What I learned from my first/second/last WIP

[Namatu]

What have you learned from the books you've written? Trunked or published, there's always something we can take away from them to inform us in our next WIP.

Trunk Novel #1: Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, adverbs can be overused!

Trunk 2: Write experimental scenes to learn the setting and back story of characters; do not expect to use the bulk of any such material in the novel itself.

Trunk 3: I can write an outline, albeit reluctantly, and I will then write by rote to that outline, which kills the fun and a large amount of spontaneity. Outlines are not for me.

4, In Stasis: Call it going from one extreme to another. I learned that no outline does not mean don't bother to plan ahead at all. :e2smack: It's finally done (save for a little unrelated rejiggering), but it could have been done a lot sooner if only I'd embraced the unmapped road a little less. This was a true growing pains book, the one that I feel prepared me to be a far more capable storyteller.

WIP: Too soon to tell, but going surprisingly well. I think I learned more than a few things from the last one.

[RunawayScribe]

Ooh, interesting thread idea.

WIP 1 taught me a LOT:

-Say things as simply as possible. Don't use ten words where you can use five.
-Adverbs need to die.
-Deus ex machina = no.
-Get to the freaking point.
-At least one major character needs some sort of redeeming quality. (Most my characters, even the protags, spent fifty percent of the story b*tching at each other. It took away from the story's appeal. I know that now.)
-On that same note, perfect characters suck. Everyone has flaws. Everyone.

[vrabinec]

First try taught me that it's not enough to have an "great idea for a book to write", because, unless you've had a lot of formal training, whatever you write probably won't sound so hot. Not to mention that it's going to be unstructured and a general mess.

After ten years of sulking, I took another shot and learned that, no matter how tedious it seems, you really have to look up words in the dictionary and search through the thesaurus. It also taught me that, when you get someone else to critique your work, it is invaluable in letting you know how your voice is perceived.

My third and fourth which are my current WIP's (depends on which mood I'm in) have taught me to shut the hell up, get off the writing web sites, get my ass in a chair, and hit the freakin' keys, or noting gets done. Learned enough to give it a go, and fix the little things along the way.

[sleepsheep]

- the job is not even a quarter done when you finish your first draft.
- editing can be a total b*tch.
- editing can be a lot of fun.
- Strunk & White are my best friends.
- I use too many adjectives.

[cameron_chapman]

WIP 1: I am capable of finishing a novel-length work. Present tense is not for me. Beware of cliched plot lines, especially in fantasy. I can edit much faster than I can write.

WIP 2: I can finish a much longer novel-length work and can consistently write for long periods of time (33 days in a row).

WIP 3: Sometimes you have to ruthlessly cut things, even if you love them.

WIP 4: I'm not half bad. And I can take criticism of my work.

WIP 5: (The one I'm working on now). Maybe SF/Fantasy isn't my thing after all. Chick lit and more mainstream fiction might be a better fit after all! And I'm actually becoming a pretty decent writer.

[Feathers]

I used to write a lot of novels consecutively, so I'm going to skip the ones where it was all just part of the process, and mention the ones that taught me something of impact.

WIP 2: Oh my freaking gosh - I have this whole story in my head! And I'm there, and it's amazing! I want to do this again!!!

WIP 3: If you don't keep a character true to themselves, they morph, and loose their arc. This is different than finding a character - this is loosing one.

WIP 5: Nobody likes vague prologues. And adverbs are a sin. Also, do not throw a temper tantrum when Wise Writing Mentor tells you that adverbs are sin. Even if she's a journalist, and you write fiction. And adverbs add flair. And --

WIP 6: Do not write an ending that is so crazy, so wild, so over-the-top dramatic, that you can't even reconcile it in your own mind. Additionally: never write a story that only works with a crazy, wild, over-the-top ending.

WIP's 7-8: Quality or quantity? Quality or quantity? What am I going to doooo! (Hint: these were failed attempts.)

