The Character doesn't have enough say in what happens (FBB #2)

First Book Blunders #2

The Character Doesn't Have Enough Say in What Happens

As an opposing point to what I wrote about in the first First Book Blunders post, many authors take too much control over the plot and narrative.

I have nothing against planners (people who plan their stories in advance). In fact, I've started to adopt this method more and more often. I think, in many cases, it can be very useful. They point I'm trying to make is that sometimes your characters want to veer from your plan, and you have to let them.

There was a book I read last year. It wasn't the author's first book, but it was their first series of books, and therefor, their first ending of a story arc. The way a certain character's arc was working, the character was going to have to die, and the author didn't want to kill this character. Many authors go through this, and it becomes a crucial decision. This was a decision she stumbled over.

You have to give your characters room to breathe. If their arc ends in such a tragic way, you're going to have to let it happen, or your book will suffer.

The author I was talking about kept trying to avoid the ending. You could feel her desperately clinging to reasons that character could live, but in the end, she realized it had to happen. Because of her trying to avoid it for so long, the book had a forced quality to it, and when it did get back on track, it felt sudden. The change was quick and jarring. It lost a lot of it's believability. Character-wise, it made perfect sense, but the book was not set up in a way where that ending fit anymore. She'd written herself into a corner.

I mean no offense to this author in any way. This was something I struggled with myself when I was younger. I still do sometimes. I don't want to make certain things happen, but they have to. It feels right.

An example in the work I'm currently writing, is when one of my characters runs away from home. In the outline, I said that they would be out one day, then they would find a shelter, because they hadn't brought food. As I wrote the story though, my character came out as this very intelligent person who would never forget something that important.

I didn't make the outline work. I let my character take the reigns, but I held her hands, pushing her gently back on track and letting her wander as she got there. It took longer than expected. I had to introduce characters that weren't originally there. There are now more subplots to weave into the rest of the book, but I don't regret it in any way. I can tell, already, that it was a beneficial move.

As for the response of readers to that author previously mentioned? She got a lot of hate for that ending, and some people seem confused. They don't understand why authors like John Green get praised for killing characters, and this author gets hated. I don't think some of the readers even know why they hate it so much. They say the obvious ("I loved her! How could you?"). Then some just don't know. They didn't like the book. It seemed, in some ways, worse than the others. I think it was because of that FBB that she included,

There's nothing wrong with straying from your outline. Your outline, in the end, may be completely incorrect, and that might be the best writing decision you ever make. The important thing is not that you stick to the original plan, or what you want; it's that your story and your characters make sense.

What is FBB?

First Book Blunders are mistakes that I notice in many first books. I call them mistakes because they may jar the reader, confuse them, or give the writing an amateurish feel. Many times, if you see these mistakes, they are in the debut novel written by the author, so I've grouped them together under this name. I have yet to see anyone else do this, and since I am myself trying to find these so I may avoid them in my own fiction, I thought they may help some of you.

Please check back in soon for the next FBB!

Why YA Isn't Evil

On YA

Why it's Not Evil

YA novels are great, in my opinion. Some are the type that aren't very useful, I'll admit. But I'm not reading YA for those. I'm reading for the knowledge that comes with seeing another person's life. I, being in the US, will likely never see how high schools are in England, but I can read about it. I, being visually impaired, will never know people's eye color before asking, but apparently other people can. I've never known the negatives to popularity from my own experiences, but I know them from YA books.

You might be thinking, you can get most of that from adult books! But it is easier for me to identify with a 16 year old because I AM 16. And sure, I will read an adult novel if it sounds good. Right now, though, that's hard for me because I don't know what it's like to live alone, to have a husband, to have kids, to be in a career, to run a business, etc. I tend to feel distanced from the characters, just as I did when I tried to read YA when I was ten. Yeah, it was good. Yeah, I appreciated it. But no, I didn't know what high school felt like, or even switching classes, so I felt distanced.

