To Answer Your Question...

Some people ask when I know my novel is done. The answer is . . . I don't
think I ever would ever be finished if it wasn't for a deadline. How could
one ever look at a whole body of work and say, "It is perfect."

There are always descriptions to deepen and dialogue to make more
believable. The ending . . . well, is never quite right, and there are
always those few places that bug me. The words I can never get quite right.

Working with critique partners helps. Working with editors does too. But
still I can see so many weak spots.

Even now I'm reading the galley for my upcoming novel. I'm suppose to be
just checking for errors, but I can STILL see things I'd like to change.

Since I am human, I'll never write a perfect novel. But still, as I send the
comments back with the galley, knowing that whatever is there will be in
print ... I have to say "It is finished."

Just like a day is finished, without everything getting done, the
realization comes that a novel will never be perfect. And it never can be.

Still, I can rest easy at night knowing God strengthened me and guided me
and knowing that I gave it my best . . . and knowing that even without
perfection God can use my story to touch hearts. And with that I can say,
"It is good."

Thursday Tip...Common Fiction Mistake

Today's tip comes from Barbara Warren's writing newsletter Blue Mountain Backroads (to subscribe, email Barbara at barbarawarrennewsletter@yahoogroups.com)

TELLING INSTEAD OF SHOWING:

I first heard of this when I was at a writer's conference in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Fred Bean was the speaker. I thought he was crazy. I'm a writer, right? A storyteller? I tell a story? What did he think he was talking about? Well, now I know.

I can't tell you how many manuscripts I get to edit where the writer is telling what happened. No action, no dialogue, no internal monologue. No nothing. It usually takes several tries before the writer understands the difference, but this is one bad habit, that once understood is never made again. The following examples are not very good, but see if you can tell the difference.

Example #1: John loved the old house. It had been in his family for a hundred years. It had a wide front porch with broad steps leading down to the overgrown lawn, which needed mowing. He had moved in yesterday and claimed the master bedroom as his own. Tomorrow he would go to town to buy groceries. He wanted to get a dog too, so he wold be lonesome out here all by himself.

Example #2: John looked up at the sweeping lines of the old farmhouse. Why had he stayed away so long? This house had belonged to Whitakers for over a hundred years. He waded ankle deep wet grass, thinking that tomorrow he would buy a lawnmower. The broad steps leading to the wide front porch were just as he remembered. He turned the old brass doorknob and stepped inside, smelling the familiar fragrance of rose potpourri and beeswax polish. The silence was almost overwhelming. He'd forgotten how isolated it was. He'd get a dog.

To Answer your question...

Today's question is: How can you get over the feeling that what you are doing just isn't good enough to publish? I tend to get bogged down rewriting the first few chapters until I lose all momentum for my first draft. On my current project, I'm trying to just write the story all the way through without letting myself revise, but I wonder if that is the correct way to go about it.

A few authors answer that question!

Stephanie Higgins: If you ever figure this one out, you can write a book for Writers' Digest and probably never have to work again :-).

An Idea: When you sense this is happening skip ahead to another scene anywhere in the book that you are excited about writing. . .and work on that to refresh yourself mentally.

I don't think there is a "correct" way to write. There is YOUR way and the way that works for you. . . and it sometimes takes a while for a writer to figure this out. And then sometimes what works for one book doesn't work for another and once again, you find a way to make it work. I believe there are as many ways to write a book as there are published writers. We are individuals with different creative gifts and those gifts organize and realize themselves differently. I love Randy Ingermanson's writing, but even thinking about a snowflake makes me want to run screaming the other way.

Sharon Dunn: Great question, been there, done that. The biggest challenge writers face is not learning how to plot or create a character, but learning how to quiet the editor in our head. You know, that voice that says we are not good enough to write a book. Part of the problem is that we as writers have a vision in our head of how we “see” our book. What ends up on the page rarely matches the vision and that is what causes us to think what we wrote isn’t publishable. Most writers have to work toward that vision through rewriting.

First of all, turn off the editor by giving yourself permission to write a less than perfect draft with the understanding that you know you can go back and fix what is not working. My rough draft is a mess. All I am trying to do is get the big scenes in place and because I write mysteries I also have to make sure the clues are in the right place. Once I have scenes in place, I have something to work with. It is not until later drafts that description improves and character motives are clarified and bridge scenes are written. In that early draft, I make notes to myself in bold that says stuff like need more research here, better description, would this character really do that? My favorite thing that I write is, "ick this is not working" or "blah blah blah". I give myself daily page requirements. I only go back and revise if the plot stalls out so badly I can’t move forward.

