Thanks to Ladyheart on morguefile for this image.
If you're only using your computer for word processing, internet and emailing, you're missing out. Make that box help you stay organized and even keep you on task.

First, organize. If you haven't already, create computer folders to classify your writing projects: nonfiction, fiction. Those folders might include subfolders: picture books, magazine pieces, etc. Break it down farther if needed (i.e. separate folders for each specific novel in your novel folder).

Did you type up your notes from a conference? Save them in a marketing folder on your computer. Store electronic copies of guidelines and theme lists there, too. Use a document to record books you've read, the publisher, and your thoughts.

Maintain a file for "manuscripts out." Include a section for ones to be sent plus what each house or magazine has from you now. A file that lists each publisher and what you've sent is a helpful companion.

Use a spreadsheet or a money management program to keep track of writing expenses and income to make tax filing easier.

Back up these important files and folders on a regular basis. A USB drive is an inexpensive and quick way to do so. I also love using dropbox to make it easy to copy files from my desktop to my laptop and vice versa.

Second, keep on task. Use your computer as an electronic nagger. You can schedule "to do" items, including deadlines, and set up a program to remind you. Microsoft Outlook is probably the most common one, but there are many reminder software programs available if you don't have one. They vary in cost from free to $60, with many in the $20-25 range. Investigate them on the Internet. Often you can download one and try it for free before buying.

Making our computers work for us takes self-discipline. We have to make ourselves: keep information up-to-date, back up folders and files, and schedule deadlines. However, the structure of being organized and staying on task can free us to get back to our first love--writing!

(I'll confess this is a reprint of my one of my own articles. It's been in the SCBWI Bulletin and on the Rx for Writers portion of the Institute of Children's Literature site. But, I'm getting ready to move 1800 miles and knew it would be a quick way to get a post up.)

(Thanks to Dave and morguefile for this picture!)

Do you ever get discouraged about your writing and/or illustrating? I do. Sometimes it's after reading a fantastic book and I think, I'll never be able to do that well. Or it might be after another rejection, or when I'm struggling with my work in progress. Or even seeing a published book I think is terrible.

I remember asked another writer if they knew about Madeleine L'Engel's experience with A Wrinkle in Time. They didn't. She got rejected, rejected, rejected. When the book finally got sold and published, it won a Newbery Medal (1963). I heard her tell how one editor told her, "I wish that had come across my desk." Madeleine answered that it did. Read A Circle of Quiet to learn about her ten year dry spell!

In the early 90s a friend and critique group partner of mine sold a book. We were all excited with her. She got her advance. An illustrator illustrated the text. Then, the book was cancelled! Can you imagine her disappointment? Suzanne Williams went on to resell Library Lil (published in 1997) and Steven Kellogg illustrated it!

Susan Patron talked to her husband about giving up . . . the night before she got the call about her Newbery Medal (2007) for The Higher Power of Lucky.

I know I could find many other examples. Instead, let's talk about what you can do when discouraged. Here's what works for me.

Hang out with your writing peeps! I have a group of writers who meet with me to write. We aren't collaborating per se, we're just holding each other accountable to show up and be productive. It's helpful to know someone else is struggling with a chapter or scene or query letter. We share, ask questions, encourage each other. I started out with only one writing partner, so all you need is one person to do this with you.

Make sure you are in a critique group. I know, you probably think I'm playing a broken record (kind of like a CD for you younger folk). I mention critique groups a lot. It's because I believe they are so important. My writing grows because of my critique group. My work in progress deepens because of suggestions from my critiquers.

Attend a workshop or conference or writer's talk. I'm usually inspired when I hear others talk about writing. Sometimes a magical thing happens and I suddenly "get it"--that thing I've been puzzling about for months or years. I meet and connect with fun people, which is encouraging.

Go on a writing retreat. Organized ones are great, but they can be expensive. A writing retreat can simply be a casual get together with others of like mind where you get to work and/ or critique. I went on one several summers ago. I met with ten other writers at a northern Missouri farmhouse. Our hostess, Patricia, provided beds, places to sit, and the internet. The rest of us provided the food and it was a very productive two days. Not only for us as writers, but for the cows as well--two calves were born while we were there.

