Tag: writing

Writing Fiction is like Long Distance Running

by AJMEADER, posted in writing

Once again, I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50k words in 30 days. The idea is that in order to write that much, you have to silence our inner critic.

Your inner critic destroys your confidence and prevents you from ever writing that first draft. But the first step to writing a great novel is giving yourself permission to write a terrible first draft. Hence, NaNoWriMo.

As I wrote 2300 words at work during lunch today, I realized that writing fiction reminds me of running.

1. If you really want to run, you make time for it. I saw a meme that read: “someone busier than you is running right now.” That is as true for writing as it is for running.

A lot of us want to write, or think we do, but frequently we use the excuse that we don’t have the time. The reality, however, is this: someone busier than you is writing right now.

2. For me, the first mile of a jog is always the hardest. Once I get past that first mile, I feel like I could run forever.

When I write fiction, the hardest part is the first 500 to 1,000 words. If I can make it past 500, it gets easier. And past 1,000 words, I feel like I could write forever.

Just like running, the hardest part is starting.

3. The more you run, the more you want to run. Similarly, the more you write, the more you want to write.

Writing novels is an endurance sport. Success, I suspect, is dependent on training and persistence.

P.S. Please forgive typos as I’m writing these posts on my phone.

Explicit or implied? Is there value in leaving part of a story untold?

by AJMEADER, posted in Uncategorized

I am struggling with my current work in progress, Emergency Landings.  An important element of the plot is inspired by real life traumatic events.  In order to make the writing less painful, I am doing everything I can to make the novel characters different from the real life characters, with varying degrees of success.

I recently blogged about the importance of continuing to write even when it is hard, emotionally and/or imaginatively.  Although I believe this to be true, I have been avoiding flashbacks for that very reason.  As much as I try to justify not having any memory-based scenes, I am coming to the conclusion that such scenes are necessary.  Emergency Landings is about the journey of a young widow. Without the backstory, the current story doesn’t make much sense.

Tonight, the deceased husband made his first appearance.  Contrary to my intention and expectation for this scene, the husband was loving and somewhat supportive.  It was then that I realized I am diving into choppy waters.  Abusive partners are unpredictable.  Any time this man appears, it will be an emotional coin flip.  And it will pick at my own psychosocial scabs in the process.

I wonder, however, could I tell Claire’s story without illustrating what it was that caused her to dislike her deceased husband so much?  I am reminded of The Blair Witch Project.  I loved that movie and part of what I loved about it was the fact that the evil spirits/witch were never visible to the viewer.  I thought that was a brilliant decision by the filmmakers, allowing one’s imagination to fill in the missing pieces.

Would it be possible to tell the story of Claire’s emotional journey without providing the exact details of her relationship with her husband?  Wouldn’t this allow each reader to have their own interpretation of Claire’s story, something of a blank canvas upon which a reader could project their own understanding of the story?  Or would this leave the reader frustrated, angry, or disappointed?

Am I on to something potentially interesting (for the novel) or am I just trying to rationalize my way out of the hard parts?

What do you think, as a writer and/or as a reader?

Plot your way out of writer’s block?

by AJMEADER, posted in Uncategorized

Unbeknownst to me at the time, a fellow NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) member (and good online friend) had previously written a blog about getting out of writer’s blog by plotting.   You can read Amie’s position here:

Writer’s Life Wednesday – Plot Your Way Out Of Writer’s Block.

It would never work for me, but maybe it will work for you!

Good luck!

Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it.

by AJMEADER, posted in Uncategorized

“Stopping a piece of work just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.”  Stephen King

I have two works in progress, one is a murder mystery and the other is a literary fiction novel. The latter is entitled “Emergency Landings” and it is the one that continues to grip my imagination. Unfortunately, due to my long working hours, I have not had time to work on either. But as I mentioned in my first blog, I have renewed my commitment to my craft, even if that means adding to my novel 50 words at a time. Any progress is better than no progress.

Last weekend, a girlfriend of mine read the synopsis and an excerpt of Emergency Landings. She did not read it as a fellow writer, as she neither writes nor aspires to write; instead, she read it as a reader. Funnily enough, she did not even know I wrote it because it was under a username that she did not know was mine.

After reading the pieces, she asked to know who the author was and how she could get the book. I thought she was joking, but she was entirely serious. When I said that I wrote it, she was excited and asked if she could read what I had written so far.

Wednesday, inspired by her genuine interest, I opened the first chapter and read it with the intention of cleaning it up a bit. Imagine my horror when I realized that what was supposed to a compelling introduction, the death notification, was actually quite boring.

Yikes.

Maybe this was not the story that needed to be told—at least not by me, anyway.

