Posts Tagged ‘writing’

I’m writing a love story that could probably be classified as women’s fiction. I don’t feel like my work is targeted at women specifically, because so much of it is about Ryan and from his perspective, but if it had to be categorized it would fit into women’s fiction, chick lit, whatever you want to call it.

What it’s not…an erotic romance. There are some sexual situations, but things never get hot and heavy on the page. That being said, who doesn’t love a little “romance”, right?

Well I have two things to share…

First, I want to give props to a fellow writer and friend of mine, E. Jamie. She’s published through Amira Press and has some great work out there. I recently purchased her book Redemption, and was surprised just how much I could enjoy a western. She really does a great job and captures the old West in a super sexy way.

Second, I just finished watching this Nightline piece on the 60th Anniversary of Harlequin romance novels. This is truly a must-see. Not only do you learn a lot about Harlequin as a publishing company and how successful they are right now (sales up 32%), but you also get to hear some notable people (Seth Rogen, Martin Bashir, and others) reading naughty excerpts. I especially enjoyed hearing Paul Rudd do a reading, hubba hubba.

Check it out:

When it comes to writing I have good days and bad days. Not in the actual craft of writing, but in terms of confidence. There are some days where I feel great about what I’m doing, including my writing style, my pace, and my plot.

Other days, not so much. This past weekend while visiting my family for Easter, two things happened that rocked my confidence. To begin with, I let my mom read about ten pages of my WIP (when Ryan and Renata meet for the first time). Before she began, I gave her some background about what happened before that point, so she could have some context. While describing what amounts to the premise of my story, I felt very insecure. To me it sounded silly and utterly personal. I worried that she thought Renata was based off of me, and that perhaps it mirrored my own life too much. She read the pages and complimented me, but I ended up feeling… embarrassed.

The next day, I had a light-hearted conversation with my sister and her boyfriend about celebrity gossip blogs. My WIP involves a celebrity and the paparazzi, so I brought it up. Once again, I felt so incredibly insecure. My WIP sounds perfect in my head and on paper it’s even better, it really is, but when I talk about it I feel like I’m talking about some fanfic that I happen to be writing. I know that it is anything but a fanfic, but I still feel embarrassed. Not that there’s anything wrong with fan fiction, because I know some incredibly talented fan fiction writers and have read some amazing pieces that just so happen to be classified as “fanfic”.

So I was thinking that I could potentially overcome some of my insecurities by talking about my story a little bit more.

Ryan Collins is a world-famous celebrity. Renata Sanders is an average girl. They fall in love. It’s not exactly a Cinderella story, and Ryan isn’t exactly Prince Charming. Furthermore, Renata isn’t exactly in the mood to date a celebrity. It’s a complicated romance. Because I’m writing first person narratives from both Ryan and Renata’s perspective, the story belongs to both of them. It’s not about Renata getting the famous guy that every woman desires. It’s about overcoming issues of insecurity, breaking promises, and finding that one person who can be your ultimate partner. As an average girl, just like Renata, I think that my audience will feel like I’m writing myself into the story and this is just some sort of escape outlet or fantasy. I would argue that nearly every character I write has me in them. They are born out of my mind, and therefore each one is an extension of myself. As time goes on, I find that it’s Ryan I relate to the most. Writing for him is easier and much more fun.

So there it is. There’s obviously a big hook to the story and much more to it than I am describing here. Hopefully, putting it out there will help me overcome my insecurity.

Now, if I could just overcome a few of the other insecurities I have, like how long it is (too long) and the structure of it. But that will have to wait for another post.

Words written: 1,403
Setting: London, at the apartment.
Perspective: Ryan’s narrative

Favorite line (#wipfavline on twitter):

“I need help packing,” she requested.

My heart sunk. I finished my task and went to the bedroom where I found suitcases opened and her clothes scattered across the bed. It was the visual representation of my broken heart, scattered into pieces.

© 2009 Rochelle Michael

Does writing feel effortless to you?

This week I’m attending the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado. The panel that I’m primarily attending is called “Cinema Interruptus,” which is moderated by the one and only Roger Ebert and film critic Jim Emerson. It’s my seventh or eighth time attending, and I look forward to this event every year. Here’s how it works. Roger and/or Jim pick a film. On Monday we view the entire film, uninterrupted. Starting on Tuesday and continuing for the rest of the week, Roger, Jim and the audience go through the film scene by scene to analyze it.

