Finding time to write when you're busy.

I know you think you're busy. I often think that I am, too.

On the most recent episode of Writing Excuses Podcast one of the things Brandon Sanderson said he learned was to be able to write in different environments. I think the thing I am most envious of full time writers is they get to write full time. (No kidding, huh?)

How would it be to get four hours at a time to write? That would allow you to complete a major scene from a novel. And if you could come back to it two or three days in a row, rested, focused and properly fed? You could write the next Great American Novel with that kind of time and freedom. Of course, when you are expected to produce like Brandon Sanderson, you would need all that time and more.

Two things I learned this year, (Well, one I built on this year, and one that I learned) were using a detailed outline and writing in the evening.

In 2013, when I wrote, The Pariah for Nanowrimo, I used a detailed outline. Knowing exactly what I needed to write when I sat down made it possible to produce a lot in a little time. Granted, I took Thursday and Friday off from the day job to get a head start and completed nearly 20K words that first weekend. Normally, I only get about 2 hours a day to write, and that's 45 minutes in the morning before work, about the same at lunch time, and then maybe an half hour of conscious and cognizant thought in the evening. 

If you haven't heard me whine about it before, I have a 10 and a 12 year old, both with their special needs, and a wife who is now mostly disabled. My days are often frantic and busy. But, using the time I had, I was able to get 100k words written in 28 days. If I had my days wholly devoted to writing I could compete with Brandon in quantity, if not quality.

This year, my oldest daughter, her husband and three children were coming to visit on the 18th of November. I knew if I was going to get my 50K words done, I would have to hit it hard at the beginning. Again, using a detailed outline, I was able to use my time most effectively and hit 50K on day #18. I finished the story at around 65K a week later.

The other thing I learned to do, and that was only recently, was to write in the evening. It's not my most creative work when I'm that tired, but it works to get the plot and dialog mostly laid out and I can spruce it up in the next few edits. The two things that distract me most in the evenings are tiredness and family. 

My wife expects me to spend some time with her, usually watching cooking shows or something else on TV. What I found was, if she drifted off, I would continue to watch what was on the tube. If I tried to turn the show off, it would wake her, and she would turn it back on, believing she would stay awake this time.

I found a 'White Noise' app for my phone. So instead of turning the TV off, I put on the head phones and listen to "Just Rain". I think that's the name of the app. It's a rainstorm and it goes on for ever. You can set the intensity of the storm, with or without thunder, or you can have it vary in intensity. I find it adequately blocks out the distracting sound of the television while letting me focus on my writing.

pec

What I Learned Last Year

Today on the 'Writing Excuses Podcast' they each talked about what they had learned in the last year. The writing prompt this week was to come up with the same thing for ourselves, what we learned, and then carry it forward and determine what we want to learn next year. (Then put it some place where you can find it at the end or 2015 and review it.)

If you are trying to be a writer and you haven't listened to this podcast, you're missing out. I've picked up and dropped a lot of podcasts, gown out of them, I guess, but this one always stays fresh and useful. The four normal participants have varied and valuable experience. Of course, just hearing what Brandon Sanderson is working on, or releasing, would make it worth it to me all by it self.

I won't go into what they said; you can listen to that yourself. I want to take the writing prompt and run with it for a little bit. I've already stated that this is the purpose of my blog; try and share what I learned this last year, and what I want to learn in the coming year.

One thing I learned in 2014 about writing.

Just setting a goal doesn't mean it's going to happen. They, whoever they are, say you need to make your goals realistic and achievable, but also make you stretch. I've always had a problem aligning these two concepts. If I'm going to be realistic I figure I need to set it within my current capabilities, and if I've set it there, I'm not going to do much stretching. 

So I guess and alternate way of setting goals is to commit to completing them and adjusting expectations as you work toward that goal. 

Last March I set a goal to publish three novels by the end of the summer. That really didn't happen. I learned  that it just takes more time to do some things than I had counted on.

"Shooting Stars" was the novel I thought I would publish first. I had made the unfounded assumption that a friend whom I valued very much for her writing and editing skills would read what I had done with my vampire love story and say, "Yup. Here you are. It's ready to publish." It turns out it wasn't as perfect as I thought it was. I learned to lower my expectations of what I have given over to others to do and that I use the words 'was' and 'felt' way too much.

In the mean time, I finished an edit of "Flypaper Boy" and sent it to an editor I met at LDStory Makers  in April of 2014. She got  that one back to me and I fine tuned it and was able to make it my one published novel of the year. (September 29, 2014. A week after summer ended.)

In the meaner time, I rewrote my 2011 Nanowrimo story, "The Galactic Battle Base: Family Ties", during the summer and renamed it "TGGB: Trigger Warnings". I let that rest while I finished up Flypaper Boy, and did my rework of Shooting Stars, based on my friend's recommendations.

I got both of those done just in time for Nanowrimo 2014 and wrote my first draft of Shooting Stars 2: Drawn into the Mist. 

