Writing Questions for Josh Showing 401-450 of 4,753

[Blaine]

I've been thinking about what my absolute favourite Josh Lanyon book is, and I really can't choose between them. They all have something that draws me into the story. Yes, I love Adrien and Jake, but I also love Kit and JX, Elliot and Tucker, Perry and Nick, Peter and Mike, Nathan and Matt ... I could name them all, but that would be tiresome and unnecessary.
Whether it's the brilliant characterisation or the writing style, I'm not sure, but, no, I don't think I could choose an absolute favourite.

The only thing I can say is that the 'Dark Horse' and 'White Knight' are the ones I'm least likely to re-read, while the rest are all in that list.

[Blake]

I've got an idea for a book and have taken a stab at writing a couple of the scenes, but I'm honestly not that great. The idea, yes; execution, not so much. I was wondering if you knew of any resources for connecting with co-writers or others that may be in my situation.

[[deleted user]]

Blake:

I just started writing seriously about a year ago. I sat on many ideas for books that would never go beyond a vague outline due to the fact that I don't have a college degree or advanced writing skills, therefore I didn't believe in myself as a writer. What I found, as an avid reader, was that the more I read, the more I wanted to write down my own stories, to flesh out those ideas.

First of all, write every day. Even if it's crap, still challenge yourself to write, maybe 1000 words a day of the most interesting crap anyone has ever read! That's what I do every day - crap and all. While you do this, read everything you can find at the library, on the internet, that you can purchase for your library/ereader, that has to do with the "craft" of writing. This is what is going to make your amazing ideas into stories people can actually read.

Here are some of my faves (I know when Josh isn't busy with "life" he'll chime in as well):

First, Josh has a book Man, Oh Man! Writing M/M Fiction for Kinks & Cash and although I'm only half way through it, it's great for learning the genre. He also talks with many publishers, editors and authors about what works, what doesn't... it's all very insightful.

Writing Fiction For Dummies is another one I have on my kindle. Randy Ingermanson also has a great website with good writing advice.

I bought the Oxford American Thesaurus and Dictionary. Having these in your hand while writing is liberating. I just couldn't do the whole internet thing with these reference books - the switching back and forth with the screens drove me crazy.

I have A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker that my husband used while finishing up his Masters Degree and it's wonderful! It is tabbed for quick flipping through of the subject you need right away and it is spiral bound so it lays on top of the desk while I write.

Some internet resources I like are: Writersdigest.com, Edittorent.blogspot.com, dailywritingtips.com (sign up for their daily tips, they are invaluable), also sign up for the "daily word" at Dictionary.com, RomanceUniversity.com, and Grammar.about.com is full of great grammar and composition information you will find useful.

I tried the online writing groups, but I personally didn't have much luck with them because I write M/M romance and there are a lot of people who don't quite "get it" yet, so I was somewhat a loner in those groups. I prefer to teach myself and just write, but there are many writing groups on the internet, you just have to find one that is friendly to you. Also, you can find yourself doing so much with a writing group that has very little to do with actually writing - just don't forget to write.

I hope this helps. Trust me, I'm in your shoes. I have a long way to go before I will fee comfortable sending my manuscript to an ePublisher; my goal is by the holidays of this year. [fingers crossed]

Good luck to you and welcome to our friendly group!

[Kari]

Honestly, Blake, writing is a learned skill. Unless you're a freak (in which case, I'd be duty-bound to hate you), you're not going to write a good, solid book your first run out of the gates. My first sale, What Rough Beast, was my fifth finished manuscript. My first book? Crap. Utter crap. I wouldn't even disgrace a birdcage by lining it with those pages -- it was truly that bad. Worse, my 2nd finished manuscript was only marginally better. The third book was downright painful because by then I knew what I didn't know, but...All of that's important. The journey is important. I don't know that it takes everyone as long as it took me, LOL, but that was my literary (hardee har har) apprenticeship. I learned my craft and as awful as #3 and #4 were, that's when I found and honed my voice.

