So my story is coming along nicely. I’m still plotting it.  But the basics are there. I just need to flesh out my characters some more, usually that happens once I start the actual writing.

Yesterday though, I found out by some accidental surfing of the net, that my story will not fit into the market I had intended it for.  Crap.  I mean bummer.  A story is your story regardless of the market you choose.  But if I had read that last line, CONTEMPORARY I probably would have done some different types of brainstorming.  As it stands now my story is set in an ancient fantasy world. Not contemporary times.  Bummer. Now I need to find another market or audience for this story.  More work. I like less work when it comes to placing stories.

Just goes to show the importance of reading submission guidelines closely.

Now this is not to say you shouldn’t follow your creative spirit and write a story you love.  The best stories are ones that we write for ourselves, not the one’s we intentionally write for others.  But if you’re intending for someone other than yourself to read what you write.  Understand who they are and what they’re expectations are with regards to your story.

Nothing is worse as a reader than expecting a Happily Ever After Romance, and getting the Dark Apocalyptic ending of a Science Fiction.

My story will definitely find an audience, just not the one I had intended it for.  Although it isn’t too far off from what the guidelines state, I can pretty much guarantee that the editors will turn it down now matter how good the story is because it simply is not what they are looking for.

I plan to continue to write it, but I’ll have to keep my eyes out for a new audience.

TILT: Know who your audience is before you start writing a piece that you plan to market.  It’s easier to guide your story in the right direction than it is to make changes to it after you’ve plotted or written it.

Yesterday’s writing time reminded me how important it is to not place negative expectations on something.  It’s important in a creative endeavor to not place mental or emotional constraints on it before you even start.

My blog yesterday was about how it can sometimes be difficult to get back into the writing groove when you’ve stepped away from it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that after a minimal amount of prodding, my subconscious had a field day.

Everything flowed.  I did a little reasearch which sparked an idea, which lead to more character developement for my story.  It was wonderful how easy it was.

TILT: Don’t sit down to write with any expectation.  Expect the Unexpected.  You’ll be thrilled with what your mind will gift you with.

One thing I’ve learned during the past year of writing, is that the best laid plans…  Well, let’s put it this way, even when you swear to yourself and others that you’ll write every day, a day will come when you just can’t for some reason.  The important thing is to get right back to writing as soon as you can.

Starting again can be a challenge.  You haven’t visited your subconcious mind for some length of time and the door hinges to that world can get a bit rusty.  Even taking the weekend off is tough for me.  Mondays are the hardest.  I fight having to start writing again.  I can’t remember my characters nuances, the plot is fuzzy and the writing just doesn’t ‘click’ for me.

But this is the time when you really prove that you’re a writer.  When you get back on the horse and push through the moments that are difficult.

So today I’ll remind myself of what was going on in my subconsious on Friday, and work to get myself back into the writing groove.

My recommendation is that you should write everyday.  It’s just easier to force your butt into the computer chair everyday than it is to rehash what you were working on two days prior.

TILT : We all fall off the writing horse.  Get back on as soon as you can.  Keep writing!   Every single day.

When learning the craft of writing I highly recommend keeping all your ‘stuff’ organized and available.

I totally cannot find my Discovering Story Magic cds.  And I could just kick myself.  I’ve wasted tons of writing time looking for resources which I know would help with this specific story.  Arg!  I am also wishing I had purchased the book Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon, instead of borrowing it from interlibrary loan.  Bigger ARG!

Story Magic and GMC both hold a piece to the story writing puzzle and that’s the Conflict Grid.  The Conflict Grid is a little square that you fill out regarding your characters and their problems (Conflict), reasons behind their problems (Motivation) and how they want to solve said problems (Goal).

Within this grid is also a subsection on internal conflict vs. external conflict.  I kinda sorta remember this stuff, but seriously it would be so much easier if I could just reread those specific chapters again.

I highly recommend reading GMC by Deb Dixon.  And take notes.  Keep the notes.  In a safe place.  You’ll want them later.

Off to hunt for my notes, or suck it up and just try to do my best with what I remember.

As I said yesterday, I’m starting a new writing project.  A short story.  I forgot how much fun it is to come up with the story line, the plot.  I’m a plotter at heart.  Writers come in two varieties.  The plotters and the pantsers.  Pantsers can sit down and just pour out the story as they type.  Plotters need a map.

I need a map.  A broad outline.  And I need to know how my story is going to end.  Rarely does a story pop into my head with all the elements that it needs in order to be a good story.  I usually get a story idea, then I have a number of plot holes that need to be filled.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to fill those holes.  But it’s a fun challenge.  Mostly because I let my subconscious do all the work.  I just start with my idea.  Boy meets Girl.  Then I ask myself, what kind of challenge can I give them, what kind of obstacle can I put in their path?  Off the top of my head I have some ideas.  Most of the time I’m stumped.  But I don’t stress over it (that’s the worst thing you can do, stress stifles the creative mind completely).  I just let my subconscious stew on the idea for a day or two or three.  However long it takes.  I know the epiphany is coming, eventually.

And it usually shows up during those times of day when I’m not actively thinking.  Like when I take a shower, I’m blow drying my hair, or when I’m almost asleep but not quite.

Right now in my life, I’m nursing a 2 month old.  So I’m up frequently during the night.  I used to think this was bad for my creative mind.  Lack of sleep can really make using your mind, for anything, difficult, especially writing.  But I go to bed with the little guy as early as I can and I sleep as late as I can.  I think overall I get about 5-7 hours a night.  I’d prefer to get more, but I know this stage is only temporary.

Anyway, back to my point. The fact that I wake up in the middle of the night and then fall back to sleep several times gives me more instances of that non-thinking time.  Woo hoo!  I get a peek into my subconscious.  Well, last night was a beaut!

At about 2am little guy woke up and I fed him.  Then I had a hard time going to sleep, so I asked myself the same questions about my story that I always do.  And “WOW” did my subconscious give me stuff to work with.  I got so excited that it got even harder to fall asleep.  I highly recommend keeping a notebook with pen on your bedside table for moments like this.  Because I didn’t, I replayed the story over and over in my head so I wouldn’t forget it this morning when I woke up.

So now I’ve written all the little ideas down.  Along with the scenes that showed up in my head like movies.  I love it.  So now my story has a bit more body to it.

Next is to get down to the writing of it.  I plan to do a Fast Draft of 2 weeks of intense writing starting October 6 with friends from RomanceDivas.com.

TILT:  Let your subconsious do the work.  Just ask it the questions that you need answers to, then listen for the answers.  Best places/times to listen:  when you’re calm and not actively thinking.