5 All Over the Map Tips for Novel Writing

Weekly Writing Boost #12

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Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash

It’s Labor Day here in the states and though I’ve had great plans to work all weekend and get caught up on a number of things, that’s not what’s happened around here. Yesterday I had a surprise visit from my granddaughter and I dropped everything, of course. We got out my old trolls and staged a troll wedding then watched one of Bear Grylls’ interactive shows. In the vein of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books, you the viewer get to decide what pressing outdoor task Bear completes next. In the one we watched, he rescued a baboon, caught a lion, restored the power grid of an animal sanctuary, made a raft out of garbage, rappelled up a rock cliff and more. It was awesome, more so when Live informed me she is going to be an animal biologist when she grows up. Today I finally saw the Barbie movie. Honestly, what a brilliant piece of work. I adored it and I’m still thinking about it.

All this by way of saying that not a lot of work got done this weekend and this afternoon I suddenly realized it is Monday and time for my first Substack of the week. So what I have for you is a compendium of tips that I’ve been collecting over the years, thoughts having to do with writing. Believe me there are more where these came from, but we’ll start with these.

Process, not product

I learned this phrase at an Artist’s Way camp taught by Julia Cameron herself years ago. It was quite the adventure, like stepping through a portal into a new world, and I embraced this phrase wholeheartedly. I even painted it on a pillow I made that week. (We indulged in a variety of creative projects throughout our time there.) But life and writing ensued and my work got published and went out in the world more. As happens, I began to think more in terms of product than process. Big mistake. It’s a surefire way to clench up and stop your natural flow. The internal critic raises its cranky head and I listen to it because I’m thinking more about what my readers will think than letting the words glide onto the page. This morning as I worked on my current novel WIP, I realized I was bound up in potential judgment of my critique group. Once I let go of that, the words flowed again. They aren’t perfect, but they’re on the page.

Fast is slow and slow is fast

This is a very handy thing to remember when you’re pondering whether to write in narrative summary of if a scene is warranted. It’s this: if something your character experiences would happen quickly, slow down and write out all the details. Example: your protagonist is in a car accident. Write the scene sharing exactly what happened, moment by moment and adding in what’s going through her head. Write more details than you think you need. You can always edit them out later. And conversely, when something happens slowly, it’s time for narrative summary. Example: Your protagonist lies on the couch reading all afternoon. We do not need to know the details here. Tell it in a sentence.

Allow your writing to come first

There are a lot of moving parts to a career as a novelist these days. Marketing, social media, book launches, conferences, events, appearances, lectures, and on and on. In the thick of it all, one can lose track of the actual writing. (Ask me how I know this.) And by actual writing, I mean working on your novel. Or whatever is most important to you. It might be a memoir or a series of short stories. But since I focus mostly on novel writing in this Substack, we’ll assume it’s a novel. So here’s my tip: make it a priority. Whatever that means for you in your schedule, do it, because once you do, everything else will flow from that. For me that means going to the page first thing when I wake up, coffee in hand. When I do this, everything else flows. You probably already know what your best schedule for working on your novel is, so this is your reminder to do it. And if you don’t know, figure it out.

Really know what your character wants

Do you know what your main character wants? I mean, really, really, know? And what the stakes are if she doesn’t get it? You main character wants something and the story is about the steps she must take to get it. You’ll often see the want overtly stated in a film. In the Barbie movie, Barbie exclaims that she just wants things to stay the same in her happy little Barbie land. But of course there would be no story if that were to happen. And when she starts having thoughts of…gasp…death…she must go into reality and figure out what is going on. Here the stakes are not only the continued happiness of herself and all the residents of Barbie Land, but the destruction of their way of life and all that they hold dear. I often struggle with knowing exactly what my character wants, and I see this in manuscripts I read a lot, too. It is worth drilling down and doing the work on this if you not are crystal clear. Hint: you might find your way to an answer by considering also what your character needs.

Where’s the emotion?

Michael Hauge (and many others) says the writer’s job is to create an emotional experience for the reader. How to accomplish this? Pain in the writer, pain in the reader. You don’t have to bleed all over the page as you write, but you do need to give your characters powerful emotional arcs. One of the best ways to do this is by drawing on your own life. You don’t need to write exactly what happened to you, obv, unless you’re writing a memoir. But, say, you had a chronic illness as a child that kept you out of school for long stretches and made you feel like an outsider. You can draw on those emotions when you write the story of a child who is bullied. Or if you’ve lived through a divorce, perhaps your main character is widowed young. It’s all about using your own emotions and drawing on empathy.

Okay, I hope you find these tips useful now or at some point in your writing life. That’s the thing with creativity—you never know how or when something is going to land in just the way that will open something up for you. And if you’re in the states, I hope you have had a pleasant and relaxing Labor Day.

Beta Readers

I’m looking for beta readers for my soon to be released romance/women’s fiction novel. In case you’re not familiar with beta readers, they are basically, well, readers. You read to give the author feedback on character, plot, what interested you, what didn’t. It’s an unpaid gig (sorry) but when the book is published I’ll provide you with a copy and my eternal thanks. Here’s a link that tells more. It’s oriented towards the author and is probably TMI, but it will give you an idea what to expect. Reply to this email or drop a comment if you’re interested.

Paid subscriptions

I’m planning my first workshop for paid subscribers. It will be sometime in September after everyone has gotten back into their routines and the topic is going to be, wait for it: Plotting for Pantsers and Pantsing for Plotters. Several of my clients requested this and I cannot wait to dig in. When it comes to plotting and pantsing, most will convince you that never the twain shall meet. But I think each camp has much to offer the other and that often a middle road is the best. I’ll explain all in the workshop!

When you subscribe at the $8 a month level, you’ll get access to this class and others I’ll offer monthly going forward. Founding members get a one-on-one coaching session upon sign-up!

Also, I can help you with your writing and anything related to writing and getting words on the page. This could take the form of ongoing book coaching, or a manuscript evaluation. If you’re interested, drop a comment. Or reply to this post if it comes into your inbox.