It’s time to write. My laptop is already turned on so I’ll just sit myself down in front of it. I probably should tackle that big pile of laundry that needs to be folded – there’s at least a week’s worth – but no, this is my writing time. The folding can wait.

So I flip up the laptop lid and wait for it to wake up. I had better check my emails first because there might be something urgent waiting. I have three email accounts but it will only take a couple of minutes to look in on them all. Now, twenty minutes later, I’ve dealt with the most urgent emails and am pleased with my ability to just leave the rest. I’ll come back to the non-urgent ones in a day or two when I have more time. I should tackle my writing now.

Oh but before I do, I’ll check in on facebook, just to see what’s happening. After all, facebook is how I keep up with most of my writer friends, largely due to us living in different countries and time zones. And reading about what all of my writer buddies are up to is a good way to get myself into the right mindset to write. Fifteen minutes later…

Gosh, look at all the mess on my desk. I can’t work with my surroundings in such chaos so I’m going to have to deal with this right now. And besides, I’ll be so much more productive once everything is in order. There, that didn’t take long. Only fifteen minutes.

On my laptop, I’m now opening my manuscript and, oh, I just remembered, I need to research that thing I thought of yesterday. I should do that before I knuckle down to writing. Hmm, that wasn’t as quick as I expected and I got sidetracked looking at that cool new blog I found. But still, it was only an hour and I did need to do that research before I go any further with my manuscript.

Since I’m already on the internet, I should catch up on a few of the blogs I follow. They’re mostly industry-related, a mixed bag of writers, publishers, editors and agents. I need to ensure I stay informed with what’s happening in the industry. And now since I’m up-to-date on all of my professional blog reading, I should check in on those couple of dog-related blogs I follow too. I don’t like to get too behind on this sort of thing because then I take time out of my writing to get caught up. There you go, forty minutes and my blog reading is all up-to-date.

Before I shut off the internet, I had better check the Fictorians blog and make sure the posting schedule hasn’t changed. I wouldn’t want to be caught unprepared when my next blog post is due. Besides, that only took five minutes.

Yawn, it’s 9pm already and I’m too tired to start writing tonight (a night owl, I am not). I’ve been productive though and I’ve worked for the better part of three hours. But I’ve got that book I’m reading for research and I should try to read at least a chapter before I go to bed. At least I will still be working…

What excuses do you make to yourself about why you aren’t writing right now?

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10 reads worth your time:

Rachelle Gardner suggests your Train your Muse Like Your Train A Puppy.

Sonia Simone talks about the 7 Bad Habits of Insanely Productive People, all of which are relevant to writers.

The Red Pen Of Doom discusses Why Every Man Must Read A Romance and Every Woman Read A Thriller.

Over at Writer Unboxed, Sophie Masson discusses Updating Traditional Motifs To Create Fresh Fiction.

Jody Hedlund has 7 Setting Basics That Can Bring a Story To Life.

At Writers In The Storm Blog, Janice Hardy discusses 5 Ways To Bring Your Description To Life.

Terrible Minds lists 25 Reasons I Hate Your Main Character.

Jennifer Conner explains why you should care about Categories, Key Words and Tags.

The Huffington Post has three tips for getting your e-book off the ground.

Roni Loren discusses some bad advice about twitter.

Missed any Fictorians articles this week?

The Heart of Fairwood Press - Guest post by publisher Patrick Swenson

The Conflicts of Character Design – Matt Jones

Plumbing the Depths of Emotion – Brandon M Lindsay

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No matter if you write political thrillers, historical dramas, or speculative fiction, a certain amount of research is required for the reader to buy into your creation. Oftentimes we focus on researching hard facts, bits of information to inform the details that lend an air of credibility to our stories. There is one area of study I think is critical for anyone who writes fiction, but it isn’t something that you can read about in a textbook (at least not in any meaningful way), and that is emotion. More specifically, our own emotions.

Recently I canceled my cable TV subscription and opted to use just Netflix instead. One of the shows it recommended was an anime show called Elfen Lied. It was pretty highly rated and I was in the mood for something different, so I gave it a shot.

I was not prepared. Few artistic works have affected me as much as that show. It’s an uncompromisingly brutal and oftentimes disturbing story of a girl on a quest for redemption and the reclamation of childhood’s lost innocence (warning: I said brutal and I meant it. It’s not for the squeamish or faint of heart). But more important than the darkness of the story is its contrast to the moment it all leads up to, when redemption and forgiveness are achieved, when the veil of suffering is lifted to reveal love and hope. Never was such a destination so hard won, by the main character or by myself. It was devastating yet beautiful. It broke my heart.

