Whose Idea Was This?

By Jessica Park

Andrew is currently curled up on the floor in a fetal position and twirling his hair into tiny circles (read: deep editing phase for his newest novel). So being the friend that I am, I of course stepped around him on my way the fridge. No, that's actually not true--actually, being his friend, I offered to fill in for him today. On my way to the fridge.

God, it’s so great being a writer! I mean, except for the anxiety, panic, mental blocks, fear, self-loathing...

No, no. I really do love being a writer. But I often strongly side with Dorothy Parker and her famed sentiment, “I hate writing, I love having written.” Finishing a book gives a sense of accomplishment like no other, and it’s what I strive for.

I mean, obviously. Hello? Who sets out to write half a book?

It’s the getting there that can be tricky.

My ideas start slowly in the back of my mind. A feeling, a scene, maybe even just a line that I want to hear a character say. And then I build an entire book around that. Piece by piece. It can take weeks or months for that initial idea to grow into a full-blown plot, and the slow pace can drive me nearly insane. I want to go, I want it done and over!

I have a fantasy that I’ll come up with a book idea, sit down at the computer, and bang out a concise, logical outline in what I envision as a studious, authorly manner. I’ll be wearing a gorgeous Ralph Lauren ensemble. There could be riding boots, perhaps. Hair fabulously styled, yet still with the appearance of being casual. A thoughtful, diligent expression on my face as I focus and organize my ideas while poised at my mahogany desk...

Pfft. Hardly. Here are more likely scenarios:

1. I’m driving in the car, and a song comes on. I feel something... pain, love, hurt, angst, hope. But I feel. My thoughts wander and become daydreams. My brain goes into overdrive, triggered by a word or phrase. Movie-like scenes flash before my eyes. I miss my exit... The song goes on repeat for the next eight hours as I drown in the emotion. Or maybe as I cling to it, I will spend a week obsessing over this song and this scene. Periodically I scrawl fractured notes on scraps of paper and misplace them. But the scene is solidified.

Only 89 more to go...

2. I’m on the treadmill, and I think about my book. I close my eyes and grip the side bars as I walk ferociously up the incline. I will walk toward something. The movie images return, soon flashing the same scene over and over, but with no forward motion. So I play it again. What happens next? I turn up the music, pick up my pace. I listen. Listening to characters can bring amazing solutions to stumbling blocks. I should do it more. I fly off the back of the treadmill, probably trip over laundry, and scramble to wake up my laptop. Notes. I have to make notes now. Because I got it. I found a piece of the story.

Only 88 more to go...

Later, I will somehow string together my one-line quotes, my jumbled notes, my definitives, and my questions. And after many, many cups of coffee and very few hours of sleep, after immersing myself (often too deeply) in a fictional world that feels oh-so-non-fictional, an entire book will be born.

It ain’t glamorous, but it’s the truth. And a truth that I wouldn’t change, because when the right ideas come, they drive away the angst and worry, and confusion.

Then writing is not my work, it is very simply my air.

 Jessica Park is the author of LEFT DROWNING, the New York Times bestselling FLAT-OUT LOVE (and the companion piece FLAT-OUT MATT), and RELATIVELY FAMOUS. She lives in New Hampshire where she spends an obscene amount time thinking about rocker boys and their guitars, complex caffeinated beverages, and tropical vacations. On the rare occasions that she is able to focus on other things, she writes. Please visit her at jessicapark.me and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/authorjessicapark and Twitter @JessicaPark24

Crisis of Character

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


"What's your next book going to be about?"

"Can't say, but you're gonna love it!"

*SIGH*


Like most writers, I have file folders (on my computer and in a file cabinet) filled with story ideas, not to mention all the "what if" scenarios that roll around my head on a daily basis. I figured I could write a story a month for the next five years and not run out of material.

Recently, when my attention was focused more on family than plots, I began to feel a certain amount of dissatisfaction with the story I was building. Nothing specific mind you, but a general "ugh-ness" to the story. I didn't feel the spark, and considering arson played a huge role in my concept, not having a spark was concerning.

After all of the research, the hours gathering information and creating different scenarios, I was unmotivated to continue.

Not to worry, I thought. I'll just open up all of those idea files, I thought. I'll find the perfect plot replacement, I thought.

I thought wrong.

What I learned with that little exercise is that while I have a gazillion different story ideas, very few of them actually translate to novel material. In fact, I couldn't find one I was excited about.

I wanted to fling myself off the highest Colorado cliff I could find. End the agony. Stop the train before it derailed and took others with it.

And then…

It hit me.

My post two weeks ago talked about the kind of antagonist shrinks might find intriguing. I'd sort of picked out a general profile, but I hadn't developed that character.

Although as a crime fiction writer plot is important, of equal importance to me are the characters. Until I had this one major player fleshed out a little more, I wasn't going to be happy with anything.

After tackling the bad guy, my arson-ish plot is sizzling again and I'm feeling a little better. For now.

Writers: How do you find your sizzle? Is it always plot or is it character?

Readers: What are you more drawn to? Plot or characters?

The Evil Optimist

By Peg Brantley, Writer at Work, Stumbling Toward Publication



I'm an optimist who can't imagine living life any other way. I work at making the choice to constantly see my world in a fresh and positive way. I would prefer to be a bit naive rather than suspicious and guarded. Not stupid—just not paranoid. For me, this is an easier way to live.

When people find out I write crime fiction—and we get the inevitable and uncomfortable question of my publication status out of the way (sigh)—if they're still interested (and if they're readers, they're still interested), they want to know about where I get my ideas, and finally, they want to know about how such an upbeat person can write about such bad things happening to people.

Maybe what they're really asking is where they need to draw the line regarding our friendship. I know I'm in trouble when, after talking about some of the plots of my books, I'm asked if they are based on personal experience. Usually as my new friend backs toward an exit.

When I write bad things in my books, it's to depict people with the strength to survive those events. People who continue to love and laugh and don't allow trauma to rule their lives. People whose appreciation for life gets bigger as their world gets smaller and uglier. People who, usually, are honest and courageous at some level.

Evil is a choice. Just as love, hate and goodness are choices. Most people (except in my books) choose goodness, but even good people find themselves from time to time facing a part of themselves that is to some degree malevolent. That's how we recognize evil when we see it, or read it. That's how I know how to write it.

I'm an optimist with a bad side. Go figure.