This year, the chosen film is Chop Shop. As a very special treat, the film’s writer and director Ramin Bahrani is joining us, which is just incredible. In years past, members of the audience have fought each other over the meaning of a prop for half an hour. This time around we can ask Ramin what a prop might mean and get a direct answer that cannot be disputed.

It is a great gift to hear directly from the horse’s mouth about how the film was made. I’m consistently in awe of filmmakers because it seems so incredibly hard to make a film. It makes me tired to even think about it. It seems as if it would be completely overwhelming to me, and physically draining.

After my friend and I left the panel today we had a very interesting conversation about just how hard it would be to make a film, and he surprisingly lumped writing a novel into the same category. In his opinion, both require an immense amount of effort and extreme forethought. The execution, in his opinion, also requires a similar level of dedication and writing even has a physical component as well. He argued that sitting at a computer and typing is not natural for everybody.

All of this was really intriguing. I find that writing my novel feels nearly effortless. It’s like a natural extension of myself, and that more than anything I’m just getting the story in my head out on paper. It’s more like a relief than ever like a chore. To me, filmmakers probably have the same desire, to let their story out, but on film. I wonder how other writers feel about this. Do you write to get the story out? Does it feel natural?

For my friend, it feels impossibly hard to write a novel or make a film, yet he is a computer programmer by trade. He will have a vision of how an application should function, and then have the forethought and skills to translate that vision into code. It comes naturally to him, while to me it seems impossibly hard.

So I suppose that’s what doing what you love is really all about. In a way, we become graceful masters of our passion. It can be so personally rewarding that the effort involved is no effort at all.

Words written: 2,650
Settings: Somerset, England at the Widcrest. London, at the apartment.
Perspective: Ryan and Renata’s respective narratives

Favorite line (#wipfavline on twitter):

I had expected some sort of shock written on her face, but instead it spelled the realization of an expectation. It’s as if she knew this day would come. “Do we have to go?” she asked, holding onto her knees tightly.

“I’m sorry, but we do,” I said and left it at that. I knew she needed no further explanation. We sat there quietly for a moment, and just as I’d felt responsible for the rain that kept us indoors, I now felt responsible for the media cyclone we were going to have to run from.

© 2009 Rochelle Michael

I know it’s probably silly to keep posting about great things I find over on Le Love, but this is another great video that was posted there today. As I’ve mentioned before I’m always looking for translations and depictions of love in all varieties. The dialogue says so much about the reality of love, and a relationship.

As I try to build the tension between my characters, especially at the point where I’m at, it is even more helpful to hear, literally hear, words put together like this and expressed in this way. My characters right now are starting to sink into insecurity as a deadline approaches them, a fixed date that will separate them from each other. As that date gets closer they sink further and further into their insecurity, because neither is addressing the impending separation. She is not asking to stay, and he is not asking her to stay.

Love is incredibly frustrating and there are so many misunderstandings. How many times does one feel disappointed when their mate doesn’t meet their expectations? And so much about not meeting expectations is tied up in communication. My characters aren’t communicating right now as they should. Although they continue to make the most of their experience together, it’s getting harder and harder for them to push their insecurities aside for the sake of their moment.

Words written: 930
Setting: Somerset, England at the Widcrest
Perspective: Renata’s narrative

Favorite line (#wipfavline on twitter):

We may not have read as many sonnets as he planned, but two seemed to be enough to make our own poetry.
© 2009 Rochelle Michael

Words written today: 1,213
Setting: Somerset, England at the Widcrest
Perspective: Ryan’s narrative

Favorite line (#wipfavline on twitter):

She would have a window into my life and I’d have nothing. No way to see her or watch as she changes over the years, unless she let me somehow, but that seemed unlikely. I wasn’t feeling so keen about living on the unfortunate side of one-way glass.
© 2009 Rochelle Michael

I can write without music, but I certainly don’t like to. Music sets the mood and gets the story flowing. When I’m “in the zone,” as I like to call it, I’ve got a pair of headphones on and Ryan’s Playlist on shuffle.

