Archives for November 2017

I went to the bookstore this week and something happened.

It smelled different.

Much different.

All of it.

Since I was in grade school, I’ve always walked into bookstores and absorbed the smell.  The ink, the printing, the covers, and now the coffee.  All of it combined made a smell that rattled my soul,

I imagined over the years coming the bookstore and seeing my name on a shelf.  Seeing my book there, and people passing it, glancing at the cover, and maybe even picking it up.

But there was always one problem with this fantasy.  I had no book.  I had never created anything.  So for 25 years, I just daydreamed.  That’s all.  I daydreamed.

Since I’m a public speaker, I imagined what it would be like to get up on stage and speak about the book that I wrote.  I visualized having a suit on, and having a panel of young minds that are excited to ask me questions about the plot of my novel, the genre I choose, where I got my ideas, and where they should go to get theirs.

But in November, something happened.

My idea of success changed.  My idea of being a novelist, and sitting there signing autographs and speaking about my book, while all of it seemed amazing, it paled in comparison to what really happened to me on November 1.

On November 1,  I released the creative in me that had been hidden for decades.  He came and controlled my behavior, even if only for a handful of sacred moments in my office at the keyboard.  I came to life.  I felt like I just unwrapped a gift that someone gave me years ago.  It’s  grown older, but its value has only appreciated.  God gave me that gift, and I locked it away for so long.  Too long.

But on November 1, I became a fiction writer.  I became a novelist.  A professional too.  Yes, I am a professional novelist.  How do I dare qualify such a statement, you ask?

First, I did it every day no matter how I felt.  There were cold mornings that I got out of bed after being up late the night before, and I sat my professional self in front of my computer, and I watched my inner creative boss put the rest of my being under submission.  I let my desire to write a book take over the desire to relax or sleep in for a little longer.

Secondly, I made it known.  Alongside the novel, I wrote a blog where I detailed things that I was learning about being a writer every day.  I made it known that I was going to have a novel, 50,000 words written by the end of November.  If I failed, I would fail publicly.  Regardless of how few people read my little blog, I knew if one person read it, it was one person I owed an explanation to for not finishing.

Third, I started to think of what’s next.   That’s important.  Before, I always looked at writing “the book.”  I was more concerned about producing that thing – that perfect artifact that has been incubating in me.  Truth be told, the book I wrote is no where near what I expected it to be.  The idea I had didn’t even materialize until November 1, and now it’s coming to a close.

But I began to ask the question what’s next.

This is significant because I looked at the production of a book as not just an event, but an ongoing process.  I didn’t produce a book in November.

I produced a book writer.  I produced an author.

A professional novelist ready for the next world to create.

Finally, I didn’t hit 50,000 words in 30 days.  I wrote just shy of 80,000 words.  The challenge that I told myself I’d never be able to accomplish, I passed through it, and at the 50,000 word mark, when I celebrated the win of NaNoWriMo, I was more captivated by this singular idea: I wanna know how it ends.  I care about that more than winning.

Yes, I’m a novelist.  Full-blown fiction writer.  I am going to publish it, too. I absolutely am.  And if one person reads it, and hates it, my job is done.  I fulfilled a deep longing that God placed upon me that up until this moment I’ve been disobedient in pursuing.  I believed that it had to be compartmentalized as a part of my faith, because I couldn’t see how writing a fiction book would fit into my day job. But when I realized it couldn’t, I didn’t care.  I wrote anyway.

Because I’m a writer.  And writers write.  Sometimes bad, sometimes good, but always they do.  They keep writing.  And I didn’t realize how easy it would be to assume the role that I should have been wearing for my whole existence.

Now what about you?  Are you a writer?  Are you an artist?  Then do it.  And don’t do it for money!  I’m not saying that you have to give up your day job and sit in your room until that novel’s produced.  This was the busiest and most tiresome month of my life, but I’ve never felt more alive.  And when you have passion producing something you’re creating, you’ll do it regardless of how you feel.  It won’t be perfect.  Not even close.

But it’s yours.

That bookstore smells different because I’m different.  I still envision signing a copy fo a book for someone, but now I realize that the win happened the moment that I sat in my office on November 1, and created a world that didn’t exist at the end of October.

You can’t monetize that.  It’s intangible.  But it’s attainable.

