I Miss Typewriters

I miss writing on typewriters. We had this black typewriter (it’s very similar to the above image) and I would write my school essays and book reports using this manual typewriter. Not to mention that I wrote my literary collection project for my Filipino creative writing class, which got an A!

The typewriter is very noisy, though. Imagine if I wrote my stories using a manual typewriter. Imagine how angry my housemates would be.

You know what I really miss about typewriters? I was forced to finish my stories and it prevented me from getting sucked into over-analyzing plot and characters. I just wrote. Plus there was no Internet to distract me from writing.

When I move to Switzerland to write and edit for the rest of my life, I will get a typewriter so I can get more writing done.

A Distraction Courtesy of Quotes4Writers

Bookworm Trumps Writer?

Now that I’ve reclaimed my bookworm badge – thanks to actual books and Kindle eBooks – I think my writer’s block has gotten worse.

I was writing a short story a few months ago, but I stopped because I ran out of ideas. There wasn’t much conflict and my protagonist was kind of weak. I wrote myself into a corner and I couldn’t figure out how to get out of it, so I abandoned the story. Then I started a story on my Manuscript iTouch app. But I haven’t had much time to write because my fiction-reading gets in the way and life (e.g. bridesmaid stuff, work, Netflix, DVDs, Tumblr, etc.) took over. It’s better than the previous story, though, as it’s about a love triangle and I’m developing the protagonist to be a slightly more kick-butt version of me. I just need to find the time to write it. Perhaps I can write something on the plane ride to Texas? If I don’t get sucked into Richard Castle’s Heat Rises or something, that is. (See?)

And I also need to revisit my Writing.com account. It’s been several months (at least) already!

*Sigh* I think I need to win the Lotto 6/49, so I don’t have to work in order to pay the bills and so I have more time to write.

Blocked… Again!

I haven’t posted anything here (and on The Chrysalis) in a while because… I’ve been suffering from a bad case of writer’s block.

Don’t you hate it when life takes over?

I haven’t finished The Shun List, even after I retooled the problematic section. Should I just abandon it and write something else? Or should I just rewrite the whole thing? (I was thinking of making it a series or something episodic. Will I be able to sustain it? Uhm, probably not!)

I also noticed that, when I took a break from reading novels, the writer’s block started. *Sigh* I guess it means I need to finish two books that I started months ago, eh? Reading Up in the Air by Walter Kirn in the freezing lunchroom at work and Wit’s End by Karen Joy Fowler whenever I’m not watching TV at home should make this winter fun. Hehe.

What’s the most effective writer’s block buster that you use? Do the iPhone apps Writer’s Block Buster and Writer’s Block Assassin work?

 

A Sequel in the Works?

Hmmm… In light of recent events, the idea of a sequel to Frogs & Princes crossed my mind.

Obviously, I can’t tell y’all the recent events. But I don’t recall writing a sequel to any story I wrote. It would be a good thing to try writing a sequel. Who knows? It might lead to a book deal or something. (As if.)

So, how should the sequel fit with the original story? Continue where my protagonist and her love interest left off? Set the sequel at the place and event that my protagonist and her love interest discussed in the original story? Of course, I’ve got to include a fictionalized version of the recent developments. I just got to!

Maybe I should reread Kristin Billerbeck‘s trilogies, the Ashley Stockingdale series (What A Girl Wants, She’s Out of Control, and With This Ring, I’m Confused) and the Spa Girls Collection (She’s All That, A Girl’s Best Friend, and Calm, Cool & Adjusted). Better yet, I can reread The Trophy Wives Club and Back to Life, which is either a sequel or a spin-off to the former. I don’t know if she’s planning to write another Trophy Wives novel, though. (By the way, if you’re a Christian girl and you haven’t read these novels, please borrow them from your local library or buy them from your neighbourhood Christian bookstore.)

I should also reread Meg Cabot‘s Heather Wells Mysteries trilogy (Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 is Not Fat Either, and Big Boned). Or Sheila O’Flanagan‘s books Isobel’s Wedding, He’s Got to Go, and Connections, which includes short stories about the formers’ respective protagonists.

Of course, I’m not planning a trilogy. Although, if the mood and inspiration struck – or if I have any more story to tell about Olivia and Jacob – I may write another one. I’m gonna write this sequel first. After that, I can determine whether Olivia (whose name I obviously got from Fringe‘s protagonist FBI Agent Olivia Dunham) and Jacob (who’s named after LOST‘s Jacob, the Island’s protector) need another short story.

I’ll start planning the sequel to Frogs & Princes after 15:30 tomorrow. Why? Because I can’t concentrate on anything other than my 14:00 appointment! *Clears throat*

Ciao for now!

Three Stories. Yeah.

I did it: I submitted three stories for the 2010 FMC Fiction Prize.

Thank God.

