Chris Dietzel's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

Over the past few months, I’ve been asked by a variety of people about the best way to start writing your first book. I always say the same thing: start by writing short stories. Even if you are exclusively interested in writing novels, learning how to write by creating short stories is valuable for a variety of reasons.

1) Setting out to write 1,500 words is much less taunting than setting out to write a novel. Many first-time writers think a 300 or 400-page book is beyond their ability. But if writers can learn how to write a short story, with a beginning, middle, and end, all they have to be able to do is write a series of related short stories in order to write that novel. After all, that’s basically what each chapter of a book is: a short story with an introduction, an unfolding scene, and a resolution to some kind of conflict. Learn how to write a short story and you already have one chapter of the novel done!

2) Short stories force you to use your words carefully. If you have a 1,200 or 1,500 word limit, every word is critical. You learn how to delete any sentence that doesn’t drive the story forward, and because of that you create stories that are tight and keep the reader’s interest. Readers can tell when you have something important to say. They can also tell when you are only writing to see your own words on paper. When they find a book that could have entire paragraphs cut out, they get frustrated. Learning how to write short stories helps you avoid that pitfall.

3) Even if you only want to write novels, having a couple short stories published is a great way to build a writing resume. It’s very difficult to stand out from the masses of people trying to get readers to notice their books. One of the many ways authors can give themselves an advantage is by having short stories published. Agents see this as proof that someone else has already read your writing and thought it was worth printing. Publishers see this as a writer who already has at least a small readership. And if you self-publish, making short stories available for free is a great way for readers to take a chance on a new author before deciding to hunker down to read a complete novel.

These are just three of the reasons I tout short stories as a great way for new writers to learn how to approach that book they’ve always wanted to write. If you can think of additional reasons, drop me a line and let me know what they are. Happy writing.

In college, I thought my dreams were silly. So much so that I didn’t even bother to take Creative Writing classes. But now I’m working toward my goal of writing and publishing novels. What changed between college and nine years ago when I started writing? I surrounded myself with extremely driven and optimistic people.

Following college, I started learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Each evening, I trained with people from all walks of life, all with varying dreams, but all of whom shared one common trait: they set goals for themselves, they worked with all of their energy to achieve those goals, and they encouraged everyone else to do the same.

Mindsets are infectious. I found myself changing from being the type of person who thought dreams were a waste of time, to being a person who thought I could achieve anything I wanted if I was willing to put in the time and effort to make it happen. I went from being a person who thought it was easier to criticize others than it was to support them, to being someone who wanted to help everyone else work toward their goals as well.

But it’s not only positive mindsets that are infectious. So are negative ones. Which is why it’s critical not to give any time or energy to anyone who would make you doubt your dreams or attempt to bring you down rather than build you up. When you are trying to believe in yourself for the first time, it doesn’t take much from friends or family--a snide remark, a veiled putdown—to keep you feeling like your goals might be a waste of time.

Today, I’m happier and feel more fulfilled than ever before. And it’s all because I’ve surrounded myself with driven and optimistic people, and I stay away from anyone with a negative, nay-saying attitude. To all the people who have encouraged me: thank you. And to everyone who needs a little positive support: no matter what your dream is, the sooner you begin working toward it the happier you’ll be.

Everyone has a point in his life when he analyzes what he might have done differently over the years. Each time I was stuck in rush-hour traffic, a little voice would ask me how much I would regret it if I never tried to achieve my dream of writing the Great American Novel.

Would my life be spent going to a job that paid well but required no creativity or imagination? Or would I spend my time doing something because it was my passion, even if it didn’t pay the bills? Well, passions don’t often make people rich, so the office job would have to remain a part of my life. But I knew I also needed to write that book, even if it wouldn’t land me on the bestseller’s list. After all, that’s what passions are: the things we are compelled to do, regardless of whether they are practical or not. The thing I feared most wasn’t whether or not I would end up rich or poor, but if I would get to the end of my life and regret never having pursued my dream. It’s true that real life inspires fiction: My fears are the same as the protagonist’s in the novel I ended up writing and publishing last year.

I’ve never regretted dedicating all of my free time to writing and publishing that book. And even though it didn’t become a best seller, for me at least, it really was the Great American Novel. It was featured on a popular radio show, was voted as one of GoodReads Top 10 Most Interesting Books of 2013, and has been read by people in six continents!

I still have many more books I want to write, but I’m happy that I crossed off the top item on my bucket list. And I’m proud of my first novel, the story of a man who, at the end of his life, is plagued by the decisions he has made while mankind slowly disappeared around him. After writing the book, I’ve come to an important realization: It’s okay if the world fades away, as it does for the man in my story. As long as I still have the few things that are truly important to me—the people I love, the pursuit of my dreams—life will be okay.

I occasionally still get stuck in rush-hour traffic, but knowing I’ve achieved the top item on my bucket list helps make the time spent among Washington’s clogged streets seem not so bad anymore.


