Check-up time.
TURN YOUR HEAD AND COUGH.
Maybe that’s a different kind of check-up.
Still, I like these gowns.
ASSLESS.
Which is really a misnomer, isn’t it? Because they’re not ass-less. They’re ass-ful. By revealing the buttocks, you have wildly increased the assfulness quotient, yeah?
Whatever.
What I’m trying to say is, hey! Writer-types!
How’s it going?
What are you writing?
What kinds of things are you finding hard in your writing?
What’s easy?
What’s surprising?
What have you learned?
What do you need?
How is the whole writer’s existence?
Let’s hear ’em. Shout up from the trenches: how goes the penmonkey thing?
Tracy says:
Well, got my associates degree yesterday, now have to get my butt back behind the keyboard and keep moving on the book. I am kind of stalled, but just need to make myself write. Even if I write junk, it is writing and I can edit later.
May 6, 2013 — 9:32 AM
terribleminds says:
Holy crap, congrats!
May 6, 2013 — 12:19 PM
Sadochismo says:
Hey Chuck! I’m currently writing a novella, I have a few pages down on it so far! It’s about the undead, that’s all I’ll say on it for now! But my real problem lies in actually writing it. I mean, I can write it easy, but I feel like I don’t have my own space for writing it. My room is full of distractions and I have no where else to go and write it in peace thanks to owning a desktop. If you have any tips about finding that writers space, I’d love and appreciate to hear them!
May 6, 2013 — 9:34 AM
terribleminds says:
Less about “finding” and more about “making it happen.” Clean up the room. Eliminate distractions. Carve out the time. You won’t find it anywhere, same way we don’t find time to write. You have to tear it out of reality’s hide.
May 6, 2013 — 12:20 PM
Kastil says:
I’m in editing hell. I had two of my novels from different publishers saddle up beside me at the same time. Plus I’m a huge hockey fan and my team’s in the playoffs (Let’s Go Pens!) plus playoff hockey as a whole is so much fun to watch…so my time management skills are as good as a squirrel on crack. And like that rodent, I’m hopping from one document to the other and not finishing projects.
May 6, 2013 — 9:35 AM
Matt Gomez says:
Currently working through short story five of a “planned” ten. Writing it all out long hand first, then going back and trying to decipher my crypto-scratchings and turning what is evidently not-English (I mean all the words are ones you’d find in the dictionary, but they are not put together like someone who actually reads English would understand) into readable English.
Wife is currently editing a novel I wrote back in my halcyon days of college.
Also working and job hunting. All is good, yes?
May 6, 2013 — 9:42 AM
Daniel R. Davis says:
Writing’s coming slower than I’d like. Working on a short story while waiting for revision requests on my sci-fi romance novella (which has taken a month of waiting so far). Waffling between working on the Lovecraftian horror shorts for the anthology I was going to self-pub and a Middle Grade novel. I want to try to get something out there to test the self-pub waters and maybe make a buck or two on it now and again, but the Middle Grade is coming along nice and I think it has promise of being picked up. In the meantime, that’d mean another work that may not be seen for several months to a year with no return, even after it’s picked up. And we sort of need supplemental income ASAP. Beyond that, I need to finish the third book on a Fantasy Romance trilogy, the noir/pulp style urban fantasy novel, and a bunch of other works I want to get back to and finish. Not enough time in the day.
Really, I have a lot of junk going on that’s rattling around in my noggin and making it difficult to focus on any one task for as long as I’d like. Woefully behind on housework and yardwork and the mower’s crapping out. Need to get some special effects stuff done for someone and behind on that too due to lack of cash. The aforementioned waffling between various writing projects. Forming a band and learning songs. Money issues. Plus, I’ve got my country’s 500th anniversary to plan, my wedding to arrange, my wife to murder, and Guilder to frame for it; I’m swamped.
May 6, 2013 — 9:44 AM
Anthony Elmore says:
A recent death in the family had knocked the wind out of me, emotionally and creatively. I got back to writing on Sunday, but each word was like moving cinderblocks. This may pass.
May 6, 2013 — 9:57 AM
terribleminds says:
Correction: this *will* pass.
Be well, Anthony, and condolences.
May 6, 2013 — 12:24 PM
Anthony Elmore says:
You were correct, sir. After posting, I created a new doc and started “Her Boyfriend is in the Army.” It was the tonic I needed. To affirm life continues, I had to put aside my grief and continue. Thanks a bunch.
May 6, 2013 — 9:35 PM
Carol McKenzie says:
Thanks for asking, Mr. Wendig. How are things with you?
I feel most days like an imposter, or a kid sitting at the adult table during Thanksgiving dinner, pretending no one notices me while I sneak sips from my great Aunt Barbara’s glass of sherry and nod my head in all the right places, desperate that no one actually speak directly to me. And I have a gravy stain on my blouse.
I write fiction for clients who have very specific requests and word counts. I write, they read, they pay. Sometimes they ask for edits. But mostly they read and pay.
