Temporary Hiatus

Hello friends. Due to a personal matter and being busy with writing, editing, and other things, I have taken a break from blogging.

When I return, the blog will hopefully have a new look, and there will be more diverse subject matter that incorporates my background in psychology as well as other subjects. But it will all go towards the goal of improving your writing.

Thank you for reading. In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of my dog, Morticia.

Yes, this is Morticia. She is possibly the friendliest Chihuahua on Earth.

The Rule of Three

A while back, I wrote about editing your drafts so you can submit your most polished work. But sometimes it's hard to look at your rough draft and make changes. How do you go about making it better?

Making this face doesn't help.

Image courtesy of MorgueFile.

I commit all my sins during my first draft, which includes TV and film references, telling more than showing, and ambiguity. After that, I have to let it sit for a few weeks while I work on other things, and then go back to make my edits. That's if I'm working alone. Sometimes, though, I have friends interested in taking a look and making suggestions and edits. That's when I'm really happy.

But I always like more than one person to look at my work, and have discovered that the magic number is three.

If you have three people interested in reading your work and can trust their feedback, you're in a lot of luck.

The Rule of Three for editing has become really important to me and it's helped me improve my writing. Oh, sure, I still commit all my egregious sins in my rough draft (because why not, it's just a rough draft and my main goal for a rough is to just get the story out of my head an onto the computer), but my final draft is a winner.

When you employ the Rule of Three, try it this way and see if it works for you:

• Send your rough to your three friends/beta readers/editors. Ask them for their honest feedback.
• Wait for their advice.
• If you find something that all three agree on for feedback, change it without question.
• If only one pipes up about something that should be changed, but you really like it, you might be able to keep it. But if two of them are piping up, you may want to seriously consider revising.
• If they disagree on certain changes, go with the one you prefer.
• Don't be sensitive. Take their critique seriously, but not personally.

I've found that taking their advice makes for a better story altogether. 

For example, I had written a passage about a character that was completely irrelevant to the story, but I really liked it and wanted the reader to have the background on his family. All three of my readers told me to take it out, and I refused because I was attached to it. Finally, it went to a publisher who picked it up (the anthology that features the short story is coming out in October), and the editor strongly suggested it be removed. I agreed to the changes.

To be honest, it's really a much better story with improved pacing since I removed it. Now I'm not so stubborn or attached.

Consider using the Rule of Three for your next manuscript. Remember, it's all about making your story better.

Writing Your Weakness

A few months ago, I wrote about endings.

Endings are my weakness. Well, they used to be my weakness, till I started focusing on them. Now they're often much better and stronger than my beginnings. With practice, I've managed to evolve a stronger ending with decent pacing, and that doesn't fall flat (most of the time. No one's perfect.).

The point of this post isn't actually about endings, though. It's about knowing your weaknesses as a writer. Where do you fall short? I know my rough points. I am a teller instead of a shower (which is okay, but can be a weakness at times), and tend towards ambiguity.

In order to defeat these tendencies, I practice, and I ask other people for their opinions.

I like to imagine that this is my reader, right now.

Sometimes, when I write, I try to catch my problems ahead of time, but when it comes to a first draft, it's going to need help anyway--so just writing it is far more important. You can do this, too. It's relatively easy, and even easier if you have a thick skin to critique from another person.

• Step one: Write your first draft. Don't worry about style. Just get it all out on your laptop, computer, tablet, notebook, loose leaf paper, etc. Just write it all out until you can't write any more.
• Step two: If you do have a beta reader or editor, send it off to them and wait for their response. If you don't, find someone. Preferably someone in the industry or someone who just loves to read.
• Step three: Take their critique seriously, but don't take it to heart. That's the key ingredient to feedback. Understand that YOU do not suck. Your work does not suck (maybe it does but ignore that because who cares--suck is a matter of opinion, anyway). Your work needs work. Everyone's does! Even Faulkner's first drafts needed work. So put your ego aside and take it all in as things that will make you better.
• Step four: Identify your weaknesses. This will help you with your next edit, draft, and even your next first draft.
• Step five: Keep practicing, and repeat as needed.

Seriously, that's all there is to it. Your biggest obstacle in this is you. You are the only one who can put aside your feelings and choose to learn. 

To this day, I enjoy it when someone edits my work. All they do is help me identify where I need to grow, and how I can turn the ideas in my head into something that other people will enjoy.

Don your thick skin and send that first draft to someone who can give you unflinching and honest feedback. Use it to enhance your writing and raise your awareness of your weaknesses so you can turn them into strengths.

I'm a writer and kind of foolish. If you enjoy absurdities and the occasional heartfelt post, follow me on Twitter. I'm also on Facebook.

Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing?

This is a brief post this week about my personal journey to being published, and why I've avoided self-publishing to the point where I'm just about phobic of it.

