Finding the Time to Write

I'm sure other authors, who haven't yet taken up writing full time, are having a similar problem to myself: I'm struggling to find time to write.

I am lucky. I have a particularly patient husband who gives me the time and space to write in the evenings, when the children have gone to bed. If I manage my time well, that way I have roughly 2 hours to write each night.

These two hours also consist of time spent with my husband, time keeping a personal diary, time where I do my day job (yup, in the evenings #teacherlife) and times where I go out to see my friends and generally be a grown up.

There are literally not enough hours in the day!

I am able to write most nights, even if it's just a few hundred words but I find my writing is disjointed and sometimes doesn't make sense if I have to stop-start writing in the middle of a scene.

So, with being a mum and having a full time job and having a husband and a social life, how do I fit everything in?

Here are my 3 tips:

1. Be kind to yourself

As much as you want to be, you're not actually superhuman. There is genuinely only so much that we

can do and fit into one day, so accept that you are not going to be able to do all the things all the time. When I go out with friends, I have to accept that this evening isn't going to be a writing evening. It's been difficult, but I've had to learn to let it go. I've had to learn to relax.

2. Write when you're not writing

As most writers do, I carry a notebook and pen with me everywhere, and I also commute to work. Sometimes, I sketch down some notes when I'm on the bus. It's not proper writing or sitting down quietly in a room alone, but it is getting the writing out my head.

If I'm not writing on the bus, I'm thinking about my story. What's going to happen next? Where is the story going? Yesterday, I was taking down the Christmas tree and a whole speech from my book came into my head. It's not the finished article but it will go in the book in some form.

3. Carve out a few minutes.

If you are truly swamped and unable to find time, this may be difficult. Are there a few minutes here and there where you could write quickly? I will try to use my time as best I can (not always easy) and jot down some notes while tea is in the oven or review my outline while I'm waiting for the bus. Little snippets like this aren't ideal, especially if you're like me and find your writing is disjointed when you keep coming back to it but if you're really struggling for time, this could be an idea for you.

Never Enough Time

Writing this blog post has taken time out of my writing this evening, but sometimes I need a break from my story to come back to it fresh. While I was on the bus this morning, I was planning out the scene I'm about to start writing so I have a good foundation to use going forward.

I hope these few times will help, especially the first one, and I wish you all the luck with your writing!

Let the Writing Commence!

I haven't been blogging for a little while. I also haven't written my personal diary in quite a while. This is for one simple reason: I'm writing!

This photo perfectly illustrates how it's been going.

I used KM Weiland's amazing plotting books to help me with my outline and extended outline. I really enjoyed writing my extended outline because it allowed me to get the story out, go back and make changes, edit and include everything I wanted to put in without writing out endless pages. I don't have to think about the wording or the exact ideas, while getting the story out.

It's been great.

I miss the extended outline days.

It's the opening to my novel that I'm struggling with the most. I love this book, I think I've finally hit upon an idea that really works, that has depth and that I really enjoy writing. Well, I did enjoy writing it. It's the opening to this story I'm finding tricky.

I want it to set the scene. I want to introduce the main character. I want to intrigue the reader. I don't know why I'm finding it so difficult.

I can see the scene in my head. It's raining. Lexi, my main protagonist, is upset that she's had to move house.

This is my current opening line:

'The rain clouds were so thick that lunchtime felt like evening. The streets were busy with hurrying umbrellas and gleaming raincoats. Lexi glared through the car window as heavy raindrops pattered the glass. The weather was miserable. So was Lexi.'

What I'm hoping is that this opening line is enough to make the reader ask a few questions:

1. Who is Lexi?
2. Why is she miserable?
3. Where is she going in the car?
4. What's going to happen in the rain?

But will they ask questions or will they not read on? From the looks of all the authors I follow on Twitter, we all have this crippling self doubt. 

I've just written a version of the opening that I really like and I've sent it over to a beta read to check through for me and see if it works. He also read previous versions of the opening but hopefully this one works the best. 

I've written a further 7 scenes in this draft of the book, based on the outline and extended outline I made. I just keep coming back to this opening which is slowing progress. 

I think, however, I'm going to start writing the scenes out of sequence. I do have their plans very detailed written in order. I even added extra bits as I needed them when referenced in later scenes, zipping back and forth throughout my outlines. 

This explains why I have been absent from my blog, however. It's because I've been writing my book by hand and not using a computer at all. 

The thing is, I'm wondering if it might be easier, now that I have written my extended outline, I should write my first draft on the computer? I did find it much easier when I typed up a version to email to my beta reader. 

I'll give it a try. I certainly type faster than I write by hand! 

Happy New Year everyone! May 2018 be your year for happiness and good health! 

How to Write Your Best Book

I was struggling with my novel. I knew something wasn't right about my book (see my previous blog posts). Even reading it myself I knew I'd gone wrong somewhere but I couldn't put my finger on it.

So, I asked a published author what they do.

Science Fiction author, Scott McGlasson, who wrote Nock pointed me in the direction of K. M. Weiland's book, Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success. I'm not really someone who reads 'How to' books, not since Sol Stein was talking about using language to suit your character. He said that kindergarten teachers don't use 'big words'. (I teach the kids about phonemes and digraphs, but anyway.) I wasn't too chuffed by the characterisation.

K.M. Weiland's book has been amazing!

I now know what was wrong with my book: conflict! There wasn't any! Apart from the main plot, there was no conflict in scenes, between characters. There was nothing to encourage the reader to keep reading.

I've been scribbling some new scenes since reading K. M. Weiland's book and there is more conflict, plot progression and characterisation in those few scenes than in my entire 4th draft!

