Manuscript Counseling – Pt. 1

I recently attended a therapy session with Manuscript. It was hard. Tears were shed, pages…well, they just sat there. Overall, it was great progress. I thought I’d share the detailed outline of what happens when you attend counseling with your manuscript.

Counselor: Who’d like to start by telling me why you’re here?

*silence*

Kristy: *cough* I’ll go. *stares in adjacent chair* The easiest way to sum it up is that I feel this relationship is one-sided. I put in all the work, and Manuscript reaps all my rewards.

Counselor: Manuscript? Would you like to respond to that?

Manuscript: *silence*

Kristy: See? It doesn’t even talk to me anymore! We’ve grown apart.

Counselor: Why don’t you tell Manuscript the things that first attracted you to it. It’s important to rekindle the passion.

Kristy: *chews nails* I guess I didn’t really know what I was looking for in a plot until I met Manuscript.

Counselor: Good, good…

Kristy: I thought I’d found something special. Like, the last original plot or something.

Counselor: And then what happened?

Kristy: I don’t know! *glances at Manuscript* I mean, we had an amazing four weeks together during NaNoWriMo. Birds chirped, keyboards typed, caffeine was drunk and I swear, I know it sounds stupid, but I knew this was The One.

Counselor: *shifting in chair* Manuscript, how does it make you feel to hear Kristy talk so passionately about you? Was this NaNoWriMo like that for you too?

Manuscript: *silence*

Kristy: *under breath* “Writer’s blocking ass…”

Counselor: Kristy, let’s not call names. This is a positive environment. *removes glasses. wipes eyelids and places glasses on nose again* Tell me what’s happened after NaNoWriMo. What series of events have brought you to me? I have to say, you’re a very attractive couple and I’d hate to see this go to waste.

Kristy: Yes, we have been told that before. *blushes* I guess it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. After November, we spent some time apart. I needed a breather, had to get back to life. My clothes needed cleaning and I needed to wash my hair. When we met up again, three weeks later, it was like one of those slow-motion movie scenes where we leapt through a field and crashed into one another. Thankfully I’d numbered Manuscript’s pages, so when they went flying everywhere, it wasn’t a big deal.

Then came revisions. *wipes away tear* And look, I know we both knew this was coming from the very beginning! But after ten chapters it was like it was a totally different Manuscript! I thought it was better, you know, that I was improving it. And it just started hating me. I think after picking apart those imperfections I’ve made it feel not good enough.

Counselor: Manuscript, does this sound accurate to you?

Manuscript: *silence*

Counselor: And do you think Manuscript is good enough, Kristy? You did say you thought it was The One. Do you think you can ever feel that way again?

Kristy: *shrugs* Maybe. But it just depends on what Manuscript wants. If it can understand I’m only trying to help it, we wouldn’t have this problem.

Counselor: Okay, I think we need to focus on solutions. Is that okay with everyone?

*Kristy nods*  *Manuscript – silence*

Kristy, what do you need from Manuscript?

Kristy: *bites lip* This is a safe environment, right? *Counselor nods* I guess I need Manuscript to be okay when I need time apart. When I need to think. And I guess it wouldn’t hurt if it didn’t refuse my ideas and suddenly not Autosave. I almost think it does it just to spite me.

Counselor: And Manuscript, what do you need from Kristy?

Manuscript: *silence*

Counselor: Okay, well we all have a lot of work to do then. I say we meet in ten days and discuss this further.

Kristy: That’d be perfect. What do you say, Manuscript? Should we give it another try?

Manuscript: *silence*

Kristy: Great! I knew you still loved me!

The Bookshelf Muse has a contest

Angela Ackerman is having a contest over at her blog. Head over and check it out. Also, follow her blog, because it’s made of awesome. And I don’t mean that in the flippant way most people do. She owns the patent of awesome and edits her html coding with it.

Attributes of the Artist

While going through a lecture in my art class, the professor began discussing attributes of creative people and it took everything inside me not to interject at every bullet point how it applies to writers.

