So even though I haven't finished my second book, I've skipped ahead and outlined my third book. Not sure if this is a good idea... but I couldn't help it! I'm very fortunate to have a good job right now, and I'm able to stay relaxed and focused. There's nothing worse than having a big stressor in your life to make you not want to write. (No, stressor is not a word. But you know what I'm talking about!)
Yesterday I had some down time at work (I'm a care taker for an autistic boy) so I got some blank paper and a pen and went to town! Although I prefer writing my manuscript on my laptop, I like writing outlines by hand. It's less formal, so I can be free and sloppy while the ideas come to me. The outline was flowing gracefully, and then I realized that the good guys and the bad guys needed to have a showdown... and somebody had to win.
But I didn't want that to happen, because that would mean my story would be over! I still had material I wanted to use in the fourth book of the series, but there was really no point in having a fourth book if there was no bad guy... or good guys, if the bad guys won.
Frustrated, I turned to my trusted inspiration source: my husband. Without giving him too much detail and ruining the story (because he's my biggest fan) I told him my tragedy. He thought about it a moment, and then threw the most outrageous idea I've ever heard. I was like "That's crazy! But... I like it..."
So I started reading back through the first book, The Rise of the Synija, to see if this plan would work or not, and realized it was meant to be. Kinda scary how that works. It's almost as if the story has already happened, and I'm just discovering it, not creating it. I would have myself admitted, but I've talked with other authors who have experienced the same thing. Their characters have come to life and have taken over the story. You, as the author, must write it, but have no say so in the matter!
Today at work I finished my outline, and I LOVE it! So it's looks as though there will be five books after all! The outline is 5 1/2 pages hand written, with many doodles, scratch outs, and scrunched in sentences. But that's exactly how an outline is supposed to look!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Five Steps to Completing A Novel (of any genre)
So many people get inspired for a cool character, scene, twist, or other element of a story, and with that they declare "I'm going to make this into a book!" That's great! But the problems arise when they write out the scene and then are slammed with major writer's block. They didn't think past that amazing scene, and assumed inspiration would "come to them." Maybe they get inspired a little more, but after a while they run out of ideas and don't know where the story is going, so they give up, dramatically throwing their manuscript across the room and declaring they are not a true author shall never write again!
The problem is not that these people are not born authors, but they simply don't know the steps to writing a novel, nor do they even know there are steps. Since I will be taking you readers with me in my journey through writing the third novel in my series, it's important for you to understand the steps. And hopefully I can help other writers understand where they are going wrong, and why they cannot seem to finish a book, or even a story.
Step 1: BRAINSTORM
Brainstorming is the fun, inspiration filled part, where you plan your characters, plot, and setting. Brainstorming is intrinsically linked to the second step, outlining. If you can't just sit down and have ideas flow to you, don't throw your manuscript across the room just yet! There is a formula for brainstorming.
Decide on a word, something that has to do with your story, and write it on a piece of paper and circle it. Then draw five lines off the circle, and make five bubbles at the end of each line. Within each bubble write down the first five words that come to your mind from the word. (You don't have to use exactly five. If you can think of more relevant words, write them down as well. Or if you can't think of five, at least try to have three.) From those five words, write the first three words that come to your mind from each of those, and so on.
While you are doing this exercise, it will help open your mind to new ideas. Even if you think something is silly, don't push it away. It may lead you to something else. It's a good idea to go somewhere that you can relax; take a walk, go for a swim, or just sit some place that you feel comfortable while you mull over your ideas.
Get to know your characters, setting, and plot. How old are your characters? What do they like to do? What do they not like to do? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their name? What is their quest? What is their favorite color? (Ten points to any who can tell me what that quote is from.) Draw pictures. Get to know everything about your characters and your world, even if the readers never know. It will help you out.
It's good to have a buffer, or a person who you can throw ideas at and get a response. Even if they know nothing of writing, another person still has a different point of view, and can throw an idea your way that you can turn into something else, but never would have had if they hadn't suggested it. I use my husband, and my book would be very bland if it weren't for his sudden inspiration moments. Okay, maybe not VERY bland... but it wouldn't be as good!
Step 2: OUTLINE
While all the steps are important, if I had to choose which step was the most important in ensuring the success of your novel, it would be outlining! I grew up writing stories, and never finished a single one until I decided to outline it. I thought you were suppose to be inspired along the way, but then I'd get stumped and not know what to do. Some people think it's fun to be "surprised" while they are writing, so they don't want to write an outline. You can still be surprised while you are outlining, and sometimes you will find that your characters decide they want a scene to go a certain way, even though you've planned otherwise!
