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 Working
from home can be, in a word,
challenging. Between the
dogs barking at the dust
balls floating across the
floor, the cats sending faxes
to China, the teenagers inviting
the neighborhood kids in
for Hot Pockets and Doritos,
things aren’t exactly
quiet at my house.
Which
is why a regular routine is
essential.
When
developing a routine, start
by doing a personal inventory
of your writing habits. Are
you most productive first thing
in the morning, late at night,
or during the afternoon? I’m
referring to the first draft
writing aspect of the process
because for me, revising can
be done anytime.
I’ve
resigned myself to the fact
that, for me, writing in the
morning is about effective
as skating on quicksand. It
just ain’t
happening. Keep track of when
you get the most pages written,
the time of day you’re
really in the zone, and see if
there’s
a pattern. Capitalize on your
physiology’s natural
routine; don’t fight
it. Yes, that means if you’re
most productive between three
and seven in the afternoon
the kids are going to have
to make their own dinner.
Once
you’ve figured out
when you get your best work
done, carve out that piece
of your day, every day, to
write.
Let’s
say you’re
a morning writer (I envy you).
Set your alarm and get up and
write your pages for whatever
hours you’ve designated.
Have lunch about the same time
every day, take your afternoon
walk at the same time, etc.
Developing a routine stimulates
the habit of writing.
What
can you do to respect your
natural routine? I’ll
suggest paying attention to
the food you eat. Honestly,
I’ve noticed I need a
nap shortly after ingesting
simple carbs (sugars, white
flour, etc). Do certain foods
affect you in different ways?
I find that protein, veggies
and fruits are brain food for
me.
Also,
pay attention to what triggers
your muse. A few things that
come to mind: listening to
music, taking a daily walk,
reading poetry and…vacuuming
(I’m not kidding.) Somehow
the mindless motion of sucking
up tumbleweeds of dog and cat
hair seems to stimulate my
brain. (Sorry, I’m not
coming to your house). Don’t
dismiss mindless activity.
Think of it as a tool to detach
your creative mind from the
ever-present critic that lives
just beneath the surface, the
one that intimidates you into
NOT writing your pages.
In
my opinion, a routine helps
train your brain to tell your
body what’s next on the
agenda.
Every
day at exactly 6:30 p.m., my
golden retriever sits in the
middle of the kitchen, waiting
for his arthritis pill. It’s
his routine. Wouldn’t
it be great if at 9 a.m., every
day, your brain automatically
clicked into writing mode and
words spilled out onto the
page? It’s possible.
You just have to create a routine
in sync with your body’s
natural physiology.
Good
luck!
Rejections. They’re horrible.
Gut wrenching. Devastating. And
reading them is a complete waste
of your energy.
 Or is it?
Sure,
when you first get your rejection
letter, describing in detail
what’s wrong with your
heroine, your plot, your writing
style, your hairstyle; your first
reaction is to go face down in a gallon of Moose Tracks
ice cream and come out five hours later.
But here’s
the trick: give yourself time
to throw your tantrum. Get it
out of your system. Drink your
red wine, eat your chocolate
(or even better, dip the chocolate
in the red wine), stomp around
the house, throw darts at the
publisher’s website, yes,
even shout back at the letter
if you have to.
Whew, once
that’s
over, play a game of “a
friend of mine just got this
letter and I need to help her
learn from it.”
I’m
not kidding.
And no, I’m
not drunk.
With a fresh,
objective eye, read it again,
considering each criticism as
a lesson. These rejections are
all your teachers, sharing insight
that will make you a better writer.
That said, please disregard the
letters that include comments
like “you
shouldn’t
waste anymore trees by trying
to write.” I call
these “diseased” and
they need to be destroyed so
the disease won’t spread.
Onto
a few lessons I’ve learned
from rejections.
Lesson
one: When an editor says “There’s
not enough conflict in your story” guess
what? There’s probably
not enough conflict in your story.
