When you write, which of these approaches do you favor?

1. MC discovers their power unexpectedly (“You’re a wizard, Harry”)

2. MC has already established and something happens (“I heard the mailman approach my office door, half an hour earlier than usual.”)

I tend to like to read both, but I find the first is more difficult for me to write. (not worse, but not as much to work with and you have to be more clever and creative to make it believable)


-paul

Hey all,
I have always had an issue with writing passive verbs, especially when I write past tense.
So, does anyone else have this problem?
What are some techniques to overcome this?

thanks
-paul

all,
couple of quick questions: 
1) How much do you write each day on your current project? 
Someone told me recently that on days that I write less than a thousand words that I shouldn't have bothered.  I try to write everyday, but with two young children (3 yrs and 5 months) I don't always get to spend as much time as I would like.

2) do you consider work on your plotting (outline/notes/whatever) as part of your writing for the day?

To me, when you quantify your writing (ie, you must write 1500 words / day) then you stifle creativity by trying to force something that will, in all likelyhood, be edited out later anyway. 
thoughts?

-paul

Hey all,
I have been writing for most of my life. I have never been part of a writers group, on-line or otherwise.  I started looking around for one in my area (Oklahoma City), but most of the ones I found are for Romance or some other genre.

Here's my questions:
How many of you belong to on-line writers groups?
Are they as useful as in-person writers groups?
Are there any that you would recommend for an unpublished aspiring writer?

thanks in advance for the info.

-paul  aka travln_bard