HEY, WRITER TYPES.
What’s troubling you, lately? About craft, story, the industry, the culture? What difficulties are you having? Talk it up. Having trouble with a particular character? Or a genre? Or a business concern? What’s the state of your work-in-progress and what’s preventing you from getting all the way? Let’s whip out our scalpels, because it’s DISSECTIN’ TIME.
(Further, let this be a conversation amongst you — if someone offers up a question or a concern, someone else jump in and offer thoughts. Writing feels like a solitary thing but it doesn’t need to be. We’re all in this shit together if we allow ourselves the advantage, and so there’s no reason we cannot combine forces like WRITER VOLTRON and help one another out. This is a community if we want it. And what I mean by that is, I’m in your house right now. I’m watching you sleep. Also, you’re out of cereal. And industrial-grade sexual lubricant. GET SHOPPING.)
nk says:
I need to write, want to write and have topics but I have a current brand and audience that is more lightweight around food, cooking. I have experience and qualifications under “weightier” topics related to social justice, gender, race, class that I’d like to address. Torn about whether I can write under established brand, fan base, website, etc. and risk losing, offending, or diluting audience, OR start over with new blog name, social media, etc. Advice?
July 20, 2015 — 10:18 AM
Ady says:
A good place to start is here – http://www.thecreativepenn.com
Her podcast thingies are good, they lead you to authors that have a marketing track record – http://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts (I don’t know her BTW, I just think its good content)
July 20, 2015 — 1:29 PM
Anthony says:
I would separate them, but use the established brand to help boost the new one. Be clear with people that you will be using it to talk about weightier issues, and then let them decide if it is for them or not. This also works both ways, you don’t want people looking to read about the heavier issues being thrown off by “lighter” material and think it is that sort of place. Have a home for both, and then you’ll just have to struggle to keep them both going.
July 20, 2015 — 2:38 PM
nk says:
Thanks so much for the input. This was my gut feeling as well but was struggling with implementation (took me 4 years to build current brand) and finding the energy to start anew. And like you said, struggle to keep both going–when one is a full load already, in addition to running a business! But compared to feeling bottled up now, at least I give myself another outlet to be authentic.
July 20, 2015 — 9:56 PM
kenneycalliesview says:
And here I thought I was alone…Ed, I’m with you on that. I am self-publishing. Writing isn’t a problem, I don’t think. I mean the few books I’ve sold, the reviews were promising. But marketing makes me want to pull my hair out! I don’t know how to get my book out there to new people, my second one will be out within the month, but I feel it will also go nowhere fast. Twitter and Facebook isn’t so bad except I never have time to be on there. But trying to figure out WordPress is excruciating!
So basically I struggle whether to continue to write, or give it up. Right now I’m writing in the fiction/romantic fantasy genre, but I also have a non-fiction memoir type book I’m writing- that is the reason I began thinking about becoming a published author in the first place. But in a world filled with, what did Ed say, 298 twitter accounts who’s going to find lil o me?
(Sigh)…I feel your pain Ed.
July 20, 2015 — 10:37 AM
Julie says:
I’m writing a YA novel in which the POV alternates between two main characters, therefore it would be easiest to write it in third person. Seems all YA books I pick up lately are in first person and often in present tense as well. Do you think there’s any hope that a YA book written in third person would be successful? I read Marie Lu’s Legend series in which she did the alternating POV thing in first person, and she put the characters’ name at the beginning of each chapter and even had each character have a different color ink to make it clear which character was speaking. Seems like a lot of hassle that could be avoided by just going with third person POV. This is holding me up, because it’s not an easy fix later on down the road. Thoughts??
July 20, 2015 — 10:37 AM
Carolyn says:
One of my absolute favorite YA authors writes in third person, Laini Taylor, and with all the POVs she utilizes to tell the complicated story, first would never have worked. Do it in third! I can think of others too – if more than one character needs to tell your story, go for it.
July 20, 2015 — 1:13 PM
Julie Griffith says:
Thanks for the suggestion. Every YA book I’ve read lately was in first person, so it’s good to know there are some written in third person out there.
July 20, 2015 — 4:06 PM
Carolyn says:
Yes, there are! She just sticks out in my mind as her writing makes me very happy. I like monsters, and she has great ones. That being said, I am writing in first, for THIS story – but not in present tense. It just is too awkward for me!
July 20, 2015 — 5:19 PM
caroljforrester says:
I think that as long as you create clear personalities in your characters then just putting the name at the start of each chapter will effectively separate the two views.
July 20, 2015 — 2:40 PM
JT Lawrence says:
Kingsolver’s ‘Poisonwood Bible’ is a great example of this technique.
July 20, 2015 — 3:11 PM
caroljforrester says:
I’ve never read that, is it good?
July 20, 2015 — 3:37 PM
JT Lawrence says:
It’s excellent! One of my top 10 for sure.
July 20, 2015 — 3:40 PM
caroljforrester says:
I might have to check it out, and thank you for the follow.
July 20, 2015 — 4:10 PM
Julie Griffith says:
Thanks for the reply and the examples. I’ll check out some of these books mentioned and think it over. Sounds like either way could work. I just need to decide what feels most comfortable to me.
July 20, 2015 — 4:09 PM
hannahfairbairn2015 says:
Hi, I’m a little late for this post but I wanted to say… I’m a fan of YA, its all I read when I get the chance (although I am a bit past it at 29). You should definitely write what comes most comfortably to you, but I have to say, I wouldn’t read a third person YA book. But I am just one person and thousands of others might. I like to read first person because I love that close connection with the character. I like to feel what they feel and escape for a while with them into their lives. I know with third person you can express a lot of feelings and emotions, but the connection and the intimacy that I want just isn’t there. You said the first person between two characters with different names and texts and colours might be a lot more work, but it might also be worth it. You enjoyed the book you read that did just this, so you know its good to read and worth the hassle. Follow your heart. Good luck with your work.
July 20, 2015 — 4:32 PM
definitelynotapoet says:
1Q84 also does this really well – and just ’cause it’s not done often doesn’t mean it can’t work. I assume it takes more thoughtfulness and purposefulness to write this way, but I think it leaves room to both surprise and leave the reader expectant for something the two views to collide.
July 21, 2015 — 1:04 AM
Marian says:
I got reamed at my last writer’s critique group. It was a pile-on and I’m not being overly sensitive or imagining it: out of the 3 other members, 2 of them said, “wow, we’re being mean.”
I didn’t say anything in the moment because I was in shock. The criticism was not constructive; I have been in countless master classes my entire life and am used to and welcome criticism. This was different.
The atmosphere was tense and awkward. At the end, the leader of our group told me to go ahead and leave ahead of them (as we all stood around waiting to walk out and grab the elevator) “I’m sure you’re tired.” It made me feel like they were dismissing me and going to talk further without me.
I thought someone from the group would reach out the next day to address what happened, but no one did (aside from the leader leaving a positive comment on my latest blog post).
So now: what do I do? I feel trust has been broken. Any tips or ideas are so appreciated.
July 20, 2015 — 10:41 AM
Carolyn says:
I am fortunate to have a very good writer’s group. It has been going on for many years, with many different players – the current group is constructive, but kind, and we have above all fun and are supportive of each other. We all have an agreement that if things get ridiculous (like this being mean thing!) we will stop and say enough. This is a horrible situation, and ripping someone’s work apart is NOT necessary. You didn’t deserve this. That one person was right. I would look for a different group – or start one via Meetups perhaps, or during Nano – that is how my other group formed (though it mostly involves meeting weekly at a local bar and talking more than anything!). On the other hand, they deserve to be told exactly why what they did was not constructive and was, yes, mean.
July 20, 2015 — 1:18 PM
Shiloh A. Ohmes says:
Clearing the air would probably be a good idea. If you feel okay about it, maybe shoot the group leader an email and tell them how that session made you feel and that it wasn’t professional, helpful, or at all welcome in the slightest. That group owes you an apology for sure. If the leader can’t or won’t acknowledge that there was wrong done, I’d caution against going back. No one needs to be in a pool of negativity like that, it won’t help you with the craft at all, and you deserve to be in a group that takes the wellbeing and interaction of its members seriously and responsibly.
July 20, 2015 — 1:30 PM
Perrin Rynning says:
Ask them individually if they would modify their critiques if they were in a better mood. Also, try and determine if they were picking on you because of their own issues. And get some reassurances from the leader that the others weren’t insulting you when you left. But a new group might be in order.
July 20, 2015 — 1:39 PM
Leslie Aguillard says:
Find new friends. Get into a different group. The easiest thing to do is criticize. Remember, all we ever do is project… so you stay in your light and loving and creative place and leave them to their own stuff.
July 20, 2015 — 2:07 PM
JT Lawrence says:
Agree with you, Leslie.
July 20, 2015 — 3:12 PM
JT Lawrence says:
Not cool. I would look for a new group to join.
July 20, 2015 — 3:12 PM
Peg says:
Unacceptable. I mean, REALLY unacceptable.The leader should have nipped that in the bud, immediately. If they want to be biting and cruel, let them do it on their own time. I am a seriously harsh critic, I have made people cry, but I have never been unprofessional and I have never said, “I don’t think this works,” without a, “because of this,” and a,”here is maybe something you can do with it.” Trust has definitely been broken and I would suggest a new group. I’m sorry that happened to you.