Would that my own writing had that effect on people, which got me thinking: how was this able to affect me so? I realized that by introspecting my own emotional reaction to the show, I would able to determine what about it caused that reaction, and thus be able to use what I learned about myself as a tool in my own writing. I’ve done similar things in the past, but that’s been more looking at things that I thought could affect people emotionally, rather than looking at the raw emotions as they occur in myself. It’s always been a roundabout or subconscious approach, never direct.

In a book on fiction writing, I remember the author at multiple points recounting how he couldn’t finish watching a movie or reading a book (or some such) because it was too emotionally intense. I have never understood that. One thing art does well is convey emotion—so wouldn’t we, as writers, want to learn what we can of it? Experience and know the full spectrum of emotion, so that we can then imbue our works with emotional impact? After all, shouldn’t we be willing to suffer for our art?

Emotions are incredibly powerful, perhaps one of the more powerful forces in our lives; they can make our writing powerful, too. Being intimately familiar with them can allow us to implement them. From now on, I’m going to make an effort to embrace each emotional experience as it comes my way so as to better understand it. Hopefully I won’t become a neurotic in the process.

I’m always on the lookout for things that stir the emotions, so if you’ve got something that has done so for you, let us know in the comments! (And don’t mention Disney/Pixar’s Up. I’m already aware of its soul-crushing sadness-making ability)

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There are many parts of creating a new novel, and creating realistic characters is probably one of the most challenging ones. Characters need to be believable. They need to have their own personality, habits, and traits that set them apart from others. If done correctly, the reader will be able to relate. They’ll understand and feel concerned. It’ll pull them deeper into the novel and they’ll keep reading to figure out what will happen. If done poorly, it will throw them out of the novel. They won’t be able to believe and before long, they’ll look elsewhere and leave your novel behind.

When I create new characters, I focus on the conflicts. Everyone has conflicts they face and have to deal with. It’s the sum of all these conflicts that can lead them on the road of hero or villain. These conflicts will generally take on the shape of external and internal, two sides of a fight that is always raging in everyone.

Internal conflicts are anything that tears your character apart from inside. This can be dealing with a phobia, memory, or other psychological barrier. It can be need to be the best, or look the prettiest. It can be the fear of the dark that makes your character abandon others he could easily save. Or the pride that keeps him from admitting he was wrong. The internal conflicts are generally the deeply ingrained problems that the character spends the entire novel attempting to overcome.

External conflicts are everything else that keeps your character on track. The broken home he has to deal with, the abusive parents. They can include the weather, environment, wild animals, or other characters. Anything that goes against what the character would do and forces them to make decisions.

When you create a new character, consider all the conflicts that they have to deal with. Write them down and keep them in your mind as you write them. They’ll keep your character constant and provide motivation to act, even if it’s running away. Once these conflicts are established, your character can show true heroism by not only saving the day, but by having to overcome their natural reaction to do so.

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by Patrick Swenson

Writers crave free time. Quiet time. Down time. They live for uninterrupted, intense pockets of time when they don’t have to do anything but write.

They need to get away from their homes, their jobs, their families, and have writing time free from their stressful life situations.

In the fall of 1982, I interviewed for my first teaching job out at a place I had barely even heard of: Lake Quinault, Washington, nestled in the Olympic Rainforest. I was a music education teacher, but I was also prepared for some English classes. I taught all levels of band, choir, and grade school music, as well as sophomore speech and Title I reading. I also coached JV girls basketball and boys and girls track. No more than 350 kids went to this school, grades K-12. (Now, post-timber industry, the student population is closer to 190).

It rains 144 inches a year in Quinault. I’ve often joked that as far as starting out as a teacher there, Quinault was a good place for me to get my feet wet. Long story short, the secretary of the superintendent was married to one of three brothers who owned a resort on the lake that boasted quaint cabins and a simple motel, all with breathtaking views of the lake. The Rain Forest Resort Village has no phones in the rooms or cabins, and, even now, little to no cell phone service. It is its own little village, with a restaurant, general store, gift shop, lounge, post office, and laundromat on site.

I taught in Quinault three years, and during the summers I worked for the resort, mostly at the reservation desk and the general store. After moving away from Quinault to teach in the Seattle area, I went back a few summers to help them out. Except for the summer of 1986, when I attended the six-week Clarion West Writers Workshop, and truly cemented my love and desire to be a writer.