I don’t think all of them have very high standards when it comes to what they accept. That doesn’t mean I give them schlock. I give them the best writing I can, whether it’s the little 2000 word short stories or the 90000 word, three part…thing…I’m in the middle of writing.
All this boils down to I have no perspective on what I write. Just because I crank out gobs of words that are more or less grammatically correct (usually more), quite a few of which are spelled correctly, doesn’t mean, to me, that I’m actually doing anything worthwhile.
It doesn’t mean I’m a real writer…whatever that is.
Angst abounds this Monday in the wet Kentucky woods where I live. Angstville, USA.
May 6, 2013 — 10:11 AM
terribleminds says:
Carol:
They’re great, thank you!
We all get gravy on our blouses.
Why am I wearing blouses? Best not to ask.
Point is: you write. You’re a real writer.
— c.
May 6, 2013 — 12:24 PM
Emily Wenstrom says:
Well those questions opens me up to write about 10 pages of shit.
Don’t worry, I’ll spare you.
Short answer: A manuscript’s second draft–the one where I go back and fix all the problems I caused in my first draft–it sure takes a long time. But I’m finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Which means I can soon get started on the third draft, where I fix the extra problems I didn’t even know were there until I dug myself out of the first-draft problems. Anyone have a bigger shovel I could borrow?
May 6, 2013 — 10:18 AM
Emily Wenstrom says:
Blast it. Wrong post. Delete? Why is there no delete …
May 6, 2013 — 10:19 AM
Michael R. Underwood says:
I’m about 10K from the end of the second draft on what will be my shortest novel (40-50K). It’s a strange and new experience, making my way through an explicitly smaller story while trying to deliver the kind of fun readers seem to be responding to with the series.
In the first draft, I got myself into trouble by adding too many characters and trying to manage them all at the same time. So I know there’s tons of revision to be done, but that has to wait until I’ve got the whole shape of the novel. And I know that as soon as this one is done, there’s an even bigger novel with even bigger challenges waiting for me.
It’s awesome. Also, pass the rum.
May 6, 2013 — 10:25 AM
Laura Hughes (MittensMorgul) says:
Just finished the draft, and currently in brain-decompression mode for a week or two before editing. I’m in the process of filling my head with all the junk food (tv shows, movies) and all the desserts (about 30 books I bought while drafting).
Fattening up the old brain for slaughter. Er. Editing.
May 6, 2013 — 10:27 AM
Perrin L. Rynning says:
Working on a collaborative novel. Hitting a snag with the plot, mostly ‘cos the lead character is more like the reader’s passive viewpoint into the world as opposed to an active player in the game. Now to do a little digging into his past to see if I can find his “on” switch.
May 6, 2013 — 10:38 AM
darleneaubol says:
What’s hard; coming up with a fourth book. I have three available here:
http://www.VermillionRoadPress.com
They were more or less outlined in my head when I had to work the endless day jobs, but now I’ll have to create from scratch. Better get on with it.
aka Darlene Underdahl
May 6, 2013 — 10:40 AM
Laith Shriam says:
Not well I’m afraid. I’m currently editing my first draft and it’s really a bunch of high points and low points. Parts that have to be completely rewritten are pretty easy actually as long as I remember to change the parts of the book that are affected by the change.
The hardest parts are where the scene almost works but just needs a few tweaks to make it right. Trying to find just the right wording or whatever can be annoying. I know I have multiple retries but I can get sucked into that easily and spend all my writing time on one scene.
What surprised me would be how I figured out how I wanted the character to act as I wrote them. Most of the characters changed from how they were in my outlines pretty severely.
I need to just keep plugging away until its done. I’ve learned you need to name your characters at some point, and thanks to my time working for Uncle Sam I don’t have too many money troubles so I have plenty of time to focus on my writing.
May 6, 2013 — 10:46 AM
Karoline Kingley says:
It’s going good, thanks! I’m starting my second novel. A romantic comedy placed in the regency era that may or may not contain characters that are based off of people I know, whose destiny I can now determine. Mwa-ha-ha.
Lately, I’m finding the 1st person voice challenging. I’m pretty sure this book is going to be 95% dialogue and for that reason I have to make sure my characters are extra gripping.
Turns out, it’s easy when you write from the heart. Ya know, about things that are near and dear to you. It’s surprising how fun this new project is! Even though writing is my passion, sometimes it can feel like a chore.
I’ve learned that less is more. Nobody cares about my poetic tangents, they just want a story.
And I need to figure out HOW TO GET A DARN AGENT WITHOUT PAYING HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS ON WEBINARS THAT TEACH ME HOW TO DO SO! Whoo, sorry that’s just been building up inside me for a while.
As usual, the writer’s existence is dandy. Just dandy my friend.
May 6, 2013 — 11:21 AM
terribleminds says:
No webinar will teach you how to get an agent.
And it’s actually not as hard as they make it sound. What’s your difficulty?
