35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 17: Planning for Pantsers - the Plot (1)

Today I find myself in the murky waters where the planners excel and the pantsers shrink away in disgust (fear?) - the plot. Just as the planners are gleefully rubbing their hands together, I have to disappoint you, I have not converted. If the pantsers were about to dig out the razors to slit their wrists, I say, relax. It is not that bad. Being creative does not mean there is no rational thinking involved. Before despair blackens the horizon into eternal winter, let me tell you where I am coming from.

1. You have to know what genre you want to write. There are guidelines (I am not going to call them rules) for the major genres that you need to know to be able to compose prose that your readers will want to read. Even if you are thinking about zombie romance with serial killer dystopian undertones. Follow your gut and write in whichever genre you want, zombies and vampires notwithstanding.
2. By deciding the genre beforehand, your mind will already be plotting the story based on this genre. If you are not sure what genre it is, then write: end of the world story where undersexed teenagers are trying to overthrow the government. Not much for an actual plot, but it is a start.
3. The plot is your compass. It helps to tell you the direction your story is going. Planners have a smart compass - it can tell the future. Their compasses know that around the next corner there is a monster lurking that needs to be defeated by the hero. A Pantser's compass is intuitive - it doesn't know there is a monster lurking, but it puts butterflies in your hero's stomach when he approaches that corner.

Of course, the story winds its way around and over many obstacles that may change, but be careful of changing the character/genre of your story. Your future will be darkened with many rewrites.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 16: A little writing humour

Instead of writing a post today, I decided to add a few tidbits of humour on writing. And of course, being an engineer, project manager and writer...it had to be Dilbert. Enjoy!

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 15: What I learned at #ROSACon2015

Like all good things, #ROSACon2015 had to end. Two days of sharing experiences, and making new friends. Listening to presentations were I either learned something new or was reminded of an important aspect of writing.

Work sessions and discussions that were open and honest, even when the discussion got between the bed sheets. This was a romance authors' conference after all!

We shared lots laughs, but were also moved to tears. The organisation is still in its infancy, but the foundations have been laid for a future of authors growing within themselves, growing as writers and passing on the lessons learned to help and support new authors.

While the publishing industry is changing almost by day, self-publishing notwithstanding, there was much to be learnt from the experienced authors. Persistence, coping with fear and rejection, the daily demands of our time, and commitment to our craft despite all the challenges we have to face.

I enjoyed making my presentation on marketing for authors. While the subject matter is very close to my heart, there was not enough time to cover all the aspects in an hour. It is a good thing then that I am committing myself towards finishing the first draft on Indie Author: The Good, the Bad and the Hard Work by the end of November.

Once I am back home, I will assess the progress on the book and update my planning to ensure that it will be completed on time. In the meantime, my travelling is done until December, and my posts will return to the schedule to complete the book, and a few more posts on planning for pantsers and NaNoWriMo.

See you tomorrow - from my home office!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Follow Me Day 3 - #ROSACon2015 pictures

As promised the pictures from today's presenters. The Conference is now over, but keep an eye out for the feedback posts about #ROSACon2015 - see you next year!

Karina Szczurek Brink

Jayne Bauling

FltR: Joss Wood, Rae Rivers and Elsa Winckler

Rae introduces Phoenix Kelly

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 14: Follow Me...Stellenbosch @ #ROSACon2015

Some of the Conference attendees: Day 1

Yesterday I was asked to be one of the bloggers for one of the presentations. The presentation was about Internal vs External conflict - that one thing that sets a story apart from a narrative. I don't know when the post needs to be ready for the SA Romance Writers' blog, but will let you know, and post a link if you want to read it. There will also be posts about the other presentations that you can have a look at.

Today is the last day of the conference and here is what I have planned for my day:
1. The Category Romance Formula by Joss Wood

2. What do you mean I have to market my writing? presented by yours truly
I will be giving the presentation to everyone subscribing to the mailing list on my blog. I have also received a few requests to give the presentation back home too. If you are interested, please keep an eye out for the details of the date and venue. It will be in the Pretoria/Centurion/Johannesburg area.

3. Tips to overcome the fear that can paralyse our writing by Rae Rivers

As promised there will again be more pictures online (in a second post) after the conference finishes today for you to look at.

See you later!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Follow Me to #ROSACon2015 - Day 2

Some of the speakers today:

     

Left: Romy Sommer (chairman of ROSA); right: Joss Wood (author)

Rebecca Crowley and Jo Watson

A few of the dinner pictures as promised :)

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 13: Follow Me...Stellenbosch @ #ROSACon2015

The Butterfly in Linzé's Mischief

One of the benefits of using an online journal is being able to write blog posts while attending a writers' conference. The first day of the conference I will be attending the following talks:

1. Options for Authors today by Rebecca Crowley
2. Say what (is it about writing dialogue) presented by Joss Wood

Then I will be skipping a few presentations to go to a book shop with antique and rare books. I just have to go. As a book collector this kind of shop is my kryptonite. I don't know if I will find any books that will interest me, but if I don't go I will never know. I saw on their website that they had books that might interest me - and so the opportunity arises.

I will be in time back for the next session that interest me:
3. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should by Marie Dry

I will add my notes and impressions (and also lessons learned) as the second post to my blog. Will also try and get some good pictures of the speakers for you.

Tonight is the conference dinner at a historical building in town and some fun and mischief might result. Put a bunch of writers together, and the end result is guaranteed be unpredictable. Keep an eye out for my update later tonight.

See you later!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?