Kate Larking's Blog: Anxiety Ink, page 76

NaNoWriMo Progress Post 3 – Kate

Are you ready for it? NaNo Update of DOOM.

Progress as of Wednesday Night

25931 / 50000 words. 52% done!

If writing daily at an even pace, I am massively behind schedule (including Nov 20th): 1666.7*20 = 33334 words. Therefore, 8K-ish words behind schedule.

Source: Nownovel.com

The good:

I got my novel into Laura Anne!

The bad:

I am finding it hard to find the voice in my new project. Perhaps I’m judging it too harshly. Just tonight, I stopped and wondered, “Where is the tension? The character perspectives to complicate this?” As a result, I realize I now need to shift the POV of the work from first to third person and add in multiple perspectives because it simply wasn’t working just from my main character’s (who only just got a name that I actually like).

I did not stop, however. I made a long note to myself in the manuscript that I need to go back and fix things. I kept all my words and just kept moving!

The totally beautiful:

I successfully was the Maid of Honour for a wedding on November 16th. I no longer have a really beautiful excuse to not be writing.

Underdogs

While I really dislike dogs (and, yes, there are two living in my house and the relationship is tenuous at best), underdogs in literature are always a favourite. I mean, most stories are about someone who in all rights should not succeed in a strange and new circumstance, but they overcome with a mix of grit and wit.

But writing the underdog isn’t simple.

Life is hard. It’s a reality we all don’t really want to admit, but it is. We are always losing even if we are winning. A lot of times, underdog characters have an innate talent that helps them overcome a lot of what is difficult or should be difficult. However, these talents or innate characteristics need to have a cost. There needs to be a complication in order for the character to succeed. This is often at the cost of something the character depends on. Like a mentor character that is removed and the underdog needs to now survive without that guidance, relying on oneself. The story needs to have a challenge and cost in order to succeed.
Goal needs to be congruent with what the character desires. If you have a character who is, say, hidden royalty, they need to be suitably motivated to succeed and reclaim that power. If the character is forced into pursuing their hidden birthright, it needs to be for a reason, not just, “Hey, this is pretty cool! I’ll get neat clothes and stuff!” If the character is blackmailed, make the threat real to something the character values. If the character needs the power to make a change in the world they love, make that threatened by the current regime. The reasons motivating the underdog needs to be believable, not passive directions provided by other forces.

Source: pinaquote.com

Morality. Most believe that underdogs are hard-working and strive to succeed while playing by the rules. If you are going to go against this reader assumption, you have to make sure that the reader is sympathetic to the character’s methods. If you have a story set in a culture where something socially acceptable now is not socially acceptable there, then that method is almost automatically accepted by the reader as being sympathetic. The one thing you need to be careful of is making sure that the characters who believe in story’s social norm really believe in it and don’t get swayed by a drop of modern logic. If you are going to undermine the honorable reputation of the underdog, ensure there is reader sympathy for the motivation behind the action.
The underdog can’t do everything. A character, any character, can’t be the most capable person at everything. It is important that your underdog has a network, a team of cohesive sidekicks that can make what the underdog desires possible if motivated correctly. Are they all friends? Not necessarily. The enemy’s enemy is thy friend…but should be counted on for great backstabbing when they have contributed to an accomplishment that will be a gateway to their own desires.

For the article that inspired this post, see this article: 7 Ways to Win as an Underdog.

What’s Next?

How do you choose what to write next?

One of my friends asked me that recently. She is also a writer and sometimes this sort of decision making becomes a giant procrastination generator for her. This isn’t a question I think about a lot. This post is my attempt to streamline and simplify the wordy jumble I gave her.

The more time I spend debating the next project, the less time I’m spending on telling the story. And that’s frustrating when I have so many in my head, clamoring to make it to the page.

My favorite strategy: listening to what feels right. Seriously.

I have to know enough about my story — who’s in it, where it’s headed — that I don’t get hung up on figuring things out as I go. That’s a great way for me to bog down in details and procrastinate. Or never reach the end. The trick there is that I discover so much of my story while writing that I can’t find that line between needing more planning or more research and having enough.

And it has to talk to me.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and a quiet story won’t get written. Which is how one story sometimes muscles another out of the way.

Case in point: I didn’t intend to start the novel I’m working on now. I planned what would come next: a fun stand-alone with sequel potential straddling urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Something potentially sale-able. Because, you know, that’s where I want to be and what I want to be doing.

Instead, something made me return to a rough draft I wrote three years ago, the first in a series of seven. And I got excited all over again. The sort of excited where anyone forced to listen to me gush wants to duct tape my mouth shut. So here I am, working on book two of seven, falling in love with my world and characters all over again.

