Taking risks

Let's talk about taking risks. Heck, we're writers, we know all about that, right? Putting your baby out there, for the world to either love or hate (usually, both) is a HUGE risk.

(to prove my point about risks, I just thought about posting a google image of what was supposed to be an ugly baby, but was really very cute, then clicked the link. Yep, it took me to a chat room where "horneygirl2011" asked me to meet up later tonight. with a very explicit photo of her, instead of the baby I expected.) (um, no, I'm not going. ;)

There are tons of risks that happen to us every day, and they should happen to your characters, too. Should they all make their way into your book? No, probably not, but you should know how they'd react if they did. They might act similarly to you - but not if their personality is in direct opposition to yours (which can happen, hey, most of us write fiction, after all).

Think about each following risk as your character would see it and add some more in the comments (I tried for some YA and some adult situations - therefore, I missed a ton):

- You wear your seatbelt *almost* every time. But this time, the guy you really like gets in, starts the car, and takes off before you get your buckle on - and he definitely doesn't have his buckled. What do you do?

- Even though your speedometer reads 61 - and the speed limit is 55 - everyone's passing you. You even caught a guy flipping you off as he passed. Do you increase? Decrease? To what?

- A 16-year-old friend of yours breaks her neck diving into a neighbor's backyard swimming pool. Do you go back to the same pool? If you do, do you dive?

- Everyone says cholesterol makes you fat and causes you to die early. So you quit eating fatty meats. But your dad made bacon special, just for you. Do you eat it and face a craving you're not sure you can quit?

- You're babysitting and your almost-boyfriend (or girlfriend) has his first night off in a week. Do you call to cancel the babysitting gig? Or do you let him/her come over? Or do you say no?

- The news features the death of a local doctor, who took a turn on a motorcycle and died of a head injury. You believe in riding the bike purely - nothing between you and the road. Do you change your mind?

- The party's tomorrow. Do you skip it even though everyone else will be there? Do you go, not drink, and drive your friends home? Do you only have a couple and drive your much-more-drunk friends home? Do you get really drunk and hope somebody else drives you home? Do you get really drunk and sleep wherever "there" is? Do you go, have tons of fun, wake up the next morning in your own bed, and wonder how the heck you got there and how you'll ever find your car?


- Heights are terrifying to you. Even climbing a step ladder makes you sweat where you had no idea you could sweat. Then you're asked to go to the top of a parking structure to watch the local 4th of July fireworks show. You go. People are letting their kids cling to the chain-link that encases it. You can't stop gasping in fear. Even worse, people are sitting on top of the concrete posts, certainly about to plunge to their death - you have to look away. You put your children very safely in the backseat of your car, which is far from the wall, where they protest vehemently until you let them sit on top by the luggage rack, you on one side and your husband on the other, in case they fall five feet to their death. No one else seems to notice the danger. Do you leave? (okay, so maybe this one happened to me a couple days ago. No one got hurt, but I'm still sweating. did I mention my fear of heights?)

Okay, there are way worse ones. Drinking, drugs, smoking, cutting, sex, etc. I know, truly, I do. But these are some every-day risks. How do your characters face them? I think it's something worth exploring!

ANNOUNCING TWO WINNERS

(Besides breakfast and cleaning after our 4th of July party, I also napped and fed little ones lunch...so instead of having the winners for you later this morning...it's later this afternoon.  Sorry!  Better late than never, right?)

:0)

We are happy to announce winners for our second SUMMER GIVEAWAY!

JANINAY, you've won Across The Universe!

JESS, I'll contact you to find out which package you'd like!

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED! 

WE MAY HAVE ONE MORE GIVEAWAY LATER THIS SUMMER IN HONOR OF OUR ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY!  IF YOU ENTERED FOR THE FIRST TWO GIVEAWAYS, THEN YOU'RE ALREADY ENTERED FOR THAT ONE! 

Congrats to our winners!

Book Winner(s) Will Be Announced Later This Morning

Sorry everyone!  I was up late hosting a fourth of July party and didn't get a chance yet to pick the second giveaway winners!

As soon as breakfast is served and my house is recleaned I will be back with random.org's pick(s)!

See you soon!

christy

four discussion-worthy items

1.  Just out of curiosity, what's your fave classic novel?  Why? 

2. Here's some of my (christy's)  latest 'kindle clippings':

Write Great Fiction-Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell

"It's crucial to understand the difference between an initial disturbance...and the first doorway of no return...."

"...the second doorway of no return must send the Lead hurtling toward the knockout ending."

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

"I've no use for talking, would just as soon store paperclips in my mouth."

