The Name Game

"The name game/ Shirley!/ Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firley/ Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!" - "The Name Game" by Shirley Ellis

After reading my Tuesday's Top Ten post about names a few days ago, Mary Ellen Quigley wrote a great post on her blog, Mary Ellen's Musings (see link on the right hand side of the page), about how she names the characters in her books. Her blog inspired me to share my thought process on naming my characters as well.

When I first got the idea for the "Willow Ryan Series", I instantly knew what her name was going to be. I knew that the series would take place in the 80s, with Willow having been born to hippie parents in 1968. The name needed to have a hippie-dippy flare, but still be "normal" enough where it wouldn't distract readers from the story. So Willow Brook Ryan was created, as was her sister, Summer Star Ryan. Nothing too out there, but the names fit the characters' personalities, their history, and their time of birth. Those are the three main things I think of when choosing names for my characters, which is one of my favorite parts of beginning a new book.

For my current work in progress, Who We Thought We Were, I picked names that were fairly common or typical for people of my generation since these characters are around my age. This novel is set in Virginia, so I stuck with fairly average sounding names, nothing too wild or inventive, which is not the norm in this part of the country, especially during the early 80s when these characters would have been born. The next factor was personality. Now I know this can be up for debate because everyone has their own opinions on what kind of person a name sounds like, but I paired up the following names with what I thought would be their character traits:

Shawna Sharp - The Poet - intelligent, quick-witted, sarcastic, and independent

Ryder Harrison - The Musician - a practical yet creative dreamer with a powerful presence

Christen Romano - The Girl Next Door - kind, outgoing, smart, and patient

Jared Jenkins - The All-American Boy - high school football player, devoted family man, popular, and easy going

Megan Delaney - The Cheerleader - bubbly, perfectionistic, always smiling - even if it's forced

Matt Harper - The Jock - high school baseball star turned major league pitcher, charismatic, cocky, loved by millions

Nicole (Nikki) Castille - The Rebel - unconventional, driven, always reinventing herself, not afraid to speak up about anything and everything

Evan Schultz - The Brain - average looking, extremely gifted, had a very magnetic personality in high school, over thinks everything

So that is how I begin a story. I use my three guidelines and come up with the characters, and somehow the rest just falls into place, like magic. And sometimes that's what writing is. Yes, it's hard work and can be quite challenging and exhausting at times, but the act of creating a story that (hopefully) a lot of people will read and enjoy, is a very magical thing. And it all begins with a name.

Maybe Someday Those Words Will Be Heard

"A million young poets/ Screamin' out their words/ Maybe someday/ Those words will be heard." - "Check It Out" by John Mellencamp

I wrote 1,200 words for my work in progress yesterday! I know it's not much, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Who We Thought We Were is starting to take shape, I'm getting a better feel for the characters I have introduced so far, and I even have a couple of new ideas of where I want the story to go. I'm back on track!

My goal for this week is to finish the current chapter and hopefully start the next. Usually once I get going on a book, I can write pretty quickly. It's just getting through the first couple of chapters that are a little slow. But as I get into the heart of the story, I become lost in the words, words that hopefully will be read by many, many people someday. Once the story has taken over my senses, I know I've got something worthwhile. I have a feeling that will happen very soon!

Stay Lucky

"But it feels like you just might explode inside/ You've been pacing around and waiting/ For some moment that might never arrive at all/ What you don't have, you don't need it anymore." - "Stay Lucky" by The Gaslight Anthem

That is the first section of my two-part song of the day. I have listened to "Stay Lucky" easily a hundred times, but for some reason these lyrics hit me like a punch in the face when I heard them the other day. Brian Fallon's words have a way of doing that. I was driving to work and thinking about my writing when it occured to me, what if success never happens? What if that moment I'm waiting for never arrives, ever? What if it's not supposed to? It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice down my back. Then I heard these lines:

"But you're never gonna find it/ When your knees got so weak/ And it's
right here in case you need it/ Like when you were young/ And everybody used to call you lucky/ When you were young."

Just as quickly as the previous lyrics had hit me, these words made me open my eyes to the fact that if I'm weak, if I'm just sitting around doing nothing like I have been, I'm never going to find anything. I have to make my own luck, because I'm not going to be given a break by anyone else. I'm not a kid anymore and even though so many things came easily to me back then, that's just not the case now. I have the abilities and gifts to meet my goals, and that's pretty lucky. I had forgotten that amid the rejection letters, loss of ambition I fought for a while, and the negative thoughts that often threaten to take over my mind.

I knew all along that if I want to succeed in the writing world it's up to me, but this song put everything into perspective. I could spend my whole life waiting for some luck to drop into my lap that will never arrive, or I can be fully present, work my butt off, and make this happen. I am not a weak person, I can't afford to explode, and I do really need this. So yesterday I wrote. I completed the chapter I had started last fall, the first chapter in Who We Thought We Were, and I'm no longer pacing. I know where I'm going and I know I'll get there. Someday I will arrive.

