I've discovered a lot about my writing process since I began this journey. I believe I am Crapper Pantser Plotter Fixer Upper Layerer writer.
In other words: MESSY but as many critique partners have attested, I "clean up well." Here's how it usually rolls for me.
1) I get an idea about a story. Usually it's spurred by a show or a news item or some weird bizarre trip of the wire in my brain. I have more ideas than I know what to do with and some of them are kind of not going to work with the current line I'm targeting. But I always keep them and I have files everywhere, notebooks everywhere, you name it.
2) The characters. I have a distinct scene in my head where the hero/heroine meet. How they meet. What's in their heads. What I don't have is their profession, their looks, their names. I just have a scene with dialogue and thought and bodies moving around a vacuous space. Sometimes there is more. But usually they're just talking and I see them moving around, little nuances and gestures and tones of voice are often revealed.
3) The idea grows into a blurb which I mold into a logline--the logline/tagline may not be pretty, but it's mine and I own it.
4) I brainstorm with friends, critique partners, myself to flesh out the characters' reason for being together, who they are and what they look like, what the story will be about and the basic turning points I know I have to reach. I lay down my tent poles/get the bones of the story ready.
5) I write a synopsis based on the first four steps. Truthfully, I just did for the first time BEFORE I had the story written in discovery phase with the current WIP. I got the idea straight from CJ Redwine and it works. The trick is to let go of what you originally thought was going to happen and revamp it as you go along. The current synopsis does not match the original synopsis, but it's been easy to fix the original. Way easier than writing one AFTER the manuscript is "done."
6) I write a quick discovery draft, flesh out the bones a bit,
7) I really work on the first three chapters and polish them because they are part of the partial/proposal I need to query.
8) I retool the story based on critique, suggestions, my characters telling me I'm going in the wrong direction.
9) I go in to add meat, and to take away some of the original flesh of the rest of the story based on what I'm discovering about the characters and about their love story. I do this fast, but as grammatically correct as possible (don't ask me about the commas). By this point I've cut a lot and I've added a lot.
10) I let the first revision sit for a few days while I listen to craft tapes, read other books in my genre, mull my ideas and my story, catch up on the business side of the writing world (my least favorite part but it has to be done), query, print out my book and let it sit around the office (or the tornado shelter), catch up on household mundaneness and with friends who wondered where I was for a few weeks.
11) I begin revising in batches. I send the revised batches, usually 3 chapters at a time, to CPs and continue revising forward. I don't utilize the critique till I am ready for another round of revisions.
12) I export everything to Word and work with the complete document, formatting and cleaning up Scrivener "burps." I'm not that technical so I tend to have a lot of driver error in this export stuff. But I think it just forces me to look at the book in a new way which is a good thing.
13) I continue polishing and shining up the story. I layer in more visceral elements and look for things like sensory items I can add to the story. But I don't overwork it. I would drive myself insane if I did that so I begin working on the next book. Pre-writing.
14) I start entering contests with the newest manuscript. I move forward on the next book. I query. I go through it all over again.
My goal is to get faster at this gig. I must generate 3-4 category series romances per year to be a successful career writer and build readership. I'm glad I have a "future list" ready to go out the door, but I want to write more. 3-4 48,000-50,000 word (180-190 page count) books means getting one done every 3-4 months for the editor.
For me this currently meant getting faster at revising during the MEAT phase. I already had the 1st three chapters polished and critiqued and much of the leg work done. The ending always echoes the beginning for me and I can usually visualize the scenes very clearly. I know the black moment and how they will resolve it to a point. I just keep layering in new stuff and getting rid of stuff that doesn't work. But I don't have beautiful prose until at least the 3rd time through. And I still have work to do. This isn't easy for me. I work hard. Really hard. And with this current WIP, I want to deliver on the first three chapters' promise. So I am determined to write it fast, write it smart, and be focused during this month despite the fact that I have a lot of travel interrupting my time.
This means I CUT a lot of words. But I like cutting. I like revising. I am the Queen of Revision. I know of no other way to allow the actual story to unfold than be getting rid of beloved words and scenes and people. Oh, I keep them all in another file, but the story demands I make changes. This is a good mindset to get into as I have had a Revise and Resubmit letter from editors at a publishing house. Basically, I had to cut 30 thousand words and start all over again to take the story in a new direction with the same characters. They even asked me to change THE PREMISE. So I did. We'll see how the new premise flies.
