It has been weeks since I finished the third draft of the Tale of Calelleth and two weeks since I have posted anything on my blog. It has taken a long time to get excited about digging into another project that will take years of my life. I’m stuck between two thoughts, ‘not writing makes me feel guilty‘, and ,’thinking of starting another novel saps what little strength I have.’

Recently, I have spun my writing tires again and again trying to get something going, just hoping for traction about another novel or short story. I have written the first page of a novel and the first page of two short stories. My mood for what story I want to work on changes faster than the weather in Michigan.

I have been doing a lot of thinking and wondering what this is. Why this lack of motivation when I have just finished an extensive project. I should be filled with writing adrenaline, spinning all sorts of fantastic stories in my elation of being done.

After some pondering it hit me. I know Custos, Hailea, Sapien, Comitis, and the rest of my characters. I know where they are from, what they would say in a conversation, and what they would do when conflict arises. I understand what makes them tick to the point that it wasn’t writing at all but like conveying something I heard a friend say at work that day.

In other words I realized the importance of knowing my story, for the most part, before I began.

I am not advising to sit down and write 8 pages of back story on each character, 17 pages of your plot idea, and so on. I just think it is tremendously important to get to know the characters and plot in your story before you lay down the first word. I am suggesting to have a compass and know in which direction you wish to travel before setting off.

You don’t need to have it all planned out, but have an idea about which direction you want to go and be sure to have enough development in your story to get there.

Cheers,

Bob

Have you ever thought, “I can do it! I can write a book!”, then immediately have those other thoughts creep in, those not so nice thoughts that seem to come from a place that some call “logic” or “reality”?

Soon reinforcements come marching to the aid of those other thoughts and they sound something like,”I honestly don’t have time,” followed by, “I’m not really that good,” along with, “I’m not in the mood,” then the deathblow of, “it’s too hard”.

Sound familiar?

Me too. All of the time. In fact, they still surface every now and again and I have finished writing the third draft of my novel.

Several people who have had the first thought of: “I can write, I can do this”, have come to me and asked how to do it. This post is in response to those queries as well as those other thoughts that never seem to die, but always seem to speak with a deep resonating authority.

I would like to begin with two things. First, the book took six years to get this far. Second, I had a lot of help and encouragement along the way. This post is by no means a way of me boasting, but rather a novice writer providing ideas that may help you find that groove.

1.The desire to write. Many people laugh at this. But it must be stated. There is an enormous difference between thinking about big book contracts or the piles of money (that rarely ever come) and traveling to cafes and villas in the far flung corners of the world and the simple practice of writing.

Notice I said a desire to write, not a desire to get a lot of money, for that is not what writing is about.

You need to start with the bottom line: a love for words, language, or your main character. Money will never carry you through to the finished product and there are far more easy things you can do to turn a quick buck.

2.Carving out time to write. I played hockey for about 15 years. I played in many leagues and absolutely loved it

(I rarely miss a televised Detroit Red Wings game!). I often had 11:15pm ice times on weeknights, but I loved it and I would have stayed up through the night to play.

I realized, as my first daughter was born, that I could not continue hockey. I needed to focus. It’s been about three years since I’ve laced up skates. It still hurts some days.

3. Make a consistent writing schedule and stick to it. When my second daughter was born I discussed with my wife that I needed one night a week to focus solely on writing. It was a hard adjustment for us both, particularly for my wife Cindy. There were times when I wanted to go, and times I wanted to stay home and just rest or be with her and my daughters June and Clara. I went anyway no matter the time or how stressful my day at work was.

4.Find a writers group. This is detrimental. I could not be where I am without my fellow Weaklings. Accountability and being with people who are eager to read or ask you about your writing is key. Also, you may be scared with the thought of sharing your work with others but there is no better way to improve your craft.

5.Write. Silly, right? Those questions are starting again. I can hear them.

How? What about? Where? With what? There are no simple answers to these questions.

Famous writer after famous writer has said the only reason people are successful at this craft is because they write and they write often. Not that they went to this school or had this education or wrote in this particular style. Those things come. Just elbow those other thoughts out of your mind, clear your schedule for an hour or two and begin.

Cheers,

Bob

We’re a few weeks into the new year and thus far I’ve finished one chapter, and started what is hopefully my last. With an exerted effort to rise early a few days this week, and one night of writing, I should finish!

This pending completion makes me think back to when I first began. What things do I wish I knew before I began this process? Not the obvious, “it is a difficult road and takes a tremendous effort”, but a few pieces of advice to help me get out the first draft as fast and coherently as possible.

So below you will find a list of five things I wish I would have known or done before I began, to help with the process of creating a novel.

