tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84622000082656400582024-03-13T16:51:36.535-05:00C. L. KayImaginative Writer With An Offbeat SpiritC. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-55492254463223262362015-06-29T13:36:00.001-05:002015-06-29T13:37:28.859-05:00Why You Should Try NaNoWriMo <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QnO4a4Xu7WQ/VZGE999oD4I/AAAAAAAAAZI/oDNVeMxPV3k/s1600/Camp-Participant-2015-Web-Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Camp NaNoWriMo Banner 2015" border="0" height="118" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QnO4a4Xu7WQ/VZGE999oD4I/AAAAAAAAAZI/oDNVeMxPV3k/s320/Camp-Participant-2015-Web-Banner.jpg" title="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Camp NaNoWriMo Banner 2015" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another July, another NaNoWriMo.<br />
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For those new to the event,<a href="http://nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank"> National Novel Writing Month</a> (NaNoWriMo for short) is a call-to-action for authors to pen a 50,000 word novel in just 30 (or 31) days. What began as an annual November event soon morphed into a biyearly event with the version of <a href="http://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">"Camp NaNoWriMo"</a> for the summer. Camp was so successful they broke it up into two events; one in April and the other July.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Yth_ji2M4g/VZGPhm8Rj6I/AAAAAAAAAZY/O0NWzkB6raU/s1600/CLK%2BBreak%2BBoundaries%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Break Boundaries Blog Graphic" border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6Yth_ji2M4g/VZGPhm8Rj6I/AAAAAAAAAZY/O0NWzkB6raU/s400/CLK%2BBreak%2BBoundaries%2B%25281%2529.png" title="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Break Boundaries Blog Graphic #motivation #inspiration #shootingstar #cosmos" width="266" /></a>I wrote extensively about my <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/12/evolution-or-tales-of-first-time-wrimo.html" target="_blank">first experience</a> with NaNoWriMo. It was an unexpected journey that ushered me from uncertain fledgling into the realm of serious writers. I didn't know just how far I could go until I used the event to challenge my boundaries. It gave me the tools I needed to <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/05/creature-staring-back-at-me.html" target="_blank">silence my goblin</a> and helped me gain trust in my <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/11/trust_6866.html" target="_blank">writing process</a>.<br />
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What makes this year's Camp so exciting is the ability to set your own word count goal. Gone are my days of hanging my head in shame when I can't complete 50,000 words. I've attempted the November event three times and Camp three times previously. I only "won" the first time I tried in 2011. I've set next month's goal at 25,000 while I work on building a fantasy short story collection. I feel confident that I can attain this while balancing my work and parenting obligations.<br />
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I hope you'll join me in July's challenge. If you're still not sure if NaNo is for you or if you think 50,000 words sounds completely insane (which it does), maybe my <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/08/well-ive-done-itagain_1.html" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo Survival Guide</a> will sway you. If I can to do it, so can you!<br />
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/06/why-you-should-try-nanowrimo.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-40959927014022128452015-06-01T14:00:00.000-05:002015-06-01T14:03:05.041-05:00New WebsiteAfter a few months of designing and transferring my domain, my website is finally live!<br />
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<a href="http://www.clkaywriter.com/">http://www.clkaywriter.com</a><br />
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The site is a place for me to bring together all of my work in one place. There are links to my stories, blog updates, art for sale, shareable graphics, and more! The site will continue to evolve as I do so expect regular changes and tweaks!<br />
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If you've been keeping up with my antics you'll know this signals a huge leap for me. Everyday the <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/05/creature-staring-back-at-me.html" target="_blank">goblin </a>is quieter and I'm more open to sharing my gifts with the world.<br />
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I hope you'll visit soon.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSdboR9CQb0/VWyrKGCpELI/AAAAAAAAAU0/uVOaEFWyX50/s1600/C.%2BL.%2BKay%2BWebsite%2BGraphic%2B6-1-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Website Graphic" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSdboR9CQb0/VWyrKGCpELI/AAAAAAAAAU0/uVOaEFWyX50/s640/C.%2BL.%2BKay%2BWebsite%2BGraphic%2B6-1-15.png" title="www.clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Website Graphic" width="426" /></a></div>
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/06/new-website.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-41417279596732184062015-05-24T21:32:00.004-05:002015-06-01T14:00:40.008-05:00New Story: Aloi Who Learned To Fly<span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I need some <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-taking-break-is-necessary.html" target="_blank">time away</a> from my novel in progress, I decided to turn my eye on some stories I've had on the back burner. One that screamed at me the loudest is a young adult fantasy short story collection. I figured it would allow an opportunity to work on something fun and stress-free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Elementia is a continent home to four countries. The cultures and people are defined by their varied landscapes--each ruled by one of the four elements. I begin my journey in the land of earth, Grovenglen. My goal over the next few months is to post new parts of the story on <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/02/sharing-stories.html" target="_blank">Wattpad</a>. I'll add more each week as I edit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's the teaser:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">"It was nearly one hundred generations since the
Faeryfolk came to Elementia and settled in Grovenglen. The orators spoke of the
days when they could flap their wings and lift themselves into the treetops
rather than climb rope ladders. That ability, or gift, as the Elders called it,
died off after they settled. The trees were so abundant that Faeries only
needed to leap from branch to branch. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Aloi was just like every other Faery
child--content with tending to the family garden, trading with the mushroom gnomes,
or floating in the Mirrored Pools. It wasn't until her junior brother Mick was
caught in a high tree that Aloi discovered she wasn't at all like the other
children. Can she keep her secret and avoid being sent to live with the
Elders--or worse--banished from Grovenglen altogether?"</span><br />
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As always, Wattpad is FREE TO ALL. Just click the link, sign up, and read!---> <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/40635483-aloi-who-learned-to-fly" target="_blank">Click here to read</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/40635483-aloi-who-learned-to-fly" target="_blank"><img alt="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Aloi Who Learned To Fly Cover Art" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cOQzKs2xicM/VWKHGOHmV5I/AAAAAAAAAUA/m-tKyskLlJc/s640/Aloi%2BWho%2BLearned%2BTo%2BFly%2BCover.jpg" title="clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | Aloi Who Learned To Fly Cover Art" width="400" /></a></div>
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C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-71161298309078682192015-05-13T12:49:00.000-05:002015-05-13T12:53:25.771-05:00Why Taking a Break is NecessaryIt is a fact that acclaimed American writer <a href="http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/" target="_blank">Mark Twain</a> took a long time to write books. Over 400 pages into Tom Sawyer he felt the manuscript was feeling contrived. He put it away for two whole years before touching it again to allow his subconscious to refill.<br />
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This is not to say that I am in the same league with Twain or that my work is on par with Tom Sawyer. But I do know wisdom when I hear it. Sometimes you have to look up instead of look within. You need to take a break from your work so that you can come back to it with a fresh eye and a clear mind. It is part of the <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/02/process.html" target="_blank">process</a>. </div>
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As much as I believe in my novel in progress, The Bloodsong Swords, I know that by pushing it forward now, I'll be doing the story and myself a disservice. In the mean time I've been doing a lot of <a href="http://dreamwingsart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">painting</a> and focusing on my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/dreamwingsart" target="_blank">Etsy </a>store. </div>
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During this break from writing, I find my mind wandering to other stories and characters that I have in progress. I will likely end up working on those since that where the fire is burning hottest. I know it is better to go with the flow than go against the grain where the muse is concerned.<br />
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For now, I'm going to keep looking up.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl4jWrv9VOg/VVOM6JNUN7I/AAAAAAAAARw/psNcGvfGi0U/s1600/CLKayWriter%2BLook%2BUp%2BPin%2B5-13-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="www.clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | "Sometimes you have to look up instead of look within." --CLK" border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl4jWrv9VOg/VVOM6JNUN7I/AAAAAAAAARw/psNcGvfGi0U/s640/CLKayWriter%2BLook%2BUp%2BPin%2B5-13-15.png" title="www.clkaywriter.com | C. L. Kay | "Sometimes you have to look up instead of look within." --CLK" width="426" /></a></div>
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/05/why-taking-break-is-necessary.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="true" data-share="true"></div>C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-9317071951318997432015-04-06T16:57:00.000-05:002015-05-24T21:37:47.155-05:00StalemateAs you may know, a revised draft of my primary novel-in-progress was read and reviewed by a group of trusted <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/02/process.html" target="_blank">beta-readers</a>. While all agree that the story concept is good and the action engaging, there is a certain lack of empathy toward some of the characters. Particularly toward an individual who is essential to the story's conclusion.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IG7-mujdSNw/VSL_l2rDjII/AAAAAAAAAMo/Ja52ncUu_4w/s1600/Don't%2Blose%2Bmagic%2B4-6-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Don't Over Edit Blog Graphic" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IG7-mujdSNw/VSL_l2rDjII/AAAAAAAAAMo/Ja52ncUu_4w/s1600/Don't%2Blose%2Bmagic%2B4-6-15.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Don't Over Edit Blog Graphic" width="266" /></a></div>
