Write A Novel In A Year

Time to write a novel! I am again at that phase of life when I find it hardest to write: caring for a toddler from 18 to 24 months old. These adorable, miniature beings seem to be able to break me down like no other force on earth. Toddler Storytime at the library on Wednesday? No, Little Guy had other ideas. I left holding him around the waist so that he would not flop his little self down in the middle of the floor again. He was perfectly happy by that time. I was in tears.

Enough about me and why it will be hard this time around. I am doing it in the company of the teen writer's group at Mandarin Library and their fearless leader, Donald Carpenter. The program: Write A Novel In A Year.

Last month's agenda was to kick the whole thing off and to eject our inner editors. This month is about creating living characters.

Time to find or create a post about characterization and to get up to speed on actually writing the novel I am supposed to be writing. 4,000 words until I'm on track! Bye-bye.

The End in Sight

So it's National Novel Writing Month again, which I just can't miss, so here I am. Most of the excerpts from this year's NaNovel will be posted here at Once Upon A Week, the writing blog shared among my siblings and me.

But just for my own satisfaction, I wanted to report here that I am in the second round of revisions of last year's NaNovel and still/again feeling good about it. I've got a short list of potential publishers I'd like to target. All is well. Of course, what with NaNoWriMo, Thanksgiving, pregnancy, and the obligations (and fun) that go along with being a toddler's parent, I probably won't finish up those revisions until next month. The finish line is getting closer and closer, though. The best possible end result, a book I can be happy with, is within sight!

I'm Back?

It's been a long, long time. I've thought about this blog occasionally and felt guilty. But I felt that Real Life was more important and that for me, at the time, Real Life didn't allow for blogging. I'm trying to raise a smart, healthy, active boy who doesn't get to watch TV all day. And be there for my family. And keep the house pretty clean. It is quite a challenge--no, let me rephrase that. It is the challenge of my life.

But I'm also thinking about things I do just for me. Knitting. Reading. Writing. My mission has changed a bit. I want this to be fun, not full of pressure. Not work, because it's absolutely certain I have enough work to fill my days already. This feels a little like confessing to an illicit love affair, but I've been blogging at Once Upon A Week to have fun and connect with my siblings. If I can do that, I can show this blog a little love too, can't I?

I don't know. This is a start.

My Eeyore Post

I haven't been writing or doing anything with my manuscript for a month or so. Every time I step away from it, I spend the time thinking how awful it really is. I read great books by wonderful authors and think that I'm not fit to try. This is where I'm at. Even to blog makes me feel ashamed.

I think the solution is to get busy, get back to the manuscript. Finish up those last writing exercises that I said I was going to do (and I am) but haven't done yet. Yes, I'll feel better if I get back to work. I'm just afraid I'll be inspired to create more crap that no one should ever have to read.

My attitude sucks.

Progress

This is farther than I’ve ever been in the fiction writing process.

1. I typed out a draft of a novel during National Novel Writing Month.
2. I revised and added to it during the next couple of months.
3. I let it rest for a couple of months.
4. I revised it.
5. And now I’ve given it to a few trusted friends to read and give me feedback.

When I get the feedback, I’ll take the advice that seems right and do a polishing up of the manuscript. I might have to do major changes first. After all, I’m only a beginner at this. When I’m satisfied that it’s ready (or I really can’t stand to work on it another damn minute), I’ll look into sending it to potential agents. Lots of work to come!

Right now I’m just enjoying the feeling of having finished a novel.

Tonight Is A Triumph

Woohoo! It's Stephen King Month! But I don't have my act together yet, so details are coming. Won't bore you (Jeff and any other unexpected but welcome guest) with the mundane reasons, but I haven't been posting lately due to schtuff...you know, crucial life schtuff.

However, tonight is a triumph. Success #1: I posted. Success #2: I've been revising my novel bit by bit; it hasn't been altogether abandoned. Success #3 (in the near future): I will post at Once Upon A Week tonight, too! Oh, and Success #4: I've been talking with a close friend's close friend who knows people in the publishing realm about...my novel. Not a bad thing to be doing, eh?

Hiccup

Confession: I posted that cute little "heart's tiny flag" post, started revising, and hit a snag. Quickly I realized my book was crap. The action didn't come fast enough, the protagonist was not believable. I put the manuscript aside to think up a major change or solution. And Aha! I came up with two. First, I needed to quit hating myself quite so much. It's possible that I could write something that (if not an instant classic) works.