The other thing about YA is, it has limits on certain things. I don't care about reading the F-bomb on every page, but I don't like reading sex scenes. YA has a few, but I have only come across one that has made me uncomfortable, and not nearly as uncomfortable as the one I found in an adult book (which by the way did not alert me there was going to be a romance involved at all.) So, for anyone who doesn't wish to experience that yet, YA is quite the savior. Because I do like romance, but not that kind.

The Big Picture

You know, I"ll admit, there are some really bad YA books. And yeah, some of them are getting hype. (I'm not naming names here. Some hyped books are amazing. Some not so much in my opinion.) But there also bad adult books.

You know what YA books did teach me? There's good in EVERY group of people and bad in EVERY group of people. Adults, children, teens. No group is all good or all bad. Same in genres. I'm sure you've picked up a terrible book in the adult shelves before.

And as Maggie Stiefvater pointed out, if you're looking for something, you are always going to find it.

The Character's Voice Takes Over (FBB #1)

First Book Blunders #1

The character's Voice Takes Over

This sounds counter-intuitive: calling this a bad thing. Your character's voice is supposed to take over. Right? Well, to an extend, this is true, but it should be natural.

I am currently reading a book -which shall remain unnamed- that has a very distinct character. The way she talks is really interesting, and I like it for her, but I think the author went too far in milking the voice from the girl. Every sentence is dripping with this voice to the point where I become confused at some points. I know this isn't the author's normal voice either. I've read her other things. It's similar, but it's much more forced.

You should let your character decide what their voice is. Consider how they were raised, what kind of people they like, what kind of education they have, what they like to do, etc. But you also need to keep your own voice. If you find yourself having to open a thesaurus every time your character speaks, it's going to sound forced.

This can also sometimes stem from authors trying to imitate other authors. They look at their favorite author and say, "Hey! I want my book to sound like Emily Dickinson wrote it!" (Which wouldn't happen, because she wrote poetry... but just an example.) Or "You know who my character kind of sounds like? Tris from Divergent! maybe I should write it like Veronica Roth!"

I don't want to kill your hopes here, but I have to say it.

If all you do is copy, all you'll do is fail!

Sorry, but you were going to find it out the hard way if I didn't warn you. And it makes sense when you think about it. Would you come home from a five star resturaunt and say, "I'm going to make our family dinner tomorrow look exactly like dinner at this fancy, five star restuaraunt even though I've never cooked professionally!" Okay, maybe some of you would, but I'm sure you'd find quickly that your cooking wasn't quite up to par with your expectations.

The point is, let your characters decide your voice, but don't let them control it unless it feels natural, because if it doesn't feel natural to you, it won't feel natural to the reader.

What is FBB?

First Book Blunders are mistakes that I notice in many first books. I call them mistakes because they may jar the reader, confuse them, or give the writing an amateurish feel. Many times, if you see these mistakes, they are in the debut novel written by the author, so I've grouped them together under this name. I have yet to see anyone else do this, but since I am myself trying to find these so I may avoid them in my own fiction, I thought they may help some of you.

Please check back in soon for the next FBB!

The Idea Drawer

The Idea Drawer

Most writers will tell you to keep a notebook so you can write down your ideas. I've done that a few times. (All three have a permanent residence in the idea drawer) Yet, my inspiration to do so always dwindles. Or I lose the notebook, because a squirrel can organize better than me.

So I started writing things down everywhere.

I used note cards, back pages of notebooks, the back of homework sheets. ("Who's Scarlett?" asks my math teacher. "Uh... I'm writing a novel. She's a character." "Ah. I see... Please focus when you're doing your work.")

I started keeping them in a shoe box in my closet. I called it my idea box. But after four years, it was getting pretty beat up. It no longer had a cover, the sides were falling apart. It had survived moving houses and somehow ending up under a pile of binders, clothes, and other closet based things. So I decided my ideas needed a better home.

I cleared out a drawer in my desk and put every paper in there, looking through them as I did. I look through there a lot: when I know I had an idea in there and just can't remember the details, or when I want to work on that novel I've been building up note cards for since sixth grade. Sometimes, just because I like to do it.

