Tag Archives: nanowrimo

Revising Your #NaNoWriMo #Novel

Posted on December 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Congratulations! You did it! You rocked the writing world with your bada$$ word count in November. Sit back, relax, and enjoy a bit of rest.

Okay, that’s enough. Are you ready to revise?

Your NaNoWriMo novel will most likely need several rounds of editing and revising before it’s reader worthy. This four step plan for the initial revision process is focused and easy to follow.

Revising a hard copy

Image by Syntaxoflife on Flickr

Step 1: Proofreading for Content

What this means is the author does a read through of the entire manuscript. Some authors will read it silently, but reading it aloud is more effective. Proofreading the writing aloud forces the writer to slow down and  concentrate on the rhythm, pitch, and tone of the words and passages. During this read aloud, passages that seemed witty on paper may reveal themselves as klunky or cliché. Other things that might be noted are holes in the plot, or characters acting out of character.

Although it’s tempting to fix these errors right away, now is not the time. Simply mark the passage needing work, and continue reading. This will keep the rhythm flowing and allow the author to maintain focus on the content, rather than trying to untangle problems.

After the story has been read aloud in its entirety, then the writer can go back and rewrite sections that need it, delete sections that serve no purpose, and add details and subplots that need development.

These are the things to focus on during the proofreading for content stage.

  1. Does every scene move the plot forward?
  2. Are there any holes in the plot?
  3. Are there any loose ends that need to be finished?
  4. Do characters maintain a stable identity (except for personal growth and change that is part of the plot), throughout the story?

Step 2: Proofreading for Tension

In this step, the author should have already made some revisions to improve the manuscript, and now a closer reading is needed to check for overall tension and microtension. Microtension is the uncertainty that keeps a reader reading from one sentence to the next, one paragraph to the next, one chapter to the next. In this second reading, things that are predictable will be easier to spot.

Also, in the case of a mystery or thriller, red herrings and foreshadowing can be refined. Red herrings should lure the reader toward a logical conclusion, albeit incorrect, but not give away the solution. Also, they must not be too obvious, or else the reader will spot them, making the mystery a less enjoyable read.

 Step 3: Copyediting a Book for Grammar and Syntax

This step is the most basic of the editing revising process. Checking for usage, proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation is something that can be done with a silent read. Mistakes may also be corrected as the writer moves through the manuscript. Using reference tools such as the book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King, or Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style will help during this process.

Step 4: Polishing the Writing

This step is the most creative of all four. This is when the writer can use all the tips and tricks of figurative language to create imagery and emotion that will envelop the reader in the fictional world. Studying the work of writers who do a good job of evoking mood will help a person learn to do it well. It takes an ear for language, but it also is something that can be learned. The book Word Painting, A Guide to Writing More Descriptively, by Rebecca McClanahan is one that may help.

There you have it. This four step process for editing and revising a story takes time. You’ll want to go back over your novel to fix problem areas, perhaps several times. However, you can’t rush an error free, tightly plotted novel that sparkles with the high shine of fine writing.

Again, congratulations on completing the first draft! May the Goddess of Writing help you craft it into a masterpiece.

This is an adaptation of an article I published with Suite101 in 2010.

 

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Tips for Writers – Finding Your Personal Writing Style

Posted on September 14, 2011 | 4 Comments
Moleskin and pen on desk for writing.

Image by Katcha on Flickr.

How do you write? There are as many styles for getting the words on paper as there are writers. Do you write quickly, mashing out several thousand words in a day? Or do you write more slowly, doing a little at a time and letting the words simmer? Are you a plotter, needing to have everything lined up, laid out, and every detail noted before you begin? Or are you more of a pantster, sitting down to write and letting the story come tumbling out willy-nilly?

How do you find out what kind of a writer you are?

This is the dilemma facing many new writers, and many seasoned writers as well. Hearing and reading about all the different ways to write can make it hard to decide what works for you.

The best way to find out what works is to try them all out. When I was a newer writer, I tried NaNoWriMo and wrote my first middle grade historical novel. I had a general idea of the story line when I began. I even found an agent for it. But the novel had serious flaws, and it never sold.

The next story I wrote, a middle grade adventure, I used a plotting style. I actually think of it as my plodding style. I wrote every day, each chapter as it was plotted. Before I moved on to the next chapter, I did a first draft edit on the chapter. By the time I made it to the end, the story didn’t need any major editing, as my first novel had, but it was certainly a long process.

Next up, I tried more of a pantster approach on an adult story. I ended up with a novel called Blooming with Hope, which is anything but. It’s a mess. I didn’t stay true to my voice, the characters are cardboard, and I don’t know if I’ll ever go back and fix all the plot holes in that one. It’s blatantly apparent from this disaster that I’m not a pantster.

