The Hardest Part About Writing by T. Melissa Madian – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. T. Melissa Madian will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The hardest part about writing is figuring out what to say in a cohesive, interesting manner. There are a lot of ideas rattling around in my head but picking one and formulating it into a full-blown story is tough. It’s like watching a home renovation show and seeing great ideas for designing an office; lots of great ideas doesn’t magically turn your second bedroom into a beautiful office space! It takes hard work and determination.

Maybe it’s the engineer in me, but I take a very pragmatic approach toward writing. If I start with an idea, I consider what it is about that idea that may be interesting to an audience. Do I want to target a specific audience with this idea? If I do, will that audience care? If there isn’t an audience to receive your work, then you’re really just writing for yourself – which is perfectly fine! – but may not be the best way to expend your energy. If I’m going to put an idea out into the world, I want to make certain that it benefits someone other than myself, my hubbie and my cat.

Then, I create a plan. A plan of who and what the story is about. Who is my protagonist? What journey do I want the protagonist to experience? Do they come out better or worse at the end of that journey? Who is the antagonist? Is there a mentor along the way? Is there an overall theme, or am I just having fun with the story?

Once I’ve got a plan, I start to chart out the story beats. These are the main action points of the story, and need to connect together in a logical, enjoyable flow. Post-It notes or index cards are great for this, as you can move beats around easily if something is not flowing well. At any given time, my workspace may look like something from A Beautiful Mind! I need to see the logical plan before I can apply any creativity; if you want to make writing easier on yourself and save countless hours of frustration later, I highly recommend this process. When you have a plan and an organized flow, it’s easy to improvise and get creative from it – just like Louis Armstrong was so exceptional at improvising from a standard song.

Then it’s writing time! With a solid story flow in place, it becomes natural to fill in the story beats with scenes, actions and emotion. Perhaps illustrations if your story allows them. Notes are a crucial step in the process. I also recommend bouncing ideas and written pages off people you trust and whose opinion you value; what may seem like a brilliant idea in your head may land like a lead balloon in someone else’s.

And even after all these steps, writing is hard! The ideas may flow, but the writing may not always come easily. Be kind to yourself, take a break when you need to, and stick to your plan. And most importantly, stay true to who you are!

It was business as usual at the Acme Science Lab, until one day a massive explosion sent the scientists fleeing for safety.

But out of the smoke and chemicals emerged an amazing new creature… Bartholomew Blob!

With the lab destroyed, Bartholomew leaves the comforts of the only home he has ever known in search of new friends and a place to live.

As he travels through golden fields his body changes color with every emotion he feels.

Life can be lonely for a blob, but Bartholomew discovers there’s kindness and love to be found in every adventure.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Smoke and chemicals mixed, and strange sounds came from the now empty lab. Sounds like… gurgling and burping? The door of the lab smashed open and out came…

… a small, roundish shape! It was midnight black and had the size and form of an upside-down cereal bowl. It slithered instead of rolled. It looked like melted dark chocolate but had a perfume like smell.

Suddenly, two roundish holes opened and turned pale blue. It had eyes! It could see! What in the world could this creature be?

Why… it’s Bartholomew Blob!

About the Author:T. Melissa Madian is the Chief Fabulous Officer at TMM Enablement Services Inc. As a mechanical engineer, she loves taking the science of what is possible and imagining stories around the impossible. She is a storyteller, mom to a precocious cat, and auntie to her human nephew. She hopes that this book serves as a reminder to people – adults and children – that even the weirdest and most unusual creature just wants and deserves to be loved.

Buy the book at Amazon, Amazon CA, Bookshop, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, or Indigo Chapters – paperback or hardback.

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