Second, I made my not-believable, bland main character switch places with a minor character--a cousin--that I liked better. I made the former main character into her twin. The protagonist is now female instead of male, a twin instead of an only, sassy instead of earnest. Needless to say, I have major work to do before I can get down to the nitty-gritty readthrough, but at least I have hope again.

A Heart's Tiny Flag Will Wave

I've finished Sol Stein's first-priority revisions to my novel as well as I could without reading through the manuscript. Now it's time to read through. Yikes!

In Stein on Writing, Stein suggests reading it as if a friend of yours whose taste you doubt recommended this book to you, and you're reading it with reservations. Given my tendency to judge myself more harshly than I judge other people, I think I'll be reading with "reservations" at the very least. But not to worry. I'll be able to recognize the good writing as I go through. Enough to wave my heart's little tiny flag of joy when I encounter it.

Woman At Work

I've gone ahead and jumped into revision. It's only been four or five weeks as opposed to the six weeks I planned to set it aside, but I had a good reason to start. A week or two ago thoughts began to pop into my head like, That novel probably sucks, and, It's not on the right reading level, and, You put in too many confusing plot points, and, That novel really is going to suck when you read it again. The thoughts were getting me down and I could tell I was approaching the point when I would give up on it altogether. Without even reading it over again!

There was only one remedy: Start revising. It's a good feeling; I see tons of things that are not going to work in the manuscript, but on the plus side, I can dive in and try to fix them. I'm using the Stein method of triage like I posted here. The good and bad thing about his method is that I'm working on the really big elements before I read the whole manuscript through. That means the hard work comes first. It also means a lot of the hard work will be done by the time I read it through word by word.

Progress Report Card

Time for a progress report. How am I doing with the advice from Madeleine L'Engle that I said I was going to follow this month?

1. I'm still reading at least an hour a day. Most of the time I get that good-for-me reading done as well as the pleasure reading. I'm reading a good-for-me Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson right now and a pleasurable All of A Kind Family by Sydney Taylor.

2. I have not been writing consistently every day for the reason that I've been sick and so has my son. This is a legitimate and useful reason (skipping writing allows me to get a much-needed nap when my son does), but now that we're both mostly better, it's hard to get back in the swing of things.

I'll start revising my children's novel on February 11th, and I know that's going to be a huge job. I don't want to start another big project before then. The story I'm working on is fun but not going anywhere yet. I don't feel like I've gotten serious about it. This makes it even harder to make sure to write every day.

3. "Hold true to your vision." This is still the trickiest piece of advice to follow. I think if I did this, I would already be working on my new novel idea, even though I'll be getting into revising my last novel shortly. I'd be writing as fast as the inspiration came, for as long as it took. This is unrealistic with a toddler in the house, but I could be doing it to the best of my ability, writing in all my spare minutes rather than in just one toddler-nap chunk.

In my original post about Madeleine L'Engle's advice, I wrote: "How will I do this as I sit down to write? I think I will actually turn to a piece of Anne Lamott's advice. She sits down, rereads what she wrote the day before, and muses about it. Actions, thoughts, and descriptions flit through her head. When they begin to form themselves into sentences and paragraphs, she types them down like she's taking dictation."

I tend to not want to sit down to my keyboard until I already know what I'm going to start writing. What I want to do instead is, as they say, "Suit up and show up." Then we'll see what happens.

On this report card, I give myself a B. Plenty of room for improvement.

Writing Exercise, Prefaced By Stuff That's Not Writing

I am feeling lazy about writing today. Instead of writing this post, I've been:

1. Doing laundry.

2. Looking up potty training tips (for my son, not me--I totally get it).

3. Checking my email.

4. Searching for and writing down homemade recipes for toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, and household cleaning.

5. Voting for Joshilyn Jackson's gods in Alabama for Spread the Word's Top 10 Books to Talk About. You can vote here, too.

Ugh. After typing that list, I'm still stuck. Here's a simple writing exercise for you and me: Open up the *^%%$# program that is storing our work in progress and at least, for the love of Madeleine, look at it.

Suffragist Monkeys are Underrepresented

Got a title and cast of characters written for a new story. It takes place in space and involves one supernatural character and one suffragist monkey.

