Monday, March 27, 2017

The Write Amount of Pressure

Tension is key for a thriving plot. It doesn’t hurt to experience a little tension when it comes to accomplishing a writing task either. It’s all in the way you choose to react to the ticking clock. A little pressure never hurt anyone. In fact, it can bring out the best in you.
If you’re willing to see things through a unique lens.
I realize some people work better under pressure than others. I’m going out on a limb to say that anyone can succeed when the flames get hot. It’s all about taking a note from a mind-blowing story from the Bible, and doing the Shadrach-dance the second our fingers feel the heat.

Five Ways Pressure Can Inspire Our Best Work
It Sharpens Our Perspective
Tension forces us to come to terms with how badly we want something. When we’re counting the hours we’ve invested and the lack of sleep we’ve sacrificed, giving up suddenly seems foolish.
We Launch into Fight Mode
Adrenalin-charged, we take to the task with a rejuvenated fervor. No backing down. We feel our muscles thrum and our brains tingle. Game on, we think, as we throw ourselves into the current project. We will reap the rewards for going in and staying in with a winning mindset.
We Learn to Trust Our Guts
There’s no time to consult ten different people or to Google every last doubt away. When our time is crunched, we get the privilege of learning something foundational that has the potential to spoke out into every facet of our lives. We evaluate our writing with ruthless, yet discerning judgment. We don’t contemplate what works and what doesn’t. We just know. Because it’s a waste of time to double-guess ourselves. And there’s no time to waste.
We Refuse to Bow to Excuses
Procrastination is the ultimate Ice Queen. If we know we have time, most of us are likely to take it. Don’t get me wrong, time’s a beauty. I’m a huge fan of allowing plot ideas to marinate and novels to organically unravel. However, without any kind of flame stoking the fire, our work is at risk of turning to ashes or ice. We’re tired. We’re too busy. We’re not good enough. Spear that Ice Queen and get to it, flamethrower in hand, and imagination on fire.
We Develop Our Author Voice
One of my favorites thrills as a writer is when I stamp a watermark of myself on the page. Here’s the tricky part, time is necessary when it comes to authors discovering voice. No way around it, to possess a strong writer voice it takes years of discipline.
Another way to look at this…when are you most likely to divulge your secrets? When do things have the potential to get crazy real? Answer: When your feet are to the fire. In small bursts of pressure-filled time we can dig up some of the best that exists inside us. It’s the pressure that coaxes it out from where it may have remained dormant for years if all continued status quo. Flames refine us.
I frequently create self-appointed deadlines. Keeps me on my toes. Keeps my material fresh.
Make tension work for you.

Now, Abednego. (Or as I hear it in my head, I’d better go.)

Monday, March 20, 2017

Ice Wine


Because we have a disarray of boxes all over our house, and I have more to do than I could possibly cross off any list, I’m going to keep today’s post short & sweet.

It was my turn to select the food and drinks for book club last week. We read the psychological thriller, THE ICE TWINS by S.K. Tremayne.

I decided to have a little fun in the liquor store while choosing wines. I took my time wandering the aisles until I came across these five…


Do you believe we had some left over?


How

Monday, March 13, 2017

Dark Matter



It’s fun to think back to the days when elementary school teachers challenged students to respond to books by creating dioramas. Remember dioramas? Cut up shoeboxes with paper characters, reenacting a splice of the story in the eyes of a child.

There are books I’ve read as an adult that tickle my brain about what I might do with a shoebox and a thick stack of construction paper.

The latest book that piqued my imagination was DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch.

I went on a complete adventure as I read this genre-bending masterpiece. It accomplished what any great work should—it caused me to think about the theme, the characters, and the story world long after I finished reading.

DARK MATTER bumped up against the big bold timeless question of what if.

That’s the real reason I’m telling you about this book—why I loved it. It didn’t skim the surface or provide some mild, fleeting entertainment. Some part of it rooted. Its vines wrapped around the wild and luxuriant vines of my imagination and didn’t let go.

Now to brainstorm what else I’d put in my DARK MATTER diorama.


*I’ll be spreading the word about some other fantastic books in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Taking Time

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