But if my planning criteria doesn’t work for you (maybe you’re a total pantser, or maybe you’re trying to figure out which one you should plan next, or maybe that just doesn’t work with your process) or relying on instinct makes you nervous, another option is to list out all the stories ready for you to write them. Assign numbers and roll some dice. That can be a fun way to choose writing prompts, too.

Characters Really Can Get In the Way

In case you’re keeping track, I mentioned (here) that I was going to write this character post when I was whining about my lack of motivation and my inability to get working on a few pieces. All of this was because one of my major characters was getting in my way. I think this happens to a lot of people, and I feel like it can be difficult to realize it’s happening. I know it took me over a month to figure out my problem.

Basically, it’s like this: I’ve been avoiding writing a piece I really want to write and editing a piece I really need to edit that’s due at the end of October (13 days away while I write this) because one of my characters is not cooperating. Ay!

The story I really want to write is centred on two important figures in the series I’m working on, specifically about how they’ve come to trust each other. They’re a boy and a girl, but there is nothing romantic between them, mostly because my girl is gay and she’s having none of that from my boy. Poor dude, because she’s awesome.

Anyway, the story involves a lot of my girl’s life before they met, and given she was raised in a very not so nice time, she’s had to do a lot of things she’d rather forget and she has some trust issues. Boy really needs her so he has to connect with her. But without a romance element I’m finding it difficult to establish a strong relationship between them, it’d be easier to let their emotional relationship develop after a physical one but i can’t take a traditional romance route. I can’t take the simple way! Arg!

I realized a while ago though that this complexity isn’t the reason I’ve been avoiding this piece. I’m actually excited about the challenge. My biggest issue has been that my girl is VIOLENTLY rejecting the back story I was trying to give her. Like, kicking and screaming inside my head rejecting, not just quietly shaking her head. She’s really strong and stubborn .

But it’s ok!

Now that I’ve figured out the problem it’s going to be very easy to fix. Phew! I wasn’t loving my girl’s back story but I thought it would be ok to work with –nope. It was kind of stereotypical, I won’t lie, so I really need to do my homework.

So, if you’re finding yourself avoiding this punishing work we all love, take a minute to think about why. Maybe something is just not working and your subconscious won’t let it go. I don’t recommend backtracking and fixing it now –I fall for that trick all the time and it makes it difficult to maintain a forward momentum– rather, make a note of it and keep going. That way you won’t have an excuse to stop and get stuck, and it’ll be a good balm for your subconscious because it’ll know you’re going to fix the problem.

Now I’m off to the drawing board!

NaNo Progress Report: Week 1.8

Week 2 is going swimmingly for me, somehow, for some reason. *Knock on wood* I really would like to not jinx it! I did get off to a shaky start on my first 3k day, life got in the way quite badly and I didn’t meet my quota. Surprisingly, that was the first time that happened, and it didn’t bother me nearly as much as I expected. On good days, I write past my sprints to finish up scenes or add something I think I’ll forget. On bad days, I push myself to my quota and tell myself I’m grateful I have a cushion.

My favourite thing about week two is that fact that I got to knock 1k off my 5 day’s with quotas, you wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to write 3000 words vs. 4000. Hallelujah. My least favourite is that I had to take Tuesday off for my Convocation (yay!!), so I have to give up a weekend day to stay on track, and I need those to edit my Fae story. But I shall triumph! And it was awesome to walk the stage, so I’m not all that upset.

I’m still managing to balance, but I am noticing a lot of things have been neglected in the face of NaNo. I have very little time left in my day after I get my to-do list done, i.e.: write, exercise, watch my shows, do my little around the house chores. Yes, I could take TV off that list and have more time for other things but I don’t want to. I’m allowed to veg a little after writing. So there.

My November is crammed full -you should see my social calendar, not just my writing calendar! I’m starting to feel the pressure but I’m oh so happy that I made a schedule for myself in the beginning. The bulk of my 50k goal is complete, had I not created a progressive schedule starting at 4k quotas then working down to 1k quotas in a four week timeframe I would be woefully behind and very uneager to continue. I like to start strong and finish on time. I’m a better sprinter than a long distancer, that’s for darn sure!

Here’s my Week 2 progress:

36343 / 50000 words. 73% done!