Keep writing. Don't get bogged down in how crappy it is. Tip: the first draft is always crap. Always. Yeah, as you go along, you pick up craft. My first drafts aren't quite as sucktacular as they used to be, but nevertheless. Don't expect perfection right off. The important thing at this point is just to finish the first book. Get the bones of the book laid out. THEN, you go back and make it pretty.

FWIW

[[deleted user]]

"My first drafts aren't quite as sucktacular as they used to be,..."

Oh, to NOT be sucktacular!
Thanks Kari, it's nice to know even those who are published had crap in the beginning!

[Kari]

Thanks Kari, it's nice to know even those who are published had crap in the beginning!"

Oh, I still write crap. It's just repeat "sweat" 347 times, eyes are blue--no!--green--no!--brown, where did my plot go?, this dude is a MORON first draft crap.

:D

My first drafts are still crap. I've just gotten better at technical elements so I'm not investing so much energy in my final pass through a book fixing my passives, dialogue tags, show v tell, etc.

[Blake]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate all the direction I can get! I've already plowed through Josh's book on M/M fiction and will be checking out the other resources Leah pointed out. A new question, though...is it still M/M fiction if the two protags don't get together until the 2nd book? I've got the main plot points laid out and, currently, there are 3 books and one protag starts out in a M/F relationship through most of the 1st book. The plan calls for him to find out about the other protag's interest in the 2nd book. I'm also floating the possibility of an arranged marriage between the two (alternate universe).

Anyhow, VERY off topic, but I do appreciate the help. And Josh - your books are AWESOME!!

[[deleted user]]

Blake wrote: "Thanks, guys, I appreciate all the direction I can get! I've already plowed through Josh's book on M/M fiction and will be checking out the other resources Leah pointed out. A new question, though...."

Good Morning Blake!

Actually, Blake, if you read the first book int he Adrien English series he and Jake don't exactly "get together" yet - not until the second book - but Adrien IS gay and it's known from the beginning. Also, if you haven't read Promises by Marie Sexton, this book is amazing with how the sexual tension is developed between the 2 protag's - one is gay, the other is straight, or seemingly so. Likewise, the first book of the AE series is full of sexual tension between Adrien and Jake, so read and re-read these books.

My opinion is that if you are writing an M/M book, you need to have that element somewhere even while one of the protag's may have an m/f relationship. I only read M/M books right now (I read het romance for decades and I'm done with those), so if I find a book that is listed M/M and it's all about an M/F relationship with a little friendship between two guys thrown into the mix, I might be a little p.o.'d. I would concentrate on building the tension between the 2 men - lots of foreshadowing maybe about what's to come - and you can still have the M/F element for one of them visible without it being center stage. People who read M/M want to read about the 2 men: their friendship, likes/dislikes of each other, feelings they didn't know they had, etc., but with each other.

Mary Buckham has lecture packets on her website that are terrific. One of them is Sex Between the Pages: Understanding and Writing Sexual Tension; it's a word doc, about 154 pages just packed full of the best advice on writing and conveying sexual tension. I highly recommend it.

Hope this helps Blake. I'm sure Kari and others will chime in later. And I think Josh is probably dealing with a tempermental computer issue right now, but rest assured he'll be around soon. (Sometimes he takes breaks from the group to actually write books ;)

Leah

[Nicole]

Blake,

There is only one thing that all successful books, published or not, have in common: they are finished. So I'm afraid that you've just got to write the words down first before thinking about things like marketability and whatnot. (I'm sorry! I know virtually anything else is more fun.)

NK

[Kari]

Got to agree. Don't worry about marketing. Focus on one thing & one thing only: write the book.

[Andy]

Blake wrote: "is it still M/M fiction if the two protags don't get together until the 2nd book?"

