First Draft Blasphemy

I’ve been hesitant about writing a post about first drafts because I don’t want to just reiterate what’s been said a million times. It’s an important topic though, so I don’t want to neglect it either.

Conundrum.

So I guess I’ll tell you the way I get my firsts drafts on paper, which isn’t exactly the norm.

Most have heard the Just-Get-It-Down rule, but as I’m aware not EVERYONE is able to slap words on the page without looking back, I’d like to add to the rule. But first a disclaimer: this works for ME. If you have no problem just slapping down a first draft then excellent. Please continue to do so. Truly, this method is for those like me who feel the need to edit SOMETHING along the way. People like me.

Ok. That being said, my philosophy when writing a first draft is to just get it down…but if you HAVE to edit, edit yesterday’s writing.

Now, now, before you all burn me at the stake for being a heretic, let me explain.

When I say edit, I don’t mean spending hours looking over what you wrote and moving major plot arcs around or anything like that. Please, PLEASE don’t do that. It’ll make finishing that first draft very near impossible.

In this case when I say edit, I mean review. See, every morning before I jump into writing I like to look over what I wrote the day before. This can take me anywhere from five to thirty minutes depending on how much I wrote. Why you ask? This is why:

THE BENEFITS:

1.       GET IN THE ZONE. The first few words of the day tend to be the hardest (for me at least) to write. Reading what I wrote yesterday puts me back in the zone. I fall into the story again and rather than trying to pick up based off the last paragraph, I remember everything that happened the day before, including those little nuances I completely forgot about so I can include it in today’s writing.

2.       OH WAIT BUT I GOT AN IDEA. Sometimes when I’m reading what I wrote the day before I get an idea. Sometimes it’s a big deal, sometimes it’s a minor adjustment. Either way I’ll incorporate it before I start today’s writing goal UNLESS it’s a major OH CRAP THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING event in which case I’ll start today’s writing like it already happened and make a note to change it later.

3.       IT PLEASES ME. The perfectionist in me in satiated when I read over what I wrote and make minor adjustments. After I do so I can shut off the editor and write freely for the day. Some part of me is just happier knowing that yesterday’s work wasn’t COMPLETE crap and that whatever I put down today will be tweaked tomorrow. Maybe it’s just me. Either way, in some weird, twisted way, editing yesterday’s work shuts off that part of me that wants today’s work to be perfect.

NOW. There is ONE rule to re-reading. ONE UNBREAKABLE RULE THAT MUST BE ADHERED TO AT ALL COSTS OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SMOTHER YOU IN SHINY CONFETTI. 

The rule is simple:

READ ONLY YESTERDAY’S WRITING.

See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?

The reason this rule is so insanely important is because if you read anything more than that, you will fall into the editing everything trap. This is fatal. Ok, maybe not FATAL but very difficult to recover from and you really don’t want to have to deal with that, do you? Let me answer that for you: no. No you don’t.

So! Moral of the story is DON’T EDIT EVERYTHING PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Get that first draft down. Don’t stop to look back, but if you MUST then glance a little at yesterday’s work. Then move on. MOVE ON AND GET THAT DRAFT FINISHED.

Because shiny confetti is pretty until you’re being smothered in it.

What is your philosophy on first drafts? Do you tend to edit or just slap it down?

The Pretty Writing Trap

I don’t know about you guys, but for the longest time my goal was to make my writing sing. I searched for the perfect metaphor, traded similes until the right one rang clear and when I closed my eyes I tried to picture my descriptions perfectly so it would resound on the page.

And technically, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Those are all things that are important to master while writing.

 

That’s all good and well, and I was pretty happy with the result. That is, until one of my crit partners came to me and told me my pretty writing was getting in the way of my protagonist’s voice.

Whoa. I read that comment at least half a dozen times. Then I raced back to my WIP and was instantly mortified. My partner was totally right. In my quest to beautify my writing, I neglected the voice. This was especially tragic since my WIP was in first person. *cringe*

So I rewrote the first part of the sample for the umpteenth time with a focus on my MC’s voice. I stopped panicking. This was a feasible fix. It’d take a lot of rewriting, but it wasn’t a death sentence. Plus the new version was a million times better.

But it got me thinking. Somewhere deep down inside I knew writing pretty wasn’t the goal, yet somewhere along the line I’d forgotten. True writing is what we should aim for. True to you and, most importantly, true to your character.

My MC was a seventeen-year-old guy and I was using phrases like “phantom rain” and “limp and delicate as a newborn.” It wasn’t until after I became aware of my tendency towards pretty writing that it occurred to me no sane seventeen-year-old boy is going to say that. Geesh.

