Plan of Attack

A few days ago I posted my goals for the coming year. Then the group sponsoring the Write 1, Sub 1 Novel Challenge suggested doing a blog chain discussing our plan of attack for the coming year.


Making goals and figuring out how to meet them are two different animals. Making goals is easy. Two years ago I wanted to write 500k in a year. Saying that was easy. Doing it? Not so easy. (In fact, I failed to meet that goal.)


I have my list of goals for the year, now I have to figure out how I'll meet them.


Let's start with the basics. When it comes to meeting writing goals the biggest step forward is to write. Every day. That's one reason why I made goal number four: Write 15k each month. Because when words are going down on paper, that's always a good thing. Setting a specific amount helps me. (I've tried the whole "chapters" or "pages" goals and they don't work as well. I wind up with short chapters and pages of dialogue. Well, that happens anyway but it gets worse if I'm trying to write five chapters a week instead of 3.5k words.)


The next challenge is producing words that are all in order. By that I mean, working toward the end of a single project. That's where goals two and three come into play (Write and submit a longer length project and Polish and submit the unfinished/unedited shorter work from this year). I suffered from a ten year stretch of Shiny-New-Idea-itis, jumping from one project to the next without finishing much and not even attempting to sell the few things I did complete.


If I were simply writing for fun that wouldn't matter. But I'm not. I want to get paid. That means writing. Every day. Then revising and editing. Then hitting up every editor with the finished story until they cry mercy and publish my story.


That just leaves goal number one: Finish and submit the novel-in-progress. This is a huge deal. I've finished drafts of novels before. I've finished four drafts of this particular novel already and they were not up to par. Not for the publishers I want to query. But polishing a 70k manuscript is a big task. (Again, see goal number four.) And once the novel's done, I still have to write the other submission material - query letter, synopsis, etc.


These are all brand new territory for me. And I'm terrified. But I still have a plan. I will write. Every day. Then revise and edit as necessary (this includes the query letter, etc). Then send that sucker out to every publisher (in order since most don't allow sim-sub) until they cry mercy and publish my novel.


If there's one thing I've learned this past year, writing short stories and submitting them over and over again 'til they find a home, it's to never take "no" for an answer. There is a home for my work. There's a home for your work. All you have to do is find it.


In the meantime, write. Every day. Then revise and edit until your story is as good as you can make it. Finally, submit it to any editor who publishes your genre/content and don't stop until they cry mercy and publish your story.


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If you want to read more about planning an attack on the publishing world check out Alex Shvartsman's blog post HERE. Up next is Michael Haynes with his own take on making a plan of attack.

Goals

Well, it isn't the official beginning of the new year. But I started the Write 1, Sub 1 Novel Challenge in November and thought now was as good a time as any to assess my goals for the coming year.


I've set a number of different writing goals over the past few years: writing a certain number of novels, writing a certain number of words in a year, (and this last year) writing and submitting at least one story per month. Some of these goals I've met, others I've failed miserably.


That is the thing about goals - they need to be something you may not be able to reach, otherwise why set a goal in the first place. So this year, I'm setting writing goals that reflect a number of personal commitments.


Goal Number One: To finish and submit Gaslyte - the novel-in-progress I've been working on since 2008 - by the end of the year.


Goal Number Two: To finish and submit at least one longer length project - 15k or more - by the end of the year.


Goal Number Three: To polish and submit the handful of stories I wrote this year but have languished in my pile of "to edit" projects.


Goal Number Four: To write a minimum of 15k per month.


Even with a limited schedule for writing these are all completely doable, but challenging. They will require me to stay focused on the work at hand - writing.


As you head towards the beginning of another year of writing, what are you planning to accomplish?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, it's the kick-off to the traditional American holiday season. In addition to wishing my readers a restful and productive end of the year - I know, there's still a month or so to go, but we all know how it will GO - I figured I should make an official announcement. Just because.


Kidding. I'm (slowly) moving my how-to-advice articles over to wordimonki.blogspot.com. This blog will continue to exist but will focus more on my personal writing updates and less on the indispensable wisdom I like to inflict share with you.


Current schedule over at Word Monkey is about two articles per month, give or take, with additional emphasis on seeking publication, as well as continued blahblahblah about writing and editing.


Have a safe and happy holiday season, chickadees!

A Quick Update

I have been submitting stories regularly all year. The current bibliography can be found over on the right of my blog. Despite frequent rejections, I am determined to find homes for all my short stories.


Additionally, I have sold two short stories this fall. Insomnia was bought by Daily Science Fiction (publication date forthcoming). And The Weather's Always Fine in Paradise was bought by GUD Magazine for their forthcoming Issue 8.


Recent Twitter publications include: Summer Day @ Trapeze Magazine and Survivor @ One Forty Fiction.


On Sunday, November 13th, Microcosms will be publishing several of my Twitter stories as part of a special, month-long fiction issue. Make sure you check it out.

