Editing, Day One: First Read

Let's assume that you've followed my advice from yesterday and gotten some distance from your first draft (be it Nano-related or not). Or, alternatively, maybe you've got a deadline coming up or perhaps you want to keep striking while the iron is hot and you're hooked on writing.

Whatever the reason, you're ready to start editing.

Just as there are many different ways to prep, outline and to write, there are many different ways to edit. 

I think that your first read depends on how strong you feel your first draft is. I'm going to be using my 2014 Nanonovel as my case study, so we're going to assume that you think your first draft is more like Draft 0 rather than Draft 1 !

So, print that sucker off if you like (I do) or bring it up on the monitor.

Grab some pens and paper or index cards - or bring up a second document on your computer.

What we're going to do first is....

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Whether you outlined or not, odds are that your draft veered off book. 

I want you to read your manuscript and write down some notes about every scene. The goal is to have a document that gives us all the key information about the book you already have - so that you can make notes about what you need to change, add, remove to make your story the best story it can be. Inevitably there will be some scenes that lack purpose or you'll realize that you under-utilised a character or that you dropped a subplot part way and need to shore things up. 

For each scene, you want to know exactly what is happening.

Ideally, you can write a brief sentence describing the action - 

In the town hall, Main Character(MC) accuses Secondary Character One(SC1) of cheating at poker championship, but the argument is interrupted by goblin attack.

This gives the bare bones of the scene, including the goal of the characters, and the conflict.

I'd also add a quick note about important characters who appear in the scene, e.g.:

MC
SC1
Goblin King

And then I'd include any additional thoughts I have as I read. I'm not worried about the quality of the writing at this point, but entirely about the 'big picture' so plot, character and setting.

What I should end up with is a new outline of my novel, one that matches what I have on paper rather than the ideal outline I may or may not have had before I wrote.

If you did follow an outline pretty closely, it's completely fine to start with that and just make the changes to reflect what you do have. 

Take your time getting this part done. This is when you're going to really learn what you have on your hands. You'll find a lot of crap, and, hopefully, some happy surprises. 

Remember - at the end of this process, you want an outline that describes what you have, scene by scene. 

The next step will be identifying the weaknesses and deciding what to do about them, which is exciting because this is when we'll make a map for the big renovations that are going to happen!

The Importance of Keeping Your Distance

In a post-NaNoWriMo world, people react differently. Some want to get working on the next phase, editing away. Others want to never look at their Nano story again. Some people fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

I usually tend to want to put the story away, but this year I see something in my NaNoWriMo story that I kind of like.

Not the prose, mind you, or the overall plot arc. But there's a glimmer of something there that I want to play with, so I will be editing this one.

Now, before I begin editing, I am putting the story away. Not for long - maybe a week? I don't love my novel already, I haven't developed an attachment to it, so I don't feel the need to put it away for longer.

If you love your novel, if you cannot look at your writing with an attempt at objectivity - put it away until January. Let it rest, let it collect some dust. 

Distance will make it easier for you to see the flaws. You won't remember the details as well, so it'l be easier to see where you forgot to mention something or didn't explain something as clearly as you should.

Distance will mean each carefully crafted - or hastily scrawled - sentence isn't so near and dear to your heart. You'll be able to ruthlessly cut out that gorgeous turn of phrase that really ruins the rhythm of that fight scene. You'll be able to see the run-on sentences, the half-formed sentences, the redundant ones, the unclear ones.

Ideally, by the time you come back to the story, it'll feel almost like someone else's. If you start reading, and you keep saying to yourself, "Whoa, I don't remember this at all!" then you've waited long enough. If you start reading and you say, "Huh, this part here isn't so bad, and that part there is just as good as I remember," well, that's cool too. But if you pick it up and say, "I love everything about this beautiful off-spring of my creativity and determination. Each word is golden, each moment pitch-perfect and how on Earth can anyone expect me to alter anything when I laboured so hard to bring it into this world in the first place?"... well, then you need to put that baby back on the shelf and work on something else for a little while.

Yes, it's okay to love your first draft. Of course it is. You worked hard to produce that manuscript. But the next phase, editing, is going to prepare it for other readers, people who will be more critical and less forgiving of its flaws. This means you need to be able to to look critically at your draft, identify its strengths and shore up its weaknesses. Distance will make this process slightly less painful.

Nanowrimo: Final Day

Today is the very last day of NaNoWriMo 2014, and I'm very pleased to say that I finished my 50,000 words.

If you haven't yet finished, please know that if you're within about 10,000 words, I personally know that it's completely do-able as long as you can carve out several hours of focused writing time today. Take 10 minutes to write a quick list of scenes you want to run through, and then start to write. Write in sprints or in longer sessions depending on what works for you. Put some inspiring music on. Force yourself to describe as much as possible using as many of the senses as possible. 