Right now I am in Stage 10 and getting ready for Stage 11. I am printing out my batches today. Fritzing around with business of writing stuff, and giving my wee brain a break.
What's your process? I know mine continues to evolve. How has your process evolved?
Showing posts with label process. Show all posts
Showing posts with label process. Show all posts
Friday, March 2, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Scrapbook Mistake? Just Put a Sticker on It!
I just had a lovely surprise visit from one of the Teen's friends and her mother this week. It was totally spontaneous and fun and surreal. The Teen and her friend had a blast reconnecting and talking about college options. The mom and I had a great time revisiting our days as school volunteers and fellow scrapbookers.
I used to be a big time scrapbooker before I became a full time writer. It was a wonderful creative outlet and I enjoyed designing the pages and documenting our family's history. I have LOADS of scrapbooks. Are they perfect? Nope. But when people look through them they love the way I've pulled the pages together. I do, too. They are fun to look at and read.
My friend and I laughed about how different we were in our scrapbooking world compared to our day-to-day world. She's a spontaneous and by-the-seat-of-her-pants roll with it woman whereas I am an organized, everything-must-be-in-its-place and in order kind of woman. Yet when sat down to scrapbook together we were the polar opposite personalities.
And we were so surprised! She carefully planned her pages, measured everything twice, made sure all the pictures were aligned just so and very meticulously plotted her pages. By the end of a 3 hour scrapbooking session she might come away with 1, maybe 2, completed pages.
Me? I'd have 5 or 6 pages done. Why? Because I would go into the work with a basic plan, then happily select my beautiful accent papers and stickers and notions and go, go, go. She was so surprised by my complete lack of desire for perfection. I just cut pictures and paper, placed the sticky tape on, threw in the photos and notions with joyful abandon. I'd blithely say to her if it was little off center I'd just throw a sticker on it or add another notion to embellish the page and "hide" the imperfection.
Her visit this week reminded me that I'm pretty much that way in all my creative endeavors. When I don't worry about being perfect, I have fun and I end up with a fairly decent product that is pleasing to the eye, mind, spirit.
Hmmm, can you guess what my writing process is like? Wonder what my friend's would be like? Yup, I'm a planner, pantser, fixer. She'd be an outliner, plotter, editor on the go.
What is the worst thing I can do to my writing process? Try to be perfect. I need to go with the flow knowing that as long as I have a basic plan about what I need to do and where I need to go I will get there. And I'll actually enjoy the process because I know that if something isn't quite right I can always go back and add a sticker.
Have you ever scrapbooked? What's your creative process? Do you have any other hobbies that mirror the way you write?
I used to be a big time scrapbooker before I became a full time writer. It was a wonderful creative outlet and I enjoyed designing the pages and documenting our family's history. I have LOADS of scrapbooks. Are they perfect? Nope. But when people look through them they love the way I've pulled the pages together. I do, too. They are fun to look at and read.
My friend and I laughed about how different we were in our scrapbooking world compared to our day-to-day world. She's a spontaneous and by-the-seat-of-her-pants roll with it woman whereas I am an organized, everything-must-be-in-its-place and in order kind of woman. Yet when sat down to scrapbook together we were the polar opposite personalities.
And we were so surprised! She carefully planned her pages, measured everything twice, made sure all the pictures were aligned just so and very meticulously plotted her pages. By the end of a 3 hour scrapbooking session she might come away with 1, maybe 2, completed pages.
Me? I'd have 5 or 6 pages done. Why? Because I would go into the work with a basic plan, then happily select my beautiful accent papers and stickers and notions and go, go, go. She was so surprised by my complete lack of desire for perfection. I just cut pictures and paper, placed the sticky tape on, threw in the photos and notions with joyful abandon. I'd blithely say to her if it was little off center I'd just throw a sticker on it or add another notion to embellish the page and "hide" the imperfection.
