Permission for Blank Space in Your Writing

We've all done it. You're writing along, happy as a lark, when suddenly you hit a detail that brings you to a shrieking halt. It could be anything - I need the name of a small city in Italy! I need to know how to escape handcuffs! I need to know who the Prime Minister was in 1963! - and all of a sudden instead of writing, you are sucked into the vortex that is Google.

Don't do it!

I know, it's tempting. I know, "it will only take two minutes," but if you are on a roll, keep writing. Because if you stop to find the name of that charming Italian city, you will never get back to the great scene you've cooked up to happen there. Write the scene, then go back and add in the details.

I recognize that there are some plot points you MUST research before you can write. That's okay. Research. Research your little heart out. Not only is it something you can do, it is something you should do. But research on research time.

The last few chapters of the most recent book I finished was rife with sentences along these lines...
After MC arrived in TOWN, X miles North(?) of where she had been, she realized she had even further to go. But the taxi ride onward would cost at least XX dollars(? find currency of this country?) and she had only XX in her pocket after the last trip.

No, that is not a REAL sentence from what I was writing (Yikes. No.). But you get the idea. Sure, I could have taken the time to find the town, the distances, the monetary amounts, but I could easily continue writing without those details, so that's what I did. The details can be filled in later during times you have set aside for editing or researching, but not during the time you are trying to write.

Give yourself permission to leave blanks and question marks. I promise, once you finish that first draft, going in to fix them is a piece of cake. (Not to mention a wonderful way to make you feel like you're taking leaps and bounds in the editing process. Always a win.)

NaNoWriMo 2014

This year was my first time attempting (and winning!) NaNoWriMo. For those who don't know, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It is an event where writers from around the world attempt to write an entire novel (or at least 50,000 words of one) between 12:01am on November 1 and 11:59pm on November 30. No small feat, especially considering many of those writers are juggling full-time jobs, school, kids, etc. then you throw Thanksgiving in there just to keep things interesting.

There's actually a bit of debate about the benefit of an event like NaNoWriMo. Some argue that it gives people "permission" to stop writing the rest of the year. Some argue that anything produced during NaNo is absolute rubbish so the exercise is useless. Others argue that NaNo gets new people interested in writing, that it brings community to the otherwise solitary activity and that it forces people to turn off their "inner-editors" and just get words down on paper.

Now that I've done it myself, I feel I can legitimately present my opinion on the matter. So, here are a few thoughts on my NaNo experience...

1) A lot of what is produced is truly rubbish.
Really truly. When you are writing just trying to get your 1,667 words in for the day (the amount needed to finish on time), sometimes you just aren't "feeling it." And it shows. When this happens to me my writing becomes a seven-year-old's retelling of the school day. "And then, and then, and then..." Sometimes you lose track of your plot but keep writing "because 1,667 words" and your character's names have changed because you forgot them and they're not doing anything at all related to what's supposed to be going on and your dialogue is stilted and your descriptions are mundane and you know what? That's okay. Even when you aren't doing NaNo a lot of what you writing in draft #1 is rubbish, so why not just get it over with in one fell swoop. It's like ripping off a band-aid. Just get it over with.

2) Writing during November means nothing if you're not going to write in December (and January through October too).
"Saving up" all your creativity and writing time for November would be like training for a marathon once a year instead of everyday. It just doesn't work that way. If you're going to put the effort into doing Nano, you'd better be prepared to put in the effort the rest of the time as well.

3) Nano did virtually nothing for my "community" feel.
This is mostly my fault. I could have done the online write-ins. I could have connected with more Nanoers on Twitter. Heck, I could have gone to the real life meetings in the Twin Cities. But I didn't. I'm not sure if it would have helped or hurt honestly. However, it was nice to know that on those days when 1,667 words seemed impossible I knew there were others out there feeling my pain or celebrating with me when I topped 3,000 in one sitting. That was nice.

4) Nano gets words on paper.
Or rather, participating in Nano gets words on paper. I can guarantee you that I would not have written anywhere near 50,000 words in November if I hadn't participated in Nano. That alone makes it worth it because even if no one else ever reads what I wrote, I wrote. I practiced. I trained. And one day I'll finish my marathon and I know that Nano will have been just one more training exercise that helped me get there.

Writing Advice: Writing Through (or Around) Sticky Situations

When writing, I feel like the first three-quarters of my job is just setting up a situation to be as sticky as possible. The last quarter is getting the situation unstuck in a satisfying way.

While working my most recent project, I hit a spot in the story where I got stuck. Stopped in my tracks, nowhere to turn, back against the wall, stuck. And I stayed stuck for literally years. I loved my story, I knew my characters were where they needed to be, but I had no idea how they were going to get out of their sticky situation.

Finally, out of pure frustration, I started writing around my problem. I had my characters go do other, unrelated things. I let them talk about the problem with each other. I let them get as frustrated as I was.

I knew that the majority these scenes wouldn't make it into the final cut (though a few snippets sneaked their way in). I was clearly wasting time and clearly ignoring the looming plot problem, but it felt good to be writing and it felt good to give my characters room to roam. Then, one day, BAM. Of course. Problem solved.

I knew who was going to live and die, I knew how, and I knew what had to happen to get out of the sticky situation. Writing that last bit came very easily after that.

So, that is one bit of writerly advice for getting unstuck and (perhaps) beating writer's block (which, by the way, are two different things). It worked for me, so maybe it will work for you!

