The Who, What, Where, Why and When of Writing - Part 6 – HOW? by Diane Bator

Now what???

Thank you for sticking with me through this labor of love as I’ve explored the five Ws of writing:

Who – as in Who are YOU as a writer?

What – for What do you want to write?

Where – location, location, location.

Why – what drives you?

When – what the best time to write?

But I often here one more question that I’d like to address.

How do I get started?

I actually saw a post on a writing site where someone asked, “I want to be a writer. What do I write about?” As usual, trolls bashed the person. To me, it seemed like an odd question because I’ve always just written. Words come out. I turn them into stories. I’ve never stopped to think about what to write or even how.

In the beginning…

Like me, some people are struck by inspiration continuously. I have binders of ideas waiting for when I’m finished my current work in progress. But how do you get started? One of the best ways I’ve found is to get a book of writing prompts or use Google to search for “writing prompts.” When I started in the writing group there was a standard list of writing prompts for starting writers, “What I remember is…”, “What I forgot was…”, “Why I want to write.”

A Few Guidelines

We all need a plan, so I’ve included a brief outline of things to think about in order to get started.

·       Find a nurturing writing environment.

·       Schedule writing time – even a half hour a day in a hectic day can help.

·       Create an outline of what you want to do, or just write!

·       Focus on writing your book one chapter at a time, even if you write chapter one then chapter twenty then go back to fill in the rest.

·       Maintain focus. Get that book done!

·       Deal with writing distractions before they get out of hand. Put your phone face down. Ask your family to respect your writing time. Sit somewhere alone with everything you need to write.

·       Start writing…Keep writing…don’t give up!!

Keeping the Motivation

Life throws us distractions. That’s a fact. We get sick. Kids get sick. We have to work overtime at work. All of these throw off our plans for writing. As a mom of three who wrote from the time they were little, fitting a little me-time in the day wasn’t always easy. But I did it. My first book was published when my kids were still young. Plus I worked two part-time jobs.

I wrote because I loved to write. Because it kept me sane when life sometimes spun out of my control. To sneak in writing time, I carried a small notebook everywhere I went. I wrote on napkins when I didn’t have paper. I also wrote while I ate lunch and before the kids got up in the mornings.

Finishing Your Book

I know so many people who have started short stories, started novels and have yet to finish them many years later. One quote I found somewhere was “what makes you an author is the ability not to start a project, but to complete one.”

Anyone can be a writer. All you have to do is write.

Starting something – pretty much anything – is easy. You need to find the tenacity to sit and finish your story or your book. Whether you give yourself a daily or weekly word count, have a beta reader who will expect to see a chapter on certain dates, or hold yourself accountable by giving yourself a gold star or some other reward for each day you write. Whatever keeps you going back to work on that next page.

One thing not many people will tell you is to expect negative feedback. Even the biggest name writers get trolls and others who say things that are hurtful. Don’t take these seriously. If you get nine out of ten readers repeating the same criticisms (i.e. typos or unbelievable storyline or characters) do listen and see if those are things you can change in your next book.

Think of Book One as your first child. You don’t have things 100% figured out. There will be mistakes or things you could have done better. Let it be a learning experience. Listen to the suggestions and take the ones you think will make your next book even stronger.

Before you publish, it’s very important to have your book edited by someone who knows what they’re doing! Not your Aunt Jenny, unless she’s a professional editor. Editors are great for giving advice and pointing out things that you won’t see because it’s your baby. Just like with raising kids, when we read our own books, we see what we want to see and ignore the bad stuff. To us, it’s perfect.

Once you’ve written that book and had it thoroughly edited, you have two things left to do.

1.     Find a publisher, either traditional or the many self-publishers who are out there. Just be wary of the vanity presses. Those are the ones who ask you to pay thousands of dollars upfront in order to create your work. Many of these are scams and you could get stuck with a garage full of books. DO ready their websites very carefully to find out what genres they publish, what they require for submissions, and who you need to submit your work to.

2.     Write your next book.

Good luck!!

Diane Bator

Author of Wild Blue Mysteries, Gilda Wright Mysteries and Glitter Bay Mysteries

Mom of 3 boys and 2 cats and one less mouse... He’s been evicted.

You can find me at:  http://bookswelove.net/authors/bator-diane-mystery/

 

Forced Word-Count Writing - The NaNoWriMo Word Race by S. L. Carlson

http://bwlpublishing.ca/authors/carlson-s-l-ya-fantasy/

November is the month for novel writing. Actually, for the writer, every month is the month for novel writing. But each November comes around with that wonderful push for writing 1,700 words per day during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The great thing about NaNoWriMo is that you know you aren't alone. There are thousands of people world-wide participating online, and you can follow many others, encouraging and being encouraged to write-write-write.

Forced daily word-count writing is not intended to be polished. It's totally about getting the rough draft down. Revisions, edits, and critique groups follow over the next few months.


First off, November only has thirty days, so that's one day less than seven other months to meet the 50K goal. One day can make a huge difference. Also, there are holidays (in the States) with family gatherings to prepare for and attend. Right off the bat, I hate the idea of November being novel-writing month. But writing is about persevering, running the word race to the end of the book.


The first week of NaNoWriMo is exciting, and the game is on. That first week is enthusiastic pouring out of words on your new novel. The second week, other life priorities sneak in, and you stumble over the hurdles and fall behind. By week three, you figure you're too far back to ever catch up, so feel like giving it up. Many do at this point. There are writing suggestions to keep you writing, like throwing a birthday party for your main character, plan it and write it all out. At the end of the month, it will most likely become fodder and deleted, but you're inspired once again. And if you push on...week four can be just as exciting as week one.


Writing the rough draft of a novel doesn't have to happen in November, but I find the process whenever I write just the same: initial excitement of the race, lagging behind, thinking what you've written is garbage, wanting to quit, then catching your second wind and finally crossing that finish line.


So, don't give up. Join with others for writing encouragement. Get your story down. Afterwards, take a breather, then get back to it, hacking and revising and editing until your trophy is in hand. Keep on writing!