Ransom Noble's Blog, page 17

Are You Ready To Write That Novel Yet?

There are a lot of ways to ask and answer this question – but the one I mean today is "How do you know you're ready for that idea that won't leave you alone?"

It's not something we're ready for at all times. The idea hits me and I want to run with it. The problem comes along later, when I realize the idea was not fully formed and is in dire need of tweaks and research and who knows what else… And when I run into that wall I end up with a partial draft of something that I'm not sure what to do with, because the idea takes a turn every time I actually finish the front end stuff.

Somehow that leads me to the idea I wasn't quite ready to write it when I started setting fingers to keyboard. Later, when the ideas mature, I can put them in different combinations and make something better.

Example: I just pulled two ideas from my snippets and merged them with another idea I came up with more recently. While they were not related at first, this time they seem more suited to weaving together. Once I started down that path, a torrent of words spewed forth. Then I read my old notes and found nuances I had forgotten. I'm still trying to pin them together.

I'm not sure if it's enough to write that novel yet. I have a couple different viewpoints I want to show in this world I'm creating, but I haven't figured that all out yet. So it might be a few novellas woven together into a book. It might also be a series. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly how much I have to say before it begins.

Other times I am not sure if I'm ready to say exactly what needs to be said. At least I have time to manage to think about it. I am focusing on editing my last manuscript (still working due to moving and having a baby and everything else that gets in the way of pure writing pursuits), yet in the meantime I still doodle and dream up this alternate place that sings to me when my creative side takes hold.

I'm not sure I'm ready to write it yet. The two year old and the two week old are definitely taking most of my waking hours and will continue to do that for some time. I'm also not sure what my message is, but somehow the idea won't leave me alone for the moment.

It's a little like when the unicorn kept telling me he was the one who wanted to skewer my last protagonist. Silly unicorn, she's got her own magic to protect her. Now if only she could control it… But that's another story that hasn't quite been finished yet. I promise I will when I'm ready. The question of how to know when I'm ready troubles me, but I write hundreds of thousands of words in a year (250k+ last year). I have time to figure out drafts and redraft them later.

I'll admit it would be seriously more efficient if I could figure that all out before I start drafting, but so far I haven't been able to help myself. What do you do when that idea takes hold of your brain and won't let go? Do you write it? Do you start building the world? Do you outline (or whatever other plot devices you use to figure it out before you write)? Or do you take a little snippet and let it simmer for later?

Can a Writer Go Paperless?

So many times I read the advice about printing out the manuscript to read it, especially for last round edits and finding those little typos. It's also useful to grab on the way to writer's group to combat issues like low laptop batteries and losing one's place while reading words on the screen.

However, in the quest to be less attached to physical objects – the question keeps surfacing with as much as I read about the subject. Some laud Twitter as bringing people to make their updates in a succinct style, while others study that writers are wordier when they write directly into digital methods rather than on paper first and then transcribing later.

I'm sure most of that would be true in varying degrees depending on the writer. Some writers can go on and on about all kinds of things, while others make certain they boil it down to the most essential substance. It's part of an individual style as much as anything else. I'm not sure wordiness can be equated with quality on any level. Some swear by the 1000 page novels and others prefer short pieces that don't span the full page.

My moving saga has taken me away from my laptop with the two monitor system that I had in my little library. I love stacks of books surrounding me while I type out my next piece. Some of those books are blank and others are binders with hard copies littered with comments in varying colors. [I love using colorful ink.] The other missing part of my setup is the printer. It's in storage for a time and I'm learning to compensate with different ways for that.

It's not so bad. But I haven't found a new writer's group yet. I've been finding ways to not just write online, but also edit. I can't say whether I've found all the ways to manage what I need. I've managed to critique a couple things from friends, and that's been quite an experience to get the apps on my iPad running the way I want them. I keep thinking just one more… just one more…

I'm curious about other writers who manage without paper. It seems like a less physically demanding way to survive without the stacks of manuscripts covering the desk. Do writers exist in paperless environments, even on a temporary basis?

I write, therefore I exist — even without my comforting paper clutter. Right?

 

What Hinders Your Productivity?

Or maybe the question ought to be – have you looked into what hinders your productivity? It's something I think about occasionally. I'll admit it probably isn't often enough.

Right now I'm a stay-at-home mother. The writing is a side gig that occurs mostly when my little one sleeps. The SAHM gig is not to be regarded in any way less demanding or rewarding than other career options, but a statement that my time is claimed. Life hinders my productivity in domestic tasks, but I don't tell my two-year-old that she can't get out her toys, even if it does look like a war zone. We're learning to pick them all up before bedtime.

