As I am deep in the writing trenches, and my brain is turned to goo, I have nothing coherant to blog about. BUT! Don't avert your eyes just yet.
It has recently come to my attention that the Internet, and therefore people as a whole, are a big bunch of crazy. No, I know. I already knew people were crazy, but I didn't know just how crazy they were until I saw this list I found via Chuck Wendig's blog.
Save yourself. It's too late for me, but you can get out now. I'll hold them off for as long as I can, but don't mar my sacrifice by spending the precious few minutes I am buying you arguing with me about how I can't do this.
Because I have already seen this pictures, and it's too late for me.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
50 Followers Blogfest!!
Today is the day!
In honor of reaching fifty followers (and counting!) I am going to post some of my very old, unedited work, for the world to see. The people who have signed up for this blogfest are going to do likewise, and it's going to be fun! Wheeeeee!
Okay, enough caffiene. On with my excerpt:
Navy
- - - - - - - - - - -
This is the first paragraph from a book I was writing in high school. I called it Navy, because that's what the girl's name was. She was a very sad and depressed sort, as I was working through a really rough patch in high school and my writing caught the brunt of it.
It's really interesting for me to read this now, as an adult, and see my style looking up at me. I can see how I've improved and tightened up the prose, but I can still recognize that writing as mine.
It's more honest, actually, than some of the writing I did when I was nineteen or so, and trying to "write well enough to get published". I didn't understand about letting the style and words be my own, and instead tried to be someone else.
So while this paragraph is six ways from hilarious (melodrama in the morning, anyone? Confusion much?) I also sort of love it, because it reminds me that even though I have improved over the years (thank the stars) I am still me. Does that make sense?
I think we should embrace ourselves and our writing. Look back on your old work with horror, sure, but also with love because you can see your writing self developing over time, aging like a fine...uhhh, beer (beer ages like wine right? Shush I don't drink alcohol very often!).
Enough about me! Go forth, clickity on the link and see what other people have to offer!
In honor of reaching fifty followers (and counting!) I am going to post some of my very old, unedited work, for the world to see. The people who have signed up for this blogfest are going to do likewise, and it's going to be fun! Wheeeeee!
Okay, enough caffiene. On with my excerpt:
Navy
You know, I almost didn’t write this. I am not a journal or a diary keeper. I find them rather…what’s the word…extra? I am not really the type to want to chronicle all of the events—meaningful and meaningless—that happened to me. Also, the thought of writing about some of events in my life makes me feel tired. I lived through them once, why should I drag myself through them again? But I suppose that I dwell on them enough, I might as well write my thoughts down. I’ve actually been thinking about writing how I feel, and my thoughts and questions down for a while, but like I said, the thought always made me feel tired. This morning I woke up, the events of last night playing through my mind, over and over. I can’t make myself stop thinking about pain memories, and thought that I should write some stuff down occurred to my again. Only this time I couldn’t shake the idea I should write how I felt, and what has happened to me down.
- - - - - - - - - - -
This is the first paragraph from a book I was writing in high school. I called it Navy, because that's what the girl's name was. She was a very sad and depressed sort, as I was working through a really rough patch in high school and my writing caught the brunt of it.
It's really interesting for me to read this now, as an adult, and see my style looking up at me. I can see how I've improved and tightened up the prose, but I can still recognize that writing as mine.
It's more honest, actually, than some of the writing I did when I was nineteen or so, and trying to "write well enough to get published". I didn't understand about letting the style and words be my own, and instead tried to be someone else.
So while this paragraph is six ways from hilarious (melodrama in the morning, anyone? Confusion much?) I also sort of love it, because it reminds me that even though I have improved over the years (thank the stars) I am still me. Does that make sense?
I think we should embrace ourselves and our writing. Look back on your old work with horror, sure, but also with love because you can see your writing self developing over time, aging like a fine...uhhh, beer (beer ages like wine right? Shush I don't drink alcohol very often!).
Enough about me! Go forth, clickity on the link and see what other people have to offer!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Role-Playing and Writing: Why You're Glad You're a Writer
So I innocently thought that role-playing with my twin brother, sister in law (his wife), and husband would be a Good Idea, despite prior evidence.
