K.M. Allan's Blog: K.M. Allan, page 14

Fixing A Stuck Scene

As writers, we’ve all been there. Enthusiastic to start a project one minute, doing everything to avoid working on it the next.

While you could claim distractions, work, responsibilities, and life are impeding your writing progress, sometimes, the reason you can’t get any words down is that you’ve got a stuck scene.

Fixing A Stuck Scene

A stuck scene happens when you have a much-needed scene for your story, but you can’t write it at all or pen it in a way that works. It’s a frustrating problem to have.

Writing your way through hasn’t helped and has only left you with a half-finished draft, a totally boring complete scene, or an ending that isn’t doing what it’s supposed to.

If that sounds like a scene you’re working on, these tips might help fix it…

Brainstorm/What If?

While an initial idea kicked off the scene, it hasn’t translated to the page, so it’s time to brainstorm some solutions.

To get things moving, go with the craziest outcome you can think of.

The point of this brainstorm/what if session is to flip the scene on its head. It may lead to solutions you won’t use, but the point is they’re different from what you currently have, which, if you’re reading this blog, is the option that isn’t working.

Write down every conceivable and inconceivable event that could stem from your current scene. You don’t have to write any paragraphs. Just work through the ideas in your head or in a notebook.

This will get things flowing and hopefully give you something to move the scene along. If you’re lucky, it might even spark a totally new and better option.

Switch Things Up

When you’re stuck because things aren’t clicking, look at what you can switch around.

Would the scene be better in a different location/setting? How much more interesting could it get if the POV is from a different character? What would happen if you added or took away a character or event?

Would any of these switches change the dynamics enough to make the scene more interesting or you more invested in improving it? Switch things up and see if it does!

Show The Mentioned

This happened to me recently. I had a scene that worked okay, but it wasn’t the strongest. A beta reader mentioned in their feedback of wanting to see an event that was mentioned in passing by a character.

Instead of continuing to improve the scene that was stuck at a not-great stage, I rewrote it and showed the mentioned event instead. It ended up being the scene the story needed.

If you find yourself toiling over a scene and getting nowhere, mine it for any mentions that will make it work better and see if that gets the scene going in the right direction.

Fill In The Basics

Sometimes a scene has the right characters and circumstances, but you know as you read through it that there’s something odd about the flow.

It might race through things too quickly, be dialogue-heavy, or lack the depth that roots the reader in the settings.

If any of those issues sound like yours, fill in the basics.

Check that you’ve got a setting that feels real and that you’ve actually mentioned where your characters are, which is an easy basic to overlook.

Add in the five senses and give sights, smells, taste, and sound to your scene.

Does the reader know what the MC of your scene is thinking? Internal thoughts are an essential ingredient for your readers getting to know and care about your characters and for also giving them insights in regards to what’s happening.

For example, your MC suddenly abandoning side character #2 makes more sense when you’re privy to his internal rationale and the MC’s reasoning behind such an act. Without that internalization, the reader might wonder why your MC is acting the way they are.

Any number of these basics missing could be the reason your scene is stuck, so check that you have them covered and adjust accordingly if you don’t.

Make A Mini-Outline

On the other hand, if you have all your basics covered and it’s still not right, it’s time to get an overview.

Create a mini-outline that lists the where, when, who, and the what of your scene.

By looking at the nitty-gritty, that missing something may shake loose or you could spark the idea for that last puzzle piece. Outline to know where you’re at, and then work out where you’re going.

Work On Something Else

Sometimes the stuck just won’t shift, no matter how many solutions you throw at it or hours you spend at your writing desk.

When that happens, you have permission to retreat. Step away from the scene and work on another one or a totally different WIP.

You could also read a book, binge a TV show, or head outside for the day—anything to put distance between yourself and your words.

Combine this break with your what ifs, switch ups, showing the mentioned, filling in the basics, and your mini-outline tactics and let them merge into a tornado of creativity. One that will hopefully be strong enough to break free any stuck scene.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

What To Do When Your Writer-Type Stops You From Writing

Just as procrastination, brilliant ideas, and crippling self-doubt are part of being a writer, the type of writer you are also contributes to the crafting of your words.

For instance, if you’ve wondered why other writers seem to get things done and you’re struggling to write an opening paragraph, the perfectionist in you could be sabotaging your work.

Or maybe you’re the type of writer who spends every writing session planning, leading to months of hard work but no genuine progress for your manuscript.

