Judith Post's Blog, page 97
February 25, 2017
Deadlines & Writing
I did it! I finished romance #6. I met my deadline. Time to toast myself and celebrate. This was the romance I thought might never end. I kept thinking of new scenes to add to it, so it grew from 63,000–what I expected–to 73,000, which should make my editor happy. He wanted me to make my books longer–if I wanted to. I didn’t think I did, but this book disagreed with me.
I’m not suggesting that you can write a sprawling epic. Every editor/publishing house has specific lengths they accept, and if you go too far under or over those, your book will be a hard sell. But I knew my editor wanted 70,000 words even though my contract was only for 60,000. Those extra 10,000 words take longer to write, so if you have a deadline, it’s wise to write a little faster. Which leads me to a little kernel of thought that I’ve rolled around in my head for most of this week.
I recently read a blog post that implied if writers wrote more than one book a year, they weren’t serious writers. I guess we don’t sweat enough, suffer long enough to produce good books. I used to write one book a year when I had kids and my husband worked second trick, and there was ALWAYS someone underfoot, needing to do this, go there. The kids are grown now. I have more time. And now, I write three books a year and squeeze in some short fiction, too. Remember, I’m talking about 60,000 to 70,000 word books. The good news–I’ve been at it long enough, (and that makes a difference), that I actually think my writing’s BETTER when I write faster to meet a deadline. I don’t ramble around as much. Now, I aim for 10 pages a day, every weekday. That gives me plenty of time to plot a book before I start it, rewrite as I go (essential for me, even though it messes up other writers), give it to my critique partners, and then do a serious rewrite when I get back their comments.
This sounds good on paper. It hardly ever works that smoothly. I lose writing days when people come to stay and visit with us, when I get sick and can’t function, when the sky’s blue and I HAVE to play hooky, or I get a chance to go out for lunch. But regardless of what happens, I have to meet my deadline. And that pressure keeps the book in the back of my mind. Writing faster also makes me more conscious of pacing, how the book’s moving. I can FEEL it.
I’ve read novels by some of my favorite writers where I can almost tell they wrote TOO fast, that they were rushed and HAD to get a book done. Things get lost in the shuffle–like characterization, telling details, description. But Elizabeth George–yes, my goddess of writing–wrote her first book A GREAT DELIVERANCE–(which I consider flawless)–in three-and-a-half weeks. I’m guessing it had lived in her mind for so long, it gushed out. But, in truth, there’s no perfect time schedule to write a book. It’s according to how complicated the story is and if the story flows or fights you. Some books come to you almost whole and you have to write fast to keep up with them. Others, well, there’s a push-and-pull that takes longer. One book a year or three books a year can both be good. Find your own rhythm. Do what works for you.
Any thoughts on the subject?
I found this link from Elizabeth George on writing. Lots of good advice: http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/faq_writing.htm
And for you pantsers out there, I found an article on Linda Howard about how she writes: http://www.gadsdentimes.com/news/20130201/author-linda-howard-reflects-on-prolific-30-year-career
We have a solar eclipse this Sunday (we can’t see it in the U.S.). I hope the planets inspire you. Happy writing!
My webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
My author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/
Twitter: @judypost
February 24, 2017
Three Ways to HOOK a Reader & Never Let GO
A great explanation of how to hook and keep a reader. Thought I’d share.
Image courtesy of Randy Heinitz via Flickr Creative Commons.
How do we sell our stories? That is the big question. It is the reason for craft classes and editing and cover design and agents and editors and all the time on social media. And while platforms and covers and algorithms do matter, there is one tried and true way to sell more books.
Write a great story.
And not just any story, but a story that hooks from the very beginning and only continues to hook deeper.
Think of great stories like concertina wire.
The danger of concertina wire is not just in one hook, but hundreds. And it isn’t even in the hundreds of hooks. It is the tension created by the coiled structure. If a person is snagged even a little, every effort to break free (turning a page for resolution) only traps the victim deeper in…
View original post 1,567 more words
February 23, 2017
#SonofaPitch…Thoughts and My Votes
My friend and awesome writer, Kathy Palm, participated in SonofaPitch and generously donated HOURS of her time. She’s lived through it and here are some of her thoughts. Writing is subjective. As writers, it’s hard for us to accept that sometimes, but ALL art is subjective. Kathy explains that really well.
