Time to Review Your Notes!

It's time to do a little soul searching and merciless editing.

Go back to your notes and your exercises. Arrange everything chronologically, and read your work from the time that you started your writing exercises. Read your work carefully and note the following:

1) Your writing strengths. Do you write using a wide variety of words? Do your conversations sound real? Are your characters almost literally jumping off the page?

2) Your writing weaknesses. Is your vocabulary limited to the point of your work sounding repetitive? Are your conversations stilted? Do your characters feel two-dimensional or even one-dimensional?

3) Improvements in your writing: are your sentences becoming more simple, lucid, and readable? Is your grammar getting better? Are your characters and stories feeling more real?

4) And, the reverse: is there anything that you haven't improved on or gotten worse at?

Take note of all of these. You need to know what you need to work on, and you also need to have encouragment in the form of the good things that you already have and also worked to achieve.

Keep this list and be a better writer on a daily basis.

Good luck!

Some Stuff's Out of the Way...

But that doesn't mean that the learning ends. In fact, this is your time to think of what reviewing books and movies has taught you. Think:

"What is the one lesson that I will take away from reviewing books and movies, and how can I apply it to my writing?"

Remember this one lesson as you finally start to write your novel!

Good luck, and happy meditating!

Read...Read...and Keep On Reading!

The best writers might tell you this exact same thing: The best writers are also the best and widest readers.



This blog post will not be long. It will only encourage you to constantly sit down with a book, whether it's on your ebook reader or a real, published, pages-and-cover book. This blog post asks you to prepare for your novel by reading novels.



Reading allows you to see how words are used, how paragraphs and sentences are put together, how characters are molded and developed, and how a plot unfolds. Reading allows you to see what work has been published, what people like, what publishers like, and, consequently, what you like or don't like in terms of literature.



By reading, you appreciate how difficult it is to write a book. By reading, you can see the world of literature, and perhaps your place in it.



Happy reading! Now go get a book and prepare yourself for some writing!

Happy New Year!

It's 2010, and it's a new year - a new year for writing, for great ideas, and for great exercises.

It's time to really think this year through: what are you going to do in January so that you can get your novel up and running by December? How are you going to do NaNoWriMo this year? Are you going to write your novel yet?

Start preparing for 2010 - a year of novels and writing.

Happy New Year!

The NaNoWriMo Plunge!

Life bites.

Writing a novel is difficult enough when you have to do it over a period of years, but when you have one month to do it, it can be disastrous. A lot of writers who do the NaNoWriMo exercise every year will tell you that the best way to write is to lock yourself up in your personal dungeon (attic, basement, broom closet) and stay away from the world.

But how realistic can your novel be when you are cloistered and kept out of reality?

If you are planning to join National Novel Writing Month, prepare yourself for real life. Prepare yourself for the interruptions of school, work, home, and friends. If you are prepared for interruptions, then you may be less likely to respond insanely to a well-meaning friend/family member/boss, and you could successfully juggle writing a novel and your non-novel-writing life.

After all, won't winning NaNoWriMo be even more exciting and rewarding when you get past the 50k word mark, complete all your household tasks, finish up at school, and still keep all your friends without any of them worrying about your sanity?

Good luck with the race this year - and don't be afraid of real life! It may bite, but you can always bite back.

Take a Hike!

There's nothing like a long, quiet walk to get your brain cleared of cobwebs.

There is a time for all things, novel writing included. There is a time to unblock, and a time to sit back and relax. Now is that time for you.

Instead of sitting down at your computer today, walk away, put on a coat if it's too cold, bring an umbrella if it's going to rain, and put on some sunblock if the sun is going to shine. Pack nothing with you, except maybe some money and ID's. Don't bring an MP3 player or an iPod. Don't listen to music, podcasts, or anything that will distract you from the noise of the outside world.

All you need to do is walk.

