The Writer Flip-Flops

Being a writer is hard. I am revising my first MS and I’m not doing too well with it. It’s a frustrating venture for me as something I don’t really have experience with. And because of those frustrations, I sort of just want to focus on another WIP instead. This is part of one of what I’m calling the Writer Flip-Flops. The other part is the love/hate relationship with what I’m trying to revise.

I have such an easier time creating something new. For whatever reason, a blank page that needs to be filled in is so much less overwhelming to me than 90K+ words that need to be altered, pruned, reduced, expanded on, clarified, reworked, rewritten, etc. The story idea is in that stage where all I really have to do is figure out how to put it into the correct words, which is actually a bit more complicated than that sounds. But I don’t have to figure out how one seemingly small change is going to impact every single word that follows it. I know I need to revise. It has to happen, even if just to clarify the story for me. And more than that, how else am I going to get better at revising if I don’t actually do it?

While I’m pushing myself to keep going through this slow-going process, I’m struggling with another flip-flop and I really hope I’m not the only writer experiencing this. Some days I absolutely love my work and other days I can’t help but think my storyline is stupid, silly, and full of plot-holes. I've been very fortunate to have some great friends and family read my MS and give their support and valuable input and honestly, some days it’s that support and input alone that keeps me going with it. That’s usually the point in which I step away from my computer or binder and give it a few days or weeks before attempting more progress, waiting until I’m back in that I-love-my-characters-and-their-story-has-to-be-told mentality.

Like I said, being a writer is hard. But I’m working through the Flip-Flops and hoping that at some point, it will get easier, even if that only means the flip-flop periods get shorter.

Do you ever get the Writer Flip-Flops? How do you get through them?

 

It's coming!!!!

(I'm posting this from my phone so I apologize if the formatting is weird!!)

SALT comes out in 20 days.

The sequel is due in 33 days & I have 18.5k words.

I baked cookies for 3 hours last night. 

Now you've has insight into the life of an author.

.

.

.

.

But in all seriousness, SALT comes out in 20 days and I'm thrilled. (Mostly. Sometimes I'm scared.) 

There are a lot of reasons we write books: for a friend, for a deadline, for a character, for publication, for fun, for themselves. SALT was completely for myself; I honestly never thought it'd ever be published. 

I wrote SALT after finishing a major revision on FOLLOW ME THROUGH DARKNESS. I'd spent two years with FMTD and that book is my heartbeat but the MC is lost, the subject heavy and the world intense. I was so tired when I finished that revision and then I heard Penelope's voice. 

She made me laugh. Her story made me smile, left me feeling joyful and light. It rejuvenated me, and I wrote it. It was fun to write and read, even while drafting and rewriting and building. That was why I wrote SALT. It was fun. It was never meant to be this beautiful piece of literary genius. It was relief and escape and happiness and kissing. 

As other people read her story, they fell in love with Penelope and her voice. That's how Entangled ended up with it. It's a fun story. And even when I was doing page proofs a few weeks ago, it made me laugh. It always makes me laugh. :)

As SALT comes out in 20 days, I hope it beings you happiness for a moment and makes you laugh. (I mean the cover is purple and sparkly I think that's pretty self-explanatory for the tone of the book.) 

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

I hope SALT is as fun for you as it was/is for me! 

And now, back to my sequel. And the cookies. 

 

We are Limitless

December is the season where we tell our babies and toddlers and youngsters that magic exists, it's real and you can have it if you believe in it enough. When do we all stop believing in that magic? I hope the answer is never. 

Imagination is our greatest tool and it has carried humanity to impossible shores and beyond. And I think that we need to use it more, or we'll all grow zombie-like.

Here's what one of my favorite author's has to say about the topic of imagination:

“I think most people’s imaginations don’t have limits. Imaginations get limits forced on them. You know, it’s really interesting, with kids. Kids just imagine stuff. They make stuff up. They think up stuff. They daydream. As we get older, we stop daydreaming. As we get older, we stop letting our mind wander, and it’s when your mind goes wandering that it comes home with really interesting things that it found on the way. I think what’s most important is just remembering the value of imagining. The knowledge that, if you look around, everything you see was imagined at some time, by somebody.”

— Neil Gaiman, in an interview with Cosmopolitan Philippines

See the original location of this quote 

I watch the little ones I teach everyday and there's a wonderment that I try to tap into with my own artistic endeavors. We are never too old to daydream. We are never too old to dream. We are never too old for imagination. We are limitless.

What have you been imagining lately?

