Why should you finish what you start?

I'll be perfectly frank. I took almost the entire week of Thanksgiving away from #NaNoWriMo. My mother came to visit. We had an entire other family of friends sharing Thanksgiving Day meal, so our home needed lots of "prepping." My oldest daughter was in from Atlanta. I hadn't seen her in months. She brought the significant other, a young man I sincerely hope sticks around for years to come. Despite being on a bit of a NaNoWriMo roll, and managing to exceed my daily word goals almost every day of the challenge, I didn't want to disappear into my office over the holiday to keep the NaNoWriMo bus moving along. I wanted to spend time with the people I love. I needed a break, so I took one.

Needless to say, by Sunday, November 25, I had eaten and socialized my way into a 12,000 word hole. Finishing NaNoWriMo on time, with 50K, wasn't looking so promising.

But I pushed on. Here's why:

1. "Almost" is nice, too. I worked so hard the early part of the month. To give up, with only 12,000 words to go, when I had managed to write over 5,000 words on my best day, seemed like wimping out. I decided it was worth trying, even if I didn't make it. I had written more in three weeks than I usually write in three months. Why give up?

2. Finishing feels like a serious victory. I actually burst into tears of joy when I glanced down at my word count and realized I had jumped right over that 50K mark without even noticing. Goals are not always easy, but getting there is sweet. So, so sweet.

2. The story is worth the time. When I jumped right over 50K (without noticing), I was in the middle of a really tense ending scene. I was in the zone, baby. It was good stuff. It was a story that needed to be told, not just because I wanted to get to a certain word count number, but because the story is solid and worth spending a month to tell.

3. I said I would. Any goal, once it's out there, is a goal to be achieved or tossed away, like so many coins in the fountain. I said I would finish. It took a lot of effort to get even close, so not seeing it through, even from behind and with the likelihood of failure, would have felt like a goal lost for the wrong reasons.

Don't give up. Keep trying. Finish what you start. I'm rooting for you. You've got this.

Write on, my friends.

#NaNoWinner2018 #WIP #SCBWI #writingtip #writers #winner #fiction

Simply put, the beginning of a novel introduces characters and sets up conflict. The ending resolves the conflict and, usually, wraps things up. When writing a first draft, it’s natural for the MIDDLE of a work-in-progress to be a bit of a mess, while we writers try to get from beginning Point A to ending Point B, without putting readers, or ourselves, to sleep.
 
If you are tuckered from struggling to make it up and over the mountain that is the middle of your WIP, no worries. Here are several suggestions for fighting through the MESS-in-the-middle blues.
 
1. Flesh out character backstory. The more a reader knows about the “why,” the more he or she can connect with a character. Middles are for character development, both protagonist and antagonist. Dive into the second or third layers of those onions. Without strong, interesting characters, a story is just a series of actions without heart. A fast-paced action novel has its place in the market, no question, but use your messy middle to give readers a reason to also emotionally connect with and root for (or against) someone.
 
2. Drop in plot-furthering events. You know you want to get from Point A to Point B. What events can make that happen? Compile a list of sticky situations or specific events that will further your plot. This can be as simple as:

• Frank bumps into his ex at a bar and meets her new lover.
  
• A suspicious person is seen looking in Frank’s window.
  
• Frank receives a threatening letter with a dozen black roses.
  
• A riot occurs outside Frank’s massage parlor.
  

Try for scenes that naturally include tension (emotional or physical) between friends and/or between foes.
 
3. Be disorderly. Don’t obsess about writing scenes in the order you think they should fall in the story. THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT. If needed, you can rearrange scenes later, during the editing phase. Write scenes in an order that keeps you writing, pushing your word count higher and closer to that Point B ending. Re-order at a later date, when you’ve managed to get the bones of the novel down and are ready to push up your sleeves on that second, healthier, not-so-disorderly draft.
 
4. Skip it. There are going to be scenes that require more research. There are going to be scenes that require the right emotional frame of mind. There are also going to be scenes you'd just rather avoid writing at this moment. Don’t waste valuable time on something that slows you down. Write a simple synopsis paragraph about the chapter or scene you are avoiding. Use that paragraph as a placeholder. Skip over what you dread and write the scenes that excite you or that you feel prepared to take on. By the time Point B is in sight, you will be more motivated than ever to return to the placeholders and make "the end" a proper finish.
 
5. Refrain from editing. Again, THIS IS A FIRST DRAFT. Going back to “clean up” the first third of your story, every chance you have to sit down and write, may be a subconscious attempt to avoid dealing with the messy middle. Early over-editing could result in never getting to Point B. If you really can't silence your inner editor, only go back a few pages (a chapter or less) from your last stopping point, so you can scratch that editorial itch, reacquaint yourself with where you left off, and allow new writing to flow.
 
6. Do the math. Set daily goals, weekly goals, or monthly goals (National Novel Writing Month – Nov.). Keep track of word counts. Hold yourself accountable and get it done.
 
Most novels have three acts. Act II may be the hardest to write, but, eventually, you’ll breach the top of that MESS-in-the-middle mountain and find yourself barreling down the slippery slope toward Point B. That’s a time to celebrate. You can do it!
 