My brain is drained from having guests for a week (It hasn't been two weeks? I really thought it had) but I was determined to post and get some work done.

I'll leave you with an Anne Lamott quote: "The development of relationship creates plot." I'm looking forward to developing the relationships in this new story.

Getting It Done

Tonight I begin my push to finish the first draft of The Gnomes of Anvers! If I finish tonight, I get to celebrate with a nice relaxing glass of wine. Maybe even a hot bath. Here I go.

Falling Into Place

Tonight was a breakthrough night! I've been working on the final chapters of The Gnomes of Anvers, feeling pretty uninspired of late. But tonight, finishing up the second to the last chapter, I learned that one of my minor characters is the key to the resolution of the whole story. All of it just unfolded before me as I typed. I also figured out a way for the Creator character, who had been only in the backstory, to come into the story without taking it over.

That's all I have to say tonight!

Raspberry Branches Rising

This month so far, I wrote the beginning of a story or book based on a character I have in mind, an essay about Jesus as an example of sustainable living, another essay about what simple living means to me, a summary of a children's or young adult book idea, and another chapter or two of the gnome novel, and I revised and submitted a short story called "Coming Home with Me."

The month is about half over. If I am as productive for the second half of December, I can finish the gnome novel and let it rest for a while! My family starts coming into town for the Christmas holiday in eight days. The chances are not good that I will be as productive for the rest of the month.

My strategy for the weeks when we have guests is to get up an hour early each morning and write 500 words plus a blog post. That'll keep me going but perhaps be a manageable goal. I'm sure there will be nights when I stay up late to talk with friends and family or watch movies with them. I'll have to get up anyway the next morning. That's what Lamott said her father did every morning. Some nights he binge-drank with his writer friends, but no matter how late he stayed up, he awoke at 5:30 in the morning to start writing. I'll think of him when I'm shivering and bleary, typing away near people who are peacefully sleeping still.

In the early mornings, I'll feel as lonely as the raspberry branches in the painting above. My mom, Lucy Lamp, painted it and gave it to me as part of my wedding present. I cherish it and love staring into its dark mood. I think it's a good one to look at when I'm feeling sorry for myself. Puts things into perspective. And I like the way the two branches have risen above the rest. Nothing outstanding happens without resistance to the surrounding conditions.

I'll Call It a Progress Report

After a mild case of flu, I'm back writing and getting things done.

No energy left to post, except to say that tonight was an example of a good writing night. I was washing the dishes and suddenly it hit me. I knew exactly what to do with the ambiguous ending of my latest short story. So I abandoned the dishes and went to work on it. Two hours later, I'm finally getting to my blog post, but for such a good reason! The words actually came hard, but the concept was right there where I could put my finger on it.

Another time I can figure out whether the story is improved or merely changed.

Wrap-Up of Michael Palmer Month and National Novel Writing Month

It's December, which means I've completed two things: the month of following Michael Palmer's noveling advice and National Novel Writing Month.

Results: I wrote most days, mostly in the evening. I attribute that result to both Michael Palmer's advice and the fact that I only had the month of November to write 50,000 words if I wanted to win NaNoWriMo.

I wrote 50,301 words toward my novel, and I attribute almost all of that progress to NaNoWriMo and the encouragement and guilt trips from writing buddies. (Thanks, Aynne, Bill, and Eric!) Eighteen of the twenty-three current chapters of my book have been completed.

I also wrote a short story that I like. I find that when I have a lot on my plate, I eat a lot more. By that I meant to illustrate that a busy writing schedule spurs me to write even more than I scheduled. It is also a true statement when taken literally.

The outlining method used by Palmer was helpful to me. To clarify, I used a detailed outline that summarized the action in every chapter up to the final ones, which were left (tantalizingly?) spare. This kept me moving forward rather than looking back all the time at what I had already done. It also made me feel bored some days. But when I sat my butt down and wrote as fast as I could for good chunks of time, my characters took over for me and usually steered me in a slightly different direction. I let them. They're the real story. So I think I'll use this technique again.

On the days when I got the most done, I sat wherever the hell I wanted to at whatever time of day I could. Thus, I give Palmer's 8:00 - 10:00 pm writing schedule a tentative thumbs down. I should point out again that I'm not sure that's his actual writing schedule. I think I remember hearing it during an interview in which he described his busy days of doctoring, writing, and daddying.

