Chris Baty's Blog, page 194

Kami Garcia: On Building Better Stories and Perseverance

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Kami Garcia offers a pep talk filled with step-by-step advice:

So you made it through NaNoWriMo, and you have 50,000 words… now what? It’s the same question a lot of writers face when they finish a first draft. The good news is you finished the hard part: you have a draft.

I can hear some of you cursing me now: “But Kami, my first draft is totally crappy and worthless. It’s terrible. I wasted an entire month of my life, and all I have 50,000 terrible words to show for it.”

My answer: It doesn’t matter if you wrote the crappiest first draft in the history of all first drafts. You have something to work with, which means you can fix it, mold it, and bang it into whatever shape you want. Here are a few tips to get started:

Read Your First Draft (and Possibly Cry a Little)

After you put away the pint of ice cream and the tissues, take an objective look at your draft. What are the strongest points? The parts that kept you reading? Whether you print out your draft to make notes or use software (I love Scrivener), mark the best bits—circle, highlight, whatever works for you. These are the parts you’ll re-read whenever you start to lose hope (which will be often).

Ask: What’s Your Problem Anyway?

Two of the most common problems with first drafts are:

there is no problem in the story, or
the structure and pacing make it difficult to find the problem and care about it.

Every story needs to have a problem. The problem can be as big as the end of the world, or as small as trying to make it through the school day (which is pretty much the same as the end of the world).

Stories are made of conflict, and problems cause conflict. Make sure your main character wants or needs something, and then put as many obstacles in her path as possible.

If your draft doesn’t have a problem anywhere in sight (or a big enough problem for the reader to care about), figure out what your main character wants and put something—or someone—in their way.

Build a Better Story

A house is only as strong as its foundation, and the same is true of stories. Most stories share common structural elements or plot points. For example, books and films often begin by showing a protagonist in her everyday life. Within a few minutes (or chapters), trouble starts brewing.

To be sure I hit all the major plot points, I make a beat sheet before I start writing, but you can make easily one after you’re finished. I use a combination of Blake Snyder’s beat sheet and James Scott Bell’s LOCK system.

If you want to read more about all this plot stuff, these are my go-to books: The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler, Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, and Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.

Create Unforgettable Characters

Character is the reason readers keep turning the pages. If a reader cares about the protagonist, they’ll follow you through the murkiest muck of a plot to see what happens to her. Your protagonist needs to be relatable, which is not the same thing as being likable. While there is nothing wrong with being likable, lots of great stories are written about antiheroes with less than stellar personalities.

Give your protagonist fears, doubts, and flaws, just like the rest of us. While sympathetic and likable can be pluses in a protagonist, relatability is the key to making readers care.

Look at Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series: though undeniably unlikable, he won over more than a few readers when his struggles with bullying and unrequited love were revealed.

Find a Reader

Now that you’ve revised, it’s time to find a reader. This person should not be your mother. Find the person who will tell you that your new dress looks hideous on you. You’re looking for honesty here. Choose someone who’s interested in the genre in which you’re writing and who also loves to read, and then hand over the pages.

Here’s the catch: You have to be willing to listen to criticism if you want to become a better writer. Personally, I’m not precious with my words, meaning I don’t get offended or upset if someone tells me to cut a line or a paragraph. I don’t need to hang onto every word—I’m not going to run out. It would worry me more if my reader couldn’t get through my novel because it was boring.

Work Big to Small

Tackle the biggest issues with your manuscript first. Don’t start editing individual sentences when your story doesn’t have a problem or the necessary plot points to keep readers turning the pages.

I revise in three phases. In Phase 1, I work through the major issues: plot holes, pacing, or scenes without enough conflict.
In Phase 2, I develop characters and character arcs more fully, check consistency, and make sure the rules of my universe are clear.
Phase 3 consists of adding details, polishing prose, and checking facts—all the small stuff.

Some writers can deal with all three levels of revision simultaneously. I’m not one of them.

The Most Important Advice I Have to Offer: Keep going, and don’t give up.

You don’t need an MFA, an agent, or a fancy publishing contract to be a writer. While those things are great, and you may end up getting some of them, the only things you need to be a writer are a pen, an idea, and the determination to keep going. If you have those three things, you are already a writer—published or not.

Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Unbreakable (Book 1 in the Legion Series) & coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels and the spin-off, Dangerous Creatures  (May 2014). She lives in Maryland with her family, and their dogs Spike and Oz. Learn more about the Legion series, and follow her on Twitter.