— c.
May 6, 2013 — 12:25 PM
Karoline Kingley says:
The actual process of obtaining an agent, that is forming connections and hiring one seems to be the one subject nobody is willing to elaborate on!
May 6, 2013 — 1:54 PM
Melinda Primrose says:
All these comments make me want to cry. I love how open folks are about their writing! Thanks Chuck for asking.
I’m in the hell known as self-doubt. It’s quite debilitating really. I have an idea that I’m sure has been done before but I think I’d like to give it a shot anyway. Every time I sit down to write, the asshole self-doubt paralyzes my fingers so I will listen. “You can’t write anything worth reading,” it tells me. “It’s been done before. What’s the point?” it asks. And my insides get all trembly and gooey and I slink back to the safety of not writing.
Any advice on how to make that ass self-doubt shut up? I feel like an imposter saying I’m a writer!
May 6, 2013 — 11:49 AM
Jim Johnson says:
I want to read whatever idea you’re going to put your own unique spin on. Tell your a-hole self doubter to go stuff it; you have a paying customer in potentia to cater to. Kick it to the curb and write!
May 6, 2013 — 12:28 PM
Puck says:
All prose projects are on hold while I finish up my spring semester, but I’m still writing poetry around all my other assignments, so I’m hanging in there as a writer! 🙂 Thanks for askin’. <3
May 6, 2013 — 11:49 AM
Holly says:
Ditto.
I’m studying for my AS exams (I think that equates to… 11th grade in the US?) and the School-Monster has grown so big it fills up all my days, and nights, and it’s eaten my cat. Currently trying to cram bits of writing into the spaces between its toes.
I can’t wait until all this is done for the summer, then I can get back to my real work and write this goddamn novel. 😉
Good luck with it all!
May 6, 2013 — 12:11 PM
Envy Augustine says:
I’m at the last leg of a big ass mass effect fan fic I decided to write to take a break from writing and subbing original stuff. Thought the fic would be around 70 – 90k and I think it’ll end up being over 150K before the end. It’s been fun! I’m experimenting with POV and tense which I wouldn’t have done on an agent or digital first sub. It’s taught me about hitting deadlines I set for myself (chapter a week) and about conflict.
Once that’s wrapped up, my summer goal is to have my blog/site up and running.
Then it’s a matter of picking projects. Do I edit the first draft of what I know is a sci-fantasy series of 5 books or do I get out a sci-fantasy standalone that’s been in my brain for about half a year now. I’m thinking standalone because I’d rather try to query a standalone to an agent. Plus, when I saw the previews for Transistor I was all “OMG! The world and main character here have a lot in common with my heroine and my world for that standalone!”
It was like Supergiant Games had a meeting titled “What Would Envy Want to Play?”
May 6, 2013 — 12:07 PM
Jim Johnson says:
Blazing away on a new short novel (approx 50k words). Trying out a new writing process—trying to be a pantser rather than a plotter, and writing in 30 minute sprints separated by 15 minute breaks. So far through 8 sprints, have nearly 10k words in. Feels great.
May 6, 2013 — 12:25 PM
Anne says:
Write with a co-author who moved two time zones away last month. We write/edit simultaneously using Google Drive (yay technology!)
We’re on the final edit of our novel before sending first three chapters, synopsis, etc to an agent who requested it last DragonCon. We had to take a painful editing hiatus during the move, and the time zone difference is going to be a bitch. This week will be our first week picking up our editing again in about two months. Our regular goal is to edit one chapter a day. We should be submitting in a couple months, if the time difference doesn’t foil us.
But we’re badass. Time differences run screaming from our cosmic powers.
May 6, 2013 — 12:37 PM
Cassie says:
I had stopped on my novel about 1 1/2yrs ago because I felt like I needed more experience. I just didn’t think I had the skill set to do my story justice to be honest. None the less took a few classes here and there and started a new novel idea to get my feet wet but wasn’t sold on the idea.
Started reading this book “The 90-Day Novel” by Alan Watt and it clicked all my fears laid out bare. So I geared up and went back to my original story and started going through the process. Its going well and really unleashing all the opportunities of where and what this story is.
What I thought was crap actually isn’t so bad. It’s just that the day job and life interferes along with that annoying inner critic. Boy if I could get a wrap on that inner critic and get some schedules with work and family life I’d been almost finished. It’s always the management really of multiple tasks that get you.
May 6, 2013 — 1:21 PM
Denise Lewis says:
Hi Chuck,
I’m working hard to finally corral all the characters and stories that have bounced around in my head all these years while I worked at other things, lived, and generally thought that SOMEDAY, I’d try to write. Wish I had done this 30 years ago, when I had a better vocabulary. And a better memory. And firmer…well…uh…when gravity was only an abstraction instead of being an adversary. So, as a newbie to this world of words, I find you inspiring. And I’m old–I’m a tough sell when it comes to inspiration.
