Tag Archives: writing

Why You Should Do NaNoWriMo This Year

31 Friday Oct 2014

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It’s Halloween, which for most people means spooky thrills and candy. Maybe a night out dancing, maybe a night in watching scary movies…or maybe, if you’re planning on writing a novel during National Novel Writing Month, reviewing your notes and wiggling your fingers over the keyboard, itching for the stroke of midnight that will kick off 30 insane days of writing.

I’ve done NaNoWriMo four times (every odd year since 2007), and to be honest, it’s been life-changing. I don’t always play by the rules. Two times, I’ve cranked out short stories by the dozen during November instead of a novel to hit the magic 50,000 word threshold. I don’t always like what I write. My first novel, the one I wrote in 2007, was so horrifically bad that I try to pretend it never existed (and it doesn’t, anymore–I trashed it years ago). Out of the 40 or 50 stories I’ve written between my two short-story themed NaNoWriMo years, maybe 10 were good enough for me to go back to and revise. Maybe.

But I’m actively working on the novel I wrote in 30 days last year, and half my graduate thesis stories began during a November writing frenzy. Good things come out of participating in the wild writing, late nights, and encouraging community that is NaNoWriMo. Here’s a few things I’ve learned:

I can make a lot more time for writing than I often do. It’s easy for me to blame my mood or my schedule, but there’s more downtime (or even wasted time) in my typical day than I notice. When I’m committed to getting 1,667 words out per day, those pockets become magic productivity slots. Now, I am also fortunate enough to have a husband who’s willing to cook (a lot) more and give up some relaxation time to let me meet my goal. Without his enthusiastic support, my NaNoWriMo experience would be a lot different. I also want to point out that I’m not suggesting I could write like I do during NaNoWriMo year-round. It’s too intense. But with that said, discovering how much I can accomplish inspires me to devote more time to writing, even when I don’t feel like it.

The words do come. Writer’s block sucks. It’s a kick in the gut to have bad ideas, or no ideas at all. It rattles your whole sense of self as a creative person. During NaNoWriMo, though, writer’s block isn’t an option. Forums are bursting with challenges, word sprints, and other techniques people share to help each other make the words come even when it feels impossible. Lately, I’ve been sitting down in the mornings with a timer and no distractions allowed. If I don’t write, I tell myself that’s fine, but I can’t do anything else. (I’m borrowing this practice from Ann Patchett, as well as many other writers, doubtless.) You know what? The words have come every single time. Turns out an hour of silence beats my writer’s block every time.

Giving yourself permission to be bad can help you write better. I found the emphasis on quantity over quality during NaNoWriMo (and several forum discussions on silencing the inner editor) helped me loosen up and just go for it. Sure, 80-90% of what comes out is dreck. But some isn’t, and considering the sheer amount I had to write, I end up with more good writing at the end of November than in two or three months of writing when I feel like it.

Now, I’ll admit this is a little strange for me to talk about given that I won’t *technically* be doing NaNoWriMo this year. It’s an even year–I take those off :-P. Between editing my novel and hustling for freelance clients, my writing life is full enough without adding another 50,000-word project into the mix. But I had to write this for anyone who might be on the fence even now: NaNoWriMo, over the years, has changed my writing habits and my writing for the better. If you’re thinking about doing it, if you have a plan or don’t, please try it. And finish it. Push through the slumps and the headaches and the worry that this heap of words is useless, and tilt at the 50K windmill anyway. You’d be surprised by what can happen.

The Briefest of Check-Ins and Some Words About a Bride

12 Monday Aug 2013

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I spent a beautiful day watching my good friend (and good writer) Megan marry the man of her dreams, and also got to see a larger crowd of MFA co-alums than I have since graduation. Once the bride had departed, we stood outside the church and chatted about what we were up to. It turns out I am writing more than I thought I was. I’ve got three things I’m puttering with at the moment (a “proper” story, the kind of thing I’d submit for workshop; a exploratory finger into zombie fic; and a just-for-me Doctor Who thing based on a dream I had that is meant purely for fun). It was good to hear myself listing them aloud. I’m not sure I would have realized I actually do put in semi-consistent writing time without the experience of sharing that news.