WIP 9: To heck with it. Quantity. Write the book, write the book, write the darn BOOK. Learn to pause and reflect every few chapters so as not to get blocked. Learn how to take a simple story and complicate it.

Also, you may need to experiment with many scenes, plotlines, and characters that will not appear in the story. Prepare to loose 63% of what you write. Prepare to spend large portions of novel soul-searching.

Do not forget to write the book.

Characters can not be flat; they need two kinds of conflict, raised stakes, things to live and die for, etc. Writing The Breakout Novel will be my role model from now on.

FINISH the book. finish finish finish.

Learn to recognize Rewriting Fatigue for what it is, tear yourself away with work unfinished, but also learn when it is too early to tear self away.

WIP 10 - current project: When you concentrate too hard on your plotting/characterization skills, basic use of language slips. Remember to kill adverbs. Remember to avoid tired metaphors, overuse of like, overuse of "but," "just," and personal cliches. Stretch self when describing. WRITE EVERY DAY, even if you only write fifty words. Be amazed at how easy this is compared to last novel.



Yup, I'm a whole storehouse of learned wisdom :) Who wants to help me rework my ninth novel? Any takers?

-Feathers

[Kathleen42]

First try taught me that it's not enough to have an "great idea for a book to write", because, unless you've had a lot of formal training, whatever you write probably won't sound so hot.

I don't agree with this. I agree that having formal training or an MFA can be a tremendous benefit, but I believe there are capable writers who do not have this background.

[scarletpeaches]

First try taught me that it's not enough to have an "great idea for a book to write", because, unless you've had a lot of formal training, whatever you write probably won't sound so hot. Not to mention that it's going to be unstructured and a general mess.

When you say 'formal', do you mean university training?

'Cause if that's the case, I'm screwed, as is every other writer who left school at sixteen.

[Kathleen42]

Trunk 1: I may be certain that there is a strong market but the gatekeepers may feel differently. I cannot edit at home.

Current WiP: Never say never when it comes to genre (because sometimes the ideas won't leave you alone no matter how often you say "but I don't want to write XYZ").

[Kathleen42]

When you say 'formal', do you mean university training?

'Cause if that's the case, I'm screwed, as is every other writer who left school at sixteen.

Not to mention those of us who went to art school ;)

[*Pudge*]

I don't agree with this. I agree that having formal training or an MFA can be a tremendous benefit, but I believe there are capable writers who do not have this background.

What she said. :D

[maestrowork]

Unfinished serial: How to develop interesting characters and generally the craft of fiction writing.

Novel #1 (published): How to properly start a novel; tried too hard to be "writerly" until I found my real groove and just let the words pour out; the finer art of writing dialogue and developing page-turning plot; learned how not to navel-gaze when writing in first person; realized niche market novels are a much harder sell...

ETA: also learned how to self-edit and how not to "self-edit" during draft mode....

WIP: Complex plotting with parallel threads, a large cast, etc.; realized the importance of research; learned to get the plot out and fill in the details later. Third person limited is kind of a bitch....

[Namatu]

WIP: Complex plotting with parallel threads, a large cast, etc.; realized the importance of research; Yes, and yes. The complex plotting and parallel threads business is both intimidating and invigorating.

learned to get the plot out and fill in the details later.How do you do this? My head can handle the general plot arc, but how to have my characters get there when I don't know all the details myself leaves me staring at the screen or ignoring it altogether. Refining details I can leave for later, and some I can ignore or fix later, but too many others mock me with a blinking cursor.

[KJuno]

Trunk 1: I was 12 when I wrote my first full-length (over 50k, if I remember correctly) "novel". (Dec 2005 - April 2006) It was really a fanfic, but the only thing those characters had resembling their published self was their name. So I do consider it my first attempt at novel-writing.

I thought it was genius at the time and haven't read it all the way through since then. So I guess it taught me that a lot changes in three years and you do in fact grow as a writer. I never tried to get it published (obviously - that's illegal), but it did teach me never to rush to publication as a teen. Like I said, a lot changes.

