What I've Been Up To This Summer

I can't believe summer is almost over! It flies by every year. This summer was particularly strange because here in Chicago, we only had a handful of true summer days. Otherwise, it was like an extended spring (70s, bipolar mix of rain, clouds, and sun). Today feels like a crisp fall day. Which I'm not complaining about, especially because I don't have central air. But still, as much as I hate the dog days of summer, it's weird not having them. It makes me appreciate the cooldown in September/October.

I haven't thought too much about the temperature because I've been so BUSY this summer. So busy I kinda neglected you, dear blog. I know what you're thinking --

via quickmeme

Well, here's a rundown of what's been going with me these past two months, kind of like the less-cool version of this epic montage.

* I finished line edits on THE BREAK-UP ARTIST and am in the middle of writing acknowledgements. It's this close to being a real book!

* I taught my first class - Writing the YA Novel - at Trade School Evanston and was paid in cupcakes.

* I'm speaking on my very first panel this Thursday about writing and publishing. Fingers crossed I'm not a rambling mess.

* I've been feverishly writing my new MS and crossed 50k words. I like writing in summer because the sun shining at 6 a.m. makes it much easier to wake up early. It's a struggle to get out of bed when it's pitch black outside. I should have a rough draft done by Labor Day, which is the fastest that I've ever written a book!

* I outlined a new super-secret WIP which I hope I can tell you about in the future.

* I have done some blogging, just not here. Check out my post at Michelle Krys's blog on query contests, and my summer reading reco at the YA Valentines. I have three more guest posts coming up in the next two months. In other words, see you in October possibly.

* I devoured ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK on Netflix. It has some of the best female characters ever written for TV. And what's most impressive is that despite the sprawling cast, every character is fleshed out and has a moment to shine. It's an incredible balancing act. Now I'm enjoying the final season of BREAKING BAD. (catch up on Netflix! There's still time!)

*I've seen a bunch of movies. WORLD WAR Z was hands-down the best one I saw this summer -- which proves that you should never be afraid of a rewrite. (THE TO-DO LIST is runner-up. Unfortunately, it bombed, but it's destined to be a cult classic.)

How has your summer been?

Drafting: A Numbers Game

After reading Leign Ann Kopans's blog about Fast Drafting over at argyle central YA Misfits, I wanted to share my crazy strange method for writing first drafts. For me, it's all about the numbers. When I think about writing a book, I'm overwhelmed by the sheer size. Hundreds of pages! Thousands of words! All coming from me? I prefer to break one big book into lots of little sections.

[WARNING: I'm a bigtime plotter, so I don't think this method will apply to pantsers.]

For those fantasy and sci-fi writers who can churn out 100,000 words -- even writers who can reach 70,000 words -- I am in awe of you. I just can't write that much. I aim for my book to be 60,000 words. That's a solid length for contemporary YA.

1 book = 60,000 words

First, I create a chapter outline, breaking my story into chapters. I make myself create a minimum of 30 chapters. If the story needs more, fantastic! But 30 is an acceptable amount that falls within genre standards. So for my 60,000 book, each chapter will have to hit 2,000 words.

1 chapter = 2,000 words
I think I can do 2,000 words, but it still seems like a lot. So I break it down even further.

I create scenes within my chapters. Instead of each chapter consisting of 1 scene, I include multiple little scenes. The scenes don't have to be interconnected, but the final scene of a chapter should propel the story and make the reader want to keep reading. I aim to have 4 scenes within each chapter. I'll split big scenes in my head even if it's written as 1 scene in the book. For instance, if there's a big "party" scene where the MC talks with some friends then gets in a fight with her boyfriend, that may all happen in one scene, no break. But mentally, I'll count the friends part as 1 scene, and the boyfriend argument as another scene. So in a 2,000 word chapter, each scene needs to be 500 words.

1 scene = 500 words
I can do 500 words. That's manageable. That should take under an hour to write. But sometimes, 500 words can seem like a lot. There may not be enough going on to justify 500 words.

So I look at sentences. On average (based on my unofficial research), 5 sentences equals 100 words. And since it's a first draft, I allow myself to write longer, rambling sentences and break apart my contractions. One extra rambling sentence can net you 30 words. And if you're at 19,940 words, those 30 words can give you the motivation to get you to 20,000.

5 sentences = 100 words
We can all write 100 words. Scribble it on a notepad during a boring meeting, or on a short bus ride. Every little bit helps. I will finish this book 100 words at a time. Each 100 words gets me closer to that 500 word scene, which gets me closer to finishing that 2,000 word chapter.

Will writing this way produce beautifully crafted prose?
No! 

It's a first draft. My main goal is to get the words on the page, to get the story from beginning to end. Nobody said it had to be good. Thanks to overstuffing and stretching out the first few chapters, I usually manage to break 60,000 words, but barely. The words hardly come easily to me. In revisions, I cut the fat. It's better to have fat to work with than to try and create it.