Ryan is one of the main characters in my WIP. Renata and Ryan care a lot about music and it trickles into what they’re doing every now and again. In some ways they have their own built in soundtrack, which I think is pretty cool. Their common interest in music and particular artists is one of the reasons they fell head over heels for each other, so it has to be important for me as the writer to make them feel connected to it. Ryan’s Playlist does just that. It’s not only the playlist that helps me find my story but it is sometimes literally what they are listening to or talking about within the story itself. Many times Renata will comment that Ryan put on one of his great playlists while they drove in the car or sat by the fireplace.

As a rule, even when I don’t find time in my day to write, I always listen to Ryan’s Playlist, whether I’m in the car, or working out, or working at my day job. It helps me stay connected to my characters and connected to my story even when I can’t put words onto paper for them.

I love the way that Ryan’s Playlist evolves. There are about thirty songs that are permanent and the rest kind of float in and out. If I hear a song that’s not already on the list, but makes me feel connected to them, then I add it. Every now and again a song that’s on the list just isn’t doing it for me and so it comes off. Like if I find that I’m skipping ahead every time it comes on while I’m writing, then it’s taken off the list. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you’ll every now and again see tweets about songs being added or taken off.

So today, this is where Ryan’s Playlist stands, the ones in bold actually make an appearance in my story either through dialogue or background situations.

“Different” by Acceptance
“Anyday” by Ani DiFranco
“She’s Losing It” by Belle and Sebastian
“Eyes On Fire” by Blue Foundation
“First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes
“No Other Love” by Chuck Prophet
“Don’t Panic” by Coldplay
“High Speed” by Coldplay
“Low” by Coldplay
“Lullaby” by The Cure
“Fascination Street” by The Cure
“Strange Attraction [Album Mix]” by The Cure
“The Professor (Live)” by Damien Rice
“Cannonball” Damien Rice
“9 Crimes” by Damien Rice
“Cold Water” by Damien Rice
“A Lack of Color” by Death Cab For Cutie
“The Water (Red Demos)” by Feist
“Say Goodbye” by Fleetwood Mac
“Hundred” by The Fray
“Once” by Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová
“Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron & Wine
“Ache” by James Carrington
“Clockwatching” by Jason Mraz
“Je N’en Connais Pas La Fin [Live]” by Jeff Buckley
“What Will You Say [Live]” by Jeff Buckley
“Venn Diagram” by Lisa Hannigan
“I Don’t Know” by Lisa Hannigan
“Paper Planes” by M.I.A.
“Fade Into You” by Mazzy Star
“The Wrong Girl” by Missy Higgins
“Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse
“Spotlight (Twilight Mix)” by Mutemath
“Decode” by Paramore
“I Caught Myself” by Paramore
“Carmen” by Paula Cole
“Go All the Way (Into the Twilight)” by Perry Farrell
“All Mine” by Portishead
“Only You” by Portishead
“15 Step” by Radiohead
“Reckoner” by Radiohead
“Dreamworld” by Rilo Kiley
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones
“Sympathy for the Devil” by The Rolling Stones
“Before the Worst” by The Script
“The Dangling Conversation” by Simon & Garfunkel
“You Could Be Happy” by Snow Patrol
“The Planets Bend Between Us” by Snow Patrol
“Awkward Duet” by Sons and Daughters
“Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught In His Hair” by Sufjan Stevens
“Caramel” by Suzanne Vega
“The Eraser” by Thom Yorke
“Crumbs from Your Table” by U2
“In The Waiting Line” by Zero 7

Yesterday people all over the world turned off their lights for one hour to participate in Earth Hour. I was lucky enough to catch on in the early evening that yesterday was the day. I had participated in it last year, and so I was glad I didn’t miss it.

My first inclination was to read with a book light during that hour, but I was never able to find it. So I had to change plans. I decided to make more progress on my WIP. So at 8:30 sharp, we turned out the lights, lit some candles, and I unplugged my laptop.

The end result was about 400 words that amounted to some really good stuff. Maybe it was the candlelight, but my writing was more romantically themed than what I usually do, which turned out to be perfect for that moment in my story. It wasn’t hard to write a scene with Ryan and Renata in the dark English countryside while rain pelted against the windows, because it felt like an extension of what I was already doing.

Besides the good work that came out of it, it was also a nice change of pace personally. Me and all the other people I know who took part all agreed that Earth Hour is something that should happen much more often and not just once a year.