Category Archives: Clancy Metzger

Road Maps Help Get You There

Clancy Metzger Craft & Skills The Fictorians The Writing Life Writing Tools 7 Comments

I have found in my writing and in my life, that if I make a list, take notes, outline, plan – I will get whatever it is needs done just that much easier and quicker.

I’m talking about making a six month, one year, five year plan for your writing and for your life.  They aren’t the same, although sometimes it may feel that way.  As a sidebar – life is what feeds our writing, so don’t ignore it or you may find your writing drying up and getting stale from lack of fresh inspiration.

Family, friends, classes, the bowling league, hobbies, reading and the latest movie are not only food for your soul but food for your writing.  Do you know how high a priority they are?  Will you have that on your list in a year or five?  Think about it…

My friends know my schedule is hectic, so if they want to have time with me, it has to be scheduled.  I make time for my friends because they are important to me, but I also have to literally make time for them or they get lost in the craziness of my schedule.  They are a high priority and on my master plan, so that is covered. 

I recently had to turn down helping on an event in 2012 I really wanted to do because I didn’t have the time to commit to it.  Is it now on my plan for 2013? You bet it is.  I have a plan for it and other things will have to get sacrificed so I can participate, but that’s ok.  I’m planning ahead so I know what’s coming up, what needs done, and when.

What about your writing?  Will you have one book done a year, two a year, one epic and one novella?  What’s your goal?  What’s the plan to get there?  How are you going to accomplish it?  Do you write intently one weekend a month, a page a day, an hour a day?  All this planning helps you accomplish your goals. It really does. 

This is Clancy Lost

If you spend a little time planning ahead, you don’t have to think about it, you can just get on with what needs done.  An hour of planning on Monday for the week can save you several hours wasted while you figure out what you needed to do each day.

In my writing, I’m a plotter not a pantser, but I recently tried pantsing a novel.  I got a good start on it, about 30K and then I had no idea where I was going.  I knew how it ended but I had no idea the route to get there.  I was completely lost.  Now, I’m having to map my course so I can finish my story’s journey. 

I may be a little over-zealous on this planning issue, as I am the person who had a 47-page itinerary for a ten-day road trip from coast to coast, but maybe that’s just how I need to operate in order to get to my destination.  Some of you may be able to jump in the car and drive with no plan, but I suspect most will fall in between the two extremes. 

I’m just suggesting that you consider planning.  See if it doesn’t make things run smoother.  If you aren’t already a planner, try it as an experiment.  Figure out the goal for the week, day by day, and follow it.  Let me know if it helps. 

My goals for the next year?

Writing – Do my regularly schedule blog posts on all three of my sites, write at least 4 hours a day/4 times a week with a goal of finishing two books during the year, and actively submitting.

Life – Do not take on any more commitments, schedule time at least once a month with my “best-y”, schedule my days so they are more productive, and ensure my writing time is held sacred.

 Go forth and plan…Be ‘Fictorious!’

 

Charles Euchner’s “The Writing Code”

Character Clancy Metzger Craft & Skills Writing Tools 6 Comments
The Writing Code

Recently I attended a half-day workshop by Charles Euchner on using his Writing Code system.  Charlie is charming, funny, über-intelligent and his list of achievements will knock your socks off.  I know I was intimidated, but only a little because he is so easy to talk to.  Anyway, I really liked his approach.

 He utilizes the latest research on the brain and how we learn to make writing more intuitive.  His book, which I am currently reading, explains everything fully.  The Writing Code covers Storytelling, Construction and Analysis and is applicable to every kind of writing – from an email to a blog to an article to a novel.   And though I will do my best here to give you a brief idea of what his system is about, he says it far better than me on his website (listed at bottom).

 One of his techniques is to write everything in landscape mode versus portrait, to put only one sentence per line and to do it single space with a double space between paragraphs.  Okay – I wanted to show you how I wrote this post this way but it doesn’t display correctly, so you’ll have to take my word for it…I wrote it landscape, one sentence per line.  I do not, however, attest to my ability to write great sentences.  

You should start every piece (sentences, paragraphs, sections or chapters, and novels) strong and end every piece strong.  The technique gives you an opportunity to easily see if you are starting and ending strong.  It has other editing advantages as well.  It takes some getting used to, but I’m getting better.

 Another thing Euchner has you do is a Character Dossier.  And, this is not just the standard name, physical description and surface background.  It asks you to go in depth and answer questions with some real thought.  One might be who is that character’s foe in their youth.  You don’t just say, “Bob.”  You’d answer, “Bob used to torment Hero when they were in 5th grade because Hero had a slight lisp.”  Or something like it. 

In this way, you really begin to see the motivations that drive our characters.  Not just in the ways immediately apparent to the current plot, but in ways that could subtly effect the way they react to minor things you hadn’t planned for in the story.

 As I said, I’m reading the book now and trying the techniques he advocates.   I’ve already learned things about my characters I didn’t know.  That was cool.