These examples, and the others listed below, are features of classic writer-types and their natural tendencies can stop you from writing—but only if you let them!

What To Do When Your Writer-Type Stops You From WritingWriter-Type: Perfectionist

This isn’t a writer who aims to make every word perfect, but a writer who can’t get into the momentum of writing because they feel every word has to be perfect. It’s that fear, that perfectionism, that cripples them during their writing sessions.

This can lead to getting stuck in the writing process and not moving forward, or not starting at all.

What To Do:

The first fix is one for your mindset. You need to allow yourself to write without expectations, rules, or pressure.

That old chestnut of write like no one else will read it really applies here. Dig deep and examine why you’re so hesitant to put pen to paper.

Are you worried the words won’t match the images you see in your head? Do you think there’s no point in trying because nothing you write sounds like the books you read?

Becoming a good writer takes practice. Those books on your shelves result from multiple drafts and editing sessions. You’ll need to do those too to get your MS to the same level. But that won’t happen until you start the first draft.

Really have a look at your excuses for why you aren’t writing and remember that writing is only the first part of the process.

Editing is the real place where you make those words the best they can be. It’s easy to forget that when you’re trying to get the words right first go. You can change your words in later drafts, so don’t be afraid to craft lackluster sentences.

The second fix is to make a clear plan, set a time limit, and decide on a deadline.

Having a plan will keep you on track and stop you from procrastinating.

As for the time limit, apply it to your current task, I.e. 2 hours a day to write the first draft of chapter 1, or 45 minutes to edit yesterday’s scene. Again, the time limit will focus your attention on where it needs to be.

The deadline is something to set for the entire project. Give yourself X amount of time to complete it, being realistic and flexible.

Writer-Type: Planner

You love to plan and will plan, plan, plan—without moving beyond it to do any of the writing!

A planner is never short on enthusiasm and creativeness for the job. It’s getting started and finishing the job that is their weakness.

While planning helps you write, and some writers need a plan to get anything on paper, if planning is all you ever seem to do, it’s time to stop it from holding you back.

What To Do:

Limit your planning to only certain writing days or set portions of your writing session. Strike a balance of planning what to write, and actually doing some of that writing.

No plan is so concrete that it doesn’t change as the words flow, so splitting your writing session into planning and writing benefits both and helps you get your manuscript written faster.

Writer-Type: Down To The Wire

If you’re this type of writer, you love deadlines, but instead of using them to complete the task, you use them as the signal to start.

Waiting until you’re down to the wire might feel like an exciting way to get things done, but imagine how much easier and less stressful it will be to write and then have the time to go over it properly.

What To Do:

If you like the intensity of working to a deadline, write in sprints.

Give yourself a 10-30 minute time limit and work in focused, short bursts that will still allow for revisions and improvements to your pages.

Leaving things to the last minute will never produce your best work, no matter how much you convince yourself it does.

Writer-Type: Overwhelmed

If you’ve ever looked at your to-do list and thought it’d be easier to just not do it, your writer-type is most likely overwhelmed.

Abandoning your list won’t help, of course, and will only lead to the very real trouble of not being able to focus on what to work on first.

That kind of mix usually results in postponing everything as decision-making becomes too much. It’s the quickest way to not write a book.

What To Do:

This is where prioritizing is your friend. Rank the writing tasks on your to-do list in terms of importance and then work through them.

Take a leaf out of any organizing guru or motivational speaker’s handbook and tackle the hardest task first. With that done, all the other tasks will seem fun in comparison, or at least less overwhelming.

The to-do list can stretch over time if it needs to, and you can break each into its own mini task if that helps.

If you get really overwhelmed, cherry-pick the fun tasks, like researching the meanings behind the names of your characters, so it feels like you’ve still accomplished something. That motivation of completing an item should give you what you need to work through even the longest of to-do lists.

As you can see, once you’re aware of your triggers and can apply a new attitude/process to approaching your work, you should be able to tame your inner perfectionist/planner/down to the wire/overwhelmed writer and hopefully never be stopped from writing again! Until that self-doubt kicks in…

— K.M. Allan

So, which writer-type did you identify with the most? Are you definitely a Perfectionist or a mix of a Planner with a splash of Overwhelmed? Let’s talk about it in the comments!

January 2022 Roundup

Welcome to the January 2022 roundup!

Well, here we are, another new year full of possibilities, and let’s face it, more Covid-19.