Remember, no conflict, no story.
Nada. Nothing. Conflict is, in
my opinion, the pulse that keeps
your story beating. A great reference
book on conflict is
Deb Dixon’s
Goal,
Motivation, and Conflict.
Lesson
Two: When an editor writes, “I’d
be happy to accept submissions
from you in the future” she
is not kidding and you’d
better send her something else.
Honest. Editors don’t have
time to be nice and make friends
with Amanda Author. They recognize
something they like when they
see it. If they see it in your
voice, and ask for it again,
send something.
Lesson
Three: Don’t take it personally.
HA! You knew that was coming.
Publishing is a business and
the goal is to make money. An
editor wants to buy authors who
are going to sell lots of books
and make the publisher lots of
money. Simple. You may not have
what they think will sell this
month, but six months down the
line, your writing will be that
much better and the tide may
have changed and they’re
suddenly looking for books like
yours.
Accept rejections as road signs
directing you to your ultimate
destination: publication!
© 2006, Pat White
 Ever since I started writing fiction in 1995 I was the type
of author that saw the opening scene play out in my head and
had to get it down on the page. Once there, I kept following
the twists and turns until I finally came out the other end,
in need of therapy, yes, but usually with a pretty decent
first draft.
As my production increased, and I found myself writing up to
four books a year, I figured out that being a pantser, or
“writing blind” as I call it, may not be the most effective
method of writing a book. Why? Because I spend an
unnecessary amount of time stressing about what’s going to
happen next.
Yes, fellow pantsers, I’m a traitor. I decided to explore
plotting possibilities and discovered a story structure
method by a screenwriter that made sense to me.
The screenwriter is
Blake Synder and is book is called
Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll
Ever Need. It outlines fifteen points that all movies hit during their
110 page scripts. This book is really worth having, in my
opinion, because it also explains how to write a logline
(high concept description of your story) which is a great
tool in selling your concept to an editor.
Back to plotting for pantsers. There are tons of ways to
plot. The following is what’s working for me…this week.
Know your theme
With a strong theme everything seems to fall into place.
Themes are things like “What’s real is what’s in your heart”
or “Compassion is the key to healing.”
Create a Solid Opening Image
Make it a grabber. Also, I like to have the opening image
relate to the closing image. It brings the story full
circle. This end image should be the antithesis of the
opener to show character transformation.
First Act
This is your set up. Who is everyone and why are they here?
(Goal, motivation, conflict. You know the drill.)
Turn into Act II (1/4 way through the book)
We leave the old world and move into the opposite of that.
Blake Snyder mentions the “fun and games” part of your story
as being in this section. It’s the promise of a premise,
those colorful scenes that stick with your reader visually.
I’m thinking Elle Woods showing up to a Harvard party
dressed as a bunny in LEGALLY BLOND or Bruce Wayne taking
out two-dozen bad guys at the docks in BATMAN BEGINS.
Halfway point
Stakes are raised! There can be a false victory or defeat,
but either way something big happens here.
Bad Guys Close in
The forces aligned against the hero tighten their grip. The
hero is on his own in search of victory.
All is Lost
Or Blake calls it, the whiff of death, which is closely
followed by...
Dark Night of the Soul
It’s the point just before the hero reaches deep down to
find the solution to the crisis.
Break into three (3/4 way through your book)
Your hero has found a solution to his problem and the world
has changed. We’re into a new world now and moving toward
the...
Finale
Everything is wrapped up, questions are answered, and bad
guys are beaten.
This is a shortened version of Blake’s 15 point Beat Sheet.
The Beat Sheet helped me visually understand what a story
looks like beyond the words floating on my computer screen.
I was able to take a step back and see the big picture.
But as I said, different things work for different authors.
Just know that it IS possible for a pantser to benefit from
a little plotting. Hey, if it takes the fear factor out of
the process it’s worth a try!
© 2007, Pat White
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