Writing in the New Year

Every year don’t we all as writers make promises to ourselves to write more in the New Year? This will be the year when we get another book written or start working on the novel we’ve always wanted to write. This year seems to be even more challenging with all that has occurring around us, things over which we have no or little control.

Usually at this time of the year, I have often looked back on what I accomplished in the past year before I start making goals for the new year. It’s a good way of acknowledging  my good moments while recognizing what still needs to be done.  These past few months have been more challenging, especially since we often don’t have control over what is happening around us. That only makes our writing endeavors more critical.

Rather than worrying about not being able to write, this is a good time to take stock of what we have accomplished during this challenging last year and look forward to what we still want to accomplish and how we might want to get moving on a started project or working on something new.  

No matter what happens in the coming months, I know that one way or another I will be starting new projects and finishing old ones before the year is out. I will not stop and that is half the battle.

So how do we get started with fresh material and fresh ideas to start out the new year?   Well, here are some easy ideas that can help with your writing.

Experiment with a new genre

Take a class

Try a New Way of Researching

Write a short story

Try a New Approach

Let’s examine some of those tips for getting that fresh start for 2017:

1. Look for something new to do. One thing that has caught my interest as the year closed on 2020 was writing science fiction. Oh, I’ve had the idea in the past, but this year I am going to try it. Why not? Look around at the genre you are working in. Is it growing a little stale? Have you been considering another one? Why not try it now in the new year? Play with a short story if you can’t commit to something long. Or if you haven’t written a short story in a while, do that instead of a longer tale.
2. Take a class.  I always recommend classes when people are stuck with their writing. A different perspective on your work and a different way to look at an old topic can get the creative juices flowing again. I am always on the look out for new classes to take or something new to learn. Keeping my mind active is a good way to keep young. I am not taking a class this month, but I am teaching one on plotting and I’ve already come up with some new ideas from the students who will be in my class. 
3. Try a new method of researching.  One story I began working on last year required historical research and I found myself so involved in it that this past weekend I started off the new year at the library with an in depth look at the research department. I already came away with some new leads (and some new research books) that will help me get that story finished.
4. Write a Short Story. While writing a short story can sometimes be every bit as difficult as writing a full novel, I recommend it as a good way to either jump start your writing or to get a fresh perspective on your writing at the beginning of the year. Writing short still requires the basics of novel writing: you still need to come up with a plot, even if it is simple. You also have to develop real characters, and you have much less time to introduce them to your readers so it can be a challenging undertaking. But the best part is that you can finish it much quicker than a book and that gives you a sense of accomplishment that you can use to move back into your work in progress. It might even make you appreciate your writing more.
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   5. Try a new approach. This can make you think and it can also make you appreciative of the good elements of your writing while perhaps showing you some of your weaknesses. The best thing about trying a new approach is that you keep learning. Who knows, it might also introduce you to new methods you can use in the future. One thing I tried  years ago has really helped move along my writing career. I began working with a co-author. We started out teaching writing classes together, but since then Sue Viders and I have written several books on writing. This past year we decided to tackle a fiction book, and now our first cozy mystery has just been published. It's available at Amazon.com. Since we designed it to become a series, we're already working on book two.

One final note about finishing up the old year and looking forward--I usually write down my accomplishments from last year and set goals for the new year. This time around I am going to look at different methods of getting my writing output increased.

 

So look around you. What do you need to do to get more done in the new year? A new schedule, a new way of editing--what didn’t you do last year? Are there things you wanted to do that you put off?  Last year, I declared 202 as the year of finishing things, and that was exactly what I did. By the end of the year, I had three books published.

 

In 2023, I’m not looking to match that (since those books had all been started earlier) but I am hoping to get started on a new project and I’m hoping to complete the books I do have working at the moment. That way 2023 can be profitable and I can end it with a sense of satisfaction.

 

Happy writing in the New Year!

Getting to The End

 Sometimes you have to say no.  Sometimes we get so used to meeting deadlines and saying yes to others, that we forget to feed our own creative energy. We constantly do what needs to be done instead of what we want to do. We meet our obligations but we must also  write what WE want to write and say the things WE want to say.  

Is there a project you keep putting aside, but you keep saying you'll get back to it later when you have time?

How about those unfinished novels or stories tucked away in the drawer that you keep promising you'll finish? 

What about that great idea that just needs some attention in order to move forward?

You'd like to do all these things, but then something else comes along, or someone else makes a request and you feel obligated to do that instead.

Sometimes we need to make an obligation to ourselves.

We need to feed our souls by pursuing that dream we have always carried; we need to finish that book that started with such great promise but has gotten bogged down, either by character problems or lack of enthusiasm.

For many years I worked in television news where deadlines were a daily issue--sometimes a minute by minute issue. Seconds counted when it came to getting a news story on the air or getting the newscast ended on time. When network programs followed your newscast you had no choice but to make certain you met the time deadline or stories weren't going to get aired and your newscaster were going to be cut off in mid sentence. 

Deadlines matter.

No editor wants to work with a writer who keeps promising something that never appears. Editors have deadlines of their own to meet so writers need to be respectful of that. As a news producer I always expected reporters to meet their time constraints and depended on them to do it or again, my program was going to run long. As writers, that's the sort of obligation we have toward our editors. we need to give them the best product in the time we're allowed to write and we need to see that the story we write is the best we can do.