I developed my own style of outlining while writing my first book, The Synija. After you know who your characters are, and have a good idea of where your story is going, you can begin to outline. Write your book start to finish. Start with writing out the main goals. "Jack and Jill went to fetch some water, and Jack breaks his crown." These are the main highlights. Then you can go back and fill in the gaps.
"Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch some water, and then Jack falls down the hill and breaks his crown." You may not know starting off how Jack breaks his crown, or where they go to fetch the water, but once you write out the main goals do some more brainstorming until you can fill in the gaps.
Make your outline as detailed as possible. I have gone so far as to write out how many chapters there will be and what each is about. Of course, things sometimes change when you start writing your first draft, but you have to learn to be flexible.
Step 3. First Draft
Now you're ready to start writing! It's a marvelous feeling the first time your touch pen to page for the very first word of your new book! (Or touch fingers to keys for those of us who use computers!) You may find that you have a favorite way of writing, and you cannot write any other way! For instance, I have to write on my laptop, or else I absolutely don't know what to do. There have been times that the power has gone out, or I'm out of town, and people tell me to grab a notebook and a pen, but there's no way I can do that! For some authors, they have to write with a quill pen and ink bottle under candle light. Find what works for you and stick with it.
WRITE OUT YOUR ENTIRE STORY BEFORE YOU EDIT IT! This is the mistake I made when I began writing my second book. I wrote the first chapter, then went back and read it, then re-wrote it, then went back. I have about ten first chapters, and they are all trash! Now what do you suppose happened with the rest of my book while I was writing these first chapters? Absolutely nothing. If I had left chapter one alone, and written the rest of the book, THEN went back, it may not have taken me a decade to finish! You can't carve a statue and polish it at the same time.
Step 4. SECOND DRAFT
This is the part after you've finished the meat of your story, and you have something to work with. Here you go back and read your book, make the changes you want, and refine it to where you want it to be. Polish it as much as possible. Change that first chapter ten times if you need to, but I'll bet that if you have left it alone and have reached the end of your first draft, by the time you get back to it you will have decided on what you want. This is the add/delete/change phase.
Step 5. EDIT
My least favorite step, but still very necessary. Read your book again, and again. Use spell and grammar check. Have family members and friends read your book and give you feedback. Listen to them with an open mind, but if they tell you to change something that you don't want to change, then don't. Learn to take criticism, but stand up for your story, too. Your book will be better for it. And if someone flat out says "it sucks" add them as a character in your next book and have them brutally murdered with a wet noodle.
Once you've finished the steps, move on to your next work of art. Accept that your book will never be perfect, but it is still great. And pat yourself on the back! You just wrote a book!
The problem is not that these people are not born authors, but they simply don't know the steps to writing a novel, nor do they even know there are steps. Since I will be taking you readers with me in my journey through writing the third novel in my series, it's important for you to understand the steps. And hopefully I can help other writers understand where they are going wrong, and why they cannot seem to finish a book, or even a story.
Step 1: BRAINSTORM
Brainstorming is the fun, inspiration filled part, where you plan your characters, plot, and setting. Brainstorming is intrinsically linked to the second step, outlining. If you can't just sit down and have ideas flow to you, don't throw your manuscript across the room just yet! There is a formula for brainstorming.
Decide on a word, something that has to do with your story, and write it on a piece of paper and circle it. Then draw five lines off the circle, and make five bubbles at the end of each line. Within each bubble write down the first five words that come to your mind from the word. (You don't have to use exactly five. If you can think of more relevant words, write them down as well. Or if you can't think of five, at least try to have three.) From those five words, write the first three words that come to your mind from each of those, and so on.
While you are doing this exercise, it will help open your mind to new ideas. Even if you think something is silly, don't push it away. It may lead you to something else. It's a good idea to go somewhere that you can relax; take a walk, go for a swim, or just sit some place that you feel comfortable while you mull over your ideas.
Get to know your characters, setting, and plot. How old are your characters? What do they like to do? What do they not like to do? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What is their name? What is their quest? What is their favorite color? (Ten points to any who can tell me what that quote is from.) Draw pictures. Get to know everything about your characters and your world, even if the readers never know. It will help you out.
It's good to have a buffer, or a person who you can throw ideas at and get a response. Even if they know nothing of writing, another person still has a different point of view, and can throw an idea your way that you can turn into something else, but never would have had if they hadn't suggested it. I use my husband, and my book would be very bland if it weren't for his sudden inspiration moments. Okay, maybe not VERY bland... but it wouldn't be as good!
Step 2: OUTLINE
While all the steps are important, if I had to choose which step was the most important in ensuring the success of your novel, it would be outlining! I grew up writing stories, and never finished a single one until I decided to outline it. I thought you were suppose to be inspired along the way, but then I'd get stumped and not know what to do. Some people think it's fun to be "surprised" while they are writing, so they don't want to write an outline. You can still be surprised while you are outlining, and sometimes you will find that your characters decide they want a scene to go a certain way, even though you've planned otherwise!