I couldn't help but wonder how characters that I'm so invested in and in love with have come across unlikable on the page. Luckily, one of my readers tackled both drafts of this story. She pointed out that I edited the heart out of my novel. It lost its magic. I cut and trimmed so much of what I assumed were extraneous details that I left my characters naked. They lacked critical back story, motivations, and reasoning in the second draft.<br />
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So I find myself in a stalemate. My creative/receptive side is in a proverbial stare down with my logical/critical side. It is obvious now that this tale is bigger than what my two planned novels can handle. I am going to continue to work on the conclusion and reanalyze the project as a whole upon completion. Perhaps it is a trilogy after all--as much as the cliche irks me.<br />
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It is difficult to quell the <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/05/creature-staring-back-at-me.html" target="_blank">inner goblin</a> after receiving constructive criticism. Especially since this revelation means I will again have to push back my publication date. So in the mean time I'm working on a different story as well as <a href="http://dreamwingsart.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">painting</a>. I think it is wise to step away from what is vexing me and refill my subconscious.<br />
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C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-15735515175582413492015-03-23T10:19:00.000-05:002015-05-24T21:38:22.188-05:00The Importance of Being YourselfMany people adhere to the idea that fitting in is better than standing out. I was one of them. I suppressed all of my creative inclinations so that I might be accepted by those around me who didn't hear the drum beat I did. I actually hung out with people who dimmed my inner light in the hopes that perhaps it would eventually die and I could be just like everyone else and no longer the butt of jokes, the weird one, the bitch.<br />
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I've been told I had my head in the clouds. I've been told I act like a child simply because I haven't allowed life to kill my <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-all-inside.html" target="_blank">imagination</a>. I've been told I'm uncool, uptight, different. You name it.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ob5_RRDBcA/VRAtnqqgL-I/AAAAAAAAAMA/8hOMMw8XOMk/s1600/Head%2Bin%2BClouds%2B3-23-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3Ob5_RRDBcA/VRAtnqqgL-I/AAAAAAAAAMA/8hOMMw8XOMk/s1600/Head%2Bin%2BClouds%2B3-23-15.png" width="320" /></a>Through it all, my inner fire remained (some days burning brighter than others) until one day I let it warm me instead of trying to extinguish it. Little by little, I kindled the flame until it burned bright. The past five years have been about shedding skins, evolving, being myself. I've become a <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-goes-on.html" target="_blank">mother</a>, a <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-end.html" target="_blank">novelist</a>, and soon a self-published novelist. I've removed obstacles to my success be it <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/sacrifice.html" target="_blank">people</a>, places, or things. I'm still stoking the flames but am now comfortable in my own skin, proud of my ideas, thrilled with what it will bring in the future.<br />
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Last night I finalized the cover design for my debut e-book, the manuscript is nearly ready for a professional copy edit, and I'm ready to crack a bottle of champagne. None of this would be possible if I'd listened to anything other than my inner wisdom, my creative flame. I've gained infinitely more than I lost just by being myself.<br />
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C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-23614207102364899732015-03-08T12:47:00.000-05:002015-05-24T21:39:23.671-05:00New Story: The Man With The Robot WifeI posted a new short story on <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2015/02/sharing-stories.html" target="_blank">Wattpad</a> today. This is one that has gone through four drafts and three different endings. It explores psychological pain, loneliness, friendship, and the impact of technology on every-day life.<br />
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Here's the teaser:<br />
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"Gage Barman, a hermit and neighborhood curiosity, owns a junk shop in a crumbling building located on the corner of a busy urban intersection. In an era where electronics are inexpensive enough to use and repurchase months later and Modified Biological Organisms are commonplace, customers to his shop are a rare occurrence. But on New Year's Eve, 2049, a friendly young police officer and M-Bo, Ely Lonnam, begins making regular purchases. Will Gage befriend his new customer despite his appearance or is he destined to continue his reclusive phobic ways?"<br />
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If this sounds like something you are interested in, you can read the story <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/34497994-the-man-with-the-robot-wife" target="_blank">here</a>. Votes and comments are always welcome and support my efforts for exposure. Enjoy! And remember, reading stories on Wattpad is FREE to all.<br />
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<a href="http://www.wattpad.com/story/34497994-the-man-with-the-robot-wife" target="_blank"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay The Man with the Robot Wife Book Cover" border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j871oamACmU/VRRPCSygAJI/AAAAAAAAAMU/U0skyRI5OVU/s1600/Robot%2BWife%2BCover.jpg" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay The Man with the Robot Wife Book Cover" width="400" /></a></div>
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C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-59708386894543313362015-03-02T16:49:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:03:24.383-05:00The InternetAs you can see, I've been diligently cleaning house and redecorating this blog. I've also been designing an official website and Pinterest page that I plan to launch in the near future. After all of that work plus tweaking profiles on five different social networks I couldn't help but ask myself: Why do all of this?<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JTGT-nin7JY/VQDCv-iJlkI/AAAAAAAAAKI/95pgc2mUdbY/s1600/My%2BGoal%2BQuote.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="a quote floating over a stack of blue books on wood background" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JTGT-nin7JY/VQDCv-iJlkI/AAAAAAAAAKI/95pgc2mUdbY/s1600/My%2BGoal%2BQuote.png" height="268" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay My Goal Quote Blog Graphic" width="320" /></a>When chatters jokingly call the internet "the interwebs," I think they are actually hitting on a clearer version of the truth. A net is typically orderly and sequenced. A web is artful, complex, and circuitous. It takes positioning yourself into every level of the internet--from social networks to blogs to official sites--to ensure that you have the widest reach possible. Every action links to every other action either directly or indirectly. This can potentially lead your product, brand, or thoughts to every corner of the globe with an internet connection.<br />
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The answer to my question: YOU. My goal is to connect and share my stories with as many people as possible. I'm willing to take all the necessary steps to make that happen.<br />
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See you around the web!<br />
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C. L. Kayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07357489574231057613noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-87487720968657435682015-02-25T12:27:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:21:24.184-05:00How Sharing Stories Can Help You ConnectAs an artist, I always tend to be my harshest critic, my biggest bully. No story is good enough. No turn of phrase impactful enough. No word just right. It has taken me quite a few years to feel confident enough to share work. I recently joined the fold on <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/signup">Wattpad</a>--a story sharing site hosting a spectrum of tales from tween fan faction to highly renowned authors like<a href="http://www.paulocoelho.com/"> Paulo Coelho</a>.<br />
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Wattpad is fun. It is first and foremost a community of story lovers; readers and writers alike. You can post short or long stories, serials that you update weekly, or novel-length work. There are groups to join and loads of inspiring and fun stories to discover. You can "vote" on any work simply by clicking the star icon on the page to show you liked it. You can also comment on any section of work and converse with the authors. All in all, it is a great platform to connect with an audience.<br />
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I invite you all to join in. <a href="http://www.wattpad.com/user/C_L_KAY"> Read my work</a>. Post your own work. Or simply connect with others who love stories as much as you do. Hope to see you there!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JI3WW8M5-i4/VO4RwSVazOI/AAAAAAAAAQI/Ry8PmzyEwS4/s1600/Wattpad%2BAddress%2B2-25-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay audience beginning writer beginnings challenges choices craft destiny ebook ebooks editing facebook fantasy fiction genre inspiratoin instagram magical realism rewriting science fiction social media twitter wattpad welcome writing work" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JI3WW8M5-i4/VO4RwSVazOI/AAAAAAAAAQI/Ry8PmzyEwS4/s1600/Wattpad%2BAddress%2B2-25-15.png" height="268" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Wattpad Orange Logo Profile Address" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-66094165090787994732015-02-08T11:01:00.001-06:002015-03-20T10:01:40.524-05:00Why You Shouldn't Fear The ProcessIt has been nearly a year since my last post and the
completion of my novel. Through careful editing, tweaking characters, and a lot
of cutting, my shitty first draft has transformed into an exciting tale with
compelling characters. At least in my humble opinion.<br />
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The manuscript is now in the hands of a select few
"beta-readers" who will collectively provide me with my first taste
of scrutiny. As long as I've been writing, I've never been this excited about a
piece of work or this confident in my creation. Will my readers' reactions meet
my expectations? Or have I been so completely wrapped up in my own mind that I
can't see the forest for the trees?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
will soon find out.<br />
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I thought this part of the process would be easy. The work
is complete. It is out of my hands. Instead, I find myself anxious and worried
which is no way to live. To combat my discomfort I've taken to channeling it
into new and old projects. I currently have a slew of unfinished or unpolished
stories. I am a chronic "starter." As it stands, I have three
incomplete short stories, three incomplete novellas, and five incomplete novels
that are part of the same series. To put it bluntly, I have plenty of ideas and
very little discipline. That is all beginning to change.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Process. The writing lifestyle is all one big process. There
isn't a definitive line between published and unpublished. There isn't a box I
can check off that shows I've succeeded. You work, you research, you dream, you
pour your heart onto the page. Yes, there are beginnings and endings, but
