Charlotte Rains Dixon

Knowing What You're Going to Write Before You Write

How many words do you put on the page in a typical writing session?

500?  1,000?

When I wrote my novel, Emma Jean's Bad Behavior, my deal with myself was to write 2,000 words a day.  Didn't matter when I wrote them, but if I hadn't written them before bedtime, I had to stay up until they were done.

I was delighted to produce 2,000 words a day, let me tell you.  But how about routinely writing 10,000 words in a writing session?

Apparently, it can be done.

Somebody (I forget who, forgive me) tweeted this article about author Rachel Aaron, who wrote about how she went from an output of 2,000 to 10,000 words.  Every day.  (If you're in the mood to challenge yourself to write this much in even one day, head on over to Milli's Fear of Writing blog and sign up for one of her regular 10K day challenges.)

Rachel says that she attributes her word count success to three things:

Knowledge--Knowing what you're going to write

Time--Tracking and evaluating productivity

Enthusiasm--Excitement about what you're writing

I'm not so keen on the tracking and evaluating part (which is probably why I ought to pay attention to it), and generally for me enthusiasm is a given.  What can hang me up is not knowing what I'm going to write.

Over and over again I've found that following this simple rule leads to writing success:

Have a place to go.

It'll save you from hours spent internet surfing as you try to figure out what's next in your writing.  It will allow  you writing sessions where you write 10K words.  Your house will be lusciously dirty because you won't be spending time cleaning it instead of writing.

But how do you create yourself a place to go?

When you're in the flow, several chapters in, it is usually pretty easy.  You just write the next chapter on the scene list.  (This is one reason I advocate for outlines.  Nothing fancy, just a structure that gives you someplace to go next. Or, if you get excited about a scene that's out of order, go write that.)

But what if you're just starting out?  Or what if you're just a few chapters in and you don't really know your characters yet?  It can be way too easy to end up staring off into space because you don't know where to go.  (I admit, I've found myself in this place a few times recently.)

This is when the value of prepping to write a novel (or any kind of book) becomes evident.  When you know things about your character, place, and the structure of your novel, it will be much easier to get in stellar word count writing sessions.  I've actually taken the time to go back and really get to know my characters recently and it has made an enormous difference in my writing, and my engagement with the work. While this kind of novel prep can seem like busy work, I highly recommend it for the insights it will give you.  And for the fact that it will give you a place to go.

By the way, I'm going to be presenting a class on prepping for the novel this summer, so if you're interested and you're not on my list, sign up with the form to the right.

Do you have any pet ways that you prep for writing sessions that improve your word count?

Photo by OmirOnia.

Book Review: The First Husband

This is a paid book review for the BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions are mine, all mine.

The First Husband

by Laura Dave

This book is snappy.  As in, it snaps right along.  Pick it up and begin reading and before you know it, you're fifty pages in.  The novel tells the story of Annie Adams, a travel writer with a glamorous column for a big-time newspaper (I'm imagining we're supposed to remember the days when such professions were actually still possible).  She's in a fabulous relationship with movie director Nick, whose career is just hitting the big time.  Life is good.

And then Nick dumps her. 

In her grief, Annie repairs to a bar late at night and meets the adorable chef Griffin, who she marries, abruptly and pretty much on the rebound.  Hilarity ensues.  It actually really does--the book is very funny, besides being snappy.  (Maybe funny makes it snap?) 

If you've guessed that this novel is not going to win any literary prizes, you are correct.  But I don't care, I liked it.  I like reading funny novels.  Plus, my novel is funny and many's the agent who told me they loved it but they couldn't sell comedy.  So I'm pleased to be reading a book that is funny.

Also, there's this.  The book is written in first person.  I had been reading it the night before I awoken with the directive to change my novel from third person to first person.  Coincidence?  Probably not.  So reading this novel gave me a creative charge, and I'm grateful.  (For the record, you as a writer should be reading every single damn thing you can get your little hands on and this is why.  Because it inspires you.  And teaches you.)

So that's my book review.  I'd love to hear from you how a book has inspired your writing.  Please leave a comment.

You Can Do It!