The Agent/Author Conversations: Why Main Characters Need to Drive Your Story

As the "Now What?" Months continue, we’ll be hearing from agents, editors, self-publishers, and authors about the road towards sharing your work. We’ve asked several authors to interview their agents for a peek behind the curtain at what it takes to write and sell a book. Today, Kelly Loy Gilbert interviews her agent, Adriann Ranta, about typical critiques, beta readers, and more:

Kelly Loy Gilbert: When I come out of my writing cave with a new draft, one thing that’s always a big transition for me is that process of opening it up to other voices. I tend not to show anyone what I’m working on as I’m doing it, so for months the only voice I’ve been hearing has been my own. But, of course, if you’re going take a story out into the world, whether that’s sharing it with a reader or an agent or editor, whether that’s self-publishing or traditional publishing, suddenly there will be a whole chorus of voices surrounding your previously shy story.

Adriann, what have you learned about the revision process from the agenting side?

Adriann Ranta: I’ve learned that everyone works differently. Some authors want to be left alone, some want feedback on first pages, some reach roadblocks and need feedback to see the way forward…

I try to be as accessible as I can, but I’ve also learned that I’m not a critique partner or work-shopper, and to push authors to take drafts as far as they possibly can before sending it my way. Agents have valuable insight into what’s saleable and what’s working/not working, and I love pushing authors toward their best work, but I’ve learned to urge authors to explore critique partners, writing groups, and beta readers as well.

KLG: It’s lovely getting feedback from others who are eager to help take your story further, but I’ve found it’s equally important to know how to handle that feedback. If a suggestion doesn’t sit right with me, if it feels like it misses the heart of the story, I step back and try to dissect the suggestion.

Maybe the feedback is, your main character isn’t likable! She would be so much more likable if she were funnier! And maybe ‘funny’ doesn’t fit with my concept of her, so then it’s up to me to dive back into her story and piece together places where she might not be coming across the way I meant her to. So I’ve learned to try to find the core of others’ feedback and then sit with it before incorporating it back into the story in a way that still feels true to the characters.

Adriann, is there recurring feedback you find yourself frequently giving to authors?

AR: Not having the main character be the agent of change is a critique I’ve given to a number of manuscripts, and it’s a slippery problem. If it’s not the main character’s choice to instigate the events that put the book in motion, then why is he/she the main character? Even if the MC is injected into a scenario he/she didn’t choose (say, Katniss fighting in the Hunger Games), it should be his/her actions afterward which drive the book (she decides to fight and win).

I read a submission for a middle grade project in the slush pile that had a really interesting concept—Southern Gothic, historical, hoodoo—but the 12-year-old main character was being told what to do by all the adults in the story. The main character wasn’t really the agent of change; all the clues, advice, hints, etc. that the plot hinged on were coming from his parents.

I sent the author a rejection letter with this critique and he agreed, and decided to revise. He takes seven months to revise; I point this out not because I was twiddling my thumbs waiting for the revision, but because when he got back in touch with his revision, I truly appreciated the time he’d put into reworking the manuscript to make it better. It freaks me out when an author turns a revision around in a week; thoughtful revisions take time. I loved his revisions, and just sold Hoodoo at auction to Clarion!

KLG: As an agent, you’ve taken writers though this whole process over and over. What have you learned about the process of taking a manuscript from a draft to a finished, published book?

AR: Sometimes, getting published is a very long, frustrating road and the author/agent relationship can take a serious beating—rejections, close calls, missed deadlines, disappointing sales—and I think it’s important to remember that we’re in it together, fighting on the same side.

Not than an agent is infallible or that authors are always a piece of cake, but it’s a satisfying feeling to look back at years of highs and lows and still feel like you’re in the trenches with the right person. I know the marriage analogy is a tired one, but it’s so great to look back and still feel excited to look forward.

KLG: I think this has been one of the most important things for me: who you’re sharing your process with. Developing relationships with readers (be they beta readers, critique partners, agents, editors) who you trust to reflect your story back to you and tell you the truth and believe in you.

And, above all, of course, make sure your characters are compelling to you, because they’re your only real companions all those hours and hours and hours… it’s just you and the story.

Kelly Loy Gilbert is the author of City On A Hill (Disney-Hyperion, Spring 2015). She tweets at @KellyLoyGilbert.