A quick example. This weekend, I took an all-day seminar about WRITING. It left me totally and utterly dispirited. I drove home pausing only long enough to consider whether this ditch or that bridge would be either deep enough or high enough to finish me off. But then I remembered my secret weapon. Actually, *25* secret weapons…I got home and I pulled out your advice about being a “Happy Writer”. Thank you, my dear. I took a deep breath, opened a cerveza (Viva, cinco de Mayo!!) and kicked those flying monkeys of self doubt back to Oz. Kicked some MAJOR flying monkey butt–with your help and encouragement.
You’re better than a light saber. (is that one word?)
Thank you Chuck. And by the way, I loved “Double Dead”.
With much appreciation,
Denise
May 6, 2013 — 1:22 PM
Denise Lewis says:
I just have to say, that little green boxy-thing doesn’t look anything like me. I’m more round. And yellow.
Denise
May 10, 2013 — 1:07 AM
Lauren says:
I’m at about the midway point on a YA novel, with the second half planned out-ish. The beats are there, but now I need to flesh those out. What’s hard is being in the dreaded middle, keeping things interesting, letting the characters talk some stuff out, and figuring what I need to foreshadow for the ending. Easy stuff — did I mention I’m in the middle? Easy is a fairy tale. A lie. This is all terrible and I’m a hack and oh hey, Imposter Syndrome rears its head way too easily, though I don’t think that’s what you meant.
(Substitute easy: I’ve gotten a lot better about setting my boundaries when I’m writing. It’s much easier to shut off chat programs these days and not feel guilty that someone might need my attention. They can wait. My writing time is damned important, and I have to be the first one to respect it, or no one will.)
Surprising: those moments of random discovery, where what seems to be a throwaway detail turns into something significant later on. It’s why I’m a hybrid plotter-pantser: I willdiscover something while I’m writing that the plot stuff later on. I’ve learned to watch for those moments of “Hey, that’s cool” and use ’em.
I need coffee. A couple extra hours in the day wouldn’t go amiss, but that ain’t happening anytime soon, so it’s caffeine to fuel me through the ones I can hoard outside of my day job and grown-up obligations.
The writer’s existence is going pretty damned well. I’m doing some very cool stuff, and have more cool stuff ahead. Can’t complain.
May 6, 2013 — 1:38 PM
Morgyn says:
Umm, have been thinking of throwing this out for a few months and today’s massive response to Chuck’s How Are You sent me over to Yahoo. Set up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/terribleminds/
Here’s the thinking behind it. There is a degree of frustration with half a conversation. If those who are interested join up over at Yahoo, we can find our dream beta readers, . . . ask each other how do you do thus and so questions, announce blogs, publications, conventions will be attending and a slew of stuff anyone else might come up with.
If I’m wrong, no loss. Can take it down swift as put it up. If I’m right, go to the above addy and sign up.
Now to add yet one more answer to the inciting query.
I’m rockin’, as in if the van is, don’t knock! Chilling on 135K book one of fantasy trilogy (or more?) finished two weeks ago. Wanted something really fun to distract myself and forget said opus, so pulled out one that almost sold a few years ago and having time of my life. Its historical, its Romatica (let’s hear it for a new genre!) with a twist and life is oh so freakin’ good! Whether pounding out the daily mile on my treadmill next to a HUGE plot board, or swimming or grabbing a pen in the middle of the night as my head dictates more book, (Oh, look, I speak Phoenician!) it just keeps coming!
May 6, 2013 — 1:40 PM
Mari Bayo says:
Thanks for asking, it’s so nice to hear that question without the follow up, “So you done, yet?” 🙂 In general, I just feel so very new about all this. It’s not even so much finding time, or balancing my life or finding words or any of that stuff I thought I _would_ have issues with, instead I feel like there’s so much about it I don’t know that I don’t know what I don’t know. Side-note, in the middle of that sentence my one-year-old (who is apparently currently boycotting depth-perception and brakes along with his boycott against naps and sleeping through the night) just ran full-tilt into the very broad, very bright orange playroom wall. I don’t know if I should be more concerned about the kid’s sight or his ability to make survivally sane decisions. Anyway, yes, I’m feeling very in awe of everyone and everything and slightly overwhelmed, but that excited sort of panicky that leads to all the best decisions…or you know, death. Probably the former. It’s such a big difference trying to make something your life, becoming a “writer” as opposed to the writing-for-fun I did in college. Not that this isn’t fun too, it’s just different. It’s a more grown up, planned and careful fun. There’s actual research and fact-finding and word choices and rescuing the kid from potential social ostracization if he keeps plodding along the path to become the first 40-year-old pacificer sucker. There’s _thought_ I have to put into this.
What am I writing? Everything and anything I possibly can. And also a book about psychics with super-powers and arranged marriage and one politically ambitious manipulative father.
What am I finding hard to write? Grammatically. If I could everything would be a sentence long with the use of one lone period for emphasize at the very last word. And everyone would understand and think ‘wow, how artistic and creative. i get what she’s doing’ This is my ideal world.