really, it is just the ebb and flow of creativity.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The one thing I have learned through this process, as
hundreds of other writers have stated before me and will long after me, is you
have to write. Don't judge yourself too harshly. Choose work that you're
passionate about and see it through to the end.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I'll leave you with this quote from the legendary Andy
Warhol:<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pAtqo89DsUo/VPTv5woj4FI/AAAAAAAAAB4/LHDT_o-VXV4/s1600/Andy%2BWarhol%2BQuote%2B2-8-15.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay imaginative writer offbeat spirit challenges craft dreams editing fiction drafts process rewriting writing publishing kindle ebook book facebook twitter instagram pinterest wattpad via Canva" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pAtqo89DsUo/VPTv5woj4FI/AAAAAAAAAB4/LHDT_o-VXV4/s1600/Andy%2BWarhol%2BQuote%2B2-8-15.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Making Art Quote by Andy Warhol Coffee Notebook Pen" width="265" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-2212985536096627502014-03-03T16:16:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:26:18.142-05:00The End<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Fifteen years after a horrifying dream left its imprint on
my psyche, 9 years after I used that dream for a short story assignment in
college, and 4 years after my attempts to edit that story ballooned into a
novel of proportions beyond my skill set, I have completed the first draft of
<em>The Bloodsong Swords</em>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
It is gloriously flawed and virtually unreadable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is wrought with redundancies, with
instances told rather than shown, with cliché turns of phrase, and info
dumps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But within that are magical moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Characters with yearning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unique settings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a story that wants, indeed demands, to be told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
My goal is to weed out all of the mundane and amateur and
present to the world a version of this story worth telling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel obligated to do justice to the people
and places that have lived in my unconscious mind for all these years. There is
a lot of work left to do and I will admit that I am dreading the mountain of rewrites. There are points of view to eliminate, scene
after scene in need of fresh envisioning, an entire restructuring.</div>
<br />
Typing "The End" is only the beginning. I am up to the task even if I do feel like I'm in over my head. I've come to enjoy the <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/11/trust_6866.html" target="_blank">writing process </a>that once terrified and frustrated me. I can finally call myself a novelist. Up next: published novelist.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cnsQxcg2DT4/VP3-LtDiAGI/AAAAAAAAAJo/TI8ZyBA_ar8/s1600/The%2BEnd%2B3-3-14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cnsQxcg2DT4/VP3-LtDiAGI/AAAAAAAAAJo/TI8ZyBA_ar8/s1600/The%2BEnd%2B3-3-14.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-5815286788893465892013-07-27T12:06:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:27:38.384-05:00Still In The Game<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hello, readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, it has been quite a long time
since I posted an update.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't
worry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am still in the game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I'm more motivated now than I have
ever been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave birth to a beautiful
baby boy in January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My focus has been
dedicated to my brand new family and my new identity as a mother.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Becoming a parent
completely altered my perception.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Things that once mattered to me have now become nothing and things that
once were nothing now mean the world.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caring for a brand new human being that relies on me for just about every
single need has really put life into perspective.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ns1nVm4xltY/VP35b-HZL5I/AAAAAAAAAJc/T-1QnauC9_o/s1600/Should%2BYou%2BBe%2BWriting%2B7-27-13.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ns1nVm4xltY/VP35b-HZL5I/AAAAAAAAAJc/T-1QnauC9_o/s1600/Should%2BYou%2BBe%2BWriting%2B7-27-13.png" height="268" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Should You Be Writing Ink Pen and Text Blog Graphic" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">My family comes
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My writing comes second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything else is obligatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've cut out people, places, and things that
don't jive with my current priorities and energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to be the best woman I can be as a role model to my
son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> T</span>his includes following through on
my passion for story-telling and becoming as successful as my talents merit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am currently
working on two novels and a short story that I am entering into a genre contest
this autumn.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I recently attended a
90-minute seminar on creating an e-book.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have plans to build a website. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, this
blog falls to the wayside quite easily.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since I don't yet have anything to offer besides my personal insights,
it doesn't seem quite as urgent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I plan
to post some free stories very soon.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
will likely be revamping more of the design of this virtual space in the very
near future.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is all very
exciting!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is a lot to do and I
have the greatest motivation that life can provide--a son who has already
developed a fun and dynamic personality that I love beyond measure.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-15336994933666059252012-11-01T13:15:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:28:56.759-05:00Trust The ProcessI recently had a lovely conversation with a writing pal of mine about the genesis of stories and how they evolve over time. We agreed that most, if not all stories, begin as simply as tiny kernels of information or emotion. A snippet of a dream, a character's face, an emotional theme, a scent. I decided to look back at my original short story drafts for what has become The Bloodsong Swords. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4vMAQcgumr4/VP3osCiTZQI/AAAAAAAAAJM/_IxMj0dh-BM/s1600/Trust%2Bthe%2BProcess%2B11-1-12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Trust the Process text on wood background blog graphic" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4vMAQcgumr4/VP3osCiTZQI/AAAAAAAAAJM/_IxMj0dh-BM/s1600/Trust%2Bthe%2BProcess%2B11-1-12.png" height="320" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Trust the Process text on wood background blog graphic" width="320" /></a>I wrote the original draft in my first fiction writing class back in 2005. It was the telling of a dream that I had six years earlier. This dream was so unusually vivid, emotionally intense, and completely terrifying that I remembered every detail. A few years after graduation I resolved to focus on my passion for creating fiction and dug up some old short stories that I could edit and submit. One of them was this particular original draft which I entitled "Thirst."<br />
<br />
I began my rewrites by fleshing out the formless parts and trimming down the ones full of fluff. One passage describes people climbing out of a limousine one by one until there are almost a dozen standing around the vehicle. I only had three of these people physically defined and only a basic idea of their significance and depth. I asked myself a simple question, "who are these people?" Just like that, an entirely new world, previously unimagined, emerged and absorbed me. I suddenly had more material than necessary for a short story. I had more material than necessary for a single novel! I never intended "Thirst" to be a novel but after that day it demanded to be written. Most of the specific details that subsequently developed arrived after I'd written half of the novel during last year's National Novel Writing Month.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLWq0lCFP9k/UJK7lJNTu_I/AAAAAAAAAG4/-p-XBaTabkw/s1600/NaNo+2012-180x180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kLWq0lCFP9k/UJK7lJNTu_I/AAAAAAAAAG4/-p-XBaTabkw/s1600/NaNo+2012-180x180.jpg" title="NaNoWriMo 2012 Logo" /></a>Here we are on the first day of November and another NaNoWriMo. I'm still weaving through the various interconnected threads of the same story. The lesson for me is to trust in the creative process. Trust that you have the skill it takes to complete your novel. Trust that your characters know who they are and will not lead you stray. Trust that your vision will coalesce into a readable draft. It may feel awkward or strange or the quality poor but there's a lot of value in what you learn by simply <em>doing</em>. However, I'm also an advocate of having some sort of outline of events, a road map of sorts, however vague. For me it all works best having a balance between these two philosophies and certainly neither is right or wrong, simply different strategies to the same end. <br />
<br />
<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/11/trust_6866.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-22812075038534358642012-10-08T16:10:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:30:46.221-05:00Why I Write<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">It was proposed in my<a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/writers-group.html" target="_blank"> writers group</a> that we begin some fun
extracurricular activities to help motivate our work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question was asked, “Why do you write?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took me aback momentarily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a silly question, I thought, but was
stimulated into deep contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
short answer is that I write because I must.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is an undeniable yearning inside me to tell stories and so I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, it was not quite so easy to fully
embrace my calling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">My journey to this place where I, after all of these laboring
years, finally feel comfortable calling myself a writer and desiring to make
money solely by creating works of fiction has been tremendously long, winding,
and often confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kind of like the
previous sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.ipandabook.com/images/products/DrSeuss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.ipandabook.com/images/products/DrSeuss.jpg" height="200" title="Dr. Seuss Book Collection" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">My fondest early childhood memories include reading in bed with