At this point in publishing, it takes certain qualities in people and their writing to be successful. Am I successful? I don’t have my three-book deal with Delacorte, if that’s what you’re asking. But I watch and observe successful authors and note what they do that works. This closely fit with the list we discussed in my art class.

1. Sensitivity – To create, there must be a heightened awareness of our senses as well as other people and their feelings.

2. Flexibility – In writing, it’s essential to adapt to new plots, ideas, situations, characters, and be able to see the possibilities within them. There must be a willingness to find innovative ways to create.

3. Originality – We hear there are no original plots left. Do you accept this? Either way, do you have uncommon responses to situations or solving problems? Are you able to see those through another person’s eyes?

4. Playfulness – Why is this essential in creative people or successful authors? Without a sense of humor or ability to experiment freely, the passion and joy will dry up and leave us empty. It’s a conduit for originality as well.

5. Productivity – Generating new ideas and following through.

6. Fluency – Simply said, the artist (in whatever form) must be ready to allow the flow of ideas.

7. Analytical skill – The writer must have a talent, whether learned or natural, to explore problems, take them apart, and find out how their story works.

8. Organizational skill – How many of us think ‘artist’ and ‘organized’ in the same sentence? This isn’t merely a domestic thing, but a state of mind. One must possess or desire to possess the ability to put things together in a coherent order.

What other attributes could you contribute?

Why it sucks to be Celiac

Recently, someone I care about was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. I’ve been diagnosed with it for over two years now, and this is the first person I know (aside from the people I talk to at the health food stores) that has it. For them it’s not good. I have been there and know those feelings upon diagnosis. Selfishly, I admit it is nice to know someone that has it. Someone that understands what I go through and someone I can share tips, recipes, and experiences with.

I realize, after talking so much about Celiac, that many people still don’t know what it is.

In short: Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disease in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged from eating gluten and other proteins found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.

Why does this suck? Aside from the immense pain it inflicts, the majority of our foods involve said foods. Aside from the obvious (bread) it can sneak up in gravy, cereal, yogurts, sauces, even our medications! The possible derivatives seem to be endless.

In addition, our entire society (and many others) revolves around food. If we think about activities that bring us together, food is involved. And those foods, guaranteed, are filled with things those with Celiac Disease cannot eat.

I’ve been reliving how I felt upon diagnosis since my friend has gone through the possibility and, alas, the final word from the Doc. Thinking about my breakdowns in the grocery store still stings my eyes. It’s a hard thing to explain to someone that doesn’t know the feeling. And what’s worse, I remember, is the onset.

Perhaps it sounds silly, but it’s tough knowing you may have eaten your favorite meal for the final time and never have known it. It’s difficult for those morning meeting donuts to sit in front of your face and know you can’t –not by choice– partake. And what’s worse, unfortunately, is the insensitivity of others.

Approximately 1 in 110 (it may have changed recently) have Celiac Disease. If it were easier to diagnose, there would be more. Although it is what we might deem common, it is still not treated with proper sensitivity be others. Anyone with a food allergy will understand, however the disease is a new thing altogether. It’s upsetting knowing you will probably pass this disease onto your children. It’s upsetting knowing this is not something that can be treated by an allergist. This is your genetic makeup. End of story.

In your life, you or someone you care about will be diagnosed with Celiac. I urge you to consider the meaning this has or will have in those people’s lives and try to increase your sensitivity to their situation.

How can we best do that? I challenge you to walk a week in their shoes.

From the Revision Fairy

More on revisions:

From our Revision Fairy, Stefanie Flaxman. Become a better proofreader in 3 steps.

1. Find Your Proofreader Alter Ego. The Batman to your Bruce Wayne, the Superman to your Clark Kent. You need to look at your text as though you were not the person who wrote it, but someone with a superior eye for detail who does not know what you intended to write.

After you are done with your first draft, take a break from writing and reading. Spend time doing different activities before you edit your text. It’s important to plan a break and go back to your text at a later time, rather than writing and editing in one sitting.

