C.C.Ballard

I was doing book research and I started out with Sherman’s March, somehow end up in the Georgia Ren Faire page, then canon cameras, and now I’m on how to propagate fruit trees?

I mean. How does that happen?

The other day this random dude at work wrote out a phone number and handed it to me.

Um, thanks but I’m married? I said, jokingly. He was all, Naw man, that’s the number to the White House and when ye call it they’re all like “hello this is the white house.”

Well, I wasn’t about to call the number to find out if his story was true or not but even if it was, I don’t want to be on the White House’s radar, ok? I mean, I’m a writer. My browser history is serious cause for suspicion.

I’m off to write for the next few hours. It’s mostly scary scenes that I have to stick into the spots I left open. Sometimes when I get to certain points I’m just not in the right mind frame to get all psycho and gross, so I have to come back to it. Like right now, when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, and the smell of freshly baked bread is wafting through the house.

Feeling murdery.

bohemian-revolutionary:

ifoundthisandthoughtitwasfunny:

White People Almost Kissing, a book by Nicholas Sparks

This.

And then everyone dies and it’s so *romantic.*

(Source: kayydawn)

The Myth of Writer’s Block

amandaonwriting:

By Amanda Patterson, creator of Writers Write – How to Write a Book

If you write one page a day you will complete a 365-page novel in a year.

You are crippling yourself by not starting to write. If it seems an overwhelming task to write a whole book, start with an opening paragraph, then a page, then a chapter. Your first sentence is the first step to being published. Most people who want to write have the belief in their creative success systematically driven out of them – by the business world, by their family, their ‘friends’ and their life experiences.

If you were told you were going to die tomorrow, would you regret not having written?

These are the most common excuses we hear at Writers Write:

Family: I have children. I’m the family taxi. I have to be there for my husband/wife.

Work: I work long hours. I’m too tired after a day at the office. I have to work overtime so that we can afford a new car / bigger house.

Time: I’m too busy. I’ll do it tomorrow / next month / next year. I can’t write late at night / early in the morning.

General: I’m not inspired. I’m too old/young. I’m too tired/depressed/sick.

Our Favourite: It’s not what you know but who you know in publishing

You can have your book or you can have your excuses. You can’t have both.

All of the above are obviously important but don’t fool yourself, writers write; pretenders to the throne make excuses. The reasons for not writing are laziness and lack of self-discipline.

Do you really want to become a writer?

Writing is lonely. Writing is hard work. Writing is discipline. There is no quick fix and there is no one to applaud or to criticize you. You will be your own boss and you will have to motivate and reward yourself. And after all of this you will face the possibility of rejection – the dedicated writer will not stop here.

Remember: You have permission to write badly. (In your first drafts, of course)

You can have your book or you can have your excuses. You can’t have both.

Here’s a couple of pennies for you.

There is so much advice out there for people who want to write. Too much. If you really want to be a writer, write. It’s the only way you’ll find what works best for you. In the act of writing, you’ll find your voice. You’ll figure it out. Spend more time writing than reading about writing.

E.L. James to publish a guide to writing.

Harvard Graduate Talks to NPR About Writing for Sweet Valley High

I loved SVH when I was little. It wasn’t but a few months ago I blogged about having been reunited with my old books at the Goodwill, and I feel a little closer to my childhood every time I look over at them sitting on my bookshelf. This article gives a little insight to the behind the scenes of how the Wakefield twins and their dramatic teenage lives were shaped by someone living a double life. Ghostwriting is a little bit like fanfiction, don’t you think? Only everything you write becomes canon! Love it.

Got my windows all open on this gorgeous day. I love “winter” in the South. Wednesday is normally my relaxing day but I had a lot of projects to accomplish this week so I’m trying to catch up. I guess I’m starting spring cleaning a little early, but it feels good to be so productive.

Tonight I should be sufficiently weary enough to settle into my desk chair and write those final chapters! Woo hoo!

Getting actual work on my book done.

I’ve had several books in the works for about five years now, two finished in first draft and one (the big one) stuck in a strange sort of limbo between the fourth and fifth drafts. Added to that are a couple of books completely outlined and waiting to be explored.

The Big One is always in the back of my head, though, and I’ve gone back to it again and again, like comfort food. It never feels finished because there is always that one little plot point that didn’t sit right, or that one character who still seemed lost in the world I’d created. Only the last few days I’ve done nothing but think about this story, its potential, and the right path to set these people on.

And I have found it.

There is joy and pain here. Joy to finally understand the complete story, pain because so much needs to be changed. I wonder if I should even try to salvage any words or start over with a blank page. The thought terrifies me, but so does trying to wade through five hundred+ pages to find what can stay and what needs to go. My brain freezes up at the thought and all I want to do is hide in bed watching re-runs of Barney Stinson and Friends. But I can’t. The story must be told and I’ve been chosen.

I only hope I can tell it the right way.