I do want to say a quick word about Megan: She is one of the more dedicated writers in my graduating year, regularly submitting and polishing her work. It’s both inspiring and guilt-inducing, in the best way. Megan also has a knack for hope in her work that I sometimes have a hard time with. It’s easier, in some ways, to write stories where everything goes wrong. It can turn into the perfect negative of the Mary Sue: flawed people never achieving a true resolution at all. Megan’s characters have real problems and real interactions, but she can find ways to happy endings through them as well, which is harder and braver than it first appears.

It’s probably this attitude that has also led to the group of friends she has. I was invited to the pre-wedding festivities, and quickly realized friends from grad school, college, high school, middle school, and even earlier were represented. I was also happily surprised by how welcoming and generous all of these friends turned out to be. I can’t help but feel that Megan’s own generous spirit and eye for hope and happiness is what helps her keep these friendships so strong. It’s a good quality for love as well as fiction.

Aside

A Light Bulb Going Out: The Weird Way I Cured My Writer’s Block

29 Monday Jul 2013

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On Friday, I had a bit of a meltdown. It had been a hectic week, I was jealous about the successes my writer friends were posting on their Facebook pages, and when someone honked at me for no reason on the ride home, it was the last small indignity to push me over the edge.

I had been sitting in the downstairs bathroom for about 10 minutes with the lights out, feeling sorry for myself, when my husband poked his head in the doorway and astutely said that this did not seem like normal behavior, and that he had deduced that probably something was bothering me.

Obviously there was more than one problem on my mind that evening, but one of the things that came out in my tearful rant in the bathroom was that I was in the worst stretch of writing my current story: unsure of the ending, doubtful of the characters, hearing the disdainful voice in my head that pops up to suggest I scrap the whole thing. I knew taking time to get productive writing done would make me feel better, but all my inner negativity made it harder than usual to get my butt in the chair and do it.

So I wrote in the bathroom while Andrew made dinner. Silence is good. Privacy is good. Even darkness was good that night (that’s right, I sat in my powder room for 25 minutes typing by the glow of the laptop only!). I realized that in the depths of my self-conscious stretch, what I needed in order to function creatively was to feel like no one would be able to tell if what I was writing was bad. Being in a quiet space where no one could ask me how it was going (or know not to ask by my expression) helped ease my nerves. In the dark, I could even, oddly, pretend the room was truly empty–that I wasn’t even there–and use that to confuse my inner critic into silence. I felt a little silly, but by dinnertime, I had almost 400 words written.

Tonight I’ll be back in my usual spot for writing, but I’m filing away the weird trick of literally shutting myself away and turning off any other distractions–even the lights.

Let me know if you try a dark writing session, or if you have other weird rituals that help you shake off a block!

What I’m…Publishing!

26 Friday Jul 2013

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My schedule says you’re due a book review, and I’ve got a juicy one I’m excited to talk about, but we’re going to have to interrupt the posting schedule for some fun news. I’m proud to announce you can now check out “Doll Baby,” the first story from Room Full of Strangers, at Monologging, a “Local-Global Collaborative Magazine” founded by another writer in my graduating year.

“Doll Baby” tells the story of two sisters: Sarah, a nurse who has indefinitely postponed her independence to care for her ailing mother, and Amy, fragile but free, who brings a lifelike doll to dinner with disastrous results.

Jeff Barken and I worked closely together in the last year of the program, critiquing each other’s work, disagreeing on several aspects of writing and the writing process, but always engaged in the discussion and interested in hearing a different perspective. You’ll find information on his book at Monologging as well, along with stories and essays from writers in Baltimore or across oceans.

So go check out “Doll Baby,” the wonderfully eerie photo that illustrates it, and the rest of the mag!

Self-Publishing: The Problem of In-Between

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

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I’ve reached a stage I’m sure is common to many self-published authors: the decision of whether to invest in a second print run. I had a great first response to Room Full of Strangers. Between book sales and trades with the other writers I graduated with, my initial supply of 100 copies has dwindled to fewer than 20, which I am thrilled about. However, 20-odd is still a stack of copies, and I’ve reached out to the obvious circles of friends, co-workers, church family, and so on. I do have a few ideas up my sleeve to put my book out there, but the question, “Is it enough?” is a tough one to face.

Arguments for: shows greater faith in book, eliminates ‘limited copies’ as an excuse to avoid readings

Arguments against: it would cost about 3/4 of the money I made from book sales so far, I don’t have a concrete plan for how to sell an additional 100 copies

I haven’t made a decision yet, so I’ll put it out there: what would you do in my place? (Or, if you’ve published and marketed your work, what did you do?)