Trunk 2: NaNoWriMo that same year (2006). 23k was as far as I got. Again, I thought it genius. But I guess I had structure down better and it was the first time I had any long-term plans to keep at it with a character. Characterization then, I guess.

Trunk 3: NaNoWriMo 2007: 52k, my second completed novel. This one was actually MINE, not a fanfic. I loved writing it, but it really sucked. It taught me not to be verbose and keep adding stuff in just for word count. Which, granted, is the antithesis to NaNoWriMo, but whatever.

And about a million more attempts at something longer than 5k in 2008, at which point I'd lose interest. Taught me that just an idea won't get a book written.

WIP: I'm learning to make it through a first draft (I hoooope I finish it) and how to ignore other ideas that keep popping up so I finish something. That was a problem of mine during last year - I would start something and stop for something shinier. Not this time.

Also, I'm learning self-editing. I haven't done it until now, and while I'm trying to save it for after draft 0.

[maestrowork]

How do you do this? My head can handle the general plot arc, but how to have my characters get there when I don't know all the details myself leaves me staring at the screen or ignoring it altogether. Refining details I can leave for later, and some I can ignore or fix later, but too many others mock me with a blinking cursor.

To me, how the characters "get there" is less interesting to me than what they do after they get there. Transitions are my weakest, and I'd rather leave them out than letting them get me stuck. Also, details such as settings, full dialogue, detailed actions, etc. can be left out -- just focus on the emotions, the basic actions and reactions and consequences. Those tend not to change especially if you know your characters so well.

For example, going through my notes I see a lot of things like "<takes place at the temple -- describe later>" or "<character somehow get to the river>" -- to me, how they get there is not exactly interesting at this point, and may very well be left off in the final draft if the transition doesn't add anything to the story. Same with dialogue -- I have notes that say "<expand on the dialogue to make it more real later>."

Once I get into plot momentum I don't want to lose it by bogging myself down with details. This is first draft stage. I can add more layers and details, much like painting an oil portrait, later.

[ccarver30]

Passive voice and (overused) adverbs are bad.
Head-hopping is bad and can be confusing.

Yay for Advanced Fiction Writing classes too! :)

[Aggy B.]

Current WIP
- Detailed chapter outlines are my friend.
- Periodically the outline should be evaluated and the remaining chapters reoutlined to reflect changes to plot that have occurred while writing.
- I can keep writing even when I realize how much these pages suck.
- Just because I think I've found an intriguing and unique "voice" does not mean everyone/anyone else will agree.

[lostgirl]

1st book -- I learned there is such a thing as "too many dialogue tags"
2nd book -- I learned there is such a thing as "not enough dialogue tags"

[deserata]

I learned with my first major undertaking that the story will never happen if you don't get it written in time. It is possible to think something to death; stories are not meant to stay in your head. If you wait too long to write the rest, your ideas will be too stale to you and you won't even like your story....and a newer, shinier one will come up and steal your attention away. And unless you do some major reimagining, the other one will never get done.

Oh yeah, and go easy on the adverbs. ;)

[Stunted]

Truck 1: Kill your darlings. Cohesion is your friend. Dialogue is fun. Editing is fun. I have what it takes. Don't put too much faith in an agent. I have a weird macabre side to me. There is such a thing as too much planning.

WIP: If it seems silly, get rid of it. The little words count.

[Judg]

"Show not tell" does not apply to backstory.

Every scene should have some kind of conflict. Somebody has a goal, and something's in the way. The goal can be acquired in the scene.

I use a lot of empty words. I lost fully 5% of my word count just by eliminating empty words.

Dialogue comes easy to me. (Hey, we're allowed to learn a few things that don't hurt.)

I need some kind of map. I actually use a spreadsheet, with a column for each of the major characters. As each event gets written in, I think about what each character will do, if they're in it, and how they will react, if they're not. This generates a lot of new ideas. And prevents a lot of continuity problems.