Originally published in the Washington Post Magazine.

A friend of mine reminded me of this blog post. You can never have too many positive affirmations so I'm re-posting it.
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For a long time I thought my dream of being a writer was pointless. Only one thing was standing in my way: I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I would actually be able to write a book that anyone would want to read, so I didn’t bother trying.

Shortly after college, though, I met a group of highly determined and motivated people and I realized the only difference between them and myself was that they believed they could do whatever they set their minds to while I believed the exact opposite. Over the course of time, their optimism and persistence changed my outlook. This led me to understand a few insights that have molded who I am today:

- Your mindset is contagious. If you don’t believe in yourself, you are guaranteeing no one else will either. Successful people don’t surround themselves with pessimists and cynics, they surround themselves with positive thinkers and optimists. Do not give your time to anyone who would belittle your goals or make a joke out of your aspirations. These people infect your outlook.

- People who believe in themselves don’t keep going only because they are determined—when you truly believe in yourself, you know it’s a matter of time until you achieve your goal. Maybe it will take ten years. Maybe it will take twenty. But it will happen eventually if you keep working toward it.

- Dreams aren’t easy to achieve, but when you struggle toward something that truly makes you happy, the necessary hard work doesn’t feel like work at all. I look forward to the time I get to sit in front of my computer and edit an awful first draft or some poorly written dialogue. If achieving your dream was easy and didn’t require daily pain, it wouldn’t be worthy of being called a dream in the first place.

I was talking to someone the other day about my experiences being an author. While offering advice and telling them not to give up, I found myself using a variety of clichés that used to make me roll my eyes when I was first starting out. Looking back, those sayings have proven to be 100% true.

Cliché #1: True writing doesn’t start until the editing begins
It’s easy to put words to paper. Putting 75,000 words down is just as easy as 75 words, it just takes longer. But just because 300 pages are filled doesn’t mean they’re worth anything. Every writer I know thinks their first drafts are terrible. A lot of people, myself included, race through the first draft just so they can begin editing it. The process of refining words, ideas, and themes is the heart of the writing process. Taking paragraphs and turning them from rough stones to polished gems is the difference between a lot of words on a piece of paper and a great book.

Cliché #2: Writing the book is the easy part
Everyone hears about authors slaving away, miserable, pouring their hearts out into their work. And yet millions of people are able to do it. Every author I know will tell you that writing their book isn’t nearly as difficult as finding an audience for it. What will make your book stand out from the others? How can you convince readers to take a chance on it? This is the most difficult part of being a writer.

Cliché #3: The first book is only the beginning. Now on to the next one.
You’ve written your book, edited it, AND managed to get it into the hands of eager readers. So, you’re done, right? If your goal was to write one book, then yes. But otherwise, not so fast. Of the authors I’ve heard speak on the subject, all of them have said it wasn’t until their third book and roughly nine years of writing that they really had a noticeable following and were bearing the fruit of their success. There have been a few authors over the years who have written one book and were happy with the results. But much more common is the author who improves on their craft with each subsequent book, gains new fans with each story they publish, and after years of hard work and a couple novels to their name, can finally say they’ve achieved most of the goals they set out to accomplish.

Know of any other clichés about the writing process that have turned out to be true? If so, I’d love to hear them. Happy writing.

Rarely does the original inspiration for a story remain static as a book is written. More often, the first idea for a story evolves into something slightly different. A few examples:

- After having a son very late in life, Cormac McCarthy wanted to write a book about a boy who would have to grow up without his father. That idea transformed into The Road, the tale of a father and son who survived the apocalypse.

- Ray Bradbury was horrified by the idea of people becoming mindless zombies in front of TV sets. The thought morphed into Fahrenheit 451, a world of book burnings.

- Aldus Huxley was frightened by the mass consumerism and group mentality that was emerging in his time. That fear evolved into Brave New World, about an entire society that was drugged into a mindless existence.

- And my own example, that mankind’s end would be more interesting if the final people had to care for the afflicted masses rather than fight them or each other. That was the original inspiration for The Man Who Watched The World End, the story of a man reflecting on the life he could have had if mankind hadn’t faded away.

If you’re planning on starting your own book, don’t force yourself to write about any one specific idea. Instead, just sit back and write and embrace whatever story emerges. Some of the most powerful and impactful stories have taken that approach and it has worked out well for them. After all, no matter how good your original idea might seem, when you let it morph into something else, your true interests and passions sneak out onto the page and your writing sounds more honest.