July 20, 2015 — 3:36 PM
ashramswithinanut says:
That sounds awful and I’m so sorry you had to go through that.
I feel like when criticism doesn’t come from a constructive place and brings you down instead of raising you up, it’s time to walk away from it. You don’t need people to baby you, but you certainly don’t want to surround yourself with folks whom you can’t trust to support you on your journey to your work.
You could try talking to them and clearing the air, just to make sure that you’re all on the same page and there wasn’t any miscommunication (which it doesn’t sound like there was, but it’s still worth a try if they’re good friends). But, if not, find a new group. It might be hard to let go, but you have to do it for yourself.
Good luck!
July 20, 2015 — 4:12 PM
lucie says:
That’s absolutely terrible. Find a different critique group with a more constructive criticism style and clear rules of play. This exact same destructive situation happened to me once and I ended up walking away, reconsidering whether I should try to write for a living. Now, I just wished I’d told him off. Don’t give into the Meanies.
July 20, 2015 — 4:40 PM
wagnerel says:
This is completely unacceptable, imo, and a sign the group leader lost control of the process (or doesn’t understand it in the first place). If you’ve had good experiences with this group in the past, I’d probably talk to the leader privately and tell them how not helpful this was, and ask him what in the heck happened. If he/she makes it clear that he’s taken steps to make sure it won’t happen again, maybe give them another chance. But if they do it to you again (or if you see them doing it to another member), get the heck out.
If your experiences with them have been more mixed up until now, or if you feel like you won’t be able to trust this group again, maybe just move on and send the group leader a short, polite note explaining why.
July 20, 2015 — 4:57 PM
kenneycalliesview says:
Oh, and I forgot to add-I never realized how difficult doing a trilogy would be! How to remember all the problems that need to be solved, or go back to a scene from book one and write it into book two. My biggest challenge is definitely when you go into the “history/lineage” of the characters as far back as like -Sumerians, and merge that into the current story. How do you keep track of it all? I really have mad respect for you all to find a way to do twelve books in a series and tie them all together from book one.
July 20, 2015 — 10:49 AM
parallaxduality says:
Finding my voice and keeping it is my current issue. I am not sure if it is a focus issue, an issue of trying to write to please, or just that I am an idiot. I am thinking maybe all three. But finding a strong voice that is me and tells the story as I want to is my current dilemma.
July 20, 2015 — 10:49 AM
Noel R. says:
I would think that finding your voice will come naturally through continuing to write the story. And if, by the end, you want to change or tweak it, or make it consistent, then you can do that in the rewrite. I know it’s always been true for me that if I think too hard about the voice, then the voice remains elusive.
July 20, 2015 — 10:56 AM
JT Lawrence says:
I agree with you, Noel. I think if you just relax into it you’ll find your groove and you WILL write in your voice. If there are places that don’t sound right you’ll pick it up in subsequent reads. Try to stop doubting and keep writing and then afterwards you can craft the shit out of it. Once you can read through it without stopping you’ll know you’ve found your voice.
July 20, 2015 — 3:21 PM
Noel R. says:
My problem at the moment is that I just can’t get myself moving. No matter how deep my desire to work on and finish this story–and boy, is that desire really deep–I can’t bring myself to open the file at home, nevermind put my hands on the keyboard. Maybe this is because I write and edit at work all day, all week, all month, all year. I go home and all I want to do is make (visual) art and watch foreign films. This is the direct opposite of when I worked in a (visual) arts field, when all I wanted to do when I got home was WRITE and watch foreign films. It’s a serious struggle, because I see where I want to go, yet I’m not doing anything to get there. Not writing at home. At all. I would blame my fractured attention (yeah, it’s pretty fractured), but I could shave an hour off that two-hour post-work nap and fit in some writing time. But HOW. The best part is that not writing sets me off into a sort of depression that makes not write even more. So that’s a glorious circle I have to break open.
July 20, 2015 — 10:52 AM
Carolyn says:
Maybe you need a third place – not work, that is for worky things, not home, that is for home things, but a third place, a writing place – I rarely write at home because my mind just messes with me, there are dogs to play with, shows to watch, kitchens to clean. But when I pack up and go to a third place, either B&N or Starbucks, and I plunk down there, that is the writing place, and that is what I do there.
July 20, 2015 — 1:22 PM
Selfmanic says:
This is exactly what I’ve found myself doing lately. At work I get my lunch hour most of the time to write but nothing is happening at home. I moved from my office to the kitchen table that’s even working while I try to back off of the cafe splurges, lol. Even a small change of space can help.
July 20, 2015 — 1:28 PM
Noel R. says:
Carolyn, you’re absolutely right. Unfortunately, I haven’t found that place. I can’t work at Starbucks because it’s incredibly loud with music, people, and coffee machines, and I’m that person who thinks the whole world needs to be quieter. The Barnes and Noble is so far from my home that by the time I got there, I’d be really tired and would probably just buy books. Locally, I have Panera, but I fall back into it being really loud there. There aren’t a lot of nearby options for quiet locations where I can focus. But it’s true that my work/home aren’t conducive to my focus either.
July 20, 2015 — 1:31 PM
ashramswithinanut says:
I actually don’t like working in cafes or libraries, mostly because I’m paranoid about people reading over my shoulder and also because it’s too noisy and it’s too easy to start people watching. What I usually do is carve out a little space – and little space – in my home where I do nothing else at all. No eating, no streaming TV shows, no reading twitter timelines. Nothing. That space is only for writing. It takes a lot of will power to do that, but you will notice in a few weeks that when you get to that space, you automatically begin to write. It’s a strange pavlovian technique that can be really effective. It could be worth a try!
July 20, 2015 — 1:49 PM
bertie says:
I have a similar problem with noise. In the summer, and nice fall or spring days, I go to the park and write in my car, or on a bench if the bugs aren’t biting. In the winter I use the library. Sometimes I even reserve a
study room at the library. It’s free, and although only an hour is allowed, if there are no other reservations the librarians let me stay longer.
July 20, 2015 — 1:58 PM
JT Lawrence says:
What about a library?
July 20, 2015 — 3:23 PM
Lillian says:
See if there’s a Shut Up and Write group near you. The group feeling really helps. Yeah, they’ll probably meet in a Panera or something, but if you keep waiting for the perfect writing situation, you’re going to be waiting forever. Get some Amazon Basics headphones or earplugs or something and go for it!
July 20, 2015 — 4:23 PM
Carolyn says:
Yes – a lot of people don’t like writing in the midst of hubbub – I weirdly do, though I have my headphones on. I live alone so sometimes wonder just having the presence of others around adds an element to the experience I need, oddly enough. Yesterday a friend of mine joined me who is as serious as I am about writing and it went well – it was just nice having her next to me. LOL! I hope you find what works for you – and that most of all, you keep trying to find it. It has taken me a long time to find what works for me now.
July 20, 2015 — 5:17 PM
Anthony says:
What about weekends? It is pretty natural to not want to write/edit if it is what you’ve already done for 8 hours a day, but what about the weekends? It would be slower, but it would be progress.
Also, part of the process is forcing yourself to do things. It sucks. It can be painful. But it can also help. Choose a time period (I use my lunch hour at work, and the hour or two before I go to sleep) and use them to write. Make yourself do it. Even if all you get out is 3 words and an incomplete sentence, get some of it done.
Often I find that when I force myself to start I go about 50-100 words and then the dam breaks and all the words spill out and I can go for hours. Other times, I get 50-100 words and then I go “there, progress, I’m done!”
Sometimes you have to defend your personal writing time, even from yourself.
July 20, 2015 — 2:44 PM
wordsavant says:
Noel, have you thought about writing by hand? I know it sounds time-consuming, but it can actually be liberating. You mentioned that you write and edit at work all day, and it’s possible you already feel burned out working on a computer. So coming home and writing on a computer may not feel all that inspiring. I usually use a basic spiral notebook, nothing too fancy.
July 21, 2015 — 12:43 AM
Leslie Aguillard says:
The need for corporate condoms aside, if the virtual community of writers is helping to raise my literary kids, I welcome it. Not one to compartmentalize well, or at all, too many existential “things” are dragging back my arm as I strain and miss the danged brass rings of career success. Just being alive seems to be working okay. Eating my rice chex with almond milk, enjoying coffee amidst my vinca and tomato plants on the patio (I have a small house and small yard, no grass to cut, thank the gods) and petting the cat. All good. But the studio is haunted and likewise taunts and the paintings nag and brood. The computer is full of inanity (not you since I felt like writing back) but ugh – if only “likes” and “shares” actually got anything accomplished other than likes and shares!! What does it all mean? And Neil deGrasse Tyson says we have no clue about 96% of the Universe – none – and worse, all our feeble understanding of the 4 dimensions we inhabit are off (as is so wrong) by a factor of 10 followed by 120 zeroes… what am I doing? Quick, someone get that kid out of the street and bring me more coffee!
