Step into my writer’s den and learn a few things that I had to find out the hard way:
- Tell a bed-to-bed story. This is something that my first graders do, and unfortunately, I’ve seen adult writers do as well (or a variation of this). What I mean is a story that starts with information far back from the action (like getting up in the morning), and ends with information that is not relevant or satisfying as an ending (like going to bed). One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Fletcher, who wrote the book What a Writer Needs. He said, “Start the story just before the brick hits the window.” I’m guilty of putting too much backstory at the beginning of my books and am trying very hard to follow this advice. The extra information can be woven into the story much more artfully than just laying it all out at the beginning.
- Forget to back up your work. This one came to me very painfully recently. I have never been good at backing up my work. My husband forced me to get a new computer (yes, I’m a skinflint!) this summer. I worked on my new manuscript and never backed it up – 35,000 words. Then my lovely computer needed an update. For some reason it decided to wipe itself all the way back to factory settings, fresh out of the box! All my files, pictures, downloads, GONE! Luckily, a good friend had backed up my old computer and still had the jump drive with 6 years’ worth of files on it. It was still a painful experience, but could have been much worse. I have since purchased a 2-terabyte external hard drive that does automatic backups every day.
- Get a great idea and not write it down. I sometimes get great ideas in my dreams or when I’m driving somewhere. If I don’t write them down right away, I’ll never remember them. I KNOW I’ve had some ideas that would have made great books, but now the world will never read them because I failed to document them. Now I keep a notebook in my purse, one next to my bed and I even have one in the bathroom. You never know when a great idea will spring up!
- Write only when the mood strikes. Writing is a habit of mind. The more you write, the better you will get. If you only write when you “feel” like it, chances are you won’t get much done. If I take time off from my writing schedule, I have a very hard time getting back to it. Just the practice of sitting down every day and writing SOMETHING, keeps your brain in the game. It doesn’t have to be much, even 500 words, or 15 minutes a day helps. I recently came across an app that I’m going to try called Cold Turkey. It blocks your computer from accessing anything but a basic typing program for either a length of time or until you hit a set number of words. Maybe it will help me stay focused.
- Edit your work while you are still writing the first draft. This can also be called writer’s paralysis. This is where nothing you write is perfect and you keep going back to change things. If you ever get a chance, read No Plot? No Problem! By Chris Baty, the founder of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). In it, he encourages you to silence your inner editor so you can actually complete something. After all, you can’t edit something you’ve never written. One suggestion I’ve heard to help with this is to make your words white so that you can’t even see what you’ve typed. I’ve never tried this, but for some people, it could work!
- Title your book without researching it. My debut novel is called Leap of Faith. Do you know how many books are published with that exact same title? I just did an Amazon search and there are over 2,000! (I am mentally face-palming right now.) Way to stand out in a crowd! No wonder it is hard to find and isn’t very high ranking. Well, live and learn. I am considering a series of books about this character. I was going to have all the titles start with Leap of….., but now I’m thinking I need to go a different route. (30,000 titles have the word Leap in them!) Not sure what to do, but I need to come up with something more unique.
- Use a contest to drive your writing. I wrote about this one in my post “Knowing When to Throw in the Towel”. If you aren’t passionate about what you are writing, it’s never going to be your best piece of work. Period.
- Compare yourself to other authors. Everyone is different and has different skills. When you look at successful authors, know that they didn’t become that way overnight. It takes years and lots of practice to get good at this craft. It also takes a lot of mistakes. I learned a new acronym the other day that I really like: F.A.I.L. simply means First Attempt In Learning.
Whew! It’s hard to admit when you make mistakes. It would be great if we didn’t have to make them but, if we didn’t, we would never grow! In life, you either win, or you learn, there is no losing! Happy writing. Let me know in the comments about your own experiences. I’d love to learn from you, too.