Writing Wednesday: Tracking and Motivators

One of the big reasons I like NaNoWriMo is the word count tracking and the challenge of it. I occasionally wish I had that same thing all year round – I might never get anything else done, but boy would I get books written. I thought maybe I’m not alone in that desire and I had a site pointed out to me earlier this week that might fit that bill. I’m giving it a try and see how the freebie version works out. I’ve gotten a few tips like this over the years and maybe they’ll be useful to other people.

Pacemaker: I’m giving the free version a trial run to see how it goes but I like the goal setting and the challenge and the tracking aspects of it so far. I’m interested to see how easy it is to use and how user friendly.

The 52-Week Writing Challenge is a little too open to work for me but not every writer is like me.

Of course there’s an app for that. The Writing Challenge App has several interesting features – prompts, timers, the ability to turn it into a group game, and something that looks like it might be a plotting assistant and that’s really neat if that’s what it is. I’d love to hear opinions if anyone has used this or tries this.

4 the Words is a paid game but it does have a 30 day free trial so you can see if it’s worth it to you. It does seem to have a save function and the idea is brilliant. NaNo is generally enough for me but I can totally see this game being something to help set up good habits and have it be fun also. At $4 a month, I may give this one a try come January when winter has set in (and all the Christmas crafting is over).

Written?Kitten is one of my friend’s favorite motivators. For every 100 (or whatever amount you choose) words written in the box, you get a picture of a kitten (or puppy or bunny)! Just remember to copy/paste it into a regular document as there is no save function on this particular motivational tool.

If you have any sites like this to add, please tell me in the comments. I’m always looking for things like this to share.

Writing Wednesday: NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming up quick – November 1st always comes too fast when I’m trying to enjoy my Halloween and then, it’s back to work! The idea is to write a 50,000 word draft of a novel, start to finish, in 30 days. It sounds like a crazy idea. It’s really not though. It’s about the community and the accountability of it and really, it amounts to 1667 words per day. That’s an hour of writing if you write 28 words per minute. When you chop it up into bites, even an elephant can be eaten.

I personally like the accountability of it. It’s helped me focus on just one project for a set period of time. The years that I’ve been successful, I wrote the first drafts of Guardian of the Gods, Eldercynne Rising, and Hunter’s Crossing (and the book I’m currently pitching places and one I’ve set aside for a while).

NaNoWriMo is an excellent tool for people who struggle not to constantly rewrite and revise. In my experience, one of the hardest lessons to learn is that you have to let your work be awful. Write it from start to finish and let it be as bad as anything you’ve ever written. Sure, make notes about ideas you had for the beginning as you’re slogging through the middle, but don’t go backward. Go forward all the way to the end first. Find your plot lines first. Show yourself the whole story first. I understand maybe you outline, maybe you think you know how you’re story ends, and maybe you really do, but my experience has been that, when I’m in the thick of the story, a better path nearly always shows itself.

The most common complaint I hear from newer writers is that they just can’t seem to get past the first section/chapter. They keep rewriting it, going back and fixing it. That’s why I’m such a huge fan of splat drafts/zero drafts. Start to finish, barely readable, certainly not publishable, splat drafts are just to get the bones down. Once you have the foundation, you can Winchester House your story all you want (if you’ve never heard of the Winchester House, please Google – it’s an interesting story). Once you’ve reached the end of a book the first time, subsequent books will always be less intimidating because you’ve already done it. It’s a bit like Harry Potter and his patronus – he knew he could do it because he already had (except logic and timey wimey stuff there’s issue with but whatever).

Nanowrimo helps boost good daily writing habits too. I’m terrible at writing every day unless I’m working on something specific and November and nano are always a good reset for me. I start the year out great but by November, I definitely need a bit of a reboot and it’s nice knowing that so many people are out there doing the same thing.