I had a standing invitation from the resort owners, who had become good friends: “Any time you want to stay longer, Patrick, let us know.” I eventually took them up on it. I left my teaching job and moved out to Quinault, living in some rooms above the general store, working for minimum wage and room and board, and hoping to get a whole bunch of writing done. Yes, it rains a lot in Quinault, but oftentimes it is sunny and beautiful. Even the rain-soaked days have a charm and peacefulness that soothes the soul. What a great place to write!

I stayed there for almost two years before going back to teaching, but my heart never quite left Quinault. A part of it, although slightly rusty, ached for the moss-covered trees, the pristine lake, and the idea of being far away from the maddening crowd. (Well, except during the summers when the tourists flocked to the resort.) From October through early spring, however, the serenity lent itself well to relaxing, and writing.

What if I could arrange a few days at Quinault during this quiet time and get some writers out there to give them a chance to feel what I used to feel? That was the impetus for the Rainforest Resort Village, a writers retreat I’ve put on there now for six years. The resort owners were with me from the start on this. In early March, during their off-season, the resort might have five or six rooms rented for the night. It would be a win-win for all involved if writers filled up their resort during this time.

In 2006, 30 writers kicked off the first retreat. This past March, 76 writers attended during two back-to-back retreat sessions.

The idea was to create at least one time and place in the year where all but writing was put aside. To borrow from my own words on the Rainforest retreat website, the objective was to create an annual writers’ gathering that focused on solitary and community writing, in an isolated environment, supported by a collective of contemporaries of like mind and pursuits.

Writers now gather yearly at this Quinault location ready to spend an intensive four plus days on their own work, with others involved in the same who are present for support and interactive development of written creative work as art, craft, and science. Balanced against this is a schedule of events aimed at supporting this process, with the number of retreat guests and attendees kept to a limit. Local populations are small and centers of civilization are approximately 50 miles from the resort; close enough for those who wish to seek them out, and far enough for others not to have to seek escape from them. They get professional advice from, and interaction with, guests who have had success in the writing business.

Doing the Rainforest retreat, I’ve been blessed to have met so many amazing people, so many talented and dedicated writers. I see beginning, intermediate and accomplished writers at the same retreat, all immersed in an art form they love. It’s really a heady experience. For the first retreat, I had this idea that writers would simply plug away at their stories and novels in their rooms and cabins, then come out to writing discussions and group meals, but on that first morning, I walked into the now-famous resort lounge, and I found 20 writers sitting at the small tables.

I stood there in the doorway stunned. Laptop keys clicked. Some writers had headphones on. Some typed furiously. Some were lost in thought. Some gazed out the big picture windows, taking in the misty lake and the pouring rain.

It was quiet. It was inspiring. Tears filled my eyes. What could I do to possibly top this moment?

I found an open table, set up my laptop, and began to write.

Patrick Swenson, Publisher
FAIRWOOD PRESS
The Best in Science Fiction and Fantasy
http://www.fairwoodpress.com/
www.rainforestwritersvillage.com

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Another week gone, and here’s 10 sites worth your time.

Steve Feasey takes a stab at answering the eternal “what do you do when you’re not writing” question.

Constance Hale talks about Make-or-Break Verbs (and, yes, I do feel like I should have used a stronger verb there!)

Over at Wistfully Linda, there’s a discussion about Reading and Writing Negative Reviews.

And on a similar note, Sierra Godfrey talks about the damage 1-star reviews can cause.

A few upcoming events worth checking out:

Superstars Writing Seminar, Las Vegas, April 30 – 2 May

Agent Reads the Slush Pile, a webinar by Kristin Nelson, May 2

DFW Writers’ Conference, Dallas, May 19-20

Book Expo America, June 4-7, New York City

World Fantasy Convention, Toronto, November 1-4

And, finally, check out the Pens for Paws Auction which kicks off on May 7.

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Why do we write?

Well, I can’t answer that question for the world at large. I can, however, answer that for myself and the other writers I’ve asked that question. We write because we have to, and because we love it.

Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of overlap between my day job as a lawyer, and my night and weekend job as a writer. As a lawyer I write nonfiction (although some detractors of the profession might claim what lawyer’s write can only loosely be labled nonfiction). The lawyers I know who are in the profession for the money, because someone thought they should be, or because they want the prestige of those three magic letters (“Esq.”) after their names are miserable people. They are burnt out; they fight for the sake of fighting.

The writers I know of who write because they thought it was easy, or easy money, or because they wanted the prestige of being an “author” are miserable. They are burnt out; they are depressed, and they give up. They are overly critical of others’ stories.