So. When reviewing your work, here are two questions to ask yourselves: Am I writing pretty? Is this something my MC would say or something I like because it’s a nice image?

Remember the old adage kill your darlings? Yeah. That applies to now. Like that beautiful simile that you spent hours on—was that YOU or your character?

Think about it.

Edit: I know I kind of mentioned this, but I'd like to clarify--please don't worry about this or any other editing issue while writing your first draft, just get it down. This is something to consider while editing. That is all. :)

Have you fallen into the writing pretty trap? What other things do you try to look out for when editing?

NEESA

Welcome to Never-Ending Editing Syndrome Anonymous, also known as The Writing Group that Suffers From WAIT I CAN’T SEND THAT OUT YET IT’S NOT READY YOU CAN’T MAKE ME STOP EDITING *CLING*!

*ehem.* As this is our first meeting, and I understand we’re all feeling a little uncomfortable, I will break the ice. *deep breath.*

Hi. My name is Ava Jae and…and I suffer from Never-Ending Editing Syndrome. There. I said it. Wow, I actually said it.

Now many of you are probably wondering what Never-Ending Editing Syndrome is and how you magically arrived at this meeting, when you have no memory of signing up for such an event. As the latter is not really that important, I’ll just address the former.

There are many symptoms associated with Never-Ending Editing Syndrome. If you suffer from more than one of these, you probably are infected:

·         Telling friends, family and anyone who will listen that you’ve finished your final edits of your WIP only to resume editing a few weeks (or days) later.

·         Asking beta readers if they could look over a few chapters again because the version they read was three or four drafts ago.

·         Moving that deadline over because it’s “just not ready.”

·         Panicking after you send out an excerpt and doing another emergency edit even though it’s already too late and—AW CRAP IS THAT A TYPO?!

·         Inexplicable sobbing.

·         Recurring nightmares of that rejection or scathing review because of a misplaced comma on page fifty-seven.

Now of course, you are probably wondering what the cure is. So am I. Let me know when you find one.

UNTIL THEN! There ARE ways to fight it. It’s difficult, I know, and sometimes it takes a little pushing from someone else. But NEES is NOT a death sentence and it CAN be overcome!

Here are some strategies:

•        Stick to your goals. This means not allowing yourself to push a deadline over. When you hit the deadline, guess what? You’ve met the deadline. Stop editing. Like now. I see you still reading. STOP!
•       Trust your beta readers and critique partners. If you have a critique partner that rips your work to shreds and points out every glaring plot hole, good. Hold on to them. They’re invaluable. After they’ve gone through your manuscript and you’ve made the necessary changes, trust your readers. Chances are, they enjoyed your book, so don’t make any more changes. I know it’s tempting. Really, I do. BUT STOP MAKING CHANGES!
•       Complete this sentence: I will be done editing when ________. Now fill in the blank. Maybe when you get five positive responses from betas. Maybe when you’ve made your cardboard antagonist sympathetic. Maybe when your writing isn’t pretty anymore (more on that later). Regardless of what your overall goal is, fill in the blank and still to it. The only unacceptable answer is “perfect.” DON’T FILL IN THE BLANK WITH “PERFECT” OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND DROWN YOU IN SPARKLY CONFETTI!

Finally, remember this: your book doesn’t have to be perfect, just enjoyable. No one’s book is perfect. NO ONE’S. No one expects yours to be, either. Make it the best you can, then let it go.

Do you suffer from NEES? What symptoms have I missed? What other strategies do you suggest?

Dear You,

Photo Credit: William Arthur Fine Stationary on Flickr

Yes, you. Reading this right now. I don’t care who you are, if you read this blog regularly, if you clicked the link that brought you here just for the hell of it or if you happened to stumble onto this page by accident.

This letter is for you.

You are beautiful, unique and loved. It doesn’t always feel like it, I know. Some days are rough and though you are part of a body of 7 billion people, you feel absolutely alone. Sometimes those days turn to weeks or months or more and it feels as though you need to fight for every moment in order to be heard, in order to be seen, in order for someone—anyone—to care.

But you are not alone. There are thousands of others out there feeling ugly, feeling forgotten, feeling insignificant and every one of them—EVERY SINGLE ONE—is wonderful and perfect.

You are perfect. Say that aloud: “I am perfect.” No, I don’t mean unflawed—every one of us has flaws—but if you continue to be true to yourself, you need not change a thing. 

