Starting A New Story

BY AXIOO (SOURCE)

In case you’re curious as to how I work, I am revealing my previously unknown process for starting a story. This is an actual transcript from an actual writing session.

Me: It’s time to write the amazing story that I’ve been thinking about nonstop.

Brain: You should cast your characters because then you’ll be able to really see them and your descriptions will be so much better.

Me: I see them in my head.

Brain: But maybe someone posted a better example of your character to Pinterest and if you don’t look now you’ll miss it forever. Then, when you’re a published author and people are asking whom you’d cast in the just-optioned movie of your book, you will have no one to show. NO ONE.

Me: Er, that’s not really the most important thing right now.

Brain: Then what about Tumblr? You haven’t browsed it in four hours and you never know what interesting photos may have popped up.

Me: No.

Brain: No? No what? No you will not expand your imagination with photos that could very well inspire a scene in the book you want to write?

Me: Stop trying to trick me.

Brain: Fine, go ahead and write, but you should know that all of your friends are on Twitter having fun without you.

Me: I don’t have time for that!

Brain: Well, make time.

Me: But I really need to start this story.

Brain: How do you know you’re even ready to start the story? Have you considered spending more time googling hypnotherapy?

Me: I’ve spent a lot of time doing that.

Brain: What if there’s new research that just came out today? You might want to re-read every site you’ve ever used for research.

Me: That will take forever.

Brain: It’s research, so it’s okay.

Me: Now I’m going to write and you can’t stop me.

Brain: Go ahead. Be my guest. So what if there’s a one-day sale at J.Crew. It’s not like you need to look cute or anything.

Me: I do look cute.

Brain: You’re wearing leggings, a T-shirt, and sweatshirt. You look like a hobo.

Me: Who’s going to see me, huh? No one.

Brain: That reminds me of that book… You know the one. You’ve been dying to read it forever. Oh hey, doesn’t it come out today?

Me: Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

Brain: What? Don’t they say the best way to improve your writing is to be well read?

Me: Well, yeah…

Brain: And the book’s getting great reviews. I’m only trying to help you here. I want to see your publishing dreams come true as much as you do.

Me: Maybe one chapter.

THREE HOURS LATER…

Brain: Wasn’t that better?

Me: It was good. But no more. Time to write.

Brain: I suppose I can whip up a paragraph for you.

Me: Aim higher.

Brain: I’m tired!

Me: Whose fault is that?

Brain: Tomorrow can we browse YouTube?

Anyone have a similar process?

2011 Roundup: Keeping Score

I love reading everyone’s end-of-year wrap-ups and seeing how far people have come in 365 days. (Like, say, Erin Bowman, who’s given me a case of chronic inspiration with her 2011 accomplishments.) So, in the spirit of reliving 2011 before your eyes, I present my class project:

What I Did on My Summer Vacation (And During the Rest of the Year, Too)

The abridged version: I revised a book.

The long, rambling version: On Nov. 1, 2010, I had never written a book. (Well, there were a few unfinished ones in my past). By Nov. 30, 2010 I had finished a book. By the end of January 2011 I had revised a full book.

If you’re keeping track, that’s Tracey 2, Insecurities 0.

And I spent the rest of 2011 revising and rewriting. Seriously. I’d say that’s Tracey 2, Insecurities 5. The crazy thing about me not being able to push through revisions at the same speed a write is that I’m an editor by trade. I mean, I’m comfortable hacking a piece to pieces. I rarely hold a crazy attachment to my words. (Maybe I’m just pure evil and take joy in killing my darlings.) Anyhow, when it came to this book, I froze up.

The very smart and very awesome Liz Briggs made several brilliant suggestions in her critique, which made me realize I had a hefty rewrite on my hands. I’m glad I did it. The book’s about three bajillion times better now than it was in its first incarnation. But the rewrite/revision scared me. If you were in my head you’d have heard: 

You can’t accomplish on paper what you see in your mind. 

You’re a terrible writer.

If this seems difficult, it’s because you’re an idiot. 

You’re not good enough.

It took a lot, A LOT, of strength to get past that fear of failure. During the first draft, I knew it was mostly crap and could be fine-tuned during revisions. I didn’t fear screwing up because it was pretty much a given. But revising? That’s where the magic happens, where books are really made. Anyhow, I can’t tell you how I got over my inability to edit but eventually I did. I wrote more than 50,000 new words. No joke.

And even though I need to go through and revise the new section, it’s done. More than anything, it taught me that I can accomplish on paper what I see in my mind. I can write. I’m not an idiot. I am good enough.