Walking in silence (or in the noise of the outside world, if all else fails) can actually relax you and keep you away from the storm of words that comes with writing. By stepping away, you can actually see your novel from the outside, looking in. If you don't have an idea for your novel yet, a walk can probably a good way for you to get ideas. You can stumble on a plot as you walk through the woods; you can get one if you overhear an interesting conversation; or you can simply get an epiphany at the weirdest, most unexpected times.

So go. Take a walk. Leave the novel. Take this advice seriously when you're feeling burned out.

Burn bright when the words come; shelter the flame when you lose your writing breath.

Having Fun With Your Cover

People think that designing a book cover and a spine before or during your novel-writing process is putting the cart before the horse. However, I have also found that designing my cover is fun to do: it’s a good way to step away from the book for a moment and to relax; it’s also a good way to exercise other creative parts of my brain that don’t require me to use words or construct sentences.

If you’re feeling down and out, and if you’re getting that strange sensation of “I can’t write anymore!” then you might want to try, sit down, and think about your book cover. For one, it can inspire you to keep on going because you have a visualized goal ahead of you. Your book has a cover! Now all you need to do is write the content.

Second, it can be a test of how well you know your novel. A book cover should encapsulate the theme and content of your book, and summarizing your story visually could be a good exercise that will show you how well formed your novel already is.

There are several ways for you to design your cover. First, you can sketch it. Have colored pencils ready for a better novel-cover-design experience. You might want to browse the shelves of your local bookstore or library to see what cover designs are appropriate, especially for novels that have the same plots or are in the same genre as yours.

Second, you can use a graphics design program on your computer. This way, you can also add the summary text to the back of your book, design your book’s spine, and even cook up your own blurbs! You can write little reviews of your work! How’s that for encouragement from your imagination?

Don’t overdo the design process, though. Be sure that you have some time for fun with your cover, and a lot of time for your writing, too. Remember, you may have the best cover in the world, but your novel has to be written well so that people can go beyond the cover and truly remember you as the author.

Isn’t “Preparing Your Novel” Wrongly Worded?

If you’ve noticed the tags on this site, you’ll see that anything that has to do with your novel-to-be is labeled “preparing your novel.” You might have thought, “Isn’t this wrongly worded? Shouldn’t I be preparing FOR MY novel?”

First of all, this isn’t a grammatical error on my part. When you say that you will prepare for your novel, you are assuming that you don’t have a novel yet, and that you need to pave the way for it. When I say that you will prepare your novel, I am assuming that you will have a novel soon, and with some preparation and practice, you will finally write your book.

You are preparing that book, not just prepping yourself up for it.

Second, your novel is not going to come at the very end of all this practice. You don’t practice, and then stop everything and just sit down and write. You will be practicing while writing your novel, and you will be editing your novel endlessly.

Your novel is going to be a living, breathing, changing thing. You prepare it because it will be like a long, drawn out recipe that has to be modified to taste great. You, too, will be changing as an author. Nothing will ever be static.

Writing is not going to be easy, and it’s not an isolated process that will be independent of everything else that you do in your life. It will take over your life if you don’t guard yourself; and your life can take over your writing if you don’t make time to write.

Despite all these difficulties, you need to find your balance between your novel and your life. Prepare that novel; don’t just prepare for it.

How Well Do You Know Your Setting(s)?

It’s easy to get lost in your story: you can forget where your characters are, where your plot is going, and what your locations look like. You might take it for granted that you know your story inside out, and so well that you can write your novel in your sleep. But what happens when you suddenly wake up one morning and forget where the rooms are in your imaginary house? Are you willing to wait till editing to fix everything up? Are you willing to read your work over before writing again?

Save yourself the trouble of wasting time on re-reading your work. Here are a few tips that work for me, especially when I write historical fiction.


1.Have maps ready. Sketch your own maps. Do you have a handy atlas? Keep it with you if you have your characters running around the world (or even around your province).

You also want to have sketches of your locations, such as the rooms in your imaginary house or building; the roads in your imaginary village; or the locations of homes in your imaginary hamlet. Have extra copies so that if you lose or soil one with the endless sketches you make on it, then you don’t have to worry about drawing them up again.

