9 Tips For Novel Writing

Stephen King wrote that even if you're not writing on your novel, it's alive as long as it's inside your head, as long as you're thinking about it; and I think that's the case with Ella. Although I'm in no mood to write it's always in the back of my mind, and I'm considering how to continue scenes, how to add material, how to make things add up, and so on. Even while doing so conscious thought mostly isn't the answer to how to make a plot that works... at least, it never was for me. Hell, I've gotten the best ideas while dreaming or in my first conscious thought of the day - as if the novel itself feels more comfortable that way, building itself up from scratch in my subconscious. I'm not objecting. I always thought stories did better when they were in charge, even when it didn't turn out at all like I'd expected. On Ella I did write around 600 words the other day, so it's not standing completely still progress-wise, but somehow it feels like the text isn't quite keeping up with the pace the story is evolving with inside my mind. Hopefully, that will kind of work out by its own accord.


I don't by any means intend to come off as arrogant, or professional either, but since I've been thinking a lot about writing lately I thought I'd just randomly share my best writing tips. For your sake or mine? I'm actually not sure, but hell - does it matter?


1. Write in intervals
Set a timer on a certain number of minutes - personally I find that seven or thirteen minutes are good intervals - and do nothing but write in that amount of time, even if sometimes that means staring at a blank document. When the timer rings, stop writing and look at your word count. It's an easy way to make fast progress and it's more fun than long sessions. It's also easy to fit in a few intervals a day. In Nanowrimo context this method is called word wars and can be done by yourself or together with other writers just the same.


2. Don't. Press. Delete.
When you're writing the first draft, the story itself, think of it as a block of marble that you're going to sculpt. There's no need for every detail to be right in the first round. First write the main body of the text and save the editing for later. Make notes directly in the document if you have doubts, but never, ever press that tempting Backspace key, it is known to kill pace and make you doubt yourself. This method encourages writing on the spur of the moment and can boost inspiration and your enthusiasm for the art form. Sure, sometimes you will know you're writing crap, but other times you'll find that on the read-through, there are actually some gems hidden in the text that would otherwise have gone lost. And besides, if the crap stays crap, you can always delete it later.


3. Write for word count
This is basically what Nanowrimo is all about. I was sceptical at first to weigh your writing in a number of words, but it's actually a pretty good way to measure progress. It will feel more eligible to look at your text and say, 'Hey, I wrote 643 words today', than to look at it and say, 'Two hours work and Helena and Jack are still having the same boring conversation that isn't taking the story anywhere'. This method doesn't suit everyone, but then again, none of these methods really do.


4. Eliminate distractions
It won't work to write while you are cooking, talking on the phone, watching TV and checking your Facebook status all at once. Close all browser and chat programs. Only keep your word program and possibly a music player open. Music by the way is a great way to get into writing, and isolate yourself from possible disturbing surroundings, all at once. Choose whatever works for you to listen to, or experiment - sad music for sad scenes, and so on. You get the drift.


5. Ponder!
Even if you don't have time to write that day nothing is keeping you from developing your characters while standing in line for the ATM or sitting on the bus. Keep your story in mind when you can. You don't need to think of new, inventive ways to use verbs or come up with the new epic ending scene for your story; small things, like considering which hair color your character has or how that character would act in the ATM line is enough to keep your imagination alive.


6. Reward yourself
Set up goals, for example in connection to word count - maybe for every ten thousand words you write you get to go buy yourself a video game or a really nice bottle of wine or whatever tickles your fancy. It works better than you might think. For the final goal, set up the biggest reward so that you have something to strive for other than word count and personal development within writing. The average novel is approximately 75-100K worth of words, so you can adapt your goal after that. For some stories, shorter ones perhaps, or stories that don't need any particular length, this isn't really needed. For those stories instead set up a goal for when your first draft can be said to be finished.


7. Don't overexpose
Write on your own until you have grown sure of your story. Giving samples or short stanzas to fellow writers is fine, as is talking about plot problems or characters - but don't let anyone read the text in its entity until you have a rough first draft that has an ending and that feels good to you. Otherwise you'll be easily affected by feedback and might entirely lose focus from the original story.


8. Have fun!
Writing doesn't have to be dead serious, quite the opposite. Don't expect to write a novel worthy of Tolkien or Hemingway on your first try. Have fun writing, and don't be afraid to throw in deus ex machinas and random spoofs. Even if you tried your hardest to write a really bad novel, you'd be surprised at how good it would turn out, and you could probably use big portions of it to turn into a pretty good story. Enjoy your writing, and don't take it all too seriously. That could set you off into a writer's block.


9. Believe in your work
Sometimes I've felt like what I've been working on isn't original enough, or that it is just a copy of all the other millions of stories out there, that perhaps it even has been told before, but don't get caught in that trap. Don't listen to what people may have to say about your ideas or what they might compare it to. Even if the story has been told before, YOU haven't told it before, and that can be enough to make it entirely unique. The important thing is that YOU believe in your story, or writing it will feel meaningless. Don't be intimidated - encourage yourself.


That's all I've got for now and come to think of it, I think I wrote it for my own sake. I feel strangely encouraged to go write now. Funny how that works, sometimes.
POET IN THE JAR