The key to an idea drawer (or box) is just to get your ideas down. It's for people too chaotic to manage a notebook and too forgetful to write nothing down at all. As long as you look through it when you need it, or at the least every 1-3 months, you'll get use out of it. I promise.

Drafting Methods

First Draft Methods

Some people are inherently good at writing a first draft. They can just say, "Oh, that's a cool story!", sit down, and write it.

I'm not like that. I am too easily distracted by shiny new ideas. Or I just forget to open the document... and start something else before I remember. (Okay, yes. That is the same thing...)

To try to get out of this, I've tried many methods. So far, they all have potential, and some have even worked. But it's different with every book for me. Feel free to make your own methods and put them in the comments. Or blend together some of these.

The Tale of Two Cities method

This is the method I'm trying now. The alternate name is the Fanfiction method or the Wordpress method. (Wordpress is a thing right? I believe that's the name... I'm too reluctant to share my work virtually to get into that.) I haven't finished a novel through this method, but I have finished fanfictions, so I am hopeful.

Anyway, Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was published chapter by chapter in a magazine. (Or maybe a few chapters at a time? I'm not sure. My English teacher said this to me about two years ago now.) That's where the main title comes from.

What you will need: a story idea and at least one person who is interested in reading your story (and that you will be able to get your story to). This person can be brutally honest (I'd actually suggest this) or really nice. I'd say they have to be able to give you honest feedback, if a little sugar coated. Go for the person who will give you the hardest critique you can get without getting discouraged. The discouraging critique is for the editing phase! *note: I'm half kidding. If you're new to critique... I'm full kidding.*

Now, write your first chapter. You might have an outline, or maybe you're pantsing it. Either way, write the whole first chapter. Then, edit it. You can use any method. What I've been doing is reading it over silently and editing the big stuff, reading it out loud to myself to catch strange dialog or word choice, and finally having the computer read it to me for awkwardness. You can do this by using yWriter or by copy and pasting it into google translate. Once it's edited, send it to the person and have them read and review it. Consider fixing problems they bring up, but remember it's your choice.

Now repeat. But make sure you tell them the specific interval of time there will be between each chapter. I'm doing ten days, but yours might be one day or one month. Don't give yourself too much free time!

The NaNoWriMo method

Google NaNoWriMo. Must I elaborate? Only tip: DO THE WORD SPRINTS

What you need: Chocolate, a story idea, the ability to type quickly (optional but helpful)

The Just Go For It Method

This is how I got my first first draft written. (That looks so grammatically incorrect...) Just write on it every day. It's driven by passion, and gives ace procrastinator me too much leeway, but 13 year old me wrote 199 pages by hand using it.

What you will need: a story idea, passion!!!!!, self motivation!!!!!!!

The Clean Method

You don't want all that bloodshed in the editing phase and you don't like the Tale of Two Cities method? You're probably a planner. I'd spend some time letting my idea "marinate" as I say sometimes. But don't walk away from your idea! Check it over and over again. Add some more salt to the seasoning. (Um, does that fit with the analogy? I don't really cook...) What I'm saying is, still work on the novel. Just don't write it until you're confident in it.

For example: Betty get's an idea for a novel. It will be about a girl named Nina who loves to race cars, but then, irony much, she gets in a terrible car crash and must then get over her fear of driving again!

Now, maybe the beginning would sound the same either way. (This will be in more of an outline format, but you get it.) Nina races. She's having fun. Loves it. Later, she is trying to get home from after-party. Rain is making it hard to see. Has headache from all the noise and fuss. Because distracted, crashes car. Almost dies.

Now you reach a problem. She is scared to drive? After all these years? What makes her so frightened?

If you'd just started writing, you might just wing it and say: After, she was scared to drive. You might not give a good reason at all! If it doesn't come to you, you still have to keep writing, right?

