Lighten Up! Cutting Down Your Word Count

With the recent trend of shorter books, and the all-too-frequent problem of writing too long, cutting a novel down is a common headache (and heartache) for a lot of writers. So today, I offer my most practical tip for cutting out words.

Guest Blogger Gini Koch on Process

I'm excited to launch the very first "How The Do It" guest blog, a new column that will showcase other authors and how they write.

Today, we have Gini Koch talking about process, and five common things the "experts" say you need to do. Gini's debut novel, Touched by an Alien, releases today, so go check it out.

Take it away, Gini...

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How I WriteUnconventionally. Or at least, so I thought when I began what is loftily called “the writer’s journey” but more commonly referred to around my house as “how to keep Gini quiet and occupied while the rest of us get on with our lives.” Hey, whatever works.

And that, truly, is what I do and the advice I give -- do whatever works for you.

Outline: Yea or Nay?I didn’t write for at least two decades because I was told by a teacher -- a teacher I knew to be a nasty idiot, I’m forced to add -- that the only way to write anything was to use an outline. (The power of teachers is vast and said power is not always used for good, unfortunately.)

Now, outlines are fine for term papers and business presentations, and I know a lot of writers who swear by them. But for me they kill my creativity. So, I’d try to outline, get completely frustrated, spend hours moving things around, have nothing to show for all that time and effort, and conclude I couldn’t write.

Wrong. I couldn’t write using an outline. Because I’m a linear writer. I start at the title, write the first line, and when I get to the end, I’m done. I don’t know who did it or why when I start writing; I discover what’s going on at the same time my characters do. It’s a lot more fun (at least for me) that way.

Silence: Yea or Nay?I was told that, to truly be a writer, I had to write in silence, locked away in some cubbyhole, snarling at any who came near and might disturb my precious quiet.

*Insert loud snort-noise here.*

I can’t work in silence. I hear everything if it’s quiet, and it’s all distracting. I need music, rock music, and chaos. The best writing I do is either late at night with my music blaring as loud as I can get away with, or when my husband and daughter are watching TV or a movie while my music’s going, they’re talking, and I’m sometimes joining in. Keep in mind that we live in a small house -- if I turn around in my office, I can not only see everyone in the living room, I can see the TV, too. I can, have and do write in crowded bars. I can write on a plane, in a train, with a goat, on a boat, or eating green eggs and ham with Sam I Am. Especially if Sam is spinning some decent tunes. (Or if Sam is droning on, I’ll just write while he covers the ‘white noise’ portion of my writing needs.)

Finish and Then Edit: Yea or Nay?I edit as I go along. If I realize something needs cutting, it gets cut, right now, while I’m aware of it. I re-read chapters as I write and edit along the way. Normally I’ll write however much I’m doing today/tonight, then re-read it after dinner or the next morning, depending, making necessary edits and changes, and then roll into this new day’s writing.

I save everything I cut in a notes/deletes document (one per book or short story, occasionally per series), that way I can get it back any time if I decide I liked the original better, want to use it in a different place, etc.

Finish What You Started Before You Start Something Else: Yea or Nay?I have, at minimum, a dozen WIPs going at any one time. If I’d listened to this particular bit of advice or obeyed this little rule, I wouldn’t be published. At all, anywhere, or in anything. I work on whatever strikes my fancy, until one WIP will grab me and say, “It’s me, I’m the one, finish me now.” And then I do.

Give Yourself a Set Writing Time: Yea or Nay?
I’m sure this works for a lot of people. For me, it brings out all the contrariness you’d normally associate with a mule. Writing is joy for me, and joy does not have a schedule, thankyouverymuch. I ensure that I write every day, but when, where, how, and how much is up to me, and only to me, not to Master Clock.

I’m sure you’ve sensed the trend -- I said ‘nay’ to all of these ‘rules’, and a lot more besides. At first, I thought I was the only one being disobedient. But as time, research, conferences and conventions showed, I wasn’t. Not only do these things work for me, they work for a lot of other successful writers out there.

I obey two rules only:
1. Money flows TO the author.
2. Grammar, spelling, punctuation and syntax matter, particularly to agents and editors.

That’s it. Everything else is whatever works, when it’s working, and something else when it’s not.

The bottom line is simple: There is no ‘one right way’ to do anything. Do what comes naturally. If it doesn’t get you the results you want, experiment if you have to with different approaches. But don’t let anybody tell you how to write your stories. All the pundits are merely telling you how they write their stories. Can you learn from them? Sure. Should you take everything they say as golden? Never.

