The Hardest Part of Writing the First Draft

No one can deny that writing a first draft is a difficult, oftentimes painful experience. In spite of the fact that many authors consider it to be their favorite part of the process (and almost all prefer it over the dreaded editing), it’s not only pleasurable, it is necessary—which always means it will be hard.

Yet even through the long, sleepless nights, the lips chapped and bleeding from chewing on them (I’m guilty of this one, I’m afraid) and the worry about writing a reasonable climax, there is one thing that claims highest on the list of difficult things.

That, with no contest, is starting the novel.

Some novels start easily. IOTW originally started because I was curious as to what the NaNo Young Writer Program would suggest as my word count goal, so I started typing a random story in a browser on my sister’s computer. Somehow, a one-hundred thousand novel was born out of that. Strong, a novel from a few years ago, didn’t start too well; nor did Prince’s Rose, or Joy of Stars, all of which I had to start over several times on that first night of writing. Sometimes novels start easily, but sometimes—nay, usually, they are difficult to start.

We have to start the novel to go anywhere with it. People come up with bizarre ways of trying to get around the nervousness of beginning a novel—not the least of which ranked in oddity being starting in the middle and then going back to fill in the beginning later. I would think that my brain would die from such a lack of continuity that would result from that—but, worse, some people just give into the nervous, vaguely sick feeling in the pit of their stomach, and they never start what would be a brilliant story.

The truth is that there is only one way to remove this obstacle from your path. That way is to sit down, put your fingers on the keyboard, and start typing. You will have to fight your way through the nerves, for there is no way around them. There is only once chance, and that is to start, and start now. 

Yes, you may delete it. Yes, you may hate it. Yes, it may be horrible. My first few sentences of Prince’s Rose that I discarded ranged from being nightmare-inducing to a Grammar-Nazi to just plain confusing (“Wait… Was the floor creaking? Or was that the clock? Well, something’s ticking, so that must be the clock… Would that make it the floor creaking? All on its own?). It didn’t really matter, though, for those sentences, removed or not, gave me a springboard into the story. When I eventually settled on my final first sentence, I was ready to write the story, and my nerves had subsided.

You will most likely end up cringing at your first sentence at some point, maybe even cringing at the one you decided to keep. But as long as that first sentence is down and being followed by more words, it doesn’t matter, because you will have gotten through the hardest part of writing a novel.

One million miles,

It starts with a step or two.

(Michael W. Smith)

Just start. Take the first step, and write the novel. From this point on, you’re on the journey—it may be hard, but you’re well on your way to victory.

What have been your experiences with starting novels? Any first sentences that you would like to share? (If you share yours, I’ll share mine!)

The Treatment of Henchmen

Dear Villains (etc., etc.,)

My name is Athelas Hale, the writer and president of The Association for Protection of Character’s Rights (AfPoCR). Recently it has come to my attention that some of you treat your henchmen (etc., etc.,) in less-than ideal ways. While it’s not the AfPoCR’s job to regulate what villains or heroes do, technically, some of us here at the association were concerned about the way you’ve been operating. While, of course, being villains (etc., etc.,) you most likely won’t even open this letter upon receiving it, I do hope that some of you will at least peek at this missive.

Among other behaviors that I’ve noticed, I’ve seen that you have a tendency to kill off your henchmen. Or—worse, some say—you throw them in the dungeon and lock them up for the rest of time. Now, some of you undoubtedly don’t do this, understanding that life isn’t to be wasted (in which case, why on earth are you reading this letter for villains?) but some of you have done it in the past, and will do it again. I could not help but noticed that the logic of this is lacking slightly. Please allow me to explain.

As a villain, you must have a certain amount of henchmen (etc., etc.,) to do things for you. Some of you may prefer to storm the castle alone, but most of you will most likely need a bit of backup. As the treatment of henchmen becomes more widely known across the worlds, less and less people are planning to be henchmen. Some decide to turn into farmers, or heroes—some even decide to become supervillains themselves. The supply is slowly running low, and every time you kill a clumsy minion, you make yet another spot in your army that has no one to fill it. While you might be able to replace him, the fatality of your wrath will not only strike fear into the hearts of your other henchmen; it will also slowly eat away at their loyalty until fear is the only thing tying them to you. While some may consider this to be a good thing, I have found that when faced with two things they fear—you and your enemy who you are riding off to battle—henchmen usually take the easiest, most logical road. They run away from both. While some of you can manage with only a few or no henchmen, if you’re honest most of you will know that you would be proverbial toast without your vast hordes of minions to back you up. Worse, your henchmen might not only fear you, but hate you enough to be willing to stab you in the back when you give them the first opportunity (e.g. the untimely fate of Saruman.)

As for locking your minions up forever, who can afford that? I know most of you surely can’t—the budget has been tight these days for everyone. You either feed them or you kill them, and we’ve been over killing them already. Not only will you be obliged to feed your locked up henchmen, another possibility is that your enemy will be locked up and stuck in the same dungeon. Your henchman, who is now looking for a chance to relieve you of the burden of your head, will be able to not only help them, but be helped by them.

