Tips From a First-Time Novelist

Hello!  Back from my writing hiatus... I announced in January that I was embarking on a novel, my first attempt ever at a novel, and I have finally competed it.  I actually finished the novel in April and now I'm going through several rounds of edits.  I have definitely learned a lot about the fiction writing process during this first attempt at a novel.  I thought I might share a few insights I gathered along the way:

1.  For any books I write in the future, I think I should come up with the title first and then write the book.  I did not have a title for this current novel and now that I've finished, I am having an incredibly difficult time coming up with a title that encapsulates all that the book means.  It's nearly impossible!

2.  Character development, character development, character development.  I went into the novel with a clear idea of the character traits of only a couple characters.  I wish I would have done more "pre-writing/pre-work" on the other minor character so that I would have gone into the novel with a clearer idea of who they really are rather than learning for myself who they are as the novel progressed.  I have found several wonderful sites that offer suggestions of some good activities that help you get to know your own characters before you begin writing:

http://www.creative-writing-solutions.com/creative-writing-prompts.html

http://dailywritingprompts.thewritingoffice.com/category/characters/

http://prompts-4-writers.deviantart.com/journal/Character-Development-Prompts-227535262

3.  Chapter outlines are not a bad thing.  I outlined a basic premise of how I would like the story to progress, but did not break this down chapter by chapter.  Only about halfway through the book did I begin doing this and it made things much easier.  Outline by chapter rather than by plot-- it makes the story easier to read!

4.  Do not become so overly-focused on the plot that you lose sight of prose and setting.  A good story can only take you so far.  If you don't establish a clear setting then the story lacks foundation.  Finding the proper mix between sections of prose, narrative, and description is as precise as blending the ingredients for a cake, and I can only say it seems to come from the instinct of each individual writer.  Trust your own magic.

5.  Don't insult your readers.  Sometimes as a writer, we are so in love with our own brilliant idea that we want to make sure the reader gets it, so we beat them over the head with it.  If your idea is really that brilliant, then trust your brilliant readers to get it.  They don't need to be told everything.  A good reader knows how to read a novel for all it's worth.  Good readers know how to read beyond the typed words on the page.  Show your theme through fluid and descriptive writing rather than through in-your-face telling. 

6.  Be patient.  Spinning a good yarn takes time and patience.  The urgency of my own story often mistakenly came through with rushed writing.  I am now having to go back and fill in the gaps, give more information, and sometimes literally change choice of words, etc. because the story was so rushed.  Take your time.

7.  Be fearless.  Tackle the hard stuff.  Say the difficult things.  Don't be afraid to show the ugly and lay it all out there.  As Natalie Goldberg puts it, Write down the bones. 

New Year, New Projects!

Happy New Year! 2012 is upon us and I, for one, and just grateful I am still here. I won't lie-- 2011 was rather hellish for me, but I have survived. That's what I do, I survive. I thought I should reiterate that since I have been horribly absent from my precious blog for over a month now. I have made a personal pact with self that I should post a minimum of two times per month on my blog. I have said many times that there is something about coming her and speaking that often brings clarity to my inner chaos.

I am reminded that it was late 2008 when I started blogging and I have found so much joy in it. This has been a useful and rewarding outlet for my voice. The bonus I did not expect is the community of blogger, recovery, and poet friends with whom I have connected along the way. I believe any true writer finds joy in just writing for self, but I have discovered the joy in sharing words with others and that was a reward I didn't expect.

I believe it's my three-year journey here (and the 34-year trek prior to that) which has led me to my new project-- a novel. That's right, people, I am embarking on a novel! Have I ever written fiction before? No! Have I ever had training or guidance in writing fiction? No! Is that stopping these characters from invading my mind and soul? No! I am in love with writing this story. The plot, the people, and the theme of this novel feel like a natural culmination of my life up to this point, and I MUST write it.

