Writing A Novel - Zen

Zen is defined as the "teaching that contemplation of one's essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment." A writer's essential nature is to write, sure I know the Zen Buddhists have much deeper essential natures in mind when they are teaching, but today, right now, let's talk about a writer's zen. It happens only one way: with the words.

So much of this month's theme has been devoted to a reiterating theme: just do it. Writing a novel is not easy, it is not always fun, but if you are a writer, or more specifically, if you are a novelist, then you owe it to your essential nature to just do it. As you do it and when you have reached the finish line you will have experienced writing zen.

I have typed one phrase over and over this month: "I am no expert," and this is true. However, I can say this, I have now finished two novels. I have journeyed from the first glimmers of an idea through to the end of a plot.  Today I wrote over 15,000 words in order to complete my first draft of a still untitled work that may go nowhere. It's finished. I reached THE END. I even did it in time to be validated as a "WINNER" of this month's Camp NaNoWriMo.

Right now I am experiencing writing zen. It is beautiful because it is the path to enlightenment. There were many times in this month where I wrote myself into a corner, where I felt blocked and where I thought I had just picked the wrong story to write, but because of two challenges - this A to Z Challenge where I had to face the facts about the art and work behind writing a novel, and my commitment to the CampNaNoWriMo Challenge - I didn't allow myself to give up. I knew at every difficult turn that I was, even then, experiencing the writing zen.

And now, as I sit here reflecting upon the conclusion to my tale, I am still thinking about conflicts I can amp up, characteristics I can add to characters and themes I can enhance. This too, this "I'm never really done" syndrome is also part of the beauty of writing zen.

Embrace it all. 

Write your words, my dear writers. Your readers are waiting, and your essential nature wants to be embraced. Enlightenment awaits us all.

Happy writing! 

Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned for next month's devotion to reading!!

Writing A Novel - YouTube

I love YouTube. After a long day of writing and reading, sometimes I just need to let people talk at me. It doesn't always have to involve goats sounding like humans, cats doing cat-things, or auto-tuned remakes of a clip of the news from somewhere in the world. Many times I let YouTube inspire me, remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing and show me that I am not alone.

I figured, since we are nearing the end of a very intense month, that you too might just need someone to talk at you. Here are some great YouTube videos to help you stay inspired.

Ira Glass says, "Fight your way through that."
 

Jack White says, "Inspiration and work ethic ride right next to each other."


John Green says, "Books are made in revision."



(*The long one*) Neil Gaiman says, "The problems of failure are hard. The problems of success can be harder."


I can go on here.There are so many great people sharing great things on YouTube. Happy viewing!

Thanks for reading!

Do you have an inspirational, or writer-friendly YouTube video that you loved?

Beyond books, where else do you find your writing inspiration?

Writing A Novel - Xenogenesis

As an offspring of your own imagination, your novel is lathered in evidence of you - who you were, who you are at the time of writing, and the who you wish to become some day. However, if in writing your novel, some xenogenesis does not occur, your entire cast of characters will start to all morph into the same person.

 

As we write, we must produce characters that are completely unlike us, or the people we based them on. We must create beings that can move forth in a fictional world and have their own ideas, their own voice and even their own individual look. While they may begin as a perfect carbon copy of someone in reality, they must develop into their own unique identity as your story unfolds.

It is my impression that this happens naturally.  As I wrote in an earlier post on character development, I believe our characters develop through the conflicts they face. When we impose new and different conflicts upon characters that make be identical to a real life person, they automatically transform into someone new. However, there are some other things we can do to ensure a complete xenogenesis takes place:

1. Listen. Always listen when you are with others - not just for the content of their conversation, but its presentation. Who uses "um"? Who uses "uh"? What does it take for someone to drop the f-bomb? What does it mean when someone says "Hi" versus "Hello" or "Yo"? How does an accent or culture affect speech? Pick up little twangs in speech from all over the place to sprinkle amongst your characters.
2. Look. Examine eye colors - how does one pair of blue eyes differ from the other? Look at style, accessories, hair styles - who carries their cell phone in their pocket, on their belt, in their bag, in their hand? Remember what Forrest Gump said: You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. Look at people's hands, search for scars, freckles, beauty marks, tattoos and all the other things that make them them - which of your characters needs one of these things? 
3. Connect. Make connections between the things you hear and see, then connect them to stories. Create back stories for strangers you overhear on line at the grocery store. Day dream of what their day is like and what they will be doing next. This practice will help you bring life to surface details you observe.

Once you have started making connections with strangers, you will start to develop your own internal reference for various characteristics you observe in the real world. When you come back to writing your novel certain features will just become obvious and necessary additions to your own cast of characters.

• Maybe you don't have a tattoo and never will get one, but your MC has twenty: xenogenesis.
• Perhaps you are prolific in your use of the f-bomb, but your MC not only avoids it, she apologizes when she slips out any profanity: xenogenesis.

The list can go on ad infinitum. The small changes here and there, combined with conflict, lead to unavoidable xenogenesis. That is, of course, if you pay attention to one other thing: how other people think.

Last, possibly most important step: Talk to people. I don't mean that you should talk at people where you tell them everything going on with you and then allow time for them to tell you everything that is going on with them. I mean you should talk with them. Ask questions, find out other people's opinions, maybe even have a deep conversation asking them why or how they developed such opinions.

The thing is, for true xenogenesis to take place, you character's must think differently than you, and that is the hardest part. Learn from others. Absorb.

Good luck!

Thanks for reading!

Do you think a COMPLETE xenogenesis is ever truly possible? Why or why not?

What are some techniques you use to separate your characters from yourself?

Writing A Novel - Voice

Regardless of the point of view you choose to write your novel in - whether it is first person, second person or third person narration - behind every piece of writing you do, there is a voice. The voice you choose can either make or break your novel. It can also, make or break you as a writer.

For every piece I have ever written I have written in a voice that flowed naturally from that story, or situation. If writing in first person, this can sometimes be easier because voice is a direct connection to the character themselves. As you develop the character, their voice becomes clearer and clearer. I find third person to be a little more difficult.