Adriann Ranta is a senior agent and vice president at Wolf Literary  While an avid reader of most subjects and themes, Adriann is most interested in gritty, realistic, true-to-life stories with conflicts based in the real world. She likes edgy, dark, quirky voices, unique settings, and everyman stories told with a new spin. She lives in Brooklyn, has many tattoos, and is an evangelical fan of the X-Files.

Five Mistakes to Look For In Your Dialogue

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Cara Lockwood, author, editor, and NaNo sponsor , spotlights five dialogue potholes:

Good dialogue is hard for even experienced writers to get right. Bad dialogue, however, can be a major red flag to agents, publishers and readers in general that you are a novice writer not ready to be published. I’ve helped many first-time writers correct the most common missteps with dialogue, such as:

Flat dialogue 

Often, a character’s speech can come out too stilted. I always think it’s a good idea to read dialogue aloud to make sure it sounds authentic.

Stilted dialogue sounds like:

“I have thought about it extensively and I do not believe I am a morning person,” Allison said.

That speech only works if your novel is set in Downton Abbey.

Too-long Monologues 

While everyone agrees Shakespeare is a genius, no one wants to read a Shakespeare-length monologue in the middle of a novel. If your dialogue goes on for more than three sentences, consider breaking up the speech with some descriptions of what the speaker is doing, or how the listener is reacting.

Colorless Dialogue

When characters talk, readers still need to know what’s going on in the scene. Add descriptions, such as:

“I’m not a morning person,” Allison admitted, as she reached for her mug of hot coffee.

Rhythmless Dialogue

Dialogue that starts to feel like a screenplay can be too blah:

“I’m not a morning person,” she said.

“Really? I am,” he said.

“I love coffee, though,” she said.

“Me, too,” he said.

Not every line of dialogue needs “he said” or “she said.” Repetition can kill your flow. You also lose out on ways to communicate meaning in between the lines.

Consider this example:

Allison reached for her coffee mug. “I’m not a morning person.” She took a sip.

Her boyfriend, Mike, moved to her side. “Really?” He slid his arm around her waist and playfully nuzzled her neck. “I am.”

See how the meaning of the conversation changes? And I bet you didn’t miss “he said” or “she said.”

Expositional Dialogue

Dialogue can help you advance your plot, but it should not be the only way you do so. Remember, the best novels show us the action, they don’t tell us about it. Having a character spend too much time explaining your plot will drag down your novel’s pace.

Cara Lockwood is the USA Today bestselling author of eleven novels. She’s also the owner and chief editor at Edit-My-Novel.com, which helps new writers improve their work.

Top photo by Flickr user Streetfly_JZ.

Why Self-Publishing Is a Craft... And How You Can Master It

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Guy Kawasaki, former chief evangelist for Apple, and author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur , shares why he prefers the term “artisanal publishing”:

What led you to write APE?

I felt so much pain because I self-published my previous book, What the Plus!. In the words of Steve Jobs, “There must be a better way.”

When I could discover no better explanation of self-publishing, I decided to write the book about it to help everyone else going through the process.

You’ve coined the phrase “artisanal publishing”—can you elaborate on what that means?

"Self-publishing" can have negative connotations. That is, an author had to self-publish because his or her book was not good enough for a "real publisher." This is sometimes true, but it’s certainly not always true.

I like the phrase “artisanal publishing” because it fosters the image of an author/craftsman who truly cares about his or her work.

Why is it important to shift the conversation when discussing self vs. traditional publishing?

I’m not sure that it is important to shift the conversation. What’s important is that you get a good book out that is properly copy-edited, designed, covered, and distributed. If a traditional publisher will do this for you, alleluia. I just have my doubts that traditional publishing works well for most writers.

Why have you personally opted for artisanal publishing over traditional publishing?

The two key factors are control and speed. Control means that I can write what I want and sell it the way I want. Speed means that I can get a book out 6-9 months faster than a traditional publisher.

How does the creative process of writing complement the creativity that goes into publishing?

The two are not necessarily related. Creative writing and creative marketing, sales, and distribution are two very different things. One of the burdens of artisanal publishing is that you have to be good at both.

All the functions that are necessary to make a book successful are necessary whether the book is traditionally or artisanally published. It’s not like you get to skip steps with the artisanal path.

How can people utilize social media throughout the editing/revision process?

Use social media to solicit people who would like to read and test your book in its final stages. Then trust them and send them the Word document with “track changes” turned on. Ask them to make their suggestions and send you back the Word file. I sent the APE manuscript to approximately 250 people. Seventy-five or so returned it with suggestions. There were literally hundreds of great suggestions.

