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.

Write Away

The week before last (couldn’t post last week due to other writing projects taking precedence) I went on a bit about needing a muse, or rather, not needing a muse.

That’s what this whole blog is about, after all.

In my personal life, I’ve been stressed out to my limits. I won’t get into why, but things have been looking pretty bad for my immediate family, and we’ve had some ups and downs. But I can’t let that interfere with my ability to write. No matter what, I have to get up, pick up my laptop, and work. Whether it’s for my personal projects or a client project, it has to be done and it has to be done well.

The way it used to be was, I didn’t think I could just sit down and write. I thought I had to be inspired by something special. I had to have one of those ‘aha’ moments and write a manuscript or an article in a flurry of abandon to produce a masterpiece that would be lauded long after I died.

Yeah. That worked out about as well as putting your hand through a mangler.

My writing stank. It was putrid. Forced, false, and stilted, full of cliches and overusing words. Blah. (There are a couple of reasons for this, actually, but I’ll go into that some other time.)

It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties when I realized that the lessons I’d gotten during a Shingon Esoteric Buddhist retreat that I could apply it to my writing.

During that retreat, one of the things we did was calligraphy — meditative calligraphy. Our Sensei taught us to write in Japanese kanji, and we were practicing one character throughout the week. Well, if you know me, you know I can’t draw to save my life. I can do a mean stick figure, but that’s about it. So, the elegance of the kanji calligraphy was way out of my league. But, an assignment is an assignment, so I sat there on my mat, ink brush in one hand, paper on the floor, tongue sticking out to one side as I attempted to imitate the strokes of the brush as our Sensei had done so effortlessly.

It looked like a little kid’s drawing...well, actually worse. It was bad.

Sensei looked over my shoulder. “Practice more,” he told me. I shook my head, discouraged.

“I just don’t have the talent,” I told him. He smiled at me.

“This looks like my first drawing when I was a child,” he said. “You can practice, and you can become good.”

So, all week long, I practiced. I brought my materials home, and I kept practicing. Page after crappy page. But I was encouraged and determined to show improvement. 

At the end of the week, we were sitting for meditative calligraphy again, for the same character.

Once again, Sensei came over and looked at my work.

“Much better,” he commented. “You’ve practiced.”

I nodded. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a slight improvement over the chicken scratch I’d produced before. “Hope I get even better.”

“Practice ten-thousand times and you will be a master.”

That stayed with me. If you practice anything ten-thousand times, then, yes, you can achieve mastery over something.

So it is with writing. Practice, practice, and practice some more, and eventually you will master the craft. You don’t need to wait for inspiration, because inspiration will come to you when you practice. The more you open your mind to the possibilities of your stories, the more you’ll gain insight to your own words.

On the days you don’t feel like writing, promise yourself you’ll write just 500 words (that’s one page, come on already) about anything. I mean anything. Here are some prompts to get you started:

• A man walks into a bar and realizes he has a drinking problem.
• A dog decides to take up ice skating.
• A small group of people face having to eat one of their own to survive.
• Gorillas figure out how to shoot people.
• One beauty contest goes horribly wrong.

Pick one of these and do just 500 words about it. See if it turns into something, and go from there. That’s exactly what I do when I don’t feel like writing.

Now, I’m off to write a short story about a road trip. Let’s see where this road takes me. Write away.

This post is dedicated to Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman, authors of How Not to Write a Novel. Once they’ve inspired you, follow them on Twitter. But don’t leave me hanging! You can 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.

Writing for Food - Writing for Fun

I once told a good friend of mine that I write to put food on the table.

That was true, but it’s not exactly the whole story.

There’s a difference between being a Freelance Writer, and being an Author. I wear both hats. Allow me to explain the functions of each one.

The Freelance Writer Hat
This is the practical baseball cap that I put on and wear when I’m writing for other people. It is the custom-tailored hat that is probably worn on a couple of edges, but it still looks okay. It serves its function.

There are deadlines, demanding clients, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keywords and phrases, revisions, more revisions, ratings, tailor-made posts that don’t sound like anyone else, client’s clients and their sub-clients, and on and on ad nauseam. It’s the type of writing where if you don’t write, you don’t get to eat.

The Author Hat
I like this fit better, of course. This is my sexy, wide-brimmed hat that shields my eyes from the searing pain of the sun and lends an air of je ne sais quoi to my appearance. It’s the hat I wear when I write for pleasure. If it sells on the shelves, great! If it doesn’t, well, damn, but it won’t stop me from writing and enjoying myself.

There are some deadlines when working with a publisher, edits and revisions, more revisions, helping to market your work, and moving on to your next story. It’s the type of writing where you write, sometimes get paid for it, and hopefully just have a great time doing it.

