On Creative Writing: The Emotions of Finishing that First Draft

Posted on May 19, 2013 | 15 Comments
I am author, hear me roar....

I am author, hear me roar….

As I move toward publication of The King’s Sons on May 31, I’m reflecting back on the crazy conglomeration of emotions I’ve experienced each time I finished a first draft of one of my novels.

The emotions involved in knowing you’ve written the last word of that draft–even if the novel has tons of issues, and you can bet your bottom it does–can be as overwhelming as they are simultaneous.

In fact, they’re probably overpowering because they’re always simultaneous.

Anyway, these are the emotions that always come over me when I finish a novel. What has your experience been, if you’ve completed one or multiple first drafts?

  • PRIDE. I accomplished something. I did it! YES! I’m finally a novelist. I have a finished novel!
  • DISBELIEF. Holy mess, I have a finished novel! How did this happen? It felt like it would never happen! I mean, even when it got close and I could tell it was going to happen….
  • MENTAL EXHAUSTION. Brain. so. tired. I need a celebratory, relaxation sitcom marathon stat. What’s going on at Sacred Heart Hospital these days?

    "KNIFE WRENCH!!!! For kids!"

    “KNIFE WRENCH!!!! For kids!” (Not endorsed for cutting scenes.)

  • Or maybe a night on the town with the girls…. (I once ordered celebratory chicken wings, to eat during a celebratory viewing of an Alabama game with one of my best friends at the time.)
  • MINOR DESPAIR. It’s a finished novel, but it’s so bad. I mean, awesomely bad. What was I thinking having the evil duke scheme to steal the throne by murder when he could have just married the princess? Why wouldn’t he just marry the princess, seriously? And why…? I’ll have to change SO MANY THINGS.Screen Shot 2013-05-18 at 5.19.24 PM
  • GRIEF. I don’t want to wait a month before I read-through and start editing. Man, Stephen King said to wait two. I won’t get through one. I MISS MY CHARACTERS!!! I MISS WRITING ABOUT THEM!!!
  • PARANOIA. What if no one likes it? No one’s going to like it. Dude, I just wasted a year of my life writing this trash. Who in the world would ever like this? Well, maybe they’ll laugh at it, if nothing else.
  • EUPHORIA. Because I. wrote. a. novel. Booya!

So, what has your experience been when you finish a first draft? Or, how do you imagine it will feel, if you’re en route?

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Authors, Bloggers: The Pitfalls of A Simple Style

Posted on May 18, 2013 | 16 Comments

1382560_book_2Over the last two days, I’ve examined the major dichotomy of style where creative writers and bloggers are concerned. I’ve discussed the benefits of using a simple style with short sentences focused on clarity. (This kind of writing is exemplified at its most famous by Hemingway.)

I’ve also discussed the benefits of writing with lots of frills and description, turning your draft into a real work of art of the baroque style. (William Faulkner, anyone?)

The most important thing is to be true to who you are. Write how you are meant to write and embrace the style you naturally gravitate toward. You will, for sure, have your greatest chance of success that way, no matter where you fall on the simple-baroque spectrum. You will sound sincere. Your voice will be genuine. Your readers will follow and trust you.

However you write–and whether you write fiction, nonfiction, a blog, or all of these–another key to success is to understand the pitfalls of your side of the spectrum. So, today, as a Hemingway-esque writer myself–meaning that I prefer short sentences, not that I have his talent, because geez, if only–I want to go into the stylistic dangers you face when you gravitate toward simple sentence structure and shorter, clearer words.

1400992_nile_crocodile_1

Hemingway’s style wasn’t without its dangers. But he wasn’t one to shy from danger. An avid hunter of big game, he likely killed a Nile crocodile or two.

Tomorrow, I’ll discuss the problems I’ve seen in books written by people who prefer to embellish their sentences and paragraphs.