Her visit this week reminded me that I'm pretty much that way in all my creative endeavors. When I don't worry about being perfect, I have fun and I end up with a fairly decent product that is pleasing to the eye, mind, spirit.
Hmmm, can you guess what my writing process is like? Wonder what my friend's would be like? Yup, I'm a planner, pantser, fixer. She'd be an outliner, plotter, editor on the go.
What is the worst thing I can do to my writing process? Try to be perfect. I need to go with the flow knowing that as long as I have a basic plan about what I need to do and where I need to go I will get there. And I'll actually enjoy the process because I know that if something isn't quite right I can always go back and add a sticker.
Have you ever scrapbooked? What's your creative process? Do you have any other hobbies that mirror the way you write?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Flexible Writing (Yoga Optional)
I once met a mother who said she liked me because I was a "flexible" parent. No. I can't do the splits or turn a cartwheel, but I have learned that sometimes rolling with the child's schedule and adjusting the parenting dial of discipline helps me be a better mother.
I wish I could say I am always in tune and know when to adjust the dial, but I am not perfect. Sometimes I just realize that there are too many bumps in the parenting road and I rethink my position about how to handle my attempts to raise a well-rounded citizen of the world.
The same can be said about my writing. I'm a writer. I write stories. I have goals and personal deadlines because I treat my writing like a job, not a hobby. I am a professional, unpaid writer who desires publication. I tend to move forward in a nice, linear fashion when I start my books. I write fast. Messy, sloppy first drafts are my game. I like to get the story out.
It doesn't seem to matter how much I plan, the map is not even a guideline by the time I get to the middle of the book. Things get quite murky and I toss the dang outline aside just to keep writing forward. I've learned I'm better at tearing apart a first draft and finding the real story inside the shell I've created so I'm always itchy to finish my first draft. That's when the real writing can begin.
This year I set my writing goals. One goal was to complete two books in a four book series. I outlined four books. I had my characters all planned out. I had the story arc for the entire series written out in an overview. I had the first book plotted/outlined and I began writing it in earnest in January. It's "finished" but not really, because I had another project pop into my life that required my setting aside the book I was working on, rethinking the entire series in a new way, and working on a revision for another book.
I had to do the "downward facing dog" of writing yoga and look at everything from a different perspective. I had to be flexible as a writer. Twist my brain inside out and make it work in a new way. The only thing I knew I was capable of doing was the cutting of the debris that was no longer deemed necessary. But once I cut the debris out, would I have a story? Would the characters I had not hung out with for a long while actually come out to play again? I immediately went into "child's pose" and whimpered a bit at the prospect.
Even worse, I had to wait to start. I am not a patient sort, so waiting was very hard. Very very very very very hard. I admit it: I am not good at biding my time. I was actually quite worried about the waiting period. The dominoes of time were falling fast. I panicked. I was very scared I'd fail before I started because I'd lost so much time (my freakish obsession with time is legendary in my family--I'm not allowed to wear a watch when we go on vacation as a result). Thankfully, I have amazing friends and writing partners who encouraged me and told me I had plenty of time. The dominoes slowly reassembled into their neat little timelines during my biding time.
Waiting was actually a good thing. It gave me time to think, mull, ask questions, search my mind for solutions, and cajole my characters out of my noggin. Biding my time meant I could gently tiptoe back into the story while banging out the first draft of the other story I was writing. When I finally sat down to work on the revision, I had a more flexible attitude about the entire process.
Now that I am in revision mode, I've also realized that the type of writing I do often impacts where I sit down to write. I can write a first draft anywhere, any time, any amount of words. There are no constrictions to the writing. It flows. I can tune out the people and noises so easily when I am in first draft mode. I can write in airports, restaurants, coffee shops. I just write.
Revisions? Not so easy. I have to literally move my computer out of the office and sit at another table so I'm not tempted to do the "business" of writing--okay, check emails and facebook and tweet. I readily confess that I am great at distracting myself in the cyber world. During revisions, I need to sit at a table, in the kitchen area, with my notebook close at hand. I have to think more, jot notes, walk away, come back, sit down, pour tea, anything I can do to trick my characters into telling me more about their story.
