Paper Evidence of a Writer’s Mind

All right, back on track this week with the posts!

So I briefly mentioned some time ago that I have a paper journal. This past year, my paper journal has been a lifesaver, especially when I had to cut back the number of hours I sat hunched over a computer, drastically. I mean, there was a time where sitting in one spot for ten minutes would cause pain. No good for programming or writing. So I turned to a paper journal, in which I could write while laying on my stomach, thus giving my back/legs a break. I’ve never been able to fill a paper journal, and I blame that on the awful journals I used to own. Really, I do. Because the journal I have now… well, just looking at it inspires me to write. The paper is smooth, with large lines so I can write new ideas between sentences. The cover has a magnetic seal, but lays flat when open. And, in the newest journal, I decided to draw a bit. Below are a couple of pictures.

I drew this one night when my
homework really frustrated me.

Close up of my pretty girl.
(“The cure for boredom is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.” – Dorothy Parker)

Writing is a messy business.
The green strips are actually bits of a small square
PostIt that I cut up to use as place markers.

My plot outline, obviously re-worked a bit.
In fact, a lot of the plot doesn’t exist as
written here… it seemed a bit contrived.

Do you have a paper journal? If you do, do you take it everywhere with you? Or leave it at the bedside table for those midnight inspirations? If you don’t use a paper journal, why do you think that is?

Villain Month

Since I cheated my usual schedule and made my real post yesterday about finishing First Draft B, I’m dedicating this post to a fellow writer-blogger, Eliza W, who’s dedicating her blog to a month of developing villains in fiction.

Jump over, take a look, join in!

First Draft B Complete

The title of this post says it all, but here are some details.

Saturday night, I couldn’t focus on homework. So instead, I daydreamed about my novel. At midnight, I decided I would tape the show I had been staying up to watch so I could write, instead. By three in the morning, I had a draft of the last chapter that I liked better than the six other half-starts I’d saved in the file, and the other almost fully-drafted chapter that I had in my paper journal.

Sunday morning, I woke up to re-read the chapter and found I still liked it. A good sign.

This morning, I woke up, re-read the chapter, still like it (with some slight tweaking), and have decided that at long last (a little over a year), First Draft B is complete at 99,896 words, 41 chapters.

Suffice to say that chapters will be cut and others fleshed a bit. I really want this book to be under 300 pages, as my previous book was a whopping 384 pages without any author notes or anything. This book, at 345 pages, has author notes, acknowledgements, and a selected bibliography… so I’m on the right track, at least.

I have the glow of triumph about me.

How are your works-in-progress coming along?

WIP: A New Beginning

A little over a week ago, I added a new scene to the beginning of the WIP. It shifts the moment when the reader joins the story from the original scene to fifteen minutes earlier. Amazing, what a quarter of an hour can do, right? This new scene completely changes the tone of the opening chapter, yet still is in keeping with the tone of the entire work. My problem is that I feel the original scene also sets the story and tone correctly. Which should I choose?

Original

Clouds, dark and thick, descend over Mary Winslow as she flees the manor house at Compton Beauchamp. Her throat is hoarse from shouting and her gloved hands shudder; her black walking skirts swirl around her rushing feet and she half-trips. The gravel drive crunches with each step until she slips through the high wrought-iron gate and out into the pale green English lane, where shriveled leaves spin and dance with a small eddy. Her lips press together against what she fears is a sob. There is a figure to her right and she jumps away, scratching her back along the brick wall that flanks the gate on either side. Ten minutes ago was bad enough; now is much worse.

“Took you long enough,” Trentwood says. It is windy, and there is a bite to the air, but he is without a coat and stands spinning the chain of his pocket watch, his black boots gleaming in the gray light.

Mary stares at Trentwood, taking in his sandy hair lined with gray, and his irritated expression. How he stands without needing her arm as a support. How he can watch her without forcing a smile through the ever-encroaching pain. I can’t do this again.

Above, boughs sway and whisper as Trentwood follows the silent Mary down the shadowed, tree-lined lane. “Now you’ll answer me. How could you have accepted that idiot?”

Shadows play across her face. If I ignore him…? Her low voice is raw and ragged when she finally speaks. “I felt alone.”

He tucks away his pocket watch. “In that house?”

Mary’s mouth twists. “Well… lonely, then.” She scrambles over a low opening in the hedgerow to walk across the farmer’s field. Her skirt catches on a grasping bramble, and she yanks it free.

“You’d rather be lonely and alone your entire life than marry that idiot.”

. . .

