Top Ten Tips for Writing a Novel

Came across these tips at: www.be-a-better-writer.com/tips-for-writing-a-novel.html and thought I would share them as they got me thinking......

1. Read a lot-both novels and nonfiction. The novels will inspire you. They will create a need to write, and they will teach you about craft.
2. Know your premise. Every good novel is "about" something.
3. Stay focused on your premise.
4. Focus on the action the character must take to remedy the situation he or she has been thrown into. First and foremost, your characters must take action as they attempt to satisfy their most urgent needs.
5. Your character's actions must force them into problematic situations.
6. Develop your plot through cause and effect. Every action the character takes will have some effect.
7. Be clear about your characters' values, as it is their values that cause them to act as they do. Give characters opposing values so that nothing comes too easily for anyone.
8. Write every day, or five days a week, even if it is only for thirty minutes a day. Writing requires discipline, and having the discipline to write regularly keeps the story percolating in your mind.
9. Write original scenes. Surprise readers and make your story unpredictable, while still believable.
10. Focus on one scene at a time, one page at a time. Before you begin writing, know what the character's goal is for that scene, and know how he or she will achieve the goal or be prevented from achieving it.

De-Cluttering Only Causes Piles....

I didn't disappoint myself last Tuesday as I had a right good clear out of old writing and other stuff I had saved. Previous to Jamie's arrival the nursery had been used as my writing room and so all my books, notes and resources are currently in there, but I have now managed to streamline at least some of them....

After Tuesday, the week then went slightly manic as I started wrapping the Christmas presents as well as de-cluttering. Currently there is stuff everywhere but I keep telling myself it is all part of the plan….. The house is not exactly baby proof so this also focuses my mind, and the need to ‘get rid’ as Uncle Dean would say. However, none of these jobs have been helped by the fact that Jamie is still teething and has also been suffering with a cough and a runny nose; leading to a few broken nights.

Hoped to get on top of the 'stuff' on Thursday, while Jamie was at Nanna's, but Kate came to check out what has been happening on FaceBook (its not allowed at their house) and once she had gone I found it very difficult to get anything started as I knew Nanna would not be long bringing Jamie back. Its nice to have friends..... The weekend came and went in a kinda blur - shopping with Daddy, visiting cousins and other housework - but yesterday I managed to get back and finish off the piles of stuff in the nursery! Looking good.....only now Jamie has started Commando crawling and we are having a carpet fitted in there on Saturday morning!! Panic!!

Looking at the calendar I/we are very busy up until Christmas, so I doubt I am going to have much time for myself, my piles and my writing. But I do feel less compulsive about the need for a tidy house and more relaxed about the future....

The Never Ending To Do List

Can’t believe it is nearly a month since I last did an entry. Time just seems to be flying past at the moment. Jamie changes so much from day to day (see: http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.com/) and there is so much to learn and adapt to. It must be good for my brain on some level!!

Today I was given an extra few hours when the event planned for this afternoon failed to happen as my friend was ill. So I used the time to go through the December editions of Writers News and Writing Magazine – as I do every month – and look up interesting Internet sites referenced in the magazines, copy articles I thought were particularly relevant, and I then made a note of competitions I might enter if I have any spare time….

A couple of good websites I came across today were; http://www.be-a-better-writer.com/ with Pearl Luke, and http://www.writingforward.com/

And I understand what the Grumpy Old Bookman (Writers News’ December 2009 http://www.writersnews.co.uk/ means when he says: ‘The best advice I can give you is to do the job of novelist (or any other kind of writer) because its fun. Expecting it to lead to ‘success’ in the worldly sense will only cause heartache’. This echoes what Pete and I discussed at the Scribes meeting with Bead Roberts i.e. no point doing anything unless its enjoyable. Writing should be seen as a hobby and then you won’t get hurt!!

Having a couple of quiet hours has spurred me on to go back to my To Do list I put together at the beginning of November. I intend to get up early tomorrow and spend the day working through the writing resources recently collected; to file them away for the time being, and also contemplate where to go next. I shall report back how it went in a few days….

One Quiet Thursday Afternoon..

First must say a big 'Thank You' to the Anonymous person who posted a comment to my last entry. Your response really meant a lot.

Having a good afternoon today. Been pretty pleased with myself the last few days as Christmas is just about sorted and so is the house. As Nanna has Jamie every Thursday afternoon I have been able to sit down and wade through all the piles of 'interesting stuff' I seem to have acquired recently. My Writing Magazine and Writers News arrived this morning but I am leaving them until I have cleared the decks (and they are a good night time read once Jamie is asleep!). I have just bought myself a book from the Mills and Boon Black Star Crime imprint to see what they are like and whether I could perhaps try my hand at one. (I believe they are shorter than mainstream crime novels). What I have left myself with now is a pile of 'filing' to put away in my writers cabinet which unfortunately currently resides in the nursery. I plan (am hoping to) spend next Thursday having a clear out and eventually (fingers crossed finances-wise) the cabinet should end up somewhere more suitable. And as for my ever increasing 'To Do' list, I have streamlined it. After severe meditation decided 'Who Cares if it doesn't get done?' In fact, the simple task of saying that actually makes me more likely To Do it!!