As the second round of Son of a Pitch wraps up, I sit here smiling…tired and my mind a bit frazzled, but very happy.
I read 51 entries, which included a query and the first 250 words of the manuscript. I hosted eleven of them on this little blog! It was an honor. I read some once, others…after revisions were posted…twice, and some more than that. I gave all my opinions. I squeed at some of the words. I smiled at others. I gasped. I laughed. I sighed. From horror, to fantasy, to sci-fi, to romance, to women’s fiction, to literary…YA, NA, and adult…everyone brought something different to this event. Everyone came to learn. Everyone united to help.
Son of a Pitch is my favorite writing competition. Everyone gets feedback. Everyone participates. Everyone is involved. #sonofapitch has been my favorite hangout these last few days.
I am so proud of…
View original post 663 more words
February 21, 2017
February 20, 2017
A short fiction trick
I shared C.S. Boyack II’s blog on Flipboard and he kindly sent me his advice on short story writing. Lots of my writing friends swear they can’t write a short story, but YES, YOU CAN. And here’s a perfect and powerful example and advice on how to do it.
I’ve been putting off this post for a long time, because it’s got to be a long post. The reason is it has to include a bit of micro-fiction to pick apart. Some of you might like the trick, some of you might like the story, but I’m going to post it anyway.
I’ve been seeing more posts about writing short stories on Blogland. Some of them are good, but most of them could be summed up by saying make them short. That’s so obvious as to be pretty unhelpful.
In order to share this trick, I have to give you a story to pick apart. Since I’m allowed to post an excerpt for promotional purposes, I’m choosing one from the Experimental Notebook. It isn’t my fault that it makes a complete story in 900 words. If you like the story, there are more in the Notebook for 99¢.
View original post 1,590 more words
By Popular Demand, Flipboard
Thought I’d share this. Flipboard is something new, in case anyone wants to try it and make their own magazine.
Hi all, Craig here again. I’ve posted a few times on my own blog, Entertaining Stories, about how I’ve benefitted from a semi-obscure media called Flipboard.
Flipboard is one of those curated content setups, and I came to it by accident. Once upon a time, I had a Zite Magazine account. I set it up to be a source of ideas that I might want to write about. All was well with the world, because I could give a thumbs up or down and improve the stories I got. I set up all kinds of things, like archaeology, paranormal, scientific discoveries, and more. Many of these made it into posts I make called The Idea Mill.
Then Zite got absorbed by Flipboard. I didn’t have any choice but to switch over. Honestly, it doesn’t work quite as well for my original purpose, but it allows me something I…
View original post 914 more words
February 18, 2017
Thank Heavens for Feedback!
I finished my sixth romance, and after I settled down, I liked it, but I knew it needed more. I had ideas on how to fix it, but they were vague, floaty kinds of things and I wasn’t sure what to focus on. And then my critique partners gave me their feedback, and they put a LOT of time into working on my novel, even lost sleep over it. I’ve mentioned before, haven’t I, that my critique partners are awesome? For the most part, they liked what was there, but they told me what was missing. And that’s exactly what I needed.
I’ve been chugging through chapters, doing more work than usual on rewrites. The book’s getting longer, but better–I hope. And it made me think about a few books that I’ve started lately and fizzled on. One was humorous, and my idea of humor and the author’s weren’t even close. I think humor is hard. The writing in the book was solid, but the author loved silly, exagerrated circumstances and I’m more of an understated type of funny fan. So that book was just a difference in style and taste. The other books that didn’t do it for me were also well written, but they pretty much skimmed the surface of plot and character. And I’m pretty sure that’s what I’d done for book six. I finished three of those books, but I finished them dissatisfied. I felt like I’d read a series of events, but I never got pulled into the story.
I think that maybe the difference between a good book and a great book is that a great book makes you breathe and feel what the characters are feeling. A good book can entertain you and help you pass time, but a great book worms itself into your brain and lives there. It doesn’t have to be about some huge, momentous event either. I love Sarah Addison Allen’s books, and the events are usually personal to her characters and their families, but she makes me CARE because small things in life can seem big and feel momentous. To accomplish that, the authors who are my favorites use telling details and internal dialogue. We understand their wants and their motivations. We feel their angst. Sometimes, big events can swallow a character. The event drives the story, and that can be fun, but for me, a story’s even stronger if we live through an event through the character and have to struggle and worry with him.
