Category Archives: Writing Sunrise

Lessons Learned By A Writer With A Short Attention Span

  By Eleni | June 26, 2012 - 08:03 | , , , ,
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As of June 21, 2012 I completed my first draft of Sunrise, nine days short of my goal. As I reach another milestone in my writing career, I’d like to dedicate this post to everyone who suffers from PTSD and ADHD. The latter I see as a positive because the hyper-focus characteristic that comes with it enables me to finish large projects quickly. I can’t see anything that produces such positive results as being negative.  However, the former can be crippling for me. I only recently discovered that these old feelings and emotions that crop up and get tangled up in present events  are flashbacks. Through the years I’ve dealt with them successfully through mindfulness meditation, chanting and  remaining steadfast on my spiritual journey. It keeps me grounded in the moment and allows me to maintain a focus I’ve never experienced before.  I  accept the events that led to my condition will forever be a part of me, and this acceptance helps with my healing and forgiveness of those who’ve imprinted themselves into my psyche. It’s only through forgiveness that I’ve been able to progress to a place where I love and appreciate the life I’m living.

As a side note, Harmony, a technology used in my novel, Unison, eliminates traumatic emotional memories from the past. The protagonist’s conclusion as to whether or not that’s a good thing is answered in the book and also mirrors my own conclusions.

Now…on to the writing stuff!

THOUGHTS UPON COMPLETION OF WRITING, SUNRISE

Discomfort leads to growth

I always remember that when I decide to take the road most traveled, which for me would’ve been to have an unnamed narrator in the omniscient voice. However, it’s my named narrator that strings the whole story together and brings it to a satisfactory resolution. I focus on that whenever I think about going into the book and taking out all the references that identify the narrator. All in all, Sunrise  has grown on me because of a strong likable cast of characters that came alive because of the specific narrator and her personal views towards them.  Another unexpected surprise for me was that I found that writing in this voice is not unlike first person—except for the fact the voice doing the narrating  isn’t directly involved in the story. I like the level of mystique this adds to the story.

A question I asked myself at the start of this book was:

Could I write a fulfilling story with twelve characters and complete all their arcs in an emotionally satisfying way without writing thousands of pages?

Answer: Yes, and using omniscient narration helped me achieve this in under 80,000 words. After my next edit, which I scheduled in for September, I’m fairly certain the number count will go up a bit. With Unison, it moved up over 25,000 words! I’m fairly certain that won’t be the case with Sunrise as I’ve been editing as I go along, and I don’t forsee many holes that need plugging. As I’m free until July 1st, I’m going to continue to clean up the last remaining chapters.  When I come back to this book, I’ll have an easier time because of the following techniques I’ve improved upon.

Editing as I go along –  In July I’ll begin my edit on Jessie’s Song, and I dread all my visits to Autocrit to see how many times I overused it, that or was. Not to mention all those duplicate words that I failed to notice because I was more interested in getting the story down! It’s emotionally daunting—and draining just thinking about it. With Sunrise it will be a smoother—and faster edit.

Don’t start typing until I picture the complete scene – Before each chapter, I lie down and listen to music or go for a walk to visualize the scene. When I’m away from home, I carry a digital recorder, so I don’t lose an idea.

Channeling a character – This one is a first for me. I channel the characters and have discovered that it’s a great method to reveal character motivations.  After I played it back, I was surprised how my voice changed to mimic the character! I’ve saved them as MP3s and will make them available on this site after Sunrise is released. All these techniques shortened my writing session which is important to someone like me as I have a short attention span.

Run through as many setting and scene alternatives until one screams out “Write me! Write me now!” As I run through the scene, I keep at it, coming up with as many scenarios as possible. When I get to the one that makes me jump up from where I’m sitting and run to my computer, I know I’ve found the right scene, setting or idea.  I won’t write anything down until I get that aha feeling.

Add editing-type columns in my outline – This was another big one for me. I outline my chapters using outline software.  I color code all the different threads, and this helps ensure I have an even balance between them. As I work out of order, I have to take notes to remind myself of what chapters I edited. Making things more complicated is I do different kinds of edits.  I first use WhiteSmoke for grammar checks.  I then run my chapters through Autocrit for redundancies and overused words. Although they help a lot, software can’t replace a personal understanding of grammar, but it does help speed up the editing process. After my first clean-up, I do a Kindle read through using speech to text for flow and tempo.

