Starting Over

by Normandie Fischer

A recent post on Writer Unboxed quoted Donald Maass: “Since this proposal has been so hard to write, ask yourself whether you are telling the right story.”

Sometimes our best laid plans falter. We assume we’re to focus on one thing, one plan, and then it implodes, fizzles to nothing. And we stare at a blank screen.

Has this ever happened to you? Has a critique partner or the voice in your head suggested you might not be telling the right story?

Just to keep things interesting in my writing world, I’ve spent years writing in one and a half genres (thinking they were two separate ones) with two series and a stand-alone. Right now, my Carolina Coast novels seem to be my sweet spot. The characters of small-town Beaufort wave their hands to grab my attention just so they can introduce me to new neighbors. Neighbors with problems for the crew to fix. Good, right? So, after Heavy Weather (Book 2) connected with readers, I knew I had to finish the love story I’d begun in it.

So, enter Book 3. Six chapters in, three new characters and another big issue wiggled into the story, screaming for attention. That made three plots, which was at least one too many. The new wiggler became the genesis of Book 4 and caught my attention long enough for me to write eight chapters and imagine that Book 4 might actually morph into Book 3. Who cared? Flip one for the other. But then my daughter arrived needing help with her babies. Life intruded.

Two months away from writing may be nothing to some folk. I thought it would be nothing for me.

I was wrong. When I once again sat staring at my screen, Book 3/4 had stalled. So, I reclaimed Book 4/3. Two more chapters in, and that one screeched to a halt. Oh, I could write about 100 words a day, at which rate I’d finish one book in two years. Two. Years.

Yes, I’m a slow writer, but that was absurd.

Then came the push for NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writers Month, and the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days. With time off for the holidays, right? My head hurt, but what if? I'd done it before when trying to finish Sailing out of Darkness. Could I do it again?

For someone who had been slogging away at 100 words a day, this would mean an increase in production that made me jittery. But a goal is a good thing, right?

I signed up.

And on October 31, I woke to an idea. What if one of my problems with Book 3 had to do with the clutter of too many story lines? What if I nabbed the most pressing one (that holdover from Heavy Weather) and started an entirely new book with it? And what if I tried writing a Christmas novella using those characters? The thought caught my interest. I pulled those chapters out (8K words) and… then?

Oh, my, look what I found! Two new characters! Kids in need of rescue!

Which is a favorite topic of mine. I want to rescue all children. As I can’t do that in the real world, I do it in my stories.

I had found my sweet spot. And just like that, the book wrote itself. I went from 100 words a day to 4000 words, then to 5000 words. Every day. Add these to the 8000 words I’d already slid into place and I had the first draft of a 35K novella completed by Day 8 of my marathon.

That has never happened to me before.

But it happened because I was willing to change direction. To imagine a new plan. To pay attention to the voices in my head whose story cried out to be told.

Suffice it to say, my team rallied. My crit partners dug in. I rewrote and polished and honed and sent it off to them again. Their edits were swift and brilliant. I polished once more. And from my fantastic street team, four angels offered their eagle eyes for proofing. While the manuscript was out with them, I designed a cover, made a book trailer, and formatted the thing for print and ebook. (I love Vellum, which formats ebooks for me.)

And on November 27, Twilight Christmas released.

Have you ever done that? Reversed course? Quit what wasn’t working so you could shake off the cobwebs and create something that actually did work?

I’d love to hear what process you used when you felt stuck. Did it involve a writing challenge like NaNoWriMo? And how did the shift work for you?


TWEETABLES

Starting Over by Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

It happened because I was willing to change direction~ Normandie Fischer (Click to Tweet)

Normandie Fischer studied sculpture in Italy before receiving her BA, summa cum laude with special honors in English. Known for her women’s fiction—Becalmed (2013), Sailing out of Darkness (2013), and Heavy Weather (2015)—she ventured into the realm of romantic suspense with the release of Two from Isaac’s House. In early 2016, a novella, From Fire into Fire, will continue the Isaac House saga. Normandie and her husband spent a number of years on board their 50-foot ketch, Sea Venture, sailing in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. They now live in coastal North Carolina, where she takes care of her aging mother. You can find Normandie on her website,Facebook, and Amazon.

