NaNoWriMo Success--It Can Be Yours!

When it comes to NaNoWriMo, I'm a believer.

My first NaNo year was 2010. I did it. I wrote my whole novel in one month. Then I spent the next year revising it and running it through my crit group--the amazing Sharks and Pebbles. Then I sold it to a publisher and it's coming out in February.

I am a SLOW writer. If I can do it, anyone can!! You just have to find the NaNo method that works for you.

So, in case anyone out there finds this helpful, here are some tips that work for me:

~ Some great advice I picked up I can't remember where is to take the first 5 minutes of each NaNo session and brainstorm a few BRIEF bullet points of what needs to happen in your plot next. You only need to worry about the next scene or two. Once you have that, it's A LOT easier to get those words out. 

I'm not much of an outliner in general because things change so much as I write. But if I take these 5 minutes to plot out the near future, it makes a huge difference in how quickly I meet my daily goal.

~ DON'T SELF EDIT! Everyone says this because it is the hardest rule to stick to. If you feel you've written something awful or derailed the plot, just strikethrough those paragraphs to remind yourself you hate them, then move on. That way you still get the word count, and if you change your mind later and decide keep them, there they are!

~ Keep your fingers on the keyboard! It's so easy to simply stop typing and lean back to think, or check Facebook or twitter, or go get a snack. Resist! Keep those fingers on the keyboard and type away. If you're not sure what comes next, just keep typing the scene you're in, even if it will all be deleted later.  

I had a scene where my two main characters were eating, but I wasn't sure what needed to happen next, so I dragged out the meal, describing in detail the most mundane parts about their burgers and fries. It kept me writing until the inspiration on how to move on finally came. NaNo is an exercise in free-flowing thought, not creating a masterpiece in one month.

~ Find what motivates you. For me, it's watching that little target bar in Scrivener slowly change from red to green. 

Please, please, please share your tricks and secrets for a successful NaNoWriMo!!

Happy writing!

The Proper Care and Receiving of Criticism

As writers, we are constantly putting our writing out there for critique. We have writing groups, beta-readers, we win a critique from someone, we get a rejection letter enumerating all that is wrong with our story. It's a tough business and we need a thick skin.

So let's talk a little about how to receive criticism. Some of it is valuable, some of it--not so much. How do you know what to accept and what to reject?

First of all, consider the source. If an agent or editor tells you the story is too slow or the voice is off, listen. Agent feedback is valuable and almost always spot on.

When it comes to your writing group, some might feel it is their job to point out as many problems as possible. If they have no negative feedback they feel they are failing at their responsibility so they may dwell on the nit-picky. As we say in my group, scraping the bottom of the barrel. Stew on their advice and then go with your gut reaction.

Non-writer feedback can be useful because they tend to look at the story as a whole. But if your writing falls outside of their preferred genre, their feedback could mean nothing.

Second, pay attention to the feedback's level. Criticism that considers the story as a whole is more valuable than the nit-picky. If a reader mentions overall plot issues, says the story didn't hook them, it was confusing, didn't care about the main characters, too much repetition, too slow--those are red flags. Listen up and fix it.

If the feed back is full of nit-picky small stuff then those are the kinds of changes you think about and then go with what you feel is right for your story.

If a reader says your story just really isn't their thing, no problem. Move on. They are not the target audience.

In the end, all criticism is based on personal opinion and should be carefully considered. Most writers and readers that offer feedback are well-meaning and want to help you write the best story you can, so don't get offended or disheartened by negative comments. Listen to them, think about why that person said what they did, and then use those comments to strengthen your writing.

What are your tips for receiving (or giving) criticism?

Coincidentally, Mary Kole wrote an excellent article on agent vs. paid editorial feedback and why agents say the things they do. Check it out.

The Glue In Your Story

I figure it's time for a serious post about writing, so here's a little something I've been thinking about a lot lately.

One element in story crafting that I frequently find missing is cohesion. Each story needs a few elements that bind it all together and carry the protagonist--and the reader--through to the end.

For some reason, I find that adventure type books struggle the most with this problem. Often, the main character sets off on the adventure, but it feels more like they are strolling through some kind of museum. They wander along the hero's path, going from one interesting scene to the next. It feels like a series of random events that happen to the main character.

So the question is, how do we keep our story unified?

There are many ways, but here are a few to get you thinking:

The Main Character's Goals Must Be the Driving Force: Whatever it is that the main character wants, that should be what influences all their choices and actions.

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's goal is to go home. It is what motivates everything she does. In The Hunger Games, Katniss wants to protect her sister Prim. That is why she volunteers for the games, and that is why she wants to win the games, so Prim is not left alone with a wacky mother.

This is perhaps the most important element in cohesion. If your main character's object of desire (goal) is not present throughout the story, the reader will loose interest. Why is he/she doing this? If we don't know, we don't care.

The Threat of the Villain: Keep the threat of the villain ever present and constantly hanging over the hero's head.

JK Rowling did a great job with this throughout SEVEN Harry Potter novels, always upping the stakes with each one. Never once do we forget He Who Must Not Be Named lurking in the back of Harry's mind. And, every other "mini-villain" Harry faces ties back to Voldemort in some way, such as Draco Malfoy and Professor Umbrage.

Not only should the villain be always present, but what's at stake as well. What happens if the villain wins?

Keep the Main Conflict Front and Center: This is good for books that are not adventure stories and don't have a specific "villain," like Twilight. Not much happens in the story, but the conflict is always there, hanging over Bella's head--forbidden love, is he or is he not going to eat her.

I've named only three. What other elements of cohesion can you think of?

Receiving Critical Input

I had to interrupt my regularly scheduled NaNo to post a link to this fantastic article on the StoryFix blog. Every author or writer needs to read this great advice on accepting criticism, and choosing which criticisms to accept.

Do it now.

Hurry!

Revising with a Timeline:

I'm nearly done revising my work in progress. And a valuable tool in that effort is the timeline I create as I write the first draft.  So, I thought I'd re-post an article I wrote about timelines here.

Keeping track of timing when writing a novel can be tricky. Using a timeline can help you remember what happened when, and other details that add continuity to writing.

A typical timeline for me consists of the following:

The time of day events occur, including the specific date, day of the week, and the duration of those events or scenes. Even though most of that detail never makes it into the story, I refer to it frequently to make sure I’m not stuffing too much into one day while leaving other days mostly empty. I check the timeline to make sure scenes are occurring in a natural way. It helps when my characters refer to events that have happened in the past, I can easily remember when they occurred. Keeping a timeline helps ground the story in real time and draw the reader in.

The weather. I keep track of the weather so when I’m writing about events that occur at the end of the day, I maintain continuity in the weather.

What the characters are wearing. Again, this is usually a detail that doesn’t make it into the book, but just in case I want to refer to it, I can easily remember. This includes what they have with them, if they are traveling or something.

Sometimes I indicate on my timeline emotions or paradigm shifts that my main characters have, just to see if the timing feels natural. It also helps when revising a scene to look at the timeline and remember whether this scene is before or after a certain emotional moment.

I find the timeline very useful in writing, but it comes in especially handy during the revising process. It saves me a lot of time when I need to remember what happened when. Keeping track of scenes like this also helps me notice if I have repetitive scenes or if the cycle of events is becoming formulaic.