Happy writing, my messy friends.
 
Artwork courtesy of Michelle Haas.

WRITER'S BLOCK —

Curse the thing. it happens to the best of us.

Here are 5 TIPS for dealing with the doubt and breaking through to progress your writing.

1. Just keep writing. Hit a slow spot? Stalled in the middle of a thought or don't know where to go from here? Write something, anything. Even if it's the phrase "I don't know what to write," over and over again, keep those fingers on the keyboard and at least go through the motions. Eventually, out of sheer boredom and stubbornness, you'll return to the glory that is your work-in-progress.

2. Walk away. Literally, go for a walk to clear your head. Take a bike ride. Jog around the block. Weed the flower beds. Whatever. Physical activity can free your mind up, allowing you to work out the issues with your story in your head while your body is otherwise occupied. You're still actively solving problems, just looking at them from a different angle.

3. Give yourself a deadline. Whether it is jumping in on an annual writing challenge (such as NaNoWriMo - writing a 50K word novel in the month of Nov.) or joining a critique group that meets ever second Tuesday of the month or having your mom call you every night to get a progress report, make yourself, and your writing, accountable to someone else. News reporters must meet daily deadlines for their editors. So can you. It's much harder to make excuses for not writing when you make your progress a spectator sport.

4. Send the self-editor on VACA. Rather than edit a page to death before moving on to the next, consider writing without looking back at your work until you've hit a certain page count goal (or even wait until you are completely done). Editing your own work can be just as gratifying after the story is down. Don't use the excuse "I'll just clean this up a bit" to avoid moving on and pushing through whatever "block" you've bumped up against. Choosing to accept a crappy first draft can be incredibly freeing.

5. Read. We've all gotten lost in a good book when we should be working on something. In the case of writer's block, sometimes picking up a book in the same genre in which you are working can actually help get the creative juices flowing again. We'll call this "research." Go one step further ... sit down and read the first several chapters of a book you've already read and loved. Read it, this time, for structure and really analyze what worked and what didn't. Lay the book aside and think about your own work and how you can improve it, based on what you just read. With luck, this will be enough to move that writer's block out of the way.

Out, damned spot ... um ... writer's block. Be gone.

Happy writing, my friends!

#amediting #writersblock #WIP #NaNoWriMo #amwriting #writingtips #writetip #shakespeare

Seems only appropriate...

One day after I hit the 10,000 word milestone for my National Novel Writing Month project, "Charlotte's Choice," I wish to talk to you about quality vs. quantity.

There is no perfect process when writing the "next great American novel."

Let me say that again.

There is no perfect process.

As a writer, one must choose how to go about telling one's story. Will the process include a 30-page outline (months spent creating) and character sketches for even the most minor of players? Will the process involve fully editing and perfecting each chapter before moving on to the next? OR will the process be more of a visceral, fly by the seat of the pants risk, hammered out over a weekend with no sleep, a vat of coffee, and one's favorite sweatpants for company?

Maybe a combination of all three? Perhaps.

The point is, each writer is different. Each process may also be different, yet, successfully produce a quality piece.

As a participant of NaNoWriMo, the November writing challenge that pushes writers to abandon self-editing for a month and concentrate on just getting the story down, quickly and concisely, I can attest that the biggest challenge, in forcing that word quantity higher, is the realization that the quality of my work is not exactly up to par.

That's really the challenge here, for me, because this process is so unlike my usual way of doing things.

As a past news reporter, I lived with hard deadlines for so long I got used to self-editing my work as I go. That is a handy trick in news writing, but, perhaps, a hurdle in the fiction realm. Although I've completed a 300-page young adult novel, it took me a ridiculously long time to do it. There were times I thought I'd never make it past page 30, since I couldn't seem to stop backing up to the beginning and re-reading (and re-editing) from page one, just about every time I turned on the computer. In that process, I believe some of the personality of my writing fell away. My work became a bit too clean ... a little less interesting. I think I literally edited the joy out of my writing.

Not good.

That is why I chose to do NaNoWriMo this year. I want to cure myself of the habit of overthinking every sentence, too early in the process. I want to put the story first and the pretty sentences second, although I do hope, when I get around to editing, I discover at least a few pretty sentences tumbled onto the page at first writing. This November, there is a freedom in my writing, a freedom to write badly but often. That freedom exists because I've committed to writing 50,000 words in 30 days. The quality must wait. It is the basis of my story and the word quantity that matters, at the moment. NaNoWriMo is all about challenging yourself to throw down words and clean up the mess later.

Yesterday, as I cruised toward my milestone of 10K, I couldn't help but notice the final five pages of that endeavor were, quite frankly, crap. As in fall-asleep-at-my-keyboard crap.

That's a mess that will require a bucket and some sweat and tears, later down the road, after I've met my 50K goal. But at least I will have something to edit in December. Most other Decembers I do not. And THAT is exactly the point of NaNoWriMo. In December, I can put quality first, quantity last ... as I clean up a completed (be it messy) novel.

There is no perfect process, but I'm hoping this one proves a breakthrough for me.

Happy writing, my friends.

#nanowrimo #WIP #AmWriting #AmEditing #WritingTips #WriteTip #SCBWI #nanowrimo2018