2. Compare and Contrast. Inconsistencies occur in fiction and nonfiction. They make your text look sloppy and are often a matter of style, rather than grammar. What superpowers should your alter ego possess to combat inconsistencies, you may ask? To start: memory.

Make mental notes of specific terms as you review your text. For example, the term “copy editing” is also often spelled “copyediting,” or “copy-editing;” “proofreader” may be written “proof reader.” Is there a character named “Ann” in your novel? Make sure the proper name is not sometimes spelled “Ann,” and other times “Anne.” Are you writing about Walmart? Do you refer to the company as “Walmart,” “WalMart,” and “Wal-Mart?” Pick one style and make sure that you use it consistently.

A similar genre of errors includes typos that are properly spelled words (and therefore not caught when you use spell-check), but are not actually the words that you intend to use. You could type “over” instead of “oven,” “of” instead of “off,” “peer” instead of “pier,” etc. The possibilities are endless. A thorough proofreading will eliminate these flaws.

3. Say What? Read your text out loud, paying attention to each word. It’s equally important to pay attention to punctuation. Your proofreader alter ego also comes in handy here. Enunciate the words and pause for punctuation as someone who has never read the text before. Is it clear?

This technique may identify sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and other abridged or convoluted thoughts. When a sentenced is weak, and does not express the proper message, it is usually either incomplete or contains too many ideas for one single sentence.

To dissect your writing, pay attention to the sounds of words joined together to make up a sentence. Do the words flow naturally, or have you read for five minutes without taking a breath? Once you break it down, you’ll spot the areas that need improvement.

In case you haven’t noticed…

I feel like this whole redo of my website is like a new haircut. And for me to walk around with a new haircut and pretend nothing is new is ridiculous and awkward for all of us.

So this is me stating the obvious: My website is different. If you like it, great. If you don’t, great. I’m undecided. My glorious friend Jen offered to make something custom for me. I feel lame asking her. This is what you get for now. End of story, thank you, good night Amsterdam!

From rough to less rough.

In the spirit of revisions, I’ll post a recent blog from Natalie Whipple, a fellow writer repped by the Awesome Nathan Bransford of Curtis Brown Lit Agency. (That was a capital Awesome, in case you missed it.)

Here she graciously shares her revision steps. And in great detail. Enjoy.

* * *

Stage 1: Plot Revisions
If I have plot issues—which I often do—I like to tackle these first. Mostly because they are usually the Big Problems, the ones that cause cuts and moving and additions and rewriting. Really, why spend time refining prose when a whole section could go? Why spend time bringing out a character’s emotional arc when the events could change? And thus their reactions to it?

The plot is your base—your story relies on this as a firm foundation. If you have weak areas, you risk readers putting down your book. Because of that, my first revisions always revolve around tightening the plot.

How do you revise your plot? Actually, it’s something I learned this year, and it improved my writing so much. In my greener days, I didn’t think I could change plot without changing the whole story, but that’s completely untrue. In fact, I wrote a whole post about my epiphany. Basically, you have to ask yourself one thing:

Is that the best way for this story to unfold?

Other questions to determine “best”:

• Is this passage repetitive?

• Is this information necessary?

• Does this passage propel the story forward?

• Is the story focused on the most compelling parts?

• Does this happen in the right order?

• Can this plot arc be drawn out? Should it be shortened?

• Is the action happening on the page? If not, how can I make that happen?

• Do all the plot arcs continually build in intensity?

• Do all the arcs climax at/or close to the same time?

• Can this information/action be folded into another area of the book?

• Does every scene work overtime? (i.e. You don’t write one chapter just to explain a character’s back story—there should be more than one reason for every scene.)

• Does this seem plausible? Does the action ring true? Will readers see plot holes?

• Are things overcomplicated? Not complicated enough?

• Are there actual stakes? Or does the danger feel false?

I usually go through several drafts where plot revisions are my main focus. Since Void was one of my greener attempts, I feel like I’ve just finally made it out of major plot revisions. And I’m on draft 8. Though with some of my newer work, like Transparent, I was able to solve my plot issues by draft 3 (though I still have some serious character development things to address).