A woman in my writing group tried a method of writing in which you and a support buddy write twenty pages a day for two weeks straight. At the end of two weeks, you have a novel. In her words, “I’ve finally found my writing method.” This fast draft method of novel writing worked for her, and now she’s spending the next few months doing major edits and revisions.

If that sounds too intense, you might want to try Karen Wiesner’s method of writing a novel in thirty days.  Hers is more of a pre-plotted and pre-planned approach, leaving you to focus on the writing during the thirty day phase.

Personally, you just have to try as many writing styles or methods as you need to until you find the one that works for you. For me, the thought of editing 280,000 words written in fast draft mode is too daunting. My own style is the plodding fashion, with surface edits as the novel moves along. After the midway point, the story starts to pour out faster, and I drop some of the editing. When I get to the end, and go back to edit, the process is much less painful for me.

How about you? Do you have your own unique writing style you’d like to share with readers here?

In the end, whichever writing style you choose, there are just three things to consider. Are you putting a satisfying amount of words on paper? Is the story flowing? Are you enjoying the process? If you can answer yes to these questions, then you’ve found your own personal writing style.

Happy writing!

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Tips for Writers, Don’t Compare Yourself to Other Writers

Posted on January 19, 2011 | 1 Comment

All over Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and writing sites people shout out how many words they write each day, how far they’ve come in revising their NaNoWriMo manuscripts, and a myriad of other writing accomplishments. This can be inspiring. Or it can drag you down.

Reading all these comments sometimes makes me think, “Why can’t I write that fast?” Or “What’s wrong with me? I’ve only revised one scene and she’s done ten!” Or any number of other denigrating thoughts that I shall not repeat here.

Then I have to tell myself, “They may have a zillion words on the screen, but what quality is their writing?” Or “Perhaps they have all day to write, and I only have one hour.”

When I’m teaching creative writing, I never allow my students to compare themselves to others. I remind them that each person is unique and inspiring in his own individual ways. Why is it so easy for me to dole out this advice, but not take it to my own heart?

Man on surfboard turning on wave

Image by Jon Sullivan at Public-Domain-Photos

Let’s face it: no one gets better at anything by simply comparing themselves to others. They get better by doing the work. A surfer doesn’t get faster by bemoaning the fact that she can’t ride waves as well as the next person. She gets better by training, practicing new techniques and developing her balance. Writing muscles and expertise work the same way.

Once I finally let go of comparing myself to what everyone else was doing, it freed me to concentrate on my own writing. I found this to be the case one day when I was too sick with a cold to care about what anyone else did. I just sat with my manuscript and worked. I didn’t work fast, but the writing came out wonderful. It came out wonderful, because I allowed myself time to contemplate, time to review, and time to reword as much as I needed. I didn’t pressure myself to keep up with someone else’s wordcount.

So there you have it. To become a better writer, don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Just do your own thing and let that be enough. Learn the craft through classes, conferences, and books. Then just write. Your polished writing will be the proof that this works.

Be kind to yourself. Your writing improves every time you put words on the screen.

Read more tips for writers in these past articles:

Always Carry a Notebook, Laptop, or Other Writing Device

Give Yourself Permission to Write for Fun

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Finishing NaNoWriMo

Posted on November 26, 2008 | 2 Comments

I finished NaNoWriMo Monday at just over 52,000 words. It felt amazing. I have the skeleton of my newest novel, Eidolon, completed. Now I’ll spend the rest of November adding more character and setting details to the skeleton, fleshing it out with the meat of the story, checking and strengthening all the plot and subplot threads. By the end of the month, I’ll have a very rough first draft.

 

In writing, I use Karen Weisner’s First Draft in 30 Days model. It seems to work well for me. I took her class last summer, and it helped clarify some of the techniques she introduces in her book. She is very much a left-brain writer, organized and logical. That kind of planning works for me. I wrote the feature article NaNo Applied for Wow! Women on Writing, giving tips for success.

 

If you haven’t finished NaNoWriMo, never fear. You have one more weekend to put the final words on your manuscript and cross that 50,000 word line. You can do it! When you finish, celebrate your success!

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NaNoWriMo 2008

Posted on October 23, 2008 | Leave a comment

I admit it.

I love NaNoWriMo.

National Novel Writing Month.

In fact, I look forward to it every year, since I began NaNoing three years ago. The excitement, the exuberance, the exhilaration are all infectious and addictive.

I use NaNo each year to start a new novel. So far, I’ve finished all the novels I’ve begun during NaNoWriMo. I use a simple plan to get ready and keep myself on track. I wrote a short article about it for Suite101.com, and another, more in-depth article for an online magazine. I’ll let you know when the second article appears.

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