Voice Failure

When I first began writing fiction I wrote in third person and the voice that imposed itself upon my writing was false. I seemed to be summoning up some ancient storyteller of the past, who never "spoke" with contractions and filled her speech with the most flowery language. I realize now that writing in that way was a tool for me, not my reader. At that time I needed to cue up my brain to "transport itself" to another realm, where fictional things happen and the world isn't the one I live in. I don't remember who saw it first, but I remember the comment: "You should use contractions." I thought, But I always use contractions! And then I read over my work. In my lap, that story which had lived forever in my mind, crumbled to pieces. I had taken all the verisimilitude (forgive me, I love this word!) out of my writing! 

The Voice of Rivera Runs Through It
 
Over the last month I have been thinking a lot about voice while writing my current novel, but I have also been thinking about my voice here on my blog, where I write mostly in second person. I have been wondering if I could pull off a second person novel without sounding exactly like myself. What words or punctuation would I have to change in order to make a clear voice distinction from my own? Then I have been wondering if I have a clear voice hear on Rivera Runs Through It, and then that ultimately leads to the biggest question of all: how different is my writing voice from my spoken one?

The Working Voice 

When I was working, I became sort of (in)famous for my e-mails. From the moment we were all connected by e-mail, I was sending them out - and they were never short.

At the time I didn't realize it, but I was essentially blogging to my colleagues about my teaching thoughts of the day. Was there something new in the curriculum I think we needed to look over as a group? Was there a brand new website everyone needed to check out? Were there conferences or learning opportunities I was excited about? All of these things made it into e-mails. At the time, I developed a helpful, perky, math coach voice. Of course, I didn't realize it at the time, but that's what it was. My boss and I had a snarky-type relationship, so emails just to him were filled with an edge I knew he would appreciate and reciprocate. Any e-mails or letters written to parents of students or to the staff as a whole dripped of professionalism, and communication with my students, well, I think that was always my most authentic voice, closest to how I write here on my blog. Again, none of this was evident to me at the time, but reflecting upon those days with a new education on voice makes it all abundantly clear.

First Lessons on Voice 

If you stop to think of it, we all have different voices we use every single day. My brother and I used to make fun of our mom's "phone voice" - no matter what mood she was in when the phone rang, as soon as she picked it up, she would compose herself and greet the caller with a melodic, "Hello." Within seconds of the phone call we were able to determine who was on the other end simply by the way she changed her voice. When she relaxed her tone, it was a friend or family, then based on the particular language she used we could peel away the clues to discern who it was exactly within a minute. If, on the other hand, she pulled up a more professional demeanor, we knew it was a doctor or another business of sorts. And if she started splurting expletives or dolling out pity (this all depended on her mood), then it was a telemarketer. My mother's voice told the entire story. Voice is that important and that powerful. Reread whatever you are writing right now - what story is your voice telling?

A Final, Funny Voice Reflection

You may or may not realize at this point that I am a HUGE John Green fan. About a year and a half ago, I had no idea who he was. His book, Looking for Alaska was recommended to me on Reddit. I found it cheap in a store, so I picked it up. As soon as I started reading it, I hated it. There was this high school kid narrating using language that was far beyond anything any of my students ever would have been able to grasp. After one paragraph I was put off. I read it aloud to my husband and said, "Come ON! Am I supposed to take this seriously?" My husband, fresh home from a long day of work in front of his high school English classes realized that his teaching wasn't done for the day, "Perhaps the author is trying to tell you something about the protagonist. The kid is smart." Wow... did I feel dumb... and overwhelmed. How much did I just learn about this character in one paragraph? All the information came flooding back to me. I doubted the authenticity of this writing because I could see this kid so clearly and he was so unlike any real life kid I knew. He wasn't unreal, he was unique. That is the power of voice. (Here's my review of Looking for Alaska.)

What books have you read with a strong voice?

Do you have a "phone voice" like my mother did, or do you know someone who did?
How does your POV influence your writing voice?

Thanks for reading!

 

Writing A Novel - Ugly Truths

Writing a novel can be liberating, for some it is a dream fulfilled. Writing a novel can even help boost one's confidence, but lurking behind all the wonderful things one can say about writing a novel, there exist some ugly truths about the act that simply should not be ignored. In my estimation, these are the ugly truths about writing a novel: 

UGLY TRUTH #1 This sh!t ain't easy.

If you can't get past this first ugly truth, no one will judge you, but, please, don't try to act as if it isn't true! If you walk into the world of writing a novel anticipating some sort of leisurely activity at the helm of your keyboard, I believe you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I am not trying to say that you won't have fun or love what you are doing while writing a novel, I am simply stating that you will be working.

UGLY TRUTH #2 You need more than a month.

Everyone knows that I am a great lover of the NaNoWriMo challenges that gather we writers around the Internet to inspire one another as we go forth and "complete" our novels in the space of one month, but let's be honest, it's not happening. Yes, you can easily finish a first draft in one month, I'll even go so far as to say those who are real pros might be able to complete their second draft, but the whole thing? No way. To fully finish a novel, you need to have others look at, tell you what they think and adjust as necessary. For the sake of their sanity, the process must take more than a month! Which leads me to...

UGLY TRUTH #3 You can not do it alone.

Image Source

 The art of writing is attractive to introverts. Why? Because they think that they won't have to bother, or bother with, anyone in the process. This is a misconception. While you may be able to scratch out your first draft behind the closed door of your solitary office on the third floor of an empty house (except for all of your furry friends, of course), to write a novel from beginning to end you are going to need others. This month I've discussed some of these others: your alpha and beta readers and those who will help you with promotion, but there are also those professionals you should turn your novel over to when you are done editing like a professional editor and, if you are so inclined, an agent.

I am absolutely sure there are more ugly truths about writing a novel. Some that come to mind are:

• You will hear voices.
• Long time friends may think you've lost your mind.
• No one will believe you are serious.

However, for now I must face the ugly truth that the more time I spend blogging and online, the less time I devote to my novel! So, I apologize, dear readers, I must go to work!