Microsoft Word has the word count ticker at the bottom of the page, so I am forced to look at it. I can't not look at it. And for me, this works. It's a way to feed the analytical part of my brain while I'm being creative. I like to have something to obsess over accountability. This method may not work for you, and that's fine. But if you're a numbers person like myself, feel free to give it a shot!

Learning to Part with Your Words

This has been a craaaazy month!

First, I became an uncle (for the first time) to the most beautiful niece in the world. She's tiny and adorable, and the first time I held her, she peed all over me, and I even thought THAT was adorable.

Second, I moved last weekend. And that was tough. I'd been in my old apartment for two years, and I accumulated a ton of stuff. I had to pack in 100 degree, 100% humid weather. And then moving day was a never-ending nightmare in itself filled with multiple cargo van trips from old place to new place. By the middle of the day, I was exhausted, my arms sore -- and I still had another truckload! While I was schlepping my cargo back and forth, I kept saying "Why do I have all of this crap?" Seriously. I'm not a hoarder. I think I have a normal level of possessions for someone my age. But why did it feel like somuch and so unnecessary? I began throwing out and donating old stuff -- clothes, DVDs, books, random items that once had sentimental value, but were now crap. I took no prisoners. I refused to buy into my self-rationalization that yes, I would wear this shirt again.

Moving felt a lot like editing. There are plenty of places to cut from when we edit. We accumulate "junk" over the first and second drafts -- unresolved subplots, minor characters that serve no purpose, scenes that are now unessential. I found different types of items I had to throw out in my move, just like there are different kinds of edits:

The easy stuff: When going through my apartment, I found plenty of easy choices of junk to toss. Shirts with holes in them. Pencaps with no pens. This is the fun, easy part of editing. I could already think of three things I would cut from a draft before I even finished it. No problem. Editing will be easy.

The wishywashy stuff: These are things in my apartment that I knew I had to throw out, but I had to give myself a little push. I was still a bit hesitant. Yes, they were goners, but I had to defend them. I owned a pair of dusty, moldy slippers. Gross, but comfortable. I've owned the same bedsheets for 10 years. Their color and comfort level faded some time ago. Buh bye. In editing, we refer to this as Killing Your Darlings: the easy version. Yes, there are scenes or characters or couplets of dialogue that you LOVE. But they don't fit your story anymore. Most times, the scenes that I first think of, that ignite a story idea within me, are usually the ones that get cut. But I'm not too sad about it, because even though I love them, I know it's for the best.

The difficult stuff:  I throw out/gave away things that I loved, things that weren't too old or too dirty. I had nice slacks that were too big on me now, a pair of leather shoes I bought in Spain, a dining room table in great condition. But in the end, the slacks didn't fit anymore, the shoes weren't comfortable, and I got a new, nicer table. In short, I moved on. I'm not the same person I was when I got those things. I can't be one of those people who holds onto every thing I've ever owned. When I edit, I've had to cut sections I loved, parts that had no discrenible problems, per se. But the book I was writing when I wrote those passages was not the same book I ended with. My story developed, changed, and I couldn't bring along every word. You can't get tied permanently to what you write. You have to be strong enough and confident enough in your hard edit choices. I figure that if I wrote something great in the past, I can do it again in the future, or else I have no business being a writer.

Let's Write Crap!

Two weeks ago, I didn't do much writing of any kind. Not even blogging. I barely rewrote one chapter of my WIP. I would think about said chapter, make notes about said chapter, but when it came time to rewrite said chapter, barely anything came out. I rewrote it in fits and starts, deleting chunks and redoing it, inching my way through the chapter. Until Saturday, when I decided to go ahead and write crap.

Writing crap felt wonderful! I crapped my way through it. I knew what I was writing wasn't great, but writing crap is better than not writing at all.

-It provides a base. You can always revise crap; you can't revise a blank page.

-It illuminated bigger problems. There's a reason I couldn't make my way through this chapter and instead wrote crap. If the scene is set up well, with conflict and reversals and clear motivations, then I shouldn't have had such an issue. I will address my crap on my next round of revisions. Noted. No more dragging my feet. Now I can move on and finish my draft.

-Maybe it wasn't crap after all. Upon rereading, my crap wasn't as crappy as I thought. At first, it was bad, but then the crap gave way to semi-decent writing. It's not my best chapter, but that's primarily because of the bigger problems mentioned in point #2. The actual words aren't an abomination to the English language. That's good to know.


So next time, when I'm sinking into procrastination mode, I just have to tell myself to charge ahead and write some crap.

Lucky Seven Meme

Hey guys!

The wonderful and talented Kristin Lynn Thetford tagged me for an awesome Lucky Seven Meme (or Lucky Number Slevin Meme for you Josh Hartnett fans). She tagged me LAST WEEK, so I apologize for the delay. I had a rough writing week last week and got through it with perseverance lots of procrastination which gave me inspiration for a forthcoming blog post.

Kristin tasked me with posting 7 lines from my MS. Like her, I’ve never posted an excerpt from my novel on my blog, but 2012 is all about the end of the world getting my stuff out there.