If you don’t have the ovaries or balls to do this, then use social media for specific questions. For example, when I was searching for a book that was written purely for the intellectual challenge, I asked my followers and got a terrific example that was written without any words containing the letter “e.” I would have never found out about that book without social media.

A huge portion of artisanal publishing relies on good marketing of the finished product. APE discusses this at length. Can you share some of your favorite marketing tips?

My favorite marketing tip is to use social media to get a large number of beta testers as I just mentioned. Then, when your book goes on sale, ask them to immediately write reviews of it.

Assuming your book is good, this guarantees a great start to the book review process.

If you’d like to hear more of Guy’s self-publishing tips, he’s offering a webinar to anyone who donates to our nonprofit!

Guy Kawasaki is the author of APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur—How to Publish a Book . Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

The 6 Commandments of Starting the Editing Process

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, author Renee Ahdieh teams up with her literary agent, Barbara Poelle, to propose six editing commandments:

(Also, Barbara is offering free query critiques! To be eligible to win, just tweet this post, and include @Bpoelle and @rahdieh!)

While thinking about how to compile the Six Commandments of Editing, I turned at once to my trusty vodka guru, er, literary agent, Barbara Poelle. Over the course of our relationship she has caused me to alternate between tragically weeping and Breakfast Club fist-pumping, all in the span of a single day. And my manuscript is always the better for it.

So, without further ado, here are our suggestions/directives/rules-to-live-by (analytical commentary included) when approaching your knock-kneed, newborn masterpiece:

The Six Commandments of Editing

Thou shalt not query right away.
Thou shalt wield a red pen … and mean it.
Thou shalt read your book aloud.
Thou shalt read in your genre.
Thou shalt recruit fellow writers.
Thou shalt keep your eyes on your own paper.

1. Thou shalt not query right away.

Renee Ahdieh: This seems pretty obvious, but, even I have suffered, on more than one occasion, from a syndrome I’ll refer to as “1st Draft Delusion.” Here’s another “D” word for ya: don’t.

Barbara Poelle: And no one here would ever send a query out for an incomplete manuscript, right? Because every time that happens Johannes Gutenberg rises up out of his grave and peers into your windows, eyes full of shame and sorrow.

2. Thou shalt wield a red pen … and mean it.

Barbara: Kill your darlings! Just like you should never pick your own Match.com profile pic, you should always make sure that you have a critique partner with a healthy lust for honesty who is telling you when your manuscript looks a little puffy.

Renee: In any manuscript, there are moments where you will need a hatchet and a scalpel. In any manuscript. Approaching your work understanding this fact is half the battle. Remember: even John Green edits.

3. Thou shalt read your book aloud.

Renee: This sounds crazy. It also looks crazy. Is it crazy? Not at all. Reading your work aloud is the best way to catch mistakes, recognize awkward turns of phrase, and determine whether or not your dialogue rings true.

Barbara: You make so much more sense to me now.

Renee: And all it took was a window into my crazy.

4. Thou shalt read in your genre.

Barbara: I will say this until it is chanted back to me wherever I go: read 2000, write 2000. That means for every 2000 words you are writing in your novel, you are reading in your genre. See what’s out there! It also helps with the woo-woo process of visualizing success to go to the bookstore and stare at the shelf space where your book will be. Then buy the novels to the right and left of that space to get you started.

Renee: Don’t write for trends, but know your market. Remember that time you had an idea for an amazing book no one has done before? Yeah. Me too. Sucks when you realize James Patterson already wrote it.

5. Thou shalt recruit fellow writers.

Renee: I cannot stress this enough. Having strong beta readers and critique partners has made a world of difference in my writing. Don’t just ask Mom or your BFF to take a look… ask people who aren’t afraid to tell you something isn’t working. Someone who understands what you’re doing because they’re fighting the same fight.

Barbara: Exactly. Although this can feel like a solo mission to the summit, you need Sherpas!

6. Thou shalt keep your eyes on your own paper.

Barbara: No one can write what you write. And no one will have the same relationship with their agent. And no one will have the same publicity plan. Work with what you have in your own arsenal as far as craft technique and detail, and don’t worry what Sally or Keith is getting, doing, or writing.

Renee: This is so important. Pulling your hair and gnashing your teeth because JimBob got a book deal for a million billion dollars with little effort and virtually no talent does absolutely nothing for you.

Instead, focus that time and energy on your work… and JimBob won’t know what hit him.