Thanks for reading!

Which ugly truth did I leave out?

Do you dispute any of the ugly truths I have included?

 

Writing a Novel - Theme

How did you begin writing your novel? Were you struck by a character whose voice needed to be heard? Did you suddenly divine a story idea that felt unique and timely? Or, are you haunted by theme that is so close to your heart that you felt a calling to present the world with a tale entwined in it?

I think the third option may be what most writers desire, but happens less frequently. Theme is such a huge idea in writing, I believe it is just too big to begin on. At least, for me, it has been. While I can tackle theme in a short story, so far I have been unable to approach the novel in the same way. In writing a novel I have found that the theme reveals itself over time. Of course, because I am the writer that theme ends up being something that haunts me and is close to my heart. By the time the first draft is done, I have a solid idea about which major theme my story is focusing on and then I can go back to refine it.

I think this is another reason why a first draft must be dealt with quickly and without huge "writing vacations" in between its beginning and end. When we "walk away" from our stories, our life throws new and unique conflicts at us, changing our own personal haunting themes.  We must stick with our stories in the same haunted head, or where we began may be in a completely different universe than where we started.

...or at least that's what I believe right now.

What about you? What are your beliefs about theme?

Thanks for reading!

Writing A Novel - Setting

When I think back to some of the greatest stories I have ever read, setting is often a character in and of itself. I'm thinking of places like Hogwarts, Narnia, Middle Earth, The Capitol, Camp Half Blood, the list goes on. Of course, not all places have to be magical, mystical or fantastic - with the right author any "ordinary" setting can also be brought vividly to life on the page like John Green's Amsterdam in The Fault In Our Stars, or San Francisco in Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. The setting in a novel gives your story a solid foundation, a stage on which to be performed, a backdrop for your readers to envision. Sometimes, when writing your novel, the characters and their conflict take up so much of your focus that setting, unfortunately, falls into the forgettable background.

What Builds A Memorable Setting?

To ensure that your setting makes a true impact, you must build it with the very tools that we use to observe our settings in our own reality: the five senses. As you take your characters on a journey through conflict and drama, what do they see, what do they hear, feel, and taste? Describe them so that your readers experience the same.

I can't think of Hogwarts without remembering the tastes of Harry's first meal in the great castle, feeling the stairs moving beneath the characters' feet, or seeing all of the moving portraits the walls. Narnia brings chills as I remember the snow behind the coats in the wardrobe. Middle Earth harkens back so many sensory memories from the taste of lembas bread, the sound of the Horn of Gondor, the feel of the grass in the Shire and the smell of the seemingly endless pipe smoke. In the Hunger Games the setting is rich with coal dust, make-up, costumes, mysterious animals with growls, buzzes and eyes of terrifying familiarity.

The key with building a memorable setting into infuse these tasty little morsels just enough that they compliment your story without over powering it. I think of setting as the spices in our meal - if you balance out those flavors appropriately, you will take your story from bland to lip-smacking good, but if you put too much, your readers will be running for the hills looking for something to wash its memory away.

Set Your Scenes In Draft 1.5 
 
If you did not plot with setting in mind, then you should probably run through your first draft as quickly as possible and, before you commit yourself to second draft work, you should write draft 1.5 - the one where you pour through your story looking for the opportunities to spice up your scenes. Take that scene where your character turns away in anger and describe what she sees. Rewrite the flashback scene where your protagonist's grandmother imparts some life lesson so that it takes place in the kitchen, over a fully stocked stove - describe the smells, the sounds and the actions. I think, when your story is done, it can be easier to find the right places to add your spice to maximize its effect.

When I Write With Setting In Mind

In a post I wrote earlier today called Earth Day 1997 I wrote with setting in mind. I had a specific memory I wanted to reflect upon (since Earth Day is very important to me), but since I knew I was going to write about setting in this post I tried to use it as a focus for myself. What do you think? I tried to use my senses to bring the story to life. Could I have been more descriptive about the details of the physical places involved, sure... but I did have a story to tell that I didn't want bogged down by the mundane. It's a difficult task to take on. As I have written many times this month, I am no expert, but I'm practicing!

What are some memorable settings from your reading life? 

Are there any authors whose settings you particularly respect?

In your opinion, is there such a thing as "too much setting"? If so, what qualifies?

Thanks for reading!

Writing A Novel - Quarantine

If you have been following along with this month's challenge, you probably expected that for my "Q" day that I would be writing about the query process for writing a novel. I thought about it. I planned on it. Then I decided that I had more experience with another "Q" in writing a novel: QUARANTINE.

What I am talking about here is involved in the process of writing. The part where I feel like I can't discuss my story with anyone without possibly contaminating it. I put my imagination into a quarantine.

I realized right away with my first novel how dangerous talking about story can actually be. Immediately after telling someone about the basic premise of my story - a girl keeps getting diary entries from a fellow, anonymous student in her locker - people had a bunch of things to say about it. They were well-meaning comments of interest, curiosity and attempted support:

• "Ooo! That reminds me of ____" and then fill in the blank. It reminded people of lots of different things. Once they'd tell me that, my mind would work out how it was different. If it wasn't different enough, I would doubt my story and think about changing directions (sometimes I actually would change directions).
• "Ooo! I love mysteries!" Leading me to think, Is this a mystery? Should it be more sleuth-y? And, in general, second-guess the entire premise of my book.
• Questions, questions, questions! About characters, about plot, about plot twists, about the ending - well, about everything. While many questions were helpful in helping me clarify portions of my story, but others I just wasn't ready for yet. I started thinking about things before they were developed. It screwed me all up.

There was only solution for novel number two: complete and utter quarantine. To take Stephen King's advice of writing the first draft "with the door shut" to a new extreme. So far, this month, I think it was a very good idea, but only time will tell. It has been difficult in some cases (I usually tell my husband everything), but it's been worth it.

Do you go into a writer's quarantine or do you share as you go?

Thanks for reading! 