I would say yes, since it is a series and it will be m/m. However, a lot of publishers want a HEA or HFN ending - per book. So you have to take that into consideration. A non HEA or HFN ending would limit the places you could submit it.

[Josh]

I love AE because...

:-D

[Josh]

Heather C wrote: "I'm still speechless when it comes to saying why I love AE. I have no words lol"

Thanks, Heather. ;-)

[Josh]

Ocotillo wrote: "@Josh, do like all of your work, but might be a little different in that I think my faves are the I Spy couplet and Snowball. Oh. And The Dark Farewell. Oh, and Dickens and Out of the Blue, and *si..."

Thanks, Ocotillo. I really enjoy the historicals. They're taxing, but they're very satisfying. And I do really enjoy the research. It's a great excuse for reading all the stuff I love to read but never have time for.

[Josh]

Merith wrote: "Chiming in with the chorus: AE series would be my desert island keeper without fail. It IS all that and a box of cracker jacks. I think what sets it apart from most all other stories out there (in ..."

Aw, thanks so much, Merith. It's really great to hear when I'm going through those initial fretful stages of starting a new story.

[Josh]

I could name them all, but that would be tiresome and unnecessary.


Well, at least for everyone else. I always enjoy it. ;-D

[Josh]

Blake wrote: "I've got an idea for a book and have taken a stab at writing a couple of the scenes, but I'm honestly not that great. The idea, yes; execution, not so much. I was wondering if you knew of any resou..."

Hey there, Blake, Glad you found your way over here!

[Josh]

Blake wrote: "I was wondering if you knew of any resources for connecting with co-writers "

I thought I'd maybe address this right off. It's possible you might connect with someone willing to write your ideas. The thing is, the writing is the hard part. Ideas...not so much. I know for myself, I have more ideas boiling in the back of my brain than I'll ever have time to write. I really would have to be a machine to crank them all out.

Co-writing is a possibility, but you've really got to find the right match of temperament along with everything else. It's tricky! But I think that's probably a better bet.

[Josh]

Leah wrote: "Blake:

I just started writing seriously about a year ago. I sat on many ideas for books that would never go beyond a vague outline due to the fact that I don't have a college degree or advanced..."

I'm trying to think if there's a practical way we could set up something, a private group, maybe a yahoo group, where you could all try out excerpts and offer each other input -- kind of a learning group that would just be for craft in this genre.

I've thought of it before but my fear has been that it might become hugely time-consuming, and I haven't been in a position where I could handle one more obligation. But if it was something more like an online critique group where my role was mostly moderator and you were all essentially working with each other...

I don't know. What do you think of that idea?

[Josh]

Keep writing. Don't get bogged down in how crappy it is. Tip: the first draft is always crap. Always.

Yep. Pretty much. And you have to relax enough to let yourself write that shitty first draft. It's not easy for the perfectionists among us. But it is necessary.

[Josh]

Thanks Kari, it's nice to know even those who are published had crap in the beginning!

I stumbled on some of my earliest efforts a while back -- I'm not kidding when I say I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe. I read some aloud to the SO and it had the same effect on him.

Laughing gas. In every sense of the word.

[Josh]

Blake wrote: "Thanks, guys, I appreciate all the direction I can get! I've already plowed through Josh's book on M/M fiction and will be checking out the other resources Leah pointed out. A new question, though...."

What's the genre, Blake? I mean, beyond m/m? Is it the exploration of one man's life or a mystery or a fantasy or...?

If the only plot is the romance plot, then that could be a tricky sell. Depending on what else is going on in the book.

Can you do it? Yes. M/M is a pretty fluid genre, although it is a sub-genre of romance fiction. Meaning if you're marketing it as m/m versus a sci fi novel with a gay romance subplot, there's going to be a reader expectation for the central relationship.

[Josh]

Nicole wrote: "Blake,

There is only one thing that all successful books, published or not, have in common: they are finished. So I'm afraid that you've just got to write the words down first before thinking abo..."