Meet other writers online. Find your tribe wherever you can, whether it be list serves, writers' blogs and websites, twitter, facebook, or google+. I use all of these, plus reading writing newsletters. Often I get encouragement from them. A recent post on Shannon Whitney's blog was about the importance of "writing like me!" http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2011/11/writing-like-me.html

Try something new. Go somewhere you've never been before. Try a hobby or sport you've never tried. Read a book in a genre you don't usually read. Let new experiences stir your mind.

Write something. It doesn't even have to be on your work in progress. It could be something new such as trying a different genre, or writing a "how to" on something you've learned. It doesn't have to be intended for paid publication. Write an article for a newsletter, or write a blog entry. All writing is good practice. And you get the immediate reward of a sense of accomplishment.

Eat some chocolate. My preference is dark. Or I drink a cup of tea. Do whatever little thing lifts your spirit - a bubble bath, a silly movie, playing with a kid.

Give yourself some grace. I often feel discouraged when there are too many other things going on in my life, when I'm missing sleep, or I'm not feeling well. Don't expect too much when you are overwhelmed or stressed. Don't make a decision about your writing when you are discouraged--that's when you're apt to make the wrong one.

Keep going. Here's a quote I heard at a conference years ago: "In the end you can Give Up or Keep Going. Those are your only choices. The only good thing about giving up is that there's less competition for those who keep going." -Bruce Balan

I'm going to stay in the running. What about you?

(Picture courtesy of Mary R. Vogt on morguefile.com)

Have you ever found yourself telling a kid, "Don't talk with food in your mouth," and then realized you were doing the same? I once caught myself out when I reread an article I'd written on character development. Among the suggestions were questions to ask yourself about the character. I realized I couldn't answer any of them for the main character on my current work-in-progress. Ouch! I wish I could say I was only on page one of my novel.

I know some writers write totally organically and learn their character as they go, but I know I need more. So why do I keep trying to do without the preparation? I wish I knew. I may have to make a sign to go above my computer, "Do you know who your character is?"

Or maybe it's that I always have to get to a certain stage in a story before I care enough about all those details of my character to find them out. Of course, that definitely can cause major rewriting.

I've heard writers explain how they write very detailed bios of their characters, major and minor, before writing any of the story. Others fill out complex charts. For me that would be telling the character who they are more than discovering who they are.

On one work-in-progress I discovered my main character's initials didn't stand for what I thought they did. I'd given JD his name a long time ago, when his story idea was only a glimmer of an idea. I decided the J stood for Joshua. When pre-planning a scene in my head, another character asked JD what his initials stood for. He answered, "Jonah David." Whoa! Time out! Where did that come from? But it felt . . . right.

So where does that leave me? Not totally in control.

But I think I need to work on a balance for this dichotomy. Some pre-planning, some organic, followed by more planning, followed by more organic. And, flexibility.

So don't do as I say, or as I do. Instead figure out the best way for you to work out this issue of character development in your own work. Though if you have any tips, I'd love to hear them.

Note: If you don't see the comment option, click on the title.

What catches attention? Bad news or good news? You only have to look at a newspaper, the internet headlines, or watch the TV to know the answer. Bad news gets more space and attention.

Think back to your school days. When kids whispered about a classmate was it because something good happened? Not usually. The "did you hear . . ." topics were about someone doing something wrong, getting caught, etc. The stories didn't have to be true and often got worse as they spread.

Sounds a lot like fiction writing. Writers are paid to give characters problems and make them worse. Readers can't necessarily solve their own problems, but reading how someone else solved a problem gives them hope.

In a novel the first problem introduced may not be the main one of the book. Here's an example: "When my brother Fish turned thirteen, we moved to the deepest part of inland because of the hurricane and, of course, the fact that he'd caused it." (Savvy by Ingrid Law). Mibs, the narrator, will be turning thirteen and finding out what she has to deal with when she gets her own savvy. First, however, we are introduced to her brother's problem.

Short stories don't have the time to deal with multiple problems or much character development. Like juicy gossip, a short story problem needs to start right away.

Launch a short story problem with action, dialogue, thoughts or a combination. Let's take a girl who has lost the watch she borrowed. We could start with action: Wendy reached into her jeans pocket for the watch she'd borrowed from her older sister--it wasn't there! A dialogue beginning might be: "Oh, no! Teresa's watch is gone. She's going to kill me!" Her thoughts could introduce the problem this way: It's gotta be here, Wendy thought. I know I put Teresa's watch in my pocket. No matter which way this story starts, the reader knows it is bad news for Wendy.