1. Time Management– This is crucial. Take a survey of your week and carve out time once a day, once every few days, or once a week to work on your novel. I HIGHLY recommend some form of weekly writing rhythm. If you write once a month, you will probably see little to no improvement and it may take the entire time just to get into the groove of your story. Also, it may very well feel so disjointed that it reads like a corroborated work rather than a sole author composing it.

2. Write What You Know – Many many professionals say this in their books on writing. Example – Don’t write a non-fiction book about astrophysicists if you don’t know what they are or do. And, if you want to write a book about astrophysicists – get to know one and ask them a lot of questions. Or, read a lot of books in that field or about them so you can have something intelligent to say.

3. Read Books in the same field/genre– This is something I did not do a lot of until later in the process. In order to write something unique and new you need to know what is out there, what sells, what is on the New York Times Bestsellers list, etc. Know the field, and you will know where you fit.

4. Don’t Think. Write!! – At least when constructing your first draft. Once you have clear direction and understand the problem of your story, how the characters meet, the tension, and how it will end, I say hit the keyboard or notebook as often as possible. Don’t spend too much time on the first draft, just get it done.

I have no one to quote here, but I am nearly positive that there has never been a novelist that has completed their first draft and then handed it to the press for printing and distribution.

5. Have Kind Knowledgeable People Read Your Stuff – Anyone can fall in love with their own stories, just as one can see past their own faults or the faults of their children. However, there are also those that will shred your hopes and dreams without batting an eye. So please have forgiving but honest and gracious people read your script and give feedback. Preferably people who do a lot of reading.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers,

Bob

We’ve all done it, had that hour or half hour window of writing time set aside, are full of inspiration from something that happened to us that day or a thought that finally made sense to us, grab our laptop or notebook, find our favorite spot with our favorite drink or snack, turn to the page or the keyboard and….nothing happens. The magical window has been slammed shut and your muse has turned in for the day. You are left forcing something awful out of the dry wells of your creativity and you and I both know that it will either be tossed, or need such thorough editing that it may seem pointless to have written at all. But remember, trying is never a bad idea but forcing your writing means writing with your mind shut off and this I do not recommend.

One thing that will help in this situation is knowing your peak time of productivity. I have found this to be vitally important in understanding how I write.  It is not so much knowing if you write better at night or during the day but understanding the reality of your schedule.

Let me explain. As much as I enjoy the thought (you may view this differently) of getting up at 5am and using the quiet peaceful hours of the day to get a few pages in, I find at this point in my life I cannot trust myself to do so. With countless other obligations it is easier for me to stay up one or two more hours (okay, sometimes four!) to get the work done since I am already awake. If I try to get up early I am usually exhausted and typically my fingers fumble for the snooze button. So for me, writing at night is the best time for me to ensure I actually write that day.

Some suggest to get the hard pieces out during your peak time. I concur. As much as you would like to get four pages out during that time it might just be better to work through a particular problem you’ve encountered. But, I suggest do whatever you can to keep the work flowing. When you encounter a time where the stars align and everything is moving in the right direction think about why it was so, and repeat it as often and as much as possible in your busy life.

Keep going my friends! Don’t stop.

Along with the long drawn out babble that will typically dominate my site, I wanted to include a few tools that I utilize to improve my writing that may help you. Please use them at your will. Here are sites and brief descriptions on why they are important.

Duotrope.com – Here’s the tagline from the site – Duotrope’s Digest is a free, online resource for writers of fiction and poetry. It is easy to sort through, and hopefully once I finish my novel I will use it more often to enter short story contests. I can track where all of my submissions are and what the status is. Please use this one if none of the others I suggest. It’s worth your time as many of the contests offer payment and publication.

HiWrite.com  – A list of how to’s and to do’s when you have a finished manuscript and want to see what the next steps are.

Translation.babylon.com  – Why use it? – Because you may need to include some Romanian in your next book. I know I do.  Hello = Buna ziua. Or, if you are writing some far flung tale that you need basic greetings in another language.

Word Frequency Counter  – Simply drop your text in, hit submit, and gawk at often you use ‘that’ every five hundred words! This will help you see how often you use certain words and encourage you to diversify your vocabulary. When I feel a piece is particularly boring I paste the text here and, usually, I can see that I lack diversity, confirming my suspicions.

Writer’s Digest – A free site, with a download of 101 best websites for writers. Worthy of the perusal. They have a great print publication. I have a subscription to it and have referenced it quite often.

Writer’s Market – This is not a free site. However, sign up for the emails, they have some helpful tips. If you can afford the money this is a great site because it has literary agencies and will save you some time when sending out your query letters, so you don’t send your literary novel to a sci-fi only agency (no these do not exist).

If you have sites or tips that you refer to again and again, please share.

Don’t give up my friends. Challenge – 500 words done by tomorrow?

Keep Writing.