Give yourself permission to suck extra hard today. Stop using contractions, refer to characters by their full names, get very lyrical, explore tangents of inner dialogue that lead nowhere (but really, might spark something genius for your next draft). 

Most importantly, keep writing. Do not stop, even if you think what you're writing is ridiculous. Keep going today until you hit that magic, magic number.

And once you get there.....


CONGRATULATIONS!

You've written a story! A long-ish story! I hope that you're incredibly proud of that achievement. I hope you ride high on the adrenaline of it for at least a full hour, and that once that initial high has worn off, you get a little jolt of it again every time you think of your NaNoWriMo success over the next several weeks. 

You have written a story, and that is no small feat. So many people say that they want to write, that they have this great idea for the Great (Insert Nationality Here) Novel, but so few actually sit down to write.

You've not only written, but you've written a lot.

Make sure that you validate on the NaNoWriMo website so that you can collect your winner goodies (web banners and badges, and some special sponsor offers starting in December). Make sure you tell everyone who knows you were Nano-ing this year that you were successful!  Toot your horn!  Celebrate!

If this was just a whim, a fun thing to challenge yourself with in November, then I salute you. Well done! I hope you'll come back next year to write again!

If this was a sign that you'd like to write more often, stick with me. Because I bet you're thinking - what next? I'm going to be editing my NaNoWriMo story over the next few months, and I'll post about doing that here. I'm also going to be outlining my next project - which I believe will be a kind of snarky/sassy New Adult Fantasy story that's been percolating for a while.

Come back each week for tips and tricks, strategies and commiseration! And please, if there's anything you'd like me to post about in particular, post a comment about it!

Nano: Stay the Course

We're coming up on the final week of Nanowrimo. Today's word count average is 40008 words. Traditionally, the last 10K are considered a downward slide to your win, so if you're on track, the next week should be glorious!

How do you stay motivated, especially if you're behind?

You remember you want to keep writing because you are committed.
You want to keep writing because you want to finish.

You are going to keep writing because everyone you told about Nanowrimo expects you to finish!

For me, it's knowing that I've already come this far. There's no way, after putting in all the effort I have already put in this month that I'm *not* finishing.

So stay the course. Stick with it. Fit in those extra writing sessions if you need them to catch up. Add in a crazy twist in those last 5K if you need something to give you a few extra thousand words. 

We're nearly there, folks, nearly time to celebrate our first drafts! 

Nano 2014: Status Update

It has been a heck of a ride for me so far!

I planned on being very active in my local Nano community - getting out to events, writing like the wind, generally having a fantastic, social month!

Instead?

My house became the PLAGUE HOUSE!  

Between pinkeye and the flu, I've missed out on every event since the Kick-Off. My writing is still on par - I'm sitting at 33,383 words at the writing of this blog post. I'm not in love with my story anymore, but I can see some potential in the bits and pieces. The romance is not really happening at all. It's becoming apparent that as much I like to read it, I may not be so hot at writing it.

I've also rediscovered my love of editing, not because I've been editing my own stuff but because I've had an opportunity to read another Nano writer's work. Now I'm thinking quite seriously about selling my editorial services in the new year (or at least trying to). 

The Nano novel!

I think I have enough 'business' to keep it chugging through to 50K. I'm resisting pulling out my urban fantasy twist because that material is completely not use-able in drafts moving past this one. But in a pinch... it's there to help with word count!

How is your Nanowrimo journey going so far? Are you having a lot of success? Finding something harder than you expected? Learning anything new? Post to the comments to share!

Nano: Roadblocks

The hardest slog in Nanowrimo, for me, is the 25K to 30K point. When I've reached halfway, I chronically have a day or two where I cannot write, and I'm thrown entirely off.

Also at this point, the story that I've come up with is starting to feel stale. I'm not sure where to go next.

Now is the time to pull out some tools for dealing with roadblocks. There are three types of tools, in my book. There's tools that help you avoid roadblocks entirely, and there are those that let you bust through them when you come up against them, and then there's more general strategies for shaking things up and keeping those words flowing.

Type 1:

CONFLICT: Conflict is your friend. Every time your main characters (MCs) are at odds with other characters, with each other, with the environment and so on, there is something for you to write about. It so much easier to write when you are writing an active section than a passive, reflective one. Plus, it's more interesting to read as well. Now is a time to think about what you want your MC to be striving for, what can OPPOSE success, and then write that.  Go write it. Right now. And use that as your scene goal as well - what does my MC want to achieve now? What opposes that?

