Author: Cindy Young-Turner

Hippie chick who is still hoping to change the world someday. Author of the fantasy novel, Thief of Hope.

Writing without a net

I’m the kind of person who writes without an outline. I’ve tried to use one. It ends up feeling too constrictive and then I never follow it anyway. Usually I have a general sense of where the story is going and a few plot points along the way, but I have no idea how I’m going to get there. This can be a little scary. For Thief of Hope, which I’d initially written a long time ago, I had to throw out most of the book and start over because I realized it needed a major overhaul. So I basically knew how I wanted it to end (even that changed a bit by the time I was done), but the path to that end was a question. I would start with an idea for a chapter and I’d have to write to see where it would take me. Sometimes I’d think a chapter needed some action and throw in an obstacle or something to make it more exciting. That resulted in the story taking some odd twists and turns I never expected. Luckily I didn’t write myself into any corners that I couldn’t figure my way out of.

The sequel, Thief of Destiny, is taking shape in much the same way. I think I know one piece of the ending, but everything else is up in the air. Before I started, I wrote down a bunch of notes and ideas. I’ve used some of them and may use a few more before I’m finished. I didn’t even try to write an outline. Writing to find out what’s going to happen to my characters is part of the fun.

It seems like there are two kinds of writers: those who use detailed outlines (I think these would be helpful for things like mysteries, actually), and those who wing it and write without a net. In the end, it’s the finished product that matters, but as a writer, I’m always curious about how others approach their craft. At least I don’t have to worry about giving away the end of a work in progress if I don’t know it yet!

Mommy is an author

My three-year-old daughter loves books. She’s been learning about books at school and has come home saying, “this is the cover, this is the title page, this is the spine, we don’t break the spine.” Recently she said, “Who is the author? The author is the person who writes the book.” Well, this time mommy is the author. I told her that and she just looked at me with a curious expression. My print books arrived this week (yay!!), so when I show her the book now she says “that’s mommy’s book.” What an amazing feeling. And in about ten years, maybe she’ll be old enough to read it.

And yes, the print version is now available: http://www.amazon.com/Thief-Hope-Cindy-Young-Turner/dp/0982820070/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

I blogged on my critique group sites this week. Read about the effect of real world events on my writing at the Maryland Dream Weavers, and read about the advantages of a small publisher at the Write Workshop.

Memorial Day

I think the first time I ever read my work out loud to an audience was at a Memorial Day assembly in middle school. Our English class had been given an assignment to write a poem about our thoughts on Memorial Day. I took this very seriously because writing was already a passion. By then I’d proudly finished a 100-page novel based on my favorite GIJoe and Star Wars characters and was hard at work on what I was sure would be the next great American novel, an epic science fiction story involving heroic kids, an invasion of Earth, families torn apart by war, and of course some blatant ties to my beloved Star Wars (i.e., some stolen plans to a battle station). So I wrote the best poem I could and wouldn’t you know, my poem was chosen to be read at the assembly. I managed to cause a bit of controversy because one line used the word “hell.” It was in the proper context, but this was a small New England town in the 80s. Those were different times back then. I think the line was “some soldiers thought they were living through hell” or something like that. It rhymed well with whatever came before it, plus in my mind, it was true. To my school’s credit, no one asked me to change it.

Regardless of what I think about the conflicts our country is currently involved in or has been involved in previously, I have always thought highly of the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom and my right to have my own opinions. That’s what freedom is all about. A special thanks on this day to those who have served and who are currently serving and may be risking their lives. May you all come home safe.