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Hey, Maybe It’s Time To Move On…

by Rachel Hauck

While everyone is in the throws of NaNoWriMo, some times we have to pause and take stock of where we are in our current WIP. Some of you… it’s time to move on.

“How do I know when it’s time to move on from a story I’ve been working on for so long?”

Great question! I worked on my first book for two years. I tell you, it discouraged me because I wondered how I could ever make any kind of living if writing took so long!

But it was my learning book and at least half of those two years were spent with me editing the book from a complicated, multi-plot story to a straight up romance.

I sent it out and received rejections. It was in the late ‘90s and there weren’t many options, but the doors I knocked on replied, “No thank you.”

By then, I was tired of the book. I didn’t know what else to do with it. It was time to move on.

Another idea came to me while sitting at a high school football game and I got to work on that right away. It was fresh, fun, alive in my heart.

I also changed my strategy. I decided to write a Heartsong Presents. With the first book, I tried for a Bethany House WWII saga. Rightfully, they turned me down.

So for my skill level, maybe a smaller, more focused story – romance – was the answer.

That story became my first published novel! In e-format. Yep, I sold it to an e-publisher.

By now, the Lord had connected me with a published Heartsong author and we collaborated together to create the Lambert series.

So, I was on my way.

The first book slept peacefully in my closet. Later, when I needed parts of a novel for Love Starts With Elle hero, Heath McCord, I pulled from that book.

So, where are you with your novel? Is it your first? Your fifth? Tenth? Are you struggling to keep going? Do you have vision or a passion for the story?

Is it time to move on?

Here’s some guidelines for sticking with a story:

1. Good feedback from editors, agents or other knowledgeable writers?
2. Your vision and passion remains high for the story.
3. You can see clearly how to improve the manuscript.
4. You’ve not rewritten it so many times – based on feedback – you can see the original heart of the story.
5. You final in contests or get manuscript requests from editors or agents.

Here’s when you need to move on from a story:

1. You’ve changed it so many times – based on feedback – you don’t recognize the original vision.
2. You’re heart and passion for the story couldn’t fill a thimble.
3. You have no idea how to improve the manuscript. If you have an idea, you’re not sure you want to do it.
4. It’s been rejected by everyone you’ve submitted to and your mentors are suggesting a new, fresh idea.
5. Your contest scores indicate you have a long way to go.
6. You’ve learned much more about the business and know your book will not readily fit into the current market. That’s cool! Move on.

There are stories all over the map about the publication journey. Author Tamera Alexander worked on her first book for four years before it got published. On the other hand, author Jill Eileen Smith had ten or more closet manuscripts gathered up over twenty years.

Charles Martin had 120+ rejections before he sold The Dead Don’t Dance. Susan Warren wrote four or five novels before she sold a novella to Tyndale. When they asked her, “What else do you have?” She pulled out and polished those closet manuscripts.

There’s no end to possibilities. To closed and opened doors.

What is God saying about the book that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere? It’s okay to put it away and start over.

Here’s what I find on a rewrite – when I try to edit what I’ve already written, I tend to stick with that story and accept the weaknesses. But when I start over from scratch, I craft the story with stronger elements. I work through the weaknesses. The story isn’t as fun or flowing as the first draft because I’m actually thinking through and working out the problems.

So often, when trying to rewrite or improve a first novel, or a well-rejected novel, we can’t see what really needs to be changed to make the manuscript sellable.

If that’s where you are, start over. Sometimes we don’t want to start over because we don’t want to wait for publication. But it could be on the first or rewritten-rejected manuscript, we could find ourselves waiting forever.

Only you can determine if it’s time to set a manuscript aside, but if you do, do so with confidence and give your whole heart to your next work!

Happy Writing.

TWEETABLES

Hey, Maybe It’s Time To Move On…by Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

Only you can determine if it’s time to set a manuscript aside  by Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

New York Times & USA Today best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She is on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship for their annual conference. In 2013 she was named ACFW's Mentor of the Year. She lives in Florida with her husband and ornery cat. Read more about Rachel at www.rachelhauck.com.