And it’s mine.

What’s going to happen after this is over?

Have you thought about that?  Do you have a plan for after NaNoWriMo?

This question made me feel nervous at first.  Then, I began to figure out some things to do.

 

1) I am taking 4-6 weeks off this project.  This will take me into the new year.  I’ll also get a chance to see the faces fo these people I created afresh, maybe I’ll notice if one is a lefty when I said righty.  I need fresh eyes.

This is the practice of many authors including Stephen King.

2) I’m going to work on something altogether different.  I think I’m going to start working on some short stories.  I also have a non-fiction book that I was originally going to pitch to an agent, but that I may self publish now.  Do you have any other project you would want to work on?  I’m asking this now because I believe it’s better to keep the momentum going as a writer.  But do something requiring less commitment, do something short and sweet.  Do something altogether different.

3) I’m going to work on the craft.  I have some podcasts, youtube videos, and books that I want to digest before I go into rewrite mode.  This will keep me from the temptation to talk about the project.

I also want to work on how to be better at this blog, self-publishing, and marketing.  All of those things need attention.  I don’t have to be as laser focused in this time on creating this elaborate novel.

I plan on making publication my next big focus.  I’m not 100% sure of which direction to go, and to be honest, I’m not really worried about it.  I have a book now, and it’s mine.  No matter what I decide to do, I did that.

The most tempting thing to avoid.

I wish I would have written about this earlier, but it’s going to be the most tempting thing you want to do after you finish this month out – regardless of where you are in your novel.

Don’t tell people your story yet.

There, that’s it.

I know you’re tempted to talk about it, and even narrate it.  I am finding this temptation more difficult every day, especially now that my novel is about 95 percent done.  I want to tell people about it, about the story line, the intricacies, the conflicts, the reveals.  I want to share the love interests, the potential sequels, and the surprising twists.

But i know that would be the worst.

Andy Weir, self-published author of the bestseller, The Martian (also turned into a motion picture starring Matt Damon), said in a podcast interview that at the core of an author is the desire to have that story told and to hear people’s reaction to it.  Telling people the story is a method of communicating it.  If you communicate the details of what you’re writing, you may be tempted not to shut that door and get to the real work.

Here are some things I do to keep from having that door into my private world of writing swing open:

1) I create a succinct Elevator Pitch that I use to talk about my novel.  This also whets people’s appetite for it (when I say people, I seriously mean about 5 people).  I have this memorized.  It’s on repeat in my mind and it doesn’t go into more detail than would be on the back cover.

2) I talk about how excited I am to be working on it, but not the details.  I like the accountability that talking about the book offers.  I don’t want to give details, but I do talk about what I feel while working on it.

3) I discuss where I am in terms of page count.  I did this quite frequently, again, for accountabilities sake.  This is without giving away details, but also letting those around me know how far I’ve come.

That’s it.  Those are some things I would recommend you do as you round out the end of the month.  Don’t allow your desire to communicate be satisfied with just talking. Keep writing!

Finish well.

That command doesn’t mean what you think it does.

We might all agree we spend a lot of times beating ourselves up for not getting things done perfectly.  How terrible!

Let’s be honest, if we talked to other people the way we talked to ourselves we’d be in jail.

I think you need to give yourself credit for doing something.  Anything.

Let’s say you didn’t finish the words; did you write any words?  Did you write 1000 words?  Did you write 10?  Did this make you realize that you need to create margin in your life to become a writer?

There are more wins here than just one!   I’m not going to say anything prescriptive here, but I’m going to try to encourage you.

1) You tried something most people will never try.  Google the statistics of people that want to write a book but don’t try.  It’s shattering.  I’d rather try something and fail miserably than sit and wonder what it would be like to try.

2) You value words and their power.  You don’t take words for granted and you don’t take the creative process for granted.  You want your words to matter.  And they do.

3) You know that it’s work.  Yes, it’s work.  It’s not as romantic as it’s portrayed in movies.  You have that knowledge now and others may not.  This is huge.  This enables you to read with deeper appreciation for the process of writing as well as the magic of it.

Don’t be discouraged for any reason.  This is just the beginning.  Don’t let your dream be put on hold any longer.  Keep writing and do it for you.