I wish I could tell you exactly how to refine your plot, but it’s extremely case sensitive. As I’ve improved my writing, I’ve been able to curb many plot issues, but they still arise. Betas are very helpful in pointing them out. Yet in the end, only the author can decide what is best for their book.

Stage 2: Character Revisions
After I feel like I have a fairly tight plot, I turn my focus to characters. Often when you mess with plot, your characters’ reactions might have to change as well. Or maybe you haven’t quite represented them properly.

It might be hard to “change” your characters, but I’ve learned it’s not really changing. It’s more like “representing” them more accurately. I don’t know about other writers, but my relationship with my characters develop a lot like real relationships. I don’t really know them at first, but I know I like them. As the story progresses, sometimes I learn something about them that I didn’t know at first—something that drastically changes what I’d previously written.

I’m constantly having to line up character emotions as I get to know them, and I think that’s easiest to do after the plot has settled. That’s when I start focusing on questions like this:

• Is that truly how the character would react?

• Am I making their emotions clear enough? Too clear?

• Is that really what the character would say?

• Am I hedging their true emotions because I don’t want readers to hate them? (I’m often guilty of this one—I don’t let my chars get mad enough or rude enough or jealous enough, etc.)

• Would my character really do that? And if it’s unexpected, do I properly explain it to my readers?

• Do I have too much back story? Not enough?

• Do my characters all have their own unique motivations and stories? Do I make them clear when needed?

• Is my MC compelling? The secondary characters interesting? The villain a true conflict?

• Are all my characters necessary? Are there some that can be combined or cut?

• Do my characters propel the story forward with their actions/words?

Character revisions, overall, can be tricky. They are easy to miss if you’re not paying attention. They’re usually very subtle things that might look like line editing. A small reaction there, and a quick change of a description there. But they make all the difference in the story—they can make your characters pop right off the page.

Stage 3: Prose Revisions
After I feel like I have a decent grasp on the plot and characters, I face the dreaded prose editing. The nitty gritty stuff—the stuff that takes your story from good to great. While plot and character revising can be overwhelming, prose revision can be just plain tedious. This is when your eyes start crossing, when you want to give up because you’ve looked at the book so many times you’d prefer never to see it again.

And yet, you must press on.

First comes the line edit, which is not copy editing. Line editing is essentially making sure all those plot and character changes you made are consistent. And after that, it’s making sure you’re using the best possible words.

Things I focus on while line editing:
• Showing not telling

• Varying description/improving it

• Ensuring my details are consistent throughout (i.e. character have same eye color as beginning, and other stuff like that)

• Smoothing out plot transitions

• Refining dialogue/reviewing tags

• Tightening chapters/making sure they break properly

• Any other other plot/character tweaks I missed

Then comes the even more nit-picky copy edit, which focuses on grammar, punctuation, repetition, paragraphing, etc:

• Correcting run-ons, fragments, and other grammatical faux-pas

• Correcting improper comma, semi-colon, and other punctuation misuse.

• Curbing overuse of punctuation such as the dash, ellipsis, semi-colon, etc. (I’m a dash-a-holic. I have a personal rule a chopping down to one a page at max.)

• Changing repetitive words/actions. (Eye rolls, sighing, and gasps don’t pack a punch if they’re on every page, or every other.)

• Cutting unnecessary words (i.e. personal ticks, “to be,” progressive, excessive prepositions, etc.)

• Varying repetitive grammatical structures. (Sometimes I go overboard on rhetorical questions in one chapter, and then go crazy with the gerunds in the next.)

Once I’ve done all that, I read it aloud to see if it flows. Awkward phrases or inauthentic passages really jump out when I do that.

So that’s the long version of how I take “Small Bites.” As you can see, this list would be pretty impossible to swallow in one pass. Or even 2 or 3. I swear revisions constantly stews in the back of my brain. I don’t think it’ll end until the book is published.