What to watch for when you know you prefer simplicity and clarity in your writing

  • Simplicity isn’t always clear. Confusing conciseness with clarity is easy, but they don’t always coincide. Often writers like me–I call us “Hemingways”–worry about “saying too much.” In fact, in my first drafts I worry so much about saying too much that sometimes I don’t say everything the reader needs to know to make sense of a plot point. Be wary of this; preferring to give all necessary information with short, easy to follow sentences and short paragraphs is one thing. Making sure you give all necessary information is something else.
  • Make sure you vary sentence structure.  Variety is the spice of life. It’s also the spice of writing. There’s nothing wrong with short sentences. That said, you do need to vary them with compound sentences from time to time. A string of simple sentences will sound choppy. I know such a string is easy to follow. Your reader will progress quickly through your paragraphs. He’ll progress quickly until you lull him to sleep. (See what I’m doing here? How choppy, how boring was this paragraph without a variety of sentence structure? Even us Hemingways can be bothered to use conjunctions and semicolons, and a dependent clause here or there. These things make a major difference in how readable your prose is.)
  • Make sure your themes, arguments, and the overall development of your work shows that your thought processes aren’t simple in the way your style is. In other words, make sure your content is quality. (That goes for everyone, of course, regardless of style.) If you’re a Hemingway, make clear by the intelligence of your arguments and the solidity of your structure that you know what you’re talking about. Show that your preference for conciseness and clarity doesn’t mean you’re incapable of structuring longer, more complex sentences. You just like short ones.

Some people might think that just because your sentences are simple, your plot or your argument is one-dimensional and undeveloped. They might predispose themselves to judge your characters one-sided. Your job is to make sure that isn’t true, and to give all the evidence you can to the contrary.

So, what do you think? As a reader, what aspects of a Hemingway-esque style have annoyed you in the past? What aspects of it do you like?

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Posted in On Narration and Style, On The Writing Process

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Guest Blogger Victoria Grefer: The Three "P's" of Creative Writing

Posted on May 17, 2013 | 2 Comments

Reblogged from Words on the Page:

Click to visit the original post
  • Click to visit the original post

Today I'm excited to welcome my author friend Victoria Grefer to Words on the Page. Victoria has a great blog on writing, The Crimson League, and she posts something informative and entertaining every day (yes, every single day!! I know, right?!).  I'm thrilled to have her join us. Make sure you check out the links at the end of the post so you know how to follow her on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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I'm not only hosting a guest blogger today in Jessica Baverstock. I'm a guest blogger myself over at Jennings Wright's blog, "Words on the Page." I discuss the emotional requirements of writing in the form of "The 3 P's". Please check it out and give Jennings your support.

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Posted in On The Writing Process

Sustaining Your Creativity During Fiction Withdrawals

Posted on May 17, 2013 | 16 Comments
Jessica Baverstock

Jessica Baverstock

It’s Friday, which always means a possible guest blogger might pop up here on crimsonleague.com: and today, we have one! Please welcome Jessica Baverstock. She’s a frequent visitor and commenter here, so chances are you  already have an idea of how insightful she is from her feedback on my posts.

Today, she wanted to reach out and help me with my creativity dry spell as I switch from fiction to nonfiction. The concept of creativity is her specialty. I hope you not only enjoy her approach, but also find yourself inspired to get creating!

Sustaining Your Creativity During Fiction Withdrawals

We writers love being immersed in our fiction. The world building, character development and plot twists keep our creative minds racing.

But that’s not all there is to writing.

Editing and working on non-fiction projects are necessary and important. The problem is, they can take us away from our fiction writing and lead to Fiction Withdrawals.

Why Does It Happen?

Editing, especially proofreading, is not an overly creative experience. The freedom of the first draft is often replaced by the mind-numbing act of tinkering with grammar and picking up typos.

Non-fiction, while it has its creative moments, doesn’t provide you with the same breadth of creative canvas as your novels.

So what does the creative part of your mind do during that time?

First, you get antsy. Your Creativity is surging and wants to get back to writing fiction. You experience Fiction Withdrawals.

The problem is, if this situation is not addressed you can eventually move into the second stage. Your Creativity starts to lose momentum, becomes stale and eventually stops pestering you.

Fiction Withdrawals don’t last forever. Once they pass, your Creativity can turn into an overweight couch potato who can’t even create a lame joke without several day’s warning.

frustrated-girl-writing

What’s the Solution?

Your less creative projects are important, but so is keeping your Creativity happy and active. You may not have time to immerse yourself in your fiction like you normally do, but there are plenty of small things you can put into practice so the creative cogs don’t rust up.

We’re going to mention some helpful tips, but each person is different. You need to decide what will work for:

  • Your personal Creativity, and
  • Your personal circumstances.

Input

To stop your Creativity turning into an unhealthy couch potato, you need to make sure you’re feeding your Creativity the right foods.