 

I'm Such a NaNo Liar

In my Tangled post last month I admitted that I was planning to give in to my desire to participate in NaNo. And I really did have all intentions of doing so. My plan was to modify the demands a bit and spend the first two weeks of November revising my last manuscript so that I could turn it into my agent by the 15th. Then, I was going to spend the second two weeks writing my newest manuscript idea. I had hoped to hit 25K in the new one by the 30th.

Yeah...that totally did not happen. Not even close. It's now December 2nd and I am still not done with revisions on that first project. I won't lie. I'm a bit disappointed I haven't yet gotten to my new idea, but I'm honestly not that disappointed.

The reason why? I'm finally back to enjoying this book. Somewhere in the middle of all the revising, I fell in love with my characters and their story all over again. I am connected to them again and that feels soooooo good. Like, omgpleaseforgivemeforeverwantingtoabandonyou good. I'm happy I stuck with them and will be proud of what I turn into my agent in just a few days.

So while I didn't achieve my original NaNo goal, I'm still grateful for NaNo because it got me recommitted. It helped me focus and, really, what's better than falling back in love with a story that you haven't felt connected to in months?

 

NaNo Makes Me Jealous

I had planned to participate in NaNo this month. Really, I did. I knew from the time I signed up for July’s Camp NaNoWriMo that I wanted to participate in November. However, like most of my plans, there was a kink: we were moving. Between getting everything out of our old house and getting things set up in our new house, I just didn't have the time--or brain power--to get organized and ready to spend a month writing as close to 50K words as I could manage. Even knowing that, I still started off the month being jealous of my friends who were able to participate.

NaNo makes me jealous because I want to be able to write 50K words in one month. And because I want to have the motivation and nagging sensation that I need to sit down and write. Between homeschooling activities, my crochet/knitting/sewing business, and general life happenings, writing takes the back burner. Always. But having that goal and deadline--like I did back in July--I actually get stuff accomplished. It’s just about the end of November and I’m still jealous that I didn't’t get to experience that. I’m also jealous that my word count is no higher than it was when November started. *sigh*

Because I’m trying to find an optimistic way to look at NaNo (while keeping the green at bay), I’m going to try to mooch the last of the NaNoWriMo vibes over the last two days of November and try to hit a goal of my own: rewrite the first chapter of the MS I’m revising. Maybe that will help me get past my envy. And more than that, maybe it will remind me that I’d rather not be jealous of all my friends next year. I’d rather be one of them and participate in my first actual NaNoWriMo.

If you participated in NaNo this month, how did you do?

Sometimes the universe says, 'No!'

It’s that time of year – thousands of would-be-wordsmiths across the globe are scribbling away, aiming to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. Every year, I intend to take part but something, somewhere, stops it from happening. For the past three years, it’s been university work. This year, I’ve already fast-drafted four novels, so I thought I’d have a chance.

The universe said no. First, the start of NaNoWriMo coincided with the review tour for my book, Darkness Watching, so I began as a neurotic mess with a tendency to over-analyse every sentence to death. My inner self-critic was in overdrive, and I fell behind on my WIP within a day! I can always catch up later, I thought…then I planned an impromptu weekend away.

“I’ll write on the train!” I told myself. Two hours is plenty of time to get some words down, right? Unfortunately, the universe decided to intervene and make my train late, so I ended up with no seat and had to stand in the corridor for two hours. Even I’m not crazy enough to try and type on my laptop whilst standing in a moving train…

And then my boyfriend bought me a 2DS. Gaming is my biggest weakness, and try as I might, I couldn’t resist the lure of Pokemon. So I got absolutely nothing written over the weekend. I tried to catch up on the train back, but only managed to fall asleep. Then, the next day I woke up with flu. The universe strikes again! I battled the fog in my head for a week, forcing myself to get words on the page, but I felt sluggish and uninspired.

Then came the thing I’d waited for – and dreaded – for months. The Editorial Email of Doom, from my publishers, for the second Darkworld novel. I’d known it was coming at some point in November, but one look at the long list of things to change told me I’d have to put my NaNo project aside if I ever wanted to get it done. When I edit, I need to be fully immersed in the story’s world to the exclusion of everything else. So I locked myself in the editing cave for a week. I got no new words on my WIP done, but rewrote the best part of a 63,000-word novel.

By now, there was no chance I’d be able to catch up. So I willingly let myself get distracted, first by shiny new ideas, then by editing old projects, then by Pitch Wars. I had a YA fantasy that was almost ready to query (except I’d been putting it off due to my fear and hatred of query letters and synopses…). So I did the final polish and drafted the query. Once again, my poor NaNo WIP took a back seat!

