The Weekender

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self."

-Cyril Connolly

Good Morning! *yawn* It's kind of early for me to be up on a Saturday or, perhaps late depending on your perspective. My friend P. noticed I haven't blogged in a few days, so here I am, broadcasting live from my comfy, cozy bed, via laptop and my wireless aircard (the combination of which has been my best decision ever - I love the freedom of writing/shopping/emailing, etc., from anywhere I happen to be, in bed, at the beach, at the park, or in the car -when I'm a passenger, of course). But I digress, here I am on this overcast Saturday morning. I have a million things to do today but yet, I lie here taking in the day like I have all the time in the world. I'm taking some good advice from my friend P. and am going to take the slow boat today. Whatever I get done, I get done. Whatever is left undone can wait until tomorrow.

For the benefit of those of you who don't know, I am working on my first novel. At present, I am just shy of reaching the 40K word mark, and am shooting for somewhere around 65K words. I have learned so much since I began this journey a little over a year ago. Things the average person never stops to consider but which most experienced writers take for granted. Well, I suppose they do. I'm sure they didn't when they were in my shoes but with experience comes certain perks, right?

So, for the benefit of anyone out there who may feel the call to write the novel hiding inside, I offer a few humble tips. Bear in mind, these are tips from a novice novelist, but they seem to be working for me so far and I am happy to share them with you.

Here goes: -The most important tip I can offer is this: Learn everything you can about the tips, tools and tricks of the trade in writing a novel. Take in as much as possible. Then, incorporate what works for you and toss out what doesn't. Don't feel inferior or guilty if some particular "gem" just doesn't fit your style. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Accept this, incorporate what works and toss out the rest. Don't give it a second thought. This is the best tip I can offer. They only get less helpful from here. Continue at your own risk! LOL -Write when you are inspired. I realize this goes against the grain and that most experts say you shoudl set aside time to write every day. With my day to day commitments and struggles, I just can't write every day. Even if find an extra hour, if I am not truly inspired and motivated to write, it doesn't work. On the flip side, when an idea comes to me, or the next chapter of my book unfolds in my head, I have been known to stop whatever I am doing and head to the computer. If I am unable to sit down and pound on the keys, I take five minutes and jot everything down in my notebook (see later tip about notebooks). In short, strike while the iron is hot!

-Write the whole chapter. This may sound like a daunting task to some but, for me, it is just the natural way I write. I start out with a scene unfolding in my head and can't stop writing until the scene ends. Most of my chapters range between 2K-3K words. Once or twice, I've written two chapters in the same sitting, but usually I write a chapter, then walk away. Now, as a result, my novel is taking much longer to write than some, but probably not as long as others. However, I'm not interesting in breaking any speed writing records, I'm interested in writing the best novel I can. Good things take time.

-Keep a notebook handy. This may seem trivial but trust me on this one, it's the single best tip I've heard. It seemed a little hokey when I first read about it but I gave it a try anyway and have been carrying a small notebook (think 6x9 if you're a girl who carries a medium to large purse as I do). Mine has a black and white picture of the Eiffel Tower on it. In the three weeks since I've incorporated this one, I've jotted down 8 or 9 great short story/blog ideas and have two whole pages of ideas for my novel. Ideas which have come to me in line at the grocery store, sitting in traffic, walking through the mall or even at work. It usually takes me less than 30 seconds to jot down a quick line but these small investments are already paying big dividends. I'm contemplating getting a digital voice recorder to carry with me. The premise is the same as the notebook, but with a digital voice recorder (with a USB connection and the like), I could dictate scenes while sitting in traffic or at the park and transfer the voice file over to my computer and save them in the folder with my manuscript. Later, it could be easy to transcribe the scenes, tweak and make adjustments. The jury is still out on that one.

-Keep a character file. I wish I had known about this one when I started writing. It would have come in handy more than a few times. There are many complex ways to do this, but I prefer to keep it simple. As such, you open a new document and list out all your characters. Then next to each character's name, you fill in as much information as you can about that character from your book. Full name, physical characteristics, mannerisms, hometown, etc. You get the idea. This idea also works well for chapters. You keep a one or two paragraph synopsis of each chapter. In all honestly, I haven't done this myself, but hope to have finished it by month end. These two files work together and and as you read back through your work while completing them, you are likely to notice inconsistences such as Emily Jane's blonde hair in Chapter 2 which somehow morphed into black hair in Chapter 17 or how you started out writing about a hot summer day in Chapter 6 and then, in Chapter 8, you begin "Three months later, on a beautiful spring day..." These are small nuances but readers pick up on them right away. My philosophy is that it's best to fix things as soon as you notice them and not wait for some extreme editing session once the book is finished. There are many people who disagree on this point. Do what works best for you. -Search the web. There are many great writing tips to be gleened from the web. Take some time, google "writing tips" or "writing a novel" and invest a few minutes in honing your craft. Also, get a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Read it. Live it. Eat it if you have to, whatever it takes to get it into your system! -Keep writing. Don't get discouraged. Don't look at how many words you are lacking. Don't even look at the calendar with the months quickly slipping away. If you feel there is a novel inside you waiting to get out, there probably is. Now write it! Rome wasn't built in a day. You know all the quotes about baby steps, never give up, etc. Take heed and keep at it. You will eventually finish. I will eventually finish. All in good time, my dear. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.....the important thing is to keep on writing until you get it done. Until next time, Happy Saturday! I'm off to begin my Saturday adventure. Go find your own adventure and meet me back here tomorrow night for a weekend wrapup!

-Miss Scarlett