2.Sketch clothes! Your setting is not just about location. Your settings actually affect how your characters dress, and your characters’ clothes can affect your settings. You can’t have big skirted characters in a crowded room without someone toppling something over. You also can’t have characters dressed in ten layers of velvet in the middle of summer (unless you’re trying to make a literary statement).

Remember, your characters are part of your setting, so don’t separate your novel into its elements. Life isn’t about people floating around in a world that isn’t affected by their actions.

3.Keep tabs on your characters: where do they come from? How do they dress? Now that you have your sketches, have mini-biographies of your characters. This will keep you from writing anything out of character. It will also give you a chance to know your characters better.

4.Give “environmental motivations” to your characters. Your characters could act in certain ways because of the weather, how they are seated in a certain place, where they are at a certain time, and who they are with.

When characters start acting independent of your setting, they become the proverbial (and much despised) cardboard cutouts. Avoid falling into this literary trap by keeping tabs on your characters and how they are affected by (and how they change) their environment.

5.Keep a journal handy. You’ll never know what new ideas will pop up when you’re away from your novel!

6.If you can afford it, keep a camera handy. You might find great settings when you’re out on the road. Snap them up.

7.Keep your research handy, and be flexible! You might realize further down the line that your characters are not set in stone, and your settings need to be changed. Don’t stick with your original plans if they’re going to ruin your plans for your story.

Be willing to change your maps, redirect your roads, or redraw your characters. Just document everything so that you don’t end up mixing your old and new settings.

Beta, Part 2: Finding Readers and Reviewers

It’s hard enough to write your work, even harder to edit it, and so much harder to see a lot of your work chipped at and cut apart if only to make way for better things. It might also be hard for you to find people who are willing to read your work, and who are willing to critique it. As mentioned in Part 1, you need to find a fellow writer who understands how difficult it is to produce well-written work. But what about an ordinary reader who will exemplify your run-of-the-mill reader, your person-on-the-street who really isn’t a writer, too?

You will have a hard time finding people to read your work, especially since modern life entails so much more work for the little time that we all have. Here are a few places where you can find readers.

1.Do you have a local book club? Ask them to have a meeting devoted to discussing your manuscript. You can ask for suggestions and for insight on how people understand your book.
2.Post a call for readers at your local library. If this isn’t possible, look for a bulletin board on a college or university campus close by. Remember, you may need to pay your readers, so their critique could be biased.
3.Join writers’ forums and ask for novel swaps. You could read and critique someone else’s novel while having someone read through yours. Better yet, go to a book lovers’ forum and ask for volunteers. Chances are, you’ll find someone who is willing to give your book a look. All you need is a high concentration of devoted readers.
4.Join mailing lists for writers and/or readers. Post a call for volunteers and ask for help. You can easily get more than one person to help you out.
5.Put up a blog, and provide an excerpt from your novel. Call for volunteers to read and critique the rest of your work.

These are only a few ways that you can get readers and reviewers. If you can get a small audience to read your work, you will have a better chance of understanding how good (or not-so-good) your work is. You don’t have to follow all the advice given to you, however: examine the suggestions and then use your best judgment to check which you will use. You are still the master of your novel, and you have to balance this mastery with openness to new things.

Beta, Part 1: Finding Writing Buddies

You’ve heard of online beta testing, where software developers give free copies of their newest software to test it for bugs prior to an official release. This gives people the chance to try the software out and help designers and developers improve their work; it also allows people to see what they may get if they choose to buy the software in the future.

You can also beta test your novel – but mind you, beta testing a novel is different from beta testing software. For one thing, you will be asking your beta testers to take time out of their busy schedules to read your work. Software testing is something that you can actually do on the job and not get scolded for.

One way to get a pool of beta testers is to find writing buddies. These aren’t just your run-of-the-mill friends who will encourage you to do your job well. You need someone to do the following:

1. Encourage and inspire you to write. This person has to be able to not only make you happy to sit down and write, but happy to produce something. That person might want to read your work, too! You may need to talk with this person constantly about your work (without irritating the person beyond belief, of course) so that this person is updated on the things that you are doing and why you are doing them.

