From Puddle Play to Stain Removal: Novel Writing from Mud to Clean

I'm thrilled to have Wendy Paine Miller here. She's just released a new novella that I can't wait to read! Isn't the cover gorgeous? Today she's been kind enough to join us and tell us a little about her writing process. Here's Wendy - 

I watch my six-year-old as we wait for her bus in the rain. We both have umbrellas protecting our heads, but I notice her noticing the rain-spattered puddle. Without any further hesitation, she leaps directly into the center. No doubt about it, kids are attracted to getting sloppy in puddles.

I get that feeling. I’m addicted to getting sloppy while writing novels.

Here’s my interpretation of how the novel writing process plays out.

Rough draft = Jump in puddle, Splash around, Get covered in mud

NaNo is well underway. Writers all over the world are giving it a go. One of the best pieces of advice I have offer at this stage is to do everything in your power not to censor yourself. Some of my best writing has come when I didn’t over think a plot or contemplate character attributes to death. Write free.

First read through = Assess the damage, Determine if clothes are salvageable

I know, I know, it’s at this point you’ll be really tempted to Shout (like that?). But try to resist. Read the work and as Stephen King suggests read as much of it in one sitting as possible. Now, I know everyone goes about this differently, but what I’m about to share might shock you. I’ve had to discard an entire novel. We’ll call it Number 5. I got through about fifty pages and it hit me it wasn’t going to work as a novel. Now some would have rewritten the whole thing. I realized the best move was to put it aside and write something new. For the time being Number 5 wasn’t salvageable. Trust your gut on this.

Time for edits = The work might need to be stripped down, Remove unnecessary and extra muddy parts, Squirt with stain remover & soak in cold water, Apply more stain remover, Toss in laundry, Bleach may or may not be necessary, Hang to air dry, Repeat

Getting down to business. It’s essential to learn which scenes need to be cut, which words. If it doesn’t help move the plot forward, strip it out. Apply techniques that will improve your writing. If needed, take time to let the changes steep. Continue to apply what you’ve learned in craft books and by read-throughs, Seek out advice from critique partners, beta readers and a professional editor, incorporate additional changes, give it time to come together, and if necessary, repeat.

The next time you spot a stain or your child bolts for a puddle you’ll recall this post. 

In the meantime, make a habit of dancing in puddles. There will always be time to launder. I’m a huge fan of novel ideas that invite the mind to wander.

Thanks for being here, Wendy! 

Writers - What's your favorite step in the writing process?

Blurb for The Disappearing Key:

Gabrielle Bivane never expected parenting a teenager would be this hard, but she never expected stillborn Oriana to live to see fourteen, either. The night of Oriana's birth, Gabrielle and her husband Roy fused their genetic and engineering geniuses to bring back all that was lost to them—at a cost. 

The secret must be kept. 

Oriana Bivane senses she’s not like the other girls her age, but the time has come for her to change all that. She’s tired of secrets, but does she confide in the wrong person?

The life-giving key, suddenly missing, must be found. 

Available on Amazon Kindle & in paperback

Bio: Wendy is a native New Englander who feels most alive when she's laughing, reading, writing or taking risks. She's authored nine novels and is currently writing what she hopes will be your future book club pick. Her work has been published in numerous anthologies and online sites. Wendy lives with her husband and their three girls in a home bursting with imagination and hilarity.

She's represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Agency.

NaNoWriMo Minions

I'm deep into edits right now and can't participate in NaNoWriMo this year, but I made this for all my NaNoWriMo friends. I'll be cheering you on!

NaNoWriMo actually led to my first published novel. You can find it here:

Productivity Tools

Recently my favorite tool for getting more done is the stopwatch on my iphone. I start it every time I'm working on my manuscript and stop it any time I get distracted or sidetracked. It gives me a clear measure of how much I'm spending in my work in progress each day. It has been eye opening and keeps me accountable.

What's your favorite trick or tool for getting more done? 

November

I know November is a busy month for a lot of you. So tell me -- What are your plans and goals for the month of November? 

Ten Reasons to sign up for NaNoWriMo

I love NaNoWriMo, but this year I won't be able to participate. :( In honor of all of the NaNoWriMo participants and everyone considering signing up this year, I'm reposting my "Ten Reasons to sign up for NaNoWriMo" from October 2011. Enjoy!

1. It’s fun to see the look you get when you tell someone you’re writing a 50,000 word novel in a month.

2. Those characters who have been talking in your head will finally have a purpose.

3. Writing fast and furious can release creative juices you never knew you had.

4. It gives you an excuse to procrastinate on things like cleaning the toilets.

5. It’s the perfect opportunity to write that weird time travel, pirate, romance novel that has been plaguing you.

6. You’ll have something to do while everyone else is taking a nap on Thanksgiving afternoon.

7. At the end of the month, you can say, “I wrote a good book!”

8. It’s a great way to get to know other crazy writers.

9. For years, you’ll know that 50,000 / 30 = 1,667 (because that will be your daily word count goal).

10. You don’t have to edit or work on a synopsis for an entire month.

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo?

NaNoEdMo

It's official. I need goals...and a deadline. In the past three months since National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) I've added 15,000 words to my manuscript and edited four chapter. Not terrible, but at this rate it will take me all year to finish this book. That's why I'm embarking on the NaNoEdMo / Novel Track Editing challenge this year with a goal of editing for 50 hours during the month of March. I'll be updating my status on the NaNoEdMo page I created.