But if you've worked it out already and don't have to worry about it, you can write the more coherent version: After, she was scared to drive. What if something happened like that and she hurt someone? She'd rammed into a pole in front of someone's house. What if there was a kid there? She had nightmares of it.

And oh! Now, you know that when you write it, you have to include the fact that she crashed into a pole in someone's yard so that this can happen.

These are just the ones I've tried. Maybe you have more? Maybe you have better ones? Leave them below!

Why Fanfiction is not Evil

Why Fanfiction is not Evil

Go on. Admit it. You've written fanfiction. I've written fanfiction! I still write fanfiction! I've got two going right now. Even if your not on the site, you've made up a story about some star you liked or some show you watched.

He, he! Then, get this, then Troy Bolton will kiss me! And... oh! And then Gabriela walks up, and sees us!

Oh, eleven year old me. I know you had a thing for characters that were starting to go out of date, but really.... the same story again?

The Upsides to Fanfiction

Fanfiction is good in a few main ways.
1. Practice: You can get practice for the real writing here without actually having to sit down and try to be profound on the first try.
2. Experimentation: Also, this is great for children who don't yet know how to make their own stories (or adults). It's great for experimenting in different styles. Never written in 3rd person? Write a fanfiction. Go ahead! Post it! As long as it's spell checked you out did at least a few of the fics there.
3. Fun: And they're fun! You get to put characters that already seem so real into situations they've never been in before. And it's different, because they're fixed. You can't just decide. "Oh, actually.... so-and-so is no longer allergic to peanuts. It's getting kind of annoying to keep mentioning it." So you have restraints to push at.
4. No pressure.  And there's no pressure since you won't have to publish it. (Don't try. That's illegal. Unless it's on fanfiction.net)

The Downsides to Fanfiction

Some people get too wrapped up in fanfiction. They forget to work on their own stuff, or they lose the ability to. Yes, fanfiction is good practice for writing your novel, but you have to write it some time.

Some authors don't like fanfiction. Maybe they don't like other people messing with their plots and characters or something. If I ever get published though, which is the plan, I will be totally okay with it. Because fanfiction isn't about ripping off someones characters/plots/story/work. It's about exploring someone else's world because you love it that much that you don't want to leave.

Fanfiction is not evil. You can take it that way, but that is not the intention of the writer, so I wouldn't. If someone is spending the time to write 2,000 words every week about your characters, they probably fell in love with them.

So don't feel inferior. Try it. You probably already have.

Making your Characters Real

Making your Characters Real

Well before I start, sorry it's been a while since I posted! I had finals, then I was engrossed in many a writings, but I'm here now, and ready to get back into it!

How do you make your characters real?

Everyone wants their characters to feel so real that their critique partners will call them up and be like, "Why is Mary so mean to Bob? God, I hate her!" or "Bob so deserved that! I hate him! Good for Mary!" (If the story is eventually published, you will likely hear both about the same character if you wrote them well.)

Believe it or not, it isn't that hard.

Is Good and Bad good or bad?

The most important thing to do is to make sure they aren't a pure breed. You don't want someone to point to a character and be like "Mary is bad." or "Mary is good." You want them to think about it and say, "I think I like Mary, but I didn't like it when she yelled at Bob." In other words, your good characters need to have a bad side and your bad characters need to have a good side. Every character that is in your novel for more than a few pages should be double sided. Writing is where the mutts rule.

Make them human.

Then you need to make your character human. What's the first thing you want to know about a person (after if they're nice or not/what they look like.)? You probably want to know what they like/dislike and they're hobbies. And you can't just say watching TV. Then you want to know what shows. Think of your characters like your friends (that you'll later torture). 

And make sure you give them a specialty. That could be anything as specific as being able to name every star on a star map or as general as music. It just matters how well we know the character and how broadly they think. But keep in mind, just because two characters like the same thing doesn't mean they have to connect. If two kids each like playing Barbies, you might think they'd get along. But one girl likes doing their hair and picking outfits for them. The other likes acting out stories.

Voice: the hard part made easy

Now for their voice. Think about it. You already have their voice. How did they grow up? Here, watch.