Role-playing is like this for those of you who have never had the joy/horror of role-playing:
1. You pick a setting. We play Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. I made up the world since I am the DM and they have to do what I say.
Side Note: 3.5 indicates the edition we play. There have been four major rule changes in the history of D&D, starting with the needlessly convuluted first edition, slightly improved second edition, weak third edition, 3.5 which is like third edition, but with minor changes, but changes big enough that you can't mix the source books from third edition and 3.5 (I learned THIS the hard way). There's also a fourth edition, that they waited to spring until after the father of D&D Gary Gygax died because it SUCKS and if you play fourth edition you're dead to me.
2. You pick a DM, or Dungeon Master, the person who is going to tell the story and keep the players from trying to kill each other. It's like trying to herd kittens. I am DMing this particular story, called a campaign.
3. The other people (ideally four players, since that's how the challenges are figured up, but since we don't have a lot of friends, it's just three players and me as the DM) make their characters. This takes a LONG TIME. There's lots of dice rolling involved, and addition, and MATH, and reading, and thinking about what sort of class you want your character to have. Are they going to cast spells or wield a weapon? What sort of feats will they use?
And once you decide on that, you have to buy your character stuff. You have to figure out how much that stuff weighs to make sure it's not too heavy, if your DM is a jerk (I am) and wants to make sure a player didn't buy an elephant's worth of trail rations and expects to tote it around without penalties.
4. Then, you start to play. The characters meet each other, and poke around. Thus your epic story starts.
In the past as a DM I used to write these epic stories. These stories had well developed towns, with a rich history, and detailed antagonists. The story would seamlessly pull all the characters into the plot of the story (save the world! save the princess! kill this person and take all their stuff!) and keep the players on the edge of their seats.
And then I actually RAN a few campaigns and learned the truth.
Now, my session planning goes like this:
Me: So you're in a town...
Twin brother: What town?
Me: Uhhhhhh, Panatias. (PAN-uh-t-as)
*snickers from the players* *confused looked from me*
Sis in law: So, kind of like, Panty-ass
Me: Uhhhh, sure...so anyway, you're in Panatias--
*more snickers*
Me: and you're at the market place. Your lead said that the black market is here somewhere.
Twin brother: I bet the rogues called it a "panty raid" when they come sack this town.
And then the conversation devolves for five minutes into more puns and jokes while I contemplate murdering their characters on the spot with a giant meteor strike. I am not kidding people, that actually happened. So as a DM, I get to have my own sort of fun, and start threatening them that mountain giants were going to come and slaughter their characters if they didn't stay on track.
Here's a big difference between role playing and writing. I control the story that I am writing as a writer. I decide I am writing about goat colonists from mars, that's what I write about. But players have a way of totally derailing the best laid plans. You set up foreshadowing and do everything except lead them around by their ears, but they still get their own crazy notions and go off in an opposite direction.
You have books of monsters. Every monster has different difficulty levels. No matter how sweet and nice a person is in real life, you sit them down with a character sheet, and suddenly they want to kill some stuff. Really. The players get anxious if they aren't hacking something to bits every five minutes.
You have NPCs which are the Non-Player Characters. You know, the barmaids, and the kings, and the guys giving them jobs, which I as the DM control. But you have no control over how a player is going to respond to these NPCs.
I had an NPC that was supposed to be crucial part of giving them information to get to the next part of the story. I drop a subtle lead that they might need to go talk to him. For the next five minutes the players talk about how they don't like the look in his eye, and she just got a bad feeling about him, and that guy knows more than he's letting on (to which my brother says "He's a drow, he knows more about his morning cup of coffee than he's letting on).
*headdesk*
But you can't break the story and tell them they're crazy and that the NPC isn't going to stab them in the back. Sometimes it's fun to sit there all sphinx-like, "Well I dunno...maybe he is going to stab you in the back." Suspcious players are anxious players, and that's part of the fun of a DM (what, I have to get my kicks in somehow).
I can't blame them too much, since I am also the same DM that lured them into the woods with a sweet old granny type who then poisoned their tea. The really hilarious part is they were suspicious of EVERY SINGLE NPC up until then. It was priceless to see the looks on their faces. *sniffs with joy*
Seriously, it's a lot of fun, but it's also a pain in the neck. Writing a book is easier, way easier than trying to get three people to go in the same direction for any length of time. It's impossible to plan out ahead of time, because you never know how they are going to respond to the situation.