Here are some suggestions:

  • Keep up an intake of creative inspiration. Most of us get our inspiration from reading, but you may not have time to delve into your favourite epic right now. Instead, you could use great movies, inspiring artwork or moving music to give you a creative boost. You could also invest in an audio version of your favourite book and listen to that when driving or exercising.
  • Change things regularly. Change sparks Creativity. You don’t have to move country to experience change. Just rearranging your room, altering your routine, varying your meals, and taking a different route to a familiar place can all have an impact on your Creativity.
  • Get outside. Go for a walk and explore. Taking time out for yourself attracts ideas because your mind has some ‘down time’ to file things away.

Output

The second step to keeping your Creativity happy and active is providing your Creativity time to exercise.

Here are some suggestions that shouldn’t take too much time away from your other projects:

  • Start your day with a small word count. Can you spend 500 words or 1/2 hour on your fiction manuscript to begin your day? It’s not your usual immersion level, but it could be enough to keep you in touch with your fiction writing.
  • Keep a notebook for your novel. If you’re not able to write regularly, can you note your ideas down in a little book so they’ll be there when you’re ready to write? Flicking through your little book from time to time and rereading your ideas can also stave off Fiction Withdrawals.
  • Write short stories. If working on a novel would be too big a distraction, could you work on a short story instead?

Remember, the aim is to keep your Creativity in good shape while you’re going through Fiction Withdrawals, so you’ll be ready to immerse yourself in your fiction again very soon.

How do you keep your Creativity in shape during Fiction Withdrawals?

Jessica's book! How cool is this cover? I love it!

Jessica’s book! How cool is this cover? I love it!

Jessica Baverstock is a writer who is fascinated by the creative process. She blogs at Creativity’s Workshop where her creativity writes in purple text. Her latest e-book Creativity on Demand covers how writers can access their creativity whenever and wherever they need inspiration. Her Twitter handle is @jessbaverstock.

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Bloggers, Authors: the benefits of an ornate style and complex structure in your writing

Posted on May 16, 2013 | 20 Comments
If writing were architecture...

If writing were architecture…

This post is a companion piece, upon request, to yesterday’s post about the benefits of a simple style and simple structure in your writing.

Now, I love my simple structure and my short sentences. I think they’re easy to follow, and writing the way I do keeps me organized and keeps my thoughts flowing. It’s what comes naturally to me.

Of course, not everyone writes that way, and not everyone should. Some writers are gifted with the ability to write long, flowing, beautiful sentences that also make sense and don’t force their readers to go back and have to read them two or three times in order to decipher their meaning.

Some writers can craft extended, unique, truly inspired metaphors that are engaging and exciting.

Some writers have a knack for building up rather than cutting down. In contrast, my instinct has always been to simplify my writing. That’s what comes naturally to me when I edit.

My writing is more like this: simple and plain, but solid and clear.

My writing is more like this: simple and plain, but solid and clear.

The important thing about style is that you stick with your natural inclinations, because they indicate where your talents are. Neither a simple nor a baroque structure is inherently better than the other. They each have their positives. For instance, if you naturally find yourself writing glowing and lengthy descriptions, you might find:

  • For you, writing is a bit like painting with words. You love writing for the creative license and the freedom it gives you to  explore every nook and cranny of a subject. You are an experimenter. You take risks with words, and that thrill is what keeps you writing. You leave no stone unturned, and no potential unfulfilled.
  • You draw connections between things that writers like me can’t think to. The basis of your art lies in powerful imagery and figurative language. Your metaphors and similes connect objects people wouldn’t normally put together. Those connections, nonetheless, are logical and powerful, and they can lead you and others to deep contemplation about the world and about life.
  • You are able to paint a clear image of your characters and their world for your readers. Some writers prefer to leave many aspects of character and setting to the reader’s discretion. You, on the other hand, don’t have to worry about how your reader might interpret the layout of a room, for instance. You tell them what’s there.
  • You see the value in the grunt work of writing. In its foundations. You are able to impress others and make art not only with the story you’re telling, but also with how you weave your tale. You understand and draw focus to the beauty and the raw potential of language. Sentences aren’t building blocks or work for you; they’re a puzzle to fit together.

Again, as I leave off this topic of style that I’ve been delving into the last few days, remember that no matter how you write, your style is not inferior or superior to anyone else’s.

The key is to be true to who you are and to focus on exploiting the benefits of your personal style, whether your tendency is to keep things short and sweet or to go all out with lots of dependent clauses and “all the fixins,” as we say down south in Faulkner land.

