I forgot about yesterday’s blog. I had a lot going on, like editing my book. I’m still figuring out how to juggle everything, now that I’ve made more work for myself.
I’ve been looking for a specific thing, but looking for that specific issue has caused me to find other issues. So I’m going through again, to make those changes. I got so wrapped up in the changes I neglected other things I wanted to do.
I started looking for a certain type of word: one that ends in “ing.” Focusing on the repetitiveness of these kinds of words, got me to focus on the repetitiveness of other words. Words like “just” and “that” can often be dropped without consequence to the meaning of the sentence. In narrative, I worked to drop them. Since many people use these words in every day speech, you’ll still find them in some dialogue. While adverbs can’t be dropped without a loss of meaning, it’s still easy to change them. I’m working on it.
The next thing on the list is the list of repetitive words I didn’t realize were repetitive until I started reading like a reader. My list:
When
Then
Even
Gestured
Would
Could
Should
Though
Those are “just” the ones I’ve spotted. I try to remove these from narrative if I can. Again, since some people talk using those words, dialogue may still contain them.
If you write do you have words you repeat? What about in your speech? Do you find yourself saying the same words/phrases? Let’s talk more on Facebook!
I hesitate to write this, because writing fiction can’t really be taught. The mechanics of writing can be – nouns, verbs, sentence structure, etc. Even things like how to create well-rounded characters and rich settings and descriptions can be taught. What can’t be taught is creativity.
There are hundreds of thousands of books, blog posts, articles, and the like about the craft of writing. How to write, what to focus on, and the classic ‘write what you know.’ Creative writing courses force you to write in genres that don’t even interest you. I avoid those because who are you to tell me how to be creative?
But as I sit and struggle to self-edit my novel, I sought advice. I turned to a second edition of a book I had heard works well for many people in my situation. I skipped the ‘exercises’ at the end of each chapter, and only read the checklists. Those checklists were food for thought. I didn’t really realize how the advice had already translated into my work. Still, this was really about mechanics. It didn’t teach me how to be creative – it can’t because that’s a totally individual task.
Writing prompts are another useful tool, but only when they are something you want to write about. Whether it’s a picture or written question or statement, it will inspire you differently than it will inspire me. Even the cliched beginnings like “It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once Upon a Time” catch each writer’s imagination differently.
My advice for writers just starting down the path of publication is: write what you want, not what people tell you to. The only reading about writing you should be doing is the kind that helps you tighten up the mess of a first draft you’ve created. Nothing else can be taught.
Most of the time the things I write about on this blog are just things I want to write about. There’s not a particular theme. Sometimes it will be about something going on in my life, sometimes it will be about writing, and sometimes I’ll ask you to brainstorm with me on Facebook to suggest something you’d like to hear more about.
Other times, like today, it’s to address something of concern.
Louis Rossmann has a very popular YouTube channel, with his main purpose being “right to repair” – you should own your electronic device (or anything really), and have the opportunity and right to get that thing repaired how you see fit, rather than being forced to buy new or pay pricey repair fees because you can ‘only’ get your device repaired by the company that makes it.
He’s also good at calling out other companies (any company that ends up stealing from you or misrepresenting their product(s) to customers).
My post today is a little bit of both. Imagine packing for a trip and loading up your carry-on with 3-4 large paperback books you intend to read – it takes up a lot of space! Grab your tablet, phone, or e-reader and load it up with the same 3-4, and possibly more, because all you’ll need is the device, right?
One of Rossmann’s latest videos shines a light on a case where a U.K. resident is moving to the U.S. The person in question contacted Amazon to ask why they couldn’t access their e-books after the move. Amazon replied that the books were there – under the U.K. Amazon account. The user would have to log in to the U.K. site to be able to access the books. Simple.
The next bombshell comes when the user is told by Amazon to make another, U.S. account, once they move. They then inform the user that the content they purchased on the U.K. account will NOT be available in the U.S. account due to “geographical restrictions.” Amazon makes you jump through hoops, offering a lengthy process to change your region and port over your content. For this customer in particular, it included contacting U.K. customer service. It took over an hour and three customer service representatives before the customer was finally able to get access once again.