Well, other than me. Because what I say is: Do what works for you.

Now, let’s go be writers out there.

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Gini Koch lives in the American Southwest, works her butt off (sadly, not literally) by day, and writes by night with the rest of the beautiful people. The first book in her Alien series from DAW Books, Touched by an Alien, releases April 6, 2010, with Alien Tango coming in December 2010. Visit her at her website.

About Touched by an Alien... Marketing manager Katherine “Kitty” Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Though Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the “agency” to perform crowd control. He’s Kitty’s kind of guy, no matter what planet he’s from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

Huge Grats to Beth!

One of our very own got herself a book deal!

Beth Revis just sold her debut YA sci fi novel, Across the Universe, and from the peek she has on her blog, I'm looking forward to this one.

Grats, Beth, I'm beyond thrilled for you!

Just Curious...

You might have noticed a poll up today. I was curious who the folks who stop by are, and what level writing skill they're at. While I try to supply a wide range of tips for various skill levels, I thought it might be handy to see where the bulk of the readers fall into. It'll make it easier to writes about topics you guys are most interested in.

Here are the "levels" I had in mind when I wrote the poll:

Just starting out
This is the writer who's just started to write. They haven't done a lot of studying or taken classes, but are just beginning to develop their skills and trying to understand the writing process.

Working on my skills
This is thew writer who has the basics down, and is now trying to learn how to polish their craft. They've read books or taken classes.

Improving my weak spots
This is the writer who knows what they're doing and knows there are some areas they need to develop more. They're very involved with improving their craft and looking for targeted advice in certain areas.

Taking the last step
This is the writer who is submitting work and coming close, and is looking for ways to put that last bit of shine on their work to nudge them into pro level and attract an agent or editor.

Just staying sharp
This is the writer who has sold work and enjoys keeping their skills sharp by reading blogs and staying involved in the writing process.

Under Development: Writing That First Novel

Writing can be a daunting task, but it can be even more daunting for those who know they want to write, but just aren't sure how to start. What do you focus on first? Should you worry about how publishable the idea is? What's the fuss about query letters and do you need to write one?

It can make you crazy.

So, here is my advice for anyone who's brave enough to pick up the pen and start writing. The things I feel will build a strong foundation that you can develop your skill set on. This also applies to those who are still trying to get their writing legs under them.

Read a Lot
It may sound silly, but one of the best ways you can develop your writer's ear is to read as many great books as you can. You'll start seeing (and hearing) how to put together sentences and what makes a great dramatic scene. It'll also familiarize you with your genre, let you see what else has been done, and make it easier to spot cliches.

Write a Lot
And the only way you can practice those skills, is to write. Don't worry about how good or bad it is, just get it down. You have to start somewhere, and just like you skinned your knees learning to walk, you'll make mistakes and fall down as you start to write. But every time you put words together, those words get better and you learn.

Okies, now for the more specific stuff, because that's what you really want to know, right?

Grammar and Punctuation
Brush up on the proper usage of things like quotation marks and em dashes. Learn how to use commas and semi-colons. Know how to punctuate dialog. Writers break grammar rules all the time, but to do it well, you first have to know what those rules are. You don't have to go back to school or anything, but make sure you're using your tools correctly so you don't develop bad habits that will be hard to break later.

Point of View
I'm a strong believer that understanding POV early on will help you eliminate a big chunk of the common problems many new writers have. It helps you with show vs tell, info dumping, too much back story, makes it easier to know what to describe so you don't have tons of exposition, and helps with goals and stakes. Study what makes a good first person or third person, the differences between limited and omniscient third, how past and present tense narrators work.

Scene and Structure
I'm a framework gal, and I think it's a lot easier to "color within the lines" so to speak when you're starting out. Understanding how scenes work provide structure not only for your stories, but for your leaning process. You have something specific you're trying to do, which gives you something you can check your progress against. Plus, scenes are just the building blocks of a novel, so understanding those gives you the skill set to write good chapters and completed novels. Understand what goals are, why stakes are so important, and how to use both to create a plot that moves your story forward.

Plotting
Novels are stories first, and the plot is how you tell that story to your reader. Figuring out what pieces go into making a plot go a long way toward putting together a novel that makes sense and a story that unfolds in a compelling way. Not everyone likes to plot out their stories, and that's fine, but understand what makes a good plot and how stories unfold so you know what you're aiming for as you write.