Now let’s look at the lawyers who aren’t burnt out, depressed or on the verge of quitting. While they may hate a particular part of the process, they love the overall system. I love being in court. I love researching and finding new ways to combine existing law to my client’s benefit. I love helping people. My practice reflects this. I don’t sleep or eat much the week before trial. I do my best work when I’m passionate about my client’s position. I’ve jumped up and down behind counsel’s table when arguing a point (my husband, who was observing that argument, had to fight laughing out loud as I bounced around).

The last statistic I heard was the average advance from a traditional publisher is about $8,000. E-publishers pay better (up to 50% of net sales), but they don’t generally pay advances. It takes the sale of many thousands of 99 Cent e-books to lift you above the poverty level, much less replace most people’s regular income. Self-publishing means you spend a lot of upfront money hoping you can recoup it and make a profit. Except for the precious few, writing will never be a “get rich quick” career.

So, why do we do it?

Love.

In the movie Shadowlands, Sir Anthony Hopkins, who plays C.S. Lewis, tells a fellow Oxford Don that he (Lewis) can’t stop praying because the words pour out of him. He could have been speaking for any writer. The words pour out of us. Stories beat on our minds and distract us from other concerns.
I love filling the screen with words; creating new worlds; and that moment when a character is real enough to talk to (and fight with) me. When a story first takes hold of me, my hands shake, my heart races, I have trouble sleeping and I’m constantly thinking about my new world and characters. Sounds a lot like a first crush, huh?

That someone else likes reading what I write is amazing. That someone is willing to pay to read my stories is humbling.

This business is hard. We hear a lot of “no” before we hear “yes.” If you aren’t passionate about writing, you won’t write. It’s just that simple.
Find the story that makes your heart race, and get writing.

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The Tucson Book Fair took place the second weekend in March at University of Arizona. I’ve heard about the fair, and I know quite a few authors who regularly attend, so I took a couple of hours out of my busy Saturday to check it out. I only had a few hours to give, so I’m sure I didn’t get the whole experience, but I thought my views might be of use to somebody out there. First thing about the fair, and probably the aspect I like best, is that it’s free. Not that I’m all that chintzy, but struggling writers don’t make much money, and all these conferences, conventions, seminars, workshops…need I go on? They take a dent out of the budget.

I arrived with my teenage daughters to a sea of white tents and a mass of people. It made me think of an epic fantasy market in modern-day clothing. You might think a book fair would have all the publishers, book sellers, and authors crying their wares. It did, but equally interspersed were banks, random businesses, and community organizations. Crazy. We locked hands so as not to get separated among the milling throngs.

We didn’t have much time, and Aprilynne Pike had a panel starting a few minutes after we arrived. She’s a mutual favorite among my girls and I, a great speaker, and we’re waiting for her next book to come out. We consulted the program—a multi-page newspaper that outlined events encompassing multiple buildings and a large portion of the university campus—and found the seminar would be at the opposite side of the tents, in a building behind the children’s area. We booked it fast (pun intended) and walked in late. It wasn’t our fault. It was one thing to navigate the tents, but the children’s area was just as crowded, had walking storybook characters—the Red Cat’s face frightened us all—and kids running from one activity to another. It looked fun, but I don’t have kids that age anymore.

Aprilynne Pike spoke with two writers while a mediator asked questions. I’d heard most of it before, but it always makes me feel validated as a writer when I hear people say things like, “it’s not a matter of thinking up a story, they’re always running around my brain. The challenge is organizing them and making them wait their turn.”  (That’s not a direct quote). It did surprise me when my girls said they loved that Q&A. They’re both avid readers, but haven’t shown more than a passing interest in writing.

So, all in all, I would love to get a chance to stay for the entire weekend. It seems as valuable, or more so, than many of the conventions I’ve attended. Many of the authors present were well-known NYT bestsellers, doing panels and autograph signings. It was crazy, but with a festive atmosphere. I suggest you look at the schedule ahead of time, because there is a lot going on at once. They didn’t have a table for flyers, which disappointed me since I had Superstars Seminar flyers I wanted to put out for Kevin J. Anderson, but it seemed like a very worthwhile get together for writers and readers of all genres. I advise looking at the schedule ahead of time since there was so much going on at once, but I would highly recommend the event.

Oh, and I didn’t get to sample any, but the grilled corn looked divine. A fair’s not a fair without food vendors, and they had plenty (under matching white tents).

