The Beginning

So I've got the idea for my second novel sort of planned out in my head. And by sort of planned out I mean I haven't gotten the slightest idea of what I want. You see, I have the picture. I know what I want to achieve and my motivations are simple. The motivation of my main character (MC) is clear and simple as well.

My problem lies in getting my MC from point A to point B in a meaningful way. How can I hold reader interest while telling my story? What will happen in between points A and B? What do I do when I get so sick of thinking about it that I begin to think that I will never be able to start?

Well, I stopped writing until these questions are answered. I kept thinking about it, however. I have been thinking about different ways to start my new novel. I have been thinking about this massive problem for a good three weeks.

Luckily, last night I had a break through. I have written down my ideas, but I have not written anything out. When you have the right beginning, ideas will come into your head and for a time, everything in the writing process is easy.

As far as end notes go: Don't give up when the future of your work looks daunting. Keep thinking about it. Let the story evolve. Don't limit yourself to one idea. Keep mulling it over. Ideas for stories are like a fine wine. You have to give them time to age. And then once you have the content sorted, write.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday! May it be filled with merriment and love. Cheers!

Writing and the Holidays

A holiday themed post is fitting, right? Or is it too much of a cliche?

Eh, I don't really care, so you're getting one anyway.

In my experience, holidays can be a magical time for writing. I have gotten two ideas for novels during the holidays, both of which lie buried in the dark corners of my hard drive. But just because those two didn't pan out, doesn't mean I'm going to give up.

The holidays are a stressful time, at least for me. There is all this shopping to get done, people to entertain, wrapping of gifts, parties, traveling, the list goes on and on. And in all this busy rushing around, where does one find the time to sit down and write?

Well, dear reader, you have to make time. You have to carve a bit of time from each day to sit down and write. Or to think about what you want to write (that totally counts, I do it all the time). On the other hand, when you're standing in those horrendous lines at shopping centers or mailboxes, take your smart phone out, open some sort of note app, and write. You're going to be looking at your phone anyway, why not put it to work? The same goes for those wonderful tablets! We have the technology to write anywhere we want.

Or just kick it old school: open your notebook and write away like the mad genius you are!

Another great thing about the holidays is that most people get a good chunk of time off to celebrate; at least, I hope they do. Instead of relaxing, take some time to think about the piece you want to write - which is relaxing, in my humble opinion. Listen to your characters (more on this later). Listen to your story (also later). Look for bits of inspiration everywhere.

Use the holidays to your advantage. Talk to friends and family about your work, they will hold you accountable - which can be a sharp double edged sword - and push you toward actually finishing. Don't be shy about sharing. Talking about it will help you out. I know this for a fact and am sharing it for that reason. See? Sharing!

I hope you all have a lovely holiday that is, more or less, stress free! Happy writing!

Editing

I have to tell you, no matter how much editing you do, it may never seem like enough. I have edited my novel numerous times and I still find little things that I somehow keep missing. It's driving me crazy!

So, what I've done with editing is the following. I had several people read my novel and hoped that they went over it with a fine tooth comb. I put their changes into the document and then read it myself. I printed it out - this is very helpful and my Word document was 175 pages, and it only cost about $15. I was able to mark the pages up to my heart's content.

Unfortunately, it was not enough. I still keep finding little things that I thought I had fixed. Or maybe they're problems I created when I edited other parts. Who knows. As long as you don't give up during the editing process, you'll be thanking yourself later!

Strategies for tackling one of the hardest parts of the writing process:

1. Have people you trust read it. Ask for their honest feedback, and don't get offended when they make suggestions.

2. Don't be afraid to change what you've written. If your group doesn't like a part of the story, ask for their suggestions and make the changes. Remember, take each suggestion with a grain of salt, but truly listen to them.

3. Read every single word. I was a writing tutor for a year and I can tell you how easily we skip over words. Our brain supplies the word we are looking for or that's missing.

4. Read it out loud if you can. This helps you to hear what is written and you'll be able to tell if something is off. I had many students who would say a different word than the one on the page. Catch yourself doing that and make the changes.

5. Take it in chunks. Long novels can be overwhelming! Take your work chapter by chapter or say, 5 pages at a time. After you've hit your mark, stop! Take a break, and come back to it with fresh eyes. Yes, that's going to take a while, but proper editing takes time.

6. Hiring an editor. For those of you who can afford it (and there are cheap sources out there I am sure), this can be an extremely valuable resource. The person you are hiring is paid to look at your work with a critical eye. They will hopefully ask the right questions that will help you improve your work as well as check your grammar and spelling. If he/she is willing, ask the editor to look at the global themes of the work and at the big picture.

7. Tackle the big picture problems first. Plot holes, confusing text, confusing plot, etc. Those things are the largest problems you will face with your writing. J.K. Rowling created an enormous plot hole in Goblet of Fire and had to rewrite the book, source. (Wikipedia for the short, sweet version: source).

8. Look at resources online for editing help. I do all the time! It helps and it's free. Purdue OWL is a wonderful resource, and the page I linked you to has great information about the mechanics of writing and editing. The Punctuation Guide I found has been a lifesaver for me! It offers examples for every piece of punctuation you will use in your writing. In case you need a grammar review, Purdue also has a wonderful grammar page. Yes, I know it's an academic website, but their information is priceless!

9. Don't give up! This should really be at the top, but I figure if you've read this far, you might need a little reminder. What you are doing is important, not only for you readers, but for yourself as well. You deserve to have your best work put out there for the world to see. Don't sell yourself short with something that hasn't been edited.

Well, this post ended up being larger than I anticipated it to be. Good luck with your editing, readers!

