My second ‘staycation’ week of the year – a few days at home when I’ve been able to concentrate on my writing. Not wall-to-wall feverish activity but a few hours per day during which I’ve begun to feel like a ‘proper’ writer.
How so? Not having ever studied creative writing I’ve hereunto (wow the spell-checker let that go) just sort of…written. I’ve started, ploughed on, and ended when the story was done. When people (not all) have said nice things about my books it’s been slightly bemusing.
I’m certain that if I paid attention to certain people, e.g. fellow blogger-writers then maybe I could improve. And just in the last few days I’ve sat up and taken notice of three particular pieces of writing advice.
- Notes from the League of Utah Writers’ Conference by the excellent Jae of the blog Lit and Scribbles on the essential elements of a story.
- An essay by Sureasmel on the art of dialogue.
- For those that bring their work to a conclusion, invaluable notes on the querying process by Aubrey Cann – thanks to the wonderful Julie Israel for bringing this one to my attention.
So what’s changed for me?
- For better or worse I’ve ‘parked’ my human trafficking story at about 25,000 words. I can’t move it on and will need to revisit it in due course. A major rethink necessary.
- I’m tearing with glad heart into a novel based in Ireland. Once more this is more than a little historical, following a germ of an idea from the terrific author Dianne Gray who is – in real life – renovating an old building that I fancy, with its busy history, holds memories within its walls.
- For the first time I’m sprinkling a bit of faerie dust, whimsy and Celtic legend into the novel. It’s been a revelation to me how this can unlock so many more possibilities. At the same time I want it to remain plausible and believable. I wonder can I? Again the aforementioned Ms Gray regularly succeeds in doing so.
- I’m writing the first draft by hand. Time will tell if, as some say, the creativity flows better.
- The thing is all over the place! I’m having a ball writing scenes and chapters, often out of sequence. My aim is to get the roughest of drafts done then go back to square one and rewrite it all, but having regard to all of the good advice I’m reading during the process. This is a real change for me. I’ve always been a one-time writer with few major alterations from the first attempt.
- I have roughed out a timetable and aim to have this one out there by the end of next May. Maybe just e-book format this time, but, just possibly, I’ll look for an agent.
Meanwhile I’m looking forward to reading the works of some of my fellow blogger-writers, many of whom also have WIPs at advanced stages.
Back On The Rock 
Oooh, I do like having “the excellent” as a title. 😉 I’m glad you found the notes helpful. As for your human trafficking story, sometimes it’s good to take a little break and come back fresh. I’ve done it a number of times with a number of stories myself. Timing is everything. 🙂
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Hey Jae! Yes I’ve actually transcribed those notes for future reference – plus I’ll be catching up with Part II. Following your blog with interest.
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I’m envious of your organisation and discipline – could you bottle me some and send it over?! Good luck with your planning – sounds fun 🙂
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Hi Jenny, I’m not sure you’ve got that quite right though. My discipline is wayward – I ought to have crunched out so much more this week, but I don’t want writing becoming a chore either. However I am starting to get slightly more organised. Long may it continue.
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That essay on dialogue, I’m surprised it omits one of the things that I find most effective and most impressive: an author giving their different characters idiosyncratic speech patterns. If I were a writer I’d insist on this in myself. I read far too many books in which all the characters sound interchangeable.
In that respect, giving different characters different speech idiosyncracies would be absolutely my idea of “fun” – Point 5 in Sureasmel’s list of Whys..
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That is a fair point. If one has the skill-sets maybe, otherwise it may come across as forced and unnatural. I don’t know if I could manage it. I’m reading (for background) some Irish legends written phonetically, as an Irishman of (say) 100 years ago would actually have spoken – effective but beyond what I could do. Perhaps if your characterisation is good enough then it ought not to be necessary.
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Roy, this post just made me smile. I can hear the relaxation and happiness in your writing right now. I’m envious of your writing staycation. Keep kicking ass for me while I hunker down in my dark cubicle far, far away.
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Hiya Britt – yes, coffee and biscuits to hand, the ever-changing seascape to look at for inspiration. Enjoying my writing so I hope that transfers itself to the reader. I don’t have a cat though like you, to watch me work and balefully but silently criticise.
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: )
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Well done, Roy! It sounds as though your ‘staycation’ was quite productive. Personally I love staycations and I love writing by hand. My hand moves slower than my fingers which results in slower thoughts that are more organized. I’m happy for you, Roy!