So be glad you're a writer, where you at least have control over your characters and setting.
Role-playing is like this for those of you who have never had the joy/horror of role-playing:
1. You pick a setting. We play Dungeons and Dragons 3.5. I made up the world since I am the DM and they have to do what I say.
Side Note: 3.5 indicates the edition we play. There have been four major rule changes in the history of D&D, starting with the needlessly convuluted first edition, slightly improved second edition, weak third edition, 3.5 which is like third edition, but with minor changes, but changes big enough that you can't mix the source books from third edition and 3.5 (I learned THIS the hard way). There's also a fourth edition, that they waited to spring until after the father of D&D Gary Gygax died because it SUCKS and if you play fourth edition you're dead to me.
2. You pick a DM, or Dungeon Master, the person who is going to tell the story and keep the players from trying to kill each other. It's like trying to herd kittens. I am DMing this particular story, called a campaign.
3. The other people (ideally four players, since that's how the challenges are figured up, but since we don't have a lot of friends, it's just three players and me as the DM) make their characters. This takes a LONG TIME. There's lots of dice rolling involved, and addition, and MATH, and reading, and thinking about what sort of class you want your character to have. Are they going to cast spells or wield a weapon? What sort of feats will they use?
And once you decide on that, you have to buy your character stuff. You have to figure out how much that stuff weighs to make sure it's not too heavy, if your DM is a jerk (I am) and wants to make sure a player didn't buy an elephant's worth of trail rations and expects to tote it around without penalties.
4. Then, you start to play. The characters meet each other, and poke around. Thus your epic story starts.
In the past as a DM I used to write these epic stories. These stories had well developed towns, with a rich history, and detailed antagonists. The story would seamlessly pull all the characters into the plot of the story (save the world! save the princess! kill this person and take all their stuff!) and keep the players on the edge of their seats.
And then I actually RAN a few campaigns and learned the truth.
Now, my session planning goes like this:
Me: So you're in a town...
Twin brother: What town?
Me: Uhhhhhh, Panatias. (PAN-uh-t-as)
*snickers from the players* *confused looked from me*
Sis in law: So, kind of like, Panty-ass
Me: Uhhhh, sure...so anyway, you're in Panatias--
*more snickers*
Me: and you're at the market place. Your lead said that the black market is here somewhere.
Twin brother: I bet the rogues called it a "panty raid" when they come sack this town.
And then the conversation devolves for five minutes into more puns and jokes while I contemplate murdering their characters on the spot with a giant meteor strike. I am not kidding people, that actually happened. So as a DM, I get to have my own sort of fun, and start threatening them that mountain giants were going to come and slaughter their characters if they didn't stay on track.
Here's a big difference between role playing and writing. I control the story that I am writing as a writer. I decide I am writing about goat colonists from mars, that's what I write about. But players have a way of totally derailing the best laid plans. You set up foreshadowing and do everything except lead them around by their ears, but they still get their own crazy notions and go off in an opposite direction.
You have books of monsters. Every monster has different difficulty levels. No matter how sweet and nice a person is in real life, you sit them down with a character sheet, and suddenly they want to kill some stuff. Really. The players get anxious if they aren't hacking something to bits every five minutes.
You have NPCs which are the Non-Player Characters. You know, the barmaids, and the kings, and the guys giving them jobs, which I as the DM control. But you have no control over how a player is going to respond to these NPCs.
I had an NPC that was supposed to be crucial part of giving them information to get to the next part of the story. I drop a subtle lead that they might need to go talk to him. For the next five minutes the players talk about how they don't like the look in his eye, and she just got a bad feeling about him, and that guy knows more than he's letting on (to which my brother says "He's a drow, he knows more about his morning cup of coffee than he's letting on).
*headdesk*
But you can't break the story and tell them they're crazy and that the NPC isn't going to stab them in the back. Sometimes it's fun to sit there all sphinx-like, "Well I dunno...maybe he is going to stab you in the back." Suspcious players are anxious players, and that's part of the fun of a DM (what, I have to get my kicks in somehow).