I'm now focusing on following K.M. Weiland's tips and I'm replotting the novel. I'm trying to let everything I've read so far guide the path of the story. I know where I want my characters to end up, but I'm looking more about the conflict in each scene, if the story moves forward because of my plot and if we learn something about the characters. I'm also looking at character arc, which I think my first drafts lacked.

I find character arc quite difficult. I like my characters, like my children, and I don't think they need to change. However, that's the problem. They do need to change because that's what happens in books.

Take Lexi for example. She's bold and fearless, she's impulsive
and inquisitive but this means she gets into risky situations. I'm trying to make her arc so that she learns to think before she acts. She's going to get into a situation where she thinks being bold and impulsive is the right thing to do, but it has disastrous consequences so she self reflects and realises that she needs to change.

But, that hasn't happened in the drafts so far. I'm going to be able to do that now I'm being really reflective and plotting this new novel in lots of detail.

That's where I am at the moment, thinking about all of this. It's making my head spin a little bit but I am enjoying the challenge. Hopefully, I will create a story that's fun and different and page turner-ing!

Is It Time to Step Away?

I'm swamped with the crippling self doubt - again.

I know where this book is going. I don't want to spoil the ending but I know what happens at the end. I know what happens at the start. It's getting from the start to the end and making it a wild adventure on the way.

I have sought out the advice of amazing published authors and as a result, I'm going to take a step back from my manuscript and read Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland.

I'm so happy with this book, the characters and the story. I just want to tell it at it's absolute best. I want the impact of the story to be as strong as it can be.

I need the story to capture and entertain the readers as much as I can.

I want this book to be pure science fiction indulgence. I want this to be a book I'd like my own children to read, especially my daughter. I want my main characters to play with alien technology, to fly spaceships. to defeat the baddies by using their smarts. They're going to figure out what's going on and uncover mysteries.

Maybe when I step back and read the outlining book, I'll be able to look at my novel with fresh eyes.

The trouble is, I'm not sure whether this novel should tell the full story of how Tim and Lexi find out about aliens or if it should be a few chapters of a book where Tim and Lexi leave the Earth entirely. I want it to be magical. I want the reader to say 'Wow!' I want the reader to be amazed, awed and astonished by what they see in this book.

I definitely think I need to step away and replot. I think when I did my first rewrite, I kept in the mistakes I'd made in the first draft. I think maybe I should consider a dream state. What would be the most amazing thing to happen to my two protagonists?

I need to think about what children enjoy in their reading. What captured imagination for the children when they read Harry Potter or Twilight or Hunger Games? Why was Enders Game so popular? I don't want to write like those other authors, I don't want to create a carbon copy. I think the experience of other authors is something to think about and not copy, not emulate but learn from and adapt my writing accordingly.

I do have a lot to think about. I think the last draft I wrote will need to change. I really like this story and I am not going to give up on it. I just need to make it as

perfect as I can.

I need to remember that I only started writing it in July and even to finish the book by now is an achievement. A little rewrite of the events in the book is a minor part really as I have the characters and a direction for the plot.

Wish me luck as I very reluctantly step away from my manuscript.

This is Where I Am With My Writing

I went through my novel and I re-plotted it.

All the orange ink on this page are the corrections! When I say corrections, I mean parts of the book where I wanted to add more detail, close a plot hole or change the entire scene completely.

I thought I was ready to submit but now I'm checking the book

over again and actually retyping it - entirely!

I'm 4000 words into the rewrite and hopefully it's improved by the rewrite.

I'm also firming up the characterisations. I want to check that Lexi doesn't say something that's out of character for her. Or that Tim does something that he wouldn't normally. I don't want my reader to stumbled over bad writing.

On that note, I actually read in my own work, "Please wake up, she pleaded." Arg! I may have to confiscate my own pens if I actually write things like that.

So, that's where I am at the moment. Another rewrite. I'll be on draft 4 but this is only a minor step as once I've plotted it scene by scene and put it on the happiness scale, I'll need to read it through again, put the scenes into chapters and rewrite any paragraphs that still read clumsy.

If you're thinking, 'don't over edit' I don't think I am. I'm just trying to polish what I have and eradicate any more 'please, she pleaded,' rubbish!

This book is an absolute passion of mine. I'm sure I've got a good story and I'm keen to share it.

Another Rewrite?

I was watching the TV this evening and I was inspired. The trouble is, I'm inspired to rewrite the lot. I'm thinking if I compress the first book into Act 1 of a new book, and then

flow straight into what would have been Book 2 in Act 2.

This would mean an utter and complete rewrite of the entire novel.

I'm plotting out what it would look like now.

This would be the third version of this book but I just want to make it perfect. I want it to be a really entertaining, so that my readers enjoy the story.

There's a bunch of good stuff in the version I have now so I'd have to move that over and adjust it accordingly.

Am I fidgeting with the story for the sake of fidgeting with it or will this really benefit the story? Maybe if I plot out the story properly I would be able to make sure that every element of the story moves the narrative on. It would also highlight the journey the characters make.

So, it looks like I'm starting again from scratch. It'll depend on what my beta readers say, but if the story would benefit from Book 2 starting in Act 2 of Book 1, then I'm going to do it.

Ready to Submit

Well, that's not technically true. My manuscript is now with my beta readers and awaiting feedback.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. It is in good hands. I think what I really want is for my beta readers to enjoy reading my book. I want them to enjoy the story and feel as if they want to know what happens next.

I hope I've created intriguing characters that draw my betas in and help them to connect with the story. That's what I'm hoping.

My Next Job

So now, it's to research publishers and find out the submissions guidance for contemporary middle grade science fiction.

I have read my story to children who are not quite in the age group I've aimed it at and they've enjoyed it. I think.

That's what I'm doing at the moment, anyway. Researching. Plus the day job.

Wish me luck!