Room Full of Strangers, or Fresh Beginnings

01 Monday Jul 2013

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This past semester was a game-changer. At the beginning of this year, I “finished” assembling a manuscript of seven stories to submit as my graduate thesis and my first self-published book. Over the next few months, I worked with a brilliant editorial group of other authors-to-be, critiquing each other’s stories, offering design suggestions, and pouring more than one glass of wine to get through the stress of the most demanding four months of our academic career.

I cut one piece from my collection, changed endings and beginnings, and pushed even deeper into the heads and hearts of my characters than I had realized I could. For design, I took inspiration walking around the city that has become so much more familiar to me in the past 4 years, and a serendipitous moment of light and shadow striking rowhouses on St. Paul Street became a cover and a home for six short stories about choices and relationships, the moments we feel suspended in a bewildering space where we are strangers even to ourselves.

My book, Room Full of Strangers, has been out for two months to the day, and I am down to the last 20 copies from the first print run!

To celebrate the jump from MFA student to grad and the publication of my first book, I am relaunching this blog, with a few fun changes: I’ve freshened up the design and added a page where you can take a look at (and order) Room Full of Strangers. I’m also excited to announce a new weekly posting schedule:

Mondays: Writing life and the creative process. A mix of nuts and bolts, updates on what I’m writing and how it’s going, and more abstract or big-picture thoughts on how to incorporate an active creative life into the everyday.

2nd and 4th Fridays of the month: What I’m Reading returns with books that will make you think and (hopefully) jump-start your creativity.

A final note: Publishing a book and then trying to rustle up a blog audience is the opposite way to go about things, so my very first step on this relaunch is wrong! (Incidentally, there’s a fun article about writers and failure here–if I’m failing, I’m in good company). So let’s not think of this as a blatant plug for my shiny new book. My ultimate dream for this website would be to make this a fun hang-out spot for writers and any other creative types to talk shop, read good books, and get good work done. I hope this becomes as much your space as mine.

A New Relationship with Writing

16 Wednesday Jan 2013

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Wow, what a winter break of revisions it’s been! I am proud to say I mostly stuck to the plan I made in December. Starting with an idea of what changes I wanted to make to a story helped keep me from getting (too) overwhelmed when I sat down to work–and I did sit down to work. Almost every day, sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes for more than an hour. As a result, I’ve revised 6 of the 7 stories I plan to include in The Book and am considering adding an eighth to the collection, if I can get it done in time.

I’ve also been thinking about the fact that, more than in any other semester, this year’s break has been a sign for what Life After School might be like, writing on my own momentum, fueled by my own desire to put out the best stories I can. It’s changed my mind about my goals for writing this year.

It’s always mystified me to hear people talk of a deep “need” to write, as though their sanity hinges on it. You know that stereotypical artist’s parent who’s contemptuous of the child for not having a “real” career? That’s been me. I don’t like to admit writing can be fun, even when I do it in my spare time, even after I have a good session and my story’s all I can talk about for the next hour. It’s starting to seem ridiculous to keep this grudge against what I do around.

This year, instead of resolving to write every day, churn out a set number of stories, hit time or word goals, or meet similar numerical quotas, I want to accomplish something I imagine will be more rewarding and lasting: I want to take my relationship with writing to the next level. I pledge to do my best to remember that writing is fun and fulfilling, and to approach my laptop at the end of the day with a welcoming spirit. I promise to use quantifiable goals and quotas as tools to encourage me to write, not an end in and of themselves. Most importantly, I promise to keep going after my grad program is over, even if no one’s reading. Sooner or later, if I put joy and work into it, someone will.

Seeing the Light

16 Friday Nov 2012

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I registered for my last grad school class! There are only 3 class sessions left in this semester, and then one semester’s worth of design, editing, and production, and then (knock wood) I’ll burst out the other side of school into a world where I have my degree and all my evenings to myself. Not to mention that I’ll be a published author.

One of the things that excited me most about the program I chose for my MFA was that instead of amassing a manuscript for my thesis, I’ll get to go through the whole process of designing and publishing my work, with instructors and peers there to mentor and support me through the process. It’s an incredible thought after the 8 years I’ve spent studying and practicing writing, and despite my professor’s advice to the contrary, I haven’t been able to help daydreaming about the content, organization, and cover design for my first leap into the shelves.

