Thursday, March 25, 2010

What Time Is It?

The chosen setting of a novel presents to the author hundreds of little description decisions that must be made throughout the plot in order to sell the authenticity of the story. A novel that takes place in 1998, for example, will be very different in many ways than one that takes place in 2008.

Take a look at developments in technology over the past ten years. Since the end of the '90s we've seen Internet usage demographics go from 'just tech-savvy urbanites' to 'everyone and her grandparents.' DVD players have all but replaced VHS. In 1999, most of my music was still on cassette tape. I didn't have time to buy all the CDs I wanted before MP3 music files became the rage. Televisions were still bulky boxes with 32-inch screens sitting atop consoles, and although the technology to stop, rewind, and digitally record live TV has been around for twenty-five years, TiVo didn't become a household word until the middle of the first decade after the Millennium.

I still haven't made a firm decision about the setting of my WIP. The original premise hinges on a random, computer-generated phone call by a telemarketer selling long distance telephone service. I could stick with that premise and set the novel in the early 2000s. If I do, then when the antagonist sets out to hunt down the protagonist with only her first and last name and an area code, I'll have to decide what devices he uses to locate her. The Internet? In 2001 and 2002, a "Google" search wouldn't pull up very much on an ordinary person in her early 20s. Even if you were Feeling Lucky. WhitePages.com? MySpace? Would my reclusive, thirty-something bad guy even have a computer at his house? And on the road, would he know how to find or use an Internet café? I'd have to figure out what other options he would have at his disposal.

Option number two is to move the setting to modern day. To do so, I'd have to tweak the premise. Do we even have telemarketers anymore? I get calls from credit card company affiliates wanting to sell me protection packages against identity theft. Maybe old Ray works for one of those? Does he have a laptop computer to take on the road with him? Does Julie have a FaceBook profile? (I tried to find a "Julie Knotts" on FaceBook, just for the fun of it. There were literally thousands of people who came up.)

At this point, the logic problems to work through seem endless. Clearly, depending on the setting I choose, I have more research ahead of me.

How does technology impact your current story? Do you have to think about it, or is it irrelevant? Do you have to create any technology of your own?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

I commit...



If someone could photograph the workings of my brain, this is what it would look like. My thoughts are like the concentric paths of each ring. If I don't concentrate my efforts, force organization into my methods, the effect is the same as letting your eyes drift to the side of this image. My rings start spinning independent of the others and before I realize what's happened, I've lost two productive hours of my day.

In support of my natural and near-nonexistent left-brain talents, I'm devising a writing schedule for my WIP. I work best with looming deadlines, so here's my plan of action:

I have until I leave for France to complete and print out the Snowflake Method outline for Overcome. I leave on June 18, so:

By April 3: Step Six -- One week to expand one page story synopsis into a four-page synopsis.

By April 10: Step Seven -- One week to expand character synopsis into detailed character charts.

By May 1: Step Eight -- From four-page story synopsis, create scenes. [Plot scenes on spreadsheet and decide chapter breaks...(*right side of brain begins weeping*)]

By May 29: Step Nine -- Back to word processor, sketch each chapter by expanding each spreadsheet line into multi-paragraph description of that scene. Decide essential conflict of each chapter.

By June 5 (leaving me a week to pack): Revisions and chapter drafts. Each chapter draft/sketch will go on new page(s). I'll print them out and put them in a three-ring binder where I can resort chapter order and make revisions. This is the hardcopy I'll take to France.


There are several motivators built into this plan. For example, my in-laws don't have a computer or Internet connection. Any work I do on the project will have to be handwritten. I'll be on vacation so clearly writing won't be my first priority; however, taking into consideration the ten-hour roundtrip plane rides and la sieste -- two hour "quiet time" strictly observed in France between the noon-day meal and late afternoon -- I'll have opportunities to write.

Disclaimer: I know in my heart that I won't need this kind of strict planning for future novels. I may never sell this one. My objective is to get it written, to learn the process so next time my organizational skills can truly support my creative voice.


Do writing schedules work for you? How important are deadlines for your productivity?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

It's Like We're Soulmates Award

Well, after sparring with Blogger.com all day long, this is the "new look" for my blog. Whatcha think? I wormed my way into the CSS and HTML and figured out how to put my own title on there, but I wasn't able to override the template's Title Page Header configuration. It insists I give my blog a title, but when I typed "One Significant Moment at a Time," it printed it below the PSP text that says the same thing. I couldn't have that twice, so I put "Nicole Ducleroir, Author" on the configuration title line. Then it occurred to me that my blog's name is now "Nicole Ducleroir, Author." (I followed myself to verify.) Sorry for any confusion that may cause :p

On to other things...

This is perhaps the coolest award making its way around the blogosphere right now. I LOVE it! Huge shout out to my soul sista, Anne @ Piedmont Writer for passing it to me. Thank you, Anne!!
Apparently, this award is for people who "get you," which makes it all personal and awesome.

Rules are simple:
Five Recipients.
Make up something (not too mean) about the people you give the award to.
Link to the people you give it to.
Link back to the original award post here.



I'm going to pass it on to these friends I feel "get me" (and who I "get" too!):


1. Julie Dao @ Silver Linings, who this summer plans to backpack across the country and write a short story about every state she visits.

2. Christine Danek @ Christine's Journey, who I suspect has successfully cloned herself. That way she can leave insightful comments on everyones' blogs each day while her clone does the housework and runs errands for her.

3. Summer @ ...And This Time Concentrate, who by coincidence posted a picture of my ex-boyfriend on her blog today. (I'm a discrete woman, so I won't say which one he is...)

4. Shelley Sly @ Stories in the Ordinary, who used to live in the same quaint apartment that Madonna rented when she and a then-husband Sean Penn needed a vacation from the paparazzi.

5. Elana Johnson, who's actually Miley Cyrus (I know! I was shocked too!)



I have a couple more awards to give pass along, but my brain is cyber-fried. I need a break from this computer. Until tomorrow -- have a fab day!