Tag Archives: Author

A blog about the topics of writing, Writer's platform

Do you know any pantsers?

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How cluttered is your workspace where you write?

I like my office organized. But a small part of me is okay with the mess. I can say the same for any WIP I am working on.

I attended a local writing conference a few years ago. The speaker asked if there were any pantser in the room, and a writer raised her hand and pointed at me.

I, to that point, never heard what this word meant. Looking it up, I liked it. I liked it a lot. Granted, this has gotten me in some bit of a jam on certain WIPs, making me go back and do a brief outline to get myself unstuck.

Did I learn my lesson? No, I did not. I am the writer who likes to sit down and go for it, writing page after page, knowing there will be work to get done on getting the timeline correct.

So, why don’t I bite the bullet? I love the freedom of writing. My juices flow better, and the ideas come faster. It works for me. I know very few pantsers. Wait, that isn’t right. I can’t think of a single writer that, like me, without an outline. It would be cool to find some so we could have that connection.

An outline gives you direction, a timeline that will be adjusted and adjusted as it gives you focus on the material. It can help you with plots, characters, and scenery. It might help you look up in the air less as you try to work out a problem that you are having. From everyone I have talked to, this is the route they feel flows.

And that is what it is what flow works for you.

I never knew my style had a name. I like it because it describes my writing style to the letter. It works for me and my characters. Why change that up now?

Blog on writing

This book or movie is based on a true story: But how much really?

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You have seen the movies where it says the following is based on a true story. I use to be impressed with that expecting that the movie would be upfront and accurate from the story they took it from . That came tumbling down with the first of the Jason Bourne movies. Walking out of the movie theater I asked my husband, who had read the book, how accurate was it. He said, “ My name is Jason Bourne.” He then proceeded to walk to our vehicle. Catching up I inquired more of how it was accurate. He said that is it. I think I remember that line correctly.

How true do you want your book to be? How much do you want it to be accurate to a story or headline you are writing it from? As writers or movie makers we can take a wide leap and a huge circle of license to complete the story line.

Now when I hear this statement I take it with a grain of salt. When a movie is based on a book if it is decent enough I will go back to the book and read to see how much they used versus how much they changed the outcome.

It does come down to the artist and how they want to proceed with the project. But it be nice if they write that it is based on a true story that a portion of it is accurate and not just the statement alone.

Being an author

Is writing a big part of you like let’s say breathing?

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I am a late bloomer. When some of my writers friends asked me how long I have been writing I told them since the end of 2009. What I received back was wonder and amazement for they had been working on their books for way longer.

Let me give you a brief background into how it started. In the summer of 2009 my husband mentioned to a dear and close friend of mine that he felt I wrote well. She proceeded to tell me. For how else do you tell your wife this but through her friend, right? Near the end of 2009 I had two surgeries, they were unrelated, within 6 weeks of each other. One did require I stay in bed for a few days. Now since she told me in the summer this bit of news from hubby I had been thinking in my head a story. With me being laid up for a few weeks I proceeded to start working on my first novel that is now known as “Jasper, Amazon Parrot: A Rain forest Adventure” which lead me on this path.

Sure, I wrote some poetry when I was growing up and in fact I still have the notebooks they are in but as far as writing novels and such that was not something I thought of. But once you start writing the writing bug takes a hold of you and now to not write is not something I would ever consider.

So while people who do not write have said, and will again, to me, “Are you still writing?” it is refreshing when a fellow writer and author comes to me and says, “Sharon, what are you working on right now?”

The bug is alive and well in me which suits me fine.