I also tried to attend Leprecon in Tempe, AZ but they didn’t get started until the afternoon and I had too much going on that weekend to stick around.  I’m sure it was great, though.  (If you’re reading this, Kevin, I did leave the flyers.)

What are some local book fairs or conventions that you’ve enjoyed?

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The battle wages on in the dialogue between aspiring self-publishers and dyed-in-the-wool traditionally-published authors. Well, perhaps I’m overstating the situation to call it a “battle,” since all sides seem to coexist magnanimously at the moment. Though who can say what the future will bring? One need look no further than the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent decision to bring an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and the industry’s leading publishers to see that the pressure is steadily building.

Here on the Fictorians blog, we’ve periodically discussed the pros and cons of either approach, and indeed, in the following weeks and months we’ll be devoting even more column inches to the subject of self-publishing. And that’s only to be expected, since most aspiring authors are in that awkward in-between stage of deciding whether to go it alone and start uploading our manuscripts to the Kindle Store or hold back in the hopes of securing a lucrative (or limiting) deal with a New York giant.

Noted this past Sunday in our blog’s weekly Sunday Reads feature is a thoughtful article by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, in which she draws several compelling analogies to explain the current state of affairs in the publishing world. Her position is sound (at least, to my own sensibilities) and her composition lengthy (hard to be helped), and I recommend you set aside a few minutes to peruse it.

After painting an elaborate and persuasive picture of the virus threatening traditional publishers (which is scarcity thinking, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, clearly you didn’t follow my link in the previous paragraph), she comes to a familiar premise. Instead of working tirelessly and placing high expectations on one manuscript, one should produce and release as large a backlist as possible. Instead of one book selling millions, you may end up with dozens of books selling hundreds or thousands. Ultimately, it’s a numbers game and the more titles you have to your name, the better.

I’ve heard this counsel before, and theoretically it’s great advice. Especially if you’re already an established or midlist author. If you’re just starting out in your career and have no (or few) readers outside your immediate friends and family, it goes down about as palatably as a wheatgrass smoothie. “Well,” one might say, “sometimes the truth hurts.”

Why does it hurt? Isn’t this good news for new writers? Well, this is a case where Rusch isn’t really talking to me, the new writer. She’s in the desirable position of having an existing readership… and I think she’s more or less speaking to her peers this time around. That’s her perogative! After all, it’s unavoidable: sometimes advice from established writers doesn’t speak directly to newbies. The truth is the truth, and it caters to no one. If an established author like Rusch never manages to write another bestseller in the remainder of her writing career, a long backlist of titles will indeed keep her afloat, selling hundreds or thousands of copies in place of a million-dollar golden egg. Rusch argues that it’s not altogether important to hard-sell a manuscript upon initial release, or reach a big audience, because if the book is worthy the audience will, eventually, come to you. The speed of a book’s success isn’t paramount, even if that success is inevitable. It could take fifteen years. Or much longer. She calls it “understanding the long tail.”

I agree with her. I respect her opinion and can find no basis to quarrel with it. She’s almost certainly right on all counts.

Which is, unfortunately, a little disheartening, because for fresh-out-of-the-gaters like me, speedily finding an audience remains a priority. It must, or else becoming a successful full-time writer is even further away and out-of-reach than ever. Can I wait fifteen years or longer for my dream to realize? I just released a book this year that I’m certain is good enough to secure an audience—but I really need that audience to find it now. I’ll be thrilled whenever they find it, either this year or in the summer of 2030, but if it takes until 2030 I’ll still be mired in my day job. Alas.

Mind you, I’ll never give up on this dream, and I’m not threatening to. I’m just saying that my day job really gets me down sometimes…

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It was disgusting. I don’t usually mind going to hear a once popular band, a relic from the rock ‘n roll era. I mean you’ve got to give these guys credit. Some have fallen from grace, face first, some withered away when music changed, while others simply went on to do different things. Some of the come backs have been less than stellar while others, despite their aging voices do a fabulous job.

This last come back dream should have been classed as a nightmare. The bass player, the only one who could hold a beat, competed with the drummer whose tinny cymbals accented the pitchy lead singer who was drowned out by the cacophony of screams forming the background vocals. And to think I paid to see them! I never want to imagine that I could ever disappoint anyone, let alone a total stranger, so badly …

So, how do you know if your writing is good enough to put out there? Where is the honest feedback? When do you abandon the dream? How hard do you need to work to make it good?