Once Upon a Time...October Road

"Well I'm going back down maybe one more time/ Deep down home/ October road/ And I might like to see that little friend of mine/ That I left behind/ Once upon a time/ Oh promised land and me still standing/ It's a test of time/ It's a real good sign/...October road." - "October Road" by James Taylor

After not working on my latest novel for about three months (it makes me a little sick to admit that it's been that long), I'm getting back into the groove of things. Who We Thought We Were is a change for me since it's not part of the "Willow Ryan" series, but I am once again very excited about this novel. I reread the pages I had written last autumn and am pretty sure where I need to go next. I have a good idea of what direction the story is taking, who the characters are, and most importantly at this point, why I am writing this book. I'm putting a little piece of myself and my high school history down on paper. But just a little piece.

The Willow series is completely fictional. Sure, there are elements of the books that are taken from real life experiences, but the town of Santa Elena is fictional and the characters come entirely from my imagination. Who We Thought We Were is a little different. For those of you out there who are familiar with the short-lived TV show "October Road", I am kind of taking the Nick Garret route and creating a fictional story based on the people and places I knew in high school and events that took place during that time. None of my characters are based solely on one person I knew and the vast majority of the novel will come purely from my overactive imagination, but there will be elements of truth there as well. The book takes place in the same town I went to high school in. One of the main characters dreams of being a writer, is very sarcastic, and wasn't exactly a full of school spirit, peppy cheerleader type of teenager. Sound like someone you may recognize? (Hint: She's a fictional version of yours truly.)

Now that I mentioned "October Road", I can't let it go without recommending it to all of you. This drama starring Bryan Greenberg (from "One Tree Hill") and Laura Prepon ("That 70s Show") was only on for two seasons, but it made a big impact on me. The main character, Nick Garret, left his small hometown for New York after high school and eventually wrote a huge bestselling novel based on the town he grew up in and the people he knew. When he finally goes back to his old hometown after several years, he realizes that some people aren't that happy about his book, some people's circumstances have changed (like the fact that his ex-girlfriend is now a mother), and some people haven't changed at all. It was really a unique, well-acted, wonderful show, but for some reason it just didn't catch on. Thankfully it is available on DVD, and I encourage all of you to check it out. "October Road" was a very special show.

So, to wrap things up, I'm back on track with my writing, I'm super excited about continuing Who We Thought We Were, and don't forget to check out "October Road". Have a great day, everybody!

I Knew It Was a Dream When...

"I hope you have a good one/ I hope Mama gets her shopping done." - "Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty

Last night I had a dream that included some of the characters in my Willow Ryan series, and it seemed so real! I was shopping at Thyme to Play, the cutest toy store in Santa Elena, and talking with Willow and the store owner, the quirky Peggy Maguire. Willow, being the hardworking, friendly salesperson that I wrote her to be, was telling me about these new fairy wings that they just got in, and she said my nieces would love them. I was just about to hand my Visa card to Summer, who was working the register (all decked out in an acid wash jean skirt and off-the-shoulder hot pink sweater - the series is set in the 80s after all!), when I remembered that I was done shopping, so I left! That's when I knew it was a dream because I would never turn down the perfect gift, even if I had thought I was completely done shopping. I really wish Santa Elena and Thyme to Play were real places. I could have done a lot of Christmas shopping there this weekend!

Okay, back to reality. I am actually done with my Christmas shopping! And it's only November 28! I have been so consumed with buying and making gifts that I haven't written a single word for my work in progress all month. Isn't that terrible? I just can't concentrate on my novel right now when there are so many other things to do, so I am taking a break until after the holidays. I will still be updating my blog, but as for writing new chapters, the characters of Who We Thought We Were (and my notes for the next book in the Willow series) will just have to wait patiently until I can give them my undivided attention. I guess the freedom to stop and go as I please is one benefit (maybe the one and only benefit) of not having a publishing contract. I really hope that changes in the coming year!

No Surrender

"Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound/ I can feel my heart begin to pound/ You say your tired and you just want to close your eyes and follow your dreams down." - "No Surrender" by Bruce Springsteen

This is my song of the day for two reasons, which leads itself to two separate posts. Here's part one:

As readers who have kept up with my blog for a while may remember, I finished my fourth novel in the "Willow Ryan" series in September...or so I thought. I had read through the manuscript so carefully, hoping to catch every typo, every fragment, every mispelled word that would hopefully jump right off the page in a glaring fashion that I would notice immediately. As all of my fellow writers know, this is rarely, if ever, the case. My mom and my sister read through this book after I declared it finished and attacked it with a red pen, much to my horror and appreciation. How could there be so many mistakes? So today I went back through and made corrections, again, and now it's finally done! So what's next (other than still trying to find an agent so I can eventually get published)?

Well, now it's time to get busy on "Who We Thought We Were", the new novel I told you about a few weeks ago. The problem is that I haven't worked on it since then! I am only one chapter in, and I just haven't been able to find the motivation to dive into it. Until now. Something happened while I was sitting at my computer fixing my mistakes from the fourth Willow book. I felt the need to write, to create, to follow my dreams and see where they take me.