Writing A Novel - No Nos

In getting ready for today's post in the Writing A Novel from A to Z challenge I mulled over a number of "N" ideas - NaNoWriMo, Narrator, and Naming Characters came to mind - but in the last couple of weeks I keep getting confronted by another facet of writing a novel: what we shouldn't do when taking on the project. With that in mind, I decided to share some novel writing No Nos in today's post.

No No #1: "Dreaming" of Being a Writer

Do not dream of writing a novel; write one.

I have had this conversation with a number of writers, often after I check out their Twitter profile and see "wannabe writer" or "aspiring writer." My first question to them is, "Are you writing?" If the answer is yes, then the conversation is over - they are writers. However, this week I came upon a blog post that dug even deeper into the misconception of the writer's dream. It was by Cathy Yardley and it was called Is Your Writing a Business or a Dream?

That article is a must-read for all writers. The idea behind it is simple: writing is work, it is a business and, to put it in my own perspective, there is no finish line. There's no point where you've "made it." Writing your novel is one stage, getting it published is another, following that up with getting people to buy and read it is another, and if you think that's it, then that's where your dream will slowly turn into a nightmare! Because, to be a writer, means that whole process happens ad infinitum until the day you retire.

No No #2: Making Your Editor Crazy

Editors make writers glow. I often feel like editors should have their names on the covers of novels with the authors for all the work they do. So, when an editor gives writing advice, I sit up and listen.

This week I found a hilarious article entitled Words I Never Want To See In Your Novel. Please. written by developmental editor and copywriter, Jaime Chavez. Needless to say I was blushing. She got my number on a couple of those phrases that I am now abolishing (or, at least, I am trying to) from my vocabulary. It reminded me of a time one of my lessons was recorded and my students and I noticed how many times I said, "absolutely." I gave them all the job of calling me out whenever I said "absolutely" - I got over that one quick!

Every point Jaime made was a completely valid one. The words she wishes not to see are obvious signs of a naive novelist. I found another blog post that laid out even more Plague Words and Phrases to avoid so I do make my someday editor crazy!

No No #3: Giving Your Character a "Classic" Name

Naming characters does deserve a post all its own, but taking a moment to look at the names that it may be time to avoid can be addressed here. Esther Inglis-Arkel believes These Character Names Should Be Banned:

• Lucy
• Cain, Kane, or Kayne (or, for that matter, Khan)
• Mal
• Cassandra
• Abel
• Goodman or Christianson
• Damian
• Beth
• Judas
• Lenina
• Dyson
•  Fuller
• Adams and O'Neill
• Doyle
• Adam and Eve
• Noah
• Moses
• Joshua
• Mary
• Ruth
• Rebecca
• Edward and Heathcliff
• Katherine, Kate, Kay, Kathleen, Caitlin, Cathy, or Cat

Before you get all up in arms, wondering What's left? I recommend you take a look at Esther's article to see her arguments against each of these names. In some, they are genre-specific, in others, you may find out that you are not clever as you think.

Thanks for reading!

Do you have any novel writing No Nos to add to the list?

 


 

Writing A Novel - Motivation

When writing a novel, motivation applies to a number of aspects - character and plot, to name two - but this post is about writer motivation. A couple of days ago I wrote a post encouraging you all to "Keep Going!" with your writing, but that's not always easy. Life gets in the way, self-doubt gets in the way and, well, sometimes you might not "be in the mood." None of these add up to a good reason to stop writing. You must, as Henry Miller put it, "Work according to Program and not according to mood." So you must find your motivation. I've got a couple of motivations in my corner, I thought I'd share them with you in case one helps you out.

Motivation #1: Camaraderie

Particularly at times of year when online writing challenges are going on, writing can be a means to connection with others. However, even when it is not a National Novel Writing month, you can find people to write with on Twitter under such hashtags as #amwriting, #NaNoPals and #wordmongering.

Motivation #2: Accepting a Challenge

My second motivation works because I am a very competitive person, except , rather than competing with others, I am most competitive with myself. I have placed a number of challenges before myself that I wish to accomplish. This alone is enough for them to get done. Obviously, "writing a novel" is one of those challenges, but then other arise along the way.

For example, on Twitter this weekend I saw @NaNoVancouver ask who was up for a #30min1K. I was sure I didn't understand, Could this really mean 1,000 words written in 30 minutes? I asked and found out it was not only possible, but that a number of people had accomplished it. Last night I decided to finally give it a go myself. That was my motivation last night. It worked. I wrote for a half hour straight and put 1,022 more words into my WIP!

Motivation #3: Make it an Event

I have just recently turned the Barnes & Noble Cafe trips my husband and I have been taking into writing opportunities. There's something about taking this laptop out of its natural environment that just add excitement to the entire activity. That's enough motivation for me.

BUT The Secret to My Success Is...
Motivation #4: WRITER'S BROWNIES!

Hello, my name is Nicole Rivera, and I am a chocoholic. I love chocolate in all forms, but brownies are extra special yummy awesomeness. And even though I am stuck in a body that is both gluten and dairy intolerant, Betty Crocker was kind enough to put together a super delicious Gluten Free Brownie mix (so delicious, in fact, that my gluten gobbling husband loves them too!). When I am writing a novel, I bake up a batch of these brownies and call them "Writer's Brownies." There are strict rules around them: they must be earned. You may only eat a brownie, IF you have written something that day.

These brownies are so motivating, even my husband has begun to write his own first story, just so he can have some. Yesterday, (three days into his brownie earning) he thanked me for getting him to write. He said the Writer Brownies were a really good idea.

The brownies work because my husband and I love them. Find your loves and use them. Create a reward system unique to you.

What do you love? What could you use to motivate yourself to write? What is so rewarding (or delicious) that it will bring you joy even when your words are driving you crazy?

Writing A Novel - LINKS!