Take the sentence, "That movie was great! I loved the part where they kissed!"

Say your character is a 15 year old who likes watching youtube and doesn't really like to read. They might say, "Wow! That movie was awesome! I loved the part where they made out! It was so cute!"

Say your character is an English major who is teaching their first year of English at a local high school. She loves to read and has been writing since she was very young. She's also a bit show-offy. "That movie was magnificent! I especially enjoyed the moment where the two protagonists kissed by the lake. It was quite well done."

Or your character is a film student. She grew up watching movies and has wanted to be a director forever. She likes reading, but mostly about film and loves watching movies to learn to be a better director. "That movie was so well done! The part where the two main characters kissed was lit really well! The lens flares were placed perfectly. I wonder if they were in camera? And the sound was done perfectly! I should take notes next time."

See? Find what your character knows and that's how they talk. This will especially come in handy if you're writing first person or close third person, but will come in handy no matter what. More times than not, a character will need to speak at some point.

Now, go forth, and create new people! Ah-hem... I mean, characters....

Experimenting: The Best Way to Become the Best

Experimenting: The Best Way to Become the Best

What do write? I know most of you said one thing. I write novels. I write short stories. I write plays. I write screenplays. I write poetry. I write memoirs. I write songs.

I write all of the above.

Am I good at all of the above? No! Of course not! Do I want to publish all of the above? No! But I write it because they are all the same thing!

Certainly, no one likes writing everything. You're not going to love every little thing. But sometimes, you find something you never thought you were going to like is amazing.

It's like food, only you haven't been turning up your nose in front of everyone for months, so you don't have to pretend you still don't like it and then find an excuse to have to eat it when no one is watching. You just get a new, awesome medium to play with!

This blog is a new medium for me. I've tried blogging once before, but I never actually posted the entries. I was scared out of my mind that I'd mess up. Now? Sure, I have to muster up a bit of courage every time I hit publish, but I know that "A book is a flawed thing made by a flawed person". (John Green) No one is perfect, not even the most well known authors.

Therefor, write everything, then work your way down to a couple mediums that you really like. Then you know what you want to devote all your time to, and your brain isn't filled with ideas for things you don't even know you won't want to write.

Character's Reactions

Character's Reactions

My birthday was the 18th, and my mom gave me a ring.

Yes. This is significant to the post. Just wait.

So, I open up the ring and it's pretty and all. It's a silver heart with little sparkly things that my eyes are too bad to identify. And then there's a smaller heart on top of that that's almost a coppery gold. And mom says, "You like it? It's real!"

My stomach plummets.

It's real. I'm too good at losing things to own something real. I'm totally going to lose it, or break it, or accidentally wash it like my iPod. (Oops...)

She tells me to put it on. I try, and it's too small.

Today, I'm wearing it for the day on my pinky finger. Mom says if I like it, we'll get it re-sized. She said try it for a day. I agreed to it.

It feels weird. For context, I don't wear jewelry. Every time I look at my hand, it doesn't look like my hand. It looks like my mom's... or a teacher's... or Sydney Sage from the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. (Which is weird because she doesn't wear rings either. But that's not the point.)

Why am I telling you this?

Well, do I seem like more of a real person than I did when you clicked on this article? Probably. Because now you know something about me, and you know how I react to this kind of thing. Then there's underlying things. Because you got to hear that this is how I react to this situation, you can easily predict how I'll react if I get another piece of jewelry.

You need to do this with your characters. Your characters need moments that let the reader know they react to things, even little things. My ring looks weird on my finger. I find it weird to say "my ring". Don't just have them react to the big plot points. If a person would notice it, so would a character.

Find something small for a character to notice. Maybe they were bored and painted their nails. Now they feel weird because they usually never paint their nails, and every time they see their hand, they have to do a double take.

Maybe a kid gets a chocolate bar for his birthday, and instead of eating it, he puts it in the fridge. And he always wants the candy, but he wants to save it for later. Then he doesn't know when 'later' is, and he realizes he's actually stalling and eats it. But then he feels bad because he should have saved it  for later.