Here are the rules:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next seven lines – sentences or paragraphs – and post them as they’re written. No cheating

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

I will be giving you 7 paragraphs. Luckily, I write very short paragraphs :)

----------------------- 

        When I get home, I find an email from Mr. Towne waiting for me, tapping its foot in my inbox.

            I need a progress report. Let’s chat.

  

I roll my eyes at the email. Is he my dad asking how my homework is coming along? None of my clients have required a progress report. They have faith in me that I’ll get the job done.

“Things are taking a little bit longer,” I tell him on video chat. “But I am making progress.”

His baby blue eyes stare coldly into the screen. He leans back and rests his arms on his gut. “It’s been almost two months since we last spoke. You can’t give me radio silence like that.”

Trust the process, I want to tell him. Couples weren’t destroyed in a day. Still, I nod in agreement. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep you updated.”

--------------------------------

And now I shall tag 7 lucky writers:

1. Michael Offutt

2. Alledged Author

3. Sarah Pearson

4. Angela Brown

5. Alicia Gregiore

6. Jenna Cooper

7. Nancy Thompson

I totally understand if you can't participate right now, though L is for Lucky Seven Meme has a nice ring to it...Either way, these are great blogs to check out!

Update: Revisions, AWP, Books, and Remembering Your Nose

Happy Friday!

I'm looking forward to the weekend. The AWP (Association of Writers Programs) conference is going on in Chicago through Sunday. Professors, students, and alumni of MFA writing programs are flocking to the city to mix and mingle. There are a slew of readings happening in bookstores, coffee shops, and bars. I went to a poetry reading on Wednesday night. To be honest, poetry is not my forte, but I still enjoyed being around other writers. I'm planning to go a fiction reading sometime this weekend. Since we spend so much of our time alone staring at a screen, it's nice to meet other pale, socially awkward writers in person. Their schedule can be found here.

I've also been revising every single day this week. I'm not hitting my chapter-per-day goal, but I'm still proud of myself for keeping up this daily pace. I thought I would dread revisions, but I quite enjoy having a base to go off of.

In my descriptions, I've been adding more sensory images, especially smell. We take smell for granted, opting to use visual and tactile description. But people have a strong attachment to their sense of smell. You can evoke a feeling or memory or setting quickly and effectively with sense of smell. You see, the sense of smell is our only sense that's connected directly to our brain, making them more vivid. The sensations don't have to be transmitted and translated like they do with the other four senses. That's why when I smell Cool Water on a guy, I'm instantly taken back to 7th grade sitting in front of this kid Jason who poured it on. Whereas if I see an old picture of him, it would take a little more thinking to picture the classroom. Try to intersperse some olfactory descriptions into your WIP. If you have a minor character, maybe you don't want to spend time describing his/her appearance, giving your reader yet another person to remember. Instead, describe how they smell and distringuish said character immediately.

In book news, I lent my copy of Small Town Sinners to a friend who's a youth minister. She loved it! She really appreciated how the protagonist questions her faith, how organic her development felt, and how the book doesn't put down religion. She's going to recommend it to her kids. I love when people love books I recommend. It's like a job well done...I'm currently reading Stephen McCauley's The Object of My Affection. Yes, I'm breaking my rule about reading the book after seeing the movie. And yes, I keep picturing Jennifer Aniston as the main character, even though in the book she is very different and not as glamourous. But I am enjoying the novel, especially its datedness. (It was written in 1985) The main characters are debating whether to invest in an answering machine. At least it's not a pay phone.







 How is your writing coming along? Any fun weekend plans?

Writing YA for Dummies

Happy Presidents Day!

I'm taking full advantage of my day off by starting the second draft of my WIP. After receiving feedback from my writer's group, letting it marinate for a few weeks, and then reworking my story to fix plot and character problems, I am ready to go! My banana cream pie-in-the-sky goal is to revise 1 chapter/day. A more realistic goal might be 1 chapter every 2-3 days. I'm aiming to finish draft #2 by May 1. (If only I didn't have a full-time job that's in its busy season currently...) I know -- I shouldn't set such firm goals in a public forum where I can be judged held accountable. But I'm hoping this spurs me on to finish in time. How long has it taken you to finish a second (or third or fourth) draft?

An unlikely tool in getting me psyched up for revisions is Writing Young Adult Fiction for Dummies by Deborah Halverson. My friend gave this to me for Hanukkah, and I let it collect dust all through January. When I decided to read it one morning on the train, I was hooked. I had never read a writing advice guidebook for novels. I figured I knew how to write a story from studying screenwriting in college and from reading lots of books. YA for Dummies didn't teach me new tricks; rather, it helped clarify parts of writing I thought I knew. I had about five epiphanies about my book after reading this.