The next day, however, I decided that I could still tell this story as it was, in fact, my story. And more importantly, it was the story that I still loved and felt compelled to write. I was just going to have to scrap the opening chapter and try to come up with another beginning!

Or not.  Despite my optimism, I ended up frustrated because the death notification was the right place to start and I could find no suitable alternative. Why do I do this to myself?

Finally, I found the above Stephen King quote in a pile of papers. I had come across it before and was so inspired that I printed it in large font with the intention of putting it on my wall. Reading the advice that sometimes we have to keep going even when it feels like all we are doing is shovel shit from one page to the next, I knew that I would keep the first chapter. If for no other reason than to get to the next one.

I pinned the quote to the wall, opened up Scrivener and set about editing the first chapter from a purely grammatical and structural point of view. In the process, I unexpectedly ended up rewriting a large portion of it. The scene came to life and as I put myself in Claire’s (the protagonist) heart and mind, I actually cried.

I am hoping that the next time I read this chapter, I won’t find it boring (which I seriously doubt I will). If, however, I do still think it is boring, I will persevere, because I love my concept too much to give up on it. And because “stopping a piece of work just because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea.”

Stuck? Try pantsing it.

by AJMEADER, posted in Uncategorized

“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all of our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible.”  Stephen King

Generally, writers fall within a spectrum of styles.  On one end is the “plotter” and on the other end is the “pantser.”  The plotter is a meticulous planner, from plot points and twists to comprehensive character creation to world building.  For the plotter, it is easier to write a scene that has already been decided upon for purposes of moving the story in the direction in which the writer intends it to go.

A pantser “flies by the seat” of his or her pants.  A pantser may decide to write a story with as little to go on as a character and a goal or challenge.  Ray Bradbury suggested “find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.”  I can’t imagine a more apt description of the pantsing process.

Many writers, however, fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.  For example, a writer may need to establish major plot points and some major characters before writing but once they begin, they pants the trajectory between points A and B, B and C, C and D.

Personally, I am 100% a pantser.  If I take the time to write out plot points, my inner critic will destroy every idea, and all possible permutations, with an efficiency that is (almost) as admirable as it is tragic.  Every attempt at plotting leaves me shaken and sad. I will have decided that my ideas are trite, my plot twists are contrived, and my characters are wooden and/or unbelievable.  The overall conclusion is that I suck and it is soul crushing.  I know this sounds hyperbolic but it’s completely true.  In fact, it was my attempts to plot over the years that prevented me from every actually writing.

If, however, I decide on a character who has a problem to resolve or life changing event to survive, and nothing more, I can pretty much run wild in the story telling department.  I silence the inner critic by saying, “shut up, I’ll fix it in the next draft.”  And it actually works.

As a pantser, I enjoy being surprised every time I sit down to write.  I, like the potential reader, have no idea what is going to happen next.  I’ll start a scene with my main character answering the telephone and I’ll end the scene (completely unplanned) with her sister agreeing to come see her.  For me, this makes writing fun, which is what it is supposed to be in the first place, right?

Of course, I am not suggesting that one method is better than the other.  I am just sharing that one method is better for me.  If, however, you are a person who has wanted to write a novel or short story and has tried to plot it out and in so doing, killed your motivation, then try pantsing.  Decide what your hero wants and follow him or her.  You may be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Humble Beginnings

by AJMEADER, posted in Uncategorized

On a lark, I decided to participate in National Novel Writing Month in 2014. Prior to Nano, I had never written anything creatively longer than a thousand words. I was convinced I lacked the imagination to be a fiction writer. To my surprise, and with a little help from my sons, I wrote 65 thousand words in November. On December 11, I completed the first draft with a total of 90 thousand words. It was life-changing. What was previously impossible was now completely possible. Maybe, just maybe, I could be a writer after all.

Since Nano, I have started three different projects. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to devote on them. I’ve decided to change that. Part of my new writing pledge will be updating this blog and part will be working on one of my works-in-progress.

“If you wait until you got time to write a novel, or time to write a story, or time to read the hundred thousands of books you should have already read — if you wait for the time, you will never do it.” Harry Crews

We make time for things that are important to us. If writing is as important to me as I think it is, then I will find the time to do it. *she says with more confidence than she feels*

My blogs will be about life as an amateur writer. I do not profess to know anything that no one else knows. Nor do I claim to be an expert when it comes to writing. All I can do is discuss the process, document the struggle, and encourage others to join me.

Let’s start a dialogue. Writing is a solitary passion. In my experience, non-writers are bored to tears by the nuts and bolts of writing. None of us, however, is truly alone as long as we seek each other out. I’m looking for my compatriots. I hope you find me.