I developed my own style of outlining while writing my first book, The Synija. After you know who your characters are, and have a good idea of where your story is going, you can begin to outline. Write your book start to finish. Start with writing out the main goals. "Jack and Jill went to fetch some water, and Jack breaks his crown." These are the main highlights. Then you can go back and fill in the gaps.
"Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch some water, and then Jack falls down the hill and breaks his crown." You may not know starting off how Jack breaks his crown, or where they go to fetch the water, but once you write out the main goals do some more brainstorming until you can fill in the gaps.
Make your outline as detailed as possible. I have gone so far as to write out how many chapters there will be and what each is about. Of course, things sometimes change when you start writing your first draft, but you have to learn to be flexible.
Step 3. First Draft
Now you're ready to start writing! It's a marvelous feeling the first time your touch pen to page for the very first word of your new book! (Or touch fingers to keys for those of us who use computers!) You may find that you have a favorite way of writing, and you cannot write any other way! For instance, I have to write on my laptop, or else I absolutely don't know what to do. There have been times that the power has gone out, or I'm out of town, and people tell me to grab a notebook and a pen, but there's no way I can do that! For some authors, they have to write with a quill pen and ink bottle under candle light. Find what works for you and stick with it.
WRITE OUT YOUR ENTIRE STORY BEFORE YOU EDIT IT! This is the mistake I made when I began writing my second book. I wrote the first chapter, then went back and read it, then re-wrote it, then went back. I have about ten first chapters, and they are all trash! Now what do you suppose happened with the rest of my book while I was writing these first chapters? Absolutely nothing. If I had left chapter one alone, and written the rest of the book, THEN went back, it may not have taken me a decade to finish! You can't carve a statue and polish it at the same time.
Step 4. SECOND DRAFT
This is the part after you've finished the meat of your story, and you have something to work with. Here you go back and read your book, make the changes you want, and refine it to where you want it to be. Polish it as much as possible. Change that first chapter ten times if you need to, but I'll bet that if you have left it alone and have reached the end of your first draft, by the time you get back to it you will have decided on what you want. This is the add/delete/change phase.
Step 5. EDIT
My least favorite step, but still very necessary. Read your book again, and again. Use spell and grammar check. Have family members and friends read your book and give you feedback. Listen to them with an open mind, but if they tell you to change something that you don't want to change, then don't. Learn to take criticism, but stand up for your story, too. Your book will be better for it. And if someone flat out says "it sucks" add them as a character in your next book and have them brutally murdered with a wet noodle.
Once you've finished the steps, move on to your next work of art. Accept that your book will never be perfect, but it is still great. And pat yourself on the back! You just wrote a book!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Welcome!
Hello, Readers! My name is Lorena Hanks, author of The Rise of the Synija. Its sequel, Valley of the Dying Sun is near completion! I thought for the third book it would be fun to keep a blog of the ups and downs of writing a fantasy novel- or any novel for that matter! For those of you struggling to finish your labor of love, I will give you the real life drama, writer's block, juggling work and writing, and pure joy of creating a book.
Along with narrating the day-to-day challenges I will face writing my third book, I will give instruction on the overall book writing process. I will give tips of how to overcome writer's block, and examples of how I overcome my own.
Technically this will be my fourth book written, as my first is an older version of The Rise of the Synija before I re-wrote it. I wrote The Synija, the original version in about six months. The Rise of the Synija took me about a year, but Valley of the Dying Sun has taken nearly a decade. To keep me on task, I have set a deadline of exactly one year to finish the third book in The Synija series.
As my sequel, Valley of the Dying Sun is still under construction, the year will start when this is complete. I have one week from today (6-28-10) to finish the first draft, and the rest of the month to proof read. So on 7-28-10 or sooner I will begin work on Book Three!
I hope whoever is reading this will follow me in my journey, and gain wisdom along the way.
Along with narrating the day-to-day challenges I will face writing my third book, I will give instruction on the overall book writing process. I will give tips of how to overcome writer's block, and examples of how I overcome my own.
Technically this will be my fourth book written, as my first is an older version of The Rise of the Synija before I re-wrote it. I wrote The Synija, the original version in about six months. The Rise of the Synija took me about a year, but Valley of the Dying Sun has taken nearly a decade. To keep me on task, I have set a deadline of exactly one year to finish the third book in The Synija series.
As my sequel, Valley of the Dying Sun is still under construction, the year will start when this is complete. I have one week from today (6-28-10) to finish the first draft, and the rest of the month to proof read. So on 7-28-10 or sooner I will begin work on Book Three!
I hope whoever is reading this will follow me in my journey, and gain wisdom along the way.
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