It doesn’t feel quite real yet. I imagine it won’t until January, after I’ve revised this semester’s work and put together my rough manuscript (once I hold that in my hands I know something is going to click!). But the first rosy glimmers of “this is real” and “I’m going to be done” have arrived. I’m starting to feel more excited than nervous about what the next 6 months will bring.

Reading Dead Writers

12 Friday Oct 2012

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I just finished Micro, a novel “by” Michael Crichton. I use the word “by” a little loosely because Crichton died while writing it, and the book was completed by another writer. It was still okay, but it missed some sharpness. There were summarized passages that I felt sure would have been explored more vividly if Crichton had lived to revise. Reading that last book got me thinking about what happens to manuscripts when the writer has died.

Micro isn’t the first example of a book that was a work in progress (sometimes barely more than a few drafted chapters and some Word files full of notes) that was finished by another writer. I will admit it’s one of the few I’ve read, mostly because a few dips into posthumously completed novels, including some I really love (Douglas Adams comes to mind) has taught me that a lot of what I love in an author’s voice comes later in the revision process.

I’m a voice girl when it comes to reading. Plot and character matter, of course. The premise better be interesting to make it on my favorites list, and the ending should count. But I will forgive a lot of sins on the basis of a great narrative voice, and I’m quick to put down almost any story if I don’t care for the way it’s told. It’s hard to get voice right on a first draft–it’s the kind of plaster or molding (I don’t know enough about carpentry to keep this metaphor accurate–whoops!) that you can only worry about when the scaffolding of the story is in place.

These days, editors don’t have much time to do extensive developmental editing with writers before the book is published. This is in many ways an unfortunate thing–a good editor can help a book cross the last inch (or more!) from a workable manuscript to a masterpiece. But that’s another story for another day. The point is that I think the authors themselves, and their personal communities of hand-selected readers, are the ones shaping most books today. A publisher assigning someone else (hopefully also popular in the same genre, to attract sales and ease suspicious readers’ minds) just isn’t the same to me. The question, then, is should the work stop if the author is no longer alive?

I know there is a lot of important work that happens after the writer is done putting words on the page (I wouldn’t be working in publishing if I thought that wasn’t true!). I know there are agents and even some editors who still take a strong personal interest in a book. But although I can understand the fans’ desire for just one more book and the publishers’ for one last good sale from an author, the writer side of me feels an uncomfortable twinge imagining an unfinished book going out. There is no last chance to review the book, or change it. There’s more possibility for anyone to say “close enough” to a not-quite-polished page. We should be grateful we even have this much, right?

Not me. I want the last book I read by a beloved author to be a proper send-off, with all the qualities I love in the work that got me hooked in the first place. I’ll miss out on a glimpse at the new characters and ideas my favorite writers were creating at the end of their lives, but I want that wonderful voice in my head to stay the same.

Should death be the final deadline for an author’s work to get published, or is it better to find a way to publish what they’ve left behind? I’d love to hear your take.

First Month Results

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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In September, I made it to 727 out of my 1000 minutes writing/month goal. I didn’t meet my goal (this time), but here’s what I learned:

  1. Having a goal to push toward works for me, even if I don’t quite get there. I spent just over 12 hours writing last month, which came out to revisions on 3 stories and about 5 pages’ worth of drafting toward a new story.
  2. I like goals that let me daydream. Unlike word count goals, which ultimately only count the moments you’re typing, a time goal allowed me to acknowledge the thought I put into my writing and revising. The ticker keeps ticking while I think about the right way to express a thought.
  3. The flexibility was awesome. Some nights I did 10 minutes. One Sunday I hit 90. Overall, my average comes to a little over 20 minutes a day–not a bad start!
  4. 1000 seems to be the right goal for me to set. It’s clearly tough, but I can think of a few nights when I probably could have put in another 10 minutes or so, and a weekend day or two when I blew off writing to do other fun things. Next time, if I’m going on a day trip with Andrew, I’ll write in the car in 10-minute bursts.

I’m doing a modified goal this month–500 minutes–in light of the fact that the wedding and honeymoon eat up the latter half of my October. After that, I think I’ll keep shooting for 1000!