And sometimes that means saying no. We don't get that extra interview or we don't fully develop that character that we've suddenly fallen in love with. But there will be other days and other times.  Currently I am finishing up the edits for my next Romantic Suspense, Dead Man's Treasure. Its focus is on a character who grabbed my attention during the first book in the Dead Man series, Dead Man's Rules. From the moment I put Freeda Ferguson on the written page, I grew close to her. I loved her spirit of adventure and I wanted her to succeed. But first I had to find a story for her, and I needed to find an adventure for her. I've used her in a couple of my books, simply as a background character or given her a mention, but I wanted to get to know her better and truly show her to readers.

Well, now the book is written, and I have given Freeda that life and a problem of her own to solve. As it turned out, Freeda had some traits I hadn't even discovered when I first started writing about her. She is a free spirit who loves adventure, but she is also vulnerable and human, even as she is tested to her core.

Dead Man's Treasure will be released soon. Sometimes you have to go back to revisit an idea you originally discarded and give it a second chance. Then you can say YES!

Spring Forward With The Editing Process

 The great joy of writing a novel is to see your work actually go on sale to readers. Whether it is in bookstores or on a library shelf or available for sale online, the moment you see your book available to readers will make just about any writer smile. Finally the book will be viewed by others beyond you, your critique partners, your friends and family and the editor from your publisher. 

Your work may be criticized by readers and given good or bad reviews, but it is out there. It makes those long hours of coming up with ideas, finding just the right words and then struggling with the editing process all worthwhile. But the editing process can get you down. That's where you see all the problems with your work. The places where you make a typo or say something the wrong way all comes suddenly flashing in front of you. Small things that you missed suddenly starting flashing like bright red lights. 

A good editor can make all the difference in the world, and working closely with an editor can make your work much better than it started out to be. My book editors have been very good, not only at helping me fix my work to make it better but they have also given me encouragement as I work on my next book.

But there are other steps you can take to make your writing better even before it gets to the editor.  

1. Read over your work as you finish the day. Perhaps save the last 20 minutes of your allotted writing time to the editing process. That can help you finish the day on an up note, or you might even look it over before you start writing the next day. That way your words and plot are firm in your mind when you start writing the next scene or chapter of your book.

2. Read your work out loud. This was a habit I formed when I was working in television news. Of course it made sense there because our stories were going to be read out loud and we needed to make certain the copy was error free so a simple mistake didn't catch the anchor by surprise while reading it live on the air. Reading over character conversations out loud is especially important. Is how you are phrasing a sentence the right way someone would speak? Not everyone talks alike. Are you showing that in your writing style and in the conversation the characters are having? A teenager and an older person probably won't be the same. How does the conversation sound?

3. Make a list of problem words or phrases that you can go back and check as you write. Are you using the same words over and over? We all have those small phrases we sometimes fall back on without realizing it. A good editor will point these out, but why let it go that far? Look for them yourself and fix the problems before the story ever goes to an editor.

4. Don't be afraid to take a writing lesson every so often. No matter how much writing we do, it always helps to have a refresher course in either grammar or writing dialogue. Sometimes we often fall into little traps or the problem of making all our writing sound alike. There are some popular bestselling authors that I read that I often find myself looking for some of the same issues they have exhibited in other books. Make certain your writing is the best it can be.

I've taught many writing classes over the years, but I still often take writing classes just to stay up on the latest writing styles and to make certain I'm not falling into old bad writing habits

5. Don't lose sight of your goals and become discouraged. We all want to write the best book and we want readers to enjoy our work or to find some value in it so they keep coming back. We can get to that point if we keep writing and keep working toward being a better writer with every story we turn out.

Finally, if you want to become a published author, don't give up. These days you can publish yourself, but if you do, you still want to build a reader base so work hard at your craft and make every story the best it can be.

Happy writing!   

Hook Your Readers

 After a hiatus due to Co-vid, we are back in business here at Write That Novel--ready to help writers get through these difficult days of struggling to either find time to write, or the will to jump back into our fictitious worlds. Writing fiction can be difficult when there is so much nasty reality staring us in the face. But sometimes it can be fun to escape and to give our characters, our settings and our problems something WE can control. So, with that in mind, let's jump back into the world of fiction and work on how to become even better writers in a world we can create and control.

Writers are always looking for ways to hook their readers. We all want to draw in those readers with our words, our characters, our plots and our stories. We want ways to capture their attention and then to keep them reading our stories and then look for more books we may be writing. 

One way to  keep those readers turning the pages and coming back to look for our names on books is to keep working on our craft and improving how we write our stories. With that in mind let's look today at developing and writing Scenes and the use of Hooks.

Those elements are the handy writing tools that can  work together to do the job of pulling in and then hooking readers. Simply put,  most scenes need to propel the story forward. A scene without meaning is useless. Look at why you are including each and every scene in your book. If it doesn't have a purpose, there is no reason for it.

Beyond that, then look at how you might use a hook to keep the plot moving forward. Scenes that end with some kind of a hook really propels the plot. A sudden problem or dilemma coming at the very end of a scene can keep the reader turning the page instead of turning out the light and going to bed. Some scenes might even become stronger with an opening hook.

Still another way to use use scenes is as you plot your book. Instead of a vague outline you can plot  by actually using multiple scenes. Many writers use index cards to plot putting one scene to an index card or you might use a separate page in the computer.  This method is great for the writers who don't like to come up with a formal outline because each scene can be written individually and then shuffled around to come up with the desired plot.  Each scene can be moved back or forth until it is in the "right" place.