One thing that henchmen have recently been complaining about is their reputation. You, as their overlord, should be looking out for their public image. Henchmen have found a joke circulating around the internet (I’m sorry if that hasn’t been discovered where you are. Even in places without internet, henchmen are picking these things up) about their inability to aim, about their lack of intelligence, about their inability to tell the sound of a rock from the sound of a person invading your fortress. Now, these henchmen try very hard—they really do. Most of your men come from poor families with little education and no place to go, so their inability to read has branded them as unintelligent, and no one ever taught them the basics of patrolling a castle or fighting a war. Unless you’ve created your own version of the orcs (a very clever move on Morgoth’s part), be aware that your henchmen will not only get restless with the continued mockery of the common people, but they’ll also be needing a proper education to do their best at serving you. Train their ears, teach them to read, and most definitely teach them how to properly aim with their weapon. Also, avoid making your henchmen have long shifts while watching important prisoners, as they may grow tired and fall asleep, thus giving your prisoner an easy escape. Please be aware that embarrassed henchmen may hold you responsible for their bad reputation, and may grow too eager to prove themselves. Such plans on the part of henchmen can backfire and damage your whole operation.

We all know that some of you can grow very frustrated with the actions of your henchmen. Yet few of you take the time to move among your henchmen, be there for them when they need you, listen to them when they speak, and pay attention to what they think. Henchmen are most often sentient creatures that need a good leader as much as any of us do. Be that good leader for your henchmen. Give them someone to look up to, someone to trust. Let them know that you, their leader, will always be there for them. Pay attention to the way they think so you’ll know whether to be the caring father of the charismatic captain. Always know if your henchmen are frightened or nervous, and know how to allay their fears. They’ll not only follow you—they’ll love you. They’ll die for you, and not out of fear that’s easily broken; out of a complete devotion to you. Be their family, and they will be yours. Be loyal, and they will be loyal to you. Understand them, and you’ll not only find yourself getting frustrated less, you’ll also be able to teach your henchmen how to best go about the things you want them to do.

Beware, also, of threatening the families of your henchmen. Certainly they love their mum and would do anything for her, but that not only makes them hate you just a little more every day, it also gives your enemies a way of winning their affections. Should your enemy decide to simply rescue the families of your henchmen, you will have just lost your entire army.

Since I’m sure you all have certain supervillain-like duties that need attending to, I shall have to end this letter at that. Please remember, though, all of you villains, evil-overlords, criminal leaders, usurpers, and all the rest of you—always remember that henchmen are worth taking good care of. If you would like to know more, simply go to the AfPoCR’s website (if you can find it; I’m afraid it’s unavailable in many worlds, including but not limited to: Earth, Narnia,* Anthropos,** Amara,*** and Rudiobus****) where you can find a link to purchase the newest guide, The Care and Keeping of Henchmen: A Guide for the Busy Supervillain.

Sincerely,

Athelas Hale

(Writer and President of The Association for Protection of Character’s Rights. (AfPoCR))

 

*Narnia: From The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. No copyright is intended and no right is claimed to these novels.

**Anthropos: From The Archives of Anthropos, by John White. No copyright is intended, and no claim is made to these novels.

***Amara: From The Dragon Keeper Chronicles, by Donita K. Paul. No copyright is intended, and no claim is made to these novels.

****Rudiobus: From The Tales of Goldstone Wood, by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. No copyright is intended, and no claim is made to these novels.

 

Guest Post by R. J. Larson

Happy Wednesday, readers! ‘Tis the last Wednesday of November and the series of Guest Posts is drawing to an end. As the final guest poster, it is my pleasure to present the author of  The Books of the Infinite, Dawnlight, Seasons of a Woman’s Heart, and more. Ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for R. J. Larson!

Athelas, thank you for inviting me to guest-post on Red Lettering. Fair warning, one day, Athelas, you might open an R. J. Larson book and realize that I’ve named a character after you. Whenever I see your name, I’m convinced that an Athelas protagonist would blend right in with the Infinite series characters!

However, if I allow myself to contemplate a Protagonist Athelas, I’ll stray down a novel-sized bunny trail and this post won’t be finished for six months, so…onward!

Readers and Writers, Athelas asked me to consider writing a post about getting published. A basic how-to-get-started article. Yes, I can do that! The first step, of course, is to write. Finish your manuscript, and then revise, revise, r-e-v-i-s-e. If you can’t afford to pay a professional editor or at least a proof-reader, then you MUST study up on editing basics and do the work yourself. Be sure you’ve studied up on punctuation usage. Even if you intend to publish through CreateSpace or Amazon, you must edit your work and cleanse it of imperfections, or readers will let you and the entire world know that you’ve made mistakes.

Therefore, practice your prose and polish the personalities populating your work. But what then?

I can give you all the standard advice as you prepare to present your work to agents and publishers. Create a presentation package: Prepare a one-page synopsis and then add a few marketing paragraphs comparing your work to similar books already available in the market. Tell your future agent or publisher why your book will stand out. If you have marketing plans, offer them in writing within this presentation package. Add three polished chapters (preferably chapters 1, 2, and 3) and proof read everything repeatedly. Better yet, have someone else proof-read! Once you’ve finished your presentation package, (if you haven’t done so already) make contacts. Go to conferences. Enter contests. Join local writing groups, if you find one that suits your style. Get noticed—in a good way.

Truly standard advice. But let’s talk about the non-standard advice.

As you write, have you evaluated your goals? Your purpose in writing?

Any traditionally published author will tell you what the general public believes: Authors are rich. Once you’re published, you can retire. You will be famous! The world is your oyster!

Reality check.

