Thirteen Thoughts About My Month Trying To Write A Novel
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My Thursday Thirteen #2 is up.
Have a save and happy Thanksgiving!
Happy TT from Germany,
Sonny
http://sweetlikekitty.blogspot.com
Happy Thanksgiving!
I have advice!
1)Yeah, it's hard, and you will improve. keep doing it.
2)You'll learn the story as you go.
3) I've never written an outline, but one agent requested an outline to go with the query. When I start a new one, I'll be doing an outline first- I think that'll be more helpful than doing it at the end.
4) Slog through the boring parts, because you'll get back to something good soon.
5) You're totally correct- to keep going when your muse leaves is the hard part, and yes you need to learn to work through it.
6) You'll have to kick your news habit. (I might have to cut down my blog habit!!!)
7) it takes huge amounts of time! Time management is hard for us, eh?
8) Ease up, buddy!
9)Ignore the deadline, ignore your need to do it "right" and just write.
10) Then don't write them. Get creative with your descriptions so you don't get bored.
11) You'll get to know your characters the more you make them talk to each other!
12) You might surprise yourself! Put time in every day (I know, I don't follow my own advice) and don't be hard on yourself if you don't get it done by age 40. Go for 40 1/2.
13) If it's for NaNo, don't think so much! I did it last year and my novel's a mess, but I did it. And there's some good stuff in there. Let your imagination go and make your fingers do the typing.
I have all the answers, but no published books yet, so take that with a grain of salt!
Back to work for me, and Douglas, you're brilliant, so just get it down. And have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!
The toughest thing seems to be avoiding the urge to make it perfect. It's how I got bogged down last time--I couldn't just say "eh, screw it" and keep typing, I had to go back and try to fix things. Doesn't work very well.
Here's what helps me cope with my ADD and keep writing. Maybe you'll find some of it helpful.
- Remember that consistency is key. Stephen King once pointed out that if you only write one page a day, in just a year you'll have written a pretty thick novel. Writing every day isn't realistic for me, but I aim to write 1,000 words five days a week. Some days I do good to write half that, and some weeks I do good to put in a couple of days, but the point is as long as I keep doing it, I know I'll get there eventually. When I get there isn't important, as long as I just get there.
- Headphones to drown out distraction, natch. Mine typically play non-distracting trance music.
- I approach my daily quota in small chunks, challenging myself to write about a hundred words at a time. This doesn't just fit my attention span, it fits my daily schedule. I can rarely find hours at a time to devote solely to writing. This way I know that even if I only have fifteen minutes to spare between other tasks that need to get done, I can sit down and bang out a hundred words in those fifteen minutes.
- When I do find long stretches of time to write, I allow myself internet breaks. I use my blog habit as motivation, e.g., "If I write two hundred more words I can stop and read 5 blogs, then I have to get back to work."
- I have a devoted blog for posting my rough draft. I only have a couple of readers (who comment, at any rate), but even knowing those two people are reading and care what happens next gives me a sense of obligation to keep going. And their encouraging feedback is pretty motivating.
Now I should stop yammering and go use these last few days to at least get somewhere in the ballpark of my NaNo goal.
I wasn't interested in finishing NaNoWriMo as much as I was interested in finishing my novel. So when I found that my schedule didn't allow for 1667 words a day I realized rather quickly that the 50,000 word goal was not going to happen. I wasn't sad, though. I banged up against an AD/HD wall and got a chance to see what obstacles would need to be mowed down to make this novel a reality. It was excellent practice, especially since I had home schooling and graphic design projects to keep me truly busy. The novel was just one thing too much for November. Remember what I always say about pruning your to do lists and not working on more than you're able to at any one time.
So don't worry. I'm not discouraged. I have a really good idea now of what I'll need to address when the novel is the only project I'm working on besides my art. I'm looking forward to January, let me tell you.
So thanks again for your comments. It was a pleasure to read them all.