I can't blame them too much, since I am also the same DM that lured them into the woods with a sweet old granny type who then poisoned their tea. The really hilarious part is they were suspicious of EVERY SINGLE NPC up until then. It was priceless to see the looks on their faces. *sniffs with joy*
Seriously, it's a lot of fun, but it's also a pain in the neck. Writing a book is easier, way easier than trying to get three people to go in the same direction for any length of time. It's impossible to plan out ahead of time, because you never know how they are going to respond to the situation.
So be glad you're a writer, where you at least have control over your characters and setting.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Protect the Happy
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| Bunny brought to you by Free Digital Pictures |
Going on a bit of a rant today, but it's something I think we all need to hear. Also, disclaimer: this is just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
Life is a funny, fickle mistress. I have a great life. I am relatively healthy. I have a great family and a wonderful husband. I have a job, and I am able to pay all my bills (on time no less!). I have my own office, and bookshelves full of books.
Life is good.
But I have realized that the state of your happiness is dependent upon your personal mind set. This feels counter intutive. It feels like once you achieve XYZ you will be happy for ever and ever. But this is not so.
I distinctly remember figuring this little nugget out. I was sitting in my car, in the parking lot of my first ever "real" job, and talking to my best friend on the phone. We were discussing a mutual acquaintance. We couldn't figure it out. No matter what happened in this woman's life, she was never happy. Never satisfied. Always had a reason to complain.
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| This bunny knows happiness is just a hop away. |
You've met people like that, I am sure. They especially like to hang out at gas stations in the lotto line, for some reason. Draining to be around, a black hole of energy. Energy vampires, not the sparkly kind either.
So while talking to my friend, we both came the realization that being happy isn't the fallout of a perceived event, even though things can make you happy. You graduate college, you're a happy camper. You get married, happy too (right??). But are you really going to wait around for a big milestone in your life to make you happy?
I hope not. I hope people can look at the good things they have in their life, and be overjoyed about it. There's always something to be happy about, and there's always something that can disturb this happiness. Some events are bigger than others, like I realized yesterday.
Like I said, life is good. I am cruising along, happy as a calm, and BAMN! Major stressor. Huge source of stress. I won't go into details because this is teh Internets (relax, I am not dying. Still healthy. It was a personal life related thing dealing with my family.)
So I did what I do best (not eat chocolate!) and started to worry. Man, I am good at worrying. I mean, Olympic Gold Medalist class worrier. In high school I almost gave myself an ulcer worrying about tests, conversations, big events. It was my default state of being, a near panic that made it hard to eat and sleep.
I mostly have the worrying thing under control, once I realized that no matter how much I worried (or "planned" is what I called it, "If she says this, then I will say that." "If I flunk this test, I will sell myself to a goat shepherd in the Andes.") I still couldn't predict how I would respond to the event I was worrying about.
Worried that you're going to fail a test? That sucks, but once you fail the test, your emotional response lasts for a few seconds, and then you're on to damage control.
Last night while trying to sleep, I reminded myself of all this nifty things that I learned. No matter how much I worried, I literally couldn't do anything to change the outcome. We just play the waiting game. Naturally this resulted in my vacillating between sleepy contentment and blind panic, but hey! One day at a time, right?
Because it comes to down this: protect your happiness. Seriously. Arm yourself to the teeth--to the gills if you have them, for my fishy followers--and you protect your happiness! There is always something to panic about. To worry about. To feel bad about. I am not saying that worry won't win the day sometimes, especially if the worry is major stuff like surgery and life threatening illness. I am not saying you're a bad person if you feel sad. Not the case!
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| Worry-wort Bunny worries. |
I far from have this "Don't worry, be happy" stuff down pat, if last night was any indication. I just wanted to share my thoughts about this with you guys, because writing isn't exactly for the faint of heart. Querying can suck the life out of you, and then you get an agent (yay!) but then agent edits (boo! hiss!) and then you go on submission (yay!) and then editor edits (boo! hiss!). You might not sell the book, or it might get published but everyone hates it.
It's a veritable cornucopia of worry and stress that will turn you into a ball of anxiety. So you have to be proactive about your happiness. You have to go after happiness with a big stick and straight club it upside the head. Waiting for things to make you happy will make you miserable. Because that event last only so long, and then you're back to waiting again.