The bitter truth. ;-D

[Blaine]

Josh wrote: "you have to relax enough to let yourself write that shitty first draft. It's not easy for the perfectionists among us. But it is necessary."


Strangely enough NaNoWriMo.org helped me with that. Every year I get better at focussing on writing and not letting myself get distracted by making it neat and tidy. (although I've not yet completely managed to keep from hitting the backspace when something doesn't sound right to me)

One of the things NaNoWriMo taught me is how to write in chuncks of 15 to 30 minutes, using a timer. Timer stops and I finish my sentence, take a short break and start again.
Of course, it doesn't always work, like when I'm totally emerged in a scene and just can't stop writing. But I don't see it as compulsory to write, it's just another tool.

Long before I heard about NaNoWriMo, though, it was Michael A. Stackpole who taught me one of the guidelines I try to adhere to: "Make a note and fix it later."
You decide your character isn't an orphan at all, but has an estranged father ... Don't go back and change it, make a note and fix it later, and start from the point your at as if the estranged father has always been there.

[Josh]

You decide your character isn't an orphan at all, but has an estranged father ... Don't go back and change it, make a note and fix it later, and start from the point your at as if the estranged father has always been there.

Yep. That's a good tip!

[Kari]

Josh wrote: "I'm trying to think if there's a practical way we could set up something, a private group, maybe a yahoo group, where you could all try out excerpts and offer each other input -- kind of a learning group that would just be for craft in this genre.

I've thought of it before but my fear has been that it might become hugely time-consuming, and I haven't been in a position where I could handle one more obligation. But if it was something more like an online critique group where my role was mostly moderator and you were all essentially working with each other...

I don't know. What do you think of that idea?"

Josh, crit groups don't have to be a huge hairy deal and I don't think you'd have to bend over backwards or get your hands dirty (so to speak) setting one up, either.

OTOH...Not to be a mercenary wretch, but you do have the manuscript eval service. I don't want to see anything cutting into your bottom line--you have bills to pay same as the rest of us. And pardon me for saying so, as a fan, anything that dents into your writing time is a great big hell no as far as I'm concerned.

It's not that I'm against the idea. I just don't want you to get bogged down. I have a selfish, vested interest in you keeping the books coming. :D

[Oco]

Kari wrote: "Josh wrote: "I'm trying to think if there's a practical way we could set up something, a private group, maybe a yahoo group, where you could all try out excerpts and offer each other input -- kind ..."

Kari, please don't lash me with a wet noodle, because honestly, I agree with you... :D

But, what Josh said made me think of a pretty cool scifi online/crit group. It's called critters, and this would NOT (I don't think) be a low maintenance thing, so I'm in no way suggesting that Josh (or anyone else) do it, but there might be elements of it that are workable in more informal style.

It's called the Critters Writers Workshop (www.critters.org). Again this one is specifically for scifi. The way it works is basically that you join, you commit to doing a certain number of serious crits per cycle (month). In return, every so often, you can put a chapter/novel through for critique by others. The pieces are only sent out to other members and (if I remember right) even then, only to those who specifically promise a critique. If you don't do your fair share of critiques, you can't put anything in. If I remember right, critters gives a special 'rate' to published authors, less critiques per crit, or something like that -- to encourage them to share the wisdom, that sort of thing.

It works pretty well, with the usual caveats about writer's groups -- that is, that you'll have to sift the wheat from the chaff and there are personalities involved. But still.

Anyway -- maybe not especially useful, but I thought I'd put it out there as a model that works. I've gotten the impression that it's pretty unique (ugh, forgive the qualified absolute, pls).

[Kari]

Ocotillo...Is the critters thing the same critter-something that just wrapped up a reader award?

Now I feel like all kinds of slacker because I'm not in a crit group, LOL. I swap beta reads, but I don't even do that much. Writing m/f and m/m both...There just isn't a lot of bleedover. Most people just aren't that versatile. Then the m/f writers/readers get antsy when I'm working on m/m or vice versa...Makes my head hurt.

