5 Tips -- NaNoWriMo Is Over -- Now What?

National Novel Writing Month -- November is over and I can happily say that I was one of the thousands across the country who participated and made my 50-thousand word goal. That was one of the reasons I took the month off from this weekly blog. Now I am ready to dig in and really finish off the project so that it can be sent off to an editor or publisher.

So what steps should you take now that you have finished your NaNoWriMo project? Well, first, even if you didn't finish it, don't despair.  Think of all the words you did get written last month and hopefully you were able to establish some writing habits that will stay with you--things like writing sprints or even write-ins.  I attended several and though I barely said two words to people at some of them, in others I would chat with others taking a break and we talked about our stories. No matter what, it always energized me.


So now what do you do?


1. Let the novel sit--for a few days. It has been almost a week since the ending of NaNoWriMo, so I always suggest that people walk away from the work and take a break if they have been extensively writing. That can re-energize you.


2. Fix things you absolutely need to fix.  There are times not  to let it sit. If you wrote something at the end that changed an event or character earlier in the book and the thought is driving you crazy, then by all means don't wait for a week or a month. Go back in and fix them immediately or write a new scene so that you can appreciate the break when you take it.


3. Re-visit easy problems. Again, if you can't let it go, then go back through your notes and look at some of the places you know need fixing and work on them before you forget. Fix the little things so that when you come back for a full edit you have some of the work done.


4. Look over your notes. You don't need to work on everything right away, but you might go back through any notes you made as you were writing the book or during NaNoWriMo and start thinking about how you will fix them during editing. Consider how to fix plot holes that you dug yourself into with your quick writing during November.


5. Enjoy your success. Celebrate what you have done and give yourself credit for all the writing you did during November. Even if you didn't make the 50-thousand word goal, celebrate the words you did get written. The month undoubtedly produced more than you would have written if you didn't participate.


Then, after a few days or even weeks of rest get ready to start the editing. We'll have more on that and on finishing up the writing year as we move closer to 2017--a whole new year!

5 Tips for Preparing for NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and if you are like many writers who make the commitment to write 50-thousand words in 30 days, you need to be getting ready.  There are only a few hours left to put everything into place, so if you still have things to do, here are some things to consider.

1. Get your plot prepared ahead of time. Whether you write by the seat of your pants (like I do) or outline, you should have something ready to get you started tomorrow morning.  If you don’t already have a plot outline in place, you can still get your writing done. You simply need to be ready to stay one step of your writing for the next 30 days.

2. Don't start out cold. Before you end each day, know where you will begin the following day. Have a couple of scenes prepared to get your writing started every morning.  If you hit a spot that where you can’t think of the next scene, then write one you know you will need later. You can always go back and fix it.

3.  Have your characters under control. If you haven’t prepared a character outline or profile, then you need to work on it as you go. Think of the various events you know will need to take place during your book and get an idea of how your character should handle them. That should help you get ready to write the scene. But don’t just write the scene.

4. Make yourself a character profile sheet. Keep it handy and add to it or change it as you go along and develop  your character. You don’t want the person doing something uncharacteristic halfway through your book.

5. Know your ending. Even if you end up changing it, know in advance what youwant your ending to be so you can keep working in that direction. Think in terms of a road map. You may not know how you are going from one location to another but you need to know where you want to end up. 

It may be too late to completely plot your novel now, but if you keep working ahead you can keep writing toward that 50-thousand word goal. Just think about it, every day the goal will be a little less.  If you hit your target tomorrow and the coming days, by next week you’ll be down to only 38,000 words to go! Good luck! 

5 Tips to Increasing Your Word Count

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) starts next week and that means a whole month of writing and trying to hit the magic count of 50,000 words.  I've signed up (as usual) and hope to again make that magic number and end up on November 30th with a new book.


Every year as NaNo rolls around I find myself trying to think of new ways to get myself in gear to make it happen. How can you get prepared for writing every day or at least every other day for a whole month? Well, here are five tips to think about or to try:


1. Just write. Don't worry about the word count or start checking back to see how many words you have written in the last hour. Be ready to just start writing. If you even have the semblance of a plot this is the week to start thinking about it.  Don't wait until the morning of November first to start considering what you are going to say. Be prepared to sit down at the keyboard and start hacking out the words.  How do you do that?


2. List plot points in advance. That is why I start thinking this week. I will make my list of scenes that I know will happen in the book. Sometimes they are out of order, but that can always be fixed in editing. Sometimes I simply list any scene that I know will go into the book so I have something to start with on the first day.


3.  Don't wait to get motivated. Again, on that morning of November first, don't expect your head to necessarily be ready.  You can hope it will be, but even if it isn't, just sit down and write.  Write whatever comes into your head. That's why it is critical to begin thinking in advance. At least have some sort of idea what you might want to say.


