Writing the Novel: Class #1

I think I'm going to like my class. My professor, Bill Holinger, seems very smart and funny (and looks just like Dennis Quaid!). And the group seems serious about writing.

As a way to introduce ourselves, instead of the normal "why are you taking this class" line of questions, he had us list a good book we've read recently. I took copious notes, so I now have a long list of books to check out. Whoo! (See below)

We also talked a lot about the process of writing a novel, and the conversation left me daunted! It's so very different from writing stories, it seems. But for the moment, I am just going to focus on getting the first two chapters revised and focused.

If you have a novel that you're revising, you might find some of these suggestions interesting:

• Put each scene on an index card and lay them out on a table in order. Read through them and see if the progression makes sense. Move index cards and insert ideas for new scenes, as needed.
• Print out the whole book, and lie each chapter on a table. Read each chapter, leaving a handwritten note atop each chapter regarding what scenes need to move, what character details need to change, etc.
  
• Tape index cards with scenes/notes on what happens in each chapter to the wall, and rearrange them as need be.

Partial list of recommended books
To Serve them All my Days (The prof recommended this one)
Brick Lane
Potato Factory
A House at the End of the World
Angle of Repose
Cloud Splitter
The Knock Out Artist

Anyone read any of these? If so, let me know what you thought!

Best laid plans...and a new class!

Well, my commute SUCKED yesterday, so I didn't get home until much later than expected. And by then I was pretty beat, so I didn't end up writing. I did finish the book I was reading (while warming up my frozen body in a bath), When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson. I found the book a little hard to get into because it bounced around to the stories of many different characters. But once I got a lay of the land and could keep everyone straight, it was enjoyable. The writing was particularly good, with lots of interesting plays on words.

My goal for this week/weekend is to finalize revisions on two short stories, and make a list of places to send them.

Also, I'm starting another class tonight! It's on writing the novel, and I hope to revise some chapters of my NaNoWriMo manuscript. I'm a little nervous to be back in the classroom, week in and week out. I thought I wanted the structure that a class would provide, and now I'm scared about that very same thing. I guess we'll see...

An evening of writing

My husband starts classes this week. It means he'll be out of the house two nights a week. And I am psyched. Not because I don't love spending time with him--I do, probably a bit too much. Having him home raises the question: do you want to write this evening or snuggle on the couch and talk or watch TV? That makes it hard to get my butt in the chair.

But now he'll be out of the house, and I have to go straight home after work to walk Chloe-dog. So that means I'll be home alone with every intention to cook myself dinner, and then write for a good solid hour. Then I might reward myself with some television and knitting.

I'll let you know how it goes!

An encouraging rejection

I don't like getting rejections of any kind (see post from a few days ago). But I did learn through teachers and other writers that there is a "good" kind of rejection. I guess when editors were on the fence about a piece, they will often include a personal note with the rejection. Something like, "Nice work, please send to us again."

I got one such rejection recently from Hayden's Ferry Review. They were in my "top tier" of literary mags, so I'm proud to get a kind note from the editor. Of course I would've been prouder had they published the piece, but I'll take what I can get.

WAP: Writing Action Plan

Poet mom has a great post describing the benefits of having an action plan for writing. In her case, it's a PAP: a Poetry Action Plan. I'm adapting her idea into a Writing Action Plan, or WAP, since I don't write poetry.

Here's my 2009 WAP.

1. Get three short stories finished and into the submissions roster.
2. Revise my NaNoWriMo novel.
3. Attend Grub Street's Muse and the Market Place in May.
4. Continue writing drafts of short stories as the muse strikes/time allows (meaning goals 1 and 2 take priority).
   
5. Do NaNoWriMo again (most likely).
   
6. Get something accepted at NPR.

I have some other things I'd like to do too, including getting a few steady freelance clients, breaking into a big magazine, and teaching at a community college. And I'll be teaching a writing workshop at the BCAE that I'm really excited about. But I like the number 6. And those 6 goals are really most important to me in 2009.
So here goes.

What's your WAP, or PAP or other-AP?

Rejection: The hits just keep on coming

Dear Rejection,
I'm trying not to take you personally. I'm trying to be all Zen about you, each time you come into my email box or via the SASE that I enclosed with my submission to Some Literary Journal. I'm trying to say to you, "you're part of the process" and "the only way to not have you in my life is to give up sending my stories out." And I believe those things, I do.

But part of me still wishes you were a distinct entity that I could greet with a steel-toed kick in the crotch the next time you tried to make your way into my life. Another part of me wishes that I would never have to meet you again. Ever. And the rest of me knows that's not possible (See "the things I'm trying to say to you").

So Rejection, I will not take you personally. I will remember that all it takes to get out of you and into Acceptance is one editor who likes my work. I will make some tweaks to the story I've been sending out based on a wonderful reader's advice, and I will just keep going.

But Rejection? If you decide to stay home and hibernate this winter, I will knit you a quilt and brew you some tea to make sure you're nice and cozy.