More often we point our fingers to the obvious procrastination markers like Facebook or Twitter and try to justify them as promotion. I recently ran into an article saying how people ought to only check that stuff twice a day. I'm not sure how that'd work for Twitter, but Facebook would be easy enough.

Maybe the trick to becoming a productive moonlighting writer is to know why you're writing and not just the things that are also taking up that coveted downtime. I write because I love exploring new worlds through fiction. I love stringing sentences together (even if they're not very good at first) and sharing them with others. I enjoy the struggle to find the right words to portray something in my head. With that in mind, I crank out a lot of words.

Over 250,000 words since I began writing at 750words last May. I had no idea I could be so prolific. Sure, I've done NaNoWriMo and completed the challenge without breaking a sweat or trying to finish in the 11th hour, but I haven't kept track of what I do normally. While the 750words site has focused me to write every day and not in the fits and starts I had done before, it also keeps track of what I've done since I joined.

I don't have a full novel written there yet. My last project has morphed into something I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle just yet and I'm working on editing a young adult manuscript more than whipping a wayward work-in-progress into shape.

The other thing I really like about those kinds of statistics is it will track how long it takes me to spew out my words. Some days are a struggle, full of distractions and nearly an hour sessions spent trying to find words. Others can be as short as seven minutes to make the minimum word count. A couple have been spent with a timer and an idea and simply throwing out the ideas as fast as my brain can make it up.

Of the times when my daughter is asleep, I rarely wake before she does. So between writing during her afternoon nap and after she goes to sleep at night, I am much more productive in the afternoon hours and try to take advantage of that. I also shut down other distractions like Facebook.

Lately I feel like I've been just waiting, waiting, waiting for the baby to be born. [If you believe the computer, I'm due today. If you believe the 8-week ultrasound, I was due yesterday.]  That's been hindering my productivity more than I like to admit. How much could be done while I'm not feeling the best but not as sleep-deprived as I soon will be? Another blog post? Another article read? Another chapter edited? Another story written? Another submission sent off?

I've managed to get my iPad mostly in order to be my productivity station on the go. I only have three games loaded on it. Mostly I have been reading a bunch of articles and keeping up through other social outlets. When the games become a serious time sink, I'll have to let them go, too. It's always good to have goals and keep them in view to know what can be achieved.

I believe goals ought to be flexible and intended to stretch abilities. When I see the goals I want to make happen, I work harder to keep those results at the top of my list. When I allow for life or other things to intrude, I make it more likely that I will stick with the goal instead of just throw in the towel. Take 750words as one example: I haven't written every day since I joined on May 1. I've missed 12 days. Most of them were in a row during a difficult couple weeks. I've given myself permission to lose a day or two with the impending baby, though I'm trying not to use that.

Whatever hinders me is something I allow to happen. My choices lead me to where I will be next. Not everything has to be productive – not every moment, not every choice, not every little detail – but I manage to get things done. Maybe that's just because no one's sold me on a reason to spend 3000 hours on a WoW profile…

What do you think about productivity and downtime and how they affect your writing and your goals?

The Storm is Coming Anthology – Submitted and Accepted!

Sending items out means getting an acceptance or rejection. Sometimes this is too much for writers to take, the waiting and the not knowing and most of all wondering if the writing is good enough.

Good enough is a troublesome concept. It's not just whether or not a piece is well-written. There are so many things to take into consideration, like the overall market and whether or not the editor likes it. Then when the rejection comes through, you wonder if you'd just worked a little harder, made just one little change, if it would have been okay.

I can't be the only one wondering these things. I don't let it stop me from sending things out. I aim high. I get rejected. I try not to let it get to me. It's not easy.

This time I got lucky, or I just had a great fit with The Storm is Coming anthology.

My story, The Rescuers, is one I wrote a time ago, but it always sounded like Chapter 3 in a novel. I needed time to focus it into something much better. It happens that way sometimes, when you have a good premise but the writing doesn't quite follow through on the promise.

It helps to not give up on yourself or the story that needs to be told. Sometimes that short story has to be made into a novel, but other times it can work if other pieces are different. I throw out a lot of rough drafts, and some of them I tweak endlessly (or so it seems) and others pop out fully formed and ready to be something.