That's all my piles and my photos sorted in one afternoon - and 2 blog entries completed (not to mention the small amount of hoovering and washing I have also done).
Well Done Me!

Two Years On.....

I am ashamed to say that in the last year, I have not really progressed any further with the novel that I started all those months ago. My review at one year http://theonlyconsequence.blogspot.com/2008/11/year-on.html lists all my excuses and the attached photo shows the main reason I am strapped for time. But, I really would not have it any other way. Having a baby turns you into a totally different person to the one you were before - its as if a switch gets flicked in your head and your whole being exists only to look after your little bundle of joy!! Having a baby forces you to streamline your life in a way you would not have thought possible before. You realize just how precious time actually is and the need not to waste it. When I had all the time in the world after I left work, my writing should have been proficient but it wasn’t. Now I only have a few snatched minutes of time, I find I am using my time so much better - although not necessarily for writing.

At my recent visit to Lindum Scribes Pete clarified the situation with regards to the time spent on writing and my demands as a parent. He said writing should be seen as a hobby and therefore enjoyment. If it isn’t giving you enjoyment then why are you doing it? Yes, I would love to be the next Ruth Rendell (or whoever) but at the end of the day the chance of this is very slim and so time spent on my writing needs to be pleasurable.

I am pleased to say I have maintained my baby blog http://grumpymumtobe.blogspot.com/ which enables me to write about being a mother and at the same time give myself a free therapy session but I feel that if I am to begin writing again, the novel I have been looking at for the last 2 years is probably not the one that I am going to finish. I am a totally different person to the one who started this blog 2 years ago. Re-reading this blog I realise I have always set myself too many (impossible) tasks and I have always been too hard on myself when they don't get done!! I can't be sure, but perhaps this is one of the reasons that Jamie decided to appear 5 weeks early - mummy rushing around like a blue arse trying to do a million jobs before he arrived. This stems I am sure from a feeling at school of not being quite good enough....

A quote to consider: "You are the storyteller of your own life, and you can create your own legend or not." Isabel Allende

William Safire's Rules for Writers

Thanks to www.writers.com - THE NEWSLETTER - 10/09 for reprinting William Safire's Rules for Writers following his death last month. His sense of fun pervades his famous (or infamous) "rules for writers" which we republish below.

Remember to never split an infinitive.
The passive voice should never be used.
Do not put statements in the negative form.
Verbs have to agree with their subjects.
Proofread carefully to see if you words out.
If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.
A writer must not shift your point of view.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction. (Remember, too, a preposition is a terrible word to end a sentence with.)
Don't overuse exclamation marks!!
Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided.
If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is.
Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.
Everyone should be careful to use a singular pronoun with singular nouns in their writing.
Always pick on the correct idiom.
The adverb always follows the verb.
Last but not least, avoid cliches like the plague; seek viable alternatives.

Manic Mums.....

Can't say I have done much writing recently. I am pleased with myself for at least reading a few books including one of fiction; The Other Hand by Chris Cleave (very good. Read it!). Although I didn't make the actual Book Club evening for which I was reading it for I was still pleased I had read it! I have also read both Writing Magazine and Writing News this month with Mslexia waiting for me this evening. Oh yes, and to maintain my commitment to writing I have already purchased next years Mslexia diary!!

So, the mind is willing but the flesh weak. Having a baby seriously interferes with life outside your little bundle of joy!! However, I recently bought a very good book which helps to put everything into perspective and I must try to remember some of the valuable advice when I get a bit 'manic' with regards to not accomplishing everything on my 'Must Do' list. Time Management for Manic Mums by Allison Mitchell, published by Hay House (2009), has some great points for any mum struggling to cope with the demands of a baby and a house, families and husbands etc. not to mention that burning desire to see your name in print - or at least a completed manuscript - and I have summarised some of the more relevant ones below:-

• Time is precious. You have a tight budget of just 24 hours.
• Ask yourself: is this the best use of my time now?
• Unless you know what you want to do with your time, you’ll never find time to do it.
• Break down jobs into smaller chunks – start the journey…
• Reframe jobs i.e. cleaning party / space for something else / exercise!!
• Don’t put it down. Put it away.
• Remove distractions to the job in hand.
• Define the actions needed to step towards your goals.
• Look to the future – what happens if you do, what happens if you don’t?
• Focus on what you want and not on what you don’t want.
• We become what we think about.
• Focus only on what is valuable to you.
• It’s about choice and focus and priorities.
• What future is your present creating for you?
• Savour / enjoy every moment.