Although we were fortunate here in Australia to escape huge case numbers in 2020, the end of 2021 saw Omicron explode and we’re currently riding a wave of it. The pandemic and lockdowns have kept me from visiting my family and home state of Sydney for 2 years, but thankfully my twin sister was able to come here to Melbourne for a visit. Below are some pictures of what we’ve been up to, as well as what else I’ve been doing this month…

What I’ve Been…Writing

Blackbirch 3 – I’m still slowly making progress on draft 10. In order to get things moving, I set myself a mid-February deadline to get it to the next round of beta readers. Now to see if that gets it edited or gives me a stress-induced panic attack instead .

Watching

Yellowjackets – This thrilling mystery series flashes between the timelines of ’90s teens trapped in a forest after a plane crash and their present-day adult versions trying to stop the truth about what they did to survive from coming out, and I’m here for it! With an all-star cast of veteran former-child stars and a new crop of young up-and-coming actors, Yellowjackets has more than just a creepy storyline going for it. Trying to guess everyone’s fate and how the opening sequence came to be will keep you binge-watching each episode, and impatiently waiting for season 2.

Dexter: New Blood – One of the better reasons to make use of the trend to reboot everything right now is being able to correct one of the worst series finales ever. When the original run of Dexter ended with him abandoning his son, faking his death, and starting over as a lumberjack, there weren’t many fans. New Blood was able to fix most of the horror by reuniting Dexter with his estranged son, now a 16-year-old who appears to have his own Dark Passenger. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t watched the final episode yet, but I will say that I was satisfied with how they ended the series this time.

Scream – The ’90s fave serial killer, Ghostface, is back and up to his usual antics of phone calls, scary movie trivia, and stabbings. Going after those related to the original Woodsboro victims and killers, there are twists galore, new rules to play by, and a reunion of original cast members (or Legacies as the new movie characters call them). It’s a step up from Scream 4, way better than the horrible Scream 3, and on par with Scream 2 and the original, mainly because of the nostalgic nods to both.

After Life (Season 3) – Just as the previous seasons were 6 episodes of emotional, top-notch writing, season 3 finished the story of cranky, grieving widower, Tony, perfectly. While some of the focus shifted to other characters in town, it didn’t take away from Tony’s journey of navigating life after the death of his wife, Lisa. Showing just how much he’d grown since her passing, the final episode will hit you right in the feels.

Reading

Elements of Fiction: Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card – An easy-to-read book full of tips and examples. It explains how important it is to know your characters well as you write them, and what viewpoint options are used in popular fiction. The examples of those viewpoints and hints about how to master them are very helpful. Recommended for writers looking to learn new skills or to brush up on their existing ones.

The Beginning Of The End by Jacqueline Hayley – Thank you to the author for sending me this novella, a prequel to the YA dystopian After series. You can also get it for free at Jacqueline’s website. This quick read opens at a house party where Cass is taking advantage of her parents being out of town and getting together with some friends. When one turns up with a virus that’s been going around, no one thinks much of it, but as the night goes on and they have to take her to the hospital, the teens quickly realize things are more serious—and dangerous—than they thought. Throw in sudden feelings for one of her best friends, Stephen, and Cass has a lot to deal with, right when it seems like the world is at its end. It’s a nice introduction to the storyline of the virus and leads into the first chapter of After Today, which has immediately piqued my interest and been added to my TBR pile.

If you’ve got any good recommendations, let me know in the comments, or be my friend on Goodreads and share your books/recommendations with me!

If you’d like to add the Blackbirch books to your “Want to Read” shelf and/or check out the reviews, click the following images!

Taking Photos Of

My Evil Twin! After 2 years apart and 2 visits canceled by lockdowns, my twin sister finally arrived in town. We’ve been to the movies, caught up with other friends visiting from Sydney, a Disney exhibition, and gone on our morning walks. We usually walk while talking over the phone from our respective states, so it’s been fun to physically walk together instead. She’s also finally met Dash and Luna and is currently plotting how to sneak them into her bag so she can take them home with her (I told you she was the evil twin ).

On The Blog…

In case you missed any of my posts, or want to read them again, here are the latest blogs.

2021 Blog Roundup5 Ways To Train Yourself To WriteWriting Routine Helper: Daily NotesWriting Tip Of The Month…

#WritingTipWednesday posts are added to my social media feeds every week and here is the most popular tip for this month. It’s taken from my blog post, Writing Tips: Building Tension.

For more tips, visit my Writing Tips Pinterest Board.

