revising

Thriving in National Novel Writing Month

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I never thought I’d be writing about thriving in National Novel Writing Month, but November 2016 changed my perspective on what I could do in my writing life. I learned the discipline of trying to write an entire  novel in one month. I had had nothing but challenges trying to find a publisher for my first novel, The Renaissance Club (forthcoming January 16, 2018 from Fiery Seas Publishing). They say the best thing you can do to sell your book is write a new one. So on a reckless whim, I signed up for my first #NaNoWriMo.

How did I find a way to thrive? By plunging into a daily word goal of 1,600+ words. What I learned is that I love s challenge, and word count made me compete with myself, I was not only reckless to enter #NaNoWriMo, I wrote recklessly. Thirty days later, I found the partial novel draft full of life, and for the last year I’ve fleshed it out.

NaNoWriMo for Pantsers

If you’re an outline-averse writer like me, the idea of entering a force writing march with a precise outline of who, what, when, where, why feels like closing the door to inspiration. Charts like that shoo away any muse I have wooed close. So what can I use as a guide, other than my vague idea that my sisters would be like those in Sense and Sensibility (did I mention that I have two complete sets of Jane Austen novels, one for upstairs, and one for downstairs?).

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First drafts – just get the words out

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I post this advice from author Neil Gaiman with some trepidation, having just spent a solid twelve months fixing words that were relatively easy to draft. But it’s true, if you let your inner critic sit in your lap while you type, you’re going to get your hands and words bitten all over until there are almost no words left and no hands willing to make them appear.

So in the words of Anne Lamott, “Shitty first drafts”. Just write them. Apologize to yourself over a glass of wine. And then write more. And later, much later, when the keyboard is a distant memory and your words read like someone else’s shitty first draft, fix them up pretty and apply all sorts of costuming and lighting effects, hang the stage with nice heavy velvet curtains and gold braid, and bring in every theatrical trick you have. Just don’t start with the stage machinery. Start with first pristine words and later clean off their faces and begin the hard work. Here’s some encouragement:

20-essential-tips-on-rewriting-your-story-until-it-shines
Jane Friedman on how revising rewards mistakes

Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.

Writing It Short, Fat, and Lean

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“Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” – Henry David Thoreau.

When I #amwriting either prose or poetry, I first write long and thin. By that I mean a lot of words to say not as much as I will wind up with, compressed. Having just finished what I hope is the final revision of a 400-page novel, I know the meaning of short and long, thin and fat. I started with what I’ve come to view as a 300-page outline of my novel. Twelve months later, working with an amazing set of editors, I’ve fleshed out the action and compressed the verbage until at 416 pages, I have more scenes, less dialogue, more description, less flounder, and much deeper characters.

It’s amazing what taking out leaves room to put in. If you’re writing an #novel or a #shortstory, try drafting longer and longer and then get out the shears and the dictionary of muscular verbs. (I just made that up, but wouldn’t it be nice to have one?)

If you’re writing #poetry, take out the connective tissue until you reach “terse” and then begin adding adverbs and adjectives. That’s right, I’m recommending to add modifiers. They’re a bridge. You’re going to cut them, but for now see them and consider if you’ve picked the right verb. Verbs are everything. Nouns are a little something. All other parts of speech incline away from making an impact, so are best used sparingly.

Anyway, that’s my #recipeforwriting.

What’s with all the #hashtags? I’m learning. Shortly after I publish this post, I will remove 50% of them.

Visit https://racheldacus.net for more information and writing by Rachel Dacus.