Ksenia Anske's Blog, page 17

Not sure how to say it? Search Google books

When you’re not sure how to say something—what turn of phrase to use or what word, to describe something specific, go to Google, type in whatever it is you’re unsure of and then search, but select Books (at the top you’ll see All, Shopping, Images, Videos, News, More—click on More and select Books).

Now read how other authors solved a similar problem to your heart’s content. 

I love this particular trick. It saved my butt many times (especially because English is not my first language).

For exa...

Blank? Re-read what you wrote before

There are times when you stare at the screen (or at paper) and are unsure what to write. It feels crippling. And then down the doubt spiral you go… and you get nothing written. NOTHING.

It almost happened to me today, but I learned how to deal with the beast.

I go back a few chapters and just read aloud what I wrote.

Usually what happens is, I get so drawn into my own story, when I get to the stopping point (the blank page) I just start typing and keep going.

Try it!

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Form a habit

There will be good days, there will be bad days. There will be days when you don’t think you could lift a finger. Show up regardless, and write even if it’s shit and you know you will delete tomorrow everything you wrote today.

THE KEY IS TO FORM A HABIT.

Just like with waking up at a certain time, start writing at a certain time every day. 

Can’t do it? Then write in the same place. 

Can’t do it? Then write to the same music. 

Can’t do it? Write on the same pad with the same pen, or write whil...

Writing comes first, everything else comes second

Every day I hear from some writer or other, “I wish I had more time to write.” I’m always tempted to ask, “Are you telling me, you’re not in control of your time? Then who is, and why did you give them control? It’s your life, isn’t it?”

Your time is in your hands. The choices you’ve made that make you too busy to write are THE CHOICES YOU’VE MADE. Note the word “YOU” in here. YOU are the one responsible for your time and how you spend it, even when the circumstances are beyond your control...

What to do when stuck

Okay, we all get stuck. When you do, DON'T GET MAD.

Sit with it. Stay calm and think. Have faith that the right idea will come. You’ll find it. I promise.

Still stuck? 

Go up a level in your structure and look at larger blocks/scenes and the unifying idea behind them. 

Still stuck??

Bounce around from scene to scene, as in, start working on another scene entirely. 

Still stuck??? 

Walk away from it, do something else, then come back. Look for references in the movies you watched or the books you...

Don’t look at the time

It’s a luxury to have time to write. However, you’re the one responsible for creating this luxury for yourself. If you won’t make the time, you won’t have the time. And you’ll never find it. And there will never be the right time.

So make it. Schedule a chunk of time for writing, and then…

DON’T LOOK AT IT.

I mean, don’t look at the clock. Set a timer to ding, an alarm to sound. Whatever works. But don’t look at the clock. When you do, it’ll add anxiety and snap you out of the zone. So even i...

How to start writing a novel

Structure, structure, structure. Without structure, you're toast.

Forget about trying it by the seat of your pants. Unless you're lucky to be very talented and can sense the structure intuitively (some writers can), study structure to death, structure your novel to death, and only THEN write it.

Here is a quick guide on creating a sketch to start your novel structure:

VILLAIN: Who is your villain? Start here. Write a little bio.DILEMMA (CHOICE 1): When did your Villain decide to become a Vill...

Steal phrases for later use

When reading books, copy whatever it is you think you can use later in your own writing.

This is not to say, COPY AND PASTE IT. No. That'd be plagiarizing.  This is to say, COPY THE STRUCTURE. And correct translations.

As in, maybe it's a particularly saucy choice of expletives, and you can spin your own from being inspired by this one. Or the way a particular word was used.

Above is the picture of my own little file that I keep for writing T.U.B.E. I collect any mentions of anything Russian I c...

Get inside your reader's head

When you're blocked, here is a very simple trick that can unblock you.

Get inside your reader's head.

How? Wherever you are in your manuscript, whatever stage you're in, do this.

Print out the section where you're stuck.Read every sentence, and after every sentence (or every block of the scene if you're in the blocking stage), ask yourself: What's the next question on reader's mind? What do they care about? Read the whole section, line by line, while holding in mind these questions. Pretend y...

Think of your scene as a nesting doll

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The best scenes are stories within stories. It's what my editor Erik told me—and he's right, of course.

One way you can think of a scene is a series of blocks, leading to one another. Or falling dominoes.

Another way to think about your scenes is of nesting dolls. Yes, like Russian matryoshkas. 

You give the reader one layer, they think that’s the story, but then you take off that layer and show that underneath is yet another layer! And so on.

You can do it almost infinitely, as l...