There’s a lot to keep in mind when you’re driving. Stay between the lines, watch the speed limit, check your mirrors, signal when turning, DO NOT TEXT…

The list goes on and on. It’s a wonder that anyone can get in a car and go somewhere when we’re supposed to follow so many rules at the same time. But the human brain is an amazing thing, and people drive all the time with no problem.

(Well, some people drive all the time with lots of problems. I honk at those people.)

Anyway, writing is kind of similar. You have to mind your punctuation, spell things correctly, match your nouns and verbs, organize thoughts into sentences, organize sentences into paragraphs… The list goes on and on.

But these are the mechanics of writing, and after a while, they become second nature, just like using your turn signal or obeying a red light. (Yes, those should be second nature!)

What’s harder to remember is how to tell a good story. Probably because there are so many different ways to accomplish that. Now, I’m hardly an expert, but back at the Kenyon Review workshop, I did learn about 3 things that have really improved my storytelling: Object, Conflict, and the Ticking Clock.

The Object is something threaded throughout a story that the reader can follow. The Object can be an actual thing (like a watch) or a place (like a park) or it can even be a secondary character (like a pet pig). Usually the Object is important to the story or the story’s themes.

Conflict can come about in a variety of ways. We know the English teacher definition (Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. God, etc.). But simply put, Conflict is when a character wants something and can’t get it. An easy way to create Conflict is to put another character into the scene/story. Even better, put TWO characters in.

The Ticking Clock is similar to Conflict in that it adds tension, but it isn’t a hindrance to the character’s goal. It merely adds urgency.

Here’s an example of what Object, Conflict, and a Ticking Clock can do for a story:

Olivia ran to the lab.
Olivia ran to the lab to find the blue vial.
Olivia ran to the lab to find the blue vial before Gallagher.
Olivia ran to the lab to find the blue vial before Gallagher could poison Isaac with it.

The last sentence is a bit more exciting than the first, no?

Not every scene/story is going to have all 3 elements, but if you ever find yourself stuck, try looking for an Object in your story, or try putting one in. Try adding another character (or two) to the scene. Try a Ticking Clock. You might be surprised at how quickly things get interesting, and interesting scenes/stories are the ones that suck us in, both as writers and as readers.

(Note: Despite my analogy, I do not recommend adding an Object, Conflict, or Ticking Clock to your driving.)

Since “hope is on the horizon” for me (as my writing group put it) I’d like to spread the good vibes. Here are some great links and opportunities:

• This one’s a little short notice (sorry!) but the Kenyon Review is running their annual short story contest through Feb 28th. Final judge is Louise Erdrich, and grand prize is publication AND a scholarship to their 2010 writing workshop. I went to the workshop in 2009 and loved it.
• My friend Mary just started a new blog called Out of Texas (“and into the rest of the world!” – hehe, so cute). Unfortunately the shiny fun newness of it is making me want a Tumblr too. Because, you know, I don’t have enough social media outlets. o_O MUST RESIST.
• The fantabulous Kiersten White and Natalie Whipple participated in a round-table with two other writers, and the resulting discussion CHARMED MY PANTS OFF. (Not literally. Or at least not that I’m admitting to.) It also introduced me to Sean Ferrell, a friendly, funny guy whose book Numb sounds awesome.
• Sigriddaughter’s 7th Glass Woman contest is seeking short fiction and creative nonfiction submissions from female writers. I actually know, via WritingForums.com, the woman who won last year. I had even critiqued her piece there! We’re not BFF or anything, but it was totally cool (and a little surreal) to read her piece and realize I already knew it. It also makes the possibility of winning seem more real/attainable, you know?
• And last but definitely not least, Writer Unboxed is looking for an unpublished writer to contribute monthly. WU is a great resource for writers of all genres, and features a rotating panel of authors, from YA writer Kathleen Bolton, to NYTimes Bestseller Allison Winn Scotch, to podcast-to-book deal extraordinaire J.C. Hutchins. Click here for details on how to apply, and yes, I’ll be tossing my hat into the ring.

Okay, now back to my regularly scheduled work/writing/Olympics-watching mayhem. (PS: How awesome was Yu-Na Kim last night?! And Mirai is just adorable. I can’t wait to see the free skate programs tonight.)

WIP update: I’ve written Chapter 1 and have been wrestling Chapter 2 for days. Yesterday I finally got him in a headlock, and today he’s going down for the count! Then it’s on to Chapter 3…

Things that are happening:

1. LOVING Erin Danehy’s young adult steampunk-ish fantasy manuscript. I don’t want to jinx it with any crazy predictions, but it’s good, y’all. Really good. Definitely shelf-worthy, if you catch my drift.
2. Querying, and thus rejection. Yes, I got my first rejection from an agent today. I was disappointed because she seems like a great agent, but I didn’t take it personally or anything. I just turned around and sent 3 more queries out. That makes a total of 10, which I think is a good “resting place” for now.
3. Drinking Airborne. Yesterday my lymph nodes started to feel swollen and uncomfortable, so I think I might be battling a cold or something. No fun.
4. Itching to write! (Note: This is a totally different kind of disease, which I never try to fight.) Last night I took the prologue and first chapter of my young adult supernatural manuscript to my writing group, and they were extremely complimentary and encouraging. It’s such a great feeling, that high you get when you realize that something you’ve written has really pleased people. But! I already put that book aside to work on a different book. And then I put that book aside to work on this new one. And this new one is still in the planning stages! So: I want to write, but it’s not time yet. Boo. Hopefully this weekend I can scratch the itch…