[emc07]

Great Question!

1st Story- My writing was a little juvenile and I had no clue what I was doing. I realized I could write funny characters.

2nd story ( I call them stories, because I never finished them)
Music is my friend and keeps me going, also I like to have stories with pot smoking in them...

Current WIP- This story may actually become a book. I think I can write funny dialogue. Always know who the killer is before you are 24,000+ words in... I learned this the hard way, now I have to re-structure the whole thing... oh well.

[timewaster]

1st book -- I learned there is such a thing as "too many dialogue tags"
2nd book -- I learned there is such a thing as "not enough dialogue tags"

I am a quarter way through my eleventh novel. I don't seem to carry many lessons from one to the next. I just carry on blundering through. Perhaps the only thing I've learned is not to worry: most plot problems get resolved even if you have to be ruthless and rewrite almost everything. I think the other thing is not to take yourself or your book too seriously. It isn't that important. Someone will like it, someone will hate and almost everyone in the world will never read it : )

[vrabinec]

I don't agree with this. I agree that having formal training or an MFA can be a tremendous benefit, but I believe there are capable writers who do not have this background.

Certainly there are capable writers who don't have this background, but I doubt that they sat down and worte brilliant prose the first time they tried their hand at writing. Maybe some of them did, but not me or most of the writers I know who haven't had any formal training outside of grade school. To me, writing is much like cooking, either you are self taugh though a long process like the one I'm going through, or you get some courses on it that teach you the basics, and then you're on your own.

Of course, if you're saying that you had no training and sat down to write your first MS and loved what you wrote right away, my hat's off.

[scarletpeaches]

NO-ONE sits down and writes Golden Prose first time out, formally trained or not, whether they have a degree and a piece of paper that says they're a good writer or not.

You can spend time at university, studying and writing essays and learning that way (and getting into debt at the same time) or you can learn on the job - by reading and writing. It takes the same amount of time. Possibly even less, that way.

Some of the dumbest folks I know went to university. It means absolutely nothing in my opinion, to say someone has a degree in English Literature or anything similar. Going to university teaches you to be student and to write essays. Reading and writing teach you how to be a writer.

[Shady Lane]

When you say 'formal', do you mean university training?

'Cause if that's the case, I'm screwed, as is every other writer who left school at sixteen.

And those of us who sold their first books when they were sixteen...

[timewaster]

[quote=vrabinec;3313265]Certainly there are capable writers who don't have this background, but I doubt that they sat down and worte brilliant prose the first time they tried their hand at writing. Maybe some of them did, but not me or most of the writers I know who haven't had any formal training outside of grade school. To me, writing is much like cooking, either you are self taugh though a long process like the one I'm going through, or you get some courses on it that teach you the basics, and then you're on your own.

It is perfectly valid to choose to explore writing through some kind of course, or by reading how to books, posting to a writer's forum, or just sitting at home and writing. I don't think there is any correlation between the way you learn and your liklihood of success.
I don't have an English degree I've not done a creative course or read a how-to book in my life. I've published eight YA novels and eight children's books. It did not take me long to get published.This is true of almost all the published authors I know. Luck is a very major factor.

[maestrowork]

I call them stories, because I never finished them...

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy grandfather: Finish what you started! :)

That's another lesson I've learned from writing my first complete novel -- I set out to finish it, not publish it. I wanted to know if I could finishing something like that. And since then, I never leave anything (whether it's a short story or longer works) unfinished.

It's very important for writers to finish things.

[Karen Duvall]

OMG, I learned so much from all my projects that it could fill a book! :D

For one thing, the learning is ongoing. I think each individual writer learns things differently and applies what they've learned in different ways. I've written 5 novels and a novella, 3 of which are published, and I'm still learning! The learning never stops.