July 20, 2015 — 11:06 AM
Shiloh A. Ohmes says:
My problem of the moment boils down to confidence, I think. I just finished my book and it’s in the hands of my beta readers, so I’m getting feedback for the last edits and preparing for publication. I’m going to self publish. The book is short, about 20k, and I have plans for it to the be the start of a short mini-series. I have zero funds, so I’m doing all the formatting and the cover myself. I’m trying to increase my social media presence again, since I pulled away completely while writing it. And I’m slowly freaking myself out over the upcoming book launch, the increase of blogging and tweeting that needs to be done, and getting the next story underway. I’m also unemployed and trying to find a full time day job to support me and my mom, so the cumulation of everything is just asdfghjkl*pulls out hair* you know? So far I’ve received nothing but good reviews and technical edits like typos and some grammar from my betas, but I’m psyching myself out about the story components and trying not to consider myself a fraud and a failure, because I know I can do this. I know it’s just nerves and stress.
I just wish I could know that it’s all gonna work out.
July 20, 2015 — 11:10 AM
Carolyn says:
Oh crystal ball, where are you? I so understand, I think everyone does. We just want to be sure everything will turn out okay. Maybe the best thing to do is get to work on the next, let this drift away from your brain, so when they do get it back to you, you can be a little more distant from it. A friend of mine has done well with self-publishing and she keeps a strict calendar of when to worry about what. It works great for her — she literally has entries for each day for what specific thing to tackle/fret over/get done. Maybe a little more planning in that direction will help you cope with the fun to come?
July 20, 2015 — 1:44 PM
Shiloh A. Ohmes says:
I think the calendar idea sounds great. I often get overwhelmed when I don’t really plan, but I haven’t been at this phase of the writing game yet, so I’m still figuring out what to plan for. I probably will step away for just a bit for some perspective. Thanks for the advice!
July 22, 2015 — 11:26 AM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
The fact that you are freaking out/concerned with your work like this is a very good sign. It’s the people who tend to think their stuff is perfect that suck the worst.
Think about it. Stephen King tried to throw ‘Carrie’ in the trash (thankfully his wife dug it out). He still thinks its not very good. Molly Tanzer won’t even read her own published worked because she feels an obsessive need to edit it.
I know this is probably just a different form of the same damn advice you’re getting from everyone, but just keep at it. The way you’re feeling shows you’re on the right track.
July 20, 2015 — 3:06 PM
Shiloh A. Ohmes says:
Thank you for this. I really appreciate it!
July 22, 2015 — 1:21 PM
Jenni C says:
How to be funny. I am working on cozy mysteries and I would like them to be funnier. But I’m not funny. Chuck, you crack me up. You must have some advice.
July 20, 2015 — 11:19 AM
Shiloh A. Ohmes says:
I find it helpful to watch comedy. There’s an art to the timing, the pacing, and the delivery. Comedic movies or comedian skits are great. You might also seek out some of the same types of books with the comedy element that you want to write. The only one that comes to mind is Janet Evanovich and her Stephanie Plum series, but I’m sure there are others.
July 20, 2015 — 1:24 PM
Jenni C says:
Thank you Shiloh. I do read other funny writers in my genre. I think there must be something out there on the craft of being funny and I thought someone might know of something that helped them.
July 21, 2015 — 2:45 PM
caroljforrester says:
Derek Landy’s Skulduggery Pleasant has some fantastic humour in it. I’d agree with Shiloh, reading as much as you can in the same genre is the best way to inspire yourself.
July 20, 2015 — 2:45 PM
Jenni C says:
Thank you, Carol. I will check that out!
July 21, 2015 — 2:48 PM
Anthony says:
It sounds cliches, but look to some of the classics. The works of Aristophanies have elements that still work to this day. Some of it with being absurd, others with more intellectual reasons. Either way, if something written in ancient greece can still be funny, it probably has the most basic element of humor in it. Bonus points because it is before techniques were refined, so it may be in a more raw form.
Also watching comedies is a good way to pick up on things. The other way is to watch drama/tragedies. They often work on the same principles.
July 20, 2015 — 2:46 PM
Jenni C says:
Good advice, Anthony. I will look into that. Thank you.
July 21, 2015 — 2:50 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
Deadly serious when I say this, but the way you phrased those sentences: so staccato, so deadpan… It has a kind of humour to it. Like listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s delivery of a one liner.
Humour for me is Terry Pratchett. Maybe you could read “A Slip of the Keyboard,” where he talks about his writing process. Best of luck!
July 20, 2015 — 11:17 PM
Jenni C says:
Thank you, D.R. I will check out your suggestion. Always loved Arnold saying, in one of his old movies, to his wife after she throws a cake at him and it hits the cabinet behind him, “You should not drink…and bake.”
July 21, 2015 — 3:01 PM
David Corbett says:
I have been considered as “too male” by a previous publisher, despite a history of writing, strong, complex women characters. I’ve often thought I actually write love stories, they’re just embedded in crime stories.
I’m also a bit of a “tweener: riding the third rail between literary fiction and crime. Readers expecting a standard mystery often find me too complicated, too “confusing,” too slow, etc. But readers who tend to like character-driven stories and meatier novels send me the loveliest fan letters.
I’m working on the “too male” thing with a female protagonist in the current WIP. Bit of a kick. Emjoying it.
July 20, 2015 — 11:24 AM
Heather says:
writing voltron: I love it.
second drafts. i’m never really sure what I want to achieve and it ends up being a weird mix, or I just don’t finish.
July 20, 2015 — 11:24 AM
caroljforrester says:
Find someone you can babble at. I always find that when I try and explain my story to someone I work out more about it myself.
July 20, 2015 — 2:47 PM
Joyce C says:
For me, it helps to go back to that very first idea that inspired the story. Listen to a song that reminds you of that period, and hopefully you’ll get reminded of why you wrote that story in the first place. Then pick it up from there and push through until the end 🙂
July 21, 2015 — 12:54 AM
changterhune says:
Ugh. The usual things for me are time, focus and perseverance. I’m lucky if I can get 3-4 hours of brain in before I’m cross-eyed with pain and drudgery. My favorite part of the process is the writing itself which usually bursts forth in an orgiastic flash of joy. Then there is revising with is made of 100% the suck until I’m done then it’s totally worth it. Right now I have a huge backlog of short stories that need overhauls before going into the world of submissions. Then a novel that needs total overhaul. But yeah: time, focus, perseverance.
July 20, 2015 — 11:28 AM
David Corbett says:
I had a similar problem with an overly vicious inner critic in my head. I had to find a way to “befriend” it and turn it into an ally rather than an enemy. I know that sounds a bit ooga-booga but it’s helped.
July 20, 2015 — 11:32 AM
lisaoliver79 says:
Could you try changing your edit process? Probably not for your backlog, but for future work? I start my writing day by editing the day’s previous words, and then continue from there. By the time I have finished the book I only need one more quick edit over the whole thing, and then it’s done. If you find your brain turns to mush after three to four hours, then work with it. Do your 3 – 4 hours, then take a break and go back to it later in the day. I realize that might not be possible if you have job/family etc, but I find it works.
July 20, 2015 — 6:40 PM
gloriousmonsters says:
Right now, my two main problems are (a) trying to keep writing my serial fiction and figuring stuff out; I keep failing to build a buffer because I have to stop and reconfigure the plot, or my feelings of ‘this is horrible nobody will ever like it and if they do I’m somehow scamming them’ are so intense they hold me back from writing until the last minute. And (b) trying to juggle a couple different projects because I have a number of short story and novella ideas I’m trying to finish. I’m a quick writer, but switching around like that gets exhausting. I’m looking forward to September, when some things will be wrapped up…
But honestly, my main problem is self-esteem. I have a really, really hard time liking ANYTHING I write, or marketing it because… you know, you’re supposed to convince people to read it, and I just have a little voice at the back of my head telling me ‘you’re wasting their time’.
July 20, 2015 — 11:29 AM
Miri says:
“This is crap and so are you” is a common but terrible part of being in the middle of writing something, but that doesn’t make it true. When you say “serial fiction,” is it something you’re publishing/putting up as you go, or do you just intend to do that? Print-as-you-go has always sounded terrifying to me, but if it’s working for you–if you have ongoing readers–you must be doing something right. Right?
You’re not going to like the stuff you write while you’re in the middle of it, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, and that fact is in no way correlated to its quality. You’re almost certainly better than you think you are, especially if you’re actively trying to improve, which it sounds like you are. 🙂 Chin up!
July 20, 2015 — 11:36 AM
gloriousmonsters says:
Thanks! I do mean I’m posting it as I go – I’ve got about 9 ‘chapters’ up so far. I do try to tell myself not to be so hung up on it being perfect, since the whole thing is really supposed to be experimental and I’m having to learn a lot of new things as I go along.
I’ve got at least one ongoing reader… possibly two. 😛 But for me not knowing how to market and it being a new story, that’s not too shabby.
July 20, 2015 — 4:42 PM
caroljforrester says:
Just keep going. I’m often finding myself in the same position and in the end you just have to tell the voice to f off and remind youself that you’re awesome, brilliant and amazing. It’s a bit like doing power poses before a job interview, fake it till you make it.
July 20, 2015 — 2:49 PM
fadedglories says:
How can I judge if my story is YA suitable?