Renee Ahdieh is a writer of young adult books. Her life goals include becoming Twitter-verified and discovering what really matters. She lives in North Carolina with her long-suffering husband and their tiny overlord of a dog. Her novel The Wrath and the Dawn, a re-imagining of The Arabian Nights, will be published by Penguin/Putnam in 2015. 

Barbara Poelle is an agent with Irene Goodman Literary primarily representing thrillers, upmarket fiction, historical romance, crime, mystery and young adult, but looks for anything with a unique voice. Barbara enjoys working with her authors to explore the craft, technique, and detail of a novel in order to turn that maybe into a yes.

Top photo by Flickr user OpalMirror.

5 Most Common, Novel-Infiltrating Grammar Mistakes

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Allison VanNest, from Grammarly, highlights some common grammar mistakes:

For many writers, each November is a new chance to write a complete novel—at least 50,000 words in 30 days—during National Novel Writing Month. In 2013, Grammarly joined the fray with GrammoWriMo, a group novel project. Together, nearly 300 participants wrote more than 130,000 words.

As you know by now, the breakneck nature of NaNoWriMo leaves very little time for editing. To reach the goal, every writer needs to put at least 1,667 words on the page every day. The resulting rough draft is, in many cases, really rough.

When Grammarly crunched the GrammoWriMo group novel in our automated proofreading program, we discovered a ton of comma confusion and grammar goofs. Here are our top five mistakes (and how you can avoid them):

Comma misuse. The comma is the most commonly used (and misused) punctuation mark. It is used to link items in a series, to complete a subordinate clause at the start of a sentence, to set off parenthetical information, and, when paired with a coordinating conjunction, to create a compound sentence. The Purdue Online Writing Lab has a complete rundown on the dos and don’ts of comma usage.

Even the most savvy writers sometimes slip up with commas. One of the most common errors is adding a comma before a subordinate clause as in the example below:

Wrong: Mary wanted to go to Applebee’s for happy hour, even though her sworn enemy was working there that night.

Right: Mary wanted to go to Applebee’s for happy hour even though her sworn enemy was working there that night.

Missing commas. Many writers, fearful of using too many commas, end up leaving out necessary punctuation. Non-essential information—meaning information that clarifies but does not change the meaning of a sentence—should be set off using a pair of commas.

Wrong: Mary wanted to go to Applebee’s for happy hour, even though her arch nemesis Rhonda was working there that night.

Right: Mary wanted to go to Applebee’s for happy hour even though her arch nemesis, Rhonda, was working there that night.

In the example above, Mary can have only one arch nemesis, so her name gets placed inside commas.

Run-on sentences. Run-ons aren’t necessarily long sentences; grammatically correct sentences can contain multiple clauses. When more than one complete thought gets mashed together without the correct punctuation, however, a run-on sentence is born.

The easiest fix is usually to separate the pieces into two or more sentences. More advanced fixes might involve the use of semicolons or subordinating conjunctions.

Wrong: Mary hated Rhonda she stole her high school sweetheart.

Right: Mary hated Rhonda. She stole her high school sweetheart.

or

Mary hated Rhonda; she stole her high school sweetheart.

or

Mary hated Rhonda, for she stole her high school sweetheart.

or

Mary hated Rhonda because she stole her high school sweetheart.

Comma splice. A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses (i.e., complete thoughts) are joined by a comma.

A type of run-on sentence, a comma splice can be fixed by chopping the two complete thoughts into their own sentences, adding a coordinating conjunction such as ‘and’ or ‘but’, or replacing the comma with a semicolon.

Definite vs. Indefinite article use. Articles are used to indicate whether you’re talking about a specific noun, such as “the dog”, or a general noun, such as “a dog”.

When you’re talking about a specific dog, you use the definite article “the”. When you’re talking about a general, non-specific dog, you use the indefinite article “a” or “an”.

Nouns beginning with a vowel sound get the article “an”, while nouns beginning with a consonant sound get the article “a”.

Did you finish NaNoWriMo this year? What are your plans for editing your novel? Let us know in the comments!

A self-proclaimed word nerd, Allison VanNest works with Grammarly to help perfect written English. Connect with Allie, the Grammarly team, and its community on Facebook.

Top photo by Flickr user chrisinplymouth.