What am i finding easy? Getting distracted by all the stuff I haven’t done. 🙂 There’s blogs to read and stories to critique and research to be done and contest requirements to consider…
What am I learning? That despite all the distractions, and feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start or what to do, writing is ultimately still about taking your thoughts and putting them down one word at a time until you’ve got a world that was previously just something you imagined. And I still think that’s the coolest thing ever.
What do I need? Oh, wow. An invention that reads my brainwaves and translates it into novel form. Short of that, websites like these are great because I get a feel for what’s happening in the world of writing, questions are answered that i never even thought to ask (how to write a sex scene for instance).
It’s really a joy reading all these comments, btw.
May 6, 2013 — 1:47 PM
Catherine Scully (@CatMScully) says:
Waiting to get my first notes back from my agent on my YA horror, doing occult research and character developing/suspense research to find new ways to strengthen my book – also following the plot bunnies down the rabbit hole to start another series (a YA Dark Fantasy) that I actually started writing before my YA horror. Looking for ways to strengthen my scenes, narrative, suspense, and enrich my characters without losing momentum/thrills of the story.
May 6, 2013 — 1:57 PM
Hillary says:
It is the book that doesn’t end. But it’s ending. I am literally in the last chapter of this cowboy fantasy and it’s going to clock in just under 120k. It’s been a long, arduous process because it’s third person limited with a very distinct narrative voice that — if I get it wrong (and I have majorly fucked it up a few times and had to perform surgery) — sticks out like a sore thumb. But it’s here. It’s near. I can look to other projects that hopefully won’t take so much time and energy. I WANT TO WRITE OTHER STUFF, DAMN IT.
May 6, 2013 — 1:57 PM
S T Cameron says:
I am in the middle of a YA adventure novella. However, it has been slow going. My fourth grandchild was born a month ago and family visits have been almost constant since. Writing is important, but so is family. As soon as maternity leave is over, visits will go back to once or twice a month and writing will return to normal.
Still, I am on track to finishing the first draft by the end of May. It will be my third book in just over a year.
May 6, 2013 — 2:02 PM
Robyn DeHart says:
Thanks for asking. What a lovely forum for writers to gab about their current woes. For me, I’m working on a book that’s due very soon. Too soon and I’m behind on my schedule and my word count is sad. But I’m plugging away amidst the toddler clutter and other kid-related drama.
BTW, I love your lists. And when you talk about your kid. And well you’re irreverent sense of humor – it pleases me.
May 6, 2013 — 2:02 PM
Jack says:
I’ve been struggling to find incentive or inspiration to write for a few months now. I’m completely stuck in a rut, and I’m not entirely sure how to get out. I work long hours for little pay in a job I dislike, and I’ve been putting a lot of energy into finding a new job, without having any success whatsoever.
I know that this is a situation that affects a lot of people – and it’s not the first time I’ve been in it – but it has hit me pretty hard this time. It seems that after spending a long day at work, and spending most of the evening looking for new jobs, I have no inspiration or motive to write. It’s getting me down a fair bit as I love to write, I know I want to be writing, but I stumble when it comes to putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard).
However, as of right now I have a story idea that I like for the first time in months (possible in 2013), and I’m about to open up a blank page and break my word fast.
Wish me luck!
May 6, 2013 — 2:03 PM
Anne Lyle says:
Just finished the final draft of book 3 of my trilogy. *runs around doing happy dance* *flops, twitching like a goldfish out of water*
What have I learnt? That I’m a masochist when it comes to creating complicated plots that then kick my arse six ways to Sunday. Maybe next time I’ll write something simpler, with only one PoV and no double-crossing or secrets or plots within plots…
Uh, who the hell am I kidding? Untangling the mess that pours out of my fingertips is half the fun 🙂
May 6, 2013 — 2:03 PM
Amanda says:
One manuscript out on submission (fingers crossed), several others stalled, and I’m almost done writing a short novella that may very well be the worst thing I’ve ever written. The heroine doesn’t swear, doesn’t have a lot of confidence, and refuses to acknowledge that anything is bothering her. She’s driving me nuts. But. I have this slim hope that if I manage to finish the damn thing, I can fix it. Can’t fix it if it’s not finished, so back to the grindstone I go…blargh.
May 6, 2013 — 2:04 PM
P. Kirby says:
Having survived a long weekend participating in an art studio tour, am finally looking forward to getting some writing done. Unfortunately, stupid muse is still more interested in the–sigh–fan fiction story than the original stuff. But at this point, words is words, whatever gets the writerly brain jump-started.
May 6, 2013 — 2:08 PM
Matt Adams says:
I’ve been working on the third book of a trilogy. I sent in my second book to my publisher (a small press) and realized book two had some problems. I spent several weeks fixing book two and then realized the 70,000 words I had on the third book were basically useless.