With Grudging Fondness,
Writerbug

Cool journal call for submissions

I heard about this neat publication called The First Line. They supply writers with a first line, and you use that line--exactly as is-- as the first line in a short story and submit it to them for review and possibly publication.

The line for winter submissions is:

Herman Sligo was a bit actor who played Uncle Emil in three episodes of the popular television series The Five Sisters.

Submissions are due 2/1/2009. I'm going to make an attempt at creating a story around this line. Anyone want to join me?

Publishing Question

For those of you who have published in journals before or know about the process, can you tell me if it is as good to get published in literary magazines published by colleges and edited by the MFA students, as compared to literary journals that may or may not be affiliated with a college and that are edited by a professional staff? I'm making my list of places to send things to, and I want to "tier" it and first send to the more prestigious places, etc.

Check... and check

A snowy weekend equals a productive weekend for bug. On the writing front, I:

• Read and commented on Jessica's stories
• Sent her my stories for her comments
• Researched a few more places to send my Cartes story too (which I will do tomorrow)
• Started to flesh out an outline of my NaNoWriMo manuscript. I only got about 5 chapters in, but I think I'll stop there and start writing those five chapters because I think that I need to get those down before moving on to the next batch.
  
• Researched some writing retreats and realized that I don't want to apply to any until I have a better sense of what going will help me accomplish that I couldn't get done taking a "staycation".

I also finished a very complicated hat that I knit for a sick coworker, and a hat that I knit for my cousin (though I may have to redo that one--it depends on how much it shrank during blocking. It came out way too large for some reason...). And I wrapped all my presents and sent out a few Christmas cards. (If you don't get one, please know that it's not because I don't love you! I only sent cards to people who live far away, who really love getting mail, or who I know I won't see for a while.)

A snowy weekend

This weekend is probably going to be quieter than I planned, with the impending snow storm and all. I've given myself a writing break to allow myself to recover from the madness of NaNoWriMo and also to embrace the madness of the holidays. I'm thinking a snowed in weekend might be a good time to get started on that revision.

But where do I start? That's a question that's been plaguing me. But Chris Baty of NaNo fame (he's the founder), gave the following advice and I'm going to follow it:

Make a 10- or 20-page book synopsis that travels through your whole novel, laying out the key things readers learn and see in each chapter.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Writerly list of things to do

Among the many Christmassy things I need to do, I'd like to get some writerly tasks completely too.

1. Apply for writing residency. This weekend.
2. Send Jessica two stories for her review. This weekend.
3. Read Jessica's stories. This week.
4. Start reading TI's thesis. This week.

There are other things on my longer term list, but I'd like to keep things as simple as possible so I'll leave it at that for this week.

A fine balance

One of the lessons I learned from NaNo was that I could write for an hour or more everyday. But I also learned that I don't want to. Well, no--I would like to get that much writing done. But I don't want to give up the things I have to give up in order to devote that much time to writing.

I'm a social person. I need to go out. I also need to take care of my house, do freelance work, do volunteer work, and do other crafts. I say "need" because really, those things are important to me and make my life happy. Just like I need to write.

So here's my new plan. I'll let you know how it works out!

• During the week, my work days will be devoted to my day job and only my day job. Duh. Sounds obvious, but I can get distracted at times, as I'm sure we all can. But with the economy being how it is, I need to be more productive than ever at work.
• I'll go out 2 nights a week after work for drinks, yoga, knitting group, or dinner with friends.
  
• The other 2 nights, I'll go home and take care of house stuff and write for at least 1 hour (or take care of writing business, such as submissions).
• The leftover weeknight will be flexible--some weeks I'll go out, some I'll write.
  
• Saturdays will be my writing day. I will write for at least 3 hours every Saturday. I'll also get stuff done around the house as needed, and devote at least 2 hours to freelancing.
  
• Saturday nights will be a date night with Brian most of the time (the exceptions would be for parties we're invited to as a couple, family stuff, etc.)
• Sunday will be a more social day for knitting groups, book groups, dinner with friends/family.
  

I still need to work volunteering into the schedule. Now, I do random volunteer work here and there. Ideally, I'd like to do something more consistent, but we'll see how that works out.

If I can implement this plan, I think I'd be very happy with this life!

Good essay

I'm a little in love with Garrison Keillor. Or, more precisely with his writing and the subjects he writes about. He makes life seem so simple, even when he's pointing out what makes life messy. He seems like a man who has his head screwed on straight, and coming from a woman who often loses her head, this seems like a very fine quality indeed.

Reading his recent essay on Salon also made me realize once again why I love writing and reading so much: there is something so touching when someone expresses sentiments you have felt (and maybe not even noticed). It makes you feel so much less alone in this crazy world. And when someone expresses them as well as Keillor? That's pure magic.

How I spent my November

Phew! I was a bit burnt out after NaNo, hence my not posting for a while. I promise to post this week with some of the things I learned from NaNo. For now, I leave you with a picture that pretty much captures 99% of how I spent November.

Winner!!