Update

Mary Winslow suspects today will be worse than most when she finds her fiancé seducing her scullery maid.

The point of coming to the scullery in the first place was to hunt down the cook, whose name Mary cannot remember at the moment, and ask what came of the smoked ham that should have been at breakfast. But when Mary entered the kitchen, she found the stoves untended, and the scullery door open. It was an innocent and natural assumption to think the cook—oh, what is her name?—was back there, already preparing for luncheon. The scraping, shuffling noises certainly corroborated Mary’s suspicion that someone, at least, was in the scullery and might have an answer to her question. After all, one does not pay for ham and then expect it to disappear.

Head tilted to the side, Mary gapes at the back of Mr Spencer’s blonde head, which nuzzles naughty words into the freckled neck of her giggling maid. His pants are undone; the girl’s short kitchen skirts hitched up.

In all fairness, the clandestine couple is only half-hidden in the back refuse closet of the scullery, paying no mind to the pile of vegetable peelings rotting on the floor beneath them. Even with the lamp dimmed, they are plainly visible. They are insulting by their carelessness. Mary’s lip curls, wondering how they can stand the rancid, greasy smell that comes from standing in—oh goodness, is that an actual pig’s snout, there? Does anyone do their cleaning duties anymore?

This is what comes of rash decisions. How many times did Mary warn Mr Spencer that if she heard so much as a murmur of his philandering, that she would end it?

This is more than a murmur.

. . .
 

So here is my question: Should I keep the old beginning, or continue with the new one? FYI, the original still exists, but happens later in the chapter (as in, about two pages later). I have my own opinion, but I’d love to hear yours. Which one grabs you more, as a reader? Does the new scene completely turn you off, or intrigue you?

Thursday Thirteen: Tools to Research Setting

I often find interesting bits of information floating around that don’t necessarily correspond to an entire blogpost. To compensate, sometimes I’ll have a Thursday Thirteen to collect and spread the knowledge-love, bringing me back to the original point of Worderella Writes. But I reserve the right to have a Thursday Seven, Thursday Two, Thursday Whatever-Number-I-Manage-to-Get-To… even though they don’t sound as good. Today’s theme is tools to help you research and/or write your setting. #1 – 7: Everyone can enjoy. #8-13: Probably for historical fiction writers only.

1. Google Maps, MapQuest, etc. Use these websites for distances to known locations, driving routes, etc.
2. Google Earth. This is great free application for those of us who are writing about places we may never see. This application allows us to see landscapes, weather patterns, traffic, and more, with the added benefit of seeing the pictures other Google Earth users took of the area and posted online.
   

   * Disclaimer: Don’t blame me if you find yourself spending hours staring at the local landmarks of your chosen location. I can’t help it if Google Earth is that cool.

3. Google SketchUp. If your WIP is at an existing location, together with Google Earth you can actually render a 3D model of the building. Not only that, but it has the capability to render floorplans and you can put little people in there, too. You’ll never accidently put your character in the drawing room when you meant the library ever again.
4. Architectural Details. Can’t remember what that one arch is called on your building? This is the layperson’s guide to architectural elements to help you describe the places your characters visit/live.
5. Wikipedia. A good place to start when you’re beginning your research on a particular location, but not something that should be the end-all-be-all for what you know about the place.
6. Writing the setting. A nice essay on things to keep in mind while working on setting.
7. Setting > Worderella collection. Sadly, I don’t have a lot about setting, and I should have more, but this will give you all the posts that pertain to setting in some way.
8. A Dictionary of Victorian London. A collection of articles, journals, and diaries posted online and in book format, I’ve been meaning to buy the book because I reference this site almost as often as I check e-mail. Which is to say, religiously.
9. Dickens’s London. Predictably, London as Dickens knew it in the 1880s.
10. History Link. A subscription website supposedly full of links that guide you through your research for your novel. I’m not sure whether this is better than trolling the web and library for information, so if anyone has experience with this place, please comment.
11. Victorian Web. An indispensible website full to the brim of information about Victorian England.
12. County Maps of England. This is where I found my 1885 maps of Berkshire, and how I know that Compton Beauchamp belonged to Berkshire at the time, and not Oxfordshire as it does now.
13. Edwardian Promenade. A blog focused on a series of essays about Victorian and Edwardian life.

I know I missed some resources. Let me know in the comments what you use to get a handle on your setting!

Guest Post: Stay the Course

A guest post from my friend, Graham Carter, a reporter and editor from across the pond. He writes to answer the cries of us writers who have let our doubts get the better of us, and not a moment too soon. So read on, and feel inspired! Next week, a Worderella review of another Gaiman work.