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.

I'm more terrified of self-publishing than of this spider. But that's just me.

Really, a person can get a great deal of success from self-publishing, and it is becoming a perfectly legitimate way to get your stories out to the public for consumption. The ingenious John Dies at the End by David Wong is self-published, and that means all the money went to him. No publisher, no agent, no editor, no other human being got in the way of himself and that sweet reward of food-granting nectar known as money.

But David Wong committed himself to excellent editing (or having someone excellent do it for him), constant self-promotion through Cracked, and the likely superhuman powers to make other people want to read his book.

So why won't I do it? Because even though I'm a pretty damn good writer, I know that the David Wongs of the world are rare gems, and there are tons of self-published people out there who are struggling to make ends meet. David (Jason) had a great vehicle through Cracked for promotion, and that's helpful. What I want is someone who can help me get into one of those great vehicles and then BOOM -- I can promote the hell out of myself.

My journey is to do the traditional publishing route, and hopefully secure myself a literary agent. Agents, to me, are worth their cut, because a good agent will work his/her fingers to their stubby nubs to get you published. They have all the experience, strategy, and marketing knowledge to sell you, your manuscript, and get your message out to a wider audience.

Isn't that what you want, anyway?

Whether you choose to self-publish, find an agent, or represent yourself to publishers, just be sure you follow through. Make sure you dot your i's and cross your t's. Keep moving forward, and don't stop when you get a rejection. Don't take it personally. Somewhere, there's an agent or publisher out there who will like your stuff and give you a chance. If you keep working at it, that is.

I'll let you know how it works for me when I get an agent for myself. Right now, I'm looking forward to October, when my short story comes out.

A Question on Quora

This week I'd like to share with you an answer I posted on Quora. If you like the answer and are a member, I'd appreciate it if you'd vote for it. Quora is an excellent Q&A site with a great number of experts on topics. I'm glad to be a part of it.

Now onto the answer, if you're too lazy to click on the link:

While I will say that some novelists can be arrogant (just as some filmmakers certainly are), most of us want readers to enjoy what we've put forward. We're proud of our work. When our work is made into a film, it's a huge compliment. But some of the things that we write don't translate well onto film and can only be expressed in the mind of the reader. When you read, you get to use your own stage/set, picture the characters without the hindrance of an actor's appearance, and be swept away with some carefully crafted words.

Granted, if you're too ignorant or lazy to read, go ahead and watch the movie adaptation of a novel. Ultimately, you'll only get to scrape the surface and enjoy someone else's interpretation of those words instead of diving in and immersing yourself into another world.

You may have a learning disability that prohibits you from enjoying a novel, however, so watching a movie may be the only way you can enjoy the interpretation of a printed work. Sadly enough, you may have to wait quite some time to get different versions of a tale.

One of the best adaptations of a novel, in my opinion, was the serialization of Stephen King's The Stand. Even though it was made for TV, and cut out many details, it was great. However, it still wasn't the same as the novel. That novel was amazing. I read it when I had the flu. My father gave it to me as a gift (he had a sick sense of humor which I've apparently inherited). Anyway, it's one of my favorites, but the film itself and the novel are separate entities.

Something I like to do is actually see a film first, then read the novel. For me, it's like going "behind the scenes" to find out what really happened, as if the author truly knows what happened, and all the extra details seem much more juicy and fun. If you haven't done this, try it with the Harry Potter serials, if you like that genre. I had a blast doing it that way with the first three films and novels.

If the question's intent was to insult writers/novelists by calling them arrogant, I would say that it failed (at least with me, because I was highly amused by the question). If, however, it was genuine, it's a great one, because it asks for definitive analysis and thought as to why we enjoy the things we enjoy.

Important Writing Tools

A fan via Facebook message writes:

What tools do you use to write?

There are a lot of people who want tools, gadgets, and apps to test out or play with while writing. Sometimes it lends a false sense of productivity, or an excuse NOT to write, but they can be useful.

Do you use Scrivener? LitLift? Jotterpad at all? Open Office? Have you tried Sunrise Calendar? Do you use a calendar at all? What dictionary and thesaurus do you use? Is there a certain website you use to research (Quora, Wiki, or just ask friends?), or a particular style reference? Do you use Word Counter's website, or just keep the count in Scrivener? I use Jotterpad on my phone when I'm in bed or away from a PC, but not everyone does.

I agree with the questioner — having too many tools, gadgets, and apps can give you a false sense of productivity, and actually become a crutch. For me, I keep it simple, and put everything into one tool.

That tool is Scrivener.

I don’t use a calendar for writing because I keep notes, either directly into Scrivener, and I write on a daily basis. If you do want a reminder to write every day, set an alarm on your mobile phone that has a note, “time to write.”