I did it! I wrote 50,000 words in one month! Through all the craziness that life through at me, I wrote and wrote. It's a lot of crap, to be honest, but it's my crap and I am so very proud to have created it!

Now I'm going to give my little fingers a rest and stop typing. First, I'll leave you with the quote on the winner's certificate, which I will be printing and proudly hanging in my home and work offices.

Through storm and sun, you traversed the noveling seas. Pitted against a merciless deadline and fighting hordes of distractions, you persevered. You launched yourself bravely into Week One, sailed through the churning waters of Week Two, skirted the mutinous shoals of Weeks Three and Four, and now have landed, victorious, in a place that few adventurers ever see.

We congratulate you on your hard work, salute your discipline and follow-through, and celebrate your imagination.

You did something amazing this month, novelist. We couldn't be prouder.

NaNoWriMo: Lessons learned

I'm not done with NaNo--I still have about 14,000 words to write. (Scary! Especially considering the fact that Thurs. is likely to be a wash.) But I did want to write about one of the things I learned from NaNo.

Recently, I got to a point in my story where I felt like I was done with it. Not as in, "This novel is awesome and totally complete!" but as in, "I have nowhere else to go with this." But since I made this promise to myself and the NaNo world, I needed to push forward anyway. So I started writing from another character's point of view, just to help me get into his head.

And you know what? I realized that this story should be told from multiple points of view! That M.C trying to figure out her sister's suicide impacts the people she interviews in various, interesting ways. So that's where I'm taking the story now. I'm guessing I wouldn't have learn about that part of the story as quickly (or maybe at all) had I not made myself sit down and write when I felt like I had nothing more to say.

So, thank you NaNo!

(WriMo word count as of 8 p.m. on Monday: 37,830 words)

NaNoWriMo: I did it!

No, I didn't hit 50,000 words on Day 18.

But I did allow myself to try something new--writing from different characters' perspectives, and it felt really good! I got 2,100 words written in about an hour and a half. And I like them. (Well, I haven't reread them, but I liked them as they were coming out.) But more importantly, I like the idea of making this story from more than one point of view. So now I have a whole bunch of stuff to write, which means that I will get to 50,000 words, I just know it.

Feeling inspired as I break to go to my physical therapy appointment and then get some much needed food into my stomach.

NaNoWriMo Update

I fell a bit off course because I had my lovely friend Gracie (who has a new fabulous blog about cooking and eating) come visit this weekend.

But I skipped dinner last night and wrote 2,000 words to help me catch up. I'm at the point where I think most of what I'm writing is pretty awful and won't make it past draft 1, but the point here is just to get the words down, and that's what I'm doing.

I'm hoping to hit 2,000 more tonight. I'm hopeful that I'll finish this crazy thing, though I know Thanksgiving is going to mess me up a bit, since we're hosting a house full of family. And this internal editor of mine is coming on strong, telling me over and over what BS I'm writing. But I'm trying to duct tape her mouth and slog on through.

NaNoWriMo: Your opinion please!

So I'm coming to a blocked place regarding my novel. I know MC has one more family member to visit on her quest to figure out why her sister killed herself. But that surely won't take up 25,000 words. So now what?

There's a potential love interest brewing between her and her best friend, David. I would like to expand that, but I'm thinking there might need to be more tension there. Maybe another man comes out of the woodwork and thwarts David's efforts? Any other ideas?

What else could happen? So far, her visiting with her parents has led to a tentative kind of reconciliation between her and each of them. I'm thinking something different has to happen when she goes to visit the aunt (That's the last family member she needs to learn from.) I think what she learns from her aunt is just that living with the death of someone close to you will never get easy, but it will get manageable. Not sure how that comes out, but I assume I'll figure that out as I go. But if you have ideas...I'm open!

I think M.C. has to come to terms with the fact that she drinks too much. Not sure how to make that happen... Any ideas?

And any thoughts on what else could happen? The themes of the book so far are suicide, alcoholism, and reconciliation.

Any ideas, prompts, thoughts, direction, etc are most entirely welcome.

NaNoWriMo: Day 12: I'm getting tired

My excitement is starting to wane a bit. I think I'm getting a little burnt out. I'm not going to stop, mind you, but I want to be honest about how I'm feeling. I'll do my 1,600 words today, though I'd much rather just watch TV, clean up, and then take a bath. (I'll try to write and then do the latter two.)

I'm taking tomorrow off from writing because my dear friend Gracie is coming to town from Seattle, and Kerry and I are meeting her for dinner after work. I might not get to write on Friday, though I'll try to squeeze some in in the morning, before G and I go off to have some fun in Boston.

Then on Saturday, she's having coffee with a friend to give me some time to write in the morning. She leaves on Sunday afternoon (wah!) so I'll have time to write then. And I took Monday off work just in case I need some more hours to devote to NaNo'ing, so I'm not too worried if I fall a bit behind.

Anyway, that's where I'm at: still devoted, but glad to have some time to spend with some dear friends and to get away from this damn computer.