Scott Westerfeld: On Rewriting & Growing Up

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Today, Scott Westerfeld delivers some wisdom with his pep:

At the end of drafting a novel, I’m usually in need of a laugh, so I return to the very first pages I wrote. It’s like looking at photos of myself twenty years ago: How callow I was then, how artless and unkempt, how innocent of what was to come. But what I’ve gained since those early days isn’t so much knowledge or wisdom or a better haircut, but simple perspective. I can see now where things were headed then.

Sadly, when looking at old pictures, you can’t go back and give yourself advice, or change those unfortunate clothing choices. But with first drafts you can. In that moment before revising begins, you’re no longer embedded in the hurly burly of what-happens-next and what’s-this-character’s-motivation. You have perspective.

So here’s a radical thought: revision is the perfect opportunity for outlining. Or perhaps we should call it “re-outlining” your novel, or simply “stepping back.”

I know, it’s tempting to start writing again, to fix those broken sentences in chapter twelve, or that forced dialogue right before the climax. You probably have a list. But set that list aside for a moment and make yourself a map: a big-picture view of how the pieces of your novel fit together.

You may already have an outline. Put that aside, too, and look at what you wound up actually writing. A complete draft has its own logic, and deserves some respect just for having a beginning, a middle, and an end. (If it doesn’t, maybe you’re still drafting.) Clear away those youthful hopes and dreams that linger in your original outline. And, like an older version of yourself, look back at where you went wrong.

I’ll admit I’m stuck on this younger-self metaphor, because my next novel is about both revising and growing up. It’s the story of a young novelist who spends her first year away from home rewriting a NaNoWriMo draft, which has already sold to a publisher. Facing her first draft (written in high school) is a bit like facing her younger self. It’s so enthusiastic, but so painfully innocent, and all kinds of embarrassing. Because a lot of growing up—like a lot of rewriting—is simply admitting how clueless you were not so long ago. (Which is why some people never rewrite, and why some never grow up.)

So start your revision by answering these questions:

Which scenes flowed from your pen, and which were clunky?
Which writerly decisions embarrass you now?
Which characters were like a bad relationship, and which turned out unexpectedly compelling?
Which goals that you started with aren’t worth pursuing anymore?
And what startling new vistas opened up?

In other words, what do you know now that you didn’t know then?
Realize how little you knew when you started, appreciate how much smarter you’ve become, and accept what innocence you’ve lost. Then make decisions accordingly, even if that means throwing away the obsessions of your younger self.

To throw one more analogy at you: A novel is like a cloud. When you’re in the thick of it, its shape is unknowable. But once you’ve passed through and gained a little distance, it’s much easier to see.

Make sure you take a picture before you dive back in.

Scott Westerfeld’s teen novels include the Uglies series, the Midnighters trilogy, The Last Days, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and the sequel to Peeps. Scott was born in Texas, and alternates summers between Sydney, Australia, and New York City.

Why You Should Throw a Wrench In Your Editing Routine

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Author Michael David Lukas arms you with tips to keep your editing process fresh:

As Thomas Edison so wisely said, writing is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent revision. Or maybe it was ninety-nine percent perspiration. And, come to think of it, he was probably talking about inventing, not writing…

Regardless, it’s true. Writing is all about revision. And revision is hard work, in no small part because it involves killing your darlings and ripping your beautiful beloved writing to shreds. And so, as you set out on the long road of revision, here are a few tips and tricks that might help make the journey a little smoother:

Make an Aspirational Outline.

Now that you’ve gotten a few weeks between you and your first draft, sit down with a blank piece of paper and make an aspirational outline, a blueprint of what you want the next draft to look like.

Now that we’re a few weeks away from November, you will most likely have tons of great ideas for how to change it. The novel should be set in a utopian Seattle of the future, not that dusty abandoned copper town in Idaho. The main character should be a talking elephant, not a morose concert pianist.

Whatever brilliant changes you decide to make, this is your chance to integrate them into the book. This is your chance to sketch out a new structure, before you are drawn back in by the luminous prose of your first draft.

Print it Out.

Once you’ve made your aspirational outline, then and only then, you can peek at the first draft. Print it out, sit down at your kitchen table, and try to read it over once through without making any notes, try to get into the flow of the book, as a reader would, try to lose yourself in the plot.

Mostly likely you will feel a little relieved (this isn’t so bad) and a little sick to your stomach (but it isn’t so good, either). Once you’ve read it through once, pick up your red pen and read it over again, this time with your harsh editor/mean English teacher hat on. No need to sugar coat your comments. The only feelings you will hurt are your own. This is your chance to chop things up, move them around, cut them out, and make the first draft fit into the aspirational outline.

