Helping other writers is fun!

So...on Saturday I did something I've never gotten to do before, and that's meet up with a fellow writer to help her with her book!

WHAT FUN!

My friend Rachel, who is 15 (going on 30 when it comes to ideas for writing), and I spent Saturday afternoon seeing a movie and then chatting about our books over dinner. Poor Cosi Cafe...we sat there forever! LOL! (I left a 30% tip though to make up for it). She's my "teen reader" that I get feedback from and in return I help her with ideas and whatnot for her stuff.

Anyhoo...

Rachel has this amazing idea for a book. It's all based on science to the point where her books will border on the concept that "this could actually happen in the future". Which is one of the reasons I think its brilliant!

I had her tell me the main plot and then some of the twists she wants to do...and I realized something that I wanted to impart to fellow writers (not that more than 3 people read this but hey...I can dream). Don't choose a twist just for the sake of having it. Don't come up with something SUPER science-fictiony (not that that's a word but you get what I mean) just because you write science fiction. If you're going to create a twist or come up with something really sci-fi-out-there...make sure it's needed for the story and adds to it vs. detracting from it. Make sure it doesn't constrict your writing options. All twists and sci-fi-imagination should open doors for your story to build upon and not close them. Writing is hard enough as it is...hell, writing sci-fi where you create a well-rounded world is hard as hell...for the love of all that's holy, don't make it harder on yourself than you have to for the sake of being SUPER SCI-FI. Make sense?

I don't want to get into details as it isn't my place to discuss her book idea but I'll say that we had a great conversation of taking a closed idea and opening it up. Then I took what I've learned from working with my editor and emparted it unto her. Explaining how her first few pages need to be tight. How they need to let us know the world we're in and what's going on in a way that pulls us into the story and into our heroine's head.

We talked about how the book would open and I could see it in my mind (the start of a new story comes to me so easily its sorta ridiculous) so I wrote her first 2.5 paragraphs and sent them to her to build her new ideas off of. I'm very excited to see where she takes it from there! It really is a GREAT idea for a book...if she doesn't ever get around to writing it...I will...with her permission and help of course. :)

So that spurned me to go home and write so on Sunday I did some writing...followed by a nap and then some cleaning of the apartment and lastly, some "Leverage" (GREAT show on TNT).

My weekend was great...and my upcoming week looks pretty mighty too, if I must say so...not counting tonight's laundry, that is.

Tomorrow Night: Shakespeare at Central Park with my friend Seth
Wednesday Night: Going Away Party for Geoff before Grad School
Thursday Night: (don't judge me but...) my friends and I have tickets to Twilight Saga - Eclipse
Friday: I head to Boston for the weekend and don't come back till the 5th! Woot!

I'm STOKED that I'll be in Boston...specifically walking the Freedom Trail and then at the Boston Harbor watching fireworks on the 4th itself! Boo-ya! PLUS...I will be going to Salem while I'm there so be prepared for pics to show up on my Facebook page when I get back of witch stuff! Yay! It's going to be a FANTASTICAL (that's fantastic and magical together btw) weekend!

I hope you too have a safe and happy and fantastical holiday!

xo

Tamsin :)