Jennifer Niven's Blog, page 401
August 26, 2015
Writing advice from my mom and me
This week, The Guardian is featuring All the Bright Places, which is longlisted for their Children’s Fiction Book Prize. Here’s a piece I wrote for them with writing tips from my mom and me.
Let yourself cry: Jennifer Niven’s inspirational top writing tips
The author of All The Bright Placesput together this powerful writing advice with her mum, who always wrote even in the saddest times, to offer inspiration for every occasion and so here presents… A Niven guide to writing.
I was lucky enough to grow up with a writer mom, who taught me that I could be or do anything I wanted to be or do, and for as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a writer. This was in spite of the fact that I saw first hand how hard it could be. Even during the toughest, saddest times of her life, my mother wrote. In so many ways, she was my hero.
Over the years, Mom and I created a stable of writing advice, inspiration for every occasion, and so I present:
1. A book should not be so long and thick that it has to be hauled around in a wheelbarrow. Historically, my mom (Penelope Niven) wrote very long books. At least three of them exceed 800 pages. Now, there is the rare exception when a book needs to be that long. However, most books do not. One of my high school teachers used to jot “pure economy of word” across the top of my essays, and I’ve never forgotten it. There’s power in writing succinctly.
2. If you are bored writing something, people will most likely be bored reading it. I remember this every time I write a scene and find my attention wandering off. If you reread your own work and get the urge to skip through certain parts, you probably need to cut, edit, or replace.
3. Read. Reading opens your mind, shows you what’s out there, and gives you ideas. That said, you have to be careful what you read when in the throes of writing because the last thing you want to do is become an unintentional mimic. (High school Jennifer, I’m talking to you. Stop reading so much Ray Bradbury!)
4. Don’t enter your pin numbers all at once. Years ago, I was on a call with a department store, and the automated voice said, “Please enter your pin. Do not enter all the numbers at one time.” New writers often ask the secret to writing a book because the idea of creating something so long is daunting. I tell them not to focus on the entire book because it will only overwhelm you. Instead, focus on one line or chapter at a time.
5. Count the pages. Back when I was six, my mom would hand me a stack of paper and I’d write until I ran out of pages. I would simply finish the story, no matter where I was in it (which made for some very rushed endings). Part of the challenge of writing is actually showing up to do the work. Try giving yourself a daily quota, no matter how big or small, by counting the pages or words.
6. Let yourself cry. You need to be willing to let yourself cry (or laugh or feel), because if you don’t cry/laugh/feel while writing your story, how do you expect your reader to?
7. Be willing to write garbage. Don’t worry about being perfect because there’s no such thing. I know many talented writers who don’t finish projects. The reason? At some point they become paralysed by trying to make it perfect. You have to be able to write garbage and leave it alone. Once you’re done with a draft, you can go back, dig in, and make it all sing.
8. Know when to let the book go. There comes a time in a book’s life, once the big edits are done, when it’s easy to fret about every comma and word choice. This was always my mother’s cue to say, “Am I going to have to fly out to California and take the book away from you?” At some point, you have to let the book be read by other people.
9.You can’t freak out and write a book at the same time.
There are so many reasons not to write. Writers are great at finding every excuse under the sun—I don’t have enough time/energy/inspiration, I’ll never be able to write anything good. But my mom always told me, “To write well, to do anything well, you have to be able to breathe.” Remember that much of writing is play. Don’t forget to enjoy it.
10. Learn to have the soul of an angel and the hide of an armadillo. When you’re pouring your heart onto the page, you don’t always think about the people in the world who are waiting to read your stories and maybe hate them and say critical or even untrue things about them in print. You have to be able to let yourself cry (see number six) and you also have to be able to – as Taylor Swift sings – shake it off.
11. Check it in the bus locker. Things (ie life) will always get in the way of writing, but you need to learn to compartmentalise. My mom wrote in her memoir, Swimming Lessons, “When I write, I write—focusing on that act as if it were all in the world I had to do.”
12. Write the kind of book you’d like to read. Every book Mom and I have written was a story we wanted to read. Write what inspires you, whatever that may be. Write what you love.
In August 2014, my mother passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly, and, for the first time in my life, I’m faced with writing a book without her. But I hear her voice: You can’t freak out and write a book at the same time. Check it in the bus locker. Breathe.
And so – I write, trying to honour her with every word, knowing that – if not for her – I wouldn’t be doing it at all.
August 25, 2015
All the Bright Places has been longlisted for the Guardian...
All the Bright Places has been longlisted for the Guardian children’s fiction prize (!!), and the nominated authors were asked to create videos about how we came to write our books and why readers should read and review them. Here’s mine.
August 24, 2015
My lovely and amazing agent Kerry Sparks is in Indiana right...
My lovely and amazing agent Kerry Sparks is in Indiana right now, where she took this picture of the shoe tree. ❤️️ Oh, Finch!
August 22, 2015
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
When your Sam/Jared wardrobe starts taking over.
Happy Birthday to my dad. ❤️️He was funny, clever, serious,...
Happy Birthday to my dad. ❤️️He was funny, clever, serious, gruff, stoic, wry, impatient, fun, and he had a brilliant mind. He used to make my high school dates stand outside to wait for me, even in a snow storm. ❄️ He ran marathons and once interrupted the coolest boys in school as they toilet papered our house AND CHASED THEM ON FOOT AROUND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
August 21, 2015
Look what’s hanging out at #7 on the NY Times Best Sellers...
Look what’s hanging out at #7 on the NY Times Best Sellers list!
August 20, 2015
My mom was my hero and my best friend. She died suddenly and...
A video posted by Jennifer Niven (@jenniferniven) on Aug 20, 2015 at 7:35pm PDT
My mom was my hero and my best friend. She died suddenly and unexpectedly one year ago on Aug 28, and I’ll never get over it.