Blackbirch Teaser Of The Month…

This teaser comes courtesy of Blackbirch: The Dark Half and is featured when Kallie Jacobs has a vision of a fire and ignores it, sparking fatal consequences.

If you’d like to read the books released so far or find out more about each novel, here are the links:

Blackbirch: The Beginning (Book 1)Blackbirch: The Dark Half (Book 2)

If you’ve read either of my books—and haven’t done so already—please consider leaving a review or a star rating. It really helps indie authors get their books noticed, and also helps fellow readers find books they’ll like.

Quote Of The Month…

I’ve hoped you’ve enjoyed my January Roundup. Let me know what you’ve been up to in the comments!

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Writing Routine Helper: Daily Notes

Who has come across the writing advice to leave a writing session mid-sentence and make a note of where to pick up the next day?

It’s something I heard years ago and have used in the past.

Just recently, I was editing my latest draft and not feeling enthusiastic about it. I’m already a few months into the edit and only have five new scenes to write. In an ideal world, I’d be done by now, but it’s taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r instead.

During this one session, as I was finishing for the day, I remembered that old advice and jotted down where I thought the new scene should go next. It was only a few sentences and scant on details, but it was enough for me to close my laptop, actually excited about coming back to the scene the next day. Anyone who is months long into an edit knows how rare that feeling can be.

That excitement sparked the idea of a simple task that I could add to my writing routine: make daily notes.

Writing Routine Helper: Daily Notes

Whilst in my case the notes were for the specific scene I was working on, jotting down other notes while the details are fresh in your mind would be helpful too, and will only benefit your MS in the long run.

If you’d like to see how, get into the habit of making the following notes at the end of your writing sessions, based on the pages/scene/chapter just penned.

POV character.Other characters.Setting/s.Day/night/time.Big reveal/important detail.A summary of what happened.Character arc.Where to next.

Feel free to be as detailed as you like with your notes, but keep in mind this process should be quick and simple.

Ideally, the longest notes will be the summary and where to next, and try to limit them to a paragraph or two at most.

Here’s an example:

POV character: Main Character, Jenny.

Other characters: Her best friend and fellow office worker, Carla.

Setting/s: Jenny’s house. Carla’s office.

Time: Present day, Thursday, early afternoon.

Summary: Jenny is working from home when she needs to log onto the work server and realizes she’s accidentally been given access to Carla’s files. Carla is her best friend who works in the cubicle next to her. They’re both up for a promotion and Jenny can now see that Carla has copied her notes on a big-deal presentation and is going to give it that afternoon while Jenny is not in the office.

Big reveal/important detail: Jenny’s best friend is working against her.

Character arc: Up until this point, Jenny has been nothing but nice to Carla and even helped her get her job in the office. She decides she needs to step up and fight for what she wants.

Where to next: Jenny goes into the office to confront Carla and arrives just as the meeting is happening and takes it over. She knows the project better than Carla and can prove it with her knowledge. Or Jenny could arrive too late and get there just as the presentation is ending and Carla is shaking hands with their boss, having earned the promotion over Jenny.

As you can see, the notes are simple and wouldn’t take long to write down. If you were coming back to your writing desk the next day, later in the week, or even a few months later, these notes would let you know exactly what’s happened and where you are going next with the story.

What To Do With Your Notes

Not just good for a head start on your next writing session, the notes can also be used in other ways…

DailyUse them to refresh your memory of the story and quickly pick up where you left off.As an encouragement to keep writing. The notes prove you’re making progress with the story. Keep it up!Help you decide what to do next. Writing out your summary could spark ideas for how to continue the story. As will your notes brainstorming where to go next.Longterm

Since you have regular notes about what you’ve been writing, it’s a good idea to get more mileage out of them.

They might not seem like much, but by the time you get to the end of your manuscript, notes that cover pretty much everything are going to be a big help. After all, you have…

Character names and a running tally of chapters/scenes from their POV.Settings – your daily notes will give you a list of the places in your story world.Summaries and character arc notes that tell you all about your characters, their motivation, and backstory.Time notes that will create a timeline of the events in your book.Summaries, when listing major events, will help you keep track of and check your plot.

From this info, you can create a book bible, an outline, your synopsis, or refresh the story in your mind without having to re-read the whole MS.

Just from one simple habit of making daily notes, you’ve got a wealth of information about your book!

And the best thing about these notes is that they’re adaptable to your own process and story. Include the categories and details that will help you keep track and make sense of your story. It’s an extra step in your writing routine, but it’s well worth it.

— K.M. Allan

Find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.