Writing Wednesday: Sharing the Love

Writing tends to be a very solitary endeavour, at least for me. In the days before the internet, it was a lot harder to find community and information. Now, you can just Google a thing and figure it out for yourself. And sometimes, you believe the wrong pitch, discover the next author mill or vanity press without knowing it. One of my favorite things about finding a community of writers is the ability to share my experience. Like I do here. I hate to see writers get taken advantage of by snake oil salesmen and the like and if I can point someone in a better direction, that’s even better.

I never had a mentor type person in my life where writing and publishing was concerned and there were times when I really could have used one. There are still times when I could use one. Generally speaking though, I find myself more likely to answer questions than ask them and I’m happy with that too.

If you’re looking for a mentor, try your local writer’s group or writer’s association first, especially if you’re looking for a face to face conversation. If the digital world is more your style, it might be a bit harder to vet a mentor but a lot easier to find one. There are even programs out there exactly for that, like AWP’s Writer to Writer program. I’m sure there are others you can find with a quick Google.

Publishing is a competitive thing, to a point. We’re all competing for those reader’s eyes. But it’s not competitive in the same way that a lot of other professions are. Publishing is a place where many people can be successful. It never hurts to share the information you’ve gathered with other writers. You don’t need to pull other writers down, we are not crabs in a bucket. Find a good message board or website or your own blog and share what you learn with the rest of the class. Do you know of an event where you were successful or that gave you some good connections? Tell another writer. Did you find a good writers group? Tell another writer.

The world always needs more good stories and you never know when you’ll make the kind of connection that will benefit you in amazing ways.

Writing Wednesday: Mid-story Slump

Every writer has been there or will be there at some point. Your story is flying along and you’re feeling great about it and then, there’s a change. An ill wind blows over you and suddenly each word is pulled like taffy and you’re slogging through a chunk of story that you can’t find love for or excitement for and you’re bogged down, pulled down until you’ve come to a complete stop. It’s not exactly writer’s block but it’s at least a cousin.

There are many ways to deal with that mid-story slump. My favorite way is not to deal with it at all. If I reach a place where I’m stuck, I either switch projects until something shakes loose, or I’ll put a note in the file, highlight it, and move to the next thing I know that happens. That’s what revisions and rewrites are for – filling the holes and sanding the edges. Usually, by the time I get back to that spot during the rewriting process, I’ll know what has to happen.

My way doesn’t work for everyone and certainly not everyone has a plethora of projects to hopscotch between willy nilly. Even if you’re a pantser like me, a brief outline of a section of a story can really help get it back on track. Remember in high school when your English teacher had to write up that timeline of whatever assigned book (in my case, Heart of Darkness)? Do that to your own story. What has led up to this place? If you’ve got a lull in the action, what needs to happen to spark the next leg of the journey? If you know how it’s supposed to end, work backward to find the steps of how it unfolded that way.

My oldest always tells me that the stuff he learned in high school English wasn’t the sort of thing he really needs to know, especially where teachers had them dissect novels and boil them down until all the good stuff was gone and it was just bones left. Maybe he won’t need it (probably will)  but fiction writers can use those techniques to fill their own plot holes or catch their own inconsistencies.

If you’re really stuck in your story and you don’t want to do something else until you figure out the problem, strip the story like you would have in Freshman Lit and figure out what questions don’t have answers yet. Finding those answers might help you see how your stubborn story should unfold.

Try ReadWriteThink ‘s database of worksheets, especially the drama map (needs flash)! Also Education.com has several printables available that might be useful.

Happy writing!

Writer Wednesday: Appropriation and Appreciation

A writer does not have to be a particular race or culture to write a character that is but said writer should be mindful of damaging stereotyping and willing to listen to the very real people who are of that particular race or culture. With everyone talking about diversity being important but also talking about how cultural appropriation is something bad to avoid, it’s hard to find the balance. The real world is generally a diverse place and so should be your fiction unless there is an in-universe reason for there not to be. You can write about a culture without giving in to damaging stereotypes or tropes. It takes dedication, research, and the willingness to listen and speak to the people of that culture.