Writing for me is something I do on my laptop. I don’t use an app when I’m out and about, because when I’m out, I want to be engaged in my surroundings. If I’m at a café, I want to be enjoying my tea and biscuits, and taking in my reading or visiting with a friend. If I go to a bookstore, I will bring my laptop with me, but I don’t always use it for writing.

I like to write at home, by myself, where I can focus on my craft without distraction. I find extraneous tools to cause a major distraction. So, every morning, I sit down, boot up my laptop, derp around the internet for a bit, then settle down and write in Scrivener. I can format the way I want, keep my research there, and organize my chapters just the way I like them. Scrivener has formatting for graphic novels, screenplays, short stories, and novels. So I can do what I want!

For a dictionary and thesaurus, I just highlight a word I want and right click on it in Scrivener, and it brings me to thesaurus.com, and I can look up definitions there just by clicking on the ‘dictionary’ tab. If I’m not happy with the results insofar as definitions, I will consult both Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary. OED is great for word origins and when using British English, and Merriam-Webster is great for American English (yes, that’s a real thing, thank you Noah Webster).

When I need to do research, I will start with trying to find videos on YouTube. From there, it will help me develop questions and areas for further research. If I can’t find what I want or need, I’ll head over to Quora where a large number of experts share their knowledge and opinions. After that, it’s off to asking people I know what they think and know about certain subjects. After all that, I typically have a general understanding of the subject, and from there, it’s my own mistakes and/or poetic license.

My word counts come directly from Scrivener, although sometimes I like to check with Word Counter just to see if it differs.

I think that whatever tools work for you, you should use and explore. The only caveat I would give, however, is not to let your tools control you. YOU control your tools. The moment your organizational tools stop helping you organize and get your writing done is the moment you need to start trashing those tools and go back to basics.

Most importantly, keep it simple, and keep your focus on your creative craft.

Because that’s what matters.

Follow me on Twitter (@Spellvira) where you can read absurdities on an infrequent basis. You can also learn more and read excerpts of my work on my tumblr page.

The Importance of a Concordance

Writing a single short story doesn’t typically require anything more than a few notes so you can keep your characters straight (unless you have just one or two characters to juggle, and if that can’t be done without notes, you’re in trouble). But when you’re writing a novel, a series, or have plans to do so, a concordance is your best friends.

Ideally, your concordance will help you keep names of characters straight, as well as their backgrounds and details. It can also help you develop your story, keep track of land and landmarks, buildings, history of your fantasy world, and little things, such as where your character was injured during the war (I’m looking at you, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who couldn’t keep track of Watson’s injury location — shoulder or leg — or what his first name was — John or James).

Anyone who writes epic stories knows how important it is to keep track of your characters, because ultimately, some avid fan will chronicle your work, characters, storylines, etc. George R. R. Martin has a fan upon whom he can call for keeping his characters straight. A fan-based concordance, in fact. One that’s so detailed the author himself uses it. Not all of us will be lucky enough to have the brilliance of Martin’s incredible stories, or get a fan base so rabid, so it’s best to just do it yourself, and do it early enough so that you can keep track and not become overwhelmed.

So what should be in your concordance? I went over it a tad in the second paragraph, but here’s a handy list that will help you keep things straight:

• Characters - Main characters, side characters, even one-time characters belong here. Don’t forget to detail their lives prior to your story, and add anything you think is relevant.
• Landmarks - Got an old building you want to write about? Consider the landscape of your world, and if there are any special places your characters will visit.
• Maps - Along with landmarks, maps are handy to have even if you can’t draw well. Whether you’re superimposing your world over Google Maps, or drawing a world all your own, keep your maps handy. You don’t want to establish that Town is 300 miles from City, only to have your character arrive there by foot in just a few hours later on (unless they’ve got super-speed, or something).
• Factions - Any time you have groups of people and tension, you wind up with factions. They can be political, religious, bad hairdo people versus good hairdo people, etc. Just be sure to keep them in order so that you don’t wind up having a character switch factions (without explanation, that is).
• History/Timeline - During your story, things happen. Characters change, die, are born, reborn, move away, go to prison, etc. Make sure you add to your concordance as you go along. This will ensure you don’t suddenly bring back a character at the end of the story by accident. Unless your story is supposed to have that happen (and will be explained unless you’re going for something absurd), keeping track of your history and events is best done in a timeline.

Ultimately, your concordance will keep your story cohesive and is one of the best things you can do for yourself, especially when writing a series. But just be sure to keep your concordance as notes, rather than a highly detailed encyclopedia. Your story is what matters — the notes just support it.

Follow me on Twitter (@Spellvira) where you can read absurdities on an infrequent basis. You can also learn more and read excerpts of my work on my tumblr page.