Whether you are writing a novel or a short story, who doesn't love LINKS?! Today's post is a list of my favorite writing related links. I expect to update this page regularly, but let's see what I have for you for now:

Links for Writing Communities

• Write On Edge - This is where it all began for me. While I was writing on Searching for Sustenance (my food revolution blog) I came across this site and wanted nothing more than to be a part of its community. It's all about creative writing at Write On Edge: tips and inspiration and prompts every week. Join in the linkys and find where all your fellow online writers are hiding.
• StoryDam - Another community of writers that began as its own website, but evolved into a social media gathering of writer-folks. This is the link to StoryDam's FB page where prompts, inspiration and links are shared, but don't miss out on the Thursday night (8pmEST) #StoryDam chats on Twitter hosted by @StoryDam.
• ROW80 - or A Round of Words in 80 Days is another amazing community of writers. Here, you set a writing goal for yourself, blog about it and check in twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays). Keeping connected with others on their journey is just part of the fun while you gain support for whatever project (big or small) you are currently working on.
• SCBWI - The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is a group I have just joined. It is open to anyone who is interested in children's books and is widely recognized by the industry. First year's membership is $85.

Links for Sharing As You're Writing

• Figment - "Write Yourself In" is their tagline, as they invite you to post your writing for everyone to read, review and give "hearts" to. This is a great place to work through projects with regular feedback, or flex your writing muscles with frequent writing contests. There are innumerable discussion boards and groups to join to become more active in the community.  
• Wattpad - I just discovered this site this week (through a story on the Today Show about a teenage author from the UK getting published after experiencing incredible success on the site), so I haven't had much time to explore (I've been sort of distracted with WRITING A NOVEL and an A to Z blogging challenge!!), but it appears to be a community similar to Figment.
• Leanpub - This is another site I just learned about (thanks to Camp NaNoWriMo!). According to the site's description, if you're brave enough (which I am not... yet), you can post your novel as you write it and still be ready to present it to publishers when you are done.

Links for Learning

• Susan Sipal: Myth, Magic & Mystery -  Well, for me, this site will always be known as Harry Potter for Writers, because that's how I found it. Susan's book on the lessons writers can learn from Harry Potter was turned into an online course that I found FASCINATING. Her blog continues her in-depth look at all myth, magic and mystery in writing, so if these are topics you are interested in, I suggest you subscribe!
• Savvy Authors - Although my own health has prevented me from completing the two courses I attempted to take through Savvy Authors, I must say they were both amazing while I was in them.  For quick paced, affordable online courses with regular feedback and knowledgeable instructors, you need to check out Savvy Authors' website. This is also home to an active community of both published and unpublished authors.

Links for Writing Conferences

• WriteOnCon - This was the first online workshop I stumbled upon. The great thing about this conference (aside from the fact that it is FREE) is that even if you can't make it to the day of the live conference, all of the activities are saved on the site for future reference.  On the "off season" when no conference is happening, the community stays active and hosts such events as this Spring's "Pitch Fest" held in March.
• The Writer's Dojo - This has turned into more of an awesome writer community, but they have hosted an online writing conference similar to WriteOnCon, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, though, join the dojo and see what rank ninja you are!

Links I Am Subscribed To

• The Writer's Almanac  - I believe this is the transcript from a Public Radio Show. Every morning I receive an email to the day's link which includes a poem followed by interesting writer facts about the day's date (ie - whose birthday it is, a day in writing, or a book's  history, etc.). I enjoy this read each day.
• Funds for Writers - This is a newsletter put together by Hope Clark including various writing markets, grants and opportunities for the serious writer.
• Storyfix - After my fascination with Larry Brooks's book Story Engineering, I couldn't help but subscribe to his blog. He regularly analyzes well known stories to show why  they resonate, as well as offer up daily tips on fixing your story.
• Writing Forward - Here's another great resource for all things writing - grammar, creativity, writing resources, prompts and more!

Links I Constantly Refer To

• NaNoPals - Although this is a fairly new creation, it has been a great blog so far. Also a twitter handle and hashtag, NaNoPals is all about writing and connecting with other writers online.
• Read is the New Black - A new discovery, thanks to this A to Z Challenge, this blogger picked the theme of "World Building" and I am LOVING it!
• Aerogramme Writers' Studio - This was a new discovery, thanks to StumbleUpon, that has yielded a number of very interesting articles.

Link for a Laugh

• Making Things by Oatmeal - I figured I'd end off with this one. Since I had a lot of these similar feelings when I read it last night with all the pressure of the A to Z Challenge along with my noveling every night. Got to love Oatmeal! 

I imagine I will come back to this post from time to time to update it and add to it (maybe even later today when I think back on some glaring omissions - like... oh crap... where's the section on MY WRITING FRIENDS?!?), but today is the day of the Camp NaNoWriMo MARATHON and I need to get moving!

Thanks for reading!

Any suggestions for links I should add (or at least be following myself)? 

Writing a Novel - Keep Going!

How long have you been writing a novel? I mean, how long have you been writing that same novel? Do you change gears, start up new stories with broken promises of how you will some day return to your first when "the time is right" or when the next part "becomes clear"?

Stop it.

Whatever novel you are working on right now, KEEP GOING! Keep writing and writing and writing until you reach the finish line. Not the "perfect" finish line, but A finish line.

Here's the deal. I made a huge mistake when reading various author's advice about finishing. I thought they meant taking your story through to the public and seeing it where it takes you. I even wrote an entire blog post about my own fight to that finish. However, the other night, while I was on StumbleUpon, I fell upon a number of different sites on writing (as usual). As I read through page after page of different tidbits, I kept reading "finish it" over and over again. Then it hit me.

I had.

I had finished my first novel. I had that sweet feeling that all these writers were all talking about. I had been through all of the torture of not understanding how my characters got into the situations they did, how they were going to get out of those situations and how all these things were going to play into my plot. I had experienced the times of terror, when it felt like everything had jumped the shark, and I had fought my way back to verisimilitude with nothing more than my imagination.

What I did when I wrote my first novel was simple. I kept going. For that I can thank NaNoWriMo and Scrivener. If Scrivener hadn't offered a huge discount to winners of the 2011 NaNoWriMo, when I was beyond broke (cute how I put that in the past tense, as if things have changed), I'm not sure I would have felt desperate enough to fight for the finish.

