Author: Robert Evenhouse

Novelist. Blogger. Founding Member of the Weaklings Writers Group & JOT Writers Conference. Loves Encouraging Writers and Reading Books.

3 Things the Prepublished Novelist Should Keep in Mind

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process6 Comments

As the drafts of my current novel get perilously close to the double digit mark, there is ample time to reflect on what went wrong at the beginning. If I’m honest things were really foggy at first. I didn’t know how to craft a story, I just liked words. Now, I feel as if a good percentage of the fog has cleared. I can tell when a scene stands on its own and when it is time for it to die.

Below I’d like you to consider three things while you work on your unpublished novel so you are not overwhelmed and give up.

Be fair with your comparisons – If you are just starting out, know where you are. You are not the next Rowling, Hardy, or Dickens. At least not at this moment. Do not pick one of the greats in your genre and think, “Well, I’m never going to be this good, time to try woodworking”.

Do people who want to lose 30 pounds do so in a week? How about someone who has never run a marathon? Could they just wake up the next day, put on their running shoes, and sprint to victory? Be realistic writer. You are still trying to figure it all out. Be okay with that. Your first draft probably won’t be magic. But the fifth one might, so keep at it.

Early Rome
Yes, this was not built in a day.

You are in the learning phase – Sadly, one does not write a book and immediately get published. But this can also be a very good thing. Books published without going through the crucible of a severe and honest edit have given the perfectly viable industry of self-publishing a terrible name.

Before you try to publish, learn about the publishing industry. Learn about agents. Read magazines on writing. Find people to give honest feedback that will help you understand what went wrong. Do not go to someone who is ruthless. After all, is it okay to tell a baby how awful they are at walking and never to try it again when they are taking their first steps? I do hope you said no.

Writing is hard – Writing is a slow plod, not a sprint. Even those with dynamite first books spent years learning the craft in school or otherwise. So when you spend three hours on a paragraph and are tempted to scrap the whole thing, take a deep breath. Go for a walk, refill your creative well, and find a new way through the thicket of your book.

Writer, if your find yourself in deep despair or overwhelmed at the blank page or your latest draft, relax. Remove the belief that something has to be great, immediately. Free yourself from unrealistic expectations, learn all you can, and then get to work.

If you’ve published a novel what would you say to a first time writer for advice or encouragement?

Write 500 words TODAY!

Cheers,

Bob

Motivational Monday

On By Robert EvenhouseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I was going to start off today with a quote. This quote would set the tone for our week. It was going to be a springboard to great achievement and the key to our lackadaisical effort we give to our books. It might even act as a profound subliminal message and cause you to turn, grab your laptop, and finish it.

Pizza
Not every day. But every other day?
-Wikicommons

Unfortunately, the love of writing cannot be turned on like a switch. It’s not something that can hinge on emotion and wait until we feel like it. Why? Because I feel like pizza every night for dinner and that would cause some health problems.

Writing is about showing up everyday. Whether you write well or poorly, it doesn’t matter. What matters is coming to the desk or table or wherever, and doing it again and again and again.

I work best when I have a plan. Not a super detailed one, but one that helps me not get ambushed by a really good TV show and two hours later think, oh no! can I have a do over? Can I go back to where I saved my life last and relive those last few hours like this is some sort of game? I write better and get less distracted and am less cranky when I see that time to work on my passion is coming. Also, it helps prepare my mind.

This week, don’t wait to write until you feel like it. Don’t write because someone else told you to do so. Write because that’s what is in you and that is what you do.

Cheers,

Bob

My Recent Publication

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Uncategorized3 Comments

Yesterday my fellow Weakling Josh Mosey wrote a blog mentioning his article in a online magazine called Catapult. I don’t toot my horn often but I wanted to mention mine. You can read it here. It discusses the shuffling of priorities that occurs when you become more serious about a passion. Hockey is a big love of mine that is now regulated to watching the Detroit RedWings a few times a week. I used to play all the time and I loved it. I hope to again someday.

Olde Hansa. It’s in Estonia so it has to be Olde.
– Courtesy WikiCommons

However, when it comes to having kids, serving God, and wanting to be the best husband I can be – all while trying to begin a writing career; there is only so much time in a day. It was a hard lesson to learn, but I don’t want to follow the olde adage, “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Yes. Olde is spelled with an ‘e’ when you mention olde adages. Or at least it should be.

Thanks for reading. Look ahead to your weekend and elbow out some time to write. If you don’t feel like it, do it anyway. Though writing can be a thrilling and energizing task, in the end, it is simple hard work.

Cheers,

Bob

Daddy No Sleep

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life, Writing Tips5 Comments

Nearly every morning my kids wake up early. When one does, they all do. It’s sort of like a really fun game. Only now when I think about it, it’s not really that fun. There have been times were I’ve stayed up late writing the night before and then get woken up by screams of “MAMA DADDY MAMA DADDY!” Followed by our oldest saying “Mama, I think Clara wants daddy.” I flop out of bed and rescue our middle child from the confines of her crib and head into the dark living room.