Take advantage of the opportunities your directness or your ornate style afford you, and keep the disadvantages in mind, to limit their impact on your writing.

What disadvantages? I’ll go into those over the next two days, so make sure to keep stopping by.

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A Fantasy Novelist’s Approach to Editing

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Reblogged from change it up editing:

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I am impressed with any writer who manages to blog and write every day! Fantasy writer Victoria Grefer, author of The Crimson League, does just that, and you can read her daily blog about creative writing and marketing fiction at www.crimsonleague.com. Her blogs are full of wonderful information any writer can use, and she graciously accepted my invitation to share tips about her editing process with you. 

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My recent guest post with Candace Johnson from Change It Up editing. It describes my personal approach to editing, which I'll describe in much more detail in my upcoming writer's handbook. Please check it out and give Candace's wonderful site your support.

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Bloggers, Authors: the benefits of simple style and simple structure in your writing

Posted on May 15, 2013 | 19 Comments

1182879_woman_writing_in_the_agendaWhy do some novelists and bloggers  prefer short, punchy sentences to long, flowing descriptions? Why do some value writing that is direct, succinct, and simple, with little room for misinterpretation? Why are style and style preferences such personal things?

A while back, I wrote a post asking readers whether they wrote more like Hemingway or like Faulkner: that is, whether their style is closer to ornate or to minimalist in structure. I’m a Hemingway. Simple and sparse.

I have nothing against a more ornate style. In fact, I admire flowing, descriptive passages. Often they contain such detail and such beauty that I’m left in awe. I, however, can’t write like that, and I’d be foolish to make the attempt. I could never write successfully like a Faulkner.

There are various reasons you might prefer a Hemingway-esque style in your own prose. I feel the simplicity of my writing is a benefit for me both in my blog posts and in my fiction. Here’s why:

  • Grammar-wise, it’s simpler. There is less room for error as far as grammar and punctuation are concerned when your write simply, as people noted in the comment section on my Hemingway/ Faulkner post. I’m a perfectionist as well as a grammar Nazi, so keeping things short and sweet keeps me happy. By varying simple sentences with compound sentences of no more than two or three clauses, I avoid sticky situations; know I’m obeying the “rules,” and that matters to me.
  • Less room for misinterpretation and confusion. As I mentioned above, when your style is direct and easy to follow, there is less chance your readers will misinterpret what you’re meaning to tell them. There’s less chance of them attributing a pronoun to the wrong antecedent. Less chance of them getting confused. I like that. You can write clearly and successfully in an ornate way, but I like how my simple sentences lend themselves with little toil on my part to clarity.
  • My third person narrator doesn’t draw attention away from the characters. You should always have a plan for what you want your narration–and hence, your narrator–to accomplish. My narrator’s purpose is to throw attention on the characters, and writing with a simple style helps me to accomplish that goal. Thanks to plain sentences, the structure of my narration doesn’t lend itself to remarks or contemplations. The characters and their actions do that instead.
  • I can write a first draft of a paragraph without worrying about style. Writing simply, first drafts come easier for me than they would if I tried to include flourishes and embellishments. I say what I need to say in the simple way I think to say it, and I move on. Of course, I edit later. But during first drafts, I don’t need to worry about dangling modifiers or misplaced or missing punctuation. I keep it plain and I keep moving.
  • I don’t feel pretentious. Now, I in no way mean to imply that people who write ornately are pretentious. That is definitely not true, and I don’t feel that way about the Faulkners out there. I only mean that I, personally,  don’t have the knack to pull of that style of writing without sounding pretentious. If I tried to force embellishments, I would feel uncomfortable and pretentious because such a method of writing doesn’t come naturally to me and I don’t know how to make it work the way others can.

Those are some benefits I personally experience by sticking to my natural inclinations for style.

Perhaps the reason my  stylistic impulses are what they are in the first place is that my personality lends itself to appreciate structure, simplicity, and clarity. I like calendars and routine. I like organization and feeling as though I’m in control of my life.

I’m not surprised, then, that I aim for clarity and simplicity in style. The simpler I keep things, the more in control of them I feel, without having to worry about the words “getting away from me,” so to speak.

So, why do you write the way you do? What do you appreciate about your style?

If you enjoyed this post and would like to learn more about creative writing, please consider signing up to follow my blog through email at the top right of the page. Thanks!

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Posted in My Writing, On First Drafts, On Narration and Style, On The Writing Process

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