A brief congratulations for those who competed in NaNoWriMo
Did you complete your 50,000 words on time? Even if you didn't, you gave it one hell of a shot. And if you did . . . CONGRATULATIONS!
Does one need to wait until November to write the first draft of your novel at near-lightning speed? Oh, no. Just write 1,667 words in a single day. Believe me, it may seem like a lot, but once you get going, I'm sure you find the words flowing out like water from a hose.
Even though NaNoWriMo is over doesn't mean your writing has to stop. Keep going, keep writing, and excel at your craft.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Why I like Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible"
Chef Robert Irvine is one cool dude.
I'm an avid Food Network TV watcher, whenever I get a chance to watch TV, which usually amounts to an hour or so a day, depending on how much writing I get done. I don't watch Food Network TV because I want to be a chef. I just enjoy cooking. It's not a passion of mine--that I reserve for my writing.
Robert Irvine, over the past few years, he hosted a show called Dinner Impossible where he was challenged to create meals, under not-so-ideal circumstances, in not-so-ideal time-limits. Nowadays, he upped the ante in the show Restaurant Impossible. In RI, Robert goes into failing restaurants, shows the owners what they're doing wrong, how they can fix it, and does it all within a very frugal budget (typically for $10,000 in 48 hours). I've even liked a similar show called Bar Rescue for much the same reasons: because I can transfer it back to my writing.
These TV shows are analagous to editing one's stories in the way of having someone else read it. Critically. We all have someone who'll give us the tough love and tell us our story stinks worse than a pile of rotten potatoes (which, by the way, does smell like shit). Hopefully that person is a reader. Having, and trusting, someone who will read your writing with a critical eye will give you an edge over someone else.
This person, 99.999999% of the time, will be someone unreleated to you--because we all know how much family members tell the truth. NOT! This person will be a good friend, and could even be another writer. Do you have to pay this person? Not in my opinion you don't. Even Stephen King points out in his book On Writing that he has a group of people, outside of his editorial circle, who reads his stories, and he said nothing about paying them. I, personally, would be honored if Mr. King chose me to read a future story of his (hint, hint!)
I'm an avid Food Network TV watcher, whenever I get a chance to watch TV, which usually amounts to an hour or so a day, depending on how much writing I get done. I don't watch Food Network TV because I want to be a chef. I just enjoy cooking. It's not a passion of mine--that I reserve for my writing.
Robert Irvine, over the past few years, he hosted a show called Dinner Impossible where he was challenged to create meals, under not-so-ideal circumstances, in not-so-ideal time-limits. Nowadays, he upped the ante in the show Restaurant Impossible. In RI, Robert goes into failing restaurants, shows the owners what they're doing wrong, how they can fix it, and does it all within a very frugal budget (typically for $10,000 in 48 hours). I've even liked a similar show called Bar Rescue for much the same reasons: because I can transfer it back to my writing.
These TV shows are analagous to editing one's stories in the way of having someone else read it. Critically. We all have someone who'll give us the tough love and tell us our story stinks worse than a pile of rotten potatoes (which, by the way, does smell like shit). Hopefully that person is a reader. Having, and trusting, someone who will read your writing with a critical eye will give you an edge over someone else.
This person, 99.999999% of the time, will be someone unreleated to you--because we all know how much family members tell the truth. NOT! This person will be a good friend, and could even be another writer. Do you have to pay this person? Not in my opinion you don't. Even Stephen King points out in his book On Writing that he has a group of people, outside of his editorial circle, who reads his stories, and he said nothing about paying them. I, personally, would be honored if Mr. King chose me to read a future story of his (hint, hint!)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Quantity vs. Quality - structuring your first draft
Simon Sinek, on a recent post, wrote: "The hardest part is starting. Once you get that out of the way, you'll find the rest of the journey much easier."
Over the years, I've met people who have a great idea--be it a novel or an invention--and when I asked them what they did with it, they said, "Oh, nothing." Why is this? Because it is hard to start. Especially if you're not used to doing something on your own, something that will further not only your life but the lives of others. Starting is a lot like jumping off the diving board for the first time when you were a kid, and your parents urged you again and again to do it.
Well here I am, urging you to do it. Because you can.