Let’s talk drumming.

Yes, I know this is supposed to be all about writing, but there is an analogy here that I think all writers should be aware of, so stick with it (pun intended).

I am not a great drummer. I only took it up about six years ago, when I was 40, because I ran out of excuses for my lack of musical know-how. There I was, with my sticks in hand, eager to learn – and not a little excited. But the first thing that has to be said about drumming is it’s harder than it looks. Much harder. Much, much harder. Give it a try and you’ll find that trying to co-ordinate two arms, two feet and your brain, all in perfect harmony, often feels like some kind of witchcraft.

So I got myself a good teacher, watched recordings of Buddy Rich and other superhuman drummers in action, always kept my eyes fixed on the drummer whenever I went to a concert, and even went along to several drum ‘clinics’ where seriously good players would play, talk about drumming and show other
drummers some tricks of the trade. And I wasn’t afraid to work hard and practise.

Well, it didn’t work. Rather than be inspired to better things by all that excellence, I always ended up with the same thought at the back of my mind: “I’ll never be able to do that.” The better those other drummers got, the more I realised that – regardless of how keen I was and no matter how hard I tried – I simply did not have a talent for it in anything like the measure that those guys do. I was keen, but I was no natural.

So what has this to do with writing? Well, unlike drumming, writing does come easily to me. It comes so easily, in fact, that I hardly have to think about it to be able to produce something that has more cohesion, more fluency and more interest than the vast majority of the rest of the population of the planet will ever be capable of. It’s what I do, and as a professional journalist and editor of 20 years’ standing, I’ve also become
accustomed to working quickly and efficiently. Words are my friends, and I still love the fact that people will actually pay me to put them in the right order for them.

Fiction isn’t my thing, but I know how to string sentences together to get information across and make a point. And the point I need to make here is that most people – at least 99 per cent of the people you will ever meet, in fact – cannot write.

Never underestimate that fact.

Sure, they’re literate, but task them with writing anything remotely creative or vaguely complex, and they’ll flounder like a fish out of water. Words worry them. Sentences scare them. Paragraphs petrify them. Think about that for a moment while we go back to the drumming…

It was some time before I finally realised what I was doing wrong, and the solution was so simple that I am tempted to call it a revelation. It suddenly stuck me that my whole drumming education was built on how much better some drummers were than me, and it hadn’t really dawned on me that those staggeringly talented drummers I had been watching were only a tiny minority of all the drummers in the world. As far as my actual capabilities were concerned, I was reaching for pie in the sky, and I was so focused on how far there was to go, that I didn’t notice how far I’d come. It was time to switch to watching average drummers instead.

And it worked. Rather than telling myself: “I’ll never be able to do that,” now I come away from watching other, less esteemed, drummers with exactly the opposite viewpoint. “I can do that,” I tell myself – and I can. I will never be a great drummer, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a good one. I’ve found my level, and I found it by looking downwards. In hindsight, it was always a mistake to look upwards all the time, and it’s perfectly clear to me now that I was never going to emulate my betters when they had truckloads of talent and I was a mere mortal.

So, should you start comparing yourself with lesser writers instead of the literary giants you’re trying to emulate? Is it time for you to aim lower?

Don¹t you dare!

Why not? Because you’re not just an average writer, like I’m an average drummer. You’re a natural.

I am certain of this, dear reader, even though I’ve never met you and may not have read a single word you’ve ever written. I don’t need to. I know it simply because you¹re reading this. You’ve come to this website, looking to hone your craft through contact and interaction with other writers. Like I did with my drumming, you’re hanging out with, and seeking inspiration from, people who find this kind of thing easy. But with you there’s one important difference: you stayed.

If you’re comfortable around here, with all this talk of great writing and great writers, then that means you’re still looking upwards. And if you’re looking upwards, it follows that you must be a natural. Only when somebody is a natural do they continue looking upwards for inspiration, rather than downwards, and only when they are a true natural are they able to do this without feeling intimidated.

What’s more, they do it involuntarily. Most of the time, you don’t even know you’re doing it.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you weren’t one of those hordes of kids who loathed Shakespeare at school, were you? You sensed the greatness of it, didn’t you, long before you could understand what was great about it or even what greatness was? Somehow, you knew.

And now, when you read Shakespeare or Tolkien or Austen or whoever your hero is, you’re not thinking: “I’ll never be able to do that.” You¹re thinking: “I can do that.” And there will be times – there probably already have been – when you will.

