Now we’re going into the nuts and bolts of how to practice writing. At this point, either you’ve bought my argument that you need practice, or you haven’t. I hope you have, no matter what your skill level currently is at.
Friday Morning Pages: Getting Started with Practice
Mystery writer John D. McDonald has a famous quote (paraphrasing a bit): You have a million words of crap in you before you can write a publishable novel.
The more stories I write, the more I see how true this is. When I first started, I couldn’t plot my way out of a paper bag. I knew jack about character development. I had no grasp of voice, or setting, or pacing. Don’t tell the younger-me any of that.
Friday Morning Pages: Introduction to Practice
So now, I’m switching focus from “NaNo-friendly” material, to stuff I really want to discuss. As an ML, there were certain topics I just never brought up unless somebody lassoed me into talking about them: politics, religion, rewriting, and practice. I’d occasionally mention practice in passing, depending on who was across the table from me, but never got into it.
Friday Morning Pages: Finishing
A common attitude among beginning writers is this: I’m not ready to write this story, because I don’t want to waste words. I was no exception to this line of thinking. As if words were a limited commodity…
Friday Morning Pages: Endings
Approaching the end of a novel can be quite exciting, especially coming out of the bog that is the middle. You’re checking off scenes from your outline, if you did one. Those of us who don’t outline, can now see ways the book might end. (I’m typically 2-4 chapters from the climax when I can see my ending.)
Friday Morning Pages: The One-Third Point
No matter how experienced you are at writing, every novel suffers the one-third point problem. That is, you write one-third or so of the novel, and then all the energy and momentum disappears. You get stuck. You don’t know what to write next. This is normal.
Friday Morning Pages: Write Scenes
One sentence at a time. Or one page at a time. However you divide up your novel, it should be in small enough chunks to be easily chewed. I tend to focus on the level of scenes. Fifteen minutes here, 250 words there, by the end of the day if I’ve put in enough writing time, I can get a scene.
Friday Morning Pages: Depth
Again, this was originally written with the National Novel Writing Month audience in mind, but the technique is important. In fact, I’d argue depth is the most important trick every fiction writer must learn. Learn how to add depth, and your fiction will become more vibrant and colorful.
Friday Morning Pages: Time Management
Another topic from my days as a regional ML for National Novel Writing Month. It was specifically geared towards helping people in November, but the concepts apply to year-round writing as well. Time management is the same, whatever time of year.
Myths abound regarding writers and the writing craft. I wish to squash two myths that pertain specifically to Nano.
Friday Morning Pages: Organization
Nothing wrong with jumping into a novel head first, without preparation or research or even character ideas. However, it helps to be organized. Writing a novel—especially a first novel—is messy by nature. Here are some methods that you may find useful.
David Anthony Brown 