Revision tips

Laurie Halse Anderson is one of my favorite authors, an all-around lovely person, and great blogger. Her blog is one of my favorites to read. (Surprise!)

As I’ve been going through revisions, the tips she posted on her blog have come in very helpful. So for those that haven’t had the chance to go through them, I’ve compiled the basics in one place. Enjoy!

___ ___ ___

Revision Tip #1
When you finish a first draft, don’t look at it for at least a week.

Revision Tip #2

If revising during December (like I am) give yourself only 24 hours in which to complete your shopping.

REVISION TIP #3
…Managing the unwieldy novel is hard. Here is what I do:

Revision Tip #4

Never ask loved ones or blood relatives to critique your manuscript.

Revision Tip #6

(Where is 5 you ask? I guess it’s busy revising.)

“In which Laurie uses a brilliant guest blogger to plead with authors.”

Revision Tip #7

Fully developed characters.

Characters who are important enough to interact with your main character regularly need to be multi-dimensional, not flat.

Revision Tip #8

Read each scene and highlight each mention of a sense other than sight.

Revision Tip #9

Does your draft have dialog that goes on for pages? Feels like a screenplay more than a novel? Your characters need some action: Verbs, my friends. You are in need of verbs.

Revision Tip #10
This is where choosing the right setting for a scene helps.

Revision Tip #11

When you wake up thinking about your characters, don’t fart around with email or television or blog entries. Get to work!

Revision Tip #12

Evaluate every adverb in your story.

Revision Tip #13

When revising, sometimes you just need to turn the blasted Internet off. As in all the way OFF.

Revision Tip #14

Ever run into one of those chapters that just won’t jump through the right hoops? You try cutting it out, but that doesn’t work. You change the setting, the dialog, the plot points, and the character focus. You change the color of the sun. Nothing works.

Try this.

Revision Tip #16 (yes, I know it should be 15, but yesterday really was something of a mess and it’s easier this way. Do you remember the “Bruce” sketch of Monty Python? Remember how there was no Rule #6? This is the same thing.)

Where was I?

Right, Revision Tip #16

Brainstorming is not a one-and-done part of the writing process. Not the way I see it. After that messy first draft, I usually have chapters that feel empty or out-of-place. I mentioned the way I use huge sheets of paper to organize my chapters. Here is another technique.

Revision Tip #17

Many people are not sure who their audience is when working on the early drafts of their novel. Nothing wrong with that. But as you revise, you need to know who your reader is.

Revision Tip #18

Are you stuck?

Have you tried all my plotting tips and dialog wisdom and adverb scorn and still you are stuck?  Try this…

Revision Tip #19

Beware of echoes and doppelgängers!

Revision Tip #20

For every desire, there should be an obstacle. Every step on the path leads to another detour.

Revision Tip #21

1. Record yourself reading your manuscript aloud. The whole thing.

2. Listen to it with your manuscript in front of you (I am most comfortable with the printed-out version at this point.)

3. Pause whenever necessary to make notes on what needs fixing. This is when I find repeated words, awkward phrases and dropped plot points.

4. After a marathon listening session, go back in and finish all the repair work.

Revision Tip #22

Are you sure that you’ve chosen the right point of view for your novel?

Revision Tip #23

I rarely have the image systems of my books in mind when I start writing. But by the end of the first or second draft, some image (symbol for Eng lit majors) has cropped up and I realize that I can riff on that symbol throughout the book to tell the larger story.

The most extensive, awesome character sketch/chart. Ever.

I’m officially “borrowing” this character sketch/chart from Eclectics. There have been slight alterations made, questions added or deleted, but overall this is the best and most thorough character sketch I’ve ever seen. After filling this out, you’ll know more about your characters than you do yourselves. Enjoy and share!

THE BASICS

Character’s Full Name:

Reason or meaning of name:

Nickname:                                             Reason for nickname:

Birthdate:

Astrological Sign:

Age:                                                     How old does s/he appear?

