameron, writing for TOM CLANCY

 

A few BOOKS BY TRISHA SUGAREK

Monday Motivations for Writers! #3

Writers! Jump-start your day with more Monday Motivations!

Oh, so you think you will write all day, and beautiful things will happen?  Think again, grasshopper.  If you’re a one-person band like myself and most other indie authors, you will have to wear an editor, publicist, marketing, and publishing hat, to name a few.
It takes hard work and then some more hard work.  But here’s the payoff:  After eight years…yep..you heard me right…of consistent weekly blogging with relevant content, supporting other writers, and interviewing authors so much more famous than I am (well, I’m not famous at all) my posts are on page ONE of Google search, and my books are selling.  This year a traditional publisher picked up my true crime series of books.  Don’t misunderstand; when you get a publisher, DO NOT stop publishing your indie books.  And most important of all: KEEP WRITING!

  “If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust.” Alan Rickman, actor

 

 

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”  John Wayne

“Writing isn’t a calling; it’s a doing.”  T. Sugarek

 

     ‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate, and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Monday Motivations for Writers! #2

2A.girl.write..mouse_1Writers! Jump-start your day with more Monday Motivations!

Build up to writing the great American novel. Maybe that’s what is stopping you…the idea is so daunting. Remember there is no one great American novel.  There are just writers trying to tell great stories.   Start with a short story.  Or a piece of poetry.  I find ‘story-telling’ much less intimidating that way.

 “There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  Ernest Hemingway

“what matters most is how well you walk through the fire”  Charles Bukowski

“I always try to be a learner.” Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer-prize winning writer, Professor UNC, contributing writer for the NY Times. 
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Sign up for my and receive your ‘Monday Motivations‘ each week! Simple: type your email address in the box on my Home page (top/right). Click on ‘subscribe’.writer

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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Want to see all of these (45) in one book? Click here.