Now, armed with a new outline and the changes I made in the second book, I’m moving briskly through the first draft of book three (I rewrote the entire first 50,000 words and cut 20,000 words from the manuscript because I didn’t like the direction; now I’m up to 68,000 words for the rewritten draft).
I learned something here. I generally outline my novels (very basic outline with character sketches/beats, main plot points, etc.), but I realized I need to outline much more thoroughly as a pre-writing exercise. It’s helped me a lot in redrafting book three.
May 6, 2013 — 2:15 PM
John Boggs says:
I’m tempted not to answer, because really the writing is not going at all — except for a family-cannibalism story I wrote for a “how my Mom loved reading!” contest put on by Panera. (I don’t expect to win.)
However, feeling abashed at not being able to say, “Hey Chuck! I’m writing and it’s going great!” should act as one of the periodic kicks in my own pants I need.
May 6, 2013 — 2:15 PM
rattify says:
Great! I think!
I’m a very slow writer and this is a very long book, and I’ve been writing towards this climax for more than a year. I just finished it and am now writing the wrap-up chapters.
I have spent that whole year unsure if I could pull off this incredibly ambitious final battle-slash-psychological confrontation. Now it is written, and it kicks ASS. And I had NO IDEA how heavily that fear was weighing on me until it was lifted.
I can’t wait to edit this mutherf***er and start sending it out. I’ll either get published or I’ll finish wallpapering my apartment with rejection letters. (I’ve only got one so far and I need more before I will feel like I have Persevered.) Either way, it’s a win.
As for what I’m struggling with? Well, it’s not so much a struggle as a new thing I’ve never done: I’ve never had the luxury of going back to early chapters and editing them. I’ve written a lot but it was stuff I just posted on the internet, episodically, one chapter at a time. That meant I could never go back, I could only forge ahead. In a way, this was great training in the sense that I got into the habit of confidently bulldozing through my outline and not second-guessing and going back constantly, but it means I have had plenty of practice writing draft 1 and NONE with turning draft 1 into draft 2, 3, 4, etc. and finally a Finished Manuscript.
I’m strongly considering hiring a freelance editor to give me a hand with this process, even though I want to try going the traditional publishing route. I need to shorten the word count a LOT, and I’m really awful at deciding what to cut and what to keep. I disagree with my alpha/beta readers more than half the time and this worries me.
Onward and upward!
May 6, 2013 — 2:17 PM
sutinderbola says:
Chuck, I’d like to say big hello. I discovered you last week via Twitter (I think someone tweeted a post of yours). Anyway, I ended up on your blog, then on Amazon.co.uk downloading ‘250 things I should know about Writing’ for the princely sum of 77 English pence. Fuck me. What a great read. You speak my language bro. I think I found a kindred spirit.
So I’m a new undiscovered screenwriter. Currently working on my first feature film script. Draft 9. I’ve had some unbelievably good feedback (for a novice writer) from professionals in the business, consultants and readers. So I keep plugging away. I keep rewriting this thing that emerged from somewhere truly deep inside me. This thing that has the power to change my life if only I can reach the summit of the screenplay writers’ rewriting mountain.
What have I learned? Screenwriting is a bastard hard thing to do. Especially when writing a spec with no money coming in. But nothing can beat the feeling when a reader says good things about this thing I’ve created, characters I’ve given birth to, lines of dialogue I crafted, the range of emotions my script manages to elicit. It’s the greatest sense of job satisfaction ever.
What am I finding hard? Having to do yet another fucking draft! I know rewrites are part of the job. I get it. I accept it. But I struggle with feedback that seems to be subjective as opposed to objective. If one reader doesn’t get / like something while another does, should I feel compelled to change it? Recently I seem to be going around in circles tweaking stuff over and over because of contradictory comments I’ve been given. It’s pissing me off. I feel it’s wasting creative energy.
What do I need? I could really do with someone who knows a thing or two about screenplays to read and give me an objective critique as opposed to the ‘consultants’ who charge a hefty fee and then spout shit that I don’t think makes sense. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I know I’m on a learning curve but is it wrong to just go with my gut feeling about some aspects of the story that work for me as a writer (and other readers in the past)? Things that do not flaunt the established rules / principles of screenwriting? If the consultant I paid recently for coverage doesn’t like my story then it’s his problem right? Shouldn’t he be objective instead of sending me on some wild goose chase into aspects of my character that aren’t relevant to his journey?
So, what’s easy? Being with my characters. That’s what makes rewriting feel good and fun. I’m with characters who feel real and are living lives of purpose and facing big dilemma’s. That’s what keeps me going.
Overall, I know I am on the verge of a breakthrough with this script. It’s ‘this far’ [a few inches between thumb and forefinger] from being ready to sell. Plenty of people (professionals) have said it will get made. But it’s a high budget project. Which makes it even harder for an unknown like me to get it to the right level of people. But I persevere. I believe. I have faith that the writing universe gave me this story for a reason. I also want to crack on with a couple of other ideas but I don’t want to abandon my current project because of conflicting advice.