When I start the first draft, I go for quantity. I set a goal of X amount of pages each day. Some people use words. Whatever works for you, use it. But set out each day to complete those pages/words. To start off with, I'd go slow. Set the bar a little low, especially if you've never written before. In college, with juggling a job and school and tae kwon do classes, I set the goal of one page a day. I had a calendar, where I slashed a hash mark for every page I wrote. What I wanted to see was the number of pages increase steadily over time. One week I did seven pages, the next I'd do ten, then fifteen . . . you get the picture. Go for quantity, and don't worry about what it looks like. That's what the second and beyond drafts are for.
Once the book is complete and you've celebrated, the second and beyond drafts are slower. Here, you're looking for quality. This is where you use the macro-level and micro-level editing techniques I laid out before. You're looking to improve the writing, because Lord knows your first dtaft isn't very good. And don't think you're a horrible writer just based on the first draft. No writer gets it right the first time. Over time, your first draft will improve and the less editing you'll have to do, but that's years down the road, once you've written several thousand pages.
Do it. Today. Start. Jump off the diving board . . . GO!
Over the years, I've met people who have a great idea--be it a novel or an invention--and when I asked them what they did with it, they said, "Oh, nothing." Why is this? Because it is hard to start. Especially if you're not used to doing something on your own, something that will further not only your life but the lives of others. Starting is a lot like jumping off the diving board for the first time when you were a kid, and your parents urged you again and again to do it.
Well here I am, urging you to do it. Because you can.
When I start the first draft, I go for quantity. I set a goal of X amount of pages each day. Some people use words. Whatever works for you, use it. But set out each day to complete those pages/words. To start off with, I'd go slow. Set the bar a little low, especially if you've never written before. In college, with juggling a job and school and tae kwon do classes, I set the goal of one page a day. I had a calendar, where I slashed a hash mark for every page I wrote. What I wanted to see was the number of pages increase steadily over time. One week I did seven pages, the next I'd do ten, then fifteen . . . you get the picture. Go for quantity, and don't worry about what it looks like. That's what the second and beyond drafts are for.
Once the book is complete and you've celebrated, the second and beyond drafts are slower. Here, you're looking for quality. This is where you use the macro-level and micro-level editing techniques I laid out before. You're looking to improve the writing, because Lord knows your first dtaft isn't very good. And don't think you're a horrible writer just based on the first draft. No writer gets it right the first time. Over time, your first draft will improve and the less editing you'll have to do, but that's years down the road, once you've written several thousand pages.
Do it. Today. Start. Jump off the diving board . . . GO!
Monday, November 28, 2011
How I write my first drafts. It's not for everyone.
Every writer is different.
That's a good thing, because if we were all the same, life would be fairly boring.
How each writer writes their first draft is also different, despite a few common themes or techniques.
Here's what I do. Ready?
As I've noted before, I don't outline. Even the thriller I'm currently editing, I never outlined it. I'm what is probably called a discovery writer. I write by discovering and do very little planning. Stephen King is like this, even though my skills pale in comparison with his by lightyears.
I set a goal of X amount of pages to write in a single day, then I set out to write those pages. Most of the time, I either meet that goal or exceed them, with a constant urge to exceed. It may take me several months to write, but for the most part I do not look back, except to check a few facts or to make sure all of the details match up. I rarely go back and edit. I resist all temptation to go back and fix something. I wait for that until the first draft is complete.
Not all writers do this. Some edit as they go, but I personally find this too tedious. I'd just as soon get all of the pages out there--I call this vomiting as much onto the page as possible.
Find out what works best for you. My way isn't for everyone. But the bottom line is to dedicate yourself to writing . . . and write every single day.
In the words of the great philosopher, El Nike: "Just do it!"
That's a good thing, because if we were all the same, life would be fairly boring.
How each writer writes their first draft is also different, despite a few common themes or techniques.
Here's what I do. Ready?
As I've noted before, I don't outline. Even the thriller I'm currently editing, I never outlined it. I'm what is probably called a discovery writer. I write by discovering and do very little planning. Stephen King is like this, even though my skills pale in comparison with his by lightyears.
I set a goal of X amount of pages to write in a single day, then I set out to write those pages. Most of the time, I either meet that goal or exceed them, with a constant urge to exceed. It may take me several months to write, but for the most part I do not look back, except to check a few facts or to make sure all of the details match up. I rarely go back and edit. I resist all temptation to go back and fix something. I wait for that until the first draft is complete.