I think we have to be careful to encourage the people of underrepresented cultures to write their stories as those outside that culture work carefully to include that culture in their own stories. The key to building a diverse, believable world in fiction is to take note of the very real, very diverse world we live in.

Many people smarter and more well spoken than me have touched on this topic at length and I’m going to point out some of them. Cultural Appropriation in Fiction.  Don’t Dip Your Pen in Someone Else’s Blood is a good insight into some the perils of writing about other cultures and how to take steps to avoid being part of the larger problem.

Personally, I think it’s important that we write the stories with an eye toward inclusion. Every kid (and kid at heart) deserves to be able to read books about people like them, who look like them, sound like them, etc. But we need to do it the right way, with sensitivity and knowledge and depth. Enjoying a culture shouldn’t be synonymous with appropriation, nor should enjoying the art or media of a particular culture. I don’t believe having a character be of another race or culture or gender or preference than the author is immediately suspect. But I absolutely believe that if we aren’t careful, diligent, our stories become more harmful than helpful and I don’t know any writer who wants that. Write what you want but do it with care and understanding.

Happy writing!

Writing Wednesday: Fun with Science

Fact checking is one of those things that gets overlooked sometimes. Maybe there’s a tight deadline or a tighter budget. Who knows. I do know that nothing throws me out of a story more than wrong facts. I’ve put together a few resources for the easy access, simple to understand, interesting things to know anyway sorts of science facts. I’ve been known to use these sorts of sites purely for inspiration – you never know what’s going to start the threads of your next story.

Not all writers have a doctor or a nurse on call but we all have the Internet. I’d recommend a good anatomy book if you’re writing touches on any descriptive gore as well. WebMD might be interesting but it shouldn’t be your primary source of information if you’ve got a character with a particular disease or malady. There are medical related things not all writers would think to check about as well – things like what color blood should this alien race have?

Everything is made up of chemicals. All the things we use on a regular basis are too. Compound Interest is a huge site with easy to understand infographics about pretty much any chemical subject you could ever want to know about. Need to know about different poisons for your crime novel – it’s there. There’s a few posts on crime scene chemistry and weaponized chemistry also. It’s a great little quick reference (not very in depth but a great jumping off point).

Maybe you’ve got a crime novel and no police officer to grill – apart from finding one on Reddit, here’s a site on crime scene protocol, and the Justice Department has some interesting pdfs on different types of investigations (if you aren’t writing a crime novel yet, maybe some of these will spark an idea or twelve…).

Maybe you’re all caught up in the current Space trends, with the anniversary of the Moon Landing being everywhere and some of the science related channels playing an entire week of space related programming (which was pretty interesting). NASA has a Basics book online. Maybe you’d rather explore their deep space exploration section.

On a last note: there is no such thing as fresh formaldehyde.

Writing Wednesday: Inspiration Break

I’m struggling to come up with a good topic this week so I thought maybe I’d share some interesting inspirations I’ve come across for future stories. I do get lost in the Internet sometimes, finding all sorts of interesting things I want to research more about. Sometimes it leads to a story or poem, other times it leads to little more than an excited shout of a correct answer on Jeopardy. Not all resources are created equally and, anymore, I don’t put much stock in the reliability of them but when you’re looking for ideas for stories or characters, the reliability matters a little less.

To go along with my current reading material, lets start in the places where darker things live. I consider Cryptids to sit right in the mythology category, others might disagree with me. In any case, myths and monsters always make for interesting story foundations. I used to have a few good links specifically on Cryptids but my favorite seems to have gone under so, here’s the Wiki, the UnMuseum, and the Atlas Obscura.

Here’s a website with a list of 100 digitally accessible university libraries (but I haven’t checked to see if all of the links still work): From Mary and Mac.

Religion is always an interesting jumping off point for research, you never know what rabbit hole you’ll fall down into when you start looking. Deliriums Realm has a number of interesting essays and information on demonology. Symbols play a role in some of that too – find a few to use in your next story at Symbols.com.