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| This bunny has wisely armed himself with some lettuce. |
And who likes to wait? Why not be happy right now?! (I got so excited I used an exclamation point AND a question mark! The horror!)
Two things that help protect the happy:
1. Think about all the awesome stuff you have going.
It's really hard to be upset and worrying when you're thinking about how awesome that book you're writing is. Or when you think about how much you love your spouse/parent/sister/brother/goldfish. You have to really be happy about your awesome stuff though. Not a mentally checking off, "Yeah yeah, health and family members, blah blah, yay for them." Focus on how much you love spouse/parent/sister/brother/goldfish and let that take over the worry.
If you are single and you don't love anyone, not even your pet bunny, and you're homeless, and sick with all sorts of diseases and have made your way to my blog about writing and life and the writing life anyway, welcome! You can be happy about your favorite soup kitchen, and maybe that other homeless guy that lets you borrow his tarp.
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| You don't love Mr. Floppy? |
2. Think about how it could be worse.
It could be worse. Much worse. We're writers, so we KNOW how things can be worse, since we regularly do awful stuff to our characters. I have a confession, and this is so stupid and silly, but whenever I get really upset, I think about how I am not in a hostage situation. It's true. I think about how even though I am worried about money, or health, or a person, it could be worse. I could be stuck in a gas station with a crazed gunman waving a gun around. It's silly, but it usually helps calm me down. "Okay, yeah. We're eating beans and rice for a week, but no one is robbing me at gunpoint! Thank goodness!"
So there. Some weapons to protect the happy with. I am sure today's post has revealed my not-really-a-secret that I am a optimist, but that's okay. I trust you guys.
Chime in if you have strategies to keep the worry away. What do YOU do to protect your happy? We could train each other in the Art of Happiness War, and become like...Happiness Ninjas. We could be called the Happiness Harpies. No, maybe Harpoons. Hmmm, the name needs work, but we could make an ARMY of happy happy people.
I for one, am off to work on my book which is going fabulously, by the way. It's time to torture some characters, because well...doo doo rolls downhill.
*the rest of the bunnies were brought to you by Wikicommons. Aren't they adorable? They could be like, mascots or something. Ninjas have mascots, right?
Friday, March 25, 2011
My New Goal: House Giraffe
Some of you might not know, but there's this sport called basketball. And this is a time of the year called "March Madness". I found this out yesterday when my husband came home, turned on the TV, and starting yelling at the tiny people running around.
When I went into the living room to inform him that the tiny people couldn't hear him, and the game wasn't live anyway, so he's trying to yell through time and space, I saw this commercial instead.
There are many amusing things about this commercial--dogs playing poker in the background, the obligatory Swedish models, Twilight is the movie playing in the background--but I would like to focus your attention on the House Giraffe.
Isn't he just adorable? I saw another commercial that had him running on a little treadmill. Since I already have a house buffalo, I thought maybe a new addition to the family would be in order. My husband and I talked about it last night, and we've decided to go ahead and get one.
I am so excited! They are just so cute, don't you think?
Gentle reminder: I am having a blogfest! Yay! It's to celebrate reaching 50 followers, and also my new ones! Hi new followers! Thanks for joining us! So everyone go sign up because it's going to be lots of fun!
Happy Friday everyone! I am off to go pick up a mini-treadmill for our House Giraffe.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Things to Do While Writing a Book
We've all been there. Writing a book. Somehow, the place between "OMG I HAVE THE BESTEST IDEA EVAR!" and "Yay the book is done!" isn't as filled with sunshine and puppies as we have initially been lead to believe.
I am lucky, in that my book still feels new and shiny, even though I am rewriting scenes I've written before (I just really like this idea, okay? That or I am a narcissist. Perhaps both.). But you still have to keep your eyes open, least the demons of "This is garbage and I am writing something else. Something about unicorns." show up unexpectedly.
So you need a plan. A goal. A battle cry. Something to keep yourself going through the long haul of starting and finishing a book. Because ladies and gentleman? That's a big cavernous place right there. That gulf between "I started writing a book" and "I've finished writing a book" separates a lot of would be authors. I have lost track of how many people have told me, upon hearing that I write, that they've always wanted to write a book. Some even say, "I started writing a book, but got bored."