my mother. I lay swallowed up under the
adult sized blankets with a stack of Dr. Seuss books as my mom embraced an
Agatha Christie mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those fond
memories also include my father telling me absurdist bedtime stories where the
characters were creatures that did nothing except be exceptionally silly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better yet, late Sunday mornings when I was
(finally!) allowed to wake my dad up, I would crawl into bed with him while he
spun tales of animals who would never coexist on earth having an
adventure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine a giraffe and a
penguin going to the candy store together—those were the best of times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I will provide some context by saying that he was and still is a
blue-collar warehouse worker and my mother a housewife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t grow up in a house of artists or
writers or film makers but I <i>was</i> reared in an environment where
imagination was celebrated and encouraged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">My language arts skills were nurtured further in public schools
where I was years ahead of my peers in reading and writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even had the honor of reading a copy of <i>The
Tortoise and the Hare</i> on stage at my kindergarten graduation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In third grade, I had a poem about a snowman
submitted by my teacher and printed in the local newspaper (the clipping still
lives between the thin plastic sheet and sticky back of a photo album in my
parents’ house).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In later years, we
were assigned to write stories that would be shared with the younger grades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These works of fiction were even illustrated
by us, laminated, and spiral bound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">In fifth grade, I wrote about two neighboring dandelions that
fall in love and in sixth grade about a skateboarding ten-year-old boy who
plummets down a sewer and ends up in the land of the Leprechauns where he is
charged by the Leprechaun King to find his lost daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Steal these ideas if you like—Just remember
they were written by a ten and eleven year old girl, you horrible person, you.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">In eighth grade I wrote an<a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-all-inside.html" target="_blank"> autobiography</a> as a final project for
English class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the section where we
project what our future will be like I wrote that I wanted to be an English
teacher or a writer.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">Then came high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh that glorious period of endless mischief, reckless abandon, and
insane freedoms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those four years
transformed me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By graduation I had my
heart and mind set on becoming a criminal profiler just like Clarice Starling
in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Silence-Lambs-Thomas-Harris/dp/0312195265/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349730029&sr=1-1&keywords=silence+of+the+lambs" target="_blank">Silence of the Lambs</a> </i>(which I read numerous times the summer between
senior year of high school and freshman year of college). After one semester of criminal justice, I
reckoned that lifelong exposure to death and the criminal psyche would be too
damaging to my spirit and so fell back upon my original passion, stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I changed my major to English and my minor to Creative Writing
since it was not offered as a major.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This plan also flopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t
want to spend the bulk of my time critically analyzing <i>old</i> pieces of writing
as English majors do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to spend
my time writing <i>new </i>pieces of fiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I came to the conclusion that I should quit school and rethink life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, coincidentally, is an extremely easy
decision to make at age 22.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I chose to go back to school after a year or so of working part
time with no aim or goals to fuel me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
knew I needed some direction or I would be destined to slave away at retail
stores for minimum wage the rest of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What could I do that would be an affordable education and
rewarding?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I landed on interior design,
which I postulated would satisfy both my left and right brains with its mix of
creativity and logical order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Boy was I
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Studying interior design was
essentially studying architecture, which for me left very little room for the
kind of freewheeling open-ended creativity that I yearned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buildings exist in the real world, after
all, and have to be structurally sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">After a period of soul searching I quit Interior Design and
moved on to art school to study what I really wanted to study: Fiction
Writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, there really is a BA (or
BFA if you’re so inclined) in Fiction Writing available and I have the student
loan bills to prove it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two years I
spent constantly creating fiction were some of the most rewarding years of my
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I left them behind feeling
impassioned toward my calling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also
left them with a desire to seek out a stable form of income for myself and so the
career-building phase of my life began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBgG6kArgP4/VP3fs_Y9-0I/AAAAAAAAAI8/YgDlvPvGWEA/s1600/Why%2BDo%2BYou%2BWrite%2B10-8-12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBgG6kArgP4/VP3fs_Y9-0I/AAAAAAAAAI8/YgDlvPvGWEA/s1600/Why%2BDo%2BYou%2BWrite%2B10-8-12.png" height="320" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Why Do You Write Blog Graphic" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">I quit what I considered my “while-at-college-job,” moved across
country for what I thought would be better work and came back to the same
“while-at-college-job” within a year of receiving my BA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a crazy ride that pushed me farther
into financial troubles but it was well worth the effort if only for the
intense personal and spiritual growth I acquired while on the journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I regret nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">The latest phase of my life has been my coming to grips with the
fact that there is no stable form of income to be found if I’m going to do what
I love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need to <i>create</i> a job
for myself, not work for someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I intend to create is a career selling fictional tales that I have
conceived and written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">The last 18 months have been all about finding a balance between
working a day job, writing a novel, and having a personal life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m still learning but getting better with every month that
passes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m also unlearning bad habits
like procrastination and being overly critical of my first drafts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel more fulfilled now than I ever have. I will keep my pen on the page and my fingers on the keyboard until I look back and find a body of work of which I am proud.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New";">“Seek and you shall find.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never a truer statement was said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sought out a path that never existed because I didn’t trust my
instincts or my heart would lead me right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think that is something we all have to go through, a testament to the
power of personal growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe
some of us don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe some people are
born knowing who and what they are and work every moment toward those ends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It matters not what path you take get there
as long as you arrive.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Why do you write? Post answers in the comment section. I'm interested in the motivations of other writers (and people in general) and would love to hear about your journey.<br />
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-i-write.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-27903671076117616612012-08-01T11:57:00.000-05:002015-03-18T12:25:40.086-05:006 Tools To Survive NaNoWriMo<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Well, I’ve done it
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve decided to drag myself <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/12/evolution-or-tales-of-first-time-wrimo.html" target="_blank">through another </a>virtual writing boot camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I signed up for National Novel Writing Month’s summer program, Camp
NaNoWriMo, which takes place in both June and August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The objective is the same as November—write 50,000 new words of
fiction in only one month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I don’t feel
anywhere near the amount of anxiety as I did in <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/preparations.html" target="_blank">November</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I survived this experience once and I know I
will again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I don’t even plan to
“win” this time around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My objective is
using this program as a tool to complete the shitty first draft of my novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By September 1st, I will possess a
complete novel with a beginning, middle, and end that I can edit and rewrite
into something publishable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am
EXCITED!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://files.content.campnanowrimo.org/camp/files/2012/05/cn_participant120x240.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://files.content.campnanowrimo.org/camp/files/2012/05/cn_participant120x240.png" height="200" title="Camp NaNoWriMo 2012 Small" width="120" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The following is a
list of strategies that helped me to survive National Novel Writing Month and
complete over 50,000 new words in only 30 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Feel free to follow them or disregard them as your needs desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no one-size-fits-all plan for life
or for creativity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only share
with you the wisdom that I gained through my November experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve probably heard some of these
principals before, as I used wisdom from other writers and resources to get me
