On Saturday, I was able to attend a writers workshop put on by Chris Wilk. Â The focus of the workshop was GMC(R) – or Goals, Motivation, Conflict and Resolution.
Taken from the workshop handout:
At the heart of every story are the goals and motivations of its characters, what they want and why. Â Conflict ensues when obstacles, setbacks and antagonists thwart their efforts. Â GMC is the bedrock for plot. Â In the end, characters achieve or fail, and are often changed, which adds the “R” — resolution to the GMC(R). Â
My current WIP has given me a bit of trouble and this is where the workshop helped. Â As I thought about my main character – about what makes her tick – I realized that I didn’t really know her. Â I’ve spent plenty of time putting her in awkward situations but I didn’t make the effort to get inside her head, to learn about what motivates her. Â That was a mistake – one that I am working to rectify.
This is why I love workshops and conferences – they give me an opportunity to learn, to step back and identify an area that can use some improvement.
As 2016 is right around the corner, I’ve added a couple of conferences to my calendar.
Book ‘Em North Carolina will be held:  Saturday, February 27, 2016 at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina.  It’s Free and open to the public.Â
Carolina Writers Conference will be held: Â April 26, 2016 at Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro, North Carolina. There is a charge for this conference but it is nominal. Â If my memory serves me right, last year it was $20 or $25 and included a catered lunch – which was delicious!
For many people, attending a conference isn’t possible. Â If that’s you, there are online options that cost nothing but a click and your time. Â I have found the sites listed below to be very informative.
The Insecure Writers Support Group
Do you have a favorite site/blog that offers writing tips/resources? Â If so, please comment.
Don’t let the Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda’s steal your dreams.
Developing our own unique rituals can help us become more productive in our writing. They offer us the freedom to tap into ourselves – to find those things that connect us with our imagination. Â For some, sitting at a desk wearing a pair of boxers and sipping on coffee might bring on the muse. Â Others might connect with their story by taking a walk in the woods or listening to a soundtrack of their favorite movies. Â (I love listening to music from The Lord of the Rings.) Â The choice of ritual isn’t as important as the results. Â Ultimately, the object is to clear away the static so our thoughts and ideas flow.
What are your rituals?
As writers, we each face our own struggles. Â I tend to think a lot of my issues could be alleviated if I had more time in the day. Seeing as how I don’t have access to a magical hourglass, I had to consider other options. Â The one that screamed for my attention was time management. Â My situation is not unique. Â Like many of you, I work full time. Â That leaves a few short hours a day to take care of my home/family, exercise, write and grow my audience.
Building my author platform
It’s hard.
Who knew there would be so much effort required? Â I thought writing the novel was supposed to be the most difficult part. Imagine my surprise when I realized I needed a twitter account, a Facebook author page, a blog, etc.
It’s time consuming.
Each plank in the platform comes from the connections we make. Â Those connections take time to cultivate. Â That means we reach beyond ourselves. Â We engage others. Â We listen to their ideas. We share ours. Â In short, being a good neighbor requires being social.
But – here’s the catch
Building my platform was taking too much of my writing time.  Seriously.  It was so easy to get caught up in reading the posts on certain Facebook pages.  And then there was Pinterest. My goodness – I was on my way to becoming a “Pinning” junkie.  I have boards dedicated to my blog, to interesting faces, beautiful places – things that may or may not inspire scenes in future stories.  There’s boards dedicated to my books.  I’m sure you get the picture.  😉
I needed to get a handle on my socializing…
I love my blog. Â I love the blogging community. Â I decided that my blog would become the hub of my social media/platform building efforts.
This is still a work in progress.  But it has helped ease the stress of coming up with so many new ideas for posting to the different social media sites.  Take my Facebook Author page – I guess I’m a bit ambivalent when it comes to this page.  I hate feeling as though I’m shouting Look At Me! and my Facebook author page makes me feel that way.  By sharing my blog, I have activity on my page without bashing people over the head with Buy My Book posts.
There’s still the Time Management thing…
This requires discipline and lots of it. Â I’m not the most disciplined person. Â I have a tendency to fly by the seat of my pants – which is probably why I’m a pantzer and not a plotter. Â To help keep myself on task, I came up with a schedule. It’s helped by making me more mindful of my time. Â I decided to limit my interactions to about 30 minutes an evening. Â That means I have to choose which sites/communities I am going to visit. Â Take Mondays, for example. Â I’ll visit blogs that I follow as well as Twitter. Â Tuesdays will be G+ communities and maybe a stop at my Facebook Author page. Â It’s not a perfect plan but it is helping me stay focused and freeing up my time.
I’m always looking for new ideas… What are you doing to maximize your writing time?
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