Traditionally, poets, novelists and short story writers have relied on the feedback from publishers (aka the dreaded rejection) to know if their writing is acceptable. Workshops, classes, writing and critique groups are all good sources for feedback – honest feedback which lessens the chances for rejection. Yet, I read that popular novel The Help was rejected 60 times (and had sold the movie rights) before it found a publisher. Go figure ….

Then there’s indie publishing. Scares the bejeepers out of me. Why? Because so many neophytes remind me of the comeback bands. They don’t know what’s good or bad. At least the come-back bands have an established following to prey upon. Aspiring writers don’t. Some writers have ventured forth on their own and have done well. Others have failed miserably.

Failing because marketing, promotion and distribution are tough things to handle for creative spirits is understandable and eventually can be overcome. Learn to do it yourself, join a writers marketing cooperative, find a small publisher to increase your chances, we can do whatever it takes to get our books out there. But, what if it’s because the writing wasn’t quite there? It’s critical to find people who know what they’re looking for, who can help with plot holes, logic gaps, grammar, etc. Find those people. Even traditional publishers, due to staffing, time and money constraints, want only the best written work.

And it’s the failures which concern me.

So whether you’ll be self publishing or approaching a traditional publisher, take the time to get it right. Time is on your side. A reputation for poor work is never on your side.

Oh and the comeback group, who shall remain nameless, announced they were laying the last track on a new CD. Seriously? After the bomb dropped, they expect me to trust their artistic sensibilities? Never.

So all I can say is, when I decide whether I self publish or woo a traditional publisher, my work will have survived feedback that I can trust. If I ever put a product out there that isn’t well crafted I don’t expect readers to give me a second chance. Publishers either, for that matter. I will only send out my best revised work because when you’re starting out, you have nothing to fall back on. No one to say I’ve seen her do it better.

Your record stands for itself – and if it’s your first shot, make it the best otherwise, that’s all there’ll be!

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Welcome back to another instalment of our favourite reads.

Over on Live Simply, Simply Love, Tracy Ruckman explains what StumbleUpon is and how writers can use it.

At Slush Pile Tales, Lauren Ruth discusses author business cards.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch sums up the changing publishing industry.

CS Lakin talks about three things you must have in your first paragraph.

Over at Dreaming Awake, Rayne Hall discusses creating suspense.

At Omnivoracious, AJ Jacobs discusses why reading books can save your life.

Neil Gaiman provides an interesting insight into Stephen King.

At Writer Unboxed, Bob Proehl discusses the way a community got behind an independent bookstore to stop it from closing down.

Visit The Idea Bird for prompts to get your creative juices flowing.

And, finally, for a bit of cool: what it’s really like to fight with giant suits of computerised armor.

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There are two opposing camps when it comes to how an author approaches writing their novel.  On one side are the story ‘pantsers’, those who sit down with only a vague idea of their story and start typing.  They discover the story through the act of writing it, usually through a multiple re-drafting process.  On the opposite side are the ‘planners’, those authors who sit down and design a story to the nth degree before they actually begin the first draft.  They might write almost as many words in the outline as they do in the first draft, but end up with fewer re-writes most of the time.  Both camps have their avid followers who trumpet the benefits of doing it their way while pointing out the drawbacks of the other philosophy.

I’ve found that most authors fall somewhere in the middle between these two philosophies.  We plan some, and we free-write some.  Authors will shift along the spectrum between the two philosophies from one project to another, or as their level of experience changes.

I started as a total discovery writer, complete with many drafts of my first novel as the story evolved and I figured out what I was really writing about.  Over time, and as I’ve gained a better mastery of the craft, I’ve crept across the spectrum toward the opposite camp.  The more of an outliner I become, the more up-front work I invest in a story before beginning to write.  Once the outline is ready, I can schedule a ‘burst-writing’ session – a focused period, several days to a week, where I can pound out tons of work based on that outline.  I did that last year and wrote 52,000 words in one week.  I’m planning to do so again soon with my next novel.

I’ve developed the following outline process:
1.  First I do all the high-level brainstorming for the new story.  This can take a while as I chew on a new idea and work it from the initial proposal into a viable story worthy of serious consideration.  Lots of ideas don’t make it past this first step.

2.  Once I feel the story has promise and I’m starting to get a good sense for it, I write down the foundational information I’ve developed so far.  This includes character sketches, world-building, and initial plot ideas.  The process of writing it all down and trying to work it into a logical, comprehensive whole identifies gaps and leads to new inspiration in fleshing out the world, characters and plot.