It took me a little over a month to get to the finish. In On Writing Stephen King says it should take no more than three months to get through a first draft (he doesn't like it to extend past a season). I think he's right. I am beginning to think that if we don't keep going when writing a novel, then we just end up stalling and getting in our own way.

My thoughts: Stop trying to find the perfect ending, just get your story out, as sloppy as it is, from beginning to end and leave the editing and rewriting until later. In other words, for now, in your beginning stages, just keep going!

"Keep Going!" From Some Writers You May Know:

Neil Gaiman

Stephen King

Henry Miller

 Joss Whedon

I don't think there's much more I can add to that. So you know that novel your avoid right now by reading blogs? Get back to it, and no matter what happens next - KEEP GOING!!

Thanks for reading!

What types of things come up in your writing that stop you?

What techniques do you have for writing through the hard parts?

Writing A Novel - Insecurity

Writing a novel holds many parallels to my former career of teaching. Writing a novel is fun, liberating and exhilarating, but before all of that it is terrifying. Stephen King says the scariest part of writing a novel is right before you begin. I agree, but I wish to add to that. I think the most terrifying part is before you begin any new stage - starting the first draft, beginning the rewrites, asking for readers, and, of course, sharing your work publicly. 

Almost everyone has experienced the final product of all of the hard work, so it seems like anyone should be able to do it. I have blogged about this before when it comes to teaching. The short end of it is, since most people have somewhere around a decade and a half (or more) exposure to teaching as a student, it can be perceived that you have seen it done enough times that you get the gist of the job. I believe the same thing happens to writing. If you read enough books, you might start to think to yourself, Hey wait a second! I can write one of these! In both cases - teaching and writing - there is so much more that happens before you get to the final experience! When it is done right, those at the final product stage - students and readers - know nothing about that.

Where Does the Insecurity Come From?

As a teaching coach I helped many teachers in their classroom with insecurity. I began with telling my colleagues to embrace the fact that it wasn't going anywhere and that it was perfectly natural. I believe the same holds true for writing. Here's why, in both the teaching and writing profession, insecurity has such a happy home:

• You are asked to create something alone - from your own mind, heart and creative spirit - and then expose it to the world. 
• You have seen an immeasurable amount of people do the same thing with perfection, confidence and ease.
• You will be exposed to varying critics, who have their own individual tastes, that may affect your success in your career.
• It feels as though one public mistake will follow you forever.

There are more little insecurities that weave their way in and out of our everyday creating, but I believe these are the biggies.

How To Battle The Insecurity

So how do we fight against insecurity? First we have to fully understand that it is not necessarily something that is ever "beaten." Feeling insecure in these professions is a sign that you are human. Now, was I as insecure in my twelfth year of teaching as I was in my first? Of course not! So the goal is to minimize our insecurities and to ensure they don't stop us from taking those fun risks that result in fantastic creative products. Here are some things to remember when you are feeling insecure:

• You are always learning. 
• All the successful writers you love experience the same insecurities you do.
• Everyone makes mistakes, they can be both forgiven and forgotten.
• Anyone who criticizes your work is criticizing YOUR WORK, NOT YOU.
• Anyone who criticizes your work is criticizing YOUR WORK, NOT YOU.

You Are Not Your Work 
 
I wrote the last line twice because I believe it is the most liberating. It also harkens back to my own personal greatest weakness - defining myself by my work (which is especially sucky when two chronic illnesses rip you out of the working world and chuck you into bed). So let's say this one more time:

Anyone who criticizes your work is criticizing YOUR WORK, NOT YOU.  

Even if you have a jerk critic who starts to talk about you while criticizing your work - that is their misconception of how this thing works, not a reflection on you. If you write a terrible novel (I have) and it somehow makes it out into the public eye (I haven't been that lucky yet),  then it is that novel that is terrible, not you. Even if it was your dream that it would be a success and the story was one you had floating in your head since you were a little child, the fact that it didn't succeed is not about you being a failure; the story was. Perhaps in five year's time you'll be able to see exactly why, but don't let it drag you down now. 

Be The Man In The Arena

By far, one of my favorite quotes from my favorite US President has always been the following from Theodore Roosevelt's "Citizenship in a Republic" on April 23, 1909 in Paris. I believe every successful writer (and teacher!) carries this sentiment in their heart:  

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
 

 So, as you continue to write your novel today, go ahead and dare greatly, knowing that the only way you could do such a thing is if somewhere, in the depths of your soul, your were scared out of your mind because of some silly little insecurity. 

Thanks for reading!

What makes you most insecure about writing?

How do you battle against your insecurities?

Writing A Novel - Grammar

When writing a novel we are communicating through words in order to telepathically send our imaginings to an audience we may never meet. However, the words that we use follow some rules of their own and if we elect to ignore them, our story can be lost in translation.  

The Importance of Grammar


Grammar is the foundation of the universe(s) we build.  A strong foundation leads to a strong structure, a faulty one leads to any number of unforeseen problems. The back cover of my copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss demonstrates this perfectly with the following joke:

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.
"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes he way towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.
"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "look it up."
The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.
"Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like animal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves."

This is ridiculous and hilarious, but it clearly shows how powerful something as little as a comma can be .And while you may feel that you have complete mastery over the comma, what about the semicolon, the hyphen or the gerund? If your confidence is wavering, then you need to take some time to deepen your knowledge of grammar.

Grammar Weaves Your Bag of Tricks!
 
When I was a teacher and math coach I was always thinking about my "bag of tricks" - that included all the stuff I  brought to the profession each day. In my eyes, my content knowledge is what the bag was made of, so the stronger my knowledge of mathematics was, the more "stuff" I could put in the bag: teaching methodologies, behavior management techniques, creative and unique lesson plans, et cetera. I feel the same way about writing. Every writer has his or her own bag of tricks that they bring to the page, however, as your knowledge of the language we use deepens, you become even more capable of sculpting the perfect story.  The more you understand how our language works, the more power you have over it!