Most authors have ordinary day jobs, or a VERY supportive family. Even bestselling authors need regular income, which doesn’t happen often if you’re a writer, so other income is essential. Plan for it.

But here’s the secret: Writing’s not about the money.

Never let it be about the money. Let writing be your passion!

Yes, checks in the mail are wonderful, and if you’re successful, writing does help with bills that the day job doesn’t cover. However, writing doesn’t earn my living; it fills my soul.

If writing is your passion, you will write no matter what the future brings.

Wait. Are you wondering about the rewards?

Yes, there are rewards. Through the written word, I pursue my Creator and share my worship of Him with readers. Through Biblically-inspired fantasy adventures, I offer my spiritual witness to others, even as my stories minister and offer entertainment and food for thought.

My rewards are my readers—even the readers I haven’t met—and writing for my readers IS joy.

Blessings, as you pursue and perfect your craft!

R . J. Larson

 

R. J. Larson is the author of numerous devotionals featured in publications such as The Women’s Devotional Bible, and Seasons of a Woman’s Heart. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband and their two sons, and is suspected of eating chocolate and potato chips at her desk while writing. The Books of the Infinite series marks her debut in the fantasy genre.

 

R. J. is also known as Kacy Barnett-Gramckow!

Visit Kacy’s site here:  http://www.gramcoink.com

You can connect with R. J. Larson here:

Website

Facebook

Blog

Guest Post by Stephanie Ricker

Happy Wednesday, readers! Today I have the pleasure of having as a guest poster the author of A Cinder’s Tale, The Cendrillon Cycle, as well as various pieces of fiction in magazines. Please welcome Stephanie Ricker!

 

Hello, everyone, and thank you to Athelas for hosting me!

Somewhere in some idyllic land, writers may well exist who are able to craft a flawless first draft, requiring no revisions, editing, or improvements of any kind—but I have yet to meet one. For us mere mortals, our first drafts require seemingly interminable polishing, and we all have blind spots when it comes to the flaws in our manuscripts. (What possessed me to use the word “sheepish” five times in as many pages?  Did I really reuse the same line twice in two different chapters? How did I manage to forget that character was even in the scene?)

As both a writer and an editor, I have the privilege of looking at editing from both sides.

As an editor confronted with a new manuscript, I may be looking for vastly different things, depending on what type of edit I’ve been asked to perform. Some clients are looking for help with large, overarching issues. Their manuscripts are still in rough draft form and have been minimally revised, and the authors are seeking assistance with structure, plot, character, etc. In such cases, I make suggestions like these:

• Your premise is good, but the plot loses coherency around chapter 5, and by chapter 7, I was completely lost. Here are some ways to clarify the sequence of events for your readers.
• I loved your heroine, but she acts inconsistently when comparing her behavior in chapter 2 with her behavior in chapter 4. Here are some ways to make sure she retains her unique voice throughout and doesn’t morph unintentionally.

Harping on typos or minor grammatical issues at this stage is unhelpful; the author will likely be doing major revisions and rewriting, so the manuscript is still in flux.

Other manuscripts have solid bones, but need some help fleshing out the details and finding just the right word.  For these clients, I’ll actually reword awkward phrases, insert suggested language, and make comments like these:

• I had to read this line three times before I understood what you meant. Consider rephrasing to something like this.
• “Obsequious” doesn’t seem like quite the word you’re looking for in this context. How about “sycophantic” instead?

Manuscripts at this stage are closer to their final form, but typically not close enough to where it would be beneficial to copyedit the material, as rewording is still going on and errors may still creep in after this point.

When an author has rewritten, revised, and polished her manuscript as much as possible, then it’s finally time for a copy edit. This edit catches all of the little stuff: typos, punctuation errors, grammatical errors, etc. Even grammatically perfect authors tend to have the occasional missing word (“I went the store,” etc.) because our brains helpfully fill in missing words for us, particularly when we’re reading our own writing. “Oh,” the brain says, “You obviously meant, ‘I went to the store.’ I’ll just fix that for you while you read so you don’t even notice you left it out.”

Editors are not immune to this fill-in effect either, so typically I read a manuscript three times during copy edit. On the first read, I start at the beginning and read to the end (shocking, I know), catching the worst of the errors. On the second read, I start at the end of the manuscript and work my way to the beginning, reading each sentence carefully before moving to the sentence above it. This helps me catch missing words and other brain fill-ins since I’m less wrapped up in the story. Then, on my third read, I read through from beginning to end again, looking for the last few errors hiding in the manuscript.

So since I can catch the flaws in other people’s manuscripts, does that mean I can catch all of the flaws in my own work? HA! No. The thing about constructive criticism of literature, as with so many things in life, is that it is infinitely easier to see the flaws in someone else than to see them in yourself. I am frequently busted by my editors for the very same mistakes for which I (politely) scold my clients. While being an editor has made me more aware of the shortcomings in my own work, it has certainly not enabled me to be aware of all (or even most) of them.

As a writer, I have several trusted beta readers who kindly read my rough manuscripts and give me useful suggestions on character, plot, and the like. Once I make revisions based on these, I often purchase a professional edit for more detailed suggestions. Typically this edit exposes a LOT of my blind spots.  I do sometimes do my own copyediting, but I’m well aware I’m playing with fire there, as it’s easy to miss my brain’s fill-in spots.

Whether I’m editing my own work or someone else’s work, the goal is the same: to produce a manuscript that is as clear, correct, and consistent as it can possibly be. When writers and editors work together as a team, we create the best possible versions of our story: one that readers will love to read!