Anyway, I hope my rewrites make my characters’ motivations even stronger. I hope I end up with a book readers will enjoy and remember. And if you’re pounding the keys now, happy writing to you, too!
webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/
Twitter: @judypost
February 11, 2017
When is it too much?
I’ve listened to some of my friends when they first get Netflix or Hulu or find a new author. They binge on a series they’ve found that knocks their socks off. Sometimes, they watch or read the new show/author back to back until they’re caught up. I’m not so good at that. If I read an author’s books one after another, pretty soon I fizzle, no matter how good they are. And then it’s time for me to mix it up and read other voices, other genres for a while.
It’s made me think about timing. It’s a tricky thing, at least, for me. One of my friends had a favorite blog, but the writer put up something new every day, and she finally felt overwhelmed and quit reading it. We’re all busy. We have to fit things into the few small empty spaces we have in our days. When is too much…too much? I follow a blog every day, but the posts are so short, I read them when I first hit my computer to wake my brain up. They’re my alarm clock for writing. Then there are people who post so seldomly that I forget to look for them, to make time for them. Even when they do post, I’ve lost the flow and don’t always read them. For me, as a reader, I think a new post once a week works about the best.
Timing even matters for books by my favorite authors. If they write shorter books (50,000 to 70,000 words), I look forward to something by them a few times a year. If they write tomes like Elizabeth George or J.K. Rowling, once a year fills my need to hear their voice, read their words. But if I’m reading a series and it’s two or more years between book five and book six, the tension for the next book evaporates and even when it comes out, I might not rush to buy it.
I’m putting a second free book up on my webpage now, chapter by chapter, and I debated on how to load them–once a week? Once a day? I wasn’t sure, but the chapters are short, so I decided to go with once a day. They won’t take much time to read, and hopefully, they’ll build momentum. But I’m not sure. Maybe that’s too much. So far, according to my stats, readers are sticking with them. We’ll see as I go. Wish me luck.
Happy reading and writing to all of you!
Webpage: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/
Twitter: @judypost
February 4, 2017
Nearing the End
I have three more chapters before I reach the end of romance six–at least, the first draft. I’m happy with the book, the story and characters, but I hate it right now. I’m so sick of writing it, and so ready for the next book, I can hardly stand it. Every writer is different, but until I can hardly stomach a book, I figure something’s wrong with it.
I had this book so plotted out, I thought for sure it would have to behave. But I’m here to tell you, you can plot out events in a book, but once a character comes to life, you’ve lost leverage. He or she might do what’s in your outline, but the whys and wherefores get bent beyond recognition. And darn it all, you end up liking a character who started out as a pill. Two of my characters switched sides on me in this book, and a new character wriggled into the story and made herself at home. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but people who tell me that if they plot, it ruins the surprise of writing the story, must be better at discipline than I am.
Oh, well, this is a shorter post than usual, because if I were to give anyone advice on writing right now, it would be DON’T DO IT. Even though, a week from now, I’ll be all gung-ho again. So I’ll spare everyone my end-of-book blues and hope that YOUR writing is going swimmingly well!
My webpage: just posted chapter 22 & 23: http://www.judithpostswritingmusings.com/
My Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/JudiLynnwrites/
Twitter: @judypost
February 2, 2017
Welcome Teri Polen with Sarah and #WritingTechinques
I read this on Mae Clair’s blog today, and it has great info on writing techniques. The link for beat sheets is great, too. Thought I’d share. And Kathy Palm, if you read this, this book is YA AND horror:)
I’m so happy to introduce new friend, Teri Polen, who writes YA fiction and has recently released her debut novel Sarah. Teri and I met when she hosted an October/Halloweenish promotion for multiple authors on her blog and was kind enough to include me.
Since then, I’ve come to realize we have many common friends in the blogosphere. In addition to that, she held me glued to the pages through Sarah, a spooky YA novel centered around a vengeful ghost. You can find my five star review for Sarah on Amazon, but before you go gallivanting off, check out Teri’s post on writing techniques. The character quirks section really made me stop and think!
~ooOOoo~
Epiphanies (for me) in Writing Techniques
I’ve never had any ‘formal’ training in writing – both of my degrees are in business, and learning how to interpret balance sheets was worthless when it came…
View original post 640 more words
