Frankly, My Dear. . . The Best of Funds for Writers, C. Hope Clark
Disclaimer: I’m friends with C. Hope Clark on Facebook so when she offered a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review, I jumped. Y’all know I love sharing what I know. And what I know is she knows her stuff. Read on . . .
“This book is a motivational, go-to, elementary reminder that if you desire to be a writer, you deserve to be respected for it.” ~ C. Hope Clark, The Best of Funds for Writers.
I’m gonna tell y’all upfront that if I hadn’t received this book from her (autographed, too. Thanks, Hope!) I would have bought my own. I’ve subscribed to her newsletter in the past, but thinking I was receiving too many emails, hers was in the batch I unsubscribed to. Thanks to this handy-dandy guide, I’ve resubscribed, and it’s reignited my passion.
I love books. Of course I do. I’m figuring most of you do too. Or else you’re just here to read my sweet Southern drawl, am I right or am I right? Anyway, I love books that are small and light and fit in my bag. You never know how long the line at the post office or bank will take, or where lunch will be. It’s good to have a book for a quick grab-and-go.
This book is so good I want to trash it.
Now, hold on. I’m not talking about trash-trashing a book. My good sweet tea, honey, NO. That’s sacrilege. I’m saying, I may get myself a second one so I can cut it into Happy Planner pieces for inspirational bookmarks, that’s how good this book is. Can you imagine all these quotes washi-taped and colorized and highlighted? Mm-hmm. I guess we know what my next Happy Planner will be, don’t we?
But we’re talking about this book. And this book book is so much more. It’s not just a one-time read-through experience. This is a great reference book, a must have for any serious writer. And let’s just resurface that new argument, You can’t write in a Kindle. I imagine by my second read through, this book will have even more notes in the margins.
It’s broken into bite-size chapters (the longest is under four pages long) and easy-to-read formatting. Important, pay-attention-to-this items are bolded. Each chapter includes quotes from deliciously wonderful books and authors, the first being Anne of Avonlea. Hulloh! You think that didn’t endear this book to my nobody-touches-it-but-me stack?! That’s right, it did.
Part One covers topics written by Hope, Part Two is written by her guests. We’re talking easy-peasy advice like
To Website or Not to Website
The Zillion Little Pieces of Our Writing
Write Daily or Not
The Importance of Writer Self-Education
Tactics & Tips Selling Your Books on Consignment
On Being a Travel Writer for AAA
As with her website and newsletter, this little book is like a foil-wrapped Wonka bar (and we all know how I feel about Willy Wonka!) – so full of good little treats you just don’t know what you’ll get bite after bite. But you want more so you buy another bar. Side Note: Did you know Wonka candies are no longer available? I didn’t. *insert sad face here* Luckily, you don’t have to buy another book, or go without. You can just keep reading this one.
Frankly, My Dear . . . She said “Frankly!”
With practical advice on how to reach for your dreams, Hope’s book is a great reference, and Hope is a great encourager.
Some time ago, in a galaxy we still live in, This Girl was fighting a war. A war of discouragement and unconscious undermining from those around her.
“Oh, you want to be a writer? Yeah, like that’s going to happen.” “What’s that, you say? You’ve sold a cookbook? Aw, bless your heart.” “Gee, that’s a tough gig. What are you going to do for a living?”
This Girl had to make a decision. Either go along with the facade of presenting herself as society says she should ~ quiet, structured, always responsible, living day to day routinely and repetitively ~ or rise against those who fought to stifle the Muse, the ones who called her “crazy.”
She was afraid of her inner self. The self that didn’t fit it, and didn’t want to conform. The self that has known she was born to be *gasp* a Creative. Her Creative Self fought to emerge, but her Responsible Self wouldn’t let it. She was afraid The Others would be proven right. She equated creative with crazy. Oh sure, she’s let the Creative Self see daylight once in a while. Maybe feed it bread crumbs or cupcakes with sprinkles. But once the thing named “Normal” called, she had to lock up the Creative Self. She’s hear it singing through the closed door. Sometimes it would whisper through the keyhole. Sometimes it was silent. But no matter how quiet it was, she still knew it was there.