It’s an historical yarn with some supernatural. I don’t want to talk down to anybody…..but I don’t know if I’m pitching it right for YA.
I have read a lot of children’s fiction, but not much YA so some advice would be great.
July 20, 2015 — 11:32 AM
Miri says:
Good on you for not wanting to talk down. As someone who was recently a teenager, that crap does not fly.
First, possibly most important question: How old is your protag/PoV character? That’s one of the big determiners.
Second: what are your themes? Any kind of coming-of-age thing is a little easier to pitch that way, but it’s not the only allowed theme. Some other easily-YA ones involve dealing with authority, with expectations, with transformation (a focus on growth-as-transformation), or with discovery.
Third: read YA. Get a feel. Trust me, it’s a much more diverse market than a lot of people give it credit for.
July 20, 2015 — 11:45 AM
Carolyn says:
Best advice (it is all good!) – read a hell of a lot of it. Before I began my own, I read and read and read even more, made myself read high school YA (so not my favorite at all). I read as much as I could for about a year, which absolutely changed my viewpoint on what a YA novel could and should be. And I loved most of what I read, too. I have too many writer friends who when they learn that is what I am working on, think it would be easy to just dive in and do it too because YA just HAS to be the easiest of all to write, right? And to OP – there is no need to worry about how to ‘write down’ – there is a need for understanding the audience (which with YA is a tricky thing, true – because a heck of a lot of adults read YA too, but I focus on the teenagers I see talking in the bookstore in the YA section–my very intelligent, just young audience).
July 20, 2015 — 1:35 PM
fadedglories says:
Thanks Miri
Your first point is where problems start. My PoV character is female and 14-15, but lives in an historical period where she could easily be married. Her life’s restricted because she’s female, so I think I should treat her views as adult, but inexperienced. I’m trying to do that and it feels right.
It’s a coming-of-age story for her and her slightly older sister who is the MC and there’s a lot of discovery and transformation for both of them.
I am using their mother as PoV some of the time to set context.
Any YA writers you’d particularly recommend?
July 21, 2015 — 9:36 AM
caroljforrester says:
My advise would be to just write the best book that you can and then worry about who’s going to read it afterwards. That might sound weird, but I tend to think the book will find its own audience and worry too much about writing for a group of people limits you.
July 20, 2015 — 2:51 PM
fadedglories says:
Thanks.
July 21, 2015 — 9:37 AM
wagnerel says:
I think your instincts are good. Teens most definitely don’t want stories that talk down to them. The only thing I can suggest is to read some currently popular YA novels, including some in the subgenre you’re writing. YA definitely has a different style from books written for younger kids, and I really do believe that we can learn a lot from our fellow writers.
July 20, 2015 — 5:03 PM
fadedglories says:
Thanks. Have you any recommendations in recent books?
July 21, 2015 — 9:38 AM
cameronwalker27 says:
What do you do when your story feels TOO BIG? I started out with a save-the-sister YA historical fantasy and now I’m staring down the maw of some major issues, mainly: what war and bloody conflict reveals of or does to human nature. It almost seems too important to tackle…but it’s where the meat is. I also think the reason my fiction felt flat before this is because I DIDN’T tackle larger issues. Any advice?
July 20, 2015 — 11:47 AM
Carolyn says:
Dang it, that’s my favorite kind of story… I am no help at all in this one!!
July 20, 2015 — 1:38 PM
Anthony says:
Address the big issues from a personal angle. Don’t worry about giving us a thesis statement about those things, but rather show us one person’s journey through those things.
Your MC is trying to save his/her sister? Awesome. Use that, keep it the focus, but don’t shy away from the other things. Show us how far she is willing to go, and what the issues around her do to her nature. Show us how she gets used to the death and bloodshed. How she starts to see people not as people but resoures. Keep the focus tight, but don’t shy away from what is happening.
It is hard, but it works. It also adds conflict from other angles in your story which brings all sorts of tension into the tale. A moment of rest from physical tension can have heightened emotional tension as the MC realizes what he/she just did to escape the physical peril. A moment of spiritual catharsis can lead to sexual tension, and so on.
July 20, 2015 — 2:50 PM
cameronwalker27 says:
Thanks Anthony! That’s wonderful advice, and I needed to hear it.
July 20, 2015 — 3:07 PM
D.R.Sylvester says:
If the issues are seeming huuuge, I can relate. I also blame Chuck, since it was a post of his that started me thinking about theme. DAMN YOU, CHUCK WENDIIIIIG
How I’ve rationalised it in my WIP is that the protag’s growth and story arc matched to the theme, so that as I edit things naturally get pulled into line. That way, the conclusion of that overarching conflict (the theme) organically coincides with the story climax!
My space pirate captain protagonist is forced to choose between fighting for the greater-good (at the expense of everyone’s liberty) or to let the world burn (for his own profit). He eventually chooses neither, and stomps his own path, which is kind of the theme: adherance to fight/flight, right/wrong, idealist/realist dichotomies, VS a more moderate walk-the-line outlook (guess which one I prefer…)
Best of luck for your writing. Oh, and thanks for the re-writes, Chuck… *face plant*
July 20, 2015 — 11:38 PM
cameronwalker27 says:
Thanks D.R. Sylvester and the best of luck to you too! My protagonist is faced with a similar choice and I’ve been utterly conflicted about it- but then, if it were easy, who would want to read the story?
July 21, 2015 — 1:26 AM
changterhune says:
Another big issue for me has been editing. I always felt I was a competent editor of my own work until I sent some stuff out and saw how much I’d missed. A huge, huge step for me has been to accept that I cannot really edit my own work very well and must rely on others to do it. I just cannot see the mistakes after a point. I can see them in others work so easily but not in mine. So if I may offer advice to others its suck it up and tell you ego to piss up a rope and hire a good editor. I have one now and I love her work to the ends of the earth and back.
July 20, 2015 — 11:53 AM
Curtis Edmonds (@Curtis_Edmonds) says:
This can’t be stressed too much. Every time – every! single! time! – I get something back from an editor or a proofreader, I have to confront the reality of my own stupidity. You HAVE to have help.
July 20, 2015 — 12:16 PM
morticia1313 says:
Trying to edit your finished draft if like trying to perform surgery on yourself. It simply can’t be done, not because your not a good writer but because you cannot write in a vacuum. There only so far you can get without another’s perspective. You have it all in your head but the reader doesn’t. I think the main issue is separating your self identity from your writing and not taking it too personal. I always took the approach that I was writing for the reader (not everyone feels this way) and when I had my work critiqued I gave people a red pen and told them to bleed all over the pages. I wanted to know about anything that drew them out of the story and they showed me the places where I never saw problems including action issues, info dumps, awkward sentences or a plethora of other errors. It always helped – I’m glad you finally found a good editor. They are the twinkle in our stars!
July 25, 2015 — 3:14 AM
Curtis Edmonds (@Curtis_Edmonds) says:
In my first two novels, I wrote from the first-person perspective, which was (for me) very natural and allowed me to express my character’s inner thoughts with ease. Both of those were contemporary books. The next book (without giving too much away too early) is set in the far future aboard a large spacecraft. Obvious problem: that requires a lot of worldbuilding and exposition. Solution: third-person limited perspective, which gives the narrator the bulk of the exposition and explanation, leaving the character free to do what she does. Sounds simple enough, right?
Yeah, no. I took the story to a place where the main character’s heart gets broken, and it’s a lot harder than I thought writing it in third-person limited. I suppose the obvious thing is to write it in first person and then go back and edit it.
July 20, 2015 — 11:59 AM
Erica says:
I Have So Many Ideas Floating Around In My Brain, And Stacks Of Books On The Craft Of Writing, But I Just Don’t Know How To Start. Where And How Do I Begin? Do I Start With Characters, Theme, Plot, Setting? Do I Write An Outline, How Helpful Is An Outline? I Get So Caught Up With Where To Begin That I Get Stuck. What Do You Do?
July 20, 2015 — 12:09 PM
Seth says:
Do all of the above. For example, I keep a small blank book with me and will scribble ideas in it whenever I get them. That way everything is, in some way, accounted for and committed to paper, so you don’t have to sweat it. From that point, just let your mind wander and keep the original ideas in mind. Eventually you’ll have something substantial you can edit. I don’t do this for everything, but it’s one process that works for me.
July 20, 2015 — 1:14 PM
Curtis Edmonds (@Curtis_Edmonds) says:
Write a short story. It’s good practice, and submitting short stories can give you an idea on whether what you’ve written is any good or not. And it gives you a chance to try out some of the ideas floating in your brain and put them on paper and see whether or not you want to keep writing them or not.
July 20, 2015 — 1:34 PM
caroljforrester says:
I had this problem with my novel for ages and then I tried looking at it a different way. I took my favourite characters that seem to have the most personality from my mountain of attempted starts and put them into a table. Next too each I wrote where they would start off in the start and then I wrote where they were going to end up. The rest was filling in the blanks.
[Some of those blanks are still blank I will add. I’m only 12,000 words in.]