It is their story. I know their story. I have it inside me. I'm slowly letting it come out and trying really hard to be patient with my characters. Whenever my patience is tried, I get up and walk away. I adjust my thinking. I return with a new idea and ask them, "Is this what you were trying to tell me two years ago? Oh, okay, I get it. Then I will write it for you."
I also take a lot of showers. No matter what kind of writing phase I am in, I tend to get the greatest inspiration while washing my hair and putting on my makeup.
How do you switch gears between different kinds of writing? Does place or time matter to you? And what brand shampoo works best for you should your go-to method for inspiration be the same as mine?
I wish I could say I am always in tune and know when to adjust the dial, but I am not perfect. Sometimes I just realize that there are too many bumps in the parenting road and I rethink my position about how to handle my attempts to raise a well-rounded citizen of the world.
The same can be said about my writing. I'm a writer. I write stories. I have goals and personal deadlines because I treat my writing like a job, not a hobby. I am a professional, unpaid writer who desires publication. I tend to move forward in a nice, linear fashion when I start my books. I write fast. Messy, sloppy first drafts are my game. I like to get the story out.
It doesn't seem to matter how much I plan, the map is not even a guideline by the time I get to the middle of the book. Things get quite murky and I toss the dang outline aside just to keep writing forward. I've learned I'm better at tearing apart a first draft and finding the real story inside the shell I've created so I'm always itchy to finish my first draft. That's when the real writing can begin.
This year I set my writing goals. One goal was to complete two books in a four book series. I outlined four books. I had my characters all planned out. I had the story arc for the entire series written out in an overview. I had the first book plotted/outlined and I began writing it in earnest in January. It's "finished" but not really, because I had another project pop into my life that required my setting aside the book I was working on, rethinking the entire series in a new way, and working on a revision for another book.
I had to do the "downward facing dog" of writing yoga and look at everything from a different perspective. I had to be flexible as a writer. Twist my brain inside out and make it work in a new way. The only thing I knew I was capable of doing was the cutting of the debris that was no longer deemed necessary. But once I cut the debris out, would I have a story? Would the characters I had not hung out with for a long while actually come out to play again? I immediately went into "child's pose" and whimpered a bit at the prospect.
Even worse, I had to wait to start. I am not a patient sort, so waiting was very hard. Very very very very very hard. I admit it: I am not good at biding my time. I was actually quite worried about the waiting period. The dominoes of time were falling fast. I panicked. I was very scared I'd fail before I started because I'd lost so much time (my freakish obsession with time is legendary in my family--I'm not allowed to wear a watch when we go on vacation as a result). Thankfully, I have amazing friends and writing partners who encouraged me and told me I had plenty of time. The dominoes slowly reassembled into their neat little timelines during my biding time.
Waiting was actually a good thing. It gave me time to think, mull, ask questions, search my mind for solutions, and cajole my characters out of my noggin. Biding my time meant I could gently tiptoe back into the story while banging out the first draft of the other story I was writing. When I finally sat down to work on the revision, I had a more flexible attitude about the entire process.
Now that I am in revision mode, I've also realized that the type of writing I do often impacts where I sit down to write. I can write a first draft anywhere, any time, any amount of words. There are no constrictions to the writing. It flows. I can tune out the people and noises so easily when I am in first draft mode. I can write in airports, restaurants, coffee shops. I just write.
Revisions? Not so easy. I have to literally move my computer out of the office and sit at another table so I'm not tempted to do the "business" of writing--okay, check emails and facebook and tweet. I readily confess that I am great at distracting myself in the cyber world. During revisions, I need to sit at a table, in the kitchen area, with my notebook close at hand. I have to think more, jot notes, walk away, come back, sit down, pour tea, anything I can do to trick my characters into telling me more about their story.
It is their story. I know their story. I have it inside me. I'm slowly letting it come out and trying really hard to be patient with my characters. Whenever my patience is tried, I get up and walk away. I adjust my thinking. I return with a new idea and ask them, "Is this what you were trying to tell me two years ago? Oh, okay, I get it. Then I will write it for you."
I also take a lot of showers. No matter what kind of writing phase I am in, I tend to get the greatest inspiration while washing my hair and putting on my makeup.