A college student and her friend enter a cafe and their favorite table is taken. One is mad at the people, though she knows she shouldn't be. And her friend barely cares.

All these situations develop your characters. And it's not a significant plot point. (It could be I suppose...) But it is important. Because these are the things that make your characters feel real.

So "If you (love) it than you (should) put a ring on it!"

Alright, I will go before I quote anything else...

On Poetry- Form or Free

On Poetry- Form or Free

Poetry is an interesting topic for me. I admit, I'm no expert. I only started writing poetry with the intent to actually write something worth reading a couple of years ago, and most of it has been free form. Most people say poetry is about rhythm an rhyme schemes, hyperbole and other things that are hard to spell. Not to mention all those rules and forms you've got to sort through. Though, what I wonder is why?

Is a poem still a poem if it does not rhyme? Is a poem still a poem if it has no imagery? Is a poem still a poem if it has no real structure?

A poem

is but

a story

but with

white space.

That was a poem. I just wrote it on the spot. It counts. Why? Because it has lines that are split where it sounds... like a poem... And it sounds... like a poem. It leaves empty space...It... It...

Exactly.

My definition of a poem is words that convey something. It could be an image, a feeling, an idea. But they convey something.

This means you could write an entire poem without  using a single adjective.

The sun

burns.

Lemonade

perspires.

It waits

with a girl

who is missing

a tooth.

Her sign

asks for

a quarter.

Or an entire poem using just one word. I believe Shel Silverstein did one called The Eraser. (Two words, but that's alright.) I can't seem to find Where the Sidewalk Ends right now, though I know I have it around here somewhere. But I believe it went like this:

"The Eraser

The Erase

The Eras

The Era

The Er

The E

The

Th

T "

If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me! But I believe that's what it said.

In any case, my point is, is that you don't have to follow strict rules to be a poet. You just have to have an idea. It may be as complex as a new approach to quantum theory or -god forbid- a new take on life itself. Or it could be as simple as the eraser at the end of your pencil.

A poem

is but

a story

with white space.

It is no

rabid dog.

It does not

bite.

If you treat

a poem

like a dog

on a leash,

it will never

do what

you

wish.

Listen to Your Words

Editing Because I should have Last Year

And the actual point: Listening to Your Words

So, three years ago, I finished a manuscript. And then I typed it up (because I had handwritten it) and decided two things.

1. I was never going to write a manuscript in a journal again! Too much aftertyping!

2. This book was awesome! I was SO going to publish it!

Then, I let it sit a while. Almost a year later, I decided I was going to do the real edits, so I opened up the document again. I discovered something.

This book was horrible! I was SO never going to publish it!

And then I realized something else. I could fix it.

I went through at that point and fixed things here and there, but I only started something truly productive right before Camp NaNoWriMo last month. I am currently retyping the entire manuscript, looking at the old copy for reference. And I'm typing it into yWriter. Why? Because it has this nifty little button that looks like a play button. And when you click the button, it reads out loud do you!

Have you ever heard that you should have someone read your stories to you to hear if they're bad? Well, I'm not going to ask someone to read my novel out loud to me, so I used to read out loud to myself. I catch a lot that way, sure. But I didn't know how much I missed until I discovered this feature. I don't mean to be an add or anything. Honestly, copy and paste your novel, chapter by chapter, into google translate. It'll read out loud to you too. (In other languages. Bonus!)

Moral of my clearly unoutlined rant (as if I ever outline these)? Listen to your words, don't just write them.

Word Count Goals

Word Count Goals

32334 words into my current project

Last month, I participated in April NaNoWriMo, otherwise known as Camp NaNoWriMo. It's an online event where a whole lot of writers from all over the world get together and write a whole lot of words. You set your wordcount goal, and they calculate how many words a day you have to write to reach that goal. Since I must keep my grades up, I only did 20,000 words this months. That sounds like a lot, but it adds up to 666 words a day.