Both hats are valuable, and they’ve taught me a great deal about the writing process. Not only are you creating art with words, you’re crafting them, too. You’re building a structure that will hopefully stand for a good long while. You might not build the Sphinx or The Great Wall of China, but hopefully you’ve built something that will house a few generations of readers.

I have also said that it is not necessary to have a muse in order to write. I still stand by it, that it’s 100% true if you’re dedicated to your craft. That doesn’t mean you’re not inspired or uninspired on some days, but I’ll write more about that later. I’ve been accused of having a Puritan streak for it (thanks, Frank!), but that’s not true, either. The Puritanical work ethic can play into it for some, but I prefer to think of it as a dedication to producing art. I am not a machine nor a beast of burden. I am my own muse.

I used to think that I needed a muse in order to produce a story. As such, I wound up not writing very often, just waiting for the “right idea” to come along. Then, I got into Freelance Writing to help pay my bills. There was no room for waiting with this. There were articles to write and deadlines to meet, but each article had to be original and unique, and not look like the generic crap that a bot can crank out in minutes. If you want to stand out in the world of freelance writing, you MUST produce work that has a twist to it. Infused with humor, excitement, and quality. Considering my consistent rating is five of five stars, I think I’ve got that part under control.

Doing it day in and day out gave me the idea that I could do the same thing with creative writing, if only I would sit down and write...anything. Start with a dream I had last night and see where it went. Take a character from one of my games and tailor them to become original. Use my imagination. BECOME MY OWN MUSE.

That isn’t to say there aren’t ideas, dreams, and other people who inspire me. There are plenty of people I admire and things people say that wend their way into my head and sometimes wind up in my manuscripts. But there isn’t an intangible thing out there that controls me and what I write. I draw inspiration from elsewhere, but I am the creator. If I had to depend on something or someone else, I’d never get any project finished. But I’ll write more about that next week. This week it’s all about author hats.

No matter which hat you choose, one or the other, or both, try to approach them in the same way, especially if you’re feeling uninspired, ill, or otherwise ‘just not in the mood.’ Put yourself in the mood. Think it’s impossible? I’m writing this very moment with a migraine. I created this piece and I’m pretty pleased with it. If I can do it under these circumstances, then you can, too.

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.

Keeping Track of Submissions

This process has become so overcomplicated, it’s ludicrous. I mean, there are even apps out there and complicated doodads to keep track of where you’ve submitted. It’s insane.

Listen, you want to get published. Yes, of course! It’s only natural. But this should be the least stressful part of being a writer. Unfortunately, it’s often the most stressful for writers.

Whether you’re submitting to agencies or to publishers directly, you do need to keep track of your submissions. Some places don’t allow multiple submissions, and others get very snippy when you submit more than once to them. SO, you need a method that will keep it simple without tripping you up.

My method is simple, straightforward, and it might even work for other people.

I use my email folders and sub-folders to keep track of my submissions. Very easy. Easy peasy, even.

• Folder One: Query - Publishers
  Subfolder: Responses
• Folder Two: Query - Agencies
  Subfolder: Responses
• Folder Three: Publishing Agreements
  Subfolder: Responses

From there, I arrange the emails in them alphabetically. That way, I simply access the folder, and I can find to whom I’ve submitted already in just a couple of seconds.

Some people do the same, but with a spreadsheet. Now, while I love spreadsheets, to me, this seems like doubling my work. I’ve already got all the organizational tools I need in the email folders, so why take extra time getting out a spreadsheet and doing almost exactly the same thing there? For me, that’s going to take more time than I have.

Now, I’m not saying don’t use apps or spreadsheets. They may work for you. But what I am saying is, you’re a writer, not a professional submitter. Devoting too much time to this process just increases your stress and takes the focus away from your creative process. No one needs that!

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.

Editing Your First Draft: A Tale of Terror

I once told you to go edit yourself after a break of about six weeks. So, let’s say those six weeks have passed, and you’re ready to start editing your manuscript.

So, there it is — 60, 70, 100, 200,000 words — all sitting there just staring at you, waiting for those first cuts or elaborations and clarifications. Where do you start?

Most read their own manuscripts through about five times, but I like to go through mine six. It’s not actually to be more thorough or a topper or anything. You’ll see why in a moment.

Step One: Read for enjoyment.

Here’s what I like to do when I start editing anything. I read it for its content. Just a read through as if I were picking up the book for enjoyment. This step is where you set aside all your judgments and just enjoy what you’ve written. Now, if you’re overly critical of yourself, you might find things during your reading that you don’t like, or catch a mistake in continuity, spelling, or grammar. If you can’t let it go, make a quick note of it and set it aside. Then, just keep reading. Read it through to the bitter end, or the happy end, or whatever ending you’ve written.

This is a healthy way to just get through and enjoy your work and what you’ve accomplished, and it will set you up to start gearing into editor’s mode in the next five steps.

Step Two: Read for supplementation.

