Tips on the First Draft

I stumbled across this fantastic vlog made by Joanna Penn, writer, speaker, and aspiring novelist, as she chronicles her progress and lessons learned as she writes the first draft of her novel.

It's about 5 minutes long and definitely worth the time.

A few things to note as you watch:

• You may not need a strict outline, but some kind of outline or idea of where you're headed helps.
• You may get an "aha" moment that changes your outline. That's OKAY. (And probably fantastic.)
• Set specific goals for yourself. Personal deadlines are awesome.
• Be realistic. Even though she's thousands of words from crossing the first-draft finish line, Joanna is fully aware that it's a first draft and that after crossing one finish line, there are more ahead: revisions and editing. Lots of both.
• Push yourself to write. Don't wait for the muse. The muse may well show up in the middle of a session you forced yourself into.
• Research can not only make your story more accurate, but it can make it come alive and even spark plot and character ideas.

Spot Check

by Heather Moore


So, how is everyone's summer going? What are you working on?

I'm writing a new book this summer (well, I started in March), so it's been very interesting. In the past I haven't committed to a serious writing project in the summer.

My goal is 2,000 words a day, and for the most part it's been doable. If the day is more busy than usual, then I get up early, if not, then I can usually get in a couple of hours in the afternoons. I've found that I have to seriously limit blog-surfing in order to make true progress :-) Although, I can't really resist all of the time, especially when posts like this pop up from Janet Reid, Literary Agent.

What are your tricks for finding time for summer writing?

Enjoy the Journey

By Julie Wright

Again, I am going to quote Barbara Hambly from the CONduit conference because she said many things over the course of the weekend that resonated with me.

Someone in the audience during her main address asked what she felt her greatest success was. They of course meant her writing. They wanted to know which of the scores of books she'd written had been the jewel in her literary crown.

Her reply?

The relationships in her life that had lasted 30 plus years.

It was at this same conference where I was on a panel and someone asked me how it felt to finally "arrive" as a published author. My reply?

I haven't arrived. There are still goals to achieve, stories to write, things that must be done. Before publication, my only thought was, "If I could just see my name on a book jacket, THEN I will be happy." After my first book came out it was, "If I could just see my name on a best seller's list, THEN I will be happy." After that happened, it was, "If I could just get published with the best and biggest publisher in my market, THEN I will be happy." After that happened, the happiness was dependant on sales numbers, getting an agent, being a finalist for a highly esteemed award, and on and on and on.

And was I happy for all those things?

Sure I was. But those things didn't maintain Eternal-Happiness-Forever. I still have bad days, insecure days, worried days. My journey to publication has been a rough road and I have yet to find ultimate satisfaction with my chosen career as a writer.

In the movie Cool Runnings (yes, I am old and did see this film in the theater) there is a scene where the young man asks about the gold medal in the Olympics. His coach made a comment that has stayed with me, "If you aren't enough without it, you'll never be enough with it."

It took me a few years to realize that if I'm not happy without all the trappings of publication, I will never be happy with them.

Realizing that has helped me to move forward, to chase dreams without losing the importance of living in each moment and finding joy for the sake of the moment.

As I said before there are still goals to achieve, stories to write, things that must be done. I haven't arrived. And I will likely never arrive because I'm not interested in being finished with writing. I'm interested in the journey. I'm interested in the story I'm writing, the book that's coming out right now, the friends I am making who really do give me Eternal-Happiness-Forever.

And if someone asks me what my greatest success is, my answer will be very similar to Barbara's. My greatest success is my family and friends. My greatest success is found in the relationships that make it all worth while, the people who laugh and cry with me, and who make every day twenty shades of awesome.

Don't be so quick to your finish lines that you forget to enjoy the race.

What a Character!

By Julie Wright

I had the pleasure of speaking at a conference with Barbara Hambly who is an amazing writer and someone in the audience asked her, “I’ve done all this research on this history and the way the people dress and how they talk and what they ate back then, and I know the history completely, but there’s just so much that I don’t know where to begin. Where do YOU begin when you’re writing a historical piece?”

Her answer was twenty shades of awesome. She said, “I begin where I begin on any of my books, with the character.”

So when you begin writing a book, no matter the genre, whether it be romance, science fiction, horror, historical . . . whatever—you need to remember to start with the character. Good characters make stories real to readers.

And in order to make your characters real, you must make them behave like real people. Give them their own history. The history or past that you give them will dictate what kind of friends they have, what kind of enemies they have, whether or not they are the type of person who will turn the other cheek or the type who will put a knife in the heart of their enemies. Know your character's past. Know their faults, their strengths, their weaknesses (which is not always to be considered a fault), their hopes, dreams, ambitions.

Even if the back story doesn't end up in the book, you as the author needs to know.

Remember to include the characters, thoughts, feelings and actions along with their dialogue, so you can paint a complete picture of that character for the reader, so that the reader cares, relates to, and feels invested in the character.

Your story is important, but a good story can be made great with an amazing character.

Define IT

by Annette Lyon

I didn't realize until I kept seeing the same thing cross my desk (or, um, monitor) literally dozens of times that one very common way of telling is often overlooked.

Here's the awesome news: this kind of telling is really easy to change into showing. (Easy is the kind of fix we all like, right?)

So what's the weak telling I'm talking about?

When the words THAT and IT are too vague.

Most of the time, sure, the reader will technically know what you're referring to, but if you'd just define IT or THAT, you'd be showing us rather than telling.

For example, you write:

I knew THAT hurt him.

Okay, so chances are we know, thanks to context, what THAT refers to. But what if you were to be more specific? Can you SHOW us?

Switch out THAT with what it refers to:

I knew my words hurt him.

Zing! So much more powerful.

Let's try another:

IT felt like family.

WHAT felt like family? Show us by defining IT:

Being with them felt like family.

OR

Dinner that night felt like family.

And one more:

IT would make things easier.

WHAT would make things easier? Define IT:

Breaking off their relationship now would make things easier.

Simple yet so effective.

In rough drafts, most of us add those extra words without giving the issue much thought. No problem. But when you're going through revisions, try this: search for THIS, IT, and even THAT.

Not every instance will fall under this category, but of those that do, see how many you can replace with showing details. Be specific.

You don't want to get wordy, so there may be places where IT and THAT fit better.

But don't assume as much. Look at each case to see if defining those words with detail makes for a stronger sentence.

Trust me; it can pack a huge punch.

Wait. Try that again: Trust me; defining IT and THAT can pack a huge punch.

Yep. Much better.