Writer’s Life

NaNo Diaries: Changes #NaNoWriMo

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Changes.

Every MS goes through them, especially in the editing phase.

I chatted with an author a couple of years ago who planned every aspect of her book, right down to the dialogue.

Everything.

Other than spelling and grammar, there were no changes.

I was in awe.

I have no clue what a book’s title will be until I reach midpoint in writing… mostly.

But this ultra-author knew in advance what her characters would do and say, plot twists, and the ending.

That’s an amazing superpower to have.

Yet, I don’t think it’s one I want.

As a character-driven writer, the voices in my head trip me up almost daily when I began a new MS.

Saturday, Day 4 of NaNoWriMo, two in-the-moment-characters stole scenes. And they were good.

Yesterday, Day 6 of NaNoWriMo, the protagonist took a walk into existentialism.

Wait, what?

It wasn’t planned, but it fit.

Will it stay? I doubt it.

But it did give me an idea for another WIP.

So, after six days of NaNo, I have nine scenes and 12K+ words written, FIVE pages of CHANGES, and an outline for a new WIP.

Didn’t see that coming.

Maybe it’s a different superpower.

Morpheus_Nano

NaNoWriMo Day 6 word count – 2037

Total – 12503/50000

Keep writing!

NaNo Diaries: Distractions #NaNoWriMo

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On any given day, you’re sure to find a post or comment by someone saying they can never find the time to write.

Yes, if you work a fulltime job, have a spouse and children, friends and family, a hobby…any semblance of a LIFE, most days, your time is not your own.

But. Think about it. How many times have you sat down with your device of choice with a task in mind—paying bills, checking test scores, researching a future major purchase, book travel plans, etc.—and found yourself opening your email, checking any or ALL of your social network accounts, watching a video of a sloth eating a grape or taking a quiz to find out which Avenger you’re most like?

Distractions.

You’re not alone. We all have the pretty, shiny object that so easily pulls our attention away from the task at hand.

Pinterest is my downfall.

I can pull up the app in search of a photo of a land mass or mountain range to match a location I’ve written about, and two hours later, I have no photo of my location… but I do have three recipes for Pad Thai, a new pattern for an afghan, fifteen more coffee memes, and a detailed infogram on how to turn empty toilet paper rolls into a decorative Christmas centerpiece.

I am weak and in need of help… and probably intense counseling.

In my last NaNo Diaries post, I mentioned I’d jumped on the AlphaSmart bandwagon. No Internet connection, no wifi—just me and a sturdy little word processor that I purposely use away from all my other devices, including my phone. My adult children hate that.

But there are still times when I need to be online and around all my favorite distractions, and that’s when I use an Internet blocker. I have the paid version of Freedom.to. I can set it for any amount of time I chose, from minutes to hours, and the Internet is gone. Can’t open a browser or app. (Yes, I’ve tried.)

There are quite a few other Internet blocking apps available, but not all have free versions.

Anti-Social (In the process of merging with Freedom.to but love the name!)

Cold Turkey (Free Version Available)

Rescue Time (Free Version Available)

FocusMe

These are great little tools to have to help you block online distractions, but the writing part is still up to you. Sorry.

I started coming down with a head cold yesterday and had to struggle for word count… but I got it! For NaNoWriMo Day 3, I’m at 5544/50000.

Today is NaNoWriMo Double-Up Donation Day. Check it out. Make a donation and double your word count for the day.

I’m going to give it a shot… even though I can’t stop sneezing and my head feels bigger than Wyoming.

Keep Writing!

 

Write Your Story #MondayBlog

Writer’s block gets far too much credit for words not written and false starts on manuscripts.

Not being able to develop a character or plot to move the story forward is maddening. However, sometimes a lack of words is not the problem but the overabundance of words vomited by your brain!

After finishing a twenty-five-hundred-word chapter, you read it and cringe in horror at the forty-seven adverbs, nineteen pronouns, twelve dialogue tags, and eleven uses of the word ‘had.’

You believe writing is not your calling and consider a career in the food service industry where name tags and hats are required.

Instead, you delete the paragraph and start over.

Stop it.

You’re dealing with another type of writer’s block—one where you’re blocking yourself from moving forward because you’re trying to write the perfect first draft using the rules.

Stop it.

Everyone’s first draft is craptastic—you’re not going to be the exception.

First drafts get rewritten during the editing stage … hence the name FIRST draft.

Your story can (and will) change, making the chapter you’re agonizing over irrelevant.

Your editor could say the chapter doesn’t add to the story. Wave goodbye to the chapter.

Your MS will go through more changes than an Academy Awards show host.

Take a deep breath … and exhale.

Now. Write your story.

Let the words flow. Good, bad, passive, indifferent. Get them on paper.

Write your story. Finish it … and take a break from it.

After your break, make a copy of your MS and put it away.

Now you can use the rules and fix the excessive adverbs, run-on sentences and five-hundred-sixty-five occurrences of the word ‘that’ … or maybe that was just me.

Line up your Beta-readers and alert your editor.

And when you’re holding your published book in print form or on your reader, take out the saved copy of your first draft and compare the two.

See?

You turned something craptastic into literature.

Pat your yourself on the back … and start all over again.

Write your story.

What’s the Most Important Part of Your Novel?

Does your first chapter make a promise to readers? Do you live up to it? #WritersIssues

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know's avatarWriting your first novel-Things you should know

1e7cba28f25210164154825f3d16c176It’s the beginning and more specifically the first sentence, then paragraph, then page, then chapter. You have to grab your reader the minute they pick up your novel.

When you are ready to submit your work to an agent, one thing you will notice is they don’t want your complete work. They only want the first few pages, or some may ask for a couple of chapters. Don’t be bold and overconfident sending them the entire thing.

They probably will toss it to the side for your failure to follow instructions. If they do read, they won’t get very far if the first few pages aren’t compelling enough to draw them in (which was the part they wanted to see in the first place).

Agents as a rule, don’t want to see the entire manuscript until they know you can write a compelling story. You have to make them want to…

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Becomming a Better Fiction Writing using Passive Learning

Excellent post! 😉

Jed Herne's avatarJed Herne: Writer

The single best way to improve your creative writing is to do lots of creative writing.

However, it can be hard to make time to write short stories, poems or even novels. That’s why you should include as much writing-related passive learning into your day as possible.

Passive learning is essential learning to do a task by performing other similar (yet not identical) tasks. For creative writing, passive learning is a bit like sneaking vegetables into a brownie – it won’t feel like you’re writing fiction, yet your fiction writing will improve.

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Writing is Easier When I don’t have Time for It

Steven Capps's avatarBard & Books

Hey all, I have some updates before we get into the blog post. First, is that I am finally done teaching summer school which means I will have more time to get out posts on our regular weekly schedule rather than once ever two weeks. Number two, is that we are past June 30th which means it is time for our Writers Toolkit giveaway. I am going to do the drawing tomorrow morning and contact the winner. Once everything is confirmed, I’ll release their identity here in a future post.

The only other bit of news is that I will be gone from July 15th until the 29th for military training. Since this is only two weeks, I already have a blog post ready to go and thus shouldn’t be much of a bump in our schedule. I hope everyone is having an awesome day, and thanks for stopping in!

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