Why I Suggest These Things
Grammar, POV, structure and plotting are all tools that build the novel. If these are weak, it won't matter how well you write on a sentence level, because you probably won't be able to tell a compelling story. And the story is what the reader if after. It's also easier to polish a well-built novel so it reads well that to build a story under too-pretty-to-edit words.

What Not to Worry About

Publishing
When you're learning your craft, it doesn't matter what you write about, because the goal is to learn, not publish. While we all have that dream that our first novel will sell, it's rare when that actually happens. Odds are your first novel will be your starter novel and where you'll develop your skills. Knowing that going in takes the pressure off. It's just practice, so if you make a mistake, it doesn't matter.

Beautiful Writing
While you'll want to strive to write the best you can, trying to do too much at once is a good way to get overwhelmed. Don't worry about how the writing sounds at this point. The goal is to learn how to tell a story. Once you can do that, you can learn how to make that story read as smoothly as possible.

Being Perfect
Only the rare few are perfect when they first put words to paper. And even those who have dozens of books on the shelf still write first drafts that can make your eyes bleed. Writing is revision, and chances are you'll edit just about everything you ever write.

These things are by no means the only things you have to learn, but I think they're a great place to start. Trying to learn it all at once is a lot of information to process. But if you take it layers at a time, you'll build a strong foundation that will make the next step easier to absorb.

Can Teens Publish a Novel?

In every school visit I've done so far, at least one budding writer asks me about getting published. It made me realize that I've never really talked about how a young writer (teens) would go about getting published.

Same way the adult writers do it.

Yep, I'm serious. Publishing a book is about the book, not the age of the author. If you happen to have professional skill level at age 15, you stand just as good a chance at getting published as anyone else. The only difference is that if you're under 18, you'll need a parent or guardian to sign the contract for legal reasons.

With all the information out there about writing, from books, to sites like this, to forums like Absolute Write, it's much easier for writers to develop their craft and submit their work than it was ten or fifteen years ago. While it's unusual for a writer to reach that level in their teens (30s and 40s is more common), it can and does happen.

Want examples? Try these...

The most famous is SE Hinton, who wrote The Outsiders. She was 16 when she published that.

Den of Shadows Series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. 13 when she wrote it. There's a great Q&A on her site.

And of course there's Christopher Paolini and his Eragon series. He became a bestselling author at the age of 19.

A recent sale is Break by Hannah Moskowitz, 17 when she wrote it.

Kody Keplinger sold her YA novel, The Duff, at 17.

There are others of course, and a little time spent searching will bring up more for those curious. But if you're a teen writer hoping to get published -- go for it.

However...

(you knew there had to be a "but" didn't you?)

It's good to know going in that publishing is a business, and a rough one at that. No one is going to go easy on you or give you a break just because you're a teen. They'll expect you to handle yourself like an adult, revise and edit your work same as any other author, and they'll treat you same as any other author. They won't sugar-coat comments to spare your feelings.

And most writers suffer through a ton of rejection letters before they write the right book and get an agent or sell their novel. Rejection after rejection can be disheartening. It can feel personal, even though it's not. Even adults get frustrated and wonder if they have what it takes or if they should just quit. Be prepared to be stomped on.

If you're scared about showing your work to friends or even a crit group, or any negative comments are taken hard and upset you, if revising at all is a terrifying thought, odds are you're not ready for publication yet, even if your work is. It can take time to develop the objectivity needed to be a pro author, same as it takes time to develop writing skill. That doesn't mean you won't get there, just that you might take a little longer. Publishing is great, but it can be very stressful and a lot of pressure falls on your shoulders. If you're not sure you're ready, don't rush it. You have plenty of time.

But if you are ready...

There's nothing keeping you from trying.

If you're not sure where you fall?

You can test it a few times, maybe try it with short stories and see how it feels. Try markets where the pressure is less and selling a story doesn't immediately heap everything that selling a novel does onto your shoulders.

And to help there, here are three posts that deal specifically with what to do after you have a novel polished and ready to submit, and a link to a great resource for short story writers.

You've Written a Novel, Now What? Going from first draft to first submission.
How to Write a Query Letter.
How to Find an Agent

Duotrope Digest. Database of publications and info on what they accept and how to submit to them.

And because I'm on a theme here, tomorrow let's talk about what you can do as a budding writer to start developing your craft.