4.  Write about your character. If you don't have something preplanned then write a scene having your character do something that you know will have to happen in the story. Whether it is meeting the villain or the love of his or her life, write that scene and get yourself starter.


5.  Don't worry about order. Simply start writing.  Things can always be fixed, but you won't achieve your word count if you are checking every little detail. The words can be fixed. The scene can be changed, or added to. But it won't get done if there is nothing there.  As Nora Roberts says, "you can't edit a blank page.


So start thinking this week and get ready to go.  I'll be taking time from my own NaNo word count for the next month to bring you new ideas for making NaNoWriMo work for you.

5 Tips to Researching your Fiction

I am always on the lookout for new places to conduct research on whatever project I might be working on. Even though I might be writing fiction it's important to get the details down right when describing a real location or event. We can afford to make up our dystopian worlds. We can't afford to ignore reality completely. Some of the things we do might seem obvious, but even those obvious places to look can hold hidden gems that we can find to make our work unique if we look far enough. We need to be able to look beyond just what is around us for other ways to conduct research.


1. Using the Internet.  Ever since I discovered the internet it has been a wonderful source of research material for me. What could be easier than typing on the keyboard and suddenly whole new worlds open up. We can go back in time, we can look at pictures of far away places, we can look up any subject we might desire.  But go beyond generic places like wikkipedia or google or bing. If you're going to research the Gold Rush in California, look up state locations that list maps or find pictures from the time. Look for thesis material or other research that others have done that you might be able to use to learn more about the time and the setting.


2. Don't ignore the library.  I always enjoy spending time in libraries and just like with the internet the material might all be there in front of you but again, go beyond the main, obvious research tools. Look for texts or books that might be different than what you would find in other locations. Probably the best thing about going to the library is the presence of the librarian. Ask questions. These people always seem to know where you can find anything and everything.


3. Research the location from a distance with whatever is available. Yes, I know we can't necessarily take a trip to Tibet, but look for other small ways to research the location in your own location. Check out communities to see if there is place you might visit that would give you a feel for a place or its people. We're talking restaurants or stores watch for a museum show that might give you what you need to learn. Ask around for people who might know someone who is an expert or from that country.

4. Take a trip to the actual location. This is not always possible, especially if you are writing historical novels where it is not only a question of distance, but also time. Museums are of course always a good idea because you can see artifacts from a certain time period of place.

Recently I got the opportunity to visit the inside of old Fort Bent, Colorado, a location that figures into a book I am writing that was actually only a few miles from where I grew up. The fort was originally built by the Bent brothers as a trading post along the Santa Fe trail. It was a busy post at its prime.

It has been restored to resemble the early days of Colorado. Now visitors can see what life was like in the early days and hear stories of the past from tour guides who have been specifically trained for the parts of their past personas. It gave me a real feel for being in the Old West.  

5. Take a class in the subject. Local community colleges often offer classes that might give you an opportunity to take part in textiles from around the world or photography or a class on biology might give you insight for a project involving a biologist.  If you're writing a police story, take a citizen's academy where you can learn the proper procedure a police officer might use. 

These are just a few local places you can learn to do research without going too far from home. We'll look at more ways to conduct research in the future, but this should get your story started.

5 Tips for Hitting Your Word Count

Last week I heard a writer complaining that she just couldn't seem to get back to her writing. She was stuck in a rut and her story was going nowhere. But as we talked we both realized it wasn't that she had no more ideas for what to do with the story, it was something else. She had plenty of ideas for what to do. We discussed whether or not it was enthusiasm, but no, she wanted to write. Just our discussion had us both eager to get back to the keyboard and start working on our present story. So what was it? And how to fight it?  We couldn't come to any sort of consensus. We had both been journalists in the past so writing had once been a daily ritual for both of us. So what to do? I came home and started to think about it. How do we get back into writing? I started thinking about some of the things I had heard at a recent writing conference.


1. Try a shorter word count for the day.  Instead of setting that thousand word total, which can sometimes seem so far away, how about setting your goal at 500?  Or at 300 for that matter. I can turn out a 500 to 700-word blog in a fairly short amount of time. Why not spend that time working on a scene instead?


2. Write a scene you've been thinking about.  Stop thinking about what you want your characters to say or do and write it down. Get going on the idea instead of simply keeping it in your head. I don't know about anyone else, but I am always getting story or scene ideas. Sometimes if I am out and about I will write them down in a small notebook so I don't lose them. You can do that at home too. If you get an idea, or think of a conversation, get busy immediately and write it down.


3. Do a character conversation. Simply ask your character a question or two and start writing down their answers. That can not only help you better know your character, but it can also help you once you return to the story. You might even figure out a way to put that piece of dialogue into your book.