"I glance up.  They're still peering at me, a tall duet of sorrow and concern."

"Her roses burst with more color than a year of sunsets."

"It's as if someone vaccuumed up the horizon while we were looking the other way."

3.  Bell suggests filling in the blanks to help prepare to write a novel.  Now, two of my novels are more than well on their way, but I'm doing it anyways because, well, they still need mega help.  I could do this in the privacy of my own word document, but instead I'm going to treat torture you do this publicly...just because. 

Rules for this.  DON'T THINK AHEAD.  Fill in the blanks with whatever comes to mind without pause, reflection, self-doubt or intense concentration.

"When readers read my novels, I want them to feel satisfied at the end.  That's because to me, novels are  a way to feel satisfied about a life that can sometimes be unsatisfying.

(manuscript #1)

My lead is a teenage girl.

Her objective is to get into her great-grandmother's forbidden journal.

She is confronted by an ancestor of her great-grandmother's enemy who opposes her because she is a threat to decades of safety from the Transporter Council.

The ending will be a knockout when my lead learns the truth and escapes a fiery forest, set by the antagonist, to set the record straight with the council.

4. You're (also) Invited to My PLOT PARTY (whether you want to be or not.  starts now and ends when you stop reading this post.  join in at any time!  the more the merrier.)

erica and I got the Plot Party idea from the Writer's Institute conference we attended in Madision, WI this past April.  you're supposed to have friends over to actually have a real party to do this with each other, to you know, brainstorm and provide feedback and, well, help each other, but you guys are the only writers i know...so I'm having it with you instead.... (skype plot party anyone???)   :0)

this will have to do.

(manuscript #2)

Goal (what he/she wants)  She wants her mom to leave her alone, her friends to accept her, and to move back to the island where her dad still lives

Motivation (why does he/she want that)  she wants things to go back to the way things were before her parents split up

Conflict she meets girls who seem nice and becomes friends with them, much to the dismay of her old "friends", her old "friends" make it look like she took pictures of her new friends and posted them on a social website, she starts to like a guy she used to despise even after going out with the guy she always wanted

Greatest fear letting go of her life from before, having nobody-- even if that means hanging out with girls who treat her terribly

What he/she does to avoid fear-- gets upset with her parents who are moving on/dating, holds on to the guy she doesn't really like after having a fight with the guy she does, shuts down her social internet site and posts the truth on her "friend's" site

Antagonist-three snotty girls

Reflection/mentor (who he/she goes to to talk things over)  the boy whose locker neighbors hers

UGH. that's a rough idea, I guess.  I put little to no thought into it, but it's the nitty gritty of it so far.  I have no ending, and this didn't help me get there. 

How will I get her from how she's avoiding her problems...to a solution?  I have no ending for this novel.  In looking up at what I did from Bell's novel, I see that after the big confrontation, there will be a KNOCKOUT ending.   I think that's where I'm at.

So. If my lead gets suspended along with snotty girl number 1.  they'll have some time to have their BIG confrontation and a) duke it out b) decide who the true culprits behind the pictures really were...then they can shake hands and come to terms with how they've grown apart, but realize they can respect each other and work together to clear their names and get her friends back.  okay...and the romance stuff I know what I want to do with...hoping it's not too cliche of an ending...ooh but there's one more issue that I'm adding in...and will just have to see how that plays out.  I may be back with more Plot Party catastrophes for you if I can't do it on my own.  THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!  This was definitely worth it.  GREAT PLOT PARTY EVERYONE!  WE SHOULD DO THIS AGAIN SOON!

What did you do yesterday?

I (erica) have a plan to get done with my WIP by the end of July. I've been plotting and note-taking and writing this week to get my mojo back and put those important words to paper (er, laptop).

I also decided that once in awhile, you have to just go with what your gut (and kids) tells you to do. Sometimes that includes these things, all of which we did yesterday:

We slipped and slided.

(although I could've sworn these things were bigger when I was a kid)

We weeded

(yeah, I know we didn't get them all. But it's a big flippin' garden)

We played at the park

(this is actually part of the school playground. I worked, the kids played. But it still counts)

We swam at the beach

(the kids swam while I read on my Kindle. and I'm hiding behind the trees because it's really awkward to take pictures of strangers at the beach)

We sat in the shade on our front porch.

(yes, this is the view from my front porch. it's okay to be jealous, I mean not everyone has a septic system in the middle of their front yard. :)

Then, we napped.

(yes, my 5-year-old naps with a machine gun. you know, in case of the zombie apocalypse)

I wrote absolutely zero words. And I don't feel one tiny bit bad about it. How about you? Done anything fun lately?