Stephanie Ricker is a writer, editor, and tree-climber. She adores the cold and the snow but lives in North Carolina anyway, where she enjoys archery, hiking, and exploring with friends. 

Stephanie’s first novella, A Cinder’s Tale, was published in Five Glass Slippers, an anthology of Cinderella-themed stories. The first volume of The Cendrillon Cycle, a follow-up series of novellas, will release on December 21^st. Stephanie’s fiction has also been published in Bull-Spec, a magazine of speculative fiction, and in four consecutive editions of The Lyricist, Campbell University’s annual literary magazine.

Connect with Stephanie here:

• Blog: Quoth the Girl
• Goodreads: Author page
• Facebook: Author page
• Twitter: @QuothTheGirl

 

Writing That Rough Draft: Guest Post by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Happy Wednesday, readers! Today I have great pleasure in having, as a guest-poster, the award-winning author of the Tales of Goldstone Wood Series. Everyone, please give a virtual round of applause for Anne Elisabeth Stengl!

Writing That Rough Draft

By Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Hullo, readers! The lovely Athelas Hale, hostess of this blog, has invited me to write a guest post about rough drafting a manuscript. This is a timely topic for me as I am in the midst of drafting my newest novel in the ongoing Tales of Goldstone Wood series . . . always a character-building experience, let me tell you! So, with this topic very present in my life just now, let me give you a little rundown of what rough-drafting looks like for me.

For starters, I never try to write a book that is not at least partially outlined. My stories tend to be quite long—the shortest around 120,000 words, but most significantly longer. As such, they are also quite complicated, and without an outline I would quickly become lost and/or overwhelmed. So I always make certain I’ve got at least a short summary (2-5 sentences) of what I want to have take place in each chapter, pinpointing specifically those moments that will lead to the next chapter. That way I’ve always got some good forward-moving momentum.

When it comes to actually writing narrative, though, it’s all too easy for me to clam up and not know what to do. Once upon a time, I had thought writing would become easier the more I did it . . . but now that I’m drafting the 8th novel in my series, I know this will never be true. The pressure increases for each book I release—the pressure of readerly expectations, series continuity, and my own self-inflicted pressure of wanting to always write the very best book I have ever written.

If I let myself concentrate on these pressures, I’d never write another word. It would be too intimidating!

Instead, I start my books by pulling out a scrap of notepaper and scribbling down a scene. Usually this is a pretty rough scene, though on occasion it’s been good material and ended up in the final draft. But the point is not to write polished final-draft story; it’s to simply get the story started. Once a beginning is truly begun in longhand, I open up a file and type it out. Now I have the seeds of a manuscript . . .

While drafting this rough draft, I find it extremely important to write the whole thing as quickly as I possibly can. If I slow down and think about it too much, I’ll start crippling myself with doubt and self-critiques. But that’s not what the story needs during the rough-drafting stage. No, no, the story simply needs to be written. Those later drafts are for critiques and edits and polish.

So, following my outline—in which I’ve already worked out the rise and fall of plot leading at last to the climax and resolution—I pound out words as quickly as possible. These days, that means approximately 4,000 words a day. This is an ambitious goal for most writers and not one I recommend to everyone! But for me it works well.

For this particular draft, I have also been setting weekly goals of 20,000 words. Which means if I produce a steady 4,000 words a day, five days a week, I’ll meet my goal. But I include a couple of rules to help me meet this goal. They are:

“Golden Daughter,” the most recent installment in the Tales of Goldstone Wood Series.

1) I have to reach 4,000 words. Even if I don’t want to. And if that means writing some really bad material that I know will never make it into the final book, so be it! Words must be written. They can be altered later, but later is not now.

2) As soon as I meet my 4,000-word quota, I have to stop. Even if the story is going really well and I feel like I’d like to finish the scene! Nope. The goal is met. I must stop and close the file for the rest of the day, and not even look back over what I’ve done.

Both of these rules can be frustrating at times. I have those days when the writing is simply not working, and I hate trying to meet the quota. But as long as I’ve given myself permission to write badly, I can keep going. The important thing is to turn off the inner drive for perfection during this stage.

The second rule can be equally frustrating when I’m on a roll. I can write 5,000 words a day pretty often, and I have written as much as 11,000 words in a single day. So why should I stop at 4,000 if it’s coming along so well?

Well, 4,000 words is a comfortable goal for me. It’s a lot of word count without being extraordinary. Which means I end the day tired but not exhausted . . . which in turn, means I don’t get up the next morning dreading my work. I look forward to it.

This is an important lesson every young writer should learn about rough drafting: Successful drafting requires goal setting. But be certain to set goals that are both reasonable for you to achieve and simultaneously pushing you to produce. For me, that’s 4,000 words a day, five days a week. For you, it might be some other word count or some other number of writing days. I know of one author who writes 10,000 words, two days a week. Yikes! That sounds crazy to me. But it works for her. Another author I know aims for 1,000 words a day, six days a week. Sure, that’s only 6,000 words a week, but in ten weeks she’ll have 60,000 words of manuscript written. Not too bad, honestly!

Once you’ve established a reasonably challenging goal, however, it’s up to you to see that you stick to it through all distractions, both external and internal.

I hope this gives all of you aspiring writers some interesting ideas for how to tackle your rough drafts. Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be written!

