Writing After Life Kicks You in the Teeth

I always thought that writer's block wasn't a real thing. That you could just sit down and start writing, and eventually you would figure out what should happen next. I wrote for over seven years and hadn't ever experienced a block that I couldn't work free of in an hour. Free writing, brain maps, and character interviews are all useful for that sort of thing. I've even written ridiculously impossible scenes before and then edited them into coherency.

Then my life blew up.

It's not that I didn't have time to write. Everyone has time to write, if they make it a priority. (Or so I've been told.) But my life was falling apart, and I felt like I couldn't talk to anybody about it for over a year. And the emotional stress, or depression, or whatever you want to call it (neither of those terms seem quite right) whatever it was, it sucked the creativity out of me. I can't really explain it any other way. I had no desire to be creative or think about stories or even read. Which is kind of a big deal, for me. I didn't read a single book for a year.

Like I said, it's not that I didn't have the time. It's not that I didn't have ideas or something to be working on. (I've been in the middle of Lost Princesses for an embarrassingly long time.) I just didn't. Or couldn't. I'm not sure which.

During that time, I moved twice and took care of my kids, took a few college classes, and prepared to build my life back from the ground up. And I'm still in the middle of that process. But recently, I had a story idea.

Not just any idea. The first idea I've had in a very, very long time. The first inkling that I would ever be able to write again. (The guilt of not finishing my other books had been the only motivation I'd had during that time, and it wasn't enough motivation, obviously.)

I wrote down my idea, sketching out a short story from beginning to end. And I've been kinda excited about it.

And then today, I had an idea on six other related short stories that could become something very cool. Something I've never seen before in fiction. And I got so excited about it that I felt an almost panicky feeling. The feeling that I needed to write. Now.

So I did. I wrote a thousand words today.

I'm not sure what will happen with my writing. I don't know when the next book will come out. But what I can tell you is that I am writing. And it feels awesome.

Writing a Story is Like Learning to Cook

You know that moment, when you taste something amazing? Maybe you're at a restaurant, or it's one of your grandmother's famous recipes. When you finish eating, you look down at your empty plate and you think, "I have to eat this again."

There are ways to make this happen. You can keep coming to the restaurant, you can beg your grandma to make more, or maybe... just maybe... you can make it at home. 

When that thought enters your mind, you have to assess your time, your talent in the kitchen, and how difficult the recipe will be. Do you have the patience? Can you figure out the ingredients? Will you ever be able to make something that tastes this great?

When you have complete control over what goes into the dish, maybe your creative side goes a little crazy. "You know, it could be really good with fresh mint... Ooh! Or basil!"

But you need to be careful. Too much creativity can get in the way of what you're really trying to achieve: yummy culinary goodness.

Weaving a good story is like nailing the recipe that has haunted you ever since you tasted it.

Like cooking, writing a story can be dangerous if you don't balance knowledge and creativity. You don't want to wind up with cheesy-banana trout. You want your readers to get joy from your book. You want make a book that's magical, the way other authors have done for you.

But if it's not fun, you're probably doing it wrong. When I stress out about a book, or do so much research my brain hurts, it comes out in my story. The characters get boring. The tension falls flat like an under-cooked souffle.

I'm still fairly new at this writing thing. Cognitive psychologists tell us it takes ten years before a writer reaches excellence. I've been going strong for about 6 now. And like my cooking skills, my writing is inconsistent. Sometimes I write something that would make my readers turn green. So I go back, I chop out the rough parts of the story, rearrange some key elements, and beef-up the personality of my characters. I find the weak spots and figure out what I can add to balance the story or make it richer.

The beauty of writing is: the reader doesn't see every draft.

My early draft work is a pile of failed attempts. Eventually, I get something I think is publishable, but there's always work involved that isn't seen by the rest of the world.

No matter what you want to get good at, there's work that goes on behind the curtain.

But if it's something you really want, and if you put in enough effort (and patience and sacrifice), you can make something worthwhile.

There's Always Something

There’s always something. Even as I write this, my two year old is hitting his sister and my four year old is trying to show me all the unusual things Mary Poppins can do. Finding time to write is both a science and an art.

A science? Well, yeah. I have to make sure the kids are on a regular sleep schedule. Otherwise they sleep at different times (or not at all) and I have no time to write. And no sanity.

And of course it’s an art. All the planning in the world can fizzle into nothingness if the toddler is stubborn enough. Or, like this week, I find out moments after going grocery shopping that we have no paper towels and I forgot to buy diaper rash cream. So it takes some creativity, if I want my book to grow.

Maybe the kids will watch a movie in the other room for an hour and a half? Unlikely. Maybe one of my sisters is just dying to take care of them for me? They have busy lives, too. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s a holiday that I forgot about and my husband will be home to watch the kids for me. It could happen.

Sometimes I only get a short amount of time to write. Actually, it’s usually only a short amount of time. You know what I’ve learned to do?

Take breaks. It seems counter-intuitive. If I only have two hours or an hour and a half, it makes sense to dive into my work and get as much done as I possibly can. But taking five-minute breaks (before I get tired!) goes a long way.

So, yeah. Some weeks the kids are really good at keeping me from my writing. I do what I can.

I try to be smart (and creative and methodical and thoughtful) and I keep making progress when I can. Every drop in the bucket counts. Eventually, I produce a story I can be proud of. Even if it takes a little longer than I’d like to admit.

Easy Revising - How to Fix a Novel Before Submission

I've had a request to post about revision. As I progress in the editing process, I'm finding that I can't possibly remember all those tips and tricks at the same time. If I remember to show, I forget to build character. If I remember to use strong verbs, my dialogue fall apart. Anyone else having this problem?

But I'll continue to post the most helpful advice I can, and just hope that the right words reach you at the right time.

I'm not sure if I've posted this one or not, but it's pretty darn helpful. I use cliches all the time and cringe every time I spot one. It takes real thought to push past cliches and come up with something that 1) is original and 2) still conveys the message I want to send and 3) doesn't jerk the reader out of the story--all while maintaining voice and character! Anyway, here's an article on Cliches and Description.

And I may have also shared this one too (Let me know if these look familiar.) but again, it's fantastic and I needed to be reminded. More on Show Don't Tell and how specificty is your greatest weapon.

And finally, Holt Uncensored has put together a lovely post on the 10 Mistakes Writers Don't See (but Can Easily Fix When They Do). Like every author I know of, I have a few favorite words. They pop up all over my manuscript. For Shadow Bound, one of those words was "moment". I used it more than 20 times! Little things like this can ruin a story for a reader, and these are the kinds of mistakes covered in this article. This would be particularly good if you have finished a story, edited it, and you THINK it's ready for submission.