4. Start the day with an edit of pages from the day before. I've heard lots of writers do this. It gets them back in the mood to write and gets them started for the current day. The review can be a good way to get back into the flow of the story and make certain you're once again on the right track. It also helps down the road in the editing process.


5. Set a timer. Promise yourself you will write for a certain amount of time. Just like with the word count idea above, you will probably write more than what your original goal is.  That can move you along and get you going for the rest of the day.


No matter what, if you use any of these ideas, they can get you going and before you know it you will have that novel written!

5 Tips for Starting to Write a Story

This month I am teaching a class on writing short stories and while working on it I came up with my own idea for writing a story. It's in a genre (young adult) that I haven't written before so as I sat down to get started it occurred to me I had no idea what I wanted to say or how. I had a concept, but where do you go from there? That got me to thinking about how I normally start out writing a story. I realized there isn't one set way that I start. I just do.


It's something I started learning many years ago when I started out in writing for TV news. You don't have much time to think about how you want to get started. You have to do it or the time will pass and your story won't make it on the air. So I would just start. As Nora Roberts says, "you can't edit a blank page." Anything else can be fixed. So start. How and where? Anywhere can be a beginning. You don't need to sit and consider the perfect first line.


1. Begin with a conversation. This was how I started on that young adult story. I had a concept and I wasn't sure how to introduce the characters or get their story started, so I began with two of the main characters caught up in a conversation. It isn't necessarily the first one they have, but it will explain one of their early actions. But writing the dialogue made me understand several things about each character and from there I was able to begin a character sketch. or....


2. Begin with a Character sketch. I've often done that in the past. I know what my story is about, and I have a vague idea of the character, but starting with a sketch (that can be used or discarded in the book) can be a good way to start off your writing. You get a picture of your character and even if you don't use the description exactly in a later scene you start off knowing more about you character.


3. Start off with a description of the setting. Now I say that not as the idea for the opening of your book any more than you would start off the opening scene with a character sketch. This is just a way to begin your writing. Write a scene setter so that you can place your characters there. Again, this can become preliminary work or you can use parts of it as you start to write. What you want to write down in the book is not so much this description as the "feel" you get from this description. Show it in your story.


4. Write a scene you know will be in the book.  I've even written the final scene as a way of starting off. In a mystery that can really be helpful because you then know how your main character is going to solve the crime.


5. Write the first thing that comes into your mind about the book. It can be anything -- from character to plot to a simple line about the story itself.  Again, this is just a way of getting started. Too often we get caught up in looking at that blank page and we don't know where or how to begin. Look at your notes about the story or look into your head to think about the story.


When I was writing for a newscast I'd have at least reporter notes or wire copy to go from. We never start out with nothing, and your stories are that way too. Think about what is in your head and just get started. Some times that is a good way to get started in the morning too. Don't let yourself get bogged down with worrying about how perfect the writing needs to be.  Once you make getting started a common practice you may find you don't need as much editing.

5 Tips for Starting a New Project

Writers always seem to be starting a new project.  We don't always finish them, but new projects or stories can be exhilarating. sometimes they are just what we need to get us out of our writing doldrums or excited simply because they are new.


Okay, you have a new idea.  What should you do about it?


1. Develop a concept.  That means what are you going to do with it?  Do you want it to be an adventure story about a girl lost in time?  How about a story about a woman who learns she is more capable than she realized? Or a man who finds he really does have something to live for. Think about your characters and what they want or what you want to do with the story.


2. Develop your people.  That can mean your main character, of course, but it might also mean something fun like developing an evil villain. Or maybe you want to feature the old lady next door with a secret she's hiding? (bodies in the basement?)


3. Give yourself a location.  Writing a setting can be fun, but don't get too bogged down with it so that you forget the story itself.  Try using your setting as another character. It can be a hindrance to your story -- like a blizzard that keeps your heroine in all day and prevents her from starting her mission or makes her do more research before she sets out so that it later saves her life. Or it can be the catalyst because she desperately needs to get to her brother to save his life with needed medicine.


4. Think about the ending.  Notice I said think. You don't need to know it to start. Just having a vague concept can help, but that doesn't mean you need to think everything out before you get going. Give yourself permission to change the ending before you ever get there and write with that idea in mind.


5. Start writing!  I don't care if it's a scene, a description, a dialogue. Get started so that your book is no longer just a concept. Put something into your computer, tablet phone, or wow...write it in a notebook or type it up.  Just get started.


Yesterday, I came up with this great idea and sat around thinking about a new story.  I thought about it and thought about it, and this morning I was still thinking.  Well, no more thinking. I am going to start it!


You can do that too! Don't just think or talk. Write.