If I could ask you for one piece of advice it would be this: how to take an intangible goal (like the search for faith in an afterlife, that life and death are a cycle we should embrace, a frame of mind that we should use to enrich our every experience) and make it feel concrete as opposed to esoteric?
Thanks for reading. And I don’t really expect you to give me free advice! I’m just grateful your post today allowed me to vent the thoughts I’ve been kicking around in my head for the last couple of weeks.
God bless. Be safe. Be true. And smile Chuck. All the time.
Sutinder
May 6, 2013 — 2:20 PM
Indru says:
I’m writing a novella of sorts, mystery stuff, mixed with horror. Main characters are children. It’s pretty hard to properly illustrate the phenomena that’s happening in their lives, and I’m thinking of a way they can get to the bottom of it. The good part is I already know the bottom of it. 🙂 Sorry, can’t say much more than that! Spoilers… 😉
May 6, 2013 — 2:22 PM
David says:
I’m participating in the Bolthole Writers’ Fair: http://www.thebolthole.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2669
Well, vaguely so – I’ve done a flash fiction and started two shorts so far. I’m also editing my latest novel (a boy and his demon!), which I intend to have done by the end of the year. I’m expecting my first son in August, though, so… we’ll see. 🙂
May 6, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Julia says:
Scrapping about ten chapters of book-two goodness and starting over. Not my favorite day, but some of the ideas are salvageable. Some.
May 6, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Rick Claypool says:
thanks for asking! furiously scrambling to get as far as I can into the 1st re-write of this ridiculous and weird utopia / dystopia / time travel / bildungsroman thing … 75K+ words down, at least another 50K to go … hoping to finish by year’s end, though will have the (awesome) obstacle of a brand new baby boy arriving basically any second now …
May 6, 2013 — 2:29 PM
Jacob Chastain says:
Writing 4th novel. Probably the most challenging, rewarding, longest, and terrifying book I’ve ever written. Not sure if I’m crazy from trying it or what.
Aiming at my 60,000 word goal this month (out of roughly 100k)… Also, strongly considering getting an agent with it. It’s a route I want to pursue. Literary Horror is a hard sale though. Hopefully I will find an agent who is passionate about what the genre can really do.
All is good, in other words. Just etching out a career, one mistake at a time 🙂
May 6, 2013 — 2:30 PM
Chris says:
My first book is finished and fully edited (second is nearly complete) and I’m in the process of self-publishing. Both are short story fiction. I’ve found a few self-publishing options; however, I’m open to new ones if anyone has insight. Also, where is a new author to go to get noticed by publishers? I did send out emails and samples last year to various publishing houses only to be rejected for everything from “We’ve changed our format to children’s books,” to “Sorry, we’re booked through 2018.” WTF? Hey, I suppose I could take a stab at children’s books, but I’m thinking that my necrophilia story won’t quite fit. Damn kids!
May 6, 2013 — 2:33 PM
Wanderer says:
Currently churning out random flash fiction/short stories for my blog/amusement/sanity and to try to get the writer’s block to MOVE so that I can work on a) editing my last novel b) continue writing the new one all while battling with the constant influx of ideas that turn into story “snippets” that have no home. Also trying to write while working an 8-5 desk job that absolutely sucks the soul out of any creativity.
It’s crowded over here to say the least…
May 6, 2013 — 2:39 PM
Christopher Kubasik (@MakerCK) says:
I’m writing a feature screenplay assignment — adapting a Japanese anime for a live action film.
I’ve written the first draft — fairly faithful to the anime.
Now I’m on the second draft — rather mercilessly cutting and chopping and re-focusing the story, so it feels more like a screenplay. My basic attitude is — as it always is when I go back into a script — “What asshole wrote this?” As if I’ve been given the script as a problem that someone else created and it’s my job to make it better.
I’m running late on delivery, but I think it’s coming out well. (I also finished a 50 page treatment for a feature I’m writing/directing for another company — so I accept that I’m overbooked but also working my ass off.)
I’ll have a draft to turn in to the anime producers soon. And then back to the treatment — working off notes I got from the production company exec.
I am currently renting an office space. I arrive in the early morning. I leave my cell phone at home and have no Internet access — just a land line so folks can reach me. (I’m at lunch now, checking emails)
Aside from not getting everything done as fast as I’d like, I’m doing great.
Oh, and I’ve learned — as I always do — the real and best part of the work is done after the first draft is done. I always forget that!
May 6, 2013 — 2:42 PM
Kira Butler (@kirabutler) says:
Hi Chuck! I’m still plodding along with my YA horror novel. It’s been interesting. It’s taken three rewrites, but it’s starting to feel like a comfy pair of boots, dealing with these characters. The difference between round one and round three, most notably, is that they (my character cast) bleed for me now, and every scrape and gash along the way of the plot stings the way it ought to, I think.