I decided to add another story to the mix, because submitting three stories is a little bit cheaper than submitting just one. Well, USD $2 is still two bucks. So, in addition to Before I Let You Go and Frogs & Princes, I quickly edited Under The Autumn Rain, a story I wrote seven years ago. Then I went on the Flatmancrooked website and paid USD $40 for the three stories via PayPal. Then I copied and pasted the three stories on the submission form under my pen name. I was so relieved to see the “Success!” message after I hit send.

Again, thank You, Lord!

If you’ve read Before I Let You Go on my Writing.com profile – coughgotomyprofilecough – you’d know what it’s about. Frogs & Princes is about a Christian girl torn between a Christian guy with whom she’s in love and a non-Christian guy who’s into her. It’s semi-autobiographical. ‘Nuff said. Anyway, Under The Autumn Rain is about a new Canadian immigrant who’s had a bad day and who wants to give up.

Phew!

Even if I don’t win anything, at least I got to write a new story. And I was able to write and edit with a deadline. See? It’s a win-win situation.

But I do hope I win something. It’d be cool to win even a runner-up prize or consolation prize on the first fiction-writing contest I entered. That’d be really cool.

Ciao for now!

Finally…

Editing is finally done. DONE. D-O-N-E.

Phew!

And, yes, I changed the title to Frogs & Princes. I think it’s a better title than Maybe This Time. Guess who’s the frog and who’s the prince? Hehehehe…

Thank You, Lord!

OK, so I’m gonna rest tonight. When I come home tomorrow, I will submit Before I Let You Go and Frogs & Princes to Flatmancrooked‘s 2010 FMC Fiction Prize.

Ciao for now!

The Deadline is Nigh

Three days and six hours from now, I should have submitted Before I Let You Go and Maybe This Time (working title).

Wow.

I finished editing the former 10 days ago. I’m at the tail-end of editing the latter; I just need to finish polishing the last chapter and I’ll be all done. I hope to finish it all tonight.

Oh, by the way, what do you think of the title Frogs & Princes, as opposed to Maybe This Time? It’s a song by Natasha Bedingfield, and I think it’s near-perfect for the story. Check out the lyrics here.

If I have the time, I can even quickly polish one old story and submit it with the other two. If – and it’s a big fat if – I have the time.

Gotta go back to work. Ciao for now!

One Entry Done, One To Go!

I have finished editing the shorter of the two short stories I’m planning to enter into the 2010 FMC Fiction Prize. Yay!

Oh, did I not mention that before? That I’m thinking of submitting two – or three – stories? Hehe. But, yeah, I am.

Anyway, I finished editing Before I Let You Go today. Actually, I didn’t do much editing – just copy editing and proofreading. I have always been proud of the story, especially the ending. So I only did minor edits and I’m happy with the final product. It was so much easier to edit than Maybe This Time, mainly because the former is shorter (by 3,675 words) and I’m more satisfied with the ending.

So, now that I only have to worry about one story, I can rest for the day and do the major edits for Maybe This Time. I promise that I’ll finish editing it by next weekend. Which means I can submit both stories – or I can throw in another story – before the July 31st deadline.

Ciao for now!

Lessons Learned

Yesterday, I finished the story analysis for Maybe This Time. I based my analysis (as with all other analyses) on the five-step story structure that Elizabeth Lyon described in her book A Writer’s Guide to Fiction.

1. Character with a problem – i.e. the protagonist
2. Complications
3. Crises that reach a climax
4. Resolution of the problem
5. Character learns something about self or life

While working on my story analysis, I had a bit of difficulty listing the lessons that my protagonist learns. So I went back to the book. Without giving a clear definition or description, Ms Lyon gave Little Red Riding Hood (Brothers Grimm’s version, I think) as an example; she said that Little Red Riding Hood learned to listen to her mother (who told her not to stray into the woods at the beginning of the story) and to be careful when talking to strangers. Since her mother warned her about straying into the woods at the beginning, I think it would be safe to assume that her mother had warned her about the dangers of talking to strangers. The problem with Little Red Riding Hood was that she didn’t listen to her mother and didn’t take those warnings to heart (she and all other kids, as well as adults, really). In the end, it’s assumed that she learned from her mistakes. That, I guess, is what Ms Lyon meant in her book.

For my story, I listed two things that my protagonist has always known (i.e. before the story even began) and that she applied to solve the story problem. But should that be the case? The reader may not consider those lessons learned, because my heroine used the knowledge of the lessons to solve her problem. She didn’t learn the lessons per se, just applied them.

Although, I realize now, if I rephrase the lessons, they would work. If I did that, I wouldn’t have to make major changes in the problem resolution section, which I was afraid I might need to do. Phew!

I still need to do a major edit and to find a better title. Although, thanks to Kelly Rowland, I might have one.

Ciao for now.