This is the final Video About a Book for NaNoWriMo.  You definitely want to check this one out.

 

 

Click below to purchase.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

I don’t know what Point of View your story is written in, but here’s something to try if you’re stuck.

I mixed my POV’s up.  This is not uncommon at all and many writers do it, but I found it so liberating when writing.  It forced me to think about what the other characters are experiencing and it gave me a chance to feel the motives.  Here are some guidelines.

1) Process action through the judgment of that character’s eyes.  It was easier for me to write a scene thinking about how a character would feel about it (scared, excited, guilty, etc.).

2) Reveal certain unknown motivations through the character’s inner dialogue.  I love this so much because it creates an eager want for the reader.  The character knows something that no one knows and they’re conflicted about it.  The only ones that know are the reader and that character – but no one knows the full extent of it.

3) Conflict conflict conflict!  Having the story go from different POV’s really helps to add conflict. This person feels this way against this person.  This person is upset what another character did.  Fill in your conflict here, but just know I went from a well of conflict to an ocean of it when I started experimenting with POV’s.

Hope this helps!  Keep writing and thinking what your characters are thinking!

When I finished the actual 50,000-word, I expected something to happen.

And it didn’t.

I wanted to see fireworks.

I thought it would be this unbelievable feeling.

I thought I would be elated, like I was walking on air; but I looked that that word count and thought boy this story has so much longer to go.

Keep this in mind in the final week.

1) You’re not producing a final draft, you’re producing a first draft.  Just write like a madman/madwoman and forget all else.  Don’t worry about being done, just worry about writing.

2) You may not be finished when you’re done.  I know I’ve said this throughout, but I feel like the most important benefit of NaNoWriMo isn’t the finished manuscript; it’s the writing habit you’ve established in a month of novel-writing.

The best gift you get from NaNoWriMo is the gift of a different YOU.

3)  Don’t be afraid to take time to jot down new ideas.  Personally, I wouldn’t work on any new ideas until this one is finished, but I did get a slew of new concepts for novels, short stories and nonfiction while I was coming to the end here.

Now that I’ve been writing at least 1700 words for the last month, I know that I can make those projects a reality.   I know that I’ve done it for the joy of it, and Stephen King says in the final line of On Writing, if you can do it for the joy, you can do ti forever.

I don’t know what this will be on December 1, but I know the person that started writing every day for writing’s sake isn’t the same person as he was on October 31.  Keep writing and you’ll change.  You’ve always been a writer, but now you’re formalizing it.

Again, in the spirit of keeping writing no matter what’s going on as we approach our final week of NaNoWriMo, I want to talk to you about keeping it moving.

One of the problems I had (even this morning as I wrote) throughout this process were days that I sat in front of the screen and wrote words that felt awful to write.  I mean, they felt terrible.  As though I was trying to write in a foreign language, upside down, while listening to another language being taught to me.  But I still kept typing to my goal.

I’m going to take a quote from Joanna Penn on this one.

“When you’re reading your work, the words will all look the same whether you were feeling bad when you wrote them or good.”

Yes, that’s a great idea, isn’t it?  You’re not going to know how you felt (for the most part) when you wrote the scene.  You’re just going to have the words.  And no matter what, upon re-write, you have to reshape them.  No one that reads your final draft is going to know how you felt when you wrote them either.

So here are some ways to keep moving when you don’t feel like it.

1) Be moved by the emotion of the fact that you’ve established a daily writing habit, over a beautiful masterpiece that was enjoyable to write.  Now, this idea is eclipsed by the joy of writing that awesome scene, sometimes.  But you can’t depend on that emotional high every time you sit down in front of a blank page.

2) As a professional, there are days when you don’t feel like doing what you do, though you still love being a professional.  Think of writing a little more like a business and less like sitting in a field of flowers allowing creativity to roll across your free-spirited soul.  Yeah, that picture seems invigorating, but it’s unrealistic.  This is work.  Art is work.  Creativity is work.  And I’ve learned what doesn’t cost you, doesn’t change you.

3) Make the word count be your goal, because it’s emotionless and measurable.  You have to use hard data when you are measuring your success.  Make those words being on the page your data, not the feeling you get putting them there.

That’s all for today!  Keep writing.  Tomorrow we head into the final stretch!