 Writers who don't like to plot often prefer to write their books a scene at a time.  If they have an idea for a certain event or scene, writing that scene out of order can help the creative process.  Getting the scene down while it is still fresh in their mind can improve the book.

A scene shows what happens as the action or the emotional problems/reactions unfold minute by minute. A typical book of let's say 85 to 90,000 words has about 70 or so scenes, give or take a few depending on the length of each scene,  with each scene moving the story forward or giving the reader insight in the growth of the main protagonist.  Let's look at what we need as you write settings:

Each scene should have a small plot in it. 

Remember time and setting. Where is the action taking place. A confused reader will put down your book if they don't know where the characters are and how much time has passed since the last scenes.

As part of the action of the scene, the character MUST react in some manner either to the previous scenes problem or to the plot's overall situation and also show an emotional change or reaction

Always remember motivation the reader needs to know (the motivation behind the character's actions)  and understand the goal of the protagonist4

The conflict can be in the action, or it can be in the emotional tension and finally the protagonist or whoever has that scene's POV needs to make some sort of a decision.

Scenes can be a variety of lengths, depending on what you choose to include.  Some action-filled scenes may run two to three pages, while a simple conversation may be only half a page...but, on the other hand, it could also be three or four pages.  It all depends on your style, genre and whose POV the scene is in.

Be careful how you treat the setting of your story...pages and pages of description, while maybe interesting, should be broken up and used sparingly and scattered in various scenes. I am currently working on a story set in British Columbia, and it's cool, damp atmosphere is a big change from my last story set on the dry plains of southern Colorado.

Use your setting to enhance each scene, to pull your readers into the character's world, but the main things to remember is you write each scene is that the scene must propel the story forward.  Each scene needs a reason.  If a scene does not serve a purpose, then that scene should be deleted.

Keep in mind as you begin to put the scenes in order that you will want a variety of action-packed scenes intermixed with slower scenes or reflective moments.  Too many fast-moving scenes coming one right after another can leave a reader breathless, while too many long, emotional scenes can lull a reader to sleep.

Mix the length of the scenes with a progression that makes sense in moving the story forward and that allows the reader time to think and react along with the characters.

Remember - Each scene needs to contain a reaction to what has just happened or to the dilemma with the choices to be decided upon.  A decision, which reveals the character's determination and the direction of the overall plot and some type of goal set up for the next scene should end the scene.  This is where you can make good use of the hook.

Try a hook:

      1 - At the end of a scene (or chapter) so the reader will keep turning the pages

      2 - At the beginning of the scene to get the reader "hooked" into reading all of the following pages. 

       3.  At the end of the chapter -- this is the most frequently used way because just like at the end of a scene the reader wants to keep going, but this is a bigger commitment moving on to the next chapter. 

A famous use of hooks that I can relate to that you probably see every day if you watch newscasts is the last comments a news anchor makes before throwing to a commercial. As a news producer many years ago, I wrote "teases" before each commercial aimed at keeping viewers seated or wanting to come back for the next news segment. Those were "hooks" -- reasons for viewers to stay tuned, and that is the same way you use a "hook." Keep your readers with you by the use of a hook.  

You might see that in books where the writer puts in an action event at the end of a chapter. Are you going to put that book down before you fall asleep? Probably not!

Learning the basics of the writing process, including hooks can keep your readers enjoying your work.

Happy writing and good luck

Getting off to a Fresh Start

At the beginning of every new year don’t we always look at different ways to start off fresh? We want to make our resolutions or set goals and look for new ways to make certain we actually accomplish what we set out to do. The idea sounds great and so many writers start off with the best intentions and then we hit the bitterness of reality. There are kids to pick up, a job to do, chores that need to be completed. Our writing can fall off and those goals of writing 200 words a day can fall too easily by the wayside. Before long the book we swore we would write this year or the word count we wanted to meet every week is not happening.

How can we make this work? How can we get our goals accomplished? Sometimes it starts by making smaller goals.  But… those goals are also a necessity. This past week I was part of an online group chat with authors and what I found was that almost all of us had one big goal – we all wanted to get a book finished and published.  The approaches to how to do it were as varied as the people. Some wanted to write every day. Others wanted to set certain goals for the week. Some wanted to get the book done as quickly as possible and then focus on editing.  And that is where writers should start. Let’s look at some of the strategies you might try to get your writing goals accomplished this year.

1.       Set goals. That was one of the first thing everyone in the writing group agreed. Setting a goal or several goals is a good to get started. That way you always have something to shoot for. If you don’t set a specific goal and you only give a vague idea of what you intend to do, how will you know when you’ve accomplished anything. Set a specific goal and then go after it.

2.       Set a goal that works for you.  If you know your work hours are long or that there are certain days you won’t have time, then setting a daily word-count goal may not work for you. However, setting a weekly writing goal might.  It might even make more sense to set an hourly goal – ‘I will write five hours this week.’

3.       Be realistic.  If you know you can’t write every single day then don’t make a goal of writing every single day. Set a goal of so many hours a day or set a word count for the day at the beginning of the week.

4.       Look for opportunities that will let you meet your goal.  Find that extra time right after the kids are put to bed or get up an hour early in the morning. When I had a regular job, I wrote in the hours before I had to get ready for work and often on weekends. I gave myself whole weekends of setting everything else aside and did a writing retreat on my own.

5.       Don’t let setbacks STOP you. We all can set goals that we want to meet and then suddenly three weeks have gone by and you haven’t written anything yet. Don’t panic. Just get started! Look over your goals again and see where they can be revised. And then get going again.