Lesson #1: Your critique partners aren't always right. Mine have taught me some bad habits I'm still trying to break, and it isn't really their fault.

Lesson #2: Using outlines stifles my creativity, but going forward without planning is just as bad. I now use a combination of the two and eureka!

Lesson #3: I must feel comfortable writing a story that may never get published, no matter how great myself or anyone might say it is.

Lesson #4: Writing is rewriting.

Lesson #5: I love writing both first person and 3rd person, but my 3rd person books are always longer.

Lesson #6: I must work on the book every day or I'll lose momentum and it will never get done.

[scarletpeaches]

I always knew I would finish my first WIP; that was never in doubt. Funny enough, I acquired my finishing anxiety much later on in my writing 'career'.

What did I learn? Uh...absolutely nothing. It was rubbish. I mean, super-bad.

What I learned from subsequent projects was that I can and should improve, or strive to do so. Never be too proud to acknowledge, "This sucks."

And believe you me, my trunk novels sucked more than [censored].

[Kathleen42]

Certainly there are capable writers who don't have this background, but I doubt that they sat down and worte brilliant prose the first time they tried their hand at writing. Maybe some of them did, but not me or most of the writers I know who haven't had any formal training outside of grade school. To me, writing is much like cooking, either you are self taugh though a long process like the one I'm going through, or you get some courses on it that teach you the basics, and then you're on your own.

Of course, if you're saying that you had no training and sat down to write your first MS and loved what you wrote right away, my hat's off.

I'm not saying that at all. I do, actually, quite like my first MS but it went through much editing.

Regardless of whether or not you take formal courses or are self taught, writing will (for most people) take practice. Long, sometimes tedious, hours of practice. An MFA is one road to a destination. It is not, necessarily, the best, only, or shortest road.

[Kathleen42]

And those of us who sold their first books when they were sixteen...

You and SE Hinton. What is it with you youngsters? :Hail:

[tehuti88]

The main thing I learn from everything I write is that I could finish what I started. This was a huge delight when I finished my first novel, my first novella, my first short story, my first rewrite, my first serial, my first sequel, my second sequel. It never gets old, learning that I can finish something.

I also learn that I'm always learning.

[Clair Dickson]

I learned that just because my teachers and other adults in my life said they liked my stories, that didn't mean I was actually any good. Perhaps for my age, but I wanted to be PUBLISHED, not just good compared to an average kid... hmph. (I also learned not to trust those close to me when asking for feedback on my writing.)

I also learned that being good doesn't mean you can't get much, much better.

And I learned that it's' okay to love your MC... but you can't gush about it on page or make all the characters gush about it or other such things. Heh.

I also learned that revision always makes a story better. Just because the first draft is "okay" it doesn't mean I shouldn't revise and make it BETTER. In fact, now I have a tendency to just dash through the plot and then go back and edit. Something that years ago, I would have considered akin to blasphemy.

[dwellerofthedeep]

1st. If I write I will improve (The basics, I know), and the real test is not whether or not I like what I'm writing while I write it, but rather, if I like it later. Also, I learned I could finish a rough draft.
2nd. I learned so much from this one, it was and is, incredible. I learned how to write non-whiny characters, but, just as importantly, I learned that the plot isn't the most important of the book for me.
3rd. I learned that I really could achieve a good balance of dialogue description and action. I also don't need infodumps at all anymore.
4th. This book is still in progress. I'm learning a lot about editing and my own personal change in taste with this one.
5th. Just started this one. I'm hoping to learn about sequels though.

[Linda Adams]

In no particular order ...

Critiquers aren't always right, and I shouldn't follow what they say blindly.

If there's a problem I can't identify, revising to try to find it is NOT the answer.

Listen to what viewpoint the story needs, which is not necessarily what I am comfortable with.

Sometimes a story isn't meant to be finished (and yes, I know that goes against the general advice of "finish it." That's why I got into trouble with it in the first place).

Shorts stories are not the same as novels.