Where To Learn About Grammar
 
What happens to all the people who didn't have Ms. Sussuma (or someone like her) for Language Arts who made my class tirelessly diagram sentences (we had one notebook dedicated to this act alone) and sing the preposition song to the tune of "Yankee Doodle Dandy"? Or, what if - like me - after an elementary education full of such tortures, you turned a blind eye to all grammar and swore to never ever think about it again? Where do you go now that you've decided you are going to write a novel? So far, I have found three excellent resources:

1. Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss - The subtitle of this book is "The Zero Tolerance Approach To Punctuation" and that is what it is. While Truss wrote this book for her fellow "sticklers" that cringe at the sight of misused apostrophes in media, storefront windows and the such, what she does for non-sticklers in reviewing all of the infractions is lead us down an entertaining path showing us how to clean up our own grammatical messes. By the end of the book, not only will you be shocked that you actually enjoyed a book about grammar, but you may even grow a couple of stickler-tendencies yourself! (*Note: There are some variations in American Grammar versus British Grammar. Truss is British and does a good job in her American version of this book to point out the points of debate, however I think it is important to reiterate here.)
2. The Big Ten of Grammar by William B. Bradshaw, PhD - This quick read takes you through the ten most frequent grammatical errors. Not limited to punctuation, this book attacks some mistakes that are so common, the correct way of doing things sounds more wrong than the mistake. Although sections about rules you are already familiar with will feel overly repetitive (for me, unfortunately, this was Chapter one), once you reach your personal Grammatical Everest, the repetition is enormously effective (I finally "get" what a gerund is!). The ten chapter titles, summarizing the common errors are:
1. The Number One Mistake: Misusing "I" and "Me"
2. Working With "He" or "Him" and "She" or "Her"
3. Quotation Marks and Other Punctuation
4. The "ing" Thing
5. "That" or "Which" and Some Other Things
6. Misusing the Apostrophe
7. Troublesome Verbs -- "Lie," "Lay," "Laid," "Lain"
8. "Less" or "Fewer"
9. Commas or Semicolons in a Series
10. Commas Between Adjectives
3. Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips - If you'd rather hear about grammar than read about it, then Grammar Girl's for you (although every post has a written version on the site as well!). Also, if you are ready to stretch beyond the common mistakes of grammar and you are ready to really reinforce your bag of tricks with all levels of grammar knowledge, then she's your go-to-gal. Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips podcast runs the gamut. You can search her archives for the more common grammar issue or, like this week's post exemplifies, you can learn about Bad Portmanteau Examples (I just learned something new!). 

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention reading, in general, as a source for furthering your grammatical education.While many authors break some of the rules (or just make up their own) when writing their novels, for the most part you will learn a lot from those who went before you.

Thanks for reading!

Where did you learn your grammar rules?

Is there one piece of punctuation or type of word you are still unsure of?

Are you a "stickler" for proper punctuation, do you cringe at public errors? 

Writing A Novel - First Draft

First Drafts. I llove that Anne Lamott calls them "shitty first drafts". It is so empowering to think of them that waay. What happens when you write a first draft? You write. That's all. Get it all out. And, as Stephen King suggests, it is best to do with the "door shut" - at least it is for me.

I'm writing this blog post as I write my first drafts and, even though I am going to cringe when I see it on my screen - I am going to leave it that way when I publish it. It is going to be terrible. It is going to have typos. It is going to have sentences and words I don't particularly like and it is probably going to be missing some "e"s (my "e" key on my keyboard is especially tricky).

The point is, when you write a first draft the goal is to get the story out of your brain. If you let your internal editor think he/she can jump in and interrupt whenever he/she feels like it, then he/she will. (My internal editor is telling me right now to quit the "he/she" thing and just call my internal editor "it.) What happens when the internal editor interrupts? You lose train of thought and, perhaps, your story gets away from you.

That is heart breaking.

First drafts are fun and free, just like running through the waves at the beach. Spend a day in the sun of your imagination and don't think about all the sand that's building up in your bathing suit - that's for later. Enjoy the moment and write.

Happy writing!

&

Thanks for reading!

Do you enjoy the process of writing first drafts, or does the "shittiness" make it too much to bear?

Writing A Novel - Dialogue

Writing good dialogue is a tricky business. Even though we spend most of our waking hours listening to and participating in the act, the art of capturing it for the page is not as easy as one would suspect. If we write dialogue exactly as we hear it, we are likely to bore our readers right off the page, however, if we don't pay attention to the reality of dialogue, then our characters will be two-dimensional and lacking voice. In the end, we have to fall somewhere in between keeping a delicate balance throughout our novels.

Listening To Dialogue

To fully engage readers, dialogue has to fall somewhere in between realistic and entertaining. Adding in every hesitation, "um" or staggering thought a person utters while engaged in a conversation will easily get distracting and dull for a reader. In their article How To Write Dialogue That Works, Creative Writing Now presents a perfect example of how a fictional phone conversation ends versus a real one:

Something I've noticed in TV shows and movies is that people hang up on each other a lot.
"I think the police are onto Scotty."
"I'll take care of it."
Click.

I don't know about you, but my phone calls tend to end more like this:
"I think the police are onto Scotty."
"I'll take care of it."
"You will? Great."
"Yeah, well, I'll try."
"Okay, great, thanks a lot. Appreciate it."
"Anyway, I should get back to making dinner."
"Okay, then, talk to you later. And good luck with the police."
"Thanks, I'll need it. All right. Got to go."
"See you."
"Right, on Saturday."
"That's right. We'll be there at six."
"Okay, see you then."
"Hm..."
"What's that?" [...]

Let me stop there before you stop reading my blog! I personally cracked up when I read this article, because I had just got off the phone with my best friend, and our farewell was oddly similar. The fact is, our real conversations have so much nonsense in them that isn't necessary.

So what do we listen for when we are listening to dialogue for realism?