Eye Color:                                            Glasses or contacts:

Weight:                                                Height:

Type of body/build:

Skin tone:                                             Skin type:

Shape of face:                                      Distinguishing Marks:

Predominant feature:
Hair color:

Distinguishable hair feature (bald,
receding hairline, etc.):

Type of hair (coarse, fine, thick, etc?)

Character’s typical hairstyle:

Resembles:

Is s/he healthy?

If not, why not:

Physical disabilities:

FAVORITES:

Character’s favorite color:

Favorite Music:

Least favorite Music:

Why?

Food:

Literature:

Expressions:

Favorite book:                                      Why?

Expletives:

Mode of transportation:

Daredevil or cautious?

Same when alone?

HABITS:

Smokes:

When and how much?

Drinks:

When and how much?

Hobbies:

How does character spend a rainy day?

BACKGROUND:

Hometown:

Type of childhood:

First memory:

Most important childhood event that still affects him/her:

Why?

Education:

Religion:

Finances:

FAMILY:

Mother:

Relationship with her:

Father:

Relationship with him:

Siblings:

How many?

Relationship with each:

Children of siblings:

Extended family?

Close?

Why or why not?

CHILDREN:

Does character have children?

How many?

Are all children with the same partner?

If no, Why?

How does character relate to his/her children?

Which child is character’s favorite?

Why?

What is characters most favorite memory of his/her children?

Why?

What is characters least favorite memory of his/her children?

Why?

Is relationship with children important to character?

Does the character want children in the future?
OCCUPATION:

Where does Character work?

For how long?

How does s/he feel about co-workers?

Get along with co-workers?

Like his/her job?

Why or why not?

Character’s dream job:

ATTITUDE:

Character’s greatest fear:

Why?

What is the worst thing that could happen to him/her?

What single event would most throw character’s life in complete turmoil?

Why?

Character is most at ease when:

Most ill at ease when:

Depressive or SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)?

Priorities:

Philosophy:

How s/he feels about self:

Past failure s/he would be embarrassed to have people know about:

Why?

If granted one wish, what would it be?

Why?

PERSONALITY:

Greatest source of strength in character’s personality (whether s/he sees it as

such or not):

Greatest source of weakness in character’s personality (whether s/he sees it as

such or not):

Character’s soft spot:

Is this soft spot obvious to others?

If not, how does character hide it?

Biggest vulnerability:
Which of the 7 deadly sins does your character fight (or give into, willingly or not)?
(lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride)

Which of the 7 virtues does your character have (or fight against)?

(chastity, abstinence, liberality, diligence, patience, kindness, humility)

TRAITS:

Optimist or pessimist:

Introvert or extrovert:

Drives and motivations:

Talents:

Skilled at:

Unskilled at:

Good characteristics:

Character flaws:

Mannerisms:

Peculiarities:

Biggest regret:

Biggest accomplishment:

Minor accomplishments:

Character’s darkest secret:

Does anyone else know?

How did they find out?

SELF-PERCEPTION:

One word character would use to describe self:

What does character consider best physical characteristic?

What does character consider worst physical characteristic?

How CHARACTER thinks others perceive him/her:

What four things would CHARACTER most like to change about self?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Why?

If change #1 was made, would character be as happy as s/he thinks?

If not, why?

INTERRELATION WITH OTHERS:

Is character divorced?

Why?

If divorced, how many times?

Has character ever cheated on significant other?

How does character relate to others?

How is s/he perceived by…?

Strangers?

Friends?

Wife/Husband/Lover?

Hero/Heroine?

How does character view hero/heroine?

First impression:

Why?

What happens to change this perception?

What do family/friends like most about character?

What do family/friends like least about character?

GOALS:

Immediate goals:

Long range goals:

How does character plan to accomplish goals?

How will others around character be affected?

PROBLEMS/CRISIS:

How character reacts in a crisis:

How character faces problems:

Kinds of problems character usually runs into:

How character reacts to NEW problems:

How character reacts to change:

GENERAL:

Favorite clothing:

Why?

Least favorite clothing:

Why?

Jewelry:

Other accessories:

Where does character live?