One day, she gave herself permission to open the door. Just a little. Just a crack. She wanted to give her Creative Self a breath of air. But what happened was the reverse. She found her Creative Self breathing air into her stale, dank soul. Inhaling deeper and deeper, she let it refresh her in a way she’d not known before. What she had thought was the sun was just fluorescent lighting. It was her Creative Self that led her to the real light ~ the deep, penetrating, shield-your-eyes-so-can-see-everything light.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Let your Creative Self shine.
Her Creative Self would tell her things others didn’t know. It influenced her style of dress, manner of speaking, behaviors, and, yes, her thoughts. It structured her schedule and gave her permission to let loose.
But others didn’t see it. Others saw the square peg sticking out of the triangle hole. Sure a corner would fit now and then. But never the whole part. Never the part that was bigger than the hole.
She tried following those who followed the followers who followed the followers who followed the leaders. And when she would break into occasional song and dance, sometimes they hushed her. So she kept most of it inside.
The struggle is real, folks. The struggle is so real. Imagine knowing something about yourself ~ and I mean, knowing, okay? Not the “Gee, I would like to . . .” or the “Hey, I could . . .” but the “This is what I was made for. This is what I am!” knowing ~ and very few others see it or encourage it.
How does This Girl keep going when the rut of daily life gets bigger and longer? Simple. Find a way out by latching on to those already doing what she wants to do, and let them help her climb.
Frankly, My Dear . . .: Latch and Climb.
Now, I’m not a mountain climber. But I know if I ever wanted to go there, I should bring certain gear, supplies . . . and a guide. I definitely am not going up a mountain alone.
I also know you (well, I) need to be willing to let go of some things. What This Girl thinks is stability, is just something under her feet. Being tethered to someone higher up on the mountain has its perks. And responsibilities.
This Girl needs to make sure she follows her guides. They’ve been there before. They know the best path. Or not. Maybe it’s a new adventure for all of us. But the point is, we’re in it together. If This Girl slips, another can keep her tethered. Sure, she can lose a little footing, but she won’t lose everything. And what about the others? Yes, now and then they’ll need to slow down, repeat instructions, stop moving ahead.
The goal is for everyone to excel, yes? Y’all don’t need someone resisting your assistance. So it’s also This Girl’s goal to make sure she doesn’t bring the guides down. In fact, it’s This Girl’s goal to someday know enough to toss a tether down to someone else, and help them climb. Even if that tether is designed with Tiffany blue Zebra stripes.
Because it’s worth it.
Because when we are all on the summit together, glorious things await.
Let your Muse out of the closet. Give your Creative Self permission to dance and sing. Sooner or later, someone will want you to help them climb.
#AmWriting: Using a Calendar to Storyboard Your Novel
As a discovery writer, I sometimes feel as though I’m just a passenger on this train. I’m the transcriber of events observed. Or a screenwriter giving words to the movie playing in my head. Often, my characters will rebel, refuse, and rearrange the scenes I’m trying to create.
I don’t know about your writing, but getting deeper into the story has caused some drama, and I don’t just mean on the pages. NOLA has been started, restarted, edited, revamped, revised and solidified. And through the past three years of all that activity, it was getting hard to follow.
New Orleans happenings occur every day, and Josie is experiencing as much as she can. Characters, locations, food [oh! the food!], and of course drama, drama, drama.
Keeping Track with Story Cards is helpful with details, but I need something more. Certain events are set in stone, others are more fluid. NOLA takes place during October, and Halloween is a big occasion in the Big Easy. And let’s be real: There’s no bulletin board big enough to hang on my wall to pin over a hundred index cards on to in order to view it all. [Also, have y’all tried carrying a wall-size board in your backpack? Just sayin’.]
Calendaring NOLA helps me note the big events, emotions, and experiences that propel the story forward. This is where my Happy Planner comes into play. I call it responsible scrapbooking. With the month-at-a-glance layout and plethora of stickers, I laid out the story so far. From Josie’s runaway red-eye, to the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, to Cafe du Monde, meeting new friends, reclaiming old habits, there’s a lot to remember about this journey.
NOLA is timeless. That is, events don’t happen on specific dates. So whether October 3rd is a Monday or a Thursday is insignificant. For future storyboarding, I’ll invest in blank calendaring pages. I bought my Happy Planner in November, which meant the pages for October 2016 went unused. Not anymore ~ A few dot/stickers to cover the dates, and I have a full month’s layout.
#AmWriting: Nippers, NOLA, and a Happy Planner
The side notes allow me to list characters, locations, foods (for the NOLA Companion Cookbook), and other items I need to know.