With family visiting at Thanksgiving, I didn't get as much time to write/edit as I thought I would, so only sent the final draft of Trigger Warnings to Winston Crutchfield on the 15th of December and then reworked Shooting Stars, based on my editor's input, (Of the story that I thought was done, again.)

So, at this point, both my 'completed' novels are in the hands of editors, and I have learned that if I am going to make a career of writing it has to be Nanowrimo every month--no days off to breath after one project is complete/passed to the next player.

So, that's what I learned about setting goals. I've learned about other things, but those will have to come later. You know what I want to learn next year. You're going to be the first to hear what I learn, as I learn it, because I'm going to learn how to sell novels.

pec

Podcasts, Pre-writing and Subway Sandwiches.

The Writing Excuses Podcast this week was about pre-writing. Among other things, they discussed what they do to prepare before they sit down and write.

One author goes to the gym because and important part of preparing his head is taking a hot shower and thinking over his plot, etc. Another takes a long walk to get her head in order.

I have a similarly relaxing ritual to prepare myself for writing.

I sneak out of the office fifteen minutes early to beat the lunch hour rush at Subway. I get my six inch turkey breast on herb and cheese, chips and soda and race back to work. I try to eat as much of the food while driving the mile back, though that is especially difficult on the days when I've ordered a meatball sandwich to change things up. Have you ever tried eating a meatball sandwich while driving? You might as well text about it at the same time. It wouldn't be any more dangerous.

Once back at my desk I inhale my food as quickly as possible to have as much of my lunch break available to get words onto 'paper'. People say 'Don't quit your day job', but it's a catch 22. My quality would definitely go up, but I wouldn't be able to afford to go to Subway for lunch.

I got a compliment

I expanded my beta reader pool by putting an invitation for beta readers on my Facebook page. Mary, on the Writing Excuses Podcast, said she has fans do her beta reads. Since the only fans I have so far are already readers, (that's like, four people) and mostly family members, I felt like I needed some new blood if I'm going to take my writing to a new level. I'll be over the moon if someday I have enough of a fan base that people I don't know, other than from getting feedback on books of mine they've read, are asking to do beta reads for me.

I got some feedback on my current project in beta from one of these new readers that really made my day. He said that he'd love to see this book as a movie because of one of the scenes he had just read would be classic. I don't want to tell you the scene, because you'd lose the full effect of it if you ever read the book.

Why I took this a such a compliment was that I had created a scene original enough and delivered it clearly enough that the reader was able to picture what I had imagined in my own mind and attempted to present with words.

Let me take a moment to pat myself on the back. (I'm fairly insecure about most things I do, so I need to boost my self confidence whenever I get the chance.)

Writing Excuses Podcast, Oct 14, 2013

I was listening to the Writing Excuses Podcast yesterday. If you are trying to write genre fiction at any level and you haven't found this podcast, you really need to. Here's the link: http://www.writingexcuses.com/

I found it because I'm a Brandon Sanderson fan. But, there are four authors who are all intelligent, imaginative, and humorous. 

There was a question about "organic" writing. Also known as "seat of the pants" writing, if you're not familiar with the term, it's when you just  start writing with an idea, not really knowing where it will go. Really, even with organic writing, you should have an ending in mind before you start writing to give your plot some direction, but some organic writers don't even have that. The question was, what do you do to keep your plot moving, when you're an organic writer, and you don't know where to go next. 

Brandon suggested something that I really liked. He said to imagine what's the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist, of course while moving the plot forward, and what is the best thing that could happen. Then figure out how to make it look like the worst thing is going to happen and have her/him overcome in it a way that no one will expect.

I know Brandon is very "Architectural" in outlining a story, which is the opposite of organic. Mary, on the podcast, is more in between the two extremes. But, she does lay out what she wants to happen in each chapter. Someone else also mentioned that a person doesn't need to write linearly. If you're an organic writer and you're stuck, move to another section and write, even if it's far down the eventual plot line. In writing that part you might find how to bring the two pieces together.

In preparing for Nanowrimo this year I am going much more extreme in my planning than I have in years past. My first three Nanos were very organic. My second year I found myself writing myself into plot circles. I got more than 65K words written but never finished the story. 

Last year was the first time I really had an outline of the whole book, but as usual got off on enough organic tangents that I was still interested in the story as it developed. Sometimes the plot twists which are best are those unexpected ones which surprise you as you write them.

This year I am world building and character building the heck out of it. I've got tectonic plates, weather and ocean current patterns. I have races with differing values and leaders with conflicting political intentions and hidden agendas.

I think my fear in the first few years was that I would get into it, write a story, finish and not have enough words. I find that much less of a concern now. In fact, this may be the year that I have too much story for one book. We'll see.

If you're a Nanowrimer, I'd love to be a writing buddy with you so that we can encourage one another. Here's a big surprise, my Nanowrimo name is Norvaljoe. Look me up. I follow back anyone who follows me.

Here's the link: http://nanowrimo.org/participants/norvaljoe