through it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, I left out the
obvious tips like turning off your phone and staying off the internet unless
for research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NOTE:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These exact principals can also be applied
to writing any first draft or any other project where creating a high word
count in a short period is your objective.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Six Simple Survival Strategies</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS;">1) Take </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Notes:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep a small notebook with multiple writing
implements or a handheld tape recorder near you at all times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will need it to jot down or record ideas
and ponderings you’ll have during the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is especially important to have near your bedside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We often wake up with ideas or snippets of
dreams that inform our story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are
gifts from our subconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s not
look a gift horse in the mouth by letting these epiphanies slip away
unremembered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I especially like the
tape recorder for this as I find myself far too groggy to use a paper and pen
when I first awaken.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2) Stay F</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">lexibile:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having your novel mapped out step by step,
chapter by chapter, scene by scene, sounds like a thorough approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, you will likely find yourself
forcing plot points and character development rather than events happening
organically by the logic of the fictional universe you’ve created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To put it simply, have a plan, but also be
open to inspiration.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">3) Ritualize </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Writing Time:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as your bed should only be used for
sleep and sex, do your best to write at the same time and same place
daily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will allow your mind to
relax into creative mode more easily and soften the transition from your every
day life to your creative life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">4) Avoid</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> Over Thinking:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be completely right
(write!)-brained as you move through the creative process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not be analytical or critical of the work
you are producing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not allow
censorship or judgment in your writing space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Save that mindset for the rewriting process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go with the flow even (especially) if it feels uncomfortable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">5) Ponder Y</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">our Story:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were it a perfect world, we could sit in our
writing space all day long and create at our leisure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In reality, we have many responsibilities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ponder your characters and plot while you’re
at your day job, cooking, cleaning house, ushering the kids around town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll fuel your creative mind and keep the
enthusiasm for your story on high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*Remember to keep your notebook or tape recorder from step one within
reach at all times!*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">6) One G</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">oal--Word Count:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is only one goal for NaNoWriMo and
that is to produce word count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
doesn’t matter if you don’t like what you’re doing or love it, if it sounds
cliché or is vibrant and original, if its clunky or poetic, all you need to do
is write, write, and write some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll say it again— do not allow judgment or censorship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Save that for the second draft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">What if I get stuck?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is inevitable that at some point
during a month of solid writing you will get stuck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is where you’re on your own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Evaluate your creative process and move forward the best you
can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are a few things that work
for me:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">1) A</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">sk yourself, “what happens next?”:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned this technique in college and it
works like a charm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you ask yourself
or your characters “what happens next?” you will get an answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It may not make a lot of sense in the moment
but follow it wherever it takes you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">2) W</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">rite with all your senses:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you’re stuck, try to describe the scene
with all of your senses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This includes
not only the five physical senses, but also the nonphysical senses of emotion
and intuition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will open the story
up and give it more depth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may
stumble upon something you didn’t even know was there that might be the key to
uniting the entire plot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">3) Don’t let a good idea derail another good
idea:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">As I’m in the middle of the
writing process, it usually happens that an epiphany or idea for my story (or
in some cases an entirely different story) will suddenly pop into the forefront
of my mind.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I keep that handy notebook
of mine right next to me so that I can record the idea for later and keep it
from throwing me off the task at hand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">4) Take a break: </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Maybe you just need to get up and walk around for a second, grab a
snack or drink, or even just quit for the day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">5) Have fun:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Creating fiction is one of most rewarding and exhilarating activities
that I know.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I love it like I love ice
cream and swimming and warm summer days and feeling my baby wriggle around in
my belly.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I know that if I’m stuck and
it feels like work, then I should lighten up and have more fun with it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">6) Take your characters on a road trip:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">I don’t mean this literally though it may be
fun to see what happens if you jam all of your characters into an RV and send
them across country.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">What I do mean is
take them out of their normal environment and put them somewhere new.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This will often reveal things about them,
their personality, and their relationships that you didn’t already know.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">You could also simply stick them in a room
together and make them talk to each other.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">This also works quite well and is fun to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">7) Avoid transitions:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">If your character is going from home to the library, we don’t
need to see how he tied his shoes, stood at the bus stop, sat next to a smelly
man on the ride over, and then walked an extra block so he could stop at the
coffee shop before entering the library.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Just take us there!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Leave a line
of white space and pick right up at the library.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">If any of that transitional stuff is important (it probably
isn’t) then simply work the information in while he’s at the library.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-52802804114975946272012-07-22T16:21:00.001-05:002015-03-15T11:35:12.748-05:00Life Goes On<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">You may have been
wondering silently to yourself these past few months, “What has C. L. Kay been
up to?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well the short answer to this
question is A LOT!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Life has a way of
dictating things with it’s own logic and twists and turns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re lucky, you can move fearlessly
forward, swept up in its unknowable genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may not always end up where you thought you would but you definitely
will always end up exactly where you need to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the story of 2012 for me thus far.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Aside from being a
few months away from a publishable draft of my book baby, <i>The Bloodsong
Swords</i> (fingers crossed for a spring release), I’m also around five months
away from bringing a flesh and blood baby into this world!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emerging into motherhood has changed just
about everything from my daily routine to my frame of my mind to my thought
process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having another human being
that will soon depend on me for his or her every need has underscored the
necessity of finishing my book and launching my career as a fiction
writer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I’ll leave you with
a wonderful quote I came across the other day that explains it all:</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YVqWyizQqPE/VP3I9N0cOVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/C_WZSpLZyFk/s1600/Sophia%2BLoren%2BQuote%2B7-22-12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Sophia Loren Motherhood Quote On Old Paper Texture" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YVqWyizQqPE/VP3I9N0cOVI/AAAAAAAAAIc/C_WZSpLZyFk/s1600/Sophia%2BLoren%2BQuote%2B7-22-12.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Sophia Loren Motherhood Quote On Old Paper Texture" width="266" /></a></div>