July 20, 2015 — 2:55 PM
The Table Round says:
Craft question. I want to establish the interesting environment the characters are in (in this case a rain forest) but since what’s happening at the moment is not directly tied to the environment (they’re asking one dude why he crashed their balloon) I very torn about how much description of the cool jungle yo put in. Am I ignoring the plot for my beautiful descriptions, or am I ignoring setting to expedite the plot?
July 20, 2015 — 12:10 PM
cameronwalker27 says:
I think you have an excellent opportunity to weave your environment into the story here. Did the balloon crash into the tree canopy? Did they use vines to climb down? Is there now a monkey mocking them from inside the basket of the balloon? As they argue, does a snake wind itself around someone’s ankle or does a giant spider crawl across a foot?
July 20, 2015 — 1:38 PM
Seth says:
My question is about how people critique their own work. A finished manuscript, whatever it may be, is ultimately the conclusion of one person’s work. Collaborations are possible, but I feel like for most creative writing, it is largely individual. So my question is, aside from reading aloud “how people critique their own work?” When I read a book, I’m often impressed at how a great writer can be so fastidious about tying up loose ends throughout the entire piece, and reaching that sort of completeness in my work is something I’m really striving for.
July 20, 2015 — 12:14 PM
caroljforrester says:
You can only critique your own work so far, and in my case especially, I’d spend ages tweaking and re-tweaking. Beta readers are great for helping you see your work from another view. What may seem finished to us, may not have seemed finished to the writer at the time, but they realised that was the place the book needed to be.
July 20, 2015 — 2:58 PM
cherrybombsewing says:
I’m struggling with forming idea’s into plot. I get great random ideas. But no idea how to connect them into a coherent beginning middle and end. I get ‘what if’ ideas, or themes, or races, or superpowers and then no idea how to develop them. When I’ve finally strung together enough coherent thought process to write something, I can get it down ok. But just pushing a single idea and trying to mould it into a form and shape and develop it into something original brain fries me. And then I run out of time for writing brain and have to switch the work brain on again. HAALP!
July 20, 2015 — 12:25 PM
caroljforrester says:
Post It Notes!!!!
All those random ideas, jot them down on post it notes and then shuffle them around until the make sense. Then fill in the blanks.
July 20, 2015 — 2:59 PM
definitelynotapoet says:
I’m the same – and I try to use post-it’s but then I have a huge mishmash and they never seem to really connect. I can’t seem to build in the logic from one idea to the next. There’s no flow between scenes since I’m awful at writing transitions.
July 21, 2015 — 1:10 AM
Joyce C says:
I totally get what you mean. I’ve written stories with too many unrelated sub plots, and it just ended up a glorious mess. Here’s what I do now: try thinking about the mood of your story. Decide on that, then pull in relevant ideas and string them together.
July 21, 2015 — 12:59 AM
SC Rose says:
So… I have written two novels – the first, and it’s sequel… I feel the first is perfectly capable of standing on it’s own, but I have a lot in mind for the entire story, and I wanted to map it out before I finished editing the first one, which is what I’ve finally begun to do. Now that I *am* editing, I’m really starting to see the bright light of possibly-getting-published-one-day up ahead. It’s exciting and terrifying.
I used to think traditional publishing would be the way for me to go, but now I’m really not so sure. Like I said, there is SO much I want to do with this story and it’s universe, and on top of this… The story is pretty weird lol – you’ve got monsters, aliens, rebels, the Angel of Death, world domination, people making monster babies, and a girl who can only remember movies she’s seen – but it’s *MY* weird, it’s the book I would look for on the shelves at every bookstore for years and could never find, and I’ve heard that publishers or agents can really mess that up and take away all that freedom. I really don’t like that idea.
So, my questions and concerns are… #1 – how do I find an agent or publishing company that is respectful of my weird vision? Can you recommend any? Lol Sorry, that’s probably a dumb question, I just really don’t know! I’m very new at this. How do you even find an agent?!? #2 – what routes of self-publishing have you taken? What would you recommend to a weirdo like me? And how do you make up for the advertising that a big company would do for you? These are my major, newbie concerns. I just really have no idea what I’m doing lol
July 20, 2015 — 12:29 PM
lisaoliver79 says:
If you want total control then self-publishing is the way to go. If you want the prestige that comes from a “published” book then you will have to accept that some of the things you love may have to change. I self publish, because of my genre, and I love that I can write my stories as I see them, not someone else. But for the most part (and this is just what I have heard, not personal experience) a good publisher or agent will encourage you to be you, and tell your story that way and then find the audience best suited to your work. If you can think of the genre that best suits your book, then you can approach agents/publishers that deal specifically in your type of book – be positive, don’t consider yourself weird, and if it seems to difficult, self publish and build your audience through a free platform like Facebook – Facebook, Twitter and my own blog are my only advertising tools.
July 20, 2015 — 6:48 PM
SC Rose says:
Thank you for the advice! I really appreciate it! I will apply it. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’m wondering what self publishing company do you use?
July 20, 2015 — 7:53 PM
AM Gray says:
avoid any of those vanity publishing companies that say they will publish your book for you at a giant cost. What I think lisa meant was post it yourself on amazon, kobo, smashwords etc as an ebook. If you are desperate to see it in print you can utilise their print (and delivery) options to order your own copy and so can buyers if they want it that way. A good place to start is (sorry chuck to recommend another website)
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/
July 20, 2015 — 8:50 PM
lisaoliver79 says:
I don’t use a company, I publish through Amazon Kindle – which anybody can do. It’s free with 70% royalties paid monthly 🙂
July 21, 2015 — 12:28 AM
wordsavant says:
SC Rose, check out this website: http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
It’s a website that lists what books agents have bought recently. I only have just heard about it myself so haven’t explored it much, but I attended a workshop where a literary agent recommended it for writers to find literary agents they can send queries to. You can see what kind of books agents are buying and in what genres, so if you see that an agent has bought a book similar to yours, might be a good fit.
Said literary agent also explained something to the question of whether to self-publish first or go traditional. According to him if an author self-publishes and the book doesn’t do well or only does so-so, then publishers look at that as the market has spoken, and if the market isn’t interested, then the publishers are interested. I think, now matter how weird your story may be, don’t underestimate traditional agents just yet. There may be a market for it. I would definitely like to read your book. Monster babies and an Angel of Death? Right up my alley.
July 21, 2015 — 11:30 AM
Fred G. Yost says:
So, here’s the most informative thing I’ve found on writing a query letter and getting an agent /publisher.
http://www.worldbuilders.org/stretch-goals/2014-stretch-goals/75000-seth-fishmans-hangout
The big take away (for me) is to start looking at who publishes work of authors you enjoy reading, and/or novels that share something thematically or stylistically with your own and go from there, but be prepared for lots of rejection.
Depending on what you’re using to write your stories, there’s also some pretty awesome authoring tools for ebooks. The sheer number of options in Scrivener is almost overwhelming.
July 21, 2015 — 1:50 PM
Debra says:
I consider myself a newbie even after getting the degree and patting myself on the back for surviving all of those CW workshops. My thing has always been the inability to identify WHEN I actually have a STORY. And I know how that sounds, but I can’t think of any other way to articulate it. All of the ideas I come up with involve a situation – and that’s it (at least initially). I might have an inkling about a character, but it’s always their environment or situation that sticks with me. The pieces I’ve finished are nothing more than glorified scene studies, if you ask me, but I’m really driven to make them work somehow. What I have doesn’t necessarily fit the story “formulas” I’ve learned.
July 20, 2015 — 12:34 PM
Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) says:
Oh gosh this is so me. I have some characters and milieus I love, but turning them into STORIES is a massive challenge. I’m reading Ansen Dibell’s “Plot” right now, and it’s helping a little. I’m trying to think about about the character AS the plot, about the choices and events and ramifications that make the character’s journey have a beginning and end and middle.
July 20, 2015 — 12:53 PM
innerouterawkward says:
Good sir, I am never out of cereal. However.. I shall make a quick trip for the..ahh.. other thing.
Now that that’s out of the way, my issues.
I have trouble with the setting. Not creating it, describing it. I can do dialog, whether it’s between various creatures or inside someone’s head. I can picture what my characters are wearing, what the room, street, etc looks like and the color and texture of the cat (even though I’m not sure how he got there.) Normally I’m a visual person. I like taking photos, making things and Pinterest is my crack. But when the visuals are trying to leave my brain through words, not so much.
I think this is sounds like a very vague issue, or maybe “I can’t write.” But some things I can. In other things I’m very visual. It’s a matter of the two meeting up.
July 20, 2015 — 12:34 PM
Ady says:
I get that! Really, “when the visuals are trying to leave my brain through words” – sometimes it goes to pot and I don’t know why, it’s like… descriptive block. Or something. Maybe LSD is the answer… If you get an answer please tell me, then I’ll buy you a textured cat.
July 20, 2015 — 1:36 PM
innerouterawkward says:
This sounds like a deal! My parrot has many textures. But my cat seems stuck on “furry”.