Whether you're editing, writing, or have a completely different goal, I'd love for you to join me. Post your goals and your progress in the comments of my NaNoEdMo page and we'll cheer each other on!

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo or NaNoEdMo?

Interview on ACFW's Fiction Finder

This week, I'm over at the ACFW Fiction Finder blog where Anita Draper interviewed me about NaNoWriMo, procrastination, bucket lists, and my debut novel, Canyon Walls.

Ten Ways to Procrastinate

In honor of week two of NaNoWriMo, I’ve made a list of ways to procrastinate instead of writing. I’ve even added justification for the procrastination in the parentheses. Bonus!

If you’re not participating in NaNoWriMo, I’m confident you can use this list to learn new ways to procrastinate on all kinds of things. The sky is the limit!

1. Write a post about how to procrastinate (Blogging is marketing.)
2. Sign up for Pinterest (For inspiration, of course.)
3. Clean the house (This will help your spouse forgive you for all the time spent on your novel.)
4. Create a new Pandora station (You need music to write, right?)
5. Visit the NaNoWriMo forums (75,000 other NaNo participants are on there right now. Why shouldn’t you be there?)
6. Go to the store and buy more chocolate and coffee. (What will you talk about on twitter and the NaNo forums if you don’t have these things on hand?)
7. Check Twitter and Facebook (Because you need to make sure no one else is procrastinating.)
8. Check your email (Someone important may have emailed you at 11:32pm or 11:34pm or 11:37pm.)
9. Go shopping on Zappos.com (Research! You need to accurately describe your character’s shoes.)
10. Check your word count again (Maybe it magically increased while you were reading this)

How do you procrastinate?

Happy NaNoWriMo!

I'm busy writing 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo this month. I'm not sure how much blogging I'll accomplish during the month of November. Instead of more words (because all my free time is going to be revolving around more words), I'll leave you with this.

I hope you're having a great November!

Ten Reasons to sign up for NaNoWriMo

1. It’s fun to see the look you get when you tell someone you’re writing a 50,000 word novel in a month.

2. Those characters who have been talking in your head will finally have a purpose.

3. Writing fast and furious can release creative juices you never knew you had.

4. It gives you an excuse to procrastinate on things like cleaning the toilets.

5. It’s the perfect opportunity to write that weird time travel, pirate, romance novel that has been plaguing you.

6. You’ll have something to do while everyone else is taking a nap on Thanksgiving afternoon.

7. At the end of the month, you can say, “I wrote a good book!”

8. It’s a great way to get to know other crazy writers.

9. For years, you’ll know that 50,000 / 30 = 1,667 (because that will be your daily word count goal).

10. You don’t have to edit or work on a synopsis for an entire month.

Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Do you plan to in the future?

FAQ

Now that one of my novels is contracted with a publisher, more people in my life are finding out that I write. Here are a few of the questions I've gotten.


1) What kind of books do you write?

I love to tell them I write romance and see their reactions. It surprises a lot of people. When they give me the eyebrow raise, I explain it’s Christian romance. Usually, it’s a positive response. Every now and then, it’s not. Betsy St. Amant recently blogged about it.

2) I’ve always wanted to write a book. How do you find the time?

My response to this is, “Sit down and do it!” If I can do it, anyone can do it.

3) How long did it take you to write the book?

Eight years. I’m kidding, sort of. I wrote a children’s book in college. Then, I wrote my first novel my senior year of college. I tinkered with it for years. I wrote my second novel (a young adult) in 2005 as part of NaNoWriMo. I actually finished this one and submitted it to agents and editors. In November 2006, I wrote the first draft of the book currently under contract. I wrote it in a month and edited it over the next year before submitting it. I’m almost finished with the first draft of my next novel. I wrote it in a month and a half and plan to take a few months to edit it.

4) How much are they paying you for the book?

I get this question a lot. I totally understand why people would be curious, but I’m never sure how to answer it. I’m so thankful that my book is going to be published and even more thankful that I’m getting paid for it. I’ll say that my advance isn’t enough to buy a new car, but it is more than enough to make it possible for me to attend the ACFW conference in Indianapolis this year!

5) Where do you get your ideas?

The setting for the book came from real life experiences, and the story idea literally came while I was sleeping. I was visiting my sister and took a nap one afternoon. I woke up and furiously scribbled my idea down on paper. For other books I get ideas from everywhere. They are bits and pieces of things I’ve experienced or read about, people I know, and places I’ve been. The fun part about fiction is that you get to make it up as you go along.

So there you have it! Did I leave anything out? Writers, what responses do you get about the fact that you’re a writer?

The Ugly First Draft

As the plotting stage of my current WIP comes to a close, I've spent a lot of time considering my plan of attack for the first draft. I'm a big believer in giving myself permission to write a terrible first draft. Otherwise, the perfectionist in me takes over. The only way I'll actually finish a first draft is to write it fast and give myself strict deadlines.

That's why I love NaNoWriMo. If you're not familiar with it, National Novel Writing Month is a project held in November that challenges participants to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I have participated in and completed NaNoWriMo two years.

It's not November, and waiting until November to start my first draft isn't an option. I've decided to create my own plan. From April 1 - May 20 (50 days), my goal is to write 1,000 words every day. I plan to update my progress on this blog. Hopefully, it will help to keep me accountable. Wish me luck! Anybody want to join me?

What is your process for writing the first draft or starting a new project?