Change Your Routine.

After you’ve been working on revisions for a while, take a tiny step back and throw a wrench in your routine.

If you usually write at night, try writing in the morning. If you write in the coffee shop down the block, try writing in the library. If you write by hand, try the computer. If you write on the computer, try writing by hand. It may seem counter-intuitive to break your routine once you’ve gotten rolling. But even the tiniest of changes will help you see this new draft in new ways, and make sure you don’t get stuck in a new rut.

Go for a Walk.

If you do get stuck in a rut, try going for a walk. As Henry David Thoreau said, “Methinks the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”

Or, if you don’t trust Thoreau, take it from Friedrich Nietzsche: “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”

Michael David Lukas has been a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey, a night-shift proofreader in Tel Aviv, and a waiter at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference in Vermont. Translated into more than a dozen languages, his first novel  The Oracle of Stamboul  was a finalist for the California Book Award, the NCIBA Book of the Year Award, and the Harold U. Ribalow Prize. He lives in Oakland, California.

Top photo by Flickr user Tsahi Levent-Levi.

Three Ways to Build Your Novel's Foundation

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Author Melissa Landers provides a blueprint for laying the structure for your final draft:

Greetings, fellow Wrimos! I’m Melissa Landers, and I understand your post-November angst. Four years ago, I had just come down from the high of finishing my very first novel. The elation had faded a bit, but I still felt like a rock star… until I read my manuscript and realized what a hot mess it was.

I had faith that there was a great story buried beneath those 50,000 hastily-written words, but I didn’t know how to unearth it. No one had ever taught me to write fiction, let alone edit it. So I spent the next year and a half in a constant state of revision, gleaning what I could from self-editing texts and critique partners. I rewrote—not revised, but actually rewrote—Alienated five times before it sold. But in the sage words of Sweet Brown, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.”

To save you a heap of suffering, here are the editing steps I wish I’d taken:

Step 1: Inspect your foundation.

All too often, writers discover at the query stage that their story doesn’t have a strong enough hook, or that the stakes are too low. Let’s address those issues now, versus three rewrites from now. Sum up your plot in one sentence.

For example, here’s mine:

Valedictorian Cara Sweeney gets more than she bargains for when she agrees to host the first interplanetary exchange student.

Now ask yourself the following questions: Is this idea original and compelling? How can I make it stand out from the competition? Feel free to gather input from friends. Ask them if this is the kind of story they’d like to read—and tell them not to BS you, because they probably will.

Once you nail down a killer one-liner, write a back cover blurb for your story. (Read the backs of your favorite novels for examples.) If you can’t craft an enticing blurb, then it probably means something is wrong with the story. Is the conflict deep enough? Are the stakes high enough? What does your protagonist stand to lose if she doesn’t reach her goal? The higher the stakes, the greater the tension.

To demonstrate, read the following scenarios and tell me which is more interesting:

A librarian must shelve 100 books in ten minutes, or she loses her job.
A librarian must shelve 100 books in ten minutes, or she loses her hands.

See what I mean? It’s all about the stakes. Take this opportunity to raise them.

Step 2: Learn the rules of your genre.

Failing to follow this step cost me five months of work. I had no idea there were “rules” within the world of young adult literature—for example: during my first manuscript critique, I learned that I wasn’t supposed to write from adult points of view. Oopsie. If I had been aware of that rule in the beginning, it would have saved me from completely rewriting the manuscript from my teen protagonists’ point of view.

If you write romance, you’ll find the rules within some sub-genres quite restrictive—category lines even specify word count. (A great resource is On Writing Romance, by Leigh Michaels.)

To discover what’s expected within your type of fiction, try connecting with similar writers on the NaNoWriMo forums. Ask questions. Search for online articles. You might have to do some digging, but take the time to research your genre.

And don’t whine to me about how bestsellers break the rules. You’re not a bestseller—yet. Don’t give agents and editors an excuse to reject you, because trust me, they’ll be looking for a reason.

Step 3: Hunker down for a rewrite.

That sounds scary, I know. But if you love your characters as much as I love mine, then you owe them as many rewrites as it takes. You’ve come this far—don’t half-ass it now. If you’re a plotter, make a list of scenes you can salvage from your first draft and then fill in the holes. If you’re a pantser, feel free to jump right in.

Either way, I suggest starting with a brand-new Word document. The clean white space will help you craft new material, and you can copy and paste any usable text from the first draft. While you’re rewriting, make sure the pace stays tight.