The normal wordcount goal is 50,000 words. I did this last July. Since there are 31 days in july, I had to write 1613 words every day. and let me just say, that isn't impossible if you love writing. But it's not easy. But I actually finished, finishing my second novel. (Well, 1st draft.)

I'm quite bad at setting word count goals for myself though. I have tried, but don't do very well. The past two months, I've been using a program called ywriter (google it. I don't have a link for the site. Sorry!) It shows you how many words you've written that day and each of the previous days. This helps, but I don't always check it. This is why I do Nano.

Even though I am so far in my novel, (word count for all including both nano words and from before is @ the top) I still am not done. I know this story will add up to more the 50,000 words. I hope 60,000, but I have never written that much.

My advice for you all is to try nano if you struggle with finishing as I do. Or if you are able to do it on your own, set your own wordcount. Either way, write something every day.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, I haven't written in the novel every day, but I still try to write something. Sometimes it is a fanfiction. Sometimes it is a short story. Sometimes it's an essay. Today, it's a blogpost.

Now, I'm going to go write.

The Wonderful Tedious work that is Plotting

The Wonderful Tedious Work that is Plotting

(My current wordcount: 24,270)

When you started writing, maybe as a child like me or maybe as an adult, you likely did not plot. Maybe you don't now! I only started plotting about a year ago.

Before that, I kind of knew what was going to happen when I sat down to write a book. "Well, this person has this power, and then this happens to them. So then... then... Well they get out of it. Don't worry." My philosophy was that I wanted to find out the big twist ending when my reader found out.

Using that tactic for the first thirteen years of my life taught me that your novel, if you finish one, will be a disorganized pile of -as katytastic said- "word vomit". (I love that phrase so very much.) When I was fourteen, I started plotting more. It made me look at writing a book in a new way. Less like a long game of pretend and more like a novel. I don't plan everything still, I often start writing without an ending or without a middle and then have to go back and plot, but since that first novel, the only one I've been able to get out was one that was almost totally plotted. Every sentence? NO. But I knew where they were when, and I knew what the major plot points are.

That doesn't mean they won't change. A lot of people, including me for a while, don't want to plot because it 'ruins' their creativity or their experience. But really, everyone human has the same skeleton, but we don't all look alike. Say you want to write a story that goes like this: a girl meets a boy, they fall in love, one (or both) of them is a supernatural creature, this puts them both in danger, love prevails. (You obviously don't HAVE to want to write that.) Let me list some books that are like that: Twilight, House of Night, Beautiful Creatures, etc. There are many, many, many of these books. Not all of them are the same. Some are similar, some are totally different. My point is, just because you have a backbone, doesn't mean you know everything.

Now, if you wish to plot something, most people use a structure. Much of the time, in the beginning, I would write an outline simply by making bulleted notes down a piece of paper. Each one was just something that happened. (Mary makes cupcakes. Takes cupcakes to Dan. Dan dislikes cupcakes, etc) Now, I've been trying to find a new structure. I mentioned katytastic on youtube previously. She has a great video about her structure, and I find it very interesting, but it includes a lot of detailed structure that personally does not work for me, though I do like to use the more general blocks in her method to get a general arc going. (links at the end) Today, I found a 9 block method that is working really well on my camp nano project. Each of the boxes is next in the sequence, but they're put together so that if one box is touching another, the two are related in some way. The article explains it a lot better.

Do you have any methods for plotting? I'd love to hear them!

katytastic:
on her method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94F-3Z6CJJw
example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hialqv6sfP4 (starts at 1:19: 26)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ee3dYG32YA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBKO-t6_Caw (starts at 55:00)

something a little more simple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEMxuZyxdCo

pretty simple, but a little more complicated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Awm09336oM

the method I found yesterday: http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-to-plot-or-revise-your-book.html

Adverbs

Adverbs?

(I am now going to write my word count for my novel at the top of each blog post to make me feel bad if I don't work on it.

So...)