"A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere." Joyce A Myers

For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about motivation this weekend.

Because I think that sometimes we need it to get ourselves started.  And by "started," I don't mean just beginning a project.  I'm talking about starting a writing session.  Here's what sometimes happens to me:

1.  I commit to taking time to write.

2.  I check email.

3.  I ponder writing, but it seems scary.

4.  I converse on Twitter.

5.  I look at news and entertainment stories.

6.  I ponder writing, but it seems like it will take a lot of energy.

7.  I check email again.

8.  I find another tweet to which I must respond.

9.  And finally, finally, I get to my writing.

And then I love it.  Flat out love it and don't want to do anything else again, ever.  So why did it take so long for me to get to it?

I think its a lack of motivation.  I have failed to remember and capture that wonderful feeling of being in love with my writing.  Truly, hearing sentiments like, "you can do it!" remind me of what it is that I really want to be doing.  Hearty platitudes actually help me because they recall the feeling of accomplishment I want to achieve. They remind me that I am in love with writing.

And the best way to evoke the desire to do something is to think about how it will make you feel.

So, here's my encouragement to you:  You can do it!  Really, you can!  Just pick up that pencil or open that computer and have at it.  

Please comment.  Do motivational phrases and ideas encourage you or annoy you?

Photo by Danzo08.

 

Guest Post: A Day in the Life of a Writer, Author Cynthia Haggard

A Day in the Life of Writer

by Cynthia Haggard

I dream that I am sitting on a chair in an ocean cruiser, two rows back from the Queen. Yes, that’s right, I’m sitting right behind the Queen of England, or would be were it not for her numerous relatives sitting in the row between us. A bell sounds. My eyelids flutter. I glimpse the clock. Six o’clock, and I must force myself out of bed because I have a yoga class at seven.

I wriggle my way into a seated position, the thrill of being so near the Queen fading as night fades into day. I go to my yoga class, do my shopping afterwards, carry it home in my backpack.

I unpack it, soak myself in a hot bath, and get ready for my day. By ten o’clock I’m finally ready to write.

“Corfeeee!” My husband’s voice intrudes from the room across the way, where he is taking his bath. Sighing I rise, and make a cup of espresso, remembering to add two teaspoonfuls of sweetener. My husband is unable to function without at least one cup of it. And now he’s buried in student papers, propped up on a wire thingy that crosses the bath, and also prevents his laptop from getting wet.

I return to my desk. Where was Cecylee when last I saw her? Was she having an argument? An argument with Richard? But they had a great many disagreements— “Sweetie! Where are my glasses?”

I rise up and hurry into our hallway. My husband is dressed for the day in cords, leather jacket and felt hat. He’s looking around, turning over papers, rattling keys. I hunt around and retrieve them. They were sitting on the table right behind his chair.

“You put them there!” he laughs.

“I did not,” I reply, kissing him, knowing that he loves to accuse me of hiding things. When the truth is that I’ve become very good at finding things he’s constantly losing.

He gives me a squeeze, and strides off down to the garage, where he’ll drive the car to the university.

I sit down again. Nothing happens to fill the blank in my brain. Speak to me please. But Cecylee folds her arms and taps her feet. She doesn’t take kindly to being interrupted.

I read what I’ve written, and do a light copy-edit. The phone rings.

“Hello,” says a well-known voice. “We’re having dinner tonight with—” And my husband names three other people. “Could you get up and look in the fridge?” I rise up, carrying the cordless phone while I peer into the fridge. How can I complain about a husband who is such an enthusiastic cook? So we discuss the menu, for a while.

Back to the desk. Cecylee is positively seething. But you know all about husbands, I say.You were married to yours for twenty-three years. You know how difficult they can be.

She relents, and tells me more of her story. Hours pass. Finally, I look at the clock. I am tired and it is three o’clock in the afternoon. Time to have a late lunch, before I get on with the rest of my day.