My biggest takeaway from YA for Dummies was how to write a theme and weave it into my story. The theme is the central idea in your novel. In screenwriting, they call it the controlling idea. In Robert McKee's book Story (a must-read for any screenwriter), he says that Paddy Chayefsky, writer of Network, would keep his controlling idea next to him while he wrote. That way, he could make sure everything he wrote stuck to that theme. After I wrote my first draft, I couldn't state my theme in one sentence. I had about 3 themes garbled together. With draft #2, I've streamlined, and my story feels much clearer and focused. Halverson includes a theme-building exercise in the book, which at first I scoffed at, but came to find helpful.

I recommend picking up this book, or at least flipping through it at Barnes & Noble. Unlike Story, it's written in a nuts-and-bolts fashion, which I can appreciate. Just the facts ma'am. No matter how much you know, you're bound to learn something new. I haven't read other how-to books like Save the Cat or Writing the Break Out Novel. Have you? Thoughts?

Finally, a random comment on a YA book I'm currently reading. Said novel was published last year and takes place in present day. In one scene, the protagonist is searching for a quarter to use a pay phone, and then her friend takes her to a record store. The record store part I will let slide...barely.

But who still uses a pay phone? And they sure doesn't cost a quarter anymore.

I live in Chicago, and I've only seen maybe 2 pay phones. I doubt suburbs have them anymore. Most teens today have never and will never use a pay phone. They carry cell phones. If they don't, they would ask a stranger to borrow one before thinking to use a pay phone. That small detail pulled me out of the story for a moment. So for those of you writing contemporary, leave out the pay phones. I know people are wary about writing in technology that could be outdated in a year. But trust me, cell phones aren't going anywhere.

Do's and Don'ts of Accepting Feedback

Greetings, Bloggerinos!

I wrote this post from 35,000 feet in the air. Last week, I was in Florida visiting the folks and lounging in the sun. Considering I left Chicago in the middle of a snowstorm and 14-degree weather, the trip couldn’t have come at a better time. In between tanning, eating, and swimming, I made some time to begin revisions on my WIP. The week before, I had met with my writer’s group who critiqued the first draft. I’ve been on both sides of that discussion, and every time, it’s still nerve-wracking. Here we are, giving our prized work, drafts that we spent countless hours perfecting, to others to rip apart. Receiving feedback is never easy, and from my experiences, I’ve learned some Do and Don’ts to surviving critiques.

DO seek criticism, not validation. Sitting around and talking about how much readers loved your draft makes for a great night, but an awful critique session. Some of your readers may be close friends and family who don’t want to hurt your feelings, and so they will only tell you nice things. Don’t let them. Hearing the good won’t get you to pinpoint the bad. If you are only seeking compliments from your writer’s group, then you aren’t letting them do their job. You wrote an entire book. That’s validation enough. When you are talking with critique partners/beta readers, get to the problem areas. You can save the backslapping for the end.

DON’T defend your book against criticism. In an old writer’s group, one of the writers would always jump to her book’s defense if you ever brought up a trouble spot. “No, you don’t understand.” Or “I made that clear in this section.” She had an answer for everything. It’s commonplace to get defensive or frustrated when a reader gives you criticism you disagree with. But resist the urge to come back with an answer. Don’t talk. Listen. If someone didn’t understand a plot point you thought was crystal clear, then guess what – he or she won’t be the only one. You can’t sit next to every reader who buys your book and answer their questions. Find out why your group was confused; don’t dismiss any feedback.

DO ask open-ended questions.  You need to let the criticism flow naturally. Let them bring up issues you never realized.  When you ask a leading question, it skews the feedback. Let’s say you’re worried that your MC doesn’t have a strong enough motivation in X Scene. Don’t ask the group “Was the motivation strong enough in X Scene? Could it be clearer?” That will instantly taint your readers’ feedback. You’re coercing them into giving you the answer you want, not the one they have. Maybe the readers thought that scene was fine as it is. Instead, ask “What did you think of X Scene?” Use open-ended questions as much as possible. If you are resorting to using such leading questions, then all you are seeking is confirmation of a problem you already know exists.

DON’T take it personally. Our books are an extension of us, plain and simple. Someone not liking our book feels like someone not liking us. We will always feel this twinge when we hear negative feedback. But don’t take it personally. Make sure your critiquers are people you trust, so you always knows what they say is coming from a positive place. To paraphrase Meg Cabot, your book is not a $100 bill. Not everyone’s going to like it.

What are some do’s and don’t’s you have whenever giving or receiving criticism?

A Much-Needed Update and Looking Ahead to 2012

Hello readers! It has been a long ass time since I updated the ole blog. Much has happened, and I have updates to share. I hate that so much time has lapsed between entries. But as I've said before, working on my writing must come before blogging for me. Still, one of my resolutions for 2012 is to get back to blogging more regularly -- even if it's once a week. Even if it's just a weekly check-in and not book- or YA-related.

Belated news item #1 - I finished my first draft! I actually finished it on December 4th. It took me 4 months to complete, which was a little longer than I wanted, but still an acceptable amount of time. And it's done! But now comes the hard part, the part that separates the real writers from the wannabes: revisions. I've had a problem in the past with starting projects, completing first and second drafts, and then abandoning them. I refuse to let that happen with this manuscript.