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/07/life-goes-on.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-15391751063625311082012-02-01T12:41:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:36:12.772-05:00The Finish Line<span style="font-family: Verdana;">If you have been reading this blog for any number of months then it will be no news to you that I have what I call a <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/05/challenge-of-discipline.html" target="_blank">discipline problem</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I set goals then wait until the last possible minute to achieve them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I miss a goal, I extend the deadline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it’s a learned behavior from my formative years as a bright <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/08/its-all-inside.html" target="_blank">student</a> in sub par public schools. It was never necessary for me to put any major effort into the work because I could do everything it took in the last few days and come out of the challenge with top grades.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The glaring matter at hand is my goal to complete the first draft of my novel by, well, yesterday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This obviously was another instance where I put my goals to the wayside in favor of less scary and less intense activities. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-orUYAI_-OC4/VP3EOfD2HqI/AAAAAAAAAIM/TcpoZia7uV0/s1600/Writing%2BDifficult%2BQuote%2B2-1-12.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Writing Is Difficult Quote Pen And Notebook Blog Graphic" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-orUYAI_-OC4/VP3EOfD2HqI/AAAAAAAAAIM/TcpoZia7uV0/s1600/Writing%2BDifficult%2BQuote%2B2-1-12.png" height="268" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Writing Is Difficult Quote Pen And Notebook Blog Graphic" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Let’s face it--writing fiction is difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyone who says otherwise is either lying or diluted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throwing your mind, your body, your consciousness into a fictional dimension, completely immersing your thoughts and actions into an abstract reality, is completely disorienting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My experience is such, at least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe it isn’t that daunting for some.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe those writers can easily switch their frame of being from fiction to reality with more ease than I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If so, I applaud and admire them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it takes a lot of energy and fortitude for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I don’t believe in excuses, only choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it was my choice to be lazy with writing in January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that specific choice was not helpful for publishing my book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But hey, everyone needs a hiatus now and then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s behind me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got it out of my system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is time to quit my sightseeing detour and move forward down the path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The finish line is in my sights.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2012/02/finish-line.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-21638105266209086492011-12-28T13:00:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:37:44.420-05:002012<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, for one, have enjoyed stepping away from my fiction for a time and spending time with friends and family that I put on the back burner while pursuing publication.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">As 2011 comes to end, I cannot help but reflect on the year as a whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot has happened to me both inside and out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took the effort to <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/sacrifice.html" target="_blank">make this blog a priority</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I helped start a <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/writers-group.html" target="_blank">writer’s group</a> with two amazing and talented individuals that has become a cornerstone of my writing progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I drummed up all the moxie I had and began seriously writing my first novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I participated in<a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/12/evolution-or-tales-of-first-time-wrimo.html" target="_blank"> National Novel Writing Month</a> and discovered a potential that I never knew existed inside of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have released that <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/05/creature-staring-back-at-me.html" target="_blank">little goblin</a> living inside my head that whispered doubts in my ear and infused me with fear of failure.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I will reap all the benefits of these actions in 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By mid to late summer, my first book, <i>The Bloodsong Swords</i>, will arrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fiction baby will have been birthed, reared, and grown prepared to face the world on its own two feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that not everyone will like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just hope that more people like it than not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">It is an exciting story full of colorful characters and places that span over 1,900 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are gangsters—a lot of gangsters—vying to fulfill an ancient prophecy and they all have supernatural powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had a gun to my head, I would call it science fiction, but really, it is so much more than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in essence an urban science fiction historical action thriller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obviously, genre bending is going on in all directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I dedicated December to my day job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Retail work takes on a completely new level of insanity during the holidays and I have had little free time to write.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>January will be a very important month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still need to finish my first draft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the editing and rewriting begins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going to make a bold statement and say that 2012 will likely be the most important and pivotal year of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time 2013 rolls in, I will have transformed from an aspiring writer to a self-published author and life will never be the same again.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-37989141060875094572011-12-04T13:41:00.000-06:002015-03-15T11:42:54.830-05:00The Secrets of a First Time Wrimo<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">November was a long and bumpy road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As you probably noticed, I have been very quiet of late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My head was down and my mind fully focused on reaching my goal of 50,000 newly written words for National Novel Writing Month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I achieved my goal!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The real world was dead to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only my imagined world was worthy of my attentions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended November with 50,066 words and won my very first NaNoWriMo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2011/files/2011/11/Winner_180_180_white.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://files.content.lettersandlight.org/nano-2011/files/2011/11/Winner_180_180_white.png" height="200" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I hope that nobody thinks my pretty little web badge means that this was easy for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was one of the most challenging things I have ever done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn't sitting pretty at my desk all month, whistling a tune, and typing away while blue birds fluttered around my head and small woodland creatures applauded around my feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was painstaking, terrifying, and absolutely insane!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I will preface this by saying that I bent the rules and wrote a novel that I started over the summer. What can I say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m a rebel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I already had one complete chapter of 8,711 words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not apply that chapter toward my final word count.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will also say that while I had 15 of the characters already in mind, they were nothing but faces, names, and basic motivations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In some cases, they were only names.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Week One, 7,229 words</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first week was strange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thrust myself into unfamiliar territory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not write a single word on the first day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had stage fright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t sure what to do other than to type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On day two, I cranked out over 4,000 words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is easy,” I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“50,000 words will be no problem at all.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How I lied!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the week I putt-putted like an old jalopy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the week, I was 4,000 words below par.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One unexpected side effect to plunging headfirst into a fictional reality was the dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every night I dreamt such vivid and lively dreams that when I awoke, I felt as though I never slept at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Week Two, 7,506 words</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent week two staring at a brick wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My characters would not speak to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would not speak to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fictional world was a gray haze and my plot made no sense whatsoever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every word I typed felt clunky and forced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was as a child lost in a mammoth grocery store crying out for her mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned that a week two slump is common among Wrimos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This knowledge did something to boost my ego but that boost was very short lived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the week, I was 7,000 words below par.