[[deleted user]]

Josh wrote: "...I read some aloud to the SO and it had the same effect on him."

Ah.. There's a SO :) Can we go there? Or it's a no-no topic? :)

[Jordan]

Anita wrote: "Josh wrote: "you have to relax enough to let yourself write that shitty first draft. It's not easy for the perfectionists among us. But it is necessary."


Strangely enough NaNoWriMo.org helped me ..."

Anita, you stole my thunder... but it's ok. lol. I was going to mention NaNoWriMo. It's one of the best things for a beginning writer to do. It helps you get the words on paper in a very friendly environment. There might even be local events where you are, so you can go to a cafe and write with friends. Some people are distracted by that, others love it. I personally think it's great for an introverted writer. I've made a ton of friends this way.

But, about the writing... yeah, it took me ... um... 7 years? to write something I actually felt was publishable. And that was this past November. Now I'm rewriting it, and I'll be editing it for NaNoEdMo next month (National Novel Editing Month - www.nanoedmo.net) It seems as if a lot of publishers HATE Wrimo because when December hits, they get flooded with crappy novels. But, you're here in the writers thread so I know you won't forget to edit before you submit, if you do Wrimo.

I've been stuck writing fanfic (and don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, and still do) for years, and wrimo gave me the time to try my hand at original work, so it was a great door opener for me. And now, it seems as if I'll never get to finish those fanfic works I had planned because I can't stop writing original work. lol, that was my goal all along, so I'm happy the way things turned out.

That being said, as most authors agree, having positive feed back on one's work helps to keep them writing. I know I've always loved the reviews I used to get writing fanfic. And I miss that now doing original that might be published some day. I can't just post my work online anymore.

I like the idea of a crit group, but I also agree that you're busy writing Josh, and we do want to see you keep writing. Plus, you do have your professional crit service, which I would like to take advantage of when my novel's ready.

Anyway, here's my suggestion... is there a way for others here to start something up and keep it real lowkey? At one point I did check out Critters, but I never joined. I think it was a mix of not writing enough sci-fi to make it worth it and the somewhat rigid rules I felt I didn't have the time to adhere to. But if we did something more lowkey, like posting a story or a section of it to a yahoo group (or maybe a wetpaint wiki would work too?) and whoever wants to can read it over and give suggestions. I dunno. I mean, clearly, you should post reviews of others work if you're going to post your own work, but does it need to be a set number? Of course, as much as I like sci-fi, I love m/m that much more, so maybe tough rules would work for me here. More chances to read m/m, what could beat that?!

And, let's not forget how useful it might be to have a section where we can just bounce ideas off each other. Sometimes, I worry about how well an idea is going to turn out, and it would be nice to have feedback before I worry too much too soon, before I've even written a single word, even. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to know if an idea is worth it.

These are just my own thoughts. Feel free to disagree. And, of course, Josh, if you want to drop in and say hi, we wouldn't bar you from doing that!

lol, submitting to the group could be the "middle stage" after you've edited your work enough for others to see it, and then submitting to Josh could be the "ending stage".

And now I'm going to stop this rambling thing I'm doing and get some work done!

[[deleted user]]

I don't use critique circles, beta's, etc. - not yet anyway - I tried at one point, but found them time consuming in other ways that had little to do with writing. I decided to just finish my manuscript on my own, revise it to death, and then have an editor-type proof it for me (maybe a paid service).

I found Critters, but couldn't commit to the reading/proofing part of it. I would love a "group" to bounce ideas off of and maybe share tips, strategies, writing sources and encouragement. Maybe it could be set-up in such a way that the members would keep it going and Josh would have very little to moderate. It would be nice to have this group within our little community here, while inviting others of course, because it's already an M/M community and we wouldn't have to worry about being "accepted" somewhere else. I had some trouble on other "groups" getting people to share writing knowledge with me because of my M/M slant.