This is where you need to add in what you forgot to in the first place. Did you describe a scene but find it lacking? Add details — sound, smell, sights — and the explanation of how characters got to be where they were wherever you feel it’s important. Yes, many people will tell you it’s not necessary to add anything to your first draft, but I’ve found that to be simply untrue. But don’t worry, you’ll cut it down later.

Step Three: Read for expurgation and condensation.

It’s later now...your third read should be finding all those ugly spots where there’s just too much exposition. If you lose between 20-25% of your manuscript, that’s fine. It’s expected. I’ve deleted entire chapters without hurting the story. Cut back on anything that’s getting preachy. You don’t want to mess too much with your story’s point.

You may also want to cut back things that got to be too much (too overtly sexual, violent, or factual). Use your best judgment. Did you really mean to have the family dog eat your antagonist’s manky bits? You might want to take it out, or not. Depends on what kind of mood your going for (and especially important in that case if you want your antagonist to have children). Of course, this will also depend on your genre. Erotica, slasher, shlock, and other genres may allow more graphic detail.

Tighten up your writing. Make your sentences pop, kill the verbosity when necessary, and get your point across.

Step Four: Read for content.

Hand-in-hand with expurgation and condensation, you need to do another read through for your content. Did one of your characters get stabbed on page 37 and is absolutely fine without reason on page 38? Did Sally J. mysteriously move from apartment #4 to #8? Oops! Now’s the time to fix it.

Make sure your timeline makes sense, and you don’t have characters meeting before they’re introduced (unless you’re going for a wibbly-wobbly timey wimey thing and totally doing that on purpose), and that your point of view isn’t bouncing around from one character to the other constantly (unless you’re going for that, but make sure it’s handled with skill to avoid confusing your readers).

Here is the ideal time to do your fact-checking. If you’re using anything in your story that is based in fact (for example, recently I needed to know some stuff about guns and helicopters), do your research. Google, watch YouTube videos, and ASK people you know to be experts. Get the information down and make sure your story makes SOME sense. No, you don’t have to be 100% accurate and can take license with certain things to fit your plot and drive it forward, but if you don’t even make the effort to be accurate, it will show, and your work will get called out for it.

Conversely, you can also write too much on the facts and lose the story — so go ahead and cut that back if you haven’t already in step three. Remember, it’s all about the story. Whether you’re character driven or plot driven, your main focus needs to be your story, not how many hours of research you’ve done or how many experts you’ve interviewed. Ultimately, it comes down to the story you’re telling.

That having been said, some people just don’t care and do it anyway — they just write whatever comes into their head, and damn the research. Unfortunately, it can ruin the fun for your audience. In this case, I would put a disclaimer in your author’s notes, preemptively asking for forgiveness. It can help massage the audience into a bit of forgiveness. However, I’m all for maintaining a balance between your facts and your fiction.

Step Five: Read for sentence structure and minutiae.

This read is where you do your real spelling and grammar check. Take out your fine-tooth comb and start scouring your pages for the correct usage of ‘too, to, and two’ and all that. Make sure that everything is consistent, too. Your dialog doesn't have to be grammatically correct at all, but it needs to be consistent. You don’t want your Harvard Professor Emeritus sounding like a rural Kansas farmer, right? The same goes for your punctuation. If you’re using the Oxford comma, make sure you’re using it consistently throughout your text.

Check to see if you’re using a single word too often, and take those out. “Quickly, Maynard went to the door and quickly opened it. The girl stood still, soaking wet in the rain. He quickly took her inside and wrapped her up in a towel.” Guess which word needs to go? (Hint: it’s NOT Maynard.)

Do a quick review to make sure you didn’t rename a town by accident, and make sure you spell your place names consistently.

Double check your sentences. Seriously. Make sure you’ve gotten rid of clunky sentences or fixed them in such a way that they’re nice and smooth. Get rid of trite crap.

You’ll also want to ensure that your paragraph transitions are slick and easy. Do this now.

Step Six: Read it to an audience.

When all of this is done, go ahead and find a victim...a willing one, please — and read your manuscript aloud. If you don’t have anyone, record it and play it back to yourself as if you were listening to an audio book. This will help you with your previous five steps. You can catch repetitive and/or awkward sentences here, and that’s a huge help for clarity.

Additionally, you’ll also be able to hear dialog better, and see if you can keep track of who’s speaking.

Finally, it’ll help your pacing, and you can go back and fix spots that drag or slow down anything that’s too rushed.

That’s it!

Congratulations, you’ve gone through your first revision. Now, it’s up to you to do further editing, or allow a second set of eyes to edit your work. This can be in the form of an editor or beta reader. It can give you a different, more detached perspective on your work that can help get your manuscript ready for publishing, and an agent or editor will appreciate it.

Okay...what are you still doing here? Get editing already!

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.