3.  I develop the high-level plot outline.  In my current story, this ended up being about 8000 words.  I choose scenes, decide which characters to populate them, high-level conflicts, and how each scene will drive the plot forward.  At this point, I’m looking to get my first full view of the complete story arc from beginning to end.  I develop arcs for each major character to ensure I’m addressing things from each of their perspectives, and considering the plot through each of their eyes.  This process yields tons of fresh insights, new twists to consider, and helps the story really come alive.

4.  If this is a brand new story (as opposed to a sequel), I find it useful to write the first few chapters based on the high-level outline.  This helps solidify the character voices and the feel for the world and how the story is going to work.  I get ‘locked in’ to the story this way.  I can usually tell if I’m on the right track now, or if there’s something still fundamentally wrong with the plot, characters, or world.

5.  I develop what I call a mid-level outline.  I run through the outline again, fleshing out the scenes, clarifying and adding detail.  For some of the important scenes, I add sections of dialogue or work out how I’m going to approach the action sequences.  This is particularly helpful in planning complex endings.

This is the step I’m on right now.  I’ve taken the 8000 word high-level outline and expanded it to about 15,000 words so far.  I’ll probably complete the outline at about 20,000 words or so.  At that point, I could do another pass and produce even more detail, but the story is really coming alive for me, so I don’t think that will be necessary.

When I begin writing scenes for the first real draft, I keep the outline in mind, but this is where I free-write.  The outline is the framework and helps me identify when my free-writing takes me off on new tangents.  Sometimes those tangents are awesome – a flash of inspiration that I could not have figured out unless I was in ‘the zone’ writing full scenes.  Sometimes they’re a bad idea that takes the story off a cliff.  Any time I break the framework, I need to go back and analyze how this change will impact the story.  Either it’s brilliant and the rest of the story needs to change as a result, or it’s a false-start that needs to be chopped.

If I decide to keep it, I have to make sure I can still maintain the story integrity.  I have to ask:  do my plot points and story arcs and character arcs still make sense?  Will pacing be right?  Will the ending still work?  Adjustments often need to be made.

This sometimes seems like a lot of work, but it’s actually a lot less than the alternative.  This way I can identify the impacts to the story early on and choose how to address it.  Before, I would keep writing, maybe all the way to the end of the story before I realized other components needed to be changed.  That would require an entire new draft, which was a lot more re-work and took a lot more time.

Through this blended outline/free-write approach, I’ve dramatically cut down how long it takes to write even a big-fat-epic-fantasy novel like mine.

How do you approach a new novel?

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A guest post by Kevin J. Anderson

Everybody knows the best way to get writing done: put your butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard, eyeballs on the screen…and type.

Unfortunately, with distractions everywhere (kids or pets demanding attention, phone ringing, email popping up, toilets that need cleaning…), the butt/chair/keyboard/monitor setup isn’t always the best way to be productive.

Maybe you need to think outside the keyboard.

I regularly write, and publish, an average of 300,000-500,000 words each year.  To me the word “office” is only a loose term for the place where I get my writing done.  I can sit in a bustling coffee shop with headphones on, and disappear into my story.  I can take notes on the paper tablecloth in an Italian restaurant.  I can write anywhere.

Most importantly, I have trained myself to write using a hand-held recorder while walking along beautiful trails, sinking into my imaginary worlds and characters. Yes, I talk to myself.  It’s like telling stories around a campfire, engrossed in the plot, speaking aloud, letting the sentences roll off my tongue as my hiking boots roll off the miles.  That way I can accomplish my exercise and sightseeing while being productive at the same time. A day in the mountains, forest, or desert is a day at work.

Sometimes other hikers I meet on the trail aren’t quite so accepting of my work methods.  More than once I’ve been the recipient of angry glares.  While climbing around the Flatirons near Boulder, a man snapped at me, “You shouldn’t be working out here.  Just enjoy nature!”

(As if the two are mutually exclusive?)

At a campsite on the Grand Mesa, I was surrounded by tall trees whispering in the wind, near a rushing creek.  I had my laptop out on the picnic table, reveling in the glorious surroundings as I edited chapters.  Another camper felt compelled to march over to me.  “Turn that thing off!  You’re on vacation.”

Personally, I thought he should mind his own business, but more important he was making a completely unfounded assumption.  The fact is, I wasn’t on vacation.  That was my work day.  While other people are doomed to go to the daily grind in a “dilbertville” office complex with fabric-walled cubicles, ringing phones, office gossip, and endless meetings, I get to do my work out in the Colorado mountains and canyons.  There, I am inspired rather than distracted, all my senses filled with input (some of which is even relevant to the story I’m writing).