Things that are not happening:

1. Planning the new book. I mean, it was happening, but I hit a snag. Last night as I was falling asleep, I thought of a huge problem with my new world, and I have yet to solve it. Grr.
2. Thinking of good blog ideas. Obviously. I keep wanting to talk about the progress I’m making on my new book, but oh yeah, see #1 above. Sigh. Instead I may post the last of the short pieces that I wrote at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, since I haven’t managed to place it into any magazines for publication.
3. Your face.

First, thanks to everyone for your wonderful and supportive comments about the stories/scenes I recently posted! I’m so glad I put them out there, even though I was hesitant because they’re so rough. I have a tendency to blog about writing in general, as opposed to my writing specifically, but reading Kiersten and Natalie’s blogs made me realize that I should probably open up a bit. Because it’s fun to share (like secrets at a slumber party!) and your responses are so encouraging.

To that end, I have a confession to make: I’ve started a new book. I’m excited about it, so if you think it sounds stupid, please don’t tell me.

In a nutshell:

A twenty-something couple seeking adventure in order to revive their stale relationship gets more than they bargained for when they are whisked away to a strange and possibly dangerous other world.

Think Alice in Wonderland meets Princess Bride meets Spirited Away meets real life. Or something like that. I’m only 2,200 words in right now, but I’ve hit my word goal every day this week, so I’m feeling pretty good. I’m also going to employ alpha readers on this project, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had alphas (well, besides my thesis adviser Hilary Masters) so I’ll talk more about that next week.

In other news, my friend J—- (I’ll fill her name in later if she gives me permission) has started blogging flash fiction once a week at 52 Tales. J—- is awesome, and a very talented writer! (We met at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop.) Most of her current tales are about Austen Clark, a California lawyer who ran away to Micronesia for some mysterious reason involving a sawed off shotgun. There’s humor and adventure and even (I’m anticipating) a little romance. It’s like LOST, but without plane wrecks or polar bears or time travel or crazy conspiracies! In other words, not very much like LOST at all, except that it’s set on a cool island and is fabulous. Check it out.

Another friend, Mandy, recently blogged about how everyone’s pressuring her to get a backup plan. See, she recently quit her job to do freelance writing full-time, and apparently a lot of people think she’s going to fall on her @$$. What I love about Mandy is that she’s bold, so her response to those people was a big fat SO WHAT?

I don’t want to make a back up plan. I don’t want it to become THE plan as soon as things get tough and I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I want to struggle (a little). I want there to be times where I realize I need to hunker down and crank out some work if I want to pay my student loan. I want to make myself nauseous from the procrastination I’m doing to myself, and I want there to be days when I’m up until 4am finishing up work because I sat around all day reading blogs.

If I have complete security and comfort, which so many of us see as a level of “achievement,” like we’ve all suddenly reached our goals and can sit and be there and stay there, what am I going to get out of it besides the cash? What’s going to teach me, tempt me, freak me out, or make me squirm in discomfort? I know in the end we all want that feeling, but thinking of the day where I sit back and say “yep, this is it. This is where I’m at and how it’s going to be for the rest of like, ever…” makes me realize how I’m not ready to be there.

See? Bold. And brilliant. And totally going to rock the freelance thing.

Me, on the other hand… I compromised. I quit my job to write, but I got a safety net (a part-time job). Granted, it lets me spend a lot more time writing without making me a charity case, but sometimes I wish I were as fearless as Mandy.

(And sometimes I think I still will be… If 2010 isn’t the year, I think I’m going to have some tough decisions to make.)

So. Snow. We’re supposedly getting a lot of it in Cincinnati today. This is Not Good. Normally it would be Okay, but today I need to fly to Houston for my almost-sister’s wedding. Snow+Roads and Snow+Planes both = Bad, apparently. Bad=Not Good.

Sigh.

In an attempt not to think (i.e., stress) about the snow, I’m going to work on a little story for Natalie’s contest. As much as I love her, I wasn’t sure I was going to participate, until Sonja brought up that I could think of both Natalie and Nathan’s contests as writing exercises and then post them here, like I did for my Kenyon Review workshop pieces. Since “exercises” are much less scary than “contest entries,” that’s what I’m going to do!

First up, my entry to Nathan’s contest:

Dear Diary,

Two minutes never felt so long.

While I sit on the toilet to wait (with the lid down, of course) I can’t help thinking of all the ways my life could be ended by a mere mathematical symbol. In two minutes, I’ll either see a plus or a minus. Suddenly tomorrow’s calculus test doesn’t seem so intimidating…

Read the rest of “Plus or minus” here.

Also, I recently had the honor of guest blogging on the Guide to Literary Agents website. My post “New Adult – What Is It?” went live yesterday, if you care to check that out. And greetings to any new readers who came here via there! New Readers=Fabulous.