This method may work with you and it may not. There is no correct way to write a book. All that matters is what the end product looks like. One thing that helped me was I read articles and books about how other writers worked and tried out different things. Adopting some advice and dismissing other things because it didn’t fit my personality. I use a journal where I write about my frustration and fear and brainstorm what needs to happen next. The journal sits beside my lap top. I write long hand rather than journal on the computer something about writing sloppy long hand frees ups creativity.

Take whatever advice I have given and see if it works for you. Throw out what doesn’t work. You’ll figure it out. Happy writing.

Sharon Dunn
www.sharondunnbooks.com
Author of Death of a Garage Sale Newbie

Deb Raney: Well, I’m working on Novel #17 and I still have that feeling with every book Usually after I’ve done the rewrite using my editor’s suggestions I begin to feel like there might be hope, but until the reviews start coming in, I always fear each book is the one that will end my career. My writing style is to write a few pages, go back and edit, write a few more, go back and read from page 1, write some more, etc. leap-frogging my way through the book editing as I go. But I’ve learned there comes a point where I have to quit going back to the very beginning or I’ll never finish. So once you’ve polished five chapters or ten chapters, move on and don’t look back until you’ve polished the next five. Then do a couple of final read-throughs, layering in new things you’ve learned about your characters and strengthening your plot and setting. I think that will keep your momentum going.

Deb Raney
NEW! from Howard Books/Simon & Schuster: REMEMBER TO FORGET
Now updated and expanded: A VOW TO CHERISH (Steeple Hill Books)
The novel that inspired the award-winning film from World Wide Pictures
Visit my Web site at: http://www.deborahraney.com

To Answer your question...

Every Tuesday will be dedicated to answering some of the GREAT questions you all have asked!

Today's question is: What is your opinion on hiring a professional editor to edit my manuscript before sending it in to a publisher?


And today's answer will be given by Nikki Arana! Take it away Nikki...

The biggest reason that new writers receive rejections is because they send out their ms (manuscript) before it is ready. So many unpubbed writers think when they finish their first ms, they've finished a book. In almost all cases, they've finished a first draft. If it has been written with the guidance of a critique group of other unpublished authors, it's probably a good first draft, if it was written without any mentoring, it's probably a detailed outline. That's what the first draft of my first book was . . . the agent I sent it to is the one who told me. (grimaces)

The first step toward publication is to learn how to write a book. This takes time unless you hire a professional. There are professional editors, Sometimes called developmental editors, who can do that. But it is VERY expensive, around $75 an hour. They work with you step by step as you write. Like going to college and you're the only one in class. You end up with a book that only needs polishing. You always think of improvements after the first time through. But by then you are knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions on your own.You only get one chance to make a first impression with an editor or agent.

The concern about somehow the writing is not your own if you use an editor I find no basis for. I've never had any editor change a word of my writing that changed my voice. The concern that you can't deliver that quality of writing after you get the contract isn't true either. I'm writing my fifth book and still use the same professional structure editor I did on my first book. I still occasionally have payoffs without setups, have the hero do unheroic things, and have something in the story that doesn't make it to the page. But now, those things seldom happen, so it takes the editor less time and has become much more affordable. I consider the money I spend as my college tuition. Most editors accept payments.

After you know as much as your unpublished critique partners, professional editing is the next step toward publication. Yes, there are always those stories of a newbie sending out an ms and selling it. But out of the hundreds, even thousands of writers who submit mss, that happens very rarely. It is getting harder and harder to break into print. If difficult finances prevent you from using an editor, then try and find a pubbed author to guide you. They can be just as valuable, but often can't give the time needed. There are also conferences, workshops, and classes. It will just take a little longer going that route.

Pray with all your heart and work with all your might. Give your God-given call and God-given talent every opportunity to prosper.

Nikki Arana
www.NikkiArana.com

2007 Excellence in Media Silver Angel AwardAmerican Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year - Women's FictionWinner of The Beacon Award
Jessie Cameron Alison Writer of the Year Award
Conference Speaker - Workshops