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Writing Words - writing it is the only way of getting it written

Writing Words - May 2008

Why oh why blues

May 18th 2008 22:03
I've had one of the dreaded "why oh why am I doing this to myself" days. I'm sure every fiction writer has them, even though I hope they'll occur less often after publication.

When the why of why blues hits me, I temporarily change sides and join the people who tell me that I will not make it as a writer and that I'd best concentrate on the career I could actually have. Since I moved to the UK for a much better job, they even have a genuine point, and sometimes I can't help thinking that I should focus all my energy on the day job.

I know the routine now and go through all the motions - it's a lot less painful that way. In the end I reach the conclusion that I will never write another word, only to change my mind again 5 minutes later.

I think I have to give up writing occasionally to remind myself how much it means to me.
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Posted By: Sonya 1 - Category: writing
   


yWriter: a free novel writing tool

May 17th 2008 00:49
A comment I wrote earlier on one of Morgan's posts made me look up a neat tool which will help writers who need to structure their writing to get their story out: yWriter.

I tried an earlier version of yWriter a few years ago and was quite impressed with it. With the help of this tool, you can organize your story in little bit-sized chunks. You can create and rearrange chapters, subdivide them into scenes, add information about viewpoint, goal, conflict and outcome and many other things.

yWriter was written by a programmer who is also a writer, and that shows. It is a tool from a writer for writers. If you like the planning side of writing a novel, but find it difficult to tell the entire story, you should give the program a try. If you find it is not the right tool for you, it doesn't matter. Here's the best thing: yWriter is free.
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Posted By: Sonya 1 - Category: writing
   


Editor's block

May 16th 2008 01:25
I don't believe in writer's block. Sure, I've written myself in many a corner and had to find a way out again. I've also had moments when I would have preferred to wash the dishes to writing. I believe, however, that you can only get over these things by writing.

I am trying to apply this approach to editing, too. It does not work as well, though. When I don't want to write, I tell myself that I only have to write a few words. I just take it one sentence at a time, or, if I am having a really bad day, even just one word at a time.

It is no coincidence that I got a bit blocked. I am at a point where I have to make some major decisions, and so far I haven't found one I am happy with. Editing one word at a time is nowhere near enough here, some serious re-writes are in order.

Since I don't believe in writer's block, I have decided that I'm experiencing editor's block. It's not primarily the re-writing that is the problem, but the idea that I want to get this novel polished in as little rounds of editing as possible.

I probably have to take the pressure off myself and accept that the re-written parts will need another round of editing some time later. I don't want this block to turn into a solid brick will which will separate me forever from my red pen.
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Notes on editing (2)

May 14th 2008 22:29
No. 13 of Kerouac's 30 Essentials for Prose is: Remove literary, grammatical and syntactical inhibition.

I seem to have taken this in whole-heartedly. Punctuation especially is rather experimental at times. Which does not make editing easier. I must make a note to remind myself to use commas even when I'm tired.
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Notes on editing (1)

May 11th 2008 01:01
Turns out it is a lot easier to edit a novel that was planned before writing. My NaNo2007 novel was hardly planned at all, and it shows. There are huge gaps in the story, and some of the characters lack depth - they are shadows of real people, and the sun is going down on them.

You will always end up introducing characters to your story you never thought about before you actually started writing. I think it's a little problematic when there are to many of them, though. A good story is character-driven in my opinion, and you need strong characters for that. Some of my key characters are much to weak to move the story forward at this point.

The first lesson I learned from the editing adventure: plan NaNo2008 novel to make editing a little less painful.
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Taking a break?

May 10th 2008 01:38
There is lots of advice for aspiring writers - by successfully published writers, by editors and literary agents, and by people such as moi who'd like to join the first group one day. There are as many different approaches to writing as there are people writing about writing. There is one piece of advice, though, that you will find no matter where you look: If you want to make it as a writer, you have to write. Ideally every day.

So let's assume you do that. You sit down every day when you get home from the day job and write. Because you know it is the most important thing if you want to improve your skills. Does that mean you never get any time off


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Posted By: Sonya 1 - Category: NaNoWriMo
   


Editing the monster

May 8th 2008 22:24
I am good at producing first drafts. I am not quite as good at editing.

I went away over the bank holiday weekend, and I only started editing my novel on Tuesday. One thing has become obvious: it's impossible to edit a 266-novel without a print-out of it - at least for me


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