Saturday, January 11, 2014

Writer's Corner: The First Step: Just Getting the Words Down

Dear All:
I'm so excited to continue to share with you my adventures in writing my first novel, which I'm still working on!

How do you go about writing a novel? It's definitely something I'm still figuring out!

But I didn't have the faintest idea how to even start even though I've reviewed many, many books at this point, and I edited several full length novels for other authors. But I made a couple of decisions right away.

First, I decided to write what I knew. Part of the problem with my other unfinished stories was that I'd get bogged down in the inconsistencies and issues with the world building, become really frustrated, and stop. So I decided to write a novel set in present day about medical school, something which I'm very familiar.

Second, I decided that I would start making a habit of writing every day, rain or shine, busy or not busy. So I would wake up an hour earlier before work to write.

Third, I was going to send a chapter to my sister almost every day so that I'd have a goal every day. And someone to remind me that I was behind on my quota, so I would have someone built in to answer to.

And that was it. I basically had the inkling of a story in my head, a couple of characters in mind, and I wrote. And wrote. And wrote.

The first 10K I wrote were the hardest to get through. But once I hit that goal, it was like I hit my stride. It became easier to write more each day.

After two months, I had written 60,000 words, more words than I had ever written in my life. My sister, who had been reading along with me, told me she felt it was finished. I was stunned. How could it be done? I hadn't even gotten to the part of the story I REALLY wanted to tell.

I was just so disappointed. How could this have happened?

I decided to let it sit for a month. I felt so unsettled. I wrote a ton of words, but I felt like I hadn't really written a book.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized my problems. First, I didn't write with an outline. That's the problem with doing a really long freewrite. Second, I had no idea how time passed in novels. I started off thinking I could write through four years in one novel, which was absurd. I shaved it down to a year, and it quickly became four months, and in that abbreviated time, my plot no longer made sense. 

Problems aside, I think writing that 60K was not wasted time at all. During that time, I finally figured out what I wanted the book to really be about.

Those of you who've written before, have you run into any of these problems? For those of you who haven't written, have you ever thought about what goes into writing even a first draft?

Thanks for tuning in! Next time, we'll talk about Nanowrimo!

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11 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for posting about this, Christina. I'm still trying to chart out the best way to do my novel, and this definitely helped a bit :)

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    1. So glad! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!!

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  2. I have always wondered how authors make their book a book. I love writing, but have never tried to put something together and allow anyone to read it. My biggest thing is - how to start, other than putting all thoughts down. Or should I say organize? Thanks for sharing your experience.

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    1. Thank YOU for commenting! I think there are various way to start. I love a good brainstorming session. What is important for you to say? What characters do you want? Do you have an idea of a plot? And then letting that simmer for a while. Maybe writing out some trial scenarios with your characters to see how it plays out. Like I said above, it took me just writing down lots of words before I even figured out what I wanted to say. Kudos to those who already know! :-)

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  3. I feel like I'm reading my own life experience here! LOL! I soooo went through this the first time, and I wrote a helluva lot more than 60K. I hate outlines, and the 1st two Oracle of Delphi books were written without one. Third book, I just had to, and now outlines and I have a love/hate relationship. I recommend outlines only because my way probably won't work for anyone else. But if you don't want to create an actual outline, write down your ideas inside the actual book where you think they might take place. You can always change it, delete it, whatever. But at least the idea is down.

    First drafts are the worst! For a fantasy author such as myself, I have so many ideas swirling around in my head sometimes I just have to say screw this, I'm watching Netflix. The writing everyday is good in theory, but for me, it doesn't work. I can't MAKE myself write. I have to catch the vibe, but when I do, I really make it count and that's what's most important. Setting deadlines is great, so you're good there. Set them, then tell people. Bet you'll meet every deadline then! LOL.

    My advice (and some may say I'm crazy) but throw that book out. It doesn't work anymore so what's the point? I deleted two almost full length novels before I finally wrote Prophecy of the Most Beautiful. Was it worth it? Heck yeah! Start over. I bet what you come up with this time will be WAY better than what you wrote previously. Sometimes we have to write a million words just to get 50K that work. It's just the way this goes. But I know you're going to do great. Good luck, lady!

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    1. You aren't crazy at all! Most traditionally published authors who have been successful with their debuts wrote several novels before finding the right one. So I basically did what you're saying with a few caveats-- but I'll leave the details for the next Writer's Corner :-)

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  4. Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Christina!.. Well, 60K is indeed a large number of words. Well, I would never say it's a waste because every step you take is a step towards learning to write a proper book. You learn with each step and your final product will be well received with all!. Goodlkuck :)

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Naz!!! Yes, it's always tough to "start over," but it's not really because that's another ton of words under your belt! :-)

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  5. I've had a similar experience! I never finished a novel until NaNoWriMo last year (2013). I finally decided to write about something I was passionate about because I had figured out that that was what I WANTED to write about (for myself, not for what's popular).

    I did write with an outline since it was NaNo, but my novel ended up drifting in a slightly different direction (I had a major plot change. ACK!). But in the process of writing, I realized what it was I truly wanted to write, not necessarily what I had planned to write. While writing it, I was naturally pulled into a slightly different direction, but now I know where I want to go with it!

    I'm currently re-reading it, and I'm hoping to either revise it or do a complete rewrite, but this time, I'll have a much better idea of what I want in my mind.

    Great post, and I wish you the best of luck with your writing!

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    1. I love when you are pulled in a different direction... because that's part of the fun! You create your characters and your world and sometimes they just want to do their own thing, and it's better that way! I hope you go through with the rewrite. It's daunting, but it's great to get closer to your ultimate vision. Keep me posted!

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  6. I think this is completely normal. I finished my first novel last year and it was well over 60k. Now it's on the shelf. But I don't regret it because I learned so much from writing it. I still love the idea behind the book and plan to revisit it some day in the future, but for now, I'm working on new projects. And I couldn't be happier. Thanks for your sharing your experience. It's good to know you're not the only one.

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