I have written poetry since I was eleven years old and I've spent a lot of time with poets. I get poets and have a solid understanding of how various poets write. I do not know any fiction writers and am not familiar at all with this experience. This process is entirely new to me, so I engage in it with my own style and my own unique approach. I am now at page 54 in my writing and there are portions of the novel so far that even my untrained eye sees are really bad. I am finding now that I am knee deep in the action of this novel, I am truly needing the guidance of other writers to navigate this process. I welcome any resources, books, websites, or kind advice any of you in bloggerland can offer me. I have begun doing some internet research on my own and found one article in particular that I really like. It's from The Guardian and is entitled "Ten Rules for Writing Fiction." I am especially relieved to hear that these writers often give conflicting "rules," which validates my budding belief that perhaps there is no one right way to do it. One of my favorite tips was given from the author, Roddy Doyle. He says, "Tip #1: Do not place a photograph of your favorite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide." You can check out that entire article here.

More to come!

Photo above found at:
http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&q=writing#/d1s1qz6

Writing as Therapy

I recently had a comment from Glenda Beall, a fellow blogger at Netwest Writers ( netwestwriters.blogspot.com ). I love her blog and hang out there quite frequently just for the sense of writers' community I get there. Glenda pointed out to me how she too has felt writer's block during times of happiness. I mentioned this in an earlier post, and I couldn't agree more that writing is a form of therapy.

I do a writer's workshop once a week at Vanderbilt's Adolescent Psychiatric Hospital. This project is made available through Nashville's Youth Speaks organization. This pulls together my two greatest loves, psychology and creativity. I find that the troubled children there are highly creative, cooperative and open to the writing process. I enjoy them every week and find such inspiration in their courage to share honestly. Although I work with lots of great poets who also help facilitate this writing group, I believe I am acutely aware of the personal struggles of the adolescents there because of my experience in counseling this population for many years now. I enjoy them so much, and I am always thinking of both writing skills as well as tools that will help them cope with the many traumas and stresses they face in their young lives. I thought I might share some of those with my readers.

Processing an Emotion

One skill I teach the teens is how to take a feeling and squeeze every drop of sensation from it. I encourage them to describe in great detail the thoughts, body sensations, colors, and images associated with it. A common exercise we do is giving the emotion 5 senses. For example, if anger had a taste, what would it be? What color is anger, what would it feel like in your hands? Often we hold intense emotions in one side of the brain with no connection to positive neural pathways or even words! This exercise helps to make emotions more bearable and work them through.

Dealing with Obsessions

Another skill I teach the adolescents is how to "write out" an obsession. Often these children are plagued with anxieties or worries. I ask them to imagine that they have literally been eating whatever is the target of their obsessions or anxieties. If they ate this particular thing, what would we see running from the corners of their mouths? What would other people think or feel when seeing this? How did it feel to swallow? The kids love this exercise. One girl wrote, "There is no pain like mine. I have been eating your last words to me."

I believe our writing puts to words the pains that are often indescribable. I cannot tell you about the depth of my hurt, but I can describe the cold hand clenched around my throat, hoping to take my life. Bringing these feelings into being through image and sound puts them into a safe container. Writing about joy engages the same senses, but joy is not often a feeling that was forced into suppression, nor does it require safe placement. Joy is safe, and I'm more accustomed to writing about the forbidden. Joy, I feel it but am still learning to write it!

Picture above found at:
http://lavidamesorprende.deviantart.com/art/Writing-at-the-beach-8919736

Joy and Pain

Hello all. I've noticed that I have neglected my writing here on my blog and I'm not really sure why. Honestly, I have just been so peaceful and happy lately that I feel I am losing my artistry! Most of my life my creativity has been fueled by pain and anxiety, so what do you write about when life is good? This is just a HORRIBLE dilema! I purchased a poetry anthology for myself that celebrates joy, and it was encouraging for me to read that good poetry can still be "happy." This is a very new thing for me... this happiness stuff... and I'm not sure how it is going to work for me. :-) In all seriousness, I am not naive enough to believe that all of life is this black and white-- there is either misery or joy. There's a large continuum and I am very grateful to be living much of my life these days on the joy end of the continuum. There is actually a place to be found, where one can hold both joy and pain and find contentment in that.