Lessons Learned Writing Micro-Fiction

There are many different types of micro-fiction - flash: a story under 1k; Twitter: a story in 140 characters or less; drabble: 100 words exactly, just to name a few. But they are all similar in that they try and tell a story in a space that most would consider challenging if not downright impossible.


Having written a few pieces of flash and over a dozen of Twit fic, I can safely say that it's not impossible. And there are lessons to be learned in writing with few words. Here are the two that impressed me the most.


1. Backstory/Worldbuilding Are Not as Important As You Think


This sounds counter-intuitive, I know. Every story needs some glimpse into the foundation of the characters, where they come from, what their world looks like, etc. But there is a lot to be said for not telling us that information and, instead, implying it by how you tell the story. Word-choice. Rhythm. Emotion. All of these elements can tell a backstory better than you think.


2. No Story is Too Short To Edit


You might think that a story that is only 140 characters long couldn't get any shorter. Or couldn't use different words than the ones you wrote first. This is not the case. Any story can be edited, no matter how short and sweet you think it is to start off with. And most stories should be edited. Because we all get lazy or have a bad day and use the wrong word in place of a better one.


3. It is Possible to Say Something Important Without Being Long-winded


I say this, because too often we get bogged down in trying to SAY SOMETHING. We use too many words. We beat the reader over the head. We meander. We get stuck on our own ability to weave words in a magical way. But this is not necessary. Important things can be said in few words. And they will stick with the reader more than a convoluted passage might.


We can all learn to write more cleanly, even if we aren't all writing in microscopic forms.

Always and Never

Just a quick note regarding my previous post.


It is perfectly true that not every rule applies to every situation. The fun part of being a writer is figuring out when you should stick to the rules and when you should ignore them.


With the "rules" I listed last time I would like to make the following observation.


"Always" rules are generally things that are best practice. Sure you can ignore grammar and spelling and tension and building interest in your character, but chances are you won't want to MOST of the time.


"Never" rules are generally things you should avoid because they are A) cliche or B) the product of lazy writing (even if it's inadvertent).


That is all.

Learning the Rules

There's always debate about the "rules" of writing and how strictly they should be followed. I, for one, tend to be in the "Egh, if I feel like I'll do it" camp and I'm not much of a stickler for anything. (Well, except maybe Beginning, Middle, End and Outlines Are Not Your Enemy.)

But two things about these debates always strikes me.

1) Less experienced writers tend to assume they are more advanced than they actually are and proudly flout rules they would be better off following.

2) Less experienced writers tend to cling to the more absurd rules while ignoring the tried and true.

(Of course, on any given day I still fall into the "less experienced" category. That is not meant to be derogatory, simply a statement of fact. As I have gotten better at what I do, I have found more (not less) merit in some of the rules that I used to think were stupid.)

The big question, naturally, is what are these rules? Every writer probably has their own list of Writing Rules. Here's a look at some that I have run across.

1) Grammar/Spelling/Basic Sentence Construction
This is probably the ONLY rule I consider absolutely necessary. Nothing ruins a good story faster then rampant spelling errors, obvious misuse of punctuation and/or parts of speech, or sentences that leave the reader wondering whether it was the mirror that was frightened or the girl staring into it.  

2) Never Start a Novel with a Prologue
There are many good reasons to not use a prologue. Take a serious look at them before deciding to go with that "introduction to the plot/MC/MV/world/whatever before the beginning of the story".


3) Never Start a Story with a Description of the Weather
Again. There are very good reasons to avoid this. Research what they are before you write that prologue to the epic fantasy that has a two page description of the storm cloud lingering over the Mountain of Death.

4) Never Start a Story with the MC Waking Up
Good reasons here too. They boil down to: most times this indicates a false start to the story and lazy writing.


5) Never Have the MC Look at Him/Herself in the Mirror in Order to Describe Them for the Reader
Yes. Lazy writing. And character appearance is rarely as important as you think.


6) Don't Write in First Person/Omni/Present Tense
This is mostly personal preference, but certain forms of writing are more difficult than others and should be approached with caution and a good bit of research into what makes them work and what doesn't.


7) All Chapters Must be a Certain Length
This one is just, well, stupid. But certain parties seem to think it's law. You should probably ignore them.


8) Never Start a Story with a Dream Sequence
This is actually a good one. Especially if the dream is one that results in deliberately misleading the reader. ("What? OMG! He's a serial killer? Oh. He just had too much pizza for dinner.")


9) Always/Never Give Your MC a Trendy/Cool/Symbolic Name
This one is stupid only because naming characters is hardly a thing of absolutes. HOWEVER, it isn't a bad idea to think twice about having a moody, dark-haired MC named Raven.


10) Always Start With Something Interesting
The main flaw with this rule is that it is frequently misunderstood. Interesting does NOT mean things have to explode/people have to die/MC discovers he's an alien/whatever on the first page. It DOES mean that however your story starts it should make us interested in the character and curious about their situation. Even if it's ABSOLUTELY ORDINARY.

There are, of course, more rules than this. These are the ones I run across most frequently. Some I keep and others I break. But that's a story for another day.