Writing can be a lonesome chore and it can get very difficult when you don’t feel like doing it, but sometimes you just have to sit down and DO it. Write something other than on your novel, like a blog or even just write down your feelings. If you want to succeed at your writing goals this year, unfortunately the only way you’re going to get there is to WRITE! 

Getting Back on Track - 5 Tips

The end of summer has always meant the end of the vacation season so it is time to get back on track – and that means getting back into a writing schedule.  How can you do it when there is still so much to be done?  We’ve learned a few tips that can help:

1. Schedule your writing time. When we were working regularly often we made time before going to work. Or we knew certain time on the weekends was a good time to write. Either way, the time was already set aside and just like brushing your teeth at a certain time or watching TV at a certain hour, when the clock rolls around to that time you should be ready to write. Schedule half an hour or an hour, but schedule it!

      2.Write during your lunch hour. Do you regularly have plans or people you go with? If not, take your ipad or notebook and sit down at the lunch table with them beside you. We’ve heard plenty of writers say they even GO out to restaurants or coffee shops to get a break from home and write.

       Set a daily word-count and find the time to reach it. Sometimes, when things get hectic it is hard to find a set time to write, but if you set a certain word count every day, you might be able to get in some writing here and there, and then by the time evening comes you may find you only need to write one more page to reach your goal.

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      3. Set up a writing group.  One thing that has worked for us is to meet a couple of friends at a coffee shop and we talk for half an hour and then we sit and write for the next hour. It means we will get some writing done every day and often one or two of us will stay on to get more writing done.

4. Take a writing getaway. This is one of my favorites. Starting 30 years ago when I would drag around portable typewriters, notebooks and laptops wherever I was going, I began spoiling myself with weekend getaways out of town. I finished writing my first book that way. I had a favorite hotel on the beach where I could sit by the window, feel the ocean breeze and type. (I’m sure it drove the others staying there crazy) I was more than happy when I could finally take a computer and do the same thing. The schedule called a morning walk on the sand, breakfast, writing, and finally dinner by the beach t and then more writing – that was a great way to spend a weekend. I’ve done the same in the mountains and even in busy cities--though my walking there was shopping. But the fun part was getting away and indulging the writing spirit.  

       5. Try a new writing method.  If you're just getting back in the groove, try a new method of writing. This is a good time to experiment with something you have been wanting to try. This summer at the RWA National Convention, I attended a class on Scrivenor, and it made me curious enough that I want to see how it works.  I'm also experimenting with Dragon Speak which is dictating the story instead of writing. 

Whatever it takes to get you going again can not only get more words written, but it might rejuvenate your writing process.  What have you got to lose?  And think of how much you have to gain!

5 Tips for Surviving the Summer

As summer ends we usually find that we've gotten a lot less done than we anticipated.  Often we set unrealistic goals about writing all through the summer vacation or carrying out all that fantastic research and now we're ready to write. In the meantime the project sits there and gathers dust, but it doesn't get started, much less finished.  So now, the summer is ending. What can you do to get yourself going again. The fall rush will soon be started, with the resumption of school and all those other small things that didn't get done still need doing.

And your writing project?  Again, it sits there.

What can you do to get going again? Well, with the kids back in school it might be time to set your new fall schedule too.

1. Set aside a writing time.  With schedules being re-done, why not try to set up your own writing time too. Try writing in the morning. Either do it once the kids are off to school  or try that final hour before having to go pick them up.

2. Go the library and do your research. With the kids back in school some of the busy time at the local library might be less busy and that could  mean a quieter time and less traffic at the library. If there is research you've been wanting to do, this might be the perfect time to to it.

3. Visit the local book store. Reading a new fiction novel might be just the thing to get your own writing ideas flowing again. Finding the latest release by your favorite author might also be a good way to get your own writing groove back.

4. Look for a critique group. Again, with the kids back in school, there might be other writers in your area looking to start a new group or for new members of an existing group. With the change in the season and in schedules some people might be falling out so the groups might be looking to re-arranging.

5. Try joining a new writing group. Some will stop for the summer, so check out the local libraries or look online to see if there are any writing groups meeting. Visit local book stores and check the bulletin boards to see if there are nearby groups looking for new members.

Whatever you choose to try, this is the perfect time of the year to start a new project. It's like the beginning of a new school year. The next few months will probably be spent inside, so why not begin a new book? You could be finished by next spring!

5 Tips for Writing Descriptions

Today I got a question from a student in one of my writing classes about her characters. It wasn't about how to build them or how to make them unique. It was about how to describe them.  She had no idea where to start and it got me to thinking about how we place our characters into our stories.

How can you go about showing who they are without starting out with a long laundry list? You know that list -- you've seen it in book after book: he had brown hair, blue eyes, and a stocky build or she had blonde hair, bright green eyes and a body to kill for. One of my favorite authors (I won't mention who because she writes books that are bestsellers) but in every book the character description is the same starting with "she was a tall woman with....fill in the blanks, but it is always the same structure. Or you've seen that book where the author has the character stop in front of a mirror and examine her looks. That was the norm several years ago and writers used it so much it became a cliche.

Those options are there, but there have to be other ways too.

1. Try having another character describe your hero or heroine. Maybe the best friend admires your heroine's courage or maybe they discuss that attribute, plus others, in a conversation. This is a simple way to set the stage for what might be coming a little later. Or maybe the hero takes one look at the heroine and is drawn by her vibrant blue eyes--that tells the reader something about him and her at the same time.
 