After my son's bedtime, I know he won't interrupt me and I don't have to think about what he's getting into. That's the plus side of an evening writing schedule. The negative side is that I might easily settle into a movie or game with my honey after a long day of whatever it was a long day of.

I think Palmer's advice that every writer, even one without an agent or publisher, should write a proposal was good advice for me. I did end up with a stronger grasp of my story before I began it. More dimensions were added. It was a good thing.

The next month is Anne Lamott Month! Love her! If only she could stay at my house while we work through December. Tomorrow I'll post the Lamott suggestions that I'll be following. I own her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, so I will be perusing that again along with some interviews.

Then, over the month of December, I'll fill in the final chapters of my gnome novel and let the draft rest for a while before getting into revision. While this one is resting, I'll start on the next book or short story.

Summary: Yay NaNo! Yay non-excessive outlining! Boo my desk/vanity table! Boo diaper-changing! (Just thought I'd throw that one in there.) Yay Lamott!

How It's Not Working

Here's the point where it's either not working for me, or I'm not working for it.

To explain: I have this nice, detailed outline of my novel inserted into my document. As I go through, all I have to do is fill in. It helps keep me on track because I'm not always saying, "Hmm, where am I at here? Shouldn't I change this order around? Oh dear, now I need to start over." Not all my chapters are outlined. I know I'll need to do some big, unpremeditated writing toward the end because there are things that will have to happen and sacrifices that will have to be made that I haven't written down yet.

That's all well and good. But I find it very hard these days to sit down and do the writing. When I do sit down, I feel like a typist and wish the TV was on at the same time. Either this way of writing is boring my novel to death, or I'm being petulant and just won't do the work.

I'm on track in terms of where I want to be at this point: I figure 33,378 words is just over a third of my whole first draft. This pace is fine with me...EXCEPT IT'S NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH and I have to write 16,622 more words in three days to win! Again, this scenario would be okay, except that I hate to not win. I really, really hate it.

Kind of a Progress Report

I must confess: I have not been sticking to my 8-10 pm Michael Palmer-inspired schedule. I've been doing pretty great at writing nearly every day, but it's at odd hours. I may write during the entire evening off and on, with oodles of breaks, or during my son's naptime, or for fifteen minutes right before bed. With my participation (and lagging word count) in NaNoWriMo, those hours have gotten even crazier.

Today I was at my computer from 7 to 7:45 this morning, then from 11:45 to 12:30, then from 1:00 to 1:15, and now I'll be at it again at about 8:00 pm. Not exactly a regular schedule.

Nor do I have a regular workplace this month. There's the vanity table I use for a desk, the couch, the dining room table during breakfast, and, best of all, the bed under a blanket propped up by two big pillows.

I really have no conclusions to draw from this, no commentary to write, no self-scourging to do. I'm just gonna go.

How It's Working - Michael Palmer Month

Hmmmm. I want to be honest to the point of pain, if necessary. How's the plan working for me? How's Michael Palmer Month working for me?

The plan may benefit me more in the long term than the short term. My NaNoWriMo word count is suffering, although I like what I've done a hundred times more than the other NaNoWriMo drafts I've written. I feel like I'm spending too much time blogging and too little time getting on with the novel. On the other hand, I'm not likely to ditch this book in the middle of a rough spot, never to be heard from again. And I'm definitely not going to post a "hey-there-I-know-this-was-all-about-noveling-but- I'm-not-really-doing-that-anymore" update. I don't spend a large chunk of time writing the novel every night, but I do sit down to work on it most nights. That's a huge improvement in itself.

Now how's Michael Palmer Month working for me? It'll be easier to judge in hindsight. Right now, I'm pleased. After I went back to redo my outline in more detail a la Palmer, I had less trouble battling doubt in the middle of writing a paragraph. If a question popped up--Hey, what's she doing in this scene anyway? Wasn't she supposed to be at school? Is this summer?--I could find out the answer by looking at the outline and keep plugging away. Sure, sometimes the answer wasn't there and I really had forgotten about a contradiction of plot points, but I was less likely to want to scrap my whole book. I'm writing a little more slowly and a little more meticulously. It's slower than NaNo but I'm happy with what I've done.

With that said, if February rolls around and I haven't finished a full first draft, I'll be a lot less enchanted with the Palmer method.