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5 Reasons to Keep Writing

by Lisa Jordan 

NaNoWriMo is winding down. Many of you may be writing strong closing in on that word count. Some of you may have stopped. Others may want to continue, but you’re discouraged.

So what’s holding you back?

Fear?

Procrastination?

Time?

Novelist E. L. Doctorow said, “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Sometimes even seeing beyond the dashboard can be a challenge. So I’m giving you five reasons why you need to keep writing.

1. You have a dream. Cinderella sang, “A dream is a wish the heart makes.” If you’re like the majority of writers I know, you have a dream. A dream to be a writer. In order to fulfill that dream, you need to write.

2. You were created for this. God instilled the desire to write within you. He gave you the ability to create characters, come up with plots and put them together in a story to share with others. He did not say you have to go it alone. He didn’t give you this dream to take it away.

3. You have a voice. Like your handwriting or fingerprints, your writer’s voice is unique. You can learn the craft alongside your peers, but only you can write the same story in your voice. As literary agent Sandra Bishop says, “Voice is your personality on the page.” It’s how your characters are defined, how they speak, how you describe your storyworld, how you plot—that’s all about your voice. Keep writing to allow your Voice to be heard.

4. No one else will do it for you—unlike running the dishwasher, gassing up your car or folding your laundry, no one can write a book for you. Okay, yes, ghostwriters can, but those words aren’t yours. Your head is full of characters begging to be released onto the page. Give your head a rest and let your characters have their say. ;)

5. Personal satisfaction. Do it for yourself—if you stop writing, will it affect your family? Will your friends stop talking to you? Will time stand still? Most likely not. However, if you stop, how will you feel? Only you can answer that question. Believe in yourself and your abilities. You can do this.

Author Phyllis Whitney said, “You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist, you must learn your craft—then you can add all the genius you like.”

Once upon a time, a girl dreamed of writing novels. She tried and tried, but at times, wondered what was the point? Ten years ago, she challenged herself to attempt NaNoWriMo. In thirty days, she wrote a novel. A bad novel, but she still did it. She proved to herself she could do it. Two weeks later, her husband bought her a laptop since he realized this writing thing wasn’t going away.

She studied the craft, wrote, revised, screamed in frustration, deleted, quit for a day or two, joined My Book Therapy, revised, wrote and finally entered another contest, which became a turning point in her writing journey. She finaled and scored a top-notch agent who eventually sold her novel to the publisher of her choice. That NaNoWriMo manuscript released in August as her fifth published novel. She’s been where you are. She knows your pain. She believes you can do this.

TWEETABLES

5 Reasons to Keep Writing by Lisa Jordan (Click to Tweet)

Once upon a time, a girl dreamed of writing novels~ Lisa Jordan (Click to Tweet)

Heart, home and faith have always been important to Lisa Jordan, so writing stories with those elements come naturally. She is an award-winning author for Love Inspired, writing contemporary Christian romances that promise hope and happily ever after. Represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management, Lisa also serves on the My Book Therapy leadership team. Happily married to her own real-life hero for almost thirty years, Lisa and her husband have two grown sons. When she isn't writing, Lisa enjoys family time, kayaking, good books, crafting with friends and binging on Netflix. Learn more about her at lisajordanbooks.comlisajordanbooks.com.

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What Comes After “Once Upon A Time?”

By Rachel Hauck 

Well, here it is the middle of November and you’ve been pounding away on your NaNoWriMo novel.

Sometimes, it feels like this picture. Once upon a time…

And you’re out of room.

Out of juice

Out of creativity.

NaNo is supposed to be a grind-it-out month.

No stopping to plan or rework your story or edit.

Just write.

So what do you do if you’re just stuck?

Here are a few tips:

1. Remember what the story is about? What the protagonist want? Have you shown this enough? Have you caused them to move farther and farther from their goal?

2. Write a scene out of sequence. The other day I came home and wrote a scene for the first of the book rather than the beginning of the middle where I’d written to at that point. The scene came to me and I knew it was one I needed so I wrote it.

3. Flip through a magazine. Or page through pictures. Find visual inspiration. I just downloaded a bunch of pictures from think stock.com. Some of them I found inspirational.