Books won't get finished unless writing occurs every day.

Have new ideas waiting in the wings.

[MDei]

Novel I: I have good ideas, but I'm a little wordy... I also hate characters that don't have a part to play.
Novel II: I hate adverbs and I hate adjectives, cliche plots, etc...
ON HOLD NOVEL I: I actually find it easier to write in first person and it's not horrible. It's better than my third person stuff and I convey the voice better.
ON HOLD NOVEL II: I'm good at writing dark fantasies and dark plots and I can't write fight scenes to save my life.
Novel III: I can write a book in a month and I can do male protagonist!
Novel IV: Six thousand words a day isn't that hard to do.
WIP: The first is always good, the sequel is better, but the continuation is dangerous. If I don't find out where this story is going, it's going to flop. I think I'vefound my way though.

[ChaosTitan]

Novel #1 - Books need plots. Beware of info-dumps disguised as flashbacks.

Novels #2,3 - Third person narration does not mean I can have as many POV characters as I want; many of them just aren't necessary. Novels are not screenplays, and most cinematic tricks do not translate well to prose. And when I decided to mash these two books together (they were a book one and a sequel), I discovered how easy it truly is to kill your darlings. I found murderous glee in it.

Novel #4 - I well and truly despise working from scene-by-scene outlines. It sucks the spontaneity out of writing (for me), and it doesn't allow the characters to grow outside of the confines of a pre-planned outcome.

Novels #5,6 - I love first person. There is such a thing as too many dialogue tags. I'm not very good at paranormal romance, so I should stick to urban fantasy.

Novel #7 - I'm so cautious of info-dumping I often under-explain things to the reader. Sometimes no sex = a better story and more tension.

[Namatu]

For example, going through my notes I see a lot of things like "<takes place at the temple -- describe later>" or "<character somehow get to the river>" -- to me, how they get there is not exactly interesting at this point, and may very well be left off in the final draft if the transition doesn't add anything to the story. Same with dialogue -- I have notes that say "<expand on the dialogue to make it more real later>."

Once I get into plot momentum I don't want to lose it by bogging myself down with details. This is first draft stage. I can add more layers and details, much like painting an oil portrait, later.I can sketch out a scene in pure dialogue, but I can't leave notes like that. My brain will get hung up and eventually stop me from moving forward until I "fix" it. It's never perfect from the start, but no gaps! Mental rule. ;) I'm jealous.

Another thing I've learned along the way is, if a scene isn't working from the planned POV, pick another character's, and another. Maybe one will work better, or maybe you don't need the scene after all.

[maestrowork]

I can sketch out a scene in pure dialogue, but I can't leave notes like that. My brain will get hung up and eventually stop me from moving forward until I "fix" it. It's never perfect from the start, but no gaps! Mental rule. ;) I'm jealous.

But that's the thing I learned from writing my first. I learned to let it go and let it flow and come back later. That's why I put down these little notes and move on. Most of the time I don't even remember until reading back what I wrote months later: "Oh, I gotta fill this in and fix that in later drafts." In the past I had to finish the scene or flesh out the details or make it "perfect" before I can move on. I find those notes really helpful and they help me let go [for the time being]....

The only time when I'm stuck is when the transitions DO have significance. For example, earlier I knew I had to get these two characters together but I didn't just let them bump into each other. There had to be a rhyme and reason and some kind of dramatic way and tension for their eventual meeting. That's why I got stuck because I had to get through this transition; everything that followed hinged on that.

[Karen Duvall]

I can sketch out a scene in pure dialogue, but I can't leave notes like that. My brain will get hung up and eventually stop me from moving forward until I "fix" it. It's never perfect from the start, but no gaps! Mental rule. ;) I'm jealous.

Same here. You're not alone.

[Namatu]

Same here. You're not alone.May we both learn how to follow in Ray's footsteps. :D

[emc07]

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy grandfather: Finish what you started! :)

That's another lesson I've learned from writing my first complete novel -- I set out to finish it, not publish it. I wanted to know if I could finishing something like that. And since then, I never leave anything (whether it's a short story or longer works) unfinished.

