Time. I have been in my new home for 128 days. New scenery, new people, and new places to observe.

And, the days have passed by rather quickly. The French phrase “Le temps s’écoule” comes to mind when I think of time passing by. It reminds me that time is fluid and cannot be grasped.

You can attempt to encapsulate time in writing through descriptions, actions, scenes, and imagery.

Emotions. But, how do you capture those elusive moments? What words, sensations, visuals do you describe when trying to convey them? —Through emotions. Your story is a series of emotions strung together to make a story. Yes, there’s also action because we move, experience, and breathe. But, the thread that winds its way in and out of the story is your emotional journey.

Does this sound a lot like “Show, don’t tell”? She nods her head in frustrated appreciation of this rule, or whatever you want to call it, that writers are desperately trying to convey in their writing. Some find it easy, others are stuck in Tell hell, and struggle to insert an emotion into a walk, a run, a sigh, or a reaction.

It’s been an exercise to go through my drafts and ask myself the question, “Am I telling or am I showing?” And, I’m finding that the “showing” can be done in as many or as little words as possible. So, I’ve been exercising the “as little words as possible” path to see where it takes me.

Balance. What happens when it gets too long? You lose people, they forget where they are in your story. If your eyes start to sag at your own writing, it’s going on too long. The trick is balance.

During one of the chapters I was rereading, rechecking, and revising, I felt as though my eyes were shutting at one point. Were they good words strung together? Yes, but maybe it was too long or didn’t have enough punch? In any case, I was falling asleep. Granted I was on the 12th hour of being awake (with no nap whatsoever, and I love naps) and wanting desperately to get to bed. Still, the experience told me that, at that moment, my story was not keeping me enthralled enough to stay awake.

So, I closed my laptop and went to sleep. I do remember where it was that I was starting to nod off, so I’m going to look at it again and try to find a solution.

Balance is key. Too much, and you’ll forget the story. Too little, and you’ll feel cheated.

This is my plight with the written word. What’s yours?

Live an abundant life,
CC

(Pixabay.com — Ballerina by Pixel2013)

I wrote about “Cutting the Superfluous” in my last post, and I’m sticking to it!

I’m going through my Book 1 one last time and keeping this “cutting” hat on, I’m going through and seeing where I can trim to make the words stand out and the meaning clear.

My goal at the start of this year (and by February 23) is to publish this book. I had given myself until the end of the year (6 months) to hear back from a few small publishers to whom I had sent some queries, and I received a couple of rejections, and then nothing from any of the other publishers.

So, I have decided to self-publish, since I’ve done it before and feel comfortable with that direction as well. I do like having some control, and I’ve heard that with publishing the traditional route, it’s possible to lose some, if not all, of it. Of course, it’s a whole different ball game if you approach one of the Big 5, and they want to publish and market the hell out of you! With small publishers, you tend to have to market yourself anyway.

For this series, Paragon, I’m actually feeling okay about self-publishing. It has been my baby, my learning tool, and it just keeps on ticking. As I’ve mentioned (somewhere, I’m sure), I’ve already started Book 2 and Book 3, and though I have a mountain still to climb with those two other babies, I’m well on my way to finishing that first draft for both.

I just wanted to get this down on “paper” to hold myself accountable to that Feb 23 date.

I would love to hear some of your thoughts on traditional versus self-publishing!

Cheers,

CC

PS – Coffee remains an old habit. I’m never letting that one go.

(Photo by StockSnap at pixabay.com)