Belated news item #2 - I'm working on a new project for this month only, a script. It fell into my lap unexpectedly. I can't reveal too much, but said project needs to be completed by the New Year. I'm writing the script now. It's amazing to think I only heard a vague idea for this project after Thanksgiving, and now I'm banging out a first draft. I usually never work that fast, and I'm proud of myself for hitting all previous deadlines thus far.

Writing Year in Review
A problem I keep having is when I look back, I see I've written a lot, but I have no material to show for it. 2011 had that same problem. The first half of the year was spent working on a second draft of a WIP that I soon aborted. I was trying to write something to get published rather than write something I loved. Also, my revision process was staggered and ultimately ill-conceived. I was having my writers group read 1-2 chapters/month, per our guidelines. Get critiqued in piecemeal did not work.

I decided to break one of my rules, succumb to Sexy New Idea syndrome, and look into starting a new WIP that I was passionate about, that I believed could show off my voice. And so far, so good. I began brainstorming the idea in late-May/June, worked on an outline in June/July, and began writing in August. I believe in this project, and unlike the others, I want to see it through to the end.

This year, I also started my blog and twitter feed (@FillupSeagull), and despite some gaps, I have kept it going and met lots of kind, supportive, talented writers.

So, at the end of 2011, I don't have a polished manuscript or screenplay to show around, but I remain optimistic for 2012. And this time, I'm learning from my mistakes.

2012 Resolutions

#1 - See It Through: I want to see through every WIP I start, specifically my new book. No more ditching projects after draft 1 or 2. I want a finished product. I will see this book through. I'm already taking action. After critiquing the beginning chapters by piecemeal for a few months, I'm having my writer's group read the entire novel over the holidays, and they are coming back with notes in mid-January. I won't have to sit idly and wait months for them to read the whole thing. I can take their feedback and get started on draft 2. I am limiting the number of writing projects to attempt this year down to two: this novel and a screenplay idea. In years past, I resolved to finished four different projects, and that never happened. I will focus on these two and see them through to finished products.

#2 - Get My Work Out There: For all the writing I've done over the years, I've barely shown my work to others. I kept telling myself that it wasn't good enough yet, that I needed to do another draft to get it to professional quality. I was holding myself back, paralyzed by fear, by so many articles telling aspiring writers to get their work absolutely 100% perfect before sending it out. Those articles were correct -- your work should be as good as you can make it -- but you shouldn't fixate so much that you never send anything out. I gave my writer's group a first draft to read, something I never would have done before! In the past, I would've held back, claiming that I'll complete a second draft -- work out all the major kinks -- before submitting to group. But who knows how long that would've taken, and frankly, who knows if I would've even completed draft 2?

I have also never queried an agent. Again, I kept telling myself that my work wasn't ready yet. And maybe it wasn't. But I should let other people tell me that sometimes. Rejection is part of the writing life, and it should be embraced. And who knows -- an agent may even like my work.

Besides completing the book, I want to get back to writing screenplays. I miss it. I stopped writing scripts once I moved to Chicago, convinced that a screenplay is impossible to sell when you don't live in LA. It is nearly impossible, but there are lots of contests I can enter. I've already found a few contests, including one right here in Chicago, where I can submit my as-yet-unwritten script. And again, who knows where this could lead. Writers must always be cautiously optimistic.

All in all, 2011 was a good year for me. I rekindled my passion for writing, and I'm excited about my goals for next year. By this time next year, I want to have queried/submitted a finished book/script while maintaining a normal schedule for my blog. I think that sounds reasonable. Do you, loyal readers?

10k Writing Challenge: Volume III

Here we go again!

Sarah at Empty White Pages and I are doing another 10k writing challenge this weekend - our third in three months! I know I need it. I've fallen woefully behind with my WIP. Work has been kicking my butt lately, and I have been too lazy haven't had the time to catch up on writing. In the month since my last 10k challenge, I've only knocked out a few thousand words - not awful, but not up to snuff for me, either. It's time for me to rev my engine.

If anyone's fallen behind with NaNoWriMo, this is a great opportunity to catch up!

I will be tracking my progress on twitter, as always. @FillupSeagull

How is everything doing with NaNoWriMo? Since I'm already in the middle of my WIP, I'm using NaNo as the impetus to finish my first draft. NaNoFinishMo?

Didn't You Know - All Professional Writers NaNoWriMo

Hello readers! I hope you had a great week! Last weekend, Sarah at Empty White Pages and I did another weekend writing challenge - Columbus Day edition, this time for 10k words. And we both did it! I was completely drained by Monday night, but I'm now 2/3 the way to my writing goal. I may actually hit that mark by Halloween, which a month ago I never would've thought possible. This was the second weekend writing challenge I completed in as many months, and something tells me it won't be the last.

But of course, the writing challenge that all writers are eagerly awaiting is NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Bloggers are already buzzing about the event, preparing their outlines, resting their hands. This year, I won't be participating since I'm knee deep in my current WIP, though I may crash some write-ins.