July 20, 2015 — 2:17 PM
lilijanemo says:
With tongue in cheek, might I suggest you get off the crack. 😉 Instead of saying you can’t write descriptive narrative, I bet it’s more accurate to say it makes you uncomfortable because you don’t like it. You gotta retrain your brain with some games. Your love of photography means you have an eye. You just need to start word banking the visuals. Try this, maybe it will help. Choose your favorite photographs and make word or phrase lists for them. The kind of list depends on what you want to focus on- colors, shapes, geometry, emotions evoked, scents remembered… Challenge yourself to think like a character… what words would they list? Play with the lists… entertain yourself making metaphors and similes with them. Write with attitude. Keep it fun and you will eventually be sucking in the adrenalin fumes of your muses’s diesel quill. Write on!
Sincerely, MamaGeek
July 20, 2015 — 2:00 PM
innerouterawkward says:
Thank you for replying! Also, I’m really sorry about my late return reply. I’m mostly new to WordPress and it has actually taken me this long to find my own comment again. It doesn’t help that my parrot is running back and forth across the keyboard.
That said – I really like this idea. I like starting with something I can see and in fact already know (description-wise)! Then transitioning it into someone else’s point of view. You crazy creative people and your helpful ideas… I appreciate it!
No promises about the crack though…
July 24, 2015 — 5:31 PM
caroljforrester says:
I get this as well. I’m hoping that by the second draft I’ll have my world figured out enough that when I’m rewritting the how to of describing becomes clear.
July 20, 2015 — 3:01 PM
Marjorie Cutting says:
My problem is, I’m sitting here reading all of this instead of writing.
July 20, 2015 — 12:34 PM
cameronwalker27 says:
Me too! And I can’t stop refreshing Twitter…
July 20, 2015 — 1:42 PM
Joyce C says:
Haha! It’s a pleasure to meet you, fellow procrastinator 😉
July 21, 2015 — 3:41 AM
C N Martin says:
There was a point where I’d get home after work and just say *fuck it* and pound out 1000+ words. The next day, I’d re-read and revise the previous day’s writing and then pound out another 1000 words or so. After a couple of months I thought what I had was pretty good.
Then I took a weekend trip to Santa Barbara and on the drive I listened to The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (audible, cuz I was driving – duh). When I came back I started to re-read what I’d written and discovered that it was a formulaic steaming pile of horse-shit and I promptly punched myself in the dick, curled up on the floor of my shower, and cried.
So, I bit the bullet and shit-canned that pile of dung I’d spent so much time creating and have since started and stopped three other stories and found excuses to not write.
Excuses:
*I have to eat.
*I have to sleep.
*Yes, I actually have to go to my day job.
*ZOMG the INTERNET WHAT IS THAT!?
*Sorry pen monkey, apparently I have to spend time with my family.
*CATS!
*Terribleminds.com
How do I un-fuck myself?
XOXO
C N Martin
July 20, 2015 — 12:34 PM
innerouterawkward says:
Comparison = Bad. Also, you don’t want to be just like that other guy anyway – he’s taken.
Seriously though – I was (and very often still am) the same way a lot of the time. But I’ve gotten to the point where it hasn’t stopped me from trying. Don’t try to emulate Lynch, but if you think he’s the bees knees, have a go at his style (with you’re own awesome uniqueness of course).
My best example for this is not writing related, but to do with creativity so hopefully still helpful. I tend to be crafty with paper. There are a lot of other’s styles that I love – but I’m more of a minimalist and they include everything (hide your kitchen sink). I look up tutorials for the kitchen sink methods and find that along the way I learn new things about how they work as well as using my style to creating something different and unique. I hope the cross-creative explanation works here.
As the Wendig tells us, reading is super important to writing, so don’t stop doing that. But remember that you have something different to offer. There was something in their life that creating their method and style of writing. You’ll find yours too!
July 20, 2015 — 2:10 PM
C N Martin says:
Thanks for your input.
It’s not that I was trying to emulate anyone in partucluar. It’s that I’d just finished reading Rothfuess and was already feeling inadequate and then Lynch’s writing drove the final nail into my feels.
Because damn, those guys. Chuck’s writing is dope too, but he’s also a warm fuzzy teddybear that spoons me in my dreams, so that’s less threatening.
July 20, 2015 — 2:46 PM
lisaoliver79 says:
I read a couple of books a day (at least) before I start writing. Sometimes I am totally blown away by the way the author conveys his/her story and other times I am left thinking “meh”. It would be so easy to compare myself to some of the greats in my genre and think I am not good enough, but I don’t write for that. I write because I have a story to tell, in my own words, and in my own style – and so do you.
Don’t compare – analyse. If you read something that makes you feel like you have written rubbish, ask yourself why. What did that author do that was different to you? It’s not about emulating them, or trying to copy them – learn from them, and then let your own story shine through.
Above all, don’t give up – retrieve your stuff from the trash – take a deep breath, go to the end of what you had written and keep writing, and don’t stop until you are finished. Then you can hack it to bits and change it.
Good luck 🙂
July 20, 2015 — 6:30 PM
wordsavant says:
Echo what innerouterawkward said. Also, just to get yourself started, commit to something small at first, 10 minutes, 250 words, a description of a character’s hair or what is in their garbage can. 1,000 is some superhero action but may feel intimidating when you’re trying to un-fuck yourself.
Good luck CN, you can do this!
July 21, 2015 — 11:40 AM
MarMar says:
I’m still a wide-eyed little kid in the world of grown-ups when it comes to writing. I’m good with English, and structure is no problem. But motivation to make writing into a daily habit is. I’ll have had an awesome flow of ideas going for a few days, but then I get this urge to binge-watch TV that I’m terrible at ignoring. Any tips on how to blow away procrastination and get this stuff done?
July 20, 2015 — 12:35 PM
Peg says:
Have you done a NaNo? I found the competition and watching the word count go up everyday was the motivation I needed and once I did it, writing just became habit because of the good tired it gave me on a major day of writing. I get euphoric when I hit my bench marks now.
July 20, 2015 — 1:11 PM
MarMar says:
I’ve thought about it before, but never seriously tried it. Maybe I’ll give it a go!
July 20, 2015 — 2:38 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
I did NaNo last year for the first time, and I loved the way it kept me writing. But I wish I’d done some outlining first so that I had more of a structure to write to. 50,000 words in 30 days was easy compared to the time that’s ive spent since putting those words into some useful order. But I’d do NaNo again, in a heartbeat.
July 20, 2015 — 6:04 PM
AM Gray says:
nanowrimo also does camps… there is one on now and you can set any word target rather than 50k. So you don’t have to wait until November!
July 21, 2015 — 11:30 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
Thank you!
July 22, 2015 — 2:11 AM
laurapoet33 says:
I completely 100% get where you’re coming from. I’m an awful procrastinator. I sometimes go weeks without writing a thing, and even when I find myself WANTING to write, my brain comes up with some excuse not to. But the thing is, I’m slowing beating it. What helps me the most is giving myself permission to write tiny amounts. I’m talking like less than 100 words, some days. I’m still in the first week of this newest effort to form a writing habit that sticks, so my plan is to slowly build up to higher word counts as writing every day becomes easier. I’m also doing a joint tumblr with my artist friend in which we each have to post something every day: I post my favorite sentence from the day’s writing session, and she posts a new drawing from her sketchbook. We were inspired by Crystal Moody’s Year of Creative Habits. Sharing what you’re writing or even just having a ritual of writing down your favorite sentence helps both with self-confidence and gives you come kind of action that you can do outside of simply pounding out words. Better yet if you have a potential audience that will notice if you skip a day 🙂 Anyway, those are my two cents on the matter. Habits are hard, man. Best of luck!
July 21, 2015 — 12:47 AM
anonymous says:
And what I mean by that is, I’m in your house right now.
BUT WHO WAS PHONE!?
July 20, 2015 — 12:44 PM
Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) says:
I’m starting to struggle with motivation after over a year of trying and failing to crack into pro short fiction markets. I’m already a full-time (sports) writer, and I’ve gotten some glowing rejections from EiCs who assure me my stuff is *almost there*—but my confidence is fading, and I’m doing a lot of pointless tinkering with stories I’m losing belief in.
It’s not like I don’t know how to put my nose to grindstone; I write hundreds of thousands of words a year. Am I wrong to badly want a “win” that will make me feel like all the effort has been worth it, is still worth it? Is there a way to get that short of actually selling a story?
July 20, 2015 — 12:45 PM
Amanda Helms says:
It’s normal to want validation. I’m at the 9-month point of trying to sell short fiction, so not quite as far along as you–but yeah, would love to sell *something.* Personal rejections are a good thing, and if you’re getting them from EiCs, that could mean the story’s simply, truly, not for them, but could easily be for someone else.
What’s helping me stay grounded is to take a look at the stats on the Submission Grinder. http://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/
Doing that reminds me that the default of submission is rejection. Which sounds fatalist, but I consider it realist. I’m rejected right along with 99% other users on that thing, which makes it easier to shrug off.
I also remind myself that I shouldn’t expect to be more exceptional than the exceptions. By that, I mean Stephen King and J. K. Rowling got their 100+ rejections, too. This is not to say that I believe I’ll ever achieve their level of success–but if I stop writing and submitting, then I definitely can’t.