4. Do a sit-down with your character. Talk. But write it all down. I’ve made some great discoveries this way.

5. Take a break. Get up from the story. Walk away. But don’t leave for more than 15 minutes. Come write back and see if you don’t see something new or better in the scene you were writing.

Writing is work. But don’t be afraid to be creative and try a different approach.

Happy writing!

TWEETABLES

What Comes After “Once Upon A Time?” by Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

So what do you do if you’re just stuck?~ Rachel Hauck (Click to Tweet)

New York Times & USA Today best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She is on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and leads worship for their annual conference. In 2013 she was named ACFW's Mentor of the Year. She lives in Florida with her husband and ornery cat. Read more about Rachel atwww.rachelhauck.com.

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Hitting the NaNoWriMo Blues – how to keep your scenes from sagging!

by Susan May Warren

Are you in the middle of your NaNoWriMo project?  By now, you might have 15-30K words written…and along with feeling tired, your scenes are feeling, well, tired.

I get that.  There are only so many ways to describe emotion, and by now, you might be feeling wrung out.  At this point in the game, don’t worry as much about getting the emotion on the page as driving the story forward with the right amount of tension.  You can go back and layer in the emotions later.

Why is tension so important?  Because tension not only drives a story – but it will keep you going all the way to the end.  But a scene has to have the right set up to create that key tension. .

Many writers fall into the trap of writing what I call, the police report. They simply tell us what happened/is happening, as if they are narrating the story, or letting the characters narrate what is happening. Sure, there are “things” that happen in the scene the might be interesting, but without the right set up, the scene is boring. It has nothing at stake, nothing for us to root for (or against), and frankly, if we don’t know what the character wants, we are left wondering…why are we here?

How to fix this?  The first fix it to prop it up with the right structure. 

There are 3 kinds of scenes: Action Scenes, ReAction Scenes and Combo Scenes.

As a review, Action Scenes contain a Goal + Conflict/Obstacle + Disaster (or some compelling element at the end of the scene to push the story forward).

ReAction Scenes contain a Response + Dilemma + Decision. (which translates into a Goal to start the next Action Scene).

A Combo Scene starts with a ReAction Scene (maybe 1-4 paragraphs), then transitions into an Action Scene.

(You can also rearrange and write an Action + ReAction combo, but I find those slow the story. However, they can be compelling, simply because of the new Goal that is raised at the end of the scene.)

The First Chapter of a book is an anomaly: It is mostly Action, however it starts in Home World, which might feel like a reaction to your character’s life so far. Your character walks onto the page with years of “reaction” to his hurts of the past, believing lies and wanting something.  This is quickly confronted by some sort of Inciting Incident.

Chapter one, Scene 1 is often followed by a ReAction scene, where your character has to figure out what to do next.  And after that, perhaps another Action scene.

However…the story quickly begins to morph into Combo Scenes, which comprise the bulk of a story.

This is where the storytelling seems to turn into boring narrative. However, this can be solved by simply setting up the Combo Scene correctly. Remember, to create tension you need both a Goal and an Obstacle…and the Combo Scene provides these ingredients.

A Combo Scene starts with a ReAction Scene – so you’ll set that up first. 

Combo/Scene Set up

Step One:  Response.  Start with the 5 Ws, Storyworld and the current “state of affairs.” If you have to, reiterate what happened, in the character’s POV (especially if it’s been a while between scenes) and help us understand the Dilemma at hand.

Step Two: Knowing the Dilemma, have your character see his choices, then make a decision. This is your character’s Goal for the Action portion of the scene. *Don’t forget to fortify the Motivations of your character’s action and decisions.* The point of this is to give us a good reason for what is going to happen next.

This is the end of the ReAction portion of your scene. It might be one paragraph, or if there is a bigger dilemma, it might two or even four.

Step Three: Now, you, you move into the Action portion of the scene. Set it up with your Scene Tension Equation, and remember to end with a new Dilemma.

 Here’s a quick example from my romantic suspense Expect the Sunrise.  The heroine has just escaped from her captors and flung herself from a cliff into a raging river with the hero looks helplessly on from the other side.

 [Setting, and Current State of affairs, goals e.g. the REACTION from the previous scene.]