2.  Have the character describe her/himself.  This works fine in a first person narrative.  I was always amused by how mystery author Sue Grafton would let Kinsey Milhone describe her carefree lifestyle and her lack of stylish concern.

3.  Compare characters. This can come from the character himself, comparing his strength on the football field or battle field to his chief rival, or having the heroine compare her physical strength with her sister who wouldn't be caught dead in a gym or on a soccer field.

4.  Try having the character lament the habits or looks they don't have. At the same time they can bring in the physique, looks or attributes they lack.  This can be very useful and fun if you are writing a lighthearted romance or your character is self deprecating at times.

5. Just do it! There are times when you have no choice but to be straight forward and just give the basic details. At times like that, just get it in there and get it completed so that you can move on. It might be in some of the small details as you start bringing your character to life in the first chapter or you might sneak it in as part of the opening action.

But remember, we do want to know what those look like. We want to know if she is taller than those around her and she is self conscious about it or if he is shorter than a the basketball players who tower around him as he takes them to task as their coach.

5 Tips for Writing Romantic Suspense

My writing career started off as a romance writer but I soon got the urge to write suspense as well. As I explain to friends and readers, those bodies just started falling and they kept turning up in strange places to ruin my romances until I couldn't very well ignore them. I had to include them in my romance stories and have my hero and heroine not only fall in love but solve the crime too.

Why write romance and romantic suspense? The combination can be fun. Just when things get slow in the romance, I can always have the suspense ratchet up because someone is either in danger or gets killed.  The same is true in suspense. When the heroine thinks all she has to do is solve the crime, suddenly some guy enters the picture and she has to deal with all these strange romantic feelings.  The treachery by an author never relents!  We love to torture our heroes and heroines and test them every way we can.  Shove a problem in their way and then let them get out!  So what do you need t know if you want to write romantic suspense?

1. Get both plots under way quickly. Don't hesitate on either one. Introduce the hero and heroine in

the first or second chapter and get the romance started, whether it is their meeting or using opposing viewpoints. Let the reader know who they will be following in the book. If you are writing romantic suspense, editors and romance publishers usually want their story to begin almost simultaneously with whatever the mystery is going to be. I've heard that from both agents and editors.

2. Get your characters involved not only with each other but with the story as well. We don't want a woman who is just along for the ride or the hero who just turns up when she needs help.  We want them both invested in the mystery, even if we aren't quite sure until the end if one or the other might even be involved in the murderous or criminal event.  If you can make one look guilty, even better!

3. Don't let the romance overwhelm the mystery or the other way around. As I mentioned earlier,we want this story to be 50-50 so neither one should overwhelm the other. You want to use the romance to keep the characters emotionally involved with each other, but they can both be involved in solving the mystery, even if they are on different sides or hoping for different outcomes.

4. Don't over do one element to the detriment of the other. If you find yourself more invested or involved in the romance, then perhaps you are writing a romantic story with suspense elements. On the other hand if you find yourself so focused on police activity or on law enforcement, then perhaps you are writing a detective story with romantic elements. Is there enough emotion involved? Would you rather focus on police details? Or are you so caught up in your romance you are simply sliding over those scenes involving crime solving? Be honest as you decide what you are writing. You can fix in the editing process, but by the end you should know which genre or sub genre your story belongs in before you got to an editor or agent.

5. Watch that ending. It needs to wrap up both the mystery and the romance. Perhaps the hero and heroine have just decided they are going to be friends now that they have solved the case, but be sure you have a satisfying conclusion for the reader.

There are more  rules for writing romantic suspense, but this is a good way to start. The main thing is to remember your characters. Which are they more suited for? Look them over and determine if they belong in a mystery or if they prefer a romance. Often your characters will know before you do! 

5 Tips for Getting off to A Fresh Writing Start

Every year in January would be writers, beginning writers and even published writers tell themselves this is the year they hit it big and get all the writing done that they set out to publish. Year after year things don’t happen for the majority of writers. They stare at the blank pages and then

either give up after a few days, abandon their project half way through or decide the effort isn’t worth it.

           

Some do many to stick with their idea and keep writing and writing, and editing and eventually get the project done. Will they turn it into a best seller? Well, that is another question altogether.  But that elusive golden ring cannot be the automatic end result we expect or we would never get started. We can keep it up there dangling above us and keep reaching for it and that can make the journey all the more fun. Think of how fulfilled you will be when you finally latch onto that golden ring and get a good firm grip on it.

But for the rest of us, we must keep battling away and reaching ever upward with our writing, whether we are working on the first short story, the third book we’ve written or the 8^th novel in a series.  There is no looking back so we must keep moving forward in our writing journey. (well, there could be looking back. It just won’t get you published any faster)

            How do we get started off every new year with a reach toward that golden ring? We can either say we want it or we can do something about it and that means we must start writing. What could make this year different? Well, let’s look at some possibilities to get us started:

1,  Commit to writing or working on something writing related every day. Even if it isn’t new words on your novel, make certain you are working in some way in that direction of getting published. That can mean editing yesterday’s pages,  researching for tomorrow’s writing or going through old projects to find the one you want work on next. The biggest problem with this step and the reason I put it first is because this is just a first step. You have to move beyond it. If you don’t, you won’t ever get anything done.