But those are all more about being grounded and persevering, rather than feeling your writing is worthwhile. Unfortunately, the “worthwhile” bit is something we all have to answer for ourselves. I know that I’m emotionally better off if I keep writing, even when I have strings of days when I hate it. I know that I feel better that my stories exist in some fashion that’s outside my head. I know that if I quit writing, the bug will bite me again. Because it’s happened before.
Anyway, I’ve also heard of things like rewarding yourself when you hit X number of rejections. I haven’t done that, but it seems like it’d be a good way to focus on what you can control (the number of submissions you make) vs. what you can’t (whether they’re accepted).
July 20, 2015 — 3:25 PM
Tiggs says:
The thing that keeps me awake at night is the ratio between dialogue and narration.
I worry that my writing needs more narration, so I add more, and then I worry that I’ve killed the pace.
(I secretly think that there’s a Golden Ratio, and that agents flick through the pages, and use the shape of the paragraphing alone to decide whether or not it’s worth reading further.)
July 20, 2015 — 12:50 PM
innerouterawkward says:
I have this trouble too. I focus more on dialog also because I’m more comfortable with it.
Sorry, this isn’t a helpful reply. Just me joining you in waiting for advice.
July 20, 2015 — 2:13 PM
Sophie Giroir says:
There’s Cornflakes in the pantry, but I’m out of milk.
Um, okay, so my biggest problem is focus. I’m constantly jumping from one story to the next and sometimes back again. I’ve probably got over 20 WIPs sitting in my docs folder, waiting to be completed. Half of those are supposed to be series. The farthest I’ve made it into a book was 65k words. I lost steam, had another idea, and started a new story. Now I can’t even get past 25k words.
I don’t know how to fix this problem. I’ve tried sticking to flash fiction, but even that has been a problem. The last one I started has become something much longer. I tried the NaNo thing…nope. I tried having alpha readers to keep me on track. I just end up giving them whiplash.
Any advice?
July 20, 2015 — 12:54 PM
Peg says:
This was me before outlining. I did two things that helped: created a character profile using Proust’s interview questionnaire along with a basic bio, and outlined every chapter. I don’t always follow the outline, but if I get stuck, it leads me back to the path and helps me keep focus.
July 20, 2015 — 1:06 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
I think mine’s a pacing question. I hesitate to say problem because the way it is it “feels” ok to me. My sci fi thriller is 68,000 words, feels almost complete as far as length goes, but doesn’t hit all the beats that it’s supposed to, at the proper places. Eg my first plot point is a bit early, my mid point is ok, but the next bit to the second plot point is SOOOO long in comparison with the first 50% and the final bit. I’ve tried shifting the action around so that the beats are spread more evenly but it just doesn’t feel right. It’s taking all of the pleasure out of writing the darn thing. Any ideas welcome, please.
July 20, 2015 — 1:05 PM
dave says:
who’s saying it’s a problem? I’d use the beats as a guide, rather than a cast-iron rule. If you’re happy with it, I’d show it to a beta reader and get their response, see if they can spot any lagging issues?
July 20, 2015 — 1:34 PM
kimberleycooperblog says:
Thanks Dave, appreciate your advice.
July 20, 2015 — 3:15 PM
Courtney Hunt (@courtneyhunt71) says:
I’ve written two novels, working on a third, and am about to self-publish. All in the contemporary romance subgenre. I tend to write fast. I finished the first draft of my second novel in 33 working days. The third is slower going because my son is out of school for the summer. I believe I could easily finish 4-5 novels a year (50k-60k in length). Is this too much? Will I flood the market? How much is too much in the self-pub world?
Also, I am still trying to develop my revision process. I have a story/developmental editor, revise after her comments, and then move on to a copy-editor. I also have a cover designer. It all seems to take forever (impatience seems to be a common theme here). Is this the right process? I have no idea what the revision flowchart for a self-published author should look like.
Thanks for opening up this topic, Chuck. Love your blog!
July 20, 2015 — 1:11 PM
Leif Husselbee says:
Final Fantasy 7 has become a hurdle once again.
July 20, 2015 — 1:13 PM
Allan William Abbott says:
Fallout New Vegas in preparation for Fallout 4 here.
July 20, 2015 — 2:51 PM
nikcubed says:
Frustration with getting work done on time only to have it sit with the publisher for months and months and months. I kill myself to make sure I keep my end of the contract and meet my deadlines. Really, really frustrating.
July 20, 2015 — 1:19 PM
JT Lawrence says:
YES.
July 23, 2015 — 10:16 AM
Rosie Claverton says:
I just signed with a new publisher mid-series after my former publisher didn’t want to continue (not enough sales). I requested reversion outside my contract terms (which were seven years plus poor sales) and they said no, stating it was too early.
My new publisher wants to buy the rights off them. If that fails, can I do anything to get them back? I have no agent. 🙁
In other news, I am querying an entirely different book and I REALLY HATE WAITING.
July 20, 2015 — 1:25 PM
Perrin Rynning says:
I’m collaborating on a story but can’t seem to get the world to come together. It’s an ambitious, sprawling tale on a series of islands on a mostly-ocean planet, where humanity is the servant-class to two separate alien species. Something Happens ™ that has the potential to completely change the Empire as well as how all three species deal with each other.
My secondary difficulty is designing an overall culture for the four main characters to inhabit that isn’t a legally-actionable ripoff of the RPG I’m using as source material.
My more pressing challenge is in reversing the “traditional” roles: there are three female main characters (one of each of the three species) and one male (nonhuman); the male gets arrested by the Empire and cannot directly participate in the “quest” as he’s busy lawyering to save his life; two of the other females are reluctantly working together in the “quest” while the remaining one plays puppetmistress.
Essentially, it’s about three “princesses” trying to rescue the same “Prince from the Tower”.
Does it at least sound interesting at this level of detail in the “pitch”?
July 20, 2015 — 1:35 PM
Ady says:
Advice on where to go for online critiques would be good. Any suggestions?
July 20, 2015 — 1:39 PM
Ady says:
Found one. Yay! – https://www.sffchronicles.com/forum/critiques/
July 21, 2015 — 1:37 PM
ashramswithinanut says:
I just graduated from UCLA’s masters program in screenwriting and I’m writing a small indie film (my first) for a director friend which will be produced in September. I love being a screenwriter but I’ve also always wanted to write novels. I’ve been feeling an overwhelming urge to get out of Los Angeles ever since I graduated (I’m an international student from India originally) and take some time off and putter about with some this and that, if nothing but just to replenish my writing stores and not be overwhelmed with the “Hollywood-ness” of it all. But I’m afraid that if I leave, I won’t be able to come back, and I’ll be burning the few inroads I’ve built in the last three years into the “industry” through internships and what-nots. I also really need a film-related job so I can stay in the country because of visa nonsense so that’s just more complications than I know what to do with.
Anyone have any advice as to what I should do? Would it be okay to leave?
July 20, 2015 — 1:43 PM
cameronwalker27 says:
Have you thought about going East to Georgia? There is a new studio in Georgia and the state has great incentives so they’re getting beaucoup productions. You would be able to grow your industry ties and see a different part of the US. Whatever you do, good luck!
July 20, 2015 — 2:48 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I haven’t read all 215 replies, but I’m at a loss to get people to review my self-published books on Amazon. I do giveaways on BookLikes, anyone who asks for a review copy, I oblige. Any suggestions from the hive mind?
July 20, 2015 — 2:26 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
Have you tried maybe hitting up book review websites/blogs? Those folks might not only offer a goodreads/amazon writing, but a full write up you can use to promote your work, as well.
July 20, 2015 — 3:11 PM
Mark Gardner says:
I’ve done google searches for “Review policy” to find those that are accepting books for reviews, but none of the 25 requests I’ve sent out have netted a request.
July 20, 2015 — 3:23 PM
Gary Pettigrew says:
When I write a short story or standalone scene it looks good, atmospheric, descriptive etc. When I write the next chapter in my book 2000 words of action. That sounds good but its just a list of characters and verbs. I need to somehow combine the atmosphere of my shorter pieces with the story of my novel.
I guess that the plan is to go back after my first draft and fluff it up.
July 20, 2015 — 2:30 PM
Nicole Pyles says:
I have a really hard time with re-writes and not just creating a brand new story from the rewrite. Does anyone else have that problem? Any tips on how to conquer that? It’s like every story is a new trip around the fish bowl.
July 20, 2015 — 2:33 PM
caroljforrester says:
Yes! I do this too!
I’m trying not to redraft until the first draft is complete to conquer this horrible recycling of everything.
July 20, 2015 — 3:05 PM
Allan William Abbott says:
Focus is a big issue for me right now. I’m working on an Urban Fantasy with a transgendered main character but just over half-way through I’m finding myself less and less interested in it. Meanwhile I keep getting other ideas for other stories that clamor for my attention and I want to write the other stories instead of finishing what I’m doing now. Even though I know that if I did drop this one to write something else, the same thing would happen and I wouldn’t finish.
I’ve started something like 15 stories and only ever finished four of them, two of them drafts of the same novel. I’m tired of not finishing what I’ve started but I don’t know how to stay focused and interested in what I’m currently working on.
