Keeps me from the edge of crazy (especially when writing fiction or memoir)ħ. Lightens me up when I feel down about a rejectionĥ. Helps me not feel alone during the long haul of writing a bookĤ. Sometimes it's one or two colleagues to exchange chapters with, sometimes it's a monthly or weekly writers' group that keeps me generating pages.ģ. I couldn't have produced the books I've published-or the novel I'm just finishing-without a writing community. Writers can't go it alone and stay whole we need other writers more than we know. I took steps to find others at my experience level and talk about the writing life, to get ideas and encouragement. I learned to set a timer for 45 minutes (a great amount of time to stay focused) and take a water or stretch break, or just look around and remember where I was.ġ0.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WRITEITNOW AND WRITEWAY PRO HOW TO
I learned how to pace myself for the long haul-not a skill I've excelled at much of my life (I tend to write for hours, forgetting to eat, sleep, fill in the blank). I started taking classes to meet new feedback partners and fresh readers. And new readers when my writing groups, sadly, disbanded. Thanks to the keen eyes of my writing partners and experts I consulted, I think I got crash landings, explosions, and other oddities accurate on the page.Ĩ. It also took a lot of fact checking and research. My standards are much higher than they ever were. I spent months just reading the pages out loud and wordsmithing. I felt very exposed at times and I had to sit with that, decide if it was OK, dial it back if needed.Ħ. A lot of my truths, my life values, got woven into the story. I had to be willing to be vulnerable on the page. I learned how hard it is for writers to give up their original vision-a painful process that took time and lots of help. I had to start somewhere, but then let it grow into its own uniqueness. The original story line is vastly different from what the book became. I learned the most about my characters from my readers. Like getting to know people in real life, it took time to get to know their motivations, longings, and secrets. I learned patience with my own process.ģ. It demanded much more drafting, structuring, and revising time. This project was the most complicated I've ever tried, in terms of plot and multiple narrative voices. I'll post my own responses, then you can consider what you'd say about your book-no matter where you are in its conception or manifestation or publication process.Ģ. I remembered a cool writing exercise shared by a friend long ago, and it filled the bill. Two more years of revision and I feel confident enough to send it to my beta readers and begin the search for an agent now that mine has retired.īut I wanted to pause, celebrate the milestone. I realized I needed more skill in certain areas, so I found yet another group of writing partners and a for-hire editor to learn from.
But eventually I picked myself up and started the revisions. That flattened me (she wanted another project from me, not this one, but my heart was in this book and I had to finish it).
An agent, who did not end up taking the book, gave me excellent revision ideas. Then I hit bottom again, almost ditched the project. I hit bottom then, and I was pulled out by taking writing classes and getting together a feedback group. Enthusiasm and determination carried me through the first two years. It's been five years in the making, and I couldn't have done it in any less time. Looking back, I slightly astonished by how naive I was when I began. In August, I took a month away from work, phones, and other people's writing to focus on the final edits for my novel. Editors are gold, though, because they see what you can't see. These are hard to hear! I know, I've been there for every book I've written. Your editor might come back with suggestions like: (1) your plot falls apart in chapter 15 (2) I don't believe this character's motivation or (3) I don't know where we are in time or place-your setting is not anchored yet. What you're looking for is a careful read-through, structure analysis (if you can get it), and suggestions for revising those three areas. Even though I've worked as an editor since the eighties, I still hire out revision help. You may be good at one or two of these, weak at the third. It double-checks your structure on three levels: outer story (plot or information), characters' narrative arcs, and the sense of place. Revision is a LOT more than just refining sentences. They need to hire an editor or coach to help them. Revision: There's a huge gateway here too, probably the biggest and hardest one.
0 kommentar(er)