2. Write something new – new words, new thoughts, new ideas! That means moving beyond that first step of research or digging out old things and then writing something fresh. You need to write new material at every opportunity so why not start every morning with some fresh writing, whether it’s on an old manuscript or a new blog. Write something  new everyday and engage your brain. Let it know it’s going to have to find something new to write  EVERY SINGLE DAY.

3. Pick up yesteday’s pages and edit or re-write them if you can’t think of what you want to write today. You may find something in there that will further the direction you want your story to go. Or you might find something totally different you want to try. If you want to try it, do that! Why not write the pages and see if the plot idea or character idea will work.

4. Pick up the story in a new place. Don’t just write the next scene. If you have made plotting notes, go ahead and write something in a future chapter that you know you want to use. Try the big fight scene or something that will be totally fun to write. You know you’re going to use the scene, write it now and have fun with it. You can always edit later.

5. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Again, this might entail writing not the next scene, but something further ahead or rewrite a scene you’ve already done but in a different way and with a different outcome. Does it change the course of your book? Perhaps, but it may make it better.

The main take away here is to keep writing. Start out the new year with a fresh outlook on your writing whether it’s just picking where you left off last year or you are starting something new. Use the new year as a time to commit to finishing this book and your other work.  

5 Tips for Finishing Up Your Writing Year

The year is rapidly heading toward its close and usually this is a good time to take stock of what we've accomplished in the last year and look forward to what we want to get done in the coming year. I have to admit it has been a busy year for me teaching writing classes, presenting workshops and working on two new non-fiction books, one of which will be ready to be published this month. In addition I have been editing my fiction books so another can be published next year as well as writing blogs regularly, including our new Novel Concepts fiction  blog which has presented two new fiction short stories.

But it is also a good time to look forward and that means looking at what you need to do to be ready for the new year.  Here are some quick and easy ideas to help you get ready for your writing in the new year and get you off to a fast start in 2018:

1. Look for old stories that you can polish.  Is there something you might have written in the past that just needs editing before it can be submitted or published?  Now is the time to pick up some of those unfinished pieces and see if they can be made publishable.

2. Look for new story ideas. This is a good time to start planning your year with new stories you might want to write. Make a list of them now so that when you sit down to write you already have a beginning idea to work from. And if crazy things are happening around you, pay attention to them. You might find yourself coming up with a new story idea just from something that happens to you or your family or friends this holiday season.

3. Re-organize your writing space. Many of us have a few days off around the holidays. Some of them may be crazy-busy or filled with the family, but after all the chaos has passed you might find yourself with some extra time. You can use that time to spruce up your writing area for the new year.

4.  Buy yourself a present of either a new book or new writing materials. Why not start the new year
with a new notebook or a new writing program? If you've been a good girl or good boy this year in the writing department, you deserve it!

5. Find time to relax and get re-energized for the new year. This time of year can be very busy and we don't want to be so stressed that we're not ready to face the new year. Take some time for yourself to just think about what you've accomplished this year and what you might want to accomplish next year.

The main thing you want to do is to be ready on January 1 or the next day to start off a new writing year.  Happy Holidays to all!

5 Tips for Making it Through NaNoWriMo

November has been a long month and it's only a little half over. If you are like me and thousands of other writers who decided to attempt the NaNoWriMo, (National November Writing Month) Challenge to write 50-thousand words, this is about the time you are probably wondering, "why?!"

I've done the challenge several times and ended up very happy with the process because it is the one time of the year when I just let myself go and focus on writing the story itself without the daily grind of editing or worrying if I am going in the right direction. I simply write what comes into my head.

But just like any other program that requires daily attention or constant attention it after three weeks, it can become drudge work. The first week I was going to write ins and marking down my progress on a chart every single day. If I stopped for the day, I sometimes would come back and finish up a scene because it stayed on my mind.

And it gets tougher and tougher to come up with that next scene. So how do you keep active and keep at it when you've reached this point?

1. Re-Evaluate your characters. I keep character charts that I fill out when I begin a story, but while the charts are very complete I don't usually fill them out at the beginning. I usually go through and fill them out as I write the story because I write by the seat of my pants. Writing the story helps me to get to know my characters.  This is a good time to go back and look at those charts and fill them out with everything you know about your characters. If you don't keep a character chart, then write out a paragraph about them or several showing who they are. Who knows, that might somehow fit into the story and give you something else to write about to get in your word count or the exercise might spur some new plot ideas.

2. Re-Evaluate your plot.  You think you know where you're going, but has the writing process changed things a little? Maybe you need to go in and fix some of those spots that you rushed through early on. Maybe you need to add a scene or two to make the plot work. Write those to get your daily word count.

3.  Take the story in a new direction.  I love all these crime shows that always say the detective found information that took the investigation in a "whole new direction." Well, perhaps that is what you need for your own story.  It can become a secondary plot or it can be used to make the entire story come together.

4.  Write a delightful conversation.  I write a story blog with several other writers and we've just started a new story, and it was fun to see the witty conversation our first writer started out with. That made me want to continue it in my turn, but it also sparked my own interest in writing dialogue in some of my other stories. And when I mean clever conversation, it doesn't have to be filled with sexual innuendos, look for some fun conversation that might even be your own joke for the readers.

5.  Write the ending.  This is not cheating. You are going to get there anyway if you are writing a full book this month. If you're stuck before the end, you might just want to see how the book ends now so that you can write in that direction.  Recently I heard best selling author Harlan Coben talk about his plotting process and he said he never has a complete plot. He compared it to a roadmap where you might have a beginning marked and the ending. But then along the way you can take lots of other routes to get there. You have your beginning written. You can write the end now and figure out how that road map is going to get you there.