13728. (I'm hopefully going to add about 20,000 words to that by the end of April.)

What do you know about adverbs in writing? If you research writing as much as I do, I bet all you know is, they're the enemy.

Are they?

I definitely get what they're saying. If you say "He sat heavily in the chair," it doesn't make as much of an impact as, "He slumped into the chair with a thud against the wood."

BUT

They do have their place. That's why they exist. I say, adverbs deserve some respect. What people mean when they say adverbs are the enemy is really just another round of show-don't-tell. Which,is definitely true unless in very strange circumstances that I doubt you will find yourself in.

In class, we recently read "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck. I feel my constant being taught that adverbs are evil tainted my view of the book. Because there was an adverb in almost every paragraph. And I thought it worked alright. Do I think there could have been more showing? Yeah. But it wasn't bad. And anyway, it's a classic. It's held above many books written by authors who used no adverbs whatsoever.

Adverbs (or lack thereof) don't make the author. So if you feel your story is stumbling without them, put them in. It's okay! Just don't OVER use them.

Now, while I'm here, is there a way for you guys to comment? If so, can someone say hi or something? I'm not sure if and how it works...

Too Much Internet

Too Much Internet

Come on. Admit it. You're here because you were writing, and then 1. you wanted to stop writing with an excuse so you didn't feel guilty or 2. you got stuck. That's why I'm writing this post. I mean seriously.

If you really like writing, sure you'll pick up that pen (keyboard?) eventually. But if you really like writing and you're a dedicated writer, you're going to have to write when you don't want to some time. And yes, I realize your writing is probably a lot like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4f6mzZzPuE A lot of people's is. (Thank you katytastic for understanding. Speaking of, she has some great writing videos. You should check her out if you haven't already. But AFTER you start writing.) But you need to get something done.

Procrastination is one of a writer's most valued skills. Not to their fans. Just to themselves. I encourage you to, if you can't get yourself to write, find someone who will pester you into it. Or at the very least, set yourself a daily wordcount goal. If you don't think you'll be able to stick to this, try camp nanowrimo this April. You can set your own wordcount, even start mid story. (https://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in) Your wordcount goal could be anywhere between 10,000 words and 50,000. I'm signing up for 20,000 because I have school to focus on this coming month. This means I'm writing less than a thousand words a day, but I'm still forced to write.

Last July, I wrote 50,000 words. I didn't think I could do it, but I did. And if you're as worried as I am about having school to focus on or something equally as time consuming, than go ahead. Make it a lower wordcount. But still make it a challenge, or it's no fun.

Plus, you get sorted into a cabin during camp nano. You get to be in a private chatroom with about five to ten other people, and your preferences can be set by the genre in which you're writing, you're age, and you can even request certain people. It's great to be able to talk to someone.

Whether you decide to do it or not, I wish you luck in all of your writing adventures. And for god's sake! Close that social media tab!

I'm going to go follow my own advice now.

From the desk of
the Novelist

My first post. My first post. How should I approach this....

Hello!

Well, that sounds about right. Let's see. I should probably give a basic idea of what this blog is about.

Alright then.

What this blog is about:

1. Writing
2. Editing
3. (hopefully eventually) publishing
4. My journey down the publishing road.

Why I think you should read my blog:

An artist is their own worst enemy, so you will have to find your own motive. (It's much more fulfilling that way anyway) But I will say I'll be posting writing advice, inspiration, prompts, etc.

Am I qualified?

No one is qualified. No one knows everything. But if you're asking because you want to know if I'm published, no. I'm not. I have written three novels. I am editing two. (The first one I wrote was terrible and shall stay stuffed in the back of the closet.) I'm writing another one now. I have been researching writing, editing, and publishing for roughly the last three or four years. And anyway, all you aspiring writers, wouldn't you like to see the journey from the beginning? As I said before, no one is qualified. Writing is different for every single person you'll talk to. If you want to hear from me, great. I thank you. But don't make me your only source of advice.

I'll be writing again soon!
-The Novelist