I guess it just reminds me of that saying where you write what you are ready to write. Sometimes we have ideas we aren't ready to tackle at the moment. Other times we tackle them and falter, but that doesn't mean we can't keep revisiting the idea until it gels.

There might be more to this Rescuers story later. I can't say whether or not the characters will try to push their other adventures into my head or if I randomly run across something I know has to fit into their world. For now, I'm extremely excited to be slated for the upcoming anthology and waiting to see what else is in store from Sleeping Cat Books.

Do you have an editing style?

I have been wondering about this. I am not sure what styles there are. With writing, there are different ways to approach it. I know a few people who start at the beginning and write until they find the end. They call it writing by the seat of their pants. There are others who plan each story line to make it work together as a whole before they write a single word. Most of us fall somewhere between on that kind of spectrum.

So the editing must have other things about it to make it into different piles. Do you plan out each step of the rewrite? Do you take it in sections? Do you just read and change it on the fly as you go?

Somehow it gets hard to focus on a rewrite when there are so many things to look at. I have been slowly going through the manuscript. I have a plan, but it does not take shape all at once. The latest thing I have been working on is the teen romance plot line. I don't find that the easiest thing to do, but just taking that one part has made it easier.

Easier, possibly, but I find myself distracted by all the other pieces that need changing, too. Now and then the other things sneak in and they get tweaked. Overall it makes for a quicker change of the parts that absolutely contradicted the things I am working toward. Then I can bring out the more subtle pieces when the framework is in place.

It takes me a lot of time. I also get a little frustrated when I see how quickly those sections get read when they are polished. I could spend hours on a paragraph that the reader takes in less than 10 seconds. But if they enjoy it, all is well.

New Years and Resolutions

Right. A new year is coming. Counting down to the bottom of December, and I am not the only one thinking about new goal for the new year. It's some kind of interesting phenomenon that so many of us set resolutions for ourselves but most of us give up on these goals within six weeks.

And they do say it takes thirty days to make or break a new habit. So what is it about resolutions that don't stick? Perhaps it is because so many of us are trying to change things that are difficult to change. We also try the same things year after year and fail every time.

There is something about the new year that makes people want to try something new, correct bad habits, or just move out of the rut from the previous year.

I had a good year last year. So it isn't a rut I am avoiding, unless it would be the part where I am having a baby and should figure that out before attempting to write a dozen novels. [A dozen novels in a year, you say? Possible, I think, but not in a year I have a baby.]

I already have a few goals to meet, like figuring out how to finish my manuscript and finish the next draft of the work in progress. The deadlines extend through the move and the upcoming baby. While I think it is important to keep making progress, I also believe that it is more important to make adjustments for things that happen instead of calling myself a failure.

Calling myself a failure will never give me anything but grief. So pardon me while I wait on some of those resolutions while I adjust the current goals for my circumstances. I hope all of you manage as well in your current and future endeavors.

Ready for the Holidays?

Whether I'm ready or not, they're coming. I was able to wish my good friend a Happy Hanukkah before sundown, which also happened to be my (favorite) sister-in-law's birthday. [It doesn't matter that I only have one sister-in-law; she's all kinds of awesome, and that makes her my favorite.] And Christmas is very soon!

When I was a child, holidays never stressed me out. It was a break from school, time to read as many books as I could fit into the time, and time to be excited about exchanging gifts.

Somehow as adulthood approaches, there are more pressures. We want things to be special for the kids- and in my family we have a great 7-year Santa tradition that none of us want to miss. Each year since my daughter's birth we've sent out pictures of at least her with Santa. This year's holiday card had a picture of my daughter hugging Santa, plus one of the four of us (my husband, my daughter, Santa, and me).

My husband and I were super organized during our recent relocation, and we had the labels printed off before we moved as well as a short letter to explain our recent developments (baby due in January, promotion and move). We had the cards printed and ready to send out by 1 December, but it took me another week to buy stamps. Some years the holiday cards feel like such a strain to get them all out with everything else going on. Yet I love receiving them from others and seeing how others change.

Then there's always the question of gifts. I love shopping and finding a great gift someone on my list will love. Because I'm due in less than three weeks and a little restricted for travel, it changed how we normally celebrate the holidays. Most of my shopping was completed Black Friday and most of our gifts exchanged on the next day.

This year also marks a change in my attitude. We moved for my husband's job about a month ago. We're in temporary housing so we didn't have to worry about all that while the baby was imminent. There's only so much we can do at once, right? But with these two moves (one to temporary housing, one to a more permanent residence), it has me realizing that it won't be a permanent residence, most likely. Just a more permanent one.

