What I've Learned...So Far

I am not, by anyone’s definition, an expert in the craft of writing. I have not published a book, have not reached best-seller status. I am simply a girl with a gift, trying my best to keep from utterly bungling the treasure God gave me—a love for words.

So I offer these suggestions to you as that—suggestions. They are not rules, they are not foolproof, and I highly doubt that they will be helpful to everyone. But if they help even one of you just a tad, I will be satisfied. They are things that work for me, for my personality, for my goals. Your needs are different!

If you have any suggestions and thoughts to add, please, feel free to do so! I would love to hear the advice and comments of other writers—to borrow the phrase, iron sharpens iron!

Ë    I write in a non-linear fashion. When a scene, idea, or plot twist pops into my mind, I write it. I do not wait until I reach that point in the plot! I put varying degrees of detail into these “blips,” depending on my inspiration and whether I know all I need to about the characters and plot involved. I save those scenes, and when I reach that point in the plot, I integrate them, making changes if needed. I think of them as checkpoints along the way. Every time I reach one, it is a milestone. It keeps me working toward a specific goal.

Ë    I do not outline. At least, not in a traditional way. The most outlining I have ever done is in the mind-mapping program FreeMind. (Which is a free, safe software download, for those of you who are interested!) My first novel, Valiant Journeys, was hardly plotted. I wrote it in an odd way—the first version was a short story, which grew to novella, which grew to novel. There was no official outline. This worked for me. I had a vague idea of the ending, with key points along the way, but that was all. It left me with the ability to be creative and let the plot flow from one point to the next.

Ë    Take a step back. View your book as a first-time reader. Would this character’s actions seem unexpected? Is the plot dragging? Is this scene just downright boring? Or, on the brighter side, does this action scene make your heart pound and your adrenaline rush? Does the humor make you chuckle? Be honest with yourself!

Ë    Re-read what you’ve written. I cannot count the times that I have been taken by surprise—pleasantly—by a scene I forgot I wrote. Usually it’s a snippet of conversation, a bit of description, etc., that reminds me why I’m still writing. Because I love it.

Ë    Re-evaluate your view of your characters. Is the hero/heroine holding his/her own? Does the villain need a better motive? Are you just clinging to that funny sidekick because he reminds you of a character from your favorite movie? Again, be honest. I’ve recently realized that my villain needed more…well, villainy. He wasn’t convincing, and it was hard to understand why all of the characters thought of him as evil.

Ë    One of my favorite things: Let your secondary characters shine. These are the characters where you can let the quirks, the one-liners, the upside-down stereotypes, run free. They are the things a reader remembers. They’re the hero’s patient mentor, the quick-witted stablehand, the silent, observing introvert. They give support and conflict. They keep your hero on track and pull him off. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your secondary characters! You can get away with things in them that you could never use for a protagonist. Explore their backstories—even if it’s just a little bit. Give them a defining characteristic—whether it’s two conflicting personality traits, a habit, a catchphrase, or an odd sense of humor. Make them recognizable to the reader and make them interesting!

Ë    Have fun. Please. You will burn out and give up if you do not let yourself enjoy it. One way I have found to avoid burnout is to have more than one project going at once—but never more than three. At the moment, Valiant Journeys and Eye of the Beholder are my two projects, but Valiant Journeys is my primary focus. I tend to work on Eye of the Beholder when I find myself in a rut on Valiant Journeys. It works for me—write a bit here, then go back to editing and rewriting.

I hope that you have found at least one of these tips to be helpful! I am writing this post after a rather long week with little sleep—school, an out-of-town friend visiting (g’day, Rachel!) and many other things—and I doubt that it is perfectly coherent.

What are your tips for your fellow writers?