What do you do when you get stuck or have a seemingly unsolvable problem in your writing?

How Literary Agents Are Like Realtors

Recently, I've had a lot of people asking me questions like, "So how many publishers have you submitted to?" which makes me think it may be beneficial to explain in a little more detail exactly what's going on with this whole process... (Hint: The answer to that question is "none.")

Right now I am sending out query letters to literary agents. This means I email the agent a brief letter telling them about my novel. (No, I do not send them my novel outright.) Then I cross my fingers (and toes) and pray that they will respond asking to see either a portion of the manuscript or (even better) the full thing. More often than not, I can expect a form rejection politely declining. This past week has been especially full of rejections (by which I mean I've gotten three, which isn't so bad really). Nonetheless, to keep my spirits high, I have turned it into a cheer. Both my mom and mother-in-law used to be cheerleaders...how could I not? Re-Rejection! Re-Re-Rejection!

The good news is I still have two fulls out to agents, so there's hope!

Think of literary agents like Realtors and the book like a home you want to sell. The agents are there to help "stage" your book and make sure that it is as presentable as possible. They are there to help determine where your book fits into the current market and then will present it to potential editors and publishers. After that, they are there to negotiate your contract and ensure you get the best price possible for your book and that your best interests are respected in the contract.

Just because you get an agent does not necessarily mean that your book is immediately published (in the same way that getting a Realtor doesn't mean that your home is immediately sold). But it DOES mean you've got the right person on your team to get it there!

So, no, my book is not getting published (yet! Though that is the end goal!)
But yes, I appreciate you asking about the process, even if the you ask the "wrong" question! In a journey wrought with re-rejection, it's nice to have a few rah-rah-rahs from the sidelines.

The Good, the Bad, and the Wheaties Box

The good news: I got a positive response from two of the agents I queried! One is looking at a partial manuscript and one is looking at the full as we speak!

The badgood news: I got a rejection letter from an agent saying my book wasn't right for her.

Why both good? Because love requires judgment. Name one movie/book/food that people LOVE that other people don't HATE. It is good for people to have opinions, and it's all a part of the process.

I am reminded of the line from the movie The Incredibles - "When everyone's super, no one will be." A line I use to this day, except in wildly different circumstances. In college, it was usually, "If everyone has bird flu, then no one does" or "If everyone has homework, then no one does."

So what's NOT good? No response. I hate that. Even though some agents clearly state that they won't respond unless they want to see more, I'm still hoping to get an answer back. (Side note: the agent who responded saying no had also said not to expect a response unless it was a yes, so there is hope for this.)

For now, I am riding the wave of sheer joy that comes with a request for the full manuscript. I scared my cat (and probably my neighbors) when I read the email and started shouting. Allow me to parse this out for those who may not know...

Literary agents can get HUNDREDS of queries every week. (That said, I'm sure this number varies significantly depending on the agent. The "big names" get more than the boutique agencies, I'm sure.) Still, getting a request for a full manuscript is something akin to being invited to try out for the Olympic team. You've got your shot at the big leagues and if you can make it through qualifying, you'll be plastered on the front of Wheaties boxes in no time.

That said, the odds are not in my favor (in trying to get a novel published, it seems they never are), and I am not so naive to think that my work is done. The road to being published is a marathon, not a sprint, but it sure feels good to be taking those first steps!

Currently Reading: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Currently Listening to: Helena by Nickel Creek

Finishing the Manuscript

There's something about being trapped in a classroom listening to lectures that makes my creative side come out. That's why, throughout high school, I wrote two complete manuscripts and got a solid start on the third. (Side note: I like to learn, don't get me wrong. I kept my grades up. I wasn't slacking. But sometimes those lectures...)

Anyway, those manuscripts were what you might expect from a blooming high school writer. Recently (now two years out of college with a shiny English degree under my belt), I picked up that third unfinished manuscript and thought, "You know what...there's actually some good stuff here!" So I finished it.

Let me repeat that.

I FINISHED IT.

If you've ever finished such a large undertaking, you'll understand how it feels to wrap up your loose ends, hit save, sit back and look at the whole thing, beautiful and complete. My first manuscript was completed while I was sitting around the campfire with my family at Sawbill Lake. I scrawled the final pages in a notebook (the old fashioned kind that you need a pen for), and when I added that final period, I felt AWESOME. I was so happy! I'll never forget what it felt like that first time, and this time was no different.

I stayed up way too late to finish, so when I crawled into bed, Zack was already asleep. When he stirred awake though, I whispered to him, "I finished my book." He wasn't really coherent enough to process that with me, so I laid in the darkness with a big smile on my face.

That feeling of elation can last for anywhere between ten seconds to ten days before you realize...your baby needs editing. Serious editing.

So that's what I've been up to recently. Every spare second I get, I have been reading and re-reading. Wording and re-wording. I made some drastic changes on the first go-round (changing the whole setting, removing the major romantic relationship, extending the ending from three paragraphs to three pages, and so on) and every time through thereafter, it's only gotten better. (At least, I hope so, or I'm just wasting my time!)

I realize that this topic may not be interesting to most people, but I wanted to share my journey. Fingers crossed for teaming up with a stellar literary agent and turning the little word doc on my computer into something I could share with everyone! Here we go...

Currently Reading: Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Currently Listening to: "This Fire" by Ben Rosenbush and the Brighton