There's nothing wrong with starting and stopping a book. Goodness knows I've done it a bazillion times. Experimenting and breaking things is part of the writing process. But if you ever want to advance and get to the Revision level, and the Querying level, and the Bargaining Away Unnecessary Organs for a Chance of Publication level you need to finish the book.
So here's some tricks for doing just that (finishing the book, not bargaining away unnecessary organs. You're on your own there).
1. Bribe yourself. With chocolate, new books, new toys, a new car, whatever. Reward yourself, and frequently.
2. Set frequent goals. This gives you the illusion of progress. Goals can range from "Finish this chapter tonight" to "Kidnap Charlie Sheen to force him to endorse your book". Once you complete this goal, you feel good about yourself. It gives you the strength to move on.
3. Keep a schedule. If 3 in the morning under the light of the moon is your writing time, stick to it, even if the raccoons are talking about you behind your back.
4. Play games. If you're stalling out on what happens next, or a character is losing their luster, play a game with yourself. Ask What if my main character turned into a small flightless bird? What if the story isn't really set in a desert, but in outer space? What if this is all just a dream (smack yourself for that one).
5. Blow some stuff up. Kill a character. Cripple a character. Give the character leprosy and watch as his friends think he's a zombie and try to shoot him "for his own good." Stake up the status quo in your plot, and take no prisoners.
6. Combine any and all of the above. Maybe while writing by the light of the moon, you set the goal to tie up those nasty raccoons and milk them for life experiences. Or reward yourself with a new flat screen TV if you can successfully get Charlie Sheen to pretend to be the character with leprosy. Add in a bag of popcorn if Sheen pitches this to a movie producer, and it gets the green light. Or you could buy a book once you've gotten past the swampy middle of the book, and managed to kill all but the main characters. You know, that or the Charlie Sheen thing.
The point here is to keep going. Stay interested in the book, and show those raccoons what for.
What do you do while writing a book to keep going? Anything extreme like nailing yourself to the chair, or you know, discipline could work too.
I am lucky, in that my book still feels new and shiny, even though I am rewriting scenes I've written before (I just really like this idea, okay? That or I am a narcissist. Perhaps both.). But you still have to keep your eyes open, least the demons of "This is garbage and I am writing something else. Something about unicorns." show up unexpectedly.
So you need a plan. A goal. A battle cry. Something to keep yourself going through the long haul of starting and finishing a book. Because ladies and gentleman? That's a big cavernous place right there. That gulf between "I started writing a book" and "I've finished writing a book" separates a lot of would be authors. I have lost track of how many people have told me, upon hearing that I write, that they've always wanted to write a book. Some even say, "I started writing a book, but got bored."
There's nothing wrong with starting and stopping a book. Goodness knows I've done it a bazillion times. Experimenting and breaking things is part of the writing process. But if you ever want to advance and get to the Revision level, and the Querying level, and the Bargaining Away Unnecessary Organs for a Chance of Publication level you need to finish the book.
So here's some tricks for doing just that (finishing the book, not bargaining away unnecessary organs. You're on your own there).
1. Bribe yourself. With chocolate, new books, new toys, a new car, whatever. Reward yourself, and frequently.
2. Set frequent goals. This gives you the illusion of progress. Goals can range from "Finish this chapter tonight" to "Kidnap Charlie Sheen to force him to endorse your book". Once you complete this goal, you feel good about yourself. It gives you the strength to move on.
3. Keep a schedule. If 3 in the morning under the light of the moon is your writing time, stick to it, even if the raccoons are talking about you behind your back.
4. Play games. If you're stalling out on what happens next, or a character is losing their luster, play a game with yourself. Ask What if my main character turned into a small flightless bird? What if the story isn't really set in a desert, but in outer space? What if this is all just a dream (smack yourself for that one).
5. Blow some stuff up. Kill a character. Cripple a character. Give the character leprosy and watch as his friends think he's a zombie and try to shoot him "for his own good." Stake up the status quo in your plot, and take no prisoners.
