Tag: writing

NaNoWriMo

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November brings lots of things – cooler weather, Thanksgiving, pumpkin everything, my birthday…

It’s also National Novel Writing Month.

The event has a special place in my heart. It’s during NaNoWriMo that I finished the first draft of TNWSY. It’s because I was deliriously committed to finishing those 50,000 words in time that I pushed myself further than I’ve ever gone and completed a book.

And since then I’ve completed two more manuscripts. I go into each story knowing I’ll finish them now, not wondering if the last page will ever be dreamed about. I thank my competitiveness. My intense drive. My need to write. But mostly, I thank NaNo.

So with October 10 days gone, I’m approaching November with wonder and excitement. Will I compete again? I’m not sure. I’m in the middle of editing, and that’s more important to me at the moment.

But should any other writer do it? Absolutely. Because it forces you to write and not look back. It forces you to put your fingers to the keyboard and type without correcting spelling and grammatical errors. It lets you add parts that say “make this scene more interesting,” and continuing on to the next scene. Really, it forces you to write and believe in yourself. Because once you finish that first manuscript, truly, it feels like anything is possible.

And isn’t that the whole point of writing?

Who’s done NaNoWriMo before? Who’s doing it this year? 

Last Lines

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A bit ago I discussed the pain of picking out a first line for a book. The first line is important, it reels the reader in. But you know what’s just as frightening to write? The last line. The last line is how the book will be remembered, it’s the last chance the author has to connect to the reader before the book is closed and the story completed. These moments before the end? It’s those that we live for.

For me, a last line can make or break a book. Sad isn’t it? I feel very strongly about last lines. I’ll adore a book, but if its last line is…meh…it loses some points. That’s not to say I’ve read a lot of books that have mediocre endings, I’m just, well, picky.

But it’s hard because we can’t all have “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” (The Sun Also Rises)

We can’t all have “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (The Great Gastby)

(I won’t reveal other last lines as I don’t want to spoil books for you.)

So, there’s pressure. Lots of pressure to accurately sum up the book into one simple sentence.

The last line for TNWSY came to me in a migraine-induced haze. I don’t recommend this to anyone. I was lying on the couch with my eyes squeezed shut (lights hurt) and the last page, the last paragraph, the last sentence came to me. And I couldn’t not write it. So I let the light in, opened my laptop back up, and typed as fast as I could. And I was so happy with it. And even after edits and revisions, that one last line has never changed.

For TSWB, I hate my last line. Hate it. I’ve only done one round of revisions, so I can’t say much, but it just feels forced. I know something better will come eventually, but I felt the pressure to make it good. So I kept trying different things until I was moderately happy.

With Book 3, I just typed. I didn’t think about it, didn’t even know how the last page would end. I typed and poof it came to me. And it’s so incredibly cheesy, but I like it. I find it sweet and fun and sentimental and kind of like the book itself.

So in three attempts I haven’t found the best way to choose a last line. But i’m working towards it. Because if any of my books are ever published, I want that line to mean something. I don’t want readers to put down the book and go “meh,” I want them to high five it for its attempt at giving them the truths they were looking for.

How do you write your last line? Is it planned, or is it just improvised? What are some of your favorite last lines? 

Lessons

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I’ve learned quite a bit from each of the manuscripts I’ve written.

With TNWSY, I learned that I can do it. With drive and passion and faith I made it through to the end in less than a month. It was crazy and overwhelming, but it was possible.

With TSWB, otherwise known as Book 2, I learned that I can beat roadblocks and keep going. That I can trust myself to make it to the end. That negativity and doubts don’t really get me anywhere.

And now, with the yet untitled Book 3, I learned that the entire process can be ridiculously, unpredictably fun. That while it is a serious business, writing, it’s also unexpected at times.And, yes, while all of my other books were fun to write, sometimes you need to push away the stress of being good enough and just write what you want. Even if it isn’t good. Even if it isn’t much. Just get it out there because you want to, you need to.

That said, as I’m sure you’ve assumed, I’ve finished writing Book 3! It’s crazy to think a year ago I had just random snippets of books I so badly wanted to write. And now, almost a year later, I have three manuscripts. One is with an agent. The other two are sitting on my hard drive, slowly being edited. No, it’s not just a want, it’s a need that pushes me to keep going. Because I have to write. And I love it. 

SO! Book 3 is done. Is it good? Oh boy does it need work. It’s like a half-baked cake. It’s still soggy in the middle and may poison you from the raw eggs if you try it, but there’s a shape and there’s potential. And i’m so incredibly excited to put it back in the oven, frost it and show it off to my friends.

I’ve waxed on about this quite a bit, because I find it to be the best piece of writing advice I’ve ever read, but here goes once more – keep going. When in doubt, keep writing. You never know what you may be able to accomplish. And when you get there? When you type the last words on the page? The feeling is magical.

Plotting vs. Pantsing

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Remember that quick 3,000 word short story I wrote in a weekend just for fun? Somehow it’s turned into 22,000 words and I’m still going. I’m not sure how that happened, but it’s exciting and I don’t want to stop. I missed that feeling – that feeling where I’m discontent when I’m not writing. Where I want to jot down every thought I have about the book. Where I don’t want to stop thinking about the book. I’m a bit obsessed.

The thing is, I’m going along without any plan, any bigger picture. And it’s scary in that oh wow I just graduated from college and have no clue what to do next way, but also in that the possibilities are ENDLESS way. And I love it! And while, of course, I’m worried I’ll end up with 50,000 words of slush, I also don’t care. Because I’m having fun, and that, obviously, is worth it.

In the writing world, there’s the common debate of what’s better – plotting a book before writing, or going along by the seat of your pants (what I like to call “pantsing”). When I wrote TNWSY, I plotted a lot. That’s mostly because the idea had been in my mind for years, so I already had a pretty good idea of where it would start and end. The book takes place in a limited time span, so everything had to be very exact. I knew where my characters would be at all times, I knew what would happen, I knew where they would end up. Sure, I made up the dialogue and many diversions along the way, and of course I had to change the written outline at times, but overall it was very charted. And it worked really well.

For this book I’m doing the complete opposite. I know what’s going to happen to the characters, of course, but I have no clue what’s going to happen along the way. Sure, I have some scenes I just can’t wait to write because I imagine them before falling asleep, but on the whole I’m making it up as I go along. And it’s kind of exciting.

In the area of plotting vs. pantsing, I think it depends on the writer, and it depends on the book. You can’t just go pants The Hunger Games or Harry Potter. There was a definite layout, a definite guide. But in my YA contemporary romances? Sure, I can have a bit of fun. See where the characters want to go without forcing them.

As of right now, I’m not sure which I like best, but I’m having fun experimenting with both.

What about you?  Which do you prefer?