I found a lot of merit in his methods which is why I’m not only trying his approach, but also blogging about it.  Check it out if you need some fresh ideas or a new method to bolster your writing.

Here’s Charles Euchner’s website:  http://www.thewritingcodesystem.com

Let me know what you think.

Distractions and Avoidances Conquered

Clancy Metzger The Writing Life 4 Comments

…for the most part.  A little over a month ago I wrote about how I was avoiding writing.  Actively not doing my job.  And, though I failed that week in overcoming my issues.  I have since made progress.  Kylie asked for an update.  Here it is.

 At some point, a few weeks ago, I made a resolution (like for New Year’s – except I’m keeping this one) that I would wake up and write.  I would not check the insidious email distraction until I wrote for several hours first. 

 If I check the email first, then I get side-tracked by reading blogs, leaving comments in hopes of winning some prize for doing so, deleting the hundred emails I don’t have time for, answering questions, and doing tasks requested in emails.  Seriously, that can take me until noon if I’m not careful.  Then I try to write but my brain is fried from the afore-mentioned distractions, so I need a nap, and then I’m fuzzy headed and not feeling creative.  Another day gone and wasted and no writing to show for it.  Grrrr.

 But with my new resolution, if I don’t look at the email, don’t even open it until after I write, even if I don’t get back to the writing in the afternoon, I’ve accomplished my main goal of getting words on page.  HA!  Evil email and internet tool that I love, I have conquered you and I wrote despite your tempting ways. 

 Maintaining my resolution, I am working my way through my story.  Some days are more productive than others, but whether I get 600 words or 6000, I am getting closer to ‘The End’. 

How is everyone else doing?

Pesky Distractions and Writing Avoidance

Clancy Metzger The Fictorians The Writing Life 7 Comments

I admitted today, to my fellow Fictorians, that I am avoiding writing.  This is the first step to recovery – I hope.  There are many reasons I am not writing or not feeling creative in the least.  The suspected top items probably include:  too many other obligations (writing-related and not), my work space is disorganized and a disaster of clutter, and my writing is still lacking and critiques tell me so.

 My plan.  I have a week before this post is due, so let’s do an experiment together.  I will try a variety of things to alleviate said problems and report if they are helping – on a daily basis.  I know you won’t see any of this until the week is up, but go along with me and we’ll see if it doesn’t help me and possibly you at some point in the future.

 Monday – Harsh critique has me depressed, but I have now admitted I have an avoidance problem happening, so this will be my attempt to correct the situation.  I want to take a nap, go to the movies or read a book. Obvious avoidance tactics…. And I succumbed.  I ended up taking a nap, watching a movie, reading and indulging in food therapy.  It was ugly.  But, I’m feeling less depressed.

 Tuesday – So far, still being distracted by other obligations, but I really do have to wrap up the minutes for my online board meeting.  So, working on that.  I’m second banana for my local Utah Romance Writers Conference coming up in October.  I got a lot done on the conference program and on the minutes, but no writing.  Still hopeful.

 Wednesday – Epic fail on the writing again.  More board meeting, more minutes, more program.  But, the minutes are done and the program is 75% done.  Had an evening field trip in relation to the upcoming conference, too.

 Thursday – Honestly, I don’t know what happened today. I did some reading.  Lots and lots and a painful amount of emails, as usual.  I had a powwow with my critique partner about the problem with my plot.  We came up with some thoughts.  Discussed going back to work on another story that I’m more clear on.  Ran some errands, did dishes and stuff.  Alas, no writing.

 Friday – My mom was off today, so we took advantage of her three-day weekend to plan a list of outside honey-do’s that we need to get done before summer disappears.  Something like thirty tasks, some small, some bigger.  Then we checked our storage room for supplies, shopped for the rest and started knocking out this list.  No writing.  Do I sound like a broken record?

 Saturday – More Honey-do list work with an afternoon break for a class and a meeting I had to go and then back to work on the list.  I am so tired.  I’m thinking maybe I need to just bully my way thru on the current writing whether it’s crap or not and just finish it.  I can fix it after.  At least I was thinking about it today. Sigh.

 Sunday – The Honey-do list got more than half crossed off.   Work around the homestead – 1 / Writing – 0.

Monday – My post is due today and it’s a new week.  Last week may have a been a bad week to try and fix this problem, but I did make some headway.  I got other tasks done that I needed to (writing, non, and around the house) and I feel more like stuff is off my plate so I can focus on writing.  I know I should be writing every day even if it is only for fifteen minutes or something.  Does my blog count?  No more excuses.  I will write no matter what!  Having thought about it all week and waffling on how to proceed, I give the current work two hours.  If I can’t write on it, I’m changing to a different story.  I still need to clean and organize my writing space.  I will dedicate one hour a day to getting it sorted out.  I have hope for this week.  Fingers crossed, ya’ll!