 

Lessons learned during week 2:

My lack of knowledge about my current genre is starting to hit me and I’m having difficulty moving my story forward in the way I’d like; scene transitions aren’t feeling right and the progression isn’t what I’d like it to be. At least it’s just draft 1 and moving forward it what matters!
Story #2 has morphed, of its own bloody free will, into either a novella or full out novel; editing after NaNo may become my life’s work
7 stories in 50k isn’t going to happen; my goal for today was to finish story #2 and move on, but the resolution just started climbing yesterday. Arg!!! It’s taking up a lot of my word count but I’m ok with that, I was just hoping to have more material at the end of November

Fun thing that happened: I have a new challenge when I sit down to write during the day: Cat M and I are at war over my desk chair. I am at war with a cat and I am barely winning, and only because I am almost 20 times heavier than her. And I have a major competitive streak so I need to make my daily word counts. Even though she’s so cute looking up at me from my seat. Am I the only one that suffers from this animal affliction?

Keep going NaNoWriMotars! And good luck!

NaNo Progress Report: Week 2

Week 2 is going swimmingly for me, somehow, for some reason. *Knock on wood* I really would like to not jinx it! I did get off to a shaky start on my first 3k day, life got in the way quite badly and I didn’t meet my quota. Surprisingly, that was the first time that happened, and it didn’t bother me nearly as much as I expected. On good days, I write past my sprints to finish up scenes or add something I think I’ll forget. On bad days, I push myself to my quota and tell myself I’m grateful I have a cushion.

My favourite thing about week two is that fact that I got to knock 1k off my 5 day’s with quotas, you wouldn’t believe how much easier it is to write 3000 words vs. 4000. Hallelujah. My least favourite is that I had to take Tuesday off for my Convocation (yay!!), so I have to give up a weekend day to stay on track, and I need those to edit my Fae story. But I shall triumph! And it was awesome to walk the stage, so I’m not all that upset.

I’m still managing to balance, but I am noticing a lot of things have been neglected in the face of NaNo. I have very little time left in my day after I get my to-do list done, i.e.: write, exercise, watch my shows, do my little around the house chores. Yes, I could take TV off that list and have more time for other things but I don’t want to. I’m allowed to veg a little after writing. So there.

My November is crammed full -you should see my social calendar, not just my writing calendar! I’m starting to feel the pressure but I’m oh so happy that I made a schedule for myself in the beginning. The bulk of my 50k goal is complete, had I not created a progressive schedule starting at 4k quotas then working down to 1k quotas in a four week timeframe I would be woefully behind and very uneager to continue. I like to start strong and finish on time. I’m a better sprinter than a long distancer, that’s for darn sure!

Here’s my Week 2 progress:

36343 / 50000 words. 73% done!

 

Lessons learned during week 2:

My lack of knowledge about my current genre is starting to hit me and I’m having difficulty moving my story forward in the way I’d like; scene transitions aren’t feeling right and the progression isn’t what I’d like it to be. At least it’s just draft 1 and moving forward it what matters!
Story #2 has morphed, of its own bloody free will, into either a novella or full out novel; editing after NaNo may become my life’s work
7 stories in 50k isn’t going to happen; my goal for today was to finish story #2 and move on, but the resolution just started climbing yesterday. Arg!!! It’s taking up a lot of my word count but I’m ok with that, I was just hoping to have more material at the end of November

Fun thing that happened: I have a new challenge when I sit down to write during the day: Cat M and I are at war over my desk chair. I am at war with a cat and I am barely winning, and only because I am almost 20 times heavier than her. And I have a major competitive streak so I need to make my daily word counts. Even though she’s so cute looking up at me from my seat. Am I the only one that suffers from this animal affliction?

Keep going NaNoWriMotars! And good luck!

NaNoWriMo Progress Post 2 – M. J.

I’d hoped to finish the current chapter before posting, but it is not to be.

This week has been slower, writing-wise. Partly because of work, partly because I’m insanely busy like that, partly because I had a surprise!chapter (as in, suddenly discovering I need another stepping stone between this point and the next), and partly because I never have my middle as thought out as my beginning.

And somehow I am past the beginning. Pace and structure are on-course. This might actually end up coming in around the expected 30 chapters. Such a novel concept…

 

 

9 / 30 chapters. 30% done!

NaNoWriMo Progress Post 2 – Kate

My novel is due to Laura Anne Gilman for crit November 15th and I am close to making that deadline.

Progress as of Wednesday Night

21333 / 50000 words. 43% done!

If writing daily at an even pace, I am ahead of schedule (including all Nov 6th): 1666.7*13 = 21667 words. Therefore, 334 words behind schedule.

Source: Nownovel.com

The good:

I finished the novel draft on Saturday.

