Novel Writing Mistakes (2)

January 18, 2017 ~ Meg ~ 37 Comments

This is the post you hope to never have to write…

Rewind to the weeks leading up to November 1st, 2016. I was preparing to enter National Novel Writing Month with the outline of my fifth novel: Breaking Bread. I never have all the details worked out when I write, just character studies and a list of the major events that need to move the story from start to finish. This gives me, the writer, a lot of flexibility as the novel progresses.

Not every writer writes this way. There are “plotters” –who have all the entire story mapped out in exhaustive detail. There are “pantsers” — writers who “fly by the seat of their pants,” having only the major ideas of the story figured out. And of course there are all combinations of writers who fall in between. That would be me.

There is no right way to write. Whatever method works best for you, your style, your habits — it’s all good. Unless of course you are posting the novel to your blog for everyone to read… Which brings me to my problem. I have come to a point in the novel where I have changed my mind about how the story moves toward its climax. The new direction I want to go is in conflict with some details I wrote in previous chapters. In other words, I’ve painted myself into a corner. Nevertheless, I’m thrilled with the new idea and am determined to make it work. This isn’t the first, nor will it be the last time this happens.

I have two potential solutions:

Keep going with the draft the way it is and find a reasonable explanation for the part that doesn’t make sense. This is the less acceptable solution in my opinion. It feels like cheating. And I think on some level the reader can tell that you switched gears halfway through. I’ve only done this on one occasion and was happy with the end result. If I were only writing this as a serial piece and not as the draft of a book for publication, I would choose this alternative.
Return to the section of the story that interferes with the logical progression of the new idea and change it. This could be a major rewrite or it could be a matter of editing out a few strategic sentences or paragraphs. Sometimes even changing a few words can do the trick. This is all I will need to do to make my new plot point make sense.

The trouble is… I have already written and posted (and you have read) the part of the story I will need to change. It is entirely possible that I’m overthinking the importance of this particular incongruity and none of you will pay it any mind. However, that is the tangle that has prevented me from proceeding with the story. I feel like now that I have explained, I can move forward.

These are the issues you face in drafting the first version of your novel. Rewrites are inevitable and in this particular instance, when Breaking Bread is finished, it will give me an opportunity to explain how I edit and proof read. That was part of the reason for posting it all to the blog in the first place… to show the process from start to finish. So bear with me while I walk through the wet paint to the end.

Reading For Writing

January 4, 2017January 3, 2017 ~ Meg ~ 87 Comments

I’m not one for making resolutions. However, I don’t avoid them if they seem like worthy goals. In that spirit, I have been taking on the Goodreads reading challenge each year. Personally, I think writers ought to be avid readers, as well. Reading is what inspired me to try writing so why on earth would I give it up?

Nevertheless, the more involved I’ve become in writing and blogging, the less time I’ve devoted to my books. Last year, I set the goal of reading 25 books for the Goodreads challenge: 2 per month (plus one). I am sorry to say, I fell short by 5 books. But with researching for my writing, I still did a lot of reading. At any rate, this year, I’ve lowered the bar to 20 books and I thought I’d share the ones I’ve chosen to read:

A Line In the Sand – The Anglo-French Struggle For the Middle East, 1914-1918; James Barr
Living – Henry Green
Loving – Henry Green
Party Going – Henry Green
Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
Down and Out In Paris and London – George Orwell
Storm Of Steel – Ernst Junger
Devil’s Brood – Sharon Kay Penman
The Man In the High Castle – Philip K. Dick
The Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson
The Gods of Guilt – Michael Connelly
Princess Margaret: A Biography – Theo Aronson
The Collected Poems of Ivor Gurney
Blue Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson
A Farewell To Arms – Ernest Hemingway
Garden Of Lies – Eileen Goudge
On Writing; A Memoir of the Craft – Stephen King
W. B. Yeats and the Muses – Joseph Hassett (started, but not finished)
The Crimes of Love – The Marquis de Sade (started but not finished)
The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (started but not finished)

If I manage that, I will clear the precariously stacked pile on my bedside table! Yes, I still read paper books. I consume books in three formats, actually: paper, e-book and audio-book. I also usually have several going at the same time. For example, I listen to an audiobook while exercising, read one non-fiction/biography and one fiction book all at once. As long as I keep the genres distinct, I can keep from getting them confused.