Leah

[Merith]

Blake wrote: "Thanks, guys, I appreciate all the direction I can get! I've already plowed through Josh's book on M/M fiction and will be checking out the other resources Leah pointed out. A new question, though...."

There has been some very good advise given for this topic, even so, let me add one more bit. As far as the m/f or m/m is concerned, know who your audience is. If you are writing for a m//m romance crowd, you will lose a lot of readers from the start if you have an established m/f couple, especially if there are sex scenes. However, if you're writing for a more mainstream audience, and the series of books isn't all about the two main protags getting together and living happily ever after, then write to your hearts content. There's always room for more mainstream books where the main characters are gay (or bi). Just be careful you're not writing yourself into a trope corner.

And, it doesn't hurt to ask a friend or two, ones you'd trust to be honest with the writing, to read over what you're writing.

[Merith]

Josh wrote: "I'm trying to think if there's a practical way we could set up something, a private group, maybe a yahoo group, where you could all try out excerpts and offer each other input -- kind of a learning group that would just be for craft in this genre. [...]

I don't know. What do you think of that idea? "

This would be a huge undertaking if everyone who joined was looking for YOU to offer your advise or comment on everything everyone's written and posted. Especially since you already offer this as a paid-for service. None of us should expect this, given your work schedule and the fact that no matter what you plan for, you always over commit and have to overwork yourself to meet those commitments.

Having said that, it's a great idea in that a group of like minded writers (or others who might not write, but have good composition and editing sense), should get together and offer advice or constructive critique. Sort of like Adrien's writer's circle, without the book store. :)

[Josh]

Just a note that I'm keeping an eye on the conversation and considering the best course.

If we do it, I'd like it to stay very low key and relatively small -- I'd want it to stay friendly and sort of informal. Like an online version of Adrien's circle, yes.

I don't see it conflicting with the paid evaluation service as I wouldn't give that kind of detailed feedback and advice (I couldn't even if I wanted to -- those evaluatons usually take me a full day or two). This would be you guys mostly offering insight and help to each other, with me popping in and out as I'm able.

And I wouldn't try culling the group for evaluation clients as I don't know how much longer I'll even continue that given how time-consuming it really is. But I might go ahead (assuming we go ahead at all) and invite some of those I've previously critiqued in case they'd like to participate.

Anyway, I'm listening...

[Josh]

Ah.. There's a SO :) Can we go there? Or it's a no-no topic? :)

There is indeed. But his favorite garment is his cloak of invisibility. *g*

[[deleted user]]

Josh wrote: "Ah.. There's a SO :) Can we go there? Or it's a no-no topic? :)

There is indeed. But his favorite garment is his cloak of invisibility. *g*"

Your SO is Harry Potter? ;)

[Oco]

Just to clarify to LC up there -- I didn't mean to imply that critters was the only on-line writing workshop, oh goodness no. Just in how it was set up was supposedly unique (although I was just at their page and am wondering if others are following their lead??)

Again, I'm sure it is time-consuming to administer, it's more that it's an interesting idea to file away.

Also, yes, one does need to commit to giving back -- i.e., to get ten crits from other writers, you really need to be prepared to give that many to them. Just can't work otherwise. No one writer's time is more valuable than another's.

Kari, I don't know about an award, I just went to their site to see if they were bragging on anything, but didn't see that they were.

I belonged to it for a while. Did find it useful, but dropped out because I didn't see that I was going to get a whole lot of useful input about a story with heavy romantic elements (much less gay). Honestly though, I think I learned more from carefully critiquing the work of others than I did from the crits about mine. Something about forcing myself to identify and articulate both what did work and what didn't really stretched my understanding of my own writing. There are a lot of extremely amateurish writers there, and they crit no better than they write, but that doesn't mean that there wasn't a lot useful to learn. Honestly, bad writing teaches me as much as good writing does. And figuring out a 'bad' critique has merit. Deciding why I can ignore that piece of 'advice', or figuring out what was really bothering them that they couldn't articulate. All useful.