Where does character want to live?

Spending habits (frugal, spendthrift, etc):

Why?

What does s/he do too much of?

Too little of?

Most prized possession:

Why?

Play musical instrument?

Which?

How did s/he learn?

UNCATEGORIZED:

Person character secretly admires:

Why?

Person character was most influenced by:

Why?

Most important person in character’s life before story starts:

Why?

Why your novel idea IS good enough.

New Year’s Eve is upon us, and I’m guessing there are a few of you out there that have made a resolution to write a book in 2010. Am I right? And I’m guessing this is why you’ve found this blog. I’m no genius (well, that’s not entirely true. I’m pretty great), but I’m here to offer what I’ve learned to help you.

One of my most widely read blogs is one that’s probably the most negative. So that’s either saying you all are a glutton for negativity or I’m just that charming. Whichever, I’ll give a positive spin on the popular “Why your ‘novel’ idea isn’t good enough”.

There are many books which discuss story lines, how to make a strong one, etc. I’m not going to pretend I’m good or competent enough to go there. What I can tell you is this: I am a speaker of experience. Also, I network with many other writers and as a collaborative effort, I’ve put together reasons you should turn that story into a novel and how to know (as you all so keenly Google search for) if your idea is good enough. I will take your common questions and attempt in my caffeine-deprived state to answer them.

Is my story good enough for a book?

I don’t know. IS IT? You tell me. Because guess what? Nobody is going to answer that for you! Nobody! Even a publisher or agent might snuff their nose at it, writing groups might throw holy water on you…but still. Is it good enough for you??

As I asked other authors about this, I received a number of responses. “Some books are just for me.” Is that what this is for you? A “just for me” story? Because I’ve written those. I think most of us have. If that’s the case, this question is sort of moot. Write the damn story and have a good time.

On the other hand, do you want this novel to really mean something? Then the question is relevant. From another author I received this on how to know when an idea is novel-worthy: “When I feel that there’s a viable problem to solve and a reason to care if my protagonist solves it.” That’s how she knows when her story is worth writing. And to be honest, that’s when I know it, too.

I’m 16 (or insert young age here) and want to write a book.

I’m aware this isn’t technically a question. But this needs to be approached. You’re 16 and want to write a book? Then do it! Don’t be scared about how good or bad it is, if it’s readable or something you’ll start a fire with later. Write your story. It’s not like pulling the pin out of grenade. It’s not the point of no return. Can you do it? Yes. Will it get published? It’s possible. From what most agents will tell you, they don’t care about your age so long as you have a great book. But no book can be published unless it is written.

Can I write stories based off people I know? / Can people write a story about me?

Short answer? Yes and yes. The long answer involves drivel about it being fiction versus non-fiction, do you hate/love this person, does any of this really matter and/or piss you off?

I wrote an entire novel that started with a character based off my best friend. Did she care? Yes. Did it make her more keen to read and critique my manuscript? Yes. Win for me. Did it involve her ex husband? Yes. Can he sue me? No. Nobody would ever know unless you were in my head.

How can I make sure my story is worth writing?

*Headdesk*

You can’t. Not until you start writing it. Not really. An idea might feel brilliant but when you begin writing it, the characters are dead. Whatever.

I can tell you to plan ahead. Your story will be like a long road trip. You need to plan out your route, your stops. Will you be sleeping in a hotel? Taking a detour? Planning another trip after this one? That’s what you need to know. Where are you GOING with this? The beauty of writing happens in the journey. You may know where you’re headed, but you can’t ever anticipate the scenery, the weather, or the people you meet along the way.

Know that you will never write the same story twice. Even if you want to write about a time as a kid when you had to go the cute doctor to get a suppository. (I swear this never happened to me). You could start your story AT the doctor’s office, in the middle of the terribly gruesome action. Or you could begin the night before as tension and pain is brimming. Yowza. Those are two different stories, believe it or not.

I can also tell you this: If you want to write a story, just write it. Be open to change, and be aware of what you are doing with the journey you are venturing on.