Not all writers do this. Some edit as they go, but I personally find this too tedious. I'd just as soon get all of the pages out there--I call this vomiting as much onto the page as possible.
Find out what works best for you. My way isn't for everyone. But the bottom line is to dedicate yourself to writing . . . and write every single day.
In the words of the great philosopher, El Nike: "Just do it!"
Sunday, November 27, 2011
9/11 is my Pearl Harbor
I can't watch any 9/11 movies.
This morning, I watched Pearl Harbor on WGN-TV. I watched the whole thing, admiring the courage America faced and at the same time despising the cruelty brought on to us. My heart raced as bombs struck ships and bullets ripped through buildings, killing hundreds upon hundreds of people. I know much of the minor details are fictionalized, but the main plot--that the Japanese bombed Pearl Habor--remained the same. It happened. We lived.
I don't know this for fact, but I imagine when Pearl Harbor came to the screen, a number of people who lived in that age probably couldn't watch it. Not that they thought it was an awful movie--it wasn't, by the way--but since they lived through those tragic events, it was like revisiting them all over again.
Hence the reason I can't watch any movies regarding 9/11. I lived through that event--okay, I was way over in Minnesota at the time--but my blood still boils whenever I see video footage from that tragic day.
Every generation has an event that defines it, something that says, "Oh, I was here when that happened." I remember right where I was when I first heard reports about the 9/11 bombers.
I don't usually tell you this, but I'm currently reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and although I'm not even 100-pages into it, I can already tell it's a great read. The gist is about a guy who finds a portal to the year 1958 and discovers that he could alter history by stopping the JFK assassination. My grandparents lived through Pearl Harbor, and my parents lived through the JFK assassination. That defined their generation.
This morning, I watched Pearl Harbor on WGN-TV. I watched the whole thing, admiring the courage America faced and at the same time despising the cruelty brought on to us. My heart raced as bombs struck ships and bullets ripped through buildings, killing hundreds upon hundreds of people. I know much of the minor details are fictionalized, but the main plot--that the Japanese bombed Pearl Habor--remained the same. It happened. We lived.
I don't know this for fact, but I imagine when Pearl Harbor came to the screen, a number of people who lived in that age probably couldn't watch it. Not that they thought it was an awful movie--it wasn't, by the way--but since they lived through those tragic events, it was like revisiting them all over again.
Hence the reason I can't watch any movies regarding 9/11. I lived through that event--okay, I was way over in Minnesota at the time--but my blood still boils whenever I see video footage from that tragic day.
Every generation has an event that defines it, something that says, "Oh, I was here when that happened." I remember right where I was when I first heard reports about the 9/11 bombers.
I don't usually tell you this, but I'm currently reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and although I'm not even 100-pages into it, I can already tell it's a great read. The gist is about a guy who finds a portal to the year 1958 and discovers that he could alter history by stopping the JFK assassination. My grandparents lived through Pearl Harbor, and my parents lived through the JFK assassination. That defined their generation.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Okay, okay. You want to outline. Let me show you what other writers do.
As I've said before, I don't outline.
Depends on what you're definition of outlining is. All writers do to a certain degree, even if it's all in a person's head. I scribble a few notes on a Post-It or in a notebook, but is that considered outlining? To me, I envision outlining as writing down the most detailed events of your story, filling in the gaps here and there, before you ever start to write "Chapter One." Not me. Aside from those scribblings--and what's rolling around in my head--that's it.
Last year, when Ian Graham Leask was visiting our little library, he suggested outlining in this way: take a roll of butcher paper, spread it out across the table or the floor, and write out the various parts of your story. Very clever. I've even read about people taking a large piece of paper and free-writing the outline. Thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver tells that he spends a lot of time, meticulously outlining his story, by writing down the various parts in an extremely organized fashion--reminds me of grade-school and we were asked to outline our essays with Roman numerals and such.
I recently listened to a podcast (www.writingexcuses.com) where Brandon Sanderson said he uses the document map feature for Microsoft Word. To try this out for yourself, open your Word document and click on the "view" tab. You'll actually have to write something but it categorizes it. Let's say you have one heading for each character, and then various aspects of your worldbuilding, you can use the document map feature to jump down to that part of your outline.
I'm sure there are tons of other ways to outline that I haven't touched on. Please share me your outlining methods, and if any of these above help, give it a try. It's possible you're having problems starting your story and you need to outline a little to organize it. Do it.