It's very important for writers to finish things.

I agree with you on that. I'd say you're more like a helpful big brother than a grumpy grandpa ;) Anyways... I need to hear it. Seriously though, my first stories were total crap. I don't know if there really was any good in them or not, which I guess is the point of finishing eh? To find that out.

Finishing is something I have always had a problem with, whether it be writing, projects at home, exercising... I need to work on that.

Thanks for the advice. It is much appreciated.

[Barpaio]

From my last WIP I learned that it was a piece of crap. So that was pretty helpful. My current WIP is going much better.

[shtrum]

Not the full list, but some additions:
-- you can't chuckle dialogue
-- it's easier to write a long bad novel than a good short novel
-- revise is not a four-letter word
-- using 'said' to designate a speaking character is better than replacing with a retinue of alternates (i.e., replied, responded, chastized, remarked, bemoaned, etc.)
-- the amount of time fights and sex actually take place are in inverse proportion to the amount of time required to write about either
-- the reader is smarter than they get credit for
-- carry no expectations

[dawinsor]

1. Plot events don't just follow one another. They need to be causally connected.

2. The character's voice is one of the pleasures of reading and is especially important in YA.

3. When a character realizes something, the author needs to provide a trigger, something that happens to cause the realization. The character shouldn't just muse and figure it out.

As usual, when I spell these things out, they seem obvious, but I must have a thick head because they take a while to sink in. There are probably other things too, but that's what I can think of now.

[selkn.asrai]

For example, going through my notes I see a lot of things like "<takes place at the temple -- describe later>" or "<character somehow get to the river>" -- to me, how they get there is not exactly interesting at this point, and may very well be left off in the final draft if the transition doesn't add anything to the story. Same with dialogue -- I have notes that say "<expand on the dialogue to make it more real later>."

Once I get into plot momentum I don't want to lose it by bogging myself down with details. This is first draft stage. I can add more layers and details, much like painting an oil portrait, later.


I do this too, when I'm in the zone and there's a necessary element that may halt the flow. I use [more: ...], so I can do a search and destroy later.

I look forward to filling in the [more:]s sometimes. They're nice breaks, like writing vignettes.


Anyway:

WIP (which is almost complete): That I can actually write a novel. That it wouldn't take the decade I thought it would. That characters can surprise. That dialogue takes two rounds for me--bares bones, then add musculature. That openings are never right the first, second, or third times.

WIP to come: That I need an appropriate (though not necessarily permanent) title to start the process.

[Straka]

Not to mention those of us who went to art school ;)

Yeah... and look were that degree got me...

For me one major lesson learned is not only how to write a decent story, but how to write one that is commercial viable. I've always been able to come up with decent plots, my struggle has been in the making my writing tighter and my voice consistent.

[Raphee]

This is from the two completed MS, I've done. One is out on query.

- Finish the first draft. Do not revise too much. Get the story done.
- Do not write to the market. You do not know what the market is, where it will be. Write to your story.
- Kill the darlings. KILL.
- Occasionally, review the first draft to see where you are headed. Anticipate changes that'll make your novel stronger.
- Do not use fluff, especially in dialog.
- Every scene, every page must have one gem in there. Could be a new phrase.
- Challenge your characters. Give them real problems to overcome.
- Stretch yourself.

For current WIP
- Have tried longhand writing first time. Am noting how this experience goes, compared to directly writing on screen.

btw great thread.

[Namatu]

I look forward to filling in the [more:]s sometimes. They're nice breaks, like writing vignettes.I've been thinking on this and I'm not sure it's in me to put in placeholders. I'd rather get the research and bulk of the details out of the way as I go.

Another thing I've learned along the way: Every scene should have a purpose/propel the plot. Nothing (in the final product) is throw away.