Cynthia Haggard is the author of Thwarted Queen.  Here's a bit about the book:

Cecylee is the apple of her mother’s eye. The seventh daughter, she is the only one left unmarried by 1424, the year she turns nine. In her father’s eyes, however, she is merely a valuable pawn in the game of marriage. The Earl of Westmorland plans to marry his youngest daughter to 13-year-old Richard, Duke of York, who is close to the throne. He wants this splendid match to take place so badly, he locks his daughter up.

The event that fuels the narrative is Cecylee’s encounter with Blaybourne, a handsome archer, when she is twenty-six years old. This love affair produces a child (the “One Seed” of Book II), who becomes King Edward IV. But how does a public figure like Cecylee, whose position depends upon the goodwill of her husband, carry off such an affair? The duke could have locked her up, or disposed of this illegitimate son.

But Richard does neither, keeping her firmly by his side as he tries to make his voice heard in the tumultuous years that encompass the end of the Hundred Years War - during which England loses all of her possessions in France - and the opening phase of the Wars of the Roses. He inherits the political mantle of his mentor Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, and become’s the people’s champion. The rambunctious Londoners are unhappy that their country has become mired in misrule due to the ineptitude of a King prone to fits of madness. Nor are they better pleased by the attempts of the King’s French wife to maneuver herself into power, especially as she was responsible for England’s losses in France. But can Richard and Cecylee prevail? Everywhere, their enemies lurk in the shadows.

This book is filled with many voices, not least those of the Londoners, who forged their political destiny by engaging in public debate with the powerful aristocrats of the time. By their courageous acts, these fifteenth-century Londoners set the stage for American Democracy.

And here's a bit about Cynthia Haggard:

Born and raised in Surrey, England, Cynthia Sally Haggard has lived in the United States for twenty-nine years. She has had four careers: violinist, cognitive scientist, medical writer and novelist. Yes, she is related to H. Rider Haggard, the author of She and King Solomon's Mines. (H. Rider Haggard was a younger brother of the author’s great-grandfather.) Cynthia Sally Haggard is a member of the Historical Novel Society. You can visit her website at: http://spunstories.com/

We'd love to hear your comments.  Does your day as a writer resemble Cynthia's in any way?

Got Writing Velocity?

I've been mulling the concept of momentum in writing lately, because I think I'm finally getting some in my new novel.  As I pondered, I hit on the idea of writing velocity.

What is writing velocity?

Here's the dictionary definition of velocity:  "the distance an object travels in a specified direction during a unit of time."

And we all know the definition of writing.  It means putting words on the page.

So, here are some ideas about what writing velocity means:

-- Writing velocity is writing fast

-- Writing velocity is writing fearless

-- Writing velocity is getting lots of words on the page

-- Writing velocity is satisfying

-- Writing velocity advances you toward your goals

Wait, you may say. Writing fast is scary and at times unwieldy.  Or even ungainly.  Or unholy.  Add whatever "un" word you like.  All of the above can be true.  And they can also be worked through. 

Because, here are some reasons why you want writing velocity:

-- Writing velocity bypasses the conscious mind

-- Writing velocity focuses on process, not product

-- Writing velocity is fun

-- Writing velocity goes deep.

Before I got into how to actually attain writing velocity, let's talk about when it is not appropriate to be writing crazy fast.  That would be when you are pondering big-picture rewrites or doing detailed editing work.

And now, how to get writing velocity into your life:

1.  Read.  All the time.  Read what you want to write.  Read self-help books.  Read spiritual tomes.  Read anything.  Words in, words out.

2.  Pre-write.  Take notes about what you're going to write about ahead of time.  This helps you to get a starting point, and having a way in is always useful.

3.  Connect with your work.  Read what you've last written (or your notes) before bed.  Or before you take a walk.  Find a time to get your work into your brain so your subconscious will work on ideas about it.

4.  Write every day.  There really is no better option than to just do it.

5.  Take a break.  On the other hand, some modes of healing such as Chinese medicine advocate rest for healing.  We can heed these as writers, too.  Sometimes going full out with the writing can burn us out, especially when working on a long project.  So build in intentional rest times (intentional being the operative word).

Please comment.  Do you write fast?  Does it help your writing process? What have I missed about attaining writing velocity? I'd love to hear more from you.

 Photo by fresh-m.