Today...

...I got an email from NaNoWriMo; they send little booster emails once in awhile to make sure everyone is on track. Fortunately, I'm finished but their lovely words are often things to consider anyway.

This particular one was thought provoking for me. It said, to paraphrase: When you're boring yourself writing, you're boring the reader, too. Strangely enough, a lot of writers don't consider this when penning their next award winning work.

I have read many books in my lifetime; some have stuck with me, like Summer of The Monkeys and Island of The Blue Dolphins. I remember these even in my adult years, even though I read them around age 9 or 10, and that's because they captured my interest. There are books I've read recently (I won't name names) that lost me in the first chapter, but I kept reading for one of two reasons: A) I typically like the author and had faith they would pull it out, or B) I spent money on the book and I'll be a damned whore in Georgia if I'm wasting money.

But in the end, they bored me. If you were to approach me today and say, "Hey, that book you finished last week has a sequel coming out next week," I would have to re-read the entire thing just to know what is going on.

As a writer with a vivid imagination, I tend to follow my own story and if it's not going somewhere that is interesting to me, I'll take out entire chapters or scratch the whole thing and start from scratch. There's no reason to press onward just because you want it to fit the mold your mind conceived.

That's another thing I've noticed. A lot of the writers I talk with write from outlines. They formulate entire stories chapter by chapter and fill in the blanks. That's awesome. I can't do it. Any story I ever write comes from the character.

The character decides where we're going for the day. Take Delila, for example. She led me all over the world before finishing her tale and now I'm excited to say her story will be in print and available for everyone next year!

There's Abigail, who came up from prostitution; Beth, who is a recovering heroine addict - She's on the lam right now; Mel, who is taking a breather and hasn't spoken for awhile; Alice, on the run from the government; and the latest: Charlie (Charlotte), whose story is just beginning to take shape on paper. Each character has their path in mind, and lead me where they're going.

And that's the random thought of the week, folks.