So that’s my accomplishment this year. Some time next year I’ll start querying. And maybe I’ll have good news come Dec. 23, 2012. But for now?

I believe it’s Tracey WIN, Insecurities LOSE.

What’s your biggest triumph this year, writing-related or other?

Pinterest For Writers

Have you ever been wasting precious writing time looking for photos of a hamster wearing a helmet and come across an image that sparks a story idea perfectly? Or have you found a photo that describes a scene or element of your WIP exactly?

I used to save the URLs in a Word document for later. Which, if you really want to know, is a ginormous waste of time. And then I’d save them in a file on my computer. Also a waste of time. And hard drive space.

And then I discovered Pinterest*. 

Insert a chorus of Hallelujah here.

Here’s the deal: Pinterest is like an online cork board where you can collect photos (you “pin” them to your board), create categories, browse or follow other people’s boards, and otherwise keep track of things you don’t want to forget (original URLs are visible, so if you want to, say, remember a recipe, you can pin an image and go back to the site later).

Once you register (for free), you can create boards dedicated to the types of photos you like: teenage boys that might look like a current or future character in your book, paintings, home decorations, whatever. I have separate boards for food, fashion, travel spots, well-designed book covers, posters, story inspiration, and more. It’s the story aspect that’s particularly useful for writers.

Instead of a general story inspiration board, you can create a board for a specific character or setting. You can create a board based on the story you’re writing. Really, it’s up to you.

But the best part? You can download a Pinterest toolbar app that lets you “pin” photos as you see them. Let’s say you’re on a site with five photos, one of which is of a girl who looks exactly like your main character. You can click the “pin it” button in you browser’s toolbar and a pop-up window will ask you to choose the photo you wish to pin. After that, you can pick the board you want to pin the photo to. And then you’re on your merry way. (You can also tweet or add the photo to Facebook from there, but I’ve never done either.)

So there you have it. The best way to avoid wasting time while you’re busy wasting time online. Er, something like that. Oh, and if you want to see what a Pinterest account looks like (and what the boards look like) you can check out mine here.

I know, you’re blown away at how many awesome photos I have much time I’ve wasted looking at random photos.

Anyone else use Pinterest? How do you save photos story-inspiring photos for later?

*I am in no way affiliated with Pinterest, though I’d be happy to take a cut of the profits for this lovely PSA.

When You're Stuck

It’s easy to wander. It’s important to weigh your options:

Twitter or blank page?

Facebook or blank page?

Blogs or blank page?

YouTube* or blank page?

This is where my mind goes when I’m stuck:

Real helpful, brain. Real helpful.

*Dear, Suzie Townsend, thank you thank you thank you for posting about this channel.

It's Like a Movie

I said that procrastination is what got me to this point*. That’s not entirely true. It’s really what I did while procrastinating that helped.

See, while I was obsessing over agent blogs and stalking following writer blogs I was also daydreaming. Once I had my idea—not the craptastic one I originally came up with, mind you—I let it play in my head like I was remembering a good movie.

Over the course of the 11 months I procrastinated (and again when I got stuck on a scene), I got to know my characters. I saw my favorite scenes and how they reacted. I dwelled on what might happen next.

Warning: You might consider me insane for what I’m about to say. You’re entitled to your own opinion, but I’d appreciate it if you don’t call the authorities. With my complexion, straightjackets wash me out.

I’d run through scenes while showering, while washing my hands, while folding laundry. I’d take a nap, throw on some music, and let the story play.

And then I wrote it all down. I wouldn’t say it was an outline (because such an outline would have gotten an F in the high school I went to). But it was a map of sorts. 

This applies mid-draft, too.

It’s easy, when stuck, to force the words. I can’t think of a reason she’d go to that house but, gosh dern it, she needs to be there so that’s what happens next. Usually those are the places in the manuscript beta readers leave marks like this:

HUH!?!?

And no on wants a big fat HUH!?!? in the comments. So step back and let the scene play out in your mind. Watch the “movie” and then watch it again. Watch it until you’re unstuck.

For me, the notes I took while daydreaming were scattered. But they helped me get my mind around the plot, the arc, who these people in my head were.

And now I’m positive, after that comment, you’ll have me committed.

 Do you ever daydream with your story?

*A completed manuscript. A totally flawed, piece of crap first draft, but you get where I'm going with this.