6. Combine any and all of the above. Maybe while writing by the light of the moon, you set the goal to tie up those nasty raccoons and milk them for life experiences. Or reward yourself with a new flat screen TV if you can successfully get Charlie Sheen to pretend to be the character with leprosy. Add in a bag of popcorn if Sheen pitches this to a movie producer, and it gets the green light. Or you could buy a book once you've gotten past the swampy middle of the book, and managed to kill all but the main characters. You know, that or the Charlie Sheen thing.
The point here is to keep going. Stay interested in the book, and show those raccoons what for.
What do you do while writing a book to keep going? Anything extreme like nailing yourself to the chair, or you know, discipline could work too.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Once More with Feeling: Starting Over on a Half Finished Draft
This last week or so I have been preparing to start over on a book I was in the middle of writing. It's no easy feat. In the interest of saving you some grief, here are some ideas/guidelines to help you along, should you find yourself treading a new path in an old forest.
1. Figure out what went wrong the first time.
When deciding to rewrite a book, or pick up a half-finished manuscript, it's important to know why you put it down in the first place. You had a good reason to set the manuscript aside the first time, and sadly, the book elves have not fixed those problems while you were off doing other things.
If the problem was something like being super busy or sick, chances are you're doing a little better than those of us who stopped because we didn't know enough of the plot to carry us through the rest of the book (like me).
2. Make a plan of action.
If your problem turned out to be lack of conflict or stale characters, make a plan of action of how you're going to fix that. Develop the characters or plan out the plot a little bit. Anything to keep you from reading up to where you left off and saying, "Hmmmmm what now?" Hopefully the time off from your book has given you some distance. Now isn't the time to edit the life out of the half finished book, but to figure out why you staled out. Like any other outline or plan for a book, chances are it's going to change once you get back into the book, but that's okay. Having a plan now will keep you from losing steam later.
3. Figure out how much of the original draft is salvageable.
Here's where your personal preferences might vary, so take this with a huge grain of salt. You need to figure out how much of the draft to keep, but personally, I don't think now is the time to start editing. Editing a half finished book isn't really going to do anything for you, and you might get stuck on commas and word choice and less on finishing the story.
Your objective while looking over your partial draft is to figure out how much, if any, is worth saving. This will also depend on how far into the book you actually got before jumping ship. For me, that first 20,000 was pretty solid. I wrote the scenes I knew I needed to be there, but stalled out when I couldn't figure out how to get the characters where they needed to be next.
BUT. I am also planning on changing the POV from multiple first to multiple third, adding in an extra POV, and changing one of the current POV character's personality. So while the scenes are okay, there's going to be a lot of changes to the original draft.
I've gone back and forth whether or not I wanted to make those changes, or let what I have stand now and change it during editing. I finally decided to go ahead and rewrite the scenes. Because a) it's not that far along into the story and b) making those changes will give me a better feel for my characters as I see them now.
However, if all you're doing is adding in another character, and tweaking some events, and your half finished manuscript is something like 50,000 words long, you might consider simply letting it stand as is, and fixing the errors in revision. It's really a personal call. Consider how long your draft is now, and the magnitude of the changes you plan to make. For me, if I am changing a few characters around, and adding in another, that's a change of large magnitude. I like to see how the characters come together, and how they act towards one another. Skipping over the crucial introductory scenes has never worked well for me in the past (one time I decided to skip two crucial characters meeting each other, and went straight for when they were being the best of buds. Turns out, the characters couldn't stand each other. Had I started with their introductory scenes, I would have saved myself some grief).
4. Plan new stuff.
This sounds a little weird, but hear me out.
You're going to be working on a book you've already started. That initial spark of "this is the bestest idea EVAR" is probably gone. You've already stalled on the book once. Not such a great track record when going back to write a book.
So try to re-imagine the book now. Even if you've taken only a few months off, you're a different person than you were before. Don't assume you can simply sit down with the old outline and just punch out the book as you originally saw it. Figure out why you stopped in the first place, but also add some new spice to the book. Maybe a new character, or a new location. Allow yourself to brainstorm for new events and ideas. You're still in the creative process of writing a book, so allow yourself to be creative. Giving yourself some new and cool things to look forward to in the draft will help you from feeling bored with the book.
What about you? How do you approach starting over on a half finished project? Any advice for me? Other than lots of chocolate of course.
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