To keep track of the above, I made four check box columns in my chapter outline. Each time I complete an edit, I check the appropriate box. Kindle gets an extra column because the first read through is of the first draft only. I do another read through after I edit and will sometimes go through a third time if necessary. With Unison I had to do four because of the complex timeline involved. I highly recommend Omni Outliner, which I started using only just recently. Wish I got this one sooner.

Change the sex of the narrator – This works great for distance, especially for a first person narration. Unison is in first person male, so when I did the final read through, I switched it to female and that gave me some additional distance.

Writing has become a lot of fun for me because of the creative ways I find my stories. These methods work especially well for ADHD-type personalities.  I hope some of these tips can be applied to your situation.

I’ll be releasing an Ebook on my writing, editing and producing Sunrise after it’s published. I’ll also include some additional spoilers along with concerns I had with several of the themes I used in this story

Love and light,

Eleni

Let’s Just Go Home And Play Parcheesi!

  By Eleni | May 28, 2012 - 07:55 | ,
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As a writer, I’m always astounded how a comment will strike me in such a way that I’ll want to write about it. While I was trying to find my way to the Kapolei library, I couldn’t remember what street to turn on, and I ended up passing the entrance. I pulled over to the left lane, in front of  the stop light, and my car ended up in a diagonal position with the rear still partially in the right lane. My eldest daughter, Daphne, voiced her displeasure with the car’s position—she’s extremely fussy over the most peculiar things. My youngest, Tiggy, then said to me, “Oh, let’s just go home and play Parcheesi.” Only she didn’t know how to play Parcheesi. She had recently gotten a game set and knew all the games…except for Parcheesi.  Her comment made me laugh because she sounded serious and way older than her seven years.

I knew I had to use Tiggy’s phrase in my book, and when I returned home, I went online and studied the history of Parcheesi. When I learned about its roots in Ancient India, I had  a flash of inspiration, and  Pachisi  is now in my work-in-progress, Sunrise.  I really like how it fits into the story.

All of this clearly demonstrates how inspiration comes when least expected. Keep your ears open to the silliness in life, and you too may find a treasure buried within it.

Update: Tiggy learned to play Parcheesi and won the first game. A fitting reward!

A Lesson About Voice From Donna Summer

  By Eleni | May 19, 2012 - 07:55 | , ,
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The last two manuscripts I wrote were in first person, which was a new point of view for me to write in.  They had their challenges that I may blog about at a later date.  I chose omniscient point of view for my work-in-progress because I’m following several characters, and a single narrator seemed like the ideal choice to tie the individual story threads together.  I  initially planned Sunrise  as a novella—something I could write and get out quickly—but being true to myself I had to go and complicate things.  Having Unison as my guide, I didn’t worry too much as that started off as a screenplay with only two characters, and now it’s a full blown epic with a large cast and three more installments I’ve all ready outlined.  Go figure.  Anyway,  by the time I finished the outline to Sunrise, I could see it was going to be another full length book. I’m currently at 147 pages and haven’t reached the mid-point yet that I suspect will fall somewhere between 160-200 pages. I’m currently forecasting a manuscript of  roughly 400 pages—double-spaced—which makes Sunrise a pretty lean novel in comparison to my work to date.

When I chose the omniscient point of view, I asked myself:  who’s doing the narrating? This was important as I wanted to maintain a consistent voice throughout the narrative. The easiest route would’ve been for me to pick a nameless narrator—which was my first choice. Then I had to go complicate things once again by making the narrator into another character. This didn’t affect my point of view choice because my character isn’t in the story. That’s all I’ll bring up this early in the stage of my writing. Suffice it to say, this voice is challenging me in that I don’t want to pull the reader out of the story. I’m finding there’s a delicate balance between action and the narration.  Too much narration, and you pull the reader out of the story. The same goes with too little because when the narrator finally pops in after a long absence, the reader more than likely forgot he or she existed.  That’s jarring as well.  I love Kindle’s text to speech.  When I hear the narration read to me, it’s easy to hear when it’s over the top.

