Birthday Owl

Birthday Owl

Doesn't this just totally rock?!?

This is a banner created by "Feigning Invincible" aka Jessica just for my book. The girl is wickedly talented.

I don't know her personally, she just put an offer out to us NaNo-ites that she'd help make some banners. So I took her up on it, just gave a few details, and this is what she comes up with. I didn't even describe my character all that well, yet there's Tiana almost exactly as I see her some times.

Thanks Jessica, You Rock!!

Six days till NaNo starts.

I think I am ready. I have been planning, jotting down scenes, looking up "elvish" words to use. I hope I am ready. I finally decided I'll will do my WIP, but I am going to start it over from scratch.

The six chapters I already have are going to be scrapped and reworked. I already have some new scene ideas that should be vital to the opening of story. Decided to expand more on the dream scene that sets my story in motion. It isn't just enough to say she had a dream which made her do yada, yada, yada. I need to show more of the dream, it will explain/show more of why things are.

Will I make it to 50,000 words? I honestly don't know. But whatever word count I end up with is more than I have now. If I can just stay focused and on track, I should make it. I can't stand the wait for November 1st though. It's like waiting for christmas. I just want to get started already.

One more thing on Passive Writing

Ok, this is my last (maybe) comment on what most consider a problem.

Passive voice is not a bad thing. If done properly, can be very pleasant to read. If not, well you may as make it a picture book.

I am learning that passive voice is usually connected to writing past tense. Which I think is where my problem began. My story starts off with things that have already happened and are being retold leading up to current events and moving forward. So eventually there will be a shift in past to present tense. I don't know yet if that is allowed in the same story. But we'll see.

As long as you are descriptive in your writing, a passive voice shouldn't be a problem. Describe the emotions of your characters where needed, describe the settings if it's important to the scene. If it's a battle, describe the sounds and actions going on.

Passive voice doesn't have to be boring. It can be just as vivid and exciting as active voice if it's done right.

Happy Writing!

What I learned about Passive Writing

Well for the most part I learned that it is supposed to be tabboo to write in the passive voice. Oh, dear, that could be a problem considering I have 5300+ words written in passive voice.

But I also learned that it is not necessarily a bad thing either. There are authours who wrote novels in the passive voice and they sold. Someone told me Kipling is one such authour.

So what did I come away with? Here's my attempt at an example:

Passive: "The walls were painted green with a large tree in the corner."

Active: "The artist painted her version of a large old tree that encompassed the whole corner, while the surrounding walls bore a bright shade of green."

Now, my story isn't reading like a "Dick and Jane" story. I do use descriptions and dialogue as it comes to mind. I usually end up adding to the scenes as I read through for spelling and grammar. I just happen to use a lot of "was" and "were".

Can't help how the words flow out of my head. I have two choices, well maybe three. A) Edit what I have and change to an active voice; B) Leave it alone and keep it passive, or C) Leave what I have to edit later and try to continue in the active.

What will I do? Probably option B. But hey, it's my story right.

Passive Writing... Is it a bad thing?

Passive writing. What is it? Is it so bad? Is it ok to use for a draft only to be edited later? I have no clue.

My writing buddy says I'm a passive writer. Every week I have to submit something to her for critiquing and she does the same. And every week she says that although my story idea is good and has her interest, my writing is passive. So she proceeds to rip into my piece and point out all of the passive moments.

I can't help how it comes out of my head. She says I write like most of us speak. I don't know. I am not formally trained in novel writing. I don't have a degree in the arts or English. I don't have a degree, period. I would have had an Associates in Liberal Arts and Humanities if we didn't move out of state before I could finish. And than financial difficulties struck, the I had kids and moved a few more times.

Maybe I need to take the time to find out more about this taboo of passive writing before I continue my novel. If it's a terrible thing that will hinder me from being taken as a serious writer or from getting published in the future, I need to purge it from my system before I get to far into my novel.

Hopefully, by my next post, I will have found out the Pros and Cons of passive writing and I can share them.

Until then, Happy Writing!

It's Almost That Time of Year Again

Well, in less than a month now, NaNoWriMO will begin. I plan to participate and have already signed up.

50,000 words seem like a daunting task to a beginning writer like myself. I have no "formal" training. I just have these characters and their story in my head, and they are begging to be written.

I hope to use this month for planning out my novel or at least the rest of it. I have about 6 chapters written, but my crit partner has pointed out that much of it if not all of is passively written. I can't help how I am getting it down on paper. I just need to get it written and then go back and edit what needs editing. If I keep editing and re-editing what I already have, it will never get done.

So I have around 6 chapters and just over 5000 words. Do I scrap them all and start over? Do edit what I have and move forward? Do I want a passive novel? Just some questions I need to answer before November 1st.

Happy Writing!