The Non-Outline

I was surprised I didn’t outline. I mean, I’m a typical Type A nut, control freak and perfectionist. If you had asked me three years ago if I would outline my novel, I’d have shown you the color-coded Excel document waiting for the right idea. (Control freak, remember? Also, fan of rainbow spreadsheets.)

At first, I was minorly freaking out. How will I know what to do next if I don’t have the next scene planned out? What if my character is staring into space just waiting for stage direction?

But then I remembered the other two novels I started (and, due to life circumstances and the manuscripts’ utter suckitude, never finished). I built a story without anything more than an idea, a spark.

So after all of my brainstorming and fantasizing, I felt like any additional planning would zap the fun out of writing my story.

See, what I was doing during my season of procrastination (longingly called NaNoProMos) was creating a roadmap to my novel. I knew where it started. I knew where it ended. I had played in my mind at least four or five rest stops along the way.

Sometimes it doesn’t matter if we don’t know whether our characters will take I-95 or I-390 to get from inciting incident to climax as long as we know what needs to happen at each of those “rest stops.” Doing that, we have something to work toward from the beginning. The road trip isn’t wild and reckless. But there also isn’t a strict itinerary that’ll suck the inspiration and excitement from the trip.

And now I’m off to use that color-coded spreadsheet to categorize my budget. I can hear The Man’s screams now.

Do you have a road map, a detailed outline, or nothing but a spark of an idea before you start writing?

Just Wait

I know I’ve talked a lot about procrastination. During my Procrastinating Period I thought I was nuts—and I was partly right. But once I started writing, I realized how important that time of thinking was to my story.

So yesterday I read Ally Carter’s blog post on waiting. I did a little happy dance because The Ally Carter unknowingly validated all of my procrastination. You should really read the full thing, but for the curious I’ll sum it up: Wait.

To every question writers asked Ally on her blog—How do I get published? How do I build characters? How do I find an agent? And on and on—Ally told readers to stop and wait. There’s no rush, she said. Waiting can make you a stronger writer.

Now, was I consciously waiting because I have some weird telepathic connection to Ally Carter? Um, no. (Though that would be incredibly cool.) But still, the waiting made me a better writer and probably helped me avoid querying too soon.

Plus, I swear it’s the reason I’m here. And by here I mean at the computer with a finished manuscript, dark circles under my eyes, carpal tunnel, and cookie crumbs on my shirt. (Don’t judge.)

I spend months—11 months if my Gmail history is telling the truth—doing everything under the sun to avoid having to type the words Chapter One.

It started with the spark of an idea. I tucked it away for safe keeping for that one day maybe in the near future but probably really, really far into the future when I eventually wrote that book I’ve been wanting to write since I was young. I decided to write a book some time around sixth grade. I figured, what’s another six years? (I really asked that, a testament to my pathetic math skills.)

Anyhow, I procrastinated. I read agent blogs. I read writing blogs. I stalked/followed author blogs.

I panicked about having a lame idea. I panicked about not having any other ideas.

I got another idea. And another. And dozens more.

I tucked those away for safe keeping. Then I kept procrastinating.

I knew about queries and page formatting all before I ever opened a blank Word document. Which isn’t to say I’m in a better spot than anyone who jumped in head first.

I am saying that all of this procrastination, this waiting was actually part of my process. It’s the first step I took to being one of those people who don’t just say, “I want to write a book someday” but can say, “I wrote a book.”

And then Ally Carter stole my idea.

Procrastination

Yesterday I mentioned that the first step to writing my novel was to procrastinate. If you’re my mom (and, let’s be honest here, with the number of readers my blog gets so far you probably are) you’re probably shocked that I procrastinated.

I rarely procrastinate.

The Man finds this terribly annoying. He’ll wake up at 9 a.m. on the weekend, veg in front of the T.V. or computer for two hours while I sleep (I love sleep more than air I think). I’ll wake up, plop down on the couch, and start rattling off my to-do list.

“I need to wake up!” he’ll say.

“You’ve been awake for two hours.”

“Don’t you need two hours to wake up?” he’ll ask.

No. I don’t. Why put off for later what you can do now?

And yet when it came to writing that book I’ve always wanted to write, I procrastinated. Even when I knew I HAD to write it.

Partly this was out of fear. (Psych majors are all yelling a collective Duh.)

Part of it was perfectionism—not wanting to take the test before I had studied.

But most of it was fear.

Do I think my story’s stronger for it? Yes.

Do I think it’s the most productive way to build a writing career? Absolutely not.

Do I think I’ve used my allotment of statements starting with “Do I think” for the month? Most definitely.