But having said that, it is a time-consuming process, and at some point, I found that the returns were diminishing: I'd gotten what I needed from them. Even aside from the mismatch of genres.

[[deleted user]]

Josh wrote: "Ah.. There's a SO :) Can we go there? Or it's a no-no topic? :)

There is indeed. But his favorite garment is his cloak of invisibility. *g*"
Aw.. too bad because I made a list of questions XD Well... a couple of questions :) Oh well.. I guess I'll live :)

Leah wrote: "Josh wrote: "Ah.. There's a SO :) Can we go there? Or it's a no-no topic? :)

There is indeed. But his favorite garment is his cloak of invisibility. *g*"

Your SO is Harry Potter? ;)"
LOL!

[Kari]

Josh wrote: "Just a note that I'm keeping an eye on the conversation and considering the best course."

Well, if you don't mind a non-mystery writer in the bunch, keep me in mind. :D

[Becky]

I might be interested in a critique group. I'm pretty comfortable with my writing skills in general, but I've never tried m/m, and I don't think my rl critique partners would be much help.

[Blaine]

On one hand I'd love to be in a group of like minded authors to talk about our writing, but ...
I've made promises to critique before, and I start out diligently, but slowly time runs away with me, and before I know it, I forget. I felt like crap having to renege on those promises. I'm much more careful about that now. I don't like making promises I'm not sure I can keep.

So, a group to bounce ideas off or talk about writing, yes, please. A critique group creates too much commitment and responsibility for me right now. I really need to put my writing first for now ...

[Blaine]

Anna wrote: "Anita, you stole my thunder... "

What can I say, I love thunder ;)

I wrote fanfic as well (it's up on my site). It's a great writing exercise, trying to portray the characters and world around them as close to how the writer wrote it (if you discard for a moment that I made them gay, of course).

After participating in NaNoWriMo 6 times, I ended up with three first drafts I'm content with, one story that is utter crap, one reasonably good start to a novel I'd love working on, once I've gotten over that giant plothole that stopped me writing and one story that seems more like two stories in one, and I really need time to let that one come to rest. No idea if I'll ever work on that one again.

I started out NaNo working against the clock, being overly tired and snippy all through november. Slowly over the years, I've learned to harness my writing time and deflect distractions, and even managed to gain an office (writing while being constantly interrupted by hubby and boys became too much in the end)
Shutting up my inner editor was hell as well. Because, like many people before me, I have 'perfected' first chapters lying around somewhere as well, it took time to realise I'd never finish anything that way. I know most of what I'll put in that first draft will be taken out again, but those scenes are lessons for me in what to avoid and what to do better. And sometimes those scenes still might have valid information to be used in another scene.

Also, before NaNoWriMo, the closest I had come to having a writing group was a local writing course. There were only five of us, and of those five, I was the only writer not writing about my life, my experiences. I loved that course, but I didn't have much connection to any of the other writers. We didn't live in the same world.

I never realised I wasn't the only Dutchy writing in English until after my first NaNoWriMo 'Thank God it's over party' (I'd missed the kick off party because of my eldest's birthday). I met a wonderful group of people, some of whom became close friends, kindred spirits, whatever language we write in, whatever genre. I've never met a more tolerant or more varied group in all my life.
Not to mention we scare the crap out of the establishment we hold our parties at by ordering all those hot chocolates when they only have nine mugs *rofl*

[Merith]

Josh wrote over on the 'Hi from Josh' discussion topic: A lot of readers are just not into mystery. That's okay. I'm usually bored by romance that doesn't have something else going on -- some adventure or crime or SOMETHING. Different strokes for different folks!