 

 

ANNE ELISABETH STENGL makes her home in North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a kindle of kitties, and one long-suffering dog. When she’s not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and practices piano, painting, and pastry baking. Her novel Starflower was awarded the 2013 Clive Staples Award, and her novels Heartless, Veiled Rose, and Dragonwitch have each been honored with a Christy Award.

To learn more about Anne Elisabeth Stengl and her books visit: http://www.AnneElisabethStengl.blogspot.com

You can connect with Anne Elisabeth Stengl at these sites:

Tales of Goldstone Wood blog

Facebook – Anne Elisabeth Stengl Author Page

Sign up for Anne Elisabeth’s Newsletter!

Guest Post by Jaye L. Knight

Good afternoon, readers. Today I have the pleasure of presenting to you a guest post by the author of of Resistance, the Makilien Trilogy, Where Do I Start, and others. Everyone, give a round of virtual applause for Jaye L. Knight!

—

Inspiration is the key to every story. How often do you just decide to write a story with not a single idea as to what it’s going to be about? Even if you did, your story would likely begin to take shape based on inspiration from some outside source, whether it be books, movies, or a personal experience. Fuel for stories is everywhere. Any little spark of inspiration can lead to the most amazing story ideas, especially when you mix a bunch of a little sparks together.

Because of this, I am always looking at and analyzing things with the mind of a writer—from everyday life to epic action films. You never know when something is going to ignite your imagination and bring a new character or adventure to life. Imagination is everything, but there are times where it can run a little dry, so I try to surround myself with inspiration. My room, for instance, is covered in an assortment of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Sherlock, Pirates of the Caribbean, and other such posters. Why? Well, I love characters. To me, they’re the most important aspect of a story. I like to be surrounded by my favorite fictional characters to remind myself of what makes a great character.

Reading and movies/TV shows are also very important for keeping my imagination overflowing. Absorbing other writers’ techniques or watching an adventure unfold on the screen keeps my mind primed to tell my own stories and opens up a whole slew of new possibilities.

When you begin to see everything in light of a potential story it could contain, sometimes you end up with even more ideas than you know what to do with. I’ll never have time to write all the story ideas that float around in my head. But that doesn’t mean I dismiss them either. I always keep notes on the ideas that come to me. I have a document on my computer of all the bits of inspiration that really stick with me. They’ll never all become their own story, but you never know when you can take elements or characters from different ideas and combine them.

Once some of these ideas take hold and present me with a story that demands to be written, it comes time to develop it. Now, I’m not technically a plotter. I don’t have the patience or desire to write out detailed outlines before I actually begin a story, but I do need to know where the story is going. I have to know where it ends so I know what I’m aiming for. And even though I lean much more heavily toward being a pantser with my writing, I do like to know, at least most of, my major plot points. Then it’s like connecting the dots.

What I like to do when I’m developing a story is have a binder with different sections for planning. For years, this was always in a blue three-ring binder. Now I’ve sort of switched to digital and use OneNote, which I’ve come to love because it’s just like a digital binder. I usually have three main sections for planning—Notes, Scenes, and Information. In my Notes section, I write like I’m writing a journal. This is basically me talking to myself about the story and writing out what I see for it. It’s amazing how this opens up my imagination and helps me figure things out. Whenever something just doesn’t add up or make sense, if I write out my thoughts about it, chances are, a solution will present itself. This is how the whole story really comes together. The more notes I take, the better.

In my Scenes section, I write down any bits of dialog or future scenes I have in mind so I don’t forget them. Never trust yourself to remember something. Write it down, especially if you have a scene very clearly playing out in your head. Then all these scenes are like puzzle pieces that I work in as the story goes along.

In Information I record all the little details I have to make sure are consistent throughout the story. Things like distances, hair colors, eye colors, heights, etc. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to look back through everything you’ve already written to see what color eyes you gave someone. Having all these facts in one place really helps and saves time. And don’t forget a story calendar! This is vitally important (at least for me). I always write down each major scene on a calendar to make sure things happen when they should.

When I have a story I know is my next project, I usually start writing the first draft within a day or two, but the development of it continues right along with writing. I’m constantly taking notes about future scenes or plot points. This approach may not work for everyone, but every writer is different. I work best with the creative freedom of no set outline. Others need the structure and “road map” to get their story where it needs to go. Finding the right approach for you is essential to productivity. No approach is right or wrong. Only find the best for you. After all, it’s your own personal individuality that makes your story unique.

Jaye L. Knight is a 25 year old independent author with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean NA fiction. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope.

Jaye is a homeschool graduate and has been penning stories since the age of eight. She was previously published as Molly Evangeline.

You can find out more about Jaye and her books at these sites: Website | Blog | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter

 

The Grand NaNo Post

“Ah,” most of you say, “I wondered when she would write a post about it.” 

You should never have worried, readers. Of course I shall write a post about my beloved NaNoWriMo! The fact that it grows dangerously near to November means nothing.

Actually, my post comes so late because I have very little to say. For the benefit of those who don’t know what it is, I have come to summarize. For those of you who do know, and will be doing it, I come to offer my support and encouragement.

I also come to make a few announcements about what shall be happening on the blog during November.

But first, for those who don’t know of the Grand National Novel Writing Month:

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

Or so says their website. In truth, those three sentences hardly scratch the surface of what NaNoWriMo is. Perhaps it’s professionalism that keeps them from it, but in any case, it’s up to us, the participants, to really say what NaNoWriMo is all about.