Need a name? Tired of regular old babynaming sites? Try Behind the Name for meaning, history, and origins.

One of the things I like to do when I’m doing the starting research is look at real estate listings that could be afforded by my main character in a town in the area I’m setting the story in. Real Estate listings have so much good information for writers. I like to use local real estate listings for writing research as sometimes they have better information on the area.

Weird news stories are as easy to find as your local tabloids but I prefer just Googling weird news every so often. Who doesn’t want to write a story about whatever Florida Man is doing today? It’s bound to be interesting (and apparently, today, he’s getting bitten by snakes in the toilet, getting arrested for hitting his mother with a corn cob, and stealing zoo animals)!

Happy writing!

 

Writing Wednesday: Writer’s Magazines

There are a number of magazines out there aimed at writers. Some of which are more useful than others in my opinion and some have pretty high price tags but there is a wealth of information to be found in those pages (or files for the digitally minded).

Poets & Writers magazine was the first one I picked up when I was a teenager with a desire to write. It’s the one I currently have a subscription to though it’s about up and I’ll probably change it up – I like to cycle through. There is a lot of good information to be found in the articles. There are a lot of ads for MFA programs, fee based contests, and small presses. The classifieds are generally available on their website and a very good chunk of their articles as well. It’s a staple resource for writers.

Writer’s Digest was the second magazine I picked up and my go to resource for market hunting pre-internet. Their market guide was invaluable to me when I was just starting out. This will probably be my next subscription for a while – it’s been a few years and I’ve heard some great things from other writers on some of their recent articles. They’ve also got market guides, community resources, tutorials, and webinars on their website.

The Writer’s Chronicle was a new pick up for me at the newsrack this month. It’s actually been around a long time. It’s the Association of Writers and Writer’s Programs’ magazine and chock full of similar resources that you find in the others. The articles are solidly written and interesting.

Publisher’s Weekly is a little on the expensive side for me, but a very good resource with a website full of all of the interesting news in publishing. It’s a bit broader in scope than the writing centered magazines.

The Writer Magazine is one that I was never a monthly reader of but I used to pick it up every now and again. It’s been some time since the last time but if the website is any indication, the content is still really good and useful. There are some very good articles on the process on their website and next time, I’m grabbing something at the news stand, it might be this one.

There are other magazines out there but I don’t think there are as many as there used to be. The lovely thing about these magazines is that they always put me in the mood to write more, to write better, to work outside my comfort zone and try something completely different. It doesn’t always work out in my favor but that’s part of the process too.

Do you have a favorite magazine about writing that I haven’t mentioned?

Writing Wednesday: Fact Checking Foods

Food is one of the most common and useful scene setting tools. The best conversations are had at a table over pie or a good dinner. It gives the writer a chance to touch on all the senses and pull the reader in with the tantalizing smells of meat and chocolate (or whatever the preference). It can also be a stumbling block if a writer isn’t careful, especially a writer working on something like historical fiction. What is in season, when a food was introduced to a particular continent, what preservation methods were available to your characters – these are all hugely important to a solid setting.

Smell is one of our strongest senses and the one most tied to memory – as a writer, you should use this where you can. For me, the scent of good coffee always is a touchstone. Bread always calls to mind kitchens and home. Same with cookies. The scent of a charcoal grill being fired up immediately brings me to Summer fun. Even oatmeal takes me somewhere. Not somewhere good or nice but somewhere. Who doesn’t love to have a bit of a bite while they’re discussing the answers to all the important questions? Just don’t go overboard. I read a book once that was very savory food heavy and I swear I gained 5 pounds during the few hours it took to read.

If you’re writing about the US, find out what’s in season at the Seasonal Food Guide or the Healthy Meals Guide. In the UK, you have Eat the Seasons. I’m sure there are resources out there for other places but I haven’t had to seek them out too much yet. Growing seasons can be helpful too!