So, my writer friends, what are you reading this year?

Artwork: ‘Serenity’ – Sheree Valentine Daines

Time Is Not On Your Side

December 28, 2016December 27, 2016 ~ Meg ~ 61 Comments

I’ve written about this before, but it’s been a while and I thought it was worth revisiting. The photo is my own of the clock face at Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

I write. A lot. Four books in two years, a fifth near completion, several completely unrelated projects, including all the poetry, non-fiction and short stories I’ve posted here. Recently, a friend of mine asked how I had time to write like that. The short answer is: I have no life. Ok, that’s a joke, sort of. Many of us who are trying to live the writing life are fitting it into an already busy schedule. How does someone with a day job manage to carve out time in the day to write? Schedules vary, but there are some principle to apply.

In the days when I was in practice at another doctor’s office, I had a long commute –nearly an hour. In the morning, I regularly tuned in to NPR’s Morning Edition. On one of those long drives, I heard an interview with author, Nora Roberts. For those of you who don’t know her, she is a ‘rock star’ of romance writers. She has written over 209 novels in her illustrious career. Now, love it or hate it, the romance genre has been underrated by literary snobs for no good reason. Jane Austen was a romance writer. So were the Bronte sisters, Margaret Mitchell, Gustave Flaubert, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edith Wharton – need I say more? Anyway the style of writing has nothing to do with the point I’m trying to make.

Back to Nora’s interview, and the big impression it made on me. She said she approaches her writing like any other person would approach their work day. She gets up early, exercises, puts the coffee pot on and by 8:00, she is at her desk to write for an 8 hour day! That’s right, a full work day. Writing is work, albeit very enjoyable work, but work nonetheless.

Though I still have a day job, I have tried to impose that kind of discipline upon my writing. Every weekday, I get up early and write for an hour or so, exercise and go to the office (now it’s in my home) to see my patients. Tuesday and Thursday, the days I don’t have office hours, I keep on writing. (So that’s how she does it!) I set deadlines to keep from getting off track. I have writing goals for my novel series, for my blog and for the unrelated projects like Here Lies a Soldier and The Mysterious Arboretum.

Anyway, the trick is to be analytical and slightly selfish when it comes to your writing. Take a look at your weekly schedule. How much time do you spend in front of the TV? Playing video games? Fooling around on Facebook and Twitter? I know, I know, I do it, too. This is time you could be spending on your writing. On the other hand, don’t let your writing become so burdensome that you lose your joy. After a big project is complete, or sometimes in the middle when you’re hitting the wall, take a break, step back and recharge your batteries.

Here are some things you should NOT sacrifice for time to write:

-your spouse/partner and children (unless you secretly can’t stand them)
-your health and wellness: take time to exercise, drink plenty of water and eat healthy food – it powers your brain (also booze, but that’s a subject for it’s own post)
-your spiritual life: whatever that means to you, be it meditation, prayer, or just quiet time to think (also gives you a legitimate excuse to ignore your family)
-reading for pleasure: writers need to read, period
-spending time with friends (if you still have any)

Why that last one? Because frankly, writers spend a lot of time in our own heads and can invent our own friends by writing them. I am totally guilty of that. While that internal chatter is essential for good writing, you have to turn it off once in a while. Don’t give up the chance to have real life human connections in order to create your fantasy world.

Writers, the bottom line is if you are going to do this, your writing can’t get shuffled so far to the bottom of the pile that you never finish anything. If you find that happening to you ALL THE TIME, then reevaluate your plan to be a writer. Maybe the writing life is not for you. That’s ok, too. Be a reader. After all, someone’s got to read all this stuff we write!

How about the rest of you? Writers, how do you find time to write?

(As always, some of that was meant to be humorous. I assume you’re all savvy enough to pick out the useful stuff from the nonsense.)