Many writers view NaNo as a fun exercise, a once-a-year excuse to write like a maniac. However, NaNo is more applicable to being a professional writer than they realize. Produced/published writers need to write fast. They must follow the golden rule of NaNo: always hit your deadline.

The best example of this are TV writers. They are constantly writing because they have X number of episodes that will air. It doesn't matter if they fall behind or get writer's block. Something HAS to air in that timeslot. You need to feed the beast. Last Sunday, I watched this special called South Park: 6 Days to Air. It went behind the scenes of making an episode of South Park. The staff had 6 days until their episode was set to air, and they had no idea what the show would be. It didn't matter. They had to meet that deadline. No excuses. So in 6 days, the writers brainstormed an idea, plotted it out, wrote the script, animated it, voiced it, revised, and combined it all together into a 30-minute episode.

 

Writers on sitcoms and dramas also must churn out scripts in a few weeks. When I worked in a writer's office for an hourlong drama years ago, the writers had fallen behind with their writing schedule. They'd hit plot roadblocks that took up more time solving than they anticipated. Could they push back the airdates of the episodes? NO. By the end, they were writing 60-page scripts in days. And you thought having a month to write wasn't enough time?

Screenwriters for movies have more time to write, but if studios are waiting for a draft, then they have to write. It's been said that John Hughes wrote Weird Science in two days and The Breakfast Club in three days. Joe Eszterhas wrote Basic Instinct in three days. Kevin Williamson churned out the script for Scream in less than a week. Lots of screenwriters have the luxury to take months or years to write their script, but they are usually not getting paid for it. They write their scripts on spec, and then hope to sell it, just like authors.

And just like authors, once somebody is paying you for your work, they will always impose deadlines. Publisher, movie studio, TV network. Publishers won't wait forever for revisions. As a first-time author, you want to impress them by meeting your deadline. Even for writers who self-publish, they have deadlines, too, set by their readers. Readers devour e-books rapidly, and they always want the next book now. Amanda Hocking famously sold a kajillion e-books in a year, but she put out nine in that span. If she had just written one, then taken a year to write her next novel, sales would have dropped.

So remember when it's November 28th, and you're only at 34,000 words, and you're thinking of throwing in the towel, keep on writing! Don't stop. Think of it as practice on your way to being a  published author. Anyone who pays you will always set a deadline, so get used to it.

New Years Resolutions

Last week, I was home in NJ celebrating Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) with my family. September feels more like the start of a new year than January. School's starting up, new TV shows are premiering, the Oscar season is beginning, summer's over. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated the exact opposite way of New Year's Eve: no partying, no drinking, and all the action happens during the day in temple. Because the holiday falls so closely to my birthday, it gives me added reason to reflect on what I've done this past year. Another year gone by, and what progress have I made? 

I have made significant strides professionally and personally, but with writing, I feel like I'm in the same place I was a year ago. Each year, I keep saying things will be different. This year, I want to mean it. I realized that my big issue was not following through, not seeing my WIPs through multiple drafts. And this year, I intend to change that. I am currently working on manuscript #3. Will this be the one that lands me an agent and/or book deal? Who knows. But this will be the one that I keep revising and will eventually query. I'm not fixated on what the responses will be. I just want to get to that point already. I've read lots of author stories about writers querying too soon. But there are some of us that wait too long, crippled by doubt. This year, I will get over my fear of rejection and just send the darn thing out. And if it's a pile of rejections, then so be it. At least I'm in the game.

I am currently halfway through my WIP. Sadly, it seems that I will not participate in Nanowrimo this year. I'll just be finishing my first draft by November. Nano and I are just not meant to be. Which is a shame because I've always been so excited by it. So maybe this year, I'll sneak into a writing session.

Are any of you participating in Nanowrimo? Have any writing resolutions?

Go Team 9k!

I did it!!! I, along with Sarah at Empty White Pages, wrote 9000 words over one weekend. 9063 to be exact. Sarah put me to shame. She cranked out 9784 words by 5pm on Sunday. How awesome is that?? We took on my 9k Writing Challenge and won. I feel a great sense of accomplishment - I followed through on a goal and worked on my WIP. Those things don't happen as often as I like.

My favorite part of this exercise, though, was what I learned about my story, my writing, and myself. It had been a long while since I focused so intensely on a WIP. No work or other responsibilities to distract me. I was locked in my apartment with my WIP, and we did some major bonding. So I bring you 9 things I learned about this weekend:

1. I work better at night. I wrote 5,889 words past 9:30pm, and 3,853 words past 11:30p. It felt like college, burning the midnight oil. I want to change myself to write early in the morning, though. I can't stay up until 2am writing when I have to be at the office seven hours later. 
2. I don't know my characters well enough. Half of the reason for any writer's block I faced came because I didn't know how my characters would react or how they truly felt or what they wanted. I didn't know the minor details about them that fill the gaps between major events. I love to plot, and I realized that my characters are being driven by plot, not vice versa. At the same time, this challenge helped me get to know them better. But I still have work to do on this front.
3. I stopped worrying about finding the best word. If I was stumped looking for the right word for a sentence, I didn't waste time thesauring or googling or smacking my forehead. I picked a lesser word and moved on. When I edit, then I'll obsess over one word. But right now, it's not worth it. 
4. I need to work on my procrastination. On Friday night, I didn't begin writing until 10:30pm. On Sunday, I didn't sit down until 9:30pm. I could've finished by noon, but I procrastinated. Maybe I don't love writing at night so much as I am addicted to procrastinating. This has to stop.
5. I think I use the same words over and over. The same expressions. How many times can someone burst out laughing, or shoot someone a nasty look? Maybe this is my writerly doubt kicking in. Do you ever feel like you use the same words over and over? Again, this is a problem for the editing stage, not first draft stage. What will combat this is to keep reading, expand my horizons, and learn from other writers.
6. I have to push myself. Writers write. When I sat down to write on Saturday morning, I eeked out 700 words in two hours. It was slow going and painful. But I pushed on. I couldn't wait for inspiration to strike me. And soon enough, the words came faster. So if I'm feeling blocked, I won't stop. I will keep going.
7. I wrote 9000 words in about twelve hours. That equals 750 words/hour. Not too bad. If I can write for 1.5-2 hours per day, then I can keep making progress on my WIP.
8. I obsess too much over word count. I checked my word count repeatedly this weekend. I found myself doing a little cheating - writing wordy sentences, not using contractions. Unlike many writers, I worry that my book will be too short. But I need to stop overwriting to hit certain word goals. If my book comes up short, then that's a story problem. I need to write enough to complete the scene and then move on.
9. I can't do it alone. I was so happy that Sarah agreed to this challenge with me. We emailed our progress back and forth, and knowing I had someone else in it with me kept me going. Tweeting my progress and receiving positive responses showed me I have support. I may have spent much of the weekend by myself, but I was not alone.

Overall, a great experience. I'll let you know if I do this again. Maybe next time, I'll try for 10k.

Nineowrimo - 9K Challenge for 9/9

I had read on Chandler Craig's awesome blog Fumbling with Fiction about 10K Writing Challenges. She and her writer buddy Jen Hayley challenged and motivated each other to crank out 10,000 words in a single weekend. After a busy, fun-filled (but writing deficient) August, this weekend I look forward to staying in - and catching up on my WIP. (Remember in July when I said I was going to crank out a first draft in a month...oh, you do remember?...crap...)

Since this Friday is 9/9, I am going to challenge myself to write 9,000 words this weekend. Ridiculous? Possibly. Insane? You bet!

Now who's with me???

I will be live-tweeting my endeavor (@FillupSeagull) We can spur each other on throughout the weekend, commiserate about falling behind, but then cyberhug and cheer when we pull ahead. After a summer where some of us were sidetracked, let's use this weekend to get back into the swing of things, build some momentum and make some progress on our WIPs. It will be fun fun fun!

Ok, NOW who's with me???

Do You Have Enough Time to Write?

Nobody has set hours to write. Most of us have to squeeze it in between work, family, and sleeping. I try to write during my 20-minute commute to work if I can grab a seat on the train. Aside from that, a problem I face is not having enough time to write for a session. I may have 15 minutes here or there, but it's not enough to sit down and write. It can take a few minutes to get into writing mode, and then just as I'm getting into a scene, my time is up. But recently, I've had a change of heart.

Do I not have enough time to write? Or do I tell myself I don't have enough time to write?

Convincing myself I don't have time to write is like a reverse-psychology procrastination method. Yes, writing in 10-15 minute spurts is not ideal, but we don't live in an ideal world. A writer writes. Period. End of sentence. I've read about lots of aspiring authors who write while waiting to pick their kids up from school, in the waiting room, in traffic. They may only have 5 minutes, but they do it. Two nights ago, I was cooking dinner, still had not written. But I had 10 minutes left until my food was ready. And I decided to find out what I could accomplish in those 600 seconds. Surprisingly, a lot! Maybe not as much as I could in 2 hours, but more than I assumed. In fact, because I had limited time, I didn't have time to waste to "get into writing mode." Even though my actual writing time was short, those 10 minutes got my creative wheels spinning so that when I returned to my WIP later that night, I could jump in where I left off. It's like exercise - even a few minutes a day of it has beneficial effects for hours afterwards.

When you think about it, if you add up all those 5-10 sessions during a day, you come out with some decent writing time. And when you publish your novel and people ask how you managed to do it between job/family/other, you can say with a smile "Oh, I just wrote a few minutes here on the train, a few minutes there in the doctor waiting room, and whalla! I had a novel!"

What is the shortest amount of time you've had to write and where were you?

Taking the First Draft Plunge

How do you know when you're ready to start your first draft? That's a question currently running through my mind.