Finally Published! (Shameless plug)

Well, folks, I finally did it. I published my first novel, Beginning at the End at Smashwords. And yes, I am shamelessly using this blog to promote it. But where else can a person get free marketing? Anyway, take a look if you feel inclined to do so, or not, whatever works for you.

The whole purpose of this post (aside from the aforementioned reason) is to show you that it can be done. Publishing a novel is not as hard as it sounds... most of the time. Writing it is the hardest part I know of because the publishing part was so easy. More on that later, though.

I'll give you a short run down of the process I went through to get to this point below, and each will probably be covered in more in-depth blogs to come. I will warn you, I did many of these steps out of order and over the course of three months.

Step 1: Get idea. (Simple, right?)
Step 2: Write down your idea.
Step 3: Begin writing.
Step 4: Procrastinate.
Step 5: Writer's Block
Step 6: Begin writing. (Again)
Step 7: Realize you went off in the wrong direction and repeat of steps 1-3.
Step 8: Repeat steps 4-6.
Step 9: Finish the damn thing!
Step 10: Edit like you have never edited before.
Step 11: Buy an awesome cover for your book.
Step 12: Find a publisher. (Traditional or self-publishing?)
Step 13: Get the word out.
Step 14: Start writing sequel. (Because series do better in the long run)

Also, this blog post will be updated as the above steps are expanded upon.

Procrastination

I thought this topic would be particularly relevant as students get closer to their final tests before the winter holidays. We all suffer from it.

I have found that procrastination can be your greatest enemy, and also your friend. Using this diversion can be helpful to you. When I procrastinate, I turn to my favorite stories or my favorite TV shows. I have gotten so many ideas from these places.

Need a little drama? Watch a dramatic television show or movie. Stuck on how to word a piece of your story? Look to your favorite authors! Use procrastination to further your own agenda.

Also, you can tell when a writer has forced him/herself to write when they had no desire to. The text itself exudes lack of will. You don't want to it, don't do it. Take some time off from your writing. Treat yourself and get your mind away from your work. Often ideas will come to you in that time.

My own dealings with procrastination are long and boring. I'll spare you the worst of them. But I will tell you of my most recent bout with procrastination.

With my current novel, I wrote like a mad woman for two weeks straight, day in and day out. I was on fire and I just could not stop. It was a beautiful thing and I hoped it wouldn't end. Unfortunately, it did. Everything that came into my head took my story in a direction I didn't want to go. So I took a break. I watched Supernatural for several days instead of writing. Nothing came out of this TV binge, but it got my mind off of what I was writing.

A couple weeks later, I found inspiration and finished writing my novel. Granted, I wrote in pieces - which is another post in and of itself - but I did it. I finished it and all of my procrastination helped me to get my head back on straight.

So next time you cannot stand looking at your computer screen or notebook, step away. Come back to it when you are ready and have time to spend without distraction.

The Spark

Because we have to start somewhere, right? For me, step one is the Spark. The Spark is the moment an idea pops into my head. The idea consumes me until I can get to a computer or a blank piece of paper. The spark of an idea is like wildfire spreading through my mind in all of its destructive beauty. 

I'll be honest, that moment is both the best and worst thing to happen. The best because I have this awesome story developing in my head and it's new and fun and I just have to know where it's going to take me. Yet at the same time, I don't want to know. I am ready to strap in and enjoy the ride with all of its bumps and turns. I want to get to know my characters and the situation they're in. It can be seriously intoxicating.

It is also the worst because I always get these sparks when I don't have the opportunity to write them out. During my last semester of college, I had this idea for a Sci-Fi novel that took up nearly all of the free time I had those first two months. It just kept writing itself and wouldn't quit. Why is this bad, you may ask? Well, I was attending classes for three straight hours then working for six hours immediately after classes ended. I was a bad student and focused on writing as opposed to reading the assigned books and articles. Oops! 

Not only that, but I always seem to get ideas at the worst possible times. Have any of you ever been driving and had this brilliant idea with no way to put it on paper? Happens to me all the time. I lose more ideas this way than I can bear to imagine. I do wonder, however, if some award winning idea was lost on those drives...

Anyway, to counteract the aforementioned problem of losing the idea when computers are not available, I started carrying a journal around with me. I sometimes feel silly doing it, but it seriously helps! I have notebooks filled with ideas that didn't pan out, but I still have them. Maybe one day I'll go back to them. Maybe I never will. What matters is that I was able to write down my idea and was able to go with it. My notebook is always in my bag along with several pens and pencils.

So now I'm curious. How do you save your idea from falling to the wayside? Do you carry a journal, a laptop, or maybe an iPad or other tablet type device? Where do your best ideas come from? Have any panned out? Are you working through an idea right now? What happens when you get that spark?

Welcome Readers!

Welcome dear Readers!

The purpose of this blog is to give readers from around the world an inside look at the process writer's go through from the first idea to publishing and beyond. I want to share my experiences with you all and to hopefully hear about your experiences as well. I believe that writing is a collaborative process and I wish to honor that here.

The reason behind this is my significant other once asked what I go through when I am writing a story. It can be a long process filled with days of madly typing at the keyboard or days where not a single word can be written. Or it can be a short process filled with hours of madly typing at the keyboard. Mine is the former, which is most often caused by self-inflicted writer's block.

This process is specific to me; however, I would love to hear about your writing process and your experiences. My blog is specific to what has worked for me and what has not, along with advice and tidbits I found helpful. I feel I must now offer the clichéd phrase: "Results may vary" (Sorry, I just had to do it).

My goal is to update every couple days; once a week at the very least, with profuse apologies and excuses for my lack of availability.

Whew! Now that all this stuff is out of the way, I won't bore you with any more of it from now on, I promise. I will be posting an additional post soon, so keep an eye out.

Cheers and happy reading!