Here's an example from a classic story: "There was once a prince, and he wanted a princess, but then she must be a real Princess. He travelled right round the world to find one, but there was always something wrong." ("The Princess and the Pea") By the end of the second sentence, we know there is a definite problem.

Some short stories may introduce the problem with the title of the story as "Who Will Care for Spot?" does. (Marilyn Kratz, Highlights) This problem is reinforced by the beginning lines. "Mom looked worried as she hung up the phone. 'That was Jenny next door,' she said. 'She won't be able to take care of Spot while we are on our vacation.'" Again, bad news.

Are you giving your readers bad news up front? Try it and see if sharing the problem early makes the readers worry and want to read on.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

If you want to make your characters stand out and be unique (i.e.: see the light of day in a published book), first try running your dialog through the cliché detector. Figures of speech can be so common you don't even notice them - phrases like, "we're not out of the woods yet," or "don't count your chickens before they hatch" tend to slip right past our radar. Don't let them.

Make your dialog better than that, more original. In your dialog revision, take the time to establish a voice, even a lexicon for each of your main characters. It'll make them stand out from each other, and more, it'll make them jump off the page. Here are four ways to make your characters "talk different."

1. ATTITUDE:
Is your character defensive, combative, a know-it-all, a joker? Make sure that her dialog consistently reflects this.

Let your character's attitude inform every utterance. As an example, take Deborah Wiles' EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS. The obnoxious little boy, Peach, could have just said, "Good morning, Comfort," when he came into her room. Instead he says, "It's morning and I've come to see you!"

That little tweak shows us his quirky personality, as well as his attitude. Is he excited to see Comfort? Oh, yes. (Is she excited to see him? Not so much -- and her dialog reflects this.)

2. EDUCATION:
Your characters' level of education determines so much of their speech, from word choice to sentence length and complexity. Make sure that you take this into consideration and use it to set characters apart from each other.

Have the smart characters use bigger words than the rest; have the not-as-smart-as-they-think-they-are characters MISuse bigger words. In my book, FAREWELL, MY LUNCHBAG, janitor Maureen DeBree aspires to a more sophisticated means of expression than her education allows. That's why she says things like "Don't cast nasturtiums" instead of "Don't cast aspersions," and advises the detectives to use their powers of "reduction," instead of "deduction."

3. FRAME OF REFERENCE:
What does your character obsess over? What kind of background did he come from? What kind of world does she live in? These considerations will inform what your characters say and how they say it.

For example, in EACH LITTLE BIRD THAT SINGS, Comfort's older brother, Tidings, is obsessed with all things military. When he greets her, he says, "Easy, Private!" When asked where the visitors are, he says, "The troops are reconnoitered in the back parking lot." It's never a challenge to know when Tidings is speaking, and his dialog reveals a lot about who he is and what his aspirations are.

4. EXCLAMATIONS
What kind of character would say, "Criminently"? What character would say, "Eeww, gross"? (Hint: probably not the same character.) Exclamations are a small touch, but if you use them right, they can help the reader zero in on the personality of whoever is speaking in a heartbeat.

For example, in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher, the hero, Harry Dresden, is a wizard/private investigator. He uses phrases like "Hell's bells" and "Stars and stones" as exclamations, giving him a uniquely wizardly way of expressing himself. If he just said "damn" and "holy moley," it wouldn't have the same effect.

Take these four considerations into account, the next time you're taking a closer look at dialog. And I guarantee, to paraphrase David Sedaris, that your characters will "talk pretty one day."

BIO
Edgar-nominated author-illustrator Bruce Hale is passionate about inspiring reluctant readers to open books (and read them). He has written or illustrated more than 25 seriously funny books for children, including the award-winning Chet Gecko Mysteries series, Snoring Beauty (one of Oprah's Recommended Reads for Kids), and the comics-novel hybrid, Underwhere. Read more about the books on Bruce's website.

An actor and Fulbright Scholar in Storytelling, Bruce is in demand as a speaker, having presented at conferences, universities, and schools all across North America.

Plus, he's one nice guy.

And, you can get great articles like this one by signing up for his newsletter. It's free here.