Wednesday, February 27, 2008

When Something Clicks

Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm being interviewed by Diane Craver today. Come by and say howdy and get the answer to today's contest entry question.

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Judy and I have been toying with the idea of working together on a series of books and have tossed around some ideas. We came to find out that one of those ideas was already stolen by another publisher (though I'm of the mind that we could spin it differently and make it our own), but others feel pretty darn unique.

And, I think they're clicking.

How do I know? Because scenes pop into my head at the strangest times...just snippets that I can see and hear as clearly as if it was a movie playing on the screen before me. It's the strangest thing, but something that happens to me when I'm brainstorming something that works.

I'm still going to be working on my own stuff, but this thought of ours really has merit, and I'm excited. It's been a while since I've been excited about something... about writing. And isn't that sad?

If you're a writer, how do you know when something clicks for you? And, do you see your scenes like a movie? If not, how do they work inside your brain? I'm terrifically curious.

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My daughter is utterly hooked on a series of books that are exciting and quite complex and well-written for a middle grade series. Have you heard of them?



Seriously, she is gobbling these up. There are three six-book series thus far, and she's been going nuts to earn the money to buy them all. She has four books so far. She reads constantly (we got the entire series at the library) and can't put them down. She is a big fan of the Redwall series, but complained a bit that those books took a little while to get going. Not so, these, apparently. She says they jump right into the action and it never stops.

A word of warning, though. These books are about warring clans of animals, and many of the characters do die. My uber-sensitive daughter is sad about this, but not to the point she doesn't want to read the books, so it must be handled very well. I've only read a bit of the first book, to test the waters, and can highly recommend them.

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Because I haven't posted a picture of the demon-dog in a while:

"So, this is supposed to taste nasty, huh?"



"Can I try some? Yum!"



Yes, folks, the "Fooey" (aka Bitter Apple) doesn't phaze this puppy at all. I, OTOH, dread even coming near the bottle because it is NASTY tasting and a bear to wash off if you get it on your hands.

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Your Driving Is is: 50% Male, 50% Female



According to studies, you drive both like a guy and a girl.

This means you're a pretty average driver, with typical quirks.

Occasionally you're frustrated and or a little reckless, but that's the exception - not the norm.

9 comments:

Ceri Hebert said...

I've worked with other writers before on a story. The first time was when I was about 14. Unfortunately she moved to Louisiana and there was no internet back then. It took too long to send the story back and forth. More recently I worked with another writer who is hugely talented but put her skills on hold to start a family. Maybe someday she and I will pick it up again.

I generally can see my really good work on film... in my head anyway. I hope my current wip has that potential.

Good luck to you and Judy!

Allie Boniface said...

How do I know when something clicks? When I can see the whole story, start to finish, in my head.

Good luck - exciting!

Sarita Leone said...

What great news! A writing partnership sounds like a wonderful adventure. I wish you both the best with it.

How do I know when I've got a click? When I can't get it out of my head until I put it on the screen or paper. That's how I know.

Anonymous said...

Has your daughter tried the Molly Moon books? Andrew's hooked on them. He's been staying up late to read--he simply can't put them down.

Charity

Dru said...

Your new writing venture sounds exciting. Good luck with it. I know you guys will come up with something fabulous.

Brandy said...

Oo, Partnering! Sounds exciting!

As for the bitter apple, we bought some and took it back because the cats acted like it was CATNIP. Martha Stewart (don't laugh) had a recipe on a couple of months ago for a pet repellant containing red pepper, you might want to try that.

Have a delightful day!

Melissa McClone said...

I bought the first 6 book Warriors series for my daughter's birthday gift. She'll get them on Easter Sunday. I think she's really going to like them.

When I know an idea clicks is when I do see it like a movie, or scenes flash into my head or different parts of the story, but I never really know until I start writing it. Sometimes even those ideas that click don't translate well on the page.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if it really counts as clicking, but I almost always see what I'm writing in my head as a movie.

Jen said...

Yes, I'm absolutely familiar with the Warriors series.

And yes, things click. I've felt that way with the recent mystery.