The bad:

But now it needs edits and FAST. I am completely absorbing the buffer I made and falling behind some. Spellcheck only catches spelling mistakes, not wrong words or “Why did I say that when I meant that other thing?” phrases. Also doesn’t catch the “Where is the logic in this paragraph?!”

The totally beautiful:

I am (still) Maid of Honour for a wedding (still) on November 16th. November 15th is being taken off work which means I have to finish, a lot, tomorrow, before the Jack-and-Jill-esque party in the evening.

The Beauty in Failure

I’m part of a writing group and every month, about 70% through our meeting after critiques and skills but before business, we ask for brags. Brags usually consist of “This got accepted!” Or “I finished NaNoWriMo!”

But my favourite brags, of mine or anyone else’s, is the beautiful anti-climax of “I got rejected!”

It starts with raising your hand to speak, a little more apprehensively than with a successful venture. Pretty much if you let your arm drop, your elbow will collapse inward and you will hit yourself in the eye.

When you get called on, you get to take a little breath before you say, “Remember how I bragged about submitting to this anthology? Well, I got rejected.”

And everyone claps. The oddly euphoric applause for your extreme vulnerability about your hard work, talent, and anonymous piece that no one in the group has really read or knows about. No one in the group can judge your piece without seeing it. So they imagine it’s a piece of their own, chest puffed out and proud before getting evaluated, sucker-punched, and hobbling home doubled over and out of breath.

The almost as awesome one is the multiple meetings where your brag is, “I haven’t been rejected yet!” The building of the expectation for the worst is a writers’ defense mechanism but the pride in the delay–which could be entirely arbitrary and administrative–gives us all a flutter of hope, living through another.

 

Source: popscreencdn.com

Rejection, though, is not failure. Rejection should not be seen exclusively as failure. Sometimes, rejection is simply, “This is not the right piece for us.” That means you piece may find a home yet–in the right market. The one you sent it to? Not the right market.

Sometimes, rejections come back in the form of a really helpful note — even one sentence — that leads us in a new direction for the project to flesh it out and make it better. Registering that a piece fails in its communication to deliver a story is important. If you understand the failure and reconcile it with the piece and see where something did not connect, that is a failure of the work in its current existence. But it’s the most beautiful kind of failure. Because you recognize where you can make the work work better. Don’t discount the meaning of rejection and the ability it gives you to grow and develop as an author.

Embracing failure is about growth and development. Being defensive of it won’t allow you to see your work clearly. Does this mean every editorial note is incontestable? No. But if you see the point the editor or critique partner has made? That is beautiful failure and will ultimately open more doors for you, your work, and your writing career.

It’s OK

One problem I have with NaNo is the self-flagellation when NaNoers don’t reach that magical 1667 word count. Because that is what happens when you set a goal and don’t reach it. This is one reason why more people don’t continue NaNo-level output throughout the year.

Yet one of the best parts about NaNo is the community. Everyone is working towards a similar goal, and I have yet to see one unsympathetic to the frustration and depression we all seem to feel at some point. NaNoers make the best cheerleaders. But that community tends to dissipate once the first of December rolls around.

So what happens then?

Set a realistic, sustainable goal for yourself. One you know you can reach, and reach consistently. When you’re looking at the long haul, be realistic. Don’t stretch.

Want to write 2000 words a day, but average 500? Make that 500 your goal post. And if that feels too much like a cop out, make it 550 or 600. The point is to have a goal you can meet. Once you do, you’re free to keep writing. Anything after that is bonus. And maybe you will reach that 2000. If you don’t, you still made your goal.

But let’s face it: there are times when the writing leaves. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m sorry. You will learn, and it will suck.

A few years ago, after I started consistently finishing my stories, I came to recognize a period of burnout after every draft completion. Before I realized that was happening, I would get so, so frustrated at how the words jumbled, and stuck, and clogged, and refused to flow. After that realization, I started planning for those burnout times. I reduced a lot of stress that had only served to block me more.

I’ve heard of writers who attended intensive workshops or graduate programs who then could not write for months, even years after. Because of burnout.

At a ReaderCon panel last summer, I listened to authors who are parents say they didn’t write, often for years, after the birth of a child.

Although I’ve published a short story and occasionally write pieces of flash for a podcast, I think of myself as a novel-writer. Yet this novel that I’m writing now is the first novel-length rough draft I have written in over three years, since my dad died unexpectedly.

My point is, life happens. It’s ok not to put as many words as you’d hoped on the page. It’s ok if you’ve stopped writing altogether. (It won’t be permanent if you don’t want it to be.) Lower your goal. Go learn something new, have new experiences; you’ll write about them later.

So take a breath. It’s ok.