So now, it is back to work.  I have tried all these methods in past years, so I know they can work, but if you are stuck, try one or the other. There are only ten more days left to get to that 50-thousand word count, and I know I mean to reach it!

5 Tips for Creating Villains

This past month I have been on the road attending a writing conference, getting new material for new books, and enjoying seeing new parts of the US and Canada. In coming weeks I will be posting information about what I learned during my travels. Let me begin with a writing session I attended at the Emerald Cities Writers' Conference. This is one of my favorite conferences because there are writers of all genres and everyone is so friendly and ready to talk at any time about their writing.

One of the sessions I attended was with best selling author Karen Rose who discussed writing romantic suspense. Her comments on villains really hit home with me, because I am currently working on a non-fiction book on creating bad guys. It was great to hear her say some of what I am putting into my book for would-be authors to help them craft good villains. For instance:

1. Make your villains more than single-dimensional.  Bring them to life as much as you bring in
your hero and heroine. Don't let them be card board cut outs that could be just any ordinary character.  Even if you don't use all the material, write up a character profile, just as you would with the hero and heroine. You should be able to understand them and their motives or you can't impart the information to your readers.

2. Avoid having a vague villain.  This was one valuable lesson I took away from listening to Karen Rose. When I teach character classes I always say that the character's goal or motivation needs to be personal. It should be that way for the villain too. But it can be personal in more ways than just trying to harm the hero or heroine. It could be that the villain's aim was to prove something to him or herself so that it might seem random to the person trying to solve the crime, but it certainly won't be to the villain.

3. Make your villain smart. Unless you're dealing with writing a comedy, the villain needs to be smart enough to be a worthy adversary. Who wants to defeat someone who was just lucky for once? It might be fun to get the better of a comedic villain, but make that bad guy worthy of your story and your hero or heroine's time and energy. Make the villain as conniving or evil as you can get away with in the story. 

4. Keep the Villain Involved.  The bad guy can't just show up once, do one little thing and then simply go back to a normal life until exposed at the end of the book. Bring him or her back in little ways that keep the hero and heroine working toward that goal of uncovering who the bad guy is. They need a reason to keep him or her from acting again.

5. Bring them back.  One question I was asked about plotting in a recent class was how I could approve a story plot where the bad guys got away. This beginning writer had been told that the bad guys always had to be punished. But I say, not so quick.  There are times it makes more sense to let that villain come back. As long as the reader gets an ending to the current book, whether it is showing who the real killer is and letting the hero off the hook or promising a new battle between the two, it is possible to let the bad guy live or escape to fight another day. Did we as readers or viewers lament the escape of Hannibal Lecter or Darth Vader?  As long as we knew we would see them again, we were content with the endings of the stories involving them. We wanted to know this story was done and all was well -- if only for now.  So my advice is, bring them back, especially if they are special.

Actually, you should be creating your villains to be so special that readers want to see them again. As you write your villains, look for ways to make them as unique and popular as those villains we all get to know (and love or hate) but who we want to see matching wits with our heroes and heroines. We want worthy opponents for our winners so make those losers as strong and worthy as possible. It only makes for stronger characters over all.

For the next month I will begin my special NaNoWriMo blogs -- posting every week with those little tips that keep us working through NaNoWriMo.

5 Tips for Developing Research Techniques

This past week researching has been on my mind for a number of reasons. First of all I am working on a project dealing with a Native American leader that requires research, plus I was teaching a class on how writers can conduct research for their books. To add to the mix, our weekly publisher's chat was also on research and the best way to do it. That made me want to do my own research. Who better to ask than a group of published authors so I began asking around. 

What was the first thing I learned about research?  Nearly everyone starts with the internet because it is so simple and such an obvious place. The danger? False information or incomplete information. The historical editor who led our publisher's chat was quick to tell us we needed to double check anything we learned through internet research. I've blogged on conducting research in the past and warned about the dangers of accepting everything you might find on the internet. So how can you become a better researcher?

 So where else can we look?

1. Look for experts.  Now this is a place where internet research can help. By going through articles or researching websites you can find experts that you can either try to contact or look for their books on your subject. Look for experts who might be nearby who  you might be able to interview personally. 

2. Search out programs or lectures that might feature what you want to write about.  For things like mythology or history, that might mean a trip to a local museum. But don't simply visit it. Keep an eye out for experts at the location who might be able to either answer your questions or point you in the right direction. As one writer told me, "you have to really want to get to know a subject if you're writing about it," so always be on the look out for programs on subjects you might want to tackle in the future.

3.  Visit the location.  I can't stress this one enough.  My last blog I did on research was about my visit to Bent's Old Fort to see how the trappers and traders lived. There is no better way to learn about someone than to walk in their shoes and being inside the cramped quarters and seeing the actual items that were used back then made it easier for me to write about them. Last week I visited the burial place of Chipeta, a Ute leader who worked tirelessly for peace for her people even as their lands were taken away. Sitting in the quiet evening breeze, listening to the silence and enjoying the peace of the afternoon could really speak volumes that simply reading about her wouldn't have given me.

4. Libraries and museums. These are often forgotten treasures that can also take you back in history and give a better sense of life in the past. But don't forget science museums and planetariums where you can learn about the stars and space travel. And for certain, ask questions of the guides, or get information on experts you might be able to call.