Can you see yourself ever writing a character driven story without an adventure or crime or ...something? Of course, now that I'm trying to come up with an example to draw from, each one has something other than a strongly character driven story.

I think that's what makes a lot of the early to mid 20th century classics so great is the character growth in the midst of other things going on around them. So much so in some cases, you don't remember the events, just the character.

[Kari]

Oh, a btw re the crit group...and this is just me...but I'd be extremely uncomfortable if readers were included and if they are, count me out. No offense to readers, but there's no way on God's green earth that I'll ever let a reader look at anything of mine that I don't consider submission-ready (at the very least). Which means no look-see during the content revision phase and that's primarily when I want opinions.

Granted, I have recently drafted a reader as a beta for my m/m and once I move back into my het, I have another willing reader I think would make a great beta for that material too. But I still haven't sent anything to either reader. I don't revise for technical elements until my final pass through and since its content that I generally want input on...I haven't figured out how to work around that. Or even if I can. I'll show other writers mss that I know have stylistic warts & blemishes to get opinions on the bigger picture type stuff (pacing, plot, character), but doing that with a reader? Gives me the vapors.

Like I said, this is just me. I don't expect anyone else to adapt to my glorious self at all. Just not something I'd feel remotely comfortable with.

[JPerceval]

I'll add my 2 cents to the NaNoWriMo folks. While it's mad to try to write 50K words in a month (especially November -- what genius chose the opening of holiday insanity to do this exercise, that's what I want to know!) it really CAN help you get those shitastic drafts out. If nothing else, it can get you off your ass (or rather, on it) and writing.

[Kari]

My 2nd finished ms was a NaNo bk...except this was mid90s and nobody called it NaNo then. We didn't do it in November, either. Whatever, was an interesting experiment. I learned tricks for turning off the internal editor that I still use today. For example, changing my font -- if it doesn't look like standard manuscript format, I do better. Weird, but I don't argue with what works, LOL. I also learned just how productive I can be when I push it, though I'm faster when I'm in binge-writing mode now.

[J. Rosemary]

Kari posted: For example, changing my font -- if it doesn't look like standard manuscript format, I do better. Weird, but I don't argue with what works, LOL.

That works for me too--and that's why I write my first (and second) drafts in Comic Sans. :)

[Kari]

J. Rosemary wrote: "Kari posted: For example, changing my font -- if it doesn't look like standard manuscript format, I do better. Weird, but I don't argue with what works, LOL.

That works for me too--and that's why..."

Oh boy. Comic sans would be way too distracting for me. I am incredibly dull in that regard. I go with either Book Antiqua, Verdana or TNR on a binge first draft (unless the publisher wants otherwise, my finals are always Courier New and I'm used to working in them in Courier New).

I also format the thing to an ARC (duplex, .5" margins, 2 column, ss on landscape) and print that bad boy out for my final pass through it. I don't know why, but it makes it so much easier for me to pick up the word repetition, passives, etc. Makes me a heinous tree killer, though. ;-)

[J. Rosemary]

Kari posted: Oh boy. Comic sans would be way too distracting for me . . . Makes me a heinous tree killer, though. ;-)

Lol! I like trees so I don't do much printing. (Besides, I'm used to reading everything on screen.)

I picked up the Comic Sans trick from a number of high school teachers I know. They type all their assignments in Comic Sans because the students react well to it; it's not formal or intimidating. Pretty much the same reason it works for me!

[Blaine]

Kari wrote: For example, changing my font -- if it doesn't look like standard manuscript format, I do better. Weird, but I don't argue with what works, LOL."

J. Rosemary wrote: That works for me too--and that's why I write my first (and second) drafts in Comic Sans. :) "

I always use either URW Gothic L or AvantGarde, because I like the a better. But only for documents for my eyes only. Anything official is typed in Arial or whatever font the receiver wishes it to be ...


I used to print out fanfic in arial narrow 6 ... to save paper, but still be able to read in bed (before I had my sony ereader)