But most of all, write. Write something. Every single day.
Depends on what you're definition of outlining is. All writers do to a certain degree, even if it's all in a person's head. I scribble a few notes on a Post-It or in a notebook, but is that considered outlining? To me, I envision outlining as writing down the most detailed events of your story, filling in the gaps here and there, before you ever start to write "Chapter One." Not me. Aside from those scribblings--and what's rolling around in my head--that's it.
Last year, when Ian Graham Leask was visiting our little library, he suggested outlining in this way: take a roll of butcher paper, spread it out across the table or the floor, and write out the various parts of your story. Very clever. I've even read about people taking a large piece of paper and free-writing the outline. Thriller writer Jeffrey Deaver tells that he spends a lot of time, meticulously outlining his story, by writing down the various parts in an extremely organized fashion--reminds me of grade-school and we were asked to outline our essays with Roman numerals and such.
I recently listened to a podcast (www.writingexcuses.com) where Brandon Sanderson said he uses the document map feature for Microsoft Word. To try this out for yourself, open your Word document and click on the "view" tab. You'll actually have to write something but it categorizes it. Let's say you have one heading for each character, and then various aspects of your worldbuilding, you can use the document map feature to jump down to that part of your outline.
I'm sure there are tons of other ways to outline that I haven't touched on. Please share me your outlining methods, and if any of these above help, give it a try. It's possible you're having problems starting your story and you need to outline a little to organize it. Do it.
But most of all, write. Write something. Every single day.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
What I'm thankful for . . .
This may sound like some amatuer term paper one would write in high school, to write about how I spent my summer, but with today being Thanksgiving, I thought I'd share a bit about what the last 11 months looked like and how I am truly thankful.
Right off the bat, 2011 has been one trial after another for our family.
January and February (and the early part of March) were not the best for us, financially-speaking. Aside from filing for bankruptcy, which we didn't do, imagine two of the worst possible financial disasters one could face. Okay, I imagine the IRS coming after us would be bad and that didn't happen, but anyway these two financial disasters were not very pleasant to work through . . . but we did it. It took a lot of hard work, budgeting, and guidance from close family members and a financial guru named Dave Ramsey, and we did it. We emerged stronger than ever.
Then in April, my wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Even with it being Thanksgiving and over seven months later, we're still not out of the water, but we're still working on it and my wife is healing more and more each day. The doctor said she may not be completely healed for up to five years.
It's easy for one to look at all this and assume we would be just pissed at the world. We're not. We're thankful we went through the financial hell in January and February (yes, believe it or not, we're thankful) because when our other world fell apart, there would be no way we could've survived unless our financial house was in order.
I am thankful for family (most of them, and that's all I'm going to say about that so don't tempt me to elaborate - they'll come around, I'm very forgiving that way), friends, and even the community we live in. We're also thankful for the medical staff at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. We're also thankful for the generosity of so many individual people who have stepped up to help.
We're also thankful for God. Because without His love, none of this would be possible.
Right off the bat, 2011 has been one trial after another for our family.
January and February (and the early part of March) were not the best for us, financially-speaking. Aside from filing for bankruptcy, which we didn't do, imagine two of the worst possible financial disasters one could face. Okay, I imagine the IRS coming after us would be bad and that didn't happen, but anyway these two financial disasters were not very pleasant to work through . . . but we did it. It took a lot of hard work, budgeting, and guidance from close family members and a financial guru named Dave Ramsey, and we did it. We emerged stronger than ever.
Then in April, my wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Even with it being Thanksgiving and over seven months later, we're still not out of the water, but we're still working on it and my wife is healing more and more each day. The doctor said she may not be completely healed for up to five years.
It's easy for one to look at all this and assume we would be just pissed at the world. We're not. We're thankful we went through the financial hell in January and February (yes, believe it or not, we're thankful) because when our other world fell apart, there would be no way we could've survived unless our financial house was in order.
I am thankful for family (most of them, and that's all I'm going to say about that so don't tempt me to elaborate - they'll come around, I'm very forgiving that way), friends, and even the community we live in. We're also thankful for the medical staff at Altru Hospital in Grand Forks, ND and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. We're also thankful for the generosity of so many individual people who have stepped up to help.
We're also thankful for God. Because without His love, none of this would be possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)