5. Keep a list of everyone and everything you learn, and don't hesitate to get cards from people so you can call them later if you're unable to talk to them while you are at the museum.  Build a file and hold onto the information. You never know when you might want to go back to that person for more details for your story.

Mainly, you need to keep digging. Every subject has its experts, but don't simply call or try to interview someone without any sort of plan. Come up with a list of preliminary questions you can ask so you don't have to try to think of them on the spur of the moment. Plan in advance and then conduct your research in a professional manner. You are a professional. You're a writer!

5 Tips to Getting Back to Writing

Okay, the summer is over if you count Labor Day as the Official End of The Vacation Season. It is now time to go back to the keyboard or pick up the writing tools and start working again. I am certain a huge sigh follows reading that line. I sighed heavily after writing it. Since Labor Day was always the holiday that signaled the start of the school season back when I was still in school, that is how I still view it. That means all those excuses for not writing on my manuscript must end. Time to edit, to write, to WORK!

 But how can we do that?  How can we get started again? I actually used to enjoy the beginning of the school year and the new school supplies and new clothes. I also liked the idea that I would be taking classes I hadn’t taken before and that I would be learning new things.

Let’s look at a few ideas for putting our now much older brain cells back into the writing harness.

1. Go back to your last manuscript. Open up that manuscript you were working on –whether that was a month ago or two months ago.  Start reading it, start editing it, but get busy with it. But don’t start from where you left off. Start from the very beginning. Re-read your work and see if it holds up from the beginning.

          2. Re-introduce yourself to your characters. See if you are introducing them properly. You probably know them a little better after spending that time with them earlier. Look over whether you really got some of who they are into those opening paragraphs.

         3. Check over your setting. Are you pulling readers into the setting at the beginning and making them feel the location, the time period or the time of year? Look for places you can edit or make notes on items you need to look up. 

      4. Focus on the Inciting Incident. Are you getting the start of the story in quickly enough or are you spending too many pages setting everything up? Those days of long involved openings no longer work. Readers want to get into the meat of the story as quickly as possible.

       5. Make necessary edits but don't bog down. While you want to fix the big problems, don’t get so engrossed with making it perfect that you forget to move on. The story needs to continue to move and you need to continue to write it and get the rest of the story out of your head.  

Mainly you want to start working with fresh ideas, a fresh outlook and fresh determination to finish. Set up some new writing rules for the rest of the year or set them up as though you were starting the next year of school. Try some new writing trick or lesson that you heard about over the summer. Maybe it’s time to try using a timer and attempting writing sprints. Or try using a new writing program. It’s a new year, why not try something new?

The long days of winter are ahead and there will be plenty of days where it makes sense not to go out, but to stay inside and WRITE!

5 Tips to Vacation Writing

Earlier this summer I gave tips on summer writing and I've done some tips on writing when you're out of town or distracted, but now is the height of summer vacation. How can you keep your writing groove on when faced with trips, tours or just sitting on the beach or up in the mountains and relaxing. Who wants to put your nose to the grindstone when you can be playing or visiting with friends or relatives? Well, yes, you can put those trips to good use, very good use.

1. Make your trip count. Take that trip to some place you've always wanted to write about or some place you've read about that you've always wanted to visit. Visiting a new place always can foster new story ideas or new places to set your book.  Take that trip to Hawaii or Europe and use the location, but summer vacation can be a great time to get in some writing while you are sitting at the beach and soaking in the sun. Take a trip to the beach at sunset and enjoy the last rays of the day, or sit in an outdoor cafe and observe the people and listen to the special sounds of that particular place. Because let's face it, whenever your are on the road, you should....

2. Observe your particular location. When I say observe, think about how you would describe it as

you are writing a story. Or better yet, write a travel story about it. Whenever I go to a new place I immediately go through all the information at the hotel to see any local tourist destinations, but I also look for those different little places. Ask around in the hotel coffee shop or the cab or Uber driver about any interesting but not tourist-y place that you might visit. I also like to learn about local sports stars, historical figures or heroes,  to get a feel for the people from there and to get more ideas for characters.

3. Try those little dining spots that are not necessarily in the tourist guide books. Look for the local coffee shops in the neighborhoods or the small diners or ethnic food places. Try them out. It not only will enhance the vacation, but can also be good food for thought next time you are writing a book.

4.  Talk to the local people. Pick up on any local accents, the way people dress,  even the items on the local menus. When I was travelling across the country with my family we made it a rule that we were going to eat whatever the local delicacies were. From Texas to Maine we enjoyed Mexican food and steak in Dallas, then Cajun in Louisiana, all the way up to crab in Baltimore and lobster in Maine.  We even had to stop by in Hershey, Pa and buy chocolate.

5. Keep a travel notebook and make good notes. And keep taking them, and updating and updating. When we went across country my mother started taking notes the minute we left Colorado and crossed over into Kansas. She had great notes on the farms of Kansas and even listed all the foods we had those first days. By the time we reached the East coast she had lots of blank pages and was trying to remember instead of instantly writing as she witnessed things.

So enjoy your summer vacation, but keep notes and pictures, and if you aren't a photographer, buy postcards. I began collecting postcards the minute I left home for college. I have cards from all 45 states I've visited -- from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic to the beaches of Hawaii and the glaciers of Alaska.

Enjoy your summer trip, and if you find yourself sitting and waiting at an airport or on a long plane ride, try some writing to fill the time. Or pick up a book by a new author or try reading in a new genre.

There's always lots you can do before getting back to work on your next book.