David Corbett, author of Devil's Redhead (New Blood) and Done for a Dime wrote a guest post for The Bookshelf Muse today that answers that very question. He offers up five different characteristics of real dialogue that can safely included in written dialogue without fear of boring our readers, They are:

1. Giving unsolicited advice.
2. Topping the other person’s story.
3. Finishing the other character’s sentences.
4. Interpreting what the other character is saying.
5. Asking a question, then not listening to the answer.

Hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to read the entire article, called Communication Breakdown, to read the full power of each of these characteristics in defining both your character and his/her voice.

Reading Dialogue

After grabbing the tools from real dialogue that are appropriate for your prose, the next step is to see how to fictionalize dialogue to be pleasing to your readers.  Think back to Creative Writing Now's TV dialogue example:

"I think the police are onto Scotty."
"I'll take care of it."
Click. 

It's short, to the point, and moves the story forward. Now we know that the police has figured out Scotty's scheme. It's going to be taken care of; the drama is about to begin! Of course, since this is TV dialogue and not from a novel, there is a glaring omission. Who said these things? it is in reading dialogue that we learn about the importance of dialogue tags.

Dialogue tags are a tricky business. After reading Stephen King's On Writing , quite frankly I was terrified of them. In the first pages of my first draft of Dear 302, I had a half-page long conversation that looked exactly like the TV conversation above - there were no dialogue tags! Bad idalogue tags King warned me about (page 126 of On Writing):

• Swifties (named for Tom Swift) adding adverbs for description, like "Tom cried bravely"
• Shooting the verb attribution full of steroids like "Jekyll grated", "Shayna gasped", and "Bill jerked out"

 Creative Writing Now adds to the list of dialogue tag don'ts, with these gems:

• Don't get too colorful with the dialogue tags.
• Don't feel obligated to add a tag to every bit of dialogue.
• Don't let your reader get disoriented.

After all this it almost feels like all you can do is write tag-less dialogue! So what's left? He said, she said, Joe said and Mary said are really not as boring as they sound when placed into your writing. They are clear, to the point and, above all, not distracting to your reader.

The Continuing Conversation on Dialogue

There is so much to talk about dialogue, I could probably complete and entire A to Z Challenge with Dialogue as its theme. For now, I will end off with these tips and send you over to David Corbett's article on The Bookshelf Muse as well as Creative Writing Now's two articles on dialogue, How to Write Dialogue That Works and More On Writing Dialogue for a deeper education on the topic.

thanks for reading!

Do you have any tips or "dos" and "don'ts" for writing dialogue?

How about further references to learn about writing dialogue? 

______

UPDATE: Here are a couple more resources for writing dialogue that I forgot to add into the article:

• A NaNoWriMo Worksheet on Writing Dialogue (includes a list of "Tags Other Than 'Said'")
• Top 8 Tips on Writing Dialogue from About.com's Fiction Writing

Writing A Novel - Character Development

Without characters novels are nothing more than setting descriptions. Characters make stories happen. However, you can't just throw a couple of stick figures into your fictional world and expect your story to come to life. The characters in your novel must be as real and believable as the people who live and breathe in your daily life. There are a couple of things you can do to help you in this venture.

First Option: Write, Write, Write!

When I wrote my first novel Dear 302 in November 2011, I started with a story idea, not characters. There were some kids things were happening to in my fictional world, but I didn't know too much about them. Since I was part of the NaNoWriMo challenge, I felt the need to write every single day for hours on end, even though I hadn't figured out who my characters were, in depth. By the end of the first week of daily writing an amazing thing happened, each character was coming to life.  Their unique looks, unique voices and attitudes developed as the narrative unfolded around them.

How does this work? Simply put, conflict defines us. When we write novels, we present conflicts to our characters and, as each conflict is presented, characters define themselves. Everyone can't react the same way, so how each individual reacts to a situation begins to tell the tale of who they are.

Second Option: Interview Your Characters

Even after you've put your characters through tons of conflict, you still might not know everything there is to know about them, so why not ask them who they are? If you are not sure where to begin with your questioning, then you will have to check out Laura Cushing's article containing 100 Character Development questions for writers. To get you started, here are the first five questions in the category entitled Mandatory Questions:

1. What about you is heroic?
2. What about you is social? What do you like about people?
3. Of what benefit could you be to the current group?
4. Why would you choose to join the current group?
5. Invent an adventure/plot that your character would actively undertake (as opposed to just tagging along)?

The ninety-five other questions are separated into the following 11 categories:

• Personal Questions
• Familial Questions
• Childhood Questions
• Adolescent Questions
• Occupational Questions
• Likes & Dislikes Questions 
• Sex & Intimacy Questions
• Drug & Alcohol Questions
• Morality Questions
• Post-Supernatural Awareness Questions
• Miscellaneous Questions

Just think about how much of yourself you would reveal if you had to answer all 100 questions in these twelve categories. That's how well you should know your characters (of course all of that doesn't need to be detailed in your novel!).

Finally: Test Your Character on Reddit!

If you don't like the idea of a set of questions pre-created for you and you want to have a more natural type of interview with your character, then you need to check out IAmAFiction on reddit.com. Reddit is an online community where like-minded people share web links, pictures, videos and stories. There are plenty of subreddits (reddit communities) for writers, but IAmAFiction is specifically created for fleshing out characters.

Here's the description of IAmAFiction:

If you are unfamiliar with Reddit's "IAmA" subreddit, this is a place where you say to the reddit community, "AMA", or "Ask Me Anything". Therefore, in IAmAFiction, you pose as your character and tell the reddit community to "AMA". It's fun to just jump in and see the other characters people are creating and the questions being asked. Also, there are weekly "ICD" (In Character Discussions) and Scenarios (ie. "Timetraveler Convention") where you can take your character out to socialize!

All of the Other Options

In my opinion, nearly everything we do when writing a novel is character development, and a lot of the other things I will be writing about this month in this Writing a Novel From A to Z Challenge will deal with this topic, so while I offered some tools to enhance the process, just remember, if you are writing, you are developing your characters. Keep up the awesome work!

thanks for reading!

Do you have any tools or tricks you use in helping you develop your characters?

Do you have an "mandatory questions" you need answered by your characters before you truly "know" them?