Please keep in mind this is not to be down on e-books, they have merit just as physical books do. But if you want to make sure you’re going to own your item wherever you go without strings, you may want to pack the physical copy.
From early on, we are told “write what you know.” If every writer followed this advice, we wouldn’t have science fiction, or fantasy, or the always-sappy happily-ever-after of romance novels. These are often not real life experiences, so how can someone “know” about them? Love doesn’t always turn out that way. The names science fiction and fantasy may indicate that even if there’s a grain of truth, the rest requires your imagination.The characters and their traits or powers are just the fanciful imagination of the author, and none of it applies to what we know as truth and fact in the real world we live it.
Other genres, including mystery – the genre of my upcoming novel, are more fact-based. I can “write what I know,” since there is plenty to know about solving mysteries, the police work it takes, and the many factual details needed to make the story believable. But, I didn’t know. I had a lot of research to do. I’ve learned this from my dad. He can’t read a book or watch a TV show without his retired police officer’s brain saying “that’s not how that’s done” or “you can’t solve a crime like that in a couple days.” His comments have informed my writing. The rest is research. How big of a hole does a certain bullet make? When a body and analyzing the blood spatter on the wall to recognize how the person was killed, or were they moved and the crime scene is elsewhere? I looked a lot of this stuff up over many visits to the library for various books, interviews with police officers, and more research. I didn’t exactly write what I knew.
When it comes to settings, I do write what I know, to an extent. The setting of my upcoming novel is in a smallish, fictional town I have created. But that creation came from a combination of towns I know and love. While the town I have created doesn’t actually exist, pieces of it do.
When it comes to characters, it’s a mixed bag. One character is so much like a friend of mine, I asked that friend if it was okay if I modeled a character after them. Thankfully, they said yes. I’ve informed them of the character traits and features I’ve used, and I’ve let my friend read the parts that include the character. This character is meant to compliment, not degrade, this person. Another character I’ve created is modeled after a family member, and even uses a version of their name. Again, I told this family member about the character. Yet a third character is somewhat based on a family member. Physical traits have not been used, but this family member’s magnetic personality and ability to communicate with a variety of people is the type of character traits I wanted in the character in story. I didn’t really think about it at first, but the more the character was developed, the more I saw the similarities.
Other characters have come purely from my imagination, and aren’t particularly modeled after anyone I know. On a subconscious level, it’s possible they are, but these characters are not “write what you know” characters. They are many and varied, some with backgrounds I needed to research a little because it’s not what I know.
Knowing all this, is write what you know the best advice? Let’s talk about it on Facebook.
A lot has changed for my writing life in just the first two and a half months of this year. The class I took at the end of 2023 motivated me to get a lot done and look to organization for help.
For years, I’ve been a “pantser” when it comes to writing fiction. That means I sit down at the computer and start with a vague idea and a will to write. I write and whatever comes out, comes out. After I have whatever it is, I go through and edit and rewrite and edit and on and on until I can’t stand the story and characters anymore. I’ve been working on a novel on and off for several years through this method.
The class I took talked about the importance of planning for getting to where you want to be in the future, in life and in writing. With just about everything else in my life, I make a plan, decide the steps, and get whatever ‘it’ is done. I applied this information to creating a better outline for my novel. I created a thorough outline that extended my work from an about 60,000 word, 250 page document that had no direction to the end to a 109,000 word document of 460 pages with a beginning, middle, and end.
It’s currently going through a first full edit. Look for it in Q1 of 2025.
The major con for many is for those who struggle sticking with an outline feel it’s confining. You have to stick to the outline, and not wander beyond that. This is how I felt about outlines for a long time. It was a definite and locked in way to write and there was little room for exploring beyond what you previously decided needed to be followed. The feeling likely came from my academic life of book report writing when I had to submit outlines and rough drafts for approval, and straying from those previous plans was frowned upon in the final product turned in for grading.
I’ve learned that this is certainly not the case in creative fiction. It’s a form of writing that encourages you to take the side roads and paths less traveled. However, it doesn’t encourage you to start out on a road without a map.
Finally, there’s the idea of the “plantser.” That’s a person who thrives on both. They make that detailed plan and outline, but then throw it all in the trash if it ends up not working out the way they want.
But the outline doesn’t work for everything, or everyone. Do what’s right for you.