And now I’m facing the last week of NaNoWriMo, and unless I get possessed by some crazy writing muse, I’m unlikely to ‘win’ this year. Strangely, I don’t mind. The main goal of NaNo is to get into the habit of writing, and for writers, every month is a writing month. The important thing for me is that I’m always working on something – be it drafting, revising or editing. Maybe next year NaNoWriMo will coincide with starting a draft!

#NaNoWriMo: The Key to Success

What is the key to success for NaNoWriMo?

This is the second biggest question in the universe!! (The first is "Doctor who?" -- and okay, it's really only the biggest question in the months of October and November, and for writers, but go with me.)

Here's my answer. Ready. It's going to change your life! CHANGE YOUR LIFE I SAY. To show it the best, let's turn to this lovely picture:

There are thousands of people who write books daily -- and none of these people write the same way. Some of us are plotters and some pantsers; some analyze every single sentence before they move on and others power through a whole entire book filled with crappy words. There is no one single right way to write a novel.

And while we know this, there's something about NaNo (especially if you are like me and hate failing at a goal that you want to achieve, and even more so if a prize is involved and everyone else is doing it!) that makes us feel like less of a writer if you don't try to write 50k words. Or worse, you try and fail.

This is wrong. And that's taken me a long time to come to grips with.

Even though there is one 'rule' of Nano -- which is to write 50k in a month -- that's not an actual requirement for success. I've done NaNo four times (this is four right now) and I've only won once. Only once. But does that mean the other times I tried and didn't write 50k words I failed? No.

That's because I do NaNo my way.

I know what works for me, my life, my schedule, my strengths. I know how best to achieve the goal before me.  I often feel like the years I didn't win were more important to me as a writer than the one I won.

The first time I did NaNo I wrote a lot of words, but not 50k. I was a brand-new baby writer and this seemed like a great idea. I learned a lot about my writing process that year, and even though I failed, I gained something useful. It was a very big learning experience--and now that book lives in a closet (It's so bad!) but the things I learned from that year changed the way I did the next book, and the next year of NaNo.

The second time, the year I won NaNo, I was a rebel and started a book that I was rewriting. (Follow Me Through Darkness, actually, revision 2 or 3 of 8!) I had an extraordinary amount of time to devote to it. I had clear direction with that story. I wanted to win and I had something to prove (mostly to myself) and so I dove in with everything I had. It was really hard, but I did it. I was so proud of myself that year, not necessarily for winning a prize (though it helped) but for accomplishing what I set out to accomplish.

The third time (last year) I tried NaNo and I had just started a new job, and I was in a new place and working on the sequel to FMTD. I'd already had 20k words before NaNo, and I was going to finish it. I didn't. In fact, I wrote 30k but they were so bad. I failed NaNo. Was I sad? Yes, because I really wanted to finish that book. But later I ended up sending that 50k to my editor --and she made me through that whole sequel out because it wasn't working. It was the wrong side of the story. So in the end, I was happy that I hadn't wasted even more time trying to force a book to work just so I could win NaNo.

This year, I wasn't going to do NaNo.
Even though I wanted to.

I didn't have time. I didn't want to lose myself in it. I didn't know what happened in Salt 2 so how could I write it? I made it exactly seven hours into Nov 1 and then I signed up. Why? Because I love NaNo because I like the other people involved. It makes me feel like I'm not alone. Plus, I'm competitive, so I watch all the other charts go up up up and I want mine to go up. (It brings out an ugly side of me.)

But this year I went in with my own goals: write 25k words.

That's all I want. 25k.

Realistically, I knew I didn't have that much time to devote to getting 50k words, but I needed the words and, again, I like the charts/competition/community feel of it. So I went into NaNo wanting that.

It's day 17 when you're reading this (day 14 when I'm writing it) and I have almost 16k words. Good words. Words that I will probably get to keep! And I still have half the month to get the other 10k words. The best part is that when it's over, I'll have a portion of my book. I didn't have that 14 days ago. I didn't even have an idea 14 days ago.

I say that's success.

What's the key then? Do it your way.

Screw the rules! Use this time to reach your own goals. Write an outline. 10k words. 25k words. That revision of the book that you had to finish a month ago...whatever it is for you. Set a realistic goal and then be okay that goal. Be proud of what you accomplish because you know yourself, your life and your schedule more than those organizers of NaNo know it. Use NaNo as an excuse to write and then write! 

I really think there's something magical about doing NaNoWriMo. It's a powerful thing to think about how many people participate (a lot) and that for this 30 days every single one of us are connected, driven and working toward the same goal with the same passion. 

Being part of that community?

That's success.