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Week Three, 6,889 words</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Week three was a famously raucous pity party with full on streamers, balloons, and pointy cardboard hats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m probably not going to make 50,000 words,” I told friends, family, and coworkers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But it’s okay,” I said with a brave face, “I have a better sense of my story and more words than I did before.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inside me was a big ugly ball of disappointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It stared me in the face and spat out insults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I considered cheating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I added my previously written chapter to the word count, I would be sitting pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I chose not to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I couldn't bring myself to sully the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pressed on despite my anxiety.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Something miraculously profound happened inside me on Sunday November 20<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The labor pains stopped and I held in my arms my screaming infant novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stared up at me with eyes of wonder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked down at him and I knew exactly who he was and what he wanted to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I embraced him close to my chest and rejoiced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I am a writer,” I said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It no longer felt like a partial lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a writer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I vowed to reach my goal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If not for myself, then for my story and all the glorious people and places therein.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of the week, I was 14,000 words below par.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vZ49XYLNvwQ/VPtnD-9YjEI/AAAAAAAAAHg/c3Tsa3Jr41s/s1600/Living%2Bthe%2BDream.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Living the Dream Gold Ink Pen Blog Graphic" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vZ49XYLNvwQ/VPtnD-9YjEI/AAAAAAAAAHg/c3Tsa3Jr41s/s1600/Living%2Bthe%2BDream.png" height="320" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Living the Dream Gold Ink Pen Blog Graphic" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Week 4, 28,442 words</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cracked my knuckles and got to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had nine days to scrape out as many words as my fingers could type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I literally ate and slept my novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shut off my phone and ignored my messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I woke up hours before work and typed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I toted my notebook and scribbled during the bus-and-two-trains commute to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I scribbled while scarfing down lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I scribbled some more during my commute home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the evenings, I typed up what I wrote during the day and typed some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I typed until my eyelids weighed a ton and my mind was swimming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I allowed myself 5-6 hours a night for sleep and those hours turned out more dreamful and less sleepy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tossed and turned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My characters that a few weeks prior wouldn’t talk to me now talked nonstop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Shh, I’m trying to sleep,” I said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But we have business to conduct,” they whined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, I literally forgot how to spell “pour.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I’m pretty sure I hallucinated that weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw things and heard things that likely were not there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it weren’t for my boys in the red Indian head sweaters, the Chicago Blackhawks, I would be wearing a straight jacket right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hockey was just about the only thing rooting me to reality (they have the third best record in the league right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go, Hawks, go!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On November 30<sup>th,</sup> I still had 6,125 words to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made a giant pot of strong coffee and went to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the evening, I hit the magic number and sighed a massive sigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cracked open a bottle of wine, poured a glass, and validated my word count.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">I am extremely proud of what I have achieved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My novel is by no means finished and by no means publishable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This shitty first draft still requires at least another 50,000 words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that, I will begin the long journey of editing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I plan to have a version to share with the world by August 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing a novel is no longer a distant hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have evolved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At long last, I am <i>living</i> my dream!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-60417083347025881122011-10-26T15:02:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:44:34.784-05:00PreparationsIts a cool and gloomy day here in Chicago. I'm off of work and attempting to self motivate. <br />
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I've not been writing much as I've been fighting off a nasty cold virus and a mysterious painful pulled neck muscle (mysterious because it happened out of nowhere. Perhaps it's the Universe's way of telling me to slow down, relax, and stop letting things get under my skin). I have a short story in progress and the ladies of my writer's group (Moxie!) are expecting more pages of that very soon. And of course the omnious shadow of NaNoWriMo looms over me. November 1st is only five short days away and I'll begin my crash course in speed writing.<br />
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For those of you unfamiliar, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) is a not-for-profit endeavor by the Office of Letters and Light: "A fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing." The goal is to write 50,000 new words in just 30 days. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5hraRk6SzKc/VPslCiepoMI/AAAAAAAAAHA/SQIvmMM9L60/s1600/NaNo%2B2011%2BPlan.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="A pie chart illustrating strategic plan for surviving National Novel Writing Month" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5hraRk6SzKc/VPslCiepoMI/AAAAAAAAAHA/SQIvmMM9L60/s1600/NaNo%2B2011%2BPlan.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C.L. Kay NaNo 2011 Plan Pie Chart" width="265" /></a>I don't like to fly blind. I'd rather be prepared. I research and read into almost everything I attempt. Based on my findings I've created a few simple plans of action to cross that 50,000 word finish line. It's a three prong plan, "pacing, structure, and caffeine."<br />
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The first is to stick to a strict day to day word count of 1700. That way I have a small and attainable daily goal that will keep me on pace.<br />
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The next part is to write out on index cards all of the scenes I need for the novel and arrange them in some kind of preliminary order. This way if the white page begins to threaten me, I can pick up the next scene card and continue rolling. That's what I'm putting together today. Some bones.<br />
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And lastly, I plan to stock the pantry with lots of coffee. <br />
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Well, lots to do, lots to do! I better get to it.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-31835253123489469552011-10-16T11:33:00.002-05:002015-03-15T11:45:27.909-05:00Why The Sacrifice Is Worth It<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Writing is a solitary activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do it consistently and your laptop will become your best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll clasp your notebook like a security blanket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll wear black for days at the loss of your favorite pen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll eat many meals out of Styrofoam containers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll forget what household chores are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you’ll spend little to no time with the people you love.</div>
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You’ll receive angry texts, curious emails, and plenty of phone calls asking, “what’s up with you?” or “where have you been hiding?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re lucky, you’ll explain that it’s nothing personal, that you've been committed to your writing goals, and your loved ones will accept that and proudly support you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re unlucky, feelings will be hurt and ties will unbind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may even find yourself half a pint deep in a tub of ice cream asking “is all this worth it?”</div>
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The answer is incontrovertible: YES.</div>
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Everyone has dreams and desires, goals and plans, but few have the courage to restructure their lives in the profound ways necessary to achieve them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One day, with a copy of your book in hand, you’ll look around and notice those standing with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those loved ones believed in you, stood by you, and comforted you during your self-imposed isolation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll owe them undying gratitude and be all the richer for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Baggage has no place in a writer’s life besides on the page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can no longer focus on what was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m taking baby steps on my path with eyes locked on the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m planting seeds, making connections, and watching new life grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m listening to that quiet voice deep inside me that yearns to tell stories. It grows louder with each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simply refuse to feel guilty about dancing to my own tune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I’m offering a sincere and heartfelt <i>thank you </i>to every single person out there that is supporting my dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re reading this, you’re definitely one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THANK YOU. <br />
