Why Writing 2 Books A Year Is Good for My Writing Process

Writers work at all different paces. I learned that recently at the Afternoon with the Authors event at the Shawano Library. 

Some writers can sit down on a Friday and have a fifty-thousand-word manuscript completed by Monday morning, others spend years working on the same project. 

Over the past ten years, it has taken less and less time for me to complete a writing project. The Haunting Love took me a little over a year to complete. Finding Elizabeth and Out of Darkness were on and off the back burner for 2 years, during which time Out of Darkness had three different versions before I reached what it finally became. 

But after that, I finished Into the Light in one month, during NaNoWriMo 2015 and Through the Fog was written in 3 months hard-writing time. Eternal Fire was shorter in length, only taking 6 weeks to write and then CurseBreaker poured out of me last NaNoWriMo.

Now I'm working on my seventh full-length novel (eighth major writing project), Headless, which I am on track to finish (hopefully) by the end of June. This will make it another 3-month project.

I've fallen into a pattern. I've learned that two major writing projects a year is what works best for me and for my writing project. In the spring I can commit more time to writing one project, then rest up over the end of summer and start planning that big push, the big NaNoWriMo project as fall begins. That way I don't push myself too hard, I keep up with my publishing deadlines, and I don't feel the burnout as much. 

Burnout is the one thing I, as a writer, fear. I admit it, I'm a workaholic. When I'm not writing, I'm blogging, when I'm not blogging I'm reading a book to review. I work on promotion, writing, and publishing during the day when able, then stay up, sometimes until 2 am or later writing again. But I figure, at this pace, I can give myself plenty of downtime throughout the year. 

It's all about finding what's comfortable for you. Don't feel the need to push yourself to compete with another writer who's working at a different pace. It's your story, and although it's occasionally fun to be competitive (like during NaNoWriMo), in the end, it's about writing something that can be shaped into a publishable product in the end. 

Are you a writer? What is your average time spent working on a project? Do you have more than one project going on at a time? Let me know in the comments! 

Music & Writing

My vacation is winding down and I'm heading home so I think I'll talk about how music helps me write...

As I've mentioned before in an inspiration blog, music can be great for writers. It helps us focus and we can completely get lost in our writing. Some writers listen to classical music others to instrumental but I'm fond of rock music when I write. 

Some of my favorite artists to write to are Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless, and Evanescence. I need it loud, I need it angry, and I need it powerful. But sometimes I don't even hear the lyrics when I listen to music while writing... sometimes there's just something about the beat that drives me on. 

Music is a powerful thing. When I listen to a song for the first time something magical happens: the lyrics paint a picture in my head and that picture tells a story. This isn't a new development. When I was younger before I started any major writing projects I'd listen to a song and my mind would conjure up a story about what the singer was saying. (in my mind I used to think I was "brainstorming" what the music video should look like.)

For example, when I listened to "Gun In My Hand" by DOROTHY I pictured in the literal sense a woman doing away with her cheating boyfriend/husband/lover. In my mind's eye, the era is the 1930s or forties, the woman's black hair is pulled into a tight chignon, and she's wearing a blue cotton knee-length dress with short capped sleeves. She's in a women's prison after killing her significant other and a woman after finding them in bed together. At one point you see her scrubbing blood off her hands then the cops bust the door in and arrest her. She's singing into an old fashioned microphone in a large open area and there are prison cells behind her - it is all very Chicago - Cell Block Tango scene. 

How do my weird thoughts about songs translate to writing? All it takes it a phrase in the lyrics to create a scene relevant to whatever I'm working on and I'm off. I can see it all so clearly and words start flowing from the tip of my pen. 

Music is my greatest weapon against writer's block, my saving grace when I'm afraid I won't know how to continue. Music is soothing (yes, even loud rock is soothing to me) and it blocks out distractions around me. Music has the ability to convey thoughts and emotions through lyrics and melodies. 

What does music do for you? Does it help you create? Are you a writer? What do you like to listen to when you write? Or do you like complete silence?

My Writing Process

                  One of my grandmother's favorite things to ask as she's proofing one of my manuscripts is, "Where do you come up with these ideas?" Naturally I shrug and say, "I don't know." My thought process is probably like a lot of other writers... something like this...

A story always starts with An Idea.

When I get an idea for a story, whether it's a basic plan for a story or just an opening line I have to get it written down immediately.  When this happens don't talk to me, don't look at me, don't interrupt me to make you a sandwich! I am in the writing zone and in that moment, I feel like a genius so if I'm scribbling on a napkin or post-it note or frantically typing a note on my phone the best suggestion is to let me be until I'm ready to resume normal life. 

Next Comes The Who, The How, and The Why.

Not necessarily right away, but when I'm ready to begin writing the story idea I've come up with I begin doing some preliminary outlining. Character names, setting, and time period  usually get chosen at this time, although names have been known to change throughout the course of the story. In Out of Darkness mean girl Julie was originally named Keira before I decided it resembled Arianthe's boyfriend Keiran's name too much. Thus, a name change occurred. 

After the first basic details get sorted out I start the fun/torturous part: WRITING.

In the beginning, everything is great. My fingers fly over the keyboard or in the alternative if I'm writing my story by hand then typing it, my pen flies over the paper and page after page gets filled with words. 

Sometimes after the initial idea begins to fade I hit a rut and this happens...

This is known as "Writer's Block", the most horrible of afflictions known to writers. When a writer feels...

When I hit a block I usually try to list out what I want to happen in the next section of my work-in-progress (WIP).

A lot of Note-Taking also goes into my writing process. I can't always have my WIP with me (especially if it's a word doc.) and so when an idea strikes I'll scribble a note on anything I have handy. Whether it's readable is another matter.

Finally after the writer's block ends I'm back to writing like a maniac. Then, after many, many months or even years and many repetitions of the writer's block/unblock process and days filled with sore fingers and ink stained hands the first draft is finished! 

After that comes the sucky part: Revisions.

Hopefully, some of my favorite parts won't get cut in the process. Usually, for me revisions just mean adding things to sections that came as afterthoughts or clearing up thoughts that are a bit undefined. Trust me, you'll bleed as if you've been injured when you have to cut much-loved passages. 

After several rounds of revisions, proofreading, and editing (both self-editing and having someone else edit your manuscript) then viola! My manuscript is ready to go into the publishing process!