The Blank Page: Advice

Showing posts with label Advice. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Forget About Word Count (Sometimes)

By: Yesenia Vargas

Writers (me included) tend to be a bit obsessive about word count.

Too much. Too little.

Daily, Hourly. Weekly. Yearly.

I have always thought that a good way to reach your long-term writing goals was to set word counts. And it is.

But it's not the only way.

It's actually harder for me to get back into my writing groove after a long break because of word count goals. Writing becomes a chore, and I dread the feeling I get when I won't meet that goal. I can't even get started writing.

That's why sometimes it's better to just forget about word count and simply write.

When it's hard to pick up that pen and you end up staring at that blank page...Or put your fingers on the keyboard and stare at the blank screen....forget about word count and just write. Remember why you love writing in the first place.

For the stories that get your heart racing and make you feel better when you didn't know something was wrong.

A lot of the time you will find that you will meet that word count and then some without even realizing it. And writing will be a joy again.

When you are at that place again, set those word count goals again. Adjust them if you need to. Or don't set them at all if you find that you work better without them.

What works better for you? Word count goals or no word count goals? A little of each?

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

My Novel Sucks, and I Think That's Great

By: Yesenia Vargas

Nano '11 was the year I made it through Nano and won.

On previous attempts I had crashed and burned only days (even hours) into the challenge.

Last year, about seven months pregnant, I was determined to finally write my first novel. I knew I had to write it before Andrea was born or it would never get done.

Well, I got it done.

Over fifty thousand words, and they all suck.

Really.

Yes, this novel is one of my biggest achievements, and I still remember the high I got when I typed the last line to the story's ending.

But ever since I wrote the first word, I knew it was bad. It reeked of first time writer. I know I probably did tell, don't show instead of show, don't tell. The characters were either not believable or flat. The plot was outright confusing (even to me) and about stuff I had no idea about. Don't even mention the ending. Even I didn't buy the happily ever after outcome.

I still haven't opened up the file since that night on November 30^th.

Too scared, that's why.

I know there's a monstrous load of research, revision, and rewriting to do.

But you know what?

Even though my first novel truly sucks, I'm proud of it.

The truth is: it was liberating to write badly. Before, I was so scared to write badly that I just wouldn't write at all. Nano was the push (or painful kick in the rear) I needed to just sit down, write. and say “you know what, self? I don't care how much this novel sucks. I'm going to write the book anyways because I know I can always go back and fix things.”

I learned that allowing myself to write badly and not worry about it took the pressure to be perfect off. I could finally enjoy writing.

Now it's time to get that mentality back and start my second novel. It'll probably suck even worse than the first one.

It might not.

I won't know until I try.

And who knows? I might even open up that first novel file and start working on that, too.

What's the biggest lesson you learned from writing your first novel?

Friday, April 27, 2012

Friday Features #2

Here are all the writing goodies I found for this week. I especially recommend the last article, but these are all really helpful.

Inspiration/Research

M is for Mongols by Caitlin Nicoll at Logically

O is for Olmec by Caitlin Nicoll at Logically

Q is For Qin Dynasty by Caitlin Nicoll at Logically

Writing Advice

Have You Written Before? by C. Hope Clark at C. Hope Clark

Stop Being So Busy by Joe Bunting at The Write Practice

Perfecting Your First Page by Jane Friedman at Jane Friedman

How (Not) to Write Great Characters by Ava Jae at Writability

Why Creatives Need to Criticize Each Other More by Joe Bunting at The Write Practice

Conditioning Forces - Or, Your Character Doesn't Live in a Vacuum! by Julie Eshbaugh at Pub Crawl

15 Ways to Write Tight by Barb Sawyers at Write to Done

Weeding Our Manuscripts Part II: Word Whacking to Increase Pace by Julia at The Writer's Alley

Video Games vs. Books by Mooderino at Moody Writing

Whose Story Is It? by Mooderino at Moody Writing

Do You Read What You Want to Write? by Ava Jae at Writability

How to Shorten a Novel Manuscript Which is Too Long by B. McKenzie at Superhero Nation

How To Finish Writing a Novel by Ava Jae at Writability

The Unanswered Call by Sommer Leigh at Sommer Leigh

13 Ways to Develop a Story That's Too Short by B. McKenzie at Superhero Nation

5 Self-editing Steps You Must Take Before an Editor or Agent at Wise, Ink.

45 Quick Word Replacements for Good, Great, Awesome and Other Boring Superlatives at Wise, Ink.

How To Write A Novel Without Selling Your Soul by Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn

Are You an Avid Reader? Then You're a Critiquer by Casey at The Writer's Alley

Building Your Author Platform

April Platform Challenge: Day 23 by Robert Lee Brewer at My Name is Not Bob

April Platform Challenge Day 27 by Robert Lee Brewer at My Name is Not Bob

3 Horrible Mistruths About Social Media That Drive Me Insane by Jane Friedman at Jane Friedman

11 Powerful Networking Groups for Authors by at Wise Ink Blog

The Indie Author Marketing Pie: Bite Sized Tips For Your Book's Success by at Wise Ink Blog

The 5 Principles to Book Reviews and Endorsements by at Wise Ink Blog

Should You Focus On Your Writing Or Your Platform? by Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed

How To Connect With Book Clubs by Julie Cantrell at The Writer's Alley

Publishing

Is Your Work Commercially Viable? by Jane Friedman at Jane Friedman

10 Questions to Ask Before Committing to Any E-Publishing Service by Jane Friedman at Jane Friedman

4 Reasons to Write Several Books by Rachelle Gardner at Books and Such

Why It's Foolish Not to Self-Publish at Syanxis Chronicles

Did you come across some exceptional writing articles this week? Please share them in the comments!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Don't Be Afraid to Admit Failure and Readjust Your Goals

By: Yesenia Vargas

Maybe you recall the veeerrry ambitious writing goals I had set for myself this year.

When I was about eight months pregnant.

And had no clue what having a baby would entail.

I had been on a roll, having just written my first novel during my first Nanowrimo. I had been wanting to do that for years. I was even planning my next novel.

Then boom.

I had a baby, and my life turned upside down. It's been three months. I haven't written a word of fiction since (I haven't gotten more than five hours of sleep at a time, either). It makes me feel horrible inside, knowing I'll never meet my writing goals now.

But after weeks of moping over that, I'm back. I figure if I still want to write after this major life event, then it must be a real passion of mine.

So here I go again. I fell flat on my butt, but I'm up again. That's what's important, I've realized.

What's the first thing I need to do?

Adapt.

Readjust my writing goals to reflect what's realistic for me now.

And since my life is still pretty hectic, with school and a baby and all, I'm only going to focus on a few big goals. I'm not going to make the same mistake again.

What are my new goals for this year?

Write and sell one short story.
Begin the first draft of my second novel.
Begin the first revision of my first novel.
Read as much as I can about writing and for pleasure.

What am I going to do on a daily basis in order to meet these goals?

To be honest, I haven't come up with a specific word count yet. I think for now I just need to focus on writing every day, at least five minutes if that's all I can do. I'll be happy with that for now.

How much do you write a day? What do you do when life happens, and you can't find time to write?