How do you switch gears between different kinds of writing? Does place or time matter to you? And what brand shampoo works best for you should your go-to method for inspiration be the same as mine?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Write Stuff: Process and Perseverance
As I've had to revise my goals for the year to reflect the new direction of my WIP--transforming a category length romance into a single title length romance with suspense elements--I've battled back a lot of doubt in order to focus on fixing the story. Again.
I've whined. I've had angst. I've been frustrated. I've moaned.
Part of my angst is born out of knowing how much time I will lose when my DH goes into the hospital for his hip replacement. Instead of hours to wrestle my manuscript into shape, I am faced with snatching moments here and there where I can work on a paragraph, a scene, a line, a thought or an idea.
And at first I thought this loss would suck. Yes. It would suck big time. Why? Because I am a Time Queen. I see time as domino blocks. One block neatly lined up with another block until a long line is formed. And I am setting the blocks down. But one false move and the blocks tumble into each other and crash down. Oh, I've been seeing my blocks of time crashing into each other and falling away with each new interruption and distraction I see hovering in my future horizon.
Sigh. Not good.
That's why I was desperate to FINISH the revision by the 31st. Now I realize that was a monumental boulder to place on my shoulders and I have removed the burden by giving myself permission to take my time and let the story evolve.
I admit I've whined about it to my CPs. My CP in VA was firm with me when I said this didn't happen with the third MS. It was so much easier. She gave me a talking to and said I moaned just as much with the third book and wanted to move on as well.
She's right.
But her words also reminded me about how that book was revised. Where and when, too. I revised (for the third/fourth times) my third MS during a HUGE move. I literally snatched time to write and revise for almost six months. I was forced by circumstances to write in short amounts of time and be away from my MS for large amounts of time.
That book went on to become a MAGGE FINALIST. Hmmmm. Brain Jolt.
Hmmm indeed. Once again, due to circumstances, during my 3rd/4th revision, I am forced to write in short amounts of time and be away from my MS for long amounts. Hmmmm. And the truth is, whenever I do sit down to work, I can see the problems more clearly. I am more amenable to *gasp* cutting them out and shifting them to other spots. I see the big picture more clearly.
Hmmm. LIGHT BULB MOMENT. Apparently, when I am in this part of my revision, my right brain needs a lot of time out so my left brain can take a scalpel to the material in short, straight and deliberate cuts. Meanwhile, during time out, my creative right side of the brain sends me inspiration and ideas and gives me scenes to work on.
Wow. I am beginning to surrender to the process. I know I will solve the issues I'm facing in this WIP.
This is where my personal religious views come into play. Whenever I beat my wings in my cage, I get NOWHERE. But when I pause, surrender to my surroundings, I see the door is open and I am free to fly.
*Please remind me of this illumination when I start to whine during my next book's revision*
*Oh, I hope I don't need to endure a major life hijacking to get to this point*
Monday, July 27, 2009
Idea Exchange
I am lucky: I have really wonderful writing comrades and chapter mates. I had a dilemma and I pinged all of them with my dilemma. They helped solidify my next step.
And I appreciate it all. And I am intensely aware of how blessed I am to know these women.
Writers are a strange lot. We are in a hole, typing away, and listening to fictional characters in our heads on a daily basis. We discuss ways to bring people together and rip them apart. We brainstorm ideas about how to make the stories in our heads marketable and how to make them work on the pages we spit out. We are emotional, cerebral, sane and insane. Our families get us, a bit, but our writing friends KNOW our struggles.
It is a lonely job, yet it is one filled with interesting companions along the way.
So cheers Ladies! I love you all for what you bring to the table of my life. The platter is full!!
And I appreciate it all. And I am intensely aware of how blessed I am to know these women.
Writers are a strange lot. We are in a hole, typing away, and listening to fictional characters in our heads on a daily basis. We discuss ways to bring people together and rip them apart. We brainstorm ideas about how to make the stories in our heads marketable and how to make them work on the pages we spit out. We are emotional, cerebral, sane and insane. Our families get us, a bit, but our writing friends KNOW our struggles.
It is a lonely job, yet it is one filled with interesting companions along the way.
So cheers Ladies! I love you all for what you bring to the table of my life. The platter is full!!
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