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/10/sacrifice.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-13968698389965862262011-10-05T14:09:00.000-05:002015-03-16T10:35:12.639-05:005 Keys To An Effective Writers GroupI helped to form a writers group a few months ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I and two other writers gather biweekly to discuss our work and cheer on our progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We even created a group on an online writing community site to keep in touch between meetings and lay the hammer down on each other if needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has become a powerful and invaluable motivator for me to reach my writing goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are five insights into what I find makes a group work: <br />
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1—Keep it small:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to be able to read work from every member and give reasonable feedback to each person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will become complicated with too many members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reading the work of others will inform and improve your own writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember to read as a <i>writer</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You want to notice the craft as well as the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might find a key technique to unlocking a scene you have struggled with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may find a point of view you haven’t attempted that would fit perfectly for a story or chapter you are stumbling over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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2—Have a variety of topics:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my group, each member has some formal training in fiction writing but none of us has published in a prominent way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all strive toward publication in the near future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does not matter if every member is writing the same genre or to the same audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, it’s often helpful to read something dissimilar to what you’re working on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you all worked on a story about talking animals for 2<sup>nd</sup> to 5<sup>th</sup> graders, the group can become competitive and therefore useless. </div>
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3—Keep clear guidelines:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We strive to send out at least 1000 words for each session.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This number gives a focus and everyone is clear on expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a small enough amount to easily complete over a two-week period yet large enough to make good forward progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also have a simple policy of no excuses and no disclaimers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone has a busy life these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We work multiple jobs, have families, and other obligations that get in the way of our goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure the group guidelines are fair to all the members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should want every member to succeed!</div>
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4—Focus on the writing:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone works at their own level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We don’t care if you’re producing a novel, short story, creative nonfiction, graphic novel or children’s book as long as you’re writing and submitting something for the group to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I often hear horror stories about people leaving groups because the critiques turned into bashing sessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is unnecessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Critiques should apply to the craft and your gut reactions to the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This keeps personal feelings out of the mix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What passages did you find effective?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What confused you or caused you to stumble?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What stuck with you after reading?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some aspects of craft to keep in mind are movement, sense of place, dialogue, sensory and character descriptions, voice, tone, point of view and vantage point.</div>
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5—Have fun:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The odds are you will quit a writers group that bores or shames you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re likely taking things far too seriously if you’re not having fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A writer’s group should be a safe place to experiment with story ideas and craft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should never feel that your work is under par or under valued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep the tone light but constructive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meet somewhere lively like a coffee shop or restaurant where you can talk, giggle, and not disturb other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you’re having fun, you are likely to stick with it and with each week, closer to achieving your writing goals.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kdgyDby5SRQ/VQC22e_gRvI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/WTKBgjzMpw8/s1600/Writers%2BGroup%2BGuidelines%2B10-5-11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="an infographic describing how to effectively use a writers group" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kdgyDby5SRQ/VQC22e_gRvI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/WTKBgjzMpw8/s1600/Writers%2BGroup%2BGuidelines%2B10-5-11.png" height="640" title="ckaywriter.com C. L. Kay Writers Group Guidelines Infographic" width="426" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-22162914622455821382011-09-14T21:08:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:48:58.654-05:00How I Fight Off The Winter BluesToday it's nippy outside. The high temperature reached around 60 degrees and a nagging drizzle fell all afternoon. Overnight, we'll experience 44 degrees. The sun is setting earlier each day. The Autumnal Equinox is only nine days away. I can already feel my energy changing. I am less energetic. I am craving heavy comfort foods like soup and mashed potatoes.<br />
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Winter in Chicago is in a word, <em>brutal</em>. Freezing temps, snowy mess, and frigid winds off Lake Michigan make outdoor life a kind of hell. Most people do lots of complaining about the winter weather, me included. Don't judge--we have to complain or we might go stir crazy. <br />
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In my family we gauge the seasons by jigsaw puzzles. I could come home from school on any given winter day and find our dining room table covered in a work in progress. Around the unfinished puzzle border there would be stacks of shallow boxes full of tiny pieces grouped by color and visual texture. It's just something we do to pass the time when it's too cold to enjoy the outdoors.<br />
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As I grew up I discovered my own way of fighting off cabin fever. I paint. I'm self-taught but I do love it. Colorful smears of acrylic paint cover almost all of my winter pajamas and sweatshirts. I recently rearranged my office/creative space to maximize room for the upcoming painting season. Below is a creation of mine from last winter that now hangs in my living room. I call it "Reach Beyond Grasp."<br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamwingsArt?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank"><img alt="Etsy.com/DreawingsArt Reach Beyond Grasp" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KxnODo7PXLA/VPfvwgHkuMI/AAAAAAAAAF0/0-O7S0kXvrY/s1600/Hand%2BTree.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Reach Beyond Grasp Hand Tree 24x36 Acrylic on Canvas" width="266" /></a></div>
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Seeing as I'm in the process of <a href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/09/national-novel-writing-month.html" target="_blank">finishing a NaNo novel</a>, I don't know how much painting I will be doing this year. It will take work to find the proper balance between writing and painting. November is entirely scheduled to my novel for NaNoWriMo. After that, I'll allow myself plenty of time to indulge in my favorite cure for the winter blues--a brush, a palate and a canvas.
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-39541712099445161952011-09-05T13:39:00.000-05:002015-03-15T11:49:52.162-05:00National Novel Writing MonthI've done it! I am an official participant in NaNoWriMo 2011! While I am both excited and terrified about the prospect of compiling a 50,000 word novel during the month of November, I know it's the right thing to do. This endeavor will force me to complete my work in progress and rid me of my bad habit of editing as I go. My strategy is to pace myself at 1700 words per day to make things more manageable.<br />
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If you're already a member, please feel free to add me as a writing buddy. You can find my profile <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/838623" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I will definitely keep you updated on my process during November. Wish me luck and cheers to shitty first drafts.<br />
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<div class="fb-like" data-href="http://clkay.blogspot.com/2011/09/national-novel-writing-month.html" data-layout="standard" data-action="like" data-show-faces="false" data-share="true"></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8462200008265640058.post-73140978997686193402011-08-29T15:26:00.002-05:002015-03-15T11:50:56.286-05:00It's All Inside<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e3-sVSmFi_4/VPfqj-eqcII/AAAAAAAAAFU/Dx90MKRH76A/s1600/8th%2BGrade%2BSelf.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="A page from an eighth grade autobiography showing the author wants to be a writer when they grow up" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e3-sVSmFi_4/VPfqj-eqcII/AAAAAAAAAFU/Dx90MKRH76A/s1600/8th%2BGrade%2BSelf.png" height="400" title="clkaywriter.com C. L. Kay Eighth Grade Autobiography Page Notebook Paper" width="282" /></a></div>
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The above image is the last page of an autobiography I wrote for a final project in Eighth Grade English. It appears that my thirteen-year-old self knew her destiny even if my adult self spent loads of time denying it.<br />
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I opened every door I came across during my young adult life. I searched for something new or better--something that clicked. I went to four different colleges. I majored in Law Enforcement, English, and Interior Design before coming full circle and receiving a BA in Fiction Writing. What I've learned is that the answers are inside me. If I search deep enough and honestly enough, I can't go wrong. <br />
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I'm glad that I saved this autobiography. It serves to underscore my desire to share stories with whoever is willing to read them. I wish I could go back in time, hug that thirteen-year-old girl and tell her to seize her dream and never look back. She was wiser than she gave herself credit for.
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