2. Scold you. Now this doesn’t mean just scolding you for not writing; it also means scolding you for not writing well, or for producing work that is way below par. Have someone on hand who is critical of your work without being overly critical of you. That is, this person has to know how to judge your work without targeting you directly. Of course, you can always thicken your skin and resist criticism, so part of this requirement is really about how well you deal with corrections and criticism.

3. Read your work. It’s one thing to criticize your work; it’s another thing to read and enjoy your work. Pick someone who doesn’t pick your work apart. Get a writing buddy who can read your work and enjoy it and still come up with great ideas for you at the end of the day. If all you have is a nitpicker, then you may end up disappointed and frustrated with yourself.

4. Write along with you. A writing buddy is exactly that: someone who shares your love of writing and who you can take along for the ride. Only a fellow writer can understand the hardships that you go through as you try to cough up a masterpiece

5. Allow you to criticize them. Not all writers will take criticism, although these same people will not hesitate to tear a work apart. Get someone who can handle criticism without bursting into tears.

6. Be your friend. Life happens while you write, and you certainly need a friend to help you through, writing or otherwise.

A Special Blog Post for Historical Novelists

There’s a special place in my heart for historical novelists, and simply because I consider myself one. Mind you, the job isn’t the easiest in the world. We’re reputed to have next to no audience. We have to do a lot of research and fieldwork to accurately portray the times that we set our novels in – and if accuracy is going to hurt the story that we want, then we either change the story and deal with it, or keep our story and brace ourselves for historical purists who will soon barge into our lives and tear our novels apart.

If you are working on historical fiction, here are a few tips that you might want to consider. I’ve found that these work for me, so if you have more ideas, post them in the Comments section or post some links to articles that can help you, me, and other historical novelists who are currently developing dust allergies in the Archives sections of libraries everywhere.

1. Wikipedia is not the end of the road. This is a common illness propagating through college students nowadays: they Google a term, find a Wikipedia entry on it, and then use that single entry to form the bulk of their research work. If you must use Wikipedia, let it be your jump-off point for more research. Historical research is made deeper, richer, and more accurate if you can get your facts from as many sources as you possibly can.

2. Don’t be afraid of your library – bring bug spray and anti-allergy medications if you must. If you have a local library in your area, lucky you! If you’re still in school, then you’re way luckier than other novelists who have to spend on their history books. Visit the library, tuck yourself happily into the Archives or Stacks or whatever your Old Books Section is called, and do your research. A lot of historical research is still stashed in between the pages of books and isn’t available online.

3. If you’re really serious about historical research, branch out into journals and magazines. There are magazines such as National Geographic, Military History, History, and even Discover that tackle historical research. You can find interviews with experts and information on archaeological digs – these can enrich your work or provide new storylines that you can explore.

4. When you find historical research that you are interested in, try to search out experts in the field. Google their names and try to email them. Interview them if they’re close by. You can find these names in your favorite historical research magazines, or in the directory of your local college or university. Be careful, though: if these historical research experts are actively involved in research, you will need to work around their schedules and respect their need to devote more time to research.

5. Make maps. Ready to plot out your novel? A map can help you take care of things. Have a world map and an atlas ready for big epics that take your characters across continents; sketch your own little maps for your personal navigation through your settings.

6. Create a “planner.” What I like to do is print out calendars detailing what my characters will do from week to week. I won’t need to document everything, of course, but it gives me time to explore my characters in depth and write them better; it also makes them more real to me, so that I don’t feel like I’m creating them out of nothing, but simply writing about real people and real friends.

How Well Do You Know Your Plot?

Indeed, plot is an issue for any novel. You can have a character-driven novel that could fall apart because of a poorly-constructed plot. You might also have a plot-driven novel that is full of fallacies or loopholes. No matter what the type of novel, no matter how many characters, you need conflict, and you need a story. So: is there a plot, or isn't there? How good is it? Do you know it well enough so that your plot doesn't sound like you came up with your story while you were passed out, drunk?