CHEAT SHEET: Remember that cheat sheet I had you make before the month started? If you use it as a general guide for the flow of your novel - grabbing ideas off of it when you realize you're coming up on a slow spot in your draft - then you might be able to avoid roadblocks completely

MOTIVATION: Remember why you're writing - you want all the glory of finishing that 50K draft before the end of the month. You want to feel that sense of accomplishment. You want to get that first draft finished this month so you have something to edit in December. You want a handy excuse avoid doing chores. Whatever the case, remind yourself often of why you're doing Nano, and motivate yourself to keep going!

Type 2:

CHEAT SHEET: That cheat sheet that can help steer you around roadblocks can also help you crush them. When you write yourself into a corner and aren't sure how to get out of it, refer to your cheat sheet for a brilliant idea. Figure out how to write from where you are to the next scene on your sheet that you're eager to include. Use some of those words or sentences that inspired you before the month started to solve what seem like unsolvable problems.

TIME TRAVEL: Sometimes when you've written yourself into a corner, you get fixated on not knowing how on earth your MCs can possibly get themselves out of the dungeon of doom. You know what? Don't sweat it. Leave the scene open, skip ahead to the next scene that you're sure of - maybe your MCs have to visit the hospital, or go for a picnic or fight their way up from the dungeon to the evil emperor's throne room. Don't sweat the details of how they free themselves, and instead skip ahead to writing what happens once they are free.

PERSPECTIVE SHIFT: Find yourself not sure what happens next to Mary Jane? Is she boring you and now you don't really want to write? Or worse, you've written her into an impossible situation and you don't know what she should decide next? No problem! Skip to Peter's perspective and worry about what's happening with him. By the time you come back to Mary Sue - you can decide whether to pick up where you left off, or time jump forward with her dealing with the repercussions of that moment you couldn't figure out how to write earlier!

Type 3:

CHANGE HOW YOU WRITE: If you've been exclusively using a computer, try to write your next scene with pen and paper. If you always write at night, try to sneak in ten minutes in the morning. Always have music blasting? Turn it off and go silent.

NEW ENVIRONMENT: Go mobile. Write on a bus, at a coffee shop, in the mall's food court, at a library, a restaurant, in a park, in the back of your car, in your bedroom, at the kitchen table. Change your environment and see if that shakes a few words loose.

MUSIC: Lots of authors swear by music to set the mood, so take ten minutes and put together a quick playlist. I favour music that's upbeat and gets my blood pumping (so grabbing a recommended playlist for exercise works well for me). Some people prefer classical music or something without lyrics to distract them. Try it out, see if you can get inspired this way too!

How do you like to bust through roadblocks? Drop your suggestions in the comments!

Nano: Weekends

We're all up in weekend number two of Nanowrimo 2014 and it's time to talk about what weekends are good for: catching up and getting ahead!

Most* people work weekdays and have weekends off, which means more free time. Free time to dedicate to writing, of course!

Try to get in twice as many words as you normally plan to. If you can, sit down for a big chunk of time and write as much as you can then. Find fifteen minutes here and there through out the day to throw down some words. Experiment with different strategies to get your butt parked in a chair writing until you find the one that works best for you.

Also use your weekend to prepare for the week ahead:

1. If you haven't already, sketch out a quick list of scenes you might like to write this week. 
2. Set a word goal to hit by the end of the week. 
3. Figure out meals and such for the week ahead - cutting down on prep time, even if it's just figuring out what you're going to eat - will give you more time to write!
4. Set a timer for twenty minutes and do as many of your weekly chores as possible. Rinse and repeat until you've burned through them and can reward yourself with a writing session.
5. Look at the past week and figure out what days were the hardest for you to write during, and what you can do to avoid those blocks in the week ahead.
6. Pat yourself on the back for making it through your first week and revel in your commitment to *keep going*

Your mission this weekend is to get in as many words as you can. Don't burn yourself out - don't force yourself to sit and write 10K days unless you enjoy that sort of thing. But don't let yourself off easy either. Get your 1667 done and then stretch yourself to hit 2K.  If you're behind by a few thousand words, commit to catching up this weekend. Or if you can't do that much extra writing now - figure out when you can do it. Maybe you need to sneak in two or three extra writing sessions in the next week. Maybe you need to up your daily minimum word count (don't increase it too much because that will make writing extra daunting. I really recommend planning to do an extra writing sessions or two or three or however many it takes because you'll feel a sense of accomplishment about knocking those off rather than having to slog through more words as part of your normal writing schedule.)




* I realize that there's many people who work weekends - particularly in retail, obviously, and in service industries, as well as anyone who has a home business, and parents are still responsible for children and so on.