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Thank you Jill. Interesting on the handwriting – isn’t it the hand moving slower than the brain? Anyway I’m looking forward to the transcribing process in due course and what improvements I can introduce.
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Yes, my hand is moving slower than my brain, as a result my writing is more closely connected to my thought process, both in pace and in content. I think better and I’m able to work through an idea without worrying about the next one. That said, I spend all day behind a computer at my day job so curling up in a chair with a writing pad and pen is much more relaxing. When I’m relaxed, I tend to be more creative.
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Hi Roy, I love the enthusiasm of this post and the concept of ‘wayward discipline.’ I reckon that’s something that only a Corkonian could have in spades!
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Hello Jean! Yes – it’s a bit like a drunk trying to walk a straight line and managing it now and then 🙂
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But of course you’re a proper writer! I love the enthusiasm in this post. I was inspired today during my lunch break and scribbled for ages in my notebook – it’s funny how different it feels writing by hand compared with tapping away on my laptop.
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I wish Laura. I’m in total awe of those who know so much about their craft. I’ll judge this handwriting malarkey when the time comes. As Jill ^^ says the physical act of handwriting may govern the brain’s output and produce more thoughtful writing. We’ll see. Great that you’re using your lunch break to write. Maybe I ought to do likewise.
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Hi Roy, Love the idea of writing in longhand first – I use pencil when I do that. Are you braver than me and use pen? Also glad to hear somebody else writes bits and pieces here and there and moves back and forth joining them together. Much more fun that way, I think 🙂
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Hi Deb! Biro, with lots of crossings out. It’s almost like freewriting knowing that it hardly matters at first draft stage. I guess that’s no revelation to proper authors but it makes writing fun. Timelines are all over the place though, second draft will be like a jigsaw.
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Yes, the puzzling together can be fun and frustrating. Have fun with the freeforming …
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This all sounds wonderful, Roy. I think writers always need to keep flexing and adapting — their style, their material, their philosophy. Writing grows more richly that way. I’ll be interested to hear how you feel about incorporating more Celtic history and whimsy into your work. (That’s a hint of a post I hope you’ll write.) I am trying to set my mystery novel in my Ohio hometown, but almost feel like I’m too close to the subject to know how to do it, if that makes sense. There’s are regional subtleties that I probably take for granted, or that may not make sense unless I really flesh them out. I’m working on that.
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Thanks for the encouragement Juliann. Hopefully you’re correct and, even late in life, my writing will evolve for the better. And hey, you have a WIP? I’d have imagined a book of your might have involved multi locations 🙂 But looking forward to how you progress your work.
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Very exciting and a great way to rediscover the love of writing. I’d rather just write too. It’s more fun when you don’t really know what’s going to happen with the story. Good luck and have fun!
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Thank you Sheila. Yes it’s generally worked for me (though I feel guilty as so many excellent writers advise to the contrary) and ‘fun’ is what I think keeps a story alive and attractive to the reader – I hope.
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How wonderful that you were able to carve a few days out to write, Roy. I love the writing lessons you are learning along the way and are sharing. I tend to write my drafts by longhand as well – these are academic articles rather than novels but despite it not being as creative in nature, it still works better for me than typing. There’s something about not being limited to the linear than just works with my thought process! Perhaps that’s the case with you as well? Anyway, glad to hear the creative process is flourishing.
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Thank you Letizia! There’s so much I wish I’d started when I was younger so I’d had a chance of getting good at it. 35 years of playing cricket didn’t make me any better though 🙂
You mentioned non-linear. This morning I’ve impatiently jumped right ahead to a future point in my story. I’ll go back and deal with the gap later. I guess lots of ‘proper’ writers do this also.
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That’s mad! Just yesterday I got into a debate when you can start calling yourself ‘a writer’. Some online research today showed me that it doesn’t matter when, as long as you feel it’s right to call yourself that (busy writing blog post about it but it’s slow going but keep an eye out for it :)).
I started a course last week about writing, just to see if there would be any point in trying to ‘become a writer’. Some silly blog posts this week told me to stay clear of wanting to become a writer until I got some good news about my advocating neurological services in Ireland and about my writing. It made up for the bad blog posts but what I realised most of all, is that people who write, spend an awful lot of thinking about writing, and it’s reading what other people write about writing that makes it even more interesting to me.
In the end, all books started of as a dream, right?
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I suppose Billie but you could spend all your life reading about writing. Sooner or later you gotta write. Only then will you know whether you enjoy the process. We’re all on borrowed time so I reckon just start without fear of how/good bad you may be.
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