When I first set out to start writing about the end of the world, I had an exact vision of the story I wanted to tell: the last normal human, forced to care for the plagued masses. As I started writing The Man Who Watched The World End, the story quickly morphed into an old man taking care of his brother in an abandoned neighborhood. But the world of the Great De-evolution was born. From there, I wrote a completely different type of story that took place in the same world of mankind’s slow and quiet decline. A Different Alchemy gave a fuller view to the world I had created. It’s only fitting that now, in my third and final Great De-evolution book, The Hauntings of Playing God, that I end the ‘quiet apocalypse’ by telling the story I first envisioned: the story of the last human, alone, overwhelmed with the task of caring for the afflicted masses. I can’t think of a better way to conclude my take on the end of mankind.

While I’m done writing about the Great De-evolution, it’s not cause for me to be sad. It’s the end of one thing, but the beginning of another. I’m already deep into a series of books that take place in a completely different type of dystopian world. I’m not sure what worlds I’ll create after that, but whatever does come next, I hope readers of my previous books enjoy them. There is no time to be sad at the departure of one world because there are always new worlds to create and new stories to fill them with. So while The Hauntings of Playing God is the end of one part of my writing life, another will soon begin. The journey always continues.

First drafts are always awful. Always. In 'Bird By Bird,' Anne Lamott has an entire chapter dedicated to how crappy initial drafts are. In “On Writing,” Stephen King gives the reader a glimpse at what one of his first drafts looks like so they can see how far it is from the finished product. To drive the point home, Ernest Hemingway once said, “The first draft of anything is shit.”

The only way to go from that terrible first draft to books like “Misery” or “The Old Man And The Sea,” is to revise. Then revise some more. Then revise again. Maybe two or three more times. And then you have a great book. The process doesn’t change for new writers or established authors, indie authors or New York Times Bestselling authors. It’s what unites every writer.

Think of the books you adore. They were probably edited for a very long time. Think of the books you wish were better. They probably weren’t edited enough. If you’re a reader and you love a certain writer’s work, whether it’s King or Hemingway or someone else, remember that they are doing the majority of their work after the first draft is finished. And if you’re an author or want to be an author, remember that another revision of the entire book can never hurt.

And now, it’s time for me to start revising my next book (for what feels like the hundredth time!).

PS: Make sure you sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already. Last week, I sent out a sneak peak of the cover for my next book but only people who were signed up for my newsletter got to see it! And there are more goodies where that came from. : )

One of the first blog entries I ever wrote was about how publishing novels is more difficult than fighting mixed martial arts (MMA) in a cage. Almost two years have passed since that blog post and I’ve learned a heck of a lot about the world of indie publishing.

1. When writers start out, they have a vision that some massively popular national book critic will review their novel and propel it to bestseller status. I know because I had that same fantasy. But that book critic doesn’t give a damn about your indie book or mine or anyone else’s. The indie book revolution was propelled by people who were willing to feature and review indie books, and those same people are the driving force behind each indie author’s success.

2. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a good book discussion come to a screeching halt after an indie author jumped in to talk about his or her own book. The desperate need to let people know about the book you’ve worked so hard on can certainly be enticing, but what I’ve found is that a good book, with a good cover, is what’s really important. Readers like to read good books. That’s obvious. But readers also like to tell their friends about the good books they’ve read. It might take a while, but if your book is too good to put down, someone will read it and tell their friends to do the same. It’s a lot less likely that a reader will give your book a chance, though, if all you ever do is talk about yourself and your novels.

3. Whether it’s kid magicians or zombies, there will always be a hot genre. But rather than trying to get in on the trend, write to what you actually care about. Readers are smart people; they can tell if you care about your characters and your story. Even if you’re writing about elderly werewolves while everyone else is writing about teenage vampires, if you’re passionate about what you’re writing, readers will pick up on it. I’m so glad I stuck with telling the types of stories I would like to read myself. My books aren’t for everyone, but if I wrote a story to make everyone else happy, I’d be pretty miserable myself.

The past two years have been incredible. And while I’m sure I’ll have even more lessons learned in another two years, I wouldn’t change a single thing.

Happy reading and writing, everyone.

Originally published on TheNextBestBookBlog.blogspot.com

I wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season. No matter what you’re doing for your celebrations, I hope it’s what makes you most at peace. But as the New Year approaches, I also want to share a personal story with you all in hopes that it might inspire someone else.

About ten years ago, I decided to begin putting all of my time and energy into working toward my dream of being a writer. Rather than simply fantasizing about writing novels, I would start doing it. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the past decade, but every day I know I’m doing what I enjoy the most. And at the end of each day, I feel fulfilled and content.

So my message for everyone: Are you doing what makes you happy? Are you pursuing your dreams even if they seem foolhardy and unrealistic like mine did to me? I hope you are. But if you aren’t, trust me when I say that the people I know in life who are working toward their dreams, even if they are in the beginning stages and don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel, are the happiest people I know. As a New Year approaches, consider putting time aside to begin working toward whatever fantastic goal you’ve always kept secret. Life is much too short to spend your days doing things you think you should be doing rather than the things that make you most fulfilled.

Have a great holiday season, everyone. And a happy New Year.