OMNISCIENCE TAKES A LOT OF BRAVERY TO PULL OFF

Last week I wrote the denouement.  After I’d finished, I realized it’s going to be difficult to pull off.  My first instinct was to change to  a distant third person, but that would’ve meant changing the ending that tied everything together, producing all the expected emotions.  I cried my eyes out when I wrote it—and not because I was depressed. As I freaked out over what to do about the point of view, I realized I wasn’t in my calm space.  Since writing has evolved into a spiritual exercise for me, it’s important I write as free from ego as possible.  If I’m not plugged into the light within me, I take a break, and that’s what I did.

QUESTIONS I ASKED MYSELF POST FREAKOUT

  • Is the ending really the best it can be?   Oh Yessss!  

Then we can move on to the next question...

  • Why don’t I think I can do this?  I’m afraid I’ll come off sounding too pretentious. 
  • Is it because I’m trying to pull off something trendy?    Slock no!
  • Am I good enough a writer to pull this off?  I can finally say yes.  And it took YEARS of bad writing and studying my craft  for me to get to this point, and I STILL never view any of  my work as finished.   Most writers will attest to this one.  Don’t feel  bad if you find yourself answering no.   Just ignore yourself, and  continue  writing and learning.
  • Who the hell do I think I am to even attempt this?  I could write a book on this topic alone!



WRITING IN THE RIGHT SPACE

Since the ending of Sunrise is the best it can be, I was forced to deal with  the typical writer’s insecurity. At times like this, I’m grateful I’ve been on my spiritual path long enough to realize insecurities are driven by the ego. I meditated, calmed myself down and then scolded myself for whining like a baby.  I then reminded myself that every good writer experiences moments of self-doubt  and that writing is a challenge that never ends. I knew that if I expected to continue to evolve as a writer, I couldn’t give in to my fears.  I had a crisis in everything I had written, and once I stepped away from my work, I came back stronger. Using my past successes as a guide, I’m now confident I can do this.  My reward will be having a book I’ll be proud to have written.  Anything less would be a compromise, and if I compromise that would not only leave me unsatisfied but leave the reader unsatisfied as well. They can pick up when a writer rushes through a story or takes the easy way out.  I don’t want to be that type of writer. I want my readers to trust me and know I’ll deliver the best story I’m able.

For me, writing is a humbling experience.  Each book brings with it new trials and seeing it through to the end is my reward.  There aren’t any words that can effectively describe  how it feels when I finish a book, but I call it my metaphoric climbing of Mt. Everest. The journey itself is such a thrill I’m currently journaling my writing of Sunrise  and plan to release it as a free ebook.

 

OWN IT, THEN YOU CONTROL IT

So if you find yourself at a point in your manuscript where you want to shift gears because you don’t think you’re capable of executing your idea…don’t give in to your insecurities and fears. You’ll be selling yourself short and never realize the masterpiece you gave up. Think of this part of your writing journey as a way to hone in on your weaknesses as a writer.  Ask yourself why you think you can’t do this.  Oftentimes it has something to do with a technique you’ve yet to master.  For me, it’s writing in the omniscient voice.  Rather than give up and sacrifice my story, I’m immersing myself in this technique until it feels natural.  I did the same when I wrote in first person.  By the time I finished my first book, I became the character I was narrating—which was  a surreal experience as the main character is a male!  And then I did it again with my second book!

 

LEARNING FROM DONNA SUMMER

I planned on ending this blog with the last paragraph, but serendipity struck while driving my daughters to school.  I tuned in to an old school radio station here in Oahu where the DJ was playing an interview clip of the late great Donna Summer—one of my main influences as a vocalist. Donna mentioned how she adjusted her voice to fit the music, so she wouldn’t have to turn down a song for not being in her style. I’m paraphrasing her here, but it explains why I always marveled over how Donna Summer could change the character of her voice, and it still sounded like her singing.  From I Feel Love and Sunset People to McCarthur Park and Love in Control , you hear a perfect example of her proclamation.

What can we, as writers, take from Ms. Summer’s impeccable wisdom?

Never shy away from a style of writing  because you think it’s not your style. Don’t lose out on an opportunity to expand your horizon as a writer.  Adjust yourself to fit the style, but maintain your own unique voice.  This is how I view my writing in the omniscient point of view.  I have to play by its rules, but I don’t have to give up my voice to make it work.