I have written a STAR WARS novel with Han Solo and Princess Leia at the polar cap of an ice planet while snowshoeing up Quandary Peak, a 14,265-ft mountain in central Colorado.  I’ve written DUNE novels with Brian Herbert — all of them set on an arid desert planet — while trudging through the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  I’ve written about ancient ruined alien cliff cities for my “Saga of Seven Suns” while exploring Anasazi ruins in Mesa Verde.

It’s the next best thing to being in the exotic locales of my imagination.

So don’t be fooled by the stereotypical picture of writer slaving over a computer at a desk.  If you feel too self-conscious to talk to yourself and dictate finished prose, then just mull over ideas, characters, history and take notes.  Or if that doesn’t work, just try a different place—take your laptop (or even a pen and paper notepad…they still function) and go to a coffeeshop where people don’t know you, or hide in a library carrel.  My wife even sits in a car in a parking lot and dictates into her recorder when she really needs to get something done.  Think about going into the “writer protection program” and disappear for a while.

For me, the way to do it is to get miles away from anybody looking for me.

So if you see me on the trail talking to myself, intent on something inside my head, remember — I’m not on vacation, I’m working.  And I’d rather be working here outside on the trail than in any other office in the world.

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Welcome back! Another week gone and here’s another 10 of our favourite reads.

Considering writing in first person? James Scott Bell discusses some of the pitfalls in First Person Boring.

Kidlit.com talks about drawing the reader in by Eliminating the Frame.

Time to start those rewrites? Writer Unboxed has a great post about How to Think Like An Editor.

Tim Kane has a cooking-inspired post in Layering Flavors In Your Writing.

AC Wise made me stop and think hard about my current manuscript with Heroine Quest, or The Fairytale Problem.

And while we’re talking about heroines, Marcy Kennedy discusses How To Keep Strong Female Characters Likeable.

Terrible Minds highlights 25 Lies Writers Tell (And Start To Believe In).

Over at Rock Your Writing, they’re talking about How To Build a Writer’s Support Network.

Jane Friedman outlines 5 Principles for Using Facebook.

Jody Hedlund has 3 Ways To Find the Perfect Opening For Your Story.

And James V Smith Jr explains The Dos and Don’ts of Novel Endings.

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Ever had your heart broke?  Or lost someone you love? Or been in a traumatic accident?  Or been scared witless?  Or held your baby for the first time?  Or got married? Or any host of circumstances where you felt an emotion strongly, so strong that even remembering it causes your heart to race or your skin to get goosebumps?  Method actors use sense memory to recreate an emotion they can tap into for acting scenes.  I’m going to suggest that writers do the same thing.  It’s not the only way – but it is one way.

If we can connect with our emotions to write a better scene, I think we should.  Not gonna say it can’t be exhausting, but then it depends on the emotion – right?  Being really in tune with our feelings is not always easy, remembering difficult ones  - even harder.  But, if I can make a reader cry because my character is sad over a loss, then I am doing my job.   

When I read, I read to feel a certain emotion.  David Wolverton/Farland said (and I’m paraphrasing) that we like genre fiction because of the emotions it brings out in us and they are mostly named for the sense of what they inspire in us – SciFi/Fantasy – a sense of wonder, romance – romance, mystery/suspense – a thrill of suspense….and so on…. Seems obvious, right?  But, I’ll admit I hadn’t thought of it until he said it.  And, I have to be in the right mood to read a certain genre.  And, I have to know what the genre is before starting or I will have an incorrect set of promises to be kept by the writer.

As a tangent – ever start reading something expecting one thing and then it doesn’t meet your expectations?  Every time this has happened to me, it was because the rules of the genre weren’t being met.  We make contracts with our readers (again paraphrasing Dave and others) by identifying with a genre.

When I read romance, I better know right away who my hero and heroine (h/h) are and no matter the ups and downs (required) they have to go through they better end up in love at the end.  That’s what I expect when I pick up a romance and that’s what I better get or I am going to be one unhappy camper.

Each genre has their own specific rules or expectations and we, as writers, need to follow them in order to keep our readers reading.  Tangent over.

Now – why are these emotions so important and why would I want to relive potentially painful memories in order to write?  Because if I can remember how I felt living that emotion, I may be better able to convey it to my reader.  I write romance, so when the h/h are having troubles and are feeling sad or angry over those troubles, I need to have my reader identifying with that sadness or anger.  I want them to cry or ball up their fists alongside the character.  I want them to laugh or get turned on right beside the character.  The emotion should resonate with them.  No matter what that emotion is.

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