Food preservation is another thing that’s important to know about. If you’ve got a story set in 1300’s England, their available food stuffs are going to be hugely different than what’s available now. Refrigeration changed the face of food forever. So did mass market canning. But, some preservation techniques have been around as long as civilization, completely dependant on the location. Drying and salting of meats, fruits, and vegetables has been a standard for a long time. Canning is relatively new. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has some more detailed information but let’s just say don’t have a character in the 1600’s opening a tin of beans anytime soon.

One of the interesting things is that they are finding preserved things from the cradle of civilization now and apparently the honey is still edible (not that I’d want to test that though). And who knows what they’ll find as they excavate the 3600 year old shipwreck they just found.

There are a ton of great historical food resources out there beyond Wikipedia. There are actual ‘cookbooks’ and the British Library has a whole section about it online. The food of the colonists in the America’s was fairly well documented but with indigenous people, you’re better Googling the specific tribe or people you are writing about.

 

Writing Wednesday: Poetry

I’m focusing on poetry today because of a conversation I had at my IRL writer’s group this month and I’m thinking a lot about it so I’m going to put all of that thinking to good use. I’ve written a lot of poetry in my life and published a chunk of them and read or listened to even more. I love spoken word. I love slam poetry. I love classical poetry, modern poetry, all poetry. I struggle with rhyming poetry sometimes, it can read like a greeting card sometimes, at least when I’m the one writing it, but when it’s done well, it’s a beautiful thing.

First, we’ll look at various resources on types and forms of poetry. The Writer’s Cookbook has a pretty good list of forms and explanations: Poem Forms. The most comprehensive list I’ve found is in The Writer’s Digest. Book Riot has a good beginner’s guide complete with examples also.

When you write stories, you have all this room to convey big thoughts and big emotions. In a poem, you have so little space (unless you’re writing epic poetry but that’s harder to write well and even harder to sell). You can’t afford a wasted word in poetry. There really isn’t room for filler when you’re counting syllables. With poetry, you have to draw on our shared human existence, building on the familiar to give it a different perspective and make you see a theme or a thing differently than you have before. Allegory and metaphor only really work when the audience has some familiarity with the foundation information after all.

If you’re looking to publish poetry, check the market listings at the Submission Grindr as they’re pretty extensive (and free to search). I’m of the opinion that you should get paid for your work and I don’t mean by “exposure” so I do tend to avoid the non-paying markets but that’s a personal choice. If you’re looking to publish a chapbook (a short collection of poetry), there are several presses out there and a million contests. The Poetry Society of America has a lot of great links to various presses and contests and their website is very easy to navigate but some of their older links are not active any longer. The Poetry Foundation is the home of  Poetry Magazine which is, I think, the oldest poetry mag out there and it has a wealth of information and, of course, poems to read or listen to.

No post on poetry would be complete without a few examples of my favorite poems. I have loved Cheryl Boyce Taylor’s Mango Pretty for more than a decade – it’s the kind of poem that sticks to your ribs and stays with you a very long time (side note here – IndieFeed had some great taste in poetry and it’s a shame they’re closed up). Neil Hilborn is everywhere these days because he’s different and quite talented but it is his “The Future” that sticks with me so – “I saw the future. I did, and in it, I was alive.” It’s a powerful statement that means so much to so many.

When I was young, it was Tennyson’s Lady of Shalott that spoke to my heart, then Poe’s The Raven, and Noyes’ The Highwayman (and yes, all three are so much fun to read aloud! Most of my favorite poems are.). As I got older, I read whatever poems I could find that were not in my textbooks (because those poems were never as good as what I found in the photocopied zines tacked up at the weird movie store or the coffee shop). Then I discovered spoken word and Waits, Cohen, and Kerouac. My tastes have evolved as I’ve gotten older but my love of it hasn’t changed at all. There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to read all that I want to read and poetry often gets pushed to the side and I know I should work harder to make room for it. I always learn something about myself from other people’s poems.