The Corner Booth

Episode 11-When "Plan B" Becomes "Plan A"

High Five: Introduction to panelists

Thomas Bonnick: 5ifthproject 

Michelle Hayes: Michelle007

Ashlyn McCowan: StoryofAshlyn

*David J. Thirteen: DavidJThirteen

So, we now have over 10 hours of #tcbwatt. I'd like to know what The Corner Booth has done

for you. Have you learned anything from your experience? Have you enjoyed the ride so far?

Thomas: I always take the time to watch all the shows. I tweet about them. I check out the people and their work. 

Michelle: The friendships I've formed on the panel have been such a blessing. I've met some fantastic people, but also incredible writers. My readership has also increased since joining. Writers stand together.

David: I've been watching since the first episode and to me it's brought a sense of community. You ask a question and automatically have an answer and some things that I've heard as a reply has all fallen into the sense of community. It's been a great thing to be able to watch. 

Ashlyn: I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I joined the panel. Over the past week I've been surprised and encouraged with writers who I respect and have read my stories have come over to my profile and supporting me with TheCornerBooth

Cream or Sugar: Stay tuned to find these in the future. 

The Entrée: Questions and discussion for episode 11

1. When you tackle composition, do you leave yourself outs? How do you create "emergency

exits" in writing? How do you allow your characters tell you what the next move is? 

*David: I'm a confirmed pantser so there are always ways out for me. I don't really do much outlining so there are lots of outs. This has probably caused more problems for me, but there are reasons I do it. Sometimes there are various ways I can tell a story, but sometimes there is only one. So I just let the story go where it wants to go. Sometimes you have one word that you don't mean to write down, but by chapter 30 it's the major plot point. Sometimes I'll force myself to take something in a completely different direction and see if I can get my way out of it. You can fix a lot in editing, usually there is a lot to fix in editing. In serialization I usually write numerous rough drafts ahead of time and then when it comes time to post it, I'll do the editing before posting. In one of my books there's an event in chapter 20 that is set up in chapter four. 

Ashlyn: Two years ago I attempted to write my first fantasy novel and I decided that I was going to write an outline with twenty main points I wanted to hit and sub points. It was a disaster because I'm not a planner but I'm not a pantser. I need some room to breathe in terms of creativity. Knowing this in terms of composition I started using Microsoft word and started putting characters, character traits, scenes, dialogues, anything that will help me get a grasp on the world in the document. I usually figure out three plot points which is before my major conflict, my major conflict, and after the conflict which helps me in terms of emergency exits. For example, the end of Stained Glass Souls sort of hit me in the face because I didn't know what I was doing on. April 2014 I wrote the chapter before and then just decided the next scene I was going to write. In the words of Michael Crichton, "Books are not written, they're rewritten" so give yourselves room to create.  

Sub­question for Thomas: For the poets watching, I'd like to rephrase this question. How do

you allow your creativity to take the driver's seat? Do you ever put reason in the back burner

and let the lines flow? 

Thomas: No. I write with a message and a purpose. I want to feel something when I write. If I have a message or a story to get across, that's number one. It must be something you want to listen to again and again. It must be pleasant. I want it to have a strong message, but also to be smooth. 

Michelle: My course of action is I have a general outline before I take a seat at my PC. When I am knee deep in a chapter, I don't place restrictions on what is going to happen next. My outline is my guide, guide being the operative word. Having it reminds me to stay on the initial idea but can always be altered if I see that something will help the story along. My characters have their own voice that I've created, thus it gives me the role as captain to end the chapter with a sigh or a bang. The beauty of writing is that there are no rules, I just go with it. 

2. There are times when the unthinkable happens, creating a speed bump in the writing

process. How do you adapt?

*David: As I was saying before, it's not something I adapt to, I write into those things. It creates a challenge or a game with myself. When something unexpected happens, it's a good thing. It does create a problem because there are readers there. That's where editing happens. For one book, and ending that I had planned, I realized part way through that it didn't work because the character would never do that. It's not an easy thing, but for me I don't really look at the mass speed bumps. 

Ashlyn: For me, a lot of times unthinkable translates to discouraging and has less to do with my novel and more with my life. Speed bumps can be wrapped around the fear that I'm not going to finish the novel or that I can't write well which takes a hit at my perspective. It comes down to the inability to think I can write or make it through the process. some things I do to get rid of it is to sit down and force myself to write it, listening to upbeat music, drinking lots of coffee. One of the biggest things is forcing you to turn I can't into I can. 

Thomas: When I started on Wattpad a year ago, I started writing short stories. I placed one in the wrong category and the wrong rating. I was notified and changed it, but then I thought that it would affect the reads. So I started to write poems so that they could be classified where I wanted them to be. So that's my Plan B

Michelle: When I have other things that are pressing in my life, I try not to become too distressed. I'll set my project to the side and come back to it later. I don't like doing this but we are human and need to know when we need a break. Rome was not built in a day. If you overcommit yourself, your product isn't going to be as refined and you're not going to be as proud of it. 

Pass the Salt: Honesty in 140 characters or less

*David: Love writing more than the book. What I mean by that is you have to love the writing process more than the book you're writing. You will love the book that you're writing because if you don't, you'll never get through it. But if you love your book too much you'll get entrenched in it. Some people seem to be so enthralled in their own book that they never complete it. Each book you complete is like a lesson and you're doing a disservice if you don't get through lesson one. 

Michelle: Be ruled by passion and guts when writing. Not trepidation. 

Thomas: A writer is someone who has thought his mind to misbehave--Oscar Wilde

Ashlyn: Inhabit your imagination, Follow your dreams along their tangents. Sometimes the end is a mirage that unveils unforeseen conclusions. 

Check, Please: Wrapping up

Don't forget the #JustWriteIt challenge. Writing 10,000 words in thirty (30) days. The month of June is fan fiction. 

Don't forget to check out the Facebook like page where we will be posting information about future episodes and other happenings.