There are thousands of ways for you to get to know your plot. Perhaps the first and best way to know your plot is to draw up a plot carefully very early on. True, you might work best with flying by the seat of your pants, by making your story up as you go along. Still, you need to write a story that makes sense – or at least enough sense to be readable.

If you are all right with drawing up a plot beforehand, then you may want to try out these tips: Print out a calendar with blank entries and plot out what happens by the day and by the hour. Supplement this with a timeline. This way, you know what happens before what, and what happens after. This will also tell you if the flow of the story itself is logical, or if you need to tweak certain events so that your story moves well (and quickly, as the case might be).

2. As an exercise, try writing your your plot out as a short story. It doesn't have to be grammatically correct (although that would help). You can babble on and say, “Character A does this and so-and-so happens, and this leads to a so-and-so event.” How long is your short story? If it's too short, then you may not have enough material for a novel – and chances are, if you try to expand your short story, you may end up with a novel that is overblown – a novel that is not as “meaty” as you might want it to be.

On the other hand, if your short story is going on for way too long (and becoming its own novel) then you might consider trimming some plot angles, or perhaps even breaking the novel down into smaller books. The dimensions of “short” and “long” are relative, so you need to use your best judgment.

3. When you have your short story trimmed correctly, then try this as an exercise. Mark out your major events in your plot. Next, write these major events out on separate sheets of paper, or on separate index cards. Then, shuffle the index cards. Rearrange the index cards into your original plot.

Do this exercise every day so that you remember your plot. You might also want to keep the index cards to guide you on what happens before and after certain plot events.

If you want to make your story up as you go along, then take the necessary precautions. Take notes on what happens in your story so that you don't forget what happened before. This can save you time when you write, since you don't have to keep on re-reading your work to get back on track in your plot. There are many ways for you to keep track of your story: you can keep a planner, have a notebook handy, or simply have a stack of index cards that you can rearrange according to how your plot unfolds.

Whatever the case, good luck, and happy plotting!

This is Your New Year's Resolution!

Happy New Year, world!

If you haven't started a novel yet, you must promise to write a novel this year.

If you've started it but haven't finished it, you must promise to finish your draft this year.

If you're done with your first draft, resolve to finish editing your novel this year.

And, for novelists everywhere: resolve to keep on writing and keep on practicing your craft!

Taking Time Off from NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month has just come and gone. If you joined in this year's contest, then you may have won yourself the big prize of Personal Fulfillment for Having Finished a 50,000 Word (Or More) Novel in Less than a Month. If you didn't win, don't fret: you can still continue your novel. At least you have a few words written down, and that's always the start of something!

Whether you won this year or not; and whether you joined this year or not, here are a few tips that you may want to take into account when you've finished your writing spree. These tips are equally, and even more, important when you have finished writing the first draft of your novel.

1. Do not be afraid to step away. Your novel is your friend. It's your baby. It's the pet that you've cared for and lost sleep over. But remember: you lose people when you smother them; your baby won't grow up properly if you're keeping too tight a watch on it; and your pet will be spoiled if you aren't giving it enough space. Stepping away will give you a chance to later see your novel from the outside, looking in. You'll be able to see inconsistencies in your narrative and characters, and you could edit your work better.

2. Engage in work that is routine or repetitive. Mow your lawn. Clean out your closet. Crochet or sew something. Keep a notebook handy, though: because repetitive or routine tasks relax your brain, you can sometimes get ideas about your novel at the most unexpected times.

3. Rest your eyes. Stay away from your PC as much as you can. If you won NaNoWriMo this year, chances are, your eyes are still smarting from the hours you've spent in front of your computer!

Preparing your Novel: How Well Do You Know Your Characters?