I wanted to write this post not because I am a terrible father and want to complain about sleep deprivation, but because I realize I sometimes set myself up to fail with my writing goals. I blame this on Robert Downey Junior, Guy Ritchie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and even a little bit on Margaret Thatcher.

Let me explain.

Margaret Thatcher
She does look a wee bit tired.

Before we had kids, there was a time when I woke up at 5:30 to write every Saturday morning. Think about that. I had a good three to four hours all to myself where my thoughts were clear and my mind raced with one brilliant plot line after another (or so I thought). So, when I watched the first Sherlock Holmes film by Guy Ritchie starring Robert Downey Jr., I was immediately enamored by his ability to cast sleep aside and finish a task with a flourish. I thought this must be the best way to produce a novel – write with a feverish, reckless abandon.

The problem with this is obvious. That is Hollywood. That is not real. No one can repel sleep for days while sorting out a problem. They’d go insane. Right? Well, then theirs Margaret Thatcher. Ever read her biography or watched the film Iron Lady? She was a real person (obviously) who supposedly slept four to five hours a night and still ran a country. I’m having trouble with this blog post. Perhaps we are on different plains of brilliance and I need to be OK with that. Or, maybe I am dead wrong with the method that works best at this point in my life.

I find I write best when I am awake. Strange. When I am well rested and have accomplished things during the day I can go downstairs to my desk and write something. My creative well is full from a life lived and a decent amount of sleep. I realize now that instead of staying up late for a few days in a row and then crashing, its best if I sleep for several days in a row then stay up late once. Burning out is not an option. I have a wife to love, children to raise, and a day job.

This might sound simple to you, like a math problem, but I hate math. Reading and comprehension I can do. And to do them successfully, I must be well rested.

How about you? What have you done with your schedule to improve yourself as a writer? Have you ever tested how you work best? Do you stay up all night or do you conserve your energy for a controlled writing burst?

Write 500 words today.

Cheers,

Bob

Why I’m Not Giving Up On My Novel And You Shouldn’t Give Up On Yours

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Life6 Comments

I’ve been working on the same novel for nearly eight years. Yes. Let’s let that sink in for a moment. After considering that statement you might draw two conclusions. One, that I am slow and not intensely dedicated to the craft or, two, that I am not very good. These assumptions have some merit in one degree or another. Kids and family take precedence (as they should) so I set my book aside every once in a while. And, I’m still learning.

Though I have drafted several short stories, had blog posts or nonfiction articles published in blogs, websites and journals, I keep the Tale of Caelum as my main project. I have written draft after painstaking draft only to realize I need to roll up my sleeves and go through it again. So why do it? Why keep at this same project year after year after year? Why not give up and start something new? Why should you keep going on yours?

It has my/your name on it. I don’t want to create sub-par fiction. I don’t want to complete something and self publish it (I’m not against this. Just get a few professional opinions first). I want to keep writing and refining to become a master of the craft. This way, when I get to one of the other hundred story ideas I have, I do not recreate the same mistakes.

It’s a great set of stories. I’ve been told so. Not just by my family and friends who don’t want to hurt my feelings but by an agent and an editor. It is a good idea, a great series, and that is affirmation enough to keep working hard. Has someone you respect said this to you? That’s reason enough to keep going.

I/You have passion for it. At one time you thought about this book and forgot where you were going or what you were doing. You carried a journal with you and fleshed out ideas and problems for your characters to get into and out of only to find more problems. You talked with friends or family members about this great book. Getting back into it can be hard but that’s no reason to quit anything worthwhile.

Are there bad story ideas? Sure. Are there books better off not written? Of course. I am not talking about these. I am talking about your baby. Your STORY.

My challenge to you? If you’ve set down that work in progress, pull it out. Dust it off and set it down in the middle of a room. Walk around it with pen and notepad in hand. Think about it. Consider the problems and write them down.

Then get to fixing them.

Don’t give up.

Cheers,

Bob

When You Are Burnt Out

On By Robert EvenhouseIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Life happens to all of us. We are called away, get busy and sooner or later wind up spent.

Earlier this month, I drove from my home in Grand Rapids, MI to Rochester, NY and back to MI. Then got up, flew down to Frisco, TX for a work conference and then flew back to MI. The next day I drove to NY and two days later drove back home – all in eight days.

This whirlwind did not make me excited or energized as you might think a trip or time away from the office might. I grew more and more exhausted as the days went on. I anticipated that I would have time to sit down and put words on the page. Instead I rushed from one thing to the next and tried to force some fiction only to delete most of it.

It was then I knew I arrived at a place we all come to now and again – the roadside of life. Okay, this might seem a bit melodramatic, but I am a writer after all. But we’ve all been there – the place where a basic task seems akin to moving a mountain. In the words of Jim Gaffigan, “I should probably get the mail. But then I’d have to put on pants.”

Coffee Not Helping?
Coffee Not Helping?

If you’ve been there or are there now you know there are two directions you can go. Further down the path of the exhaustive rut or with a little effort, we can start to turn things around.

But how do you turn things around if you are stuck in the same life sucking rhythm?