That makes me more willing to part with items that clutter up our living space, and more selective on the things I want to purchase for gifts. So part of my daughter's gift was a museum membership (that we're already enjoying). My husband often asks for clothes, so it makes it easy to keep him happy and well-dressed.

One of the few things I'm not willing to part with, or even entertain a discussion about getting rid of, are my books. No, they're not easy to move. They're heavy and bulky and I have a lot of them. Many more than goodreads would have you believe. One day I'll catch up with that, but it won't be in the near future. I love books and reading and writing.

"I cannot live without books." Thomas Jefferson

I have been modifying some of my writing techniques, but I miss my printer. I have been accustomed to writing in a digital setting for some time, but I don't always have access to my saved copies. Most of it is again at my fingertips, but I'm still using different computers than I'd gotten accustomed to in my home office. Not to mention that lovely iPad 2 I got for my birthday and the bluetooth keyboard I (already) received for Christmas (from that favorite sister-in-law).

The questions become how to keep it all compiled nicely where I can find it, and also how do I bypass the print and edit/revise/proofread step(s). At home I had novels trapped in binders that I could take with me to writing groups or simply lend to a friend who wanted to read the one up for revision. But those paper copies make it so easy to mark notes in margins and replace words I don't like.

My current issues are organization of my digital files and keeping tabs on the draft copy I'm revising. Once I moved I realized I wasn't sure where my best copy of in-progress revisions were hiding. Oops. While that's partly under control, it tells me what else I need to do in order to be more productive.

Yes, productivity and efficiency are at the bottom of everything, from holiday shopping to organization to making a new place feel like home. Or maybe my household is just practical that way.

Happy Holidays! May your new year bring in many wonderful things.

There Is Beauty in Words

Except, sometimes, when you get caught up in the doubts that follow during the project. Yes, all writers go through it. Some of us hit it early on and can't get past the first word to put down on paper. Others get it mid-project. Once I even experienced it as soon as I finished the rough draft. [If you don't know what happened that that project - it's now The Art of Science.] 

I know that thinking about a project midway through definitely brings out the doubts more than the merits. At least when you're finished you can pass it off to a trusted associate (or even your best friend) and say, hey, should I keep working on this? The problem with a midway project is sometimes they try to give advice about how it ought to go – whether that is the end in mind or not it can become a stumbling block. 

It's not like i don't have ten million other things I could be working on – believe me, I do. I'm the soon-to-be mother of two, naptime novelist, and I always think I can manage more than can be done in a day. So just one more thing never scares me, and the really important stuff does get done in time. Or it doesn't – that happens often enough. 

Current mid-draft novel is sitting at 36k. It lacks direction and I'm not sure how my protagonist is going to get to the desired end. I'm still attacking it here and there. I mix it up with other projects so I don't get too burnt on one thing – the holidays are near and there's supposed to be a lot to do. Yesterday I wrapped gifts, which inspired my two year old to have fits. Today I'm hoping to mail the package, but we'll see how the time runs with the little girl. 

I'm sure it doesn't help that I keep thinking this novel might be better than the last one – which is currently sitting in the middle of a rewrite of the teen romance subplot. I don't think I'm good at writing romance, but I know that's what the protagonist needs right now. More tension! More drama! So I got to break him up with his girlfriend and let him focus on trying to ask out the new girl. 

The more I torture my characters, the more they know I love them, right? At least, that's the fun of being the author. Then I can enjoy the drama-free parts of my days when the toddler isn't being stubborn (like now when she's not napping). Better luck tomorrow. 

NaNoWriMo and Moving Updates…

I have to admit, I didn't finish my novel yet. I like to continue writing for NaNo until the novel is done. I have learned quite a bit about myself in the last month, though. Here are a few things I am reminding myself of while I finish this novel:

1. Writing is stress relief.

2. I can write over 3000 words in an hour if I focus. (3332 was my record for a full hour, and 102 wpm was my record for a single 750 sprint.)

3. There is a limit to how many things can be accomplished in one day. (Wait, that isn't new.)

4. Dreck is expected for a first draft, especially at a rough pace. Finish the draft and worry about edits later.

5. Don't stop at 50 000 words. It's about finishing the project.

6. Motivation is cumulative. Sitting down and making progress every single day is important for continuity and overall progress.