It’s about thirty days of caffeine, frozen fingers as the weather gets colder, and more time with your novel that most of us will get in any other thirty days.

It’s about writing one word at a time, pounding them out even when we don’t feel like it, because we have a deadline to meet. It’s also about writing whole scenes, chapters, sections, novels, at once.

It’s about learning how to write, through practice. Well, it’s about learning how to get the first draft out, anyway.

It’s about gathering in groups of people to Word War until the sound of a timer is perpetually ringing in your ears. 

It’s about learning to fall in love with your novel, even as you crash into bed exhausted each night.

It’s about remembering what it feels like to be a writer.

Helpful Tools During NaNoWrimo

Write or Die. (Well, not literally, but that would produce a lot of words, wouldn’t it?)

Write or Die is a program that pulls up a blank text box for you to write in. You set your time goal or word goal, and you cannot do anything else until you reach it. I’m afraid I cannot give you much information about the new version, because I always go back to the old one, which I find to be less filled with distractions. However, I think you can get all the information from the websites.

The New Write or Die

The Old Write or Die

Word Wars 

Word Wars can be set up whenever or wherever. Two or more writers pick an amount of time and race each other: whoever gets the most words wins, though most people don’t really care about who wins. The quick sprints are incredibly helpful for reaching daily word goals.

I have heard that Go Teen Writers will be setting up a Word War during November, though I’m afraid I don’t know for sure.

There’s a group board for Word Wars on Pinterest where you can set up Word Wars with people. You can join the board if you comment saying you would like to, and I don’t think anyone would mind if you just joined in one of the Word Wars without being a part of the board.

You can set up a Word War with whomever you would like, basically wherever you would like. All you need is another person who would like to join!

You can also send me a NaNoMail if you would like, and if I’m around I can Word War with you. My NaNo profile is here.

A Baby Names Website

Because occasionally, we’ll suddenly realize that there’s a character who needs to join the grand quest, or briefly step in to say something. Personally, I use babynames.com most of the time. You can search for names, search for meanings, search for nationalities, search for first and last letters, and search for syllable length. You’ll find the place to search on the left sidebar. Of course, using, “(((???)))” or “Mr. [Somebodyorother]” always works if you don’t have time to find a name, too.

Music and a Good Pair of Headphones. 

Find them now. You’ll most likely want them at some point in the month, even if you don’t usually listen to music while you write.

Other Tips

Keep coffee (or tea, or something hot) easily accessible.

They say don’t edit, but if you’re like me, you’ll probably end up doing just a little bit of editing. Like, say, typos. I’m going to go against the NaNoWriMo catch phrase and say, that’s okay. Don’t over-edit, but if the typos are driving you crazy, right click, click the correct option, move on. Don’t pull your hair out over it.

Back up your novel every~single~day. I cannot stress this enough. You really don’t want to have your computer crash half-way through NaNo and realize that you’ve just lost your novel.

Get up, run around, find something active to do every once in a while.

Know where you’re supposed to be every day. Don’t panic too much if you miss a day, but keep updating your novel and watch as your word count keeps going up. They put the “stats” page on there for a reason. Use it. It’s incredibly helpful.

Connect with other writers you know, if you can. Doing it as a community makes it ten times better.

And, about the blog…

I’m going to be trying for 70,000 words this NaNo (though maybe not officially… So, shhh), and I realized that I wouldn’t have time to make the goal and write anything good for you here, so—

(No, don’t worry. The blog won’t be going on another hiatus.)

—I asked four awesome people to guest post on the blog this November. All published authors, all with excellent work, they’ll all be bringing excellent writing advice to you. You should definitely be looking forward to these next four Wednesdays.

Unfortunately, the Character Interviews will be paused for the month of November. They’ll make a return in December though.

Well, readers? Are you doing NaNoWriMo? What are you writing about? Make use of the comment box!

The Worst Thing They Can Do Is Say No

At some point or other, we all suffer from the bane of a writer’s existence: nerves.

We question whether or not we’re good enough, whether or not our writing is good enough, and whether or not we’ll ever make it to publication. While I haven’t yet started querrying agents or publishers, I’ve submitted my work to various different places, from contests to critique groups, and found that nerves tend to act up whenever we need them to be silent. “They shan’t like it…” Our nerves whisper to us; sometimes they even go as far as to say, “They’ll hate it… Don’t even submit it… It’s terrible…” 

Perhaps it is terrible; I don’t know. Some of my pieces have certainly been cringe-worthy over the past several years, but that’s not the point of this article.

At one time in the life of a dedicated writer,  he or she reaches the point where they’re ready for publication. Whether this writer decides to find an agent and then a publisher, or decides to find a publisher that doesn’t require an agent, the writer at one point must decide that he or she is either going to let their skill, the skill they’ve worked so hard on, go to waste; or he or she must decide to start pursuing publication.

If they decide they want to go with the second option, that’s when they start to get nervous.

Yet, hopefully, this writer will continue on, for they know the reason behind the work that they’re doing. They want to be published. They want to have their work released to the public, and they’re willing to work toward that goal. Right now, their work is unpublished, but they hope and dream that someday, it will be published.

But… They’re nervous. To the point where their hands shake and they re-read the email they’re going to send to the potential agent or publisher eighty times, at least. At last, though, they send the email.