I kind of feel alive again! I don't sleep as much as I should (stupid insomnia!) and I worry about everything under the sun (stupid worrywart genes!), and I felt like the creativity was completely squashed out of me. What I came to realize this morning is that I can change all of that instead of succumbing to it. "No Surrender" as Bruce said in the song of the day. I have to channel the anxiety, the stress, the fatigue, and everything else that tries to keep me down, into energy that will allow me to accomplish what I'm supposed to do. I am a writer. I may not have met my goals yet, I may not be making my living at it, I may not even be published yet, but in order to make those things happen, I have to sit down and write. And writing is what I will do.

When We Were Young

"But I am older now/ And we did it when we were young." - "We Did It When We Were Young" by The Gaslight Anthem

Just like it always is when I start writing a new book, my mind is filled with ideas and thoughts that I want to incorporate into my writing, but maybe more so this time than ever before. I just think that there is so much to explore in the topic of what kinds of people you thought you and your friends were growing up and who everyone actually became, that I'm constantly wanting to dig a little deeper into that idea.

I'm not sure what made me think of it, but about a year ago I remembered an English assignment I had at the beginning of my sophomore year of high school that got the wheels turning for Who We Thought We Were. My English 10 teacher, Mrs. Colley, gave us the assignment to write an essay about how we thought our lives would be as adults - college, family, career, etc. For most of the class, they had no concrete goals, but I sure did. Never without a plan and a whole headful of dreams, I stood up in front of the class at 14 years old and read my essay for all to hear, telling everyone what my future would hold. I don't remember all the details, but I thought I would go to college to become a teacher, marry right after I got my degree at 21, and then immediately start teaching first grade and having babies of my own, all the while working on my writing career as a children's book author that would most certainly start off with a bang. And I fully believed that all of this would happen. Yeah, right.

Now let's fast forward about 14 years (oh my gosh, I just realized I am now twice as old as I was back then. The horror!) and see which of those set in stone plans actually happened with a yes, no, or maybe so. Well, I did become a teacher, but preschool instead of elementary and now I am a nanny and homeschool teacher. I'll count that one as a yes. Let's see, a husband and children. Um, no. Looking back now, I can't imagine having gotten married so young, although when you're 14, 21 seems really old and mature. As for children, I have been spending a lot of time raising other people's kids since I wrote that essay, but that doesn't count for this topic. Then we have the writing career. I am going to give this one a maybe so, because I am writing and working toward becoming published. My focus shifted away from children's books to novels, but at least I haven't forgetten that dream that was actually born many years before high school, when I was in second grade. And as we all know, my writing career has not started off with a bang, but that was a hard lesson I had to learn along the way. I now believe that sometimes the best things in life have to be earned, and I am working really hard to be deserving of those blessings.

Sometimes as children and teenagers, we look at the world through rose colored glasses and live with blinders on, which is not necessarily a bad thing. There does come a time though, when we have to see ourselves and those around us in a real way - successes, failures, dreams, fears, positives, and negatives - and that's what I want to show in Who We Thought We Were. We think we know people, but is there something deeper inside of them that we don't see? We may think we know exactly how our lives will pan out, but what if that doesn't happen... and what if it does?

A Story To Tell

"And I got nothing for you darling but a story to tell/ About the rain on the pavement and the sound as it fell." - "Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis?" by The Gaslight Anthem

Yes, today I do have a story to tell. In fact, it's a new novel I have been planning for over a year and just really started to write today. It is going to be mainstream commercial fiction, a slight departure from the Willow series which is most definitely women's fiction, and I am really excited about it. The title is Who We Thought We Were and it is the story of eight friends who grew up together and reunite twelve years after graduation, only to discover that they are not really the people they thought they were back in high school. Nothing sinister or anything, just exploring the real life fact that for most of us, we do not end up being the people we thought we would be when we pictured our future as teenagers. And we do not live those dreamed about lives either, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, as my characters come to realize. The working promo pitch is:

Sometimes knowing yourself in the present means reliving your past.

So, what do you think? Remember, this is just my first attempt at a pitch for this book, so there will be changes and improvements along the way.

Thank goodness for Columbus Day, which my very generous employer gave me off as a surprise holiday, because I was able to sit in a quiet house with nothing to do but focus on my writing. That is a rare commodity that I don't take for granted. I was afraid that I would have a hard time starting this new novel since it's quite different from my Willow Ryan books, but I actually got into it pretty quickly. I wrote 2,000 words today and am now on a writing high, feeling totally exhilarated that I started a new project and am back into the writing groove. Now to get published... that's a goal I'm still working on.

Mark my words, one of these days you will walk into a bookstore and see my work on the shelves. I'm still looking for an agent and have queries for my first Willow book out there, and I will keep trying until I succeed, which I will some day. My writing just means too much to me to ever stop, and that's not just the writing high talking! I am actually feeling strangely optimistic today. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?