Tag: The Writing Process

Should You Throw In The Towel Or Try Harder?

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Blogging, Chasing Life11 Comments

Earlier this year I decided my blog wasn’t working. I didn’t like the look of it. I didn’t like the plug ins, my photo, the header, or even the font. It was supposed to be an outlet to help and connect with other struggling writers.

But it was terrible. I was done.

I knew that I wasn’t a blogger.

Photo Credit: cellar_door_films via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: cellar_door_films via Compfight cc

Then I had a realization that cut me deeply. It wasn’t that my blog wasn’t working but that I was giving it as much thought and attention as I give my hair each morning. This was not the time to throw in the towel, it was time to go to blogging school and get back to work, if I so desired.

Back in March I stopped blogging and wrote on my new novel. When I needed a break I’d read books about blogging. I watched videos of the bloggers I admired and examined their websites. I looked to the pros and tried to take what they did each week and each month into consideration.

After much deliberation I knew it was time to pick a date. I was tired of not investing in my platform and the bloggers I enjoy connecting with. I set a date of August, and started on a rebuild.

The important thing I learned from this is that a casual attempt at anything will get the result it deserves. And even if I never get to where I want to be with a project, I want to be satisfied with my effort before I close the book.

Are you unsatisfied with the results you are getting with your blog, book, or career? If so, is it time to close the book and be satisfied with your efforts, or have you not really tried at all and it’s time to dig deeper?

Writing Above Your Means

On By Robert EvenhouseIn The Writing Process4 Comments

When my wife and I were looking for a house, we decided to get one we could afford. Shocking, I know. What I mean is, we agreed to buy something within our means and have realistic expectations about this purchase. We knew it would be silly to try to have what our parents have now in regards to a house and the things in it as they have had thirty plus years to accumulate them.

That got me thinking. Do I do that with my writing? What sort of expectations do I have for my novel? Are they unrealistic? Do I give myself time to grow and become the novelist I want to be? Or am I working too fast and too hard trying to get there? Do I compare myself with Patterson, Dickens, Rowling or the next millionaire author?

Something to think about.

Cheers,

Bob

How I Plan To Edit My Novel

On By Robert EvenhouseIn Writing Tips3 Comments

After I finish my book proposal (more on that tomorrow) I plan to get back to making my novel better. Some might think this is backwards, but there are things I’d like to clean up as I wait patiently (all to eagerly perhaps) for that form rejection letter.

When taking gravity, mathematics, and the concreteness of reality out of the way, there are about a billion ways to do just about anything. Here is my bumpy  and unproven road towards a cleaner fourth draft.

Step 1: Create Small Goals

When I look back on my novel there is a lot of work to be done. But I plan to approach these corrections and tackle them like I remodeled me house, one room at a time. If I were to read through for grammar, characterization, plot, and other errors simultaneously, I would immediately become overwhelmed by the plethora of mistakes. So I plan to read my novel several times to sweep over each one. Also, I will to do a simple read through taking notes first, before I do any hacking and whacking to my manuscript.

Step 2: Create A Plan

Not only can the writer/editor become overwhelmed with the mistakes that have been made on an early draft of a novel, but it can be nerve racking knowing just where to begin. I plan to print of my manuscript three chapters at a time and each night before I go to bed, simply read through 5-10 pages. 400+ pages can be a lot of work, but if I were to get on a role and finish 10 pages a day for a week, there’s 70 pages right there. And that’s not to mention lunch breaks at work and the occasional morning where I might have the energy to get up and knock out 5-10 pages.

Step 3: Identify Areas of Improvement

As I do my casual read through, while scratching some notes, I plan to identify areas of improvement. For instance, if I have inaccurate descriptions, if I forget a character completely, if a whole scene needs to be rewritten, a new scene added, or, as William Faulkner say if he were standing over my shoulder, if that little darling part needs to be killed.

Again, as I said at the beginning this is not a sure-fire way to edit. I don’t think there is. I think there are formulas we can use that might help, but it is what fits the writer best. The most important thing for me is figure out a system that works, and to do it.

One word at a time.

Cheers,

Bob

When Characters Do What You Do Not Expect

On By Robert EvenhouseIn My NovelLeave a comment

There have been times when a friend has read my manuscript and told me something about my novel that even I did not know was there. It might have been, by pure accident, something clever or something deep and meaningful that I did not even realize I put into the text. This is one of the several reasons why I appreciate the art of writing.

Other things can surprise the writer of a story as well. Unforeseen plot twists, misadventures that add depth to the plot, and characters that at one point meant nothing can become crucial to the story are just a few examples of surprises that await the writer of any story.

During my first draft of the Tale of Calleleth, I wrote a one liner about a character that went something like this:

“Aeneia, a girl who sat three desks over from Custos smiled smugly at the rest of the class, most especially at the students who translated incorrectly. She was a beautiful girl two years younger than Custos but incredibly unbearable.”

Aeneia has a small speaking part thereafter, then disappeared into the netherworld of my story, to be forgotten by all, well at least everyone but me.

Elbow your way into a story

However, this was not the last of Aeneia of Calelleth. She morphed during my second draft and flourished in my third to become someone of dire importance. To be honest I was shocked, not because she was now a pivotal piece of my story, but because it was so natural to include her in the story. It was as if she was always supposed to be there.

How does this happen? How does one character who is inconsequential in the first draft become detrimental not only to book, but future ones?

Even as the writer I do not know. Has this ever happened to you?  Has a character, or some other element in your story, elbowed their way to the surface and demanded to be written?

Cheers,

Bob