Tonight, I am meeting with my writer's group to discuss my revised outline for my WIP. People in the group submit material once a month to be critiqued. Last month, I brought in the first draft of my outline. I received excellent feedback and realized that it needed work before I could begin the first draft. I believe this new draft is much stronger, and I'm hoping the group feels the same way. My goal is to begin writing the first draft of the manuscript beginning this weekend, fingers crossed that I get a thumbs up from the group.

I am a hardcore plotter. I like to get my outline as tight as possible before writing. It's easier to fix structural and character problems in a 10-page outline than a 300-page book. But I also want to start writing the first draft NOW. I'm excited about my book, excited to begin writing, and I don't want to lose this momentum. And no matter how strong my outline is, there will always be problems that need to be addressed. Right now, I'm not sure if it's better to keep preparing or to let this excitement carry me into the first draft. Thus, my question remains: how do you know when you're ready to begin your first draft?

Plotters and pantsers face this quandry. For the former group, we need to get to that point where we're secure with our outline before plunging into writing. For me, starting the first draft is the point of no return. I can't rush it. Two years ago, I tried participating in Nanowrimo, but I couldn't make it past the first page. I wasn't ready yet. Pantsers, you guys also deal with this issue. You have to reach a point where you're ready to put the idea swirling around in your head onto paper. How do you know when you're ready?

I need to feel that mixture of excitement, confidence, and impatience in order to start my first draft. And I'm feeling it! I've prepped all I can. I am confident in my outline. This story needs to come out of me now. Ultimately, I can only prep and outline so much. After that, I just have to take the plunge.

My insane goal: To have a first draft completed by Labor Day. I'm calling it Augowrimo.
My sensible goal: To have a first draft completed by Halloween. You know, in case that thing called life gets in the way.

I'm usually wary of talking publicly about my writing goals in case I can't live up to expectations. But I am taking a stand of solidarity with my blogging buddies who have been open about their progress. Maybe if I hold myself accountable to you, that *may* help motivate me.

So how do you know when you're ready to being your first draft?

GAAAHHH!!! Rewriting!!!

That's how I feel when I have to rewrite. Plain and simple. I love writing, but rewriting requires the real elbow grease. Some background on me: the first two novels I ever wrote got stuck in revision purgatory. My first novel made it to draft 4, the second to draft 2. Both times, I never followed through on the next draft and moved onto something else. Like I said, I love writing. My favorite parts of the writing process are working out the plot and writing the first draft. I don't think I'm alone. Many writers dread revising. If we love writing, then why do we hate rewriting? I looked at my own experiences and came up with 4 reasons why I can never get through revisions.

1) It feels like starting over. It took me months to brainstorm, plot, outline, and write draft 1. Working out character arcs and plot points, getting the tone right. It was like an obstacle course -- a fun, rewarding one, but still an obstacle course. And obstacle courses are not as fun the second time around. Rewriting means going all the way back to the beginning. Pinpointing my weak areas, reworking those, then reworking those corresponding chapters. After I've come so far, I have to go back. It's like living in a five story walk-up. Trudging all the way downstairs to the street before realizing you forgot your wallet on your desk.

2) I have to overhaul something that is complete. No matter how flawed my first draft is, it tells a complete story. That story may have plot holes and unbelievable character moments, but it is coherent and not awful. Having to go back into my complete story and change parts is daunting. Because I can't just switch some things around and call it a day. There are usually structural problems and major character development issues that need to be fixed. And those affect large chunks of the story. Once I change those, I have to change the other parts that were affected by those changes. Meaning that my complete story is getting blown to bits, and I have to put it together again.

3) I must be analytical rather than creative. The first draft is the fun part because I get to be purely creative. I am setting the narrative tone, fleshing out characters for the first time and writing exciting sequences. I have a blank slate, and I can fill it however I want. All the fun stuff we writers love to do. But when rewriting, I have to take off my writer hat and put on my critical sombrero. I can't reread a chapter I wrote and say "Wow Phil, you're such a good writer!" I have to dig beneath the surface and find out why it isn't working. I have to decide if it belongs later or sooner in the story. I have to excise dialogue I love because it's dragging or out of character. They don't call it Killing Your Darlings for nothing.

4) Rewriting is the opposite of how I like to write first drafts. I write my first drafts fast and furiously. I have a detailed outline, and I try to tackle 1 chapter every 2 days. Momentum helps carry me along. My goal is to finish the draft as fast as possible, so I have a finished product I can begin revising. Problem is, I can't revise fast and furiously. I may tell myself I'll revise 1 chapter every 2 days, but that may not happen. I may get stuck, or the chapter I just rewrote may need more revising. Rewriting is a much slower process, which goes against how I prefer to do my writing.

The popular phrase is "Writing is rewriting." I believe that is true 100%; that is why I am not a published author yet. I do believe I have it in me to revise a novel and get it to agent-level. On my next novel that I write, I am going to work hard to make it through revising. I will put myself on a stricter schedule to ensure that I keep up with it, for one.

What are your thoughts on revising? A necessary evil or welcome pleasure? Any rewriting tips you care to share?