Some novels are driven by a plot: such novels will often be fast-paced, and might feel out of control, especially if you want to know the people in them better, and if you aren't content with cardboard cutouts for characters. The biggest advantage to plot-driven novels is that they often make the top of the best-seller's list because they are easy to read, easy to follow, and go light on the emotions.

On the other hand, some novels are driven by characters: they may be slow-paced, but when well-crafted, they can feel real. Characters in such novels jump out of the pages, take control of your daily life, and make you feel like you are part of the book. In fact, many novels don't even feel like books! They feel like friends, like stories that can no longer be seen as unreal, like real situations that could actually be happening next door, around the corner, or even in your own house.

Whether you have a slam-bang plot or a host of unforgettable people in your work, you still need to know your characters better. If you already have a list of characters in your work, then you need to start getting to know them better. After all, if you, as their creator, know next to nothing of their personalities, then how will your readers ever appreciate them? By knowing your characters, you might also be able to write them better without constantly wondering, “What would do?”

Here are a few things that you can do with your characters if you already have them:

1. Draw up a list of your characters. Complete their names. If you can, provide some lineage or ancestral information. This way, they become real people to you, and you may be able to write them better because they feel real. Keep this list handy so that you don't forget who's-who in your work.

2. If you have the time, pretend that you are interviewing your characters. This is is a little bit tricky, but if done well, it might help you out better than just memorizing what your characters do. Of course, you have to do this in private, or you could risk getting scuttled off to the nearest Mental Institution even before your novel is finished.

First, pretend that you are facing your character. Take note of what he or she looks like. Describe your character by taking down notes, as though you were truly at a real interview. Next, ask questions that you know will provide insight into a character's background, motivations, and needs. What does your character need in life? What does he or she want? What does he or she value? What does he or she despise? Take note of the answers and write them down.

Don't knock outward appearances! What does your character look like? How does he or she talk? How your character appears can play into where your character came from and where the character is going.

If and when you hit a roadblock in answering your own questions, then you know that you are on to something. This might be a missing piece in your character, something that you should give dimension to, and something that may make your character more believable.

Lastly, make your interview a conversation. Share thoughts with your character, and see how your character reacts. This does sound insane, doesn't it? But if you do this well, you could turn your characters into your closest friends – and aren't those the most believable stories? The ones that we tell about those whom we know best?

3. When editing, keep your character notes handy. You'll never know if you come across ra flaw in your work that might contradict how your character talks, behaves, thinks, and acts.

If you still don't have characters, then you may want to start drawing up a list of potential players. However, if you are more comfortable starting with a plot, then go ahead. You can put your characters in later and check their nuances and unique points when you have finished polishing and fleshing out your story. In any case, never underestimate the power that your characters hold!

How do you write?

Some people love the feel of ink scratching across paper. Others love the clickety-clack of the computer keyboard. Still, others can turn the kaching! of the old typewriter into a sign of getting a lot of work done. There are many ways to write besides, and you might have a personal niche that you can sink comfortably into. Which one is it?

If you're serious about writing, you need to do two things:

1) Know what way to write is best for you
2) Explore new ways of writing just to shake things up!

So, how do you know what kind of writing style is best for your novel needs? If you're an experienced writer, you probably already know what your writing comfort zone is. Still, it wouldn't hurt for you to see what else your writing can do: try one of the exercises on this site using another way of writing. For example, if you love writing on the computer, try doing a triad exercise by going off to the woods with your notebook and pen. You just might discover your hidden talent for writing in tune with Mother Nature! (disclaimer: please do not hold this blog responsible for any disasters that may befall you in your writing-in-the-woods enterprise)

If you haven't done a lot of writing, then choose your way to write: take out the typewriter, turn that PC on, or get yourself a notebook and pen. And then, pick a writing exercise - and write away!

When you find that niche, use it to your advantage. You can probably write best using certain stimuli, or under certain weather conditions. But don't stick to only one way of writing. Remember, doing new things and taking on new hobbies can sharpen your brain and make you do better in other tasks, whether writing-related or not.

Best of luck, and happy writing!