And when the writer receives the reply, it is with regrets that the recipient of their email cannot, at this moment, publish their work.

Undaunted—well, maybe a little bit daunted, but not too much—they do it again.

And the reply is the same.

By this point, the writer is starting to be discouraged. And as he or she receives more rejections, the nerves turn into doubts: “Why bother sending it? They won’t want to publish me.” 

Dear discouraged author, do not allow yourself to be weighted down with past rejections. The very reason you’re querying these people is because you want to be published. You are unpublished now; these people, these agents and publishers, can do two things. They can publish you, or you can remain unpublished.

They can’t take anything away from you. If they send you a rejection, you are no less published than you were before;  in fact, you now have one less agent or publisher to worry about querying, so you have gained something.

The worst thing that they can do is say no. 

They cannot take away anything. You have lost nothing, and they cannot do anything worse than not give you something. You are no worse off than you were before, so when rejections come, you can dust off your hands and start again. You have nothing to lose. You do have something to gain.

To the Bitter End

Last week, we went over Three Ways to Not Start a Novel. The most logical next step would be to move on to the actual writing of the story, the things to do or to not do when we are ready to step into the main part of the story.

Because this would be the most logical step, the most obvious thing to happen here would be to not do it. Instead of the middle, let’s pretend we’ve had enough time to learn all about the main part of the novel; now we’re ready to learn about the end of the novel.

The end of the novel is perhaps one of the most important parts of the novel. The beginning is important because it is the doorway into your novel; the end is important because it is the doorway out. As we’re stepping out the door, the things that go on then and there will shape our whole memory of the book when we look back on it. It’s the last thing we see and one of the most clear things we’ll remember.

We don’t want our readers to hate the end of the book. Sometimes we want our readers to be sad at the end of our books; to sit there with a half-smile on their faces, holding the book tightly as they remember the great adventure they went through, and to feel disappointed that it’s over. Yet anger and sadness are different. By the time your reader has reached the end of the book, they’ve spent time on the book. By simply the fact that they’ve made it that far shows that they decided at one point to keep reading, to make it to the end with these characters. By the time they reach the end of the book, they’re ready for a great conclusion—and we don’t really want to disappoint them.

“To the bitter end!” Say the readers, and while hopefully they would be willing to go with the character even if the end did get bitter for the character, hopefully the way the story ends doesn’t end up being so bitter for the readers that they vow to never read any more of your books—and be serious about it.

Things to Avoid

Upon thinking of things to avoid or things to do when ending novels, I’m afraid that the first things that enter my head are those to avoid. So, as we did with the beginnings, we shall go over three ways to not end stories.

The dream. Dreams are splendid. I like dreams. Dreams come back again and again in IOTW as part of the plot. But waking up from a dream is not a good ending. At the moment, I can’t think of any time when I actually read a book like this, but I thought I ought to make that clear. If ever there is a moment when you are tempted to end your novel with, “And then she woke up—it had all been a dream!” Please, please do not. When we reach the end, we’ve invested emotional energy in your characters, ended up wanting to know how the story ends, and if authors try to wind it up with the it was all a dream line, we feel cheated. We will spend the next half-hour banging our head on the desk.

Someone Else Saves the Day. This one, I have seen done. When it came to the climax, the two main characters who we had all grown to love throughout the book ended up staying off to the side while a random, newly introduced character saved the day. By the time I had finished the novel I was left with a blank look and an irritation with the writer. We read the novel not because of the plot. We read because of the characters, most specifically the main characters. Even with the most splendid, thrilling plots, the author has failed if we don’t care what happens to the character. We want to see the character do whatever they’re supposed to do, learn whatever they’re supposed to learn, and come away triumphant.

When another character is introduced simply to save the day, we don’t find what we’re looking for. Even when the main character still ends up doing whatever they’re supposed to do, ect., it makes the story seem awkward and the plot seem disconnected from the characters. This is not what we, as authors, are aiming for.

The Saccharine-Sweet Ending. “And then, everything falls into place. The character saves the day and comes away with minor (if any) injuries, everything’s splendid, the danger’s taken care of, hip-hip-hooray.” We want to see grit. We want to see struggle; we might even want to see the character reach the point when all hope is lost. We want to have all of the adventure, all of the drama, all of the danger of the whole story magnified just before the ending, so that when it ends, when the character is victorious, it doesn’t ring hollow.

Things to Attempt

Let your reader go with your character the whole way, until the threat is vanquished. Let the character learn what they’re supposed to learn; let them do what they need to do to save the world. Make it hard. Make it count.

And then bring it to a conclusion. I know that some of you like cliffhanger endings, but every time I read one, I can’t say I enjoy it, and not because I’m anxious for the next one to come out. Cliffhangers, to me, feel like cheap excuses for not actually concluding the story. If you would like to draw one novel entirely together again, and then end on a cliffhanger note, do have at it, but please, conclude your book.

It’s slightly more difficult to provide examples on how to end books, as that would be the best way to give out spoilers in the world… So I simply let you go out. Find the endings that you liked. Find the ones that touched you, the ones you loved, the ones you felt were done incredibly well. Your assignment for this week is to go out and figure out what makes you like an ending. You can post it in the comments, if you’d like.

---

 

Note: Tomorrow is the end of the Get to Know Your Characters Challenge: Antagonist. If you’re going to participate, please remember to post it on your blog today or early tomorrow, and pass me the link to your blog through email or in a comment here.