The Face stickers let me track emotions: Is a particular moment happy, sad, or exciting?
Using different colored pens highlight themes: locations, events, dramatic scenes.
What’s for dinner? Stickers indicate new eating experiences. Coffee stickers? Please. Do I really need to explain these? [whisper: Cafe du Monde.]
Calendaring keeps it real: Does my story flow, drag, or skip around? [Note to self: Using a pencil helps until you know for sure. #experienceshows.]
Storyboarding NOLA is also a great at-a-glance review that gives forward movement by quickly answering questions:
When was this character introduced?
When was the last time it rained in New Orleans?
What was the last big drama?
Are too many events happening too closely together?
Of course, any calendaring system will do, but I find the abundance of creative options offered through the Happy Planner system really works for me.
With some sweet tea and responsible scrapbooking,
~Molly Jo
Now it’s your turn: How do you keep track of your storyline?
Some are discovery writers. Some are outliners. Some are in-betweeners.
Whatever the plotting style, great writers track their story from start to finish.
I, not yet being a great world-famous writer, was in my fifth chapter of NOLA when I realized I’d used much of the same language in Chapter Two. Now, we all know New Orleans is worth visiting more than once, but this novel is a mystery, not a time travel sci-fi. So, back to the old storyboard I went.
Only I didn’t have a storyboard. No worries. I remembered enough to keep it from happening again. Until I didn’t. And it did. Chapters Eight, Twelve, and Fifteen all began to sound just a little too familiar. It took a few days of reviewing and re-reading to discover the duplicate matter and correct it.
You may already know this, but I am not an outliner. I am a discovery writer. Sure, I can tell you how I expect NOLA to end. But getting from A to B to C? I don’t know all the details ahead of time. I know it when it happens. I have a general idea, but basically I like to let the characters tell me what to write. I figure I’m just the translator to the life they are already living. Too deep? Sorry. It’s a writer’s truth. Quite often your characters will say and do things you never expected. Even if you’re an outliner.
And if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know in the last few weeks, they’ve thrown a few curve balls.
I also realized, being from the Southern California desert, I was a little too in love with writing about the humidity in the Crescent City. Of course my lead character, also from the desert, finds it unique, refreshing, but at times oppressive. But she doesn’t have to mention it in every conversation, does she? Nor do I have to make it rain in every chapter.
With two hundred pages written, I was beginning to struggle with following the little details, and found myself spending too much time scrolling back and forth in the document to verify whether this thing happened or that character did something or, yes, whether or not it rained in the last two pages.
So I devised a helpful tool that I’ve shared with a few fellow writers, and now I’m sharing it with you.
#AmWriting: Story Card Kit
The Story Card Kit consists of:
Card box
Lined Index cards
Colored pen
Black pen
Pencil
My kit not only helps me track the story. It also gives me insight into character growth and little details I want to focus on. New Orleans is famous for its food so of course I want to reference just the right amount in each chapter.
Characters, conflicts, location, weather, food . . . That’s a lot to remember, yes? My cards make easy reference and when laid out in sequence, help me see the bigger picture.
Some scenes are great, others need work. Maybe Chapter Seventeen, Scene Two could really be Chapter Ten, Scene Four.
Being able to pull the cards out of order is a lot less messy than deconstructing the story in a Word doc.
NOLA Story Cards
Here are the vital elements for each NOLA card:
Day: References the day the story started, and the day of the week. Also time of day, and/or specific calendar dates if necessary.
Chapter/Scene: Tracks how many scenes in a chapter.
Characters: Follows the important people. Also tracks secondary characters.
Conflict- Major: What is propelling the drama forward?
Conflict- Minor: Are there smaller issues? These may later turn into bigger issues.
Location: How often are my characters at home, in town, or in a specific place?
Weather: Has there been too much rain? Is there a storm coming? Is it a clear, sunny afternoon?
First line: How does this scene start? It should grab the reader immediately.
Last line: Does it make the reader want to continue?
Best lines: My characters can be quippy or snotty. New Orleans has its own voice. The best lines from each scene, when brought together, create a fun summary of the book and keep me on track.
When I’m going somewhere I can’t take my laptop, I bring my story card kit. I can read, review, make notes and process changes. I can draft new scenes. So even when I’m not writing, I’m writing.
Now it’s your turn: What tips and tricks do you have for keeping track of your story?