Here’s another one. “I am beautiful and loved.” Say that twice a day; once when you wake in the morning and before you go to bed at night. We don’t hear it enough. The world likes to make us think that we must be tall, blonde and a hundred pounds to be beautiful. But they’ve been lying to us. Lying to you. Lying to me.

You are already beautiful and wonderful because you are unique. You are YOU. You have a birthday, a favorite song, a family, and when you close your eyes at night you dream of faraway places and impossible lands. There are days when the tears never run out and days when you laugh so much it hurts to breathe. Inhale deeply for a moment—remember that you are alive, that every breath is a new one, that every second is a moment that is uniquely you.

You are beautiful. You are unique. You are loved. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Enjoy today, friend. Today, just as every day, like you, is special. Go outside and enjoy the fresh air. Smile. Read your favorite book, listen to your favorite song. Treat yourself to something delicious because you deserve it. Smile again—it’s good for you! 

Get in touch with someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, but you wish you had. They’ll be glad to hear your voice again. Maybe they’ll cry a little, maybe they’ll laugh or maybe they won’t answer at all. I don’t know but try anyway because our family, our friends, they are the ones that have loved us from the beginning and will love us until the end.

Now, I know there are some of you without a family, I haven’t forgotten about you. Go out and create your own family. Find people you can trust, people you can hold on to for the rest of your life and spend holidays with. Maybe you don’t have anyone like that yet, and that’s ok. There are good people out there, waiting for you. They don’t know it yet, and it might take some time to find them, but they’re there, I promise, and you’ll know when you’ve found them.

Dear you, don’t let the world get you down. Don’t give up on your dreams and most of all don’t ever forget how beautiful and wonderful you truly are.

Now, go on. Enjoy today. Enjoy tomorrow. Enjoy every day, because every day is new and made for you.

And when you’re feeling down, read this again and remember how wonderful and perfect you really are. 

5 Reasons Why

Most people don’t like to write. The thought of sitting in front of a computer, pounding away at the keyboard for hours on end doesn’t translate to “exciting” for the average person. Hell, there are even some days when I think writing is overrated, but I keep at it anyway.

The question of course, is why?

Why write when you could go out and enjoy the sun? Why torment yourself over finding the right word, over ending the next scene over editing and editing and editing until your eyes bleed and you can quote from your book BY PAGE NUMBER?

Why?

There isn’t a simple answer, but I’ll tell you why I do it. Five reasons. Here we go.

1.       On MOST days, I love writing. I guess that makes me weird, but there are some people who love to sit around and solve math problems all day and that just doesn’t make any sense to me. I suppose I’m the same kind of weird to them that they are to me, and that’s ok. I embrace weird. Normal’s overrated, anyway.
2.      Discovery. Those who’ve never written fiction before may find this one difficult to understand. Don’t you know what you’ve set out to write? they wonder. In simple terms: no, not always. And even when I do, sometimes my characters will do something COMPLETELY different from what I planned. And that’s the best part. Because they’ve taken a life of their own. Because they’ve surprised me and when that happens they truly become alive. And it’s the best feeling in the world
3.      I love reading. I’m not saying that all readers love to write, but all writers should love to read. Period. Reading is the equivalent of studying, and if you ask me, it’s the most fun I ever have working. Because when you’re a writer, reading is working. It’s learning from the greats, and there is always ALWAYS more to learn.
4.       I’m a dreamer—a daydreamer, that is. I daydream all the time. When I eat, before I sleep, when I’m in the shower, I even daydream when I’m supposed to be writing. I don’t really know what everyone else daydreams about, but I dream about different places. About characters and worlds and situations that are impossible in real life, but could totally happen in a YA paranormal novel. Yes, that’s how I think. And I love it. Because in my books, the impossible can be possible. And that’s just freaking awesome.
5.      NOT writing hurts. I mentioned in a previous post a time when I went a few months without writing. Let me tell you, it was miserable. I felt guilty for not writing. For not working on a story. For not getting anything of literary merit down on paper. And for not keeping to the stories I tried to start. Truthfully, this is the core reason why I write. I’m a writer. I write. If I don’t, I feel like something’s missing. That’s just who I am, it’s part of my life and I’m proud of it.

In the end guys, I write because I’m a writer and writing is what I do.

Maybe you don’t write (and maybe you do!), either way, what is YOUR passion, and why do you do it? 

Brainstorming

As I’m currently in the brainstorming-editing-brainstorming-rewriting-brainstorming-WAITING FOREVER TO EDIT MY RECENTLY FINISHED WIP!-stage, I thought it appropriate to talk about ferrets and how ridiculously adorable they are.