Three Ways to Not Start a Novel

Scattered all over the internet are a half-million ways to not begin a novel. When I looked them up a little while ago,  I could not help but think that—though I’m sure they’re all splendid, logical reasons—it would be more than slightly discouraging for a beginning writer to look through the eight lists entitled “100 Worst Ways to Start a Novel.” It was not that there was so many of them (though I do think that can be a bit overwhelming at times) as much as how they went about presenting their information. “Don’t do this. Don’t do this. I hate this. Don’t do this. This is terrible.” The sites that gave reasons why it’s a bad idea to begin your novel like that were few and far between.

Even fewer are the ones that say how to do it correctly.

While these are far from official publisher or agent-type openings to avoid, these are three things at the beginning of stories that bother me as both a writer and a reader.

It was— Wait. Stop there. You were expecting “It was a dark and stormy night,” weren’t you? Oh. Well, if you insist, we’ll get to that next. For now, though, let’s discuss the two words it was that are so frequent in the beginning of books. The to-be verb paired with the ever-mysterious it seems to be one of the most common beginning to beginning authors’ beginning novels. This, more than any others, is one of the openings that will make me moan and set the book aside.

Normally, it’s best to remove the to-be verb as much as possible (“are,” “is,” “was,” “will be,” and “were,” are all to-be verbs) when we are telling a story; there is almost always a stronger way of saying whatever you are trying to say. For example: “She was running,” or “She ran.” Do note, though, that this does not apply to dialogue. We want our characters to be speaking as normal people would.

Since it’s best to remove the to-be verb, keeping it out of the first sentence, which is the doorway into your novel, is a good idea.

Google defines the word “it” as “used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified.” As the first word of your sentence, first sentence in the novel, you can’t possibly have previously referred to something. The word it has now become a fairly meaningless word in this context. Remove it, and replace it with the thing you’re speaking of. If you’re talking of the morning air? Talk about the morning air, not a mysterious it which we know nothing of.

“It was a dark and stormy night.” Since we’ve already been over the “it was,” let us not speak of it again, but instead tackle this sentence as a whole. To put it quite simply, this is practically the most cliché beginning to any story. Once upon a time, the words were original.

That was a very long time ago.

Again, ignoring the it was, we come to “a dark.” Most nights—at least where I come from—are dark. I wonder if it’s different in the rest of the world.  That taken care of, we’re left with “and stormy night.” These days,  it’s not suggested that you start your novel with a storm at all, though it’s not strictly forbidden. If you must start it with a storm, try for perhaps a more original introduction to the storm.

The Main Character is in (slightly random) Mortal Danger. This sort of opening is one that usually only receives a blank look, though I sometimes feel vaguely bad about it, what with all the trouble the characters are going through to make it exciting.

At the moment, though, we don’t particularly care if the character dies. I’m afraid ’tis so, heartless though it might seem; if the character died, we would slowly blink, say, “That was odd,” and not be overly concerned about it, because at this point we don’t know the character. Perhaps there have been a few stories where abruptly dropping us into dramatic, life-or-death situations have been well done, but I imagine that if I ever were to find a book, I would keep reading not because I was concerned about this character whose name I did not even know, but because of the mystery behind it.

The main problem with this type of beginning, though, is that when it’s coming from beginning writers, I often see meaningless danger. It’s very exciting drama, but it doesn’t tie in with the rest of the story. That, combined with the fact that we wouldn’t mind if the character decided to go and die, makes for an irritating beginning to a novel.

How, then, do we do it? 

“Mark Royce arrived at the latest African crisis by way of a United Nations Chopper.”

“Rare Earth,” Davis Bunn.

While I’m not entirely sure his style is my favorite, Davis Bunn’s first sentence in Rare Earth, impressed me with all the information it held. In this first sentence, we are introduced to the main character— Marc Royce, discovered where he was—Africa (and the fact that there is a crisis there), and how he arrived—by a United Nations Helicopter.

From this one sentence, we gain a large amount of information; more information, perhaps, then we needed in the first sentence, but it was helpful information nonetheless.

“Hill House, though abandoned, had remained unscathed during the years of the Dragon’s occupation.”

“Veiled Rose,” Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

From this first sentence of Veiled Rose, we gain information not about the main character, but about the story. We learn from this that Hill House has been abandoned, and that there has been a Dragon occupation in the past couple of years. We learn a bit about the setting from the style of the writing and have a peek into the world we’re about to enter.

“Great and golden, like an enormous, newly minted doubloon, the Caribbean sun presided over the waterfront.”

“The Angel’s Command,” Brian Jacques.

Here, we learn not only a bit of the location, but also perhaps the time period and a bit about the character. We find that we’re at a waterfront on the Caribbean in the time of doubloons; and that the character automatically compares the sun with doubloons.

In conclusion: (No, I wasn’t randomly putting those first sentences of books in here just for the sake of doing so.) The first sentence is the first step into your world. Make it count.

All of the best first sentences, those that stick us straight into the story, tell us something relevant. It’s splendid sometimes when your world is cold, but unless this will be a real, large part of the story, perhaps it wouldn’t be the best option for a first sentence. Whether it’s something about the setting, something about the character, something about the upcoming plot, tell us something that’s worth hearing.  This is our first impression into your novel. Tell us something that, even if we don’t realize it at the time, will matter as we go through the novel.

What is your favorite type of first sentence? What is the first sentence of your story?