Actions Speak Much, Much Louder Than Words

I picked up a new craft book (aren’t all
authors addicted to improving their craft?) that has me excited about writing
again. Part of my funk over the winter had been that writing seemed yet another
job – with a long list of Must Do tasks – and like most of you, I had too many
balls in the air already.
I wanted to buckle down and just write the damn
book. I actually had people contact me and ask when the next in the Holly
Price/ So About series would release—which should make me feel happy rather
than pressured. Right?
Anyway, I stumbled over two books titled The
90-Day Novel
Okay then! 90-days! Score! (Is this where
I admit it takes me a year to write a novel?)
The first craft book was a disappointment. It
contained a very summarized rehash of things we’ve all heard a million times.
Set your turning points, make the index cards, park your butt and go.
Yawn. 
The other one, by Alan Watt, hit the note I
needed to hear. Step back and consider the possibilities, he recommended. What if…? 

What are you afraid of? Your heroine probably has the same fears. Can you work
with that? Lots (and lots) of 5 minute writing drills occurred during the first
week, but none of it needed to appear directly in the book. I was encouraged to
scribble images, scenes, scene-lets, ideas, whatever. No pressure, because
nobody was going to read or critique it. It was playing with words, which I
hadn’t done in ages. It was diving into what I was passionate about—and how
that drives my story. 
And through the process, the dilemma, which is
the root perception cause of the
problem (which is what your protag thinks
she’s trying to solve) evolves. I realized “trust” is the emotion I needed to
tap into and now, everything else is falling into place. The conflicts between
all my characters really come down to that one, very basic emotion. Trust is
crucial for a relationship. All relationships. Relationships between friends,
family, lovers.
Trust is what happens when actions speak much,
much louder than words. You can’t make
someone trust you. From Holly’s perspective, when others’ actions are
undermining her trust in them, going with what she believes is the right thing to
do will show others she’s trustworthy—and hopefully won’t get her killed. 
I started this craft book adventure in
connection with my own 100×100 challenge (a friend who’s 300 days in inspired
me). The 100×100 challenge is to write at least 100 words every day for 100
days. Three weeks into in, I’ve filled half a spiral notebook. And the scenes,
plot, and subplots are coming into focus. 
How’s
your writing going this summer?

Cathy
Perkins is currently working on Book Two in the Holly Price/So About series. So
About the Money
was blessed by readers and booksellers with the Award of
Excellence – Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements. 

A spin-off in that
series, Malbec Mayhem features one of the secondary characters and is available
now.
2 replies
  1. C. T. Collier
    C. T. Collier says:

    I love the idea of 100×100! And of focusing without pressure on a short scene, one character's moodling, a conversation, a descriptive passage,any small piece of the larger work.

  2. Kimberly Jayne
    Kimberly Jayne says:

    Good ideas. I'm struggling terribly right now. Down-spiraling in guilt and self imposed pressures and expectations. I'll try the 100 words a day thing, handwritten, and see if that might get me over the hump.

Comments are closed.