No! Mac froze as he watched Andee fling herself over the edge. She’d materialized from the woods like some forest animal and screamed as she hit the air. His knees gave out as she plummeted into the white water below.

A man appeared right after her, pointed a gun where she’d been, then advanced to the edge, searching.

Mac picked up a rock and with everything he had in him threw it across the gorge. It hit Andee’s shooter in the neck. The man fell back and shot at Mac. He dived behind a boulder. Bullets chipped rocks around him, but it bought Andee time. Precious time.

 [Motivation for decision/action]

Except, well, if she didn’t get out of that river fast, hypothermia would grab her like a bear after hibernation and pull her under. That is, if she didn’t go over the falls first.

Go, go, Mac willed the shooter. He peeked to see him disappear into the woods. Good. Maybe they’d believe they shot him.

 [Starting the Action!]

Mac advanced to the edge, searching for Andee. He saw her, a black head bobbing in the water. “Andee!” Giving one last look at the hole in the forest left by the shooter, Mac flung himself over the edge.

 [end scene]

 Short and sweet, we have his reaction, his dilemma, his decision, his goal and the conflict.

A Combo Scene doesn’t have to be high action, however. Here’s the same set up in a low-action scene.

This is from my book – When I Fall in Love! 

 [The State of Affairs, Response, Dilemma- the ReAction portion of the Scene]

The last place Max wanted to be was riding up Jace’s penthouse elevator, about to face his old captain with the news that he’d let him down.

Apparently he’d perfected that MO. First Brendon, then Grace, of course, and finally Jace.

And probably himself, because of the thousands of promises he’d broken, over and over and over during the three weeks in Hawaii. Like, don’t date a girl more than twice. Never date anyone connected to the team. And finally, don’t let a girl into your world—hockey, cooking . . . heart.

Yeah, he’d broken that one and he still couldn’t look at himself. At least Grace had gotten home okay. He’d called to check on her flight. But he should have at least texted her. Wow, he’d turned into a grade-A, first-class jerk.

Or maybe he’d always been that.

 [Decision]

The doors opened and he took his time dragging down the hall to Jace’s door. He still couldn’t figure out why he’d agreed to come. But Jace’s voice on his machine, his insistence that Max come over for dinner . . . it sounded less an invitation than a command.

Although, maybe that was just Jace. Bossy. Always the enforcer.

 [Action]

He leaned on the bell, and almost immediately, the door opened. Jace stood there, a mountain of darkness as he glared at Max.

Huh? “Hi?”

“Get in here.” Jace practically hauled him in by his shirt and it took everything inside Max not to swing at him.

“What—?”

Then he saw her. Standing in the kitchen, her arms wrapped around herself. Looking fragile and beautiful, she took his breath away just as surely as if Jace had hit him. He closed his mouth, swallowed. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she said.

He looked at Jace, keeping his voice low. “I didn’t realize—I mean, you didn’t mention—”

“That Grace was going to be here? Yeah. I was going to surprise you, dude. After what I saw on the Internet, it seemed like you wanted to be together.” He held out his hands. “You can imagine my surprise when I heard that you ditched her in Hawaii.”

Max ground his jaw, looked at Grace, back to Jace. “I . . . I’m sorry.” He glanced at Grace. “I’m sorry.”

And he had nothing more than that. He couldn’t be here, with her. Even as he glanced at her again—just one more glimpse of her before he walked out of her life—he was shaking his head, heading toward the door.

 (Check out more about When I Fall in Love here!)

 Set up your combo scenes with a short Reaction scene, establishing strong motivations and goals – and you’ll have the ingredients to create a powerful scene.

TWEETABLES

Hitting the NaNoWriMo Blues by Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

How to keep your scenes from sagging by Susan May Warren (Click to Tweet)

Susan May Warren is owner of Novel Rocket and the founder of Novel.Academy. A Christy and RITA award-winning author of over fifty novels with Tyndale, Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press and Revell publishers, she's an eight-time Christy award finalist, a three-time RITA Finalist, and a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award and the ACFW Carol. A popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation, she's also the author of the popular writing method, The Story Equation. A full listing of her titles, reviews and awards can be found at: www.susanmaywarren.com. Contact her at: susan@mybooktherapy.com.

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