Well, let’s start with stating the obvious. The current rhythm does not work. That and we’ve either lost or forgotten our passion. I stopped traveling and instead of sleeping in and getting rest, I knew I needed to stick my heels in. So, I decided to get up between 5:15 or 5:30 a few mornings. I got up and stretched those writing muscles and worked on a couple of new short stories. I knew that if I started something short, something doable, I could use that momentum to face longer projects, like my novel.

How about you? Have your wheels fallen off? What project do you need to do but do not have the energy to get it done?

Keep working.

Keep writing.

Cheers,

Bob

Developing Characters – The Blind Date Approach

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips4 Comments

Characters make or break a work of fiction. No matter what perspective you are writing they have to be real, convincing, and unique to survive your entire book.

I’ve read a lot about creating characters. Not so that I can whip up bland cookie-cutter personalities but to learn how to develop them. Our readers want our characters to grow through whatever journey we take them. This does not mean the journey finishes with an end of the rainbow ending, but it does mean that they cannot be the same person at the beginning and at the end.

This is why I believe we should reveal our characters as if they are on a blind date with our audience.

I have not been on a date in about a decade. I’m happily married. But a blind date is a simple enough concept. You don’t start by telling them you are interested in getting married right now, or tomorrow at the latest. And you don’t ask them to see your parents tomorrow or move in. Relationships take time to develop.

Introduce your main characters with a few descriptive details. Not – he was old, fat and lazy. Instead – his hobby was TV, his favorite food was anything found in a gas station, and he kept a fridge next to his sofa so all of his snacks were within arm’s reach.

Okay that description may have been a bit lame but you get the point. Don’t tell the entire history of this person in three or four pages and interrupt the flow of the story. If you do it you, the author, are drawing attention to yourself with this magnificent sidebar. The introduction should feel natural and then take opportunities through the story to reveal the character through action and conversation.

I encourage you to go back and check each time you introduce a character. See how many pages and paragraphs you use to do this. Keeping it short and sweet can help keep your audience in what John Gardner called “the vivid dream”. They will be carried along by the current of your plot as they get to know the people you’ve created.

Keep Writing.

Cheers,

Bob

Don’t Let Your Dreams Just Be Dreams

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process7 Comments

My friend Ben introduced me to a movie trailer the other day. I watched it and knew I would love it right away. The movie is titled the Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The main character is a man by the same name. It is based on a short story by the same name as well by James Thurber. Walter is a picked on loner who just can’t seem to stand up for himself and do the things he wants to do in life. Instead, sadly, he falls back into a dream world. There he lives out doing the very things he could not do or is not quite brave enough to do in the real world (though the movie may take this in another direction).

As writers, a lot of us dream all day. We think of great stories and possibly live some of them out in our minds for a bit. Sort of like trying on a shirt to see if it would fit right. However, I think many times we fall into this state too often and spend time dreaming instead of living out these passions in our real life.

This post is short but I’d just like to say that along the road of writing day dreams of publication and contracts can be distracting. Don’t get distracted today. Writing is hard work. Make sure you come back to reality and carve out a few hours to actually do it. The same can be said for anything in life that can fall under the category of “I would do ___ but I just…”.

Don’t watch a TV series on something.

Don’t live vicariously.

Just live.

Cheers,

Bob

This Week Is Banned Books Week

On By Robert EvenhouseIn World of WritingLeave a comment

If you missed it, this week was Banned Books Week. Yes, I am aware it is Friday so there is still a chance you could read one of these books. However, most are too long to finish in a few days unless you have cleared your schedule ahead of time and if that is the case you should probably supply me with the winning lottery numbers too. Seriously though, great job on that x-men like foresight ability.

There are a myriad of reasons a book might be considered banned: misrepresentation of a government, a religion, a socioeconomic class, overt use of sexuality, etcetera. Some are classics that shaped our required reading in high school or college. Others have fallen out of favor because of a shift in thought or advancement of culture. Nevertheless, these books have a place on this list because they pushed boundaries for good or ill.

Below are a few links to reference various sites that list these so call banned books. If you already have this list via your ability to read the future, well done once again. And send me those numbers when you can.

BannedBooksWeek.org

Five banned books that you should read (that you probably haven’t) via Forbes list.

100 Most Challenged Books – American Library Association

Keep writing.

Cheers,

Bob

Relive the Jot Writers Conference

On By Robert EvenhouseIn World of WritingLeave a comment

Jot was great. It could not have been so without the attendees, excellent questions, conversations, and overall excitement about the craft of writing in whatever sense of the word that meant to those present.

Serious it was a madhouse. If you look closely you can see the Weaklings.
Seriously it was a madhouse. If you look closely you can see the Weaklings.

Though it has been a little over a week — thank you for coming. Sincerely, thank you on behalf of all of the members of the Weaklings.

If you missed Jot II or are wondering what Jot is and who the Weaklings are, you might want to follow the hyperlinks provided. The video stream starts about 30 minutes in. You do have to sign in using your Facebook account or create a free log-in.

This is a short post but I would just like to say: keep writing and keep dreaming. Keep doing what you do every day to move in the direction of these dreams amidst the very busy life you have.

Make a plan.

Find some semblance of a groove and don’t give up. You might be an inch away from that breakthrough or possibly, that contract.

Cheers,

Bob