.. I could probably go on and on about other issues that I’m having but that’s the major one right now. Trying to find a writer’s group somewhere nearby or online that would accept me is another one, so is trying to balance finding time to write, taking care of family, and working. Ugh, life…
July 20, 2015 — 2:48 PM
AM Gray says:
Reconnect. Try to remember what it was about that story that made you want to write it. Jump to the scene you want to write (that interests you the most) and then fill in the gaps to there.
Write the ending. And then get them there.
Write the scene that scares you the most and then everything after that is easy.
Make a physical corkboard of images that help or remind you of places the story goes (are they in chicago or NY) or ‘cast’ actors as the characters and stick it where you can see it. Or if you prefer digital, you can make a private board on pinterest and have all the images with clickable links to where you found them. And no one else can see them unless you share it. Nobody even needs to know you are on pinterest – amirite? So Sean Bean never has to know that he is Death in my portal fantasy – it makes sense though – right? dammit… I told
Interview your character – so X, what made you shoot that vampire? or go out with that person?
work out their backstory even if it isn’t in the story – it’s the iceberg thing. We only see the tip in the final product but we know there’s more.
Fill out one of those character sheets for each MC
mindmap it out with coloured pens and a big sheet of paper – doesn’t work for me but others like it… it might work for you.
try to fit your story into Larry Brook’s 9 point plan or the equivalent. That worked for me with one thing recently – ah ha! SHE has to kill him herself. That story is all plotted out for when I finish the current project. And (in theory) I can come back to it later rather than dump the current main project.
What was your inspiration for this story? Was it a song, or a movie or something? – watch it again.
Imagine how awesome it will be when it is done and you get to type ‘the end’ or ‘more in part2’ – let’s be positive!
July 21, 2015 — 11:57 PM
Anthony says:
Two problems.
One, in my current WIP I feel like I’m fighting the story every step of the way. I like how things are going. I like the characters. I like how the plot works. However, whenever I sit down to write it is like it doesn’t want to come out. It is especially jarring because the last WIP (currently cooling off before edits) came so fast and easy the whole way through I never hit a slog. Now, understandably, I am in the middle chapters, but it still feels kind of nuts.
The second issue is editing. I’m not sure how to do “big edits” or even recognize them. I iterate a lot in planning, so maybe that kills some of it, but I keep hearing that writing is re-writing, and yet I’m not sure what needs to go. Often my stories are very focused on their end goal and are moving towards that. Beta readers like the story, even say it is professional quality, but have little advice beyond that. I don’t believe that I’m some miracle writer able to turn out a rough draft that – aside from grammatical errors and typos – is in a solid form story wise…so how do you find the parts that can be trimmed, or need to be changed?
July 20, 2015 — 2:58 PM
Amanda Helms says:
1. I envy you your experience with your last WIP! I*always* hit a slog. Usually several. If you truly feel the issue is not your story sense tingling that something is off, and you just need to get the words to come, I recommend setting a timer for 10-15 minute intervals and forcing yourself to write until it goes off. You can also use an app like Write or Die that will “punish” you if your fingers stay idle too long. I’ve used this to slog my way through things, and aside from having to clean out excess adverbs and the like, the WoD written scenes usually don’t end up too badly.
2. I wouldn’t change your story just to change it. You may be doing your re-writing at the outline stage. Or, if you’re the type to revise-as-you-go, that could also be taking care of it. I think the more we write, the better we get at instinctually recognizing when something’s wrong. If you’re not getting that sense, and your betas aren’t getting that sense (and you trust their judgment; if you don’t trust their judgment, look for a few new betas), then your book probably is ready for the next step, whatever that is for you: finding an agent, finding a small publisher, author-publishing, etc.
July 20, 2015 — 3:43 PM
deliriumend says:
Thank you, Amanda. The using smaller chunks of time for sprints and forcing is a good idea.
And yeah, I was really lucky with the last WIP. I’m *still* excited about it while letting it cool off…which is why it still needs to cool off some. I doubt I’ll get that again, but I got to feel it once which was great. You’ll get their too with something. 😀
July 20, 2015 — 6:54 PM
JT Lawrence says:
Re your first problem … some stories are just more difficult to write than others. If you still believe in it then I would say just forge ahead and you will be rewarded. Middle parts are always the most difficult and full of doubt. Push through. Get the words down.
Re editing, have you read Sol Stein’s ‘Stein on Writing’? It’s a kind of advice manual on editing. Very practical. https://wordpress.com/post/77522327/140/ Also, at the risk of sounding like a suck-up, Chuck’s ‘In Which I Critique Your Story’ is excellent. http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/05/05/in-which-i-critique-your-story-that-i-havent-read/
July 20, 2015 — 3:56 PM
Drew says:
Working professional writer (non-fiction). Job is steady, things are great, but I have a compulsion to write fiction on the side (also good).
However, at the same time, I have such an intense, paralyzing fear of putting characters through trauma, that when I write, I only tend to write stories that take place in the aftermath of traditional plots. It’s a lot of damage of discussion, nothing ever happening. Whenever I write something “happening” in a traditional sense, it feels incredibly thin to me, too.
As an aside, I have some pretty intense PTSD (working on it with professionals), so that might be why. I think I’m just looking for permission to write in that aftermath space. I don’t know. I’m pretty lost at the moment.
July 20, 2015 — 2:59 PM
St.Louis says:
I’m not sure what you mean by “traditional sense,” but there is a lot of story in the aftermath of an event. There is always emotional\mental\social trauma that comes. Characters dealing with that fall out could be the story. If that is what feels real to you, write it.
Actually, on WritersHelpingWriters there is several posts about what people would be dealing with in that space; emotional wounds.
July 20, 2015 — 4:35 PM
Drew says:
Thanks!
July 21, 2015 — 7:39 AM
Drew says:
*Discussion of damage, rather.
July 20, 2015 — 2:59 PM
Robin Claire says:
I also am having a hard time with re-writes. I had a eureka session that tied the themes and relationships of my book into glorious depth and magnitude and now I am scared to write it. I’m worried that I’m not worthy and that I will screw it up.
July 20, 2015 — 3:03 PM
Nick Nafpliotis (@NickNafster79) says:
On the last draft (number four) of my first novel. Unlike actually writing, editing is killing me. I can literally spend 3-4 hours on 5 pages polishing, massaging, reworking, losing my damn mind, etc.
I’m near the end, but I’m afraid if I got back I’ll spend another few months rewriting the entire novel again. I know it’s supposed to take as long as it takes, but at what point do I just jump in and start sending out queries to agents? My beta reader feedback has been very positive (I owe the ones who’ve read all four drafts my soul), but I can’t ever read my own work without wanted to edit the shit out of it.
July 20, 2015 — 3:09 PM
JT Lawrence says:
I know exactly what you mean. Often I’ll be, like, ONE MORE RE-WRITE AND THEN IT’S DONE! but in my heart I’ll know, as I’m going, that it needs another draft, and then I just want to solo-drink a bottle of red and throw my laptop in the pool.
I know that it is truly finished once I can read through entire chapters without being tripped up. Then it’s ready to query.
July 20, 2015 — 3:32 PM
deborahleighwrites says:
I agree with JT Lawrence. If your “reader” self can get through an entire chapter and not get tripped up, you’re probably good to go. And, I highly recommend sizing your MS to your final print edition trim size and printing THAT as a galley. It can reveal ninja-typos that stay hidden on the screen (scrolling hides typos!) or on that boring, double-spaced, 8.5 x 11 version that you print. It can also make stand out paragraphs that are too long, places where a bit of dialogue would punch things up, etc. And, it can show you where you shine. Smaller, book-sized pages should read pretty easily…like a regular trade paperback. If you find yourself page-turning your mock-up galley, it can give you an inkling that you may be onto something. If you suddenly stop cold, you know you’ve got a problem. Also, you can get a better sense of tempo and pacing because, bear with me here, your POV breaks and chapter breaks will appear on the smaller page as they will in the final book, and a too-long section will stand out. Clunkiness will stand out. You may shave nonsense because you want a section to appear shorter, thereby improving it. You may add missing substance because you can see that in final, print form, Chapter 3 is barely three pages long and that you likely rushed through some of it. Maybe, stylistically, it should be just three pages long. Printing a trim-size galley will tell you one way or the other.
Short version of the above babble: On-screen editing/proofing and 8.5 x 11 double-spaced printouts are tricks-ey, to quote Gollum. You can’t really see what you’re reading, IMHO.
July 20, 2015 — 5:38 PM
Kat says:
I’m going through the aftermath of a big break up and I have the worst writer’s block which is keeping me from working on my professional contract work in addition to not having touched my own stuff in at least two months.
July 20, 2015 — 3:15 PM
JT Lawrence says:
Sorry Kat.
July 20, 2015 — 3:34 PM
Fred G. Yost says:
That sucks. My not terribly professional advice (based on knowing nothing about your situation) is to go for a run, or a bike ride, or a hike, or a meditation retreat, or maybe just a big ‘talk it out’ session with friends.
When I’m emotionally blocked, I have a hard time creating, and sometimes letting my brain work through things (especially if I just let it process in the background, which is why I like running).
Like I said, break-ups can be terrible emotionally, and my advice may not be terribly helpful, but it’s all I got.
July 21, 2015 — 1:55 PM