So never doubt it. When you’re having a bad day, just remind yourself of the fact that when it comes to writing, you’re not like all the rest. You’re different because you are stretching for things that most people have given up trying to reach – and they may already be within your grasp.

Graham Carter is a freelance journalist and editor who lives in Swindon, England, with his wife, Julie, and their two teenage children. He currently writes a weekly column for the Swindon Advertiser about the trials and tribulations of being over 40, and his blog (www.grahamcarter.net) is a more random collection of thoughts arising from everyday life.

WIP: Dragging my Feet

I have had two chapters left to write for First Draft B since the beginning of April, and I can’t seem to do it. Not because I don’t know what’s going to happen, but because these are the last two chapters. I’m terrified of a deus ex machina ending, I guess, even though that’s not going to happen as long as I follow my storyboard.

Am I the only one whose writing slows to a sluggish halt as the “finish line” approaches? I feel like I’m afraid of finishing. Which is silly, because we all know how I love editing. That, and I’ve already started plotting the sequel.

Tell me, how is your WIP going? Are you nearing the finish line? Have you hit a snag? I need some writing news to distract/urge me to continue.

Writing for the Love of it

The real secret is to do it because you love writing
rather than because you love the idea of being a Writer.
- Iain Banks

I once got into an odd conversation with someone about writing… let’s call this person Frank the Writer. So Frank saw my pile of writing magazines, and I could tell by his expression upon opening one of the issues that he was surprised I highlighted certain sentences which I found insightful or helpful to me as a writer. Watching him read my notes in my old Writer’s Digest, Poets & Writers, and The Writer issues was, for some reason, like watching a child realize there is no Santa.

Frank asked why I think I’m a writer, and I responded, “Because I have to write, or face the possibility of insanity.” I added something about how I’m drawn to writing, that I get personal satisfaction from it. I asked him if he didn’t feel the same.

“No,” he said. I’ve never heard anyone sound so mournful. “I don’t. I read these books that tell me I should feel something that tells me I’m a writer, just like how you just told me, but I don’t. I never feel anything when I write.”

This was puzzling to me. How can you write something and not feel anything while writing it? I asked Frank a series of questions which led me nowhere until, frustrated, I asked, “Do you want to write, or be considered a writer?”

“I want to be a writer.” No wonder he never felt anything when writing. His motivation was all wrong. He wanted the fame without the work. He wasn’t writing because he felt any special need to, or because he wanted to send a message of sorts out into the world, or even because he thought he had a story to tell, but because he wanted the recognition for being brilliant. No wonder his writing felt cold, empty.

Writing takes guts, patience, and stamina to do what it takes to be “considered a writer.” It takes years to be “discovered,” and by that point you will have numerous drafts hidden beneath your bed, stuffed in a back cupboard, shoved between cracks in the wall. Even if you go the self-publishing route, you have to be a savvy business-minded writer to make the publishing process worth it.

What do you think? I know some of you have multiple drafts lurking in the dark corners, and others of you with agents. What do you have to say to Frank and his misplaced motivation? Can I help him learn to love the process that is writing rather than love the idea of being a Writer?

Guest Post: Writing on the Go

A guest post by Blair Hurley from www.blairhurley.com listing some hints on how to make sure you’re writing on the go.

Writing on the Go by Blair Hurley

Writers use their own environment constantly to enrich their stories. We draw upon our settings and the people around us to create worlds. So when we travel, it’s crucial to take advantage of the new environment and use it to improve our fiction. But when you’re on the go in a new place, how’s a writer supposed to get down information? Read on!

Get a notebook! It’s hardly rocket science to decide to have a notebook handy, but when you’re traveling it’s especially important. Find a small, easy-to-handle notebook (I suggest a Moleskine, which are very popular right now and are affordable and tough) and slip it in your purse or back pocket. While on your trip or just during your usual daily travels, you should get used to being attached at the hip to that notebook (and a pen, too). Whenever you leave the house, take the notebook with you. Eventually it will become a habit and then you’ll never be without writing material when an idea or an interesting observation strikes.

Write down even the obvious. Our brains are pretty extraordinary and we’re all used to storing a tremendous amount of varied information without writing it down. But once you start writing down your observations, you’ll realize how much you actually lost before. Whenever you see an interesting-looking stranger, a beautiful building, a food you’ve never seen before, or an unusual event, jot down some notes. Later, when you’re wondering what to write or how to make it seem genuine, you’ll have these interesting details to call upon.