Aha! Weren’t expecting that, were you? Just kidding. Today I’ll introduce you to my two favorite brainstorming techniques; one of which I’ve used for ages and another I just recently fell in love with.

TECHNIQUE #1: THE WHAT-IF GAME

I’m sure many of you have tried this, but if you haven’t, for the love of all things bookish, TRY IT!

The What-If game is very simple. I’ll describe it in steps, because steps are fun.

STEP ONE—THE MAGICAL QUESTION: sit down with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil (or pen or marker or crayon or keyboard or what-have-you) and at the top you write the miraculous words “What if…?”

STEP TWO—DOT: Now make a bullet point (or star or heart or fish because you can).

STEP THREE—BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT, THINK: Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let the question hang. What if…what if what if…what if ALIENS INVADED THE EARTH AND THEIR ONLY WEAKNESS WAS…WAS…FERRETS! Ok, that one might be a tad bit ridiculous, but write it down anyway. There’s no such thing as anything that’s too out there for the What-If game.

In all seriousness, this really works. Start with an idea, a basic idea (What if I wrote about pirates?) and see how far you can push it. What if their Captain was a crazy, egotistical half-wit only someone as insanely talented as Johnny Depp could play convincingly? What if he didn’t have a ship? A crew? What if the world was flat? What if they sailed over the edge?

This can go on forever people, FOREVER! And it’ll help you uncover some gems you may not have thought of otherwise. Trust me.

TECHNIQUE #2: THE IDEA STORM

As I mentioned earlier, I discovered this technique very recently, but it’s quickly becoming a favorite.

The idea storm is simple and best done on a sheet of notebook paper or on a program that lets you write literally all over the page, like OneNote. I still think pencil and paper will work best, though. It helps with the whole freeing, creativity thing which is what you’re going for here.

So! I was inspired by the Wordle word clouds online and thought it’d be fun to make one by hand, except instead of writing words that you use often, you write words that relate to whatever you’re trying to write. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Step by step, here we go!

STEP ONE—PAPER: Get your notebook paper out and turn it SIDEWAYS. I don’t know why this helps so much but something about writing over the lines instead of conforming to the shape of the page really gets your right brain going.

STEP TWO—THE FIRST WORD: Write a word somewhere on the page. It can be as big or small as you like, except it’s probably best that you don’t take up the whole page (unless you want to cram the rest of your words in tiny little letters around it. Actually that might be fun. Maybe I’ll try that.). Anyway! If all you know at this stage is that you’re writing a dystopian novel, then go ahead and make your first word dystopian. Maybe you want to make your antagonist sympathetic. Write that. Maybe you only have a name. Go ahead and slap that baby down.

Great. Now you have the first word.

STEP THREE—GO CRAZY: This is pretty self-explanatory. Go crazy. Write all over the page. Write in funny angles if you want, different sizes, above and below the red line, around the holes in the page, it doesn’t matter, write wherever you’d like. The goal is to fill up the page with ideas, words, thoughts, names, even full sentences that pertain to your new WIP idea. If you’ve got some symbol in your head, go ahead and draw it. There are no rules here. Use funny colors, use pens and pencils. Doodle if you’d like. Just think about your idea and get it down.

Best part is you can use either one of these at any stage of the game. Don’t have a novel? Start with this. Stuck in the middle of a scene and don’t know how to end it? Whip out the paper and get your brain storming.

I challenge you guys to try these at least once. Who knows? You might just find you like these methods too.

These are obviously only two of many different brainstorming techniques. What do you do to get your ideas on paper?

My (Short) Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Wow. Where to begin?

You’re all going to think I’m a softie since I rated the last book I reviewed with five stars but…GUYS I just loved this book so much, I added it to my list of favorites.

So yes. I’m giving it five stars. And this is why.

To start, I was hooked from page one. No, there wasn’t any crazy action sequence, but there didn’t need to be. From the very first words, Roth crafts an engaging dystopian world that is just similar enough to be recognizable as once our own.

In Roth’s rendition, Chicago has been split into five factions based on certain traits its people consider most important: Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), Abnegation (the selfless) and Dauntless (the brave). In world were “faction before blood” is the rule, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose between her Abnegation family, or where she feels she truly belongs.

So she makes a choice, renames herself Tris and plunges into a fiercely competitive initiation well beyond anything she could have prepared for.

Divergent is exciting and chock full of action and memorable characters. I loved watching Tris grow, I drooled over a certain mysterious someone from the first line of his introduction and I was left itching for a sequel.

My only regret in picking up Divergent is that I read it too quickly. Definitely give it a try. You won’t regret it.

What have been your favorite reads so far this year?