Monday, 28 February 2011

A confession

First off, between last night (at about 9:30 pm) and this morning (before 8:00 am), you guys wrote 52 blog entries!!! Cripes. No wonder I get so behind so quickly. ;)

To those who posted on the last entry, thanks! You gave me some focus.

Now, onto my confession.

I talk to myself as if I'm my characters.

It's actually to help me figure out what they would actually say. Oh, how I love me some dialogue. But only if it's realistic. I don't like stupid dialogue that nobody would actually say in reality. So yeah...my characters.

I'll talk it all out, the things they would say to each other, and then go and write it down. Unfortunately sometimes while I'm talking it out, I'm in the middle of my hallway trying to feed my cats, or vacuuming up bits of a dead cockroach, or I'm in the laundry getting my latest load of washing out. So I'm far from my computer or from a bit of pen and paper, too far to write anything down. But usually I can at least remember the gist of what "my characters" had been saying (with me as their mouthpiece).

So yeah. That's my confession.

Got anything embarrassing you want to tell me about your writing habits, to make me feel better??
Posted by at 08:27
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26 comments:

  1. Theresa Milstein28 February 2011 at 09:03

    I don't talk to my characters, but I do think about them all the time - backstory, what they'll say and do in the next scenes, and so on. Sometimes people talk to me, but I barely hear them because my manuscript is on my mind.

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  2. Anonymous28 February 2011 at 09:15

    I do the same thing! But I keep my phone on record, so when I'm back at the computer or have my notebook I can listen back, and choose the bits I like best :)

    *New follower*

    Lady A x

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  3. Denise Covey 28 February 2011 at 09:22

    Hello Trisha, I'm rushing over after you commented on my blog. I'd love to put you in my blogroll of romance writers. You'll see the link next time you visit. You are welcome to snatch my bright shiny badge too!

    I collaborate on a book review blog. We review books twice a week. Here is the link. (I read your previous post). Please swing by, have a read and as we're just starting out, we're desperate for followers who actually read our reviews and ocmment!

    Denise<3

    http://readingatdawn.blogspot.com

    T'rah!!

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  4. Trisha28 February 2011 at 09:24

    @Theresa - I think about my guys/gals all the time too. :) They're totally my friends!

    @Antimony - Woot! So glad I'm not the only one who does this :P

    @L'Aussie - yay, thanks!! Glad to meet other romance writers :) And I will check out your reviews blog!

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  5. Len Lambert28 February 2011 at 14:09

    Hi Trisha! I talk to them in a character dossier and sometimes in my mind, I ask them what they'd like to do next when I'm stuck in a chapter or scene. But I don't talk to them out loud, hehehe :) I think I wrote a blog post too sometime ago about talking to my character to decide whether to finish the story or not.

    You've left a message on my blog for the 200 follower I heart You celebration yesterday, sorry it's already closed and I've already announced the winners on 19th Feb.

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  6. Sarah Ketley28 February 2011 at 14:12

    uummmm embarrassing... well i think you mean worse than crying as you write a tough scene (ie a scene where someone is dying)

    so i guess my bad habit, is pulling the facial expressions of the people i am writing about. as i read back the dialogue i find myself mouthing it out and acting it out. really embarrassing if someone comes in!! especially if it is a character behaving like a old cow.

    :-)

    hope that helps you feel better

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  7. Sarah Ketley28 February 2011 at 14:15

    ooh ,

    just seen you are from WA, i'm a brisbane girl.

    nice to follow you through the crusade (yes i am a little late in saying hello)

    happy crusading

    Sarah
    http://precociousscribe.blogspot.com/

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  8. Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy28 February 2011 at 14:50

    yep, it's a good way to get into the head of our characters. I do it too ;)

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  9. Trisha28 February 2011 at 15:21

    Yay, I'm definitely not the only one!! :D

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  10. Spanj28 February 2011 at 16:24

    I have conversations with my characters all the time! I also create my characters and build their home on Sims 3, so that I can play it when I hit a block (or maybe it's just an excuse to play computer games instead of writing!)

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  11. Sarah Ketley28 February 2011 at 16:26

    no no no Angeline... pahlease don't put that idea in my head!

    i am bad enough with Sims 3 without pretending they are my characters.... *shakes head*

    lol


    however that does bring in mind the idea of making a story ABOUt my characters..... hmmmmm now that IS interesting...

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  12. J.C. Martin28 February 2011 at 16:50

    I talk to myself, too! And I could be found sitting at the computer flailing my arms in weird ways as I try to imagine an action scene in my mind. Have been known to elbow my fiaby as passes!

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  13. Anonymous28 February 2011 at 17:02

    Interesting, I never thought of doing that. :O)

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  14. L. Diane Wolfe28 February 2011 at 21:20

    My Google Reader showed even more than 52! Monday is such a busy post day.
    I rarely write for long stretches. Usually it's ten minutes here and fifteen minutes there.

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  15. Jess28 February 2011 at 23:06

    I do that too :)

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  16. Patricia A. Timms-McGehee28 February 2011 at 23:31

    I love this!

    My confession would have to be that I run the dialogue through my head and if there are funny parts I laugh out loud as if I'm the character.

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  17. Anonymous1 March 2011 at 00:56

    LOL, that works!! ;)

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  18. Shari1 March 2011 at 01:35

    I think you should embrace your confession since there's nothing out of the ordinary with your behvaior, and therefore, nothing to be embarrassed about!

    Thanks for the award. You are full of awesome!

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  19. VR Barkowski1 March 2011 at 01:49

    I talk to and about my characters. There's no shame in that! At least that's what I keep telling myself. I do try to wait until I'm alone in the house, though. :)

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  20. Tracy1 March 2011 at 03:16

    I do this to. I even speak in their accent if they have one!

    Sometimes, I even forget when I'm doing it and there are other people around. :O

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  21. Deniz Bevan1 March 2011 at 07:56

    You're not alone! I bet all those morning commuters who see me from their cars as I walk to the train think I'm either crazy, or on one of those earpiece phones. I talk through my story a lot [g]

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  22. Kari Marie1 March 2011 at 08:25

    I do this too! Except I'll write it first and then go back and review it by reading out loud. If it isn't right I'll go about revising it out loud, with tone and inflection and speech patterns. It's my own little office play.

    I frequently talk to myself though. My husband laughs but he secretly thinks I'm a bit dotty. PS, don't feel bad about 52 blogs to read. My reader currently says 355 (or 354 now).

    Kari

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  23. Trisha1 March 2011 at 08:27

    Hahaha, thanks everyone for sharing ;) These comments have been fun to read.

    @Angeline, your Sims idea definitely gave me a laugh. And an "omg" because I can totally imagine doing that kind of thing myself ;)

    @Deniz - sometimes when I'm in my car I talk to myself for the above purpose (figuring out character dialogue), and I do hope that passers-by will assume I'm on one of those earpiece phones. LOL.

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  24. Trisha1 March 2011 at 08:33

    Kari Marie, yeah I talk to myself all the time ;) But I also talk to 'stuff'. Like, I will talk to a bit of paper, or a leaf.

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  25. Debbie Maxwell Allen1 March 2011 at 09:28

    I let the "video" of my scene play as I'm falling asleep or waking up. Characters say the strangest things when I'm not "managing" them.

    ~Debbie

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  26. Trisha4 March 2011 at 08:34

    Hehe, it's funny when they take on a life of their own :)

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Thanks for your words, me hearties! and don't forget to leave a link to your blog somewhere I can find it!

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