Use all your senses, and participate in your world. When we travel around, too much these days we shut ourselves out from all external stimulation by putting on headphones. Listening to music is great, but it closes us off from the world, as evidenced by the number of traffic accidents that are iPod-related. The more you engage with your surroundings, the more you’ll notice and the more material you’ll get. So if you’re going to a new place, turn off that Mp3 player and look, listen, smell and touch. Remember not just how a place looked, but how it smelled and felt as well. These sensory details are invaluable material for your fiction.

So in conclusion, whenever you’re on the go, you don’t have to wait until you get back to write about it. Take down notes on all aspects of the experience — while you’re on a subway, while walking down a street, even on a plane. Use your small moments to pull out that notebook and record the details of your environment, and it will prove a gold mine of resources for your next stories.

Blair Hurley is a creative writing student at Princeton University. She writes the blog Creative Writing Corner at blairhurley.com, which offers daily writing exercises, how-to’s, and thoughts on the writing life.

Next week, a guest post from Bethany (Word Nerd). She’s going to give us a guide to reading science fiction/fantasy!

WIP: A Writing Update

No April Fool’s today, just a quick shout-out to my mother (it’s her birthday!), an announcement, and a long-overdue post about my WIP.

First, the announcement: I’m switching back to posting once a week. Why the change? This final quarter of classes just might melt my brain. (If you didn’t notice my two-month-long trial of posting twice a week then I haven’t changed a thing, I swear. Pretend this paragraph doesn’t exist.)

If you visited the blog recently, you noticed that the WIP counter on my sidebar has suddenly changed from 82k, a mere 3% away from my 85k goal, to 87k. Admission time: I’ve been past the 85k goal since the beginning of March. I didn’t want to change my progress counter until I actually finished First Draft B, which is silly, but true. I haven’t finished it, but I can see the finish line.

In terms of writing, I’m squeaking by. I didn’t write a single word during my spring break, which is depressing. But the other night I stayed up writing an after-death scene which reveals how much Mary, the main character, has grown. As I wrote to Erica , Mary is an odd mixture of subtle sass, pervasive doubt, and sad resignation. With an imaginary friend who looks like her dead father. Oh, how I love the twist.

A departure from my first book, I have multiple people dying or dead in this book. This isn’t meant to be depressing, but more a reflection of the Victorian world. Based on my research, the fact that Mary dwells over her father’s death longer than “socially acceptable” causes all sorts of problems, least of which that people assume she’s spoiled. Shocking, but oh-so-true. Below is a re-working of my hook, which I still don’t like.

A grieving daughter encounters love and ghosts in Victorian England.

1887 English countryside: Mary Winslow is a 26-year-old viscount’s daughter trying to make amends for crippling her father in a London carriage accident years ago. When her father’s ghost appears after his death, Mary returns to London to face her past and convince her ex-fiancé, Mr Spencer, not to sue her for breach-of-promise in order to prove she will not spend the rest of her life as an unhappy countryside recluse.

I don’t like it because I still feel like it doesn’t represent the novel properly. This book is very internal, for all main characters involved. How do you make a book about a woman learning to let go of her father’s death and allowing herself to get hurt/fall in love sound like something worth reading? Or is that enough? I feel like it wouldn’t have enough “hook” to it. Have any suggestions/thoughts? Does this sound like something you would want to read? For a previous version with more details and less focus, see here.

As a side-note, Microsoft Word’s comment feature is my new best friend.* Instead of obsessing over details the way a proper Type A personality should, I make a note to myself. I have little red and blue comment bubbles all over the document, some saying things like, “Incorrect description. Reference green notebook, Victorian courtroom notes.” Or better yet, “Graham says Alex is a man’s man. Would a man’s man do this?”

Which is a perfect transition to recognize my awesome beta-reader, Graham, a Swindonian who found my blog by accident and has since become a fellow writer friend. Being that he is a British male, and half of my characters are British males, and he lives near my deliciously remote location in England (Compton Beauchamp), his insight is irreplaceable. Even the few paragraphs I posted earlier, along with the first chapter I sent him, gave enough details for him to say, “We don’t say it that way,” or “Actually, in the location you’re describing, it would be a hedgerow, not a low stone wall.” Did I mention he actually copied the February and August 1887 archives from the local newspapers to help me with local detailing?? He already has a proper place in my acknowledgment section because of the immense help he’s been.

Tell me, how is your WIP going? Read any good writing books lately? Chat me up!

Next week, a guest post from Blair Hurley on how to write on the go!

*See Refresh Your Writing for another nifty Microsoft Word trick to help you focus on your writing.