Curious tidbits that I thought were throwaways have turned into logic for other story elements to be pulled into place. The fact that the protagonist had a beaten copy of Dracula in her locker turned into the leverage for her ability to nerd out over Highgate Cemetery in London. Details that factor into the setting are pieces of information that a normal teenger wouldn’t necessarily know about, but hand them over to a fangirl of the dark stuff and it turns into CorpseCon ’13.
The characters shuffle the plot around a bit, but I find when I listen to them, the story moves quicker, and I’m having a much better time being able to live in the settings and make them real as the worlds are built up around them.
Something I’ve learned recently has to do with weilding a trilogy: I read a blog post this morning about writer anguish when it comes to selling their first book without having written the sequels. The comment in question was that if they could go back and do it again, they’d write the trilogy before querying the first volume. I’d be interested to know if you have thoughts on this, because that’s an approach I’m considering for this book and its follow-ups: Some patience, and some more writing.
May 6, 2013 — 2:54 PM
Elizabeth says:
I’m working a guided revision process with one novel, and continuing rough-draft with a second. The revision process has opened up my world—sooo much less worry about getting it “right” the first time through—because I know I’ll have a thorough finishing system to make it all work, identify problems, tighten up pacing, etc. No more 4-year-to-finish novels for me. I’ve found some of my weaknesses, and as a result, am studying scene-building and fleshing out Settings—I can feel my skill level finally meeting the level of telling the stories that are inside my brain.
Despite progress, I’m still fighting reluctance, as if finishing will lead to something dreadful—putting my butt in the chair to do the time when I get that feeling, because it is the Adversary. The Test.
Oh, and I’ve discovered it’s important NOT to involve beta-readers until much further along in the process—when I’m fully committed to most of the text. First: because extra second-guessing during the initial phase fuels my insecurities too much. Second: the readers emotionally commit to events and character development I might not keep—then we end up with an almost adversarial relationship over the material.
Thanks for asking.
May 6, 2013 — 2:57 PM
Morgyn says:
@Elizabeth, which guided revision process, if you don’t mind saying?
May 6, 2013 — 3:08 PM
Elizabeth says:
(I don’t mind answering, so long as Mr. Wendig approves.) It’s “How To Revise Your Novel” (Holly LIsle) http://howtoreviseyournovel.com .
May 6, 2013 — 3:31 PM
Niv says:
I just got graduated this weekend. got my BFA in film, video and integrated media.
I’m not working on the script for the second episode of my webseries (we’re shooting this weekend), The Super Alliance, and I’m trying to make it longer. It proves challenging because I already wrote the episode and we decided that the halfway point was a good cliffhanger, so we moved the 2nd half into the third episode and now I have to fill up episode 2.
May 6, 2013 — 3:17 PM
CJane says:
Hello! I finished my first novel and submitted it to the publishers who have already published 3 novellas of mine. Yay, but also boo, because it’s been almost 2 months and I haven’t heard anything. Trying not to make it mean anything and reminding myself that I write because I love it. On to the next novel. I’ve recently set a weekly goal of 5000 words and that seems to be working for me, even though I’m spewing out 5000 words of mostly crap. I know the first draft is an ugly baby, so I’m just letting myself write. Thank you for all of the great suggestions on your blog!
May 6, 2013 — 3:25 PM
Martin Cahill says:
Ahoy beloved Overlord!
Thanks for asking after the writing! I’m coming back to a solid writing schedule after wrapping a big short story a few months ago. Normally I’m able to move on to a new project quickly, but these characters just took a lot out of me. They were living in my brain too long and I needed to do a juice-cleanse of character. I didn’t stop writing, I just relegated it to outlines, planning, worldbuilding while my palate was being cleansed.
But things are picking back up quickly, as I have a bunch of projects on my plate for May, mainly to wrap up some new short stories, edit them, and send them out several writing contests/anthologies/etc. Aside from those, I’m wrapping up an outline for a radio drama I have in the works, beginning an outline for a 6 book epic fantasy, jumping back into a novel 2/3 done, polishing up a one act play I wrote last summer, and workshopping a bunch of other novel/webcomic/comic projects.
What I’ve learned the most is how much outlining saves lives, especially for bigger projects. If it’s a short story, I’m usually comfortable rushing headlong into an idea and seeing what comes up. But for the bigger projects, that’s only going to get me so far.
The hardest thing for me has been working plot so that it balances character and action, and leads into a satisfying conclusion. I’m usually good at 2 of the 3, but I’m working on making all three components shine for a strong story. What’s been easiest for me is jumping into a character’s head and walking them around, seeing how they surprise me. And most of all, what I need is to just keep going, keep writing!
And finally, in the biggest surprise/news of these writing times, I just made my first professional story sale to Fireside Magazine! So I’m incredibly excited about that, and happy to join such an awesome team! (As well as hide and tremble in your mighty shadow O’ Masterful Master Wendig!).
May 6, 2013 — 3:27 PM