My golden rule of editing is anything that doesn’t advance the plot or deepen characterization gets cut. No matter how clever the lines may be or how long I spent crafting them, each must move the story forward or I hit delete.

Now’s the perfect time to get your hands on a copy of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne and King, which will teach you how to spot the most common newbie mistakes, like telling vs. showing.

Most importantly, don’t give up. If I had quit after my second rewrite—or my fourth—I wouldn’t be able to see Alienated on the shelves when it launches next month. My characters were worth the effort… and so are yours!

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati and writes adult contemporary romance as Macy Beckett.

Top photo by Flickr user brianbutko.

Four Questions to Ask About Each Draft

The “Now What?” Months are here! In 2014, we’ll be bringing you advice from authors who published their NaNo-novels, editors, agents, and more to help you polish November’s first draft until it gleams. Author Liz Coley guides you through four questions she asks about each of her manuscripts:

Come each November 30, I’ve usually got a 50,017-word manuscript with an inspired and page-turning start, a middle featuring holes or inconsistencies, and an end that feels like a mad dash to the last scene (because it was).

This document is what I call my “white room” draft. It lacks furniture and paint, or more specifically, well-interspersed action beats to break up the dialogue and well-integrated physical details of characters and setting. And frequently, though the foundation is good, it lacks a wall or two and a decent roof to cap it all off.

Since I started NaNoWriMo in 2006, I’ve developed a four-step revision cycle—beginning with Step Zero: take December to finish the story. With the new year, revising begins in earnest. Simply stated, four questions must be answered and satisfied:

Step Four: Is this interesting? (Story)
Step Three: Did I use enough words? (Color)
Step Two: Did I choose the best words? (Texture)
Step One: Did I get my spelling, punctuation, and grammar right? (Mechanics)

Step Four (Is this interesting?) is the hardest one to assess for yourself. This is where a trusted first reader or a critique group is invaluable. Ask them:

Did the story arc work?
Was the pacing good?
Were there lulls or inconsistencies or confusing bits?
Was there tension and release?
Did I take you on an emotional journey?

Step Three (Did I use enough words?) requires decorating the white room, and self-assessment should be sufficient. Reread dialogue passages aloud and replace generic bobble-head actions (he looked up, she glanced down, I turned) with meaningful action beats.

Notice when the setting vanishes, and drop telling details into place. The object you randomly set on a table, the photo you place on a nightstand, the flower you stick in a vase may become thematically important or physically useful later. Fill in the blanks.

Step Two (Were there lulls or inconsistencies?) relies heavily on the FIND/REPLACE function. Seek and destroy “waffle words” such as: almost, nearly, seemed, tried, began, started, somehow. Seek and hold at gunpoint “ly” adverbs—make them beg for their lives or shoot them and replace with a strong verb. Always engage rich, intense verbs to replace ordinary ones.

Keep a Post-It on your computer to remind you to search for words or phrases you habitually overuse.

Step One (Did I get my spelling, punctuation, and grammar right?) should be straightforward; if not, pick up a grammar book and refresh. Bear/bare in mind, spell check misses homonyms. Keep a list of your blind spots (peek/peak; flee/flea; mantel/mantle; allowed/aloud).

Gird your loins. This is going to be a long and iterative process. Do steps one, two and three to clean up your manuscript before entering step four to solicit external feedback; your first readers will thank you. Breathe and rest.

Now get back to work as you incorporate initial critiques. Repeat steps one, two, and three. Submit to your middle readers.

After you tweak (far less at this point), repeat steps one, two, and three. Submit to trusted final reader(s).

Now you are on your own! Make final substantive changes with a last silent read through. Done? Nope. Get comfortable and read the whole darn thing aloud for rhythm and flow. Allow at least two days.

It’s October 31! It’s perfect. Hooray! You are ready to query and submit. And start NaNoWriMo tomorrow.

Liz Coley has been a member of the NaNoWriMo community since 2006. She decks her halls with framed NaNoWriMo posters.  In 2013, her 2009 NaNo-novel, Pretty Girl-13 , was published by HarperCollins.  Liz lives in Ohio, where she is surrounded by a fantastic community of writers, supported by her husband, teased by her teenaged daughter, cheered from afar by her two older sons, and adorned with hair by her cats Tiger, Pippin, and Merry.  Liz invites you to follow her @LizColeyBooks on Twitter, and like Liz Coley Books on Facebook.

Top photo by Flickr user alexanderdrachmann.