I'm not sure how long it will take to finish the novel. I allowed distractions to get in the way of my daily progress – so not all of my words for NaNoWriMo were part of this novel; however, all of them were fiction. The total was 67,854 words. And starting yesterday I refocused on the project and took it in a different direction to the tune of 1000 or more words per day.

We found a new place and we moved mid-month. Part of my distraction included the annoyance of packing up the belongings I needed to have for the six months we'll be in this temporary place. I also packed up the things that might be considered clutter to prospective buyers to our home. Luckily I had a lot of help!

I'm too pregnant to actually move the boxes I pack, so someone has to move them when I'm done. That's challenging because not too long ago I could move everything just fine. I suppose it's fair to say I can start slowing down, because I'm only six weeks from a new baby.

After we moved, we managed to unpack. Again, I'm stymied by stacks of boxes to unpack, because a couple boxes came with us that I didn't intend to unpack. Of course, these boxes are full of the books that don't exactly fit on the bookshelves. I had two bookshelves to move to declutter my office space, so that shouldn't count against me. And I am unpacking the minimum needed.

Wait, that should be "unpacked." Because we were fully unpacked less than a week after moving. Within four days, even. Sure, we missed a few things, but those have either been fetched or replaced.

The first few days it felt like everything went wrong, but it's improving this week. I'm hoping it keeps going.

I'm very appreciative to the support I've received from family and friends, and I'm again faced with the oft-asked question, "Where are you from?" I'm not sure why people think we must have moved to the area to be around family. This does happen to be a little closer to family for both my husband and I, but we moved for his job. If they moved us somewhere else, we'd go.

The good news is I can write from anywhere. I'm sure I'd even figure out how to put pen to paper if all my digital devices disappeared!

Old Navy, Moving, and NaNoWriMo – Oh My!

I joined CrowdTap earlier this year. My sister-in-law started it. She and I share a love of shopping in many ways, which explains our Black Friday marathons and long telephone conversations that include details about recent trips to the store as well as opportunities to save more on the next trip. I'm lucky my husband has such a cool sister! But every now and again, I bet he wishes we didn't have so much in common after our shopping trips.

In Dubuque, the Old Navy staff know my sister-in-law by name. I end up shopping as often or more with her there than I do at my own Old Navy in Des Moines. Somehow CrowdTap gave me a bunch  of opportunities to rate Old Navy merchandise and has offered me opportunities for several sample shares – but I either didn't have enough experience within CrowdTap or not the right credentials for the past ones. The first one I qualified for I shared with my sister-in-law, of course!

It was totally worth paying priority mail to get it to her. I was also ecstatic when they opened it from only the compression tops to all activewear tops. I'm 30 weeks pregnant today, so it would not have been comfortable or pretty to put me in a compression top, even only long enough for pictures.

One thing that cracks me up about this picture is I think she bought me the same coat that she's wearing – at Old Navy. I've been wearing it all the time because it is only one of two coats that fit me while pregnant. We should get a picture together when we match.

As usual, she looks great in everything, but I think she made a good choice.

While this is not taken while I was teaching, I have already taught a couple classes in m new outfit. My internal thermometer gets me too hot while teaching and I have a fan blowing on me most of the time, but I wear the hoodie to and from class, and also while packing at home.

I love how easy it is to move in this outfit. I have an Old Navy maternity yoga top underneath, too. The shoes are Vibram FiveFingers and this is one of my most comfortable outfits while pregnant! The pants don't roll underneath my belly, but stay snuggled up to my new curves.

And on to the moving update: I will be moving from Des Moines to the Quad Cities on November 19th. It's all happening very fast, and I hardly know which way is up. It's one reason I haven't been updating this blog as often, and the posts will be somewhat infrequent until we land in our new space. Moving is difficult but, on the up side, I'll be much closer to my sister-in-law to go shopping! Because I need more distractions from my writing…

Speaking of which, I have come to grips with my limitations at 30 weeks pregnant. Even though I am moving, I still have to sit down from time to time. During those times, I have been writing. I have an entire novel prepped from an October challenge with my writing buddies. We don't spend a ton of time per day as a minimum, but sometimes we get carried away. I spent over 15,000 words brainstorming around the outline, and I think I'm ready to attempt the novel. I am not promising to make the 50,000 words in 30 days, but there's a good chance I'll make it anyway. Things are coming together at home and I'm quitting my part-time jobs for the move, which will mean more time when we land in our new temporary living space.

Until then, I will be up to my eyes in to-do lists and little chores to take care of. Wish me luck, and go shop at Old Navy!

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